Friday August 28, 2009 Elizabeth A. Long

Theme: S-lopped Over (Familiar ST-beginning phrases with S lopped)

17A: Insect's working hours?: (S)TICK SHIFT. Manuel transmission.

24A: Seaman who saw it all? (S)TAR WITNESS. One who provides crucial information in a criminal case. TAR is slang for sailor, so is GOB.

34A: Split end?: (S)TRESS FRACTURE. Common sports injury. Split ends are often seen in long hair, hence TRESS.

46A: London museum's hidden camera locations?: (S)TATE SECRET. Often classified. TATE museums.

53A: Where two-wheelers aren't allowed? (S)TRIKE ZONE. Over home plate. Between batter's knees and shoulders.

Hmm, a beautifully woven tapestry, but with an eye-catching flaw. The clue for CAST (37D: Fracture treatment) should have been changed.

Lots of fill-in-the-blanks in this puzzle:

28A: __ Moines: DES

43A: Gal__: PAL

49A: __Alto: PALO

57A: __ Corning, maker of Fiberglas: OWENS

6D: Rapper Mos __: DEF. Mos DEF = Most Definitely.

13D: __ the line: TOE. Did not like the "line" due to ON LINE (21A: Where users meet).

32D: End in __: A TIE

48D: Horse __: SENSE

A clear sign that Rich Norris is continuing his eased-up cluing for Friday & Saturday. Perfect for me, as I've sadly realized that I am simply not able to handle his normal late week puzzles.

Across:

1A: NBA stats: PTS (Points)

4A: Meccan, e.g.: SAUDI. Mecca is a city in Saudi Arabia. The holiest city of Islam. I did not know people of Mecca are called Meccan though.

9A: Silver fish: SMELT. I've yet to try fried SMELT someday.

14A: The Rams of the NCAA's Atlantic 10 Conf.: URI (University of Rhode Island). The answer revealed itself. I forgot that their mascot is a ram.

15A: Popular place to go downhill: ASPEN. The Colorado ski resort.

16A: Something not done: TABOO. Sigh. I was picturing some rare/medium meat that's not well done.

19A: Peace goddess: IRENE. Gimme.

20A: Tools with teeth: RAKES

29A: Scout's concern: TALENT. Sometimes the answer is RECON.

30A: Site of bedlam: ZOO. Liked the clue.

31A: One-named model on many romance novel covers: FABIO. The Italian long-haired model. Not my type.

32A: Attention-getting sounds: AHEMS

38A: Young Aussie hoppers: JOEYS. Baby kangaroos are called JOEYS.

39A: Plumbing outlet: DRAIN

40A: 911 response outlet: EMS

41A: Tiny African threat: TSETSE. Good to see the fly's full name.

50A: Must: HAVE TO. Wrote down NEED TO first.

51A: Malice: VENOM

52A: Former #1 woman pool player Corr: KAREN. Nicknamed "the Irish Invader". Unknown to me, though her face looks familiar. Must have seen on on ESPN before.

58A: Gave in: CAVED. Mine was CEDED.

59A: Israeli weapon: UZI. The "British weapon" is STEN.

60A: Do figures, in a way: SKATE. Figure is defined as "a movement, pattern, or series of movements in skating" in dictionary. Is that how figure skating got its name? I was thinking of numeral figure.

61A: Doglike scavenger: HYENA. The "laughing" scavenger.

62A: Whole lot: TON

Down:

1D: Rotten: PUTRID

2D: "M*A*S*H" system: TRIAGE. The military medical prioritizing system.

3D: Perverted types: SICKOS

4D: Impudence: SASS

5D: Burning issue?: ASH. Got me. Very clever.

6D: News letter: UPI. And TASS (29D: Soviet news agency)

8D: Back from a trip, say: IN TOWN. Thought of RETURN first.

9D: Clown's accessory: STILT. I was picturing the big nose on a clown's face.

10D: Sausalito's county: MARIN. Not familiar with Sausalito, a Bay Area city. Wikipedia says both ISABEL Allende and Amy Tan live there.

11D: Charles's miser: EBENEZER (Scrooge). "Dickens' miser" would be SCROOGE. Given name in clue = given name in answer. Surname in clue = Surname in answer.

12D: Like the road in a classic ballad: LONESOME. Stumper. James Taylor's "That LONESOME Road".

18D: Flooey lead-in: KER. Also lead-in for plop/plunk.

25D: First Arab letter: ALIF. The first Hebrew letter is ALEPH.

28D: Ask for more: REORDER

27D: Scrubbing brand: SOS. So you wear glove when using SOS?

31D: Five-time Emmy winner Tina: FEY. What a great job with Sarah Palin. "I can see Russia from my house."

33:D Attila, notably: HUN. Attila the HUN.

34D: Western weapon: TOMAHAWK. Awesome answer.

35D: Interstate feature: REST AREA

36D: Museo display: ARTE. Spanish/Italian for art. Museo is Spanish/Italian for museum.

38D: Air Force One, e.g.: JET

41D: Asian holiday: TET. Well, it's only a Vietnamese holiday. Would you call Bastille Day an "European holiday"? I don't think so. It's only a French National holiday.

42D: It's often served with soda: SCOTCH

43D: End successfully: PAN OUT

44D: Former NBA star Mourning: ALONZO. No idea. He last played for the Miami Heat.

45D: Chinese menu offering: LO MEIN. LO = dredge up. MEIN = noodles. It's not stir-fried. CHOW MEIN is. CHOW simply means "to stir-fry". All Cantonese.

47D: Olympics contest, e.g.: EVENT

49D: Dispensable candy: PEZ. This puzzle has three Z's, one J, three V's and 5 K's. Quite scrabbly.

51D: Hindu sacred text: VEDA. Sanskrit for "sacred lore, knowledge".

52D: Decks in a ring: KOS (Knock outs). Wish there were an abbreviation hint.

54D: Light line: RAY. RAY Of hope? The "line" bothers me too.

55D: "__been meaning to tell you...": I'VE. That "Wo Ai Ni", Chinese for "I love you".

56D: "Jeopardy!" great Jennings: KEN. Alas, H&R Block.

Answer grid.

Picture of the Day: Here is great photo of Dr. Dad and his family. It's taken 7 or 8 years ago. From left to right: Dr. Dad, his wife Kathy, daughter Jennifer who is now 26 years old and living in New Jersey, and daughter Danielle who is now 14 and starting high school this year.

C.C.

