Sunday September 19, 2010 Jeff Chen

Theme: Location, Location, Location or rather YOU ARE HERE (109A. Mall map phrase, and a homophonic hint to this puzzle's theme) - The first word of each common phrase starts with U, and the second word starts with R. Thus, U R HERE.

21A. Alternative media magazine since 1984 : UTNE READER. Named after the founder Eric Utne. Just a reprint of various articles. I've got no idea on how to pronounce Utne. You?

26A. City improvement program : URBAN RENEWAL

43A. Moving option : U-HAUL RENTAL

50A. "Song of the South" storyteller : UNCLE REMUS. Nice to see a complete name.

63A. Den controller : UNIVERSAL REMOTE

77A. Consumer Reports feature : USER REVIEW. Easy guess.

85A. Score after a 22-Down, usually : UNEARNED RUN

98A. Rot : UTTER RUBBISH

In addition to UNEARNED RUN, we also have:

116A. D.C. team : NATS. Nationals.

118A. League divisions : EASTS. And ARAB (92A. __ League). League clecho (clue echo).

22D. Diamond flaw? : ERROR. Think baseball whenever there's a question mark besides diamond.

Fun puzzle. When I first read the title, I thought of "under", "over", "beneath", you know, those positional prepositions. Got most of the U beginning theme answers, but did not grok the theme until I reached the unifier.

Total 19 Us in the grid. I mentioned before that unlike A, E or other vowels, U is a bit tough to place in the grid. So, there had to be some shuffling around of several theme answers to make the grid work smoothly. Of course, Jeff loves You! Who could forget his last *ULUS?

Congratulations to Jeff on his Sunday debut! Nine theme entries, great start. Do tell us how the theme was developed and what were some of the challenges you faced in constructing this first 21*21.

Across:

1. Game with triples and doubles : DARTS. Was picturing baseball.

6. Strike out : OMIT. Thought of baseball again.

10. Rogen of "Knocked Up" : SETH. Have never seen "Knocked Up". Sounds goofy.

14. Singer's syllable : TRA

17. On the ball : ALERT

18. Composer of the "Brandenburg" concertos : BACH. Got it via crosses.

19. Virile : MACHO

20. Scold, with "out" : CHEW

23. Woolf's "__ of One's Own" : A ROOM

24. Overhaul : RE-DO

25. Consequence of selfish acts, some say : BAD KARMA. Great fill.

29. Pulitzer category : DRAMA

31. Napa prefix : OENO. Prefix for "wine".

32. Old commercial prefix with mat : FOTO

33. Tabasco, por ejemplo : ESTADO. "State". I was thinking of the hot sauce.

37. Sully : SOIL

39. Gazed amazedly : MARVELED

46. Place : SITE

47. One way to swing : FRO. To and fro.

48. Driving __ : RANGE. Golf.

49. Swimming cap brand : VOIT. Unknown to me.

53. Food scrap : ORT. Also OAT (38D. Feedbag morsel).

54. Secure in a harbor : MOOR

55. Monopoly buys: Abbr. : AVES

56. Go with the flow : ADAPT

57. They're often not on the menu : SPECIALS. Some are.

60. Fluish feeling : AGUE. Learned from doing word.

61. Terse negation : IT ISN'T

66. Coke collectible : BOTTLE. It has become a huge industry, all kinds of Coke collectibles.

68. Cajun vegetable : OKRA. Have you tried fresh okra? Not so mushy at all.

69. Desert menaces : RATTLERS

73. Indian dignitary : RANEE

74. Calendar col. : TUES. And NOV (28. Calendar pg.). Calendar clecho. Click here and thumb up the definition, if you have not voted. We also have AUG (36D. What "8" may represent: Abbr.). In calendar too.

75. Short smokes? : CIGS. Cigarettes.

76. Droid : BOT

80. School in Durham : DUKE. Coach K & the lacrosse scandal are all I know about Duke.

81. Feudal lord : LIEGE

83. Rose-rose-rose-rose connector : IS A. Gertrude Stein. "Rose is a rose is a rose..."

84. Distillery vessels : VATS

87. "No prob!" : NOT AT ALL

90. Herr's partner : FRAU

91. Patterned marbles : AGATES

93. Bibliographic abbr. : ET AL

95. It eats shoots and leaves : PANDA. I've yet to read "Eats, Shoots and Leaves".

102. Recites effortlessly : REELS OFF

107. Quarter, e.g. : COIN

108. Like a stadium full of cheering fans : AROAR

111. Capital NNW of Santiago : LIMA. Harvested a few precious lima beans this year.

112. Illegal lending tactic : USURY

113. Chapter 11 issue : DEBT

114. Allied (with) : SIDED

115. Black and tan half : ALE. According to Wiki, Black and Tan is "a drink made from a blend of pale ale and a dark beer such as a stout or porter".

