Friday April 16, 2010 Dan Naddor

Theme: Losing (bat)TLE - TLE in a *TTLE ending common phrases are dropped.

17. Princeton jazzman?: JERSEY CAT(TLE). Jersey Cattle. Princeton = Jersey. Jazzman = Cat.

21. "Egg-laying for Dummies," etc.? : CHICKEN LIT(TLE). Chicken Little.

27. What a New York baseball owner would do to ensure player fitness?: TEST ONE'S MET(TLE). Test One's Mettle. Owner for the NY Mets.

42. Sign outside a boarded-up JFK?: AIRPORT SHUT(TLE). Dan also gave us ARR (37A. LAX datum) and TSA (31D. Airport safety gp.). TSA = Transportation Security Administration. Established after 9/11.

50. Little Londoner?: PEANUT BRIT(TLE). Peanut Brittle.

56. Carpet-cleaning android?: VACUUM BOT(TLE). Vacuum Bottle. Android = Bot. Short for Robot.

Besides battle, I could also think of mottle, scuttle, whittle. What else?

Today's Dan Naddor Index (non-theme entries with 6 or more letters) is 20. Pretty high, esp considering the 60 theme squares. And a themeless like 72 words.

Across:

1. Fire starter?: MIS. Start of the word Misfire. Awesome clue. We also have 5D. Fired (up): PSYCHED. Fire echos.

4. Squabble: SPAT. And 41D. Quarrels: DUST-UPS

8. Exorbitant: STEEP

13. Mo. in 1781 in which Cornwallis surrendered: OCT. Cornwallis was the British general who surrendered to George Washington on October 19, 1781. Unknown to me.

14. "__ Really Going Out With Him?": Joe Jackson hit: IS SHE. Easy guess.

16. Volcanic flowers?: LAVAS. Flow-ers = Things that flow. I can hear Lois utter "Holy hotwick!".

19. Retirement legislation acronym: ERISA (Employee Retirement Income Security Act).

20. One way to run: AMOK. Run amok.

23. Disappear: VANISH

25. Par __: AVION

26. Subj. including grammar: ENG. Instinctively filled in ESL.

32. It's hard to cut through: RED TAPE. Thought of DIAMOND.

33. Company with toy trucks: HESS. Some old beat-up toys are worth quite some money.

34. Young hooter: OWLET

38. Its youngest British member, Elise Tan Roberts, was admitted at age 2: MENSA. This girl is smart indeed. I drew a blank.

39. Pres. Jefferson: THOS. Was unaware that it's short for Thomas.

40. Like Wiener schnitzel: BREADED. Have never had schnitzel.

44. Joker: WAG

47. Figure of speech: TROPE

48. Hard to endure: SEVERE

54. Rte. through Houston: I-TEN

55. Litmus reddeners: ACIDS

58. Indian royal: RANEE. So is RAJAH. Also 5 letters. (Update: Sorry for the error earlier.)

59. Parts of some support systems?: D-CUPS. Bras. We also have AREOLA (45D. Colored circle around the pupil). Are(a) + ola. So, A or B Cup?

60. 100%: ALL

61. Imitators: APERS

62. Latin infinitive: ESSE. To be.

63. Hope unit: RAY. Ray of hope.

Down:

1. Desert known for Joshua trees: MOJAVE. I forgot again.

2. Nickname for a player who performs under pressure: ICEMAN. Not familiar with this slang. Thought of CLUTCH player.

3. Like espresso: STRONG

4. Bonn pronoun: SIE. German "you".

6. Author Sholem: ASCH. Author of "The Nazarene". Pronounced like ASH, right?

7. Pad __: Asian noodle dish: THAI. Rice noodle.

8. Record holder: SLEEVE

9. Sullied: TARNISHED

10. Not a good sign: EVIL OMEN

11. Facility: EASINESS

12. Jr.'s exam: PSAT

15. Abbr. often following a comma: ETC.

18. Brew follower?: SKI. Brewski.

22. Classic Welles role: KANE. "Citizen Kaze". Rosebud.

24. "Let it stand": STET. For editors.

28. Genesis: START

29. Shipping container weights: TARES. The old shipping allowance is TRET.

30. Day star?: OPRAH. Daytime talk show star. Meh!

32. Squad car cop, often: RESPONDER

34. Taxonomic suffix: OTA. A plural suffix occurring in taxonomic name. The singular is OTE, according to the dictionary.

35. Choppy seas feature: WHITECAP

36. Nancy's region: LORRAINE. Here is a good map.

38. Dole: METE

40. Author Harte: BRET

43. Works: OPUSES. Plural can be opera too.

44. Bachelor pad amenity: WET BAR

46. One way to break the news: GENTLY. Nice clue.

49. Get-up-and-go: VIM

50. Legal hire: PARA. Need "for short".

51. Underwear initials: BVD. What's your brand? I like Etam's thongs.

52. Sprint: RACE

53. "ER" areas: ICUS

57. "What's the __?": USE

Answer grid.

Happy 82rd Birthday, Dot!

C.C.

