Thursday April 2, 2009 Dan Naddor

Theme: Paul's Siblings

18A: Pauly: COMIC SHORE

20A: Pauley: UCLA PAVILION

37A: "Paulie": PARROT MOVIE

54A: Polly: BERGEN OF FILM

57A: Poly: TECH SCHOOL

Tough puzzle. I always struggle when the clues are themes. I am just not good at defining things. And in today's case, I simply don't know those P* names.

The only "Pauley" I know is Jane Pauley. Is Pauley Pavilion well-known nationally? I still can't believe "Paulie" is a movie title. The poster looks interesting though. Maybe you can feed me some orts on Pauly Shore & Polly Bergen. I have zero familarity with them.

Several great clues today:

36A: Closing letter at Oxford?: ZED. Our ZEE, the last alphabet letter. British pronounce it as ZED. I was thinking of DEE, the last letter of "Oxford".

11D: Company, so they say: TWO. Can THREE, then, be clued as "Crowd, so they say"?

43D: Build a lengthy resume?: JOB HOP. Again, I was picturing someone padded his resume with fake experiences.

25D: Like the Opry?: OLE. Always "Corrida cry" or some kind of Spanish cheer in our old puzzle.

34D: Staff member?: NOTES. Music staff/NOTES.

Feels odd to see TEEN IDOL (23A) clued as "Any Beatle, e.g.". They might be TEEN IDOLS in 1960s, not now. I wanted BRITISH as answer. Who is the TEEN IDOL now? Miley Cyrus?

Across:

1A: Mark Cuban's NBA team: MAVS. Mark Cuban was just fined for his comments on Twitter. This guy is a real maverick. Too much reading on Ayn Rand's "The Fountainhead".

5A: Some 35mm cameras: SLRS

9A: Volkswagen since 1979: JETTA. They have a big joint venture in Shanghai. JETTA taxis dominate the streets there. "Volkswagen" is just "Folk's wagon" in German, correct?

15A: Amanda of "The Whole Ten Yards": PEET. Know Amanda PEET from "Something's Gotta Give". She is very pretty. Not familiar with "The Whole Ten Yards". Have heard of "The Whole Nine Yards" though.

17A: Sack dress creator: DIOR. Oh, good to know.

22A: Words before ghost: SEES A. This kind of partial phrase seldom appeared in our old puzzle

30A: Cuba libre ingredient: COLA. Got it from down fills. Have never heard of Cuba libre. The ingredients are: COLA, lime and rum. Sounds quite simple to mix. Even a caveman can do it.

27A: Columbia River city: ASTORIA. Stumper. See this map (the very northwest corner of Oregon). It's named after John Jacob Astor, who founded a fur trading post here in 1810.

31A: Long odds: TEN TO ONE

41A: Academic term: SEMESTER

42A: Mus. key with three sharps: A MAJ. Pure guess. Know zilch about music terms.

44A: Wisconsin birthplace of Orson Welles: KENOSHA. Another unknown. It lies along Lake Michigan. Quite close to Milwaukee, where Spencer Tracy was born.

53A: Printing gizmo: INKER. What, isn't INKER a person?

60A: Prefix with -syncratic: IDIO. Meaning "Peculiar".

64A: Philippines' highest peak: Abbr.: MT APO. No idea. Wikipedia says APO means "master" or "grandfather". Very strange, in southern China, many people call their grandma A PO (or AH PO).

65A: Knock off: SLAY. Oh, I mixed up "knock off" and "knock up".

66A: "Skip __ Lou": kids' song: TO MY. I forgot. I think we had some discussion about this song last summer. Lou is "love", right? Not loo.

Down:

1D: Snaky-haired monster: MEDUSA. The ugly Gorgon. Her head was on the aegis of Zeus.

2D: Arlo's favorite restaurant: ALICE'S. It refers to the song "ALICE'S Restaurant", doesn't it?

3D: Part of Roy G Biv: VIOLET. Big, big problem for me. I've never heard of the mnemonic Roy G. Biv. Who made that up? It sounds quite difficult to remember.

4D: City south of Tampa: SARASOTA. See this map. Anyone from this city? What's it most famous for?

5D: Humane org.: SPCA

6D: Pope after Benedict IV: LEO V. Never know it's LEO I, LEO V or LEO X.

7D: Make a payment: REMIT

8D: Token taker: STILES. I like this clue better. Williams was so stubborn with his "Steps over a fence".

9D: "Juno" director Reitman: JASON. I thought "Juno" director is a woman. So I guessed JANET.

10D: Kind of food or group: ETHNIC. I forgot what's the difference between race and ETHNIC.

19D: Co. in Paris: CIE. This is new to me. All the French customers in my old company uses Ltd or Inc. I've never paid attention to this kind of et CIE before.

21D: Kitchen gadgets: PARERS

26D: Youth: LAD

29D: Tiny power source: ATOM. Tiny & powerful.

32D: Suffix with Capri: OTE. Capriote is new to me. Native of Capri. And the native of Cyprus is Cypriot.

33D: Trans-Siberian Railroad city: OMSK. Here is the map again. Barry Silk clued OMSK as "City on the Irtysh River" last time.

35D: Allowing for the possibility that: EVEN IF

39D: Subway alternative: CAB. Thought of "Subway" restaurant first.

46D: Second lightest element: HELIUM. I was unaware of this fact. Hydrogen is the lightest element.

47D: Weapons source: ARMORY. Reminds me of the MAGAZINE confusion I had last time. Did not know it can also refer to a place where weapons are stored.

49D: Tempera painting surface: GESSO. Drink acorn coffee if you missed this one. We saw GESSO three times in Jan 2009.

50D: AEC successor: NRC. Often see AEC (1946-1974) clued as "NRC predecessor".

51D: Turkish bigwigs: AGHAS. Can also be spelled as AGA. PASHA and BEY are also "Turkish bigwig".

52D: 1988 Olympics city: SEOUL. Literally "Capital" in Korean. I feel Hanja, Chinese characters used in Korea, is much much harder to recognize than Japanese Kanji. Love SEOUL food, used to eat a ton of kimchi.

56D: "Love the skin you are in" brand: OLAY. Most of my skincare products are OLAY.

57D: Skye cap: TAM

Answer Grid.

C.C.

Interview with Pancho Harrison

Pancho Harrison officially ushered us into the Rich Norris era 9 days ago.

His puzzles have appeared in LA Times, NY Times, NY Sun, Wall Street Journal and maybe some other newspapers/magazines that I am not aware of.

Today is only our second Harrison puzzle, but I am confident that we will see more of his creations in the future. Let's get to know him a bit.

Your name intrigued a few solvers on March 23 when your "Numeral Prefixes" puzzle appeared. What is your background and how did you develop an interest in crossword constructing?

I'm a musician, and was in jail for a short time for a traffic offense. I started doing crosswords in the newspapers that were lying around. I discovered that I was good at them, and got to wondering who was writing them. When I got out, I did some research and found a mentor to help me, and an editor who saw that I understood the basics. The rest is history.

How would you describe your puzzle style? What kind of themes/fills fascinate you?

Wordplay is my thing. I sell many different kinds of themes, but my forte is the pun.

Is it tougher to design a grid or cluing entries? And why?

Designing a grid is fun, usually. Cluing is more like data entry.

What puzzles do you solve every day? And which constructor's work gives you the most trouble?

When I have time, I do the NY Times in the local paper. On Fridays, I check out the Wall Street Journal and the Chronicle of Higher Education puzzles. As far as which constructor's work gives me the most trouble, I would have to say that I'm not looking for trouble! I'm looking for a challenging, rewarding crossword experience. The puzzles that bug me are the themeless Friday and Saturday puzzles that are just ego-projects for the constructor/editor. For me, they're just a waste of time. I have never written a themeless puzzle, and I never will.

