Saturday August 15, 2009 Corey Rubin

Theme: None

Total blocks: 32

Total words: 72

All those triple stacks of 10-letter fills in upper right corner and lower left corner consist of two words. Fantastic! I love SWING STATE (5A: Purple region, on some maps) and TROOP SURGE (59A: Bush announcement of 2007) the most.

Then you add UN-PC (15A: Like many -ess words nowadays) and NEO (33D: Conservative leader? - Neoconservative), voila, a great Saturday puzzle for a news junkie. Somehow I thought the SURGE decision was made immediately after the 2006 election though, after Rumsfeld was fired.

Very enjoyable puzzle, full of lively fills. The grid is not that intimidating and most of the multiple-word answers are workable. I still had my normal struggle. But "rarely is the questioned asked: Is our children learning?" I think I am.

Across:

1A: __d'Orsay: Seine site: QUAI. Left bank of the Seine. Very close to my beloved Musée d'Orsay. The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs is located here. QUAI is just French for quay (wharf).

16A: It's measured in hits: WEB TRAFFIC. Yep, our blog traffic is measured by hits.

17A: 2002 Eddie Murphy/Owen Wilson film: I SPY. Not a familiar movie to me. Somehow I've never liked Owen Wilson. Clive Owen, yes, definitely.

18A: Play honors: OBIE AWARDS. Or Tony Awards.

19A: End of a series: ZEE. Last letter of English alphabet.

20A: Like galas: DRESSY

21A: Café addition: LAIT. French for "milk". Café au LAIT.

22A: More dry and crumbly: MEALIER. Wanted FLAKIER.

24A: It's taken in spots: TEA. Dictionary explains "spot" as "a drink", chiefly British, informal. then it gives an example: a spot of TEA. New to me.

26A: Like Beethoven's Seventh: IN A. No idea. But I knew the clue is asking for a IN? answer.

27A: Physicist Fermi: ENRICO. Nobel Physics winner, 1938. Learned his name from doing Xword. ENRICO is Italian for "Ruler of the Household".

28A: Largest of Dodecanese: RHODES. Oh, this is where the Colossus of RHODES is located then. So close to Turkey. I was stumped. Have never heard of Dodecanese, literally ""twelve islands" in Greek.

30A: Didn't delete: LEFT IN. My initial answer was KEPT IN.

34A: Minx: HUSSY. New word to me.

37A: Aspect: FACET

39A: How - __: TOS

40A: "Some Like it Hot, " for one: FARCE. Oh, I mixed "Some Like it Hot" with "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof".

42A: Like Beethoven's Ninth: CHORAL. I am a classic music idiot. So, no idea. Wikipedia says The Symphony No. 9 (CHORAL) is Beethoven's last symphony.

44A: Seat of Texas's Ector County: ODESSA. Al's 9:31am post yesterday was in play here. Simple guess. Ector County means nothing to me.

46A: Native Midwesterners: OSAGES. Oh, Native Indians.

50A: Island party music source: UKE. Hawaii.

51A: Challah need: EGG. I've never had challah, does it taste like brioche?

53A: Extinguished: BLEW OUT

54A: Dairy prefix: LACT. Latin "milk". As in lactose. Lactose intolerance. I like seeing LAIT and LACT in one grid.

56A: Ring of color: AREOLA. AREa+ OLA. Just like this.

58A: Airport near Forest Hills, N.Y.: LGA (La Guardia Airport). Another guess. JFK did not even come to my mind.

61A: Anglo __ War (1899-1902): BOER. BOERS is derived from Dutch "boor" (peasant).

62A: In-line pickup?: IMPULSE BUY. I don't know the meaning of "In-line". Stand in-line at the check-out?

63A: Francis of Hollywood: ANNE. Unknow to me. Wikipedia says ANNE Francis is perhaps best known for her role as Altaira in the significant Sci-Fi classic "Forbidden Planet".

64A: It'll cost you to go in them: PAY TOILETS. Stymied, though I've used them. Toilets should always be free.

65A: Like most whiskey: AGED. My first thought is OAKY.

Down:

1D: College study group request: QUIZ ME. No idea. Have never attended a school here.

2D: Like radio waves: UNSEEN. And APPEAR (3D: Cease being 2-Down). Nice intersection with I SPY.

4D: Distant: ICY

5D: Quit for good: SWORE OFF

6D: "Der Freischütz" composer: WEBER. Stranger to me. Wikipedia says his full name is Carl Maria von WEBER, and his mastery of the orchestra was equalled in his time only by Beethovena nd Schubert. "Der Freischütz" is usually translated as "The Marksman" or "The Freeshooter".

7D: Head of the Egyptian god Thoth: IBIS. Gimme. IBIS is considered sacred bird for those ancient Egyptians. THOTH is Egypitan god of wisdom. See the IBIS on his head?

8D: Subject of the 2005 opera "Doctor Atomic": N-TEST

9D: Aging, maybe: GRAYER. I am aging. I am GRAYER. OK.

10D: Dated: SAW. A-Rod is dating Kate Hudson. A-Road and Kate Hudson are seeing each other.

11D: Nonstick cookware brand: T-FAL. The brand I use. Short for Teflon & aluminium.

12D: "Yes, sorry to say": AFRAID SO

13D: Desirable trait in a roommate: TIDINESS

14D: No mere joy: ECSTASY

20D: They're rolled on tables: DICE. Nailed it immediately.

23D: Spring bloomers: LILACS

25D: Rubbing reaction: AHH

29D: Western staple: OUTLAW. Wanted OATER.

31D: Toe preceder?: TAC. Tic-TAC-Toe. Got me.

32D: Ego, to Freud: ICH. German for "I", as in JFK's "ICH bin ein Berliner". I wanted IDS. Neat to have ICH right in the heart of the grid.

35D: No-goodnik's accumulation: BAD KARMA. Mine was MAD KARMA, as I filled in MFA rather than BFA ( (Bachelor of Fine Arts) for 35A: Deg. for theater types: BFA.

36D: Infomercial come-on: FREE COPY

38D: Chicago Surface Lines transports: TROLLEYS. Wikipedia says the Chicago Surface Lines was operator of the street railway system of Chicago from 1913 to 1947. Unknown to me.

40D: Barely struck strike: FOUL TIP. I love the clue. FOUL TIP is always counted as a strike.

