Saturday July 17, 2010 Barry Silk

Theme: None

Total words: 70

Total blocks: 27

Average Word length: 5.66 (Our normal Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday is often under 5.)

This puzzle is anchored by two 12s:

26A. Plotting problem, perhaps : WRITER'S BLOCK. Story plotting.

43A. Plan to minimize losses : EXIT STRATEGY. Could be the seed entry.

Barry also placed triple stacks of 8s in the NW & SE quadrants and triple columns of 9s in the NE and SW quadrants.

No scrabbly J/Q/Z, normally a Silk hallmark.

Across:

1. Voter reaction of sorts : BACKLASH. Had BA* immediately.

9. Come forward : STEP UP

15. Liqueur often used to flavor tiramisu : AMARETTO. Also WHISKEY (37. Jell-O shot ingredient).

16. Benedict XIII's family name : ORSINI. No idea. Wikipedia says the Orsini family has produced three popes.

17. Emeril might make one with provolone : TUNA MELT. Emeril is a fun guy.

18. Slangy "got that right!" : BETCHA. You betcha!

19. Certain Honshu native : OSAKAN

20. Followers: Suff. : ITES. Filled in ISTS first.

22. Auntie Em's st. : KAN. "The Wizard of Oz".

23. A transfer might entail one, briefly : RELO. Thought of plane/bus transfer. Not job transfer.

24. Gang follower? : STER. Gangster.

25. High guy : ALTO. Oh, high voice guy.

30. Office efficiency meas. : WPM (Words Per Minute)

33. Jungian archetype : ANIMA. Jung's inner self, as opposed to "persona".

34. Café drinker's request : LECHE. "Milk" in Spanish.

35. Big talk : ORATION

39. Simple organism : MONAD. New word to me. Single cell.

40. Milo, e.g. : GRAIN. I've never heard of milo, an early-growing, usually drought-resistant grain sorghum, resembling millet.

42. Tom Hayden's '60s org. : SDS (Students for a Democratic Society)

46. Luxor's river : NILE. Luxor is city in Central Egypt. On the Nile. I bet our Mr. Ed knows.

47. High in the French Alps? : HAUT. The feminine is Haute, as in Haute Couture/Cuisine.

48. Organization with many boomers : AARP

52. Wee : SMA. Small.

53. __ Mawr : BRYN

54. Google Earth, e.g. : MAPPER. Er word...

56. Apt to change : LABILE. Another new word.

58. Ojibwa speakers : CHIPPEWA. They are a big tribe here in MN.

60. Torino's home : ITALIA

61. Cramped : HAMPERED

62. Past : BEYOND

63. Waits for, at an intersection : YIELDS TO

Down:

1. Ulan __ : BATOR. Mongolia capital.

2. Tickle : AMUSE

3. Place for a low bridge : CANAL. Did not come to me readily.

4. Former capital on the Vistula River : KRAKOW. No idea. Capital of Poland (1038-1596).

5. 1964 British Open winner : LEMA. The Champagne Tony. It sure would not be British Open without wind, would it? Rory, Go!

6. Rate __: be perfect : A TEN

7. N.L. Central team : STL. St. Louis Cardinals.

8. Brisk seller : HOT ITEM

9. Gets serious : SOBERS

10. A third of nueve : TRES. Spanish for "three". Nueve is "nine".

11. Pawtucket hrs. : EST

12. Thieves' tools : PICKLOCKS

13. Like a dinosaur embryo : UNHATCHED. I don't get this clue. Know nothing about dinosaur.

14. They activate hammers : PIANO KEYS. Ear hammers? I was stumped.

21. Huge amount of power : TERAWATT. Equals to one trillion watts. Tera is a prefix for "one trillion". (Sorry for the "suffix" error earlier.)

24. 1963 Chevrolet debut : STINGRAY. Don't know the history.

25. They're often drawn : ALES

27. Speakeasy owners' concerns : RAIDS

28. Rescuer of Odysseus : INO. Pronounced like "I know", right? Sea goddess who rescued Odysseus from drowning by giving him a magic veil.