What would people find one thing that's most surprising about you?

I'm smarter than I look, thank God. . .

Thank you, Mr. Harrison

Wednesday April 1, 2009 Pancho Harrison

Theme: April Fools' Day

20A: 2003 Katie Holmes film: PIECES OF APRIL

37A: 1965 film based on a Katherine Anne Porter novel: SHIP OF FOOLS

55A: 1962 WWII film: THE LONGEST DAY

Once again, none of the theme answers was gimme to me. But this puzzle felt much easier than yesterday's, probably because there are only 3 theme answers compared to yesterday's 5. I am curious to see how many theme answers will be in Pancho Harrison's next puzzle. His last "Numeral Prefix" has 3 entries also.

This culture handicap is so hard for me to overcome. I was surprised and intrigued that THE KINGMEN puzzle yesterday brought back sweet memories to so many of you. "Louie, Louie" really meant nothing to me.

WALL is the answer for 61A: Outfield border. And then "Wall St. deals" for 30D LBOS (Leveraged Buyouts). I don't know. Maybe you can think of a better way to clue LBOS. I can't think of anything. I could not even get the answer. All that popped into my mind is M&A (Mergers and Acquisitions).

Favorite clue: Pisa dough? for EURO (6D). So clever. Very well-kneaded. Now I can smell EURO from my oven.

"Barrel of A Pencil", the alias name of a fellow LA Times crossword solver, constructed a 21*21 puzzle and he would love to hear feedback from us. I've published a special post and hope you can give him your thought on his grid.

Across:

1A: Impetuous fervor: ELAN. I am used to the old "Distinctive flair" clue. Had no idea that ELAN has an "Impetuous" color.

9A: Not on the up and up: SHADY. Like The Talented Mr. Madoff. I still can't believe he was once the Nasdaq chairman.

15A: Dark purple: PUCE. I don't understand this one. What are PUCE stamps?

16A: "Flip This House" airer: A AND E. Big stumper. I wanted MSNBC. Hard for me to interpret A & E into A AND E. Have never heard of "Flip This House".

17A: Some dadaist art: ARPS (Jean/Hans). Dada founder. Hans is German for Jean, correct?

19A: Hardly sensitive: CRASS. Reminds me of Francis Heaney's CRASSWORD crossword.

23A: Leftovers covering: SARAN. "It's a wrap" in yesterday's clue. Do you know why Dow Chemical named this product SARAN? Google shows that SARAN is also girl's name, meaning "joy".

24A: "Bus Stop" playwright: INGE (William). He has become a gimme. Won Pulitzer for "Picnic".

25A: Robin Hood's wood: YEW. No idea. Only knew the Sherwood Forest. Google search shows that Robin Hood used a bow of YEW to win Maid Marion and they wed under a YEW tree.

31A: Carole start: ADESTE. "ADESTE Fideles". I would not have got the answer without the down fills. I know "Carol ending?" is INE.

42A: "The Girl From Ipanema" singer Gilberto: ASTRUD. Here is the clip. Someone mentioned on the blog last time that Sade has a certain ASTRUD Gilberto style.

43A: Composer Andrew Lloyd __: WEBBER. His brother is Julian Lloyd WEBBER the cellist.

45A: Clytemmestra's son: ORESTES. Alas, I forgot, the guy "The Three Furies" are chasing. He was clued as "Electra's brother" in our old puzzle 3 weeks ago. His father is Agamemnon. Interesting information from Wikipedia: "According to the myth, Zeus appeared to Leda in the form of a swan, raping and impregnating her. Leda produced four offspring from two eggs: Castor and Pullux from one egg, and Helen and Clytemnestra from the other." But then it continues: "Castor and Clytemnestra were fathered by Tyndareus whereas Pollux and Helen were fathered by Zeus". Sounds very conflicting, doesn't it?

50A: Prefix with skeleton: EXO. Opposite endoskeleton.

54A: Gear parts: TEETH. Of course, I fell to the trap and put S at the end of the blanks first.

62A: 5-point K, e.g.: TILE. Scrabble TILE. I like this clue.

65A: San __ Obispo, CA: LUIS. Sometimes it's clued as "Baseball Hall of Famer Aparicio". Can you believe he is still alive? Pulled an certified Aparicio autograph out of a Topps Heritage set once. Oh by the way, I heard that Topps is going to produce a set of "world's biggest hoaxes, hoodwinks and bamboozles" trading cards. Ponzi & Madoff are among those bad guys. Maybe Ken Lay too.

67A: First name in country: REBA. Not a fan of REBA McEntire or any country music. The tunes all sound so similar and repetitive.

Down:

2D: Dogie catcher: LARIAT. La reata. The REATA/RIATA.

4D: Pocono 500 group: NASCAR

8D: Sable or Impala: SEDAN. Good clue.

9D: Like some cows: SACRED. Does it refer to the exclamation "Holy cow!" or the Indian sacred cow?

10D: Spydom name: HARI (Mata). Bond does not fit.

11D: In-depth examination: ANALYSIS. Plural is analyses. It's embarrassing, but I often have difficulty spelling analysis & analyze. Actually I can't spell the word embarrassing itself. Thank God for the automatic spelling check.

12D: Oral surgeon's deg.: DDS (Doctor of Dental Science/Surgery). Barry Silk clued DDS as"License to drill?" in his Philly Tribute puzzle. I miss Barry puzzle, don't you?

21D: Listless feeling: ENNUI. And TEDIUM (47D: Monotony).

22D: Links org. sponsoring the FedEx Cup: PGA TOUR. Gimme for me. Stanford Finanical for LPGA. They'd better go back to ADT, given Allen Stanford's huge trouble. This guy should be put into Topps Ponzi card set too.

27D: Jazz guitarist Montgomery: WES. No idea. I know nothing about Jazz. He does not look like a musician. Now, Is WES a nickname for Lesley or Wesley?

34D: Young salamander: EFT. I learned this morning there are three stages in a newt's life: aquatic larva, terrestrial juvenile (EFT), and then adult. So technically, EFT does not live under water.

37D: Enemy agent's strategy: SABOTAGE. During Chinese Cultural Revolution, many people had to stop communications with their overseas relatives for fear of being accused of SABOTAGE crime.

39D: "Golden Boy" dramatist: ODETS (Clifford). Know his name, which was clued as "Waiting for Lefty" playwright on our March 15, 2009 puzzle. I have never heard of "Golden Boy" though.

46D: Agree out of court: SETTLE. This reminds me of "nolo contendere", a phrase I never really understand. Is it a "guilty" or "not guilty" plea?

48D: And others, in bibliographies: ET ALII (masculine plural). ET ALIA is neuter plural. ET ALIAE is feminine plural.

52D: Quasimodo's hangout: TOWER. Easy guess. Clear Ayes mentioned his unrequited love for some girl last time. I don't know where they hang out. Huge once said "Intelligence is the wife, imagination is the mistress, memory is the servant." So, who is more important to you, wife or mistress?

58D: Designer Schiaparelli: ELSA. OK, time to know this "Italian artist who made clothes" (said Coco Chanel). She brought fashion to the masses, the first person to introduce off-the-rack designer wear. Her works were heavily influenced by surrealist like Salvador Dali and her style was easy to copy. Her client includes Mae West, Katherine Hepburn and Marlene Dietrich. Some article says that ELSA means "noble" in German, and it's derived from German name Elisabeth. Is it true, Kazie?

