Sunday January 23, 2011 Gail Grabowski

Theme: Get In - GET spans each two-word common phrase.

23A. Compelling read : PAGE TURNER

28A. Oberlin, e.g. : COLLEGE TOWN. Oberlin College, the first co-ed college in the US.

43A. Spa fixture : MASSAGE TABLE. Sweet entry for our beautiful Melissa Bee.

66A. Refinery sight : STORAGE TANK

90A. Landscaping tool : HEDGE TRIMMER. Gail loves gardening.

106A. Travel agency offering : PACKAGE TOUR

115A. Airport freebie : LUGGAGE TAG

31D. Site of some trash talk : GARBAGE TRUCK. Fun clue.

39D. Dairy Queen option : FUDGE TOPPING. Can you believe I've never been to a Dairy Queen?

The title gives away the gimmick, yes? This word splitting concept doesn't lend itself to tricky titling, esp if the word itself has only 3 letters.

Very enjoyable puzzle, super smooth and silky, Gail's hallmark. Hard to keep one or two obscure names/words out of a 21*21 grid. Gail always manages to do so.  She's a real pro.

Across:

1. Heist, say : CAPER

6. Pooch without papers : MUTT. Nice clue.

10. "Beowulf," for one : EPIC

14. Nuance : TINGE

19. Full of energy : ALIVE

20. U.S. Open stadium : ASHE. Who is your favorite all- time tennis player?

21. "__ chance!" : NOT A

22. It's west of Daytona Beach : OCALA. Well, 7-letter city in Florida has to be Ocala.

25. Go here and there : ROAM

26. Opera hero, often : TENOR

27. Common starting hr. : NINE AM. Mine is much earlier.

30. Ancient market : AGORA. The old Greek mall.

32. Mark of distinction : A PLUS. Was thinking of FELT, Mark Felt.

34. Respond to an alarm : RISE

35. Exchange worker : TRADER. Stock exchange.

36. "But __ a man in Reno": Johnny Cash lyric : I SHOT. Not familiar with the song. Johnny Cash's voice feels shaky to me.

37. Damage : MAR

38. Way out there : AFAR

42. Short talk : WORD. I'd like a word with you.

47. Colorful card game : UNO. Three-letter card game, UNO it is.

48. Colt 45 brewer : PABST. And 75. Former Colt .45 : ASTRO. Might be tough for non-baseball fans. Also, 6D. Colt carrier : MARE. Great clechos (clue echos).

50. __ Cong : VIET

51. Santa __ winds : ANA

52. Digital interpreter : MODEM

54. Toledo title: Abbr. : SRA

55. Sch. whose mascot is Sam the Minuteman : U MASS. Nice to meet you, Sam.

57. Top in the 'hood : DO-RAG

59. Molten rock : MAGMA

60. Mockery : GIBES. I always confuse this word with JIBES.

62. Succubus : DEMON. Succubus is a new word to me. Demon in female form, said to have sex with men in their sleep.

63. Had leftovers, say : ATE IN

64. Lose locks : SHED. Oh, hair. Funny for me to see Boomer uses Volumizer shampoo now.

71. LAX postings : ETAS

72. Tribal symbol : TOTEM

74. Arabic holy book : KORAN

77. Tropical eel : MORAY. Then we also have 122. Freshwater eel, at sushi bars : UNAGI. Nothing beats the aroma of unagi.

78. Keys : ISLES

79. Magical start : HOCUS. Hocus-pocus.

81. Org. with much swinging : PGA. Golf swing.

84. Stallion, for one : ADULT. Creature loves horses.

85. Up to, briefly : TIL

86. Former "Last Comic Standing" host Jay : MOHR. Here he is, with his wife.

87. Resort east of Grand Junction : ASPEN. Not familiar with Grand Junction, largest city in western Colorado, a la Wikipedia.

89. Mythical flier : ROC

95. Subtle help : HINT

96. Team neckwear : YOKE. Ah, farm oxen team.

98. Fathers and grandfathers : MEN

99. CSA leader : R.E. LEE

100. Seven-time Grammy winner Morissette : ALANIS. She's engaged to Ryan Reynolds once.

102. Exchange : SWAP

104. Tons : LOADS

105. Twilled fabric : SERGE. Still waiting for the Serge Gainsbourg clue.

110. Line dance step : TOE TAP

113. Peaks : ACMES

114. Pen or pencil, e.g. : NOUN. Easier for constructors to get creative with NOUN clue. Tough to play with OREO.

119. In need of dough : SHORT

120. Record : DISC

121. Like hands co-opted by the Devil? : IDLE. The devil finds work for idle hands.

123. Wound up : TENSE

124. Roy Rogers's birth name : SLYE. Leonard Slye. I forgot. Hope Barry G did not.

125. Beautician, at times : DYER

126. They may be rough : EDGES. Rough edges.

Down:

