Friday October 1, 2010 Scott Atkinson

Theme: HEAVE-HO. To get rid of something, a forcible dismissal, as throwing something overboard. Heave, by itself, means "throw." Here the thing thrown is the letter combination HO, from a common phrase, leaving a humorous new uncommon phrase. As much as I love puns, these might have SPANNED a bit too far.

18A. *Ancient Chinese cote occupant? : MING PIGEON. Homing Pigeon - a bird that always finds it's way back to the coop - or "cote." Here, one from the MING dynasty.

25A. *Observation after a Bush walk? : W'S ON FIRST. Who's on first - from the famous Abbot and Costello routine. Here, W is an affectionate term for our 43rd President, who was the managing general partner of the Texas Rangers from 1989 to 1994, best known for trading away Sammy Sosa. Afterwards, he said, "Big Texas (Nolan Ryan) is here. The reason I like to keep Nolan around is he is a reminder that when we got done with the Sammy Sosa trade, there was still some talent on the Rangers."

36A. *Nickname for a so-so Navy officer? : CAPTAIN OK. Captain Hook, whose associate Mr. Smee is an occasional visitor to puzzles. I thought this one was actually funny.

50A. *Habitually drunk panda? : BAMBOO SOT. Bamboo shoot. We all know about the panda who eats, shoots, an leaves. I didn't know he was drunk.

57A. *Kenyan healthcare worker? : RN OF AFRICA. Horn of Africa. A peninsula jutting from East Africa, into the Arabian Sea. Lots of hardship there. Not sure who the Registered Nurse would be, but they could probably use her.

And, of course, the unifier: 42 D. Dismissal, and a hint to how the answers to starred clues were derived : HEAVE HO. This may conjure a variety of images. Discuss in comments, if you dare.

Hi gang, JazzBumpa here, feeling quite beat-up by this tough puzzle.

Lots of technical assistance required to get through it in reasonable time. I found the theme to be deeply opaque, and never would have sussed it without the unifier. Technically, very impressive: besides the theme, just 1 Q away from a pangram, a tight cluster of 4 Z's, and a dozen 7-letter non-theme answers. Alas, a total of 39 three or four letter answers reduce the average length to 4.91.

Across:

1. Aloe target : RASH. Aloe vera is a succulent yielding a medicinal fluid good for all sorts of skin conditions, including burns. This fill is a bit of rash judgment.

5. Indian royal : RAJA. We often see his wife or daughter.

9. Treat meanly : SHAFT. In the skyscraper of life, a select few get the elevator; the rest get the SHAFT. It's mean to shaft someone on purpose.

14. 1990s Expos manager : ALOU. If it's a baseball clue and a four letter answer, fill in ALOU and move on.

15. Approach shot club : IRON. Golf clubs. I got mine out a few weeks ago for the first time in years. Didn't miss them a bit. Had a good time at a driving range with my grandsons Danny and Ryan, though.

16. "Platoon" co-star : DAFOE. Illustrious actor and Appleton, Wisc. native Willem DAFOE was born William. As the story goes he changed it to "Willem", the way his Scottish childhood babysitter pronounced his name, so people would not call him "Billy".

17. Bubbles : FIZZ. As in Champagne. I heard once that the import duty on the bubbles was more than on the alcohol. Can anybody verify?

20. Tasseled toppers : FEZZES. You all know what they look like. Here is how they get around. Not sure where the Shriners found them.

22. Happy hour order : ALE. Ever on the alert for new clues for this favorite x-word stalwart. But if you want some FIZZ in your FEZ, you're better off with ginger ALE.

23. Partook of : ATE. Why is it part-took, if you ate the whole thing?

24. Bit of dental work : INLAY. INLAY, ONLAY - you always need a perp. I have both.

28. "Hold on!" : SEE HERE. Hold on, I object to what I SEE HERE!