59D: Talk about sin, e.g.: Abbr.: SER. Love the clue. Reminds me of Celine Dion's "Let's Talk about Love".

Answer Grid.

C.C.

Wednesday April 1, 2009 BOAP

Puzzle Title: "Get the Lead Out"

Puzzle constructor: Barrel of A Pencil (BOAP)

BOAP has been fascinated by crossword puzzles for thirty years. And he has been a dedicated collector and user of woodcase pencils for the past several years. Big fan of Dan Naddor, whose puzzle we solved on March 24, 2009.

Please come to the Comments section and let him know your thoughts on his puzzle.

Thanks.

C.C.

(Updated on April 7, 2009: Answer Grid.)

Tuesday March 31, 2009 Steve Dobis

Theme: THE KINGSMEN (60A: "Louise Louie" singers, and this puzzle's theme)

18A: '80s TV series with a talking car named KITT: KNIGHT RIDER

23A: 1943 Triple Crown winner: COUNT FLEET

36A: England's Charles, since 1958: PRINCE OF WALES

54A: "Nothing can stop" him, in a 1962 doo-wop classic: DUKE OF EARL

I am not familar with THE KINGSMEN or their song "Louie Louie". I think I prefer the theme title to be THE KING'S MEN. Too obscure a clue? Any way to work around "All the King's Men"?

A big leap from Monday's easy grid for me. Used lots of wite-out. The clue of 18A brought to mind Fred Dryer and his "Hunter", which was hugely popular in China in late '80s. But he does not have a talking car. KNIGHT RIDER came to China only in 1995. And we have a completely different Chinese name.

I was also thinking of Whirlaway for 23A. It runs out he was the 1941 Triple Crown winner. Have never heard of the song "DUKE OF EARL". PRINCE OF WALES was the only gimme theme entry to me. He probably should give the crown to Williams.

Across:

4A: Former Anaheim Stadium NFLer: LA RAM. Stumper. Did not know St. Louis Rams was once LA Rams. Kind of like Brooklyn/LA Dodgers. Twins was called Senators before.

9A: Lawn game using lobbed missiles: JARTS. Got it from down fills. Wikipedia says JARTS is banned in the US/Canada. I thought of BOCCI the Italian lawn bowling. Boomer had another perfect game last night. An exciting 830 (289/241/300).

14A: Fenway team, familiarly: SOX. Chicago team as well.

16A: "___ Gold": Peter Fonda film: ULEE'S. I don't believe we had ULEE'S in our old puzzle before. Always ULEE, clued as "Peter Fonda role".

17A: Rock music's __ Fighters: FOO. No idea. Wikipedia says their name is taken from World War II term "FOO Fighter", used by allied pilots to refer UFOs. See here for more etymology. The cartoonist & Chinese figurine word FOO connection reminds me of Egg FOO Young, a dish you won't find in a real Chinese kitchen table.

22A: London insurance giant: LLOYD'S. "Giant"? Like AIG/AIU?

29A: Taqueria offering: TOSTADA. What are those red-skinned diced cubes? Apples?

35A: It's a wrap: SARAN. Hard to unwrap. Do you like Food Network's "Unwrapped"? Fascinating history on American packaged food.

42A: New Zealand native: MAORI. Literally "Ordinary people" in its native language. And their dance is called HAKA.

44A: Basic ballroom dance: TWO STEP

47A: Riddles: ENIGMAS. Thought of Churchill's comment on Soviet Union: "A riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an ENIGMA".

56A: Ravel work immortalized in "10": BOLERO. Just beautiful! It's a TEN (28D: Gymnast's goal). Williams liked to clue TEN as "Bo's number".

65A: Expected to land: DUE IN

68A: Filmdom ogre: SHREK. Found out this morning that SHREK is from German word Schreck meaning "terror".

69A: Muffin Man's lane: DRURY. Another stumper. Have never heard of this nursery rhyme.

70A: +, on a batt.: POS

Down:

1D: To be the truth: AS FACT. Can you give me an example of how these two are interchangeable?

3D: Israelites' departure: EXODUS. Also the title of Uris novel.

4D: Sitting Bull's language: LAKOTA. Dictonary says it's also called TETON.

5D: Son of Valiant: ARN. He has become a gimme to me. "Bride of Valiant" is ALETA, who just appeared in our puzzle two days ago.

6D: Portuguese royal: REI. The Spanish king is REY.

7D: Each one in a square is 90 degrees: ANGLE

8D: Composer Gustav: MAHLER. Learned the name of his work "Das Lied von der Erde" from doing crossword. Lied (pronounced like leed") is German art song. Erde means "earth".

11D: McCarthy era paranoia: RED SCARE. Learned this "paranoia" only after I came to the US. Quite shocking to me.

24D: S&L guarantor: FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation). Forgot. Did get SSA (31D: FICA funds it) though.

37D: Soda in a float: ROOT BEER. Well, I guess I've been living under the rock. Have never heard of "ROOT BEER float". I was expecting a perfectly ripe banana split in the middle when I ordered "Banana Split" last time. And was shocked when a big boat of dessert arrived.

42D: Boston transit inits: MTA. Massachusetts Transportation Authority? I don't know. MTA was always clued as "Kingston Trio hit" in our old puzzle.

46D: Cleansed: PURGED. I WASHED first.

48D: "I wish it could be!": IF ONLY. So many IF ONLY and "what-ifs" in our lives.

50D: Zany: MADCAP. COCA is often clued as "Zany Imogene".

51D: Melodious passage: ARIOSO. I am going to drink acorn coffee if I forget this word again.

55D: "80-'90s quarterback Bernie: KOSAR. No idea. Is Bernie KOSAR very famous? Wikipedia says he is a part-owner of Florida Panthers.

57D: "The Grapes of Wrath" figure: OKIE. The family name of the novel is JOAD.

58D: Web cross-reference: LINK. Click here if you want to learn how to make a LINK at the Comments section.

62D: East Lansing sch: MSU (Michigan State University). The Spartans.

63D: Musket suffix: EER. "Auction/profit" suffix too.

Full answer grid.

C.C.

Monday March 30, 2009 Donna S. Levin

Theme: Ratings

17A: Franklin's almanac-writing alter ego: POOR RICHARD

27A: Young, promising fellow: FAIR-HAIRED BOY

48A: Beneficent biblical traveler: GOOD SAMARITAN

64A: F. Scott Fitzgerald title character, with "the": GREAT GATSBY

This is about customer satisfaction ratings, correct? Since credit card ratings are POOR, FAIR, GOOD and EXCELLENT.

I like "The GREAT GATSBY", a book that I actually can understand. Also like Robert Redford's role in the movie. Fitzgerald was born here in St. Paul, MN. The Fitzgerald Center, where Garrison Keillor's "A Prairie Home Companion" is recorded, is named after him.

Nice theme answer sequence, from POOR to GREAT, very orderly. No clever "Little butter?" today though. Everything is so straightforward and simple. Kind of boring though. I aced.

Oh, I just learned that Chicago Tribune does not carry LA Times puzzle on their Sunday paper. Very strange. Is that the same with your local paper also? Can you come to the Comments section and tell me what puzzles are on your Sunday paper? Thanks.

Across:

11A: Chugalug's opposite: SIP. Knew "chug", did not know "chugalug". I pictured "chugalug" as something similar to quahog, the clam I did not know until you guys mentioned it a few months ago. Clams are strange, no head, no eyes.

16A: Cyberaddress, briefly: URL. Many of you find me every day by googling "Star Tribune Crossword Corner". I hope you just bookmark it. I might change the blog name someday, since our paper does not carry LA Times puzzle.

