Monday April 13, 2009 Fred Jackson III

Theme: Gas Gauge

20A: Conceited: FULL OF ONESELF

38A: Plan not completely thought after: HALF-BAKED IDEA

57A: Much campaign rhetoric: EMPTY PROMISES

Ah, a puzzle from our own Fred Jackson III. What a pleasant Monday morning surprise! Congratulations, Fred.

This puzzle seems to be tailor-made for solvers at my level. No obscure dead actor/actress or old TV series name. Three lively theme answers. I really like 15*15 grids with 3 or 4 theme entries. My cup of tea. 5 makes the grid look busy. And weird abbreviations or obscure ESSY Persson style name tend to creep up when there are 6 or 7. Maybe advanced solvers adore them, I don't.

A bit of a French sub-theme:

19A: Parisian river: SEINE

30A: French love: AMOUR

69A: Canonized Mlles: STES

53D: Gallic girlfriends: AMIE

All of them are clued straightforwardly. No trickly "Parisian flower?" for SEINE misguide.

Across:

1A: Put below, as cargo: STOW. Why "below"? I don't grok it.

5A: Potentially painful precipitation: HAIL. Some flowers are surprisingly strong. ROSES (55D: Thorny flowers) are easily damaged by hailstorms.

9A: Treasure map measures: PACES. How come? I got the answer from down fills. I've never seen a treasure map. I suppose it has its own scale term?

15A: __ Domini: ANNO. AD. Nominative singular is ANNUS, and plural is ANNI (anniversary). This is confusing. Is ANNO in ANNO Domini dative singular or ablative singular?

18A: Composer Stravinsky: IGOR. Sometimes it's clued as "Operative prince". And IAGO (60D: "Othello" fellow). I used to confuse those two, both contains GO. And two ao in Golfer Isao Aoki's name.

23A: Brit. record label: EMI (Electric & Musical Industries Ltd.). Just found out this morning that the "Big Four" record companies are EMI, Sony Music, Universal Music and Warner Music.

24A: Former Egypt-Syria alliance: Abbr.: UAR (United Arab Republic, 1958-1961). Egypt continued to be called UAR until 1971. So Nasser was the president of UAR until his death in 1970. Don't confuse UAR with UAE (United Arab Emirates). Still remember the UAE Dubai port scandal?

25A: Beers and ales: QUAFFS. I thought ale is a kind of beer.

33A: Last: Abbr.: ULT

37A: Scott who sued for his freedom: DRED. And he lost. I finally remember his name this time.

42A: Suffix with hard or soft: WARE. My first thought is BALL.

43A: Seashell seller, in a tongue twister: SHE. I am not good at tongue twister, English or Chinese. Are you?

44A: Retirement org.: SSA. And "Seniors' org" is AARP. Many AARP members are not retired.

45A: "Slippery" tree: ELM. Easy guess. Why is it called "Slippery ELM"?

46A: Archaeological fragment: SHARD. I think the broken piece of my bobblehead is called SHARD too.

48A: Like some poetry: LYRIC. Some are EPIC.

52A: Prefix with sphere: STRATO. ATMO is also "prefix with sphere".

56A: "Foucault's Pendulum" author Umberto: ECO. Here is the bookcover. Wikipedia says the book has been described as a "thinking person's Da Vinci Code". I can't remember who, but one of our fellow solvers has read his "The Name of the Rose".

61A: Count with a keyboard: BASIE. Stumper for me. I can't figure out how one can count with a keyboard. Have never heard of Count BASIE. Is this nickname Count inspired by Duke Ellington?

63A: Warts and all: AS IS

65A: Group of eight: OCTET. Sometimes the answer is OCTAD.

66A: Stroll in the shallows: WADE. I kept reading the clue as "Stroll in the shadows".

67A: Head over heels in love: GAGA. I like this clue.

68A: Out of fashion: PASSE. Does Britney look sexy to you in this low-rise jeans?

Down:

1D: Fixed charge: SET FEE

2D: Psychological injury: TRAUMA. Like what we suffered during Chinese Cultural Revolution.

3D: Like many old-fashioned lamps: OIL-LIT. Aladdin's genie lamp is OIL-LIT.

4D: Wishing place: WELL. Odin traded his right eye for wisdom from the WELL of Mimir.

5D: Israeli port city: HAIFA. Here is the map. Third largest city in Israel, after Jerusalem & Tel Aviv.

9D: Charlatan: POSEUR

10D: Journalist __ Rogers St. Johns: ADELA. Learned her name from doing crossword. I don't understand how anyone can be surnamed St. Johns. Also at a loss over Edna St. Vincent Millay's name. How can they call themselves St? By the way, Fred Astaire's sister is ADELE, very close to ADELA.

11D: Hairdo: COIFFURE. Used to have difficulty rememering this word. Then I realized coif is the root, and ure is just a noun suffix, as in pressure.

21D: Words before sight and mind: OUT OF

26D: Dog collar target: FLEA. No idea. Why? I am not a dog/cat person. I thought the dog collar is used to control and restrain dogs.

27D: Benchmark: Abbr.: STD

29D: Dot on an ocean map: ISLE. "Dot in la mer" will be ILE.

35D: Air rifle ammo: BB SHOT. Will BB gun kill a squirrel?

38D: "Stop right there!": HALT. "Stop right here!" would be WHOA, right?

41D: Faith of more than 1 billion: ISLAM. Oh, that's a lot. Here is more information. There are about 2.1 billion people of Christian faith. That's about 1/3 of the world population. ISLAM literally means "submission" (to God).

42D: Craven of Horror: WES. The director of "A Nightmare on Elm Street".

46D: Tampa neighbor, briefly: ST. PETE. Wikipedia says it's nicknamed "The Sunshine City" because it has some 360 days of sunshine every year. Is it true? I find it hard to believe.

47D: Pooh-pooh: DERIDE

49D: Shoot again: RESNAP

51D: Marquee name, often: CO-STAR. Spencer Tracy received top billings in all the movies he co-starred with Katharine Hepburn.

58D: Swerves at sea: YAWS. "Swerves in the air" too. Someone please give me a lesson today. I can never remember the differences among roll, pitch and YAW. I do know Dennis's thrust though.

59D: Juniors' H.S. exam: PSAT (Preliminary SAT). Oh, I don't know it's for juniors only. How about LSAT? Are juniors allowed to take it also?

61D: '40 jazz: BOP. Did not know BOP was developed in the '40. I thought it existed in '20 already.

62D: Here, in Spain: ACA. Mine was ICA. Don't speak Spanish. I thought if French is ICI, why not ICA for Spanish?

Answer grid.

C.C.

Sunday April 12, 2009 Jack McInturff

Theme: On the Fly

21A: Genesis no-no: FORBIDDEN FRUIT (Fruit Fly)

43A: Flower named for a legendary best: SNAP DRAGON (Dragonfly)

51A: Fruity spread: APPLE BUTTER (Butterfly)

69A: Unstable, metaphorically: BUILT ON SAND (Sandfly)

79A: Stylish but simple dress color: BASIC BLACK (Black Fly)

101A: 1964 Burt Lancaster thriller: SEVEN DAYS IN MAY (Mayfly)

30D: Take some heat: COME UNDER FIRE (Firefly)

34D: Put away platefuls: ATE LIKE A HORSE (Horsefly)

Ah, I believe I can fly. This puzzle is so doable. Must be an eased-up one.

All of them are insects, aren't they? Sandfly, black fly and mayfly are all new to me. I wonder why Noah Webster did not change fruit fly and black fly into one word during his spelling reform.

