Sunday September 12, 2010 Scott Atkinson

Theme: The Long and Short of It - Long E sound in EE/EA + LL(s) combination in the last word of each familiar phrase is changed into short I.

25A. Wiring woes? : ELECTRIC ILLS. Electric eels.

30A. Pickle processor's invitation? : LET'S MAKE A DILL. Let's make a deal. Awesome entry.

49A. Fruity medication? : BANANA PILL. Banana peels.

61A. Black, gooey knolls near Charlotte? : NORTH CAROLINA TAR HILLS. North Carolina Tar Heels. Nice grid-spanner. But clue/answer duplication with BRAGG (100A. North Carolina fort). I guess there's no other easy way to clue the latter. Still, very bad.

78A. Factories with good morale? : HAPPY MILLS. Happy Meals.

94A. Moonshine equipment that's frozen solid? : COLD HARD STILL. Cold Hard Steel.

103A. Documents bequeathing tiny exercise devices? : HAMSTER WILLS. Hamster Wheels.

Very consistent theme pattern. All the last words have one syllable. I can't think of a good phrase with possible feel/fill & keel/kill transformation. You?

This might be Scott's first Sunday puzzle. If so, congratulations! Fun theme and plenty of entertaining clues. One X away from a pangram.

Across:

1. Cuba libre ingredient : COLA. Lime too.

5. Grocery unit : BAG

8. Govt. securities : T-BONDS. Could be T-BILLS also.

14. Pester : NAG AT

19. Former Israeli president Weizman : EZER. Wanted EZRA.

20. Flabbergast : AWE

21. Greek sun god : HELIOS. S ending in Greek always suggests a male figure. As in Zeus.

22. Steer clear of : AVOID

23. Place to park a parka : COAT TREE. Didn't come to me readily.

27. Like Humpty Dumpty, ultimately : IN PIECES. He fell to pieces.

28. Places to go in Gloucester? : LOOS. Gloucester is for alliteration purpose. Great clue.

29. Ballot fallout : CHADS

33. British pop singer Lewis : LEONA. No idea. Looks pretty.

34. Spring mo. : APR

35. Constitutional aid? : CANE. Was thinking of US Constitution rather than physical health.

36. Holiday veggies : YAMS

37. Denali et al.: Abbr. : MTS

40. Disguise for illegal activities : FRONT. Mostly. The ones for FBI/CIA are legal, aren't they?

43. Eponymous dish inventor : PETRI

45. Hi from a float : WAVE. Nice clue.

46. Duff : SEAT

47. Common Market inits. : EEC (European Economic Community)

48. Bobby Orr, once : BRUIN. Boston Bruins.

51. Uneasy desire : ITCH

53. 1953 Leslie Caron film : LILI. Gigi is 1958.

54. Malarkey : BUNK

55. Prefix with trafficker : NARCO. Drew a blank. Narco-trafficker.

56. Hideous : GRUESOME

58. Foot specialist? : BARD. Metrical foot.

59. Toll rd. : TPK (Turnpike)

68. Nonverbal syst. : ASL (American Sign Language)

69. Christmas setups : FIRS

70. "Émile, or On Education" author : ROUSSEAU (Jean-Jacques). Not familiar with the book.

71. Lieu : STEAD

75. Cap'n's crew member : BO'S'N

76. "You're So __": Carly Simon hit : VAIN. Whom is it about again?

77. Ten percenters: Abbr. : AGTS

81. __ State Broncos: Western Athletic Conf. team : BOISE. I know nothing about college sports.

82. "__ du lieber!" : ACH

83. 1975 Pure Prairie League hit : AMIE. First encounter with the band, and the song.

84. Apple with tunes : IPOD. Mine is full of podcast.

85. Soldier, in slang : GRUNT

86. Site of India's Red Fort : DELHI. Pure guess.

88. Math proof letters : Q.E.D.

89. Sweat spot : BROW

90. Support gp. created in 1942 : WAAC (Women's Army Auxiliary Corps)

91. RVer's refuge : KOA

92. Disney's middle name : ELIAS. I forgot.

101. Doughnut shapes : TORI. Plural of torus. Stumped many last time. It looks like this.

102. Chosen one : SELECTEE

106. Rocky address : YO ADRIAN. Great entry.

107. Justice since 2006 : ALITO (Samuel)

108. "Mas Que Nada" bandleader : MENDES. Peeked at the answer sheet.

109. Vietnam Veterans Memorial architect : LIN (Maya)

110. One way to store data : ON CD

111. Eponymous scout Chisholm : JESSE. No idea. Wikipedia says the Chisholm Trail is named after him.

112. Elusive big Scot? : NESSIE. Lock Ness Monster.

113. Calculus prereq. : ALG

114. Ken of "Wiseguy" : WAHL. Nope. He looks familiar though.

Down:

1. Mining magnate Rhodes : CECIL. Of Rhodes Scholar fame.

2. Triatomic pollutant : OZONE

3. Bounded : LEAPT

4. Old guild member : ARTISAN

5. Rail amenity : BAR CAR. Have never been to one.

6. "Eight Days __" : A WEEK

7. Skein fliers : GEESE

8. It's usually disregarded when alphabetizing : THE. Fresh clue.

9. "I puritani" composer : BELLINI. Gimme for Jayce.