19A: "Right to bear arms" grp.: NRA. Charlton Heston served as NRA president from 1998 to 2003.

22A: Port in Yemen: ADEN. ADEN sounds like a young city to me. I was surprised to learn that "Aden may be as old as human history itself. Some also believe that Cain and Abel are buried somewhere in the city". So approximately how many years? I know nothing about Bible.

23A: Detroit labor org.: UAW. They are partly responsible for this Big Three financial mess.

25A: Furious: IN A RAGE

32A: Hosp. staffer: LPN (Licensed Practical Nurse). New abbreviation to me. Got it easily from down fills.

34A: Conspiring band: CABAL. Rooted in CABALA, which was clued as "Secret doctrine" in our puzzle last Thursday.

39A: Woman's golf garment: SKORT. SK(IRT) + (SH)ORT. Made famous by Natalie Gulbis. Vera Wang's idea I think. LPGA, so worried about its low spectator turnout, invited Wang to give players a talk on how to dress (sexily) in golf course. She suggested them to get rid of the belt. Bam! Every player started to wear SKORT, including Annika.

52A: Cocktail maker: BAR KEEP. I only know bartender.

54A: Actor Afflect: BEN. Which is your favorite BEN Afflect movie? I liked his "Pearl Harbor" the most. He should run for MA Governor/Senator someday.

55A: "__ brillig, and the slithy..." Carrol: 'TWAS. Pure guess. What does "brillig" mean? Brilliant?

56A: Beautiful, in Bologna: BELLA. All alliteration. Italian guys seem to like calling girls BELLA, even if they are not beautiful.

67A: Paris Hilton's sister: NICKY. NICKY Hilton is quite talented actually. She designed some cute handbags.

68A: Nigeria neighbor: BENIN. Its capital city is Porto-Novo. Portuguese for "New Port". Originally developed as a port for the slave trade, according to Wikipedia.

69A: Hospital VIPs: MDS

Down:

3D: Nebraska tribe: OTOE. Always thought they are a "Oklahoma tribe".

6D: "__ Ado About Nothing": MUCH. Ah, the epitome of double entendre. "Nothing" is not really nothing. It's the "O-thing".

7D: Labor Dept. arm: OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration). Created under the Nixon Administration. Nixon was quite respected in China due to his groundbreaking visit in 1972.

8D: Sweetheart: DEARIE. My husband never calls me "Sweetheart" or DEARIE. Always "Lao Po", Chinese for "wife".

10D: Leary's turn-on: LSD. No "tripping" wordplay.

11D: Church garb: SUNDAY BEST. New "garb" to me. I only go to church when there is a wedding or funeral.

12D: Flawed, as sale mdse: IRREG. Really? I thought it's IRR. I need to pay attention to those abbreviations.

22D: Clamorous: AROAR. Used to hate A* words. Now I like them.

24D: Sushi tuna: AHI. Yellowfin tuna. AHI means "fire" in Hawaiian. This sesame crusted AHI tuna looks so tasty. I like AHI sushi & AHI sashimi.

26D: "Dancing with the Stars" network: ABC. Easy guess. I've never watched that program.

29D: Blends together into a whole: INTEGRATES

31D: "Valerie Harper" sitcom: RHODA. Learned from doing Xword. "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" seemed to be a big deal.

38D: Fish catchers: HOOKS. Hmm, no golf? I think Rich Norris HOOKS.

40D: Dream state acronym: REM

46D: "Desert Storm" chow, initially: MRE. Why "Desert Storm"? Isn't it still called MRE now?

49D: Rubbish: DEBRIS. The plural form of DEBRIS is still DEBRIS, isn't it?

58D: Astronomical distance meas.: LTYR (Light-Year). Reminds me of Woody and Buzz Lightyear.

60D: Annapolis inst.: USNA. Might be a different clue had Sen. McCain won the presidency.

62D: Daly of "Cagney & Lacey": TYNE. Know her name. Not familiar with "Cagney & Lacey".

64D: Wildebeest: GNU. I've never understood why they change "Wild Beast" into "Wildebeest". Maybe GNUS know. Strange, isn't it? The babies and mother have so different body colors.

Full Answer Grid.

C.C.

Sunday March 29, 2009 Kathleen Fay O'Brien

Theme: Los Angeles Clippers

23A: Toy guns?: FALSE A(LA)RMS

24A: Education for lab rats? (LA)MAZE CLASSES

39A: Thug down in the dumps?: BLUE (LA)GOON

43A: Where the South American school grp. meets?: RIO DE LA P(LA)TA

65A: Dana Carvey doing The Police's lead singer?: (LA)STING IMPRESSION

92A: Cop who brings back the genie when he goes AWOL?: ALADDIN'S (LA)MP

94A: Dubbed-in sounds of disgust?: (LA)UGH TRACK

113A: Appropriate style of dress for exams: (LA)TEST FASHION

115A: ATM accesses that nobody can guess?: GREAT P(LA)INS

Probably too obvious if the theme title were "LA Clippers".

This is a Sylvia Plath "Ariel" puzzle to me. I only started to understand "Roses are red..." not long ago. Struggled again.

Lots of wonderful clues in this puzzle. My favorites:

38A: Head lines?: EEG. Very clever. Always "Brain scan letters" in our old puzzle.

51D: Foreign correspondents?: PEN PALS

87D: Writing feature?: SILENT W. Letter W is not pronounced in "Writing".

123A: Henna and her sisters?: DYES. Play on movie title "Hannah and Her Sisters".

Things I need your help:

62D: Not counting fas and and las, word after "holly": 'TIS. Big stumper. Why?

76D: Walks like House: LIMPS. How come? What/Who is "House"?

83D: Stretch in the '90s, e.g.: HEAT WAVE. Again, why?

To those LA Times solvers who are offered Sylvia Bursztyn's "Light Fair". Please go to LA Times website for the Rich Norris puzzle we are discussing here today.

Across:

5A: Off-the-market apple spray: ALAR. Sometimes it's clued as "Wing-shaped". Did Ralph Nader play a big role in its banning?

9A: African expanse: SAHARA. I thought of DESERT first.

15A: Hanks Oscar-winning role: GUMP. "Forrest GUMP". "Life is a like a box of chocolate..." It's all about choices actually.

19A: Like some training program: IN SERVICE. Military?

21A: Cloisonné material: ENAMEL. Cloisonné technique was first developed in China.

22A: Ending for stink: AROO. Or "Ending for buck". EROO is the ending of smack & switch.

26A: Political essay: TRACT. It's always clued as "Political pamphlet" in our old puzzle.

29A: Capital on the Hudson: ALBANY

34A: Intersection caution: BLINKER

46A: Cold symptom: SNEEZE

48A: Fight ender, briefly: TKO. Boxing term.

49A: Coal industry labor org.: UMW (United Mine Workers). First encounter with this org.

50A: Bridge bid: NO TRUMP. And NO BET (42D: "Check"). Both are new terms to me. Not a bridge/poker player.

52A: Insect-world animated film: ANTZ. This film has become a gimme.

53A: Dungeness delicacy: CRAB. Have never heard of Dungenss CRAB. Wikipedia says it's named after Dungenss, Washington. And there is an annual Dungeness Crab and Seafood Festival held there every October.

54A: Furniture wood: TEAK. "Shipbuilding wood" too. Oily, oily!

56A: Cubs' A.L. rivals: SOX. Both based in Chicago.

57A: 'Enry's Broadway protégée: ELIZA. "My Fair Lady". ELIZA Doolittle. Took me a while to realize 'Enry is Henry.

