Sunday September 14, 2008 Annabel Michaels

Theme: Icky Stuff

23A: Of ill health: SICKLINESS

25A: Knockout drink: MICKEY FINN

39A: Quick as a wink: LICKETY-SPLIT

100A: Treat: PICK UP THE TAB

115A: Superlatively dilapidated: RICKETIEST

120A: Assigning monikers: NICKNAMING

36D: Running smoothly: TICKING OVER

45D: Doors in doors: WICKET GATES

48D: Whistle stop: HICK TOWN

51D: Battled for bargains: DICKERED

I hope you liked this puzzle. I did not. Too "Icky" for me. The overuse of suffixes like NESS, ED, EST, ING in the theme answers struck me as unimaginative and uncreative. The whole puzzle conjured up an image of the "WICKED Witch of the West" frantically swinging her BROOMSTICK, trying to get the magical "Icky" slippers.

I would not mind if sweet "Icky Stuff" like CINNAMON STICK, and POPSICKLE are constructed into the puzzle, or exciting words like HOCKEY STICK, GIMMICKY, MAVERICK, LIMERICK, SCHTICK, or other whole BAGS OF TRICKS.

CHERRY PICKING sounds good too. What do you think of FLOWER PICKER?

Two counts of major felonies:

22A: Stout's stout sleuth: NERO

127A: Duchin or Nero: PETER

52D: Peter of "My Favorite Year": O'TOOL

I remember Stan Newman of Newsday mentioned that on average crossword editors make about 4 such mistakes in a year. Our editor has been committing this sin on a daily basis. Unbelievable!

Across:

1A: Limelight hog: HAM. I like this clue. "Stage hog" would be great too.

15A: Middle of Roman months: IDES. Or "Fateful day for Caesar".

19A: Altar constellation: ARA. It's always ARA when the clue is asking for a 3-letter constellation.

21A: Violinist's move: UP-BOW. New term to me. It's "an upward stroke from the tip to the heel of the bow".

28A: Swan genus: OLOR. New to me also. I don't think this is an accurate clue though. The complete name is Cygnus OLOR.

31A: "___ and Louise": THELMA. Good movie, very nice "You Needed Me". I've been constantly impressed by the creativity shown in some of the YouTube clips.

42A: Controlled entrance: STILE. Like this one?

43A: Coolidge's VP: DAWES (Charles). Not familiar with this name. He won Nobel Peace Prize in 1925 for his work on DAWES Plan - "a program to enable Germany to restore and stabilize its economy."

47A: Psalm ending: SELAH

51A: Polyester fabric: DACRON. No idea. It's wrinkle-resistant. These sails are made of DACRON.

54A: Anchor position: ATRIP

56A: Frontier scout Carson: KIT. Have never heard of him before. Lois probably wants KIT to be clued as “Santa Baby” singer.

61A: Musical sweet potato: OCARINA. New wood instrument to me. It does look like sweet potato.

66A: Old Scottish dagger: SKEAN

67A: African antelope: RHEBOK. New to me also. See this picture. Wikipedia says the Afrikaans/Dutch spelling is Reebok. That's how Reebok sportwear got its name.

69A: Of pants: TROUSER. Wow, I had no idea that TROUSER can be an adjective.

81A: Italian gentleman: SIGNORE

87A: Pagliacci's beloved: NEDDA. I can never remember her name.

97A: Distresses: HURTS. They are not really synonymous, are they? HURTS bring "Distresses".

106A: Barnum's first name: PHINEAS. Sigh... no, how could I know? Wikipedia says he never said "There is a sucker born every minute".

107A: Attack of painful spasms: ANGINA. Completely unknown to me. Dictionary says ANGINA is "a condition, such as severe sore throat, in which spasmodic attacks of suffocating pain occur." ANGINA looks very DF to me.

114A: Sharp-cornered: ANGULAR. Katharine Hepburn has the classic ANGULAR face.

122A: Big name in sound system: BOSE. No idea. I've never paid attention to the names of those car audio manufacturers.

126A: Munich's river: ISAR

Down:

1D: Attacks: HAS AT

3D: Twinned crystal: MACLE. See this picture. It appeared in our puzzle before. I still don't understand why it's called "Twinned crystal".

5D: Egg receptacle: OVISAC. I like the makeup of this word, OVI & SAC, easy to remember.

9D: Ballerina Collier: LESLEY. Pure guess. I don't think her name is recognized by many, if any. "60 Minutes" LESLEY Stahl would be a very reasonable clue.

10D: False accusations: BUM RAPS. New idiom to me.

15D: Congregates too much: INFESTS. I don't like the clue. I don't think they are of the same meaning.

18D: Word in sequels: SON. What "sequels"?

29D: Goddess of harvest: OPS. She is the wife of Saturn.

32D: Mariner's jacket: PEA COAT

37D: French actor Delon: ALAIN. I just discovered this morning that his first major role was Tom Ripley in "Plein Soleil", the French version of "The Talented Mr. Ripley".

38D: "The Flying Dutchman" girl: SENTA. I forgot. I always associated "The Flying Dutchman" with T206 Honus Wagner.

40D: S.S. Kresge's discount chain: KMART. Another guess. I was not aware of KMART's origin.

60D: Mignonette: RESEDA. I've never heard of RESEDA before. Had no idea that "Mignonette" was a plant of the genus RESEDA. Very quiet-looking flowers. Wikipedia says it's extremely fragrant.

71D: Indonesia currency: RUPIAHS. Foreign to me. Here are some Indonesia banknotes. The exchange rate is about 9,428 RUPIAHS = 1 US $.

79D: Bay on the English Channel: POOLE. I got it from the across fills.

81D: Newsman Frank: SESNO. He appears on Wolf Blitzer's "Situation Room" often.

82D: Bulge at the back of the head: INION. Strung this word together from the across clues.

90D: Revolt against conventions: TITANISM. New to me also. Only faintly aware of the Titans in Greek mythology.

91D: Chinese dish: SUBGUM. Weird Cantonese spelling. It's Shijin in Mandarin Chinese.

93D: Goldbrick: SLACKER. I did not know the meaning of "Goldbrick". I was picturing gold ingots.

101D: Nice one?: UNE. And Spanish UNO (125A: One to Juan).

102D: Bird feathers: PENNAE. Nope, nope. Did not know that there is a special name for "Bird feathers".

