Rich Norris Alias Names

Below are the pseudonyms of Rich Norris, editor of LA Times Daily Crossword

 (Updated on Nov 1, 2012. )

Cathy Carulli: Anagram of "Actually Rich"

Charlie Riley: "i.e., Really Rich"

Damien Peterson: "Editor's Pen Name"

Gia Christian: "Again It's Rich"

Lila Cherry: "Really Rich"

Meredith Ito: “I’m the Editor"

Nora Pearlstone: "Not a Real Person"

Sabrina Walden: "Brand New Alias".

Samantha Wine: "What's in a name".

Teri Smalley: "It's really me".

Rich also used Natalie Dyvens (anagram of "Valentine's Day") for his Feb. 14th, 2010 "Crazy Love" Valentine's Day anagram puzzle & Sheila Welton ("It's Halloween") on Oct 31, 2012.

Rich also uses Matt McKinley sometimes.

Part of the above information is obtained from here.

C.C.

Interview with Daniel A. Finan

It's been a long time since we last had Dan Finan's puzzle. I really liked his "IT'S NOT YOU. IT'S ME" puzzle (April 17, 2009). Dan changed every ME in the theme entry into U. He later told me that he's a big "Seinfeld" fan, and he thought it would be fun to play with the breakup phrase.

Dan made his NY Time debut earlier this year with a Sunday "When in Rome" puzzle. Those who solve NY Times regularly probably still remember his inventive sailboat puzzle in April. When you connect those circled letters in alphabetical order, a sailboat takes shape.

In addition to LA Times and NY Times, Dan also had several puzzles published by the NY Sun. Enjoy the interview. I am confident that we will see more Dan Finan puzzles in the future.

Can you tell us more about the creating process of this puzzle? How did the theme idea come to you and what kind of changes did you make to smooth out the grid?

In order for the PARTS OF SPEECH puzzle to work, I figured I needed to take three-letter "parts" of SPEECH, i.e., SPE, PEE, EEC, and ECH. That would result in four theme answers (not including the central entry), each of which is workable but not too commonplace. I wanted to narrow down the possible answers even more, so I decided to place all of these parts at the beginning of the theme entries. And finally, for the sake of elegance, I wanted them to appear in order.

There is often a limiting factor of a puzzle that a constructor is forced to build around. For this puzzle it was the EEC answer. The only quality entry I could think of was EE CUMMINGS, a well-known author. Thus, given my other self-imposed constraints, I needed another 10-letter entry starting with PEE to offset this answer. There were a few to choose from, but I opted for PEEPING TOM, which is a colloquial English expression deriving from an interesting historical figure. Similarly, there were limited options for the ECH answer, but I thought ECHO CHAMBER had a nice ring to it. Finally, I thought that the offsetting entry SPELLING BEE would be fun to clue.

My favorite non-theme entries are PLETHORA (a great word; it reminds me of the classic "Three Amigos") and CLARK BAR (candy-related entries are always fun, right?). Also, I wanted to clue the common OMELET as "Denver ___" because I like to slip in as many references to my hometown as possible!

How would you describe your style? What kind of themes/fills fascinate you? And what words do you try to avoid in your puzzles?

I am a sucker for the gimmick puzzles--typically late-week themed puzzles. Off the top of my head, two puzzles that had a fun wow factor for me were Don Gagliardo's LAT 5/17/07 and Patrick Berry's NYT 3/9/08 "Splits and Mergers." I also love a good connect-the-dots puzzle.

Like any constructor, I try to avoid crosswordese as much as possible when filling grids. But I really like my long non-theme entries to be lively and fun; I'll gladly use a few dullish short answers if it means I can use a fun long one.

What is a perfect puzzle to you? And what's your view on low word/black square count?

To me the perfect puzzle is a simple, elegant, and subtle gimmick puzzle. I really like the crosswords that have a metapuzzle. For example, with some (themed) puzzles, I can fill in the entire grid, and I still don't "get it." So I have to really dig deep to find the theme... it's then that I get that satisfying "Aha!" moment. I wonder how many people miss the whole point of subtle puzzles like that.

I don't care so much about achieving a low word or black-square count. On the other hand, I really try to use cheater squares only when I absolutely have to!

Do you google a lot while constructing a puzzle? What kind of reference books do you use?

I definitely use google when constructing. And wiki. But wisely! They can be very useful tools. Sometimes, after I've resigned myself to using a seemingly ho-hum entry, I'll google it and find something interesting about it that I didn't know before. I regularly use other online resources like IMDB, OneLook, and a few dictionaries.

What's your background and what do you do for fun?

I recently finished grad school at UC Santa Barbara, and I'm now doing a postdoc at a university in Copenhagen, Denmark. My area of research is diabetes. I'm trying to figure out the Danish crosswords, which is a daunting task. I have the utmost respect for non-native solvers (C.C.!). Other than that, I love photography and I've been traveling a lot lately.

Thursday September 3, 2009 Daniel A. Finan

Theme: PARTS OF SPEECH (37A: Grammar elements, or what the first three letters of 17-, 30-, 45- and 62-Across literally are) - the starting 3 letters of each theme entry are all parts of the word SPEECH.

17A: Where to hear letters recited: SPELLING BEE. Have you seen the documentary "Spellbound"? Those kids are so nerdy.

30A: Lady Godiva spotter: PEEPING TOM. Lady Godiva rode naked in the streets to protest her husband's taxation. Everybody shut their windows and stayed indoors, except PEEPING TOM. He peeped and was struck blind.

45A: "anyone lived in a pretty how town" poet? E.E. CUMMINGS. Our Melissa's favorite poet. She wrote all her comments in lowercase to pay homage to e.e. cummings.

62A: Recording studio feature: ECHO CHAMBER. For aural illusion effect.

Nice touch on the proper order of the above three-letter phrases/name. My favorite is ECHO CHAMBER. I can feel the SPE-PEE-EEC-ECH ECHO effect.

This puzzle made me feel so smart. I only had to cheat once. Several of the unknowns are easily inferable from the crosses. Hallmark of a well-constructed puzzle.

Do read Dan's interview. He talked about his thought process regarding those theme answers.

Across:

1A: Savory gelatin: ASPIC. My grandma liked to put a few drops of sesame oil & thinly sliced spring onion on top of her ASPIC.

6A: Green gems: JADES. Lots of women wear jade pendant in Canton/Hongkong, often with red string. For luck.

