Thursday February 18, 2010 Damon J. Gulczynski

Theme: THE LINE (42D. Bettor's concern, which can follow each half of the answers to starred clues)

22A. *In the netherworld: DOWN BELOW. Down the Line. Below the Line.

34A. *Use bank "protection": OVERDRAW. Over the Line. Draw the Line. Bank overdraft protection.

53A. *Place where a driver may be required to stop: CROSSWALK. Cross the Line. Walk the Line.

3D. *Climber's support: TOEHOLD. Toe the Line. Hold the Line.

A special 16*15 grid. One extra column to accommodate the even-numbered central theme entry OVERDRAW.

I am not familiar with "The Line". Is it sports betting? I could only think of "The Odds".

This theme resembles Pancho Harrison's "Time and Time again" and Bruce Venzke's "Room" we had earlier this month: the unifier can follow each word of the theme entries. Very neat concept & solid theme answers. But a few groaner affixes (Four *ER suffix) as well.

Across:

1. One might read "Mom," for short: TAT. Tattoo. Gnarly start for me.

10. "Cheers" bartender: SAM. I've never watched "Cheers".

13. Green opening: ECO. Prefix (opening) meaning "green". I can hear Jazzbumpa groan.

14. Pained expression: GRIMACE

16. Trac II successor: ATRA

17. H-1 in HI, e.g.: Abbr.: RTE. I had no idea that H-1 is in HI (Hawaii).

18. Dye, usually: RECOLOR. And REHEEL (20. Do a cobbler's work).

24. Think the world of: ADORE

25. Pocket protector contents: PENS

26. Clinton was one: YALIE. Both of the Clintons went to Yale.

27. Ginormous: COLOSSAL. Nice word.

29. Lets out, maybe: ALTERS. Was thinking of "lets out" a secret. Not tailoring.

30. Some defensive linemen: ENDS

31. Storm part: EYE

32. Eggs, to Agrippa: OVA. Latin for "eggs". Agrippa was the Roman general who defeated Mark Antony and Cleopatra.

33. Lions, on a scoreboard: DET (Detroit). Detroit Lions. Why are they so bad?

36. Hist. majors' degrees: BAS

39. Allotment word: PER. Four rows of 3-letter words in Across entries.

40. Coll. dorm overseers: RAS (Residence Assistants)

41. 1944 invasion city: ST. LO. In red color. The nearby city CAEN also has 4 letters.

45. Like some bands: ONE-MAN

47. Super trendy: ULTRA HIP

49. Hackneyed: BANAL

52. Sharp-crested ridge: ARETE. Often simply clued as "Mountain ridge".

55. Cheshire Cat, notably: SMILER. The Cheshire Cat is a character from "Alice in Wonderland". He grins frequently.

56. Bat head?: ACRO. The "head" (start) of the word Acrobat.

57. Wrap up: ENVELOP

61. Do over: ITERATE

62. Indian bread: NAN. And SARI (41D. Indian garb). Indian echoes.

64. Hi-__ graphics: RES

66. Antiquity, once: ELD

Down:

1. Cookout site: TERRACE

2. Responded to, as a stoolie's tip: ACTED ON

5. Songwriter Jacques: BREL. Probably the most famous Belgian singer/songwriter.

6. Incite to pounce (on): SIC

7. Bun-making site: SALON. Was picturing bakery "bun", not hairdo.

8. Tugs' burdens: SCOWS

9. Shore flier: TERN

10. Delayed: STALLED

11. Large wardrobe: ARMOIRE. Only know the clothes meaning of wardrobe, not the cabinet.

12. Star of "I'm No Angel" (1933): MAE WEST. Full name is always desirable. A shout-out to our birthday girl Lois, the Mae West of our blog.

15D. Builder of tiny cities: MODELER. And PAYER (25D. One treating).

16. Persistently bothered: ATE AT

21. Love personified: EROS. Greek god of love.

23. Corporate rule: BYLAW. Dictionary defines it as "A law or rule governing the internal affairs of an organization".

28. Number of Sinbad's voyages: SEVEN. Oh, I was ignorant of his total voyages.

29. Nautical "Hold it!": AVAST

32. Advanced exams: ORALS

34. Australian exports: OPALS. Opal is Australia's national gemstone. Kazie has linked a few fantastic opal pictures in the past.

35. More lit: DRUNKER. Lit is a slang for "drunk". The only adjective *ER suffix.

36. Lynx family members: BOBCATS

37. Lawlessness: ANARCHY

38. Ladies of Spain: SENORAS. Nice to see SRA's full form.

43. Word-for-word: LITERAL. "Word for Word" is also a weekly program from American Public Media. One of the few Podcast I listen to.

44. Either 2 in 2 + 2 = 4, in math: OPERAND

46. Street boss?: MASON. Because mason lays brick on the street? (Updated later: Perry Mason is the boss of Della Street. Thanks, Anonymous @7:08am).

48. Like wheelchair-accessible entrances: RAMPED

50. "Inferno" author: DANTE. Waiting for Jerome to use "Hell of a writer" clue.

51. Reindeer caretakers, traditionally: ELVES

54. River dam: WEIR. New word to me.

55. Explorer Hernando de __: SOTO. The first European (Spanish) to explore Florida.

58. Thighs, at times: LAP

Happy 30+20+4-10+20-5+1-9+3-5+6+7-2+1st Birthday, Lois!

Answer grid.

C.C.

Wednesday February 17, 2010 Pete Mitchell

Theme: VOLLEYBALL GAME (54A: Activity that involves the first words of 20-, 29- and 47-Across)

20A. How some scary things go: BUMP IN THE NIGHT. A volleyball player's most important skill is bumping - passing a volleyball by bouncing it off his or her extended forearms.

