Sunday December 12, 2010 Robert A. Doll

Theme: Familiar Endings - Same word starts and ends its familiar phrase.

22A. Memorable 1994 film exhortation : RUN FORREST RUN. From "Forrest Gump".

27A. Ruthless : DOG-EAT-DOG. It's a dog-eat-dog world.

35A. Skipping no pages : COVER TO COVER

53A. In detail : PLAY BY PLAY. I like Joe Buck. Very distinctive voice.

71A. Defend one's principles bravely : FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT. The only four-word entry.

88A. 1969 Bob Dylan hit : LAY LADY LAY. Unfamiliar to me. Sounds quite sexual.

107A. Lehane crime novel about a missing girl : GONE BABY GONE. Know it only because of the movie.

115A. Complete : OUT AND OUT

125A. Continually : YEAR AFTER YEAR

Why "Familiar Endings"? Because the last word repeats the first word?

Nine theme entries seem to be very common for our Sunday puzzles. I grokked the gimmick rather quickly due to its easy-to- detect pattern. As usual, some of the names gave me fits.

Across:

1. Bear mascot of the 1980 Moscow Olympics : MISHA. Was clueless. Makes sense. Misha is such a common Russian name.

6. Like some dancing : AEROBIC

13. Grunt's position : McJOB

18. Modern messages : EMAIL. The clue is asking for plural form, isn't it?

19. Horace's "Ars __" : POETICA

20. Roll player : PIANOLA. See here for more information. Beyond my ken of knowledge. I actually read the clue as "Role player".

24. Well-fortified, in a way : ARMORED

25. __ Pie : ESKIMO. Have never tried it.

26. Nail site : TOE

29. Q5 maker : AUDI. Saw this clue before.

32. Intrude : IMPOSE

34. '60s activist Bobby : SEALE. The Black Panthers co-founder.

40. Spirited horse : ARAB

42. Nintendo's Super __ : NES

43. Game show name : ALEX (Trebek). "Jeopardy!".

44. Originate (from) : STEM

45. Bribe : SOP

47. "The Gold Bug" author : POE. Have you read the story?

49. "If you prick us, do we not __?": "The Merchant of Venice" : BLEED. Sigh. Shakespeare again.

51. Understood : SAW

59. Feature of many a bad review : SARCASM. Biting.

62. Here-there link : NOR

64. Pitching staff leaders : ACES. Baseball.

65. Have in spades : OOZE

66. "Hold it!" : WHOA

68. NASCAR racer Mark : MARTIN.

70. Penn or Pitt : ACTOR. Sean Penn. Brad Pitt.

75. He-men : STUDS

77. __ Tunes : LOONEY

78. Needing ice, maybe : SORE

79. "I, Claudius" role : NERO

80. Hard to catch : EELY

81. Power tool? : DAM. Water power?

83. Stock holder? : RANCHER. Livestock. Great clue.

91. Fate : LOT

93. "Three Coins in the Fountain" fountain : TREVI

94. Baltimore daily : SUN. Baltimore Sun.

95. Fa-la link : SOL

97. Maker of PowerCat soccer shoes : PUMA. .

100. Divided sea : ARAL

101. Crime show with two spin-offs : CSI. CSI Miami/NY.

104. Wilson's predecessor : TAFT

110. Lively movement : RONDO. Often the last movement of a sonata, says Dictionary.

112. "Twelfth Night" duke : ORSINO. Shakespeare again. No idea.

114. Foe of the Iroquois : ERIE. A tribe rather than our old lake clue.

117. Navig. aid : GPS

119. Like many beach bums : TANNED

124. Sports no-no : STEROID

129. Goes after crustaceans : SHRIMPS. Did not know shrimp can be a verb.

130. Access, in a way : LOG ONTO

131. India's first prime minister : NEHRU

132. SAT segment : ESSAY

133. Paul Anka love song with a Spanish title : ESO BESO. "That Kiss".

134. Bee killer, at times : STING

Down:

1. No more than : MERE. Wanted LESS.

2. 1989 Radio Hall of Fame inductee : IMUS (Don). Unaware of this trivia.

3. Went under : SANK

4. Old player : HI-FI

5. 10-time Gold Glove winner Roberto : ALOMAR. He was with the Indians when I came to the US. Second baseman.

