Thursday January 28, 2010 Donna S. Levin

Theme: Sex Change - "Sex" in each familiar phrase gets a vowel change.

20A. Music lessons for Bill Clinton?: SAX EDUCATION. Sex Education. Clinton loves sax.

39A. Documentary about Chicago's relationship with its team?: SOX AND THE CITY. "Sex and the City" (TV series or the movie). Chicago White Sox.

57A. More equitable of two civil case juries?: THE FAIRER SIX. The Fairer Sex (Women). Was unaware that civil case only needs 6 jurors.

Rather unexpected theme concept. Light but amusing theme clues & answers.

My favorite is SAX EDUCATION. Received no sex education when I grew up. Sex was a forbidden topic in our school. I also laughed at SOX AND THE CITY. Great documentary title. Complicated relationship I am sure. "The City" probably loves the Cubs more.

A friendlier Thursday for me. Plenty of "fill-in-the-blank" partials definitely helped.

Across:

1. Trip with much hardship: TREK. Easy start.

5. Ampule: VIAL. Misread the clue as "Ample".

9. Bikini blast, briefly: H-TEST. No A-TEST wobbling today due to the intersecting HANOI (9D. Capital on the Red River).

14. Prefix with port: HELI. Heliport, a landing place for helicopters. I blanked.

15. FAQ responses, e.g.: INFO

16. Belittle: ABASE

18. "Gosh darn it!": RATS

19. Language that gives us "floe": NORSE. I only know Norse gives us "troll".

23. Oscar-winning role for Forest: IDI (Amin). In 2007. What's your favorite Forest Whitaker movie? Mine is "Good morning, Vietnam" .

24. PC backup key: ESC

25. Corrosion-resistant metal: IRIDIUM. Used in hardening platinum for alloys (as for surgical instruments). The suffix "ium" suggests metallic element.

29. Letter flourish: SERIF

31. Sgt. Snorkel's pooch: OTTO. Used to stump me.

33. An A will usually raise it: Abbr.: GPA

34. Science opening?: NEURO. Opening of the word neuroscience.

36. Most congenial: NICEST. Like PJB-Chicago.

42. Event with a piñata: FIESTA

43. Stuffing stuff: EIDER. Eider down. Pillow stuffing. I was thinking of Thanksgiving turkey.

44. "Exodus" hero: ARI. Learned from doing Xword.

45. At the top of the heap: BEST

47. Roman __: thinly disguised fiction: A CLEF. Real story depicted in fictional guise. Like Sylvia Plath's "The Bell Jar", her semi-autobiography. "Roman à clef" is French for “novel with a key.” Roman = Novel. Clef = Key.

51. Often scandalous book genre: TELL- ALL. It's a genre?

54. Dawdle behind: LAG

56. Old name of Tokyo: EDO. Before 1868.

60. With alacrity: APACE. "Alacrity" is a new word to me. I do know "celerity" though. Same meaning: "speed".

63. Ruminate: MUSE

64. Prefix with dextrous: AMBI. Ambidextrous. Prefix meaning "both".

65. Its capital is Apia: SAMOA. More often we see APIA clued as "Samoa capital".

67. Despicable: VILE

68. Almost boil: SCALD. Always associated the word with "boiling" rather than "almost boil".

69. Political cartoonist Thomas: NAST. The guy who created GOP elephant/Democratic donkey.

70. Israeli statesman Weizman: EZER. Former Israeli president Weizman in 1990s. I forgot. Hebrew name meaning "help".

Down:

1. One of Luther's 95: THESIS. Martin Luther's "The Ninety-Five Theses".

2. Like "The Day the Earth Stood Still," in 2008: REMADE. Easy guess.

3. Alchemist's creation: ELIXIR

4. Hawk family bird: KITE

5. High-tech invader: VIRUS. Took the Geek Squad guy almost two hours to get rid of the virus on my computer last time.

6. Of one mind: IN ACCORD. Very well matched.

7. Aptly named shaving lotion: AFTA. "After".

8. Became unhinged: LOST IT

10. Govt. security: T- BOND. How is it different from T- BILL again?

11. Otologist's concern: EAR

12. Org. dodged by draft dodgers: SSS. Plenty of D alliteration.

13. Driver's starting point: TEE. Golf club "driver".

21. Take down: DEFEAT

22. Did a laundry chore: IRONED. Ironing can be soothing.

26. "__ a Kick Out of You": Cole Porter: I GET. I figured it's either I GET or I GOT.

27. "__-daisy!": UPSY

28. Welcome spot: MAT. Welcome mat.

30. "What You Need" band: INXS. The Australia band. Pronounced like "in excess". I've never heard of the song.

32. Carryalls: TOTES

35. Lacking capacity: UNABLE

37. 2002 movie with Manny the Mammoth: ICE AGE. Was unaware of the movie. Is Manny the big guy?

38. Newspaper concern, esp. lately: CIRC (Circulation)

39. Bold Ruler, to Secretariat: SIRE. Unknown trivia to me.

40. Versailles eye: OEIL. French for "eye".

41. Schedules of problems to be dealt with: HIT LISTS. I always connect "hit list" with Mafia murder.

42. More than plump: FAT

46. Jenna of "Dharma & Greg": ELFMAN. Her name escaped me. She's pretty good in "Keeping the Faith".

48. Musical based on an 1862 novel, for short: LES MIZ. "Les Misérables". Who can forget Susan Boyle's "I Dreamed a Dream"?

49. Safe to put away: EDIBLE. Thought of the storage. Was ignorant of the "eat" meaning of "put away".

50. More artful: FOXIER. Not SLIER this time.

52. Henry Blake's title on "M*A*S*H": LT. COL (Lieutenant Colonel). Stumper.

53. Good place to get?: AHEAD. "Get ahead". Got me also.

55. "Give it __!": A REST

59. Uninhibited party: RAVE

60. The law, according to Mr. Bumble: ASS. No idea. From "Oliver Twist". Mr. Bumble said " The law is a ass, a idiot".

61. Lobbying gp.: PAC. NRA came to mind first.

62. Org. for GPs: AMA

Answer grid.