41D: Computer ending: ESE. Computerese. I was thinking of EXE, the computer file name extension.

43D: Sailing: ASEA

45D: Winner of eight Grand Slam tournaments: AGASSI

47D: Passing order? GO LONG. Stumped. American football term?

48D: Home of the Oregon Ducks: EUGENE. University of Oregon home.

49D: Was wide-eyed: STARED

52D: Bland breakfast: GRUEL. Sometimes my breakfast is just millet/rice GRUEL. I like sprinkle dried fruits and toasted nuts in them.

53D: Australian cager Andrew who was selected first overall in the 2005 NBA draft: BOGUT. No idea. Andrew BOGUT was drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks and he is still playing for them.

55D: Ballyhoo: TOUT

57D: Kathryn of "Law & Order: C.I.": ERBE. German name, meaning "inheritance". It rhymes with "Herbie". Don't confuse her name with the German river ELBE.

60D: Gaza Strip gp.: PLO. Hamas controls West Bank. (Note: I was wrong. Hamas controls Gaza Strip.)

61D: Shropshire sound: BAA. Did not know Shropshire is a breed of English sheep. Hey, ewe!

Answer grid.

Picture of the Day: The always graceful and gracious beauty Clear Ayes & her Golf-Addicted-Husband (G-A-H in her daily comments). She said "Obviously my husband likes to be Santa Claus for the kids. I hope Argyle doesn't get jealous!"

C.C.

Friday August 14, 2009 Dan Naddor

Theme: NO WAY (51D: "Forget it!" (and a clue to this puzzle's theme)) - WAY is omitted from familiar phrases.

19A: Alleviate a tie-up?: FREE(WAY) TRAFFIC

21A: Partly built residence, perhaps?: HALF(WAY) HOUSE

29A: Periscope lens kept as a souvenir?: SUB(WAY) TOKEN

38A: Euphoria at Pebble Beach?: PACIFIC COAST HIGH(WAY)

44A: Embodiment of a footrace? RUN(WAY) MODEL

57A: Play on a wide stage?: BROAD(WAY) SHOW

59A: Shot at a D.C. bar?: CAPITAL BELT(WAY)

A special 16*15 grid, to accommodate the center 16-letter theme answer PACIFIC COAST HIGH.

BELT is a slang for a shot of liquor, hence CAPITAL BELT. I was picturing a terrible gun shot at a D.C. bar. Halfway house is the only base phrase I had never heard before.

Dan Naddor seems to be fond of stacking theme answers on top of each other, esp. the first two and the last two. I've noticed this in his past several grids. Not easy to pull it off.

I normally start with the lower right corner for Friday puzzles, the tie-in word is often placed there. And getting NO WAY earlier today certainly helped me.

I still struggled a bit, but I fared much better than I did last week. Lots of abbreviations in today's puzzle, maybe the result of heavy 72 theme squares.

Across:

1A: Mine tram bit: LUMP. LUMP of coal. I lost myself on the first hole.

5A: Univ. sites: BLDGS

10A: Foul line indicators: POLES

15A: Beam of support: I-BAR

16A: Baseball Hall of Famer Combs: EARLE. No idea. Wikipedia says EARLE Combs played his whole career with the Yankees (1924-1935).

17A: Submit taxes on an impulse? E-FILE. Why "on an impulse"?

18A: "__ the mornin'!": TOP O'. Irish slang for "Good morning!". New to me.

23A: Throw from the saddle: UNSEAT

24A: Quebec's Festival d'_: ETE. Summer Festival. Easy guess.

25A: Ticks off: IRES. I wrote down IRKS first. I thought IRE is only a noun.

26A: Church-owned Lone Star State inst.: SMU (Southern Methodist University). Site of the Bush Presidential Library. Laura Bush's alma mater.

27A: Toast topping: PATE. Rarely.

34A: Goose egg: ZERO

35A: Seat of Dallas County, Alabama: SELMA. The civil rights march city. I have never heard of the Dallas County though.

37A: Old dagger: SNEE

41A: Son of Rebekah: ESAU. Or "Son of Issac". I am more familiar with the "Biblical brother" clue. ESAU is Jacob's brother.

42A: Midshipman's prog., perhaps: NROTC. Stumped. It's Naval ROTC (Reserve Officer Training Corps.)

46A: Noted pairs guardian: NOAH. He filled the ARK with pairs. A Biblical sub-theme in this puzzle.

47A: Nietzsche's "never": NIE. And "Nietzsche's "no" is NEIN.

48A: Feds: G-MEN. FBI agent.

50A: Hamlets: Abbr.: TNS. Towns I suppose.

63A: Little guy: SHAVER

61A: Davenport site: IOWA. The clue "site" made me think of Davenport the sofa rather than the city.

62A: Argumentative retort: ARE SO

64A: Reddish brown: ROAN

65A: Odessa native: TEXAN. Nailed it immediately. Odessa is a oil city in W Texas.

66A: __ Martin: ASTON. James Bond's car.

67A: "Grand" brand of ice cream: EDY'S

Down:

1D: Athletic: LITHE. I associate LITHE with supple rather than athletic.

2D: Destroyer destroyer: U-BOAT. WWII German submarine.

3D: Sweet, nutty pie: MAPLE PECAN. I've only heard of pecan pie.

4D: Plum, e.g.: Abbr.: PROF. Not familiar with the board game Clue or the character Professor Plum.

5D: "___ I forget...": BEFORE. I felt silly not filling in the blanks immediately. LEST will be good for "___ we forget".

6D: "Law of the Lash" star: LA RUE. Lash LA RUE.

7D: Slip cover?: DRESS. Stumped. Nice wordplay on slipcovers.

9D: Spike preceder, in volleyball: SET. It's a maneuver in which a ball is directed to a point where a player can spike it into the opponent's court. Not a familiar term to me.

10D: Oil source: PEANUT. No. 1 cooking oil in China.

11D: Whacks: OFFS. OFF here is a verb, meaning "to kill". Whack is slang for "to kill" too.

12D: Long sentence: LIFE. LIFE sentence. Good clue. I like how it parallels OFFS.

13D: "Mrs. Battle's Opinions on Whist" essayist: ELIA. Easy guess.

