Sunday May 17, 2009 Kathleen Fay O'Brien

Theme: PIANISSIMO (115A: Musical direction, and a hint to the quiet meetings taking place in the answers to starred clues) - PP represents PIANISSIMO.

23A: *Recycled stuff: SCRAP PAPER

25A: *Most dreaming occurs in the last one: SLEEP PHASE

46A: *West Coast Marine Crops training base: CAMP PENDLETON

68A: *It's loaded with rolls: CAP PISTOL

90A: *"Science" employed in many a self-help book: POP PSYCHOLOGY

113A: *Game you have to dress for: STRIP POKER

35D: *Liability suit targets: DEEP POCKETS

42D: *Thing to do first: TOP PRIORITY

Today's constructor Kathleen Fay O'Brien is the lady who gave us our first LA Sunday puzzle, the LA Clippers.

I was stumped when PPP (Pianississimo) was clued as "Very softly, in music" in our old TMS Daily once. Could not understand why PPP when there's only one p in the word pianississimo. Then Barry G explained that it's because piano (soft) is represented by P and pianissimo (very soft) is represented by PP. Dictionary says pianissimo is the superlative of piano. And fortississimo is the superlative of forte. Fortissimo is the comparative. Sounds so complicated.

Nice quiet puzzle. Very doable. I like the theme title too: Quiet Meetings. Several alliterative clues in today's grid:

40A: Kennel call: ARF

63A: Rods with roasts: SPITS

72A: Cell centers: NUCLEI

64D: Seine sun: SOLEIL

82D: Tete thought: IDEE

101D: Spanish snacks: TAPAS

107D: Salty septet: SEAS

I love the last one the most. Sometimes I get bored by certain alliterations. Clues can get very constrained and less inventive if you focus too much on them. But I appreciate the effort the constructors/editor put into them.

By the way, Scott Atkinson mentioned a mini-theme in Michael Wiesenberg themeless yesterday: WHITE WATER & PURPLE RAIN, which cross each other (32A & 5D) in the grid.

Across:

1A: Nitty-gritty: PITH

5A: Company whose name is often quacked in ads: AFLAC. Those Yogi Berra AFLAC commercials are fun.

10A: Skier's wear: PARKA. The Eskimo PARKA is called anorak. What the heck are these?

20A: Capital at 12,000 feet: LHASA. Capital of Tibet. And OSCAR (103A: 13 1/2-inch-high award). I like clues with interesting trivia.

21A: Medicinal creams: ALOES

27A: Birch of "American Beauty": THORA. Can't remember her name, even though I've seen the movie.

30A: "Washington Merry-Go-Round" columnist: PEARSON (Drew). Nope. Don't know this guy. Great cover picture.

31A: Insinuating: SNIDE. Always thought SNIDE means contemptuous.

35A: North Dakota State's home: FARGO. Easy guess. Here is their bison mascot.

36A: When people retire: BED TIME. I was thinking of a different retirement.

41A: Cons: ANTIS

45A: It can't be returned: ACE. Tennis. I like the clue.

53A: Silly type: GOOSE. Nice clue too.

55A: Sunscreen nos.: SPFS

56A: Easy stride: LOPE. Rachel Alexander sure raced like a girl yesterday. I was surprised by the outstanding performance of Mine that Bird, who now I think might have won had Calvin Borel rode it.

57A: Professor "iggins: 'ENRY. From "My Fair Lady". Letter H is dropped in Cockney accent. 'OMES (homes) was once clued as "Cockney abodes" in our puzzle before.

59A: Chef's repertoire: RECIPES. Here is the "Julie & Julia" trailer.

61A: Take care of a boxer: PET SIT

65A: College offering: DEGREE

66A: Destroy over time: ERODE

71A: Debt evidence: CHITS

74A: Reel: LURCH

77A: Starts liking: TAKES TO

79A: 1950s-'60s "Man on the Street" comic: NYE (Louis). No idea. He does not look like a comic.

80A: Copy of an orig.: REPR (Reprint)

81A: Composer Satie: ERIK. I wonder why he changed his name from Eric to ERIK.

84A: People: ONES. This answer often gives me trouble, so does ONE, which stumped me last time when it's clued as "Fused".

87A: Two-time Tony winner Rivera: CHITA. Clear Ayes has probably seen all of those musicals.

88A: Actress Conn: DIDI. Unknown to me. She looks so happy.

93A: X, at times: TEN

96A: Work the aisles, slangily: USH. The letter S enabled me to fill in APSE rather than NAVE for the intersecting 86D: Church area.

97A: It borders It.: AUS (Austria). I did not pay attention to the abbreviated & capitalized "It."

98A: Lit: PIE- EYED. Both means drunk. I struggled with this answer.

100A: Bizarre: OUTRE

102D: PC hookup: CRT

104A: It can be hard to refold: ROADMAP. I like this clue too.

107A: Captain Marvel's magic word: SHAZAM. New to me. What does SHAZAM mean? Is it just a made-up word?

119A: Very, in score: ASSAI. What's the difference between ASSAI & MOLTO?

120A: Formed just for this project: AD HOC. Literally "for this".

121A: __'acte: ENTR

122A: WWII journalist Ernie: PYLE. What does letter C (his left arm) stand for?

124A: Serious: HEAVY. Why? Can you give me an example?

125A: Blotter site: DESK

Down:

2D: Yen: ITCH. Some ITCH just can't be scratched.

3D: Green party?: TYRO. I knew it's a play on "Green Party", but I could not think of an answer immediately. Very clever clue.

4D: Pulitzer rival: HEARST

6D: D.C. mortgage insurer: FHA (Federal Housing Administration).

11D: Shakespeare title starter: ALL'S. “ALL'S Well That Ends Well”.

13D: Continually remind: KEEP AFTER. New phrase to me.

14D: According to: AS PER. Reminds me of PER SE. Tricky to parse.

15D: "Silkwood" co-screenwriter Nora: EPHRON. Have never seen "Silkwood". Loved her "Sleepless in Seattle". Nora blogs at Huffington Post.

24D: Chicken Little's emotion: PANIC. Did not come to me immediately.

26D: Certain polytheist: PAGAN. Isn't strange that ancient Romans/Greeks/Egyptians are all polytheists?

29D: Opposite of ja: NEIN. German yes (ja) and no (NEIN).

32D: Publicists' concerns: IMAGES

33D: Possessed: DEMONIC. Obtained the answer with Across help.

35D: Guitar ridge: FRET. I forgot. FRET as a "Guitar ridge" appeared in our puzzle before.

37D: Cave phenomenon: ECHO

40D: "Little Men" author: ALCOTT. Only knew her "Little Women".

43D: How distances to ballpark fences are measured: IN FEET

44D: Gets cheeky with: SASSES. Typical grid edge word, so is SEUSS (123A: "If I ran the Zoo" author). Lots of S's.

47D: Fancy entrance: PORTAL

48D: Coffee go-with: DANISH. Yummy!

49D: Pigged out (on): ODED. Was this a gimmie to you? Somehow ODs or ODed always give me trouble.

52D: Ribs: NEEDLES. Both mean "teases".

55D: Seen from the crow's nest: SIGHTED. "Crow's nest" is a new term to me.

58D: Part of little girls' make-up: SPICE. And sugar. And all things nice.

60D: Singer Winans: CECE. BeBe & CeCe. Learned from doing Xword.

