Sunday August 1, 2010 John Lampkin

Theme: Them's Fightin' Words - Part of a common phrase is punnily replaced by a similar sounding fightin' word.

23A. Protective gear for public disorder? : RIOT GUARD. Playing on Right Guard, the deodorant brand.

28A. Condiments aisle dispute? : CATSUP BATTLE. Catsup Bottle. We just call it catchup.

43A. Looker in a free-for-all? : THE BELLE OF THE BRAWL. The Belle of the Ball.

67A. Hostility between pinky wrestlers? : FINGER FEUD. Finger Food.

69A. Couple that's always at it? : CLASHMATES. Classmates. Then John gives us BRA (120A. Uplifting garb) and a consecutive ASSES (121. Boobs). He's deviously DF.

90A. Grammar class skirmishes? : PREPOSITIONAL FRAYS. Prepositional phrases.

106A. Table game for tusslers? : SCUFFLE BOARD. Shuffleboard.

117A. Pasta before an affaire d'honneur? : DUEL CARBS. What is this playing off? Dual Carb(buretors)? I've never heard of it before. Affaire d'honneur ="Affair of honor".

I liked how 67A & 69A are placed side by side in Row 11 (very central row) of the grid, separated by a black square it the middle. Technically you can place 23A & 117A in that row too, separated by a group of three squares. Won't look as pretty though.

Fun theme and fun clues, which all have some sort of skirmish words as hints.

Pangram. And no helper/cheater squares. Really takes time and effort to accomplish these two goals. Lower than average block count and word count too. As usual, I green-highlighted all the terrific clue echos.

Just mentioned yesterday that E is the most common vowels in crossword. This one has 52. I think R & S & T are the mostly common consonants. 37 R's in this grid.

Across:

1. Stop at sea, with "to" : HEAVE. New expression to me.

6. CD changers, at times : DJS

9. Tossed in : ADDED

14. Seasonal flue shouts : HO HOS. From Darling Santa. Nice play on "seasonal flu shots".

19. "The Wizard of Oz" tunesmith : ARLEN (Harold)

20. __ race : RAT.Crossing DRAG (6D.__ race). Fill-in-the-blank clues can't get better than this.

21. NPR host Hansen : LIANE. Of "Weekend Edition Sunday". Wife of Neal Conan, host of "Talk of the Nation" (NPR).

22. Critic with an influential thumb : EBERT (Roger). Film critic.

25. Crossword components : GRIDS. Sweet!

26. Roger Bannister, notably : MILER

27. Handlers in a bucket : ICE TONGS. I was picturing a person rather than a tool "handler".

30. Slip : ERR

31. "Evita" role : CHE. The narrator.

32. Certain dancer's hope : RAIN. Why? A reference to "Singin' in the Rain"?

33. Ending with Japan : ESE. Japanese.

34. Poking tool : AWL

37. Talk turkey? : GOBBLE. Lovely clue.

40. Diet guru Jenny : CRAIG

42. Worry : FRET

47. __ avail : TO NO

48. Monogram pts. : LTRS. And R.E.L. (41D. Confed. monogram). R. E. Lee. Confederate. Wicked clue.

49. Lecture site : HALL

50. Dagger handles : HAFTS

54. Knotty situation? : NODUS. New word to me. Nodus is Latin for "knot".

56. Solid alcohol : STEROL. What? There's solid alcohol?

58. Bookplate words : EX LIBRIS. Bookplate inscription. Never know how to spell the words libris correctly. It means "library", right?

61. Dogsledding gear : PARKA

63. Like some Byzantine art : ICONIC. Most are icons.

65. Bodybuilder's target, briefly : LAT. I wanted ABS. And FLAB (42D. Bodybuilder's target). And HE-MAN (14D. Bodybuilder). Shout-out to our MOREL guy Dennis.

