Sunday February 14, 2010 Natalie Dyvens

Theme: Crazy Love - All of the 13-letter theme answers are anagrams of VALENTINE'S DAY. In cryptic crossword, the word "crazy" is an indicator of an anagram.

24A. Run-down old Roman truck?: SEEDY LATIN VAN. Run-down = Seedy.

32A. Tax expiration headline?: LEVY IS AT AN END

59A. Out-of-work Baltic natives?: NEEDY LATVIANS. Latvia is in the Baltic region.

80A. Attack the Falkland Islands' capital?: INVADE STANLEY. Stanley is the capital of The Falkland Islands, an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean. Who knows?

106A. Cowgirl in a crib?: TINY DALE EVANS. Dale Evans is crowned as "Queen of Cowgirl".

118A. Some gondola passengers?: LADY VENETIANS. Gondolas are widely used in Venice.

16D. Shrink everyone wants to be like?: ENVIED ANALYST

58D. This puzzle's theme - each of seven answers is a 77-Down of it: VALENTINE'S DAY

And non-symmetrical cross-referenced ANAGRAM (77D. Roped, to Pedro). Roped is an anagram of Pedro. Plus a hidden 13-letter VALENTINE'S DAY anagrammed constructor's name - Natalie Dyvens. Is that you, Rich?

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone. And Happy Chinese Spring Festival! 新年快乐! 恭喜发财!

Today is Dennis's two-year anniversary with the blog, so we decided to team up and co-write today's puzzle analysis. (No, C.C. decided. And it's now 2 am and I'm still writing.)

Very creative theme concept, perfect for Valentine's Day, but it also results in some strained theme answers. A necessary sacrifice for a "crazy" theme. Both of us thoroughly enjoyed this puzzle and were amused and entertained by many clues.

Across:

1. Register: SIGN IN. Reminds Dennis of the old 'What's My Line' show -- "mystery guest, sign in please."

7. '70s-'80s FBI sting aimed at corrupt politicians: ABSCAM. Got several Philly politicians in that one, including the late Congressman John Murtha.

19. Frito-Lay corn snacks: CHEETOS. Dennis loves the crunchy ones, as opposed to the puffy ones.

21. Secret: ARCANE. Same root as the "tarot card group" ARCANA, which stumped many of us last time.

22. Biden predecessor: CHENEY (Dick). No one's idea of a great hunting partner. He definitely knows the Halliburton founder ERLE.

23. Crisis phone service: HOTLINE. From Dennis: I could've used it for several clues in this one.

26. Ajar, in poems: OPE. As in open, which is not necessarily ajar.

27. Drudge: SERF

29. Salem-to-Portland dir.: NNE

30. CNN launcher: TBS. Turner Broadcasting System launched CNN in 1980.

31. Desperate: DIRE. As in dire straits.

36. Start of a French oath: SACRE. "Sacre bleu!". Mild French profanity. Literally "sacred blue!"

38. Sailing or whaling: ASEA. Clever rhyming.

39. CFO's degree, maybe: MBA. The constructor opted CFO rather than CEO for the clue to avoid duplication with the answer CEO (37D. Co. leader), who more often has the MBA degree.

40. Chelsea zoo opening?: ZED. The opening letter of "zoo" is Z, which is pronounced as ZED in Chelsea, England.

42. Mug with a hinged lid: SEIDEL. German for beer mug. Rooted in Latin "Situla" (bucket). New word to both of us.

45. "G.T.O." singers __ & the Daytonas: RONNY. A gimme for Dennis, both because the car's a favorite of his and the time-frame of the song. GTO is often clued as "Ronny and the Daytonas hit"

47. Million-millennia period: AEON. A variant spelling of eon.

48. Schooners' contents: ALES. Then we also have PALE DRY (71A. Ginger ale type). A regretable clue/answer duplication. Ginger ale was created in 1904 by Canadian pharmacist John J. McLaughlin.

50. 10th century Norwegian king: OLAV I. Jeez, just how many Olavs were there up there, besides Jerome's grandpa?