62D: Tiger's bagful: TEES. Meet Steve Williams, the world's most recognizable caddie.

63D: How acrobats perform: SPRYLY

67D: Former African territory ___Urundi (now two countries): RUANDA. Became Rwanda and Burundi in 1962. New to me.

69D: Fine, for instance: PUNISH

70D: Airport security concerns LAPTOPS

76D: Like "Macbeth": TRAGIC

80D: Pi followers: RHOS. I really liked last time's "Letters from Plato" for ETAS.

87D: Impudence: CHUTZPAH. Great answer.

90D: Portly: PLUMP

91D: Term of affection, in Asti: CARA. "Honey" in Italian?

92D: A long time: YEARS

95D: Nutrient in kelp: IODINE. I don't like kelp, so grainy and hard to wash. Love nori seaweed though.

99D: Cleared the board: ERASED. The clue brought to me immediately Target's messy "Board of Directors" fight. I don't really feel sorry for William Ackman. Does he look handsome to you?

102D: '90s "SNL" regular Farley: CHRIS. Nope. Don't know this guy.

104D: Brief answer?: RSVP. Nice clue.

105D: Our Gang assent: OTAY. No idea. Wanted OKAY.

106D: Seed cover: ARIL. This has become a gimme. Argyle linked this nice mace and nutmeg picture last time.

108D: Subordinate: AIDE

110D: Brief reading?: ZINE. Short for Fanzine, hence the "brief" hint in the clue.

114D: Manhattan sch: KSU (Kansas State University). I don't know there is a Manhattan in Kansas. But NYU won't fit.

Answer grid.

C.C.

Saturday May 16, 2009 Michael Wiesenberg

Theme: None

Total blocks: 32

Total words: 66

The four corners of this grid looks so balanced. Each with stacked 4*7 entries. And the whole puzzle has only five 3-letter fills. Neat. Once again, I found the long answers in Down entries to be very interesting.

Where did you get your foothold today? Do you always start with 1-Across? I solved the lower right corner first. ORDONEZ (40D: 2007 A.L. batting champ Magglio) was a gimme. He is a very interesting character, being a staunch supporter of Hugo Chávez. His baseball cards are not worth anything though, unless they are authenticated autographs.

There is an international flavor to this puzzle: ROMANIA (34D: Nadia Comaneci's homeland), SPAIN (50A: View from Gibraltar) & MONTE CARLO (48A: Riviera attraction). Then we have ISRAELI, SUEZ, NEIN, TE AMO and TETE. Colorful fills.

Across:

1A: Journalist Kupcinet et al.: IRVS. Stumped immediately. He was a long-time columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times and his nickname was "Kup". The lady on his left is Lauren Bacall.

5A: Take by force: WREST

10A: Fix: BIND. Can you give me an example on how they are interchangeable?

14A: Word repeated before "Born is the king of Israel": NOEL. The only Christmas song I can remember by heart is "Silent Night". Taught by an American who was immediately fired for teaching us this "religious song".

15A: Games immortal: HOYLE. His first name stumped many last time when it's clued as "Card game authority" (EDMOND HOYLE).

16A: Lou's "La Bamba" co-star: ESAI (Morales). Learned this fact from doing Xword. I liked ESAI Morales in "NYPD Blue". He was so cool, at least, before he reconnected with his ex.

17A: Certain something: AURA. Well, this "Certainly something" sure did not come to me immediately. Lovely clue.

18A: Clinch the deal: ICE IT

19A: Love and war, to some: ARTS. Love is an art? To whom? Do these Chinese characters for "The Art of War" look complicated to you?

20A: Like some dads: STAY-AT-HOME. Nice fill. Nice clue too.

22A: PGA Champions Tour standout Jay: HAAS. "Standout" indeed. Jay HAAS has had such an incredible Champions Tour (formerly Sr. PGA) winning record. Hale Irwin used to be the dominant figure (Thanks, Jerome).

23A: Blackjack holdings: NINETEENS. No idea. Are they good or bad holdings?

24A: Shakespeare contemporary George: PEELE. Completely unknown to me.

25A: Maryland Air Force base: ANDREWS. Just found out ANDREWS Air Force Base was named for General Frank M. Andrews, former Commanding General of United States Forces in the ETO (European Theater of Operations) during WWII, according to Wikipedia.

26A: Slanted, in a way: ITALIC

28A: Nutritional regimen since the 1970s: ATKINS DIET. Not for me. Meat is just a side dish in Asian diet.

31A: Ich liebe dich: German:: __: Spanish: TE AMO. In Chinese, it's Wo Ai Ni.

32A: Prince classic: PURPLE RAIN. Being from from Minnesota, Prince's every move is followed closely by the local media.

37A: Houston MLBer: 'STRO

41A: One might keep you from going out: SNORER. I got the answer. Don't understand the rationale.

42A: Ring in a crib: TEETHER

44A: Like mercenaries: ARMED

45A: California's Highway 1, for one: COAST ROAD. Easy guess.

47A: Farm lands: LEAS

49A: Staffs: MANS. Verb.

51A: Frau's refusal: NEIN. How to you say "I don't love you" in German?

52A: Prefix meaning "peculiar": IDIO. As in idiosyncrasy.

53A: They may be sheepish: GRINS. I was thinking of EWES.

54A: Fog: DAZE

55A: Printer's primary color: CYAN. Oh, I am definitely a dummy. I thought it's black.

56A: Noncom nickname: SARGE. Isn't it strange that the shortened form of sergeant is SARGE instead of the more reasonable SERGE? This gives me an excuse to link SERGE Gainsbourg's "Je T'aime... Moi Non Plus".

57A: Canal site: SUEZ. Hard to believe it's already opened in 1869.

Down:

1D: Quickly: In A SNAP. Still have trouble with multiple words.

2D: Ordinary: ROUTINE

3D: Open porch: VERANDA

4D: TV's Buffy and Faith, e.g.: SLAYERS

5D: Kayaking challenge: WHITEWATER. Upstream, looks impossible to me.

6D: Kodak's home: ROCHESTER. I did not know Kodak is headquartered in ROCHESTER, NY. Wikipedia says Xerox was also founded in ROCHESTER in 1906.

8D: Loses, in a way, with "down": SLIMS

9D: Dijon dome?: TETE. Had no idea that "dome" is a slang for head.

10A: Lead: BE AHEAD. Need to get used to this BE something verb phrase as well.

11D: Begin, e.g.: ISRAELI. Begin shared Nobel Peace with Anwar Sadat in 1978.

12D: Wood of Hollywood: NATALIE. I like the cute girl in "Miracle on 34th Street".

13D: Analyze: DISSECT

24D: Liq. measures: PTS (Pints)

26D: By some measure: IN ONE SENSE. I thought it's IN A SENSE.

29D: Kipling python: KAA. The answer emerged after I filled in the Acrosses. Why did he name the snake KAA?

30D: Doing, so to speak: IMITATING. I am lost here. Why?

32D: Like much worship music: PSALMIC. First time I encountered this adjective.

33D: Not prepared: UNREADY. Do you use this word in your daily conversation often? I always say "I am not ready".

35D: Persevere: PRESS ON

37D: Leaves high and dry: STRANDS

38D: "Civil Disobedience": THOREAU. Has anyone read THOREAU's "Civil Disobedience"? What is it about?

39D: Come to understand: REALIZE

43D: Handy abbr.: ETC. Good clue.