11A: Delivery experts, briefly: OBS (Obstetricians)

14A: Irish writer who said "Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much": WILDE. I guessed. I had no idea that this line is from Oscar WILDE.

15A: All thumbs: INEPT. Can't tell how INEPT differs from INAPT/UNAPT.

19A: Pipe with a bend: ELL

20A: Sending to overtime, as a game: TYING

21A: Avoided a trial: SETTLED. And ESTOPS (45D: Legally impedes).

23A: German "Alas!": ACH. Was clued as "Bavarian beef" last Saturday.

25A: Word sung after a ball drops: AULD. "AULD Lang Syne". Sung on New Year's Eve.

27A: Prefix with sol: AERO. Aerosol.

28A: Oscar Madison, e.g.: SLOB. Oscar Madison is a character in "The Odd Couple". Evidently he is a SLOB. I got the answer from Down fills.

34A: Arena for MacArthur: KOREA. Philippines too. In fact, the whole Pacific Arena.

36A: Have in the crosshairs: AIM AT

42A: Wavy design: MOIRE. Refers to the silky fabric, correct, Kazie?

43A: Tossed course: SALAD. I love Waldorf salad: julienned honeycrisp apples/celery & toasted walnuts. Yum!

50A: "The Shining" climax setting: MAZE. Again, obtained the answer from Down fills. Have never watched "The Shining". Don't like horror movies. Loved Geoffrey Rush's "Shine".

51A: Tuber with eyes: SPUD. My brother calls it murphy.

52A: Harness the wind, in a way: SAIL. Wrote down SAVE first, thinking wind energy.

55A: Colossal: TITANIC

59A: Move with stealth: SKULK. Cool word, with two K's.

61A: __ Miss: OLE. University of Mississippi.

66A: Like nos, above zero: POS (Positive)

68A: Take a piece from?: UNARM. Did not know "piece" is a slang for firearm.

69A: Bilko's rank: Abbr.: SGT

71D: Wounds: SORES

Down:

1A: Cribside chorus: AWS. And CUTEST (47D: Most likely to elicit 1-Down).

3D: Teeming amount: PLETHORA. Nailed it.

4D: One way to sit by: IDLY. Sit IDLY by.

5D: Salsa singer Cruz: CELIA. Cuban. Known as "Queen of Salsa". Alien to me.

6D: Commercial tune: JINGLE

7D: Director Lee: ANG. The director for "Brokeback Mountain". My favorite ANG Lee movie is "Eat Drink Man Woman". Eat, drink and make love are basic human desires in Chinese saying, hence the title.

8D: Balls' belles: DEBS

9D: Olympics event with swords: EPEE. Hope golf will enter the Olympics soon.

10D: Proofer's mark: STET. "Leave in".

11D: Denver __: OMELET. We call it Western OMELET: diced ham, onions, and green bell peppers.

12D: Ravel classic: BOLERO. Featured in Bo Derek's "10". Just beautiful! Those flowers are so pretty.

18D: __ to one's neck: IN UP

22D: Wrestling partners: TAG TEAM. Learned this term a few months ago. Here is the Dictionary definition: a team of two or more wrestlers who take turns competing against one of the wrestlers on another team, with the idle teammates waiting outside the ring until one of them is tagged by their competing teammate.

24D: Hoof-on-cobblestones sound: CLOP

26D: Overwhelms with noise: DEAFENS. Deafening silence/silent scream are two oxymoron.

29D: Hamilton is its capital: BERMUDA. Guessed. Did not really know the BERMUDA capital.

31D: Sorority letters: PIS. PI is 16th letter of Greek alphabet.

32D: Troublemaker: IMP. Elf is also troublemaker.

33D: Some Scottish Parliament votes: NAES. "Some Russian Duma votes" would be NYETS.

35D: Subject for Bohr: ATOM. Niels Bohr (Danish) was awarded Nobel Physics in 1922 for his work on ATOMS. His son won Nobel Physics in 1975.

38D: __ city (computer game): SIM. No idea. Looks so complicated.

39D: "...__quit": OR I. Brings to mind Kim Jong-il's juvenile one-upmanship.

40D: Candy in a red and blue wrapper: CLARK BAR. Unknown to me. Some peanut butter crisp with a chocolate covering. Named after its creator David. L. Clark. Here is 1950's store decal.

41D: Vague: HAZY

44D: Actress Sandra: DEE. Bobby Dorin's wife. Did you like Kevin Spacey's "Beyond the Sea"?

46D: Novel postscript: EPILOG

48D: It's removed at the pump: GAS CAP

49D: Follower of Guru Nanak: SIKH. Stumped me. I did not know who Guru Nanak is. According to Wikipedia, he is the central figure in Sikhism, and is the first of the ten SIKH Gurus. How come that picture has 11 guys? SIKH is Sanskrit for "disciple". Pronounced like "seek".

53D: Maui shindigs: LUAUS. Interesting, I just found out that LUAU is literally "young taro tops", which were served at outdoor feasts. I bet POI is a popular item at those LUAUS.

56D: Untouchables leader: NESS (Eliot). Kevin Costner's "The Untouchables" is one of my favorite movies.

57D: "Law & Order: SVU" actor: ICE-T. I wonder if he knows that his damned name appears in Xword all the time.

58D: Grammy winner for "Believe": CHER. "... Do you believe in life after love..." Great song.

60D: Pre-P queue: LMNO. Alphabetically LMNOP.

63D: Luis' "Listen Up!": OYE. No idea. Spanish for "Hey!". "OYE como va" = "Hey, what's up?"

64D: Afore: ERE. Poetically.

Answer grid.

Picture of the Day: Here is a great photo of our fellow LAT solver Crockett and his lovely wife Jeanette, ready to tackle a Welsh breakfast. Crockett started to follow my blog in early Feb 2008, only a few weeks after I started my adventure. He also created a Crossword Corner Google Map for us. Email him if you want your name appear on the map. Crockett is a retired middle school math teacher and now does lots of volunteer work. He is also a great chess player.

C.C.

Wednesday September 2, 2009 Jerome Gunderson

Theme: O Brother - Two pairs of aptly described, first name swapped names.

18A: "Little" comedian's big brother? HULK HERMAN. "Little" comedian here refers PEE-WEE HERMAN, the only fictional character among the four base theme entries. Big = HULK.

26A: "Big" wrestler's little brother?: PEEWEE HOGAN. "Big" wrestler refers to pro wrestler HULK HOGAN. Little = PEEWEE.