Interview with Don Gagliardo

Ever since we switched to LA Times Daily Crossword on March 23, 2009, there have been a very few Thursday puzzles that were enjoyed by almost every solver in terms of theme creativity, solvability, "wow" factor and lack of "huh?". Don Gagliardo's ALFRED HITCHCOCK is one of them.

Don placed 10 theme answers in the grid, and intersected ALFRED HITCHCOCK with five movies in which Hitchcock had a cameo role. Don's "Hard G" puzzle is my all-time "Shock and Awe". I also loved his HUSH HUSH MEETING tremendously.

Don "Hard G" Gagliardo started constructing puzzle in Sept 2006. Since then, he has had 38 puzzles published by LA Times. I am constantly amazed by his originality and bold thinking. Now every time I see his byline, I expect some thrilling theme. Hope you enjoy the interview.

What inspired this puzzle? What are the other theme answers you considered but failed to make the cut?

This puzzle which is to appear Thursday, August 27, was simply inspired by numbers. The goal was to come up with a unique approach, so I chose something we all love, money. My original intent was to have the denominations one, five, ten, twenty and fifty. I had phrases like FABULOUS FIFTIES, ROARING TWENTIES under consideration. All the phrases had to do with positive adjectives associated with denominational numbers. I then realized that I had left out the rare two-dollar bills. I also thought that the two-dollar bill adjective should be contrary to the nature of the other bills because they are such odd-balls. To further enhance their contrariness, I thought the theme answer should come down the page versus the across for the others. I went with three across theme entries (one, five and ten dollar bills) and took a chance that I could find a way to work in the two-dollar bill going down. By incredible luck, I was able to cross the three across entries with the one down entry that I had chosen. To even further enhance the difference, I purposely created asymmetry in the puzzle, attributing it to the down theme answer in the clue. It sounded simple, but it sure became complex!

Which fills do you think might get "huh?" from the solvers and which ones are you most proud of?

The RICOLA cough drop may not be known everywhere (I can still hear the TV jingle). There is a major Chinese city, XIAN, which people may not know. PINKO is a funny word that may have last come up in a MASH episode, but is long gone and possibly unknown to younger people. The phrase "WE'RE ON" is possibly new to puzzles and may throw off solvers. Because it may be a first in puzzles (I don't see it in any databases), it would be a point of honor to have come up with it. I like combining abbreviations and words, which I did a couple times, and there is a short name in there, all of which creates unusual and interesting letter combinations.

How would you describe your style? You seem to like letter play. I truly love your HARD G and HUSH HUSH MEETING.

Yes, I love playing with quirky letter and word situations. You mentioned the HARD-G and HUSH-HUSH MEETING puzzles, thank you Zhouqin. The G puzzle was not originally intended as it was. I was playing with long theme answers with lots of J-sounding Gs (inspired by Ginger Rogers!) and thought, what if I could make all the down words be hard-Gs. Then I expanded it to include as many Gs as I could get into the puzzle. The HUSH-HUSH MEETING was literally the inspiration for that puzzle. I liked the phrase, and my inclination was to apply some aspect of letters to the phrase.

What is the most memorable puzzle you've made? Why is it so special?

I had a puzzle with 30 Ks in it last year (2/21/08). It was memorable mostly because of the wonderful response that I got from solvers.

What is a perfect puzzle to you? Who are your favorite constructors?

The perfect puzzle is the one that really turns the wheels in my brain. I like it when I struggle with all the clues, and suddenly it seems like all the answers happen at once. Two of my favorite puzzles of all time, and this in the Will Weng days at the New York Times, were by Peter E. Price and Edward J. O'Brien. Price's puzzle was a themeless Sunday, but with a very elaborate interlock of intriguing words and phrases. O'Brien's puzzle also had incredible interlock, with three stacked 21's, and the theme was extremely fun, with rhyming made-up phrases. I got hooked then, and have enjoyed the endless imaginations of constructors over a long period of time. There are many wonderful ones out there now, too many to mention, and I love them all!

What is your background and what prompted you to make your first crossword?

Because my father introduced me to puzzles, my desire was to give back to him. Thus my first efforts were to make puzzles for my father. I constructed puzzles on and off since junior high school, but waited until I was about 50 to start getting serious about it. My background is a rounded education, with interests mainly in the arts and sciences. By trade I am a piano technician.

Besides constructing crossword, what else do you do for fun?

Barbara (my wife) and I like to play Scrabble and piano. Lots of nature walks, especially with our doggy Violet, are always welcome. There are many subjects that interest me, so my reading tends toward non-fiction. Comic books are a passion of mine, which is ironic because I read few as a child. I also get in some occasional golf.

Thursday August 27, 2009 Don Gagliardo

Theme: Money Talks - Common phrases ending with currency denominations.

23A: Lofty bills?: HIGH FIVES. HIGH FIVE is a celebratory slap.

38A: Superior bills?: TOP TENS. OK, here is a David Letterman's TOP TEN George Bush moments. What's the fun with #5 "I like to fish"?

50A: Adored bills?: LOVED ONES. Your spouse & kids & friends & pets are your LOVED ONES.

8D: Hated bills (that appropriately spoil this puzzle's symmetry)?: TERRIBLE TWOS. Toddlers start to get defiant at age two, hence the name.

For the grid to be symmetrical, TERRIBLE TWOS would have to be placed in column #8 rather than #9. (Updated later: My mistake. According to Orange, for a symmetrical grid pattern, the L in TERRIBLE TWO should have been black.)

I was very surprised to hear that two-dollar bills are very rare in the US when I first arrived in Minnesota. We use them a lot in China.

Lively theme clues, esp 8D. So creative to grid the odd-ball TERRIBLE TWOS Down and intersect all the other three cheerful Across theme entries.

Maybe I am paying more attention to the "tapestry weaving" after reading Bob Klahn's interview, but I did notice quite a few echo clues.

Was XI'AN (12D: Ancient Chinese capital) a gimme to you today? Did you think of me when you filled in it? I've mentioned so many times before, XI'AN was the capital city for Zhou, Qin, Han & Tang, four major dynasties in China, I was born and grew up there, hence my Chinese name Zhouqin. Chairman Mao & the Chinese Communist Party picked Beijing over XI'AN as China's capital in 1949.

Do read my interview with Don "Hard G" Gagliardo regarding his thought process on this puzzle.

Across:

1A: Type of large TV: PLASMA

7A: Erwin of '50s TV: STU. Not familiar with STU Erwin or any of his shows. He died in 1967. Nice consecutive "TV" clues.

10A: With 13-Down, opportunity for better luck?: NEXT. And TIME (13D: See 10-Across). Great cross-reference & intersection.