45D: Dried coconut meat: COPRA. I tend to confuse this word with the snake cobra.

46D: Station sign: ON AIR

48D: In-box contents: Abbr.: MSGS (Messages). Thought of LTRS first. My "dome" does not work well.

Answer grid.

C.C.

Friday May 15, 2009 Doug Peterson

Theme: Sit-COM

20A: Soothe Geronimo's people?: COMFORT APACHE (Fort Apache)

28A: Sherman tank, for one?: COMBAT MOBILE (Batmobile)

43A: "If Tarzan's bothering you, speak up!": COMPLAIN JANE (Plain Jane)

52A: Speak highly of enclosures?: COMMEND FENCES (Mend Fences)

Our local Star Tribune had a boringly incomprehensible article yesterday about a British scientist who has somehow proven that RNA is the key to the origin of life. There are two sentences that caught my eyes: "The author, John D. Sutherland, a chemist at the University of Manchester, likened his work to a crossword puzzle in which solving the first clues makes the others easier. "Whether we've done one across is an open question," he said. "Our worry is that it may not be right." You can read more here (third paragraph) in NY Time's website.

I was not familiar with John Wayne/Henry Fonda movie "Fort Apache". Did not know Batman's car the Batmobile either. But I got one across immediately today, and I got it right. Conquered the upper fairly quickly and got the COM theme early on. Struggled in the lower right corner though. Once again, several long & interesting words in the Down entries.

Just checked my blog archive and found out that most of the Doug Peterson puzzles have 4 theme entries. Some has 3. All of them are truly about synonyms, rhyming or some kind of wordplay, as he mentioned in his interview.

Across:

1A: Iraqi seaport: BASRA. Sigh. The Iraq War. Not worth the fight. Democracy should be fostered from within. BASRA is the second largest city in Iraq, after Baghdad.

10A: Dessert chain with Waffle Cone Wednesday: TCBY. Interesting, the first TCBY was opened in Clinton's Little Rock, AR (1981). I did not know that.

14A: Pigment of iron oxide: OCHER. Also spelled as OCHRE.

15A: Tolkien brutes: ORCS. And the Tolkien talking tree is ENT. Learned both from doing Xword.

16A: Anorak feature: HOOD. I forgot the meaning of anorak. It's the Eskimo parka.

19A: Lodge group: ELKS. Often clued as "Part of BPOE" (Benevolent and Protective Order of ELKS".

25A: Wedding setting: CHURCH. Nice rhyming clue.

31A: Bygone rulers: TSARS. The crossing letter S from STOOP (32D: Condescend) prevented me from thinking of CZARS or even SHAHS.

34A: Strong wagon: DRAY. Got it with the down help. I can never remember this wagon. It sure looks strong.

35A: Crow cousin: DAW. Alliterative clue again. I faintly remember seeing this bird somewhere before. OK. It's black. I guess it's indeed Crow's cousin then. Dictionary says it's "often nesting in church towers and ruins".

36A: DOJ employee: ATTY. Did not know DOJ is Department of Justice. ATTY was easy to obtain though.

37A: Spice often added to curries: CUMIN. No curry for me. Strange taste.

39A: Fiend: OGRE. I am used to the "Fairytale baddie" clue for OGRE.

40A: English site of a royal flush?: LOO. I got the answer and understood the "flush" part. But why "royal"?

41A: Hold one's own: COPE

42A: Massage: KNEAD

47A: Skillful pass: SPIRAL. No idea. Football term often stumps me.

48A: Ocean State sch.: URI (University of Rhode Island). Dr. Dad mentioned this abbreviation as a possible clue for URI when it's clued as "Swiss canton" in our old puzzle last time. But it did not register well in my brain. Wikipedia entry says CNN's Christiane Amanpour & John King both graduated from here.

49A: Doo-wop syllable: SHA. SHA is also the abbreviation for Shanghai.

56A: River through Kazakhstan: URAL

58A: Hippie's "Yeah, man!": I DIG

59A: Brag: VAUNT

60A: Star followers: MAGI. The three wise men. Good clue. I thought of GAZE first, you know, stargaze.

61A: Diamond complement: NINE. Another baseball answer is HOP (23A: Infield bounce).

62A: Money with hits: EDDIE. I knew immediately that the Money here is not the real money. But I had never heard of this rock singer. So, total blank here.

63A: Top: APEX

64A: Letters from Plato: ETAS. Alphabet letters. Lovely clue. Learned a lot about Sartre and his chasing (not just after girls) from reading Simone de Beauvoir's "A Translantic Love Affair: Letters to Nelson Algren".

65A: Printer acronym: LASER. Have never bothered to check what LASER stands for: Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation. TASER is short for Thomas A. Swift's Electric Rifle.

Down:

1D: "The Garden of Earthly Delights" painter: BOSCH. His name revealed itself after I filled in the Across blanks. Here is the painting. All those people are naked.

2D: One may precede a blessing: ACHOO

3D: Oldest of Stooges: SHEMP. No idea. All I could think of is Moe, Larry and Curly.

5D: Gulches: ARROYOS. Nailed it this morning.

6D: Warm place to chill: HOT TUB. Nice clue.

7A: Subject matter: AREA. Got the answer. Do not understand the rationale.

8D: Ottawa-based law gp.: RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police)

9D: Derivative '80s game in which one ghost's name was changed from Clyde to Sue: MS. PAC-MAN. It's clued as "'80 arcade game" in an Allan E Parrish puzzle last Dec. Those ghost names mean nothing to me.

10D: Old Boston name: THE HUB. No idea. Only knew the "Beantown".

11D: "Kubla Khan" poet: COLERIDGE. This is the same picture of Kubla Khan we used in our history book. He's the founder of Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368). Song, Yuan, Ming & Qing. The last four dynasties in China.

12D: With 22-Down, Asian cabbage: BOK. And CHOY (22D: See 12-Down). It's "Chinese cabbage" to be exact.

13D: Abbr. on a golf tee: YDS. PGA Championship 2009 will be played here in MN in August.

26D: Bow in pictures: CLARA. I got the answer immediately. She is "The it Girl".

27D: Cut down: HEWED. "Cut" is a very tricky word tense-wise.

29D: Campaign creators: AD MEN

30D: Half of sex-: TRI. Somehow this clear prefix mark - after sex (Latin for six) made me laugh. Why not "Half of sex?". Too DF?

31D: Easily scratched minerals: TALCS

33D: Era that began with a blast?: ATOMIC AGE. Holy cow! I had no idea that we still live in ATOMIC AGE.

37D: Montana resource site: COAL MINE. Is Montana famous for its COAL MINE like West Virginia? Doug Peterson is from Montana.

38D: Press initials: UPI

39D: Fused: ONE. Did you get this answer immediately?

41D: Casino delicacy?: CLAM. Big stumper. Not familiar with Clams Casino at all. What are those blackened stuff? Looks like they are burned.

42D: Either of two notable jumpers: KNIEVEL

44D: Long-winded: PROLIX. New word to me. I thought of PROSAIC.

45D: Story that tells the story of Samson: JUDGES. No idea. All I know about Samson is that he is a strong man and Samsonite is named after him.

46D: Strip yip: ARF. Oh, comic strip.

49D: Scoots along, as a cloud: SCUDS. Always have trouble remembering this cloud moving meaning of SCUD.

50D: "Thin Ice" star, 1937: HENIE. I am sure it's a gimme for Clear Ayes. Me? I forgot all about Sonja HENIE.