30. Japanese-American : NISEI. Yes, but not necessarily. "NISEI" is a Japanese language term used in countries in North America, South America and Australia to specify the children born to Japanese people in the new country. The Nisei are considered the second generation; and the grandchildren of the Japanese-born immigrants are called Sansei. The Sansei are considered the third generation.

31. "If __ only listened!" : HE'D. This threw me. I and I'D are too short, I HAD is too long. But it won't get me again: I'm paying heed to HE'D!

32. Shade sources : ELMS. But not like they used to be. Once ELM-SPANNED streets were common. At least there are disease resistant varieties.

35. Florida's __ City : DADE. Maybe our Fla. contingent can fill us in.

39. Lead player : STAR. The star of the show. The lead player in the trombone section might or might not be a star.

41. "Even Napoleon had his Watergate" speaker : YOGI. The one and only Lawrence Peter "YOGI" Berra, who learned all about baseball and language from Casey "Good pitching will always stop good hitting and vice-versa" Stengel.

42. I followers? : HOP. IHOP - International House of Pancakes. Lewis Black's health club. Sorry , can't come up with a link.

45. Stoop : PORCH. I think of a PORCH as something more expansive that would not stoop to being a mere stoop.

47. Dry cleaner's supply : HANGERS

53. Sheikdom of song : ARABY. Classic old song.

54. Carpenter __ : ANT. Aunts are not to be confused with siblings.

55. Exxon Valdez cargo : OIL. Big disaster in Prince Willem Sound on March 24, 1989. The ecology of the region has not yet recovered.

56. "All in the Family" family name : STIVIC. Meathead and Gloria, not to be confused with JazzBumpa and the LW (Gloria.) Caused some problems. BUNKER also fits.

61. Genesis brother : SETH. ACH. Automatically filled in ABEL.

62. Many a dance club tune : REMIX. An alternate version of a song, made from a new master.

63. Fiendish : EVIL. But where on earth is the Axis of Fiendishness? Plus, 21 D. It may be evil : EYE. Like this one, I guess. Wrong kind of clecho, though. Is that EVIL, or just unfortunate?

64. The old you : THEE. The archaic second person singular objective case pronoun. Of course, I wanted THOU, the archaic second person singular nominative case pronoun. SEE HERE, I have a hard time being both archaic and objective.

65. '50s flop : EDSEL. But a classic, now, named for Henry Ford's son EDSEL, father of Hank the Deuce..

66. Guitar's fingerboard : NECK. So called because it is narrow compared to the guitar's voluptuous body. But anything that can be done, can be overdone.

67. Repairs, as a green : SODS. The putting green of a golf course. Probably not like this.

Down:

1. Picaresque : RAFFISH. Picaresque: involving clever rogues or adventurers especially as in a type of fiction. I guess that works. The things you learn . . .

2. Property recipient : ALIENEE: "One to whom or to which ownership of property is transferred." The things you learn . . .

3. Drunk, in slang : SOZZLED. "Drunk" probably has more synonyms than any other English word. Am I supposed to know them all?

4. Old-fashioned "Way to go!" : HUZZAH. Archaic, I'd say. Hast THOU ever spoken yon word? Has it been spoken at THEE?

5. Wheel parts : RIMS. Perfect for your hot wheels.

6. Paul's "Exodus" role : ARI. Cast of thousands, cost of millions, but it's always ARI.

7. With 56-Down, eponymous bacteriologist : JONAS, and 56. See 7-Down : SALK. Discovered and developed the first safe and effective polio vaccine. This is a well done cross-reference,

8. Saxon opening : ANGLO. ANGLO-Saxon is a collective name for the germanic peoples who migrated to the British Isles around the sixth century. The language they spoke was Englisc, pronounced "English."

9. Star Wars letters : SDI. Prez. Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative, commonly called STAR WARS, but without the John Williams score.