44A: "Thin" character actor's big brother?: FATS PICKENS. "Thin" character actor refers to actor SLIM PICKENS. Big = FATS? FAT?

56A: "Heavy" R & B singer's little brother?: SLIM DOMINO. "Heavy" R & B singer refers to singer FATS DOMINO. Little = SLIM.

I've never heard of SLIM PICKENS. Wikipedia says his most famous role was a pilot in "Dr. Strangelove". I actually misinterpreted his surname as SPICKENS, as Big = FAT to me.

Why are "Little", "Big", "Thin" & "Heavy" in quotation marks? Shouldn't the question mark at the end of each clue be sufficient enough to indicate wordplay?

This puzzle reminded me of Arnold Schwarzenegger & Danny DeVito's "Twins", silly fun.

Across:

1A: PDQ relative: ASAP. Or STAT, to a doctor.

5A: Violin virtuoso Zimbalist: EFREM. Zimbalist Sr. He and soprano Alma Gluck had a son: actor Zimbalist Jr. I can never remember his name. Hebrew for "fruitful".

14A: "To Sir With Love" singer: LULU. Wow, I want to drink from the same Fountain of Youth as she does. Beautiful.

15A: Decorative sofa fabric: TOILE. French for "cloth". Often sheer and scenically patterned.

16A: Dagger handle: HILT. Sometimes it's HAFT.

20A: Blink later than, in a contest: OUTSTARE.

22A: Scooter favored by '60 British mods: VESPA. Must be the influence of "Roman Holiday".

23A: "That __ hay!": AIN'T. No idea. Dictionary says it means "That's a great deal". Can you make a sentence for me?

33A: Homeric epic: ILIAD. Odyssey too.

37A: Streaker with a tail: COMET. Cute.

42A: Tabloid creature: ALIEN

48A: Conscription category: ONE A

49A: Words of sympathy: I CARE. And MEH (9D: Slangy word of indifference).

52A: Trivial: PIDDLING

60A: Put in the hold: LADE. "Hold" here refers to the space in a ship below the lower deck, in which cargo is stowed.

61A: Piebald horse: PINTO. "Piebald" is a new word to me. It means patched, esp in black and white.

62A: River through Saint Petersburg: NEVA. Pronounced like NEE-vuh. I got the river from Down fills. It's the third largest river in Europe in terms of average discharge (after the Volga and the Danube). It flows to the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea.

64A: Libidinous deity: SATYR. The horse-tailed MOREL guy with perpetual erection.

65A: State, to Sarkozy: ETAT. Nice alliteration. Sarkozy is the current French president, with enormous vanity.

Down:

2D: "Star Trek" navigator: SULU. Ah, I confused him with Han SOLO of the "Star Wars".

4D: Saves: PUTS AWAY

5D: Odorless gas: ETHANE

6D: Stick shift gear: FOURTH. No idea. Have never driven a stick shift car.

8D: Yellowstone grazer: ELK

12D: Brouhaha: FLAP. The answer is often TO-DO.

13D: Europe's highest active volcano: ETNA. Good trivia. ETNA is Greek for "I burn".

19D: It's what's happening: EVENT

21D: Made, as a knot: TIED

24D: Decoratively curved molding: OGEE. Hi, buddy, nice to see you back.

26D: Pie serving: PIECE. Thought of SLICE.

28D: Sea duck with prized plumage: EIDER

29D: "American Me" actor/director Edward James __: OLMOS. Unknown to me. He is a Mexican-American. OLMOS sounds German. Have never heard of "American Me" either.

30D: Courage, in Slang: MOXIE

31D: Senator Specter: ARLEN. Now a Democrat (PA). Just flip-flopped a few months ago.

39D: Like some batteries: ALKALINE. Baseball HOFer AL KALINE is probably a bit tough for non-baseball fans.

41D: Rubbed out, gangster style: OFFED. Both slang for "murdered".

45D: Like a spitz's ears: POINTY. Wanted POINTED. Spitz is German for "pointed".

46D: Not alfresco: INDOOR

47D: Packing heat: ARMED. Heat is a slang for gun.

49D: Key: ISLE. Like Florida Keys. I thought the clue was asking for an adjective.

50D: Modeling medium: CLAY. For potters. Another alliteration.

52D: Pub order: PINT

53D: Hip-hopper born Tracy Marrow: ICE-T. Gimme, right? We've seen identical clue before.

57D: Special __: military force: OPS. Special Operations.

Two announcements:

1) Argyle will blog Monday and Tuesday puzzles from now on.

2) Please email me at crosswordc@gmail.com if you have family photos to share. Thanks.

Answer grid.

Picture of the Day: Here is a great photo of our fellow LAT solver Chickie and her husband. It was taken in Germany at a Scientific Library in Berlin two summers' ago. Chickie is a retired primary teacher who taught Primary Grades for over 30 years. She loves sewing & knitting & reading.

C.C.

Tuesday, September 1, 2009 Sharon E. Petersen

Theme: WILD (68A: Untamed, and word that can precede the starts of 17- and 61-Across and 11-and 28-Down)

17A: Stealthy felon: (WILD) CAT BURGLAR

61A: Apartment building emergency exit: (WILD) FIRE ESCAPE

11D: Wedding party tyke: (WILD) FLOWER GIRL

28D: Boating safety feature: (WILD) LIFE JACKET

Argyle here.

I hope everybody escapes those wild fires out west. The French girl in Hitchcock's "To Catch a Thief" is probably the most famous CAT BURGLAR.

Quite a few long non-theme entries in this grid, four of them are nice double words.

Across:

1A: Wordsworth work: POEM. William Wordsworth,1770 – 1850, was a major English Romantic poet who England's Poet Laureate from 1843 until his death. Perhaps Clear Ayes can pick a selection of his poems for us.

5A: Pipe organ knobs: STOPS. Without getting too technical, the use of stops enables the organist to produce different sounds.

10A: Calif. cop org.: SFPD. San Francisco Police Department, where Dirty Harry worked.

14A: __ snuff: UP TO.

15A: Birdie beater: EAGLE. Golf terms: birdie, one under par; EAGLE, two under par.

16A: Ballerina's bend: PLIE. Oh. From this clip, it appears the bend they speak of, is the knees and not the waist.

19A: Very small amount: IOTA.

20A: Friend of Jerry and George: ELAINE. Characters from the Seinfeld TV show; they left out Cosmo.