51. Numerical entry aid: KEYPAD. Dennis wishes his laptop had one.

53. A big fan of: INTO. Dennis is currently into Wendy's doubles. The hamburgers, that is.

55. Quick cut: SNIP

56. Service abbr.: NAV. The Navy. The Marines are a department of the Navy. The men's department. A joke, of course - all the services are equally great and equally important.

64. Jolson and Jarreau: ALS

65. List ender: Abbr.: ET AL. From et alii; "and others".

67. "__ you sure?": ARE: From Dennis: C.C., are you sure you want me blogging?

68. Stephanie's dad: EFREM. Efrem Zimbalist Jr. A Purple Heart recipient from WWII. Loved him in 77 Sunset Strip and The FBI, two '50s/'60s-era TV series.

69. Easy to use: WIELDY. Hardly ever used. Its antonym, unwieldy, is quite common.

73. Not seen as much: RARER

74. Near the beginning: EARLY ON

75. Bullfight cheer: OLE OLE. Did the duplication fool anyone else? Wasn't expecting six letters.

76. English cattle breed: DEVON. Named after the English county where the breed was first developed. Are they used in Wendy's doubles, Windhover?

77. Flying stat.: ALT (Altitude). Kinda critical to flight.

78. Electronics time meas.: MSEC (Microsecond). Any more, it's all about nanoseconds. FYI, a nanosecond is to a second what a second is to 30 years.

79. Salon acquisition: TAN

84. __-80: old computer model: TRS. An early model (late '70s) from Radio Shack (Tandy Corporation).

85. Like SFO and LAX: INTL. Both San Francisco and Los Angeles have international airports.

87. Senior housing?: DORM. College seniors, of course.

88. Scottish property owners: LAIRDS. Scottish variant of LORD (108D. Titled nobleman)

90. All-time Blue Jays' winningest pitcher Dave: STIEB. Pronounced like "Steeb". A gimme for both of us.

94. Cranberry sources: BOGS. Nice spin on "Cranberry sauces". Got lots within an hour of Dennis's place.

95. Golfer's problem: SLICE. Yeah, most golfers are slicers. Some are hookers. Dennis has a feeling C.C. isn't cursed with a slice or a hook.

99. Medieval estates: MANORS. Here is a good example.

101. D.C. player: NAT. Washington Nationals, the perennial doormat of the NL East.

102. Berne's river: AAR.. Should be a gimme for most by now.

103. Auth. of many quotes?: ANON. Becoming a four-letter word on the blog.

104. Scandal-plagued giant: ENRON. Dennis feels "Scandal-plagued" is a bit of an understatement. .

111. Egg holder: NEST. Clever.

113. Clear: RID. Verb "clear".

115. John, to Paul: LOO. John is a slang for "toilet/LOO". We've seen "John, to Ringo" gimmick before. Did anyone not think of the Beatles first?

116. "__-Dick": MOBY. DFettes, what was your answer?

117. Morgantown sch.: WVU (West Virginia University).

122. Graceful antlered critter: ROE DEER. A Eurasian species of deer. Pretty common in crosswords. They do look graceful.

124. Head cases?: CRANIA. Literally yes. Plural of cranium, the "case" of our heads.

125. Renoir subject: BATHER. See this picture. "Degas subject" would be DANCER.

126. "Let's Make a Deal" option: DOOR ONE. Of three. You could keep the prize you'd won or gamble and take what was behind doors one, two or three. C.C. has never watched "Let's Make a Deal".

127. Most insidious: SLYEST. Or SLIEST.

128. Risky dates: TRYSTS. Really? Why risky? Isn't it just a meeting between two lovers?

129. Barely made a ripple in, as during a dive: KNIFED. Very difficult to do properly. The meaning is new to C.C.

Down:

1. Bookman: SCHOLAR. Dennis's initial reaction was something CPA-related.

2. "God willing!": I HOPE SO

3. Settle a score: GET EVEN. "Revenge is a dish best served cold."

4. Donizetti aria "Regnava __ silenzio": NEL. "Regnava nel silenzio" is literally "reigned in silence"/"silence reigned' in Italian. NEL is "in the".