51D: Autumn blossom: ASTER. Greek for star. I just found out that disaster is actually rooted in ASTER. How surprising!

54D: Ricci of fashion: NINA. These NINA Ricci models all look like famished.

55D: Zilch: NADA. Would love to see ZILCH as answer some day.

56D: She played Emma in "The Avengers": UMA. Easy guess. It's either UMA or EVA (Longoria). I've never seen "The Avengers".

57D: Good thing to beat: RAP. "Beat the RAP" is a new slang to me.

Answer grid.

C.C.

Thursday May 14, 2009 Gary Steinmehl

Theme: LINCOLN CENTER (37A: Performing arts site where ground was broken 5/14/1959, and a hint to the shared features of the answers to starred clues) - ABE is embedded in the very center of each theme entry.

17A: *Era in which Shakespeare wrote most of his plays: ELIZABETHAN

60A: *Put in order, as files: ALPHABETIZE

11D: *With no tags: UNLABELED

33D: *Veggies of Andean origin: LIMA BEANS

LIMA BEANS is an odd entry, the only ABE that spans two words. A bit of inconsistency here. The theme title entry LINCOLN CENTER is very clever, and it's gridded in the central row # 8. I wonder if the puzzle was originally created for the big 200th Anniversary of Lincoln's birth. (Added later: According to Orange, today is the 50th anniversary of when they broke ground to build LINCOLN CENTER.)

Some sweet baseball sub-theme:

11A: Official in black: UMP

66A: Cobb and others: TYS

8D: Only team besides the Yankees to win three consecutive World Series: ATHLETICS (1972-1974)

61D: Manager Piniella: LOU

ATHLETICS is an easy fill, though I was not aware of their consecutive World Series wins (1972, 1973 and 1974). Neither the Yankees nor the Athletics has won since I arrived in the US in May 2001. Then LOU Piniella was still the manager for the Mariners and Ichiro had all the media attention. Pineilla is currently with the Cubs.

Nice scrabbly upper left corner & lower right corner. I liked those 6 long non-theme words in the Down entries.

Across:

1A: Sign in a reserved parking area: STAFF. Except OFF & EFF, we seldom see a single ?FF ending word, not even BUFF.

6A: Time's Person of the Year 2008: OBAMA. He will probably be again this year. Or his wife. Or both of them.

14A: Screen dot: PIXEL

15A: Communion bread holder: PATEN. Chalice and PATEN. I completely forgot about this word.

19A: __ Palmas: LAS. Have never heard of this remote Spanish province. What's it famous for?

22A: Indifferent: BLASE

26A: Unadorned: NAKED. BARED came to me first.

28A: Border: ABUT. Verb.

29A: "Rocky III" actor: MR. T

31A: Quick-drying paint: TEMPERA. Only one letter difference from TEMPURA, the Japanese deep frying battered veggies.

34A: Jumps (out): BAILS

36A: Article in Elle France: LES. The French definite article (plural). Good clue. I like Elle China.

43A: Leave in the lurch: ABANDON

45A: A followers: BCD

47A: Keats's "__ Psyche": ODE TO. Easy guess since he wrote so many ODES. Here is a sculpture of Cupid and Psyche at the Louvre.

50A: Kennel chatter: YAPS. No plural form for "Chatter"?

56A: Work on the cutting edge?: STROP. Great clue.

58A: English __: LIT. Thought of TEA first.

59A: "Ghost" psychic __ Mae Brown: ODA. Played by Whoopi Goldberg. Loved "Ghost".

63A: Wasn't colorfast: RAN

64A: Foolish: GOONY. Only knew goon. Strange. Why its adjective is not goonish like thuggish? There is no thuggy after all.

65A: "Hungarian Rhapsodies" composer: LISZT (Franz)

67A: Idlers in a jam: AUTOS

Down:

1D: Command to Fido: SPEAK

2D: El Niño feature?: TILDE. Nailed it immediately. Saw identical clue before.

3D: Geometry truth: AXIOM. I don't know what "Geometry truth" is. But AXIOM is truth any way.

4D: Tasseled topper: FEZ

5D: Wing movement: FLAP

7D: Dying art: BATIK. Of Javanese origin. New word to me. Dictionary explains it as "a technique of hand-dyeing fabrics by using wax as a dye repellent to cover parts of a design, dyeing the uncovered fabric with a color or colors, and dissolving the wax in boiling water".

10D: "The Brady Bunch" actress Davis: ANN B. Got her name with Across help. I wanted ANNE or ANNA. Did not expect the B abbreviation.

12D: Calibrated tool: MEASURER. If you say so. What do you call the person who measures then? Not MEASURER?

13D: Old dinero: PESETAS. I forgot. It's the Spanish currency from 1869 to 2002. Then it's replaced by Euro.

18D: Crooked: BENT

23D: Computer site, sometimes: LAP. I was in the wrong direction, thinking of web site.

27D: Editing marks: DELE. And STETS (53D: Leaves in).

32D: "Hardball" airer: MSNBC. I think Chris Matthews has the best job in the world.

34D: The right side-view mirror compensates for it: BLIND SPOT. Nice theme-long non-theme entry.

35D: Farm crawler: ANT. (ANT farm. Thanks, Al)

37D: Symbolic end of summer: LABOR DAY

40D: Garage alternative: CARPORT. New word to me also. We only have garage.

44D: Marshal at Waterloo: NEY (Michel). Learned his name from doing Xword also. Napoleon called him "th bravest of the brave"

45D: Nincompoop: BOOB. Wrote down BOZO first.

48D: Culture: Pref.: ETHNO

49D: Fast-food carriers: TRAYS. And PIZZA (52D: Lunch slice).

55D: It's a long story: SAGA

57D: Hide: PELT

62D: __ Maria: Liqueur: TIA. Coffee liqueur. Made originally in Jamaica using the Blue Mountain Coffee beans, according to Wikipedia. New to me.

Answer grid.

C.C.

PS: Due to some changes in my life, blog posts will be brief from now on, and I will only respond to questions in the Comments section. Thanks for the understanding.

Wednesday May 13, 2009 Laura Sternberg

Theme: PEPPER (Word that can follow the first word of 17-, 25-, 39-, 47- or 60-Across)

17A: Beetle Bailey's boss: SERGEANT SNORKEL (Sergeant Pepper)

25A: Quasimodo's milieu: BELL TOWER (Bell Pepper)

39A: Swiss Miss, e.g.: HOT CHOCOLATE MIX (Hot Pepper)

47A: Physician of 1930s-'40s film: DR. KILDARE (Dr Pepper)

60A: German dessert, American-style: BLACK FOREST CAKE (Black Pepper)

I am used to the abbreviated "Sgt. Pepper". Wikipedia says Beatles originally named their album "Dr. Pepper's Lonely Heart Club Band". But they changed the title to "Sgt. Pepper... " after discovering that Dr Pepper was a trademarked American soft drink. Do you know why there is no dot between DR & PEPPER?

I am not familiar with the Beetle Bailey comic strip or DR. KILDARE. Love seeing BLACK FOREST CAKE as the last theme entry. Sweet dessert!

Heavy themage today, three grid-spanning 15 letter entries, and two 9-letter answer, plus a unifying PEPPER. Hot enough for the "Snottie Dottie" Pepper. I have never tried chocolate with chili pepper or chocolate-covered peppers, have you?

