Thursday, April 24, 2008 Robert H. Wolfe

Theme: INSULT

18A: Start of an insult: LET'S PLAY

20A: Part 2 of an insult: HORSE I'LL PRETEND

35A: Part 3 of insult: TO BE THE FRONT END

54A: Part 4 of insult: AND YOU CAN JUST BE

60A: End of an insult: YOURSELF

Wow, can I say this to Jeff Immelt? Can I tell him that I've had enough of his Kool-Aid and he can go to hell with his Bear Stearns meltdown-I-could-NOT-close-asset-deals excuse? GE sucks!

Oh I am so delirious with my 3rd career home run today, though I had no idea that DELIRIA is the name of the "Interactive urban fantasy game".

I had a very impulsive start, filling in ASLOPE and ASHORE rather recklessly. I was stunned that they turned out to be right fills. The whole northwest corner yielded to me so quickly that I started to think I had entered the Tiger Zone.

I proceeded very boldly to the other areas, and really astonished myself by conquering the whole field without much resistance. I had no idea what is SEPT, or who are BOYD or TASSO, but I was able to piece the names together either by the across or the down clues.

No need to flirt with Mr. Google.

ACROSS:

1A: Topped (off): CAPPED

10A: Belgrade native: SERB

14A: Slanted: ASLOPE. Aslant. Atilt. What else?

17A: Inclined troughs: CHUTES. Here is a picture.

24A: Interactive urban fantasy game: DELIRIA. Have never heard of it. But the answer is easily gettable.

32A: Italian epic poet: TASSO. Unknown to me. The only Italian poet I know is Dante and his "Divine Comedy". Tasso wrote the epic "Jerusalem Delivered"(1581), an account of the capture of the city during the First Crusade, according to the dictionary.

34A: Uniform: EVEN. The crossing of EVE and EVEN bugs me.

41A: NFL kicker Jason: ELAM. Vaguely remembered seeing his name before. Wow, his uniform is #1. Cool! Is he good?

42A: Fancy headdress: TIARA

47A: Pecan candy: PRALINE. I've never had this candy before.

51A: Coniferous tree: SPRUCE

61A: Peter or Annette: O'TOOLE. Know Peter, not Annette.

62A: Morales of "La Bamba": ESAI. He is always Tony Rodriguez to me.

64A:"Maverick" star: GARNER (James). Total stranger to me. I strung his name together by down clues. To make Ben Affleck happy, please clue the beautiful Jennifer GARNER next time!

65A: Ward of "The Fugitive": SELA

66A: 1960s radical grp: S.D.S. (Students for a Democratic Society). I tend to confuse this SDS with S.L.A. (Symbionese Liberation Army). Aren't they both from 1960s?

67A: Change direction sharply: SHEERS. Had no idea that SHEER can be a verb.

DOWNS:

1D: Hidden away: CACHED

2D: Off the boat: ASHORE

3D: More than one: PLURAL

6D: Bandleader Arnaz: DESI. "I Love Lucy", who doesn't?

7D: Type of lily: CALLA. Beautiful, isn't it?

8D: Proficient one: ADEPTS

9D: Lengths in France: MÈTRES

10D: Family clans: SEPTS. My dictionary says it's a variation of SECT (probably by confusion with Latin word Septum, meaning paddock, enclosure). It refers to a clan in Ancient Ireland and Scotland. I have no idea. I only know SEPT is French for 7.

11D: Perry's creator: ERLE (Stanley Gardner)

12D: Horse color: ROAN

13D: "Ben Hur" co-star: BOYD (Stephen). No idea. Only knew Charlton Heston was in the movie.

19D: Inoculants: SERA. Singular form is "Serum".

25D: Thing: ITEM

30D: Sebaceous cyst: WEN. Did not know the meaning of "sebaceous". But cyst is sufficient for me to ferret out the answer. OK, "Sebaceous" means fatty, greasy. The root word is "sebum", fatty secretion of sebaceous glands, like tallow I suppose. Then "aceous" is a suffix meaning "resembling, made of", oh, like curvaceous?

34D: List ender: ET. AL. Hey, he is back!

38D: Mature: RIPEN

39D: Dinghy mover: OAR. I want to be in this dinghy.

40D: Blue Eagle org.: NRA (National Recovery Administration). NRA is also the powerful National Rifle Association.

44D: Mil. mail drops: APOS (Army & Air Force Post Office). OK, what's the mail drop for the Marines and Navy Force then? (Update from Dennis: It's Fleet Post Office).

46D: Geometry master: EUCLID. I know his Chinese name from my middle school geometry class. No idea how to spell it in English. But it's easily pieced together from across clues. EUCLID is the "Greek mathematician who applied the deductive principles of logic to geometry, thereby deriving statements from clearly defined axioms."

45D: Vinegar holders: CRUETS

48D: Chant: INTONE

49D: More aristocratic: NOBLER

50D: Muslim leaders: var: EMEERS. When are you going to unleash AMIR?

51D: Assad's land: SYRIA. The Assad family has been in power since 1970. There are no "EMIRS" in Syria, right?

52D: Bistros: CAFÉS

54D: Mariner's assents: AYES

57D: Trots: JOGS. I like the appearance of "J" in the puzzle. Its scrabbliness (Is it a word?) adds weight to the grid and zests up the puzzle.

58D: Bryce Canyon state: UTAH

59D: Achy: SORE. What the heck has happened to you? Achy every day, hit too many "clubs"?

C.C.

Wednesday, April 23, 2008 Verna Suit

Theme: THREE BLUE THINGS

17A: Three blue things: PRINT TOOTH GRASS

57A: Three blue things: STREAK JAY CHEESE

3D: Three blue things: CHIP DANUBE BERRY

11D: Three blue things: JEANS RIBBON BELL

Alright, it looks like Hillary is hellbent on fighting until the very last "Bitter" end, since she has scored a string of big BLUE States wins. Why can't Obama close the deal?

Anyway, I don't care. I only want to know how Jeff Immelt faces shareholders' PILLORY today in PA. I want to know how he spins his rationale for the GE's disastrous report. More "BLUE Chips blue" excuse? Bear Stearn's collapse? What on earth happened during the last month of the quarter? Gosh, this guy is unbelievable!

I've never heard of BLUE DANUBE, BLUE TOOTH and BLUE STREAK, but the "BLUE" theme eased my solving pain tremendously. My nightmare this morning was the MAU MAUS and MaCrae part of the puzzle. After penning in TSAR, I put SCORN for "Pillory purpose" (SHAME). Have never watched the "Terminator", so "I'M BACK" did not succumb to me easily. I've heard of TAMIL Tigers many times, but I had no idea that TAMIL refers to the language. Philip AHN, MAU MAUS, MaCrae were all strangers to me. Wanted BHUTAN for 46A: Borneao sultanate (BRUNEI), but NOKIA and DEEJAY both said NO.

So, I called Mr. Google, and we had a short but intense flirting.

ACROSS:

1A: PC alternative: MACS

5A: Intruded: BARGED

11A: Tight spot: JAM

14A: Massage target: ACHE. Massage again? Didn't you just have one yesterday? Oh ACHY!

15A: Former San Francisco mayor: ALIOTO (Joseph). No idea. Gavin Newsom is enough for me!

20A: Old photo color: SEPIA

21A: Harrow rival: ETON. James Bond's school. Churchill attended Harrow.

23A: "___ the Explora": DORA. Hi Dora!