1. Tube top : CAP

2. Menu catchphrase : A LA

3. Greedy sort : PIG

4. Toss-up ratio : EVEN ODDS. Nice entry.

5. Hit the hay : RETIRE. Oh, I forgot. I ate it.

7. Annapolis inst. : USNA

8. They have fewer privileges : THE MASSES

9. Thrice, in Rx's : TER. Hi, HeartRx!

10. Neither here nor there : EN ROUTE

11. Resort attractions : POOLS. And something else for Dennis.

12. Tilted type: Abbr. : ITAL

13. Canon holder : CAMERA BAG. Didn't think of Canon camera first.

14. Carries : TOTES

15. Party pitcherful : ICE TEA. Let's just move on with the D-less.

16. Shuffle cousin : NANO. iPod line.

17. Flush : GLOW

18. Come by honestly : EARN

24. Take some heat from? : UNARM. Nailed it.

28. Plumbing problem : CLOG

29. Woman of the future? : GIRL

30. Clamoring en masse : AROAR. I am not bothered by the a* word as Bill G does.

33. Excellent, slangily : PHAT

35. Local govt. units : TWPS. Townships.

36. Fertility goddess : ISIS. The horned Egyptian goddess.

37. Demain, across the Pyrenees : MANANA. Demain is French for "tomorrow". A demain = See you tomorrow.

40. Lack of vigor : ANEMIA

41. Many Shakespearean characters : ROMANS

44. Sailor's "Stop!" : AVAST

45. Futurist's tool : TAROT

46. __ Lee Bunton, a.k.a. Baby Spice : EMMA. The girl in black, with blunt bangs.

49. Shoddy ship : TUB. Got me.

53. Movie with a posse : OATER

56. Año part : MES. Month.

57. "Ballet Rehearsal" artist : DEGAS (Edgar). He liked to paint ballerinas.

58. Broken mirror, to some : OMEN. Are you superstitious?

61. Without a flaw : IDEAL

62. Show some spunk : DARE

64. Cath. church eponym : ST. MARY

65. Jinx : HOODOO

67. Silent approval : OK SIGN

68. "Good Times" actress : ROLLE (Esther). First encounter with this lady.

69. Iridescent shell layer : NACRE

70. Manhattan sch. : KSU (Kansas State University). Manhattan, Kansas.

73. Sasquatch, for instance : MYTH

76. Airport screening gp. : TSA

78. "Maybe, maybe not" : IT DEPENDS. Great entry too.

79. Computerized course, e.g. : HOME STUDY

80. Woeful cry : OH ME

82. Spirit in a bottle : GENIE

83. Social crawlers : ANTS. Ants are social insects.

86. Not so hot : MILD

88. It's opposite the eye : SHARP END. I don't get this clue.

91. Hi-tech read : E-MAG

92. Rout : TROUNCE

93. Keister : REAR

94. One with ropelike tresses : RASTA. I often wonder how they wash their hair.

97. Parts of Alaska's Denali Highway are built on them : ESKERS. Needed crossing help. Spitzboov knows so much about geology.

101. Alliance : LEAGUE

103. Refuse : WASTE

104. Crummy : LOUSY

106. It's history : PAST. Indeed.

107. Feel the pain : ACHE

108. "You're not serious!" : C'MON

109. Plug away : TOIL

111. Eye with ideas : OGLE

112. Hungarian castle city : EGER. Spa town. River name also.

115. Box top : LID

116. Diamond putout : TAG. Baseball "Diamond'.

117. Chronology datum : AGE

118. PX patrons : GIs.

Answer grid. (Sorry for the error earlier.)

C.C.

Saturday January 22, 2011 Barry Silk

Theme: None

Total words: 72

Total blocks: 28

Themeless puzzles often feature triple stacks, today we have four triple stacks of 10s in each quadrants:

1A. Vacation destination : RESORT AREA

15. Like some avian plumage : IRIDESCENT. What's this bird? Such brilliant colors.

17. Almighty : OMNIPOTENT

63A. Special treatments : RED CARPETS. Like what Hu Jintao got during his State visit. J, X, Z are quite common in Chinese names.

69A. Urban runoff cause : STORM WATER. And RAIN (38. 69-Across source).

67A. Voters : ELECTORATE

12D. It helps maintain posture : MUSCLE TONE

13D. Silk Road component : TRADE ROUTE. Silk Road is the most well-known trading route in Ancient China.

14D. Like some fast planes : SUPERSONIC

28D. Point maker : SCRATCH AWL. Gimme for Splynter/Jerome.

29D. "That's news to me!" : I HAD NO IDEA. Loved the answer. I say it so often.

30D. Existing at the beginning : PRIMORDIAL

Also a couple of symmetrically placed 9s:

34A. Three-time Grammy Award winner for comedy : CHRIS ROCK. Always confuse him with Chris Tucker.

