Saturday April 2, 2011 Alan Olschwang

Theme: None

Total words: 72

Total blocks: 28

This puzzle is anchored by four grid spanners, with one long Down intersecting three Across fill:

17A. Where few people live : MIDDLE OF NOWHERE. Wouldn't it be nice if this entry were placed in 7D, the middle of the grid?

36A. Debugging aid? : INSECT REPELLENT. Real bugs! I was picturing the mysterious briefcase my ex-colleague used to debug the phones.

60A. Pick wielder : DENTAL HYGIENIST. The clue made me think of ice pick.

7D. 2008 Adam Brooks romantic comedy : DEFINITELY MAYBE. Looks good. Abigail Breslin is adorable.

Dan Naddor's puzzle yesterday has a themeless look. Today's puzzle has a themed look, with the long fill arrangement and high number of 3-letter words (total 20). 

By the way, remember Alex Boivert's "Living on the Edge" puzzle we had last April Fool's Day? Look at those edge words around the grid. Dan's gimmick was easier to grok, at least to me.

Innovation should be encouraged, no matter in which field. You may like the result, or you may not. But same old same old stuff just wouldn't work any more. Words that precede/follow theme concept  (sans twist) will  bring you an immediate "No" from Rich.

Across:

1. Island where florins are spent : ARUBA. Shouldn't they use EURO? Aruba is part of the Netherlands after all.

6. Unoccupied : IDLE. FREE wouldn't work.

10. Mental keenness : WITS

14. Charged : RAN AT. Phrasal verb can be a bit tough at times.

15. Hold : DEEM

16. Minimally : A BIT

20. "Is that __?" : A NO

21. Entertainer : ARTISTE. Thought it's just French for "artist".

22. Rural pro : FER. Rural "for".

23. Having no chapters? : NONUNION. Tricky clue.

25. Prohibit : ENJOIN

27. Hardly handy : INEPT

28. Quiet, in a way : OIL. Quiet the squeak.

30. Mattingly's predecessor : TORRE (Joe). Don Mattingly. Dodgers' manager.

31. 20-20, e.g. : TIE

33. Persian for "crown" : TAJ

35. Summer arrivals : LEOs. Oh, babies.

41. Bar patron who appears in every "Cheers" episode : NORM. Unknown trivia to me.

42. Bordeaux bottom : CUL. Cul-de-sac = Bottom of the sack.

43. Clavell's "__-Pan" : TAI. Literally "Big".

44. Marsh bird : SNIPE

46. Norse war god : TYR. From whom we got Tuesday.

48. Schism outcomes : SECTS

52. Jai alai ball : PELOTA. The basket is called CESTA. Al covered both in his Thursday write-up.

54. Float seller : MALT SHOP. I've never been to one.

56. Clark's "Mogambo" co-star : AVA. Gardner had the perfect body measurements.

57. Huge : TITANIC

59. Solid-rock center? : AS A. Solid as a rock.

63. Three-time '80s speed skating gold medalist Karin : ENKE. No idea. She's from Germany.

64. Kathryn of "Law & Order: C.I." : ERBE

65. Um preceder? : NO SEE. No see-ums. Biting flies.

66. Early Sam & Dave record label : STAX

67. Club income : DUEs

68. Head lock : TRESS. Typical grid edge word.

Down:

1. Lawyer's suit? : ARMANI. Nice playing on "suit".

2. Spoil, as a picnic : RAIN ON

3. How a knot may come : UNDONE

4. Like some judgment : BAD

5. Kennebec River outlet, with "the" : ATLANTIC. I'm sure Mainiac nailed this one. Kennebec River is in Maine.

6. "Same here" : I DO TOO

8. Contact, e.g. : LENS

9. Show anger, say : EMOTE

10. ''Do __ Diddy Diddy'': 1964 hit : WAH. Not familiar with the song.

11. Start of a rule with numerous exceptions : I BEFORE E. Spelling rule.

12. Trunk item : TIRE IRON

13. Most severe : STERNEST

18. "__ tu": Verdi aria : ERI. Literally "It was you".

