Thursday February 25, 2010 Gary Steinmehl

Theme: HEAD (65A. Word that can precede each word in 17-, 38- and 61-Across) - All three component words in each theme entry can follow HEAD.

17A. Detectives assigned to unsolved mysteries?: COLD CASE HUNTERS. Head Cold. Headcase (a mentally unstable person). Headhunters (professional recruiters).

38A. Intermission queues?: RESTROOM LINES. Headrest. Headroom (Nautical term for "the clear space between two decks", new word to me). Headlines.

61A. Shower gifts for brie lovers?: CHEESEBOARD SETS. Headcheese is defined as "A jellied loaf or sausage made from chopped and boiled parts of the feet, head, and sometimes the tongue and heart of an animal, usually a hog". Yuck! I am glad I've never had (or heard) of it. Headboard (of bed). Headsets.

I've never seen a theme with a defining word that can precede three different words in each theme entry. Very ambitious, isn't it? Reminds me of this constructor's last "LINCOLN CENTER" puzzle. Just ingenious! Gary Steinmehl not only placed LINCOLN CENTER in the very heart of the grid, he also embedded ABE in each of the four theme answers.

Although I am not familiar with every "head" word, the resulting theme phrases all sound natural and fun to me. I also love the twisty clues for the below small words:

27A. Stable diet?: HAY. Nice play on "Staple diet".

29D. House call?: YEA. The congressional vote.

36D. Like a whip?: SMART. Idiom: smart as a whip. I was thinking of the lashing whip.

64D. Fled or bled: RAN. Good rhyme.

Across:

1. Quick kiss: PECK. I like how it crosses PACK UP (1D. Get ready to go).

5. Bond player, seven times: MOORE (Roger)

10. Confiscated auto: REPO

14. End of a fronton game?: ALAI. Literally the end of the term Jai Alai. Fronton is the Jai Alai arena. Stumped many of us last time.

15. Back list: INDEX

16. Court cry: OYEZ. And NINE (19. High Court count). The High Court (Supreme Court) has NINE justices.

21. Calls, in a way: RADIOS

22. Waste not: USE. Just could not think of a three-letter word synonym for SAVE.

23. Navig. guide: GPS

26. Quarterback Roethlisberger: BEN. With the Pittsburgh Steelers. A pretty good golfer.

30. Soak through: PERMEATE. Nice word.

33. Siesta shawl: SERAPE. It's a wrap!

35. Local groups: UNIONS

37. Start of a theory: IDEA. Ah, no wordplay on "start".

42. Hawaii's "Valley Isle": MAUI

43. Midwestern landscape: PLAINS

44. Ring setting: CIRCUS. Was thinking of the wedding ring.

47. Carrying capacities: ARMLOADS. Came to me slowly.

51. Pavement warning: SLO. Wrote down WET first.

52. Word processor setting: TAB

54. Mad Hatter's drink: TEA. "Alice in Wonderland".

55. Fjord relative: RIA. Narrow inlet. Fjord is the Norwegian long & narrow inlet.

56. Like some bio majors: PRE-MED

59. Daphne eloped with him on "Frasier": NILES (Crane). I've never seen "Frasier".

66. Crucial artery: AORTA

67. Regarding, to counsel: IN RE

69. Watch secretly: SPY ON

70. "Just a coupla __": SECS

Down:

2. Kay Thompson's impish six-year-old: ELOISE. The girl who lives at the Plaza Hotel.

3. Mobile maker: CALDER (Alexander). The sculptor who invented the mobile art.

4. William the pirate: KIDD. William the Kidd. He was hanged for piracy in 1701. New to me. Interesting crossing with KIDDO (20A. Buddy boy).

5. Hamm of soccer: MIA. Wife of Nomar Garciaparra (ex-Red Sox).

6. Switch positions: ONS. Or OFFS.

7. River forming part of Germany's eastern border: ODER. Kazie just mentioned yesterday that it flows north to the Baltic.

