Sunday November 29, 2009 Peter Wentz

Theme: Right on Cue - QU is added to the starts of the first words of familiar phrases.

23A. Charmin' way of actin' up?: (QU)AINT MISBEHAVIN'. Was not familiar with the base phrase Ain't Misbehavin'

32A. Annul the middle of the week?: (QU)ASH WEDNESDAY. This tipped me off the theme.

49A. Calculation for an express delivery?: (QU)ICK FACTOR. Ick Factor is a measurement of the repulsiveness of something gross.

66A. Ends it, to one's subsequent regret?: (QU)ITS A GOOD THING. It's a Good Thing.

85A. Sick feeling on campus?: (QU)AD NAUSEAM. Ad Nauseam.

99A. Wasn't quite ready to accuse?: (QU)ASI SUSPECTED. As I Suspected. I have difficulty understanding the new phrase. Confused by the grammar structure.

112A. Muslim household's holy book?: (QU)RAN IN THE FAMILY. Feels like the base phrase should be "run in the family', no?

The only non-theme QU today is QUE (28A. Juan's "what"). Total 8 Q's in the puzzle. Plus 3 Z's, 3 J's, 3 X'es and 7 K's . Quite a scrabbly pangram (all 26 letters are used at least once). In fact, it's a triple pangram.

In his last themeless Saturday, this constructor Peter Wentz used four J's & eight K's, quite unusual for a 15*15. Maybe scrabbliness is his style.

Again, I grokked the theme very early on and it sure helped my solving. Many times understanding the theme early has no impact on my solving, esp pun themes. Today I was able to fill in every QU in the Across theme answers and then cracked the intersecting Down entries, which are mostly solid words/phrases and easily obtainable.

Across:

1. Scale notes: FAS

4. Copy room malfunction: JAM-UP. Printer malfunction too.

9. Parchment?: THIRST. Too cute a clue for me.

15. Island band The __ Men: BAHA. Here is their annoying "Who Let the Dogs Out".

19. Like single-digit temps: ABOVE ZERO. Nice multi-word entry.

21. California's motto: EUREKA. Know this because of our CA gang.

22. "Son of Frankenstein" role: YGOR. Or IGOR.

25. Daring exploit: GEST

26. Stats for Tyson: TKOS (Technical Knockouts)

27. Juan or Gabriel lead-in: SAN. San Juan & San Gabriel.

29. Bridget with a diary: JONES. From movie "Bridget Jones's Diary".

30. Arles article: LES. As in "Les Misérables".

35. Sailor's destination in a Yeats poem: BYZANTIUM. Yeats's "Sailing to Byzantium". I wrote down BYZANTINE.

40. Workplace stds. enforcer: OSHA

41. Fluffy accessory: BOA

42. Prefix with directional: UNI. Unidirectional. Penned in ERN, it's actually "Directional suffix".

43. Takes away: DETRACTS

46. Z4 automaker: BMW. Car make/model is definitely my weak point.

54. Winning game line: OOO. Tick-tack-toe.

55. Narrow furrow: STRIA. The answer emerged itself.

56. "__ All That": 1999 comedy: SHE'S

57. Big name in water filters: BRITA. No idea. No filter in our kitchen.

59. Sport with mallets: POLO

62. Provide power to: ENABLE

64. Hidden: CLOAKED

69. To an extreme degree: AWFULLY. Did you know immediately that the clue is asking for an adverb?

72. Within arm's length of: NEXT TO

73. Twosomes: DYADS. Dy(0) is a prefix for "two".

76. Gustave who illustrated classics: DORE. Stranger to me. Gustave Doré (French) illustrated Cervantes's "Don Quixote". Poe's "The Raven", Milton's "Paradise Lost", etc.

77. Works up a sweater: KNITS

79. Multi-vol. references: OEDS (Oxford English Dictionaries)

81. Early aft. hour: ONE PM

83. Java: JOE. Coffee.

84. Slightly: A TAD

87. Charleston, WV-to-Charlotte dir.: SSE

88. Edited version seen in theaters: FINAL CUT

91. Year in Nero's reign: LIX. Roman numeral 59. Very frustrating clue. Nero ruled from 54 to 68 A.D.

92. Corned beef holder: RYE. Reuben sandwich.

93. Military band wind: FIFE

95. "That's it!": AHA

96. Old bath water quality: TEPIDNESS. Odd use of "old".

104. Mazatlán Mrs.: SRA (Señora). Then we also have MMES (82D. Fr. titles). Madames.

105. Chill out, slangily: UNLAX. New slang to me. RELAX wouldn't fit.

106. Roman sun god: SOL

107. Ones bound by blood: KIN. I often forget that the plural form of KIN is still KIN.

108. Chant at a Lakers game: KOBE. Kobe Bryant. Stumper for me.

111. Without a specific goal: IDLY

118. Mess up: RUIN

119. Celtic language spoken in France: BRETON

120. 2008 Harlan Coben thriller: HOLD TIGHT. No idea. See the book cover.