14A: Swinger in a box: HITTER. Penned in BATTER immediately.

15A: "__ making a list ...": Christmas music: HE'S. "Santa Clause is Coming to Town".

16A: Et __: ALII. Latin masculine plural. Et alia is neutral plural. Et aliae is feminine plural.

17A: Looking to be helped out: IN A JAM

18A: Cardinal point suffix: ERN

19A: Go-go go-between? TEAM. Why? I got the answer from Down fills. (Note: Go, TEAM, go)

20A: Strung along: LED ON

21A: Irene of "Fame": CARA. Also Italian (feminine) for "beloved". Cara Mia = My beloved.

26A: Shore shoe style: OPEN TOE

29A: "Incidentally ...": BY THE BY

33D: Excavated areas: PITS. Like the XI'AN Terracotta Warriors PITS.

34A: Author Godwin: GAIL. No idea. She looks like an author who writes something serious, like "Away From Her".

40A: Razor-billed bird: AUK. The Arctic black-and-white diving bird.

41A: Curly- tailed dog: AKITA. Originated from the AKITA Prefecture, Japan.

43A: Oklahoma native: OTO. Or OTOE.

44A: To __: A TEE

45A: "Jeepers!": HOLY COW! And YIKES (32D: "Jeepers!")

48A: Ancient septet: WONDERS. Seven WONDERS of the World.

52A: Julie Kotter's spouse, in a '70s sitcom: GABE. Again, got the answer from Down fills. It's from the TV sitcom "Welcome Back, Kotter". He is the teacher with a ruler.

55A: Erotic deity: EROS. Erotic is rooted in EROS.

56A: Gushes: SPEWS. Crossed WELL (58D: Gusher source). Another great intersection. The clues are very Bob Klahn-ish.

61A: Toon Chihuahua: REN. Wrote down RIN, thinking of RIN Tin Tin. I am used to see REN clued as "Stimpy's pal".

62A: Author Allende: ISABEL. Sigh! Her name escaped me. Just heard her interview on Minnesota Public Radio a few weeks ago. Chilean-American author. Very imaginative. Hard to tell whether her stories are real or not.

63A: __ Accords, 1993 Isreal-PLO pact: OSLO. Rabin was assassinated because he signed the OSLO Accords.

64A: Word spoken with a head slap: D'OH. Carol calls it her V8 moment.

65A: Swiss cough drop: RICOLA. Stumper, though this clip sounds very familiar. RICOLA is abbreviation of the company's German name Richterich & Compagnie Laufen.

66A: Occupant of a tiny house: DOLL. Some of those 1950's Madam Alexander hard plastic dolls cost hundreds of dollars.

67A: Tokyo-born artist: ONO. Oh, I had the misconception that she was born in NY, then moved to Tokyo as a kid.

68A: One way to be aware: KEENLY. Good clue. KEENLY aware.

Down:

1D: "Dr. __": PHIL. Nicely placed above OPRAH (26D: Chicago-based daytime host), who launched Dr. PHIL's career. Both yawner, yawner though. Give me Ellen any day.

2D: Ticket window sight: LINE

4D: The Red Storm of the Big East Conference: ST JOHN'S. No idea. Wikipedia says Governor Mario Cuomo graduated from this university.

5D: Be dead serious: MEAN IT

6D: Equip, as a posse: ARM. Brought to mind Gary Cooper's "High NOON" (39D: High time?")

7D: Bundle: SHEAF

9D: SEALs' gp.: US NAVY. Our ex-governor Jesse Ventura was a Navy SEAL.

10D: Tony winner Richardson: NATASHA. Sad to see her name. She died of that skiing accident. Wife of Liam Neeson (Oskar in "Schindler's List").

11D: It's usually pd. monthly: ELEC

21D: Tight: CHEAP. Did not know "Tight" can mean stingy as well.

24D: Disco adjective: GO-GO. Unfortunately "Go-go" is also part of the clue for 19A.

25D: Approximate leaving hrs.: ETDS. ETD = Estimated Time of Departure.

27D: Liberal, to Archie Bunker: PINKO. Refers to the communists, right?

28D: Amazon business, say: E-TAIL

30D: Eddie who founded a clothing chain: BAUER. Again, obtained the answer with crosses. Have never heard of the chain.

35D: "Was __ blame?": I TO

38D: Folded fare: TACO. Alliteration.

42D: Acetaminophen brand: TYLENOL. Easy guess. I did not know the meaning of acetaminophen.

44D: Much of a Sunday paper: ADS SPACE. Or of all those gossip magazines.

46D: Exert to excess: OVERDO. Another alliteration.

47D: "It's our turn to perform!": WE'RE ON. Oh well, mine was WERION, since I had RIN instead of REN for the crossing 61A. So I had huge trouble parsing my answer.

49D: Monster nickname: NESSIE. The Lock Ness monster, legend of Scotland.

51D: "Tiny Bubbles" singer: DON HO. Another cross help.

53D: Kid's assertive retort: AM SO

54D: Ringer: BELL

57D: "Heaven's __ vault, studded with stars...": Shelley: EBON. Struggled with this answer. EBON is poetic "black". I wanted A BIG, Heaven's A BIG vault. Makes sense to me.

59D: Elicit guffaws from: SLAY. So many words/phrases for "crack up".

62D: Vex: IRK. IRE can be a verb too.

Answer grid.

Picture of the Day: Here is beautiful photo of the Bee's family. From left to right: Melissa Bee's daughter (tank patrol member for the San Jose Sharks), the conjunction Barb B (Melissa's Mom), and our blog "It" girl Melissa.

C.C.

Wednesday August 26, 2009 Dan Naddor

Theme: COURT BUSINESS (33A: What chambers of commerce do, and this puzzle's title - common phrases ending with words used in court.

17A: Exterior attractiveness, to a Realtor: CURB APPEAL. You file an APPEAL to the appellate court when you are not happy with the lower court decision.

20A: Beethoven's affliction: LOSS OF HEARING. The purpose of a preliminary HEARING is to decide whether the case against you should be dismissed or go on trial.

50A: Drug safety test: CLINICAL TRIAL. You are tried by a jury or by a judge (bench trial).

55A: Replay feature: SLOW MOTION. You can file a A MOTION before, during or after the trial. The judge either approves or denies your MOTION.

Chambers of Commerce, esp American Chamber of Commerce in China, play an essential role in courting business. Great wordplay on "court".

I hope my understanding of the above legal terms are correct. LAW (49A: Bar code?) is a lovely bonus fill. Sounds so hard to pass a bar exam. Remember the JFK Jr. "The Hunk Flunks" headline? He failed twice.