8. Betty Ford Center program: REHAB

9. Oozes out: EXUDES

10. Prefix with tiller: ROTO. Rototiller.

11. Sleeping aid: EYESHADE. Got a lovely pillow-like lavender-scented eyeshade for Christmas.

12. A pop: PER

13. Jigger's 1¹/₂: Abbr.: OZS. Dictionary defines jigger as "a small whiskey glass holding 1¹/₂ ounce".

18. Clear and convincing: COGENT

24. Poker holding: PAIR

25. Condescend: STOOP. Penned in DEIGN.

31. Partner of words: MUSIC. Shouldn't it be "Partner of lyrics"?

32. Gay leader?: ENOLA. Enola Gay, the WWII bomber. Got me.

34. Unilever laundry soap brand: RINSO. I've never heard of this brand.

38. Train guide: RAIL

39. Continental: EUROPEAN

41. Away from the coast: INLAND

42. Roast hosts, for short: MCS

45. Sport __: family vehicles: UTES. We had plenty of discussions (and whining) about this fill before.

46. Equal to, with "the": SAME AS

48. Actress Dahl: ARLENE

49. No-calorie cola: DIET RC. Have never tried RC Cola.

50. Gets fresh with: SASSES. Classic right or bottom edge word. Four Ss.

53. Dizzy's jazz: BEBOP

57. Wine list heading: REDS

58. Fishing craft: DORY

60. Cow-horned goddess: ISIS. Maybe JD can tell us more about this Egyptian goddess of fertility.

61. Comic Margaret: CHO. Of Korean descent. Her stuff is often too racy for my taste. Cho is Cao in Chinese.

62. Cut off: HEW

Answer grid.

C.C.

Interview with Scott Atkinson

Scott Atkinson made his crossword debut in July 2008. Since then, he has had six more puzzles published by the LA Times.

Mr. Atkinson also had two puzzles published by the NY Times, including the very creative "Time after Time". This work preceded Pancho Harrison's "Time after Time", which many of us enjoyed. His puzzles also appeared in the much revered NY Sun.

What is the inspiration for this puzzle?

For me, theme inspiration is often provided by a phrase that sounds snappy to me. In this case, NAILBITER just seemed like a fun and descriptive term. So then you see what about that phrase might help you build a theme. In this case the double meaning for "nail" provides the opportunity for a wordplay theme. What are other pointy metal fasteners that can be used as the first part of phrases that have nothing to do with their meanings as fasteners? The other theme answers fit the bill.

And what are the challenges in putting this grid together?

There has to be lively fill, since the theme answers are not that long and the theme is not very complicated. I hope the fill here meets that challenge.

What is your background and how did you get into crossword constructing?

I have enjoyed crosswords for 30 years. When I learned that some editors, like Rich Norris. will accept submissions from newbies, I decided to give it a whirl. I have some friends who test-solved for a while until I learned what worked. Mentor extraordinaire Nancy Salomon really taught me how to develop a good wordplay theme and co-wrote my first one to help me get my foot in the door.

What is a great puzzle to you? And what kind of theme/fill wow you?

I love the low word count puzzles with wide open white spaces. A puzzle like that is fun to solve, whether it has a theme or not. And you know that the constructor put a lot of effort into it. But I love them all, really. Basically any puzzle without Roman numeral arithmetic problems makes me happy.

I noticed you were first published by LAT only in July 2008. Have you experienced Writer's Block in terms of theme ideas? If so, how do you deal with this spell of lack of inspiration?

When I first started making puzzles, theme ideas just came pouring out on a daily basis. Now I have to wait for random inspiration. This comes less frequently, but since it's not my day job I don't worry much in a dry spell. To deal with it, I'll mess around making some themeless puzzles.

How does being a constructor affect the way you solve and enjoy a puzzle now?

It definitely gives you appreciation for how hard it is to make a great puzzle, and how rare and wonderful it is to have one of your works accepted by one of the high-quality editors in the biz.

What kind of puzzles do you tackle every day and who are your favorite constructors?

I always do the LA Times, of course. It's the one carried in my local paper. New York Times as well. My favorite constructors are Patrick Berry, Nancy Salomon, Liz Gorski, Paula Gamache, Rich Norris (of course), Mike Shenk, Bob Klahn, and Kevin Der, whose themeless grids are just amazing.

Besides crosswords, what else do you do for fun?

I am an enthusiastic family guy and love to hang out with my wife, kids, and dogs. Also, endurance sports are fun for me. My biggest achievement (prior to having a puzzle accepted by Rich Norris, that is) was tackling and finishing the Hawaii Ironman triathlon in 2005. And I'm looking forward to finally getting certified in scuba next month.