5. Response at the door: IT IS I. If someone said that at Dennis's door, he'd leave it closed.

6. Canonical hour: NONES. Dictionary says it's usually the ninth hour after sunrise.

8. Three-time Oscar-winning character actor Walter: BRENNAN. Tied with Jack Nicholson for most Academy Award wins by a male actor.

9. Hollywood shooting: SCENE

10. Concerto's extended solo passage: CADENZA. From Old Italian, cadence. Dennis has one of those in my office. Oh wait -- that's a credenza.

11. To some degree: ANY. Weak to Dennis.

12. Soften: MELT. Doesn't strike Dennis as synonymous. OK with C.C.

13. Takes the role of: ACT AS

14. How-hot-it-feels meas.: THI (Temperature-Humidity Index)

15. They can climb the walls: TENDRILS. Love Morning Glories.

17. Close: NEAR

18. Force unit: DYNE. Fraction of a newton. Another frequent crossword visitor.

20. Fluids in shots: SERA. Plural of serum.

25. Six-pack makeup: ABS. They're in there somewhere.

28. NSA headquarters site: FT MEADE. South of Baltimore.

33. Pull hard: YANK

34. "Gin __ meet ...": Burns: A BODY. No idea. From Burn's poem "Comin' Through the Rye".

35. Drop off: DELIVER. Nice deception.

41. Leisure fabric: DENIM. Nothing says leisure like jeans..

43. Villain: EVIL DOER. Hmmm... why does this sound familiar?

44. Fakes it, in a way: LIP-SYNCS. As in Milli Vanilli.

46. Longing: YEN

47. Mimic's talent: APERY

49. Concourse locale: Abbr.: STA (Station)

52. Time for an audit: YEAR- END. Dennis is not sure he agrees with that one.

54. Miraculous way to walk?: ON WATER

56. It's a family affair: NEPOTISM. Like what Kim Jong-Il practices.

57. Mythological woman raised by hunters: ATALANTA. Greek myth. The only woman who sailed with Jason & the Argonauts for the Golden Fleece.

60. Time off: LEAVE. Is this ever used outside of the military?

61. Fuzzy dos: AFROS

62. 16th century council site: TRENT. Council of Trent (1545-1563). The Ecumenical Council of the Roman Catholic Church.

63. Round Table title: SIR. Knights of the Round Table.

66. Heavenly lion: LEO. The constellation.

70. Shade provider: ELM

72. Caesar's 551: DLI. The obligatory Roman Numeral clue.

73. Lamb, e.g.: RED MEAT. Dennis was thinking something related to the essayist Lamb. Faked himself out.

74. Onetime immigration center __ Island: ELLIS

76. "Mack the Knife" singer: DARIN (Bobby). Huge back in Dennis' day.

81. OED unit: VOL (Volume). OED = Oxford English Dictionary.

82. Plenty: A LOAD. No, not touching it.

83. NFL rushing nos.: YDS (Yards)

86. Price of many operas: LEONTYNE. American Soprano Leontyne Price, best known for the title role of Verdi's Aida. Tricky placement of "Price" at the beginning of the clue.

89. Czech, for one: SLAV. Ok, this one's getting a little tiresome.

91. "It's sooo cold!": BRR. We both can relate.

93. SUV part: UTILITY. SUV = Sport Utility Vehicle.

94. Weapon attached to a rifle: BAYONET

96. Amazed by: IN AWE OF

97. Meet: CONVENE. Usually a committee or something similar.

98. Made certain: ENSURE. Insure too.

100. Not happy with: SORE AT

105. Diarist Anaïs: NIN. Erotic diaries.

109. Online read: E-BOOK. We both still prefer the real thing.

110. "I've got my __ you!": EYE ON. "Hands" didn't work, unfortunately, for Dennis. Lots of fill-in-the-blanks in this grid.

