Saturday August 22, 2009 Peter Wentz

Theme: None

Total blocks: 33

Total words: 72

Definitely an eased-up Saturday. I filled in so many blanks on the first pass. Loved the political flavor in this puzzle:

14A: Role in the film "W.": JEB BUSH. Very minor role. I don't like "W.", such a negative portrayal of Condi Rice.

45A: Leader with bouffant hairdo: KIM JONG-IL. Nailed it like it were OREO. He is grooming his son Kim Jong-un to be his successor.

59A: War on Poverty monogram: LBJ. I thought War on Poverty was one of FDR's New Deal programs.

2D: Front-page grabber: HEADLINE

34D: 1960 debate monogram: RMN. Did not know Nixon's middle initial: Richard Milhous Nixon.

45D: Post-Taliban president: KARZAI (Hamid). Wow, I always thought it's KARZIA.

58D: "Contract With America" first name: NEWT (Gingrich). A potential GOP 2012 presidential candidate.

I suppose you can add ABDULLAH (3D: Name meaning "servant of God") into the group too. The current king of Saudi Arabia is called ABDULLAH. I only knew ABDUL (as in Paula ABDUL) means "servant of".

Quite a scrabbly puzzle, with four J's, 1 Z & eight K's.

Across:

1A: "Bingo!": THAT'S IT. Nailed it with just letter H from the intersecting HEADLINE.

8A: Corn piece: COB

11A:. Links standard: PAR. Links & golf course are often used interchangeably, though links refers to a specific type.

15A: Griddle fare: HOECAKE. I've never had HOECAKE. Kind of like corn bread, isn't it?

17A: Went ape, like Bart Simpson: HAD A COW. No idea. "Don't have a cow, man!" showed up as a Bart Simpson quote when I googled.

18A: Not pointless: ON TOPIC

19A: Norfolk, Virginia, sch.: ODU (Old Dominion University). Unknown to me. Wikipedia says it derives its name from Virginia's official state nickname, "The Old Dominion", given to the state by King Charles II of England for remaining loyal to the crown during the English Civil War (1641-1651).

20A: Flair: KNACK. Jerome has a Flair/KNACK for anagram.

22A: Haunted castle sound: CLANK. CLANK from the chains of a prisoner once kept in the castle?

23A: It's a crock: OLLA. So true! But I was thinking of nonsense crock. Great clue.

25A: Contemporary of Agatha: ERLE

26A: Bookstore section: HOW-TO

27A: Firing places: KILNS

29A: "Cheers" actor: TED DANSON. Had trouble stringing his name together, though I've seen this picture at least 3 times.

31A: Perform on stage: ENACT

32A: Kicks: FUN

33A: Tries again, in court: REHEARS. Feels like the extra "in court" is just for me, since I could not understand the RETRY & "Hear again" connection last time.

36A: Make good on: PAY BACK

42A: Scrip spec: MED. Did not know scrip is short for prescription. I actually read the clue as "Script spec.".

44A: Act of insurance fraud, perhaps: ARSON. No "fire" play today.

51A: Legal search subject: TITLE

52A: Words after cut or close: A DEAL

53A: Vacationer's accumulation, perhaps: MAIL

57A: Title host of a talk show featuring dance routine: ELLEN. OK, here is Obama on ELLEN.

60A: Uses a MapQuest feature: ZOOMS IN

62A: Big name at the Peppermint Lounge: JOEY DEE. Big stumper. Have never heard of the Peppermint Lounge disco club, the home base of JOEY DEE and the Starliters, who recorded their #1 hit "Peppermint Twist" at the venue in the early 1960, according to Wikipedia.

64A: Down deep: AT HEART

65A: Impressive way to walk?: ON WATER. I actually knew the Biblical "walking ON WATER" story, but I was too dense to think outside of SWAGGER.

66A: Suffix with Marx.: ISM. Marxism, Leninism & Chairman Mao Thought, the stuff I grew up with.

67A: "The Royal Tenenbaums" director Anderson: WES. Gimme, though I've yet to see the movie.

68A: Do some strategic schmoozing: NETWORK. Great clue.

Down:

1D: '80s William Shatner cop series: T.J. HOOKER. Another stumper for me. Someone might have mentioned this TV series on the blog before.

4D: Sched. question mark: TBA

5D: What toadies do, with "up": SUCK

6D: "That __ for the record books": IS ONE

7D: Block: THWART. My first reaction is STYMIE.

8D: Emotionally overcome: CHOKED UP

9D: Suffix with ball: OON. Balloon.

10D: "You __!": "Certainly": BETCHA. Ah, Minnesota!

11D: Fruit also called "prairie bananas": PAPAWS. Same as papaya? I don't know. Papaya tastes so different from banana.

12D: Very much like: AKIN TO

13D: S'pose: RECKON. The clue seems to indicate an abbreviated answer.

16D: Time punctuation: COLON. So simple in retrospect. 5:30, the middle two dots.

21D: Score symbol: CLEF

24D: Suffix with govern: ANCE. Governance. MENT won't fit.

28D: London's Victoria, e.g.: Abbr.: STA. No idea. Victoria Station is the second busiest railway terminus after Waterloo.

30D: ___ sequencing: DNA

35D: Parts: SEGMENTS

37D: China's Sun __-sen: YAT. He dethroned the last emperor of China. Brother-in-law of Chiang Kai-shek.

38D: Boater feature: BRIM. The boater hat, not the one who boats.

39D: Words on some autobiographies: AS TOLD TO. Mine was A MEMOIR(E). Wrong spelling to boot.

40D: Stadium vendor's cry: COLD BEER. Great answer.

41D: Unthinking: KNEE-JERK. I penned in HEEDLESS. Obviously I was unthinking.

43D: Regulating gadget: DIAL. For radio I suppose.

46D: Fools: IDIOTS

47D: Large unit of resistance: MEGOHM. Guessed. OHM is often clued as "unit of resistance".

48D: "The Bionic Woman" __ Sommers: JAIME. Have never heard of "The Bionic Woman". J'AIME ce nom, lovely.

49D: Familiar adage: OLD SAW

50D: "Crunk Juice" rapper: LIL JON. Nope. Looks so noisy.

54D: West African currency: LEONE. Currency for Sierra LEONE. Got me.

61D: Face reddener: IRE

63D: Deviate: YAW. As a ship/aircraft. Pitch, roll & YAW. I can never remember which line is for which.

Answer grid.

Picture of the Day: Here is another great photo of our fellow solvers visiting the Spruce Goose. From left to right: Dick's wife Irene, Dick, Carol and Carol's husband Joe.

C.C.