29. Rappers' accessories, in slang : BLING

30. Betty Friedan cause : WOMEN'S LIB. Have dimly heard of the name Betty Friedan.

31. Close : PROXIMATE. Awesome entry.

32. 1898 battle site : MANILA BAY. Spanish-American War battle site.

36. Where Gainsboroughs hang : TATE. Tate Galleries.

38. Step on it : HIE. Was thinking the clue is asking for the "it", you know, like PEDAL.

41. Like dirty jokes : RAUNCHY

44. Nut feature : THREAD. Again, I was picturing edible nuts. Not nuts/bolts/screws.

45. Went on and on : YAPPED. Man, John Daly just can't stop talking to the reporters.

49. Some parodists : APERS

50. Keep from drying out : REWET. I rewater, so I suppose it's OK to REWET.

51. Madrid must-see : PRADO

53. Russian pancake : BLIN

54. Some street art : MIME. Needed crossing help.

55. Kitchen item: Abbr. : APPL. OK, appliance.

57. 1969 Peace Prize-winning agcy. : ILO (International Labor Organization)

59. River through Beijing : HAI. Hai River. Hai is literally "sea" in Chinese. Love the new clue.

Answer grid.

Here is Part VII of Kazie's Oz series. The last ones of the Northern Territory, still in Kakadu.

C.C.

Friday July 16, 2010 Joon Pahk

Theme: ZZ Top - ZZ is inserted to familiar two-word phrases, changing mostly long vowel sounds into short vowel sounds.

17A. Amaze a racing legend? : DA(ZZ)LE EARNHARDT. The base phrase is Dale Earnhardt, the racing legend.

26A. Simple but exciting abode? : PIZZA(ZZ) HUT. Pizza Hut. Pizzazz is also spelled as pizazz. No long vowel to short vowel sound change in this one. What is the English word with the most Zs?

48A. Headgear delayed in shipment? : LATE FE(ZZ)ES. Late Fees. Did not know the plural for fez is fezzes. The only theme answer ZZ is added to the second word.

61A. Furniture design flop? : FI(ZZ)LING CABINET. Filing Cabinet.

Total 11 Zs. The record is 18. Low black square count too. Only 33.

Must be a bear to construct this puzzle. Hard to come up with common Z containing words to conveniently intersect those Zs in the theme answers, esp when Z is the second letter in a word. AZIZ (23D: Saddam Hussein adviser Tariq) the "Who?" dude just has to be there. No other good alternative. It's easier when the slot has a *ZE ending pattern, like 3D & 41D.

Additionally, the constructor tried to be original & tricky in his clues, hence quite a few unfamiliar references. Just a slog for me.

Puns are always subjective, don't you think? What tickles one might not work for another. Even good puns can be painful.

Across:

1. Place to get clean? : REHAB. Clean the bad addiction.

6. Dip : SWIM

10. Grade-schooler's reward : STAR

14. Roasted, on Mexican menus : ASADA. As in Carne Asada (roasted meat).

15. Animal in two constellations : URSA. Bear. Ursa Major & Ursa Minor (constellation).

16. "Hiya, José" : HOLA

20. Seek retribution, in a way : SUE

21. Prefix with meter : ALTI. Altimeter is an instrument used to measure the altitude of an object above a fixed level. New word to me.

22. Unchallenging courses : EASY AS. Learned Easy A courses from doing Xword.

23. "I ain't got no quarrel with the Viet Cong" speaker : ALI. Not aware of this quote.

24. A goner, in slang : TOAST

30. On the road : AWAY

34. When Macbeth kills Duncan : ACT II. Had ACT?? there forever.

35. Blender brand : OSTER. We also have T-FAL (53D. Maker of nonstick cookware). Two kitchen appliance brands.

37. Knock out, so to speak : AWE

38. Brainchild? : WHIZ KID. Was in the "idea" line of thinking.

40. Iris parts : AREOLAS. Was only familiar with the nipple ring definition.

42. Time Warner spin-off of 2009 : AOL. Did its stock price rise after the spin-off?

43. America's most wanted? : A LIST. Playing on the TV show "America's Most Wanted".

45. Yvette's "our" : NOTRE. As in Notre Dame.

46. "__ chic!" : TRES. Two French in a row.