111. World Series qualifying matchup, briefly: NLCS (National League Championship Series)

112. Sandwich guy?: EARL. Earl of Sandwich, who popularized sandwich in England.

114. Owed money: DEBT

119. Haze reduces it: Abbr.: VIS (Visibility)

120. Sailor: TAR. GOB is also a slang for "sailor".

121. Many Soc. Sec. recipients: SRS (Seniors). Raising hand.

123. Soft & __: deodorant: DRI

More from Dennis:

Today, in addition to Valentine's Day, is National Organ Donor Day. An excellent idea on at least two levels ...

Today's Words of Wisdom: "Don't get sucked into doing a Sunday blog for C.C. when you have to be up at 5:30am the next morning." - guess who

Answer grid.

Dennis & C.C.

Saturday February 13, 2010 Mark Diehl

Theme: None

Total blocks: 25

Total words: 66

This grid looks so clean, with no cheater/helper square. Only 25 black squares, the fewest I've seen in a LAT puzzle. The word count is quite low too.

Some of entries are quite fresh, and I love the clever use of "er" in the below clues:

13D. Old rubber?: ALADDIN. Rubber, one who rubs. When Aladdin rubs his oil lamp and magic appears.

38D. Art that requires a folder: ORIGAMI. Folder, one who folds. Not the portfolio folder.

But too many ER suffixes in grid answers:

53A. New __: AGER

63A. Wooers, perhaps: SERENADERS

40. Flautist: TOOTLER

43D. Slumber party?: SNOOZER. Party here means "participant". Great clue.

44D. R&D employees: TESTERS. Clue is asking for an abbreviated answer.

Tough slog today. Totally out of sync with this constructor Mark Diehl. We definitely do not speak the same language. Troubles everywhere.

Across:

1. Blended condiment: GARLIC SALT. Awesome answer.

11. Tricked twin: ESAU. He was tricked into selling his birthright to his brother Jacob. For some lentil soup.

15. She received a Best Actress nomination for "A Man and a Woman": ANOUK AIMEE. Always nice to have a full name. We often see AIMEE clued as "French Actress".

16. Not sharp: DULL

17. 2005 award for Leigh Ann Hester, the first woman to win it since WWII: SILVER STAR. I've never heard of Leigh Ann Hester, who was awarded the star for her heroic actions in Iraq War. Dennis has a Purple Heart.

18. "My word!": I SAY

19. Corner piece: ELL

20. Blind dates, e.g.: SETUPS

21. Youngsters: TADS. Learned this "youngster" meaning last time it appeared in the grid.

22. Auvers-sur-__, where van Gogh spent his final days: OISE. A commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris. Stumper. I only knew he did not die in Arles.

24. Prompter's cue: TEN SECONDS. Cool answer.

26. Common front: UNITY

28. Royale or Flying Cloud: REO. Wikipedia says REO's two most memorable cars were its Reo Flying Cloud introduced in 1927 and the Reo Royale 8 of 1931.

29. Bushmiller who created the comic "Nancy": ERNIE. Nope. He's not in my memory bank.

30. Campus big shot, often: SENIOR. BMOC (Big Man On Campus) used to befuddle me.

32. Finns' neighbors: RUSSIANS. Too many space for my first reaction: SWEDES.

34. Take into custody, in a way: CUFF

36. "Toodles!": TATA. Wikipedia says "Toodles!" is a shortened, more casual version of the French expression à tout à l'heure (Anglicized as "toodle-oo"), meaning "goodbye". I am surprised I've never heard of it before.