29A: Unhip one: NERD

34A: Philip of "Kung Fu": AHN. See here for more information.

35A: Velvety flora: MOSS. Too unhip! Try her next time! That's my perfume. (Update later: The Opium girl in the picture is supermodel Kate MOSS)

36A: Lake near Syracuse: ONEIDA

37A: '50s Kenyan rebels: MAU MAUS

39A: Sowing site: SEEDBED

40A: "Terminator" sequel words: I'M BACK

41A: Micro-processors': abbr.: CPUS (Central Processing Unit)

43A: Parasitic creature: LEECH

44A: Take off: DOFF

45A: Refuses to: WON'T

46A: Borneo sultanate: BRUNEI. Its capital city is Bandar Seri Begawan, no wonder the constructor used the island name for the clue. Here is a map.

52A: Prefix for one: OENO. Hey, any oenophilia here? OENO is also "Goddess of Wine" in Greek Mythology.

54A: Scrapbook: ALBUM

61A: Luxury watch maker: PIAGET. Faintly remembered it.

64A: Hounds, sometimes: BAYERS

DOWN:

5D: Night flyer: BAT. Wish it were clued as "Baseball player's club", it would be great companion for MISS (13D: Not hit).

7D: Unruly mob: RIOTERS

8D: Aged: GOT OLD

9D: Culture: pref.: ETHNO. As in Ethnology.

13D: Not hit: MISS

19D: Shortened, as sails: REEFED. Did not know it until today.

24D: Actress Aimee: ANOUK. Saw AIMEE clued as "Actress Anouk" before.

26D: French door parts: PANES

27D: Sri Lankan language: TAMIL

28D: Pillory purpose: SHAME

30D: Tee preceder: ESS. Put "TO A" first.

32D: Classic theater: ODEON. Better than "Music Hall" clue.

35D: ___ Picchu: MACHU

36D: French eggs: OEUFS. Hmm, want some oeufs brouillés?

38D: Gordon of "Oklahoma": MacRae. See here for more information.

39D: Tanning lotion letters: SPF (Sun Protection Factor). I think mine is SPF30.

41D: Mint function: COINAGE. I put REFRESH first, but quickly corrected myself.

44D: Record player?: DEEJAY. Why question mark?

45D: Polish Peace Nobelist: WALESA. Nice touch here by the Editor. He avoided "Nobelist Lech" due to clue 43A (Leech).

47D: Cell phone maker: NOKIA

49D: Crying sound: WAH

50D: Nile snakes: ASPS. As lethal as SEPS?

53D: __ and terminer: OYER. No idea. Wanted COMMENCER but could not cram it in!

55D: Old VOA parent: USIA (United States Information Agency). Used to like VOA China.

56D: Shea nine: METS. Hello Santana, we miss you!

58D: Police call letters: APB (All Points Bulletin)

59D: $ percentages: CTS (CENTS)

C. C.

Tuesday, April 22, 2008 Josiah Breward

Theme: DINNER ORDER

20A: Part of a dinner order: SMALL HOUSE SALAD

36A: Part of a dinner order: MEDIUM RARE STEAK

49A: Part of a dinner oder: LARGE ONION RINGS

More orts:

6D: Greek sandwiches: GYROS

46D: Kind of sauce: TARTAR

28A: Herring's cousin: SHAD

Yes! Let's eat! Let's shut up on global warming talk and ignore those pesky scientists! Who cares if the EPA reports are altered/doctored? Who cares if any solver expects a Earth Day themed puzzle on April 22? Let's go with STALIN, nobody will ever notice that LENIN was born on April 22.

Other than that, a solid puzzle. I love the double meaning of ORDER here. Great theme and well executed!

Had a bit of a shaky start. Had problem getting SLAPS due to 1D & 4D clues. Only knew ASP and COBRA for serpents, SEPS was a complete stranger to me. Wanted AL PACINO for "Scarface" star, not familiar with PAUL MUNI. Wanted HAIFA for Israeli port (my Pavlov' Dog reflex). Wanted EDUARD (Shevardnadz) for 5D: Dictator born in Georgia, misled by his long presidency of Georgia.

ALDA and LIAM ware the only 2 words I penned in with authority in the upper left corner. I actually had no idea what was "...The Phantom Menace", not a fan of Star War or Star Treks. But I liked Neeson's "Schindler's List", so LIAM was an easy crumble. BB GUNS and MIAS eventually brought STALIN to me. Always thought STALIN was born in Russia.

Smooth sailing in other areas though.

ACROSS:

1A: High--fives: SLAPS. Naughty Naughty (40A)! Raise your hand if these two clues brought Borat to your mind!

9A: Allied: SIDED

14A: Israeli port: EILAT. Could also be spelled as ELATH.

15A: Nautical swerve: YAW. I pieced it together from down clues. I had no idea what "yaw" can mean "deviate from a straight course".

16A: Loan sharking: USURY

17A: "The Taming of the Shrew'' City: PADUA. No idea. I wish 16A were clued as "The Merchant of Venice" practice or something like that. It would have a bit of Shakespeare sub-theme.

18A: Greek letter: RHO. The intersection of GYROS (6D) with RHO is very nice, both Greek.

19A: Hold responsible: BLAME

23A: Sara and Farrow: MIAS. Know Farrow, not Sara.

25A: Toy shooters: BB GUNS

33A: Lena of "Chocolat": OLIN. Great movie. Juliette Binoche was impeccable in "Chocolat"! I love almost every one of her movie, esp Damage (with Jeremy Irons).

34A: The ones here: THESE. Too lazy a clue.

35A: Prohibitionist: DRY

40A: Naughty: BAD

44A: Milanese eight: OTTO. I've been quite pleased with our editor's various clues for OTTO lately. Great! Now please use Jim's "A Dandy in __" for ASPIC next time, no more "Meat stocky jelly".

45A: Accent: STRESS

48A: Jack of talk shows: PAAR

59A: Govt. security: T BILL. Treasury Bill. My favorite clue.

60A: Form: SHAPE. Hmm, 2 APES here, see 47D.

61A: Stooge name: MOE. Larry & Curly. Aw, those ugly Three Stooges' golf/football NODDER bobbleheads! Why do people want them?

62A: "A Delicate Balance" playwright: ALBEE. Did not know the play, but knew ALBEE due to "Who's Afraid of Virgina Woolf?"

63A: Key-stroked: TYPED. Nice one.

DOWN:

1D: Numidian serpent: SEPS. Numidian is "an ancient country in N Africa, corresponding roughly to modern Algeria." Here is a picture of SEPS.

2D: Neeson of "... The Phantom Menace": LIAM. Why abbreviated the movie title?

4D: "Scarface" star: PAUL MUNI. No idea who he is.

5D: Dictator born in George: STALIN

6D: Greek sandwiches: GYROS. OK, I want to get rid of "Greek" in the clue because 18A: Greek letter. Got any good idea? Share with us.

9D: Falls to the bottom: SUBSIDES

10D: Muhammad's religion: ISLAM. Wish this one would be clued as "Abbas' religion" and the 14A as "Olmert's port". That would elevate this puzzle to a whole new level!

11D: Binary: DUAL

12D: Columnist Bombeck: ERMA. I've been waiting for Mr. Williams to clue BOMBECK as Columnist ERMA.

21D: Embodies: HAS

22D: Clear, as a disk: ERASE

25D: Lead balloons: BOMBS

26D: Sound sheepish: BLEAT. Or BAA.

