Saturday November 7, 2009 Bob Peoples

Theme: None

Total blocks: 30

Total words: 70

This grid does not look intimidating, does it? Only a bunch of triple-stacked 7's in each corner. Across & Down. But what a hard struggle for me!

Rich Norris certainly ratcheted up the cluing difficulty (ONO is a good example). Even if he did not, I doubt I would have solved this puzzle without cheating. Several of the adjacent entries are just plain unknown to me.

Across:

1. Treat for tired dogs?: FOOT RUB. Dogs here refer to feet. Wanted MASSAGE. Lots of foot massage parlors in Guangzhou.

8. Snake oil, so it's said: PANACEA. Not seen as such in China. Snake oil is just used to treat join pain.

15. Bridge bid, briefly: THREE NO. Someone please explain this term to me.

16. Fauna: ANIMALS. Flora would be PLANTS.

17. Old Meccan governors: SHARIFS. Literally "exalted" in Arabic. Maybe Omar Sharif knows. I've got no idea.

18. Swift specialties: SATIRES. Jonathan Swift.

20. "Real breakfast 24/7" restaurant chain: DENNY'S. Not familiar with the tagline at all.

22. Ventura County's __ Valley: SIMI. Home to the Regan Library. Another California reference is ANAS (9D. Santa __: West Coast winds). The hot winds.

23. Actress Swenson: INGA. Of "Benson" fame.

25. God of Spain: DIOS. The singular DIO is Italian/German for God. DIEU for the French.

27. Head lock: TRESS

31. City on the Rhine: BONN. Former capital of West Germany.

32. Shrub with clusters of blue flowers: HYSSOP. Of the mint family. New name to me.

34. Betrayals: SELLOUTS. So easy in retrospect.

36. Hotel amenity for business travelers: IN-ROOM FAX. You'd think it's IN-ROOM internet access/WiFi.

38. Delete: CROSS OFF. And REDLINE (39D. Deletion indicator).

41. Tiny white ovum: ANT EGG. Stumper. Those eggs look awfully big.

45. Musical set in Manhattan's East Village: RENT

46. Armstrong singing style: SCAT. Ella Fitzgerald singing style too.

48. Iberian river: DOURO (DOH-roo). No idea. See this map. It flows from N Spain through N Portugal to the Atlantic.

49. Stock suffix: ADE. Stockade.

50. Agcy. that conducts workplace inspections: OSHA. Belongs to the Dept. of Labor.

52. Noilly __: vermouth brand: PRAT. Completely unknown to me. Does anyone know the name origin? Why PRAT, Argyle?

57. Artist who funded Manhattan's Strawberry Fields memorial: ONO. Another unknown trivia.

58. Reminder file: TICKLER. Have never heard of tickler file.

60. Ale seller: BREWPUB. It's a bar serving beer brewed at a small microbrewery on the premises. Probably a gimme for Embien.

63. Ventilation source: AIR HOLE

64. Can't stand: DESPISE

65. Did over on a Selectric, say: RETYPED. Who the heck is still using Selectric?

Down:

1. Ark. city that began as a military post: FT SMITH. Uh-uh, nope. It's the second-largest city in Ark.

2. Candy bar with an exclamation point in its name: OH HENRY! I've yet to try this brand. Love Snickers.

3. Fruits used in making Grand Marnier: ORANGES. Another stumper. The Grand Marnier made from a blend of true cognacs and distilled essence of bitter orange.

4. Three times, in Rx's: TER

5. Senate Majority Leader Harry: REID. From Nevada.

6. Ravenous, probably: UNFED. Reminds me of "The Pianist".

7. Sarajevo's region: BOSNIA. Sarajevo is the capital of Bosnia.

8. Lineup announcement medium, briefly: PA SYSTEM. Was thinking of police line-up.

10. Trivial point: NIT. Trivial point to pick.

11. "The Rachel Papers" novelist Martin: AMIS. Son of Kingsley Amis.

12. Arctic deer: CARIBOU. Reindeer too.

13. Nitrogen or oxygen: ELEMENT

14. Transfers, as legal rights: ASSIGNS

21. "I wouldn't do that just yet": NOT SO FAST. Placed at the very center of the grid.

24. Fielder's stat: ASSIST. Basketball/hockey stat too.

28. Boys, to men: SONS. Would be an OK clue if not for MEN (19A. Gents)

30. Italian sports car, briefly: : ALFA. Alfa Romeo.

31. Old-fashioned proof of purchase: BOX TOP

33. Aces: PROS. Both mean experts.

35. Crow's nest sighting: LAND. Again, not familiar with the nautical term crow's nest.

37. "For sure!": OF COURSE

38. Skillfully made: CRAFTED

40. Plays without intermissions: ONE-ACTS. "Plays" is a noun. I fell into the verb thinking trap.

42. Ace of Base genre: EURO POP. Have never heard of Swedish band Ace of Base.

43. Bit of grit: GRANULE

44. Retire, but not permanently: GO TO BED. "Not permanently" threw me off.

47. Legal profession: THE BAR. Wrote down THE LAW first.

51. Raptor's home: AERIE

54. Cincinnati sitcom station: WKRP. "WKRP in Cincinnati".

55. Tiger's pocketful: TEES. Tiger Woods.

56. Miró Foundation architect: SERT. Got the answer from Across fill.

59. Gift for an island visitor: LEIS. Hawaiian islands.

Answer grid.

C.C.