37. Bikini feature in a 1960 hit: POLKA DOT. "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini".

41. NASDAQ neighborhood: WALL ST. So simple in retrospect.

45. Dizzy: AREEL. Or A-REEL like A-LOP, Argyle?

46. Napoléon or Yves, e.g.: NOM. Both French given names.

48. Despicable sort: SWINE

49. Parts of feet: LITTLE TOES. Came to me with difficulty.

52. Deal busters, at times: EGOS. True.

54. Magic 8 Ball maker: MATTEL. Have yet to see HASBRO in a LAT puzzle.

56. "Joking!": NOT

57. Author Hoag: TAMI. Saw her name mentioned in blog Comments section a few times.

58. Provide armed forces for: MILITARIZE

60. Enclosed in: AMID

61. Weather station gadget: ANEMOMETER. Wind-speed measuring instrument. Anemo is a prefix for "wind".

62. Related business products: LINE

Down:

1. Like neon: GASEOUS. Or INERT.

2. Polyurethane compound: ANILINE. Used in dyes. I only know ANIL, which is clued as "Indigo dye source" sometimes.

3. Arrives at last: ROLLS IN. Can you make a sentence for me?

4. Word on a candy heart: LUV. Timely. With the Valentine's Day tomorrow. I LUV U!

5. Turner and others: IKES

6. Proofreader's mark: CARET. ^

7. Moon Unit, to Dweezil: SISTER. Both Frank Zappa's kids. Very strange names.

8. Radio part: AM TUNER

9. Is dramatically revealed to, with "at": LEAPS OUT

10. To the point: TERSE

11. Opinion page perspective: EDITORIAL WE. Shouldn't it be "Opinion page pronoun"? "Perspective" is asking for a "view", no?

12. Foster title girl: SUSANNA. I am totally confused by the clue. Does it refer to this Susana Foster? Why "title girl" in the clue? (Updated later: The title girl refers to the song "Oh! Susanna" by Stephen Foster. Thanks, Al!)

14. Rutherford's predecessor: ULYSSES (Grant)

23. Disneyland's Matterhorn, once: E TICKET RIDE. I peeked at the cheat sheet.

25. Fronton gear: CESTAS. The jai alai on his right hand. Fronton is an arena for jai alai. New to me.

27. Southern address: YOU-ALL.

31. Rural mail letters: RFD (Rural Free Delivery)

33. Took in: SAW

35. "Suspicion" Oscar winner, 1941: FONTAINE (Joan). Sister of Olivia de Havilland. Both still alive.

37. Like some consonants, as the nasal "n": PALATAL

39. McCartney hit about his relatives: LET 'EM IN. Here is the clip. Doesn't ring a bell.

42. Soft coal: LIGNITE. Another new word. Lign(i) a prefix for "wood".

47. Period of self-indulgence: ME TIME

50. Samms and Lazarus: EMMAS

51. Not likely to be talked out of: SET ON. Obtained the answer from crosses. I don't like two SETs in one grid. See also 20A.

55. High holy man?: LAMA. Lamas live in Tibet, the highest region on earth, hence "High" in the clue?

59. Elmo's color: RED

Answer grid.

C. C.

Friday February 12, 2010 Kurt Mengel and Jan-Michele Gianette

Theme: Alter E (go) - Letters EE in the second word of a familiar phrase is changed to EA. Long E sound remains.

20A. Theft with a clean getaway?: STAINLESS STEAL. Play on Stainless Steel. "Clean" = STAINLESS.

25. Filling the shelves with no leftover merchandise or space?: STOCKING FEAT. Stocking Feet. Not a familiar expression to me.

47A. Loud signal when the fries are done?: POTATO PEALER. Potato Peeler. Groan on pealer.

55A. Yoko?: JAPANESE BEATLE. Japanese Beetle. Has Yoko Ono ever been referred to as a Beatle?

English is complicated. EE, EA, EI (Conceit), IE (Chief), EY (Key) all have the long E sound. So can letters E (Me) and I (Unique).

An easier than normal Friday for me. Maybe I mind-melded with the two constructors from the very start. Thoroughly enjoyed this puzzle.

Tricky & entertaining clues like AESOP (14A. Fabulous storyteller) aplenty. "Fabulous" here doubles as the adjective of fable and "incredible". Superb clue. AE here has a long E sound as well.