27D: Lightheaded: GIDDY. That's how I am feeling now. Could not contain my enthusiasm for today's primary. Show me your real color, Pennsylvania!

28D: Military hat: SHAKO. Can also be spelled as SHACKO. It's "a military cap in the form of a cylinder or truncated cone, with a visor and a plume or pompon". See this photo. Rooted from Hungarian word "csákó süveg" meaning "peaked cap." How come this word looks so familiar to me?

30D: Designer Simpson: ADELE. Nope, I've never heard of her. Strung together her name by across clues.

31D: Boorish: CRASS

34D: Jogging pace: TROT

37D: Intact: UNOPENED

38D: Words to remember: MOTTO

39D: Very poor: TERRIBLE

47D: Yawning: AGAPE

48D: Put forward: POSED

50D: In need a massage: ACHY. Hmm, Dennis might need one after hitting so many clubs in South Beach!

52D: "Finding __": NEMO. I love Ellen's Dory!

55D: Happiness: GLEE

56D: Passel: SLEW

C.C.

Monday, April 21, 2008 Edgar Fontaine

Theme: KENTUCKY DERBY

20A: Kentucky Derby to some: RUN FOR THE ROSES

33A: 2007 Kentucky Derby winner: STREET SENSE

40A: 33A's rider: CALVIN BOREL

49A: Kentucky Derby track: CHURCHILL DOWNS

A bit extra: 45D: Headlong assault: ONRUSH. Triple Crown winner, ASSAULT, had a shock and awe performance in Kentucky Derby 1946. (update later: Please notice how 37A: OAT anchors the whole puzzle, very impressive construction!)

But why jump the gun like Barbaro at Preakness 2006? Kentucky Derby (May 3, 2008 Saturday) is still 10 days away, isn't it? I know this won't fit in the themeless Saturday pattern, but why not publish it on May 2 Friday?

Great theme entries though. Needs some "mint julep" for an intoxicating finish.

Well, you know I love ASPIC, so with the sexy "S" filled in for 33A, my choices for the horses were limited to SMARTY JONES, SEATTLE SLEW, or STREET SENSE (I don't have much knowledge on other S horses). So, the horse revealed its name to me without much spurs. I think I picked up "Any Given Saturday" last year, and got really pissed off at Todd Pletcher when none of his five horses fired!

It took a bit effort to string together the jockey's name (CALVIN BOREL). Mike Smith and Edgar Prado were the only ones that popped into my brain this morning.

I did flirt with Mr. Google a bit (3 visits). Nothing hot and heavy.

ACROSS:

1A: Deeply engrossed: RAPT

5A: Primitive calculators: ABACI(算盤). The singular form is abacus. Had to use it in my elementary arithmetics class. Insufferable headache!

15A: Punctuation mark: COLON

16A: Bahrain ruler: EMIR. It's AMEER in yesterday's puzzle, clued as "Muslim VIP, var." So, we've got EMIR, EMEER, AMEER, next one on deck will be AMIR.

18A: Perch: ROOST

23A: Chicago Team: CUBS. Thought of BULL(S) first. Had a glance at 6D, and then filled in CUBS. The letter C was essential for me to ferret out 4D: Digging machine (TRENCHER).

25A: Respiratory disorder: ASTHMA

28A: Manacle: HANDCUFF. I did not know the meaning of "Manacle". But it's gettable.

35A: Dent starter?: TRI. Trident.

36A: Poker holding: PAIR

37A: Morsel for dobbin: OAT. Put ORT initially, did not know that "dobbin" is a horse. Great clue for a Derby themed puzzle.

38A: Sense: FEEL. Dislike the clue due to STREET SENSE.

39A: O. T. book: ISA (ISAIAH). 2 religious books today.

44A: Chemical compound: CHLORIDE. A subtle nice touch on the Derby too.

46A: Imitation gold alloy: OROIDE. Stranger to me. Could also be spelled as OREIDE. It's "alloy containing copper, tin, etc., used to imitate gold". OK, so "oro" means gold, "ide" is rooted in "eide" meaning "resembling".

47A: Hide-hair link: NOR. Unknown to me. I've never heard of this phrase before. It means "Nothing whatsoever". Here is the origin.

48A: Miners entrance: ADIT. It looks like this.

56A: Corker: LULU. Did not know the meaning of "corker".

57A: Related to the mother's side: ENATE. AGNATE is related on the father's side. COGNATE is related by birth. NATE is the pp of NASCI, Latin for to be born. Oh I guess that's how INATE got its root too. Very interesting, it reminds of "Naître".

61A: Pursuing: AFTER

62A: Pull (for): ROOT

63A: Humdrum: BLAH

64A: Active sorts: DOERS

DOWN:

1D: Dreamed letter: R.E.M. Ennui! Try something new to excite me.

2D: Declare: AVER. Have to ask one more time, what's the exact difference between AVER and AVOW?

4D: Digging machine: TRENCHER. Would've not got this one with C from CUBS (23A). Here is a track trencher.

5D: Circus performer: ACROBAT

6D: Crude dudes: BOORS

8D: Bobby's blackjack: COSH. Who is Bobby? (Pls visit the Comments section for explanation)

9D: "ER" extras: INTERNS

10D: Brave: HEROIC. Oh what a diving catch by Carlos Gomez yesterday! And Justin Morneau's clutch performance! "Wild thing, you make my heart sing!"

11D: Book after Joel: AMOS

12D: Sexologist Shere: HITE. Wow, she is still alive. Doubt if anyone here has ever read her book. Mary Roach's "Bonk" looks very interesting though.

13D: Greek god of war: ARES. MARS for the Romans.

21D: Seethe with anger: FUME

25D: Meat stock jelly: ASPIC. Wow, identical grid spot on April 10th puzzle!

26D: Hidden store: STASH

27D: Courtroom event: TRIAL

28D: Throw with effort: HEAVE

30D: Wombs: UTERI. Singular form is Uterus.

31D: Emancipated: FREED

32D: French girl: FILLE. Or French daughter. Fils et Fille (son and daughter).

34D: Auctioneer's last word: SOLD!

38D: Soccer skill: FOOTWORK. Is this a common soccer term?

40D: Gator's cousin: CROC

41D: Mindless individual: AIRHEAD

42D: Non-verbal consenters: NODDERS. Whoa, that's a stretch, isn't it? To me, nodders are bobblehead, like this Johan Santana one.

43D: Panache: BRIO. Hi, welcome back.

45D: Headlong assault: ONRUSH. I don't get this one. Why?

48D: Change: ALTER. Awful intersection between ALTER and AFTER.

49D: Simple weapon: CLUB. I really really like Sergio Garcia's "Hit the Club" commercial. Bet Dennis was hitting the wrong clues in South Beach.

50D: Throw: HURL. Why not "Toss" for the clue? Why did you foist two "Throw"s on us? (see 28D)?

52D: Scuttlebutt: INFO. Did not know the meaning of "scuttlebutt". Very inferable though.

53D: After time: LATE. I hate this clue. After what time?

54D: Lunch time: NOON. Time and time again!

55D: Oxford or brogue: SHOE. I like this clue.

59D: Sault __ Marie: STE. One in Michigan and one in Ontario.

C.C.

Sunday, April 20, 2008 Robert H. Wolfe

Theme: AFTER TAX (Not BEFORE TAX? I don't get it. Please educate me on this!)