Friday November 6, 2009 Sharon E. Petersen

Theme: Slip of the Tongue - The first word of a common phrase is replaced by two identical letters which, when pronounced in plural form, sound like the word itself.

17A. Nursery rhyme dish?: PP (Pease) PORRIDGE. "Pease porridge hot, pease porridge cold..."

25A. "Time is fleeting" philosophy?: CC (Seize) THE DAY. Carpe diem.

38A. Reasons?: YY (Whys) AND WHEREFORES

49A. "Good grief!"?: GG (Jeez) LOUISE.

61A. 1999 Kidman/Cruise film?: II (Eyes) WIDE SHUT. It flopped. Stanley Kubrick's last film.

And EE (ease) and TT (tease) came to my mind. What else can you think of?

Such a YY (wise) constructor, Sharon E. Petersen. Very clever theme. One of my favorite LAT puzzles so far. Quite scrabbly too, with 4 J's, 1 Z, & 1 X.

Again, I started from bottom up and figured out the gimmick rather quickly. Still needed the cheat sheet to finish the puzzle.

Across:

1. Alaska's state gem: JADE. Unknown fact to me. I just found out that our Minnesota's state gem is Lake Superior Agate. How about your state?

5. Sonora natives: PIMAS. The Arizona Indian tribe.

10. Soup du __: JOUR. Literally "day" in French.

14. Shepard in space: ALAN. Alan Shepard, the first American in space.

15. Designer Simpson: ADELE. Finally I remember this designer's name. She died in 1995.

19. Island garlands: LEIS

21. Blond Wells race: ELOI. From "The Time Machine".

22. Pained reaction: WINCE

23. Toaster Swirlz brand: EGGO. Owned by Kellogg.

28. Tumblers and tongs, e.g.: BARWARE

35. One of a cup's 48: Abbr.: TSP. A cup has 16 tablespoons and 48 teaspoons. 1 tablespoon = 3 teaspoons.

42. Cio-Cio-__: Madama Butterfly: SAN. Just Japanese suffix used as a term of respect after their names or titles. I am C.C. San.

43. Actress Skye: IONE. She was in "Say Anything ...", together with John Cusack. Nice movie.

44. Three-time pairs skating gold medalist Rodnina: IRINA. No idea. It means "peace" in Russian. Like Greek Irene. Wikipedia says this lady is the only pair skater to win 10 successive World Championships (1969–78) and three successive Olympic gold medal.

45. Gag: JOKE

47. Reaganomics principle: TAX CUTS

53. "Just the facts, __": MA'AM. From "Dragnet".

54. Posture-perfect: ERECT. Reminds me of Frida Kahlo, always erect posture. Back pain.

55. Brest milk: LAIT. French for "milk". Brest is a French seaport. Same pronunciation as breast. Neat clue.

57. Garb for dreamers, briefly: PJS

60. Really smell: REEK

64. Pencil puzzle: MAZE. I've never tried one.

66. Mother of Pollux: LEDA. The swan lady. Mother of Helen of Troy also.

67. Sit tight: STAY

69. Sign that something has turned?: ODOR. I did not miss the sign!

Down:

1. Wisecrack: JAPE. Learned from doing Xword.

2. Heidi's home: ALPS

3. Well-groomed guy: DAPPER DAN. John Gotti was nicknamed "Dapper Don" because of his taste for expensive clothes/cars.

4. "Ambient 1: Music for Airports" composer Brian: ENO. The Windows 95 starting sound is by him too.

5. Game room: PARLOR

6. Prefix with -syncratic: IDIO. Meaning "peculiar".

7. Military physician: MEDIC

8. African country on the Med. Sea: ALG. Algeria I suppose.

10. "'Tis but thy name that is my enemy" speaker: JULIET. From "Romeo and Juliet".

11. Interminably: ON END. How is it different from NO END?

12. Erie Canal city: UTICA

13. Grier of the Fearsome Foursome: ROSEY. His face looks familiar. Must have seen him somewhere before. LA Rams' Fearsome Foursome.

18. Think highly of: REGARD

24. Singer Stefani: GWEN. Very toned. Her band is "No Doubt".

26. Bordeaux wine: CLARET. Red wine.

27. Drink excessively: TOPE. And the person who drinks excessively is a TOPER.

29. Romance novelist Seton: ANYA. No idea. See this picture. Her real name is simply Ann Seton.

30. Bounces back: ECHOES

35. Came out on top: TRIUMPHED. Nailed it.

36. On its way: SENT. Had trouble obtaining the answer.

37. Awareness-raising TV spots, for short: PSAS (Public Service Announcements)

39. Web site that users can edit: WIKI. "Fast" in Hawaii. Wikipedia = Wiki + (Encyclo)pedia.

40. Focus intently (on): FIXATE

41. Large ocean predator: ORCA. With the last A in place, I wrote down SKUA, the predatory sea bird.

45. Silks wearer: JOCKEY. Silks refer to jockey's jacket, correct?

46. Fast asleep: OUT

49. Verminophobe's fear: GERMS. Oh, I thought it's just fear of vermin. Vermis is Latin for "worms". Unknown to me.

51. TV host Gibbons: LEEZA

52. Legendary Broncos quarterback: ELWAY (John). Was he better than Brett Favre?

58. Japanese martial art: JUDO. Literally, "gentle way".

61. Savings vehicle for later yrs.: IRA

62. Cyclades island: IOS. Pronounced as EE-ohs? Don't confuse it with COS, another Greek island where Romaine lettuce was first introduced.

Answer grid.

C.C.