117. Memorable periods : ERAS

Down:

1. Smear : DAUB

2. Resort near Snowbird : ALTA. See this map. Utah ski town. I forgot again.

3. Tear to pieces : REND

4. Tough journey : TREK

5. Equivocate : STRADDLE

6. He bested Clinton in 2008 : OBAMA. I like how it parallels MADAM (7. Speaker's title, perhaps).

8. Curling surface : ICE

9. Unlike a dead end, briefly : THRU

10. Kitchen wrap : SARAN

11. Field involving scarcity and elasticity : ECONOMICS. Not a familiar references. Nice rhyme.

12. Superhero based on a god : THOR. Norse thunder god.

13. "Smooth sailing from here!" : HOME FREE

14. Chaney title role : THE WOLF MAN. Was shocked I got it.

15. Unwanted letter of fiction : RED A. "The Scarlet Letter".

16. MP's quarry : AWOL

19. Silents actress Normand : MABEL. Can never remember her name.

20. Minotaur's island : CRETE

27. Agitate : ROIL

30. Moving about : ASTIR

33. Continental money : EUROS

34. Astute : SHARP

35. Oncle's spouse : TANTE. French for "aunt". Oncle is "uncle".

40. View from Nantucket: Abbr. : ATL. Tricky clue.

41. Burst : ERUPT

42. "__ thou know who made thee?": Blake : DOST

44. Develop slowly : EVOLVE

45. Rope loop : NOOSE

46. Look of disdain : SNEER

50. Throat projection : UVULA

51. "Something to Talk About" Grammy winner : RAITT (Bonnie). Nice song. To answer Husker Gary's questions: No, I've never heard of "Now or Never". And yes, Elvis is known in China, but definitely not as popular as Eminem or Jay-Z. Kids now rap nonsense everywhere.

52. Comet brand before it was reassigned to Mercury : EDSEL. Unknown trivia to me. Whatever, flop.

54. "You've got __" : MAIL. So so movie.

55. Gelling agents : AGARS

58. More adorable : CUTER

59. Lay to rest : INTER

60. Cockeyed : ASKEW

61. Diagnostic machine : IMAGER. No idea. Diagnostic of what?

62. Rug rats : TOTS

64. Lecherous sorts : ROUES. Pronounced as roo-EY.

65. Eleniak of "Baywatch" : ERIKA. First encounter with this lady.

66. Low man : BASSO. low voice. I was in the serf style low man direction.

67. Revolving door recommendation : ONE AT A TIME. Gorgeous entry.

70. Film critic Roger : EBERT

71. Scoundrel : ROGUE

72. British guns : STENS

73. Bankrupt : RUIN

74. Boxer's dream : TITLE BOUT. Is this like boxers's Superbowl?

75. Get ready to play, as a CD track : CUE UP

78. Noted WWII bride : EVA BRAUN. Hitler's bride. Got me.

79. Kilmer of "The Saint" : VAL

80. Chromosome component : DNA

81. Language involving fine print? : LEGALESE. Nailed it.

82. Wash. neighbor : IDA

85. www addresses : URLS

86. Four-time presidential candidate : NADER

88. Combat zone : ARENA. We often see ETO clued as DDE's arena.

89. Sailor : TAR

90. Godmother, at times : FAIRY

94. Uphill pullers : T-BARS

96. Curaçao neighbor : ARUBA

97. __-foot oil : NEATS. No idea. What's commonly used?

98. Winner of seven straight NCAA hoops championships : UCLA

99. Labor : TOIL

100. __ Minor : URSA

101. Fictional alter ego : HYDE. Jekyll's alter ego.

103. Sunni relative : SHIA. How they keep fighting each other is beyond me.

104. Weighty refs. : OEDS

105. Stew : FRET

106. Some raiders : FEDS. Was quite scared when conducting my first raid with Pinkerton.

110. Anthem preposition : O'ER

Answer grid.

C.C.

Saturday September 28, 2010 Robert H. Wolfe

Theme: None

Total words: 70

Total blocks: 32

Hallmark of Bob's Saturday themeless: three grid-spanners, all colloquial expressions:

17A. "Beats me" : I HAVEN'T GOT A CLUE

36A. Reservation opening : ON SECOND THOUGHT

52A. "And afterward?" : WHAT HAPPENS NEXT

He must have a notebook full of 15-letter common expressions. Besides the above three 15s, Bob also gives us 11 more multi-word entries.

D, R, S & T are probably the most frequently used English consonants in crossword grid. Today we have 27 Ts. T can start or end a word. Form consonant blend like TR, TW or ST. Very versatile, just like S, but much better looking. Too many plural S or third person singular S at the bottom/right edge can make a boring grid. Singular ASS, SOS, SAS, ASSESS is not much better.

Across:

1. "Get going!" : SNAP TO IT. I sure did not start well.