59A: Mr. Magoo, notably: MYOPE. Learned who Mr. Magoo is from doing Xword.

60A: Ralph Kramden's friend: ED NORTON. Stumper. This is the ED NORTON I am familiar with. He is so good in "American History X".

63A: Where to see 60A across: ON TV

64A: Loafs on the job: DOGS IT. New phrase to me.

72A: Musical syllables: TRAS

73A: The Azores are part of it: PORTUGAL. Barry Silk clued AZORES as "Portuguese islands" in his last puzzle.

80A: Hodges of baseball: GIL. Hmmm, no Dodgers reference? GIL Hodges spent most of his career with Brooklyn and LA Dodgers. Some of the old Brooklyn Dodgers collectibles are ridiculously high priced.

81A: Niño's emphatic yes: SI SI. In Chinese, it's "Shi, Shi'.

82A: Jordon's dowager queen: NOOR. She is rumored to have been dating Carlos Slim. Not sure if he is still the richest man in this world. Listened to some of her interviews when she was promoting her book "Leap of Faith". Very compelling personality.

84A: Biological subdivision: SPECIES

88A: '60 theater, briefly: NAM. I don't understand why they picked "What a Wonderful World" for "Good morning, Vietnam". They don't really match well.

89A: Rubble creator: TNT

98A: Arch city: ST LOUIS. The Gateway Arch was designed by Eero Sarrinen, who appears in crossword often.

99A: Including: WITH

100A: Some dirty politics: SMEARS

103A: November honoree: VET. Nov 11, to be exact.

104A: Observable: IN VIEW

107A: Powerful shooter marbles: STEELIES. See this picture. They don't look like to be made of steel.

109A: Massage targets: NECKS. The answer is always ACHE in our old puzzle.

117A: Camaro __ -Z: IROC. Completely unknown to me. Here is a photo. Wikipedia says it's named after the popular competition International Race of Champions. I thought it's play on "I Rock".

118A: Boys' Choir home: VIENNA. No idea. Have never heard of VIENNA Boys' Choir before.

119A: Tidal maximum: HIGH WATER. Also a new term to me. Just learned what WATER LINE is yesterday.

121A: Makes rhapsodic: ELATES

122A: Bugs, for one: TOON

Down:

1D: Baking instruction: SIFT. Mine was STEP.

2D: Tree trunk bulge: KNAR. Made-up crossword word.

3D: Cuba, to Cubans: ISLA. I like this clue.

4D: Come down: DESCEND. Thought of ALIGHT first.

6D: N.Y.C. commuter line: LIRR

8D: What's left, in Le Mans: RESTE. French for "rest". I was thinking of gauche, the real "left".

9D: Israeli, e.g.: SEMITE. OK, this is a word I've never understood. Arabs are Semitic, right? Why Anti-semitism is about prejudice against Jewish people then?

10D: Substances similar in structure, in chemistry: ANALOGS. No idea. I thought it should be ISO something.

11D: Fogs: HAZES

14D: Teeming with activity: ALL ABUZZ. Have to get used to this kind of 2-word fill.

15D: Blowhard: GASBAG

16D: __ Minor: URSA. My first reaction: ASIA

17D: Big name in faucets: MOEN. MOEN has several joint ventures in China.

18D: Bride's throwaway: POSY. All I could think of are flowers & bouquett.

25D: "Tiny Alice" dramatist: ALBEE. I've never heard of "Tiny Alice". But five letter dramatist has to be ALBEE.

33D: Prince Valiant's bride: ALETA. Another unknown. Only Just learned ARN ("Prince Valiant's son") a few months ago.

34D: Big bully: BRUTE. Give a whole new meaning to "Et tu, BRUTE?"

35D: Treated the soil, in a way: LIMED. What's the purpose of liming the soil?

36D: Davenport native: IOWAN. "Is this heaven?" "No, it's IOWA". My favorite baseball movie: "Field of Dreams".

37D: Fingers, so to speak: RATS ON. New definition of "Fingers" to me.

39D: Auto pioneer Karl: BENZ. I need the name Mercedes to get BENZ.

40D: Others: Span.: OTROS. OTRAS is also "Others: Span."

41D: Giraffe cousin: OKAPI. Hey, tell me, is giraffe your cousin?

44D: Plug projection: PRONG. Sounds silly, but I really blanked on Plug PRONG.

47D: Gullible: NAIVE. Won't be long, Rich Norris. Sooner or later, I am going to figure out all your "Little butter?".

53D: Swan constellation: CYGNUS. Forgot this word. Latin for "swan". See this diagram. PromiseMe mentioned Rush's song "CYGNUS X-1" last time when we encountered DENEB (clued as "Star in CYGNUS". In his words, "The song is about a journey through space to the black hole at the heart of the constellation Cygnus." Maybe he will provide a clip later.

55D: Authentic: KOSHER. Opposite tref. Kind of like Arab Halal/haraam, right?

58D: P.O. sackful: LTRS. In this electronic age, still "sackful" of letters? I doubt.

59D: No longer at issue: MOOT. Or still debatable. Janus letter, 2 meanings.

61D: Numbered rds.: RTES

63D: Actor Katz: OMRI. I forgot this "Dallas" actor. He appeared in our old puzzle before.

64D: N, E, S or W: DIR

66D: Roman prefix: ITALO. Williams liked to clue ITALO as "Author Calvino". In fact, I don't believe he ever tried "Roman prefix".

67D: Star in Virgo: SPICA. New to me. Here is the diagram.

68D: Pyramids, e.g.: SOLIDS

69D: African language group: BANTU. Both Zulu & Swahili belong to BANTU.

71D: Crown location: TOOTH. I was picturing a crown over someone's head.

74D: Infomercial knife: GINSU. They are of very poor quality, correct?

75D: "Me, too!": AS AM I

78D: Show the rope: TEACH

79D: Pool accessory: RACK. Billiard. Not swimming pool.

80D: It holds locks in place: GEL. Well, I was thinking of real locks. Key does not fit.

85D: Like the Holy See: PAPAL

86D: 1999 Ron Howard film: EDTV. See this poster. I saw identical clue somewhere before. But I could not recall the film name.

90D: Lawyer's writing: BRIEF

91D: "Give me an example!": NAME ONE. Like this clue also.

93D: Jotting place: NOTE PAD

95D: Muscle spasm: TWITCH. Or TIC for a 3-letter fill.

97D: Perceived to be: SEEN AS

100D: Tour of duty: STINT

101D: Correct: RIGHT. Verb or adjective?

102D: Comic opening: SERIO. Have never heard of seriocomic before. Derived from SERI(ous) + O + Comic.

104D: Tendon suffix: ITIS. Tendonitis. Did not come to me immediately. I am used to the " Medical suffix" clue.

105D: Husband of Octavia: NERO. I know the NERO who fiddled while Roman burned. Don't know who Octavia is. Dictionary says Marc Anthony's wife is also called Octavia, a name rooted in Octavius, meaning "the eighth".

106D: Brandy letters: VSOP (Very Superior Old Pale). Unknown to me. Here is a bottle.

107D: 2000 World Series venue: SHEA. Yankees beat the Mets. I was unaware of this. My US history started in May 16, 2001, almost 8 years.

108D: Lily with an edible root: SEGO. Really? I only know tiger lily buds are edible.

111D: Cello stabilizer: KNEE. I still marvel at the CELLIST clue ("Ma, for one") the other day. Just brilliant. Crossword constructors/editors are so creative.

112D: Georgia et al., once: Abbr.: SSRS. I love this "Georgia" ambiguity. In late 1980s and early 1990s, I was very into Eduard Shevardnadze, who later became the President of Georgia. Later one, I moved to Netanyahu. I don't know what they have in common. They just attracted me.

