Sunday April 18, 2010 Kathleen Fay O'Brien

Theme: T for Two - Second letter T in each double T containing common phrase is dropped, changing mostly short vowel sound into long vowel sound.

23A. Outwitting a Plymouth parent?: MIND OVER MAT(T)ER. Mind Over Matter. Mater is British for "mother". Plymouth is a seaport in England. Short A to long A sound shift.

29A. Loony misanthrope?: MAD HAT(T)ER. Mad Hatter, the character from "Alice in Wonderland". Short A to long A.

44A. Japanese sleuth who always follows you around?: PERSONAL MOT(T)O. Personal Motto. Moto = Japanese sleuth. Short O to long O.

67A. Farm child of destiny?: FAT(T)ED CALF. Fatted Calf. Killing the fatted calf to celebrate something. Calf = Farm child. Short A to long A.

88A. Reservation about smoking?: CIGARETTE BUT(T). Cigarette Butt. No sound change.

103A. Like an Idaho farmer?: IN TAT(T)ERS. In Tatters. Taters = Idaho potatoes. Short A to long A.

113A. Recollections of an aggressive dog?: BIT(T)ER MEMORIES. Bitter Memories. Short I to long I.

37D. Bulletin board hardware blueprint?: PLAN OF A T(T)ACK. Plan of Attack. Tack = Bulletin board hardware. No sound change.

42D. Muppet monster quote about a more adorable snack?: COOKIE CUT(T)ER. Cookie Cutter. Have never seen "Sesame Street" and don't know Cookie Monster. Short U to long U.

No double T containing phrase with possible short E to long E sound shift, Al/Argyle?

I liked the title. Nice play on "Tea for Two". Neat theme concept too. Also liked the consecutive clues for ALIAS (71A. Perp's red herring) and ALIBIS (72A. Perps need good ones). Wish LATINA (95D. Selena, for one) is clued as "Sonia Sotomayor, for one". J.Lo played Selena in the movie.

Quite a challenging puzzle to me. So many unknown names. I definitely need a partner to solve a Sunday crossword. Anyone? Anyone?

Across:

1. Hides with evil intent: SKULKS. Nice string of consonants.

7. Take by force: HIJACK

13. "Grease" doo-wop group: SHA NA NA. Easy guess.

20. Surfing at one's desk: ON LINE

21. Singer Ray with the Glenn Miller Orchestra: EBERLE. Total stranger.

22. Eastern Mediterranean city: TEL AVIV. Must be an instinctive fill for Haltool.

25. Go in for: REPLACE

26. Pilot's announcement, briefly: ETA

27. Fuse: WELD

28. Boundary: Abbr.: LIM (Limit). Meh on the abbr.

30. Abbr. on a store door: HRS

31. Rots: GOES BAD

33. Farm crawler: ANT. Ant farm.

34. Pre-knotted tie: CLIP-ON

38. 19th Greek letter: TAU. Cross shaped. Greek has 24 letters.

39. "Do it, __ will!": OR I

40. Abalone products: NACRES

43. AA co-founder: BILL W. Bill Wilson. Got me again.

47. Lanchester of "Bride of Frankenstein": ELSA. Just the clue Lemonade wanted last time.

48. Source of "Once more unto the breach": HENRY V. Not familiar with the line. Only know "We few, we happy few, we band of brothers ...".

49. Relevant: ON TOPIC

53. Clancy hero: RYAN

54. Daisy lead-in: UPSY. Upsy-Daisy.

55. Man with a respected thumb: EBERT (Roger). Film critic.

59. Cub Scout leader: AKELA

60. Online "Jeepers!": OMG

62. Borneo sultanate: BRUNEI. I like this map. It's on the South China Sea.

63. Drink from a press: CIDER. Thought of JUICE first.

64. "Mazes and Monsters" novelist: JAFFE (Rona). No idea. See the book cover.

70. "Steppenwolf" writer: HESSE (Hermann)

73. Present mo.: DEC. I wanted APR, our current "present" month, not the gift "present".

74. Fountain treats: MALTS

75. Made higher: UPPED. As an ante.

76. Pre-1917 Russian ruler: TSAR

79. Native Americans with a Sundance ceremony: UTES. I thought many Native Indian tribes have this ceremony.

83. Pick a lock, say: BREAK IN

85. "Does no one else think this way?": IS IT ME

87. Anklebones: TALI. Plural of talus. We also have ULNA (3D. Forearm bone).

92. H.S. health class: SEX ED

93. Chat with: TALK TO

96. Hard lumber: ASH

97. Son of, in Arabic names: IBN. Like Scottish Mac or Mc.

98. Flourish: THRIVE

99. Transfer __: RNA

100. Menu listing: OPTIONS. Computer menu.

102. Detective's cry: AHA

107. Bounced check letters: NSF (Not Sufficient Funds)

108. Gazed at: EYED

109. Electronic surveillance gp.: NSA (National Security Agency)

112. Lands: ALIGHTS

116. Having teeth: DENTATE. New word to me.

117. Spotted wildcat: OCELOT. Hi, there!

118. "Dallas" dynasty: EWINGS

119. Mussel eater: SEA STAR

120. Crystal-lined stones: GEODES

121. Magnate: TYCOON

Down:

