Saturday November 28, 2009 Alan Olschwang

Theme: None

Total blocks: 31

Total words: 72

This grid is so atypical of Alan Olschwang. I don't remember his puzzles being so scrabbly: 4 Z's, 2 J's, 1 X, 1 Q and 2 V's. Only 1 letter F away from a pangram (all 26 letters are used at least once in the grid). I guess I was used to his old TMS Daily Thursday quote style.

Tough puzzle for me. Quite a few unknowns. Some struck me as a bit obscure. Take CET (10D. Belgium winter hrs.) for example. I've been to Brussels several times. Don't recall seeing CET (Central European Time) at all. GMT +1 yes, same as Paris.

Favorite fill today is ZAHARIAS (39D. Golfer Babe who was a six-time AP Female Athlete of the Year). A rare long gimme for me (golf trivia is my strong suit). Babe was the founding member of LPGA and won over 80 tournaments in her career. Definitely the best female althelete of all time, with her track & field and other sports success.

Across:

1. King overthrown by William of Orange: JAMES II. Tough start. William of Orange sounds like a Dutch king. The Dutch House of Orange.

8. Breaks out: ESCAPES

15. Conversion gadget: ADAPTOR. Adapter too.

16. Was humbled: ATE DIRT

17. Dennis the Menace's neighbors, with "the": WILSONS. I thought Dennis the Menace is a rather cute name. Surprised that Dennis hated it.

18. "Told you!": SO THERE!

19. Zen enlightenment: SATORI. Literally "awakening". Japanese Kanji character satori is the same as Chinese.

20. Certain theater, for short: REP. Stumper. REP is repertory.

21. Berkshire school: ETON. Easy guess. I did not really know the exact location of Eton.

22. Carmen, for one: MEZZO-SOPRANO. Completely out of my knowledge zone. A gimme for our Sallie, hopefully. She loves opera.

25. Bad start?: MAL. Like malfunction.

28. "__ for Evidence": Grafton novel: E IS

29. Fork in the road: VEE. Struggled with the answer also.

30. Caribbean cruise stop: ARUBA. Dutch territory.

33. Inexpensive kids' toy: PAPER DOLL. Somehow I don't connect paper doll with "toy".

38. Maker of many jets: JACUZZI. Oh, jet stream. I was thinking of jet plane. Very scrabbly answer.

40. Asmara is its capital: ERITREA. A province of Ethiopia until 1993. Last time we had ASMARA clued as "Eritrea capital".

41. One in a box: SPECTATOR. Box seat. I was picturing a present.

43. Nutritious beans: SOYAS. Soybeans.

44. "I'm so clever" sound: HEH

45. Big affairs: DOS. Big galas.

47. Classic Jag: XKE. What does XKE stand for?

48. Spinach is high in it: BETA CAROTENE. Well, I associate carrots/sweet potatoes with beta carotene, not spinach, which is high in iron.

54. U.S. dept. with a windmill on its seal: ENER (Energy)

55. Robot play: R. U. R. (Rossum's Universal Robots). The Capek play which debuted the word "robot".

56. Company with a kangaroo on its logo: QANTAS. A Q word without the U. Kazie just mentioned last time that Qantas is an acronym for "Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services".

60. Daydream: REVERIE

62. Decay, as pipes: RUST OUT

63. "Sleepless in Seattle" studio: TRISTAR. Unknown fact to me.

64. One who aches: YEARNER. Argyle is still bothered by last time's RE-ADDS.

65. Party leader: HOSTESS. Was thinking of political party.

66. Brisk, to Brahms: ALLEGRO. Brisk tempo.

Down:

1. 1975 thriller shot largely on Martha's Vineyard: JAWS. Have never seen the movie.

2. 1998 Sarah McLachlan hit: ADIA. Don't confuse it with the "Verdi slave girl" AIDA.

