Friday January 1, 2010 Andy E. Sawyer

Theme: Happy New Year! - The first words of three familiar phrases are Scottish-ized and together they form the song title "Auld Lang Syne".

20A. Steamy Western attraction, today?: AULD (Old) FAITHFUL. Old Faithful Geyser is in Yellowstone National Park. Why is "Western" capitalized in the clue?

36A. Airport convenience, today?: LANG (Long) TERM PARKING

52A. "I wouldn't have said this, but ...," today?: SYNE (Since) YOU ASKED. "Syne" is Scottish for "since".

Quite simple a theme concept, which resulted in sparse numbers of theme answers I suppose. But also plenty of long & lively non-theme fill.

I am very fond of the "it" clues in the grid:

2D. It sucks: VACUUM

33D. The one who started it: AGGRESSOR

45D. It turns litmus paper blue: ALKALI

How is your solving experience today? I felt it's an easier Friday than our recent offerings. Still had to cheat though.

Across:

1. "Variations on 'America'" composer: IVES (Charles). Wikipedia says he is widely regarded as one of the first American composers of international significance. I was stumped.

5. Hurry: RACE

9. Lit: AFIRE

14. Cantata composer: BACH. "Fugue composer" too.

15. Birds that lay green eggs: EMUS. Yep, their eggs are dark green. Edible, right, Kazie?

16. Activist with Raiders: NADER (Ralph). Dader's Raiders.

17. Behold, to Brutus: ECCE. "ECCE homo" (Behold the Man).

18. Hot flower: MOLTEN LAVA. Need to parse "flow-er" here as things that flow.

22. Oaty cereal: MUESLI. Not to my taste.

23. Chose not to discuss now: TABLED

27. '70s Citroën models: SMS. Have never heard of Citroën SM. What does SM stand for?

28. JFK, LBJ, etc.: INITS. Can't mislead me into Democrats/Presidents abbr. any more.

32. Muhammad's daughter: LAILA

33. San __ Fault: ANDREAS. Just learned that the San Francisco 1906 earthquake ruptured along the San Andreas Fault.

35. Scratch: CLAW. Oh, scratch from cat.

40. Designing first name: OLEG (Cassini). Designer for Jackie Kennedy.

41. Complains: REPINES. New word to me. Same root as opine, I presume.

42. '60s attorney general Ramsey __: CLARK. Under LBJ. I remember the brouhaha surrounding his defense of Saddam.

44. Lightheaded: GIDDY

45. 1977 Grammy-winning Steely Dan album: AJA. Pronounced like "Asia". Jeannie's favorite album.

48. Out: ASLEEP. Got me. Great clue.

50. "CSI" set: DNA LAB

56. Probably not a teacher's pet: CLASS CLOWN. Thought of Dennis.

59. Prego alternative: RAGU

60. Asian capital: HANOI. Vietnam's capital.

62. Lighting svc.: ELEC. Have never seen "service" abbreviated as svc before.

63. Embellish: ADORN

64. Get smart with: SASS

65. Gossip: DIRT

Down:

1. Steel girders: I-BEAMS

3. Bk. after Proverbs: ECCLES. And ESTH (8D. Bible bk. named for an orphaned maiden). Bible books are my weak points, that's for sure.

4. Gets rid of: SHEDS

5. What's left: REMAINDER. Wrote down REMAINING.

6. Pierre's possessive: A MOI. French for "mine". Alliteration.

7. Religious offshoot: CULT. Wanted SECT.

9. Like many awards: ANNUAL

10. Alternative plans: FALLBACKS

11. Wash. neighbor: IDA. In my mind, Idaho is full of potato fields.

12. Gun in a garage: REV. Gun/Rev your engine. I was picturing the real gun.

13. Important time: ERA

19. Terrestrial newt: EFT. Young newt.

21. City where General Motors was founded: FLINT (Michigan)

24. "Hi-__ Hi-Lo": LILI. The song was featured in Leslie Caron's "Lili". Have never heard of it before.

