Friday, February 18, 2011, Dan Naddor

Theme: It is a Punderful Presidential Friday. Each of the theme answers is a sound alike pun, clued with the continuing clecho of “Presidential” replacing a word or two in a common phrase with the last name of a president, to make for a silly and humorous new phrase. Interestingly, all but Madison were Republican presidents. I guess in honor of the impending President's Day holiday, we have gone from Presidential Pets two days ago, to Presidential Puns; put on your seat belts because here we go.

18A. Presidential putdown? : GRANT SLAM. (Ulysses S. Grant, our 18th) from the baseball term GRAND SLAM, a bases loaded home run.

23A. Presidential advisers?: MADISON CABINET. (James Madison, number 4 and our shortest at 5'4") MEDICINE CABINET.

32A. Presidential ATM sign?: FORD DEPOSIT ONLY. (Gerald Ford, number 38) FOR DEPOSIT ONLY, which is what I put on my checks; I never sign them in case they are lost.

48A. Presidential university?: COOLIDGE CAMPUS. (Calvin Coolidge, number 30) COLLEGE CAMPUS.

53A. Presidential belt-tightening?: NIXON CUTS. (Richard Nixon, number 37) NICKS AND CUTS.

Happy Friday all, Lemonade here, and I WAS RIGHT, a NADDOR for me and a quintessential example of his wit and skill. We have his recognizable humor, heavy themeage, and fixation with deception both in cluing and using multi word fill; look for the number by each example.

Across:

1. Timeworn observation: ADAGE. Direct from the Latin adagium, meaning proverb.

6. "Pronto!": ASAP.

10. Party person: HOST. C.C, is our party person.

14. Paganini's birthplace: GENOA. I wonder if this reference was deliberate, as the pioneer of the modern style of playing the violin, had at one time as his patron, Mary Louise, Bonaparte's second wife. He was very conceited about his music and wrote his compositions to perform himself; I would say he was a ham, but Jerome would probably threaten me with a salami.

15. One of an historic seagoing trio: NINA. Along with the PINTA and the SANTA MARIA.

16. Not deceived by: ON TO. (1)

17. Los __: city near San Jose: ALTOS. Los Altos a city at the southern end of the San Francisco Peninsula, in the San Francisco Bay Area. The city is in Santa Clara County, California.

20. 1926 channel swimmer: EDERLE. GERTRUDE was the first woman to swim the English channel, after only five men had accomplished the feat, and she did it 2 hours faster than any man up to that time.

22. Bernardo's girl in "West Side Story": ANITA. Brilliantly played by RITA MORENO in the movie version.

26. Trademark cousins: PATENTS. Names rather than processes.

27. Trains on supports: ELS. ELevated trains, still popular in Chicago.

28. "Discreet Music" composer: ENO. Brian is my recurring theme this week, as he and his Airport Music were in my recent blog.

29. Movie beekeeper: ULEE. Peter Fonda's gold.

30. People person?: CELEB. Very fun, PEOPLE magazine.

39. "Contact" author: SAGAN. Carl was a very popular scientist who did all he could to bring science to the masses with his books and his Cosmos TV show. He also was involved in SETI. Seeking extra-terrestrial intelligence.

40. "Uh-uh": NOPE.

41. Ex-Saudi ruler __ Saud: IBN. Son of like, Ben.

44. Managed: RAN.

45. Onetime California gubernatorial candidate Huffington: ARIANNA. She is now selling out, by letting AOL purchase her HUFFINGTON POST .

51. Biblical words before and after "for": AN EYE. AN EYE FOR AN EYE, kind of eerie considering my current situation, and the ever present need to atone. (2)

52. Title subject of a G.B. Shaw play: ST JOAN. Jean D'Arc, our favorite military martyr. (3)

56. Blitz attachment: KRIEG. The massive German all out attacks of World War II. Literally lightening war.

59. Prefix with "Language" in a 1993 comedy best-seller: SEIN. Jerry Seinfeld at his best. For example, the number one fear people have is public speaking, with death the number two fear. That means if you are a funeral it is easier to be the corpse than to deliver a eulogy.