14D: Cainites, e.g.: SECT. Cainite is "a member of a Gnostic SECT that exalted Cain and regarded the God of the Old Testament as responsible for evil" according to dictionary.

20D: Latin ballroom dances: RUMBAS

22D: "__ the Week" 1930s record label: HIT OF. Unknown to me. Wikipedia says it the record was sold at news-stands, not record stores. And as the name implied, new records came out at the rate of one each week.

26D: Rash source, maybe: SUMAC. Itchy itchy.

28D: Planet ending: ARIUM. Planetarium is a new word to me.

29D: Bandit one hopes to take money from?: SLOT. One-armed bandit, the SLOT machine.

30D: Irish-born actor Milo: O'SHEA

31D: Honor for Connery: KNIGHTHOOD

32D: Lines of thought?: EEGS. Saw identical clue before. Still like it.

33D: O. T. book: NEH

34D: Silents star Pitts: ZASU. A combination of "Eliza" and "Susan", relatives of her mother. ZASU is pronounced as zay ZOO. Gimme for Jerome & Buckeye & me.

35D: Mountainside debris: SCREE. Learned from doing Xword.

36D: Sierra Club concern: Abbr.: ECOL

39D: Jawaharlal's daughter: INDIRA. I only knew Jawaharlal Nehru as Nehru. So, I struggled with INDIRA (Gandhi).

40D: Govt. obligation: T-BOND. Treasury Bond.

45D: Common pickup capacity: ONE TON. 2,000 pounds.

46D: Pick up: NEATEN. New definition of "Pick up" to me.

49D: Musical tempo modifier: MOLTO. Meaning "very", musically.

52D: Some trumpeters: SWANS. Trumpeter swans, with loud, trumpeting style honks.

54D: Fictional braggart: HARE. The moral guy Aesop's HARE?

55D: Top spot: APEX

56A: It's usually taken in stores: VISA. The credit card. Tricky clue.

57A: OPEC units: BBLS (Barrels)

58D: Term of royal respect: SIRE. Archaic.

60D: Bucolic setting: LEA

Answer grid.

Today's picture: A beautiful photo from our fellow solver Moon. She said: "A pic of my family taken during my sister's wedding in Feb, 2009. Usually all of us meet very rarely, the previous time was in Feb 2006 and before that, it was during my wedding in Oct 2002.

Starting from left is my Dad, my better half, me, my younger bro-in-law, my younger sis, my elder sis, my older bro-in-law and my mother."

Email me crosswordc@gmail.com if you want to share with us a part of your memories.

C.C.

Thursday August 13, 2009 Don Gagliardo

Theme: ALFRED HITCHCOCK (7D: Born 8/13/1899, he directed the answers to the starred clues)

21A: *Very difficult task: MURDER!

29A: *Aristophanes comedy: THE BIRDS

38A: *You may be picked up if you are under it: SUSPICION

49A: *Music to an interrogator's ears: I CONFESS

57A: *Loony: PSYCHO

12D: *Sunnybrook Farm girl: REBECCA

13D: See 51-Down: SCENE

41D: *Dizziness: VERTIGO 1958

51D: With 13-Down, something 7-Down is famous for in his films: CAMEO

Wow, 10 theme entries. Don "Hard G" Gagliardo did it again. Great tribute puzzle.

ALFRED HITCHCOCK had a CAMEO role in all the five Across movies. Excellent intersection. I also like vertical placement of VERTIGO. REBECCA is kind of scary, so is "Rear Window". I wish I had never seen PSYCHO.

Of all the HITCHCOCK movies, I like "To Catch a Thief" the most. How about you?

I don't know who Aristophanes was, but THE BIRDS came very easily, so did the other theme answers. I just adore this puzzle. Almost aced it.

Don G, if you are reading this blog, can you email me crosswordc@gmail.com?

Across:

1A: Toto's two?: ARF ARF. Toto is Dorothy's dog from "The Wizard of Oz". I was fixated on the two letter T/O in Toto's name.

7A: PC key next to the space bar: ALT

10A: Needle bearers: FIRS. Pine needle.

14A: Soap opera, e.g.: SERIAL

15A: Grassland: LEA

16A: Certain util.: ELEC

17A: Infant who succeeded Russia's Empress Anna in 1740: IVAN VI. Ivan the Terrible. I had IVAN?I sitting there forever.

18A: Interoffice memo, maybe: FAX

19A: North Sea feeder: ELBE. It simply means "river".

20A: Fifth bk. of the Torah: DEUT. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and DEUTERONOMY.

24A: Gazzara or Stiller: BEN. Only know BEN Stiller.

25A: Unit of work: ERG. From Greek ergon, meaning "work". It's ten-millionth of a joule.

26A: Freelancer's end: SAE (Self-Addressed Envelope). SASE (Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope) is more common.

27A: Seldom seen: SCARCE

33A: Sans opposite: AVEC. Voulez-vous coucher AVEC moi (ce soir)?

34A: Clinton's department: STATE. Hillary Clinton, Secretary of State. Boy, she was testy.

35A: Towel word: HIS

37D: Educator LeShan: EDA. Always wanted ADA/IDA.

41D: Chocolate-making vessel: VAT. Tend to associate VAT with wine.

43A: Chocolate lover, often: TOT. I like the consecutive "Chocolate" clues.

44A: Fetch: GO GET

47A: Perry's creator: ERLE. Perry Mason. ERLE Stanley Gardner. Inspiration for Justice Sonia Sotomayor.

51A: Pressing issue?: CREASE. Great clue.

53A: Bunny __: HOP. Dance?

54A: "Fantasia" frame: CEL. Some of those cartoon CELS are highly collectible.

56A: Words with distance: AT A. Oh, AT A distance.

59A: Ale designation: PALE

60A: "La Bohème" heroine: MIMI. Obtained the answer from Down fills.

62A: Seesaw need: TWO

63A: Intervene: STEP IN

65A: "Omigosh!": EGAD. God probably does not really mind people invoke his name directly.

66A: Vocation: Abbr.: OCC (Occupation)

67A: Hire: TAKE ON

68A: "It slipped": OOPS. I do hit the PREVIEW button before I press PUBLISH YOUR COMMENT. Still have OOPS. .

69A: Indus R. country: PAK. Again, got the answer from Down fills. Not familiar with Indus River, the longest river in Pakistan. It rises in Tibet.