105D: Legally bar: ESTOP

108D: Pelvic bone: ILIUM. Also the Latin name for the ancient Troy.

110D: Rival of Sparta and Athens: ARGOS. Wikipedia also shows that ARGOS was also the name of "Odysseus' faithful dog", who waited over 20 years for Odyssues to return to Ithaca.

116D: Greek island: IOS. Homer is buried here.

121D: Cohort of Fidel: CHE (Guevara). He was a highly romanticized character in my childhood textbooks. Oh, by the way, the symbol HAMMER AND SICKLE would be a great theme answer too.

C.C.

Saturday September 13, 2008 Tom Pruce

Theme: None

Total blocks: 33

Sherpa, sherpa, where is my sherpa? I just cannot seem to solve a puzzle without a theme guidance, feeling so lost and helpless.

It's by no means a grid of Byzantine complexity. In fact, it has very simple structure and lots of 3-letter crosswordese. I just could not understand why I was so intimidated by this themeless.

Got stumped immediately by the "Fiery Furnace survivor", but was able to filled in lots of blanks with the down clues. Completely forgot AUTOMAT (21D: Coin-op restaurant) and penned in BEATS for TEMPI (46A: Cadences), and wasted a long time to get the curvier RIPPLIER.

I am still mad at SWINGS (9A: Move to and fro). Just what were you thinking Mr. Editor? Add a "s" if you wanted it to be a verb. Otherwise, love your grandchildren and clue SWINGS as "Playground equipment".

Across:

1A: Fiery Furnace survivor: ABEDNEGO. "...There's Shadrach, Meshach and ABEDNEGO. And the fiery coals they trod. But the form of The Fourth Man that I see, is like the Son of God". Are you familiar with this Bible story?

9A: Acts as a go-between: MEDIATES

16A: Thin layer: LAMINA. My first thought was "veneer".

18A: Disconnect: UNPLUG

19A: Many-legged insect: CENTIPEDE. Oh, I did not know the English name for this insect. So, CENTI is "hundreds", "PEDE" is "foot". Wikipedia says their mating "does not involve copulation". The male just deposits his droplet of dew sperm on a web it has spun, and then "undertakes a courtship dance to encourage the female to engulf his sperm". He must have learned the tough lessons from the male black widow spiders.

32A: Deductive: A PRIORI. The opposite is "a posteriori". I cannot think analytically and rationally. I am too intuitive a free thinker.

34A: Mazel __!" TOV. "Viel Glück", Crockett.

36A: Some deodorants: ROLL-ONS

40A: Certain hired vehicle: MINICAB

46A: Cadences: TEMPI. Does the clue sound OK to you, KittyB & Xchefwalt?

47A: "Citizen Kane" studio: RKO. Howard Hughes is such a mysterious figure. Why he ventured into movie industry and RKO is beyond me. He was an excellent golfer though, so was Katharine Hepburn.

50A: Northwestern pine: LODGEPOLE. I forgot. Here stands a LODGEPOLE pine. It does not change color. Here are some LARCH pines that do change color. Both links were provided by Argyle.

54A: Keel-like structure: CARINA. New to me. Dictionary explains it as "a keel-like part or ridge, esp. a ridge of bone on the ventral side of the sternum of birds." See this diagram.

57A: Replacing a facing: RELINING. What is "facing"?

61A: Strengthen by tempering: ANNEAL

62A: Ribbed pasta: RIGATONI. This does not look like RIGATONI, does it?

64A: Finnish-American architect: SAARINEN (Eero). If it's just "Finnish architect", it might refer to his father Eliel. Melissa, do you know that Eero also designed these tulip chairs? They look sturdy enough for the weight of two.

Down:

7D: "The Goldbergs" creator: GERTRUDE BERG. I've never heard of her name before. Could be a gimme for Barry.

8D: Port city of old Rome: OSTIA. I forgot. It's clued as "Port city of Rome" on June 15 and I complained about the absense of word "ancient" in the clue. See this map. It's located at the mouth of the Tiber river.

10D: Nomadism: WANDERLUST. I don't they they are synonymous. "Nomadism" is a kind of lifestyle, WANDERLUST refers to the itch/urge to travel.

11D: Puts in danger: IMPERILS

14D: Droop: SAG. Hmm, I don't like the image this SAG evokes. How about SAG Awards? I wonder why "The Actor" statue is nude. Or a statue is just a statue?

20D: Stock of drugs: PHARMACOPEIA. New word to me.

23D: Embitter: ENVENOM. I would prefer the clue to be "make poisonous". I hate seeing "em" in clue, then prefix EN again in answer.

23D: Henhouse hunk: ROOSTER

27D: One Snoop Sister: ERNESTA. Played by Helen Hayes. I've never heard of "The Snoop Sisters". Wikipedia has a very short entry, so I suppose this was not a popular TV series.

30D: Insignificant: FRACTIONAL

31D: Bristles: SETAE

33D: City southeast of Bombay: POONA. Foreign to me. Wikipedia says the city is now called PUNE. Bombay is now named Mumbai, so I suppose the clue is technically OK. Here is a very good map.

38D: More wavy: RIPPLIER. I've never used this word "Ripply" before. So, the lake's surface has become RIPPLIER, and the wind is soughing the meadow. Hmm, I think I need a romantic sunset too.

49D: Tooth: pref.: DENTI

51D: John of the PGA: DALY. Ah, the long John DALY. "Long ball is all he knows....".

C.C.

Friday September 12, 2008 Allan E. Parrish

Theme: LINER (54D: Word defining 21A, 55A, 3D, and 30D)

21A: See 54D: ALBUM JACKET

55A: See 54D: BASEBALL HIT

3D: See 54D: MAKE UP ITEM

30D: See 54D: CRUISE SHIP

I know cruise liner, eyeliner, and line drive, but I've never heard of album liner before.

It's a quality puzzle, only one letter (W) away from a pangram. But a hard, hard struggle for me. I was simply not familiar with this kind of "See 54D" style word-defining clueing. Felt very intimidated and hopeless at various spots.

I think I needed more sleep too.

Across:

1A: Of blood: HEMAL. Identical clue on Sept 2.

14A: Red Sea gulf: AQABA. Here is the map again. It's the gulf between Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Barry Silk intersected AQABA with AQI (Air Quality Index) last time. We should be prepared for a future crossing of AQABA with FAQ & QED, both words have no U after Q.