Look at the first and last pair of the theme answers. Dan Naddor is really into overlapping them now. I also counted 22 entries with 6 or more letters. I am going to call it as Dan Naddor index from now on.

Definitely a tougher puzzle than yesterday's, but the theme answers all came rather easily.

Across:

1A: Paul of "American Graffiti": LE MAT. I've actually seen "American Graffiti". Don't remember this guy at all. Ron Howard, yes.

6A: Big Apple sch.: CCNY (the City College of NY). Based in Manhattan.

10A: One often looking down?: SNOB. Great clue. I was picturing someone who always looks depressed.

14A: Part of Caesar's boast: I CAME. Well, Caesar did not really speak English. "Veni, vidi, vici": I CAME, I saw, I conquered.

15A: Former manager Felipe: ALOU (Felipe). Father of Moisés.

16A: Bishop of Rome: POPE. POPE Benedict is way too conservative.

19A: Wilson of "Wedding Crashers": OWEN. He used to date Kate Hudson, who is currently seeing A-Rod.

22A: Hunk: GOB. In what sense are they synonymous?

24A: Drei minus zwei: EINS. 3-2=1. Shouldn't "zwei" (German for "two") be capitalized? All German nouns are.

25A: Flummoxed: AT SEA

26A: Embraces, as a philosophy: ADOPTS

28A: Site for sapling: NURSERY

30A: Old Italian bread: LIRA. "Bread/capital" often refers to the currency.

31A: Lined up: IN A ROW

38A: Like a banquet: LAVISH. Chinese banquet can be really opulent.

41A: Thorny shrubs commonly with yellow flowers: ACACIAS. I vaguely remember Kazie said these flowers are called wattles in Australia.

44A: Livestock food: FORAGE

46A: Billiards bounce: CAROM. Often confuse CAROM with MASSE.

47A: James of "The Godfather": CAAN. The hot-tempered, reckless Sonny Corleone.

58A: Soap actress Sofer: RENA. Forgot. I linked this picture before. I remember those flowers on her shirt.

59A: Isle where Macbeth is buried: IONA. Pure guess. Scottish Isle, 4 letter, what else could it be?

61A: Scott in a landmark civil rights case: DRED. Tangentially related to the theme too.

63A: Kind of pressure that can cause headache: SINUS

Down:

1D: Driver's documents: Abbr.: LIC. What's your eye color?

2D: Old French coin: ECU. Sometimes it's SOU.

3D: Vermont music festival town: MARLBORO. No idea. See this map. Is it named after the MARLBORO man?

4D: Early Christian pulpit: AMBO. It escaped me. I linked this AMBO before. It's "a raised desk, or either of two such desks, from which the Gospels or Epistles were read or chanted".

5D: Afternoon service: TEA SET

6D: Menu fowl: CAPON. Is it often stuffed?

7D: Staff symbols: CLEFS. Musical staff.

8D: Wordsmith Webster: NOAH. I am using a Webster's College Dictionary.

10D: Golf pro shop array: SPORTS WEAR. Of course, I was thinking of those drivers/irons/putters.

11D: Not in any way: NOWISE. New word to me.

12D: Feature of some corkscrews: OPENER

13D: Popular analgesic cream: BENGAY. My husband uses Cryogel for his bowling elbow pain.

18D: Pitchfork-shaped letter: PSIS. And NUS (32D: Frat letters).

21D: Hitter of 755 homers: AARON (Hank). The real home run king. Dennis probably has his rookie card.

22D: Hoedown dancer: GAL. Does GAL here carry a country girl connotation?

23D: Lyrical: ODIC. Of an ode.

27D: Three-time Editorial Cartooning Pulitzer winner: PAUL CONRAD. Unknown to me. Wikipedia says he was the chief editorial cartoonist for the LA Times from 1964 to 1993. And he was named in Nixon's enemy list in 1973.

28D: "Parsley is gharsley" poet: NASH. Ah yeah, I don't like parsley at all.

29D: Ocean State sch.: URI (University of Rhode Island). I blanked. Did get OSU (56D: The Buckeyes, initially).

31D: Bird venerated by ancient Egyptians: IBIS. Yep, the ancient Egyptians consider the bird sacred. Thoth, the god of wisdom, has a head of an IBIS.

34D: "Spider-Man" director: RAIMI (Sam). Was it a gimme to you? I've never heard of this guy.

35D: New Deal prog.: TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority)

36D: Breeding horse: STALLION

43D: French satellite-launching rocket: ARIANE. Pronounced like ar-ee-AN. Completely stranger to me. Wikipedia says it comes from the French spelling of the mythological character Ariadne, daughter of Minos. She helped Theseus escape the labyrinth, but later was cruelly deserted.

44D: Old MacDonald's place: FARM. "Old MaDonald had a FARM, E-I-E-I-O...".

45D: Whopper toppers: ONIONS. Would have been a perfect rhyming clue if the answer were singular.

47D: Duplicate: CLONE

48D: Fighting big-time: AT WAR

51D: Members of Gil Grissom's team, briefly: CSIS. Crime Scene Investigators? I got the answer from Across fills. Have never watched CSI or any of its spin-off.

53D: Yours, in Tours: A TOI. Je suis tout A TOI, chéri.

57D: Super __: game console: NES (Nintendo Entertainment System)

Answer grid.

Picture of the Day: Here is great photo of our farmer/philosopher Windhover. The picture was taken on his 61st Birthday (12/7/2006) by his beautiful wife "Irish". I also liked this quiet view off his back porch.

C.C.

Tuesday August 25, 2009 Donna S. Levin

Theme: "The Wizard of Oz" (Blogged by Dr. Dad)

21A: Helpless: OVER A BARREL

26A: Something wonderful, in old slang: THE BEES KNEES. Never heard of this. Here is the definition. It is also a restaurant.

43A: '80's animated character assisted by the seven Color Kids: RAINBOW BRITE

50A: Character who, in a movie released nationally 70 years ago today, sang the ballad formed by the first words of 21-, 26-, and 43-Across: DOROTHY GALE. Auntie Em! Auntie Em!

C.C. asked me to guest blog the Tuesday Crossword. I hope I do it justice. But before I get started, congrats to T Frank and Jean. I saw where you were in Rhode Island which is where I currently reside.

I don't think we're in Kansas anymore Toto. All we're missing is the "Somewhere." Maybe a clue that involves the movie Somewhere in Time. Only because I like stories/films about time travel. In case anybody is curious, the title of the song has been both - "Over the Rainbow" and "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." Depends on where you look.