70A: Like some icy weather: SLEETY

Down:

1D: Lateral remark: ASIDE

2D: Goes back (to): REVERTS. Wrote down RETURNS first.

3D: Full of , with "with": FRAUGHT

5D: Toyota __ 4, SUV model: RAV. Ridiculous ad. RAV4 stands for "Recreational Active Vehicle with 4-wheel drive". Did not know that.

6D: Like the worst excuse: FLIMSIEST

8D: X-ray vision thwarter: LEAD

9D: Political hot button: TAXES

11D: Lacking social graces: ILL-BRED

22D: Old Mideast org.: UAR (United Arab Republic). A union of Egypt & Syria, from 1958 to 1961.

23D: Color TV pioneer: RCA

28D: Vindicate: AVENGE

30D: "Chico and the Man" setting, briefly: EAST LA. The answer revealed itself. Have never heard of the sitcom "Chico and the Man".

31D: Heat unit, briefly: BTU

32D: [error left as is]: SIC. Here are the brackets marks again, indicating a non-verbal expression.

36D: Turnpike features: SIGN POSTS

39D: Pasty Hawaiian staple: POI

40D: Gut-punch reaction: OOF

42D: Local cartographer's creation: AREA MAP

45D: Reason for a search party: ESCAPEE

46D: "Four Quartets" poet: T. S. ELIOT. Nice to see his full name in the grid.

48D: Uncommon sense?: ESP

50D: "Wow!": OOH

52D: Legally prohibit: ESTOP. Learned from doing Xword.

55D: Controversial Bruce: LENNY. Why was he controversial?

58D: Fem. advocacy group: YWCA (Young Women's Christian Association). Established in 1855.

59D: Chinese toy: PEKE. We call them lion dogs due to their resemblance to the guardian lions. The lions always come in pairs, male on the left, female on the right.

61D: Fingers: IDS

64D: 1960-'61 chess champ Mikhail: TAL. "The Magician from Riga". He was born in Riga, Latvia.

Answer grid.

Alright, as promised yesterday, here is a closer look at our blog "it" girl Melissa Bee. She is just beautiful, including her incredible brain. I also adore this avatar photo, ethereal looking.

C.C.

Wednesday August 12, 2009 James Sajdak

Theme: MARGIN OF VICTORY (Winning difference - a small one starts 17-, 26- and 47-Across)

17A: "That fact is worth considering": A POINT WELL TAKEN (basketball/football/tennis)

26A: "Brilliant": A STROKE OF GENIUS (golf)

47A: Wall Street nightmare: A RUN ON THE MARKET (baseball)

Hmm, another scrabbly puzzle. Only one letter Q away from a pangram. 6 K's.

Four 15-letter theme entries. Lovely. No A GOAL for the hockey/soccer fans though.

I am not familiar with A RUN ON THE MARKET. Similar to the stock market crash we just weathered?

I don't understand the clue for LONG (18D: Unlike any vowels in dictionaries?). Is it because all the vowels in the word "dictionaries" have short sounds?

Across:

1A: Hook's mate: SMEE. The pirate in "Peter Pan".

5A: Swedish import: SAAB. GM still owns SAAB, though won't for long.

9A: Letter vender?: SAJAK (Pat). Host of "Wheel of Fortune". I was in the rental let-ter (one who lets) direction.

14A: Utterly unapproachable: COLD AS ICE

16A: Love abroad: AMORE. Italian for "love".

19A: Approaching the hour: TEN TO. I used to say five fifty (5:50) rather than TEN TO six.

20A: Janis's comics mate: ARLO. "ARLO and Janis".

22A: Clandestine maritime org.: ONI (Office of Naval Intelligence). The Navy CIA. I simply forgot.

24A: Sgt., for one: NCO

35A: Japanese drama: NOH. Derived from Chinese "Neng", literally "ability". Most NOH characters are masked. Actors are usually males.

36A: Fair-sized fair: EXPO. Nice clue.

37A: Petrol measure: LITRE. Petrol is British for "gas", hence British spelling of LITER.

38A: Angelou's "And Still __": I RISE. Penned in "I SING". Must have confused it with something else.

41A: Places for RNs: ERS. ORS too.

42A: Café container: TASSE. French for "cup". TASSE à café = coffee cup.

43A: Not hit off the ground: TEE UP. You use a tee to TEE UP (i.e., not "hit off the ground") when teeing off. I felt stupid not being able to interpret the clue.

44A: Premature, perhaps: RASH

46A: W. Hemisphere alliance: OAS (Organization of American States).

51A: Shaq's alma mater: LSU (Louisiana State University)

52A: Wall St. wall plaque: MBA. Do they really display their MBA on the wall? Even after this financial meltdown?

53A: Inclusive prefix: AMBI. Prefix for "both", as in ambidextrous.

60A: Middle of three black keys: A FLAT. Easy guess.

67A: Menotti's shepherd boy: AMAHL. "AMAHL and the Night Visitors". Literally "labor"/ "hard work" in Hebrew/Sanskrit. Maybe it's related to AMAH.

68A: "Reach": STICK 'EM UP

69A: Sip or bite: TASTE

70A: Piece of work: TASK

71D: Musician's mailing: DEMO

Down:

1D: Word to a pest: SCAT

2D: Brood: MOPE. Sometimes I feel blue for no reason.

3D: North Carolina campus: ELON. Wow, this Tar Heel State sure gets lots of play lately.

4D: Prose pro: EDITOR. Yes, you are a "Prose pro", Rich!

5D: Old JFK arrival: SST

6D: Bygone audio brand: AIWA. Sony acquired AIWA in 2002, and then discontinued the brand in 2006.

7D: One offering outstanding services?: ACER. Is "service" the same as "serve" in tennis?

8D: Bossy's ringer: BELL. I wonder why a cow is called bossy.

10D: Endangered South American watershed: AMAZONIA. New word to me.

11D: Part of a routine: JOKE. Oh, "comic routine". Not a JOKE that Kathy Griffin is now dating Sarah Palin's 19-year-old almost son-in-law.

12D: War deity: ARES. Greek God of War.