Friday August 21, 2009 Dan Naddor

Theme: 'N Sync (N is replaced by NN)

17A: "Cimarron" actress Irene's carriage?: DUN(N)E BUGGY. Knew Irene DUNNE. Not familiar with DUNE BUGGY ("The Other Woman" sounds sweet). It's used on sand dunes/beaches.

23A: Makers of knockoff artillery?: CAN(N)ON COPIERS. Had never heard of Ricoh until I came to the US. Xerox and CANON were the popular copier brands in China.

32A: Nordic winter wear?: FIN(NI)SH COAT. Nokia is all I know about Finland.

40A: Airer of fashion infomercials?: COCO CHAN(N)EL. Had lots of trouble obtaining this entry, despite seeing Clear Ayes' CHANNEL for CASSINI ("In My Own Fashion" autobiographer") mistake last Sunday. CHANEL once said "Simplicity is the keynote of all true elegance." So true.

50A: Film festival city guidebook for pedestrians?: WALKING CAN(N)ES. CANNES Film Festival.

59A: Cruise down the Rhine, perhaps?: BON(N) VOYAGE. BONN is former capital of Western Germany. On the Rhine River.

Another special 15*16 grid. One extra row to accommodate the overlapped theme answers FINNISH COAT and COCO CHANNEL.

Dan mentioned that he always shoots for at least 20 entries of 6-letter or more in his puzzle. I counted a total of 24 in today's grid.

Bumpy ride. As planned yesterday, I dived into the lower right corner immediately and got BONN VOYAGE in no time. Found no unifying answer there, then returned north and got DUNNE BUGGY. Then I noticed the extra N pattern. Unfortunately it did not help me with the other 4 theme answers at all.

Quite a few obscure words/abbreviations for me in the grid.

Across:

1A: Dear columnist? ABBY. Dear ABBY.

5A: Neighborhood near TriBeCa?: SOHO. TriBeCa stands for Triangle Below Canal Street.

9A: Alternative to Hires: DAD'S. Root beer brands.

13A: SST nose feature: DROOP. Wikipedia says DROOP nose was a distinctive feature of Concorde. And pilot would lower the nose to improve visibility of the runway and taxiway. When in flight, the nose would be raised. New term to me.

15A: À tout __: at all costs: PRIX. Simply "price" in French, as in PRIX fixe.

16A: Aunt with a "Cope Book": ERMA. From ERMA Bombeck.

19A: Worker's end-of-week cry: TGIF. Proper for a Friday puzzle.

20A: Abbr. in some Canadian place names: STE. In Québec or other French speaking places.

21A: 2002 Best New Artist Grammy winner Jones: NORAH. Very nice "Are You Lonesome Tonight?". NORAH Jones is the daughter of Ravi Shankar, the sitarist.

26A: Masters partner: JOHNSON. Stumped. The Masters and JOHNSON was a research team (William Masters & Virginia E. JOHNSON). They pioneered research into the nature of human sexual response and the diagnosis and treatment of sexual disorders and dysfunctions from 1957 until the 1990s, a la Wikipedia.

29A: Film director Petri: ELIO. Big stumper. Have never heard of this Italian film director. He died in 1982, the year TV entered my world.

30A: D'backs and Cards: NLERS. Diamondbacks & Cardinals: National Leaguers.

39A: "Bambi" character: ENA: Bambi's aunt.

42A: Promotes: SELLS. OK, Obama promotes/SELLS his heath care plan. I had problem understanding the connection.

43A: Prefix meaning height: ACRO. As in acrobat/acrophobia.

44A: "No kidding!": THAT SO. Can you give me an example of how these two are synonymous? I've never heard of THAT SO.

47A: With sophistication: SUAVELY

53A: "80's Ladies" country singer K. T.: OSLIN. Knew her name, not the song.

54A: Eager, in dialect: RARIN'. RARIN' to go.

58A: Fish's last meal?: BAIT. Great clue. Got me.

61A: "__ the picture!": I GET

62A: Car with a four-ring logo: AUDI. Very straightforward clue.

63A: Greek New Ager: YANNI. Enya & YANNI, the only two New Agers I know. YANNI attended University of Minnesota.

64A: Deep-six: TOSS. Origin for deep-six (discard): a burial at sea (where the body is weighted to force it to the bottom) requires a minimum of six fathoms of water.

65A: Column-lined pedestrian way: STOA. Alright, here is the STOA of Attalos in Athens. Of Doric order.

66A: Spunkmeyer of cookie fame: OTIS. Total stranger to me.

Down:

2D: Moët et Chandon label word: BRUT. Literally "very dry".

3D: Elegant tableware: BONE CHINA

4D: Over there, old-style: YON. Hither and YON.

5D: Encourage: SPUR ON

6D: Heart, e.g.: ORGAN. And UNIV (48D:: Harvard, e.g.: Abbr.). Same style of cluing.

7D: Impressive note: HIGH C. Wikipedia says it's also called Soprano C.

8D: Moronic intro?: OXY. Oxymoronic.

9D: Holds for questioning: DETAINS

11D: Composer Shostakovich: DMITRI. Got his name with Across help.

12D: Like AAA-rated bonds, as bonds go: SAFEST

14D: Actor Sean et al: PENNS. The only non-theme NN answer in the grid. (Update: YANNI too).

18D: Activist Chaz: BONO. D'oh. Chastity BONO. Sonny & Cher's daughter. LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) activist. She is going to have a gender swap surgery and officially become a "he".

22D: Peloponnesian War victor: SPARTA. Easy guess. Not familiar with that ancient Greek war. It's fought between SPARTA and the Athens.

24D: Author. unknown: ANON

25D: Belief involving sorcery: OBEAH (OH-bee-uh). New word to me. Dictionary says it's practiced in some parts of the West Indies, Jamaica, and nearby tropical America. Kind of like Voodoo, isn't it?

26D: Boss, in Spanish: JEFE. Also new to me. It's pronounced like HE-fe.

27D: "thirtysomething" actor Ken: OLIN. Nope. Have never heard of this guy or TV series "thirtysomething".

30D: Some PX patrons: NCOS. PX is Post Exchange.

31D: __ cit.: footnote abbr.: LOC

33D: Strands at a chalet, perhaps: ICES IN

34D: Athenian reformer: SOLON. No idea. Wikipedia outlines a bunch of constitutional, economic, moral reforms he conducted but failed.

35D: Acid in gastric juice, chemically: HCL (Hydrocholoric). Absolutely no idea.

36D: Nonstop: INCESSANT

37D: Jazzman Saunders: MERL. Obtained his name with Across fills. What's the model of his car?