C.C.

Wednesday January 27, 2010 Daniel A. Finan

Theme: NURSERY RHYMES (37A. Mother Goose offerings, or in a different sense, this puzzle's title) - the first word of each rhyming phrase can be found in a plant nursery.

17A. Longing for a fronded plant?: FERN YEARN. Frond is the leaf of the fern.

21A. Zinfandel, but not sake?: VINE WINE. Sake is Japanese rice wine.

23A. Oxygen emanating from a lawn?: GRASS GAS. The answer made me laugh.

55A. Steep, e.g.?: HERB VERB. You steep the "herbal tea", hence a verb for herb I presume.

57A. Like areas above the timberline?: TREE FREE. Trees do not grow above the timberline.

61A. Group devoted to small, woody plants?: SHRUB CLUB. What's the difference between shrub and bush?

Heavy themage. Total 63 theme squares. Very Dan Naddor-ish, isn't it? Esp with the first and last pair of stacked theme answers.

I got the unifying entry NURSERY RHYMES rather quickly, but did not understand the theme until I was completely done. Had thought the theme answers were all arbitrary. Then the precious AHA (6D: Cry of realization) hit me. Very clever tie-in. Loved Dan's subtle metapuzzle gimmick. Or "You've got to dig deep to find the theme...", in his own words.

The clues are a bit trickier than our normal Wednesday, no?

Across:

1. Bridges of "The Big Lebowski": JEFF. He's "The Dude" in the movie. A bowler.

5. River projects: DAMS. I like how it crosses DREDGE (5D. Channel maintenance machine).

9. Ritz cracker alternative: ZESTA. The Keebler brand. Two Zs in the grid. And only Q away from a pangram.

14. Swedish furniture giant: IKEA. So easy to get lost inside IKEA store.

15. Ostrich cousin: RHEA

19. Connection: NEXUS

20. H.S. dropout's test: GED (General Equivalency Diploma)

27. Spews: EGESTS. Thought of ERUPTS.

28. Bench press target, briefly: PEC

29. Côte d'Azur view: MER. French for "sea". Nice is at Côte d'Azur (the French Riviera). We also have "water" EAU (52A. __ Claire, Wisconsin).

30. Scratch or dent: MAR

31. Ed.'s pile: MSS (Manuscripts). Used to stump me.

32. Rural skyline cylinder: SILO. For forage.

34. Rock collection specimens: AGATES. Raw agates do not look pretty at all.

42. Cloverleaf element: ON-RAMP. Highway interchange "Cloverleaf".

43. Follower of once?: UPON. "Once upon a time ...".

45. Some TVs: GES

48. Scrap for Spot: ORT. Spot is a common dog name. Alliteration.

49. Anaheim team, on scoreboards: LAA. Silly name: the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

53. Pair of blows: ONE-TWO. No idea. Boxing term?

59. Govt. auditing gp.: GAO (General Accounting Office)

60. Fruit soda brand: FANTA. No Coca-Cola brand in our house. Loyal Pepsi consumers.

66. "I Kissed __": Katy Perry hit: A GIRL. Not familiar with the song or the singer.

67. Diggs of "Private Practice": TAYE. Loved him in "How Stella Got Her Groove Back".

68. Golfer Isao: AOKI. Just remember the AO combination in both his give name and surname.

69. Kidney-related: RENAL

71. Joan at Woodstock: BAEZ. Nicely intersects BIZ (65D. Show __).

Down:

1. Choice of "Choosy moms," in ads: JIF. "Choosy moms choose Jif"

3. Not agin: FER. "For". "Agin" = Against.

4. Werewolf's weapons: FANGS

7. Griffin and others: MERVS. Merv Griffin created "Jeopardy".

8. Cleaning product prefix: SANI. Got it from Across.

9. "Riders of the Purple Sage" author: ZANE GREY. Have faintly heard of the book. Full author name is always desirable.

10. "Maid of Athens, __ part": Byron: ERE WE. "Ere" = "Before". I guessed.

11. Discrimination fought by suffragists: SEXISM

12. Talks trash to: TAUNTS

13. Size up: ASSESS. Typical grid (right/bottom) edge word, with all the four Ss.

18. Polite country affirmative: YES' M

22. Not o'er: NEATH. Poetically.

23. Modern rental car feature, briefly: GPS

24. Hold back: REIN

25. Scopes Trial gp.: ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union). Was unaware of the Scopes Trial.

26. Turkish mount: ARARAT. The landing mount of Noah's Ark.

30. Christie heroine: MARPLE. Miss Marple.

33. Plata counterpart: ORO. Spanish for "gold". Plata = "silver". "Oro y Plata" (gold and silver) is Montana's motto.

35. Place where sweaters get fit?: GYM. "Sweat-ers" = Ones who sweat. Hot clue!

36. The Mustangs of coll. football: SMU (Southern Methodist University). The answer emerged itself.

38. Winter wonderland creator: SNOW FALL. Lovely Heidi Klum "Wonderland".

39. Shortstop's boot: ERROR. "Boot" is misplay of the ground ball.

40. Foil alternative: EPEE. Was picturing the wrap "foil", not "fencing weapon".

41. Fly high: SOAR

44. Worn-down pencil: NUB

45. Was successful: GOT FAR. And SEEN IN (47D. Shown to a seat). Tricky little multi-words, esp with the tense.

46. Bring to a boil?: ENRAGE. With the question mark, I still thought of liquid boil. Dummy!

50. Pleads in court: ARGUES

51. Simple poetry pattern: ABAB

54. Aquarium denizen: TETRA. Maybe Dennis has this species in his fish tank.

55. "__ it coming": "Serves him right": HE HAD. Again, obtained the answer with Across help.

56. Eng. lesson: VOCAB (Vocabulary).

58. "¿Cómo ____ usted?": ESTA. How do you reply then?

62. Bakery product: RYE

63. Mauna __: LOA. Hawaiian for "long".

64. Strummed strings: UKE. The Hawaiian strings. Nice parallel with LOA.

Here is a picture of our Jazzbumpa in full orchestra uniform. It's taken in Dec 2009 before their Sebelius concert.