13D: Daily Planet reporter: KENT (Clark)

15D: "That's __!": parental warning: A NO NO

23D: Tina's ex: IKE

25D: Druid, for one: CELT. Druid is ancient CELT. Dictionary says druid is derived from duiwid, dru means "oak", (w)id means "to know". No wonder Druids worshipped oak trees.

26D: Ekberg of "La Dolce Vita": ANITA. I remember this scene. But her name escaped me.

28D: 1960s-'70s South Vietnamese president: THIEU. No idea. This guy was South Vietnam's last president (1965-1975).

29D: Bring to bear: EXERT

30D: Daytime TV mogul: OPRAH. Ennui.

31D: "All that Jazz" choreographer: FOSSE (Bob). Wikipedia says he won an unprecedented eight Tony Awards for choreography.

32D: "Not to worry": IT'S OK

33D: Latin bears: URSAE. Mine was URSAS.

34D: Behold, of old: SEEST. Biblically. I was thinking of ECCE, the Latin "behold".

39D: Morning awakener, perhaps: SUNLIGHT. What came to your mind first?

40D: Long poem: EPOS. Literally "tale" in Greek. "Odyssey" is an EPOS. New word to me also.

45D: "I'm thinking ...": HMM

48D: Former Georgia senator Sam: NUNN. Georgia senator from 1972 to 1997.

50D: Took a Grand Canyon trip, say: RAFTED

53D: Latin trio word: AMAT. Amo (I love), amas (You love) & AMAT (He loves).

55A: Tops at the beach: BRAS. So pretty.

57D: Go for: COST

58D: Mennen lotion: AFTA. A pun on "after".

59D: Dollar competitor: AVIS

61D: Togo's capital: LOME. No idea. See this map. They speak French, so Lomé is pronounced like law-MEY.

62D: Carla lily family: ARUM. Learned from doing Xword. Jack-in-the-pulpit belongs to the ARUM family also.

63D: Slip of the finger?: TYPO. Lovely clue.

65D: Seine sight: ILE. French for "island".

Answer grid.

C.C.

PS: Here is photo of our fellow solver Elissa and her family after bar mitzvah last week. In her words: "You can just see me next to my husband (the handsome guy with the mustache) peeking over my mother's head. In my next life I plan to be tall!"

Tuesday August 11, 2009 Allan E. Parrish

Theme: Tread the Boards - All words related to the theater.

18A: Homemade radio: CRYSTAL SET

59A: Last part: FINAL STAGE

3D: Baseball play that may be "suicide": SQUEEZE PLAY

27D: Common autograph site: PLASTER CAST

Another pangram puzzle. All 26 letters are used.

Bonus fill: ACTION (24A: Director's directive), though theatrical directors don't use this, I presume, only the cinematic directors do.

Argyle...again. Yesterday was too easy so I had to blog today's puzzle.

Maybe "Baseball ploy" works better, as PLAY was part of the theme answer for 3D.

Considerably harder than Monday's but, for regular readers of this blog, it shouldn't have been too bad.

Across:

1A: Canseco of baseball fame: JOSE. You won't find this on a baseball card. Conseco stirred up the whole steroid scandal.

5A: Screen material: MESH.

9A: Diving ducks: SMEWS. Small European ducks, white crest.

14A: Quartet before S: OPQR. String of letters before S, alphabetically.

15A: Introductory drawing class: ART I.

16A: Gives a ticket to: CITES.

17A: Ship-related: Abbr.: NAUT. Nautical.

20A: Say "Howdy!" to: GREET.

22A: Settings for weddings: ALTARS.

23A: Co. that merged into Verizon: GTE. GTE Corporation (formerly General Telephone & Electronics Corporation) was the largest of the "independent" US telephone companies during the days of the Bell System. Merged in 2000.

26A: Lhasa __: APSO.

30A: Greek played by Anthony Quinn: ZORBA. Anthony Quinn won Best Actor Award for Zorba the Greek in 1964.

32A: Small waves: RIPPLES.

34A: Moravians, e.g.: CZECHS. But at one time, they were more than just CZECHS. The Bohemians are CZECHS too of course.

38A: Terminate, as an insurance policy: LAPSE.

39A: Mail Boxes __: ETC. Mail Boxes Etc. is a UPS company and is the world's largest franchisor of retail shipping, postal and business service centers.

40A: Follow: ENSUE.

42A: Source of Rockefeller's wealth: OIL.

43A: Seashore fliers: ERNS.

46A: Held protectively, as an infant: CRADLED.

48A: Chop up: MINCE and 57A: Chops up: DICES with 50A: Off one's rocker: INSANE. between them. Hee, hee, hee.

49A: Actor __ Luke who played Chan's Number One Son in old films: KEYE. Master Po on TV's Kung Fu.

52A: Nutrition letters : RDA. Recommended Daily Allowance.

55A: Louis who wrote Western novels: L'AMOUR. L'Amour's The Sacketts.

63A: "The War of the Worlds" enemy: MARS.

64A: Atmospheric layer: OZONE.

66A: DDE's alma mater: USMA. Dwight D. Eisenhower was a cadet at the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York.

67A: Office copy: XEROX.

Down:

1D: Mah-__: JONGG. Also, mahjong, or mah-jong

2D: Eyeball-bending genre: OP ART.

4D: One-named Deco artist: ERTE. Romain de Tirtoff. ERTE is French pronunciation of his initials R.T.

5D: Brit's raincoat: MAC. "And the banker never wears a mac in the pouring rain; very strange." from the Beatles, Penny Lane. A "mac" is a mackintosh: a raincoat. Originally it was a brand name for a specific type of overcoat, now a generic term.

6D: Printing slip-ups: ERRATA.

7D: Turntable needles: STYLI. plural of stylus Alternate plural, styluses.

8D: Like chronicles of the past: HISTORIC.

9D: Capone feature: SCAR. Al "Scarface" Capone.

10D: Grammy-winning country singer Ronnie: MILSAP. Picture Milsap's "Lost in the Fifties Tonight" single won Grammys in 1985 and 1986.

19D: Patty Hearst's SLA alias: TANIA. The S.L.A.(Symbionese Liberation Army) became internationally notorious for kidnapping media heiress Patty Hearst, granddaughter of William Randolph Hearst. She ultimately joined her captors in furthering their cause. Despite her claim she had been coerced, she served nearly two years in jail.