25. Vivacity: ELAN

26. Deputy __: cartoon canine: DAWG. Easy guess.

29. Discount store abbr.: IRREG

30. Allegro et al.: TEMPI

31. Pleasing to the palate: SAPID. This word sure does not look tasty.

34. Areas for buggies: SAND DUNES. Obtained the answer from crosses.

36. Ricky Martin's "Livin' La Vida __": LOCA. Great song.

37. "__ fair in ...": ALL'S. All's fair in love and war.

38. C&W singer McCoy: NEAL. Here is his "Wink". Alien to me.

39. Former U.S. soccer team captain Claudio: REYNA. Nope, sorry. Don't follow soccer.

43. Adds to the database: KEYS IN

46. Predatory seabird: JAEGER. How do you pronounce this bird: YEY-ger or JEY-ger?

47. Kidnap: ABDUCT

49. __ Park: Pirates' stadium: PNC. Named after PNC Bank.

51. Comparable to a beet: AS RED. As red as a beet.

53. Skull and Bones members: ELIS. George W Bush was a member, so was his father.

54. Star Wars character who uses strange syntax: YODA. "Do or do not. There is no try".

55. Night fliers: OWLS

56. Chinese tea: CHA. Yes, literally "tea".

57. Boy: LAD

58. Spanish year: ANO. ¡Felíz año nuevo!

In his letter to constructors yesterday about Dan Naddor's passing, Rich Norris said: "... Dan was one of my favorites, a fun and imaginative guy to work with. I will miss him. His unique style, creativity, energy and willingness to learn were assets that catapulted him to the top echelon of the puzzle constructors since his 2006 debut. In the three-plus years that followed, the LA times published more than 100 of his puzzles. His legacy will live on through much of 2010: there are quite a few more of his puzzles to be edited and published over the coming months ..." A tough loss for Rich too.

Answer grid.

C.C.

Thursday, December 31, 2009 Bill Thompson

Theme: CATCH (65A. Verb associated with the beginnings of 18-, 26-, 43- and 57-Across)

18A. Impossible to get close to: COLD AS ICE. Catch a Cold.

26A. Surrender: WAVE A WHITE FLAG. Catch a Wave.

43A. "Jerry Maguire" catchphrase: SHOW ME THE MONEY. Catch a Show.

57A. Right-click result, often: POP-UP MENU. Catch a Pop-up (fly ball).

I like how CATCH is gridded at the very end, providing the ultimate "Aha" moment. And of course, at my solving level, I'd prefer the unifying clue to be "Seize, or verb associated with the beginnings of 18-, 26-, 43- and 57-Across).

Was surprised to see VETCH (28D. Climbing legume). I faintly remember Lemonade mentioned that this plant often appeared in his parents' old old NYT puzzles. No relationship to kvetch.

A bit of slog for me. I was not engaged and did not give the puzzle its deserved attention. Still in shock and saddened by the news of Dan Naddor. His family told me that Dan passed away on the eve of Dec 28, 2009, from the complications of the cancer treatment (radiation to head/neck). He was considered cancer-free.

Dan began constructing crosswords 5 years ago when he was diagnosed with cancer at the back of his throat at the age of 48. He quickly became probably the most prolific LAT constructor in the last few years. He told me constructing crossword distracted his brain so he would not focus on how lousy he felt physically. He family believed that this prolonged his life and gave him something to strive for & enjoy. Dan enjoyed reading our comments and "entertaining my friends each week in puzzle-land".

His family have started a Facebook page under Dan Naddor and said the crossword people are welcome to visit and post. They also mentioned that he had several puzzles on queue in LA Times and NY Times, so we will see his byline in 2010. Dan, you will be deeply missed!

Across:

1. Sluglike "Star Wars" crime lord: JABBA. Jabba the Hutt. Scrabbly corner.

6. Sound from someone who's down: SOB

9. Legal orders: WRITS

14. To go, in Grenoble: ALLER. French for "go". Grenoble is a city in SE France.

15. Supermarket chain founded in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.: IGA (Independent Grocers Alliance). Obtained the answer with the crosses.