16A: Bantu language: ZULU. It's also a Michael Caine film title ('64). Do you like his "Sleuth"?

17A: Perry and Wilson: LUKES. Know Wilson, not Perry.

24A: Nancy's comics friend: SLUGGO (Smith). Unknown to me. Only 10 cents, must be very old. Her hair looks strange.

26A: Rustling sound: SOUGH. New to me also. Same pronunciation with SOW. Dictionary defines SOUGH as "to make a rushing, rustling, or murmuring sound: the wind soughing in the meadow."

27A: Black-and-white bear: PANDA. USA Today clued PANDA as "It eats, shoots & leaves?" several months ago and raised quite a few eyebrows. I thought it was cool to play on Lynne Truss's punctuation book title, though to grammatically correct, the clue should have been "It eats shoots & leaves".

29A: Strong-arm man: MUSCLE. Are you OK with the clue?

33A: U.K. insurance group: AVIVA. No, not familiar with this AVIVA. What's the odds of a golf hack like Xchefwalt makes a hole-in-one? (Addendum: Syndication paper clue for AVIVA is "Walled Spanish City". And it's wrong. The city name is AVILA. There is no way you can get AVILA with the intersecting V from 25D: GAVE (Donated)).

39A: Perfect match: MATE. And EQUAL (2D: Match in value).

44A: Flock members: LAITY

45A: Answer to an accusation: I AM NOT. No, I AM NOT a DF.

52A: Flockhart role: MCBEAL (Ally). I've only seen a few episodes. I think I like Vonda Shepard more than Ally McBeal.

59A: R. Reagan's Star Wars: SDI (Strategic Defense Initiative). Always have problem remembering this acronym.

60A: Currier's partner: IVES. No idea. I've never heard of Currier and IVES before. Lovely scene. So idyllic.

61A: Cyrano's distinction: NOSE. I did not know who Cyrano is. He does have a big nose.

66A: Bonn waterway: RHINE. Remember the "Swiss City on the RHINE" clue we had several months ago? The answer is BASLE, and the clue had no "Var.".

69A: Stock lacking face value: NO-PAR.

Down:

1D: Stoppages: HALTS. I prefer the clue to be "Stops". I like actions. I like verbs.

4D: Tad's dad: ABE. Ha, I know this one. I like Doris Goodwin.

5D: Pasta dish: LASAGNA. Have some!

9D: Nordic chutes: SKI JUMPS

10D: Prague populace: CZECHS. Do you like Milan Kundera's "The Unbearable Lightness of Being"?

13D: "Candid Camera" man: FUNT (Allen). Foreign to me.

22D: City in Central Israel: LOD. Where is it? I can not locate this city.

31D: Alfred of theater: LUNT. Would not have got this one without the across fills. LUNT is clued as "Fontanne's partner" on a May puzzle.

33D: Dextrous beginner?: AMBI. Or "Valence beginner?"

34D: __ con Dios: VAYA. Where are you, Jimbo?

40D: Destination in Nepal: KATMANDU. I don't think Argyle and Dennis want to go to KATMANDU, they probably would like to spend "One Night in Bangkok", ... sans Lois.

41D: Door frame part: JAMB. Great Scrabble word.

43D: Leopold's co-conspirator: LOEB

44D: Speaker's stand: LECTERN

46D: Banned blast: N TESTS. Also, "The SALT concern".

48D: Static letters: EMI. Or the "British record label". U2 belongs to EMI, right?

51D: Football great Merlin: OLSEN. He is in Football HOF. But I've never heard of him before.

53D: Ancient Turkish city: ADANA. No, no, here is a good map. Why "Ancient"?

57D: Erotic: SEXY "It you want my body, and you think I'm SEXY, come on sugar, let me know..."

58D: Mythical queen: HERA . Queen of Heavens. Wife/sister of Zeus.

C.C.

Thursday September 11, 2008 Alan P. Olschwang

Theme: Life is Hard (Evan Esar quip)

17A: Start of a quip: SOME MEN MAKE

28A: Part 2 of quip: DIFFICULTIES

40A: Part 3 of quip: AND

50A: Part 4 of quip: DIFFICULTIES

65A: End of quip: MAKE SOME MEN

"Make difficulties"? I've never heard of this phrase before. Only familiar with "make a difference/distinction". Or "make bed", "make a blunder/boner", "make a choice/a decision", "make a commitment/promise/confession", etc.

"LOVE" makes more sense than "DIFFICULTIES" in this quip, don't you think so?

It's an OK puzzle, not terribly boring. I don't think there should be a question mark for CHRISTMAS (35D: Present time?).

Across:

1A: $ in banks: ACCTS. Or a simple "Stops on my rte" for Xchefwalt. He has to attend to his green bean and potato customers.

6A: FDR's biographer: ALSOP (Joseph). Gimme to me. ALSOP's name is mentioned in almost every JFK book.

11A: Card game for two: WAR. No idea. Is it easy to play?

14A: Hogwash!: HOOEY. Hmm, not "balderdash", "tommyrot" or "poppycock". I could picture Barry's smile. I still want to know more of "nonsense" synonyms. Besides "baloney", "lapdoodle" and "bosh", what other "worthless" words do you use every day?

15A: Mongol invader: TATAR. They were Muslims, right?

22A: Sandal strap: THONG. Wow, she was wearing the wrong THONG.

24A: Mennen shaving product: AFTA

43A: Greeley or Mann: HORACE. Knew Mann, not Greeley.

53A: Dry, red wine: CHIANTI. Do you like Diana Lane's "Under the Tuscan Sun"?

57A: Dentist's direction: RINSE. Katherine probably wants RINSE to be "Shampoo direction".

58A: CI quadrupled: CDIV. Roman 404. We get new visitors every time there is a Roman numberal involved.

70A: Video game name: ATARI. Apple's Steve Jobs used to work for ATARI.

77A: Stupefy with desire: BESOT. What's the difference between "BESOT" and "infatuate"?

Down:

1D: Chan's words: AH SO. I learned this from doing Xwords. Have never seen any Charlie Chan movies.

3D: Follow: COME AFTER

4D: Hit one's drive: TEE OFF. Oh, you are talking about golf.

5D: Pathetic starter: SYM. Or better, "Phony" starter.

