Sunday November 14, 2010 Jeff Chen

Theme: Physical Therapy Session - Each two-word common phrase starts with initials P & T.

23A. It begins with H : PERIODIC TABLE. H = Hydrogen.

29A. Place to take a date? : PALM TREE. Date palm. Medjool dates are the best.

35A. Worker with a fork : PIANO TUNER. Don "Hard G" is one.

46A. Wood shop item : POWER TOOL

57A. One may be used in child support cases : PATERNITY TEST

69A. You can't put it down : PAGE TURNER. What are you reading now?

75A. All-bark, no-bite type : PAPER TIGER

83A. Windshield downer : PARKING TICKET. Good answer/clue.

97A. History feature : PAST TENSE. Needed crossing help.

106A. Intimate exchange : PILLOW TALK. Sweet.

115A. Number that may be shocking : PRICE TAG

126A. Endurance level of a sort : PAIN THRESHOLD. My husband has amazing tolerance for pain. He bowls with painful elbow/wrist all the time.

Simple theme. Nicely executed.

Since no unifier or any specific order is needed for the theme entry placement, Jeff had the freedom to move the phrases (a few are short) around to bring out the smoothest Sunday LAT I've solved this year. The fact that all the answers contain mostly common letters sure helped too.

Thoroughly enjoyable. No obscure words/names to frustrate me.

Across:

1. Target : AIM FOR. Easy start.

7. Zany : MADCAP

13. Standout in a small pond? : BIG FISH. Big fish in a small pond.

20. "Pizza by the slice" chain : SBARRO. The name stumped me last time.

21. Cactus bump : AREOLE. Much prefer "Ring of color" clue.

22. Centers for Disease Control headquarters site : ATLANTA

25. Soaked up, as a spill : BLOTTED

26. Barnyard abode : STY

27. Fit together : MESH

28. Hip-hop doc : DRE. Dr. Dre.

30. Detection device : SENSOR

32. Skipper's direction : ALEE

34. A very long time : EONS

39. Some are narrow : ESCAPES. Narrow escapes.

43. Rice-A-__ : RONI

44. Looked for lampreys : EELED

50. Chopin's Opus 10 works : ETUDES

53. One of seven : ASIA. Seven continents.

55. Video game giant : SEGA

56. NY tech. school since 1824 : RPI. When were you there, Spitzboov?

61. Blotch : STAIN

63. VAIO computer maker : SONY. VAIO = Visual Audio Intelligence Organizer. Learned this name from an old Barry Silk puzzle.

64. Took to the airport, say : SAW OFF

68. Brontë who wrote "Agnes Grey" : ANNE

77. Present-day Persia : IRAN

78. Swarmed : TEEMED

80. U.S. dept. concerned with radioactive waste : ENER

81. "Inception" filmmaker Christopher : NOLAN. Of Batman fame.

90. Actress Thurman : UMA

91. Island at the edge of the Bering Sea : ATTU. Westernmost of the Aleutians.

95. Face-off : DUEL

96. Beethoven's "Waldstein," e.g. : SONATA

100. __ toast : MELBA

103. The toe of an Asian "boot" : OMAN. "Boot" of the Arabian Peninsula? I am ignorant of this reference.

104. From way back when : OLD TIME

109. __ City: Baghdad suburb : SADR

112. "__ said!" : NUFF

114. Essence : NATURE

119. One way to sway : FRO. To and fro.

121. Chapeau site : TETE. "Head" in French.

122. __ tai : MAI

125. 1881 Pasteur vaccine target : ANTHRAX. I remember the scare right after 9/11.

129. Cold War follower : DETENTE

130. Harshly criticize : SCATHE. Scathing remarks.

131. Discordant to many an ear : ATONAL

132. Paris's Champs __ : ELYSEES. More romantic walking along the streets in the evenings.

133. Sommelier, e.g. : SERVER

134. Pestilent fly : TSETSE. Hey, a full fly.

Down:

1. Lethal snakes : ASPS. And 10. Lethal snake : COBRA. Clecho. Please come here and cast your vote.

2. "As if!" : I BET

3. Mrs. Lincoln : MARY

4. Calendar abbr. : FRI

5. Words from a balcony : O ROMEO. By Juliet.

6. Squirrel, for one : RODENT

7. Speed of sound : MACH ONE. First reached by Dennis' idol Chuck Yeager.

8. Pianist Tatum : ART

9. __ in the water : DEAD

11. Gene variant : ALLELE. Can never remember this word.

12. Capital of Poland? : PEE. The capital letter in Poland.

13. Ali the woodcutter : BABA

14. "__ cost you!" : IT'LL

15. Grab, in slang : GLOM. Glom onto.

16. Most plump : FATTEST

17. Preamble : INTRO

18. "Card Players Quarreling" artist : STEEN (Jan). See the painting.