60. Gaston's god: DIEU. Oh goody, my French lesson, Mon Dieu, that was easy.

61. Perform penance: ATONE. Man, you think because I get this word every time, a higher power is telling me it is time to admit my sins, and change? Nah.

62. Scraps: ORTS.

63. U. of Maryland athlete: TERP. Short for Terrapin.

64. Streisand title role: YENTL. A rare public performance by Barbara at the Grammy.

Down: Down we go:

1. Turkish honorific: AGA. Not to be confused with the cooker so popular in Europe.

2. Wilmington's st.: DEL. Delaware, the type of Indians near Staten Island, as well.

3. Lover of armies?: ANTEATER. Really fun was to clue the army of ants.

4. Acts of kindness: GOOD DEEDS. (4)

5. Enter cautiously: EASE IN. (5)

6. Americans in Paris, e.g.: ANGLOS. I do not recall hearing this expression from any of my relatives, but hey, maybe because I spoke French with them they were nice.

7. Femme fatale: SIREN. We had SIREN as Vixen recently.

8. Book collector's suffix: ANA. This is used denote a collection of writing by a single author or a single topic, like AMERICANA, or DICKENSIANA. Not a collector like Dennis, but one who puts things together in a single volume.

9. Put down in writing?: PAN. The critics often Pan the blog for too many links.

10. Mubarak of Egypt: HOSNI. Isn’t amazing Dan used fill so current even though this puzzle was written more than one year ago; here is one perception of MUBARAK .

11. Surfing without a board, maybe: ON LINE. Web surfing. (6)

12. New York's __ Island: STATEN. The smallest population of the five boroughs of New York city, this was named Staaten Eylandt (literally "State Island") by Henry Hudson, sailing on behalf of the Dutch government.

13. T in a sandwich: TOMATO. The "T" in BLT.

19. Typewriter feature: TAB SET. (7)

21. Queue after Q: RST. An innovative play on words to spice up the letter string Q R S T.

23. Opposite of bueno: MALO. BUENO=Good, MALO=Bad in Spanish.

24. Psychic couple?: CEES. A new variation, as there are two "C"s in the word Psychic.

25. "That's __ ask": ALL I. Yeah right, beware when anyone ever says this to you. (8)

26. Sta-__: fabric softener: PUF. Have not heard of this brand in awhile. Maybe it will be the new Ipana.

30. Hoodwink: CON. From the CONFIDENCE MEN who gain that from people and then bilk them.

31. Ruling family name in 19th-century Europe: BONAPARTE. If you want more, I provide this LINK .

33. Connecticut coastal town near Stamford: DARIEN. One of the many small town near Manhattan which attracted the successful New Yorkers looking to escape from the city. The opposite end of the state in every sense from where I grew up.

34. "Yikes!": EGAD. Veddy British, in preparation for RAJ, I guess.

35. Qualm: PANG. Pangs of guilt.

36. Like some workers in an open shop: NON UNION. So Wisconsin people, what do you think of the teacher union stuff? (9)

37. HMO employees: LPNS. Licensed Practical Nurses; one level below Registered Nurses. Sort of like an AA degree compared to a BA.

38. Thumbs-up vote: YEA. Or nay.

41. Response to a doubting Thomas: I CAN SO. (10)

42. More scrawny: BONIER. How many of you thought of this SONG .

43. Prohibitive door sign: NO EXIT. (11)

45. Misbehaves: ACTS UP. (12)

46. British rule in India: RAJ. From this period of BRITISH RULE as we can see from the comments of our now anonymous friend Vidwan, there remain bad feelings among Indian and Pakistani citizens. On a happier note, I strongly recommend the book MAJOR PETTIGREW’S LAST STAND .

