Saturday April 24, 2010 Samuel A. Donaldson

Theme: None

Total words: 68

Total blocks: 30

Very scrabbly puzzle, with 5 Zs, 2 Xs, 2 Js, 1Q and several Ks. Seven-letter entries abound, and triple stacks in each Down quadrant. Pack & Stack, in Clear Ayes' words.

A disaster for me, Krakatoa style. Couldn't even nail XIA (26A. First chronicled Chinese dynasty). Xia Dynasty existed between 2070 and 1600 BC. Xia literally means "summer" in Chinese.

Across:

1. Psychs (up): PUMPS

6. Frolicker in a Peter, Paul and Mary song: PUFF. "Puff, the magic dragon lived by the sea/ And frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called honah lee...". Love the tune, even though I don't truly understand the lyrics.

10. Sith rivals: JEDI. From the "Star Wars".

14. "Cut __!": IT OUT. And A NICE (58. "What __ surprise!"). Two fill-in-the-blank partials.

15. Evaporating sea: ARAL. I like how it crosses another crossword stalwart URAL (7D. Kazakhstan river).

16. Utah home of the Timpanogos Storytelling Festival: OREM. Pure guess. The crossword answer for Utah city is either OREM and PROVO.

17. Symphony section: CELLI. What? I thought the plural for cello is just cellos.

18. Go back and forth: PACE

19. It can be hard to get over: HUMP

20. Big name in publishing: KNOPF. Publisher for Bill Clinton's "My Life". Random House imprint.

21. Costanza portrayer: ALEXANDER (Jason). George Costanza, from "Seinfeld".

23. Requests: ASKS FOR

25. Even considering: DESPITE

27. Bind: JAM

29. Washington et al.: STATES

30. "Gentlemen's Agreement" Oscar winner: ELIA KAZAN. Nice to see his full name. (Sorry for the error earlier.)

34. Sorry lot?: RUERS. Lovely spin on a tired answer.

35. Curious: QUIZZICAL. Such a scrabbly answer.

37. About to bloom: IN BUD

40. Saw only good qualities in: IDEALIZED

44. "__ Boom-de-ay": vaudeville song: TA-RA-RA. Have never heard of this song.

46. Withdrawal aid, for short: ATM

47. I, to Claudius: ONE. Roman numeral. I was thinking of "I", me. Great play on "I, Claudius".

48. Lit conditions?: STUPORS. Lit = Intoxicated.

50. Fanatics: ZEALOTS

53. Aircraft accelerators: TAILWINDS

55. They precede finals: SEMIS

56. "Play it, Sam" speaker: ILSA. From "Casablanca".

57. Fed. anti-discrimination org.: EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission)

59. Demeanor: MIEN. The "Pouty look" is MOUE.

60. Eye protector: LASH

61. Roadside sign: DINER. And UTENSIL (2D Part of a place setting).

62. Soothe: EASE

63. Half an arcade trademark: SKEE. Skee-Ball.

64. Inner turmoil: ANGST. The red sky in Munch's "The Scream" is said to be the global effect of the 1883 eruption of the Karakatoa, which appeared in Jerome's puzzle yesterday.

Down:

1. Groundbreaking invention: PICKAXE. Excellent clue.

3. Island where Father Damien cared for lepers: MOLOKAI. Where's our Hawaiian gang? They were quite active for a few days.

4. Dime novels: PULPS

5. Lucky one?: STIFF. Why? I don't get this clue.

6. Star chasers: PAPARAZZI. Another scrabbly answer.

8. Confronted: FACED

9. Shows off at the gym: FLEXED

10. 33-day pope, 1978: JOHN PAUL I. Got me. Such a short reign. I remember a pope was poisoned in "The Godfather". Was it our guy?

11. Learned: ERUDITE

12. Greek goddess of agriculture: DEMETER. I can only think of her Roman counterpart Ceres. That's how we got the word cereal.

13. Wow: IMPRESS

22. Stellar: ASTRAL

24. California city near Los Padres National Forest: OJAI. Clear Ayes' daughter graduated from a high school in Ojai.

28. Tribute maker: MAZDA. "Zoom-zoom". I was not thinking of car at all.

31. Water skis alternative: AQUAPLANE

32. "Friends" actress: KUDROW (Lisa)

33. Übermensch philosopher: NIETZSCHE. Übermensch = "Superman" in German. I am suffering from language Aphasia. Used to know how to spell his name properly.

36. Attended: CAME

37. "Let's go now": IT'S TIME

38. Russian supermodel Vodianova: NATALIA. Faintly remember this girl. Prosopagnosia is an awesome word, Gunghy.

39. Bumps' partners: BRUISES

41. Moving quickly: ZOOMING

42. Lures: ENTICES

43. Finishing course: DESSERT

45. __ Grotto: ocean-themed Disney World play area: ARIEL'S. Not familiar with this place at all.

49. Quarterback's play: SNEAK

51. Carne __: Mexican beef dish: ASADA. Literally "roasted meat". Not a Mexican food fan. I do love avocado though.

52. October Revolution leader: LENIN

54. Shot amount: DOSE

Answer grid.

C.C.

Friday April 23, 2010 Jerome Gunderson

Theme: W(in)! - W is inserted into the start of the first word of each common phrase.

