Thursday November 12, 2009 Kelsey Blakley

Theme: DNA SEQUENCE (64A. Human fingerprint, and what's hidden in five puzzle answers) - DNA is sequentially embedded in each theme answer.

17A. All-big-gun battleship: DREADNAUGHT. Dread Not. Fear Nothing.

24A. Deeply ingrained habit: SECOND NATURE

39A. Shanghais: KIDNAPS. This extended "kidnap" meaning is named after the seaport Shanghai. Wonderful nightlife there. Great bars.

42A. Gap subsidiary: OLD NAVY

53A. Cuba or Puerto Rico, e.g.: ISLAND NATION

Two of the non-theme entries (31A. Most piquant: ZESTIEST & 48A. Convenience store: MINI-MART) have longer letters than the two shortest theme answers. Odd. They don't normally bother me if placed in Down rather than Across.

Neat to have three "filler" clues for a trio of three-letter fill:

52A. Hard-rock filler: AS A. Hard as a rock.

71A. Museum filler: ART

66D. Balloon filler: AIR

I loved the tie-in answer DNA SEQUENCE. Terrific title and great theme concept.

Across:

1. FBI sting that began during Carter's presidency: ABSCAM. What does AB stand for?

7. In this way: THUS. More used to "As a result" clue.

11. Tapped-out message: SOS. Morse code.

14. Sheep herder: COLLIE. Correct clue this time.

15. Old World Style sauce maker: RAGU. Or do you prefer Prego?

16. Hawaiian Punch rival: HI-C. Was stumped again. The C here refers to vitamin C. The Minute Maid drink brand.

19. It might be pale or brown: ALE

20. Blackguards: CADS. Blackguard is a new word to me.

21. Powerful health care lobbying gp.: AMA. "Powerful" indeed, appearing in Xword so often.

22. Budget noodle dish: RAMEN. Rooted in Chinese lamian ("pulled noodle"). The Japanese kanji for RAMEN is the same as Chinese character.

28. TV sched. notation: TBA

32. Extremely cold: POLAR

34. Birthplace of "Wayne's World," briefly: SNL. I was ignorant of the fact that the film was adapted from a sketch of the same name on SNL.

35. Cheese in a ball: EDAM. The Dutch cheese.

44. "The Time Machine" leisure class: ELOI. They are blond, they are beautiful and they are yummy entrees for the the Morlocks.

45. Org. with the blog Greenversations: EPA. Easy guess, with the "Green" hint.

47. Further off the beaten path: ODDER. "Off the beaten path" = unusual.

57. Parisian's "Presto!": VOILA!

58. Family nickname: SIS

59. "__ the hint!": I GET. I simply say "I get it!", not "I get the hint!".

63. Lat neighbors: ABS. Lat the muscles. Not the country.

68. ___ Percé: Pacific Northwest tribe: NEZ. No idea. Nez Percé is French for "pierced nose" (nez=nose). Maybe the tribe members all had pieced nose when first encountered by the explorers.

69. Irish Rose's beau: ABIE. "Abie's Irish Rose". Learned from doing Xword.

70. Prepare to slip off: UNLACE. Of shoes or lingerie.

73. Singer Sheena: EASTON. Scottish singer. Here is her "For Your Eyes Only". I've never heard of her name before.

Down:

1. Type of elec. adapter: AC/DC

2. Afghanistan's Tora __ region: BORA. The region where our military could have caught Osama during that intensive battle.

3. Huskies' burden: SLED

4. School group: CLASS

6. Serious threat: MENACE. Such as the Fort Hood military major who opened fire at the base. Ultimate betrayal.

7. Unauthorized absentees: TRUANTS. Such as the military AWOL's. And ATTEND (23D. Show up).

8. Broom rider: HAG. Could only think of witch.

9. Exclamation with a shudder: UGH

10. Buddha's teachings: SUTRAS. I wonder when Kama Sutra was written.

11. SeaWorld celebrity: SHAMU

12. Carrier of crude: OILER. Crude oil.

13. Dramatic segment: SCENE

18. Songwriter Tori: AMOS. Pure guess. What's her most famous song?

25. University founder Cornell: EZRA. You should eat worms if you missed this one. I've mentioned his name several times on the blog before.