3. Brewer's supply: MALT

4. Derby town: EPSOM. English derby.

5. Supply: STORE

6. Create charged particles in: IONIZE

7. Org. that gets a lot of returns: IRS. Tax returns. I outsmarted myself by thinking of tennis returns.

8. Uncomplicates: EASES

9. Short stay: STOPOVER

11. Didn't deviate from, as plans: ADHERED TO

12. Michelangelo masterpiece: PIETA. See the sculpture, which depicts Virgin Mary mourning Jesus after the Crucifixion. It's housed in St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican City.

13. Former Tennessee Titans tight end Kinney: ERRON. Nope. Total stranger to me.

14. Court figure: STENO. Judge's court. I was in the sports direction again.

20. Santa __: Sonoma County seat: ROSA. No idea. What is it famous for?

23. "Shh!": ZIP IT. QUIET would not fit.

24. Sprites of Persian mythology: PERIS (PEE-ees). A word I keep learning and keep forgetting.

25. Some mil. brass: MAJS (Majors)

26. Give __: care: A RAP

27. Fortune founder: LUCE (Henry). Founder of Time/Life as well.

31. Romania's capital: BUCHAREST. Alas, I only know the Chinese word for this capital.

32. Ancient Valley of Mexico native: AZTEC

34. Dallas Mavericks owner before Cuban: PEROT. H. Ross Perot, Jr. Son of Ross Perot. Again, I was oblivious to this fact.

35. Antelope that often has nearly upright horns: ORYX. See this picture. Nearly upright horns indeed. It's not listed in JD's Safari antelope list.

36. Pipe problem: LEAK

37. Cut with light: LASE

42. It may be fishy: ODOR. Nailed it.

46. Film follow-up: SEQUEL

48. Distance maintained between vessels: BERTH. Origin for "Give a wide berth" I presume.

49. Hot time in Chile: ENERO. Spanish for January. It's summer time in Chile. Great clue.

50. "The Hustler" author Walter: TEVIS. See the book cover. Unknown author to me. Loved the movie.

51. Who's sorry now?: RUERS. Shouldn't the clue be "Who are sorry now?"

52. Vocally twangy: NASAL

53. Between: Fr.: ENTRE. I don't like the abbreviated Fr.

57. Half a patio pair: TONG. For your grill.

58. "Violin Playing as I Teach It" author Leopold: AUER. Same pronunciation as "hour". Meaning "from the meadow" in German. I can never commit his name into my increasingly deteriorating memory.

59. Houston pro, locally: STRO. Houston Astros.

61. 66, e.g.: Abbr.: RTE. Route 66.

62. Knotted pile carpet: RYA (REE-uh). The Scandinavian rug. Why knotted?

Answer grid.

C.C.

Friday November 27, 2009 Dan Naddor

Theme: Medieval Times - Part of a common phrase is punnily substituted by a word of Medieval relevance.

17A. Medieval commuter between Dover and Calais?: CHANNEL SERF. Channel Surf. Medieval commuter = Serf.

22A. Medieval castle owner's view?: BARON LANDSCAPE. Barren Landscape. Medieval castle owner = Baron.

34A. Manages medieval real estate holdings?: MINDS ONE'S MANORS. Minds One's Manners. Medieval real estate = Manors.

46A. Medieval lord's efforts?: FEUDAL ATTEMPTS. Futile Attempts. Medieval lord's = Feudal.

53. Weapons for medieval warriors?: KNIGHT CLUBS. Night Clubs. Medieval warrior = Knight.

Today's Dan Naddor Index (non-theme entries with 6 or more letters) is 10. Low due to the heavy themage (65 theme squares).

How is your solving experience today? I felt awfully inadequate. Peeked at my cheat sheet very early on. Puns are often difficult for me to grasp.

Lots of tricky clues today. I fell into every possible trap.

Across:

1. Like litigants: SUING. Adjective. "Litigants" would be SUERS.

6. Campaign unpleasantry: SMEAR

11. Onetime lottery org.: SSS. Military draft.

14. Block house: IGLOO. Ice block.

15. Jack of "The Great Dictator": OAKIE. Gosh, I can never remember his name.

16. Make a scene?: ACT. Nailed it.

19. Revolutionary leader: MAO (Ze-Dong). Culture Revolution (1966-1976) that prosecuted Chinese intellectuals. I penned in CHE (Guevara) first.