10. Fútbol shout : OLE OLE. Fútbol is Spanish for football.

11. Williamson of "Excalibur" : NICOL. About King Arthur I presume.

12. Things to connect : DOTS. Connect the dots.

13. Kazakhstan, once: Abbr. : SSR

14. Football party munchies : NACHOS. So messy.

15. Winged, perhaps : AVIAN

16. Yitzhak Rabin's predecessor : GOLDA MEIR. Full name in clue. Full name in answer.

17. Has a cold : AILS

18. Jerry Rice's 208, briefly : TDS. Is that a record?

24. Offer chocolates to, as a dieter : TEMPT

26. Bygone deliverers : ICEMEN

31. In "Rent," it starts with "Seasons of Love" : ACT II. Needed crossing help.

32. "Aw, phooey!" : DARN

33. Hot flower : LAVA. Flower = Thing that flows. Can't fool me.

36. Tug : YANK

38. Rash protection : TALC

39. D-Day target city : ST LO. Also CAEN.

40. Simulate : FEIGN

41. Rocket opening : RETRO. Retrorocket.

42. Come to pass : OCCUR

43. Original : PRIMAL

44. Basel-born mathematician : EULER. OK, Bill G, tell us the highlight of this guy's career.

45. Movie fish : WANDA

46. New Age music player, often : SPA. I've never heard of New Age Health Spa. So the cleverness of the clue is lost on me.

48. Voting groups : BLOCS

49. "I'd go out with women my age, but there are no women my age" speaker : BURNS (George). So he kept dating younger women?

50. Egyptian crosses : ANKHS. Always have trouble remembering the spelling.

52. Riled (up) : HET. Het up.

54. Scot's tot : BAIRN. Literally "child".

57. Like groves : SHADY

58. Euphoria : BLISS

59. One looking for the way? : TAOIST. Tao = Way (in Chinese).

60. Compote fruit : PRUNE

62. From way back when : OF OLD

63. Prepare for a run : TRAIN. I find running makes my legs thick.

64. Metaphor words : IS A

65. By the book : LEGAL

66. Gate fastener : LATCH

67. It's often served with ginger and wasabi : SUSHI. Wasbi is really hot!

71. Celt since 8/4/2010 : SHAQ. Man, I thought he's still in Cleveland.

72. Lacking spice : TAME. Does this refer to food?

73. Skin graft material : EPIDERMIS. such a sophisticated word.

74. Galoot : APE

75. Karate chop, e.g. : BLOW

76. Speak (for) : VOUCH

79. Desert illusion : MIRAGE. Loved "The English Patient".

80. NYSE events : IPOS

81. Thin nail : BRAD. Learned from doing Xword.

85. Pisa airport name : GALILEI. Named after Galileo Galilei.

86. Took two pills, say : DOSED

87. Have humble pie : EAT CROW. Worse than EAT DIRT.

89. Hallux : BIG TOE. Did not know the meaning of hallux.

90. __ Fair : WORLD'S

91. "Constant Craving" vocalist : K. D. LANG. Lois loves her.

93. Endures : LASTS

94. Fountain contents, often : COINS

95. Sanctuaries : ASYLA. Plural for asylum I infer.

96. Try to quiet, as a persistent squeak : REOIL

97. Turner memoir : I, TINA. We had this clue before.

98. Percolate : LEACH

99. 1985-'87 U.S. Open champ : LENDL (Ivan). Nadal today.

100. Loft bundle : BALE. Hi, there, Windhover!

101. Hardly macho, in Manchester : TWEE. Another alliteration.

103. Pilgrimage to Mecca : HAJ

104. LBJ successor : RMN. Can never remember Nixon's middle name. Milhous.

105. Bakersfield-to-L.A. heading : SSE. Educated guess.

Answer grid.

C.C.

Saturday September 11, 2010 Mike Nothnagel

Theme: None

Total words: 68

Total blocks: 29

Average Word Length: 5.76

Amazing 20 multi-word entries in the grid, all solid. Several made their first time appearance in major newspaper puzzle. Gorgeous! I just mentioned to our blogging team a few days ago about how constructors pride themselves in debuting a new word/phrase.

I like the two Across 12s a lot. I suspect one of them is Nothnagal's seed entry. The two Down 10s and four 9s are all quite sparkling.

Scrabbly puzzle too. Two X, Y, Z, V each.