I like the golf referrences on this Masters Sunday:

20A: Golfing countryman of Seve: SERGIO. Dubbed as "The Best Golfer Never to Win a Major". This should be gimme to those who read my blog regularly. I like SERGIO Garcia a lot. He plays with passion. Close friend of Rafael Nadal (Tiger's buddy is of course Roger Federer). Seve Ballesteros is fighting brain tumor now. What a genius around the green!

43A: Putting concession: GIMME. You should never concede to those who yip.

59D: __ game: golf competition: SKINS. For some reason, Fred Couples dominates the SKINS Game. Only 4 players are invited to this match-play style competition. Each hole has a different value.

I got IGN (14D: Starter: Abbr.) because Argyle blogged it last time. Wayne Williams once clued it as "Elec. switch". Most of the other clues are quite straightforward. Several clue/Answer repetitions in today's grid. A WHILE is the answer for 85D: "For a little bit". Then it's part of clue for TOMES (110A: They took a while to read). I've never read a TOME, unless you count my dictionary as one.

"Madama Butterfly" accessory would be a great clue for OBI (27A) on any other day, but as BUTTER (fly) is part of the theme answer for 51A, I think a simple "Kimono closer" works better. The button-like fixture on man's kimono is called netsuke. Remember these highly collectible erotic netsukes I linked last time? The small case attached to kimono is called INRO.

Across:

5A: "For Whom the Bell Tolls" actor Tamiroff: AKIM. Stranger to me. Wikipedia says he is the first Golden Globe Award-winning actor for Best Supporting Actor (1944). Emil Jannings is the first Oscar winner for Best Actor (1927).

9A: Early bird?: EGG. Of course! I should eat a worm, as I did not get it until the very end.

12A: Ben Franklin's belief: DEISM. How is it different from theism? And why single out Ben Franklin? Somehow I thought he advocated self-discipline.

17A: "A Chapter on Ears" essayist: ELIA. Easy guess. I've never heard of this essay. Since TIN EAR (66A: Musical liability) is an answer in the grid, I wish the clue were just a simple "Charles Lamb's pen name".

19A: Lot, often: ACRE

24A: Stat: PRONTO. Stat here is doctor's "Immediately". From Latin statim. I was thinking of baseball stat.

25A: "My Fair Lady" girl: ELIZA. ELIZA Doolittle. And Professor "Enry Higgins.

26A: Bars bought dry: SOAPS. Not the bars I was picturing. Good clue.

31A: Former French coin: ECU. I put SOU first.

32A: Exercise done on a bench?: ETUDE. Why? Do pianists call their chair "bench"?

33A: Luggage checker: SKYCAP. A portmanteau of Sky and Redcap.

38A: Maine campus town: ORONO. We have a city named ORONO here in MN too.

40A: From __: slight progress: A TO B. Is it a slang? I am not familiar with this phrase.

45A: Bridge expert Culbertson: ELY. No idea. According to Wikipedia, this guy was the most significant American Contract Bridge personality and was widely regarded as "the man who made contract bridge". What is contract bridge?

49A: Skirt feature: SLIT. Too much?

50A: Dallas school: SMU. The new Bush Libary will be here. It's Laura Bush's alma mater.

55A: A-list: ELITE

56A: Two-time Golden Lion winner: ANG LEE. He won for "Brokeback Mountain" (2005) & "Lust, Caution" (2007). Golden Lion is Venice Film Festival's best film award, just like Palme d'Or in Cannes. I would not have got the answer without down fills. ANG/AN means "Peace" in Chinese. My favorite ANG LEE movie is "Eat Drink Man Woman".

58A: Scrub the launch: ABORT

59A: Quenches: SLAKES

60A: Hinder: DETER

61A: Old Greek assembly area: AGORA. I am used to the marketplace clue, you know, Socrate's shopping mall. Had no idea it can refer to a political assembly area.

62A: Perform using blades: SKATE

65A: Trial answers: PLEAS. Consist of "Guilty", "Not guilty" and "No contest", correct?

72A: Carpooler's __ Lane: HOV (High-Occupancy Vehicle)

74A: Flabby: SOFT. Made me think of Greenspan and his "We've hit a soft patch".

75A: Mediation agcy: NLRB (National Labor Relations Board). New agency to me.

77A: Studio stance: POSE. Say "Qiezi" (eggplant)! Chinese way to elicit a smile. Like our "Cheese".

78A: ABC dramedy "__ Stone": ELI. Have never heard of this TV series. Dramedy (Drama & Comedy) is a new word to me.

83A: Long eared bounders: HARES. What's the difference between HARES and Rabbits? Latin for hare is lepus.

84A: Old Italian bread: LIRA. Or LIRE. Bread here is slang for money.

86A: Enzyme suffix: ASE. Our old editor liked to clue ASE as "Peer Gynt's mother".

88A: Assembles: SETS UP

89A: Last to come out: NEWEST

91A: Flip call: HEADS

92A: "... the grace of God __": GO I. No idea. Is it a very famous Bible quote?

93A: Superfund enforcer: Abbr.: EPA. I did not know that superfund is the US environmental policy. But since SUPER is the answer for 43D: "Very, in slang", I am not fond of this clue. So many ways to clue EPA. The old "Air quality org." works just fine.

94A: Word heard before hiking?: HUT. Big stumper for me. I don't understand football at all. I might have heard of the "hut, hut, hut" noise though.

95A: "__ porridge hot ...": PEASE. Nursery rhymes stumps me often too. Peas/PEASE porridge does not sound appealing to me.

96A: Steinbeck family: JOADS. From "The Grapes of Wrath''. I learned it from doing Xword. I finally watched "East of Eden" the other day. Now I will remember James Dean's Cal (Caleb).

98A: Horror dubbed "Mistress of the Dark": ELVIRA. No idea. She looks very calculating. Wikipedia says ELVIRA is Arabic for "white".

106A: Gob: SAILOR. Did not know "gob" is a slang for SAILOR. Salt and tar, yes.

107A: Seine sights: ILES

111A: Old map letters: SSR. On pre-1991 maps.

112A: Old Sinclair rival: ESSO

Down:

1D: Exec often seen in his PJs: HEF. Hugh Hefner, publisher of Playboy magazine. Thought of Chris in LA's Playboy GROTTO visit.

2D: Band with the 1977 album "Out of the Blue": ELO. Here is the album cover. I guessed.

4D: Broccoli __: RABE. Very popular veggie in southern China. Also called rapini. It needs to be blanched because of the bitter taste. Cantonese like to stir-fry Broccoli RABE with a little garlic (no red pepper flake), then serve it as a side dish to seafood. See also STALK (62D: Broccoli part), though I call it as stem. STALK is for celery.

5D: Nut: ADDICT

6D: Invasive Asian vine: KUDZU. Japanese origin.

7D: It can be half-baked: IDEA. I like this clue.

9D: Home of the volcano Chimborazo: ECUADOR. Chimborazo (inactive) is ECUADOR's highest summit, according to Wikipedia. Cotopaxi (active) is the second highest summit.

11D: Laughs at: GETS. One of the reasons I don't watch TV series is because it's difficult for me to get the jokes.

12D: Rounded felt hat: DERBY. Also known as bowler hat.

13D: Symphony that includes a funeral march: EROICA. Beethoven's Symphony No. 3. Originally dedicated to Napoleon. EROICA is Italian for "heroic".

15D: Watch the kids: SIT

20D: Pacific Northwest metropolis: SPOKANE. Mine was SEATTLE. Wikipedia says SPOKANE means "Children of the Sun" in Salish, whatever it is. And Gonzaga University is located here.