21A: Tonsillitis MD: ENT. Ear, Nose, and Throat specialist.

22A: McGregor of "Angels & Demons": EWAN. He looks intense.

23A: Anderson of "WKRP in Cincinnati": LONI. She portrayed the receptionist.

25A: Cannes cup: TASSE. French.

27A: Flamenco yell: OLE. Spanish

29A: Elementary school basics: ABC'S. English

31A: Left ventricle outlet: AORTA.

34A: "__ Old Man": kids song: THIS. Dylan!?!

35A: "Gloria in Excelsis __'': DEO. "Glory to God in the highest"

36A: The Greeks' Helios, e.g.: SUN GOD. The Romans called him Sol.

37A: Battle of Britain defense gp.: RAF. Royal Air Force.

38A: "Oh, be serious!": GET REAL.

40A: Call __ day: IT A.

41A: Sports spots: ARENAS.

43A: Like Paree, in song: GAY. It turns out, finding GAY Paree, in song, is difficult!

44A: Jam-pack: CRAM.

45A: Captain's superior: MAJOR. But not so if it's a naval Captain, then it would be Admiral.

46A: Grab bag category: Abbr.: MISC.

47A: Heart and soul: ALL.

48A: Pie fruit: APPLE.

50A: So: THUS.

52A: Table salt, to a chemist: NACL. Sodium Chloride, NaCl

54A: Lupino of film: IDA. "Lupino was born in Camberwell, London, allegedly under a table during a World War I zeppelin raid." Betcha' didn't know that.

56A: "Sleepless in Seattle" director Nora: EPHRON. She is a triple nominee for the Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay; for Silkwood, When Harry Met Sally... and Sleepless in Seattle. Update: She wrote and directed Julie & Julia.

60A: __-Seltzer: ALKA.

63A: Blueprint detail, briefly: SPEC.

64A: White-tie accompanier: TAILS.

65A: Finished: OVER.

66A: Handy bag: TOTE.

67A: Sidewinder, e.g.: SNAKE. Called a sidewinder for their mode of transportation; they don't slither.

Down:

1D: Dark purple: PUCE. How is it different from plum?

2D: October gemstone: OPAL. And its symmetrical partner is OPEL (58D: European auto).

3D: James of jazz: ETTA.

4D: Art pieces that hang from the ceiling: MOBILES.

5D: Woos with song: SERENADES. Preferably, from below the balcony.

6D: Game with an "it": TAG.

7D: Stare at obviously: OGLE.

8D: Herbs and shrubs: PLANTS.

9D: Big name in mattresses: SERTA. Nation wide?

10D: Watches secretly: SPIES ON.

12D: Bread with tabbouleh: PITA. Tabbouleh is a salad dish (primary ingredients are finely chopped parsley, bulgur, mint, tomato, scallion (spring onion), and other herbs with lemon juice, olive oil and various seasonings, generally including black pepper and sometimes cinnamon and allspice) often served with PITA bread.

13D: Martin of the Rat Pack: DEAN. Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Jr., DEAN Martin, Joey Bishop & Peter Lawford were known as The Rat Pack. They ruled Las Vegas and Hollywood during the 1950's-1960's.

18D: Family card game: UNO.

24D: "Not likely!": I BET.

26D: Nobelist Bellow: SAUL. SAUL Bellow, 1915 – 2005. In the words of the Swedish Nobel Committee, his writing exhibited "exuberant ideas, flashing irony, hilarious comedy and burning compassion...." For his literary contributions, Bellow was awarded the Pulitzer Prize, the Nobel Prize for Literature, and the National Medal of Arts. He is the only writer to have won the National Book Award three times, and the only writer to have been nominated for it six times. (I feel terrible, I haven't read any of his works.)

27D: Butler's love: O'HARA. Rhett Butler and Scarlet O'HARA, from Gone with the Wind.

30D: Short-legged Welsh pooch: CORGI.

32D: Do sum work: TOTAL.

33D: First mate?: ADAM. First man? First Dad? First grandpa? Etc.

34D: Streetcar cousin : TRAM.

36D: Photographer's request: SAY CHEESE.

38D: "The World According to __": John Irving novel: GARP. It was made into a movie starring Robin Williams.

39D: Cheyenne-to-Omaha direction: EAST. Nice change from the three letter directions we often get.

42D: "There's __ like home": NO PLACE. That would be Kansas, for Dorothy Gale.

44D: Consistent moneymaker: CASH COW. A dairy cow that produces milk over the course of its life and requires little maintenance is a cash cow. So a business, product or asset that, once acquired and paid off will produce consistent cash flow over its lifespan is known as a CASH COW.

46D: Middle of the road: MEDIAN. The center of a divided highway is known as the MEDIAN strip.

49D: Picks up: LIFTS.

51D: Favorable times: UPS.

52D: Democrat's donkey designer: NAST. Also the designer for the GOP elephant.

53D: Chop House dog food maker: ALPO.

55D: Diva's solo: ARIA.

57D: Sitarist Shankar: RAVI. Father of Norah Jones.

59D: Uncool sort: NERD.

62D: Moose, to a European: ELK.

Ever since I got high speed internet service, I think I try to do too much and then get burned out. Sometimes it is hard to know when to make a FULL STOP. ( ;-)>

Answer grid.

Picture of the Day: Here is great photo of our fellow LAT solver Warren and his lovely wife Ruth at a Lake Tahoe sail boat ride a few years ago. They solve puzzle together every day. Warren is an excellent researcher and he likes to use question mark in his comments.

Argyle

Monday, August 31, 2009 Norma Steinberg

Theme: Abracadabra

17A: Magician's deception: SMOKE AND MIRRORS

35A: Magician's deception: SLEIGHT OF HAND

52A: Magician's deception: OPTICAL ILLUSION

Also, a couple bonus words which are symmetrically placed in the grid. Perfect!

27D: "Pick a __, any ...": CARD.

35D: Magic act, for one: SHOW.

The cross-referenced fill END (28D: See 38-Down) and THE (38D: With 28-Down, novel conclusion) are also symmetrically gridded. Excellently done.

Argyle here.

A very nice start to the week. A lot of three letter entries that are words and not abbreviations. A minimum of foreign words. And so many songs I could link! (This is not for everybody. Hocus Pocus Dutch insanity.)

Across:

1A: Joplin piano piece: RAG. Scott Joplin, died 1917, was an African-American dubbed the "King of Ragtime." Ragtime is an original American musical genre whose main characteristic trait is its syncopated, or "ragged", rhythm. Maple Leaf Rag.