29A: Everything-must-go tax?: CLEARANCE SALES

112A: Generous endowment tax?: CHARITABLE GIFT

3D: Non-dropout's tax: FINISHING SCHOOL

10D: Bourgeoisie tax?: THIRD ESTATE

43D: REM tax?: DREAM STATE

45D: Whiskey tax?: HARD LIQUOR

49D: Tar-reduction tax?: FILTER CIGARETTE

71D: In-demand tax?: HOT PROPERTY

A quick question first: This puzzle appears on Star Tribune (Mpls) on April 20, 2008 Sunday. and I know that many of you solve this puzzle on a much later date. Pls let me know how long is your lag time. I only know for sure that this puzzle appears on The Globe and Mail (Canada) one day before us. You can either leave a comment here or send me an email. Thanks.

Now back the puzzle. It's a stunner! I thoroughly enjoyed solving it. Felt so silky and velvety. Much more delightful than last week's "The Masters" themed puzzle (too many stupid author names).

Great theme. Very topical. For those fellow TMS solvers in Asia, April 15 is American Tax Day. Some of our Editor's Sunday themes have been pretty impressive: the "Broken Heart" around Valentine's Day, the "Play Ball" when baseball season started, and "The Masters" when Masters Tournament was on. I was also pleased with yesterday's "Pope Benedict" tinted themeless puzzle. Good stuff.

I had a solid start, and breezed through most of the areas without being stumped. I did encounter some unfamiliar names, but most of them were inferable. I did get stalled in the upper middle corner though. I put ETTE for 14D, and I filled in EGRET for 21A. Did not know Former Airline of Eng. (BOAC), had no idea who was the character in "The Faerie Queene". Have heard of REMAND so often in "Law & Order", but I could not commit it to "Send back" for 11D. So, I was floundering in that wet & spongy ground until "I MEAN" lent me a solving hand.

I was also soaked in the SALAD OIL area for eons. I put OSSA instead of OSSO for 77D. And I wrongly put LIQUER instead of LIQUOR for 45D. My reference bk is "OED" instead of "ENC", and I just blanked on DHOTI. ONONDAGA was definitely beyond my ken of knowledge. So, my "Early course additive" became a strange mix of weird letters instead of a simple SALAD OIL.

All in all, an hour well spent. I hope you enjoyed this puzzle too.

ACROSS:

1A: Davenport: SOFA. Did the original manufacturer come from Davenport, IA?

10A: Clan: TRIBE

15A: Intro to physics?: META. The founding father of Metaphysics is Aristotle, isn't it? Meta also means self-referential.

21A: Wading bird: HERON

22A: Last bio?: OBIT

25A: "That is to say...": I MEAN. I felt stupid tanking on this one.

27A: Certain vacuum tube: TRIODE. Unknown to me. It's "a vacuum tube containing three elements, usually anode, cathode, and control grid." See here.

36A: Singer Travis: TRITT. Stranger to me. Looks like he is an accomplished country music singer/writer. Watched "My Cousin Vinny" before, did not realize that he wrote the lyric for the song"Bible Belt".

37A: Small salmon: COHOS. Saw it before, but I forgot. It's also called "silver salmon" or "silvers". Wikipedia says "Its popularity (in Pacific Northwest) is due in part to the reckless abandon which it frequently displays chasing bait and lure while in salt water". Very interesting. Even fish have reckless behavior. They still look pretty big.

39A: Narrowing: TAPERED. Not TAPERING? I don't get this one.

42A: Rx watchdog: FDA (Food and Drug Administration). Hard to trust those folks! Don't they all go to pharmaceutical lobbying firms eventually? American Health Care system is definitely FUBAR.

44A: State of the union: IDAHO. I was thinking of Bush's State of Union address.

46A: Israeli guns: UZIS. Did not realize UZI was named after its designer Uzi Gal. I got very excited after seeing letter Z & Q, thought this might be a pangrammatic grid (containing all 26 letter), but alas, I could not find J or X.

47A: Like a requiem: DIRGEFUL

52A: Succeeded big: GONE FAR

54A: Nasty kid: BRAT. Wow, isn't the clue a bit too harsh?

55A: One of the French: UNE. Saw Vanessa Paradis' "Une Chance Sur Deux" before?

57A: Chang's twin: ENG. The Siamese Twins. Eng and Chang Bunker. 22 children between them, unbelievable, how did they accomplish that?

58A: Use a grenade to a fellow solider: FRAG. I have a muted reaction to this word today after learning its meaning from Dennis last time.

60A: California county: ALAMEDA. I've never heard of it. Strung it together from the down clues.

62A: "Paper Lion" star: ALDA. I guessed. I've never watched "Paper Lion".

66A: Ollie's chum: STAN

67A: Photo finish: MATTE

69A: Reference bk.: ENC (Encyclopedia)

70A: Clasp tight: CLENCH

72A: Actor Borgnine: ERNEST. Could not remember him clearly. But the answer is highly inferable.

76A: Hindu loincloth: DHOTI. Alright, he is wearing DHOTI. So clumsy!

80A: Mediterranean country: MALTA. I tend to confuse MALTA with YALTA (the Yalta Conference).

82A: Actor/director Tarantino: QUENTIN. Where did I see his name before? A recent TMS puzzle?

86A: Scoria: SLAG. Did not know the meaning of "Scoria". Latin for scum.

94A: Early course additive: SALAD OIL

96A: Old-time newspaper section: ROTO. Please take next week off, I've seen you enough this week.

97A: Son of Eber: PELEG. Literally "division". So called because "in his days was the earth divided", according to dictionary.com.

99A: Lethal stuff: POISONS. Did not know that "stuff"'s plural is still "Stuff".

101A: Jungle vine: LIANA. Here is a picture. See those intertwining climbers?

104A: Fable finale: MORAL

108A: Crunch of cereal?: CAP'N. No idea. I don't eat cereal for breakfast.

109A: First name in architecture: EERO. His father is ELIEL (Sarrinen).

117A: Cheerful: UPBEAT

119A: Carol of "Taxi": KANE. Took an educated guess. I don't know her.

120A: Muslim VIP: var: AMEER. I thought of EMEER first, but then President TAFT said NO.

121A: Actress Lindsay: LOHAN. Know her. One of the "Mean Girls". She has ruined her once promising career.

123A: Gridder Graham: OTTO. Vaguely remembered him. Easily gettable from the down clues. Bet this word "Gridder" baffles many of our fellow TMS solvers in Asia. It's American football player.

125A: Top position: FIRST. My mind was picturing something else! Teehee!

126A: Napped leather: SUEDE

127A: British gun: STEN. And UZIS earlier, this is one powerful puzzle.

129A: Peevish: TESTY

130A: Rich tapestry: ARRAS. Whoa! This obsession with ARRAS has to stop!

DOWN:

1D: Infected: SEPTIC

2D: Exaggerate: OVERDO

4D: Sax for Bird: ALTO. Had no idea that ALTO could also be instrument. Did not know that "Bird" was Charlie Parker's nickname. In fact, I've barely heard of Charlie Parker. Good clue though.

7D: Safe place: SANCTA. Plural of SANCTUM.

8D: Mountains of Russia: URAL. Why is "Mountains" in plural form? Wouldn't that dictate "URALS" as an answer?

