Wednesday March 24, 2010 Peter Abide

Theme: Name That Tune - All of the song titles consist of a girl's name in possessive form and a word that describes the tune itself.

17A. John Denver #1 hit: ANNIE'S SONG. Here is the clip. I like his "Take Me Home, Country Roads". He looked so innocent in "Oh, God!".

39A. "Guys and Dolls" showstopper: ADELAIDE'S LAMENT. Waiting for Clear Ayes to find the right clip. Mystery tune for me.

61A. "Dr. Zhivago" melody: LARA'S THEME. What's your favorite scene in "Dr. Zhivago"?

67A. With 68-Across and 69-Across, classic game show, and this puzzle's title: NAME

68A. See 67-Across: THAT

69A. See 67-Across: TUNE

This is the first time I saw a theme unifier split in the bottom of the grid in a LAT puzzle. Rather unique and refreshing. Can you find other song titles that fit the same pattern?

I've never watched "Name That Tune", though the answer emerged very quickly. I must have heard of it somewhere before.

Quite a few two-word entries in this puzzle, I counted 14. Nice & smooth puzzle from Peter Abide. This might be his LA Times debut.

Across:

1. Hippo's attire in "Fantasia": TUTU

9. Sun ray: BEAM

13. Actress Lena: OLIN. She is in "Chocolat".

14. "Lion's share" fabulist: AESOP. The saying "Familiarity breeds contempt" comes from his "The Fox and the Lion".

16. Hockey great Phil, familiarly: ESPO. Short for Esposito. I can never remember his name.

19. Largest of the Near Islands: ATTU. The Near Islands are the westernmost Aleutian island.

20. Place for a massage: DAY SPA

21. Campaign funders: FAT CATS. I like how it crosses MOUSY (12D. Meek).

23. Locale in a 1987 Cheech Marin title: EAST LA

26. "Yay!": OH BOY

27. Charon's river: STYX. In Hades.

30. Rub elbows (with): HOBNOB

32. Western __: history class, briefly: CIV (Civilization)

33. Industry kingpin: CZAR. More common than TSAR when applied to business/political big shot, right?

35. Bullies: ABUSES

42. Mississippi River explorer: DE SOTO (Hernando). I confuse him with Juan Ponce de León, who discovered Florida.

44. Baby talk word: GOO

45. Trial sites: VENUES

48. Measuring tool: RULER. Oh, the school measuring tool.

51. Billiards blunder: MISCUE

54. Fork or spoon: UTENSIL. Hmm, not if you have a DF mind as Dennis does.

56. Longtime buddy: OLD PAL

60. __-Honey: candy: BIT-O. Have never heard of this candy.

64. "Cool" rapper?: ICE-T. Thought of LL. Cool J.

65. Polished: SUAVE

66. They're removed via shafts: ORES. Nice new clue.

Down:

1. Repulsive sort: TOAD. Frog too.

2. Bone near the funny bone: ULNA. Literally "elbow" in Latin.

4. Like many salons: UNISEX

5. Andalusia abodes: CASAS. Spanish for "house". Alliteration. Italian "house" is CASA also.

7. Prefix with metric: ISO

8. Informal discussion: CONFAB

9. Shell collector, maybe: BEACH BUM

10. Cornerstone abbr.: ESTAB (Established). Always want a D in the end.

11. Is __: likely will: APT TO

15. Org. for drivers?: PGA. The question mark should lead you to golf. I hope Tiger wins the Masters. Tired of this endless scandal, so distracting.

18. Eco-friendly fed gp.: EPA

22. "Tough luck": TOO BAD

24. Senator Cochran of Mississippi: THAD. How do you pronoun Cochran? We also have SESS (41. Meeting of Cong.)

25. Legendary siren: LORELEI. On the Rhine. In the Valley of Lorelei (also spelled as Loreley).

27. Big batch: SCAD. Only used in plural form, isn't it?

29. Part of YSL: YVES

31. "The Lion King" lioness: NALA. The "Born Free" lioness is ELSA.

34. Temple area of Jerusalem: ZION. Jerusalem's Mount Zion.

36. "Sonic the Hedgehog" developer: SEGA

37. Grandson of Eve: ENOS. Son of Seth.

40. It includes terms of endearment: LOVE NOTE. Sweet!

46. Diacritical pair of dots: UMLAUT. The diacritical mark over a vowel in German words. Like the one above o in Schröder.

47. On a winning streak: RED-HOT

48. Apply before cooking, as spice to meat: RUB IN

49. New York city: UTICA

50. "Who cares if they do?!": LET 'EM

52. Math subgroup: COSET. Got the answer via crosses.

53. Last: Abbr.: ULT (Ultimate)

55. They, in Calais: ILS. French for "they". Nice rhyme. Calais (KAL-ey) the French seaport is on the Strait of Dover.

57. Llama land: PERU. Alliteration again. Rich Norris alliterates every possible foreign word.
58. Church approval: AMEN

59. Suffix with Congo: LESE. Congolese. Very straightforward prefix/suffix clue today. Happy, Jazzbumpa?

Answer grid.

Picture of the Day: Here is a gorgeous photo from our fellow LAT solver Annette. She said: "I'm the blonde on the right in the bright colors. My sister Bobbie is opposite me, and her daughter Heidi is in the middle. It was taken at a Bridal Show a few weeks ago, while planning my niece's wedding".

Ming Tian Jian!