19. Sold (for) : WENT

24. Bouncy : UPTEMPO. I like this word, "bouncy".

26. Kicks : JOLLIES. Did not know jolly can be a noun.

29. Drink from a dish : LAP. For dogs.

32. What an ellipsis may mean: Abbr. : ETC

34. Black shade : JET

36. Big-time : IN SPADES

37. Tempest in a teapot : NON-EVENT

38. Colombo's country : SRI LANKA. Full name. How rare!

39. Same old same old : RUT

40. You'll be busted if you use it : LAST CENT. Man, even a dollar can't buy you anything now. Not even a pack of baseball cards.

45. Blues singer James : ETTA

47. Extents : RANGES

49. One in a cruise ship line : CHAISE

50. Chucks : TOSSES

51. Floods : SPATES

53. Had something : AILED. Had a bug.

55. Full deck in old Rome? : LII. 52. Deck of card.

58. Drive-__ : THRU

61. St. with a panhandle : TEX. Quite a few states have a panhandle.

62. Easter opening? : NOR. Opening of Nor'easter.

Answer grid.

C.C.

Friday, April 1, 2011, Dan Naddor

THEME: Oh, those silly backwards Semites. Each of the three theme answers are written beginning on the right and working in the opposite direction. Talk about a puzzle being delivered in my wheel house, not only did I grow up learning Hebrew, but I am left-handed, so doing things backwards comes naturally. I wish I had a video of me trying to Iron. Anyway, welcome back, oops that is me.

17. Start of an aptly expressed linguistic observation: CIBARA DNA WERBEH. HEBREW AND ARABIC. If you read the Hardy Boy mysteries you know all about mirror writing.

31. Observation, part 2: DAER ERA. ARE READ.

45. End of the observation: TFEL OT THGIR MORF.FROM RIGHT TO LEFT.

Hello, it is I, Lemonade, back from a brief hiatus, only to appear where I left off with Dan Naddor, Alava Shalom, and a wonderful April Fool's Day deception. For all those who have complained about too much 3 and 4 letter fill, we have an average word length of almost 6 letters. As always, Dan includes many multi-part answers, with a 10,10, 15 top and bottom. leave it to Dan to do a pseudo quote puzzle in reverse.

All right, on with the show, which just for me features lots of law and Latin, and some really interesting Ukrainian humor.

Across:

1. Lexington and Concord fighters: MILITIAMEN. Oh Dan, how could you do this to a nice guy like me? Every New England child knows they were MINUTEMEN! But it did not fit. (no insensitive jokes about New England men, please Lois and Carol). Both started with MI but there was no way to get 10 letters...

11. XXXV years after the creation of the original Magna Carta: MCCL. Dan liked his Roman numerals to be math exercises, 1215 plus 35 = 1250.

15. Apple consumers?: ADAM AND EVE. A nice deceptive biblical reference, and perhaps a hint to our Hebrew theme.

16. River through Lake Brienz: AARE. How may rivers start with two As?We are back in BERN(E).

19. Duplicated: CLONED. Ah, the new world order.

20. Roma road: STRADA. The Italian version of the Latin word STRATA. My oldest is going back to Gabii for two months in June.

21. Word with sharp or trouble: SHOOTER. SHARP SHOOTER = accurate shot. TROUBLE SHOOTER, an outsider who comes in to fix things.

23. Hand: SAILOR. C'mon, you all know, "All hands on deck!"

24. Leagues: Abbr.: ASSNS, associations.

25. Like performances by the Wallendas: NETLESS, the famous circus FLYERS have lost many of their family because they performed without a net.

27. Place to build: SITE.

28. Flying need: PHOTO ID. This was the trickiest for me, because I got the "oid" part first. When I finally stepped back to realize how this parsed, I felt rather foolish.

30. Is down with: HAS.

32. Source of support: FAN.

35. It's about 325 miles east of Texas's H-Town, with "the": BIG EASY, and a quick hello to our Hebrew scholar, Hahtool (also Hebrew).

36. "Return of the Jedi" dancer: OOLA. You have to be a real Trekkie to know this unhappy DANCER by name.

37. Like Cologne and vicinity: RHENISH. This related to the Rhine valley and perhaps to the post World War I attempt to create an independent state.

39. Condescend: STOOP. I would never stoop to bad puns to entertain!

40. Fowl with a showy mate: PEAHEN. Mr. Peacock, no foul humor, now! Drat.

41. Herbal drink: MINT TEA. A wonderful Dan fill to tease you with the TT in the middle.

43. "Bewitched" witch: ENDORA. Brilliantly played by Agnes Moorehead.