9D: Fictional Jane: EYRE

11D: Send back: REMAND

12D: "The Faerie Queen" character: IRENA. No idea, I've never heard of "The Faerie Queen". Actually I could not find IRENA in the list of major characters, where was she?

13D: Former airline of Eng.: BOAC (British Overseas Airways Cooperations). Now British Airways.

14D: Feminine ending: ENNE

15D: Back tooth: MOLAR

16D: Levi's "Christ Stopped at __": EBOLI. Somehow I put EBOLA, so my 36A Singer was TRATT, which looked like a reasonable name to me.

17D: Lhasa's land: TIBET. Here is a good quote from Dalai Lama during his visit to Mayo Clinic on Wednesday: "If there is no solution, why worry? If there is a solution, why worry?" So, don't worry, be happy!

18D: 1950's Bikini blast: A TEST (Atomic Test)

28D: Alienate: DISAFFECT

30D: Antennae: AERIALS

31D: Dateless: STAG

34D: Depository for goods: STORAGE

40D: Tavern near a tube station: PUB. Hmm, I could picture that pub and its endless supple of ALE.

41D: Pound of poetry: EZRA

42D: Locate: FIND

47D: Chaperones: DUENNAS. No idea.

50D: Submarine: UNDERSEA

51D: Where the kine dine: LEA. I like the rhyme of the clue.

52D: Heredity information carrier: GENE

53D: Tribe of the Five Nations: ONONDAGA. A disaster for me. Here is the complete list: "Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca, and, after the 18th century, the Tuscarora."

59D: Overly polite and refined: GENTEEL

61D: School teacher of the Old West: MARM. Need your help on this one. I could not find it in my dictionary.

68D: Riding fast: AT A GALLOP. Very nice.

73D: Certain conic section: ELLIPSE

75D: Egyptian god of sun: ATEN. Could also be spelled as "ATON". Utterly beyond my grasp!

77D: Peak in Thessaly: OSSA. MT. OSSA.

79D: Storing, as grain: SILOING. Did not know that SILO could also be a verb.

82D: Bandleader Brown of renown: LES

84D: "Exodus"author: URIS

91D: Slime: GOO

99D: Most ashen: PALEST

100D: Of the underworld: NETHER

102D: More tidy: NEATER. I am not fond of today's DOWN clues overall, too many "er, est, ing".

103D: Play start: ACT ONE

104D: Jim of "ABC's Wide World of Sports": McKAY. Was he in the movie "Munich"? I could not remember it clearly. I like his "Thrill of victory, agony of defeat".

105D: Busy hub: O'HARE. Don't like the clue. Too arbitrary.

106D: Arrested: RAN IN

108D: Talking truckers: CB'ERS. Do they still use CB radio now? You'd think they all have cell phones.

110D: Mystical characters: RUNES

113D: 27th President: TAFT. The only US president to serve on the Supreme Court. TAFT family has been pretty active in US political arena (OHIO). What a disaster for Bob TAFT!

115D: Ingrid's "Casablanca" role: ILSA. Where is Rick?

118D: Flapdoodle: BOSH. I've never heard anyone say "Flapdoodle" before.

122D: Vladimir Nabokov novel: ADA. Learned from doing crossword. I've never read the book. Might give a "Lolita" if I have time, that's a big IF.

C.C.

Saturday, April 19, 2008 Matthew Higgins

Theme: NONE

I feel that our editor has been saving this themeless puzzle just for this specific Saturday to coincide with Pope Benedict's visit. There are 2 "Christian"s in the clue, and "Book, bk, bks". NICENE, ECCLES, and BABI all have some religious overtone. And 9D: CISTERCIAN (under the rule of St. Benedict) is kind of self-revealing, isn't it? Or maybe I am just over-stretching my imagination?

I tanked again today. I think I am still in my C. C. Sabathia style slump now, "My arms feel fine, I just can't command either side of the plate".

I actually had a shock and awe start, filling in APERÇUS, CYCLIST TONG, UPSET and SATRAP like they were all sweet "OREO". I dazzled myself by conquering the whole upper left corner in less than 3 minutes. Then I rushed to the other battle fields eager to vanquish all the insurgents. But I was greeted with heavy resistance everywhere I set my feet upon. Horrible. I could not even get TONELESS for 63A. My TREELESS stood proudly there until the very end.

ACROSS:

1A: Signed for: ACCEPTED

9A: Of the ribs: COSTAL. No idea. The root word is "costa", Latin for rib.

15A: Disappearing communication device: PAY PHONE

16A: Glacial epoch: ICE AGE

17A: Some of Whistler's works: ETCHING. Did not know who Whistler was, but the answer was easily inferable.

18A: Molded: SHAPED

19A: Death rattle: RALE. Pure guess. I forgot this word.

20A: Sparkling: GLISTENING

22A: Weather of a region, so to speak: CLIME. Poetically I suppose?

24A: Organic compound: ESTER

26A: Underdog wins: UPSETS

28A: Rocky outcrops: TORS. Great picture. Want to take a walk?

30A: Petty tyrant: SATRAP. Nailed it this time.

31A: Part of ASCAP: SOC (Society). Don't like it. This abbreviation just doesn't fit my eyes.

32A: Soviet news agcy.: TASS (Abbreviation of Telegraphic Agency of the Soviet Union, in Russian). Ah, gimme for me, mainly because of my intense interest in him for a short period of time. Now it's ITAR-TASS in Russia, with ITAR focusing on domestic news and TASS on international affairs. Oh, the Soviet newspaper is PRAVDA (The Truth).

35A: Designer Christian: DIOR. J'adore! For those who dare, try Poison, in the evening!

37A: Webber play: CATS

42A: Humiliated: ABASED

47A: Icelandic epic: EDDA

48A: Creed of Christians: NICENE. Nicene Creed. No idea.

49A: One of a set of bks: VOL

50A: Black suit: CLUBS. Good clue.

52A: Certain dagger: SKEAN. Hmm, this would be the second time Dennis met with Ms. SKEAN. Hope he remembered her name.

53A: Free from bondage: EMANCIPATE. Like this Emancipation of Mimi? Very creative name for her latest album: E=MC2. I figure it's "The Emancipation = Mariah Carey 2". What does that 2 stand for then?

56A: Persian sect: BABI. Now replaced by Baha'i. I wanted SHIA.

57A: Tex-Mex pick: TAMALE

58A: Word for barely acceptable writing: READABLE

61A: Signer-upper: ENROLLER. What the heck is "Signer-Upper"? Is it the person who "Sign-up?"

62A: Hereditary ruler: DYNAST. Ah, that's how we got Dynasty! Good to know.

63A: Lacking shading: TONELESS

DOWN:

1D: Revealing glimpses: APERÇUS. Or a synopsis.

2D: Tree with trumpet-shaped flowers: CATALPA. See this picture. I can smell summer.

3D: Tour-de-France racer: CYCLIST

4D: Transitory things: EPHEMERAS. The plural form can also be EPHEMERAE. Don't you wish you saved all your childhood ticket stubs/programs? Stunning price on Ebay!

5D: Greek letter: PHI. Ugh, dislike the clue due to 23D. Can't you reclue this as something Philly related, to salve the wounds of those depressed Philly fans? Good job, Santana, you rocked last night!

6D: Chinese secret society: TONG (堂). Literally "assembly hall". In fact, it's a "Chinese American secret society". You won't find TONG in modern China.