47. Post-fall reassurance: I'M OKAY. Not fall autumn, but faw down and go boom fall. (13)

49. Interpol headquarters: LYONS. I was getting psyched for my second French dispute with Dan of the puzzle, when I read the town of LYON (French name, pronounced lee ohn) was anglicized to Lyons. International Police, now with 188 countries signed on.

50. Glyceride, e.g.: ESTER. Organic chemistry was impossible for my limited vision; my professor wrote with one hand and erased with the other.

54. Setting on the Mississippi: Abbr.: CDT. Your clock setting, Central Daylight Time. A toughie in February.

55. A lost driver may hang one, briefly: UIE. We have debated the spelling of a U Turn before.

57. M.D.'s specialty: ENT. No, the Doctors do not work on animated trees from Tolkien, but Ear Nose and Throat.

58. Styling stuff: GEL. Hair styling; I am just too lazy.

Well, it has been an up and down week, but it was great to finish with me and Dan trying to entertain. Have a great weekend, especially those who get Presidents' day off.

Answer grid.

Lemonade

Thursday, Feb 17, 2011 Elizabeth A. Long

Theme: 71, 72, and 73 across: What this puzzle does literally at six different intersections: MAKES ENDS MEET. The word "END" is contained within, and connected to both an across and a down answer, and the placement of all the connections are symmetrical in the grid.

20A. Fancy greens dish: ENDIVE SALAD. Also called Chicory. Grown in the dark to prevent greening, which would make it bitter.

32A. #1 tennis player for much of the '80s: IVAN LENDL.

38A. In reverse position: END FOR END.

50A. Feminist's concern: GENDER GAP.

58A. Bit of modern folklore: URBAN LEGEND. See Snopes.com whenever you hear something that always seems to happen to a friend's friend from work has a relative that heard this story was true. Except it almost never is. Not to be confused with the Darwin Awards, which almost always are true.

1D. Supplementary items: ADDENDA. Added to the END.

26D. Binge: BENDER. Ah, lots of arm curls. College was for far more than just studying.

31D. Corrects, as text: EMENDS. Latin emendare "to free from fault," from ex- "out" + mendum "fault, blemish"

49D. Hanging: PENDENT. As in a cloth banner. Might have been pending as in waiting.

Hi all, Al here.

This is certainly an interesting construction today, but hard to put clearly into words, so a picture may help. Counting the last three across reveals at the END, there are 12 answers that contribute to the theme today. There's nothing that really unifies them other than that in the END, they are merely containers. But you know what they say: the END justifies the means. Unless I counted wrong, there are 63 out of 159 lites, or roughly 40% of the puzzle is theme-related. Solving seemed more like a Tuesday level to me, but that's not to say it wasn't enjoyable.

ACROSS:

1. __ effort: A FOR. I have to believe that this puzzle did take a lot of effort.

5. Without restraint: AMOK. This word has origins in Malay, meaning attacking furiously. Portuguese amuco for "a frenzied Malay".

9. "__ luego": HASTA. Spanish lit. "until soon".

14. Merrill in movies: DINA. Daughter of E.F. Hutton, the founder of Wallstreet. You wouldn't think she'd need to get a job acting...

15. Microwave: NUKE.

16. "__ Smith and Jones": 1970s TV Western: ALIAS. Hannibal Heyes and Kid Curry, two of the most wanted outlaws in the history of the West, are popular "with everyone except the railroads and the banks", since "in all the trains and banks they robbed, they never shot anyone". They are offered an amnesty on condition that they stay out of trouble for a year and that they don't tell anyone about it. Naturally, the show was about them being coerced into doing certain tasks that were for the greater good, but would land them back in jail if they were caught.