Note to newcomers: I have a permanent Blog Photos link on the blog sidebar. If you want to join us there, do email me (crosswordc@gmail.com) your picture.

Answer grid.

C.C.

Tuesday January 26, 2010 Dan Naddor

Theme: Saintly Cities of Cee A - Add SAN (61A) to the first names of 16A, 20A, 33A, and 59A to get cities in 56A.

16A: *Big name in tequila: JOSE CUERVO. Tracy Byrd might buy you a round. San Jose.

20A: *Mexican muralist: DIEGO RIVERA. Self-portrait. San Diego.

33A: *Spanish painter (1746-1828): FRANCISCO GOYA. Self-portrait. (No Nude Maja today). San Francisco.

50A: *Roger Federer rival: RAFAEL NADAL. Tennis Poster Boy. San Rafael.

56A: Home to this puzzle's theme: CALIFORNIA.

61A: Word that forms a city when combined with the first names in answers to starred clues: SAN.

Argyle here.

I thought for sure this was at least a Thursday puzzle, what with all the open squares I had but when I got to the South-West corner (how appropriate), 61A turned on the light bulb and filled in the picket fences. Still, it is a hard Tuesday but it is Dan's and it is doable.

Here is a list of more "San" cities in California.

Across:

1A: "I did it!": "TA-DA!".

5A: Outplays: BESTS.

10A: Jack's inferior: TEN. (playing cards)

13A: Holly genus: ILEX.

14A: Draw a better bead on: RE-AIM. I didn't find it in the Dictionary.com.

15A: Pitcher Hideo: NOMO. Nomo was the second Japanese native to pitch in the major leagues, and was famous for his "tornado" delivery.

18A: Gossip tidbit: ITEM.

19A: Abu Dhabi's federation: Abbr.: UAE. United Arab Emirates

22A: Actor Brody of "The Pianist": ADRIEN. (his abs)

24A: Pep: ENERGY.

25A: __ one mind: disagreeing: NOT OF.

26A: Fri. preceder: THU..

29A: Short film role: CAMEO. Hitchcock was famous for his brief appearances in his films.

30A: Some: A FEW.

31A: On the double: PRONTO.

38A: For all to see: OPENLY.

39A: Submissive: MEEK.

41A: Gas brand with a landmark sign outside Fenway Park: CITGO.

45A: Vegas cube: DIE. (plural is dice)

46A: Iraqi seaport: BASRA.

47A: Opposed (to): AVERSE.

49A: "The Picture of __ Gray": DORIAN. The only published novel (1891) by Oscar Wilde, it was made into a film and released in 1945, featuring Hurd Hatfield as Dorian.

54A: Gold units: Abbr.: KTS.. In U.S., karat is used for "proportion of fine gold in an alloy". CA, the Gold Coast.

55A: Big pictures: Abbr.: ENLS.. (enlargements)

58A: Fight-ending calls, briefly: TKOS.

59A: Insect stage: IMAGO.

60A: Animal whose fur was used for Crockett's cap: COON. What boy wouldn't want one.

62A: Slow to catch on: DENSE. Like me and today's offering.

63A: Barley beards: AWNS. Is it a "gimme" yet?

Down:

1D: Baja border city: TIJUANA. And not far from San Diego.

2D: What you "take" when you sit down: A LOAD OFF. (off your feet)

3D: Military no-show: DESERTER. They're locked-up in TIJUANA!

4D: Lumberjack's tool: AXE.

5D: UCLA player: BRUIN. No Boston Bruin today, wrong coast.

6D: Extra wide, on a shoebox: EEEE.

7D: Puppeteer Tony: SARG.

8D: VCR successor: TIVO.

9D: Campfire treat: S'MORE. Who can have just one S'MORE?

10D: For the full length of a pregnancy: TO TERM.

11D: Come to light: EMERGE.

12D: "Skip the sandwich dressing": "NO MAYO". Words I've never said.

15D: Skin care brand: NIVEA.

17D: B-G link: CDEF. (alphabetically)

21D: Working undercover, for short: INCOG. (incognito)

23D: Corn Belt state: IOWA. I'll bet it hurt to have put a Midwestern state in this CA puzzle.

26D: Gave it a shot: TRIED.

27D: Mubarak of Egypt: HOSNI.

28D: "I give up!": "UNCLE!".

31D: Angel dust, briefly: PCP.

32D: Happy Meal extra: TOY.

34D: Lariat loop: NOOSE.

35D: Poet Khayyám: OMAR.

36D: "That's not news to me": "YES, I KNOW".

37D: Soda-making process: AERATION. Puts the bubbles in it.

40D: Topeka natives: KANSANS.

41D: Insertion marks: CARETS. This.

42D: The Donald's daughter: IVANKA. Her mother is Ivana.She born October 30, 1981.

43D: Nonstick coating: TEFLON.

44D: Lawn makeup: GRASS.

46D: Western tie: BOLO. What the good old boys are wearing.

48D: Spanish hero played by Heston: EL CID.

49D: Willem of "Spider-Man": DAFOE. No abs shot for him.

51D: Appoint: NAME.

53D: Uses a spade: DIGS.

57D: Color TV pioneer: RCA.

Answer grid.

Starting in February we'll only see Dan Naddor's puzzles every other week.

Argyle

Interview with Peter Gordon

Several LA Times crossword constructors and hardcore solvers have mentioned on our blog the superior quality & incredible inventiveness of the NY Sun puzzles, arguably the best in the country while the paper existed (2002-2008).

The man behind all the innovation and brilliance is Peter Gordon (the taller one. Merl Reagle is to his right), who challenged and actually caused improvement of the overall puzzle quality and payment to constructors of the NY Times during his editorship at the NY Sun. Mr. Gordon is also a very accomplished constructor. He has had 76 puzzles published by the NY Times alone since 1993, not to mention all the great puzzles he constructed under the pseudonym Ogden Porter at the NY Sun.