9A: Like a disreputable hotel: SEEDY.

14A: www address: URL. Uniform Resource Locator: a protocol for specifying addresses on the Internet.

15A: Pic: PHOTO.

16A: Knight's protection: ARMOR.

20A: Kept in reserve: SAVED.

21A: Dewy: MOIST.

23A: Really smart people: BRAINS.

29A: Old salt: TAR. Sailor

30A: Investigation: PROBE.

32A: Southern breakfast side: GRITS. Either you like 'em or you don't; nothing in between.

33A: Concurrence: ACCORD.

38A: Very brief briefs: THONGS. I don't know what to say. Images.

39A: Take in or let out: ALTER. No, not the cats.

40A: Improve, as skills: HONE.

42A: __ room: play area: REC. Should this have an indication that it's a shortened version of RECreation ?

45A: Lamb's mom: EWE.

46A: Like the person in a diet ad "after" picture: LEANER.

48A: Equipment: GEAR.

49A: "Grrr!" is one: SNARL.

51A: It's enough for Luigi: BASTA. Italian for Stop! Enough! ASSEZ in French.

57A: Finish second, in a race: PLACE. Usually in a horse race: First, WIN; second, PLACE; and third, SHOW.

58A: Inventor Howe: ELIAS. He patented the first American-made sewing machine.

59A: Payable: DUE.

60A: Natives of Ankara: TURKS. The capital of Turkey.

61A: Like oboe music: REEDY. Oh, okay.

62A: Little green men, briefly: ETS. ExtraTerrestrial being, originating outside the limits of the earth.

Down:

1D: Many an Idaho potato: RUSSET.

2D: Spanish fleet: ARMADA.

3D: Danny of "Lethal Weapon" films: GLOVER. Sergeant Roger Murtaugh.

4D: Floored it: SPED.

5D: "I have the answer!": AHA.

6D: Chaney of film: LON.

7D: Takeoff approx.: ETD. Estimated Time of Departure.

8D: Christina Crawford's "__ Dearest": MOMMIE. The story of growing up with Joan Crawford for a mother. Book and Film.

9D: Wrapped garments seen in Agra culture: SARIS. Agra District is one of the districts of Uttar Pradesh state of India, and home of the Taj Mahal. Aishwarya Rai (the World's Most Beautiful Woman) in red SARI, beautiful!

10D: Says "2x2= 5," say: ERRS.

11D: :-), e.g.: EMOTICON.

12D: Palme __: Cannes film prize: D'OR. "Golden Palm Leaf", awarded for the best film. Here are three pretty women at 2004 Cannes Film Festival: the most influentical Chinese actress Gong Li, again, Aishwarya Rai and French supermodel Laeticia Casta.

19D: Cyclotron bit: ION.

23D: Naval jails: BRIGS.

24D: __IRA: ROTH.

25D: Choose not to vote: ABSTAIN.

30D: Holier-than-thou type: PRIG. Synonyms: prude, puritan, bluenose.

32D: Wilder or Hackman: GENE.

33D: Subsequent to: AFTER.

34D: "Moonstruck" Oscar winner: CHER.

36D: Texas symbol: LONE STAR.

37D: Ye __ Tea Shoppe: OLDE.

41D: Square dance leader: CALLER. Bugs Bunny, Square Dance Caller.

42D: Live (at): RESIDE.

43D: Take the family to a restaurant: EAT OUT.

44D: Building site giants: CRANES.

46D: Shoestrings: LACES.

47D: The Gay Nineties, e.g.: ERA.

48D: "Fill 'er up" filler: GAS.

50D: Just in the __ of time: NICK.

51D: Occupied: BUSY.

53D: Like "mice" and "men": Abbr.: PLU. Plural. Nice play on John Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men".

54D: Land in the Seine: ILE. Islands in a French river.

56D: Young guy: LAD

Argyle

Answer grid.

Picture of the Day: Here is great photo of our fellow LAT solver Jimbo and his family. He said: "Left to right, my son, his granddaughter, his son and "yours truly".

Sunday August 30, 2009 Dan Naddor

Theme: Organ Transplant - The organ is each organ-embedded common phrase is transplanted to another non-organ containing common phrase.

24A: Pool hall "Better luck next time"?: (HEART)FELT CONDOLENCES

30A: Sound of a breakup?: (EAR)SPLITTING NOISE

43A: Columbus college funds?: OHIO STATE BUCK(EYE)S

52A: Temper tantrum? (BRAIN)STORMING SESSION

73A: Steinway's idea for a large piano?: GRAND (BRAIN)CHILD

80A: Minimum for a Maybeline ad shoot?: FORTY (EYE)LASHES

91A: Place-marking lessons for readers? DOG(EAR) TRAINING

102A: Sorrows behind bars?: JAIL (HEART)BREAKS

Each of the organ is successfully transplanted to its grid symmetrical partner. Excellent!

I have never heard of base phrase FORTY LASHES, so I had a bit of trouble understanding 80A. Kidney is probably the most common type of organ plant. Steve Jobs (Apple CEO) has sparked a heated debate over his rather quick liver transplant.

There are quite a few nice long Down answers in this puzzle. I especially loved the below two-word entries:

16D: It's pressed in distress: PANIC BUTTON

61D: Segment of the western Pacific: CHINA SEAS

62D: Picnic side: POTATO SALAD

75D: "Twister" actress: HELEN HUNT

The answer just popped up to me with one or two letters filled in.

I really hope Dan will not change his style just to avoid annoying solvers with one or two obscure fills. Heavy themage, lots of non-theme fills of 6 or more letters (Dan Naddor Index) and low word count are his hallmarks.

It's like the predominance of yellow color in van Gogh's painting. It's just van Gogh. It's his style.

Across:

1A: "Satisfied?": HAPPY. Yes!

6A: Controversial initiation practice: HAZING

12A: Concert dancing areas: MOSH PITS. New phrases to me.

20A: What Mexican Olympians go for: EL ORO. "The gold" in Spanish.

21A: "Kick it up a notch!": EMERIL. "Bam"!

22A: Internal company info-sharing system: INTRANET

23A: Rockies music festival site: ASPEN. No idea. I always associate ASPEN with the ski resort and the ASPEN trees.

26A: Garish: LOUD

28A: Rock outcroppings: CRAGS

29A: Golfer Woosnam: IAN. Ha ha, I just mentioned the "hot-tempered Welsh golfer IAN" yesterday. But I misremembered his surname as Woosman.