116D: "Kung Fu" actor: AHN. No idea. Interesting trivia: His parent were the first Korean married couple admitted into the United States, according to Wikipedia. He looks very Korean. His surname AHN would be spelled An or Ang in Chinese, as in director Ang Lee. An simply means "Peace".

Full Answer Grid.

C.C.

Saturday March 28, 2009 Robert H. Wolfe

Theme: None (No?)

Total words: 74

Total blocks: 36

I am confused. I thought LA Times Saturday is always a themeless. But maximum word count for a themeless is 72. Today we have 74 words. Besides, all the three long entries have "No" in theme, maybe it's a themed puzzle, after all?

17A: "No need to get so excited": KEEP YOUR SHIRT ON

37A: "No way": DON'T MAKE ME LAUGH

59A: "No idea": I HAVEN'T GOT A CLUE

(Note: My bad, I made a mistake. There are only 72 words.)

Another struggle, but not as hard as I dreaded last night. I got more than half of the grid filled. Erased a few and then googled a few. Good enough for me. I'll call it a success and move on.

I am just so enamored with Rich Norris' "It .... clues", like yesterday's "It can pick up a plane" for RADAR and the other day's "It's twirled in a rodeo" for RIATA. I like the visual images the clues evoke.

Today it's a plain fact-based "It replaced the Slovak koruna on 1/1/2009" for EURO (8D). Nice trivia, isn't it? PromiseMe' research yesterday shows that Finland is the only Nordic country that has switched to EURO.

By the way, Rich Norris confirmed to me yesterday that there is no rebus puzzle in LA Times.

Across:

1A: According to design: AS PLANNED. Got it immediately.

10A: Attended: WAS AT. Struggled with this simple fill.

15A: Prolong: STRING OUT. Unknown to me. Only knew the phrase "string along". I wanted STRETCH something.

16A: Prefix with glyph: HIERO. Hieroglyph. I knew the word, but could not spell it properly. HIERO is a prefix meaning "Sacred' or "priestly". Here are some Egyptian hieroglyphs. Sun is easy to recognize, so are the last two birds. I won't be able to tell house, mountain, god or reed though.

19A: Triage sites, briefly: ERS

20A: River of Tuscany: ARNO. "River of Florence/Pisa/Italy", whatever, the answer is always ARNO.

21A: Short-tailed weasel: ERMINE. Turn around, buddy, I want to see if your tail is short.

22A: Geometric fig.: RECT. Rectangle. RECT/RECTI is a prefix for "right"/"straight". Remember last time RECTI was clued as "Belly muscles" in our old puzzle? The singular is rectus, meaning "straight muscle of ab, thigh, etc". Rectus is Latin for "straight". Dictionary says RECTO, the right-hand page is rooted in rectus too. So is rectum (plural is recta).

24A: Kiara's mother in "The Lion King": NALA. I wrote down ELSA, the "Born Free" lioness first.

25A: Letters on seconds: IRR. Why? What are "seconds"?

27A: "__ out?": IN OR. And NEED I (28D: "__ say more?"). Have to get used to the new cluing style.

29A: "Medium" network: NBC. Unknown to me. I hope they have high ratings. GE owns NBC. And I want my GE stocks to go back to where I first bought them. Stupid GE Capital. Bleeder.

32A: Breakthroughs in therapy, say: EYE OPENERS. I got the answer immediately. Did not quite understand the rationale though.

35A: Language teaching site: LAB. Oh. I've never been to a language LAB. Science LAB yes.

40A: "The Lord of the Rings" monster: ORC. Williams always clued it as "Tolkien baddie".

41A: Visibly embarrassed: RED AS A BEET. I misremebered the phrase as RED AS BEETS.

42A: Thin swimmer: EEL. It does not look thin to me. I really love unagi sushi rolls.

44A: Speaker in Cooperstown: TRIS. HOFer. I don't have any of his baseball cards. But I have this stamp. Just learned this morning that his nickname is Spoke. Very interesting. Reminds me of that repetitive actor name Rip Torn.

45A: Bit of treasure: GEM. "Bit" here means small?

46A: Fireworks reaction: OOHS. Lots of fireworks/accidents during Chinese Spring Festival eve.

48A: What a nyctophobe fears: DARK. Gimme. Learned I had mild nyctophobia when I linked this list long time ago. Nact/nacti/nacto is prefix for "night". I feel safe when the closet light is on in the evening.

51A: Gelatin candy: JUJUBE. Have never had the JUJUBE candy. To me, JUJUBE is just Chinese date. Not as sweet as the Middle East palm dates though.

54A: Composer Khachaturian: ARAM. No idea. Soviet-Armenian composer. Wikipedia says his works were very influenced by Armenia folk music. This coin looks like in mint condition. ARAM is quite close to ABRAM, often clued as "President Garfield's middle name".

62A: Crescent shapes: LUNES. Mine was MOONS.

63A: Floating point: WATER LINE. Unknown to me. What is "Floating point"?

65A: Hematite producers: IRON MINES. I did not know the meaning of "hematite", the principal ore of iron. Hemat/hemato is a prefix for "blood". I don't know how is it related to ore.

Down:

3D: Foreknowledge: PRESCIENCE. Reminds me of Frigg, wife of Odin. She is prophetic but she never tells others what she knows. Cassandra does tell others what she knows, but no one believes her.

5D: Novelist Seton: ANYA. Pure guess. Wikipedia says she wrote a book called "Foxfire" which was later made into a film. I wonder where Firefox the browser got its name then.

6D: "The Killing Fields" Oscar winner Haing S. __: NGOR. Foreign to me. He won Oscar Best Supporting Actor for his role in "The Killing Fields". He was born in Cambodia and his father was of Chinese descent. See how ridiculous Chinese languages are. His surname (吴) would be spelled NG in Cantonese and Wu in Mandarin. The most absurd to me is Chiang Kai-Shek. He is always Jiang Jie-Shi to us who grew up in Mainland China. Maddeningly different spellings. Mao Tse-Tung & Mao Ze-Dong is not that confusing though.

7D: Lions or tigers or bears: NOUN. Great clue.

9D: Rehab symptoms: DTS (Delirium Tremens)

10D: Eddy: WHIRL

11D: Pilot: AIRMAN. I wanted AVIATOR, but there is not enough space.

12D: "Contact" acronym: SETI (Search for ExtraTerrestrial Intelligence). Big stumper. I've never heard of the movie "Contact".

18D: Limo leaders, at times: HEARSES

24D: Peggy Lee and Marilyn Monroe, at birth: NORMAS. Only knew Marilyn's original name is NORMA Jean (For you, Democrat). Peggy Lee was born NORMA Deloris Egstrom.

26D: Dashboard letters: RPM

27D: Comic book artists: INKER. Funny Crossword INKER.

30D: Atlantic game fish: BLUE MARLIN. I've never seen a BLUE MARLIN. Why BLUE? The hue on his belly?

31D: Zoo enclosure: CAGE. Of course. But my first reaction is LOGY, as in zoology.

32D: Shogun's capital: EDO. Japanese kanjin for Shogun (将軍) is exactly the same as Chinese character for "general". Many times I understand Japanese words due to this similarity. But I don't know how to pronounce.

34D: Like much pottery: EARTHEN. These Terra Cotta Warriors are EARTHEN too.