16. Wore: HAD ON

17. Scrabble 10-pointer: Z TILE

20. Lifetime-guaranteed lighters: ZIPPOS. Did quite a bit of Intellectual Property investigation for Zippo in China.

22. Soft drink choice: DIET COKE

23. Out of balance: A-LOP. Yep, it exists in some dictionary Argyle checked last time.

25. __ Fáil: Irish coronation stone: LIA. Lia Fáil is pronounced like "Lee-a Fall". Had a ton of DF fun in the old TMS Daily puzzle.

33. Having a lot to lose, maybe?: OBESE. The clue sounds very Dan Naddor, doesn't it?

34. "Waiting for Lefty" playwright: ODETS (Clifford)

35. Mme. in Madrid: SRA

37. Beach toy: KITE. PAIL too.

38. Circle Line : Hudson :: Bateaux-Mouches : __: SEINE. Bateaux-Mouches ("Fly Boats". Bateaux = boats. Mounches = Flies) are open excursion boats that provide visitors to Paris with a view of the city from along the river Seine, a la Wikipedia.

39. Smart guy?: ALEC. Smart Alec.

40. Wall St. enforcer: SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission)

41. Wooden shoe: SABOT. Same root as sabotage, according to Kazie.

42. Send, so to speak: ELATE. Slangy "send", right?

46. Moo goo __ pan: GAI. Gai is literally "chicken" in Cantonese.

47. Apartment manager, for short: SUPE. Only in crossword world.

48. Lark: ESCAPADE. One of my favorite entries in this grid.

53. Indiana and Purdue, e.g.: RIVALS. Oh, I was unaware of this fact. Don't follow college sports.

59. Knot over: RETIE

60. Spitting __: IMAGE

61. Oven cleaner component: LYE

62. "__, Therefore I Am": Dennis Miller book: I RANT. See the book cover. New to me. Dennis Miller does rant a lot though.

63. Checked out before a heist: CASED

64. Nonexpert: LAY. Wrote down HAM first.

Down:

1. Cat's passion: JAZZ. Cool cat jazz.

2. Some glee club members: ALTI. Plural of alto?

4. Semi-soft Italian cheese: BEL PAESE. Literally "Beautiful Country" in Italian. I've never had it.

5. Anatomical rings: AREOLAE. Singular is Areola: Are(a) + Ola. The nipple rings.

6. [thus]: SIC. [error left as is].

7. Common prayer opening: O GOD. Not O LORD?

8. Island in the Java Sea: BALI

9. Hypotheticals: WHAT IFS

10. Imp: RASCAL

11. Personal: Pref.: IDIO. Or "Peculiar: Pref". As in idiosyncrasy.

12. Pendulum sound: TOCK. Tick too.

13. Bygone dagger: SNEE. Learned from doing crossword.

24. "Friends" friend: PHOEBE. "Smelly Cat, Smelly Cat ...".

26. Stir-fry cookware: WOKS

27. "__ Irish Rose": ABIE'S. Abie is Irish Rose's lover.

29. Nincompoop: IDIOT

30. Tithe portions: TENTHS

31. Narnia lion: ASLAN. Turkish for "lion". I've never seen "The Chronicles of Narnia". The "Born Free" lioness is ELSA.

32. Norwegian marathoner Waitz: GRETE. This lady won a record nine-time New York City Marathon. Not a familiar name to me at all. Is Grete pronounced like "great"?

36. __-deucy: ACEY. Guessed.

38. "I do not like them, __": Seuss line: SAM-I-AM. From "Green Eggs and Ham".

39. Medicinal plant: ALOE VERA

41. Traded: SWAPPED

42. Derived from observation: EMPIRIC. John Locke is the founder of Empiricism.

44. Model railroad scale: O GAUGE. Or O SCALE. We had this clue before.

45. Part of EEC: Abbr.: EUR. EEC = European Economic Community

48. Like "Lawrence of Arabia": EPIC

49. Vedic drink for an immortal soul: SOMA. The drug in "Brave New World".

50. Balancing experts, briefly?: CPAS. Nailed it.

51. Valley: DELL

52. One-named New Age singer: ENYA

54. Rat tail?: A TAT. Rat-a-tat. Good clue.

55. Friend of Pete and Julie on "The Mod Squad": LINC

56. Brother of Abel: SETH. Broth of Cain too.

58. One-eighty: UEY. Slang for U-turn?

Answer grid.

C.C.