66. Rep. : AGT

72. Eroded, with "away" : ATE

73. Bit of baloney : LIE. Tasty clue.

74. Flap-doored homes : TEPEES

76. Redder inside : RARER. Meat.

77. Agate and jasper : QUARTZES. Super scrabbly. And TIGER'S EYE (52D. Agate relative).

80. "m" and "n" sounds : NASALS

82. Like 2-Down : NORSE. Cross-referenced with ERIC (2D. "The Red" guy). Eric the Red.

84. Binge : SPREE

85. Broadway successes : HITS

87. Pro follower : RATA. Pro rata = proportionately.

89. Some fuel suffixes : ANES. Hydrocarbon suffixes. Plural of an chemical suffix is never desirable.

95. Drama opening? : MELO. Melodrama.

98. Main blood line : AORTA

99. Golfer's "flat stick" : PUTTER. Most putters actually have some degree of loft.

100. Baseball's Durocher : LEO. Hall of Famer. More famous as a manager than a player.

101. Botanist Gray : ASA

102. Gardner that sounds like a peer : ERLE. And EARL (91D. Peer that sounds like a Gardner). Erle Stanley Gardner. We also have STREET (18D. Mason's assistant).

103. Kid : TOT

104. Double-digit sign? : VEE. Good clue.

110. Ice cream order : ONE SCOOP. I don't eat ice cream.

115. It's trolled at Christmas : CAROL

116. Like fall air, often : NIPPY. Fleeting summer here.

118. Bizet work : OPERA. "Carmen".

119. Some jazz combos : TRIOS

122. Principle : TENET

123. Skillful : ADEPT

124. Nile snake : ASP

125. Not a good way to come up : SHORT. Come up short.

Down:

1. Spy name : HARI. Mata Hari.

3. Burn balm : ALOE

4. Stingray, e.g., for short : 'VETTE

5. Swallow greedily : ENGORGE

7. Honey holders : JARS. I love honey.

8. Part of EST: Abbr. : STD

9. Pool owner's concern : ALGAE

10. Tabloid fodder : DIRT

11. Speaker's platform : DAIS

12. Like minor hardships : ENDURABLE. Didn't come to me readily.

13. Very blue state : DESPAIR. Was thinking of California.

15. Ultimate words? : OBIT. Terrific clue. And OR ELSE (17. Ultimate words).

16. With 55-Down, Beatles song with the line "You may be a lover but you ain't no dancer" : HELTER. And SKELTER (55. See 16-Down). Helter Skelter. Not a familiar song to me.

24. Open, as a scroll : UNROLL

28. Toque wearer : CHEF. Was surprised that toque stumped some in Donna's hat pun last time.

29. Anaheim stadium nickname : BIG A. The Big A. Probably hard for non-baseball fans.

31. Shaved to the max : CLOSE-CUT. I wanted an EST-ending word.

34. Env. directive : ATTN

35. Celebrate in a big way : WHOOP IT UP

36. Listen : LEND AN EAR. Two great multi-words in a row.

38. Alphabetical orders? : BLTS. I figure it can't be BCDE cluster, the real "Alphabetical orders". Also RODENTIA (57. Mouse order). Composed of rodents. Another new word. I was thinking of computer mouse order: click.

39. Jeeves's boss __ Wooster, in Wodehouse novels : BERTIE. No idea. I bet Lemonade knows.

40. Communion cups : CHALICES

44. Village : BOURG. Thought it means "town". Confused it with burg.

45. Tele- ending : THON. Telethon.

46. "Song of Myself" poet : WHITMAN

51. Like the Elks : FRATERNAL

53. Ret. fliers : SSTS

59. T-shirt orders : XLS

60. "If I Were King of the Forest" singer : LAHR (Bert). Cowardly Lion in "The Wizard of Oz".