8D: Patronize, as an inn: STAY AT

11D: Black __ spider: WIDOW. New to me. "Black" I can understand, why "WIDOW"?

31D: Hawaiian island: LANAI. "The Pineapple Island".

37D: Barcelona Mmes: SRAS. "Barcelona Mlle" would be "SRTAS".

41D: Elmer, to Bugs: DOC. From "What's Opera, Doc?". New to me also.

47D: __ Laredo, Mexico: NUEVO. "New" in Spanish.

51D: Capricious: FICKLE. Virgil said "A woman is always a FICKLE, unstable thing." I think men are the same, if not more so.

52D: Shaped like a cylinder: TERETE. No idea, this Vanda TERETE flower showed up when I googled, so pretty.

60D: Sea turtle grp.: ISTS (International Sea Turtle Society). Unknown to me.

62D: First name in architecture: EERO. His father is Eliel, also crossword-friendly, with 3 vowels.

67D: Fairy queen: MAB. Did MAB originate from Shelley's "Queen MAB"?

C.C.

Wednesday September 10, 2008 Stanley B. Whitten

Theme: Location, Location, Location

17A: College, maybe: HIGHER EDUCATION

39A: Empty-nester's weight problem: MIDDLE AGE SPREAD

62A: Alaska not included: LOWER FORTY- EIGHT

I've never heard of "MIDDLE SPREAD". Why does "Empty-nester" have such weight problem? Do they tend to overindulge on their SECOND HONEYMOON (clued as "Empty-nesters' vacation last time) or what? (Addendum: My mistake on 39A: "AGE" escaped me earlier.)

This puzzle structure reminded me of Barry Silk's "Re Location" puzzle we had on May 27. His theme answers are:

UPPER CRUST
LOWER TEXAS
INNER HARBOR
OUTER LIMITS

But I think I like this one more. I am very fond of run-through 15-letter theme answers. They look beautiful to me.

I got the theme very earlier on, but still struggled a bit. Was stumped by a few new words. Had to google.

Across:

1A: Fuji flow: LAVA. Ah, the real "Hot flower". I like this kind misleading flow-er=river (a thing that flows) wordplay.

5A: Sportscaster Rashad: AHMAD. I forgot. He appeared in our puzzle not long ago. See this Pop Secret commerical.

10A: Guidance fin: VANE. "fin"? I always associate "fin" with fish.

15A: Upper deck, briefly: FO'C'LE (Forecastle). I've never heard of this word before.

16A: Stravinsky or Sikorsky: IGOR. Know the composer Stravinsky. Have totally forgot about the aviation pioneer Sikorsky.

21A: Eye-opening experiences?: DILATIONS. I like this clue.

22A: Candidate Landon: ALF. He was defeated by FDR in the 1936 presidential election.

24A: Utah ski resort: ALTA. Where are his legs?

31A: Becomes entrenched: SETS IN

36A: Longtime Cleveland Orchestra director: SZELL (George). Total stranger to me. Here is some more Mozart for Barb B. How to pronounce SZELL?

45A: Actor Wesley: SNIPES. He is Willie Mayes Hayes in "Major League", one of my favorite baseball movies. I like "Field of Dream" the most.

43A: Illumination: LIGHT. Thoreau said "Let nothing come between YOU and the LIGHT". I don't quite get it. Who is the LIGHT & Why?

47A: E. O'Brien film: D.O.A. Was stumped again! Here is the poster. I hated the clue.

52A: Imposing personalities: PRESENCES. Are you OK with this clue?

65A: Family of Indy winner: UNSER. Would not have got this one and LOESS (68A: Fertile loam) without the down clues.

Down:

1D: Bert the Cowardly Lion: LAHR. Here is a good clip... "If I Only Had the Nerve..."

3D: Lyra's brightest star: VEGA

4D: Guru's community: ASHRAM. Would not have got this one without the across clues.

8D: "Be-Bop- ___": ALULA. This is the song. New to me. I've never heard of Gene Vincent.

10D: Debaser: VITIATOR. Another new word to me. VITIATE is the verb.

11D: Exchange fee: AGIO. Ha, I did remember this strange money exchange term.

19D: Try: ATTEMPT

23D: Shake up: FAZE. Still remember Tom Pruce's "Discombobulate" puzzle?

25D: Synagogue platforms: BEMAS

27D: Arboreal lemur: INDRI. It's clued as "Madagascar primate" last time. He does not seem to have a tail, does he?

30D: Chilly: ALGID. Another new word to me.

33DL Writer Calvino: ITALO. Or the Aviator Balbo.

34D: Simpleton: NODDY. New word to me also. I wrote down NINNY first.

36D: Dark horse: SLEEPER

40D: Overthrowers: DEPOSERS. I've been brainwashed by this crossword editor to think of "Usurp" and "Usurper"first.

46D: Wicked: SINFUL. I don't think it's SINFUL to openly discuss morel issue, do you?

53D: Pudding fruit: PLUM. Hmmm, sweet and juicy!

54D: Diva Ponselle: ROSA. I got her with no trouble this time.

C.C.

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C.C.

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Tuesday September 9, 2008 Josiah Breward

Theme: Against the Clock

17A: Just before deadline: LAST MINUTE

49A: No time for photos: BAD HAIR DAY

11D: Blink: SPLIT SECOND

25D: Open mic night: AMATEUR HOUR

I disliked the clue for GIVES (43D: Hands over) because of the answer IN HAND (46A: Under control). A simple "Donates" should work perfectly. I also think "Var." should be added to the clue of SCEPTRES (9D: Sovereign's staffs).

Felt rather dumb this morning. Spent an awfully long time trying to figure out why LCS (3D) are "Letters before the W.S." I kept thinking of yesterday's Wall Street huge rally rather than the World Series. This is not the first time that I was stumped by LCS (League Championship Series).

Nice puzzle though. I like the theme, and the grid looks so pretty. But hang on a SECOND, if I drink MINUTE maid orange juice every morning, will I have an HOURglass figure? Or am I just a DAYdreamer?

Across:

1A: Future tulips: BULBS. Lovely pink tulip flowers.

14A: Computer data format: ASCII. I just have so much difficulty remembering this acronym.

19A: Hammer end: CLAW. What's the difference between CLAW and PEEN?

20A: Snappy one: BITER. Snakes are all BITERS, aren't they?

27A: Sawmill output: LUMBER. I've never been to a sawmill or LUMBER yard.