41D: Church area: NAVE

42D: Leeward Island north of Nevis: ST. KITTS. I am going to eat worms if I forget this name again.

44D: Small-time: TWO-BIT. Both the clue and answers are new to me. Only know "Big time". TWO-BITS is also a slang for a quarter. (Thanks, Bryan.)

45D: Tries one's hand (at): HAS A GO. Alas, multiple-word problem again.

46D: Unites (with): ALLIES

47D: Lake Huron port in Canada: SARNIA. I forgot. It's clued as "Largest city on Lake Huron" last time. See this map. Northeast of Detroit.

51D: Tiler's need: GROUT. Thin, coarse mortar. New to me.

52D: Positive-thinking: CAN-DO. Like Dennis's attitude.

56D: Lambs: Lat.: AGNI. Did not know the plural of Agnus is AGNI. Agnus Dei (Lamb of God).

57D: Floral rings: LEIS

59D: Box score figs.: BAS. BA stands for Batting Average in baseball or "Blocks Against" in basketball. (Thanks, Dennis & Argyle).

60D: Shanghai-born NBAer: YAO. His surname. Chinese put surname first.

Answer grid.

Picture of the Day: Here is a great wedding photo of our fellow solver Linda. In her own words: "L to R: Brides Parents, bride and groom (our youngest son,) moi and hubby."

C.C.

Thursday August 20, 2009 Todd McClary

Theme: MIDDLE EARTH (53A: "The Lord of the Rings" region, and a hint to the shared feature of 17-, 28- and 44-Across and 26-Down) - The word EARTH is embedded in each theme entry.

17A: Dispel hostile feelings: CLEAR THE AIR

29A: "Maude" actress: BEATRICE ARTHUR

44A: "Please tell me you're not serious": I DIDN'T HEAR THAT

26D: Scarcities: DEARTHS

Wouldn't it be nice if all the EARTH's were placed in the very middle of each theme answer?

The EARTH in DEARTHS is the only theme entry that is not split between two words. And it's placed in the very middle of the grid and crosses two theme answers.

Once again I jumped around. Got the tie-in answer MIDDLE EARTH first. Then I realized the gimmick immediately, as Pete Muller's INNER EAR grid left a very deep impression on me. Pete split all the EARS between two words. I then climbed upward and filled in all the EARTH immediately. (Updated later: We had a MIDDLE EARTH themed puzzle from Barry Silk on Nov 26, 2008, even the first entry CLEAR THE AIR is the same.)

I will use this strategy for tomorrow's puzzle also. I expect it's a wordplay grid by Dan Naddor and I expect the unifying answer to be placed at the lower right corner.

Granted, the puzzle is designed to be solved from upper left to lower right. Many constructors (like Merl Reagle) tend to place the most sparkliest theme answer or the tie-in theme answer at the end to provide solvers a precious"Aha" moment. But very seldom does the upper left corner crumble easily for me. I have to flit around. I guess I will just do whatever works for me.

There is also a drink sub-theme to make Lois/Argyle happy:

31A: Drink that can follow a shot: CHASER

61A: Item on a cocktail toothpick: OLIVE

24D: Scotch order: NEAT

51D: Malty mugfuls: ALES

All in all, not a difficult Thursday for me. I guessed a lot, and I was right on my guesses.

Across:

1A: Simian: APISH. Silly, I always thought simian is a noun.

11A: Queasy, perhaps: ILL

14A: Where the 4077th MASH served: KOREA. Where are the asterisks? I am used to "M*A*S*H.

15A: Mammy's boy: ABNER. From from comic strip Li'L ABNER. Mammy Yokum.

19A: Bay Area airport: SFO. I had SF? sitting there forever. Didn't know San Francisco International Airport's code.

21A: Sound quality?: SANITY. Got me. Nice clue.

26A: RFK Stadium soccer team: D.C. UNITED. Know this name only because of the Freddy Adu hype. Our local soccer team is called Minnesota Thunder.

30A: Ancient spell caster: MAGE. Short for magician. New word to me.

32A: Oldest of the Fab Four: STARR. Noticed the plural form on the intersecting 23D, so filled in STARR in no time.

34A: Creative pursuit: ART. Nice ART & ART crossing in the center.

35A: Streisand cross-dressing role: YENTL. Yenta is rooted in YENTL.

40A: "Born in __": Cheech Marin film: EAST LA. Another guess. Not familiar with the film. Last time it's clued as ""Chico and the Man" setting, briefly".

48A: Mentored ones: PROTEGES. My first reaction: MENTEES?

49A: Words of resignation: NO HOPE

50A: It may be wireless: ROUTER

59A: Nuevo __: Peru's currency: SOL. Obtained the answer from Across.

60A: Causing chill: EERIE

62A: Trough site: STY. Had a friend working for Kraft Foods for many years. He told me pork is the best meat nutrition-wise.

63A: Raid targets: DRUGS. Couldn't keep "bugs" out of my mind.

64A: Play in the tub: SLOSH

Down:

1D: "Best in Show" org.: AKC (American Kennel Club)

4D: Aquarium frolicker: SEA OTTER. . Just learned that a male otter is a dog, a female is a bitch and a baby is a whelp/pup.

5D: More puzzling: HARDER

6D: Portrayer of an Oz feline: LAHR. Bert LAHR, Cowardly Lion.

8D: Microscopic crime scene clue, briefly: DNA

9D: Retiree's abundance: LEISURE. Agree?

10D: Knightly news?: ERRANTRY. New word to me. Nice play on Nightly News.

11D: Where it originally was: IN SITU. Latin.

12D: Crane, at times: LIFTER. I was picturing an Origami crane.

13D: Bentsen who said to Quayle, "Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy": LLOYD. Because Dan Quayle had constantly been comparing himself to Kennedy. I was aware of the quote. Did not know who said it though.

22D: Fed, research agency: NIH (National Institutes of Health). Can never remember this name.

23D: Selectric typewriters, e.g.: IBMS

27D: Chess move you can make once: CASTLE. Another guess.

29D: Pure: CHASTE. Crossing CHASER.

33D: Cashed in: REDEEMED

36D: Hold spellbound: ENTHRALL

37D: Big Apple neighborhood near the Bowery: NOHO. Short for North of Houston Street. SOHO is South of Houston Street.

41D: More likely to explode: ANGRIER

42D: "Dog the Bounty Hunter" airer: A AND E. It jumped into me immediately after I had ND filled. I am really good at guessing now.

44D: 1950 classic sci-fi short story book: I ROBOT. By Isaac Asimov.

45D: To twice the degree: DOUBLY. Had trouble understanding the grammar of the clue.