22D: Graff of "Mr. Belvedere": ILENE. No idea. It's 80's TV show. She is wearing purple, Mr. Belvedre is the one with the moustache.

23D: SLR setting: F-STOP

33D: Smith, at times: SHOER. SHOER is a person who shoes horses or other animals.

37D: Places to see smileys, briefly: IMS (Instant Messages)

38D: Scott Turow memoir: ONE L. It's about his first year in Harvard. Very intense reading.

39D: Lace end: AGLET

41D: Memory units: BYTES

44D: Media workers' org: AFTRA (American Federation of Television and Radio Artists). Union representing professional actors, dancers, singers, and broadcasters. Another new org. for me.

47D: Celerity: SPEED. I kept reading the clue as "Celebrity".

49D: Roofing material: SLATE. Also the name of the online Ezine SLATE.com.

52D: Bread that's boiled before it's baked: BAGEL. BAGEL & lox, sandwich in heaven.

53D: Lusitania sinker: U- BOAT

54D: Trunk: TORSO

55D: Savanna grazer: ELAND. The spiral-horned antelope.

57D: "The Maids" playwright": GENET (Jean). Have never heard of "The Maids". It's about two housemaids who construct elaborate sadomasochistic rituals when their mistress is away., according to Wikipedia. Sounds awful. Not familiar with the author either. Looks like a hard man.

61D: Defendant's need: ALIBI. Hmm, perp's need. Our jargon "perp" simply means perpendicular.

63D: Lemon of the '50s: EDSEL. Collectible item now, correct?

64D Concertmaster's instrument: VIOLIN

65D: Race prize: PURSE. I wanted medal.

67D: Rebelled: ROSE UP. The answer feels like a clue, the clue feels like an answer.

69D: Big blowout: BLAST

70D: Creeps up on: NEARS

73D: "Roman Holiday" scooter: VESPA. Loved the movie. Can't remember the name of the scooter. It's manufactured by the Piaggio, which has operations in 50 countries, including China.

75D: LeBron James, e.g.: NBA STAR

80D: Chop chopper: CLEAVER

81D: Reasons for recusal: BIASES

83D: Fictional Swiss miss: HEIDI. Shirley Temple is so lovely as HEIDI. This real German Heidi (Klum) is lovely too.

88D: In order that one might: SO AS TO

90D: Cypriot currency since 2008: EUROS. Easy guess. I was unaware that Cyprus adopted EURO on Jan 1, 2008. It joined EU in 2004. Now Turkey wants to join EU too.

91D: Cads: HEELS

92D: "The Nude Maja" and "The Clothed Maja": GOYAS. Gimme to you, correct? I've linked both "The Nude Maja" and "The Clothed Maja" several times before. Both are housed in Museo del Prado.

95D: Omega preceders: PSIS

96D: Penny holders: JARS. Also holders for pickles.

98D: Ballpark fig.: EST (Estimate). ERA, RBI are Ballpark fig. too.

99D: Mekong River native: LAO. See this map. Their language is called LAO as well. See the China part? We call it Lancang River.

100D: Pep: VIM. Reminded me of JFK's special way of pronouncing "vigor".

102D: Capital of Denmark?: DEE. First letter of Denmark, which is capitalized. Good clue.

103D: "Cool" amount: MIL. Who says this? Those millionair rappers?

105D: Archery wood: YEW. I wonder how they get rid of the poisonous element when making archery bows.

Answer Grid.

C.C.

Saturday April 11, 2009 Bruce Venzke and Stella Daily

Theme: None

Total blocks: 32

Total words: 70

Another relentless uphill battle. These LAT late week puzzles are so hard for me. Saturday is the worst. I definitely need a theme as my sherpa. The eight 15-letter words are very intimidating, esp the stacks at the top and the bottom of the grid. The below long answers might be the reason why we have a noticeable amount of abbreviations in the grid:

1A: Jealous reaction to a witty remark: I WISH I'D SAID THAT

16A: Broad-based statistical standard: NATIONAL AVERAGE

17A: "The Dreadful Story of Pauline and the Matches" and others: CAUTIONARY TALES

24A: Sousa subject: STARS AND STRIPES

44A: Headed for home: ROUNDED THE BASES

59A: Tried to escape: MADE A BREAK FOR IT

62A: FDR's Fala, e.g.: ABERDEEN TERRIER

63A: Didn't just dive in: TESTED THE WATERS

I know FDR's dog is called Fala, had no idea what breed it is. Also, I don't know Scottish Terrier is also known as Aberdeen Terrier. Have never heard of "The Dreadful Story of Pauline and the Matches". But I got *TALES filled in, so I decided that Canterbury TALES sounds good. And it fit pretty well.

I am feeling just so slow this morning. It took me a long time to understand why SIXTH (29D) is clued as "Like Friday or June". D'oh! Friday is the SIXTH day and June is the SIXTH month. Was also stumped by the rationale of the SET clue (42D: Seinfeld's apartment, say). Only realized a few minutes ago that his apartment is the SET of the whole show. I love "The Nazi Soup" episode.

I still can't believe the answer for 52A: "120/70, 130/80 etc: Abbr." is a simple BPS (Blood Pressures). I thought it would be like HDL/LDL, you know, something sophisticated and unrecognizable to common people. One small quibble: ETC is the answer for 21A: "More of the same, briefly" and then part of the clue for 52A.

Across:

18A: Shoppers' savings?: Abbr.: RCPTS (Receipts)

19A: Roadie's burden: AMP. Blanked on this one. I am used to the "Current/Electric unit" clue.

20A: Unique folks: ONERS. The first Across word I filled in today. I often confuse humdinger with harbinger.

23A: Ger. neighbor: AUS. My answer is always AUS whenever I see a "Ger. neighbor" clue.

34A: Namely: TO WIT

35A: Meter site: TAXI. I was thinking of the parking meter.

36A: Overseas okay: OUI. I like yesterday's "Nice way to beg off?" for NON.

37A: Sheepdog in "Babe": REX. Saw the movie. Can't remember the dog name. Oh, look, there is an ESME, another way to clue the "Salinger girl".

38A: Cleo portrayer of 1963: LIZ. She fell in love with Richard Burton while making "Cleopatra".

39A: Its parts may be eaten separately: OREO. Well, I never eat them separately, nor do I dunk them.

41A: Flavors, in a way: SALTS. Verb. I like this clue.

43A: Starlet's goal: ROLE. I wanted LEAD. Thought starlet wants a leading ROLE.

47A: 1946-'75 nuclear agcy: AEC. This has become a gimme. NRC replaced AEC in 1975.

48A: Marker's end: TIP. Was this a gimme to you? Pen did not come to my mind when I saw "Marker".

49A: Ones wanted by the mil.: AWOLS. Good clue.

55A: Dr. visits: APPTS

Down:

1D: Rise: Abbr.: INCR (Increase). Another unfamiliar abbreviation.

2D: WWII female: WAAC (Women's Army Auxiliary Corps). I can never remember this name. Our fellow solver Southern Belle is a WAAC member. Oh, no, she is WAC. How is different from WAAC?

3D: Words after live or give: IT UP

4D: Jobs for teens: SITTERS. I thought of WAITERS. It has the same number of letters.

5D: Derricks and cranes: HOISTS. I only know HOISTS as a verb. Did not know it's a noun too.

6D: Theban queen of myth: INO. Pronounced like "I know". Clued as "Daughter of Cadmus" in our puzzle last time. She rescued Odyssus from drowing by giving him a veil. I was thinking of Dido, but she is actually "Queen of Carthage". Do you know that Elissa is another name for Dido?