Across:

1. Big theme park star: SHAMU. SeaWorld star.

6. Fancy dance: BALL

10. Cookie fruit: FIGS. Fig Newton.

15. Reed instrument: OBOE

16. Katz of "Hocus Pocus": OMRI. "Sheaf of grain" in Hebrew. I can never remember his name. He's in "Dallas" also.

17. Mill input: GRIST. Gristmill.

18. Two-time 1980s skating gold medalist: WITT (Katarina). Got her name from crossings. German figure skater.

19. German wheels: OPEL

23. Bruise treatment: ICE

24. Corpulence: OBESITY

30. Manx, for one: CAT. The tail-less cat.

31. Insult: SLUR

32. Attractive locale: MECCA. Struggled with the answer. Tricky crossing clues.

36. Short range: A TO B

38. Play for time: STALL. Like filibuster.

41. [It's gone!]: POOF. Put in PFFT first.

42. No-frills: BASIC

44. Word repeated in a famous FDR quote: FEAR. "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."

46. St. whose northernmost division is Boundary County: IDA (Idaho). Drew a blank.

51. Without means of support?: BRALESS. Nailed it.

54. Mil. rank: SGT

60. Take too much of, briefly: OD ON. OD = Overdose.

61. Fictional plantation: TARA. In "Gone With the Wind".

62. They have their pride: LIONS. Pride = a group of lion.

65. __ Valley: Reagan Library site: SIMI. I mentioned this trivia in my writeup before.

66. 1940s-'50s NFLer __ "Crazylegs" Hirsch: ELROY. Nicknamed for his unusual running style. Total stranger to me.

67. Turndowns: NOES. Always thought the plural for NO is just NOS.

68. Carrier since 1948: EL AL. Israel achieved its independence in 1948 too. I liked trivia clues.

69. Heads to sea: SAILS

Down:

2. Bierce defines it "His": HERS. In his "The Devil's Dictionary", Ambrose Bierce defines "Hers" as "His". What does it mean? I don't get it.

3. "__ stands now ...": AS IT

4. Inlaid work: MOSAIC

5. Market advances: UPTICKS. Stock market, right?

6. Get a spare, perhaps: BOWL. My husband just bowled a 793 series.

7. Irish Rose's guy: ABIE

8. Plenty: LOTS OF

9. Doesn't bother with: LETS BE

10. Suspense movie sound: FOOTSTEP. Vivid clue. I can almost hear the sound.

11. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame architect: I. M. PEI. I was unaware that PEI designed the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He was born in Guangzhou, where I lived before moving to the US.

12. Epithet for many leaders, with "the": GREAT. Like Alexander/Catherine the Great.

13. Frivolous: SILLY

21. Diamond et al.: NEILS. Neil Diamond. I was thinking of the gemstone diamond of course.

22. Mine stratum: SEAM. New definition of seam to me.

25. Line crosser of a sort: SCAB

27. Plains natives: OTOS

28. Enthusiast: NUT

29. Plant connection: GRAFT. Didn't come to me readily.

33. Prepare to strike, snake-style: COIL. Very descriptive clue. Nice S alliteration.

34. It can't be understood until it's broken: CODE. Got me again.

35. Whence the wise men?: AFAR. This refers to the three wise men traveled afar to see infant Jesus, correct?

37. Some crop dusters: BIPLANES

40. End: LAPSE. End here is a verb (expire), isn't it?

43. Either of two filmmaking brothers: COEN. They grew up here in Minnesota.

45. Grandly entertains: REGALES

48. Fly over Africa?: TSETSE. Great clue. I am glad the old TMS "Half a fly?" days are over.

49. Go after with vigor: ASSAIL

50. Hun king: ATTILA. Attila the Hun.

51. He was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame the same year as Billie Jean: BJORN (Borg). In 1987. Easy guess.

52. Music player: RADIO

53. Strike __: model: A POSE. Nice pose.

57. Leave in a hurry, slangily: BAIL

58. Actress Petty: LORI. No idea. Looks like Buddy Holly's glasses.

59. Hydroxyl compound: ENOL. Four-letter compound is always ENOL.

63. Method: Abbr.: SYS (System)

Answer grid.

C.C.