21D: North Carolina athlete: TAR HEEL. and 48D: "My Little __": 1950s Gale Storm sitcom: MARGIE. Both were discussed lately in the comment section.

25D: "Numb3rs" network: CBS. "Numb3rs" is a show about a man using math to help solve crimes.

28D: Smooth transition: SEGUE.

29D: Big name in blenders: OSTER. We had Waring blenders, now we have Oster.

31D: Mil. training inst.: OCS. Officer Candidate School and 36D: Grads of 31-Down: LTS. Lieutenants.

33D: Primped: PREENED. Preen comes from the action of birds smoothing their feathers.

34D: Ticker: CLOCK. So simple, it gave me trouble.

35D: Congo, formerly: ZAIRE.

39D: Back-of-the-book listings: END NOTES.

41D: Pres. advisory team: NSC. National Security Council. Headed by NSA (National Security Advisor). CIA director is part of NSC too.

44D: Champagne-producing city: REIMS. ENE of Paris, France. City of Germany’s unconditional surrender.

47D: The "D" in FDR: DELANO. Franklin Delano Roosevelt. His mother named him after her favorite uncle, Franklin Delano.

51D: Sophisticated: SUAVE. Oh, Bond.

53D: Skin layer: DERMA.

54D: Test one's metal: ASSAY. Nice play on "Test one's mettle".

56D: Mike Doonesbury's daughter, in comics: ALEX. She is a young lady now.

61D: Here-there link: NOR. Neither here NOR there.

62D: "Benevolent" fellow: ELK. The Benevolent & Protective Order of ELKS.

Answer grid.

Argyle

PS: Here is a photo of our Canadian solver Geri in St. Augustine, Florida in March 2009.

Monday, August 10, 2009 Billie Truitt

Theme: Frequent 'F and F' Formats

20A: "American Idol" contestant's dream: FAME AND FORTUNE

37A: Hard data: FACTS AND FIGURES

52A: Like a movie auto chase scene: FAST AND FURIOUS

Argyle here.

All the first theme words start with FA, and only have one syllable. There are total 9 letter F's in this puzzle (NY Time's record is 12), quite unusual. One Z and 2 J's also makes this puzzle rather scrabbly.

Not much to say: If it gets any easier there won't be much reason to blog. That's not to say it isn't a good puzzle, it is, but I'll bet we have many that didn't have to google at all today.

Think of some other F and F and leave it in the comments section. I have several, but I'll wait to post them. Have a good week.

Across:

1A: Cough syrup amts.: TSPS. Teaspoons

9A: Pirate's chum: MATEY. "Ahoy, MATEY".

18A: With 10-Down, approximately: ON OR. 10D: See 18-Across: ABOUT.

19A: Sure to end in failure, as a situation: NO WIN.

23A: Swiss painter Paul: KLEE.

25A: Wander (about): GAD. Gadabout Gaddis (Roscoe Vernon)- The Flying Fisherman. An early pioneer of television, Gadabout's name was synonymous with freedom

28A: Handyman's tasks: ODD JOBS.

30A: Shriner's hat: FEZ. Thimble Cute!

35A: Place for mil. planes: AFB. Air Force Base.

36A: Jazz jargon: JIVE.

44A: Mummy's threesome?: EMS. Three letter M's in Mummy.

45A: Bead of morning moisture: DEWDROP. Common name for a roadhouse, The Dew Drop Inn.

48A: Oink spot: STY.

49A: U2's lead vocalist: BONO. nee Paul David Hewson. BONO owns Forbes magazine.

59A: Connect the _: DOTS.

60A: Kitten lifting spot: NAPE. Place "awwww" picture here.

61A: Ivan of tennis: LENDL.

62A: Blunt blade: EPEE. Sharp point.

Down:

1D: "Finally, the weekend!": TGIF.

3D: Pilot or Treo maker: PALM. Palm USA, is an innovator of easy-to-use mobile products including Treo and Centro smartphones, handhelds, software, and accessories. Rival of Blackberry.

5D: Copied genetically: CLONED.

6D: Passed (out): HANDED. Hmmm, why did I think of a different kind of "passed out".

7D: Dating from: AS OF.

8D: Mislead deliberately: THROW OFF. from 'THROW OFF the trail'. Foxes were known to have doubled back on their trail and then jump sideways(to a log or hard ground or water)thus throwing the hounds off their trail.

9D: "Praying" insect: MANTIS. Greek for prophet/seer.

21D: At __ for words: A LOSS.

22D: Temple leader: RABBI.

25D: Faux pas: GAFFE. The fishing hook is GAFF.

29D: Bored with life: JADED.

30D: Pink-slips: FIRES. Pink-slips used as a verb here.

36D: Moonshine container: JUG.

39D: "Ah, that explains it!": NO WONDER.

40D: Rubbernecker: GAPER.

45D: "This I gotta hear!": DO TELL.

46D: Traveled like Huck Finn: RAFTED.

47D: Numbered works: OPUSES. I half expected the plural to be OPUSAE or OPUSI or something. Update: noun - a plural of opus: opera [oh-per-uh](Who knew?)

51D: Tendon: SINEW.

52D: Agonize (over): FRET.

53D: Ill-fated Boleyn: ANNE.

54D: Nitwit: DOPE.

55D: "I do," for one: OATH.

56D: __ no good: plotting: UP TO.

57D: Evidently are: SEEM.

58D: Trains above streets: ELS. In Chicago. And ERNIE (58A: Berts Muppet buddy). Poor ERNIE ELS. Maybe he will pull off a surprise at Hazeltine (PGA Championship) this week.

Answer grid.

Argyle

Sunday August 9, 2009 Edgar Fontaine

Theme: Initial Exposé - reinterpretation of famous people's initials.

27A: Author who's rarin' to write?: EAGER BEAVER WHITE (E. B. WHITE - author of "Charlotte's Web")

45A: Daredevil writer?: HANG GLIDER WELLS (H. G. WELLS, writer of 'The Time Machine'')

67A: Explosive blues singer?: BIG BANG KING (B.B. KING, blues legend)

92A: Hard-hitting mystery writer?: PILE DRIVER JAMES (P. D. JAMES, British mystery writer)

109A: Threatening, but harmless, showman?: PAPER TIGER BARNUM (P. T. BARNUM, the circus showman)

15D: Merchant who moonlights as a union boss?: LABOR LEADER BEAN (L. L. BEAN, founder of the mail-order giant)

44D: Poet surfing the Net?: WEB BROWSER YEATS (W.B. YEATS, Nobel Literature poet)

Of all the 7 theme answers, I like PAPER TIGER BARNUM the post. Chairman Mao used to call the United States PAPER TIGER.