8D: Poetry-reading competition: SLAM. Have never heard of Poetry SLAM. Do you call this a poem?

9D: Group that grows as boomers grow: AARP. I like this clue too.

10D: Brown, but not white?: IVY. Stumped. Very clever clue. The "but not white" part is very tricky and misleading. Brown is an IVY League school. I pictured sauce and then bread. I might have thought the university if the clue were simply "Brown, for one". Hmm, I take it back. This clue might lead me to Michael Brown and the "heck of a job" he did.

11D: Roundabout route: DETOUR

12D: What mailed packages are in?: TRANSIT. Tricky. ENVELOP is the only word that popped into my brain.

14D: Golden __: AGER

15D: Polanski film based on a Hardy novel: TESS. TESS is the only Hardy novel I've read. I had no idea that Polanski made it into a movie.

22D: Bucky of "Get Fuzzy" for one: CAT. Absolutely no idea. I've never heard of this comic strip.

23D: Verizon rival, initially: ATT. AT&T stock ticker is just a T.

24D: Hound's find: SPOOR

25D: Abril-mayo zodiac sign: TAURO. Spanish for Taurus (Apri 20-May 20). I am not into horoscope, so I had no idea which one is for which month. And I don't speak Spanish. Therefore, a complete loss here.

26D: "Farewell, François!": ADIEU. I would like some lively & topical clue for ADIEU rather than the alliteration. They've said ADIEU to each other.

27D: U.S. Canada defense acronym: NORAD. Crossword stalwart acronym.

28D: Lived: DWELT. "Lived" is often a clue for WAS.

30D: California's ___ Verdes Peninsula: PALOS. No idea. See this map. PALOS Verdes is literally "green sticks" in Spanish.

31D: Dictator's fate, perhaps: EXILE. Stupid Saddam should have chosen this route and settled down in Syria. The Iraq War would have been avoided.

32D: Label data: SIZES

40D: Vigilant: ON ALERT. So hard to get used to multiple word answers.

41D: Wall St. watchdog: SEC. The current chairperson is Mary Schapiro, the first woman to head SEC.

43D: Camaraderie: RAPPORT

45D: Marquis of note: DE SADE. Sadism is derived from his name.

46D: Former African secessionist state: BIAFRA. Have never heard of BIAFRA (southeast of Nigeria). It existed from May 1967 to Jan 1970. Wikipedia says "Doctors Without Borders" were created in the aftermath of BIAFRA secession. Oh well, at least something good came out of this conflict.

49D: Latin 101 word: AMAT. "He loves". Amo, amas, AMAT.

50D: "Did gyre and gimble in the__": "Jabberwocky": WABE. No idea. All the "Jabberwocky" stuff drive me bunkers. It simply makes no sense to me.

52D: Writer Harte: BRET. I confused him with "Poet Hart" (Crane). Both appeared in our puzzle before. Wikipedia says BRET Harte is an "American author and poet, best remembered for his accounts of pionnering life in California".

53D: Phnom __: PENH. Plus Pol Pot & Khmer Rouge, that' all I know about Cambodia. Their official language is Khmer. I don't know why Chinese translation for Phnom PENH is "Gold Border". Maybe there are lots of gold there?

56D: __ dieu: PRIE. The kneeling bench. I learned this from doing Xword.

57D: Large cake layer: TIER

58D: Narrow waterways: Abbr.: STRS (Straits). Again, not a familiar abbreviation to me.

60D: Where Goldilocks was discovered: BED. Anyone uses Sleep Number BED? Is it really that good?

61D: Royal Botanic Gardens locale: KEW. The KEW Garden was established in 1759. Have you been there? Their water lily pads look so strange.

Answer Grid.

C.C.

Friday April 10, 2009 Nora Pearlstone

Theme: The 5K

18A: Sightseeing at The Steppes?: STARK GAZING (Star Gazing)

24A: Dogs' communication systems?: BARK CODE (Bar Code)

39A: Creative executive compensation techniques?: PERK FORMING ARTS (Performing Arts)

51A: Price for the village green?: PARK VALUE (Par Value)

62A: Ones who never know what to use for their salad?: FORK DUMMIES (For Dummies)

Ah, finally an offering from our editor Rich Norris himself. Nora Pearlstone is his alias name, anagram of "Not a real person". Of this list, I like Gia Christian the most (anagram of "Again, it's Rich"). How about you?

It seems that every Friday we have a wordplay puzzle. On March 27, it's PRE prefix. Then last Friday we had an IR-RI-tating IR to RI transformation grid.

Hard struggle this morning. I think I can only handle Monday to Wednesday LA Times. Lots of wite-out. I wrote down RABIN for 3D: Co-Nobelist Arafat (YASIR) immediately. And I thought I was smart. Then I did not know "What's up?" (1A: SKY). What a simple yet tricky clue! Can you picture the V-8 prints on my forehead?

Besides SKY, I also love the clue for NON (30D: Nice way to beg off?). Nice refers to the French city. Can you think of a better way to clue QUA (14A: Sine __ non)? I know one is Latin, one is French, but I still don't like the repetition.

Across:

4A: It may be split at lunch: THE TAB. Nice to see THE as part of an answer.

10A: Big name in shoes: MCAN. Learned several months ago that the brand was named after some Scottish golfer named Thomas McCann. Rory McIlroy, the next Tiger Woods (or possibly just a Sergio Garcia as Lemonade said), shot 72 yesterday. I think he is a more exciting RORY clue than "Golfer Sabbatini".

15A: "L.A. Law" co-creator: BOCHCO (Steven). Unknown to me. Wikipedia says he is also the co-creator of "Hill Streets Blue" & "N.Y.P.D. Blue". His teeth look fake.

17A: Young __: UNS. Is this L'il Abner talk?

20A: Medical suffix: ITIS

23A: Stand at attention: SNAP TO

27A: Wall St. trader: ARB (Arbitrager). What exactly is a arbitrager? Is he part of the hedge fund mess?

28A: Final: Abbr.: ULT

29A: Close-at-hand: IN STORE

33A: Point of view: ANGLE. Slant has 5 letters too.

36A: Cádiz cat: GATO. No idea. It's CHAT in French. I don't speak Spanish. Cat in Chinese is MAO, same spelling but different tone than the Mao in Mao Ze-dong. Mandarin Chinese has 4 tones: flat, rising, falling then rising, and falling.

38A: '50 campaign monogram: AES. Ah, just mentioned yesterday that the E stands for Ewing. He did have an affair with Lauren Bacall, didn't he?

43A: Stowe girl: EVA. I forgot. Saw this clue before. The girl in "Uncle Tom's Cabin".

44A: Hurt: PAIN. And THROE (7D: Severe pang).

45A: Healthy-looking: RUDDY. Ruddy? I really think Rory McIlroy looks like Tony Blair.

46A: Cow country sights: RANCHES

49A: Crooner's asset: EAR

50A: Soft & __: deodorant: DRI. I wonder who will be the first constructor to clue DRI as "Female yak".

57A: Increasing: UPPING

60A: Certain presentee: DEB. Tough one for me. The surrounds provided me with no help.

61A: Old Mercury model: LYNX. No idea. How old? Our local WNBA team is called Minnesota LYNX.

65A: Cool air feature: NIP

66A: Swing era bandleader Cates: OPIE. Which one is he? The only OPIE I know is the "Mayberry boy".

67A: Egyptian god: AMEN RA. Or AMUN RA. See the upper left corner hieroglyph. I am used to seeing only the single AMEN/AMUN. Did anyone think of Osiris?

