Sunday September 26, 2010 Damien Peterson

Theme: Mal de Mer -"Mer" is added to the ends of various parts of common phrases.

23A. Response to "What's a six-letter answer for 'Silent performer'?"? : MUMMER'S THE WORD. The base phrase is "Mum's the word".

50A. Seaside vacation disappointment? : BEACH BUMMER. Beach bum. We also have PIERS (27. Spots for seaside strolls) and SHORE (30A. Spot for seaside strolls). Three "seaside" clechos (clue echos).

60A. Prison performer? : SLAMMER DANCER. Slam dancer. Slammer is a slang for "prison".

75A. Team in an agricultural all-star game? : THE FARMER SIDE. The Far Side. From Argyle. I don't get the joke.

84A. Station that exclusively plays rapper MC's hits? : HAMMER RADIO. Ham radio. Rapper MC Hammer.

118A. Like steak cooked by an enchanting chef? : CHARMER BROILED. Charbroiled.

32D. Sugary complaint? : CANDIED YAMMER. Candid yam. With a bit of toasted walnuts, delicious!

34D. More cordial old-timer? : WARMER VETERAN. War veteran.

Some of the MERs are inserted to the end of the first word, some the middle word, some the end. Nice variety. Five of the them are attached to a M-ending word.

Like Doug Peterson's last "El Week" (playing on "Hell Week" ), the title "Mal de Mer" is just a title, not a direct summary of the theme, nothing seasick, nothing mal with de mer. But French references aplenty:

70A. Capital of Nord, France : LILLE. Je ne sais pas. De Gaulle's birthplace.

104A. Idée source : TETE. Head in French.

106A. French wine region : RHONE

58D. 1956 star of Vadim's "And God Created Woman" : BARDOT (Brigitte). Gorgeous.

61D. "Les __" : MIZ

71D. M.'s partner : MME. Monsieur/Madame.

85D. Dada co-founder : ARP (Jean)

111D. Fille's father : PERE. Fille = Daughter.

Interesting theme entry placement. The grid has a nice week-day style edges, with two fingers (the black square blocks, called so because they look like fingers poking into the grid) rather than three fingers, resulting in plenty of 7s and 6s on the outside and lots of 3s in the middle, esp Downs, several are abbrs.

Across:

1. Railroad foundation : ROADBED. Had road track in mind.

8. Short chat? : CONFAB. Short for confabulation.

14. Destroys : WRECKS

20. Philosopher's term : A PRIORI. Argument without evidence/analysis.

21. Portugal's second-largest city : OPORTO. Also PORTO, from which port wine gets its name.

22. __ reason : WITHIN

25. Superficiality : FACADE

26. Memo opener : AS PER

28. Professor's end? : IAL.End to the word professorial.

31. Agnus __: Mass prayers : DEIS

32. Poolroom array : CUES

33. Loud bird : MACAW

35. The whole shebang : A TO Z. Colorful clue.

36. Bermuda hrs. : AST. Atlantic Standard Time.

37. Five-time NBA championship-winning coach : PAT RILEY. Came to me without difficulty. We must have seen either his given name or surname in the puzzle before.

40. Shah's land, once : IRAN

42. Manhattan cooler? : ICE. Cocktail.

43. Siskel or Shalit : GENE. Only know former.

44. Sleeveless garment : VEST

45. Dinghy pair : OARLOCKS

47. Mountainous region in Genesis : GILEAD. No idea. In Jordan.

52. Sub in a tub : OLEO. Sub of butter. Nice rhyme. Has a Clear Aye style poetic euphony/rhythm feel.

53. Actress Lupino : IDA

55. Being, to Augustus : ESSE

56. Corn remnants : COBS

66. Full of team spirit : RAH RAH

68. Different : ODD

69. Picture cards? : IDS. ID cards.

71. Super Bowl honoree : MVP. Vikings have never won a Super Bowl.

72. Palindromic "before" : ERE

73. Agitated state : FRENZY

78. Roller on a Rolls : TYRE. Good clue.

79. Rhein tributary : AARE

82. Worked (up) : HET

83. Pair at the altar : I DO'S. Pair of oaths.

90. Sci-fi psychic : EMPATH. I only know empathy, rooted in empath, I presume?

92. Declared : AFFIRMED

95. Powerful energy-market gp. : OPEC

96. Abbey titles : FRAS

97. Mex. title : SRA

98. Bench-presser's pride : PECS

99. "Risky Business" co-star : DE MORNAY (Rebecca). Recognized her face when I googled.