121. Lotto-like game: KENO

122. Leapt: SPRANG. A bunch of consonants.

123. Premium movie channel that dropped its "!" in 2005: STARZ. Unknown to me also. I don't think we have this channel.

124. Took care of: DID

Down:

1. Helpful URL link: FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions). Nailed it.

3. Overcharge, in slang: SOAK. Learned this slang a few months ago.

4. Long-time CBS news anchor Jim: JENSEN. He died before I came to the US, so no, I don't know him.

5. HIV-treating drug: AZT. The first drug approved for the treatment of AIDS. Have never heard of it.

6. Part of RAM: Abbr.: MEM (Memory). RAM = Random Access Memory. Desperate clue/answer.

7. Sch. whose mascot is Rhody the Ram: URI (University of Rhode Island). I failed again.

8. Play __: feign sleep: POSSUM

9. Even more itsy-bitsy: TEENSIER

10. "How's that again?": HUH

11. Controversial conflict since 2003: IRAQ WAR. Great fill.

12. Variety show: REVUE

13. Hit the slopes: SKIED. Hit is past tense here.

15. Words of emphasis: BY GOSH

16. Planning aid: AGENDA BOOK. I just call it personal organizer.

17. Old Testament prophet: HOSEA. Minor prophets.

18. Highfalutin: ARTSY

20. Instrument featured in Berlioz's "Harold in Italy": VIOLA. Easy guess.

29. Civil rights activist Jackson: JESSE. Reverend Jesse Jackson. I bet he wishes he could grab the spotlight and offer Tiger Woods some help.

31. Double __ Oreo: STUF. First time I saw this entry in a Xword.

32. Baked brunch dishes: QUICHES. Yummy.

33. 116-Down's last VP: HST. And FDR (116D. See 33-Down).

34. Like an expired license: NOT VALID

35. Backyard parties, briefly: BBQS

36. Kids: YOUTH

37. Old name of Congo: ZAIRE (1971-97)

38. Sworn __: given the oath of office for: IN AS. Doubt I'd get the AS part without the crossing help.

43. Amounts to take: DOSAGES

44. Actress Meyers: ARI. So happy I finally remember her name.

45. One may be backhand: CATCH

47. Whacked arcade critter: MOLE. Was ignorant of the Whac-A-Mole game at all.

48. Fuel for the fire: WOOD

50. __ du Soleil: CIRQUE

52. One with an option to buy, perhaps: TENANT. Nice clue too.

57. Eclipse, as the sun: BLOT OUT

58. Herbal quaff: RED TEA. Chinese call black tea as RED TEA.

59. Some polytheists: PAGANS

61. Formal neckwear, perhaps: SILK TIES

63. Fight in a ring: BOX. Verb.

67. "The Seduction of Joe __": Alda film" : TYNAN. Have faintly heard of this film. Someone must have mentioned it at the Comments section before.

68. Barely walked: TODDLED

69. Fast and furious, e.g.: Abbr.: ADJS. Excellent clue. Both fast and furious are adjectives.

70. Makes a play for: WOOS. "Make a play for" is a new idiom to me.

71. 1989 Tom Petty hit: FREE FALLIN'. Here is a clip. It's not stored in my memory.

74. Big name in snowblowers: DEERE. Toro too.

75. Neuters: SPAYS. Ouch.

78. Rhoda's mom: IDA. Again, got her name from crosses.

80. Sassy one: SNIP. Unaware of this definition of snip.

84. Attach: AFFIX. Wrote down ADD TO first.

85. Duck chorus: QUACKING. Lovely.

86. What the Earth turns on: AXIS

89. City near Buenos Aires: LA PLATA. No idea. See the map. Literally "The Silver".

90. Backer of Fidel: CHE (Guevara). They were comrades.

94. Answer to one's own rhetorical question, perhaps: I SAY NO. Nice answer.

96. Dimes, to dollars: TENTHS. Did not come to me easily.

97. '90s TV toon therapist: DR KATZ. Looks like a fun cartoon. I've never heard of it though. No idea. Katze is German for "cat". Don't know what Katz means.

98. Vocalist Judd: NAOMI. So is Wynonna.

99. Peculiarity: QUIRK

100. Excessive: UNDUE. As undue/excessive force.

101. Take by force: USURP

103. Its symbol is Sn: TIN. Oh, good to learn.

109. Mavs' city: BIG D. Dallas Mavericks the NBA team.

110. Like the pre-coll. supplies market: ELHI. EL(ementary) + HI(gh School).

112. The NFL's Mannings, e.g.: QBS. Eli Manning & Peyton Manning are both quarterbacks.

113. Parisian turndown: NON

114. Spicy: HOT

115. Portuguese "she": ELA. It's always clued as "Guido's high note" in our old puzzle.

117. P. & L. column heading: YTD (Year to Date). P. &L. = Profit & Loss. I was at sea.

Answer grid.

C.C.

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.