C.C.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010 Merle Baker

Theme: GRAND FINALE (61A: Big finish, and what the first words of the answers to starred clues can be) - The first word of each theme entry can follow the word GRAND. Superb tie-in phrase.

17A: *Sam in "Casablanca," eg.: PIANO PLAYER. "Casablanca", my favorite movie but I'm glad we weren't looking for a last name or the actor's name. (Dooley Wilson) He wasn't playing a GRAND PIANO, I know that.

36A: *Fast paced: SLAM-BANG. SLAM-BANG is what NASCAR racing has been this year. And while GRAND SLAM could express some of the accidents this year, it really means a sweeping success or total victory.

42A: *Collapsible headgear: OPERA HAT. (a top hat). GRAND OPERA is big production with lavish costumes and sets and a serious topic.

11D: *Hank Aaron's 6,856 is the career record: TOTAL BASES. TOTAL BASES refers to the number of bases a player has gained by his hits alone. Getting on base any other way isn't counted and any advances once on base aren't counted either. A single counts as one base, a double is two, a triple is three, and a home run is four. Combine them all and you get the GRAND TOTAL.

29D: *1962 Gene Chandler hit: DUKE OF EARL. The song. The meaning of GRAND DUKE at Wikipedia. (It's more than this but less than that.You can figure it out for yourself, if you want.)

And on that note, I'll say Argyle here. I kept waiting for Cruciverb last night but it didn't happen. I know I can count on my fellow blogsters to fill in the thin parts of my commentary. It's what makes this site GRAND!

Across:

1A: "The — Kid: early TV Western: CISCO. Very early. Song by War.

6A: Suit parts: VESTS

11A: "__ the season ...": 'TIS

14A: Choir members: ALTOS

15A: Even if, for short: ALTHO

16A: Cal. neighbor: ORE.

19A: Spinner: TOP

20A: Squealed, so to speak: SANG

21A: Be under the weather: AIL

22A: Formally unsay: RECANT

24A: Cutlass or 88: OLDS. Oldsmobile models.

26A: She plays Julia in "Julie & Julia": MERYL. Watched it this week. Agree with the rest of you; wanted more Julia, less Julie.

27A: Tack on: ADD

30A: Standards of excellence: IDEALS

32A: CEO's degree: MBA. Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Master of Business Administration (MBA)

34A: Dirty: GRUBBY

39A: "Wake Up With Al" weatherman: ROKER Best known as the weather anchor for NBC's Today show. On July 20, 2009, he began co-hosting his new morning show "Wake Up with Al" on The Weather Channel.

40A: China's Mao __-tung: TSE

41A: Studio stand: EASEL

44A: "Honor Thy Father" author Gay: TALESE. Cover. Any readers?

45A: Sun, to Esteban: SOL

46A: Outcome: UPSHOT

48A: Canonized 26-Down: STE.. 26D: Swiss miss, maybe: Abbr.: MLLE.. Hands up for those that saw Swiss Miss and thought "Cocoa!".

49A: Festival showings, perhaps: FILMS

51A: Quartz variety: ONYX

53A: Began the betting: OPENED

55A: UN anti-child-labor agcy.: ILO. International Labour Organization

56A: Old oath: "EGAD!"

60A: Menu phrase: A LA

64A: Roofing material: TAR

65A: Part of a pound: OUNCE

66A: Best-seller list entry: NOVEL

67A: NBC fixture for nearly 35 yrs.: SNL. Since 1975.

68A: Dirty campaign tactic: SMEAR

69A: Show reverence, in a way: KNEEL

Down:

1D: Limits: CAPS

2D: Hip bones: ILIA

3D: Ollie's partner: STAN. Laurel and Hardy.

4D: Zaire, today: CONGO

5D: Disney toon panda, "Special Agent ": OSO

6D: Travel bag: VALISE

7D: Airline to Tel Aviv: EL AL. Literally "skyward".

8D: Farm home: STY

9D: "Spider-Man 3" actress Russell: THERESA. Pic.

10D: More ticked off: SORER

12D: Heavy metal: IRON

13D: Back-to-school mo.: SEPT.

18D: Rice source: PADDY. Sorta like saying your wheat comes from a field.

23D: One of a drum set pair: CYMBAL

25D: Scales of the zodiac: LIBRA

27D: Soil-related prefix: AGRO

28D: Fails to grasp: DROPS

31D: Helpers: Abbr.: ASSTS.

33D: " __ of robins ...": Kilmer: A NEST. Another reference to the poem "Trees" by Joyce Kilmer.

35D: Capital east of the Elbe River: BERLIN

37D: Substantial: MEATY

38D: Elation: GLEE

40D: Base melody: TAPS. A military base.

43D: Boring: HUMDRUM

44D: Like a __ bricks: TON OF

47D: Obama attorney general Eric: HOLDER. A pic with Obama.

50D: Tyke's blocks: LEGOS

52D: Arc lamp gas: XENON

53D: Granola ingredient: OATS

54D: Word after flight or floor: PLAN

55D: Ancient Peruvian: INCA

57D: Contributed: GAVE

58D: Away from the wind: ALEE

59D: Farmer's place, in song: DELL. ''The Farmer in the Dell''.

62D: "Wheel of Fortune" buy: AN 'E'

63D: Printer need: INK

Answer grid.

Picture of the Day: Here is a grand photo of our fellow LAT solver Spitzboov "The Rascal". In his own words: "Sptzboov, in blue hat, sending greetings from the stern of the SS American Victory moored at Channelside, Tampa, FL in Feb., 2010, with his son, Peter."

Argyle