2. Sweater choice: KNIT

4. Flipped top?: LID. Oh, flipped coffee top.

5. Expertise: KNOW-HOW

6. Shropshire's river: SEVERN. Got from crosses.

7. Roundup group: HERD

8. Apple alternative: IBM. Not MAC?

9. "All the fun you think they had": Erica Jong: JEALOUSY. No idea. I bet Lois was thinking of something else. What does "Jealousy is all the fun you think they had" mean?

10. Clarinetist Shaw: ARTIE

11. South Carolina university: CLEMSON

12. Plunk opener: KER. Kerplunk.

13. Pricey strings: STRAD. AMATI too.

14. Listen to: HEED

15. Coleridge's "sacred river": ALPH. Barry just clued it as "River of Xanadu" yesterday.
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16. Simba's mate: NALA. In "The Lion King".

17. Rama, to Vishnu: AVATAR. Hindu incarnation.

18. __ Creed: NICENE

19. Wards off: AVERTS

24. Ernie of the PGA: ELS

29. Post office sackful: MAIL. Mostly ad now.

31. Comic Shandling: GARRY. First encounter with this guy.

32. Victoria's Secret buy: BRA. What's your favorite bra color?

34. Trucker with a handle: CB'ER

35. Flower with a pad: LILY. And SEGO (110. Type of 35-Down).

36. "You used to be a much better liar, Sam" speaker: ILSA. In "Casablanca".

38. Addition column: TENS

40. Start to stop?: NON. Nonstop.

41. Diplomatic specialist: ATTACHE. My ex-boss the Marine worked in American Embassy in Taiwan for some time.

44. Energy: PEP

45. Went too far: OVER DID IT

46. Central theme: MOTIF

48. Show of affection: HUG

50. Brand of women's socks: PEDS. Have never heard of this brand.

51. Guadeloupe has cinq: ILES. Guadeloupe is an island in the eastern portion of the West Indies; an overseas territory of France. Cinq = Five in French.

52. Give a hoot: CARE

56. Florida pros: BUCS. Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

57. Bambi's aunt: ENA

58. Cath. or Luth.: REL (Religion)

61. Portable utensils set: MESS KIT. Military utensils.

62. Loyal Nixon friend Rebozo: BEBE. Gimme for Melissa.

64. Door feature: JAMB

65. Banned fruit spray: ALAR

66. Manicurist's need: FILE

67. Flora's partner: FAUNA. Flora and Fauna.

68. Mont Blanc, e.g.: ALP. Did you think of PEN also?

69. Helpful hint: TIP

73. Rap's Dr. __: DRE

76. 1970 Poitier title role: TIBBS (Virgil). From "In the Heat of the Night". My favorite Poitier movie.

77. Wow: STUN

78. Qty.: AMT

80. Shout to a driver: TAXI

81. Contour map no.: ELEV (Elevation)

82. Potato salad, say: SIDE

84. "__ Crazy": Paul Davis hit: I GO

86. Self-named sitcom: SEINFELD

89. Chats: RAPS

90. Body shop fig.: EST

91. Precarious place, metaphorically: THIN ICE. Nice entry.

92. Like late-afternoon castings: SHADOWY

93. Basic chords: TRIADS

94. Mother of the Shakers: ANN LEE

98. Lincoln Center landmark: THE MET

100. Skater Brian: ORSER. His name escape me again.

101. Bony prefix: OSTEO

102. Sailor's okay: AYE. Aye, Aye, Sir.

104. FBI personnel: AGT

106. James of jazz: ETTA. Etta James.

108. CPR pros: EMTS

109. Bolivian boy: NINO. Alliteration.

111. Part of AMA: Abbr.: ASSN

113. Cranberry source: BOG. Nice play on "Cranberry sauce".

114. Shad delicacy: ROE

115. Rocker Ocasek: RIC

Answer grid.

C.C.

Saturday April 17, 2010 Barry Silk

Theme: None

Total words: 68

Total blocks: 33

No three-letter entry. A pair of stacked ten-letter entries in each of four quadrants. 34 Across answers and 34 Downs. Very similar to Barry's Sept 26, 2009 themeless Dennis blogged. Same number of blocks/words too.