Across:

1. Clear skies : AZURES. I normally struggle with the first entry. Not today.

7. Adequately suited to : FINE FOR

14. Stop browsing : LOG OFF

15. Curling-up site : FIRESIDE. Cozy.

16. Shared with : TOLD TO. Sure was not thinking of a story.

17. Too much : IN EXCESS

18. Vision blurrers, at times : STYES

19. Nikon F, e.g., briefly : SLR

20. Death is part of it : TAROT. The fortunetelling deck. Got me.

21. Common California map word : SAN. Fresh clue.

22. Item for the Windsor knot-challenged? : BOLO. Maybe they simply love bolo ties.

23. Woods set : IRONS. Tiger Woods. Nailed it.

24. Monopoly phrase : JUST VISITING. Did you get this immediately?

27. Clinker in a Glas : EIS. German for "ice", which clinks in Glas (glass). Not sure even our German speaking Spitzboov and Kazie penned in the right answer on their first try. Way too tricky a clue.

28. Richard of "A Summer Place" : EGAN. Just watched "A Summer Place" this summer. Sweet movie. But I sure can't remember Egan's name. Handsome guy.

29. Winter vacation destination : SLOPES

33. Calmed : STILLED

35. Censor : EDIT OUT

36. Men-on-base gp.? : US NAVY. I don't get this clue. Why Navy? Shouldn't it apply to Army/Air force also? MLB too.

37. Cell projection insulated by a myelin sheath : AXON. The impulse carrier. The clue means nothing to me.

38. Nickname of 1950s Reds slugger Ted : KLU. Gimme for our Seen. He can tell you all about the Big Klu.

39. Watches : KEEPS AN EYE ON. Awsome!

42. Caucasus native : OSSET. New word to me.

45. Cruise itinerary listing : ISLE

46. Indoor rowing machine, briefly, in rowers' jargon : ERG. No idea. Short for ergometer. I was so amused yesterday when Jazzbumpa said an ERG is "roughly equivalent to one fly doing one push-up."

47. Take the cuffs off? : ALTER. Nice clue as well.

48. Boss's domain, perhaps : PIT. What boss? Gambling?

49. Enchanting, but not in a big way? : ELFIN. Because elves are small I suppose.

51. Fragrant Cloud and Crimson Glory : TEA ROSES. Tough clue.

53. Roaring : ABLAZE. How can fire roar?

54. Place to see a pilot light? : HELIPORT. Well, I have no doubt our pilot Dudley saw it. I saw kitchen.

55. Disarming events? : TRUCES. Don't feel the question mark is needed.

56. Blood reservoirs : SPLEENS. Man, I didn't know this trivia.

57. Island vacation rentals : MOPEDS

Down:

1. In-flight announcement nos. : ALTS (Altitudes).

2. Flashy 1940s outfits : ZOOT SUITS. Got it rather quickly.

3. Not easy on the eyes : UGLY AS SIN. Eye duplication with 39A. Not good.

4. Capybara or cavy : RODENT. Unfamiliar with either of the two referenced in the clue.

5. Some former tadpoles : EFTS. Young newts.

6. UAL western hub : SFO

7. Fish malady : FIN ROT. Mystery to me. The malady rot the fish's fin? We also have BIG EYE (22. Nocturnal fish). Nice clecho (clue echo) of fish.

8. Cause of a duel, maybe : IRE

9. On deck : NEXT IN LINE. Another great fill.

10. Food eaten with tongs and a fork : ESCARGOT. Have any of you eaten escargot?

11. Sporty '80s Pontiac : FIERO. Literally "proud" in Italian.

12. Can't stop eating : OD'S ON

13. Notes aren't written during them : RESTS. Musical notes I suppose.

15. Temp : FILL-IN. Timely fill for our Husker Gary.

19. "I feel for you" : SO SAD

24. "Pie __": Mass motet : JESU. No idea. Literally "Jesus".

25. Line outside a nightclub : VELVET ROPE. Such a refreshing answer. Repeat of line with the answer in 9D though.

26. Day follower, in "Taps" : IS DONE. I peeked at the answer sheet.

30. Feature of some bluffs : POKER FACE. Nice one also.

31. Praised : EULOGIZED

32. Take by surprise : STUN

34. One end of Ontario's Welland Canal : LAKE ERIE. Much better than ERIE alone.

35. Praise : EXALT

37. Rink statistic : ASSIST. Hockey.

40. Military band members : PIPERS

41. Call to the attic : YELL UP. Alas, no old baseball cards in our attic.

42. Swear words : OATHS

43. A buzzer may end it : SLEEP

44. Flea market booth : STALL. Not much luck in flea market this year. No good finds.

49. River past Logroño : EBRO. Was ignorant of the Spanish city Logroño. Obviously it's on the Ebro River.

50. Notable Volstead Act enforcer : NESS (Eliot). I forgot what Volstead Act is about.

52. Will party : SON. Party to a person's last will.

53. Source of emergency funds : ATM. It has become a common word that no "briefly" or "for short" is needed in the clue.

Answer grid.

Please visit Urban Dictionary and vote for clecho (clue echo). Thanks.

C.C.