Good to see Edgar Fontaine's name again. It's been a long time since we last solved his TMS Daily puzzle.

Amusing theme. Some of the clues are very tough. Plus quite a few unknowns. I just struggled again.

Across:

1A: Autograph site: CAST. Wanted EBAY, the site where I got some of my autographed baseball cards.

5A: "Yesterday": ASAP

9A: Hefty competitor: GLAD

13A: Twist together: ENLACE

19A: Emperor after Galba: OTHO. No idea. He overthrew Galba and ruled for just only three months in AD 69.

20A: "A __ technicality": MERE

21A: Pressure, loan shark style: LEAN ON. Not familiar with the "Exert pressure" meaning of LEAN ON. "Rely on", yes

23A: Help out at the trampoline: SPOT. Why?

25A: Florida Marlins uniform color: TEAL. Ha ha, I've never paid attention to Marlins' uniform color. That's Miguel Cabrera, who is now with the Tigers.

26A: RoboCop, e.g.: CYBORG. It stands for Cybernetic Organism. New word to me. Not familiar with the movie RoboCop either.

31A: River through Silesia: ODER. The German/Polish border river. Flows to the Baltic Sea. I could not find Silesia though.

32A: __War: 1850s conflict: CRIMEAN

34A: Deep-seated: INBRED

36A: Connecting: BETWEEN. Can you explain to me how these two are synonymous?

39A: Insurance that covers bridges?: DENTAL. The ? mark did not prevent me from thinking of the river bridges.

41A: Vermont ski resort: STOWE. No idea. Is it named after Harriet Beecher STOWE?

50A: Jazzman Calloway's birth name: CABELL. Cab Calloway. Total stranger to me.

52A: Campanella of Ebbets Field fame: ROY. Gimme. Catcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers who played in the Ebbets Field. Hall of Famer.

53A: Green-lighted: OK'D

54A: Sainted Norse King: OLAV II. Easy guess. It could only be OLAV II or OLAV IV or OLAV VI.

56A: Horse of the Middle East: ARAB

56A: Ocular sphincter: IRIS

58A: Africa's largest nation in area: SUDAN. I am glad I don't live in Darfur.

60A: Blue-pencils: EDITS. Oh, I associated EDITS with red-color.

61A: Dead center?: TOMB. Great clue.

62A: "Oh, brother!": MAN

63A: Series opener?: MINI. Miniseries.

64A: Hill worker: AIDE. Capitol Hill.

66A: Geppetto wished on one: STAR. "When You Wish Upon a STAR", from "Pinocchio". I was stumped. Did not know who Geppetoo is.

70A: Keep out of the lineup: REST

79A: Give rise to: SPAWN

82A: Pin on a rowboat: THOLE. Ah, T' HOLE. That's how I remember it.

84A: Come ci, comma ça: SOSO. "Come ci, comma ça" is literally "Like this, like that".

85A: Bring in: EARN

86A: Try to hit with: TOSS AT

88A: White House nickname: IKE. It can only be IKE or ABE.

89A: Take up, perhaps: HEM. Take up/HEM the sleeves an inch.

90A: Creamsicle color: ORANGE. Did not know the Creamsicle brand.

96A: Much of Chile: ANDES

97A: High-tech card interpreter: READER. Bar code READER?

98A: Seriously restrained, as a prisoner: IN IRONS

100A: Thwart: STYMIE. Crossing TRIPS (101D: Fools, with "up").

102A: GM debut of 1964: GTO (1964-1974).

103A: They work in wheels: POTTERS. POTTER's wheel.

108A: Rochester's love: EYRE. From "Jane EYRE".

114A: Frock wearers: FRIARS

117A: Bibliography abbr.: ET AL

118A: 13 for Al, e.g.: AT NO. Did not know aluminum's Atomic Number is 13.

119A: Go quietly: TIPTOE

120A Malibu landmark: PIER. Malibu PIER.

121A: "Clair de __": LUNE. Clair is French for "Clear". LUNE is "moon". "Clair de LUNE"= "moonlight". Debussy's piece.

122A: Luth. or Meth.: PROT (Protestant)

124A: Like a stained shirt pocket, maybe: INKY

125A: Christian name?: DIOR. Christian DIOR. Nailed it immediately.

128A: Title word in an annual Guy Lombardo classic: SYNE. "Auld Lang SYNE" (Literally "Old Long Since"). I've never heard of Guy Lombardo. He is credited with popularizing the use of the song at New Year’s celebrations in America, according to Wikipedia.

Down:

1D: Sine's reciprocal, in trig: COSEC. My goodness. I thought it's COSINE.

2D: How some stocks are sold: AT PAR

3D: Chess, Japanese style: SHOGI. Sho=General (as in Shogun). Gi=Chess.

4D: __ pole: TOTEM

5D: Unicellular life: AMEBAE. Plural of AMEBA, though AMOEBA is more common.

6D: "God Bless America" inning: SEVENTH. The effect of Sept 11. Weird to sing "Take Me to the Ball Game" while inside the stadium.

7D: Part of WATS: AREA. WATS = Wide Area Telecommunications Service. New acronym to me.

8D: Sicko, for short: PERV. Pervert. I only know perb, which stands for perpetrator (or perpendicular crossing in our blog).

9D: It doesn't conceal much: G-STRING. Lovely matching baby doll top.

10D: "Gigi" composer: LOEWE. Learner & LOEWE.

11D: Indian wet nurse: AMAH. It's called AMAH in Hongkong too.

12D: Place for a bagel with a schmear: DELI

13D: City in California's Imperial Valley: EL CENTRO. Literally "The Center". New to me. Wikipedia says Cher was born here.

14D: Napoleonic Wars marshal: NEY (Michel). Napoleon called him "the bravest of the brave".

16D: Galvanic cell part: ANODE

17D: Like baked apples: CORED. You don't want to bake an Honeycrisp apple.