I remember that stupid character in 43A. My daughter needed everything that went with her 20 years ago. Cost big bucks.

Across:

1A: Punch line's lead-in: SETUP

6A: Where many a T-shirt is tie-dyed: CAMP. I bet there were a lot of tie-dyed shirts here 40 years ago.

10A: Mil. truant: AWOL

14A: Bernardo's girl, in "West Side Story": ANITA. Never read the book or saw the movie. Rita Morena played her in the movie.

15A: “Rubáiyát” poet Khayyám: OMAR. Could also have been clued Epps or Sharif.

16A: Type of lily: SEGO

17A: Generous sort: GIVER

18A: Put the kibosh on: VETO

19A: Like most hoopsters: TALL. Now this is a tall hoopster - for C.C.

20A: Fuss: ADO

24A: Landed: ALIT

25A: London insurance market: LLOYDS

31A: "How much wood ___ a woodchuck chuck ...": WOULD

32A: Weapons: ARMS

33A: Curly and Larry's cohort: MOE. I never liked them. There is supposed to be a movie in 2010.

36A: Concerning, in memos: IN RE. (in regard)

37A: Rum-soaked cakes: BABAS. They look good.

39A: Cass or Michele, in the '60's: MAMA. Sigh!!! The Mamas and The Papas.

40A: Prefix with thermal: GEO

41A: First Bond movie: DR. NO. I still think Sean Connery was the best Bond.

42A: Protection: AEGIS. In the Iliad, it was the shield or buckler of Athena or Zeus and was fashioned by Hephaestus.

46A: Bring in from abroad: IMPORT

49A: Overconfident morality tale critter: HARE

53A: Past: AGO

56A: Take a gander: LOOK

57A: Exploitative type: USER

58A: Felt the effects of overexertion: ACHED

60A: Morlocks' "The Time Machine Prey": ELOI. I love time travel. Did I already say that? I think the Back to the Future films handled it the best.

61A: Physical lead-in: META

62A: Not save: SPEND. The government is sure doing a lot of that lately.

63A: Hotel repository: SAFE. Interesting how it comes on the heels of "Spend."

64A: Important times: ERAS

65A: Domesticates: TAMES

Down:

1D: Drawn-out story: SAGA

2D: Oklahoma city on the Chisholm Trail: ENID. This is usually a crossword staple.

3D: VCR successor: TIVO

4D: Sporty truck, briefly: UTE. For sports "ute" ility vehicle.

5D: Released with conditions: PAROLED

6D: Violates the Tenth Commandment: COVETS. Another great movie starring Charlton Heston, president of the NRA (see 30D).

7D: OAS part: AMER. OAS = Organization of American States.

8D: Espionage name: MATA. Goes hand in hand with James Bond and Dr. No ( 41A).

9D: Predicaments: PROBLEMS

10D: Houston team: ASTROS. Speaking of another Texas team - what's up with that jumbo tron in the new Cowboy's stadium?

11D: Exhausted: WEARY

12D: Leered at: OGLED

13D: Reclines lazily: LOLLS

22D: Compete: VIE

23D: Brewpub brews: ALES. Might need one after getting through with this guest blog. I don't care how early in the morning it is.

24D: Competent: ABLE. I hope everyone thinks I was able to do this okay.

26D: Piece of kindling: TWIG

27D: Sharpen: HONE

28D: Mark's successor: EURO. Wasn't thinking Deutschmark here at first.

29D: "Shish" dish: KABOB. Sheesh!!! Still, there is nothing like them for a cookout on the barbie.

30D: Second amendment advocacy gp.: NRA

33D: Biblical gift bearers: MAGI

34D: Leave out: OMIT

35D: Alleviate: EASE

37D: "Fox News Sunday" panelist: BRIT HUME

38D: Michigan's ___ Arbor: ANN

39D: No more than: MERE

41D: Dressmaker's seam: DART. For some reason, I wanted darn and finally remembered dart.

42D: Side by side: ABREAST. This one probably got Dennis and the DF's (as we used to call them) going for a bit.

43D: First-year player: ROOKIE. Not that I keep up on it, but I wonder who's rookie card is worth the most these days.

44D: Tara family: O'HARAS. Tara is the fictional plantation in this movie.

45D: ___-Mart: WAL

46D: Doesn't do a thing: IDLES

47D: Gelt: MOOLA. With the government "spending" instead of "saving", how can we have any of this?

48D: Smoking gun, e.g.: PROOF

51D: River through France and Belgium: YSER. Another staple for crosswords. During the Battle of the Yser in the First World War the river was deliberately flooded from Nieuwpoort up to Diksmuide in order to provide an obstacle to the advancing German Army.

52D: "I ___ Kick Out of You": GET A

53D: Polite interruption: AHEM

54D: Trait source: GENE

55D: Bookie's concern: ODDS

59D: Numbers pro, briefly: CPA

Well, that's it for today's puzzle. I hope everyone appreciates my comments. Thank you, C.C. for letting me do this. I haven't been to the site in a long, long time because of the "work police" but was on vacation this week. Starting next week, it will probably go back to infrequent visits. It was nice to know (from yesterday's comments) that I was missed.

Answer grid.

Picture of the Day: Here is another great photo of our fellow solver Jeanne and her husband at her son's wedding. She said: "The saying around here for the mother of the groom is to “sit down, shut up, and wear beige.” I was good on 2 out of 3!!!".

Take care.

Dr. Dad

Interview with Bob Klahn

Have you wondered how a puzzle goes from the constructor's hands to your local paper?

Every puzzle goes through a make-over process. On average, Rich Norris (our LA Times Crossword Editor) changes 1/3 to 1/2 of the clues, adjusting the difficulty level, avoiding the repeat, injecting freshness and playfulness to the clues, and improving the accuracy. Then every puzzle is test-solved before publishing to ensure the ultimate accuracy of each clue and answer. Bob Klahn is Rich's final clue-checker.

Bob has had 57 puzzles published by NYT since 1994. His byline also appears regularly in Washington Post/CrosSynergy (twice a month). His book "The Wrath of Klahn Crosswords" will come out in Jan 2010.

Bob is known for the wickedness of his clues, and is regarded as "The Universe's Toughest Clue Writer". But oh my God, how evocative, original, imaginative, sweet and musical those clues are.

Jerome mentioned in his interview that his idea of a perfect puzzle would have clues written by Bob Klahn. Several other LAT constructors I've interviewed (and the amazing speed solver Dan Feyer) all listed Bob as one of their favorite constructors.