Neat to see KNAVE (49D: Rogue) and SCAMP (53D: Rogue) with the same clue. I started to develop a fondness for this kind of same-clue-different answer cluing. Would have loved to see SID (16A: Rocker Vicious) as "Caesar of comedy" to pair up with COCA (40D: Caesar's TV sidekick).

Across:

1A: Patches, as a lawn: RESODS. The letter O enabled me to get ORG (4D: URL ending) immediately.

7A: Grass houses: HUTS. Are straws grasses?

15A: Place serving links: IHOP. Why "links"? I like IHOP's crepes. Links made me think of golf courses.

20A: Fund for later yrs.: IRA. Looks like the market is on a steady recovery now.

21A: Puritanical: PRIM. PRIM? Hmmm, definitely not. Talk about pitchfork.

22A: Superman player: REEVE (Christopher)

23A: Migrant: NOMAD. Wrote now MOVER first.

28A: Kissers: LIPS

30A: Western treaty gp.: OAS (Organization of American States). Established in 1948. Cuba's membership has yet to be re-stated.

31A: Remove the chaff: THRESH. Nice word. Consonants heavy.

33A: Rd. or st.: RTE. And HOV (32D: Hwy. lane type)

34A: American __, North Dakota state tree: ELM. Oh, I did not know this trivia. MN's state tree is red pine. What's your state tree?

35A: "Yay me!": TADA. I've never said "Yay me!"

42A: Times to call, in ads: EVES. I wrote down NOWS. Call NOW.

44A: Horror film creature: ZOMBIE

45A: Nuclear agency estab. under Truman: AEC (1946-1975). I like this clue better than "NRC predecessor". Nice to learn some trivia.

46A: Sign of traffic impatience: BEEP. HONK does not fit.

52A: Puccini heroine: TOSCA. And "Verdi heroine" is AIDA. Learned both from doing Xword.

56A: Postage meter unit: OUNCE

59A: Fish oil source: COD. Salmon fish oil is equally good.

64A: Bk. before Numbers: LEV (Leviticus). After Exodus.

65A: Shaw's homeland: EIRE. No ERIN dilemma due to the crossing fills.

66A: Dorm cohort: ROOMIE. I shared a tiny dorm with 6 other girls in my college years.

67A: "... __the set of sun": "Macbeth": ERE. Stumped. I am used to the "Poet's before" clue.

68A: Will of "The Waltsons": GEER. Finally I remember him. He was the Grandpa Walton.

Down:

1D: Amber, e.g.: RESIN. Oh, I only know color amber. Had no idea that it's a resin.

2D: Juanita's January: ENERO. Another alliteration. This seems to appear with foreign words only.

3D: Ex-NFL coach Hank: STRAM. No idea. Wikipedia says Hank STRAM "is largely responsible for the introduction of Gatorade to the NFL due to his close association with Ray Graves, coach at the University of Florida during Gatorade's development and infancy".

5D: Like Chicago-style pizza: DEEP DISH. Have never had Chicago style pizza or Chicago style hot dog.

7D: "I'll take a card": HIT ME. No idea. Gambling term I suppose.

8D: Sounds of uncertainty: UHS

10D: Wears proudly: SPORTS. Fun to see the old jerseys and caps people SPORT at the ball park.

11D: Obliquely: ASKEW

12D: Utensil with a mesh bottom: SIEVE

13D: Freud contemporary: ADLER (Alfred). I forgot. He is the guy who coined "Inferiority Conplex". Brett Favre needs to be psychoanalyzed. He looks good in Viking's uniform (fake one). Or do you like the real Packers' photo?

18D: Penpoints: NIBS. NIB, neb, nab, nub. So confusing.

19D: Vintage wheels: REO. Another 20 years, the clue would be "Antique wheels". Antique has to be over 100 years old.

24D: Smart fellows?: ALECS. Smart ALEC. Stumped. The ? made me think of Agent Smart.

26D: Recline lazily: LOLL

27D: Birthday preparation class: LAMAZE. See Paul's Clever Clue of the Month (Jan). Very cool "Class that ends before labor day?" clue.

29D: Used one's cell: PHONED

31D: With 38-Down, employment termination: THE And AXE (38D: See 31-Down). Get THE AXE.

35D: Pace of a piece: TEMPO. Musical pace.

36D: UN delegate: AMB (Ambassador). Wrote down REP first.

37D: 502, to the Romans: DII

41D: In direct confrontation: TOE TO TOE

45D: Brew container: ALE KEG

46D: "I've Gotta __": 1969 hit: BE ME. Here is the clip. It's new to me. I like the song title.

47D: Paso __: two step: DOBLE. No idea. I don't speak Spanish. Is it literally "double pass"?

48D: Commander: RULER. Not fond of this clue.

50D: Former RR watchdog: ICC (Interstate Commerce Commission, 1887-1996)

54D: News analyst Roberts: COKIE. NPR's senior news analyst. Her name escaped me this morning.

55D: "Doe, __ ...": song lyric: A DEER. "Doe, A DEER, a female deer ...". From "The Sound of Music".

58D: Car sticker abbr.: MSRP (Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price). Looks like GM and Chrysler are going to file bankruptcy any day.

61D: Old annoyed cry: FIE

63D: One on a beat: COP. Here is a list of slang terms for cops. Pigs/Swine sound so rude.

Answer grid.

C.C.

Tuesday May 12, 2009 Don Gagliardo

Theme: Be Quiet!

20A: "Shh!" from a plumber?: PIPE DOWN

26A: "Shh!" from a hosier? PUT A SOCK IN IT

37A: "Shh!" from a mail carrier?: ZIP IT

42A: "Shh!" from a hunter?: SHUT YOUR TRAP

52A: "Shh!" from a seamstress?: BUTTON UP

SHUT YOUR TRAP is a new to me. Any other similar phrase for "Shh!"?

Very nice puzzle (34 black squares). I've never solved a puzzle with only four 3-letter fills. So unusual. Every job descriptive "Shh!" theme clue is lively. I like clues that evoke vivid images. Imagine how boring it would be if all the theme answers were clued with just a simple "Shh!".

The Down entries are exceptionally good too, with 6 long words (8 or 9 letters). I like the clues for the paralleled A MINUS (27D: Almost perfect) and SUPER (28D: Perfect). Another good pair is SPADE (49D: Prospector's tool) and PICK (50D: Prospector's tool). I wish ALBA (57A: Goya's "Duchess of __") were clued as "Jessica of "Into the Blue" to pair up with BIEL (52D: Jessica of "7th Heaven").

I enjoyed this puzzle very much. Still in awe of Don Gagliardo's last GEES. Superb!

Across:

1A: Iranian ruler until 1979. SHAH. And SHAW (10A: Clarinetist Artie). The first 3 letters are identical.

5A: Prickly plants: CACTI. The first row of the grid is always consonant-heavy. That's because most words start with consonant.

16A: Prefix with space: AERO. Aerospace.

18A: Prepare to drive: TEE UP. Well, if you are Laura Davies, you don't need the tee. Just kick some dirt and smoke the drive.

25A: "CSI" city: MIAMI

31A: Greek fabulist: AESOP. Isn't it strange that the word is fabulist rather than fablist?

34A: City bonds, for short: MUNIS. The interest income of MUNIS is exempted from the state income tax.

36A: Editor's "Leave it in": STET

38A: Red coin?: CENT. Oh, penny. I was thinking the clue was asking the coin of former Soviet Union.