26. Pebbles's pet: DINO. From "The Flintstones".

27. "Little" Dickens girl: NELL. No idea. Little Nell is a character from Dickens' "The Old Curiosity Shop".

28. Pay-as-you-go rd.: TPKE (Turnpike)

29. Cook, in a way: BOIL. Boiled (freshly picked) peanuts are very tasty.

30. Gucci of fashion: ALDO. Man, I can never remember his name.

33. Mink or sable: ANIMAL. Well, FUR is too short. Nice clue.

36. Pop, to baby: DADA. Chinese baby would say "BABA".

37. Parade rtes., maybe: AVES

38. Vidal's Breckinridge: MYRA. Here is the book cover. We've seen this clue before.

40. Remain undecided: PEND

46. Gathered up: AMASSED. As fortune.

49. When Rome wasn't built?: IN A DAY. Idiom: "Rome wasn't built in a day". I don't like the word "When", though I could not think of a better alternative.

50. Play to __: draw: A TIE

51. Off-color: RISQUE. Tried RIBALD first.

53. Trump with a cameo in "The First Wives Club": IVANA. Donald Trump's first ex.

54. Not even tipsy: SOBER

55. "Faust Symphony" composer: LISZT. "Faust" is also a play by Goethe.

56. Physicist Bohr: NIELS. The Danish physicist.

60. Swarm insect: GNAT

61. Nestlé cereal beverage: ECCO. Totally unknown to me. It's a barley, rye and chicory-based beverage. ECCO is Italian for ECCE, "behold".

62. High schooler: TEEN

65. Jazz org.?: NBA. Utah Jazz. Nailed it.

67. Italian "a": UNA. Spanish "a" too.

Answer grid.

Thanks for the stuffing recipes, everyone. Will ask my husband to add dried cranberries to ours this Thanksgiving (the only day Boomer actually cooks).

C.C.

Wednesday November 11, 2009 Allan E. Parrish

Theme: Hit List - The first word of each # 1 hit song title is a synonym of "permanent".

20A. 2002 #1 hit for rapper Ja Rule: ALWAYS ON TIME. I've never heard of the the song or the rapper. Ja Rule's real name is Jeffrey Atkins.

36A. 1989 #1 hit for Paula Abdul: FOREVER YOUR GIRL. Know Paula Abdul from her previous gig with "American Idol". The song faintly rings a bell.

56A. 1989 #1 hit for the Bangles: ETERNAL FLAME. Someone just linked the Bangles on the blog the other day. The song is a total unknown to me.

Were all the above hits familiar to you?

This theme reminds me of David W. Cromer's "Always Faithful" puzzle, but with a tighter structure. Only three 12-letter theme answers, which allow for plenty of sparkling long entries (I counted 22 non-theme fill with 6 letters or more). And only 32 blocks. We often see 38 on weekdays.

Great to see Allan E. Parrish's byline again. Like Barry Silk, he likes to use scrabbly letters, though not much in this puzzle.

Across:

1. Taylor of "The Nanny": RENEE. She played Fran Fine's mother.

10. Patsies: SAPS

14. Are: EXIST. ARE is often clued as "Exist".

15. ''Star Wars'' royalty: LEIA. Princess Leia, played by Carrie Fisher. I am surprised that her mother, Debbie Reynolds, is still alive. Tough luck in men.

17. Senate minority leader McConnell: MITCH. From Kentucky. His wife is Bush 43's Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao. Contemporary political names are normally my gimmes.

18. Enchilada wraps: TORTILLAS. And REESE'S (51D. Popular candy pieces). Hmm, food is always welcome in our blog. By the way, care to share with Jeannie and all of us your thanksgiving stuffing recipe? A bit of Minnesota wild rice can flavor up the taste immensely.