36D: Food preservative letters: BHT (Butylated HydroxyToluene). No idea. Dictionary says it's used to "retard rancidity in foods, pharmaceuticals, and other products containing fat or oil". I checked my cooking oil, luckily there is no BHT. It sounds as toxic as Obama/Geithner's "Toxic Assets" or whatever the new name is. AIG/AIU, you can put lipstick on a pig, it's still a pig.

43D: Slatted window opening: LOUVER. British spell this word as LOUVRE. Like Mona Lisa's Louvre.

49D: Meet with the old gang: REUNE. Is this a real word? I've never seen it before.

51D: Leave abruptly, as a lover: JILT. Reminds me of Julia Roberts' "Runaway Bride".

53D: Doe to be identified: JANE

55D: __- Rooter: ROTO. Often clued as "Old newspaper section" in our TMS puzzle. I never really understand what section ROTO is.

56D: Fordham's hoops conf.: A-TEN. Stumper. Have heard of Atlantic 10 conference. Don't know its abbreviation. Not familar with Fordham either. Here is a list of notable alumni. See Vince Lombardi, Alan Alda, and Denzel Washington?

57D: School closing?: MARM. Learned schoolmarm from doing crossword.

60D: Prefix with light: TWI. Oh, twilight. Is there a prefix actually meaning "light"?

61D: One-third of CDLIII: CLI. 1/3 of 453=151.

Full Answer Grid.

C.C.

Friday March 27, 2009 Spencer Corden

Theme: PRE - eminent

20A: Undercover cop?: LEGAL PRETENDER (legal tender)

25A: Introduction to "SeinLanguage"?: FUNNY PREFACE (funny face)

47A: Words to rouse an oversleeping ecclesiastic?: GET UP PRELATE (get up late)

54A: Cannery worker's credo?: BORN TO PRESERVE (born to serve)

I was unaware of Jerry Seinfeld's "SeinLanguage". Kazie mentioned two days ago that SEIN is German for "To be", so I was thinking maybe "SeinLanguage" is a German dialact or something.

This puzzle is quite similar to yesterday's, only a few real unknown words. But I struggled once again. Might take me a couple of months to get into Rich Norris' wavelength. I am optimistic though. After all, he can only fool me once with "Little butter?". Shame on - shame on you. Fool me - I won't be fooled again.

I don't understand the apostrophe for clue CHI (44A: T'ai __). No need/reason for that. There is a apostrophe in my hometown name Xi'an because without that mark Xian will become a totally different word. Xi'an has two syllables, Xian has one.

I am so proud that I got AIDA (53A: Musical with the song "The Gods Love Nubia"). Lots of discussions on Nubia on blog Comments section last time when we have the "Nile region" clue.

MULCT stumped quite a few solvers yesterday. But it also appeared in TMS puzzle not long ago and there were some discussions between Mark in Buenos Aires & Kazie regarding the Spanish and Latin root words. Multa is Spanish for "fine".

Here is Kazie's original post: "A couple of additional ideas on MULCT. First, I looked it up in my OED, and the original root is Latin (mulcta), often with the "c" omitted. So it makes sense that the Spanish word Mark suggested earlier would be related. Secondly, I wonder if the slang expression "to milk something" might be related too, since in Latin one form of the verb to milk is "mulctum". Latin for "woman" is "muler"--maybe that's why they've been trying to milk us for all we're worth throughout history!"

Across:

1A: Place for storage: SHED. I was thinking of SILO.

9A: PBS's "The __ Gourmet TV Show": HIPPY. Totally unaware of this show. Used to watch Rachel Ray of Food Network. Unfortunately I can't stand her EVOO.

14A: Pamplona runner: TORO. Spanish for bull. TORO the lawnmower manufacturer is based here in Minnesota.

17A: Quaff: SWIG. Noun or verb here?

19A: Inspector on the telly: MORSE. Unknown to me. Cool name though. Wikipedia says his first name is Endeavor.

23A: Drama award: OBIE. Off-Broadway award. "Drama" made me think of TNT's "We Know Drama". So I thought of EMMY first. Was used to "Theater Award" for OBIE/TONY.

24A: Storytelling slave: REMUS. Uncle REMUS. Was always stumped by BR'ER clue before.

31A: Who, in Quebec: QUI. Add one letter, we have quid, quip, quit & quiz.

37A: Vue and Aura, in the auto world: SATURNS. No idea. Know nothing about car models/prices.

41A: Gp. with Bucks and Bobcats: NBA. Got it from down fills. Both Bucks and Bobcats are such general names, they can be the mascots for any team/sport.

45A: Weakened: WANED. I don't like this clue. 4 letter repetion. "Lost energy" is better.

60A: Mope: SULK. I like K, F ending words. Tell me what kind of bird is this.

61A: "60 quartet member: MAMA. MAMA Cass I suppose.

63A: It can pick up a plane: RADAR. Is there a special term for this kind of "It ..." clue? Yesterday RIATA was clued as "It's twirled in a rodeo".

64A: Catalina, e.g.: ISLE. The same as Catalina Island?

65A: Placekicker Jason: ELAM. Sigh. I forgot this guy's name again. Wikipedia says he won two Super Bowl rings with the Broncos. And he wrote a book called "Monday Night Jihad".

67A: Roe source: SHAD. Plural can be SHAD or SHADS.

66A: __ vu: DEJA. Remember our "Jamais vu" & "Presque vu" discussions a while ago? If you haven't, you should really click on Comments at the end of my blog entry. (beside the envelope mark). Lots of informative and entertaining discussions there.

Down:

1D: Elm et al: Abbr.: STS. I was thinking of Elm tree.

2D: React to a kneeslapper: HOWL. New "laugh" defintion to me. Only know wolves' HOWL.

3D: Part of a wet quintet: ERIE. Great clue. HOMES.

4D: Dad-blasted: DOGGONE. "Dad-blasted" is a new slang to me. I was picturing a woman who blasted her ex-husband because he failed to pay child support.

5D: A right may cause one: FAT LIP. I thought "right" might be a typo. "A fight may cause one" sounds plausible. Then I checked Dictionary and found out it's a boxing term, meaning "a blow delivered by the right hand".

6D: One skipping church?: ELOPER. Oh well, I skipped church, and I was not an ELOPER. Needs a "maybe". I was acturally thinking of ATHEIST.

8D: "Smooth Operator" singer: SADE. Ah, SADE, "The Sweetest Taboo". SADE's sister is a singer too.

9D: Domestic class, briefly: HOME EC. Home Economics?

10D: Triathletes: IRONMEN. I don't understand this one. They are not synonymous to me.

11D: Concealed: PERDU. The only time I've seen PERDU is Proust's "A La Recherche Du Temps PERDU" ("Remembrance of Things Past").

12D: Models: POSES. Verb.

13D: Belgian river: YSER. This has become a gimme.

21D: Deep chasm: ABYSS

22D: Bride follower: TRAIN. Of course. But AISLE came to me first. I don't know what I was thinking.

25D: One who used to spend markkaa: FINN. Easy guess. Here is a banknote. Finnish for mark.

27D: His__: big shot: NIBS. See the word origin. Brings back yesterday's TAI-Pan, Cantonese slang for "big shot".

29D: Pelt: FUR. Stumper for me. I was in the verb direction, thinking of HIT.

34D: "Yeah, right!": I BET. And ACT SO ("38D: "Don't ___ surprised"). Lots of colloquial expressions in Rich Norris' puzzle.

35D: Diminish: FADE

39D: Holy day.: abbr.: THU. Is it because Jesus was crucified on Thursday?

40D: Any ABBA singer: SWEDE. Oh by the way, the vegetable SWEDE (rutabaga) is often pickled in China.

46D: Protected, as a home: ALARMED. Surprising clue for me.