I asked Bob a few questions, and was so pleased that he took time answering them. Hope you enjoy the interview.

Can you tell us a bit about your background? How did you get into crossword constructing?

See my ancient, untouched-in-years Web site for that answer: http://bobklahn.hom.comcast.net/DelToday.

What is your job responsibility as a fact-checker for Rich Norris? What kind of reference tools do you use?

I check everything I have the slightest doubt about, and I comment on everything. E.g., I'll always let Rich know when I think a clue could be worded more smoothly. He need not agree, of course.

I make heavy use of the Web, but I never rely on any single source. I also rely on my computerized base of over 35,000 published puzzles, all of which I've solved and annotated. E.g., if I'm checking a clue about an event, but the clue doesn't specify when the event occurred, I'll throw that in as an annotation.

What is the most memorable puzzle you've created? Why is it so special?

It's one of Will's favorites, my February 2nd, 1995 NYT. On New Year's Day, with bowl games in the background, I wondered if it was too late to send Will a Groundhog Day puzzle, and decided to give it a shot. I figured I needed to create the puzzle then and there and send it off to Will that day for it to have any chance of making it into the paper in time. So I started with PUNXATAWNEYPHIL across the eighth row, balanced GROUNDHOG and WOODCHUCK on either side of it, and was well along with the grid when it hit me: "Oh no, Phil isn't the 15-letter PUNXATAWNEYPHIL, he's the sixteen-letter PUNXSUTAWNEYPHIL! One letter too long!" Oh well, so much for that idea. Back to the bowl games.

But then I realized, "Wait a minute! What if I flip the grid and stick the leading P out the top? It's the perfect letter, as it looks like a head and neck! And 2-Across, echoing the 2/2 date, would then be the first Across entry. Oh yeah, I gotta do this!" So I flipped the grid, added in SHADOW balancing MARMOT, plus SIXWEEK across the middle, and completed the fill.

Now just the clues were left. The PUNXSUTAWNEYPHIL clue just had to be special, and I deliberated over that one for well over an hour. Finally I came up with what I consider to be one of my best clues ever, the triple "For the outlook, look out for his look out."

Puzzle complete! I sent it off to Will, he loved it, and expedited its processing. He told me later that getting my grid typeset was no easy matter; it just didn't fit in the Times' then-set-in-stone 15x15 space.

Your clues are always so elegant, refreshing and entertaining. What's your secret? What kind of books/magazines do you read for inspiration?

Thank you, C.C.

In early 1992 I decided that I was going to begin constructing crosswords for publication. I already knew I was good at grid-building, as I had won a number of grid-building contest back in the early '70s. But I had no idea how to write good clues. So, before submitting a single puzzle to anyone, I spent several months solving and studying published puzzles, finding what clues really appealed to me, and trying to analyze why. Only then did I submit my first puzzle.

What had I learned? What's "my secret"? Simply refusing to accept the old clues, almost always feeling I can come up with something new, hating to use "repeaters," and always trying to be as entertaining as possible. Those are my standards. As a result, I'm sure I spend a lot more time writing clues than most constructors do. I've often spent over a half hour on a single clue; I'm willing to do that any time I feel I'm close to coming up with something that I'll really like.

E.g., when preparing a puzzle for Will's annual American Crossword Puzzle Tournament, I needed to clue DPS. Any clue I'd use was sure to be boring, right? So just throw one in and get on with the rest. But I just had a feeling that I could do something fresh with DPS, and twenty minutes later I had it: "Out-and-out successes, briefly." Well worth the time it took, imo.

A better answer for you: I can boil down "my secret" to a single phrase, and there's no question what that phrase must be: word association. That's the cornerstone. I strongly advise all who aspire to write great clues to work at building the richest tapestry of words they can. Doing so should be a never-ending endeavor. Think about it: THE BEST CLUES BRING MULTIPLE IDEAS TOGETHER. That's what word association does.

A natural extension of such "tapestry weaving" is to try tying consecutive clues together. Clue "echoes." I've been working at that for a while now, and people have noticed. I do this a lot with my CrosSynergy puzzles; a number of my attempts get shot down by my CS peers as too stretchy, but I keep trying. It's FUN. And I firmly believe that the more one works at something, the better one gets.

Some of the sources I use most: RH2 (the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Second Edition), multiple thesauruses and rhyming dictionaries, "The Master Crossword Dictionary" by Herbert Baus, Google defines, plus every Web site I can find that facilitates word association.

What do I read? More and more of what I read is right there on the Web. And a good bit of that is triggered by the fact-checking I do, either at fact-checking time, or later, using the notes I've taken while fact-checking.

Besides constructing crosswords, what else do you do for fun?

Reading (surprise!), recreational programming, and spending time with my dear wife. Right now I'm reading "Planet Google" by Randall Stross, the fellow who writes the NYT's Digital Domain column. Fascinating stuff.

Monday 24, 2009 Norfleet Pruden

Theme: Scope of a Thorough Search

17A: HIGH AND LOW

27A: INSIDE AND OUT

44A: HITHER AND YON

60A: FAR AND WIDE

Argyle here.

Four theme entries is unusual for a Monday puzzle. The first three consist of words that are opposite each other. The last one is not.

That said, let's see how many more we can come up with. I'm sure most of us will have extra time on our hands after breezing through this weak start to the week.

Across:

1A: Dogie-catching tool : ROPE.

5A: Looking like you've seen a ghost: ASHEN.

10A: Poi base: TARO.

14A: "Iliad" or "Odyssey: EPIC.

15A: Not a soul: NO ONE.

16A: Greek war god: ARES. Thor in Norse myth.

19A: Rod's companion: REEL.

20A: Sweater wool: ANGORA.

21A: Mythical city of gold: EL DORADO. What they drive in EL DORADO and who might drive them while ELO plays on the radio.

23A: Ottoman governor: BEY. Under the Ottoman Empire a BEY was the governor of a province. Other Turkish titles are AGA & PASHA.

24A: Nightmare street of movies: ELM. And MAIN (54D: Common street name).

26A: One having a little lamb: EWE.

33A: Planetary shadow: UMBRA. Still in the dark?

36A: Thinks (over) carefully: MULLS.

37A: Partner of a tournament "am": PRO. Pro-Am golf tournaments are usually a lot of fun and raise money for charities. The AMatures will pay a lot to play with a PROfessional.

38A: Chat: TALK.

39A: Roman senators' attire: TOGAS.

40A: Immense: HUGE.

41A: Previously: AGO.

42A: Pine product: RESIN.

43A: Headquartered: BASED.