10. Witchy woman : HAG. I guess so.

11. Lackin' gumption : AFEARED. I'm Eskeerd to say I had trouble with this one.

12. Under-the-table diversion : FOOTSIE. Nothing I can relate to.

13. Article of faith : TENET.

19. Keystone State founder : PENN. William PENN, not known to have been called either Willem or Billy, the founder and "absolute proprietor" of the Province of Pennsylvania, the English North American colony and the future U. S. State of Pennsylvania. He was an early champion of democracy and religious freedom, notable for his good relations and successful treaties with the Lenape Indians. Under his direction, the city of Philadelphia was planned and developed. Well, he got most of it right.

25. "The Optimist's Daughter" writer : WELTY. Eudora WELTY's highly regarded novel.

26. Generic pooch : FIDO. His best friend is ROVER. They don't care much for SPOT.

27. "Out of Africa" author Dinesen : ISAK. Karen somebody - we just had her a couple days ago.

29. Good name, briefly : REP. Reputation. Not a sales Rep.

33. He said "Learn from the masses, and then teach them" : MAO. Chairman MAO Zedong, founder of the People's Republic of China in 1949 and one of the founders of the Chinese Communist party in 1921. To my knowledge, there is no chicken dish named after him.

34. Common sense? : SIGHT. SEE HERE - along with taste, smell, touch, hearing, and the uncommon sense, ESP.

36. Atkins diet no-no : CARB. Carbohydrates, aka sugars and starches. We recently had the good Dr. as well.

37. Gas brand seen at ampm stores : ARCO. I recognize ARCO as the old Atlantic Richfield, acquired by EXXON-MOBIL some time ago. Don't get the clue, though. Anybody?

38. Peeples of "Fame" : NIA. Nope. Don't know her.

39. Reached across : SPANNED. Like a bridge. Or those old ELM trees (sigh.)

40. Powwow communication source : TOMTOMS. Drums used in ceremonial fashion by Native Americas, but versatile in other contexts, as well.

43. Traveled from point A to point A? : ORBITED. The fancy way of going around in circles.

44. Analysts' concerns : PSYCHES. I wanted PSYCHOS. But all of us have PSYCHES - the forces that influence thought, behavior and personality.

46. Clopper : HOOF. Horses go clop, clop, with their hooves.

48. Former RFK Stadium NLer : NAT. Here, the odious "NLer" is an abbrev. indicating that NAT is short for Nationals - a specific team, not the whole league.

49. Mill inputs : GRISTS. Grains to be ground.

50. Ballet rail : BARRE. It's just bar, spelt funnee. Dancers use it in training.

51. Fire indicator, perhaps : SIREN. The alert sound of an emergency vehicle.

52. Green shade : OLIVE. Didn't we just have OLIVES yesterday? I had some tonight.

58. Old cry of disgust : FIE. EGAD! Rather a lot of RETRO in this one, dost thou not think?

59. Rose of rock : AXL. AXL Rose of Aerosmith, here doing the best quasi,-pseudo-ersatz Led Zeppelin song EVAH!

60. Prez, to GIs : CIC. Commander in Chief. Not sure this abrv is valid, but it's too late to quibble.

Answer grid.

I quoted liberally and carelessly from Wikipedia, without attribution - until now. You can probably tell where. I didn't know any of the information transmitted herein. Well, maybe some. Hope this covers it.

Cheers!

JzB

Thursday September 30, 2010 David Poole

Theme: I, for one, welcome our new bird overlords - All the two-word theme answers start with a type of bird that, except for the center, when taken in full are not actually about birds per se. The clues are indicated with a "?" to indicate a wacky interpretation. (Note: All the two-word theme clues are BB alliterative.)

18A. Bird bonnet?: ROBIN HOOD. Speculation on his "realness" mostly debunked, a few shreds of speculative coincidence for two different men named Robert Hood.

24A. Bird boo-boo?: CARDINAL SIN. The final seven: wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy, and gluttony.