48D: Walks on stage: ENTERS. "Walks onto a stage", right?

49D: Spanish stewlike dish: PAELLA. Literally "frying pan" in Catalan, an official language in Spain, isn't it? Sounds like a crossing of Spanish and French.

50D: Put on the line: RISKED. I was thinking of FISHED.

55D: Greek letters: PSIS. PSI looks like this. Pronounced like "sigh".

56D: Compensate for oversleeping: RUSH. I've forgotten what "oversleeping" feels like. Have to get up early for the blog.

57D: Low-lying area: VALE. So many 4-letter "Low-lying areas": VALE, dale, glen, dell.

58D: Key with four sharps: Abbr.: E MAJ. Guessed. You know, I can never understand why musical education was considered bourgeois and forbidden during Chinese Cultural Revolution.

Complete Answer Grid.

C.C.

Thursday March 26, 2009 Bonnie L. Gentry

Theme: What Chutzpah!

21A: Operational headquarters: NERVE CENTER

26A:Classy office door adornment: BRASS NAME PLATE

46A: 2006 Political best-seller, with "the": AUDACITY OF HOPE

52A: Beside one another: CHEEK BY JOWL

Boomer bought me "The AUDACITY OF HOPE" when it first came out. But I've never got the opportunity to get it autographed. Now it's collecting dust on my shelf, together with my Obama baseball card and the inauguration pin.

CHEEK BY JOWL is a new idiom to me. But thank God I know JOAN (55D: Rocker Jett). Every time I link Michael Bolton's "Can I Touch You There" on the blog, someone will return with a link of JOAN Jett "Do You Want to Touch Me".

What I've noticed about Rich Norris' puzzle, besides those tricky "Little butter?" (4D: KID) wordplay, is the vivid evocative descriptions. For example:

27D: It's twirled in a rodeo: RIATA.

63D: It sometimes needs a boost: EGO

I like them a lot. Seldom saw them in our old puzzles.

There were only a couple of real unknowns to me in this grid. But I struggled. My conclusion? Rich Norris and I can't talk. He is not "straightforward" and "honest" with me.

Across:

1A: Alp top: PEAK. Thought of SNOW.

5A: Sounding shocked: AGASP. And PALE (10A: Looking shocked). I am in "shock and awe" of these 2 clues. Just great!.

14A: A8 manufacturer: AUDI. Thought A8 might be another kind of V8 juice.

15A: Decisive refusal: NEVER. I was thinking of NO WAY first.

16A: Double-click: OPEN. Of course. But I blanked.

18A: Lacking skepticism: NAIVE. You've got to have a very skeptical attitude when you face this new crossword editor.

19A: __ dixit: IPSE. Learned from doing Xword. Literally "he himself said it". Maybe you can make a sentence for me. I've never used this phrase in daily conversation.

20A: Ocean delicacy: ROE. I pictured EEL. Now I crave some perfectly grilled sweet unagi. The aroma is simply intoxicating. I can almost smell it.

23A: She played Ulla in "The Producers": UMA. Easy guess. Have never seen "The Producers". I love this Ulla/UMA connection.

25A: Estrangement: RIFT

37A: Clavell's "__-Pan": TAI. See the bookcover. Literally, TAI-Pan means "Big Class" in Cantonese. TAI, "big". Pan, "class". Or "big shot" & "big potato" in our slang.

38A: Ma, for one: CELLIST. D'oh, Yo-Yo Ma. I was thinking of Ma Bell.

41A: Rx writers: MDS. Mine was DRS.

42A: 1943 penny metal: STEEL. Unknown to me. I did not know that 1943 penny is rare.

44A: "Proud Mary" band, for short: CCR (Credence Clearwater Revival). Here is the clip. I was stumped again.

51A: Corp. that once owned Hertz and Hilton: UAL (United Air Lines). Oh really? I was totally unaware of this history. Very short-lived though.

63A: Irish Free State successor: EIRE. Heard of this "Irish Free State" (1922-1937) from watching Liam Neeson's "Michael Collins".

68A: "Roots" Emmy winner: ASNER. Another guess. Don't remember him in "Roots".

69A: Capital south of Lillehammer: OSLO. Another guess. I did not know where Lillehammer is. According to Wikipedia, it means "the Small Hamar". Hamar is town name. Literally "steep rock". I was disappointed that it had nothing to do with hammer.

Down:

1D: "I Kid You Not" author: PAAR. Unknown to me. Is it an interesting read? Henry VIII's wife is PARR, two R's.

2D: 100 cents: EURO. I felt so dense this morning. Just could not think of this damned EURO.

3D: Part of "The Sound of Music" farewell song: ADIEU, ADIEU. I can't remember this song. Edelweiss" does not fit, nor does "Do-Re-Me", the only two songs I could think of.

4D: Little butter? KID. Sometimes RAM is clued as "Butter?". Playing on the verb butt. RAM butts. Get it? Butt-er.

6D: Transmission component: GEAR

7D: Tel __ - Yafo: AVIV. Literally "Sping". I only know Tel AVIV, "Hill of Spring". Had no idea there is a trailing Yafo.

9D: Rain, briefly: PRECIP. Precipitation.

10D: Indicate: POINT AT

11D: PDA entry: APPT (Appointment).

13D: Fed. power dept.: ENER (Energy). Not a familiar abbreviation to me. Our current Secretary of Energy is Steven Chu. Chinese American. Nobel Physics winner. Newly minted Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke is also a Chinese American. Both their surnames are Cantonese spelling. Chu is Zhu in Mandrin Chinese. LOCKE is simply Luo. (Note: How do you think of my clues: "Soft tail?" as in softener or "Damp end?" as in dampener?)

21D: "Illmatic" rapper: NAS. Learned his name from doing crossword. What does "Illmatic" mean?

22D: Key of Liszt's Piano Concerto No. 1: E FLAT. Pure guess.

24D: Submissions to ed.: MSS (Manuscripts)

26D: Upside down sleepers: BATS. Only learned this facts a few weeks ago.

28D: PBS's science guy: NYE. The "Science Guy".

29D: IM offerer: AOL. No waffling between AOL and MSN today.

30D: Punish with a fine: MULCT. This is a word that I keep remembering and keep forgetting.

31D: Gin cocktail: TOM COLLINS. New to me. It's often served in a glass called Collins glass, which is also new to me.

32D: Become, finally: END UP

36D: Salinger dedicatee: ESME. Salinger's "For ESME – with Love and Squalor".

38D: Louisiana Territory explorer: CLARK. I don't know the extent of Lewis and CLARK exploration.

39D: Needing salt, perhaps: ICY. It snowed here again yesterday. But no more salt is needed.

43D: Enters stealthily: EDGES IN

45D: '50s oldies syllables: SHA. No idea. I know nothing about '50s oldies. SHA-la-la?

47D: Secret doctrine: CABALA. Did not come to me immediately, though I often read Madonna/Demi Moore CABALA/Kabala stuff on gossip magazines.

48D: Tennyson works: IDYLLS. Occasionally you will find two or four line pastoral poems in some Chinese landscape paintings.

49D: Eye or ear ending: FUL. "Mouth ending" too.

54D: Streets liners: ELMS. No ELMS along our streets.

57D: Deterioration: WEAR. Mine was TEAR.

59D: Like the Sabin vaccine: ORAL. Salk's vaccine required injection.

60D: Jared of "American Psycho": LETO. Know his name. Have never seen "American Psycho". In Greek mythology, LETO is Zeus' mistress. Apollo's mom. She was born in KOS/COS, from which we got COS lettuce (Romaine), clued as "Lettuce variety" in our old puzzle before.

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C.C.