47A: Walking on __: elated: AIR.

48A: Doo-wop horn: SAX.

49A: Play segment: ACT.

52A: Gloria Steinem, notably: FEMINIST. Yesterday's CATT ("Friend of Anthony") too.

57A: Home beverage counter with a sink: WET BAR.

59A: One with burning pants?: LIAR. Liar Liar Pants on Fire! is an expression of unknown meaning but well-established origins. In its most complete version, it is rendered “Liar, liar, pants on fire/ Hangin’ on a telephone wire!” It is most commonly associated with accusations of dishonesty

62A: Very dry: ARID.

63A: Up in arms: IRATE.

64A: Bad day for Caesar: IDES.

65A: Lottery-like game: KENO.

66A: Dressed like a superhero: CAPED.

67A: Keeps after taxes: NETS.

Down:

1D: Post-op treatment: REHAB.

2D: Offer one's view: OPINE.

3D: Word with bank or back: PIGGY.

4D: Canyon phenomenon: ECHO. Also a lovely Greek nymph who pined away for Narcissus.

5D: Historical records: ANNALS.

6D: Instant lawn: SOD.

7D: Digger's creation: HOLE.

8D: Carbon compound: ENOL.

9D: Renegotiated contracts: NEW DEALS.

10D: Paved: TARRED.

11D: Vicinity: AREA.

12D: Physician Walter for whom an Army hospital is named: REED. Dr. Walter Reed (1851-1902), Conqueror of the Yellow Fever.

13D: Norway's capital: OSLO. Previously Christiania.

18D: Venue for games: ARENA.

22D: Has title to: OWNS.

25D: Champagne and orange juice cocktail: MIMOSA.

27D: Bug: IRK.

28D: Made trenches: DUG IN.

29D: Spiral-horned antelopes: ELANDS.

30D: Numbered work: OPUS. Plural can be OPUSES or OPERA.

31D: Encourage: URGE.

32D: __ the line: obeyed: TOED.

33D: Brigham City's state: UTAH. Home of the Jazz.

34D: Wise men: MAGI. Singular is magus.

35D: Stain: BLOT.

39D: Fabulous: TERRIFIC.

40D: Solo played by Harrison: HAN. Also the name of a Chinese dynasty.

42D: Jockey strap: REIN.

43D: Put in cartons: BOXED.

45D: Arrangement of locks: HAIRDO.

46D: Acted sleepy: YAWNED.

49D: Put up with: ABIDE.

50D: West Point undergrad: CADET.

51D: Rapunzel feature: TRESS.

52D: Anti-aircraft fire: FLAK.

53D: Emerald Isle: EIRE. Sometimes it's ERIN.

55D: "Nobody doesn't like __ Lee": SARA.

56D: Mouth, in slang: TRAP.

58D: Duplicate: TWIN.

61D: Had lunch: ATE.

Answer grid.

Picture of the Day: Here is great photo of our fellow solvers T Frank and his lovely wife Jean. They are going to celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary this coming weekend. The invitation to the reception contains this photo taken at a NROTC Ball held in the armory at Brown University. It was taken shortly before they were married. Jean was a senior at the Rhode Island School of Design, where she majored in fashion and design.

Argyle

Sunday August 23, 2009 Gary Steinmehl

Theme: Changing Sides - The first and last word of familiar phrases are swapped.

23A: Miners' detritus?: LITTER OF THE PICK (Pick of the Litter, the best of the bunch.)

38A: High ground at Graceland?: HILL OF THE KING (King of the Hill, the most powerful person in the group.)

61A: Like an estate seller?: FREE OF THE LAND (Land of the Free, America.)

85A: "Nova" episode about out sun?: SHOW OF THE STAR (Star of the Show, the headliner.)

103A: Heirs?: PEOPLE OF THE WILL (Will of the People, upon which democracy is founded.)

15D: Manor owner's jewelry?: RINGS OF THE LORD (Lord of the Rings, Tolkien novel)

48D: Moments when an omen appears?: TIMES OF THE SIGN (Sign of the Times, something that signifies the nature of the current society.)

I have never heard of idiom "King the Hill" before. Dictionary says British call it "King of the Castle".

I do love the entry HILL OF THE KING a lot. Joe Jackson should learn from Priscilla Presley, though I doubt he could transform Neverland into another Graceland.

I did not jump around today. Solved the puzzle systematically from upper left to lower right. Struggled with the multiple-word entries again.

Across:

1A: Knotted sash: OBI. Nice to have a gimme start.

4A: Easy __: AS ABC. Thought of DOES IT first. Easy DOES IT.

9A: Magnitogorsk's river: URAL. I've never heard of Magnitogorsk, a Russian mining and industrial city located by the URAL River.

13A: "Green __": ACRES. The Eva Gabor TV series.

18A: Cool, in a way: FAN. Verb here.

19A: Attacked: CAME AT

21A: She played Roz on "Frasier": PERI (Gilpin)

22A: Toast indicator: CLINK. Nice crossing with CLANG (14D: Sound from a forge).

26A: Like Mr. Fix-it: HANDY

27A: One way to think: LOUD

28A: Prepare for a job transfer, perhaps: RETRAIN. And REHIRE (78D: Brings back to board). I like both of the clues, neither indicating a RE answer directly.

29A: Fictional oil family name: EWING. Of "Dallas".

33A: Mag. stand item: ISS (Issue)

34A: Tries to hit: SWINGS AT

41A: Plastic __Band: ONO. No idea. According to Wiki, it's a conceptual band (1969-1975) formed by John Lennon and Yoko ONO before the dissolution of Beatles. Eric Clapton, George Harrison and Ringo Starr were once members.

42A: "Wonder Dog" of comics: REX. Nope. Have never heard of Rex the Wonder Dog.

43A: "Free" gym gear: Abbr.: WTS. Weights? Why is "Free" in quotation mark?

44A: Operate with a beam: LASE. LASE/LASER. TASE/TASER.

45A: __ concern: OF NO. Had problem obtaining this multiple world answer.

46A: Fragrant extract: ATTAR. And LEI (94A: Fragrant gift). The latter stumped me.

51A: Spread choice: PATE. Tried OLEO first.

52A: Subbed: SAT IN

53A: Cheats: CHISELERS. New word to me. Looks like a person who chisels.

55A: Passé demo item: TAPE. Passé indeed.

56A: Tries to sell: PUSHES. I can't stand CNBC's Jim Cramer.

57A: Hit the trail, in a way: CAMPAIGN

58A: Thames islets: AITS. Often clued as "River islets".