33A: Elmer, to Bugs: DOC

35A: Squirreled-away item: ACORN

37A: Fighters' home: AIRBASE

41A: Body language?: TATTOO. Excellent clue.

48A: Colombian city: CALI. I have this image of CALI awash in drug dealing and kidnapping activities.

50A: Managed care gps: HMOS. Hopefully they will pay for your organ transplant.

57A: N.J. town on the Hudson: FT. LEE. Obtained the answer from Down fills.

58A: Junior: SON

59A: Itty-bitty bit: IOTA. And A TON (37D: Hardly hardly).

60A: They may be girded before battle: LOINS. Gird one's LOINS.

61A: Zagreb native: CROAT. Zagreb is the capital of Croatia.

62A: Furthermore: PLUS

65A: MP quarries: AWOLS. MP = Military Police.

67A: Text alternative: PHONE

68A: Romulus, e.g.: TWIN. Romulus & Remus are twins.

69A: AT&T rival, once: MCI. Acquired by Verizon in 2006.

76A: China setting: ASIA. "Japan setting" is better due to CHINA SEAS.

77A: Play a mean sax, say: WAIL. New definition to me.

78A: Stretching discipline: YOGA. Sanskrit for "union".

85A: Surgical solution: SALINE. Probably is needed for organ transplant.

87A: Back: ENDORSE. Don't you think Tiger Woods should ENDORSE Buick for free now?

90A: Concorde, e.g.: SST

99A: "24" superagent: BAUER. Jack BAUER. Played by Kiefer Sutherland.

100A: Markers: IOUS. I did not know "marker" is a slang for IOU.

106A: Cuban dance: RUMBA

107A: Taxpayer's headache: IRS AUDIT. Loved the answer.

108A: Go off on: RANT AT

109A: Diarist Nin: ANAIS

110A: Distribution slips?: MISDEALS. Poker I suppose.

111A: Ore appraisals: ASSAYS. Always thought ASSAY is a verb only.

113A: Old lab heaters: ETNAS

Down:

1D: Gets better: HEALS. Hope our fellow LAT solver Doreen is getting better now.

2D: 1940-'70s journalist Stewart: ALSOP. No idea. I do know his brother Joseph ALSOP though, from reading all those JFK books.

3D: Resident count: POPULATION

4D: Meteorologist, at time: PREDICTOR. Hmm, WM, add your comments here.

6D: "Battle Cry" actor Van: HEFLIN. Nope. Stranger to me. Wikipedia says he was also in "Shane".

8D: Woody Allen mockumentary: ZELIG. Simply forgot. Googled this film before. Woody Allen was dogged by the Soon-Yi distraction at Terry Gross's last "Fresh Air" interview.

9D: NYC subway line: IRT (Interborough Rapid Transit)

10D: Composer Paganini: NICCOLO. No idea. Bet this is a gimme for Crockett. He always nails those composer clues, including yesterday SUK (Czech composer Josef).

11D: Morning __: flowers: GLORIES. Mine have not bloomed yet.

12D: Gnatlike insect: MIDGE

14D: N.L. Central team: STL. St. Louis Cardinals. Albert Pujols is now a US citizen.

15D: Charlemagne's realm: Abbr.: HRE. OTTO I is the first HRE emperor.

17D:Machu Picchu builder: INCA

25D: "If I Ruled the Word" rapper: NAS. His original given name is NASIR.

27D: Just plain awful: ATROCIOUS

34D: Sun or Moon: ORB. Poetically.

38D: Amtrak's "bullet train": ACELA. The name is meant to be evocative of acceleration & excellence.

39D: It's similar to sporting clays: SKEET

40D: Salinger heroine: ESME. From his "For ESME – with Love and Squalor".

42D: Chorus line: ALTO. Nice play on "A Chorus Line".

44D: Old what's-__-name: HIS. I guessed. It's either HIS or HER. Don't understand the clue though. Why "Old"?

46D: Half of an old radio duo: AMOS. The other half is Andy. AMOS 'n' Andy.

49D: Farm workers? ANTS. Ant farm.

53D:__Bornes: card game: MILLE. Unknown to me. MILLE is just a thousand in French. Bornes is "boundary".

54D: John of England: ELTON. ELTON John. I was thinking of the toilet john.

56D: Cassette half: SIDE B

57D: Swiss capital: FRANC. "Capital" here refers to its money, not the capital city BERN. Switzland is not an EU memeber, so no EURO.

63D: Will: SHALL. Gosh, I can't believe the clue is this simple.

65D: Illegal firing?: ARSON. Barry Silk used this identical clue a while ago.

67D: __-dieu: PRIE. The prayer bench.

69D: Revolutionary soldier: MILITIAMAN

70D: The Kennedys, e.g.: CLANS. Timely clue.

71D: Loaf at work: IDLE. And RYE (74D: Loaf in a deli). Nice "loaf" echos.

73D: "Let's Get it On" singer: GAYE (Marvin). Here is the clip.

77D: Wild place?: WEST. Wild, Wild WEST. I thought Dan was talking about Minnesota Wild, our NHL hockey team.

81D: Jr. and sr.: YRS

82D: Subject with many unknowns: ALGEBRA. Stumped me.

83D: Milieu for John Muir, with "the": SIERRAS. John Muir founded the Sierra Club.

84D: "Isn't __ bit like you and me?": Beatles lyrics: HE A. No idea. It's from their "Nowhere Man".

86D: Request to Sajak: AN I. Wheel of Fortune. Vowels. AN A/E/I/O/U.

89D: Estate lawyer's specialty: TRUSTS. Because he knows how to set up trust fund?

91D: Dashes: DARTS

92D: In the open: OUT

93D: Rodeo rope: RIATA. Sometimes it's REATA.

94D: Wine mentioned in Hungary's national anthem: TOKAY. Oh, I was unaware of this fact. Have never heard of TOKAY wine either.

95D: Egypt-Sudan region: NUBIA. Verdi's Aida is set in NUBIA.

96D: Calm water metaphor: GLASS

98D: Catcall: HISS

99D: Leave quickly, in slang: BAIL. No idea. I wanted SCAT.

102D: Dandy dude?: JIM. JIM-dandy is new to me. Dictionary defines it as "one that is very pleasing or excellent of its kind".

104D: Author LeShan: EDA. This has become a gimme.