101. Flightless bird, nowadays? : SST. Now grounded, hence "flightless".

108. Heads or tails, e.g. : NOUN. This kind of clue gets me all the time.

109. Repentant one : RUER

110. Wrap-up : RECAP

112. Program file suffix : EXE

113. Relief agcy. founded in the U.K. in 1942 : OXFAM. Stands for Oxford Committee for Famine Relief. Unknown to me.

115. NFL ref, in slang : ZEBRA

116. Sacred birds : IBISES. Sacred in Egypt.

121. Bistro, informally : NITERY

122. Comes up : ARISES

123. Unisex : EPICENE. Does not seem to have "sex" root, does it? Not that I know what "sex" root is.

124. Yellowstone attraction : GEYSER

125. "Candid Camera" bits : PUT-ONS

126. Name of earthshaking importance? : RICHTER

Down:

1. Inn crowd option : RAMADA. Great play on "In crowd".

2. Musical works : OPUSES. Thought of OPERAS first.

3. It's exposed many times during the singing of "YMCA" : ARMPIT. Wow, let's see. Awesome clue.

4. 40% of quarters? : DIMES. Yep. I had to calculate in paper. I can't do mental math.

5. Transvaal settler : BOER. Dutch has those kind of aa clusters.

6. Make a misstep : ERR

7. Argument : DISPUTE. Followed by COHESIVE (8. Like good arguments). Another clecho.

9. Phone abbr. : OPER

10. "__ the time!" : NOW'S

11. Not to : FRO. To and fro.

12. Hotel courts : ATRIA

13. Amazing, in dialect : BODACIOUS. Crockett likes to use this word.

14. Hulk Hogan's '80s-'90s org. : WWF (World Wrestling Federation). Learning moment.

15. River inlets : RIAS

16. __ Sketch : ETCH A

17. Hardly orderly : CHAOTIC

18. "All Summer Long" singer, 2008 : KID ROCK. Great song.

19. Cold signs : SNEEZES

24. Theater section : TIER

29. '40s-'70s Coliseum team : LA RAMS. Needed crossing help.

33. It's not true : MYTH. TALE too.

37. Stew veggie : PEA

38. Cow country : LEA

39. Part of many a mtge. payment : ESC. Escrow?

41. Marlins' div. : NLE. National League East.

43. Trig. prerequisite : GEOM

46. Mus. ensemble : ORCH

47. Become lenient, as on crime : GO SOFT. The judge, right?

48. Offer to a dishwasher : I'LL DRY. Dishwasher does all the work for us.

49. Boss : LEADER

50. Counterfeit : BAD

51. Kentucky college or its city : BEREA. Not familiar with Berea College. What is it famous for?

54. Operations mgrs. : DRS. Directors?

57. Food company named for two states : ORE-IDA. Oregon-Idaho.

59. "Yikes!" : SHEESH

62. Modify : ALTER

63. Bethesda-based research org. : NIH. Unknown trivia to me.

64. Largest OH airport : CLE. You'd think it's Cincinnati.

65. Santa staffer : ELF

67. Car loan abbr. : APR. Annual Percentage Rate. I drew a blank.

74. Grape soda brand : NEHI

76. P-like letter : RHO

77. Makes a drink last : SIPS

80. "Cocoon" Oscar winner : AMECHE (Don). Again, recognized him only after I googled.

81. Fenway souvenir : RED SOX CAP. Man, this opens a slew of possible new entries. Twins' Cap, Twins' Program, Twins' Jersey, etc.

86. Used taxis : RODE

87. Big klutz : APE

88. JFK, but not LAX : DEM. Of course I was thinking of JFK Airport. It would really be a cool clue if LAX were named after a famous Republican.

89. Case-breaking words : I CONFESS. Nice entry.

91. When moms are honored : MAY

92. Guitar's second-lowest : A STRING. Well, Al knows.

93. Hotel soap, say : FREEBIE

94. Easy Street's metropolis? : FAT CITY. Both new slang for me. Comfortable living.

96. Stop in photography? : F NUMBER

100. Engine sound : ROAR

101. Lease prohibition : SUBLET

102. Unruffled : SERENE

103. Wall Street worker : TRADER

105. Facilitates : EASES

107. India's prime minister before Shastri : NEHRU. Intuitive guess. Was ignorant that Shastri is India's second prime minister.

109. Wealthy, in Weimar : REICH. Oh, really? I thought it's a just noun.

113. Roughly : OR SO

114. Marvel Comics heroes : X-MEN

115. Suffix with Paleo- : ZOIC

117. Half of the UAR : SYR. The other half is Egypt.

119. Thames islet : AIT. Classic crosswordese.

120. Sch. in Troy, NY : RPI. Spitzboov's alma mater.

Answer grid.

Happy Birthday, Dennis! Hope it's a memorable one and filled with love, joy and every pleasure you desire.

C.C.

Added later: Damien Peterson is another alias name of Rich Norris, anagram of "Editor's Pen Name".

Saturday September 25, 2010 Barry Silk

Theme: None

Total words: 72

Total blocks: 30

This puzzle is anchored by two intersecting 15s right in the middle of the grid:

37A. Four-time NBA MVP: WILT CHAMBERLAIN. So, how old was he when he claimed that he had had sex with 20,000 many women?