39A: Agt.'s cut: PCT. What's the abbreviation for commission? COM?

40A: Corn breads: PONES. OK, is this the correct PONE photo?

45A: Salon services: PERMS. And DO UP (21D: Fix, as hair). Is DO UP a common phrase? I've never used it before. Can you DO UP my hair? Sounds weird.

46A: Shady areas: ARBORS. Lots of trees in Ann ARBOR, I imagine.

50A: Subdued shade: PASTEL. Alliteration again. Very precise clue too.

54A: Polite "I think", in chat room: IMHO

58A: "We gotta get movin'!": C'MON

60A: "Kills bugs dead" spray: RAID. Just realized Tara Reid is spelled differently. Always thought it's Tara RAID.

61A: "Keystone" bunch of film: KOPS. Got the answer with Down help. I can never remember "Keystone KOPS".

62A: Proctor __: kitchen appliance brand: SILEX. Holy moley. Have never heard of this brand. Our kitchen appliances seem to be all GE products. I could only think of Proctor & Gamble.

Down:

2D: "Deal or No Deal" host Mandel: HOWIE. Are you a fan of "Deal or No Deal"?

4D: Attraction for Winnie the Pooh: HONEY POT. Sweet. I love my honey too. Want some?

7D: Normandy city: CAEN. Sometimes the answer is ST. LO.

9D: Not expressly stated: IMPLICIT

11D: Windchill factor's opposite: HEAT INDEX. Awesome fill.

13D: Left the land of Nod: WOKE. "Nod" here should not be capitalized, correct? I learned yesterday that the Greek god of dream is Morpheus, son of Hypnos (god of sleep) and Nyx (goddess of night).

25D: Single-principle believer: MONIST

31D: Once-sacred slitherers: ASPS. I suppose it's not sacred after the snake killed Cleopatra?

32D: Inscribe: ETCH. Love this little word. Three consonants.

33D: Go into business: SET UP SHOP

37D: Attachment for closeups: ZOOM LENS. Reminds me of Jackie's "Hustler" nude photos.

38D: Bare fixture of rhyme: CUPBOARD. "Old Mother Hubbard/Went to the CUPBOARD..."

40D: Ceremonial heap: PYRE. I am surprised the PYRES are still used India.

41D: Like Granny Smith apple: TART. Granny Smith & honeyed walnuts & celery. My own Waldorf salad. Granny Smith apples are originated in Australia.

43D: Wyoming range: TETONS. Fun name Grand Teton.

44D: Like adult movies: RATED X

47D: Dental crown alternative: ONLAY. Easy guess. I don't really know anything about ONLAY, inlay or crown.

48D: Man with a cube: RUBIK. He is a Hungarian. This Monty Python Hungarian Phrase Book clip is really funny.

56D: Law, in Lyon: LOI. French for "law". New word to me. Alliteration in the clue again. It happens so often with foreign word clues.

Answer grid.

C.C.

Monday May 11, 2009 Lila Cherry

Theme: Shades of RED (59D: The starts of this puzzle's three longest answers are shades of it)

20A: Lust, gluttony, greed, etc.: CARDINAL SINS

34A: Alabama team nickname: CRIMSON TIDE

51A: Ice cream flavor honoring a Grateful Dead icon: CHERRY GARCIA

(Note from C.C.: Today's post is blogged by Argyle. And today's puzzle is just another work from our editor Rich Norris. Lila Cherry is his alias name, anagram of "Really Rich". And he worked CHERRY into the grid. I love how PSI (3D: Trident-shaped Greek letter) parallels PITCHFORK (4DD: Tool in haystack). Greek god of the sea Poseidon is often portrayed as carrying a trident/PITCHFORK-shaped spear.)

Back to Argyle.

I am disappointed that our constructor, Lila CHERRY, didn't include a ROSE for MOMMA but she probably didn't know it would run the day after Mother's Day so I'll blame the editor. ;~)

The Grateful Dead icon was Jerry GARCIA, one of its original founders. The founders of Ben and Jerry's ice cream were a good fit with the philosophy of the Grateful Dead.

There seemed to be tres many French connections today.

Across:

10A: Rum-soaked cake: BABA. These are small cakes made from yeast dough containing raisins or currants. They are baked in cylindrical molds and then soaked with sugar syrup usually flavored with rum. In French, the word baba means "falling over or dizzy." (Any truth to that?) BABA au Rhum.

15A: Ark builder: NOAH. No, not Moses, you Densa's.

16A: like a happy dog's tail: AWAG. Another word used mostly in crosswords.

18A: About, in legal memos: IN RE. In re, Latin for "in the matter [of]".

19A: Lee seen in freezers: SARA. SARA Lee has been seen in my freezer, but not for long.

23A: "Charlotte's Web" author: E. B. WHITE. Elwyn Brooks White, 1899-1985. Because of the movie, I had no idea he was that old.

27A: Toy (with): TRIFLE.

28A: Brush fire operation, briefly: EVAC. Unfortunately, a common term in CA.

30A: Fed. stipend: SSI. Supplemental Security Income.

31A: Roughly: OR SO.

32A: Show proof of: EVINCE. And the proof you show is the evidence.

46A: The Virginian" actor Joel: McCREA. The Virginian was the only name his character had.

48A: You might have to pay one to get cash: ATM FEE

54A: Matador's opponent: TORO

56A: Singing group: CHOIR. and 10D: Lowest 56-Across members: BASSI. A plural of basso.

60A: "Sign me up": I'M IN.

61A: "Editorially speaking," in e-mail: IMHO. In My Humble Opinion. Really? I thought most editors would be just IMO.

63A: Boston NBAer, briefly: CELT. Boston Celtics.

Down:

1D: "Bill Nye the Science Guy" airer: PBS. Public Broadcasting Service

3D: Trident-shaped Greek letter: PSI. and

4D: Tool in a haystack: PITCHFORK. This and then this.

7D: Author Morrison: TONI. TONI Morrison wrote Beloved.

9D: Bird served "under glass": PHEASANT. (From C.C., I guessed. Not familiar with this dish - PHEASANT under glass.)

12D: Noble's partner: BARNES. BARNES & Noble. The book seller.

13D: Tennis great Andre: AGASSI. and 53D: Tennis star for whom a stadium is named: ASHE. Who would have won if Andre had played Arthur?

21D: 66, e.g.: Abbr.: RTE. The Stones version.

22D: Soap star Susan: LUCCI. She looked OK to me in a bikini. with Emmy

23D: DDE's WWII command: ETO. European Theater of Operations.

28D: Draw forth: EVOKE. The evidence evoked a plea of the fifth ammendment from the suspect.

29D: Rouge And blanc, on la carte: VINS. Curious mixture of French and English, eh?

32D: Opal suffix: ESCE. Opalesce. Verb. The adjective is opalescent.

33D: Johnny Carson's sidekick: ED MC'MAHON. Heeeere's Johnny!

36D: House that sucks you dry, so to speak: MONEY PIT. The movie. Anybody have personal tales to tell?

37D: Bronte heroine: EYRE. From "Jane EYRE". EMMA is another 4-letter possible answer.

41D: Chapeau: HAT. More French. The plural for chapeau is chapeaux.

42D: Stratagem: TACTIC.

43D: Where telecommuters work: AT HOME.

44D: "Bam!" chef: EMERIL. Lagasse.