20. 1994 co-Nobelist with Rabin and Arafat: PERES (Shimon). Gimme.

21. Honeybunch: DOLL

27. Hogwash: BALONEY

28. Geezer: COOT. So is codger.

29. Hope contributed to it for 50 yrs.: USO. Bob Hope was famous for his work with USO. Great golfer too.

30. Settled, as plans: FIRMED UP

39. 1950s Edward R. Murrow news show: SEE IT NOW. I only remember the show ends with NOW. It's been some time since I watched "Good Night, and Good Luck"

40. "Thugz Mansion" rapper: NAS. Just learned that his given name is Nasir.

41. Mover or shaker: DOER. Nice clue.

42. Threaten to attack: ASSAULT. "Threaten"? I thought assault means "attack" itself.

50. Easter bloom: LILY

51. Barbershop device: STROP

52. 007, for one: Abbr.: AGT. The "Abbr." hint should prevent you from considering SPY.

59. Flop preceder: KER. Put down EAR.

60. Heart line: AORTA

61. Country known for its distance runners: KENYA. I wonder where their speed and endurance come from.

62. Big period: ERA

63. Bikini blast: N-TEST

Down:

1. [error left as is]: SIC. The bracket indicates the mistake is quoted verbatim.

2. You might close your eyes when you say it: UGH. Oh, I never close my eyes when I say "Ugh".

3. Dockworkers' org.: ILA (International Longshoremen's Association)

4. Amateur: NON-PRO

5. Been happening: GONE ON

6. One way to be responsible: SOLELY. Solely responsible. Excellent clue.

7. Tuscan marble city: MASSA (MAHS-sah). Nope. Here is a DF marble fountain in Massa.

9. Inflation cause?: AIR. Nailed it also.

10. Whistle blower: REF. Simple & tricky clue.

11. Island group near Fiji: SAMOA. OK, Samoa is in the northeast of Fiji. Stumped me.

12. Sell at an inflated price: SCALP. It's legal in Minnesota.

13. It's a wrap: STOLE. Last time SAREE was clued this way.

18. Seaside flier: ERNE

21. 747 competitor: DC-TEN. No idea. What does DC stand for, Dennis?

22. Count in jazz: BASIE. Count Basie.

23. Single-handedly: ALONE

24. CBS military drama: NCIS (Naval Criminal Investigative Service). Are you a fan?

26. "Brave New World" drug: SOMA. Unknown to me.

27. Saddens, with "out": BUMS

30. "A __ Good Men": FEW. "You can't handle the truth!".

31. Coffee mate?: DONUT. Mine was CREAM, despite the question mark warning.

32. Continent-dividing range: URALS.

33. Hissed "Over here!": PSST

35. Bad Boy Records founder, as he's now known: DIDDY. A rare gimme for me. P. Diddy, J-Lo's ex-flame.

36. Greek portico: STOA

37. First-year law student: ONE-L. L stands for "law". Also the book title of Scott Turow's biography. Very intense.

42. Besides: AT THAT. Thought of Melissa Bee. Her blog name is "Bee Sides".

43. Rockefeller Center muralist: SERT (José María). Spanish muralist. I forgot again.

44. Preschoolers' protection: SMOCKS. Oh, I don't associate smocks with preschoolers.

45. Task-oriented program: APPLET. Often abbreviated as APP.

46. Cereal bit: FLAKE

47. Peak near the Jungfrau: EIGER. Swiss Alpine peak. Jungfrau is German for "young woman'/"virgin". Jung = young.

48. Prefix with conservative: ULTRA

49. Some USAF NCOs: T. SGTS (Technical Sergeants). New to me also.

53. The Sunflower St.: KAN. Did not know sunflower is Kansas' state flower.

54. "As if!": NOT

55. Pique condition?: IRE. "Piqued" would have lost the wordplay on "peak condition".

56. Nice one?: UNE. French for "one". Nice refers to French city Nice.

58. Gullible one: SAP

Answer grid.

C.C.