46D: Cousin from an "altogether ooky" family: ITT. From "The Addams Family"

47D: Events with some very short rides: RODEOS

48D: Publicity: PRESS

54D: "In My Bed" R&B group __ Hill: DRU. Have never heard of this band.

55D: Archeologist's subject: DIG

Answer grid.

Picture of the Day: Here is a happy photo from our fellow solver Lemonade. From left to right: his son, Lemonade, his other son & his nephew.

C.C.

Interview with Samuel A. Donaldson

When publicly called a "has-been" by President Bush during a news briefing several years ago, ABC's Sam A. Donaldson retorted: "Better to have been a has-been than a never was."

But the future belongs to another Samuel A. Donaldson, our crossword constructor today. He is a professor at the University of Washington, and a lawyer.

Mr. Donaldson burst into the crossword scene on Oct 2, 2008 when he made the debut with NY Times. Since then, he has been published by NY Sun, Chronicle of High Education, USA Today & LA Times.

I read this interview after I am done with today's CLOSING ACTS puzzle, and found his behind-the-scene creating process insightful and his take on potential groaners fascinating. Alas, most of his proud multiple-words gave me troubles today.

We'd better learn quickly how his mind works. He seems to have been struck by a Muse and is very inspired. I expect we will see more of his puzzles in the future.

What is the inspiration for this puzzle? What are the other theme answers that failed to make the cut?

I’m not sure what got me thinking about a puzzle featuring celebrities with one name. I suppose it might have come to me while watching “The Soup” or reading Entertainment Weekly, but I think I’m supposed to be ashamed to admit that. Anyway, in researching names I realized that the population of mononymous celebrities is dominated by singers. So I narrowed the theme to phrases ending with the name of a singer. I liked the idea because it gave me a lot of options to play with—some of my favorites left on the cutting room floor include JELLYFISH STING and APPLE BRANDY.

I went through a lot of drafts before submitting the puzzle to Rich Norris. The version I submitted had a fun title (“Closing Acts”) but a weak payoff entry: the word SINGERS appeared in the grid’s center with the clue “People found at the ends of 17-, 53-,….” Of course, the problem is that the LA Times puzzle runs without a title, so Rich suggested re-working the grid to make CLOSING ACTS the payoff entry. That forced me to change some of the theme entries, but it all worked out. I like that the final version has a balance of men and women and a little variety in musical styles. Although this is my second LA Times puzzle in print, it was the first one to be accepted by Rich, so I was especially delighted when I got the good news.

What are your favorite fills in this grid? Which one(s) do you think might raise a few eyebrows among the solvers?

I think this particular grid demonstrates three things I try to incorporate in my puzzles because I like them as a solver: (1) multiple-word nontheme entries (I like that I was able to get nine of them into the grid); (2) nontheme entries that are related, (here, APOLOGY and I’M SORRY); (3) scrabbly fill (it’s not always easy getting three Zs to coexist in one grid).

Still, I don’t pretend that the grid is perfectly smooth. I’m a little worried that some solvers will get stuck in the corners of this grid. Like many constructors, I save the corners for last when building the grid—it’s just easier to paint from the center out than from the corners in, because with the latter approach you’ll get stuck way too many times. In this particular case, I think the corners have harder entries. Newer solvers might get flummoxed by SCENA and ICI in the northwest, MALAWI in the northeast, ZIA and ESL in the southwest, and OZARK in the southeast. And I’ll bet $1 that AESIR gets more than a handful of “Huh?”s on your blog.

Abbreviations and partials don’t bother me one bit as a solver, but I know some find them dreadful. So I suspect some of your readers might not like that there are nine abbreviations in this grid, but I’m only mildly embarrassed about one of them (STK). Others will dislike the partials (FLIP A and A VIEW), but I like them as a solver because they often give me a toehold into the grid. If they’re good enough for Merl Reagle they’re good enough for me.

What is your background? How did you get into crossword construction?

I’m a law professor at the University of Washington in Seattle. Most of my teaching and research is in the field of taxation. Lots of people think it’s a mind-numbing discipline, but I firmly believe that if you enjoy word games and logic puzzles you would be surprised how fun (yes, fun) tax law really is. It’s less about numbers and more about language.

For my 40^th birthday, I treated myself by attending the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament. Anyone who enjoys crosswords and wordplay in general should add the ACPT to his or her bucket list—it’s an amazing weekend. The best part, hands down, is the people—everyone is pleasant and welcoming. It was especially fun to meet some of the constructors whose puzzles I have often enjoyed. When I mentioned to some of them that I had thought about making my own crossword, they all encouraged me to give it a go. So I read up on the subject, devoured all the information available at the Cruciverb website, purchased the Crossword Compiler software, and I was off to the races.

Well, not really. My first several submissions stunk. I didn’t think so then, but looking back at them now I see how flawed they were. They were all (rightly) rejected, but every time the editors took the time to explain—politely—why they didn’t cut the mustard. No one ever told me to stop sending puzzles, so I kept trying. Each one got a little better, and eventually I got my first one accepted. I’m to the point now where I get a decent number of acceptances, but there are still many that miss the cut. Rejections are, for most of us I think, a part of the gig. Editors at the major syndicates like the LA Times receive lots of submissions, and with some puzzle outlets folding it appears the competition is only getting stiffer. So sometimes a puzzle can be fine but still get rejected just because it’s not as stellar as the others.

I mention all of this because I hope it motivates those who have thought about constructing a crossword to give it a try. It ain’t easy, but if you follow the advice of editors and established constructors, one day you’ll break through. It’s fun to see your name in the paper (especially when it’s not in the obituaries or police reports).

As a solver, what kind of puzzles give you the "Wow"? Who are your favorite constructors?

My favorite crosswords do something unexpected or have a layer to them that I might miss if I am not careful. Without giving away the gimmick, I’ll point you to Patrick Berry’s Wall Street Journal crossword from June 19, 2009, as an example. In general, my favorites are the weekend themeless puzzles because they really make me work for the payoff and because, generally, the entries are fresher and peppier.

I am a fan of lots of constructors. Off the top of my head, I can tell you that I smile when see these bylines, either because I know I’m in for a fun solve or because it just seems that I can find that constructor’s wavelength: Patrick Berry, Paula Gamache, Joe Krozel, Caleb Madison, Manny Nosowsky, Trip Payne, Doug Peterson, Merl Reagle, Barry C. Silk, Karen M. Tracey, and Byron Walden. But honestly, there are so many really talented constructors out there; it’s a golden age for crosswords!

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

I have never played a game of Scrabble in my life.