8D. Residential street warning : SPEED BUMPS AHEAD. Brilliant debut entry.

Barry then builds up his grid with two Down 10s, two Across 9s, then triple stacks of 8s in the upper left and lower right corners.

My favorite fill and clue today is FATTY ACID (47A. It may be essential). Essential fatty acid.

Across:

1. Places for pieces : GUN RACKS. I wanted ARMORIES.

9. Support base : PLINTH

15. Worker's advocate : UNION REP. Needs "for short" in the clue, doesn't it?

16. Foe of Mark Antony : CICERO. Was ignorant that these two even lived in the same time.

17. Imagination : MIND'S EYE. Had trouble seeing the answer.

18. Screwed up : BLEW IT

19. NEA supporters : PTAS. Seems like Husker Gary can write a Ph. D thesis on the function of Nebraska NEA.

20. Third of seven: Abbr. : TUES. My week always starts on Monday.

22. Quantum mechanics subjects : ATOMS

23. "Bojangles" Robinson, for one : TAP DANCER. Recognized the guy when I googled.

25. El Cid player, 1961 : HESTON (Charlton). Have only seen his "The Ten Commandments".

29. Life lines? : BIO. Nice clue.

30. Mass garb : ALBS

33. Like an excited World Series crowd : AROAR. I bet Barry is already picturing his Phillies win the World Series. Also in the grid is ERA (36. Baseball stat). Any Roy Halladay fan?

34. Sign of life : PULSE

40. White, in Waikiki : KEA. As in Mauna Kea (White Mountain).

41. Up : HAPPY

42. Cox who played Drew in "Deliverance" : RONNY. Nope. Can't recall his name. "Deliverance" is absolutely terrifying.

43. Old pol. units : SSRS

45. Substitutes for forgotten words : LAs. In songs?

46. Releases : LETS GO

50. Sterno, for one : JELLY. Ha ha, I thought it's gas inside the Sterno.

52. Vengeful Quaker of fiction : AHAB. No idea about the Quaker connection. Have never read "Moby Dick".

53. Gee : THOU (Thousand). Weird to see G spelled out.

57. Profits : AVAILS

59. Party animal? : ELEPHANT. For the GOP. Great clue.

61. Abrasive mineral : GARNET. Lovely deep red color.

62. Compact : ALLIANCE

63. Derisive : SNEERY

64. Can't abide : DESPISES

Down:

1. Winston Groom hero : GUMP. Forrest Gump. Did not know the author.

2. Newton or curie : UNIT. OK, Dictionary says the un-capitalized curie is a unit of radioactivity.

3. La __: ocean phenomenon : NINA

4. Angler's supply : RODS

5. Q&A part: Abbr. : ANS

6. Greek islander : CRETAN. From Crete.

7. Excite : KEY UP

9. Pollutant found in NCR paper : PCB. What is NCR paper?

10. Color similar to pale plum : LILAC

11. Summer cooler : ICE TEA. No D again.

12. Where to get a muffuletta sandwich : NEW ORLEANS. I've certainly heard of muffuletta sandwich.

13. Garnish : TRIM. As a Christmas tree.

14. Red __: candy : HOTS

21. Pass on a ketch : SAIL BY. Ketch is sailing boat.

23. Tribal Council prop : TORCH. Don't get the clue.

24. Narrow margin : NOSE

25. Peddles : HAWKS

26. Native New Yorkers : ERIES. This refers to the Native Americans, correct?

27. Phenomenon that emits X-rays : SOLAR FLARE. I thought X-ray is emitted by the machine.

28. Work with a shuttle : TAT. Use shuttle to make lace.

31. Fetch : BRING

32. Maker of eneloop rechargeable batteries : SANYO. Not familiar with the batteries.

34. Melonlike fruit : PAPAYA. Looks ugly, but delicious. I like all tropical fruit.

35. Didn't get 100, say : ERRED

38. Stop order : HALT

39. Large amount : LOT

44. Hospital solution : SALINE

46. Abuses freedom of the press, perhaps : LIBELS. Had difficulty parsing the clue.

48. Texas city named for a president : TYLER. No idea. Wiki said the city is named for John Tyler in recognition of his support for Texas' admission to the United States

49. Valencia street : CALLE. Spanish for "street".

50. Flings : JAGS. Did not know jag can mean "spree" also.

51. Novelist Hunter : EVAN

53. Golden Triangle native : THAI. Drug in Golden Triangle. Heroin.

54. Former UN weapons inspector Blix : HANS. Man, it's been a long time. I can still hear his accented English about WMD.

55. Formerly : ONCE

56. Versatile wheels : UTES. Well, here it comes again.

58. Dump : STY

60. Spot : PIP. Playing card spot.

Answer grid.

Thanks for the sweet words about my Dennis birthday puzzle, everyone. I had fun doing it.

C.C.