Additionally, he's a remarkable crossword solver, and a two-time division winner at the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament. Enjoy this refreshing & informative interview; I thoroughly did.

Can you tell us a bit more of the Fireball Crosswords you've just launched? Why all themeless? Do you have a specific target solvers in mind?

Fireball Crosswords are weekly puzzles that are e-mailed directly to you. It's $10 to subscribe ($10.61 if you pay by PayPal) for 50 puzzles. Subscription info is at www.FireballCrosswords.com. You can also pay an extra $30 and request a specific answer to appear sometime during the year, or an extra $60 to have your answer at 1-Across. I've gotten quite a few of these requests, surprisingly.

They're not all themelesses, but probably more than 40 will be. This way I'll do a theme if I get a good idea, but if I don't, then I can just do a themeless. My target solver is someone who can't get enough high-quality, tough puzzles online. There are plenty of easy puzzles available, but not too many hard ones. These should be a nice challenge even for an experienced solver.

What is a typical day like for you as an editor for Sterling Publishing? And what are your major responsibilities there?

I am responsible for overseeing all the puzzle and game books that Sterling publishes, now under the Puzzlewright Press imprint. There's no typical day, but in any day I might do some of these:

* Edit a manuscript and make a book out of it
* Test-solve a puzzle book
* Look through manuscripts submitted by authors
* Meet with the art department to discuss covers
* Work on the layout of a puzzle book
* Check over a book-in-progress from the other puzzle editors there, Francis Heaney and Patrick Blindauer
* Analyze sales numbers to see what's selling well and what isn't
* Come up with a way to repackage old material in a new format
* Think up titles for books
* Find authors for books we need written
* Answer e-mails from authors who are working on books
* Negotiate with authors on contract terms for books
* Try to make licensing deals with organizations whose logos we want to put on our books
* Look over proofs of back covers, covers, inside pages, etc.

Which one is more fun, creating a puzzle yourself or editing others' grids? And how do you describe your own editing style?

I prefer creating a puzzle myself. I don't want to edit others' grids. I do it only to remove something I don't like. I'd love it if I got grids with only great entries and nothing I disliked, but there's a lot that I don't like, so I often changed grids. I think that words that are seen only in crosswords (ESNE, SNEE, etc.), partials, unfamiliar abbreviations and the like shouldn't be used unless necessary. So if I saw something I didn't like, I'd try to get rid of it. Sometimes I couldn't, and I'd live with it. But surprisingly often it was possible to redo an area and get rid of something I didn't like. When I see a simple corner with two partials and a lousy entry, that says to me that the constructor didn't try hard enough. I spent way too much time editing the Sun puzzles. But I wanted them to be good, and that took time. Also, I tried to avoid repeating clues. In one calendar year I had fewer than 10 repeats. It meant that I'd have to spend a little more time on each clue coming up with something new and interesting, but often it would be a nice new clue, so it was worth the effort.

What kind of theme/fill attract you? And what kind of entries do you try to avoid in your puzzles?

I like themes that have never been done before. So when I got ones where it was four phrases that started with words that could follow the last Across word in the grid, I'd send a form rejection. I've seen that one too many times. And the add-a-letter-or-two-or-three or subtract-a-letter-or-two-or-three is also overdone, but at least there you can have some fun. So I'd run those occasionally, but I got so many of those themes I could have run one every day. Like I said above, I try to avoid things that you know only from crosswords. NENE is a good example. Sure, it's the state bird of Hawaii. But you probably know that only from crosswords. Can you name Hawaii's state tree? If not, why should you be required to know its state bird? (The state tree is the KUKUI.) I have no problem with words like ARIA and OREO. They show up a lot more in crosswords than in real life, but they're perfectly familiar words outside of crosswords, and I don't understand why anyone complains about them.

Where do you normally find your crossword construction muse? And what kind of newspaper/books/magazines/website do you read for inspiration?

The muse can come from anywhere. I might read or hear a phrase and get inspired. I have dozens of little scraps of paper with theme ideas jotted on them. And sometimes the ideas sit around for years before I can come up with enough other entries to make a theme. I write a current events crossword for The Week every week (http://www.theweek.com/puzzle), so I have to pay attention to the news. I read The Week every week, which I get as soon as they go to press so I know what will be in the next issue when I write the puzzle. I've read The New York Times every day since around 1991 (except for when I was on my honeymoon), and I read the comics in Newsday regularly. With a full-time job, plus The Week, plus Fireball, I don't have much time for books, but when I do read, it's usually nonfiction. I watch very little TV (well under two hours a week). I check out the crossword blogs when I have a puzzle, but most of my web surfing is for news.

What puzzles do you solve every day and who are your favorite constructors?

I solve the Times every day. I do Matt Gaffney's puzzle each week. I like the meta-puzzle aspect. I definitely will be doing the new variety cryptics in the Wall Street Journal. I'm almost done solving "Atlantic Cryptic Crosswords" so I'm glad to have more to keep my variety cryptic crossword fix filled. I don't regularly solve the L.A. Times or CrosSynergy, but I see them when we make books out of them. I look at the Newsday answer grid every day after reading the comics. And I'll peek at others now and then, including the Onion, Quigley, Wall Street Journal, Reagle, Chronicle of Higher Education, Tausig, Boston Globe, etc. Each month I download them all and I have enough to keep me busy for hundreds of hours if I ever have the time.

Besides having SUDOKU on your license plate, what are the other surprising things people might find about you?

After college, I went to the Joe Brinkman Umpire School in Cocoa, Florida. It was a five-week program for people who wanted to be professional umpires. I didn't make it to the minor leagues (only about 15% of the class does), but I umped for several summers in Brooklyn, and may well do it again sometime.

Also, I collect postcards that say "Greetings from" on them. I have more than 8,000.

Monday, January 25, 2010 Susan Miskimins

Theme: Organic Problems - Descriptive idioms ending with the adjective of person's various organs.

18A: Dispirited: DOWNHEARTED.

38A: Loud and long-winded: LEATHER-LUNGED.