28A: Small spars: SPRITS. Not familiar with this sailing term. Here is a SPRITSAIL rigged boats.

34A: Suffragist Carrie: CATT. New to me. Carrie Chapman CATT. So many C's. She looks like Curt Schilling, doesn't she? This pair of Persian Blue dangling earrings will add some feminine touch to her face.

35A: Fraternity letters: BETAS. IT geeks probably want the clue to be bug related.

36A: 1405: MCDV

43A: Sergio and Andy: GARCIAS. It's never boring to watch Sergio play golf. I adore Andy GARCIAS in "The Untouchables" & "When a Man Loves a Woman". I like Michael Bolton, don't you?

46A: Under control: IN HAND. "Can I Touch You... There?"

47A: Legend automaker: ACURA

48A: Stringed instrument: VIOL. Which is harder to play, VIOLA or violin?

55A: "Dies ___": IRAE. So powerful and dynamic! Lots, lots of vodka!

56A: Day's march: ETAPE. Is it a commonly used word? I've never heard of it before.

58A: Ancient ointment: NARD. I forgot. It was clued as "Fragrant ointment" on an earlier puzzle. Also called spikenard, it's "a flowering plant that growns in Himalayas of China, India and Nepal". Melissa probably knows something about the NARD oil.

59A: Force units: DYNES

Down:

1D: Dance in France: BAL. Costume party is "BAL masqué".

2D: John Dos Passos trilogy: USA. I've never heard of this trilogy or the author. Very guessable though.

4D: Gradually: BIT BY BIT

5D: Literary comparisons: SIMILES. I did wake up feeling fresh as a daisy this morning. How about you? Got any inspirations from your dream last night?

10D: Reciprocal of a cosine: SECANT. Would not have got this word without the across clues.

28D: Girls of Sp: SRTAS (Señorita). French equivalent is MLLES.

32D: Infamous '50s flop: EDSEL. This has become a collectible car, right?

35D: Loaf location: BREAD BIN. Not BREAD BASKET? Who would want to put their bread in a BIN?

36D: Archrival of Sherlock Holmes: MORIARTY. Foreign to me also. I've never read any Arthur Conan Doyle novel.

38D: Vandyke site: CHIN. Strung the answer together from surrounds. I did not know the meaning of "Vandyke".

41D: Justice of the Supreme Court since 1986: SCALIA (Antonin). Probably the most consistently conservative justice.

42D: S. Amer. nation: ECUA. Its capital is Quito.

47D: Hebrew month: ADAR. The Purim month.

50D: Southern constellation: ARA. Or "Notre Dame's Parseghian".

C.C.

Monday Septemer 8, 2008 Allan E. Parrish

Theme: A Few Drops of *OYLE

18A: Card game authority: EDMOND HOYLE

61A: "The French Connection" role: POPEYE DOYLE

3D: "Monster's Ball" co-star: PETER BOYLE

30D: 1940 Ginger Rogers movie: KITTY FOYLE

None of the above 4 theme answers were gimmes to me today. I've actually seen the movie "Monster's Ball", but I do not remember this name PETER BOYLE. Have heard of EDMOND HOYLE, but I could not retrieve his name so readily from my brain. The other 2 were complete strangers to me.

I did a quick google search, and found another *OYLE name, Allan MOYLE, the Canadian film director. But I suppose his name is way too obscure to be gridded in our puzzle.

But boy, what an arduous TOIL for me this morning! Too many unfamiliar names. Very hard struggle. Felt like it's tailor-made for Barry G.

Across:

1A: Milk-carton abbreviation: EXP

4A: "The Grapes of Wrath" family: JOADS. No idea. I've never read this novel or any of John Steinbeck's work.

9A: Pal of Porthos: ATHOS. And Aramis. The Three Musketeers. "One for all, and all for one".

15A: Jetson boy: ELROY. ASTRO is often clued as "Jetsons' dog".

20A: Model: EXEMPLAR

23A: Pine product: ROSIN. What's the difference between ROSIN and RESIN?

24A: Noted Swiss psychologist: JUNG (Carl). The only Swiss psychologist I know. Founder of Analytical Psychology.

27A: "My Life in Court": NIZER (Louis). I forgot. Identical clue in Parrish's June 24 puzzle. He sure loves names with letters J's & Z's.

33A: Family of Canadian quintuplets: DIONNE. The second girl from the left looks very pretty.

37A: Dockers' org: ILA (International Longshoremen's Association)

39A: Dernier __ (Latest fashion): CRI. "CRI de coeur" would be a great clue too. Kazie probably could come up with more.

40A: Cooper's Bumppo: NATTY. Unknown to me. I've never read "The Last of the Mohicans".

45A: Tea Party site: BOSTON. I was immediately thinking of a beautiful flowery GARDEN where afternoon tea is served, then realized that "Party" is capitalized.

48A: Chutzpah: MOXIE

51A: Artistic piece: OPUS. Ha, I got it this time. Aren't you proud of me? Here is some Mozart, for you, Lois. It's soul-calming.

53A: Letter flourish: SERIF

58A: Lounging attire: BATHROBE. Probably Garrison Keillor's choice, not mine. What do you wear when lounging around?

67A: Golfer Calvin: PEETE. He was the most successful African-American golfer before Tiger. I've never seen him play though. Nice vintage card (1981 Donruss), but it's worth much, even though it's a limited issue.

Down:

2D: PlayStation rival: XBOX. Launched in 2001. Microsoft product.

4D: Army vehicles: JEEPS. JEEP was the ultimate symbol of power when I grew up. Only the very high-ranking government officials had JEEPS.

5D: Tired pickup attempt: OLD LINE. I've never heard of "OLD LINE" being used in this sense.

6D: Big name in fashion: ARMANI. Here is George Clooney in ARMANI.

10D: Certain sandals: THONGS. Hmm, this is not the THONG I am wearing. I like the low-rise one.

11D: Wilhelm of Cooperstown: HOYT. He is the best knuckleballer in baseball history, isn't he?

12D: Heraldic border: ORLE. No idea. I know nothing about heraldry.

19D: "Advise and Consent" writer: DRURY (Allen). Another unknown. Wikipedia says he won Pulitzer for this novel in 1959.

24D: "Star Wars" warrior: JEDI

25D: Red of firefighting: ADAIR. Not a familiar name to me. He does look fiery.