Wednesday August 19, 2009 Samuel A. Donaldson

Theme: CLOSING ACTS (What the last words of 17-, 25-, 36- and 48-Across could be considered, relative to the phrases in which they appear) - Phrases ending with famous one-name singers.

17A: Pleased plus: TICKLED PINK (She used to sport pink colored hair. Love her "Get the Party Started".)

25A: Piece of royal wealth: CROWN JEWEL (She grew up in Alaska. Her husband is rodeo cowboy Ty Murray.)

36A: Official corporate stock imprint: COMPANY SEAL (He is married to supermodel Heidi Klum.)

46A: Kiss seeker in a fairy tale: FROG PRINCE (The pride of Minnesota. "Purple Rain".)

Two female singers, two male singers, nicely balanced.

I had trouble understanding the clue for the tie-in answer CLOSING ACTS. The theme did not come to me readily at all.

I don't understand why LA Times & NY Times do not title their puzzles. Sam's draft of gridding SINGERS (clued as "People found at the ends of 17-, 25-, 36- and 48-Across) at the very center of the puzzle as a unifying answer and Closing Acts as title would be much easier for me to grok.

Quite a scrabbly puzzle, with 3 Z's, 1 J and several K'.

Across:

1A: Make like: MIMIC. Thought of CLONE.

6A: Biblical king and a captain: AHABS. Captain AHAB, "Moby Dick".

11A: Spoil the finish of: MAR. The PGA Championship ending was just perfect, unlike the British Open when everyone was rooting for Tom Watson.

14A: Long operatic solo: SCENA. I forgot. It appeared in our puzzle before. Just Italian for "scene", an extended operatic vocal solo, usually including an aria and a recitative, according to the dictionary.

15A: Gouged-out fairway piece: DIVOT. The piece of turf golfers "gouge out" when hitting their balls in the fairway.

16A: Bad way to go?: APE. Go APE. I was stumped. Great clue.

19A: Shear (off): LOP. Wrote down RID first.

20A: Song from a choir: HYMN

21A: Shade of green: PEA

28A: Slap cuffs on: MANACLE . Shackle also has 7 letters.

31A: Slapstick actors, e.g.: ZANIES. Like those Marx Brothers.

32A: __ coin: decide randomly: FLIP A. This kind of fill is called partial phrase. It's different from multiple word fill like SEE RED because it's not self-sustaining, a la Rich Norris.

33A: Take back: RECANT. Obama did not officially RECANT his "acted stupidly" statement, did he?

39A: Draw support from: LEAN ON

40A: Spots on the tube: TV ADS. Yep, this simple multiple word got me again.

43A: Prove successful: PAN OUT

46A: "My bad": I'M SORRY. And APOLOGY (29D: 46-Across, e.g.). I love cross-references.

53A: UN workers' rights gp.: ILO (International Labor Organization). They were awarded Nobel Peace in 1969.

54A: Man Friday, e.g.: AIDE. Man Friday in Robinson Crusoe's AIDE.

57A: New Mexico tribe with a Sun symbol: ZIA. No idea. The ZIA Sun symbol is featured in New Mexico state flag.

62A: Night school subj.: ESL (English as a Second Language). No problem for an immigrant like me.

63A: Group of gods ruled by Odin: AESIR. Stymied again. I can never remember this name. They lived in Asgard. Both words are rooted in old Norse āss, meaning "god".

64A: Arkansas city: OZARK. Obtained the answer from Down fills. What is this city famous for?

67A: Make good on: REPAY

Down:

1D: Yr.-round setting in most of Arizona: MST (Mountain Standard Time). Because most of Arizona do not observe Daylight Saving Time.

2D: Here, to Henri: ICI. Vous êtes ICI (You are here). Great picnic spot at Jardin du Luxembourg.

3D: Tuning pro: MECHANIC. Misread the clue as "Turning pro".

4D: Like an octopus' defense: INKY. Octopuses expel ink when facing predators.

5D: Devoid of wind: CALM

6D: Recipe verb: ADD. I am going to try Barb B's "Crazy for Coconut Balm" (12:35pm post in yesterday's Comments). Sounds so simple.

7D: African heavyweight: HIPPO. Heavyweight indeed, more than 3,000 lbs. They are vegetarians, right?

8D: Miller's "__ From the Bridge": A VIEW. Nope. Have never heard of this Arthur Miller play. The second partial in the grid.

9D: Forty-niners' strikes: BONANZAS. NFL's San Francisco 49ers is named after those gold prospectors who came to California around 1849 during the Gold Rush.

10D: Wall St. buy: STK (Stock). I'm used to the answer SHR (Share). Another Wall St. reference is LARGE CAP (38D: Mutual fund designation).

11D: Mozambique neighbor: MALAWI. Madonna puts this landlocked country on the map by adopting 2 kids from there. English is their official language.

12D: Orbital point: APOGEE. Opposite perigee.

13D: Wards off: REPELS

18D: Something sent with a ltr.: ENCL

22D: Peso fraction: CENTAVO

23D: Big letters in bowling equipment: AMF (American Machinery and Foundry). Competitor of Brunswick. My husband is going to have his first bowling tournament this Sunday.

24D: "I'm sorry, Dave" speaker of sci-fi: HAL. I guessed. From "2001".

27D: Jackson and Reno: JANETS. Leigh too.

30D: Was mentioned: CAME UP. Buckeye's name was mentioned /CAME UP during our discussions several days ago.

35D: Critic of the selfless: CYNIC

37D: Lakers coach who trademarked the term "three-peat": PAT RILEY. No idea. The only LA Lakers coach I know is the Zen master Phil Jackson. PAT RILEY led Miami Heat to NBA Championship in 2006.

42D: Thesaurus wd.: SYN

43D: Maker of Lipitor and Celebrex: PFIZER. Nailed it. We once owned some PFIZER stocks. "Maker of Viagra" as well.

44D: Con __: ARTIST

45D: Old cash register key: NO SALE. I learned this button from doing Xword. Don't know what's it really for.

49D: Words from one who's defeated: I LOSE. Grammatically it should be "I LOST", correct?

55D: "Young Frankenstein" role: IGOR. Sometimes it's YGOR.

56D: Knock silly: DAZE

58D: Pic taker: CAM. Is CAM here short for "camera" or "webcam"?

60D: Singing syllable: TRA. TRA La-la.

61D: It's over your head: SKY. Ah, got it this time.

Picture of the Day: Here is a great photo of our fellow solver Sallie in her living room. Sallie loves opera, reading and traveling.

I am having problem uploading Answer Grid this morning. Just pop into the Comments section and ask if you need help.

C.C.