19. Underworld god : HADES

24. Time edition : ISSUE. Do you think Tina Brown will save Newsweek?

29. Cowboy legend __ Bill : PECOS

30. Catty : SNIDE

31. Send along : RELAY

33. Uncanny ability : ESP

35. Get set : PREP

36. Itty-bitty bit : IOTA

37. "Sometimes you feel like __ …" : A NUT. Do you?

38. See 127-Down : REST. And 127. With 38-Down, what's left : THE.

40. Amaze : AWE

41. Cribbage piece : PEG

42. Some are named for presidents : ERAS. We live in the Obama era.

45. "__ Irae" : DIES

47. Borneo rainforest dweller : ORANG

48. Offer a thought : OPINE

49. Big boat : LINER

51. While lead-in : ERST. Erstwhile.

52. Muzzle : SNOUT. Nose.

54. Memo order : ASAP

58. Memo opening : INRE

59. Daly of "Judging Amy" : TYNE

60. It flew its last flight in 2001 : TWA. Oh, I didn't know this.

62. Clavell's "__-Pan" : TAI. Tai = Big. Pan = Boss.

65. Start the bidding : OPEN

66. __ shui : FENG. Feng = Wind. Shui = Water.

67. Worries : FRETS

69. Dorm wall art : PINUP

70. Wavy lines, in comics : AROMA

71. Bashes : GALAS

72. "Bambi" doe : ENA. His aunt.

73. Brit. or Byzantine : EMP (Empire)

74. Pore over : READ

76. The Stooges, e.g. : TRIO

79. Jazz combo member : DRUM

82. Pertaining to all 50 sts. : NATL

84. Opposite of spoil : KEEP

85. Bad, in rap slang : ILLIN. What?

86. 100 simoleons : C-NOTE. So many slang for "dollar": cabbage, clam, buck, etc.

87. __ Sutra : KAMA

88. List-shortening term : ET AL

89. Place to put a tiger, in old ads : TANK. Put a tiger in your tank.

92. Media mogul Turner : TED

93. "Rizzoli & Isles" station : TNT

94. Manipulating : USING

98. Primitive light sources : TORCHES

99. Critter on Australia's coat of arms : EMU. Hey there, Kazie!

101. Gibberish : BLATHER

102. Adjust : ALTER

105. Obliterate : EFFACE

107. Consume more than : OUTEAT

108. Jerks : WRESTS. Oh, not the "jerks" I pictured.

109. "Black bird" pursuer of fiction : SPADE. Sam Spade in "The Maltese Falcon". Got me.

110. Synthetic fabric : ARNEL. Just refuses to sink into my memory bank.

111. Simple tune : DITTY

113. Brother in a hood? : FRIAR. Saw similar clue before.

116. Eagle by the shore : ERNE

117. Pop __, Chok'lit Shoppe owner in "Archie" comics : TATE. Learning moment to me.

118. Cancels : AXES

120. Airing, as a sitcom : ON TV

122. The Alps' __ Blanc : MONT

123. Regretful word : ALAS

124. Not doing anything : IDLE

126. They're usually under signatures: Abbr. : PSS

128. Work the soil : HOE

Answer grid.

C.C.

Saturday November 13, 2010 Brad Wilber and Doug Peterson

Theme: None

Total words: 72

Total blocks: 29

Great to see a collaboration borne out of our interview. Brad, who now has a regular monthly Saturday Stumper with Newsday, mentioned to me last time that he's co-constructed quite a few puzzles with Doug since then.

This puzzle features eight 10-letter & six 9-letter entries, mostly triple-stacked in each corner:

1A. Single-season RBI record-holder since 1930 : HACK WILSON. Total 191 RBIs in 1930. Hall of Famer. I was aware of his existence and this card, but couldn't recall his name.

15A. Not beyond belief : IMAGINABLE. REASONABLE fit too.

17A. Elementary level : FIRST GRADE. Needed crossing help.

60A. Knocking 'em dead : IN RARE FORM. Nice clue/answer.

65A. Rambo, notably : ONE MAN ARMY. Loved this one also.

67A. Circumscribes : DELINEATES

10D. Sewing circle? : NEEDLE HOLE. Why question mark?