17. List maker: DEAN. The Dean's list is one you should want to be on.

18. Swank's "Amelia" co-star: GERE. Hillary and Richard. Movie about Amelia Earhart.

19. Stealthy Easterner: NINJA.

23. Storm hdg.: NNE.

24. Out of sorts: ILL.

25. Cloud in Orion: NEBULA. Sheer artistry.

30. Spay or neuter: DE-SEX.

35. "I can help": ASK ME.

36. 2012 Ryder Cup captain Davis Love __: III. Golf.

37. News organ?: NOSE. Having a nose for news, perhaps sticking it where it doesn't belong.

42. Cross over: SPAN.

45. Be less than healthy: AIL.

46. Greek with lessons: AESOP. Fabulous.

53. __ myrtle: tree or shrub in the loosestrife family: CRAPE. Also pretty. Is that how Myrtle Beach got its name, I wonder? But purple loosestrife on the other hand, is a non-indigenous weed and will choke out a wetlands area with overgrowth, and should be pulled out and burned if found.

54. Skirmish: TUSSLE. Related to tousle, as with unruly hair.

55. Where Eth. is: AFR. Ethiopia, Africa.

57. Chess pieces: MEN. I'll bet the queen doesn't like being called that, sounds like a gender gap to me.

62. Howled: BAYED.

66. Upscale hotel chain: OMNI. New to me. I don't remember seeing any of these in any of Wisconsin, Minnesota, or Michigan, but then .

67. Without thinking, with "by": ROTE.

68. Tequila plant: AGAVE.

69. It often involves steady losses: DIET. When you lose, you win. I'm on to these kinds of clues now.

70. Privy to: IN ON. Also related to "private", what you do in the privy stays in the privy.

DOWN:

2. He plays Lord Voldemort in Harry Potter films: FIENNES. Sans makeup for the ladies.

3. Where the teacher might casually sit: ON A DESK. Brings back fond memories of typing class in high school. For an elective class, a lot of the boys sure signed up for that one.

4. Rajah's wife: RANI.

5. Guardian, maybe: ANGEL.

6. Vegan's morning meal: MUESLI. Dates, oats, fruit, milk.

7. Cajun staple: OKRA. I think this was photoshopped...

8. Stabilizing part: KEEL.

9. "Water Music" composer: HANDEL. The clip is only 1:21 long. That's about long enough to get the idea, I think.

10. Clay, today: ALI. I remember it being a big deal back when Cassius Clay changed his name to Muhammed Ali, but it would still raise eyebrows in certain circles today.

11. Offense: SIN.

12. Atlantic City casino, with "The": TAJ.

13. "__ matter of fact ...": AS A.

21. Sly female: VIXEN. She-fox. Or an 80's big hair band.

22. Musical based on a comic strip: ANNIE.

27. A quarter of cuatro: UNO. More Spanish, four / 4 = one.

28. Mormons, initially: LDS. Latter Day Saints.

29. Bar option: ALE.

33. Instrument in Schubert's "Trout Quintet": VIOLA. Someone likes classical music today, I see.

34. __ conditioning: AIR.

39. Provocative sort: DARER.

40. __ leaf: FIG. The usual image of Adam and 65D. First lady?: EVE being modest.

41. Mother-of-pearl: NACRE.

42. Certain NCO: SGT. Non-commissioned officer, sergeant.

43. Little, in Lille: PEU. un peu de Francais.

44. "Jeopardy!" ques., really: ANS. Make sure your answer is in the form of a question. Gimmicky marketing genius, apparently.

47. Identical item: SAME ONE.

48. Summer shoe style: OPEN TOE.

51. Gets by: ELUDES.

52. Gave one star, say: PANNED. Bad movie or restaurant rating.

56. Moves like a moth: FLITS.

59. Portend: BODE.

60. Exiled African tyrant: AMIN.

61. Dreadful: GRIM.

62. Bit of Lagasse lingo: BAM. Emeril Live and Essence of Emeril on the Food Network.

63. Turkish title: AGA.

64. Asian ox: YAK.

Answer Grid.

Al