50. Draw out : EDUCE

52. "Maa" ma : EWE. Nice clue.

53. Basic religious tenet : THEISM

56. Silents star Naldi : NITA. Can never remember this lady's name.

58. Four-song discs, briefly : EPS. EP = Extended Play. Got me.

64. Toward shelter : ALEE

65. Stooge chuckle : NYUK. Curly's chuckle: Nyuk, Nyuk, Nyuk.

66. Off one's trolley : LOOPY. "Off one's trolley" is a new idiom to me.

67. House member : LORD. House of Lord. British Parliament. Stumped.

68. Choosing word : EENY. "Eeny, meeny, miny, moe". Mystery for me.

69. Newark's county : ESSEX. No idea. Only knew the Essex in England. Not NJ.

Down:

1. Angular measures: Abbr. : RADS. Radians. See this diagram.

2. Twin in the Torah : ESAU. Jacob's twin. Was picturing the animals in Noah's Ark.

3. Skyline obscurer : HAZE

4. Tool whose blade is at right angles to the shaft : ADZ. Know the word. But the clue stymied me.

5. Russian instrument with a triangular body : BALALAIKA. A complete stranger.

6. Bird feeder filler : SUET. Really? My neighbors use millet.

7. Ghostly figures : WRAITHS

8. Knesset's land: Abbr. : ISR. And EZER (55. Weizman of 8-Down), whose name escaped me again.

9. Femme fatale : MAN EATER. Another new slang to me.

10. View from Weed, California : SHASTA. Mount Shasta. I've never heard of Weed. It's 10 miles west-northwest of Mount Shasta.

11. Labourite's opponent : TORY. The British Conservative party. Labourite is a person who supports the Labour Party. Another new word to me.

12. Robert of Broadway's "Guys and Dolls" : ALDA. No idea. He's the father of Alan Alda.

13. "Phooey!" : RATS

18. Daughter of Henry VIII: Abbr. : ELIZ. OK, Elizabeth I, daughter of Anne Boleyn.

19. Is down with : HAS. I don't get this clue.

25. Defeated in an annual Nathan's contest : OUT ATE. Know the repulsive hot dog contest, not the venue.

26. Grab for roughly : PAW AT

27. Blood of the gods : ICHOR. Learned from doing Xword also.

28. Scrabble 10-pointer: Z TILE. Could be an alternative theme title, no?

29. 12-sign system : ZODIAC

31. Minute piece? : WALTZ. Chopin's "Minute Waltz".

32. Not ignorant : AWARE

33. Sycophants' replies : YESES

36. Like wind energy : RENEWABLE. Terrific answer.

39. Shed light on : ILLUMINE. Only know illuminate.

41. Slow mover : OOZE. And ICKY (57. Like 41-Down, perhaps).

44. Simply designed British firearm : STEN GUN. We seen STEN often.

47. Appropriated : SEIZED

49. Crumbly cheese : FETA

51. Broadband option: Abbr. : DSL

54. Big Island city : HILO (Hee-loh)

58. Chimp in the Mercury program : ENOS. I forgot.

59. Skunk Le Pew : PEPE. Pepe Le Pew.

60. Charon's river : STYX. The Hades river. Charon is the ferryman.

62. Emmy-winning scientist : NYE. Bill Nye the Science Guy.

63. Cyclades island : IOS. Another stumper. Homer is said to be buried on this island.

Answer grid.

Here is Part VI of Kazie's Oz series. Day 2 on their Kakadu tour. That resting place under the rock looks dangerous, doesn't it? Click here to see all the pictures from her Oz trip.

C.C.