34A. Bird brain?: CHICKEN NOODLE. Soup or flavored pasta, it still contains chicken.

50A. Bird backpackers?: EAGLE SCOUTS. Gerald Ford was the only US President to ever be one.

56A. Bird bottoms?: KITE TAILS. A kite is a raptor in the same family as hawks, eagles and other birds of prey.

Al here.

Did you notice a lot of artist references, or is it just me? Composers, painters, Actors, directors, poets, writers, performers. Or, maybe that's just another way to say there were a lot of proper names in the puzzle. Even so, most of the cluing didn't seem all that tricky. I didn't need any helper squares, and finished it faster than Dan's puzzle yesterday.

ACROSS:

1. Bouillabaisse base: BROTH. Fish stew. The broth is made using olive oil, onions, garlic, celery, bay leaf, pepper, thyme, fish bones, water and wine. Alliterative clue and answer.

6. "Coffee Cantata" composer: BACH. A small excerpt.

10. "Once I had ... love and it was __": Blondie lyric: A GAS. Heart of Glass. This clip contains the original PITA phrase that they had to clean up to perform on TV. Most wouldn't give it a second thought today.

14. So out it's in: RETRO. Latin prefix meaning: backwards, behind.

15. In unison, musically: A DUE.

16. Caffeine source: COLA. Kola nuts. And 30D. 16-Across, e.g.: SODA.

17. One of Israel's 12 tribes: ASHER. I'm pretty sure this refers to the 12 sons of Jacob who became tribal patriarchs: 1-Reuben 2-Simeon 3-Levi 4-Judah 5-Dan 6-Naphtali 7-Gad 8-Asher 9-Issachar 10-Zebulun 11-Joseph (and his amazing technicolor dreamcoat) 12-Benjamin.

20. Shows scorn: SNEERS.

22. Director Wertmüller: LINA. The original "Swept Away" movie before the, perhaps, not so great Madonna remake.

23. Hound over a debt: DUN."to insist on payment of debt," 1620s, perhaps related to dunnen "to sound, resound, make a din", or shortened from dunkirk "privateer," a private vessel licensed to attack enemy ships during wartime, from Dunkirk, French port from which they sailed. The oldest theory traces it to a Joe Dun, supposedly a London bailiff famous for catching defaulters.

26. Ruby of "A Raisin in the Sun": DEE. With Sidney Poitier.

27. Favorable times, as for pics: OPS. Photo ops.

28. Marshland: FEN.

29. Afternoon services: TEA SETS.

31. Mazda MX-5, familiarly: MIATA. Zoom Zoom.

33. Granola grains: OATS.

39. Author Silverstein: SHEL. Cartoonist, poet, and songwriter. Along with his children's books, he also wrote "The Unicorn Song" which was a big hit for the Irish Rovers.

40. First first name in Olympic gymnastic tens: NADIA. Comăneci. She grew up...

41. Cardinal Cooke: TERENCE. Later Archbishop of New York.

45. 1,000 G's: MIL. Million, one megabuck.

46. Free TV ad: PSA. Public Service Announcement. No longer a mandate that stations must air them for free.

49. Suffix with expert: ISE.

53. Cubs, on scoreboards: CHI. One of two Chicago baseball teams.

54. Morlock haters: ELOI. The Time Machine races.

55. Clawed: TORE AT.

59. "Tootsie" Oscar winner: LANGE. Jessica. Best Supporting Actress.

60. Ireland, to poets: ERIN. Always need to wait for perps to distinguish from EIRE.

61. Cuba, to Castro: ISLA. Spanish for island.

62. Polecat relative: OTTER. Interesting factoid. Another: fishermen in southern Bangladesh have bred otters and trained them to chase fish into their nets.