12D. First actress to play Yente in Broadway's "Fiddler on the Roof" : BEA ARTHUR. And EMMYS (53D. Pair on the résumé of 12-Down).

13D. Wheels in a cave : BATMOBILE. In "Batman".

14D. Like many a jalopy : RUST-EATEN. New word to me.

30D. Years in which Picasso's art took a somber turn : BLUE PERIOD. Gorgeous entry.

32D. Any of the "Ocean's" movies, e.g. : HEIST FILM. Was quite fond of those silly "Ocean's" movies.

33D. Upstart : ARRIVISTE. Is it same to nouveau riche?

34D. Ultra-reliable team members : MAINSTAYS. Ah, we have quite a few on our blog. Ultra-reliable!

How long do you normally spend on a Saturday themeless? I punted after 35 minutes.

Across:

11. This ans. is one : ABBR. The word "ans" is abbreviated. I've seen similar gimmick for ACROSS.

16. __ de soie: bridal gown fabric : PEAU. Literally "skin" in French. Soie = Silk.

18. Focus of some H.S. prep courses : SATs

19. Nagano Olympics torch lighter : ITO (Midori). Japanese Figure skater. Stumped me. I wanted ALI. Silly!

20. "Cinderella" opener? : CEE. Letter C in Cinderella.

21. Like season 8 of "Dallas" : DREAMT. Didn't come immediately.

23. Light-footed woman : SYLPH. We've seen the "slender, graceful woman" clue before.

25. Esmeralda's goat in "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" : DJALI. Nope! Way too hard a name for me.

28. Salty delicacy : ROE

29. Dealt with a fatal error, perhaps : REBOOTED. Computer "fatal error". Al might get this one immediately.

31. Sched. gap letters : TBA

32. Skywalker player : HAMILL (Mark). Have never seen "Star Wars".

35. Eastern theatrical style : NOH. Literally "ability". Same character as Chinese.

36. Gambler's voucher : CHIT

37. "Moriae Encomium" author : ERASMUS (Desiderius). Not familiar with "Moriae Encomium", an essay translated as "The Praise of Folly" or "In Praise of More" a la Wikipedia.

39. Ochlocracy : MOB RULE. Greek "oshlos" = Mob.

41. Bulb output, maybe : IRIS. Thought of IDEA.

42. "... and too many to mention" letters : ETC

44. Holly of Hollywood : LAUREN. She looks familiar. Nice clue.

45. Stray, in a way : SIN. "In a way", yes.

46. Reacts to an affront, maybe : SPUTTERS

48. Living room sets : TVS

49. Temporary tattoo dye : HENNA

50. Put forward : STATE

54. Less flabby : FITTER. Wanted FIRMER.

56. Bad liar's giveaway : TIC

58. Lap dog, briefly : POM

59. "By Jove!" : I SAY

64. About 5.88 trillion mi. : LT-YR (Light-year). Got me.

66. High point in a Western? : MESA. Sure was not thinking of those small plateau.

Down:

1. Old living room sets : HI-FIs.

2. Good relations : AMITY

3. "Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming," e.g. : CAROL

4. Metric meas. : KGS

5. Shade tree native to the British Isles : WITCH ELM. First encounter with this tree.

6. "Bus Stop" playwright : INGE

7. I-35's southern terminus : LAREDO. Drew a blank. The U.S./Mexico border city.

8. Fed. loan source : SBA

9. GOP segment? : OLD. GOP = Grand Old Party.

11. Basilica section : APSE

22. Divested (of) : RID

24. Goody two shoes : PRISS. "Goody two shoe" is a new idiom to me.

26. Cryer in a sitcom : JON. The "sitcom" here refer to "Two and a Half Men", correct?

27. Quark's milieu : ATOM

36. It's rolled out at a patisserie : CRUST

38. Leave agape : STUN

40. What eHarmony users can avoid : BAR SCENE. Those eHarmony commercials look quite sweet.

43. UPS unit : CTN. Carton I suppose.

46. Byron's "__ Walks in Beauty" : SHE

47. Geisha's mat : TATAMI

51. Left on the bridge : APORT. Can never remember those nautical directions.

52. "It Wasn't All Velvet" memoirist : TORME (Mel). Known as "The Velvet Fog".

55. Big name in TV talk : TYRA (Banks). Her talk show was over in May.

57. Caspian Sea country : IRAN

61. Vane dir. : NNE

62. Seminary subj. : REL

63. Govt. agency with a wing on its seal : FAA. Here is its seal.

Answer grid.

C.C.