28D: Preston rival: ZEREX. I forgot. This constructor used the same clue in his May 19 puzzle. Dennis said both of them are antifreezes.

31D: Rocker John: ELTON. I love his "Candle in the Wind".

32D: Singer Newton: WAYNE. I don't like him. I like this WAYNE.

45D: Crop pests: BEETLES

49D: Because follower?: I SAY SO

55D: Per unit: A POP

58D: Flapdoodle: BOSH. I did not know the meaning of "Flapdoodle". I only knew "Baloney" & "Hogwash". Maybe you can educate me today with more "Nonesense".

59D: Wally's bro: BEAV. I remember BEAVER from our previous slang discussion. Had no idea that it can be shortned to BEAV. Kind of similar to Barb or Barbara, isn't it?

60D: "Only Time" singer: ENYA. Beautiful song.

C.C.

Sunday September 7, 2008 Josiah Breward

Theme: Endearments

23A: Make palatable: SUGARCOAT

47A: Weight we hate?: LOVE HANDLES

72A: King novel: PET SEMATARY

97A: Ratel: HONEY BADGER

125A: Tiny dwelling: DOLL HOUSE

14D: Sultan of the Swat: BABE RUTH

16D: 1959 Peck/Kerr movie: BELOVED INFIDEL

52D: Golden parachute: SWEETHEART DEAL

90D: Last letter?: DEAR JOHN

I've never heard of "PET SEMATARY" or "HONEY BADGER". Had no idea that the latter is the most fearless animal on earth. The clue "Ratel" looked like a kind of palm tree to me. I must have mixed it up with "Rattan" or something else.

I loved this puzzle. Very sweet theme and engaging theme answers. I was surprised that there was no DARLING in the grid. Don't you ever call your loved one DARLING at home?

I think I've seen enough RYA (70D: Scandinavian rug) and ERECT (98D: Put up) this week. So annoying! The clue for IRAN (27A: Iraq neighbor) was very jarring too. Why not simply "Turkey neighbor"? I was also stumped by SPEEDUPS (65A: Increases in pace). I thought the clue was asking for a verb phrases, so I kept wanting SPEEDS UP.

Across:

9A: Tree with huge trunk: BAOBAB. It's indeed huge. I've heard of "monkey bread tree". But I did not know that it's called BAOBAB in English.

19A: NASA's ISS partner: ESA (European Space Agency)

20A: City in Provence: ARLES. Van Gogh painted here! This is his "View of ARLES with Irises". Do you like it?

21A: Floating fleet: ARMADA

25A: 2nd best: GRADE B

26A: Pitcher's rubber: SLAB. Ha, new baseball slang to me.

28A: Baudelaire's "Paris __": SPLEEN. The title SPLEEN here refers to "bad temper", not the organ. I've never heard of Charles Baudelaire before. Wikipedia says he also wrote "The Flowers of Evil", and it's "important in the symbolist and modernist. The subject matter of these poems deals with themes relating to decadence and eroticism."

30A: Zeno's birthplace: ELEA. Last time's "Whence Zeno" clue brought hundreds of new visitors to this blog.

33A: Cassia plant: SENNA. Very pretty, in full bloom. Wikipedia says the leaves and flowers of SENNA are used in Thai cooking. I did not know that some of SENNA stems can grow as high as six feet.

35A: Fine porcelain: SPODE. I forgot. Identical clue on another TMS puzzle. SPODE china is named after British potter Josiah SPODE. Good example of EPONYM (29D: Word derived from someone's name).

44A: 1964 A.L. Rookie of the year: OLIVA (Tony). This clue makes me happy. I love Tony OLIVA.

50A: Starter's starter?: ESS. Clever clue.

54A: Segal and Leinsdorf: ERICHS. I got it from down clues. I know neither of them.

69A: Wrongly convicted French soldier of the 1890ss: DREYFUS (Alfred). I googled his name, then I realized that he was the guy in Zola's "J'accuse" letter.

71A: Way of old Rome: ITER

77A: John Tyler's First Lady: LETITIA. I googled again. I did not know her name. I had no idea that John Tyler had a second "First Lady" too (Julia Gardiner Tyler).

79A: Alfonso's queen: ENA. She looks a bit rebellious. Her grandson Juan Carlos is the current king of Spain.

80A: Coastal resident: SEASIDER. Hmmm, this reminds me of the limericks "There once was a man from Nantucket...."

83A: Lge. landmass: CONT. And ISL (121D: Sm. landmass). Oh by the way, I was really in awe of the ISLS clue last Saturday. But later I found out that it was not original. Someone else tried "Christmas or Easter, briefly" for ISL several years ago.

87A: City on the Adige: TRENT. I forgot, yet again. It was just here last Sunday, identical clue. Here is the map. I bet this clue would be different if Senator TRENT Lott were still in the office.

91A: Maltreat: ILL-USE. I've never heard of "ILL-USE" before. Good to learn.

100A: Callaway's "Big" driver: BERTHA. Nice Big BERTHA driver. Callaway also has Big BERTHA iron sets. But why quotation mark for Big?

102A: Broadcast talent org.: AFTRA (American Federation of Television and Radio Artists). Not familiar with this acronym. Were they involved in the writer's strike earlier this year?

103A: Denver concert site: RED ROCKS. New to me. Oh my goodness, gorgeous photo. WP says U2 performed here in June 1983, and their performance was later included in Rolling Stone's list of the "50 Moments that Changed Rock and Roll".

107A: Pollen-bearing organs: ANTHERS. I like the drops of dew on this flower petal. ANTHER is from ANTHOS, Greek for flower.

112A: Old Ford model: LTD. Learned this LTD model from doing Xword. LTD is always "Inc." to me.

113A: Open some: AJAR. I suppose "Open" here is an adjective. But "Open some" does not make any sense to me. What does "some" mean here?

115A: Nervous system disorder: CHOREA. New to me. It's defined as "any of various disorders of the nervous system marked by involuntary, jerky movements, especially of the arms, legs, and face, and by incoordination." From Greek chorós, dance, the same root as "chorus". No wonder dictionary says this disorder is also called "Saint Vitus' dance".

120S: Helmut's three: DREI. Eins, zwei, DREI.

128: M. de Balzac: HONORE. Had no idea that Balzac's given name is HONORE. One of my favorite Chinese authors, Fu Lei, was very influenced by Balzac.