Tuesday August 18, 2009 Gail Grabowski

Theme: BABY (55D: Word that can precede the starts of the answers to starred clues)

17A: *Nitpick: SPLIT HAIRS (Baby Split, bowling, the 3-10 split, or 2-7 for left-handed.)

27A: *Take no action: SIT TIGHT (Baby-Sit)

46A: *Gold rush phenomenon: BOOM TOWN (Baby Boom)

60A: *B. B. King's genre: BLUES MUSIC (Baby Blues, the postpartum depression)

11D: *Group that might indict: GRAND JURY (Baby Grand, piano)

35D: *Hits the gas: STEPS ON IT (Baby Steps)

Six starred answers, plus a unifying BABY, quite theme-intensive.

I got BABY very earlier on (yep, I flitted around again today), but it did not really speed up my solving. All the theme answers were easily obtainable without the tie-in help.

Gail mentioned that she enjoys cooking and gardening in her interview. Today we have BASIL (52D: Herb garden staple) and DICED (54D: Chopped into cubes).

Across:

1A: Muscleman's quality: BRAWN. Look at the arms of our blog muscleman. He has brain too.

6A: Prefix with sphere: HEMI. Meaning "half". ATMO can also be a "Prefix with sphere", meaning "air".

14A: High nest: AERIE

16A: Rugged outcropping: CRAG

19A: Detest: HATE. Followed immediately by IRE (20A: Rage), which irked many when clued as a verb last time.

21A: Neil Simon's "The Goodbye __": GIRL. Have you seen the movie?

22A: Did some pressing work?: IRONED. There won't be a ? mark to indicate a wordplay if it's Friday or Saturday puzzle.

24A: Must-miss movie rating, probably? NO STARS. I was able to string the answer together, but had the same trouble parsing it as I did with yesterday's NOT OK (clued as "Prohibited).

30A: Slim __: snack sausage: JIM. And UFO (62D: Sighting in the sky, for short). Nice s, s, s alliteration in the clue.

33A: Scottish singing sensation Boyle: SUSAN. What an extreme makeover! I like her Burberry scarf though.

36A: Boozer: SOT. Don't forget TOPER.

38A: Galileo's sci.: ASTR (Astronomy). ASTR/ASTRO is a prefix for "star".

39A: Boston team, briefly: CELTS. Kevin Garnett would never have got the NBA championship ring had he stayed with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

43A: Classic TV brand: RCA

44A: Final authority: SAY-SO

51A: Train track foundation: ROADBED. New word to me.

57A: German industrial area: RUHR. And the RUHR city is ESSEN.

58A: Parisian pal: AMI. "Parisian flow-er" is SEINE.

59A: Bee, to Opie: AUNT. AUNT Bee, from "The Andy Griffith Show". And SWARMED (44D: Moved like bees). Real bees.

64A: Assents at sea: AYES

65A: Use Turbo Tax, say: E-FILE

66A: Furry Himalayan legend: YETI. The Abominable Snowman.

Down:

1D: Washroom tub: BASIN

2D: Copy, for short: REPRO

3D: Where Van Gogh painted "Sunflowers": ARLES. I am waiting for Van Gogh's bedroom clue for ARLES. Van Gogh painted over 300 paintings/drawings while staying in ARLES. Unfortunately he also cut his left ear there.

4D: Nintendo system involving physical exertion: WII. Interesting, Wikipedia says "Nintendo's spelling of "Wii" with two lower-case "i" characters is meant to resemble two people standing side by side, representing players gathering together". And Wii sounds like 'we', which emphasizes that the console is for everyone.

5D: Bottom line: NET GAIN

6D: Publisher with a castle: HEARST. The HEARST Castle.

7D: Wicked: EVIL. And GOOD (26A: Well-behaved).

8D: La Méditerranée, e.g. : MER. French for "sea".

9D: Moments of clarity: INSIGHTS. Would not have got the answer without Across fills.

10D: Cold outburst?: ACHOO. We've seen identical clue before. Still like it.

13D: Like fine wine: AGED

18D: Trumpeter Al: HIRT. I just found out that one of his nicknames is "Sugar Lips".

25D: Russian rulers of yore: TSARS. No TSAR/CZAR wobbling today.

28D: Sunni's faith: ISLAM. Penned in ALLAH first.

29D: Caught on to: GOT

31D: Spring blossom: IRIS. Here is Van Gogh's IRISES.

33D: Ump's outstretched-arms call: SAFE. Such a vivid description.

39D: Goalpost part: CROSSBAR

40D: Green prefix: ECO. As in ecology.

53D: "Nana" author Zola: EMILE

61D: Chemical in drano: LYE

Answer grid.

Picture of the Day: Here is a picture of our fellow solver Al & his family. Al sure knows a lot about guitar, computer, nutrition, and yeah, 20-minute physical exercises that help you with insomnia.

C.C.

Monday, August 17, 2009 Alex Boisvert

Theme: Three phrases with double OOK in them

20A: Gave additional consideration: TOOK A SECOND LOOK

36A: Falsifying accounting records: COOKING THE BOOKS

49A: In any way possible: BY HOOK OR BY CROOK

Argyle here. (Note: This puzzle has no three-letter word entry.)

If there is anything clever in the theme, I missed it. I felt the whole puzzle was flat and tedious for a Monday.

I need to thank Kazie for her tip yesterday.

You can print the whole puzzle by opening the "print" drop down-window and choose "print with my solutions". However, I think you have to leave at least one letter blank to get the clues with it.

Across Lite didn't have the puzzle available early today and I had to use the Flash version.

There is a food sub-theme: Cheese, oils, ice cream, gumbo, rice and chicken(Foghorn Leghorn).

Across:

1A: Sandler of "Funny People": ADAM.

5A: Do a pre-vacation chore: PACK.

9A: Musicians' org.: ASCAP. American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers

14A: Island tourist destination in Indonesia: BALI. Map

15A: 1975 Wimbledon champ Arthur: ASHE.

16A: Words of compassion: I CARE.

17A: Like flights from the USA to Eur., e.g.: INTL. INTernationaL

18A: "Birthday suit": SKIN.

19A: Vacation time, for short: R AND R. Rest and recreation

24A: Bosses (around): ORDERS.

25A: Corsage flower: ORCHID. The shy boys would give a wrist corsage.

28A: __ Jones's locker: DAVY. The bottom of the sea.

30A: Detox locale: REHAB. Both Detox and REHAB are words formed by shortening.

31A: '70s-'80s consumer electronics giant: AIWA. Purchased by Sony Corporation.

32A: Sharp cheese: BLEU.