105D: USNA grad: ENS (Ensign)

106D: English singer Corinne Bailey __: RAE. Got her name from Across fills. She looks exotic.

Answer grid.

C.C.

Interview with Michael Wiesenberg

Remember this Michael Wiesenberg Saturday puzzle? He stacked six long fills at top and bottom of the grid, four of them spanning the grid. GIRL, INTERRUPTED is such an excellent entry.

Mr. Wiesenberg started contributing to the LA Times in early 2008, and all of the 7 published puzzles are themeless. He probably has his own long list of 15-letter movie titles, TV series, celebrity names, or just common phrases.

Not often do we have a constructor with a Wikipedia entry. Michael Wiesenberg has one. Merl Reagle has one too. Hope you enjoy the interview. A pleasant surprise for me.

What is the seed entry of this puzzle? Which part of the grid gave you the most trouble during the construction?

This puzzle would never have come about nor would it have been published were it not for my persistence and Rich Norris's patience and kind feedback. The puzzle went through eight iterations. The original puzzle had 72 words. Rich didn't like the pattern nor was he happy with several of the entries. Rich had already published several of my puzzles, so he must have thought I had some salvageable capabilities, and was kind enough in his rejection to enumerate his objections. To increase the efficacy and interest of the puzzle, I removed two blocks, lowering the word count to 70. This changed the essential nature of the puzzle, so I basically started the fill all over. The first submission had SPIRAL STAIRCASE as the 15-letter entry. Rich objected to too many partials. I hadn't considered three of them actually to be partials; I thought they were standalone phrases. I didn't think A HAIR ("tiny bit"), ACT TO ("Perform in a certain way"), or I SAID were partials. But of course the editor is the final arbiter in such matters, and Rich's instincts are good. To remove the partials, I started again from scratch, this time with THREE MUSKETEERS. Again Rich raised good objections; again I started over, this time with the present 15-letter entry (HOSTILE TAKEOVER). Rich liked the fill, but had reservations on some of the entries. He suggested a change to clear up a problem. I went with Rich's suggestion and also changed a few other entries, and ended up with what I hope is a good fill with interesting entries and no obscurities.

No particular part of the puzzle gave me more trouble than any other. I just kept juggling entries around, trying to keep them all lively, until I got a good fill. Since it's a themeless puzzle, I could redo entire sections to meet Rich's objections.

How would you describe your style? Why do you prefer constructing themeless over themed puzzles?

My style in themeless puzzles is to have as many 15-word entries as possible or as few entries -- or both. I like "stacks" of 15s. I have had puzzles published with as many as 10 15s and as low a word count as in the low 60s. Working within those constraints, I then try to fit in as many lively entries as possible, among them as many phrases as I can. I don't prefer themelesses over themed puzzles. I have different criteria for themed puzzles. In the latter, I try to be very specific and have the entries as closely linked as possible. I like punny themes. I would rather have four or five entries than three, but if three work well, I would certainly prefer three good entries to more that are only so-so.

What is your background and how did you get into crossword construction?

I originally started constructing crossword puzzles long before software was available to assist, in fact, long before personal computers were even generally available. I had several puzzles published in Master and Quality (Quinn Publications) in the '60s. I did these by hand on graph paper, assisted by the letter cubes of a 3D Scrabble-like game whose name I can't recall. There were some 100 cubes, each with the same letter on all sides, which cubes players would place one at a time in a standup grid between them, trying to form words with each successive addition. I juggled the cubes on a flat surface to fill in grid sections. When I successfully completed a section, I would write the letters in the graph paper. Even with that help, I would fill dozens of grids in constructing one puzzle, and devote many hours to the task. I calculated that based on the time it took to construct a puzzle and the low pay rate at the time I earned under 25 cents an hour. In the '60s, the main constructors of crossword puzzles were prison inmates, for whom such a non-cost-effective use of their time was not counterproductive.

I ceased constructing for many years. I worked as a technical writer in the computer field. As such, I had access to and knowledge of many kinds of software. When I heard of Crossword Compiler, I decided to reenter cruciverbalism. For five years I constructed a monthly puzzle for PuzzlePlanet.com. For seven years I did a monthly puzzle for PokerPages.com. All those puzzles had crossword themes, and can be seen here: http://www.pokerpages.com/interactive/crossword/crosswords.htm

I contributed 24 puzzles to "The Everything Crossword Challenge Book." For two years I did a puzzle regularly for "Advance for Nurses," a national publication. For five years I did a monthly puzzle for "LA Direct," a slick magazine published in Studio City, CA, for a Southern California audience, with puzzles specifically about that region (local beaches, nearby cities, movie studio-related entries, etc.). I did a weekly puzzle for six months for another online site.

I do more than construct puzzles. I have written five books and am working on two more. I have a monthly column in Card Player magazine. I also construct a monthly puzzle for Poker Player magazine.

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

There ain't no such animal as a perfect puzzle. There are good puzzles and bad puzzles. Bad puzzles seem to be more common. These are often found in specialty magazines, particularly those that are not in the top echelons of publications. They have too many words (78+ in a 15x15), unkeyed squares, two-letter words, and too many three-letter words. They stretch too hard to fit in theme entries. Also in the bad puzzle category are most of the puzzles created by computers with little or no human intervention. These have no spark of originality, no sparkle. Good themed puzzles are characterized by clever linking of the theme entries. I like rebus puzzles, letter additions or subtractions that form new punny entries, and clever leaps of intuition. Good themelesses are, I think, characterized by the Fridays and Saturdays of the NYT and the LAT. Among my favorite constructors are Gorski, Salomon, Reagle, and Longo.

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

Besides crossword construction, I write fiction and nonfiction for publication. I also hike and cycle.

Saturday, August 29, 2009 Michael Wiesenberg

Theme: None

Total blocks: 40

Total words: 70

Are you surprised that HOSTILE TAKEOVER (31A: It might involve a proxy fight) is Mr. Wiesenberg's seed entry? I'd have guessed JAVA APPLET (16A: Small program with a browser interface), my favorite out of the 9 long & lively Across entries.

I was actually thinking of the Board of Directors control, you know, like the proxy fight William Achman launched against Target, so the answer did not jump to me immediately.

Pleasant solving experience today. I was able to fill in most of long fills on the first pass, thanks to the accessibility of the crosses. Normally I feel lost and hopeless on Saturdays without theme as my Sherpa. Those multiple-word entries just do not pop up as easily to me as they do to others.