29A. Not subject to change: SET IN STONE. Setting is snapping the ball upward with two hands to set up a spike.

47A. Some stilettos: SPIKE HEELS. Spiking is sending the ball forward and downward over the net by striking it overhead with an open hand.

melissa bee blogging.

According to Wikipedia, 'Volleyball has been contested as an indoor sport at the Summer Olympic Games since 1964. Beach volleyball was introduced at the 1992 Games, and has been an official Olympic sport since 1996.'

In his interview with Concord Monitor, today's constructor Pete Mitchell mentioned that one of his hobbies is playing volleyball. He used to blog the Sun Crosswords (edited by Peter Gordon). Pete's mom Sheida stopped in our blog once last March (9:34am, the 7th from bottom up). Quite a few of our regulars started on March 2, 2009. KQ, tFrank, Andrea, etc.

Across:

1. Whack, biblically: SMITE

6. Condescending sort: SNOB

10. Kodak rival: FUJI

14. Brightly colored tropical fish: TETRA

15. Chaplin's last wife: OONA. Oona O'Neill, daughter of playwright Eugene O'Neill, and Charlie Chaplin's fourth wife. Unusual inconsistency, last name clue/first name answer.

16. Road for Pilate: ITER. Literally "road" in Latin.

17. "That's __ trick!": A NEAT

18. Cutting-edge Motorola phone? RAZR. Like this.

19. Statistician's input: DATA

23. Nous minus moi? TOI. (French) Us - me = you.

24. "The loneliest number," in a 1969 hit: ONE. Three Dog Night.

25. Wasted, as a chance: LOST. Sing it, Jeff.

35. "I wish!": IF ONLY

37. On the calmer side: ALEE. Away from the wind.

38. Floors, briefly: KOS. My favorite clue. Boxing term, Knock Outs (or Knocks Out). Can cause temporary unconsciousness. So can this.

39. Wolfgang Puck's restaurant: SPAGO. Beverly Hills, Maui, Las Vegas, and Beaver Creek.

40. Third qtr. start: JUL. The third quarter of a calendar year is made up of July, August, and September.

41. Talons: CLAWS. Golden Eagle.

43. Male in an alley: TOM. Tomcat.

44. Cognac initials: VSOP. Very Superior Old Pale. Cognac is a type of brandy that is produced only in the Cognac region of western France. Time for a new avatar, santa?

46. More work: UTOPIA. Very tricky, got me. Saint Thomas More's classic masterpiece.

50. Not easy to see: TINY

51. Crimson opponent: ELI. A nickname for a Yale University student, after Yale benefactor Elihu Yale. Crimson refers to Harvard.

52. Not quite oneself: OFF

62. Perfume holder: VIAL

63. Tobacco unit: LEAF. Quite large.

64. Like chalet roofs: EAVED. Lovely.

65. Be sore: ACHE. Time for your massage.

66. Take a shot: DARE

67. Word after sing or string: ALONG. For dennis, because i know you like it when pink appears.

68. Nerve opening? NEUR. Used in the formation of compound words, e.g., neural, neurology, neuritis.

69. Lose fur: SHED

70. Common asset? SENSE. Common sense.

Down:

1. Rough guess: STAB

2. See 3-Down: MENU

3. Unit on a 2-Down: ITEM

4. Ambush: TRAP

5. Weird Al Yankovic spoof of a Michael Jackson hit: EAT IT

and 26. King ___ (Michael Jackson): OF POP

6. Airman's assignment: SORTIE

7. Early boat builder: NOAH

8. Quatre + sept: ONZE. French numbers: Four + Seven = Eleven.

9. With no exceptions: BAR NONE

10. Act nervously: FIDGET

11. Home to Zion National Park: UTAH. Stunning.

12. Rocker Joan: JETT. I Love Rock and Roll.

13. Brokerage statement subj., perhaps: IRA. Individual Retirement Account.

21. Overly curious: NOSY. Also nosey.

22. Bat's prey: INSECT. The best natural insect control.

25. Leans, as a ship: LISTS

27. "Ditto": SO AM I

28. "Star Trek" sequel, for short: TNG. The Next Generation.

and 45. "Star Trek" defenses: SHIELDS

30. Brownish gray: TAUPE

32. Giraffe cousin: OKAPI

33. Hopeless: NO WIN. A hopeless/no-win situation.

34. Exam type you can't guess on: ESSAY

36. Apollo 13 commander Jim: LOVELL. Played by Tom Hanks in the 1995 movie.

40. Average guy? JOE. Average Joe.

42. Auction unit: LOT

46. Defunct gridiron org.: USFL. United States Football League, 1983-1985.

48. Sullivan's charge in "The Miracle Worker": KELLER. Anne Sullivan was Helen Keller's teacher.

49. Emulated a couch potato: LOAFED

53. Canine woes: FLEAS. Inside, outside, you go where you please, I give you love, you just give me fleas.

54. Guilty pleasure: VICE. Do you have any?

55. Iolani Palace site: OAHU. The only official state residence of royalty in the United States, ʻIolani Palace was the official residence of the Hawaiian Kingdom's last two monarchs--King Kalakaua, who built the Palace in 1882, and his sister and successor, Queen Lili`uokalani.'

56. "Uh-huh": YEAH

57. In one's birthday suit: BARE

58. "The Wizard of Oz" family name: GALE. Dorothy Gale.

59. Bard's river: AVON. William Shakespeare is known as the "Bard of Avon".

60. Clothing store department: MEN'S

61. Fringe: EDGE

62. U-Haul rental: VAN. Four V* words in this puzzle.

Answer grid.

melissa