46D: Karaoke singer's need, for short: MIC. Microphone. A lot of karaoke singers need more than a MIC.

50D: Heated crime?: ARSON. Cool clue.

57D: Old California fort: ORD. location.

58A: Suffix with chlor_: IDE.

Answer grid.

Argyle

Interview with John Lampkin

Do you know what ESEL is? It's a Düsseldorf donkey. It exists only in Germany. And it exists in crossword too. It's also the word that introduced a new crossword constructor to me: John Lampkin .

John started constructing only 18 months ago. But today's "Mothers of Invention" puzzle is already his 4th LAT Sunday puzzle (5th overall). His puzzles have also been published by "The Chronicles of Higher Education", edited by the legendary Patrick Berry. He is also one of the authors whose puzzles appear in Simon & Schuster's 2009 collections, together with Barry Silk and many other excellent constructors in the country.

John is also a musician and a composer. When I wrote to him a week ago, he was chasing and photographing birds and butterflies in a Nature Fest. Hope you enjoy the interview.

How did this Mother's Day theme come to you? And which theme answers/fills gave you the most trouble during construction and how did you reconcile the changes?

The idea for Mothers of Invention came last June the way so many do, with a single theme entry. Then the challenge becomes one of finding enough good ones to make a puzzle. Originally, I didn’t have any women inventors in there at all, just the usual famous men following the formula, “When so-and-so invented the whatever, he [phrase that roughly means success].” The problem quickly became one of having too many to chose from so I narrowed the focus to women inventors, thinking that it would make an appropriate puzzle for March, Women’s Month. Rich Norris found the idea attractive enough to commit it to the Mothers Day slot, so I set to work on the grid, fill, and cluing. What I enjoy about the puzzle is that it educates the solver about some very clever and determined women, and even if you have never heard of them, you can still solve the puzzle.

What is your background? How does music influence your solving/construction?

I’ve been a professional musician, composer, and private piano teacher for the past 40 years. Though some of my musical colleagues disagree, I find that puzzle construction is a lot like composing a piece of music. Most of my music falls into the programmatic/tone poem category. For example, one of my woodwind quintets is titled, “Insects, a Musical Entomology in Six Legs,” where each leg is a movement depicting a little critter. As with my “Mothers of Invention” puzzle, the idea came first, then was developed as elegantly as possible. In many ways, a composition or puzzle is “finished” once you have a strong, workable idea. All you have to do then is fill in the blanks, so to speak.

How would you describe your style? What kind of theme/answers are you gravitating to or trying to avoid?

Since I started constructing just eighteen months ago, it’s perhaps to soon to identify my style. Meanwhile, it’s fun studying and exploring the different ways of developing puzzles ideas that have been used over the years. As my style develops, a big thank you goes to Nancy Salomon who mentored me from the outset and continues to give sound, solid critiques. She is incredibly generous with her time and a tough teacher. Working with Nancy is like having a second brain! The Sunday level of difficulty is naturally where I live, but Vic Fleming suggested a marvelous exercise of analyzing 25 Monday/Tuesday puzzles, and writing out in detail what makes them work. That opened my eyes to possibilities for the easy end of the spectrum.

Who are you favorite constructors and why? And which is your all time favorite puzzle?

There are so many excellent constructors that it wouldn’t be fair to single one out. As for a favorite, that’s easy: Merl Reagle’s recent Simpsons puzzle because it linked two genres so beautifully, crosswords and sitcom.

What else do you do for fun? What is the one thing that people find most surprising about you?

Everything I do is fun. Life is too short to do stuff that ain’t fun. I truly love my livelihood, private piano teaching, composing and performing, and will never retire. Other interests include birding, butterflying, and nature photography. I’ve self-published four books of photographs which are “travel guides like no other” laced with my own quirky commentary.

What surprises people the most is that I’m largely self-educated with no music or college degree. My advice to all is that if you want to do something, just do it. Surround yourself with the best possible talent, strive for the top, and enjoy the process. Crossword construction is an art form that you don’t need to study formally, and the community of constructors and editors is a most friendly and supportive one. It is an honor and blessing to be a small part of it.

Thanks, John

C.C.

PS: Too bad, this newspaper got John's first interview yesterday. I like how the article started. Very creative.

Sunday May 10, 2009 John Lampkin

Theme: Mothers of Invention

23A: When Harriet Farnam invented her "Non-Swarmer" beehive, she __: GOT A HONEY OF A DEAL

44A: When Mary Walton invented sound dampers for elevated railways, she __: TOOK THE HIGH ROAD

64A: When Amanda Jones invented the automatic safety oil burner, she __: WASN'T JUST BLOWING SMOKE

87A: When Ruth Wakefield invented the chocolate-chip cookie, she __: SWEETENED THE POT

112A: When Ida Hyde invented the intracellular microelectrode, she __: CAUSED A SENSATION

16D: When Hedy Lamarr co-invented a radio-frequency encryption system, she __: MADE WAVES

78D: When Josephine Cochrane invented dishwasher, she __: CLEANED UP

All of above theme entries are in simple past tense except 64A. I guess the constructor needs an odd number verb phrases for the very central row #11. Very clever how he added a "JUST" to the entry. It sounds natural and it adds some scrabbliness to the grid, which is only one letter X away from being a pangram. And 9 K's. Incredible.

I thought the theme is very clever and obviously the constructor did a thorough research. Unfortunately I am scientifically challenged. And constructor's creativity and humor are lost on me. Are those "Mothers of Invention" all American? Hedy Lamarr is the only one I've heard of. And I thought she was only an actress. Had no idea that she ever invented anything.

Quite a few cross-referencing clues in the puzzle. And several clues made me laugh. I like how the below answers are clued, from A to AAA:

12D: A, in Arles: UNE

14D: AA co-founder: BILL W. He can continue to remain anonymous. I've never heard of him and don't feel the need to know him.

86A: AAA Option: RTE

I wonder if John Lampkin considered Bette Nesmith Graham (Michael Nesmith's mother) who invented Liquid Paper. I used tons of Liquid Paper this morning. Lots of OOPS instead of OH NO (6D: Klutz's cry) mistakes are made. And too many musical/musician related entries for my simple mind.

I hope you struggled as well. Everyone seems to be doing so well lately. I really don't want to be the only child left behind.

Across:

1A: "West Side Story" dance: MAMBO. Stumped immediately. Have never seen "West Side Story".

2A: Doling out mil. rations: ON K.P. K.P. is Kitchen Police.

10A: Jacket materials? BLURB. Book jacket. Nice misleading clue.

15A: Pianist Gilels: EMIL. No idea. Wikipedia says this pianist was born in Odessa.

19A: Nirvana #1 album "In __": UTERO. See the album cover.

20A: Consider in court: HEAR

21A: "Amazing" magician: RANDI (James). I forgot all about him. Googled him before.

22A: Chance it: DARE. Thought of RISK.

26A: Wedding pair: I DO'S. Good clue.

27A: Work on ribs: GNAW. I need a "with at" for the answer to come readily.

28A: Small Welsh river boats: CORACLES. Unknown to me. Strange boat. So tiny.

29A: Under the surface: LATENT

33A: '50s Reds slugger, familiarly: KLU. Ted Kluszewski. Nicknamed "Big Klu". I've never heard of him. Of course I was thinking of the guy on the right, Ted Williams.