6. Loan no. : APR (Annual Percentage Rate)

7. Want ad letters : EOE

8. Musical symbol : REST

9. Emperor under Pope Innocent III : OTTO IV. Need crossing help.

10. Galleys with two banks of oars : BIREMES. No idea. Bi = Two. Rem = Oar.

11. Post-ER area : ICU

12. Unofficial Seabees' motto : CAN DO. Learning moment to me. Seabee is formed from letter CB, Construction Battalion of the US Navy.

13. Hardly the macho type : MAMA'S BOY. Lovely entry.

14. 100 clams : C-NOTE

15. Aqaba is its only seaport : JORDAN. New trivia to me.

16. Corrida cry : OLE OLE

17. Scouting prizes : BADGES

20. Means to get in touch : PAGER

21. High dudgeon : IRE

23. Whomps : ROUTS

28. Adventurers/documentarians Martin and __ Johnson : OSA. Here is a photo of the couple.

30. Period, e.g. : DOT

31. Seals, as a deal : ICES

33. Support, with "up" : PROP

35. Hacks : CABS. Noun "Hacks".

36. Earthen stewpot : OLLA

37. Zig or zag : VEER

38. Perk recipient : EXEC

39. Muscat's land : OMAN

41. They may include ht., wt., skin color, etc. : APBS. APB = All-Points Bulletin.

46. Academy teacher : PLATO

48. Pleistocene, e.g. : EPOCH

50. Team with a mascot named Uga, familiarly : DAWGS. University of Georgia.

52. Bryn Mawr undergrads : WOMEN. One of the Seven Sisters.

54. Etcher's supply : ACIDS

55. Have a __: crave : YEN FOR

56. Ex-senator Trent : LOTT

57. Nitrogen-based dye : AZO. Learned from doing Xword.

58. Law closing? : YER. Closing to the word lawyer.

60. "Pipe down!" : SHH

61. Crüe-ish? : MOTLEY. Oh, a reference to Mötley Crüe.

63. Was relentless, as a storm : RAGED. Brutal weather here. At least 16" of snow since Friday night.

67. Reef ring : ATOLL

69. Shade of blue : ROYAL

70. Secret __ : AGENT

71. Violent anger : FURY

72. Admired stars : IDOLS

73. Georgetown athletes : HOYAS

74. Fund for later yrs. : IRA

75. Irreverent NBC hit : SNL

76. Something to take in the afternoon : TEA

80. Best of the stage : EDNA. Her face looks familiar. I must have googled her before.

82. Wear a long face : MOPE

84. Climber's challenge : CRAG

85. Parade honoree : HERO

86. Hunter of fiction : EVAN. Also known as Ed McBain.

87. Get to : RILE

89. Parent/teen sticking point : AUTONOMY. The answer just wouldn't jump to me.

90. Jellystone Park bear : YOGI. Yogi Bear.

92. CRT part : TUBE

96. Tale starter, perhaps : LONG AGO

98. Scratch : MAR

99. Grab __: eat on the run : A BITE

101. Rupert of "The Reivers" : CROSSE. No idea. Wikipedia says Crosse was the first African American to be nominated for a Best Supporting Academy Award for his role in "The Reivers".

102. __ Oldest Rivalry: Virginia/North Carolina annual college football game : SOUTH'S. Unknown to me.

103. Lays to rest : INTERS

105. Dietitian's forte : FOODS

106. __TV: "actuality" network : TRU. No idea.

108. "Piece o' cake!" : NO PROB

109. Hankers : YEARNS

111. "Beavis and Butt-head" spin-off : DARIA. Another complete unknown

113. Elegance : STYLE

116. Go down a bit : DIP

118. Compos mentis : SANE

120. No, across the Bering Strait : NYET. Russian for "No".

121. Vintage pop : NEHI

122. Bring home : EARN

123. Put under : DRUG

126. Dawn deity : EOS. Greek Goddess of the dawn. The Roman equivalent is Aurora.

127. NBA stats : FTS (Free Throws)

128. To boot : TOO

Answer grid.

C.C.

Saturday December 11, 2010 Barry Silk

Theme: None

Total words: 70

Total blocks: 32

Barry placed one grid-spanner flanked by two 14s in the middle of his grid, the first two are making their major newspaper debut today:

30A. Dangerous inner city area : CONCRETE JUNGLE. Learning moment for me.

36A. Munsee-speaking people : DELAWARE INDIANS. I suspect this is Barry's seed entry.

38A. Subject of Michael Crichton's "Prey" : NANO TECHNOLOGY. Great answer.

As usual, some nice cross-references in Barry's themeless:

41A. 1-Down attendees: Abbr. : SRS. And PROM (1D. Event for 41-Across).