55A: Easily offended: THIN-SKINNED.

3D: Cowardly: LILY-LIVERED.

27D: Imbecilic: LAME-BRAINED.

Argyle here. Ambitious Monday puzzle. Five theme entries for a Monday, wow! Oh, and I checked; the skin is considered the largest organ of the body.

Suffix Ss abound: Total 13. Too many.

Across:

1A: MSN competitor: AOL.

4A: Infants "in the woods": BABES. "Babe in the woods", an innocent, unsuspecting person.

9A: Terror: FEAR.

13A: Reagan's "Star Wars" prog.: SDI. (Strategic Defense Initiative)

14A: High-level storage areas: ATTICS.

16A: "Othello" villain: IAGO. Crosswords favorite villain.

17A: Condiment in 51-Across: SEL. (French salt)

20A: Safe haven: ASYLUM. Where Buckeye lives.

22A: Drinks dog-style: LAPS.

23A: Land surrounded by agua: ISLA. (Spanish: water & isle)

24A: Globe: SPHERE.

27A. You may be told to button or zip it: LIP.

30A: Tigers' dens: LAIRs.

32A: "Alley __": OOP. The comic character with a girlfriend named Ooola.

33A: Apiece: EACH.

34A: Austrian city with a sausage named for it: VIENNA. The little sausages that come in a can.

36A: Watson's partner: HOLMES. (Sherlock)

40A: Like a serious sin: MORTAL.

41A: Outlying town, vis-à-vis the city: SUBURB.

42A: Rocks to refine: ORES.

43A: Groundhog Day mo.: FEB..

44A: Feudal peons: SERFS.

47A: Longtime Massachusetts senator Kennedy: TED. RIP

48A: Chicken, so to speak: SCARED.

51A: Normandy city: CAEN. French. The river Orne runs through it into the English Channel.

52A: Saturate: SOAK.

53A: 1966 musical about a marriage: "I DO, I DO".

60A: Presently: NOW.

61A: German automaker: AUDI.

62A: Misprints: ERRATA.

63A: Poet's "before": ERE.

64A: Cream of the crop: BEST.

65A: Back-talking: SASSY.

Down:

1D: Attack violently: ASSAIL.

2D: Black Sea port: ODESSA. The only Black Sea port I know of.

4D: Grammy winner Erykah: BADU. She wears her where many ways, so pictured her in a hat.

5D: Diminutive energy sources: ATOMS.

6D: Incidentally, in texting shorthand: BTW. (By The Way)

7D: "Ich bin __ Berliner": EIN.

8D: Carry laboriously: SCHLEP. Always nice to have some Yiddish.

9D: Fraser and Douglas trees: FIRS.

12D: Word after fishing or lightning: ROD.

19D: Chimp, for one: APE. By the way, look at this wonderful video about an orangutan and a dog Bill G. brought to us yesterday.

21D: Dogie catchers: LARIATS. Dogie is a motherless calf in a cattle herd. Also spelled, dogey, dogy.

25D: Fried corn bread: PONE.

26D: More rasping, as a voice: HOARSER.

28D: Like much tea in summer: ICED.

29D: Acidity nos.: PHS.

31D: __ good example: SET A.

33D: Crete-born artist with a Spanish nickname: EL GRECO.

35D: Org. with Bruins and Coyotes: NHL. Hockey's Boston Bruins and Phoenix Coyotes.

36D: O'Hare, for United Airlines: HUB.

37D: Burden: ONUS.

38D: Traditional wisdom: LORE.

39D: Mechanic's grease job: LUBE.

40D: Bon __: witticism: MOT.

43D: Muslim wonder-workers: FAKIRS.

45D: Bogart's hat: FEDORA.

46D: Flurried, e.g.: SNOWED.

48D: Seaman's "911": SOS.

50D: Weight-loss regimens: DIETS.

52D: Grumpy mood: SNIT.

54D: June 6, 1944: D-DAY.

55D: Drinkers may run one up: TAB.

57D: Points out, as a perp: IDS.

58D: "Right to bear arms" org.: NRA.

59D: "If I Ruled the World" rapper: NAS.

Answer grid.

Argyle

Sunday January 24, 2010 Gail Grabowski

Theme: Gross Word - Letter C in common phrases is changed into letter G.

27A. Tammany Hall expo?: GRAFT FAIR. Craft Fair. Wikipedia says Tammany Hall served as "an engine for graft and political corruption". And the term "Tammany Hall" is now used to refer to a corrupt system of buying or controlling votes.

29A. Result of a run?: STOCKING GAP. Stocking Cap. A bit of clear nail polish can fix the stocking run.

52A. Glutton for fuzzy fruit?: PEACH GOBBLER. Peach Cobbler. Sweet! My favorite theme entry today.

79A. Low-priced drink holder?: ECONOMY GLASS. Economy Class.

105A. Mr. Clean?: GRIME SOLVER. Crime Solver.

109A. Telemarketing at dinnertime?: PHONE GALL. Phone Call. Gall indeed.

37D. Award for the best flop?: GOLD TURKEY. Cold Turkey. Flop = Turkey. Fun answer.

42D. Kid in a ditch?: TRENCH GOAT. Trench Coat. Kid = young goat. Thought of Windhover and his kidding/lambing.

Normally I love the theme titles on Sunday puzzles. Always clever, succinct and to the point. Not today though. I was expecting real "gross" words embedded in each theme entry. The "Gross Word" & "Crossword" play somehow does not work for me.

The theme concept itself is marvelous. All the original base phrases are common and solid. Sometimes an unfamiliar idiom or slang can stump a non-native speaker in understanding and the subsequent appreciating of the rationale/cleverness of the newly formed theme phrase.

There's always a simple & quiet elegance with Gail's puzzles. They seldom intimidate me (I nailed most of her tricky wordplay today) and I often feel fully engaged. Sometimes I zone out halfway on Sunday puzzles. Had to peek at the answer sheet for a few person's names.

