Monday August 2, 2010 Allan E. Parrish

Theme: OL' MAN RIVER (57. "Show Boat" classic, and where to find the ends of 17-, 26- and 44-Across) - The ends of first three theme entries are parts of a river.

17A. Soft mattress topper : FEATHER BED

26A. Edison's electrical preference : DIRECT CURRENT

44A. Government-owned financial institutions : NATIONAL BANKS

I am not familiar with the song. The Ol' Man River does refer to the mighty Mississippi, correct?

Actually, a 5-letter RIVER will work as a unifier too. But OL' MAN RIVER provides a more sparkling choice, in addition to its 10-letter symmetry to FEATHER BED.

Quite a scrabbly 74 worder. Only letter J is missing. Total 18 entries are of medium 6/7-letter length. A nice mix. Also a few clue echos.

C.C. here. Argyle's sister is visiting. He'll be back next Monday.

Across:

1. Money in Mumbai : RUPEE. Alliteration.

6. Lose effectiveness, as painkillers, with "off" : WEAR. And WEAKENS (10D. Loses strength).

10. Wild or Old region : WEST

14. Pole vault, e.g. : EVENT

15. Palindromic pop group : ABBA. And 'N SYNC (33. "No Strings Attached" pop group). Pop group echo.

16. Big fair : EXPO

19. Eagerly excited : AGOG

20. Monterey County seat that's the birthplace of John Steinbeck : SALINAS. I forgot. We had this clue before.

21. '50s-'60s USSR leader Khrushchev : NIKITA. Cold War is so far away.

23. Grafton's "__ for Corpse" : C IS

24. Set aside for later : STORE. TABLE also has 5 letters.

31. Bills with George on them : ONES. I'd prefer "Bills with Washington on them". Also ABE (8D. Prez on a penny).

32. Roman moon goddess : LUNA

36. NBA position : CTR (Center)

37. Grazing land : PASTURE. And LEA (58D. Grazing land).

39. Small taste : SIP

40. Composer of marches : SOUSA. He died in the month of March also.

42. Like most pets : TAME

43. Fashion's Chanel : COCO

47. Super Bowl XXI MVP Phil : SIMMS. Wikipedia says he's known for inaugurating the phrase "I'm going to Disney World!".

48. Big mouth, in slang : YAP

49. Diocese leader : BISHOP

52. Abandon : FORSAKE

56. Workplace protection org. : OSHA

60. Scold severely : FLAY

61. Croat's neighbor : SERB. I've never understood the Balkan War. Is it about religious conflict?

62. Online read : EZINE

63. Online help pages, briefly : FAQS. Frequently Asked Questions.

64. City transport : TAXI

65. Real bargains : DEALS

Down:

1. NFL arbiters : REFS

2. Eye layer containing the iris : UVEA. Latin for "grape".

3. Ring loudly : PEAL

4. Draws in : ENTICES

5. Cultural, as cuisine : ETHNIC. I miss authentic Thai food & my experiences.

6. Major conflicts : WARS

7. Flow away, as a tide : EBB

9. Philadelphia suburb : RADNOR. What is it famous for?

11. Former soldier : EX GI

12. Dick and Jane's dog : SPOT. Obtained the answer via crossers.

13. Forum garb : TOGA

18. "Born in __": Cheech Marin film : EAST LA

22. Good-night girl of song : IRENE. Have never heard of the song "Goodnight, Irene".

24. Beach bronzings : SUN TANS

25. Psychological shock : TRAUMA

26. Medicos : DOCS

27. Division word : INTO

28. Show over : RERUN

29. Standard practice : CUSTOM

30. Boxing's "Iron Mike" : TYSON. I remember the ear-biting incident.

34. Shaver's mishap : NICK

35. USN noncoms : CPOS (Chief Petty Officers)

37. Barbecue site : PATIO

38. Trust, as a friend : RELY ON

41. Walks with attitude : SASHAYS. Lucina likes to use this word.

43. Turn over at sea : CAPSIZE

45. Customs levy : IMPOST

46. Kept out : BARRED

49. Big Broadway hit, in slang : BOFF. So is BOFFO.

50. Land in el mar : ISLA

51. NBAer O'Neal : SHAQ

52. Formula One racer Teo __ : FABI. His name escaped me also.

53. Nike competitor : AVIA. Latin for "fly".

54. __ Ration: pet food : KEN- L. Third time in a month?

55. "__ Tu": 1974 hit : ERES. Eres Tu = "It is You".

59. Mysterious guy : MR. X. Nice edge word.

Answer grid.

Here is a recent photo of our Cool Hand Larry (Windhover). Looks more like a philosopher than a farmer, no? Still want to share his bike, Annette?

C.C.

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.