11D. Eastern leader since 1994 : KIM JONG-IL. Bad person. Good answer. Kim = Gold. Jong = Straight. Il = Sun. Il, with a different character, but same pronunciation, can also mean the F word.

44D. North __, 11-Down's country : KOREA

Quite a Scrabbly puzzle, two Js, one Z/X, only one Q away from being a pangram.

Across:

1. Psychiatrist's recommendation : PROZAC. So is Zoloft.

7. "Spanish Harlem" singer : BEN E. KING. Unknown to me. Here is the clip.

15. NFL team named for a Poe poem : RAVENS. Baltimore Ravens. Their mascot is named Poe. Very cool.

16. Male models, often : ADONISES

17. Dalí had a pet one : OCELOT. Unaware of the trivia.

18. Sitcom with a robot named Hymie : GET SMART. Only saw the silly film starring Steve Carell/Anne Hathaway.

19. Reason for an award : MERIT

20. TV host with a substantial car collection : LENO (Jay)

21. Morning choice : JAVA. Not mine.

22. Halloween sightings? : GHOULS

24. __ face : POKER

25. Music-licensing org. : BMI (Broadcast Music, Inc)

28. New York and Chicago have the oldest ones in the Americas : ELS

29. Circulation aid : FAN

39. "The Chronic" Dr. : DRE. The rapper. Was ignorant of the album. Great clue then.

40. Gas: Pref. : AER. Gas? I thought it's a prefix for "air", as in aerate.

42. Polyester used in casting : ALKYD. Both the clue & answer mean nothing to me.

45. Topsy-turvy state : BEDLAM

48. Inventor who received a lifetime achievement Grammy in 1970 : MOOG (Robert). Synthesizer inventor.

49. Tarot suit : CUPS. Stumped. Know nothing about tarot.

50. Old Asian title : SAHIB. Literally "master," used in Colonial India.

54. Gall : IRRITATE

56. Scour, e.g. : ABRADE

57. Weaken : ENERVATE

58. Easy to handle : DOCILE. Apropos of nothing, I just read it somewhere that women prefer to date men who have dumped their partner before, while men prefer the dumpee because they are afraid of being dumped next. True?

59. Great Lakes routes : SEA LANES.

60. O, in many cases : OXYGEN. Was thinking of Oprah's O.

Down:

2. Tear : RACE

3. Through : OVER

4. Woody Allen film : ZELIG. The 1983 mockumentary.

5. Synonymous with, with "for" : ANOTHER WORD. Didn't come to me immediately.

6. Gary hrs. : CST. Gary, Indiana. I wonder what our Husker Gary was thinking.

7. Follower of everything? : BAGEL. Is "Everything bagel" a NY thing? I've never heard of it before.

8. Perfect places : EDENS

9. Say __: refuse : NO TO

10. Cincinnati trio? : ENS. The trio in the word Cincinnati.

12. "Wicked Game" singer Chris : ISAAK. Faintly rang a bell. Here is the song.

13. Courage : NERVE

14. The sun is one : G-STAR. Bill G linked this terrific comparison chart last time.

20. Brilliance, in Bristol : LUSTRE. Bristol, England. Hence the RE ending.

23. Fatty acid ester : OLEATE. Learned from doing Xword.

24. Repository of Greek mythology : PANDORA'S BOX. Great entry.

25. Alphabet trio : BCD

26. Big name in faucets : MOEN

27. At Dodger Stadium, briefly : IN LA

29. Pouring aid : FUNNEL

31. She "sets my heart awhirl," in a 4 Seasons hit : CANDY GIRL. Do you like the song?

32. Continental trade gp. : EEC (European Economic Community).

33. Holy wars : JIHADS. Literally.

34. Vientiane's land : LAOS

35. Caltech grad's occ., often : ENGR

37. Part of MS-DOS: Abbr. : SYS

42. Nice friends : AMIES. Nice the city in France.

43. Greene of "Bonanza" : LORNE

45. Mesa's cousin : BUTTE

46. Cousins of foils : EPEES

47. Mount __, New York's highest peak : MARCY. No idea, Argyle!

49. "Brian's Song" Emmy nominee : CAAN (James). Dennis the Dummy liked the movie, if I remember correctly. About Brian Piccolo. Quite sad.

51. Reagan secretary of state : HAIG (Alexander). "I'm in control here".

52. Not engaged : IDLE

53. "It's __ too long" : BEEN

55. Knoxville-based agcy. : TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority)

56. Bother : ADO

Answer grid.

C.C.