44A. Michigan city where the first Domino's Pizza opened : YPSILANTI. Jazzbumpa mentioned this city once. Wikipedia says it's named after a Greek hero named Ypsilanti.

Quite a few cross-references in the grid, a hallmark of Barry's themeless.

Across:

11. Invoice nos. : AMTs

16. Sikh leader : GURU. Guru Nanak was the founder of Sihkism.

18. Rush order : ASAP

19. Café container : TASSE. French for "cup" . And 55. 19-Across prefix : DEMI. Demitasse. "Half cup".

20. Union requirement : DUES. Was thinking of marriage union and I DOs.

22. Letter run : CDE. No help from the clue. So many choices.

23. Aid for making columns : TABS

26. Flu treatment, at times : INHALER

28. Sample, in a way : SIP

31. Flights : LAMS. Lots of groans last time when lam appeared as a verb.

33. Challengers : DARERS

37. "Same here" : ME TOO

39. Popular toast : SKOAL. Scandinavian toast. Gan Bei in Chinese.

41. Morning or evening, e.g. : NOUN. Nice clue.

42. Let in : ADMIT

46. One- to ten-yr. investments : T-NOTES

48. First name in architecture : EERO (Saarinen). Architect of the Gateway Arch.

49. Org. that included the Benelux countries : EEC (European Economic Community). No idea. Is this a forerunner to EU?

50. Waist management items : CORSETS. Ha ha, I actually read it as "waste management".

52. Big mouths : MAWS

54. Covered up : HID

57. Holly portrayer : BUSEY (Gary). "The Buddy Holly Story" is pretty good.

61. Court edge : AD IN (Advantage In). Tennis court.

66. Sport : WEAR

68. Singing syllables : LA LA

Down:

1. With 7-Down, something read during a lecture? : RIOT. 7. See 1-Down : ACT.. Riot act.

2. First name in humor : ERMA (Bombeck)

3. Some are deadly : SINS. Deadly sins.

4. Lyric poet : ODIST

5. Nullifies : REPEALS

6. General on a menu : TSO. General Tso's Chicken. The pronunciation of TSO is very similar to the Cantonese F word.

8. Marsh stalk : REED

9. Lecture reaction, perhaps : ENNUI. Could picture a smiling Husker Gary.

10. Be present : ATTEND

11. Turkish bigwig : AGA

21. Bedroom accessory : SHAM

24. They need tending : BARS. Tending bars. And 25. Like some 24-Down : SMOKY. State-wide smoking ban here.

27. Play area : ARENA

32. Reach : SCOPE. Noun "Reach".

35. FDR, HST, etc. : INITS

36. 1985 National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame inductee : KASEM (Casey)

40. Former Maltese currency : LIRA. Unknown to me. Wikipedia says they started using Euro in 2008.

43. Miffed, with "off" : TEED

45. Uncultivated : LOWBROW

47. Roughly 35-cubic-foot measures : STERES. Classic crosswordese.

51. Silvery food fish : SMELT

53. Old Toyota : SUPRA. Interesting for Japanese to use a Latin-rooted name.

56. Logical beginning? : IDEO. Ideological.

58. Pants part : SEAT

59. Usher ending, once : ETTE. Usherette. Un-PC now I suppose.

60. River of Flanders : YSER. Flow to North Sea.

62. Gp. with many pieces : NRA. Why are guns called pieces?

64. "Lookin' Out My Back Door" band, briefly : CCR (Creedence Clearwater Revival). Got via crosses.

65. Bill source : ATM

Answer grid.

A few weeks ago, I mentioned on the blog that Lemonade was compiling a list of his favorite LAT puzzles/clues for 2010. Unfortunately his computer crashed and his extensive notes can't be recovered. Below is a short list of my favorites:

Rhyme Time: April 27, 2010 by Pete Muller and Sue Keefer. Rhyming two-word common expressions that contain a body part. Excellent set of 8 theme entries.

The First Thirteen: July 4, 2010 by John Lampkin. Resonated with me due to my American citizenship exam & the subsequent swear-in ceremony. Timeless theme. High educational value. Intricate grid design.

OFF TO A FAST START: July 21, 2010 by Dan Naddor. Theme entries start with a synonym of FAST. Not a standard punny Naddor, but I loved the unifier and had fun with the puzzle.

DC COMICS: October 12, 2010 by Meredith Ito (I'm the editor", Rich Norris): DC are the initials of the four comics in the grid. Just an outstanding unifier.

ELECTRICAL CIRCUIT: November 25, 2010 by Don "hard G" Gagliardo. All the edge answers can follow "ELECTRIC". Unusual, original concept, like most of Don's themes. Who can forget his L-BARs?

EYE OPENER: Dec 29, 2010 by Gary Cee. Gorgeously designed grid with intersecting theme entries. A beauty.

I'd love to hear which ones impressed you the most.

C.C.