39A: "Even __ speak ...": AS WE.

40A: Anise-flavored liqueur: OUZO. Widely consumed in Greece and Cyprus. Its taste is quite similar to pastis (France), Sambuca (Italy), mastika (Chios), raki (Turkey), and arak (Lebanon).

42A: Days at an inn: STAY.

44A: "Bless you!" elicitor: AH-CHOO. Updated to add the hyphen

48A: Agent 007: BOND. For C.C.

56A: __ stick: bouncing toy: POGO.

57A: Dust Bowl migrant: OKIE. And if they stayed and played sports, 42D: Oklahoma athlete: SOONER.

59A: Letter-shaped fastener: T NUT. Various styles.

60A: Paris-__ Airport: ORLY.

62A: Trig ratio: SINE.

Down:

1D: Slightly: A BIT.

2D: "Book'em, __!": "Hawaii Five-O" catchphrase: DAN-O. Dec. Danny Williams was played by James MacArthur.

7D: In fashion: CHIC.

8D: Popular bar game: KENO.

9D: Hang on a clothesline: AIR DRY.

10D: Burn badly: SCALD.

12D: Intense passion: ARDOR.

13D: Company car, expense account, etc.: PERKS.

22D: Exploding stars: NOVAE. Singular: NOVA

26D: Vintage cars: REOS. I wonder if there were any other old cars with only three letters.

27D: Chuck wagon fare: CHOW. GRUB is four letters, also.

28D: Scatterbrained: DITZY.

29D: Dr. Seuss's "Horton Hears __": A WHO.

31D: Water in Juarez: AGUA. Spanish.

32D: Conference table site: BOARDROOM.

34D: Heart tests: Abbr.: EKGS.

37D: Prohibited: NOT OK.

38D: Mel who voiced Foghorn Leghorn: BLANC. He was the voice SO many others....

43D: Toon Wile E., e.g.: COYOTE. Suppose he was a cousin to 45D: "Laughing" critter: HYENA.

44D: Bottomless depth: ABYSS.

46D: IHOP or Borders: CHAIN.

47D: Nomadic tribe: HORDE.

48D: Shooter with small shot: BB GUN. Now if I wanted to be 58A: Slyly derogatory: SNIDE, I would say it was ANON.

50D: Elects: OPTS.

51D: Rice-A-__: RONI. The San Francisco Treat.

53D: Cook's array: OILS. Question of the Day: How many different oils do you have in your kitchen? (I just have Penzoil.)

54D: Florida islets: KEYS.

Answer grid.

Picture of the Day: Here is a lovely photo of our fellow solver Kazie and her family at her older son's wedding in Saxony last August .

She said: "Left to right: Our younger son, my husband, the happy couple, my husband's brother and sister, her husband and me. In the background you can see some of the Augustusburg Castle where it all took place."

Argyle

Sunday August 16, 2009 Mike Pelusa

Theme: INJURED. Or rather ON THE DL (85D: Temporarily not playing, in a baseball lingo (and a hint to this puzzle's theme) - D & L starting two-word phrases.

23A: Vietnam War program: DRAFT LOTTERY

29A: Driver's warning, perhaps: DASH LIGHT

54A: What spies often lead: DOUBLE LIFE

70A: Desert phenomenon: DRY LAKE

89A: Place to sign: DOTTED LINE

110A: Leer or sneer: DIRTY LOOK

121A: It's no longer spoken anywhere: DEAD LANGUAGE

38D: Be slain by a stand-up comic? DIE LAUGHING

43D: Murray offering: DANCE LESSON

DL stands for Disabled List. David Ortiz was always on the DL when he was with the Twins. Hated when he flourished with the Red Sox.

The clue for DIE LAUGHING is the only one with ? mark. I wish it were consistent with the other straight clues.

I penned in MIRAGE for 70A first. Did not know Arthur Murray the dancer, thought it refers to Bill Murray.

Nice, real baseball sub-theme in this puzzle:

22A: Baseball family name: ALOU

57A: Hall of Famer Slaughter: ENOS

95A: Third-winningest active baseball manager: TORRE (Joe). After Cardinals' Tony La Russa & Braves' Bobby Cox.

4D: Mariners' park, familiarly: SAFECO. SAFECO Field. My first baseball card is a Ichiro rookie.

41D: One of Willie Mays' 20 in 1957: TRIPLE. I wonder why the constructor picked Willie Mays' 1957 season as a clue for TRIPLE? What's so special about it?

83D: Winning of losing run: STREAK

115D: National League division: EAST

Fun puzzle. I've been waiting for Mike Peluso's byline. We used to get his puzzles on Wednesdays. So, when I saw his name, I was very happy and dived into the puzzle very impatiently. Flitting from place to place and penning in all those fill-in-the blanks & other easy answers. I won't repeat this strategy again. It feels better to start with upper left and systematically move to lower right.

The clue for ACRO (2D: Bat opening) needs a ? mark to indicate wordplay. Acrobat.

Across:

1A: "In My Own Fashion" autobiographer: CASSINI (Oleg). Jackie Kennedy's designer.

8A: Mil. decorations: DSCS. DSC = Distinguished Service Cross.

12A: Handicapper's hangout, briefly: OTB (Offtrack Betting)

15A: Ukr. et. al. once: SSRS

19A: Like an albatross: OCEANIC. Because albatross lives in the ocean? I wanted something related to burden or the golf term "double eagle" albatross.

20A: Conference USA's Miners: UTEP (University of Texas, El Paso). Largest university in US with a majority Mexican-American students, according to Wikipedia. I did not know their sports team name.

25A: Show uncertainty: HESITATE

27A: Olden days: YORE

28A: Guitar inlay material: NACRE. Mother-of-pearl. Some drums have such inlay too.

30A: Piston pusher: CAM

33A: Words after pass and raise: THE BAR

35A: Toulouse evening: SOIR. Or NUIT, as in "Bonne NUIT!" (good night!).

36A: Daily agenda: TO DO LIST

42A: Given as compensation: PAID TO

47A: Some pop groups: TRIOS. Like Destiny's Child.

49A: Public place, in a phobia: AGORA. More used to the "Greek marketplace" clue. Not familiar with agoraphobia.

51A: Romanov leaders: CZARS. Fell to the trap of TSARS.

52A: Toots: BEEPS

58A: "Le Roi d'Ys" composer: LALO (Édouard). I just forgot. French composer. LALO is of Latin origin, meaning "to sing a lullaby".

59A: Italian scooter: VESPA. The one used in "Roman Holiday".

62A: Second century date: CII. Roman 102.