18D: Certain B.S. holder: ENGR

28D: James Dean persona: REBEL. "REBEL Without a Cause" in particular. He was kind of a REBEL in "East of Eden" too.

29D: Milton's "Lycidas", e.g.: ELEGY. No idea. Wikipedia says "Lycidas" was a poem dedicated to the memory of Edward King, a collegemate of Milton's at Cambridge who had been drowned when his ship sank in the Irish Sea.

30D: Trident feature: TINE

35D: Turned on the waterworks: BAWLED

37D: Blender name: WARING. Not familiar with the brand. It's named after musician Fred WARNING.

38D: Grandson of Adam: ENOS

39D: Antelope named for the sound it makes when frightened: DIK-DIK. Oh, good to know. Good morning, DIK-DIK, don't be afraid.

40D: Icelandic epic: EDDA

41D: Sings like Ella: SCATS

42D: It has Lovers card: TAROT

43D: 2004 Democratic keynoter: OBAMA. I remember that speech very vividly. My first encounter with the name OBAMA.

46D: Lizard's habitat?: LOUNGE. LOUNGE lizard.

47D: DLX÷ X: LVI. 560÷ 10= 56.

48D: Beyong tipsy: LIT

49D: Word before boom: SIS. SIS boom bah.

51D: Perching places: LIMBS. For birds.

57D: Grammy winner Bonnie: RAITT. Fascinating voice.

58D: Inasmuch as: SINCE

59D: Some grandkid spoilers: NANAS

63D: Jiffy Bag, e.g.: MAILER. Oh, I just call Jiffy Bag bubbled envelop.

65D: All-natural abode: IGLOO. Inuit for "house". Constructed of snow, hence "all-natural" I suppose.

68D: Arrange, as a deal: BROKER

69D: Chemical relative: ISOMER. Same compound with different arrangement of atoms.

71D: Serengeti grazer: ELAND. The spiral-horned antelope.

72D: Suit material: SERGE. Woolen fabric.

73D: Nano or Shuffle fillers: TUNES. iPod Nano/iPod Shuffle.

75D: Ancient wreath for the head: ANADEM. New word to me. LAUREL doesn't fit.

79D: Indy additive: STP

80D: Pacific finger food: POI. You eat POI with finger?

81D: Comm. method reputedly used by Koko the gorilla: ASL (American Sign Language). Stumper for me.

83D: Cellular structure: HIVE

84D: High roller?: SEMI. Nice clue.

87D: Went (all over): TRAIPSED

89D: Capital WNW of Manila: HANOI. Vietnam's capital.

91D: Haile Selassie worshipper: RASTA. They wear dreadlocks.

93D: "The very __!": IDEA

94D: Wired, so to speak: JITTERY. Edgy.

95D: Opera heroine, often: SOPRANO

99D: More stately: NOBLER

100D: Fertile Crescent land: SYRIA. See this Fertile Crescent region map. It's shaped like a crescent.

102D: Gibberish, metaphorically: GREEK

104D: Nabs using trickery: TRAPS

105D: Log item: ENTRY

106D: Yak, yak, yak ..: RUN ON. I often imagine how Geri (our fellow Canadian solver) looks like. She is so quiet yet so present.

107D: Walloped, old-style: SMOTE. Biblically.

108D: New newts: EFTS

110D: Big __: baseball's David Ortiz: PAPI. Nick name for Ortiz, another steroid user.

111D: Tiger Wood's wife: ELIN. ELIN Nordegren. A former Swedish model/nanny.

112D: Fix, in a way: GELD. Oh, neuter fix.

13D: Fancy case: ETUI. Aren't you glad we don't have PTUI any more?

115D: Sushi ingredient: ROE. I've somehow lost appetite for salmon ROE sushi.

Answer grid.

C.C.

Interview with Gail Grabowski

Like Doug Peterson, Gail Grabowski is a regular contributor to Stan Newman's Newsday puzzle. She specializes at early-week grids.

Gail started constructing puzzle in 2002, and she has more than 80 puzzles published by the LA Times. Her byline has also appeared in NY Times (11), USA Today and the Games magazine. Gail has also been contributing to Random House Casual Crossword series since 2004 and the Crossword Club (Rich Norris is the editor) since 2006.

There is always a simple elegance in Gail's puzzles. I enjoy them more because I am able to solve without cheating. Today's themeless is hard though. I was whipped.

How did you first get interested in crossword construction?

My father was an avid solver, and mornings always included coffee with crosswords. I got hooked but didn't have a clue about the effort that went into the puzzles. I happened to take a writing course in 2002 and met a gal whose brother sold crosswords to Dell. That info additionally spurred my interest so I went online to learn more about crossword construction. Fortunately, I discovered Nancy Salomon as a mentor. Then I knew exactly what I wanted to do.

How does your background influence your crossword style? I notice most of your themes are about wordplay, esp synonyms.

I suppose my background as a former teacher of English and literature influences some of my themes. Finding synonyms isn't particularly difficult. However, utilizing a synonym from a different perspective in a theme entry isn't always easy. In addition to equalizing the letter count, the entry shouldn't sound strained. I also enjoy cooking so some of my puzzles are devoted to food wordplay.

You are an amazingly prolific constructor. Where do you normally get your inspirations?

I don't see myself as all that prolific. There are many top-notch constructors out there who far surpass me in product. I don't think any of us are that concerned about quantity. We're more concerned about the quality of the theme, the fill and the clues that will make the solver enjoy the overall experience. As my crossword muse isn't all that reliable, my inspirations also come from everyday life, a variety of dictionaries/reference sources and my husband and friends. Then the wee hours offer me uninterrupted time to grab my notes for themes and go to work on refining them.

What is a perfect puzzle for you, in terms of themes, fills & cluing?

I don't know that there's a perfect puzzle because I feel it's all a matter of taste to the editor, solver, blogger and constructor. If I produced one that would meet that standard, it would have a theme like no other plus lively fill and some very thought-provoking clues.

Besides crossword, what else do you do for fun?

That's a great question as fun for me is constructing a crossword. (What isn't fun is clueing.) I also enjoy my daily exercise routine and an early morning bike ride. I love golf but play sporadically as I'm too competitive with myself. Summers are devoted to my veggie and herb gardens. Snowy winter days are passed with a good book.