9. Bantam : PETITE. Always associate bantam with chicken, not person.

15. Consort of Gustav I : KATARINA. I did not even know who Gusatav I was. According to Wiki, he's the founder of modern Sweden.

16. Like many barber shops : UNISEX

19. Bulbs in the kitchen : LEEKS. Not light bulbs. ONIONS can be clued this way also.

20. Speed : ROCKET. Can you make a sentence for me to show how they are interchangeable?

21. Wins approval : SELLS

23. Fellow : GENT

24. Contraction of a sort : TIC. Muscular contraction. Twitch. Great clue.

25. Botanical opening : STOMA. Greek for "mouth". New to me.

27. "Oh, sure!" : I BET

31. Italian classic : O SOLE MIO. Classic what? Food? Car? Beauty? I sure needed "song" in the clue.

34. Many a Middle Easterner : SEMITE

38. Arrives at : GETS TO

39. Vaulter's target : CROSSBAR

40. Before, before : ERST

41. Cast : THREW

43. Gasteyer of "SNL" : ANA. Learned from doing crossword.

44. Main call : AHOY. Bounding main. Ocean.

45. Points at dinner : TINES. The fork points.

47. In the habit of : USED TO

50. Big fan : FIEND

56. Explosive solvent, as it was formerly called : TOLUOL. Sigh! Nope. Luckily the crossing ETUI (49D) has become a gimme, otherwise letter U can be a wild noun guess.

57. Some tiny rods and spheres : BACTERIA. Too sophisticated a clue for me.

58. Funny bit : SHTICK. Consonants rich.

59. Versatile auxiliary wind-catcher : STAY SAIL. Stumped me again.

Down:

1. Word with run or jump : SKI

2. "No way!" : NAH

3. Regardless of the consequences : AT ALL COSTS. Nice entry.

4. "Star Trek" character __ Chekov : PAVEL. Mystery answer for me. Have never watched "Star Trek".

5. Poem with the line "Who intimately lives with rain" : TREES

6. Pen emission : OINK. Nailed it. Pig pen. I've been thinking lately why Jayce says sometimes clever clues please him, sometimes annoy him. Clues such as OINK are lovely. A big "Aha" or "D'oh" when you get it. On the other hand, "Chinese bread" (normally question mark is not provided on Saturdays) for RENMINBI will irk many, simply because most solvers are not familiar with the currency. A clever clue will not help. But try to commit RENMINBI (literally "people's money") to your memory, it will come up in a puzzle some day.

7. Stats for QBs : INTS. Interceptions I suppose.

8. Touching game : TAG

9. Fake it : PUT ON A SHOW. Great answer too.

10. Pass : ENACT. As law.

11. Little sucker : TICK. Fun clue.

12. You usually can't walk to one : ISLE. Draw a blank.

13. Ger. : TEUT. OK, Teuton/Teutonic.

14. Computer filename ending : EXE

18. Utah County city : OREM. South of Salt Lake city.

21. Moe, for one : STOOGE. The other two are Curly & Larry.

22. "The Spirit" comics writer Will : EISNER. First encounter with this guy.

23. Emotionally therapeutic episode : GOOD CRY. Do you cry easily?

25. Convince using flattery : SMOOTH TALK. Beautiful phrase.

26. Badge material : TIN

27. "God's Other Son" radio host : IMUS (Don). Not familiar with the show.

28. Swing time? : BIG BAND ERA. Gorgeous clue/answer.

29. Flammable gas : ETHANE

30. Bright swimmers : TETRAS. Brightly colored fish.

32. "O, swear not by ... the fickle moon ... __ that thy love prove likewise variable": "Romeo and Juliet" : LEST. Man, Shakespeare gives me trouble all the time, esp his damned quotes, never know what the guy wanted to express.

33. Outside: Pref. : ECT. Or ecto. Opposite of "endo-".

35. Aurora's counterpart : EOS. Greek dawn goddess. Also learned from doing Xword.

37. Three abroad : TRE. In Italy. Uno, due, tre. Sometimes it's clued with a tricky "It's over due?".

42. Shooter's target : HOOP. Basketball.

44. Literally, "for this" : AD HOC

45. Petulant : TESTY

46. Laura of "ER" : INNES. Total stranger.

47. "That's not good!" : UH OH

48. Old man of the sea : SALT. Slang for "sailor", but why "old"? It's not used any more? Or just playing on Hemingway's book title?

49. Small tool case : ETUI

50. Great achievement : FEAT

51. Tambo Colorado builder : INCA. Was ignorant of Tambo Colorado. The Inca adobe complex in Peru.

52. Mg. and kg. : WTS (weights)

53. "Frontline" airer : PBS

54. Noon indicator : XII. Clock/watch. Got me.

55. Chess champion who succeeded Botvinnik : TAL (Mikhail). The Latvian chess champion. I don't know who Botvinnik is, but the three-letter chess guy is always TAL, meaning "rain", "dew".

Answer grid.

C.C.