Across:

1. Junk, e.g.: BOAT. Did not fall into the MAIL trap.

5. Lawrence's men: ARABS. "Lawrence of Arabia".

10. Adapter letters: AC/DC

14. Sired: BEGOT

19. High style: UPDO. High hair style.

20. Principle: TENET

21. Stadium replaced by Citi Field: SHEA. The old Mets' stadium. Replaced in 2009.

22. Brand on a range: AMANA

23. Hard to fathom: DEEP

24. Monthly reading for some: METER. Utility meter.

25. Markers: IOUS. New meaning of "markers" to me.

26. Railroad car: DINER

31. Before now: EARLIER

32. Cultivate: RAISE. And GREW (105D. Cultivated). I am very into clue weaving.

33. Talk about salvation, e.g.: Abbr.: SER (Sermon)

36. Wealthy widow: DOWAGER. Someone please count the total alliteration in this puzzle.

40. Childish retort: AM TOO

43. Single-minded sort: NERD

44. Excuse that's often exaggerated: SOB STORY. Got me.

45. Mystery writer Nevada: BARR. Sure a mystery to me. Have never heard of this writer. She was born in Nevada.

46. "Quit fidgeting!": BE STILL

49. Gp. that supports malpractice damage award limits: AMA. So do I.

50. Sculptor Nadelman: ELIE. Nope. Another mystery figure to me. Elie is Hebrew for "high".

51. Thing to grind: AXE. An axe to grind.

55. Inferior cookware: TIN POTS

57. Day-care charges: TOTS. My sister-in-law owns a Day-care center.

58. Put in stacks, say: SORT. So simple in retrospect.

61. Dais VIP: EMCEE

62. 2009 A.L. MVP Joe Mauer, e.g.: TWIN. Hmm, this is for KQ and me. Thanks, Gail/Rich.

66. Pirate's loot: SWAG. Slang.

68. Makeup item: ROUGE

71. Ones acting badly: HAMS. Every actor hams, bad or good.

73. It's sometimes enough: ONCE. Once is enough.

75. Like Dorothy's magical shoes: RUBY RED. Silver in the original novel. Ruby red films better.

77. Identify: PEG

84. Frat party supply: KEG. And BEER (8D. Brewski).

85. Wide-eyed: AGOG

87. "Told you so!": SEE?

88. "Too much information!": SPARE ME. What I always want to say to Jose Canseco.

89. __ majesty: high treason: LESE. Literally "injured" in French.

90. Open-bodied antique auto: ROADSTER

92. Verve: ELAN

93. Vestibule: FOYER

94. Posh properties: ESTATES. Alliteration again. Posh Spice jumped into my mind first.

95. Font flourish: SERIF. Another alliteration.

97. Film noir blade: SHIV. The prison knife.

100. Carrier more likely to be tipped: CANOE. Very descriptive clue.

101. Accumulates: PILES UP. Put in AMASSES first.

112. Burn slightly: SEAR. Or CHAR.

113. Ad infinitum: NO END

114. Utah ski resort: ALTA. The name escaped me. Close to the Salt Lake City.

115. Cybermemo: E-NOTE. I'd like to see E-LOVE someday.

116. Nail to the wall: HANG

117. Oklahoma native: OSAGE. O Sage!

118. Jupiter neighbor: MARS

119. Lost strength: WANED

120. Affectedly flamboyant: ARTY

121. Try to prevent: DETER. And HINDER (98D. Impede).

122. Dutch cheese: EDAM. Named after the Dutch town where the cheese was first produced.

Down:

1. Move slightly: BUDGE

2. Verdi work: OPERA. Have not seen AIDA for a while.

3. "Be __ ...": start of a polite request: A DEAR

4. Penthouse place: TOP FLOOR

5. Charge for cash: ATM FEE. Sigh. ATM itself or ATM combined answer often give me fits, no matter how easy it's clued.

6. Get back, as lost trust: RE-EARN. And RE-RIG (32D. Get (a ship) ready to sail again). One RE prefix is enough.

7. Start to knock?: ANTI. Start of the word antiknock. Nailed it.

9. Orchestra sect.: STR (String)

10. The way things stand: AS IT AS

11. Go for: CHOOSE

12. Court tie: DEUCE. Tennis court.

13. Port container: CASK. "Port" here is wine.

14. Half of a "Which do you want first?" pair: BAD NEWS. Great clue/answer. I always want good news first. You?

15. Leave the country, perhaps: EMIGRATE

16. Turf controller: GANG. And EDGER (70D. Turf tool). Another clue weaving.

17. Draft status: ONE A

18. Infield protector: TARP. Baseball reference is always welcome!

28. DVR brand: TIVO

29. Urban play area: SANDLOT

30. Indicators of equal pressure: ISOBARS

35. Adam's third: SETH. Brother of Abel and Cain.

36. Capitol cap: DOME. Another alliteration.

38. One of a noted quintet: ERIE. The five Great Lakes "quintet".

41. Saying: MAXIM

43. White House advisory gp.: NSC (National Security Council)

44. Topping for chips: SALSA

46. Push in some chips: BET

47. Right direction?: EAST. Right on the map. My favorite clue today.

48. Heavily financed deals, briefly: LBOS (Leveraged Buyouts)

52. Pound product: POEM. Pound here is poet Ezra Pound.

53. Incidentally, in chat rooms: BTW

59. Heavenly bodies: ORBS. Poetically.

60. Hall of Fame goalie Patrick __: ROY. No idea. Don't follow hockey.

63. Beau: WOOER

65. Two-stripers, e.g.: Abbr.: NCOS

67. Fat unit: GRAM. 1 G = 9 calorie.

69. Ninnies: GEESE. Wanted ASSES again.

72. Sonnet sections: SESTETS. The last six lines of a sonnet.

74. Augustus, for one: EMPEROR. Augustus was the first emperor of the Roman Empire.

76. Benefit: USE

77. Whittle: PARE

78. Bigheads: EGOS

80. Bocce pair?: CEES. There are a pair of letter Cs in the word Bocce.

81. Certain Ivy Leaguer: YALIE

82. 1980s-'90s women's tennis player who was #1 for a record total of 377 weeks: GRAF (Steffi). And LOVE GAME (89D. Shutout for 82-Down). Shutout game.