63A: Upper East Side NYT eatery: ELAINE'S. No idea. ELAINE'S counts Woody Allen, Norman Mailer, Andy Warhol,, Frank Sinatra, Jack Nicholson and many other celerities as its frequent customers.

67A: Contract terms, at times: LEGALESE.

69A: __ Bator: ULAN. Mongolia capital. Literally "red".

73A: Henry James biographer Leon: EDEL. Learned his name from doing Xword. He wrote a five-volume biography of Henry James and won Pulitzer for his work.

74A: Narrow loaf: BAGUETTE. Hmm, jambon, gruyere & crudité on a BAGUETTE. Want some?

77A: Old United rival: TWA. Howard Hughes's airline.

78A: Rebuke silently: GLARE AT. Tiger Woods's glare is quit cold and intimidating. However, Padraig Harrington is not to be intimidated today. Curl your top lip and go!

81A: __Kosh B'Gosh: OSH

84A: Onetime members of the Winnebago Nation: OTOES. I guessed.

86A: SAS destination: OSLO. The "KLM destination" would be Amsterdam.

87A: Digestion aid: ACID

92A: Online bulletin board runner: SYSOP (System Operator). Not a familiar abbreviation to me.

93A: Hole in the head: SINUS. No idea. The clue conjures up a bloody image to me.

96A: Old burners in a lab: ETNAS. The Sicilian volcano ETNA is Greek for "I burn".

98A: Three Dog Night hit written by Nilsson: ONE. Here is the clip. Unknown to me. Sounds nice.

99A: Mesopotamia border river: TIGRIS. And Euphrates. The two rivers.

101A: So out it's in: RETRO

103A: 1066 battle site: HASTINGS. Norman Conquest fame.

105A: Take __: A BOW. Mine was THAT.

107A: Oxygen-consuming bacterium: AEROBE. Aer(o)=air. Be is from Greek bios (life). New word to me.

109A: Adm.'s milieu: USN (United States Navy). Adm. here is admiral.

114A: __-France: ILE DE. We often see ILE clued as __ de-France.

116A: Make pictures: DRAW

120A: Web sellers: E-TAILERS

124A: Danish shoe brand: ECCO. I wonder how ECCO obtained its name. ECCO is Italian for ECCE, "behold".

125A: Some operators: Abbr. MDS. MD here stands for Doctor of Medicine (Latin: Medicīnae Doctor) I presume?

126A: Woody's son: ARLO. Lemonade witnessed his drugged state in Woodstock.

127A: The ghost of Mrs. Muir?: SPECTRE. Mrs. Muir from "The Ghost of Mrs. Muir" is a British, hence the British spelling SPECTRE. I've never heard of the movie, so the cleverness of the clue is lost on me.

128A: Fen- __: banned diet aid: PHEN

129A: DOD division: NSA (National Security Agency).

130A: Like many signers: DEAF. Did not know a signer is a person who uses sign language.

131A: Syrup, essentially: TREE SAP. Maple syrup.

Down:

1D: Wyoming city: CODY. Can never remember this city. It's named after Buffalo Bill CODY.

3D: Precook, in a way: SEAR. Wrote down SOAK.

5D: QB's overthrow: INT. Interception I suppose.

6D: Zip: NIL

7D: Desktop figure: ICON

8D: Like "aardvark", e.g.: DUTCH. Oh, I did not know aardvark is of Dutch origin.

9D: Entertainment system: STEREO

10D: Brainy: CEREBRAL

11D: Thriller hero, often: SPY

12D: Workplace protection org.: OSHA

14D: Queen's neighbor?: BISHOP. Chess. I obtained the answer from Across fills.

15D: Make fun of: SATIRIZE. Satirical tone can be hard to detect for a non-native English speaker.

16D: Refinery residue: SLAG

18DL Haggis ingredient: SUET. Ewww.

24D: Skin coloring?: TATTOOS. Clever clue.

26D: Connected to the hipbone: ILIAC

29D: Anticipates in a big way: DROOLS. The clue brought to mind Stanley Tucci's "Big Night".

31D: Hgts.: ALTS (Altitudes)

32D: Russian for "peace": MIR. That's how the Russian space station got its name.

34D: Spirit in le ciel: ANGE. French for "angel". "Ciel" is "The sky"/"heaven".

36D: It may be periodic: TABLE. Another great clue.

37D: Ryan of TV's "Peyton Place": O'NEAL. Farrah Fawcett's love.

39D: Opposing team: SIDES

44D: Marseilles crowd?: TROIS. French for "three". Three is a crowd.

48D: More than great: SUPER

50D: "I'll do it for __": A FEE. Funny. Mine was FREE.

53D: WWI French solider: POILU. Literally "hairy one". I can never remember this word.

56D: Marx collaborator: ENGELS. They co-wrote "Communist Manifesto". This poster (Marx, ENGLES, Lenin, Stalin & Chairman Mao) was an important part of my childhood memory.

59D: Let off steam: VENTED

64D: Dundee denials: NAES. Scottish for "no".

68D: Brown of song: LEROY. "Bad, bad LEROY Brown". I was stumped, thinking of R & B singer Bobby Brown (Whitney Houston's husband).

70D: Visa user: DEBTOR. Well, I am a DEBTOR then.

71D: Getting unauthorized R & R?: AWOL. Nailed it.

74D: "Veni, vidi, vici, ", e.g.: BOAST. Nailed it also. Loved the clue.

75D: computer acronym: ASCII

78D: She played Thelma: GEENA."Thelma & Louise".

80D: Has a few too many: TOPES

88D: Length of time: DURATION

90D: Romani de Tirtoff, famously: ERTE. The French pronunciation of his initials R. T.

91D: Behind: DERRIERE

92D: Grounded fliers: SST

94D: Soothsayer: SIBYL

97D: Tempe sch.: ASU (Arizona State University). The Sun Devils'.

100D: Like most church service: SOLEMN

102D: "C'est magnifique!": OO LA LA. Always thought it's OOH LA LA. "C'est magnifique!"="This is magnificent".

104D: Bring about: INDUCE

106D: "Eating __ has never given me indigestion": Churchill: WORDS. Not a familiar Churchill quote to me. Does not sound like him.

108D: __ roses: BED OF. Had trouble stringing the answer together.

111D: Restless desire: ITCH

112D: Dash, for one: RACE. I was thinking the Morse code dash.

113D: Mount of Greek myth: OSSA

117D: "Darn it": RATS

118D: Indian tourist city: AGRA. Taj Mahal city.

121D: Family nickname: DAD. It's ba ba in Chinese. Ma ma is Mom.

122D: "All Things Considered" airer: NPR

Answer grid.

C.C.