62. McCain's st. : ARIZ

64. Empty, as a desk : CLEAR OUT

67. Online sidebar headings : FAQS. FAQ = Frequently Asked Question.

68. Charge card charge : FEE. Triple alliteration.

70. Like italics : ASLANT. And AROAR (71. Cheering in a big way). Two consecutive A words.

75. Tense time? : PAST. Past tense.

78. Taken-back auto : REPO

79. Curlew or plover : SHOREBIRD

81. Ballpark figure : STAT. And OR SO (112. Ballpark figure follower). Different ballparks.

83. Old U.S. gas : ESSO

86. Violin add-on : IST. Violinist.

88. Brit's school exam : A-LEVEL. No idea. Taken by whom? For what?

92. Italian cornmeal dish : POLENTA

93. Apple product : IPOD

94. Citrus drinks : FRESCAS. Coca-Cola.

95. Smokey Bear, e.g. : MASCOT

96. Beach book genre : ESCAPE

97. Polo designer : LAUREN (Ralph)

102. Key of four Beethoven piano sonatas : E-FLAT. I peeked at the answer sheet.

103. Lovers' liaison : TRYST

105. It's disposable online : E-CASH. Do you call PayPal money e-cash?

107. Shout after a hook, maybe : FORE. Or after a slice. Golf.

108. Andy's kid : OPIE. "The Andy Griffith Show" kid.

109. Per : A POP

110. Nuptial pronoun : OURS

111. Twice-monthly tide : NEAP

113. Fräulein's upper : OBER. I only know UBER (over).

114. Sibilant signal : PSST

117. Corp. alias : DBA (Doing Business As)

Answer grid.

Here is a link to Gunghy's Meteor Crater shots from his Picaca Web Album. Click on each one, his wonderful captions will show up. Man, he's a great photographer, don't you think?

C.C.

Saturday July 31, 2010 Timothy L. Meaker

Theme: None

Total words: 72 / Total blocks: 35

Average Word length: 5.28

FYI, 72 is the maximum word count allowed for a themeless.

This puzzle is anchored by three triple stacks of 10s in the top right and bottom left corners. A couple of 9s and 8s in Across build up the basic frame work. The Downs are mostly of medium and short length today.

I'd like to guess that the seed word is OPERA HOUSE (16A. Sight from Sydney Harbour). I hope it's a gimme for all of you, since Kazie devoted a whole episode focusing on Sydney Harbour in her Oz trip series.

E is the most used letters in crossword. Today we have 26 Es. S is very common too. 19 in this grid. Definitely not a scrabbly puzzle: no Q, V, X & Z. Still a tough slog for me. The names are killing me!

Across:

1. Not clear-cut : GRAY. Gray area. Most of the Saturday clues are "not clear-cut". Drive me nuts!

5. Census bureau, essentially : DATA CENTER. "Essentially" yes.

15. Artist Bonheur : ROSA. French artist. Died in 1899. Way too obscure for me.

17. Harpsichordist Kipnis : IGOR. Total stranger. Do you know anything about him, Jayce?

18. Aerodynamics research tool : WIND TUNNEL. Gimme for Dudley, I am sure. Warren was a pilot too.

19. Cares for : TENDS

21. Beginnings : SEEDS

22. Servers with wheels : TEA WAGONS. Oh, we call them tea carts.

25. Co. whose largest hub is at O'Hare : UAL. United Airlines.

28. Shooting sound : REPORT. Dictionary explain report as "a loud noise, as from an explosion", as in the report of a distant cannon. Learning moment for me.

29. Items in a nautical table : TIDES. Ah, for Spitzboov.

31. Pub employees : BARMAIDS. I only know bartender. Barmaids sounds outdated.

34. Show-off : HOT-DOG

35. Land in un lac : ILE. French. Island in a lake.

36. Lo-__ graphics : RES

37. Vigor : PEP

38. Suffix with string : ENT. Stringent. Even this stumped me.

39. Took off : DOFFED. I need "hat" in the clue.

41. Hands and feet : MEASURES. A foot = 12". A hand = 4". Both are measures. Stymied me.

43. Wind threat : SHEAR. Another aviation term? What does it mean?

44. "Samson Agonistes" dramatist : MILTON (John). All I know about Milton is "Paradise Lost".