59A: "Purgatorio" writer: DANTE. "Divine Comedy" writer as well.

60A: 2002 baseball All-Star Game result: TIE. An embarrassing moment for Bud Selig.

64A: Word in southwestern place names: LOS. As in LOS Angeles.

67A: Go after: SET AT

69A: Lofgren of the E Street Band: NILS. Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band.

70A: Democracy, e.g.: IDEOLOGY

72A: Does an Act of Contrition: ATONES. Did not know "Act of Contrition" is a prayer. No wonder the phrase is capitalized.

74A: People Magazine's 1999 Sexist Man Alive: GERE (Richard). I guessed PITT (Brad).

75A: Idealist' bane: REAL WORLD

76A: Support: BE FOR

77A: "Symphony in Black" artist: ERTE. Gimme to you, right? I've linked "Symphony in Black" a few times before.

78D: Fishing gear: RODS

79A: Where lines met: NODES. Why? I wanted CORNER.

80A: Two-timers: RATS

81A: Tug's burden: SCOW. Flat-bottomed boat.

82A: Alter, perhaps: SEW

84A: Pompeii burier: ASH

89A: Outsourced item, perhaps: JOBS

92A: Timon and Uncle Max, in "The Lion King": MEERKATS. New word to me. They are also called suricates. Members of the mongoose family.

95A: Where It.'s at: EUR (Europe). It.=Italy.

96A: Guitar __: video game: HERO. Unknown to me.

97A: Like a fleabag: SEEDY

98A: Inn Crowd member: BOARDER. Wordplay on "In Crowd".

100A: "Foolish Games" singer: JEWEL. Here is the clip. Reminded me of Samuel A Donaldson's "Closing Acts" puzzle, PINK, JEWEL, SEAL & PRINCE.

101A: Not exactly vertical: ATILT

106A: It makes sense: LOGIC. Yes, indeed.

107A: Tombstone lawman: EARP

108A: Looked happy: SMILED

109A: Fed. income supplement program: SSI (Supplemental Security Income). Unknown to me.

110A: "Dune" director David: LYNCH. I've yet to experience the utter bliss David LYNCH often experiences in his Transcendental Meditation.

11A: Chop __: SUEY. SUEY is literally "pieces".

112A: '90 "SNL" regular Cheri: OTERI. Friendly vowel & consonant combination.

Down:

2D: Pearl of "St. Louis Woman": BAILEY. Got the answer from Across fills. Have never heard of this singer/actress.

3D: Sing, as Gregorian chant: INTONE

5D: Fraternal org. since 1889: SAR (Sons of the American Revolution). DAR is Daughters of American Revolution.

7D: Happened to: BEFELL

8D: Friend of Anthony: CATT. Carrie Chapman CATT & Susan B. Anthony. Both suffragists. Stumped me.

9D: Snooty: UPPISH. Wanted UPPITY.

11D: It's measured in degrees: ARC. True.

12D: "Me, too": LIKEWISE

13D: Sore: ACHING

16D: Nip in the bud: END

17D: Word with jack or box: SKY. Skyjack = Sky & (Hi)jack.

20D: Using coupons, say: THRIFTY

25D: Bridge positions: EASTS. Could also be WESTS.

30D: Choice from a list: WINE. I was thinking of the computer drop-down list.

32D: Fan mag graphics: PIX. Singular is PIC.

34D: Inline item: SKATE

35D: Poker whiz __ Duke: ANNIE. I recognized her face when I googled.

36D: Popeye et al.: TOONS

38D: Next life: HEREAFTER. Do you believe in next life?

39D: Dominates, in sports lingo: OWNS. PWNS in computer talk. Easy to accidentally hit the P instead of O key when typing.

40D: Slip by: ELAPSE

42D: Sing like Satchmo: RASP. Did not know RASP can be a verb. Satchmo is the nickname of Louis Armstrong.

45D: Hops drier: OAST

46D: S & L holding: ACCT. S & L= Savings & Loans.

47D: Cuisine using jasmine rice: THAI. Love THAI food, not jasmine rice though. Dislike the taste.

49D: Father, biblically: BEGET

50D: D-day invasion river: ORNE. See this map. The "Caen river".

51D: Maze option: PATHS

52D: Evening cocktail, to a Brit.: SUNDOWNER. Drink taken at sundown. New to me.

54D: Turkey tender: LIRAS. Turkish money. Got me. I was picturing the bird turkey.

55D: Mr. or Mrs.: TITLE

56D: Comics frame: PANEL

58D: Smoking, probably: AFIRE

59D: Tots' pops: DADAS. Chinese babies talk the same thing: DADA/BABA.

62D: Ali's pair of socks: ONE-TWO. The ONE-TWO punch, a left-hand jab immediately followed by a right cross. Nicely misleading "pair of socks".

63D: Spread canards: LIED

65D: Eye up and down: OGLE. Too bad EYE is also the answer for 37A: Check out.

66D: Pink Floyd's Barrett et al.: SYDS

68D: Space chimp: ENOS. Of 1961.

71D: Life rival, once: LOOK. I have this RFK issue. The tears.

72D: Norm of "This Old House": ABRAM. Immediately thought of our Al.

73D: Get on: TEASE

74D: Becomes: GROWS. Becomes/GROWS fond of.

75D: "Lady Jane Grey" playwright: ROWE. Can never remember the playwright's name.

77D: Adaptable subspecies: ECOTYPES. New word to me also.

81D: Atlantic catch: SHAD. Roe source.

82D: Diamond theft?: STEAL. Baseball diamond. Nailed it immediately.

85D: Police artist's work: SKETCH. Cool word, with only one vowel.

86D: Obsolescent data holder: FLOPPY

87D: Deem appropriate: SEE FIT

88D: One with a shell: TURTLE. Was picturing oyster.

89D: Like some delis: JEWISH. Wrote down KOSHER first.

90D: Ominous words: OR ELSE

91D: Mess (up): BOLLIX. Need to use this word often.

93D: Trace of the past: RELIC

96D: Chop down: HEW

98D: Put to sleep, so to speak: BORE

99D: Major -__: DOMO. New word to me. Chief steward/butler. DOMO/Dome, house.

100D: Sci-fi knight: JEDI. The "Star Wars" knight

101D: The whole shebang: ALL. Love the clue.

102D: Happy meal throw-in: TOY. Not any more, right? I used to collect those Madame Alexander McDonald's toys. Very cute.

104D: __ minérale: EAU. French for mineral water, like Évian.

105D: Self starter?: HER. Herself.

Answer grid.

C.C.