68A: Windy City "L" runner: CTA (Chicago Transit Authority). This *TA ofen stumps me.

69A: Steamy: SEXY. And GRASP (36D: Get). Is this S & S, G & G repetition on purpose? Does it make the fill peppy in your view?

70A: __ à trois: MENAGE. Reminded me of "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid". What popped into your mind?

71A: Angry, with "up": HET. Crossword word. I've never used this phrase in my daily conversation.

Down:

1D: Witticism: SQUIB. New definition of SQUIB to me. I wanted BON MOT, but it did not fit.

2D: "Roots" hero: KUNTA. I saw one episode when KUNTA Kinte said the grits/dummy. Can't remember the exact lines.

4D: "Very funny" station: TBS. "We know drama" is TNT.

5D: Family-style Asian dish: HOT POT. Very popular winter food in China. The funny thing is that people seldom make HOT POT at home. Too much work.

6D: American Greetings "mailing": E-CARD

8D: Disgusted cry: ACK. I often use Ugh.

9D: Soft spots: BOGS. Another tricky clue. The swampy BOGS are indeed soft.

10D: Haydn contemporary: MOZART. Pure guess. I don't know those two are contemporaries.

11D: Medical office accessory: CLIP BOARD. Did not come to me immediately.

12D: Isn't wrong?: AIN'T. I like this clue.

13D: Canceled: NO-GO

19D: Literary miscellanea: ANAS

21D: Move stealthily: SKULK

25D: Pitch indicator: CLEF. The musical staff. Not baseball.

26D: Nonviolent protest: SIT-IN. Tiananmen Square Incident started with peaceful mass SIT-IN.

31D: Like Gen. Schwarzkopf: RETD. Oh, I have a question: Can you un-retire a general? For example, can General Shinseki be reinstalled into his previous Chief of Staff of Army post, since he was forced to retire?

32D: Swedish actress Persson: ESSY. No idea. I tried, Google asked me "Did you mean Person Essay"? Only one line entry in Wikipedia. So I guess she is not that famous.

33D: Imitator: APER. Another crossword word.

34D: St. Petersburg's river: NEVA. It's clued as "River to the Gulf of Finland" last time. Wikipedia says it's the third largest river in Europe in terms of average discharge, after the Volga and Danube.

35D: Formula One race: GRAND PRIX

37D: Chartres chum: AMI. Another alliteration. See this tiny map. Chartres is to the southwest of Paris. Unknown to me.

40D: "I __ you liked your drink", sez Gunga Din": 'OPE. Was this a gimme to you? I've never heard of this Rudyard Kipling poem.

41D: Attractive force: Abbr.: GRAV. Gravity.

42D: Kind of comprehension: AURAL. No idea. The only "Kind of comprehension" I am familiar with is reading.

47D: "Holy cow": CRIKEY

48D: Rear: HIND

49D: "La Dolce Vita" actress: EKBERG (Anita). Sigh, I could only picture how she looks in the movie. Could not remember her name.

52D: Pitch specialists?: AD MEN. Great clue.

53D: Madrid monarch: REINA. Spanish for queen. REY is king.

54D: "Mulholland Drive" director: LYNCH (David). He often talks about Transcental Meditation and the incredible "bliss" the practice brings to him. I tried once, and I simply could not concentrate.

55D: Get together: UNITE

56D: Politcal outcast: EXPAT. Really? I am a Chinese EXPAT living in the US, but I am not a "Political outcast".

57D: Sci-fi hoverers: UFOS

58D: Castel Gandolfo resident: POPE. Had no idea that Castel Gandolfo is the summer residence of the POPE. Wikipedia says it's 30km south-east of Rome.

59D: Largest of the Marianas: GUAM. "Where America's Day Begins".

63D: Fr. title: MME. "Sp. title" equivalent is SRA. I penned in STE first.

64D: MS. enclosure: SAE (Self-addressed Envelope). Baseball players will not sign your cards if you don't enclose a SAE. Politicians don't care. I guess their postage is paid by the taxpayers.

Answer Grid.

C.C.

Thursday April 9, 2009 Donna S. Levin

Theme: Tack Together

17A: Tack: TEMPORARY STITCH

26A: Tack: CARPET FASTENER

42A: Tack: SAILOR'S HEADING

56A: Tack: STABLE EQUIPMENT

I learned this morning that the equestrian "Tack" is actually a shortening of "Tackle" in the sense of "equipment". It includes BRIDLE (10D: Horse's headgear") and saddle. So, it's basically the same as harness, isn't it? I forgot to which the straps and bands belong. Also can someone tell me the difference between BRIDLE and halter again? (Note: From Argyle: Bridle has a bit that is placed in the horses' mouths to get them to turn. Reins are attached to it. Halter is with out a bit and you attach a lead to it.)


I am not familiar with the sailing term "Tack". Dictionary explains it as "the heading of a sailing vessel, when sailing close-hauled, with reference to the wind direction". It does not make much sense to me. What is "close-hauled"?

My quibbles today:

2D: Once again: ANEW. Could have changed into "Over again" because ONCE is the answer for 12D: Formerly.

11D: Mountain sighting: YETI. The clue feels like you can spot a YETI in any mountain. But YETI only exists in Himalaya. Actually it only exists as a myth.

40D: Runway VIP: MODEL. Why abbreviated VIP when the answer is a full spelled-out word?

I got PBA (58D: Cops' org) from Across fills. I've never heard of Patrolmen's Benevolent Association. But isn't PBA more well-known as Professional Bowlers Association? Maybe because I live with a bowler. Our house is full of PBA patches, pins, rings and other stuff. My husband's name is inscribed in Bowling Hall-of-Fame, Hometown Boy section.

Across:

1A: Medicine cabinet item: GAUZE. No GAUZE in our medicine cabinet. This puzzle is 2 letters (V, X) away from a pangram.

6A: Holy pilgrimage: HADJ. Sometimes it's HAJJ. And one who has been to Mecca is called HAJI or HADJI. Looks like letter I refers to a person, doesn't it? Minnesota Congressman Keith Ellison is the first HAJI of the US Congress. He made his HADJ last year.

10A: Party invite letters: BYOB

14A: Naughty way to live: IN SIN. "Live IN SIN" is a new phrase to me. I am not naughty.

16A: Ashcroft's predecessor: RENO. Learned this morning that she is a Danish American.

22A: In better order: TIDIER

23A: Physics units: ERGS. From Greek Ergon, meaning "work". I used to think ERG is an abbreviation of something. Only realized a few weeks ago that it's a full spelled-out unit.

25A: D.C. attraction, with "the": MALL. The National MALL. King gave his "I Have a Dream" speech here.

32A: Artificial being of Jewish folklore: GOLEM. Ugh. I forgot this word completely. Williams clued it as "Automation of Jewish legend" last time. It's literally "cocoon" in modern Hebrew. Wikipedia says "Frankstein" was inspired by the GOLEM legend, whatever it is.

33A: Sites in la Méditerranée: ILES. I penned in MERS first.

36A: Elixir: TONIC. Is it true that soda pop is called TONIC in New England?

39A: Short cut: BOB. This is perhaps the most well-known BOB haircut in fashion industry. I think Anna Wintour looks very cool, don't you? "Devil Wears Prada" is written by her former personal assitant.

40A: Catchall abbr.: MISC

41A: Ostracizes: SHUNS

47A: Grim film genre: NOIR. Lemonade mentioned last time that Fritz Lang is the pioneer for Film NOIR.