63. Something to take lying down: REST.

64. It helps you get up: STEP. I liked the proximity of this clue with the previous clue, both a little tricky, too.

65. Orchestra section: REEDS.

DOWN:

1. 1997 Depp title role: BRASCO. Joseph Dominick Pistone, alias Donnie Brasco, is a former FBI agent who worked undercover for six years infiltrating two of the Five Families of the Mafia in New York City. He wrote the book Donnie Brasco, which became the movie. Not to be confused with "Donnie Darko", which was an entirely different Mad World.

2. Close again, as a change purse: RE-SNAP. I don't know if this should be hyphenated or not. Funny word, the "re" is kind of unnecessary.

3. Unlisted ones: OTHERS. Et al.

4. Cornered, in a way: TREED.

5. Frightful: HORRIFIC. Literally: hair-raising.

6. Milky Way, e.g.: BAR. Galaxy didn't fit.

7. "Be __": "Help me out": A DOLL. This seems like an old movie line, but I can't quite place it... If you try a search like I did, be careful what you click on, the word doll seems to return lots of "interesting" results.

8. Georges Braque, for one: CUBIST. Picasso is another. In cubist artworks, objects are broken up, analyzed, and re-assembled in an abstracted form—instead of depicting objects from one viewpoint, the artist depicts the subject from a multitude of viewpoints to represent the subject in a greater context. Often the surfaces intersect at seemingly random angles, removing a coherent sense of depth.

9. Bum: HEINIE. Prat. Fanny (US). Arse (UK).

10. Oberhausen "Oh!": ACH. German.

11. Considerable amount: GOOD DEAL.

12. Traditional song with the line "Je te plumerai": ALOUETTE. Anyone else have to sing this as a round back when they were in school?

13. Blue state: SADNESS. No politics, please...

19. Zola novel: NANA. Emile Zola. What a cheerful book. A story of a prostitute who destroys every man who pursues her. Several are ruined financially, others commit suicide, one with scissors, another burns himself to death in his barn. In the end, she dies of smallpox described in graphic detail. Critically acclaimed, of course.

21. Furtive type: SNEAK. Root words for sneak and snake are related.

25. Get in the game: ANTE. From Latin: before. Paying to play (cards).

31. Miss's equal?: MILE. idiom: "A miss is as good as a mile." Close only counts in horseshoes. Close but no cigar.

32. Landers with advice: ANN. As well as her sister Abigail Van Buren. (Dear Abby)

34. Wonderland cat: CHESHIRE. Grinning like one actually pre-dates Lewis Carrol. John Wolcot (Peter Pindar) used it in his satire, but the phrase was probably common before being written down. One interesting possible guess is that some influential family in Cheshire, with a lion rampant as its crest, employed some sign painter to paint the crest on the signboards of many of the inns. The painter was none too sure of the appearance of a lion and the final result looked, to the country folk, like an attempt to depict a grinning cat.

35. Finder's cry: HERE IT IS.

36. Title: NAME.

37. Keats or Shelley: ODIST. I'll leave poetry to the experts...

38. Artist's choice: OIL COLOR.

39. Price that's rarely paid: STICKER.

42. Depilatory brand: NEET. Name has been changed to Veet.

43. French city near a Chunnel terminus: CALAIS.

44. Diva, stereotypically: EGOIST. At least they have a sense of humor about themselves...

46. Mambo bandleader Tito: PUENTE.

47. Faked, as a fight: STAGED.

48. Autumn blooms: ASTERS. From a Greek word meaning star.

51. Former French textile city: LILLE. L'Isle, the island, in a mostly marshy area. So named for the castle of the counts of Flanders built on dry land in the middle of the marsh.

52. Use the soapbox: ORATE.

57. Tolkien's Treebeard is one: ENT. Tolkien borrowed "Ent" from the (same) Anglo-Saxon word meaning "giant".

58. Doofus: SAP. Probably from earlier sapskull, from sap as a shortened form of sapwood "soft wood between the inner bark and the heartwood, that is to say, "soft in the head".

Answer Grid.

Al