Thursday April 15, 2010 Nancy Salomon

Theme: FILLING IN (65A. Subbing, and taxpayer's responsibility vis-à-vis the ends of 17-, 29- and 49-Across) - The end of each common phrase can be filled in.

17A. Doing what's just not done: IN BAD FORM. Fill in the form.

29A. You can't go back from it: POINT OF NO RETURN. Fill in the return. Excellent entry. Great clue too.

49A. Early: AHEAD OF SCHEDULE. Fill in the schedule. Another nice grid-spanner.

Rich saves this particular puzzle for the Tax Day. Perfect!

Jerome understands Nancy's style better than I do. But I feel that Nancy is not into heavy themage. She likes to use three or four phrases for a very focused and pointed theme.

Lots of entertaining clues in this puzzle. My favorite is DENT (18D Unwelcome impression). But after Annette's "Accidentally on Purpose" crossword & sex revelation last night, this FILLING IN suddenly takes a different meaning.

Across:

1. NYPD alerts: APBS. APB = All-Points Bulletin.

5. Disdainful upperclassman?: SNOB. Got me. Great clue.

9. Greeting often requiring lip-reading: HI MOM

14. Jacob's first wife: LEAH. Sister of Rachel, Jacob's second wife. Here is Chickie again. Our Leah.

15. Numerical prefix: OCTA. Prefix for "eight".

16. Hersey's bell town: ADANO. Hersey's "A Bell for Adano".

19. Sank in a cup: HOLED. Golf hole is also called cup. Another golf reference is TEE (43D. Links launching point).

20. Citi Field NLer: NY MET

21. Crunch targets: ABS

23. 26-Across supply: ICE. And OPEN BAR (26. Place where liquor flows freely?)

24. Cupid's master?: SANTA. Was thinking of the love Cupid rather than Santa's reindeer. I am a dummy, Argyle!

32. Museum pieces: ART

33. Paid player: PRO. Alliteration.

34. Elastic wood: YEW

35. Not for neatniks: MESSY. Sometimes I just can't tell what part of speech the clue is asking for.

38. Sphere: ORB

40. March honoree, briefly: ST PAT

44. Many a lap dog: TOY

46. Stereo jack letters: MIC

48. Fish story: LIE

55. Way back when: LONG AGO

56. Vincent's successor as baseball commissioner: SELIG. Bud Selig is the only commissioner I know of.

57. Dickens pen name: BOZ. I forgot.

58. Tattoo site: ARM

60. Part of MO: MODUS. MO = Modus Operandi.

62. Tennyson work: IDYLL

68. Where Hercules slew a lion: NEMEA. No idea. Ancient Greek city.

69. Former VOA overseer: USIA (United States Information Agency).

70. Spicy Spanish stew: OLLA. Triple alliteration.

71. "Awake and Sing!" playwright: ODETS (Clifford). Also the playwright for "Waiting for Lefty".

72. Crash site investigator: Abbr.: NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board)

Down:

1. Three-time '60s-'70s heavyweight champ: ALI

2. Quakers of the Ivy League: PENN. Did not know Penn's sports team is called Quakers. Is there a SHAKERS also?

3. Watches for money: BABYSITS. Did not come to me immediately. We also have TYKE (73A. Little shaver).

4. Medicine man: SHAMAN

5. Convertible type: SOFT TOP

6. Cpl. or sgt.: NCO

7. __ vez: again, to Alonso: OTRA. I am used to the "other" clue.

8. Shoots in a forest?: BAMBOO. Nailed it.

9. "Gotcha!": HAH

10. Marriage agreement: I DO

11. Pricey Southern California beachfront city: MALIBU

12. Like some garages: ONE CAR

13. Contemporary: MODERN

22. Agile: SPRY

25. High style: AFRO. Can't keep HAUTE out of my mind.

27. Wide shoe markings: EEES

28. Cereal box abbr.: NT WT

29. Dawber who played Mindy: PAM

30. Miner's matter: ORE. Alliteration.

31. Benchmarks: NORMS

36. Unaccompanied: STAG. Wanted LONE.

37. "Ready are you? What know you of ready?" speaker: YODA. He lives to be 900 years old, right?

39. Popular pens: BICS. I am using Paper Mate. You?

41. Thug: PLUG-UGLY. New word to me.

42. Affect adversely: AIL. Alliteration.

45. Tranquil discipline: YOGA. Made me think of Lucina.

47. Site of many a student experiment: CHEM LAB

49. Lacking pigment: ALBINO

50. Like some sweatshirts: HOODED

51. Digestion aid: ENZYME. Al is an expert on this stuff. I just know that if you eat plenty of raw veggies/fruits, you won't need any enzyme supplement.

52. On a lark: FOR FUN

53. "The Time Machine" race: ELOI

54. Terse childish denial: DID NOT. We also have NAE (67. Scottish refusal).

59. Niagara Falls feature: MIST

61. Epitome of smoothness: SILK. Oh, Barry!

63. Certain do-over: LET. Tennis.

64. Scale syllables: LAS

66. Fleur-de-__: LIS. Literally "lily flower".

Answer grid.

C.C.