22. Lake Wobegon creator: KEILLOR (Garrison). Ah, Minnesota reference. Welcome to Lake Wobegon, where all the women are strong, all the men are good-looking, and all the children are above average...

23. Without any help: UNAIDED

27. "¿Cómo ____ usted?": ESTA

28. "__Cop": 1987 film: ROBO. Always wanted "Mall Cop".

30. Sugar coating: GLAZE

31. Thrice, in Rx's: TER. Again, no TID (ter in die), Latin for "three times a day".

33. Bone: Pref.: OSTE. As in osteoarthritis.

35. Rural area: LEA

41. Milne marsupial: ROO. Kanga's kid in "Winnie-the-Pooh".

42. Airline to Ben-Gurion: EL AL. Ben Gurion International is EL AL's home base. Named after Israel's first Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion.

43. 1950s-'60s "Man on the Street" comic Louis: NYE. Learned his name from doing Xword.

44. Radio station alert sign: ON AIR

46. Academia VIP: DEAN. The clue seems to be asking for an abbreviated answer, doesn't it, Jerome?

48. Apt. balcony: TERR (Terrace). I am inured to the "territory" clue.

52. He shared a Nobel Peace Prize with de Klerk: MANDELA. In 1993. For their work in ending the apartheid in South Africa.

54. Will beneficiary: LEGATEE. With TEE in place, I mindlessly wrote down TRUSTEE.

58. Ploy: STRATAGEM. Awesome entry.

61. Country singer McCann and others: LILAS. No idea. Here is her "I Wanna Fall in Love". Do you like her bangs?

62. Mil. no-show: AWOL

63. Heavyweight bout?: SUMO. Heavyweight indeed.

64. Blazing: AFIRE

66. Grandson of Eve: ENOS. Son of Seth.

67. Hardwood trees: TEAKS. The wood is used in shipbuilding.

Down:

2. Forces out of the country: EXILES. Stupid Saddam should have accepted exile offer. War would have been avoided.

3. Jerk: NITWIT

4. Intensify: ESCALATE. Another great entry.

5. __ alcohol: ETHYL

6. Corrida charger: EL TORO. Spanish for "the bull".

7. Quite a long time: AEON

8. Master performer: VIRTUOSO. Italian for "skilled".

10. Cirque du __: SOLEIL. Literally "sun" in French. Has anyone seen a Cirque du Soleil show in person?

13. '60s activist gp.: SDS (Students for a Democratic Society)

19. Mental pictures: IMAGERY

21. Chestnut horse: SORREL. And ROAN (38D. Colorful horse).

24. Mustachioed Spanish surrealist: DALI. Most famous for his melting clock ("The Persistence of Memory")

25. Former Israeli president Weizman: EZER. Wanted EBAN. Confused him with Abba Eban.

29. Peter of "Everybody Loves Raymond": BOYLE

32. City NNE of Seattle: EVERETT. Obtained the answer from crosses. What's Everett famous for?

34. Prison escape route, perhaps: TUNNEL. Love "The Shawshank Redemption".

36. Gift tag word: FROM. Christmas is coming.

37. Chaplin's last wife: OONA. The "Alley Oop" character OOOLA.

39. Speed trap device: RADAR GUN

40. "Mind your own business!": GET A LIFE. Oh, I had the wrong understanding that "Get a life" means "Don't be so obsessed with something".

45. Role models, say: IDEALS

47. Los __: Manhattan Project site: ALAMOS. In New Mexico.

49. And others: Latin: ET ALIA. Neutral plural of et al; et alii is masculine plural, et aliae is feminine plural.

50. Comment: REMARK. Here is a detailed explanation on this "How to Post a Comment" on our blog. Come and join us for the daily crossword (or non-crossword topics as the day goes on) discussion.

53. Purchase alternative: LEASE

55. F-sharp equivalent: G-FLAT

57. Verne captain: NEMO. Literally "no one" in Latin. From Verne's "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea".

59. Pan Am rival: TWA. Once owned by Howard Hughes.

Answer grid.

Happy Veterans Day, Dennis, Argyle and all those who have served in the military.

C.C.