7D: Writer Medeleine L'___: ENGLE. No, completely unknown to me. Oh, she also graduated from Smith College, she might have bumped into Sylvia Plath then.

8D: Stops: DESISTS

9D: Member of an austere monastic order: CISTERCIAN. It's "a member of an order of monks and nuns founded in 1098 at Cîteaux, near Dijon, France, under the rule of St. Benedict." Looks like the word CISTERCIAN is derived from Cîteaux the site.

10D: Earthy pigments: OCHERS. Here is more information for you. Drdad probably knows a ton about this stuff.

12D: Starch from cassava root: TAPIOCA. "Tapioca Pearl Tea" is a very popular drink in Southern China and Southeast Asia.

13D: Meeting schedules: AGENDAS

14D: Business books: LEDGERS. Too bad, Mr. Higgins missed a precious opportunity to pay tribute to Heath Ledger. It's so hard letting you go, Heath, you were so young!

21D: Arose: STOOD. I mis-read this clue as "Arouse".

23D: Greek letters: ETAS

27D: Most long, thin, and frail-looking: SPINDLIEST. This guy is really getting very wordy today.

32D: Monitor cursor mover: TRACKBALL

34D: Sick and tired: FED UP. That's how I felt about the whole Bittergate brouhaha. Crazy!

37D: Wished for excessively and culpably: COVETED. Oh, that's what "COVET" means! Thank you for the detailed explanation. Should I stop coveting certain things then?

38D: Incongruity: ANOMALY

39D: Father of Ajax: TELAMON. No, no idea. The dictionary says he is "an Argonaut and friend of Hercules, and the father of Ajax and Teucer." It also says that TELAMON is "a figure of a man used as a supporting pillar." It looks like this.

41D: Striped fabric: TABARET. It's "a durable silk or acetate fabric having alternating stripes of satin and moiré, for drapery and upholstery."

43D: Within view: SEEABLE

45D: Makes possible: ENABLES

45D: Withholders: DENIERS. This suffix of "er" sounds so arbitrary to me.

47D: Bk. of the Old Testament: ECCLES (Ecclesiasticus). Just found out that ECCLES, the Australian neurophsiologist, won Noble Prize (Physiology/Medicine) in 1963.

51D: Off. skill: STENO

C.C.

Friday, April 18, 2008 Allan E. Parrish

Theme: CONTAINERS

7A: Stunt pilot's maneuver: BARREL ROLL

61A: Jersey add-on: CHEST PATCH

11D: Louella Parsons' rival: HEDDA HOPPER

25D: Roe v. Wade, notably: FEDERAL CASE

26D: Fight with feet: KICKBOX

A few things first:

1) As I replied to the whoo in yesterday's comment, this blog has about 3,000 visitors every day (Record: 5,750 on April 7). So, on average, about 1% of the solvers leaves comment.

Many of you still prefer to send me emails, and I am grateful for you kind words and I am happy that you are willing to share with me your daily solving experience. But please do not feel ignored if you've received no response from me. I simply do not have enough time. I do, however, read every one of your email. And I believe that I've replied to all the emails with a crossword-related question in them.

I really hope you guys will join us at the Comment section, it's only 2 clicks away. And it's so much fun there. Besides, your question will be addressed more quickly and expertly. Dennis, Dick and Drdad all check in regularly during the daytime.

You've also been watching me blundering my way out of this crossword labyrinth every morning, and you've been seeing me asking all kinds of questions. Some might sound silly to others, but honestly they are TERRA INCOGNITA to me, and I am not afraid to ask. I hope you will do the same if you are baffled by certain clues/cluing. Remember, no question, as long as it's crossword related, will ever be deemed silly or dumb here in my blog. And to quote Will Rogers, "Everybody is ignorant, only on different subjects"

2) To those whose local newspapers only carry Monday-Friday TMS puzzle: You can always go to Chicago Tribune's Crossword website for Saturday puzzle. It's always themeless and quite fun to solve sometimes.

Now, back to today's mammoth headache. Oh what a nightmarish puzzle! Stupid CERF/PARI section! CERF appeared on last Sunday's puzzle, and irked me greatly as I had never heard of his name before (there were 7 authors' names in that brutal puzzle). So I googled, whined in my blog, then I promptly forgot.

I also could not remember Parimutuel and XKE, both of them appeared in this constructor's Feb 1, puzzle. Did not know that BARRIO is Spanish for neighborhood. Vaguely heard of Hedda Hopper, but I could not retrieve her surname out of my brain. So, a total quagmire there.

MOHS, HILLEL, EMILO, KEMP, AMECHE are all my Muqtada al-Sadr this morning. So formidble and hard to catch. I simply do not have enough ammo or strategy to fight them. The only thing that made me happy was to see NIC Robertson intersecting KICKBOX. I adore NIC.

Boy, it's been such a sluggish week for me. I guess I was distracted by something Philadephia related. Could be Obama's anemic off-performance, or Hillary's begrudging "Yes, Yes, Yes" comment, or I was simply bothered by Chris Coste, Ryan Howard and their fans. Twins suck!!

Across entries:

1A: Big name in book publishing: KNOPF. Gimme for me. Carl Bernstein's "A Woman in Charge" (Hillary Clinton)'s publisher. It also published Clinton's "My Life". KNOPT is now owned by Random House.

6A: Minerals scale: MOHS. No idea. Mineral hardness measure scale, named after German mineralogist Friedrich Mohs. Now, how I can remember such a forgettable name?

10A: Cut with an ax: CHOP

14A: Actress Garson: GREER. Ha ha, got her this time.

15A: Reebok rival: AVIA. Curious about the history of Adias and Puma? And a bit Nike? Read this book (Three Strips Verus Puma). English version is now available.

19A: Deuce follower, perhaps: AD IN

21A: Puzo book, with "The": LAST DON. Since "Godfather" and "Sicilian" do not fit. He also wrote "Omerta" of course. I've read all of them, in Chinese naturalmente.

23A: IRS payout: REFUND

26A: Dole's 1996 slate-mate: KEMP (Jack). I am not familiar with American politics in the '90s. I've only lived under one president, the current occupant of the White House!

28A: Courtroom declaration: PLEA. Really? I thought you declare "guilty" or "not guilty" in the courtroom. I wanted OYEZ.

29A: Actor Estevez: EMILIO. Forgot. He has to change his name in Sheen for me remember him.

31A: "__ Jude": HEY

32A: Anti -DUI org.: MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving)

33A: Roberson of CNN: NIC

38A: Classic Jaguar: XKE

40A: Actress Hedren: TIPPI. Wow, she is Melanie Griffith's mom, did not know that before. She was in "The Bird"? That's one scary movie.

43A: Vitamin-bottle data, briefly: RDAS (Recommended Dietary Allowance). Why do they make the vitamin pills so big? It's so hard for me to swallow.

45A: _ humbug!: BAH. Hmm, Scrooge is thy name Mr. Williams!

47A: Straddle: SPAN. Astraddle is also a word, like yesterday's astride.

50A: Leon lady: SENORA. Did not know where Leon was. But SENORA was easily inferable. Leon is in north Spain by the way. I love the movie LÉON a lot.

52A: Bennett of Random House: CERF. Founder of Random House.

53A: Bad French: MAL. Pas MAL a clue at all. In fact, I like it a lot. Much better than "_ de mer".

54A: Kentucky fort: KNOX

55A: Spanish neighborhood: BARRIO. No idea.