But then I struggled mightily with HAS A SHOT AT (54A: Might achieve) and lower right corner. Still cannot believe my eyes that THIRTY NINE is the answer for 59A: 78 half. How could it be so simple?

Across:

1A: Largest oceanic dolphin: ORCA. Yep, it's not really whale.

5A" "__ consummation devoutly to be wish'd": Hamlet: 'TIS A. No idea. It's from his famous soliloquy "To be, or not to be".

9A: Hi-tech battler: BOT. Short for "robot". It's "a software program that imitates the behavior of a human, as by querying search engines or participating in chatroom or IRC discussions."

12A: Wood finishing tool: BELT SANDER. Here is an electric Bosch BELT SANDER.

15A: Brooklyn, say, briefly: BORO (Borough)

17A: Surrealist Tanguy: YVES. Obtained his name from Down fills. I don't get his "Indefinite Divisibility" at all.

18A: Long-distance messages?: SMOKE SIGNALS. Great clue.

20A: Prepare for a storage, as a carpet: ROLL UP

23A: Barry who played Lt. Gerard on TV's "The Fugitive": MORSE. Complete stranger to me. I've only seen Harrison Ford's "The Fugitive".

24A: "Rumor has it...": I HEAR. "Rumor has it..." is also a Jennifer Aniston/Kevin Costner movie.

25A: 1876 Twain hero: TOM SAWYER

29A: Health insurance giant: CIGNA. Thought of AETNA first.

30A: Incredulous dying words: ET TU. Caesar's last words" "ET TU, Brute?".

39A: Memory principle: MNEME. Muse of Memory as well.

40A: Ice cream flavor: PISTACHIO. Have you tried mochi ice cream? It has PISTACHIO flavor as well.

45A: Minor, legally: PETIT. Same as "petty"?

46A: When Ovid's "Ars Amatoria" is believed to have been published: ONE BC. Just fill in ONE BC whenever you are not sure of those Roman years.

47A: Notable show biz sisters: GABORS. Zsa Zsa, Eva & Magda.

48A: Home of NBA's Thunder: OKLOHOMA CITY. Completely unknown to me. They were Seattle SuperSonics before 2008.

53A: Landing: PIER. The clue just does not feel complete. Shouldn't it be "Landing place"?

58A: Letter-bottom abbr.: ENCS

60A: "Silent Spring" subj.: DDT

61A: River to the Seine: OISE. See this map. It's pronounced like wäz.

62A: Singer born Eithne Patricia Ní Bhraonáin: ENYA. Well, 4-letter singer, who else could it be? Maybe SADE. Wikipedia says ENYA is an approximate transliteration of how Eithne is pronounced in her native Irish.

Down:

1D: Part of a propositional phr.: OBJ (Object).

2D: "The Crying Game" actor: REA (Stephen).

3D: XXXI x V: CLV. 31x5= 155

4D: Obliquely: AT A SLANT

5D: About 1/3 of Maine's I-95D: TNPK (Turnpike). Big stumper. No idea, sir.

6D: Hanging out, say: IDLE. Had trouble understanding the grammar of the clue/answer.

7D: Spies: SEES. Verb.

8D: Drawing intro: ART I

9D: Flaubert heroine: BOVARY. "Madam BOVARY". The only Flaubert novel I've actually read. Don't we all want things we can't or shouldn't have?

10D: Words implying consequences: OR ELSE

11D: One pitching: TOSSER

13D: Japanese warrior: SAMURAI. Japanese kanji for SAMURAI 侍 is the same as Chinese character, simply means "servant" (noun) or "to serve" (verb).

14D: For one: A POP. And ANY (56D: At least one). Clue echos.

15D: Yet: BY NOW

19D: Early ABC show, for short: GMA. D'oh, "Good Morning, America". I had G?A sitting there forever.

21D: First state admitted to the Union from the Northwest Territory: OHIO. Again, 4 letter, it's either OHIO or IOWA.

22D: Longevity: LEGS. Tricky clue.

25D: Saw things? TEETH. I feel so clever to have nailed this one. The question mark indicates that "saw" is not a past tense of "see" here.

26D: Emperor who deposed Pope John XII: OTTO I. The first emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. Easy guess.

27D: Mindanao peak: Abbr.: MT. APO. Dan Naddor clued it as "Philippines' highest peak: Abbr." last time. APO simply means "master" or "grandfather".

28D: Czech composer Josef: SUK. Nope. It's pronounced like "sook". And Josef is "yaw-zef". He looks like a politician.

32D: Europe's __ de Genève: LAC. LPGA's annual Évian Master is played on the shores of Lake Geneva. Very pretty golf course.

33D: Vicarious feeling: EMPATHY. This word is bandied a lot during Justice Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation hearing.

34D: Singly: ONE BY ONE

35D: Nix: VETO. Latin for "I forbid".

36D: Qatar dignitary: EMIR

37D: Soaks, as flax: RETS. Learned RETS and the "Nerve network" RETE from doing Xword.

40D: Exhausted: POOPED

41D: How many Colonial debts were paid: IN KIND. Have never heard of the phrase "payment IN KIND". The Wikipedia entry says KIND (or sometimes kine) means "cattle". Kine is an archaic plural of cow.

42D: Choose: SELECT. Penned in OPT FOR immediately.

43D: Slope contractions: T-BARS

44D: Bavarian beef?: ACH. German for "Oh!" /"Oh no!"/"Alas". I was stumped.

47D: Nub: GIST

49: "__ Be Back With You"" Steve Forbert song: OH, TO. No idea. Could not even find a YouTube clip.

50D: Half a fish: MAHI. Literally, "strong" in Hawaiian. Red Lobster's seared MAHI-MAHI is pretty good.

51D: Just like that: AS IS. The sale tag words.

52D: Supervision: CARE

55D: Woodsman's makeup: TIN. The TIN Man in "The Wizard of Oz". Did anyone think of the hot-tempered Welsh golfer Ian Woosman first?

57D: Hot spot?: TEA. Mine was SPA.

Answer grid.

Picture of the Day: Here is great photo of our fellow LAT solver Embien standing by part of wood pile. He and his wife heat their house with a wood stove. Here is a beautiful view of his front deck. Embien said: "Doesn't look its best this time of year as the crop out there (purple vetch) was harvested in July and it's too dry to plant winter wheat yet. We live waaay out in the country, about five miles west of Banks, Oregon, in the foothills of the Coast Range."

C.C.