48A: Drapery ornament: TASSEL

59A: "We have met the enemy and he is us" speaker: POGO. The comic strip. John Underwood once tried to clue POGO this way, but Williams changed it to "Stick for hopping".

60A: Pivot: SLUE

61A: Language of southern Africa: BANTU. Include Swahili and Zulu.

63A: In order (to): SO AS

64A: Cotopaxi's range: ANDES. I guessed. I did not know that Cotopaxi is a volcano in the ANDES Mountain. It's the highest active volcano in the world.

Down:

1D: Lights out: GITS. Why? Dictionary says GIT is a British slang for "a foolish or contemptible person". It has nothing to do with "Lights" or "Lights out".

3D: Pres. Grant's alma mater: USMA. Oh, I was unaware of this fact. Only know Ike graduated from West Point.

4D: Like some change purses: ZIPPERED

5D: Ambient music pioneer: ENO. And ELO (57D: "Xanadu" band, for short). Both are crossword stalwarts.

6D: San Simeon castle builder: HEARST. Ah, got it immediately, thanks to Clear Ayes/Crockett's repeated mention of this place.

7D: 160 square rods: ACRE. Easy guess. I did not know the exact measure of ACRE. "160 square rods" sounds like a lot.

8D: Like Syrah wine: DRY. Another guess. I know nothing about "Syrah" or wine. These Syrah/Shiraz grapes look very sweet. Black grapes always taste sweeter than the green ones or the red ones.

9D: "Be right there!": JUST A SEC. Now I am slowly getting used to this kind of 3-word answer and I like it a lot.

13D: Physicist represented in the play "Copenhagen": BOHR. Another guess. I forgot Niels BOHR is Danish. He won Nobel Physics in 1922, and his son also won the prize 1975.

19D: Jousts: TILTS. New definition of TILT to me.

24D: LP's 33 1/3: RPM. I don't know anything about this 33 1/3 or 45. Saw lots of LP's in the flea market. I often wonder if they still work.

25D: Landlocked African nation: MALI. OK, it's indeed landlocked. Can't let MALI go without mentioning Ali Farka Toure. This is for you, Melissa, Embien and all of you who were/are "Unfaithful". It's not the original, but his son did a wonderful job.

26D: Drink with marshmallow: COCOA. Well, I never drink COCOA with marshmallow. I don't like marshmallow.

27D: Cover story?: ALIBI. I like this clue.

28D: Bunting, for one: FINCH. Did not know that bunting is a bird, not to mention FINCH.

29D: Like a shutout: NO RUN. NO HIT anyone?

30D: Southfork surname: EWING. I blanked. Have never seen "Dallas". Williams used to clue EWING as "Adlai Stevenson's middle name".

31D: Weightlifter's stat: REPS

32D: Yaks: GABS. Ah, not the Yaks in my mind. Anyway, my question is: If female yak is dri, why yak milk instead of dri milk?

38D: Graham Greene novella, with "The": THIRD MAN. Have heard of the movie. Did not know it's written by Graham Greene.

41D: Reagan era prog.: SDI (Strategic Defense Initiative). The Star Wars program.

43D: City from which Vasco da Gama sailed: LISBON. Da Gama was a Portuguese explorer.

48D: An oz. has six: TSPS (Teaspoons). Chinese people seldom measure. We cook by feel. TBSP is tablespoon.

50D: Big account: SAGA. My favorite clue. Thought of major client "Big account".

51D: Color similar to turquoise: AQUA. Let's see, turquoise. And an AQUA clock. Similar? I think so.

53D: Tear: REND. "Tore" would be RENT, tricky past tense.

55D: A/C spec sheet units: BTUS

Answer Grid.

C.C.

Interview with Dan Feyer

Dan Feyer is fast, very fast, one of the fastest (if not the fastest) crossword solvers in the US. His solving time for today's "Un-State-ly State" puzzle is 2:12.

Dan is the ACPT (American Crossword Puzzle Tournament) B Division winner this year. He is also the C Division winner in 2008.

We've heard from several constructors & our editor Rich Norris on crossword constructing and editing. I thought it would be interesting to glean some wisdom from a speed solver.

By the way, it's Dan who informed me last week that I made a mistake on LAT Sunday rating. Rich Norris later confirmed that difficulty level of Sunday puzzle is indeed similar to that of Thursday. So it's a 3 instead of 4.

Enjoy the interview. I hope you find his answers educating and inspirational. Me? I am in "Shock and Awe".

What's your overall impression of LA Times Daily puzzles? How are they different from NY Times in terms of difficulty and cluing style? Those multiple words really give me trouble. We seldom encountered them in Wayne R. Williams edited TMS Daily puzzle.

Rich Norris's LA Times crossword is second only to the NY Times for its quality and entertainment value. I'm not sure I can describe a particular difference between the styles of Norris and Will Shortz, except for slight trends toward local-interest cluing. (E.g. more entertainment clues in LAT, more NYC-specific nuggets in the NYT.) The NYT is definitely more difficult; as a rough measure, they're about one day apart: LAT Tuesday = NYT Monday; LAT Saturday = NYT Friday. Roughly. This doesn't apply to the LAT puzzles we've had since the big switch, because Rich is taking is easy on his new solvers now.

I solved the TMS puzzles for a few weeks this year, and found them noticeably inferior to the NYT/LAT. I don't understand why Mr. Williams would outlaw multi-word phrases, or allow FOUR Roman numerals in a single grid! I know your readers were used to his style - and many still miss him, as those poll results indicate - but believe me, you all are lucky to have the LAT (or Newsday) puzzle now. I also encourage avid solvers to explore the other first-rate free puzzles out there, from the daily syndicated CrosSynergy to the weekly Chronicle of Higher Education and Wall Street Journal crosswords. Links can be found at Puzzle Pointers.

Can you give us an estimate of your solving times of LA Times (Monday to Sunday)? How do you normally tackle the puzzles? Do you use only Across/Down clues like some other speed solvers do for early weekday grids? Do you use Google to cheat immediately when the fill stumps you or you walk away and come back later with an inspired answer?

It's been a while since I couldn't finish a newspaper puzzle in one sitting. I almost never Google - when I get stuck on a really hard puzzle in a book, for instance, I'll come back to it later, and usually end up figuring out without "cheating". I have dabbled a bit with Downs-only solving, which is a fun challenge, in the pocket-size "Sit & Solve Crosswords" books. (Across-only solving is even harder and not recommended).

My LA Times solving times in Across Lite range from 1:30-2:00 on a Monday to 2:30-3:30 on a Saturday. Of course, sometimes they're tougher, but even a Saturday rarely takes me more than 4 minutes now. Sunday usually runs 5-6 minutes, but this past Sunday's by Will Nediger was my record at 4:17. If I'm solving on paper, it's at least 30 seconds slower (60 seconds on Sunday). I started keeping track of my times a few months ago on my "blog", so check in there if you're ever curious how fast I solved the day's puzzles. (Why you might be curious, I have no idea...)

The second most important tip for speed-solving is to use the letters you already have in the grid, because they can steer your brain toward a word even before looking at the clue. The most important tip is to solve truckloads of crosswords, because you'll learn all the strange fill words and cluing tricks until they're second nature.

What's your background? Who developed your interest in crossword solving? How many puzzles do you solve each day now?

Dad was born in Hungary, Mom's parents immigrated from Russia to New Jersey. Oh, crossword background? None to speak of. I enjoyed puzzle books and magazines as a precocious kid, and in college would solve the NYT Sunday crossword whenever I got my hands on a Sunday Magazine. In my 20s (I'm 31 now), I mostly forgot about crosswords until a friend gave me a NYT puzzle collection, which I'd work on every once in a while.