44. Place with swinging doors: SALOON. Gunsmoke, anyone?

49. Abbr. on folk song sheet music: TRAD. Traditional.

50. Listed: ENUMERATED. A nice $5.00 word.

51. They have their pluses and minuses: IONS.

52. Fabled tortoise's trait: STEADINESS. Slow and steady wins the race!

Down:

1. Bud: MAC. So many meanings for bud.

2. First name in tyranny: IDI. An Amin after my own heart.

3. Checkup charges: LAB COSTS. Another multiple word answer causing a weird combination in the middle, ABC.

4. Inviting words before "Want to come over?": I'M ALONE. The wife has gone to shop?

5. Mystical decks: TAROTS.

6. Vacant: INANE. Vacuous, empty, senseless, blank, foolish, vacant, hollow, void, meaningless; enough?

7. Dangerous snake: ADDER. They are poisonous members of the viper family, and the only poisonous snake indigenous to Great Britain, I believe. NC?

8. Darn: MEND. Darn, these socks have another hole in them!

9. Mendes of "Hitch": EVA. Okay, one LINK for the boys. Followed by 11D. Hitched: MARRIED.

10. It may be a scoop: NEWS STORY. More multiples.

12. Plots: CABALS. This word is a form of the Hebrew Kabbalah, which is mysticism and secrets. The usage in English reportedly is associated with the CABAL Ministry under King Charles II, from the last names of the ministers. Sir Thomas Clifford, Lord Arlington, the Duke of Buckingham, Lord Ashley, and Lord Lauderdale.

13. Words to live by: CREDOS. Latin meaning to believe.

14. "The Merry Widow" operettist: LEHAR. We have had this COMPOSER before, in fact DAN, DON G. and BARRY SILK all have used this clue.

18. Latin term usually abbreviated: ET ALIA. More Latin for and others, ET AL, and our favorite Thursday blogger.

21. Window part: SASH.

22. Early Chinese dynasty: HSIA. No clue, so I read this LINK , C. C., your turn. (Note from C.C.: We can Hsia as Xia in China. Xia Dynstry is China's first prehistoric dynasty, followed by Shang & Zhou.)

25. Canadian young adult fiction author McClintock: NORAH. Nope, did not know this AUTHOR either.

26. Nice summers: ETES . By now a gimme for everybody, i am sure. Nice the French city.

28. Numbers in a corner, often: PAGINATES. Not a gimme, but I have edited a couple of books, and PAGINATION is a popular word in publishing.

29. Texters' amused syllables: HEES. TEE HEE, or HEE HEE?

31. Mexican bread: DINERO Spanish for money, that kind of bread.

32. What an asterisk may indicate: FOOTNOTE. In law books we also have Head Notes.

33. Lotion additive: ALOE. Phew, an easy one.

34. City WSW of Sacramento: NAPA, easy for you left coasters, but there are so many cities in Cali.

35. Lays eyes on: BEHOLDS.

36. Armchair partner: OTTOMAN, not be confused with the Empire which appeared in my last write up.

37. Hall of Fame defensive back Mel: RENFRO. Mel Renfro was number 20 for the Dallas Cowboys for many all-pro years; he played in 4 Super Bowls for the Cowboys, including number VI, where they beat the Dolphins.

38. Like hell: HADEAN. More Latin, ancient Roman HADES.

39. "Edda" author __ Sturluson: SNORRI. We have had reference to this ICELANDIC who influenced many of the early Scandinavian authors.

40. Coat opening?: PETTI. Petticoat Junction, the spin-off from Green Acres.

41. Volcanic fluid: MAGMA. I am not touching that.

42. Perjurer's admission: I LIED. Another law reference, because it is Friday and my day.

44. "Melrose Place" actor: SHUE. This is Andrew the BROTHER of Elizabeth, and for you ladies.

46. Explosive initials: TNT. For my personality?

47. __ judicata: decided case: RES. More law stuff, and Latin, it just means things,

48. Some alarm respondents: Abbr.: FDS, no not Feminine Deodorant Spray, Fire Departments.

Answer grid.

Wow, with so many long words there are only 66 clues, so I am through early; hope you enjoyed the Return of the Lemonade and see you on the next page. Oh, I lied about the Ukranian humor, but it is April 1.

Lemonade