83. Actor Cariou: LEN. Easy guess.

86. Sydney salutation: G'DAY MATE. For Kazie.

91. Drenched: STEEPED

93. Grind, in a way: FILE. Oh, nail.

95. Scholar: SAVANT

96. Get-up-and-go: ENERGY

97. Spot remover: SPONGE

100. Spelled-out: CLEAR

102. Dressing recipient: SALAD. Love Waldorf Salad.

103. Part of UHF: ULTRA. UHF = Ultra High Frequency. Not a familiar abbr. to me.

104. Suffix with proto-: PLASM. Suffix meaning "tissue"/"living substance".

106. Sofer of soaps: RENA. One more alliteration.

107. Pic to click: ICON

108. Org. concerned with ergonomics: OSHA

109. Masquerade (as): POSE

110. Pressure: HEAT. Why? I don't get it.

Answer grid.

C.C.

Saturday January 23, 2010 Robert H. Wolfe

Theme: None

Total blocks: 36

Total words: 70

This puzzle is anchored by three 15-letter grid-spanning colloquial idioms:

17A. Words of consolation: YOU CAN'T WIN 'EM ALL. You win some, you lose some.

36A. "Don't cry over spilt milk": WHAT'S DONE IS DONE. Can't change the past.

54A. Sassy reply to criticism: IT'S A FREE COUNTRY! I'll do what I please!

Excellent entries, aren't they?

Alas, the rest of the fill and clues do not awe me as much. My multi-word woe continued. Some of the answer phrases are just not in my vocabulary and a few clues are simply too vague for my knowledge and enjoyment.

Felt like walking on ice the whole solve. Maybe it's solid ground for Dennis.

Across:

1. Cellbound?: IN PRISON. Bound in prison cell. Thought it might be mobile phone related.

9. Activates: TRIPS. Like "trip a switch". My hats off to you if the answer came to you immediately.

14. Sanctioned: VALIDATED

16. Brownish pigment: SEPIA. The old photo color.

19. Group with PCPs: HMO. PCP: Primary-Care Physician.

20. Día de San Valentín sentiment: TE AMO. "I love you" in Spanish. Día de San Valentín = St. Valentine's day.

21. Carbon compound: ENOL. Carbon is the same as organic, isn't it?

22. Boardroom illustration: CHART

24. Letter-shaped hardware used to strengthen joints: T- PLATE. Like this.

26. Fish also called a blue jack: COHO. Only know it as "Silver salmon". Does have some blue hue.

28. Bravo maker: FIAT. Not familiar with Fiat Bravo.

29. See a pro, say: TAKE LESSONS. Nope, did not come to quickly.

33. __ blue: SKY

38. Vague quantity: ANY. FEW too.

39. Fish tales: TALL STORIES. And LIED (48A. Wasn't true).

40. Chilean bread: PESO. The "bread" in late week puzzles often refer to money.

41. Submit formally: FILE

42. Back on the water: ASTERN. Back of a boat. Opposite bow.

45. Good thing to be up to: SNUFF. Idiom: "up to snuff". Nailed it.

49. __ Peters, author of Brother Cadfael mysteries: ELLIS. No idea. Pseudonym of British author Edith Mary Pargeter. See the book cover.

51. Intercepting device: TAP

58. Big name in falsetto: VALLI (Frankie). Of "The Four Seasons".

59. Street hazard: OPEN SEWER. I just felt so dumb.

60. Take out, in a way: ERASE

61. View for 6-Down: TREE TOPS. And SANTA (6D. Flier over 61-Across).

Down:

1. Creeper: IVY

2. Sodium hydroxide, in chem class: NAOH. Only know the sodium symbol NA.

3. Juicy fruit: PLUM

4. Bounce: RICOCHET

5. State with a panhandle: Abbr.: IDA. So many states with panhandles. The clue typifies the "could be this, could be that" toughness of the whole grid.

7. Web-footed mammal: OTTER

8. Not experienced in: NEW AT

9. Literary monogram: TSE (T.S. Eliot). The first person who popped into my brain.

10. Do a foundry job: REMELT. Did not know the meaning of "foundry".

11. Old toothpaste with a spokesbeaver: IPANA. "Brusha, brusha, brusha".

12. Fly: PILOT

13. Maison room: SALLE. French for "room". Maison is "house". I misread as "Mason room".

15. Not too smart: DIM

18. Out of the running: NOT IN IT. Not fond of any "Not ..." answer. Opens doors for NOT FULL, NOT UGLY, NOT SEXY, anything not. Arbitrary-prone.

23. Arm holder?: HOLSTER. Firearm. Loved the clue.

25. Falsely present (as): PASS OFF

26. Four-time Oscar-winning lyricist: CAHN (Sammy)

27. Fine: OKAY

28. Antagonists: FOES

29. Defunct carrier: TWA. Howard Hughes's airline.

30. "Roots" Emmy winner: ED ASNER. He played Captain Davies on "Roots". I need "Lou Grant" to make the fill a gimme.

31. Helpless?: SOLO. Nice clue.

32. NBC hit since '75: SNL

33. Land: SOIL

34. Joint with a cap: KNEE

35. "Works for me": YES

37. Fisherman's aid that floats with the current: DRIFT NET. New to me.

40. Rides on a path, perhaps: PEDALS. Perhaps, yes.

42. Full of energy: ALIVE

43. Indian strings: SITAR

44. Magnetic induction unit: TESLA. Named after Nikola Tesla.

45. Nodded: SLEPT

46. More pleasant: NICER

47. Rte. through six Eastern state capitals: US ONE. US. Route 1 runs from Maine to Florida.

50. Fifth sign: LEO. Zodiac sign.

52. Welk's upbeat: A TWO. Lawrence Welk trademark count-off: "A one and a two". Beat me.

53. __ school: PREP

55. Old-fashioned word of disapproval: FIE

56. Deploy: USE

57. Vintage nos.: YRS. On wine bottle.

Answer grid.