The spark for my current obsession was the movie "Wordplay", which I watched on PBS in October 2007. I quickly learned that the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament was moving to New York City (where I live), and that there was a thriving online community of solvers. I bought the NYT crossword subscription, started solving all the daily puzzles, and read Orange's and Rex's blogs for more insight. Not only was I addicted to puzzles, but I was getting better and faster very quickly. Since the beginning of 2008, I've solved an average of 20-25 crosswords a day. (Which is a bit frightening, but many of those are on my subway commute, and a normal-sized puzzle usually takes me 2-3 minutes.) That's what took me from "fast" to "tied for the fastest in the country" in a year... that, and the right kind of brain wiring.

Who are you favorite constructors? Who gives you the most trouble? And why?

I am not sure I have a constructorial "nemesis", aside from the folks who make hard puzzles as a matter of course: Bob Klahn, Byron Walden, Brad Wilber (a frequent LAT themeless Saturday creator), David J, Kahn. My favorites: Trip Payne, Matt Gaffney, Karen M. Tracey, Patrick Blindauer, Brendan Emmett Quigley, Doug Peterson, Barry C. Silk, John Farmer, I could go on for hours... Dan Naddor, who only contributes to the LAT, is incredibly creative and prolific. And there are three wordsmiths who I consider the best in the world: Patrick Berry, Frank Longo, and Henry Hook. Buy a crossword book by any of them, and you won't be disappointed! (You might be seriously stumped, however.)

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

You've probably noticed this, but for a supposed word expert, I'm not a very good writer. My left brain (analytical) is very strong, my right brain (creative) not so much. Similarly, I play the piano and conduct and arrange music for a living, but I have no talent or interest in composing music!

Thank you, C.C, and I look forward to following your journey with LAT puzzles.

Wednesday April 8, 2009 Patrick Jordan

Theme: Un-state-ly State

18A: "Show me" state?: SKEPTICISM

24A: Empire state? SUPREMACY

37A: Volunteer state?: WILLINGNESS

53A: Beehive state?: DILIGENCE

59A: Granite state?: DURABILITY

Not an easy battle this morning. If those states were real states, I bet I would struggle too. I can never remember those state nicknames. Minnesota is "North Star State". Our state motto is "L'Etoile du Nord" (the Star of North). Maybe you can educate me today with your state nickname and why it's named so.

Normally I don't like clues-as-theme style grid, but I do like this puzzle. I thought it's quite creative. I also love the 5 K's. Just heard on the radio the other day that the K in Kn combination (knock, knot, knife) was pronounced 500 hundred years ago. Nobody k-nows why it suddenly became silent.

I don't like the clue for SHUTS (68A: Turns (off) because OFF is the answer for 55A: Not working. Wish APR (22A: Car loan letters) were clued as "19D month". It would be a great crossing with IRS (19D: Treasury Dept), don't you think so?

To those who worked on Barrel of A Pencil's "Get the Lead Out" puzzle, here is the answer sheet. He also provided additonal information on his pencil theme at the Comments section.

Across:

1A: Summon the genie: RUB. My answer was ASK. Genie is the English transliteration of the Arabic jinn.

4A: Stacy who played Mike Hammer: KEACH. Unknown name to me. I have no idea who Mike Hammer is.

9A: Fischer man?: PAWN. Bobby Fischer. Great clue. Play on fisherman.

13A: Greek goddess of discord: ERIS. Discordia for the Romans. She is the sister of Ares, god of war. She indirectly caused the Trojan War, correct? Since she threw the Apple of Discord at the party.

16A: Pentathlon event: EPEE. Oh, I did not know this. According to Wikipedia, modern penthathlon consists five events: pistol shooting, EPEE fencing, 200-meter freestyle swimming, show jumping and a 3 km cross-country run.

17A: Almanac tidbit: FACT

20A: Anxious feeling: UNEASE. Who else thought of QUALMS?

23A: Lunched or brunched: ATE. or "munched".

32A: A unicycle has one: TIRE

35A: "Men in Black" extras: ALIENS. Have never seen the movie. I remember we had ETS clued as "Men in Black" extras once.

40A: Broadway opening?: SCENE I. Tricky. I wanted LETTER B, thinking of the first letter of Broadway, but I needed one more blank.

42A: Cork sources: OAKS. Learned a new phrase this morning: Blow/Pop one's cork, meaning "to lose temper". Give another dimension to wine/whine.

44A: With 6-Down, it's "bitter" in England: PALE 6D: See 44-Across: ALE. New to me. I don't drink beer.

46A: Francisco's farewell: ADIOS. Alliteration in the clue again.

51A: Leading the pack: ON TOP

56A: Instrument sometimes made from koa wood: UKE. Learned this when I researched for "Hawaiian acacia" last time. KOA wood is valued for furniture and musical instruments.

65A: East Asian capital: SEOUL. Tokyo is another 5-letter word that might fit. Beijing, Pyongyang (North Korea), Taipei, Ulan Bator (Mongolia) have too many letters. But those are all the East Asian capitals.

66A: Trig ratio: SINE

67A: "Sneaked" look: PEEK. Lovely clue.

Down:

1D: Scow load: REFUSE. Hmm, noun. Verb would be good too, since we have I CAN (33A: Optimist's credo) in the grid.

2D: First planet discovered using a telescope: URANUS. In 1781, by William Herschel. Can you believe telescope was already developed in 1608?

3D: Weightlifters's pride: BICEPS. And PEC (9D: Push-up muscle). Thought of the pump-ous Dennis.

4D: Casey who provided Shaggy's voice in TV's "Scooby-Doo": KASEM. Only knew him "Deejay Casey". He is a Lebanese-American.

5D: Bugling grazer: ELK. I forgot ELK bugles. It only bugles during the rut season, right?

7D: Common HMO requirements: COPAYS

10D: They're abuzz with activity: APIARIES. Learned this word a few months ago. Can't be BEEHIVES since it's part of the clue for 53A.

11D: Gene Autry film: WESTERN. Thought the clue was asking for a specific film title. I often confuse his horse Champion with Lone Ranger's Silver & Roy Roger's Trigger/Bullet.

12D: Luthor and Brainiac, to Superman: NEMESES. An educated guess. Wow, FRIENDS also have 7 letters.

14D: Unsettling look: STARE

21D: Declining from old age: SENILE. Really like Julie Christie's "Away From Her". To me, she is more beautiful than Sophie Loren.

26D: Sicilian pastry: CANNOLI. Have never had CANNOLI before. Are those cherries on the open ends?

28D: Elevator man: OTIS. His given name is Elisha. Hebrew for "God is salvation". Interesting, Dictionary says El is "God" and yesha is "salvation". So, the ELIHU Yale's name is God related too then. Oh, my god, Dictionary further explains that ELIHU means "He is my god" or "my god is he".

34D: Movie excerpt: CLIP

36D: "Gil Blas" novelist: LESAGE. Sigh, I forgot all about this novelist. Identical clue a few months ago. I quoted his "Pride and conceit were the original sins of man" and "Facts are stubborn things" last time. Need to split his name into LE SAGE to remember him.

37D: Was released: WENT FREE. Had trouble obtaining this phrase. Kept thinking of parole.

38D: Not __ many words: IN SO

39DL One who may converse in Erse: GAEL. CELT is 4-letter too.

40D: Failed to meet as planned: STOOD UP

41D: Befuddle: CONFUSE

45D: "The Story of __"L 1975 Isabelle Adjani film: ADELE H. Complete unknown to me. ADELE H refers to ADELE Hugo, second daughter of Victor Hugo. Wikipedia says it's destructive story of her unrequited love to a naval officer.