57A: Makes allowances for: EXCUSES

59A: What cons do: TIME. Good clue. Too bad I tanked this one.

60A: Quahog, e. g.: CLAM. Nailed it this time.

66A: Padlock partner: HASP

67A: Prefix for spaces: AERO

68A: Sadat of Egypt: ANWAR. He succeeded Nasser, then Mubarak succeeded him. He and Begin shared the 1978 Nobel Peace prize. He was indeed a visionary who dared.

69A: Merino mamas: EWES

71A: Bacterial infection: STAPH (Staphylococcus). No idea.

Down entries:

2D: Gun Lobby: NRA. Needs an "Org." in the clue to indicate an abbreviation.

4D: Won over: PERSUADED

5D: Refrigerant gas: FREON. All right, "FRE" stands for "refrigerant", and "-on" is suffix for inert gas.

6D: Slugger McGwire: MARK. Too bad, he screwed up his HOF chance. McGwire is also a scratch golfer, very powerful swing.

7D: Lacto - __ vegetarian: OVO. "Lacto" is milk, "ovo" is egg. Basically it's Vegan + Egg + Milk. I have discipline problem, so I can only be a flexitarianist at best!

8D: Ancient Jewish rabbi: HILLEL. No idea. It's "Palestinian rabbi who greatly influenced the interpretation of Judaic law". Literally the word means "he praised" in Hebrew.

9D: Seasoned sausages: SALAMIS

12D: Bobolink's cousin: ORIOLE. Not a bird person, did not know what was a bobolink. Would've got it had it clued as "Baltimore ball player" or "Cal Ripken Jr. is one".

13D: J. C. follower: PENNEY

18D: Heavily burdened: LADEN

22D: Gush forth: SPOUT

23D: Turning figs.: RPMS (Revolutions Per Minute)

24D: Israel's airline: EL AL

26D: Fight with feet: KICKBOX. Let me show you how.

30D: Shuffle: MIX

35D: Wrongdoer: MISCREANT. I suppose this word is too harsh to describe Jeff Immelt. But can I say his mind-boggling behavior is "MISCREANT"? Crazy, if you could not deliver, why would you promise? Would things changed that dramatically in a month? Time to leave!!

37D: To-do list stuff: TASKS

41D: __-mutuel: PARI. What can I say? I have a picky brain. It just refuses to remember certain things.

42D: Skinny, sort of: INFO. If I were the constructor, I would clue it as "Skinny, short".

44D: Five Nations tribe members: SENECAS. Nope. I totally forgot this word 5 seconds after I met him last time. SENECA is "a members of the largest tribe of the Iroquois Confederacy of North American Indians, formerly inhabiting western New York and being conspicuous in the wars south and west of Lake Erie."

46D: Convent attire: HABIT

48D: "Cocoon" star: AMECHE (Don). No, total stranger to me.

49D: Accountant's concern: TAX LAW

51D: Snacks: NOSHES

56D: Oscar org.: AMPAS (Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences). Flirted with ASCAP until PATCH (61A) came along.

63D: Hughes' airline: TWA (Trans World Airlines)

64D: Tooth topper: CAP

65D: Monarch's letters: HRH (His/Her Royal Highness)

C.C.

Thursday, April 17, 2008 Alan P. Olschwang

Theme: QUIP

17A: Start of a quip: A MAN THAT MAKES NO

38A: Part 2 of quip: WILL MAKES

62A: end of quip: LAWYERS HIS HEIRS

The original quote is "A man who dies without a will has lawyers for his heirs." (Anonymous).

Almost had a bogey-free round today. Breezed through most of the holes without dunking my Top-Flite into the lake or getting trapped in the bunker. But, omigod, what a hellish Amen Corner the dogleg of ISLE/FEN was! And I did not have a prayer!

I did not know the meaning of "Cartographic" and I had no idea where Pau was. I filled in BOG for 47D: Marsh, then I decided TEAM B sounded good for 44A: Supporting group, but then ASTI would be wrong. I stared at "Avoirdupois unit" and saw lots of green peas on a plate. Avoir du pois? Have peas? Have peas unit? I guess I've heard of ASTRIDE before, but it's not a word I can fish out of my brain so early in the morning. I like how it parallels with FLOOR though (if my understanding of ASTRIDE is correct).

Across entries:

1A: Abstention periods: FASTS. No, I will not deny myself of any pleasure in life.

6A: Period on the job: SHIFT. Wanted STINT.

14A: Bandleader Shaw: ARTIE. Again? Needs to lock this name up and sends it exile with key thrown away. Let me see what other ARTIE is available... ARTIE Ziff of "The Simpsons". No, not familiar with him.

20A: Rugged ridges: ARETES. I like this word "Rugged", exhibitive of a craggy, harsh, rough, weather-beaten image.

21A: Ticket details: SEATS. I rather like last time's misleading "Pants part" clue. "By the seat of your pants".

23A: "Bellefleur" author: OATES. Joyce Carol Oats. A Mensa member also? Amazing. Hope she wins Nobel Literature next year then. Wonder why the book title is "Bellefleur" rather than "Belle Fleur"? Has anyone misread the clue as "Ball Four" author?

26A: Removed moisture: DRIED

30A: Strained: TAXED

32A: Paul Anka's "__ BESO": ESO. "ESO Beso", that kiss. Give me my back my heart!

35A: Dining option: A LA CARTE

41A: Ice cream option: ONE SCOOP. I like strawberry mochi ice cream, no scooper for me.

44A: Supporting group: STAFF

48A: Dolphin Marino: DAN. Speaking of Dan, where the heck is Dan Quayle?

49A: Honest!: NO LIE!

52A: Cartographic speck: ISLE. Alright, cart(e) means map.

53A: Big name in rap: DR. DRE. Like this one.

56A: Actress Berger: SENTA. No, have never heard of her. She looks stunning.

58A: Avoirdupois unit: TON. OK, avoir-de-pois, have the weight. But why pois, why not poids? You don't say "perdre du pois", do you? Whatever, a made-up word.

59A: Arledge of ABC sports: ROONE. Ugh, ABC, what a horrible gossipy gotcha nonsense debate last night! Stephanopoulos, are you auditioning for Hillary's Press Secretary job? Bill's "Stumping and Simmering" torture was not enough?

61A: Fidel of Cuba: CASTRO

67A: Shoshone: UTE

68A: Old newspaper sections: ROTOS (Rotogravure). Saw this word before, forgot what it was.

70A: Dropout's doc.: GED (General Equivalency Diploma).

71A: Missouri River feeder: OSAGE. Could not catch a good map out of the google ocean. Hope this one works for you.

72A: Luges: SLEDS

Down entries:

1D: CAB's successor: FAA (Federal Aviation Administration). CAB stands for "Civil Aeronautics Board". Name change occured in 1967.

2D: Fleet groups: ARMADAS

3D: Intense lookers: STARERS. This suffix "er" simply drove me nuts.

5D: Melee: SET-TO

6D: California peak: SHASTA. Got it this time, aren't you proud of me?

7D: __ up (excited): HET

8D: Descartes' conclusion: I AM. I think, therefore I am. Like this clue a lot. "Cogito, ergo sum".

9D: Italian monks: FRAS. Repeat offender.

10D: Clicked one's tongue: TSKED

11D: More irritable: TESTIER

12D: Hardest to penetrate: DENSEST. Physically yes.