A good opportunity for us to see variations of a grid with several identical answers, including the seed entry COLE HAMELS (10D. Pitcher who was a 2008 post-season standout for the Phillies), B-CUP, T-TOP & SLEDS. The previous puzzle has a scrabbly JAZZ in today's BRED slot.

My favorite clue today is POTATO CHIP (48A. It's hard to eat one). Deliciously clued. Wish LULU (25D. Pip) were clued differently to tie in with TO SIR (46D. "__, With Love": 1967 hit).

Across:

1. Stood for: MEANT

6. Lingerie spec: B-CUP. Jennifer Anison's bra size.

10. Collectible frames: CELS

14. Within legal provisions: AT LAW. Attorney-at-law is the only phrase I know that contain this phrase.

15. Quite: OH SO. Didn't come to me easily. Quite/OH SO tough. OK.

16. German auto: OPEL. Crockett's first car.

17. "I Fall to Pieces" singer: PATSY CLINE. Here is a clip. Always nice to see a full name.

19. Court zero: LOVE. Tennis court.

20. Silently activated signal: STILL ALARM. Defined as "A fire alarm transmitted silently, as by telephone, rather than by sounding the conventional signal apparatus". New to me.

21. Crossed (out): EX'ED

22. Left __: rewarded: A TIP

23. Words before "I remember it well," in a "Gigi" song: AH YES. Too bad, I don't remember it. Gimme for Clear Ayes, I am sure.

24. Hardly thrilling: BLAH

28. Model: EXEMPLAR

31. Gernreich of fashion: RUDI. Learned his name from doing Xword.

32. Party occasion: RETIREMENT. Nice clue.

35. Passed by: ELAPSED

37. Goes ballistic: LOSES IT. Made me think of Lois again. I imagine she has a hot, hot temper.

38. Gravel transports: DUMP TRUCKS. Great entry, good use of letter U.

40. Start to type?: LINO. Linotype. Can't get stereo out of my mind. At least, I was in the right direction.

41. Doesn't get hung up on: SEES PAST

42. Center's job: SNAP. Football.

43. Authoritative orders: FIATS

45. Excellent, in recent slang: PHAT. How recent?

47. Glimpse: ESPY

54. River of Xanadu: ALPH. Stumped me. From Coleridge "Kubla Khan".

55. Factory outlet: SMOKESTACK. Oh, always thought it's just called chimney.

56. Bit of Realtor lingo: RELO

57. Not at all pleased: SORE

58. Destined for markdown: Abbr.: IRREG

59. Choreographer's unit: STEP

60. Get rid of: TOSS

61. Like non-oyster months, traditionally: R-LESS. Like May/June/July/August. Nailed it.

Down:

1. Some are genetic: MAPS. Have never heard of this gene term.

2. Division politique: ETAT. French state.

3. Some choir singers: ALTI. Plural of ALTO, which is in Barry's old puzzle.

4. Org. that included the New York Cosmos: NASL (North American Soccer League)

5. Choreographer Tharp: TWYLA. Can never remember her name.

6. Made a mess of: BOLLIXED UP. Got me again. For a while I actually used bollixed in the blog write-up.

7. Collectible involving seeds: CHIA PET

8. Seagoing mil. readiness force: USNR (United States Naval Reserve). Was unaware of this abbr..

9. Work with feet: POEM. Poetic feet. Barry's previous puzzles have POETS, clued as "Meter experts". Poetic meter.

11. Strong adhesive: EPOXY RESIN. See EPOXY alone more often.

12. It holds water: LEVEE. Of course I was thinking of the idiom "hold water".

13. They have runners: SLEDS. Was picturing baseball runners rather than skating blades.

18. Reception staff: CATERERS

23. They may be brown or cream: ALES. I just loved the "It", "They" & "They" words in the clues I highlighted in green.

24. Gave rise to: BRED

26. Lump in one's throat: ADAM'S APPLE

27. 51-Down's pace: HIPPETY HOP. And HARE (51. Leveret, e.g.). Leveret is a young hare. I was stumped.

29. Offerings at some parlors: MILKSHAKES

30. Male gland: PROSTATE

33. Historic Atlantic crosser: NINA. Nina, Pinta and the Santa Maria.

34. Sporty sunroof: T-TOP

36. Bernadette et al.: Abbr.: STES. Have never heard of this Sainte Bernadette. French, obviously.

39. Takers of prisoners: CAPTORS

43. Chill causes: FEARS. Alliteration. Did you think of fever also?

44. Key: ISLET. Clues are just tricky today.

48. "Hey, you!": PSST

49. Novel with the chapter "Farming in Polynesia": OMOO. Sequel to "Typee". Melville novel.

50. PC key: CTRL

52. Summer coolers: ICES. Fell into ADES trap, Barry G.

53. FedEx truck filler: Abbr.: PKGS (Packages).

Answer grid.

C.C.