47D: Collection agency concerns: DEBTS. And IOU (61D: Debtor's concerns). Do you have a better clue for IOU? I am just not fond of this debtor/DEBT.

49D: Gas rating: OCTANE

50D: Get riled: SEE RED. You won't believe the trouble I had parsing SEERED.

52D: Dartboard setting: PUB. Or BAR.

54D: Pastoral poems: IDYLS. More familiar with IDYLL.

57D: Sleeping Beauty awakener: KISS. What's the name of the prince who kissed her? I thought the clue was asking for him.

60D: Scriptural ship: ARK. I am surprised that Noah's ARK is also mentioned in Qur'an.

62D: Disapproving word: TUT. No waffling between TUT and TSK this time due to the crossing SEOUL.

Answer Grid.

C.C.

Tuesday April 7, 2009 Don Gagliado

Theme: Slabber's Pals

17A: Astound: FLABBERGAST

39A: Gossipy types: BLABBERMOUTHS

62A: Classic baking powder brand: CLABBER GIRL

Wish CLABBER GIRL were one word, then the theme answers would be more consistent.

My favorite clue today is AB CRUNCH (11D: Six-pack enhancer?"), so many consonants. I also like seeing OBAMA (6A: 44th president) crossing OPRAH (6D: Talk's Winfrey). I wonder if he would have gained that much momentum without OPRAH's earlier endorsement. Do you know that Barack means "peach" in Hungarian?

I am surprised by our poll result so far. I was also surprised to read this piece in Naples Daily News. One reader wrote: “We do not like the L.A. Times daily crossword puzzle that you’ve started to use. We find it to be very ‘gimmicky’ and difficult to solve as many of the answers aren’t logical or able to be found through a reference manual...".

That's exactly what makes Rich Norris puzzles entertaining. He works hard to be "illogical" and gives us the twisted V-8 moment "gimmicks".

It takes time to adjust to a new editor and his cluing style. I hope you all have patience. If you don't understand the clue or the answer, just go to the Comments section and ask. Don't be shy or feel intimidated by the regulars there. We were all strangers once. And remember, no question is stupid in this blog. I am not afraid to ask question, nor should you be.

Across:

1A: Working on, as homework: DOING. We did not have light in our house until 1979. So I had to do my homework under the candle.

14A: The blahs: ENNUI. I am glad I did not know what ENNUI was when I was a child.

16A: "Big" London clock: BEN. From Dr. Dad: Big BEN is not the clock. It's not the tower. It's the BELL inside the tower. A common mistake to say it is the clock.

20A: Pickle holder: JAR. Gingers turn pink naturally when pickled.

21A: Oater actor Jack: ELAM. I can never remember this guy's name. Rich Norris clued ELAM as "Placekicker Jason" last time.

24A: Cyclotron particle: ATOM. Easy guess. I don't know what "Cyclotron" is. Sounds nuclear and dangerous.

30A: Litter cries: MEWING. No plural for MEWING? I penned in S at the end of blanks immediately, and had trouble with the ING.

32A: "Married ... With Children" dad: AL BUNDY. Unknown to me. Wikipedia says the show was notable for being the first prime time TV series to air on Fox, debuted on April 5, 1987. Oh, I just found out that Rupert Murdock's Fox was launched only in 1986.

35A: One hanging around: LOITERER. Only know the verb loiter.

38A: Suffix with web: CAM. Looks so high-tech to me.

42A: Letter after sigma: TAU. I know the letter, ignorant of the exact order though. It's before upsilon.

43A: Refined grace: ELEGANCE. Did Grace Kelly pop into your mind also? She is the epitome of ELEGANCE. I really like her in "To Catch a Thief".

44A: Kate of "The Reader": WINSLET. Another elegant actress. She won Oscar for "The Reader".

46A: Sarge's order: TEN HUT. Nope. I could only think of AT EASE. Wikipedia says TEN HUT is an American military term meaning "Come to attention!" It was shortened from "a-ten-hut" and came into use because it is easier to say at full shout than "attention." I feel "attention" is easier to shout, don't you?

50A: "Plop, plop, fizz, fizz" brand word: ALKA. I guessed. I've never heard of the song.

51A: Hard to recall: HAZY

54A: "Don't __ me, bro!": TASE. Here is the clip again. You will hear "Don't TASE me, bro!" around 1:58. It's played and replayed and replayed on various stations ad nauseam.

58A: Darn with thread: MEND

61A: Saturn SUV: VUE. French for "sight" as well.

66A: Hang in midair: HOVER. Thought of the kestrel the windhover immediately.

67A: Kate's sitcom pal: ALLIE

68A: '60 "trip" drug: LSD

69A: 33-Down's field: OPERA. And LEONTYNE (33D: Price known for Verdi roles), who was a completely unknown to me. Wikipedia says she was the the first African-American to become a leading prima donna at the Mets and best known for her title role "Aida".

70A: Like really old bread: MOLDY. STALE came to me first.

Down:

1D: Hip-hop record label: DEF JAM. Here is their logo. New name to me. Not into hip-hop or rap or their bling-blings.

2D: Airing after midnight, say: ON LATE. I wanted ON TAPE.

3D: Way to organize all your ducks?: IN A ROW. Lovely clue.

4D: Pencil remnant: NUB. I wonder why pencils instead pens are provided at the golf course. Easy to cheat?

5D: Scoff at: GIBE. I keep forgetting this taunting meaning of GIBE. Vaguely remember we had some GIBE & jibe discussions several weeks ago.

7D: USS Missouri nickname: BIG MO. New to me also. Wikipedia says it's also called "Mighty Mo".

10D: Aptly named shaving lotion: AFTA. After? Holy moley! No idea. I've never paid attention to what brand my husband is using. I don't like the bottle.

12D: Open porches: VERANDAS

18D: Qualified: ELIGIBLE

23D: Like "algae" or "termini": Abbr. PLU. Chinese nouns have no plural form.

27D: Italian cheese city: PARMA. Oh, is that how we get Parmesan cheese?

31D: Prize founder: NOBEL. Harsh words on Geithner's BAILOUTS (39D: Large-scale financial rescues) from Paul Krugman, NOBEL economics winner.

34D: "How to Talk Dirty and Influence People" author Lenny: BRUCE. Have never heard of the book, a parody of Carnegie's "How to Win Friends and Influence People".

37D: Bit of work: ERG. Both ERG and JOULE are often clued as "Work unit". JOULE is ten million ERGS.

40D: Bozo: LUNKHEAD. Know blockhead. LUNKHEAD is new to me.

41D: Revival structure: TENT. Thought of yesterday's earthquake in L'Aquila. So many landmark buildings are destroyed.

42D: "Up, up and away" defunct flier: TWA. Owned by Howard Huges from 1939 to 1966.

47D: Skating gold medalist Dorothy: HAMILL. 1976 Olympics champion. She looks very pretty.

48D: Log-in requirement: USER ID

49D: Lipton rival: TETLEY. Owned by Ratan Tata's Tata Group. He was actually educated in the US (Cornell & Harvard). He probably should not have gobbled up Jaguar and Land Rover.

52D: "Waves of grain" color: AMBER. I guessed. I had no idea that it's from "America the Beautiful".

59D: Apothecary's weight: DRAM. One eight of an ounce, or sixty grains, according to Dictionary.

64D: Mop & __: floor cleaner: GLO. I don't know what's the brand in our house, but it's definitely not Mop & GLO.

Answer Grid.

C.C.