17A. Stonemason's goal?: (W)ALL IN A DAY'S WORK. All in a Day's Work.

27A. Flirt's mascara stains?: (W)INK BLOTS. Ink Blots. Fun clue. Vivid image.

48A. Dermatology class videos?: (W)ART FILMS. Art Films. I sure don't want to see those videos.

62A. Inherited wealth?: (W)ILL- GOTTEN GAINS. Ill-gotten Gains.

One of the easiest letter (or letter string) addition/deletion/substitution Friday puzzles I've done. But it's packed with fun. Jerome's playfulness is in full display.

Seeing GELDINGS (4D. Kelso and Funny Cide) made me smile. Thought of Dan Naddor's suggested clue for Jerome: "Gone nuts, horsewise?". Probably too much for Rich.

Across:

1. Lively Cuban dance: CONGA. Obtained the answer from Downs.

6. They can be loose or tight: ENDS. Loose/tight ends. Awesome clue.

10. Shade of red: BEET

14. Sharon of Israel: ARIEL. Still in coma.

15. Bobby's informant: NARK. New to me. Looks like a variant of NARC, doesn't it? Bobby = Cop in Britain.

16. Moisturizer brand: OLAY. My favorite brand.

20. Word before or after dog: SLED. Nice clue too.

21. Islamic spiritual guide: IMAM

22. Contemptible people: SWINE.

25. Biography opener?: AUTO. Autobiography.

30. Fanciful idea: WHIM. I've got a lot.

34. "It's what's hot in pain relief" brand: BENGAY

35. Feudal estate: FIEF. Can you think of any other 4-letter word starting and ending in letter F?

37. Caesar's morning meal?: OVA. Eggs in Latin.

38. "Man is __ himself when he talks in his own person": Wilde: LEAST. Not familiar with this line.

39. Chain with pieces, briefly: KFC. Chicken pieces. Got me.

40. Rose petal pest: APHID

42. PC program: APP (Application)

43. French 101 infinitive: ETRE. To be.

45. Bustle (with): ABOUND

46. High-tech unit: BYTE

50. With wild abandon: AMOK

52. Chiwere speaker: OTOE. Easy guess. Chiwere is a new word to me also.

53. End of a series: OMEGA. Greek alphabet series.

58. Curdle: CLOT

65. Celtic language: ERSE

66. Whitecap formation: FOAM

67. Befuddled: AT SEA

68. Feat: DEED

69. Minnesota __: FATS. Pool player. He's in Paul Newman's "The Hustler".

70. Antares or Betelgeuse: M STAR. No idea. Star classification often stumps me. M is the tiny orange dot.

Down:

1. Crow cacophony: CAWS. CC alliteration.

2. Like much lore: ORAL. Like some of the Minnesota Fats stories.

3. River from Lake Victoria: NILE

5. Frazier foe: ALI. Joe Frazier. Boxing.

6. Glossy paint: ENAMEL

7. Zip, to Zapata: NADA. Alliteration again.

8. Like many a rescue: DRAMATIC. Great clue & Answer.

9. Something to look up to: SKY. Fooled me last time. Again today.

10. Certain pet, in totspeak: BOWWOW. Dog.

11. Childlike Wells race: ELOI. From "The Time Machine".

13. Kid: TYKE. I liked the consecutive kid clues in this corner.

18. "Build it somewhere else" acronym: NIMBY (Not In My Backyard)

19. Flier with a bent nose: SST

24. Shark or Penguin footwear: SKATE. San Jose Sharks and Pittsburgh Penguins. NHL teams.

27. Obviously sad: WEEPY

28. Unsuitable: INAPT

29. Buyer's proposal: OFFER

31. Boring: HO-HUM

32. Political columnist Molly: IVINS. She had a sharp tongue, esp when she lashed out against W.

33. Anti-DUI org.: MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving)

34. Betray a confidence, perhaps: BLAB

36. One-named male model: FABIO. Not my type.

39. Volcano in the Sunda Strait: KRAKATOA. Also the name of the island, between Java and Sumatra. Violent eruption in 1883.

41. Skunk relatives: POLECATS. I like the four long Downs.

44. Company quorum?: TWO. Two's a company. Three's a crowd.

45. "Sweet" river in a Burns poem: AFTON. "Flow gently, sweet Afton".

47. Made 3 on a par-5: EAGLED. Two under par (on a par-3 hole, that would be hole-in-one). One under par = Birdie. One over par = Bogey. Loved Al's Eagle, Albatross, Condor, Ostrich & Turkey list last time.

49. Clan emblems: TOTEMS

51. Mad, e.g., briefly: MAG. The Mad Magazine.

53. Due: OWED

54. Bog down: MIRE

55. Word suggesting options: ELSE. Or Else.

57. Doc's "Now!": STAT

59. Tilt: LIST

60. Pre-military rank?: ONE A. Top draft status.

61. Royal Russian of yore: TSAR.

63. Amiss: OFF

64. Pinup's leg: GAM. Jennifer Aniston has the perfect gams.

Answer grid.

Here are a few beautiful pictures from Jazzbumpa's last Florida trip. Click on each one, it will enlarge. My favorite is the one titled Picnic. Lovely colors. Lovely clan. Is that you in "A Message in a Bottle", Jazz?

C.C.