See you tomorrow, Crucigangsters! Thanks for the word yesterday, Jerome. FYI, cruciverbalist is a person who loves crosswords. From Latin crux/cruc "cross" + verbum "word", a modern back translation of English "crossword".

C.C.

Friday January 22, 2010 Fred Jackson III

Theme: L-adder - Letter L is added into a B-starting four-letter first word of a familiar phrase/name.

17A. Scrabble cheat?: B(L)ANK ROBBER. Bank Robber. The blank tile in Scrabble.

53A. Singer who loves flashy jewelry?: B(L)ING CROSBY. Bing Crosby. Flashy jewelry = Bling.

11D. Perform a sheepish hip-hop number?: B(L)EAT THE RAP. Beat the Rap.

25D. Boring boss?: B(L)AND LEADER. Band Leader. Alliteration in the clue.

Can you also change BOND GIRL into a BLOND GIRL or does the girl have to be BLONDE? Any other similar pattern convertible B???/BL??? phrase came to your mind?

Bonus fill: ELL (2D. Wright wing, maybe). Playing on "Right wing". Ell has a 90-degree right angle. Wright here refers to architect Frank Lloyd Wright, right? Tricky clues like ELL abound in this puzzle. I was severely challenged and humbled.

Also noticeable are the French references in the grid:

38A. Printemps follower: ETE. Printemps is French for "spring".

7D. French friar: ABBE. Alliteration again. "French cleric" does not have the same sound appeal.

22D. Agua, across the Pyrenees: EAU. Water in the north of Pyrenees (France) is EAU and "agua" in the south (Spain).

54D. Paris article: LES. French for "the". Like "Les Misérables".

Across:

1. Golf relative?: JETTA. Golf and Jetta are both Volkswagen models. Stumper for me. Don "Hard G" just clued GOLF ODYSSEY as "Duffer's trip through Scotland?" (Volkswagen/Honda) last Sunday.

6. Camp sight: CANOE

11. A favorite is a good one: BET. Wanted PET.

14. Liquid fat: OLEIN (OH-lee-in). New word to me. Is it present in olive oil?

16. Language of Southeast Asia: LAO

19. Cause of star wars?: EGO. Celebrity "star". Nice play on "Star Wars".

20. Isn't on the level: SLOPES

21. Put one's cards on the table: DEALT. Tricky past tense "Put".

23. Doctor's order: LAB TEST

26. Babbles: PRATES

27. White Rabbit's cry: I'M LATE. I've never read "Alice in Wonderland".

28. "Like, wow!": FAR OUT. Cool!

30. Antiquated alpine apparatus: T-BAR. Alliteration gone wild! Lovely!

31. Curl beneficiary, informally: BICEPS. Weightlifting "Curl".

32. Solution for a bad hair day: HAT

36. Moisturizer target: DRYNESS

39. Traffic reg.: ORD (Ordinance)

40. Miss Muffet, before the spider showed up: EATER. From the nursery rhyme "Little Miss Muffet". She was eating curds and whey before the spider showed up.

41. E-mail heading word: FROM

42. Stay a while: LINGER. Sojourn is one letter too long.

44. Viselike device: C-CLAMP. Due to its C shaped frame. Got me.

46. Future doctor's project: THESIS. Ph. D. "doctor".

48. Caribbean music genre: CALYPSO. I could only think of Reggae.

49. Oater prop: RIATA. Or REATA.

50. Low areas: SWALES. Marshy/swampy low tract of area. Learned from doing Xword. Can you find peat there?

52. Stop: END

58. Bartender's concern: AGE

59. Leave alone: LET BE

60. Piercing look: GLARE

61. "__ Rosenkavalier": Strauss opera: DER. German for "the". Not familiar with "Der Rosenkavalier" (The Knight of the Rose). Surprised to see both DER and LES in the same grid.

62. "The Federalist" component: ESSAY. How many essays?

63. Ninnies: YO-YOS. Did not know "yo-yo" is a slang for "a stupid person".

Down:

1. Position: JOB. Had a hiccup on this one.

3. Break fluid?: TEA. Play on "Brake fluid". Tea during coffee/tea break.

4. Old West badge: TIN STAR. Like this? Tin material does not carry an authoritative cachet at all.

5. Low sock: ANKLET

6. Take for one's own use: CO-OPT

8. Catches: NABS

9. East Ender's flat: 'OME (Home). H sound is dropped in East Ender/Cockney dialect.

10. Pendant pair: EARDROPS. Drop earrings.

12. Boston College athlete: EAGLE. Unknown to me.

13. Whistle sounds: TOOTS

18. American Beauty, e.g.: ROSE. Great clue. I bet many were thinking of the film.

23. Collectible print, briefly: LITHO. The real collectibles are signed & limited edition.

24. Fossilized resin: AMBER

26. Wash. title: PRES (President). Would prefer "Washington title, briefly" clue.

28. More delicate: FINER
29. Andy Roddick, at times: ACER

31. Data measure: BYTE. Computer data.

33. Tiny quantities: ATOMS

34. A conductor might pick it up: TEMPO. Liked the "it" in this clue.

36. Subject to contradiction: DENIABLE. Excellent entry.

37. Tattered duds: RAGS

41. Achieve a piloting milestone: FLY SOLO. True.

43. Suffix with Mao: IST. Maoist. My Dad could recite every word of Chairman Mao's "Little Red Book".

44. Math class, briefly: CALC (Calculus)

45. Service providers?: CLERGY. Religious service.

46. Its gradual loss leads to baldness: TREAD. Oh, tire baldness.

47. Depend (on): HINGE. Nice change from RELY.

48. Shrewd: CAGEY

50. Convenes: SITS. Why? I don't get this one.

51. Org. with the Chicago Sky and Seattle Storm: WNBA. Knew neither of them. Our local team is Minnesota Lynx.

56. Pal: BRO. Mac/Bud too.

57. "May I help you?": YES?

Thanks for the sweet comments on the blog birthday yesterday, everyone, esp Linda. Thanks for remembering the date.

Answer grid.

C.C.