45. Indirect route : ARC

46. White Sands and others : TEST SITES

49. Actress Van Devere : TRISH. First encounter with this actress.

51. Beaumont, Texas, university : LAMAR. Peeked at the answer sheet.

53. Old-time educator : SCHOOLMARM. I liked this entry.

58. Mystical amulet : MOJO

59. Where to find waiters : TRAIN DEPOT. Waiters = Those who wait. Not your restaurant waiters. Tricky clue.

60. Replacement for those left out : ET AL. Latin for "and others".

61. Weathers the struggle : SOLDIERS ON. Great fill too.

62. Rink fake : DEKE. Hockey "fake" move. Learned from doing Xword.

Down:

1. Abrasive bits : GRIT

2. Subject of Joshua Kendall's "The Man Who Made Lists" : ROGET. Roger's Thesaurus.

3. In unison : AS ONE

4. Spar part : YARDARM. Need our sailor Gunghy's explanation.

5. Stock page name : DOW. Dow Jones Index.

6. Bee: Pref. : API. Only know apian.

7. Stretching muscles : TENSORS. Thought the clue was asking for an ING ending word.

8. Hot-blooded : ARDENT

9. "Gremlins" actress : CATES (Phoebe). No idea. Wife of actor Kevin Kline.

10. Former Israeli prime minister Olmert : EHUD.

11. Judgment for insufficient evidence : NONSUIT. Is this the same as "dismissal', Lemonade?

12. Napa vessel : TUN. Wine cask.

13. Capt.'s heading : ESE. Well, it could be anywhere.

14. Family mem. : REL (Relative)

20. Oath taker : SWEARER. Only one er-ending word today, not bad at all. Our old TMS used way too many ER, RE, ED, S, EST affixes.

23. On foot, in France : A PIED. Literally "on foot".

24. Jupiter and Mars : GODS. Both Roman gods. Gunghy just mentioned yesterday that only planets are named after gods. The moons are named after the lesser characters: Titans, Fates, etc.

26. Scary snake : ADDER. Not "one who adds" ER word. Good.

27. Freetown currency : LEONE. Money unit in Sierra Leone. Freetown is the capital city.

29. Nursery purchase : TOPSOIL. Plant "Nursery", Dummy!

30. York and Snorkel: Abbr. : SGTS (Sergeants)

31. Orders : BIDS

32. Welcoming word : ALOHA. Five letters in Chinese too: Ni Hao.

33. Direct : REFER

34. Qualifying races : HEATS

37. Bombard : PELT

40. Elvis sighting, e.g. : FACTOID. I don't get this clue. Sightings are not really 'facts", correct?

41. Accidents : MISHAPS

42. Not tractable : UNTAMED

44. "Animal magnetism" coiner : MESMER (Franz). No idea. Just learned that "mesmerize" is rooted in his name. Interesting!

46. Symbol of equivalence, in math : TILDE. I don't get this clue either. I learned math in Chinese and I sucked.

47. Fake feelings : EMOTE. "Fake" is a verb here. I was in the adjective direction.

48. Man of letters? : SAJAK (Pat). Host of "Wheel of Fortune". Could be a clue for ROGET (2D) too. He is indeed a "man of letters".

50. Noodle __: old product name : RONI

52. Part : ROLE

53. Houston in NYC, et al. : STS. Houston Streets.

54. Zagreb's land, to the IOC : CRO (Croatia). I pictures a happy smile in Tinbeni. Are girls aggressive there?

55. Holbrook of "Evening Shade" : HAL

56. Eeyore pal : ROO. Kanga's kid in "Winnie-the-Pooh".

57. K2, for one: Abbr. : MTN (Mountain). K2 is the second-highest mountain on Earth after Mount Everest. I've never understood what K stands for.

Answer grid.

Here is the final installment of Gunghy's bike trip series. Great to finally "see" him in his armor. He has more pictures to share, but I can't carry on due to my lack of time. I'll link once he uploads them to Picasa or some other website.

C.C.