13D: Winter ATV, _ -CAT: SNO

18: Warm up: HEAT. Not HEAT up? Shouldn't the clue be "Warm (up)".

19D: Musician's pride: EAR

24D: Case in point: EXAMPLE

27D: Buck lover: DOE. Thought of Pearl Buck and Olan first.

34D: As written: Lat.: SIC

36D: Pau pronoun: CES. These, or those. Too tough a clue. Pau is "a city in and the capital of Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, in SW France: winter resort. " Anyone been there before?

37D: Vino region: ASTI

39D: Nol of Cambodia: LON. Great palindromic name: LON NOL.

40D: Writer Anita: LOOS. "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" author. "But Gentlemen Marry Brunettes" also.

41D: Unmatched: ODD

42D: Tell the tail: NARRATE

43D: Funded: ENDOWED

45D: Spanning: ASTRIDE. Astraddle. Not fond of this contrived "a" word.

46D: Bowled over: FLOORED

50D: Cut into: INCISE

54D: Rogers of oaters: ROY. Totally agree with him, "The minute you read something you don't understand, you can almost be sure it was drawn up by lawyer."

55D: Lain American January: ENERO

60D: Aphrodite's child: EROS. Cupid in Roman.

62D: Renowned archer: TELL. Would be an OK clue if not for 42D: Tell the tale. Sin, Mr. Editor!

57D: Grate deposit: ASHES

63D: Loutish fellow: LUG. Not familiar with this slangy word.

64D: Amtrak stop: STA. Rework on your clue next time.

65D: Overeater: HOG. Great, FASTS & HOG in the same puzzle.

C.C.

Wednesday, April 16, 2008 Philip J. Anderson

Theme: DATE

17A: Date: TAKE OUT SOCIALLY

39A: Date: PALM TREE FRUIT

62A: Date: DAY MONTH AND YEAR

Nope, could not get on Anderson's wavelength today. ACH, what does it mean? Alas? Oh no? Knew Chinese word for YOKOHAMA (横浜市), not English. The crossing of these 2 words drove me nuts. This "H" is very hard to fish it out. I toyed with T, K, G, never even though of H.

Got SINÉAD easily as I love her "Nothing Compared 2 U" (Tell me baby where did I go wrong?). But I've never met with 25D: ENTERIC before, and ANDRÉ Gide was a complete étranger to me. Vaguely remembered 54A: ESCARP, but could not retrieve it easily from my brain, esp letter "A" as I was not familiar with NAPALM either. So a total disaster at very heart of this puzzle. Too panicky to enjoy any of the dates, so I decided to turn to Mr. Google for comfort.

Across entries:

1A: Check words: PAY TO

14A: Cancel, as a launch: ABORT. Would be NO GO if it's 4-letter I gather?

20A: Cheri of "SNL": OTERI. She definitely craves crossword solvers' constant attention.

21A: Shea corners: BASES. Good clue. Shea Stadium (METS).

22A: German exclamation: ACH. No idea.

24A: Singer O'Connor: SINÉAD. She should not have torn Pope John Paul II's picture into pieces in front of a live performance. But she has suffered enough!

29A: Swedish auto: SAAB

31A: Writer Gide: ANDRÉ. Nobel Literature winner in 1947. Is it a gimme for you?

33A: Mal de__: MER. Or Debussy work La __. Or "MER, sexe, soleil" should you dare! J'adore Gainsbourg.

37A: Udder ends: TEATS. Audacious enough!

43A: Arab leader: var. EMEER. Or EMIR. Literally "prince" in Arabic.

44A: Ashe's game: TENNIS

46A: Matter form: GAS

49A: Poker player's declaration: ALL IN

54A: Steep slope: ESCARP. It was clued as "Slope of a rampart" before. It's "a steep artificial slope in front of a fortification''. Derived from French "escarper" (to cut).

58A: Tapestry in "Hamlet": ARRAS

60A: Sphere of wisdom?: PEARL. Great clue. Would be better if it were in plural form. Pearls of wisdom.

65A: Summer on the Somme: ÉTÉ. Good one. Alliteration. "Somme river" is in northern France. Let's try "Sand's summer" next time. George Sand, the French writer.

69A: Lag behind: TRAIL

70A: French annuity: RENTE. French for "pension", "annuity". Our "rent" is "loyer" in French, like "loyer mensuel" (monthly rent).

71A: The German: DER. Another good clue. Masculine form of "the" in German. "DIE" is the feminine form and "DAS" is the neuter form. Learned this from Dennis.

72A: Witch trial city: SALEM

73A: Sen. Kefauver: ESTES. Does ESTES park (CO) have something to do with Sen. Kefauver and his family?

Down entries:

1D: Sajak of "Wheel of Fortune": PAT. Don't know him. Pure guess. I've never watched "Wheel of Fortune".

3D: City on Tokyo Bay: YOKOHAMA. Major port in Japan, together with Kobe, Osaka, Tokyo.

4D: Waste allowance: TRET

5D: Nebraska Sioux: OTOES

6D: Membrane of the inner eye: RETINA

7D: Hesitant sounds: ERS. Lots of "R' in today's puzzle, 22.

9D: FEMA command facility: EOC (Emergency Operations Center)

11D: Aromatic fir: BALSAM. Saw this clue before.

12D: Assert to be true: ALLEGE. Are you curious about who is Client No. 8 or Client No. 10?

13D: Yellowstone Park sight: GEYSER. See this picture, so misty.

18D: Tell's canton: URI. Or Swiss Canton. Tell is William Tell, the legendary archer. He was forced to shoot an apple from his son's head with bow and arrow.

19D: Bern's river: AAR

23D: Goldfish relative: CARP. The ornamental carp I suppose. This carp is way too big.

25D: Intestinal: ENTERIC. This word screwed up the whole grid for me! The noun is "enteron" (the alimentary canal; the intestines)

26D: "Zip- __-Doo-Dah": A DEE. Nope, I've never heard of it.

27D: Working copy: DRAFT

30D: Ill humor: BILE

32D: To be, in Toulon: ÊTRE. or Raison d'___.

33D: Mme. Bovary: EMMA. Ah, the danger and thrill of adultery! The only Flaubert's work I've read.

36D: Engrave slab: STELE. Look at this piece from Xi'An Forest of Stele Museum, beautiful calligraphy. Those texts are from the Confucian classics.

41D: Audaciously rude: INSOLENT

42D: Tiny birds: TITS. Pretty, isn't it? (Thomas, I did not know the slang meaning of "tit", so I was at sea when you warned me earlier.)

46D: Arranged in steps: GRADED

47D: Expose to oxygen: AERATE. Have to ask this question again: Why green keepers aerate the greens in fall rather than spring? Where have you been Alex in PGA?

48D: More agile: SPRYER. Can also be spelled as SPRIER.

50D: Flame-thrower fluid: NAPALM. No idea. It's "a highly incendiary jellylike substance used in fire bombs, flamethrowers, etc". From Na (phthene)+PALM (itate). All gibberish to me.

53D: Senator Nunn: SAM. No, I've never heard of him. He left the Senate before I arrived here. SAM Snead tomorrow?

55D: Stimpy's pal: REN. Repeat offender.

56D: San Diego pro: PADRE. What's their record this season? 8-6, not bad. Twins bullpen sucks!!

64D: Latvian chess master: TAL (Mikhail). Not Russian?

67D: Legal thing: RES. Latin.

Quip, or quote, that's the question, for tomorrow.

C.C.