131A: Caterwaul: YELL. I did not know the meaning of "caterwaul".

132A: Caught red-handed: NAILED. Lois probably wanted the clue to be "Used a hammer".

133A: Virgule: SLASH. I forgot the meaning of "Virgule".

134A: TV's "Science Guy" Bill: NYE. He has become a stalwart in our puzzle.

Down:

1D: Put up a fight: RESIST. I would add some romantism and clue RESIST as "Withstand the lure of".

2D: Loan shark: USURER

3D: 1998 Olympics city: NAGANO. Can never remember the English name for this city. Only knew its Chinese name 長野市.

9D: Author of "National Velvet": BAGNOLD (Enid). Good to see her surname being the answer.

11D: Tumor: suff.: OMA. Ha, I actually remember this OMA.

13D: Ms. Rogers St. Johns: ADELA. Her autobiography is named " The Honeycomb". Could be a good theme entry too.

17D: Almost a ringer: LEANER. Horseshoes terms. It's "a thrown horseshoe that leans against the stake." New to me.

18D: Carve relief: EMBOSS

31D: Pretentious performer: ARTISTE. I don't understand the clue. Why "Pretentious"? ARTISTE is just a French word for artist, isn't it?

36D: No-win situation: DILEMMA. Do you like "Catch-22"?

41D: CXII halved: LVI. Roman 56.

51D: Group of seven: SEPTETS. Trio & quartet.

60D: Like horror movie: EERIE. That's how I felt about "The X-Files".

64D: Iceland currency: EYRIR. Did not know this Iceland coin.

74D: International accord: ENTENTE. And PEACE (67D: Dove's desire).

75D: Stone-worker's block: ASHLAR. Had no idea that such kind of block is called ASHLAR.

78D: Windpipe: TRACHEA. The respiratory tube. New to me also.

84D: Workplace safety grp.: OSHA

93D: J. Hancocked?: SGD (Signed).

99D: Popeil company: RONCO. "But wait, there's more!"

100D: In a blunt manner: BALDLY. Did not know that bald also means "blunt".

104D: Supporting pillar: COLUMN

105D: Klown on "The Simpsons": KRUSTY. Another google. Here he is.

106D: Derrick for loading cargo: STEEVE. It's not in my dictionary. I still could not believe this is a real word.

114D: "Aurora" fresco painter Guido: RENI. See this captivating "Aurora", so soft and harmonious in touches. I like the mythological themes in his and Raphael's paintings. Very beautiful & poetic!

116D: Muslim unit of weight: ROTL. I simply forgot. Stared at _ OTL for eons.

C.C.

Saturday September 6, 2008 Matthew Higgins

Theme: None

Total blocks: 27

I had an epiphany earlier. I suddenly realized what was really missing in Higgins' puzzle: vitality. I just could not find much spontaneity or creativity in them. It felt like he made up this grid just by looking at the dictionary and reference books.

If you look at his clues carefully, nearly every one of them is theoretically & factually correct, but most of them just feel so stiff and wooden. I guess I am too instinctive and intuitive a person for his rigidness.

For example:

57A: Stringed instruments: CELLOS. No flaw in the clue. But "Yo-Yo Ma's instruments" will evoke some vivid memories/images for the solvers, at least, for me.

34D: Hone: SHARPEN. Again, the clue is fine, but boring. "Make a point, perhaps" will force the solvers to think a bit, and add some flavor to the grid.

50D: Figure of worship: IDOL. Once again, the clue is correct. But why not "David Cook, e.g." to perk up the puzzle?

Also, I would prefer the clue for PAGAN (23A: Idolator) to be "Heathen", it's just visually jarring to see IDOL as the answer and part of the clue.

REPEAL (15A: Withdraw formally) & RECLAIMS (37A: Gains restoration) are perfectly fine words. And I suppose RETOOLS (2D: Changes the machinery) is OK too. But REDARES (37D: Challenges anew)? And is PERVADER (51A: Something that permeates) really a word?

Across:

1A: Visual aids: GRAPHS

7A: Bucolic: PASTORAL. Here is Beethoven No. 6 (PASTORAL).

16A: Not counting: LET ALONE. What kind of clue is this? I don't understand it.

18A: Tiresome long: UNENDING

19A: Yankees in Dixie: NORTHERNERS. I learned a new phrase this morning: "Whistle Dixie". Dictionary explains it as "to indulge in unrealistically optimistic fantasies". Kind of like "have a pollyanna notion about certain things", isn't it? Have you used "whistle Dixie" before?

21A: ___ generis (of its own kind): SUI. New to me.

22A: Neil Simon's nickname: DOC. Did not know this. This is a list of baseball players' nicknames. Maybe Mr. Higgins should try to create such a sportspeople nicknames themed puzzle rather than indulging himself in his affixes infatuation.

25A: Spunk: PLUCKINESS. And 56A: Proximity: NEARNESS. Yawner, yawner!

29A: Beset: ASSAILED

30A: Intrinsically: PER SE

41A: Target on the green: HOLE. Just how deep is a HOLE? Do you know? Do you want to know? I know the diameter is about 4 1/4 inches. I would clue KITE (27D: Fork-tailed bird) as "Tom of the Champions?" (Champions Tour) to pair up with HOLE. Tom KITE won U.S. Open in 1992 and certainly has the name recognition.

42A: Prodigious: PHENOMENAL. JVJ24601 mentioned on Wednesday that "Michael Phelps is to be the host for the new season premier of SNL on 9/13."

45A: Waterproof wool cloth: LODEN. I forgot. LODEN appeared as "Waterproof cloth" on a Sunday puzzle before. It's made of sheep wool. Here is happy family all in LODEN coat.

46A: Reggae relative: SKA. Are you very familiar with the "calypso music"?

48A: Products of the body's fuel-burning system: METABOLITES. Another new word to me. I only knew METABOLISM.

54A: Twist together: ENTANGLE

55A: Tristan's beloved: ISOLDE. No idea. It's a Wagner opera. Have you seen this movie before?

Down:

3D: Revealing glimpses: APERÇUS. It's always "short summary" to me.

5D: Muddle: HASH. Are you really synonymous? In what sense?