34A: Kin of kitties and fishies?: BOWWOW

36A: About one in three Bosnians: SERBS. Oh, I did not know that fact. I do not have a clear understanding of the Balkans at all.

39A: Saint called the founder of Scholasticism: ANSELM. Have never heard of this saint (ANSELM of Canterbury). Wikipedia says he is famous as the originator of the ontological argument for the existence of God, whatever that is.

42A: Lyre-playing Muse: ERATO. Muse of love poetry. She does carry a lyre.

49A: TV control: VOL

50A: Leak results: DRIPS

51A: Female gamete: OVUM

52A: A joker might pull yours: LEG

53A: Go to: ATTEND

56A: Go on and on: RANT

57A: Drop: OMIT

58A: Parisian passes: NONS. French "No". Alliteration in the clue again.

59A: Popular cups: REESE'S. Good clue too.

61A: French cleric: ABBE

62A: Latin lover's word: AMO. AMO, amas, amat.

43A: __ Reader: UTNE. Named after its founder Eric UTNE. I leafed through a few pages of a recent UTNE Reader at Barnes & Noble the other day. It does not interest me.

73A: 130-lb. -plus ref.: OED (Oxford English Dictionary). 20-volume.

74A: Verified: TRUE

75A: No. beginning with a "-": NEG

76A: Certs competitor: TIC TAC. Have never tried this brand.

79A: Sartre's "Huh?": QUOI. I like the Sartre reference.

80A: Opera conductor Daniel: OREN. Foreign to me. He is an Israeli opera conductor. He looks angry. Wikipedia says he is a protégé of Leonard Bernstein.

81D: Note: MEMO

82A: Volunteer: ENLIST. Oh, volunteer for the military service.

83A: Certain brewer: URN

84A: Santa nickname: KRIS. I really like "Miracle on 34th Street".

85A: Oil burners: LAMPS

91A: Cycle part: PHASE

94A: Pulitzer-winning writer Welty: EUDORA. Nope, not a familiar name to me. Such a weathered face. EUDORA means "generous" in Greek, according to Dictionary.com.

96A: __ cordiale: friendly understanding: ENTENTE

98A: Tach readout: RPM

100A: "Whatever you want": NAME IT. "I wanna, I wanna..."

105A: Defraud: FLEECE

106A: Foreshadowed: PRESAGED

110A: K-12: ELHI. EL(ementary) + HI (gh-school).

111A: Teased: RODE. I did not know ride can mean "tease".

116A: Elton's "__ Song": YOUR. Beautiful song.

117A: 1999 Academy Honorary Award recipient: KAZAN (Elia). Not aware of this fact.

118A: Bop: CONK. On the head?

119A: Inched: CREPT

121A: Holst's "The Planets," for one: SUITE. Neither the composer Gustav Holst nor his work "The Planets' is familiar to me. Here is a clip.

122A: "Trick" joint: KNEE

123A: They're often bored: HOLES. Drill a hole. Love this clue too.

Down:

1D: Humid: MUGGY

2D: Compensate (for): ATONE

3D: Sodium, for one: METAL. Oh, I was thinking of my salt.

4D: Free-for-all: BRAWL

5D: "Impressive": OOH. And AWE (30D: Elicit a 5-Down)

6D: Klutz's cry: OH NO. Penned in OOPS of course.

7D: When hell freezes over, in verse: NE'ER. Another great clue. Hot!

8D: Inuit boat: KAYAK. Literally, "man's boat". Umiak means "woman's boat".

9D: Declare: PROCLAIM

10D: Hebrides hillside: BRAE. Another alliteration.

11D: Boys: LADS

13D: Inits. in nutrition: RDA

15D: Revisionist?: EDITOR. Can't fool me. Saw similar clue somewhere before.

17D: Heavy china material: IRONSTONE. New material to me. Looks heavy.

24D: Chamber work: OCTET. Sounds like a lot. What is the most popular Chamber Music ensemble? OCTET?

25D: Hurled: FLUNG. Slung too.

32D: Poses: ASKS. Thought of SITS.

34D: Modern journals: BLOGS

35D: Medical suffix: OMA. As in melanoma.

37D: Equilateral quadrilateral: RHOMBUS. I am having difficulty pronouncing the clue. Can't event tell sax from sex, for heaven's sake.

38D: Beauty groups: BEVIES. Bevy of beauties.

40D: Violinist Mintz: SHLOMO. Nope. He is an Israeli violinist. Wikipedia says Isaac Stern was his mentor.

41D: Heretofore: ERENOW

43D: Bygone GM line: OLDS. Gone in 2004.

44D: Refrain syllables: TRA LA

45D: Pen pal chatter?: OINKS. This clue is making all the pigs in the world happy. Hilarious.

46D: Decide: OPT. Not with a for?

47D: Primitive home: HUT

48D: Tranquilizing weapon: DART GUN. I was thinking of Taser.

50D: Attracted: DREW

54D: Linguist's subject: TENSE

55D: Swarm: TEAM

57D: Doesn't go along: OBJECTS. Like the verb here.

58D: Silent star Nita: NALDI. I tend to confuse this lady with the "Cleopatra" girl Theda Bara.

61D: Book with legends: ATLAS. And MAP (81D: 61Down component)

63D: Social rumblings: UNRESTS

65D: "The Little Red Hen" denial: NOT I. Ha ha, this is the first time I heard of "The Little Red Hen" story.

66D: Got the show on the road: TOURED

67D: Suspect: BE ONTO. Had difficulty obtaining this answer.

68D: "Let __!": high roller's cry: IT RIDE

69D: "__ Time": 70s musical: ONE MO'. Nope. Not even sure if this is the correct link.

70D: Tidy: KEMPT. I actually only know unkempt.

71D: Some are inflated: EGOS

76D: Md. athlete: TERP

77D: Trusted: IN THE LOOP. Can you give me an example?

79D: Line at the Old Vic: QUEUE. Perfect, perfect clue! British call their line QUEUE. Old Vic is the famous theatre in London. And its current artistic director is Kevin Spacey.

84D: Camper's aid: KNAPSACK

85D: Darth's daughter: LEIA

88D: Wrong, with "all": WET. All WET.

89D: Stumbled: ERRED

90D: Possession: HANDS. Why? I don't get it.

92D: Navigates: STEERS

93D: Common Market inits.: EEC (European Economic Community). Can never remember this abbreviation.

97D: Kisses and more: NECKS. Sweet clue!

99D: Bricklayer: MASON

101D: Prefix with __plex: METRO. Metroplex is new to me.

102D: Architect Sarrinen: ELIEL. Father of Eero, who appears in crossword often.

103D: Optimist's phrase: I HOPE. "WE CAN" jumped into my mind. It has 5 letters also.

105D: Popular boot brand: FRYE. Wikipedia says the FRYE Company claims to be the oldest continuously operated shoe company in the United States (since 1863).

106D: Exam for pre-srs.: PSAT. Why not just "Exam for jrs."?

108D: Code carrier: GENE. Wanted DNAS.

109D: 1980s speed skating gold medalist Karin: ENKE. No idea. Her Wikipedia entry shows that Karin ENKE is quite accomplished in the 1980s.

113D: Jr. Olympic Games sponsor: AAU (Amateur Athletic Union). Stymied again today.

114D: Commando's weapon: UZI. Often clued as "Israeli gun".

115D: 6-Down: in Essen: ACH

Answer grid.

Happy Mother's Day to all you moms!

C.C.