6D: In a languid manner: SLEEPILY

7D: Dashed with headlong haste: PLUNGED

8D: Virgil's Trojan hero: AENEAS. Vaguely remember this name due to an earlier DIDO (Queen of Carthage) puzzle. DIDO killed herself when abandoned by AENEAS. How sad! Men can be so cruel! It's from Vigil's epic poem, "The Aeneid".

12D: Revel boisterously: ROISTER. This is another new word for me. I like the adjective "roisterously", very noisy-looking.

14D: Easily deciphered: LEGIBLE

24D: Cornerstone tablets: STELAE. Singular form is STELE, or STELA.

30D: Cardsharp's maneuver: PALM. "Carsharp" is new word to me.

32D: Supergiant star in Cygnus: DENEB. I forgot again. Here is the map. Wikipedia says that DENEB, together with Altair and Vega, forms the Summer Triangle.

33D: Financially rewarding: ECONOMIC

35D: Part of TNT: TOLUENE. The second T in TNT. I had no idea. I was thinking of the "We Know Drama" TNT network.

36D: Calgary's province: ALBERTA. Ha, Stephen Harper comes from ALBERTA.

38D: Implant: INSTILL

39D: Gets by with less: MAKES DO

40D: Cuts slits: SLASHES

48D: Horace or Aimee: MANN. Have heard of Horace MANN, not Aimee. I always associated Aimee with actress Anouk.

49D: Mislay: LOSE. I've never used this word "mislay" before. Can you say "The key was mislaid"?

C.C.

Friday September 5, 2008 Barry Silk

Theme: CRACKER (40A: 17A, 24A, 51A and 64A follower)

17A: Cow or chicken: FARM ANIMAL

24A: Float: ICE CREAM SODA

51A: Fastener with wings: BUTTERFLY NUT

64A: Large gun barrage: CANNON FIRE

And Graham CRACKER, Oyster CRACKER & Saltine CRACKER. What else can you think of?

I hate the clue for 40A. It's inaccurate. CRACKER only follows the last word of those theme answers. I also dislike the clue for TSE (10D: Half a fly), not only because the clue needs a "?" mark, but also because of BUTTERFLY in 51A. Besides, why obsessed with this terrible fly all the time? What's wrong with cluing TSE as "China's Mao __-tung"?

I am also not fond of the below three clues:

45A: Bog: QUAG. Is QUAG a commonly accepted shortened word?

52D: Phillies all-star 2nd-baseman Chase: UTLEY. An apostrophe should be added to Phillies, right?

65D: Sugary suffix: OSE. I suppose it's OK, though I prefer the clue to be "Sugar suffix".

Other than those, it's a great puzzle, very enjoyable. I love seeing TGIF (10A: End-of-week cry) & Barry Silk on a Friday. I also like this kind of theme type very much.

Still needed Google's help though. It will probably take me a few more months before I can crack this Silk code. He is a very wise man. Ha, WISECRACKER.

Across:

14A: Actress Sofer: RENA. It's clued as "Sofer of soaps' in an earlier TMS puzzle. I like the flowers on her shirt. FYI, RENA means "Joy" in Hebrew.

15A: Lickety-split: APACE

21A: Sealy rival: SERTA. Identical clue in his July "main squeeze" puzzle.

27A: Money set aside: ESCROW. Oh, I forgot to mention yesterday that George Washter, the specialist for the old-masters at Sotheby's, is the father of the 13-year old boy who spent $5,000 on this Rembrandt's etching "Agony in the Garden".

36A: Disunit a fly?: UNZIP. Interesting clue. I wonder if this is Barry Silk's original. It certainly has our editor's fingerprint.

39A: Actress Charlotte: RAE. Legends of what?

43A: Madrid museum: PRADO. A heaven for those Goya fans. Beautiful "The Clothed Maya". Dennis probably loves "The Nude Maya".

49A: Starting lineups: A-TEAMS

56A: Env. contents: LTR. Shouldn't the clue be in singular form?

57A: "Ecologues" sheperdess: DELIA. Would not have got it without the surrounds. It's clued as "Shepherdess in Virgil's "Eclogues" 2 weeks ago. This is Argyle's comment: "DELIA seems to be very obscure. Vigil only mentions the name in passing, "insomuch that now our dogs know not Delia better. The character was saying his boyfriend came around so much that the dogs knew him as well as they knew the shepherdess, I think."

62A: Et __ (and others): ALII. Masculine plural. "Et ALIAE" is femine plural. And "Et ALIA" is neutral plural. And another Latin word is IDEM (37D: Footnote word).

68A: Declare frankly: AVOW. I am always confused about AVOW and AVER, so similiar in meaning.

Down:

1D: Pound sounds: ARFS. I like the rhyme in the clue.

2D:Osso buco meat: VEAL. I would add a few apricots to this dish. I want my meat to be firm, juicy and sweet.

4D: Bloodsucking evil spirit: VAMPIRE

6D: Prot. denom.: EPISC. No need to abbreviate both words in the clue.

8D: Words of concern: I CARE. 4 U.

9D: River ends: DELTAS

11D: Italian cheese: GORGONZOLA. I've never had this cheese before. What does it taste like?

13D: Jane of "Klute": FONDA. I've never seen this movie. That's a daring skirt. Jane FONDA is an awful mother in "Monster-in-Law".

18D: Label for Sonny & Cher: ATCO. No, have never heard of ATCO label before. Here is their "I Got You Babe".

22D: Love in Lyon: AMOUR. "My Cherie AMOUR, lovely as a summer's day...... How I wish that you were mine."

27D: Holliday partner: EARP (Wyatt). Got it from the across clues. I had no idea who Holliday was.

29D: "I Want You to Want Me" band: CHEAP TRICK. New to me. I do love the song title.

33D: Help-page acronym: FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions). Gimme.

34D: Fort Worth sch.: TCU (Texas Christian University). Strange logo.

35D: Jamaican music: SKA. Every time I see this clue, I think of Bob Marley and "The Wailers".

38D: Holding areas: PENS. "Holding areas" for whom?

41D: "Magnet and Steel" singer Walter: EGAN. Nope, he is new to me. Here is the song. I like this fresh new clue, don't you? I am tired of "Alaska's first governor".

46D: Puts on pounds: GETS FAT

59D: Bounty competition: VIVA. I've never paid attention to this brand. I use Bounty at home.

63D: Resident's suffix: ITE. Xchefwalt & Lois probably want the clue to be "Manhattan chaser?".

C.C.