Thursday February 11, 2010 Nancy Salomon

Theme: LOVE IS ALL AROUND (38 Across: 1968 Troggs Top 10 hit, and a hint to the hidden puzzle theme in the answers to starred clues) - All two-word theme answers start with LO and end with VE.

17 A. *"Get going!": LOOK ALIVE. Sounds from the past, Dennis?

24 A. *1986 Pulitzer-winning Western novel: LONESOME DOVE. By Larry McMurtry, made into a TV movie.

53 A. *Gunpowder, e.g.: LOW EXPLOSIVE. I didn't know this was a real term: They are compounds where the rate of decomposition proceeds through the material at less than the speed of sound. The decomposition is propagated by a flame front (deflagration) which travels much more slowly through the explosive material than a shock wave of a high explosive.

65. *Duffer's thrill: LONG DRIVE. Until it goes into the damn sand trap that some sadist figured out was exactly where a person would land on a par 5 double dog-leg. Not that I'd know about that, mind you...

Hi, all, Al guest blogging today.

A tricky puzzle, I thought. (18D. Big-time:) A LOT of clues seemed specifically designed to be misleading today. The theme actually helped me in a couple places today.

Across :

1. Holy pilgrimage: HADJ. Muslim obligation to visit Mecca at least once in their lifetime.

5. Kids' getaway: CAMP. Hello Mudda, Hello Fadda, here I am at, Camp Grenada.

9. "Gimme a break!": AW MAN

14. Nobelist Wiesel: ELIE

15. "This looks like trouble": UH-OH

16. Leonard Marx, familiarly: CHICO. The pianist Marx brother with the silly hat.

19. Peyotes, e.g.: CACTI. Lophophora Williamsii, the source of mescaline. Err, I've heard...

20. She played Donna in the film "Mamma Mia!": MERYL (Streep). Convincing actor, not nearly as convincing a singer. My wife and daughter liked the movie more than I did, but it was OK, I guess.

21. Sinus specialist, briefly: ENT. Ear, nose, and throat doctor. Not to be confused with an enterologist, who treats gastric problems.

23. Baseball Hall of Famer Speaker: TRIS. I only know him from crosswords.

28. Feel the heat: SWELTER. Not doing much of that lately.

31. Food critic Sheraton: MIMI. No Wiki entry?

32. "Bingo!": AHA. On the nose.

33. X-Games bike, briefly: BMX. Bicycle motocross. (an X is a cross).

35. Run at a red light?: IDLE. Hyper-milers turn the engine off.

44. Jeans joint: SEAM

45. Yield to gravity: SAG. Do you throw 'em o'er your shoulder, like a continental soldier...What? I meant ears, of course...

46. Sportage maker: KIA. An example of an SUV, or UTE.

47. Fresh response: SASS.

50. Serious-and-funny show: DRAMEDY. A portmanteau of DRAMA and COMEDY.

57. They're not returned: ACES. Tennis, volleyball, etc. serves.

58. Bosox great: YAZ. Carl Michael Yastrzemski. Also a birth control drug getting a lot of heat and lawsuits filed due to reputed side-effects.

59. Comforting comment: IT'S OK.

63. Parts partner: LABOR I worked at a Ford dealership parts counter for too long in an earlier life.

68. Native Alaskan: ALEUT

69. Treater's words: ON ME. A Spiller's words, too.

70. Persian Gulf land: IRAN.

71. __ and all: WARTS. I fully accept you, even with all your faults.

72. Prime minister before Rabin: MEIR. Golda.

73. Ancient British Isles settler: CELT. Celtic Woman


Down:

1. Bridge position: HELM. Aboard a ship, not the card game east or west seat, as I first wanted.

2. Burn balm: ALOE

3. Fashionable Christian: DIOR

4. Stevenson physician: JEKYLL. Dr. Henry. And Edward Hyde.

5. __-de-sac: CUL literally "bottom of the bag". A dead end.

6. Yellowfin tuna: AHI. Becoming a victim of overfishing.

7. Changes places: MOVES

8. Rising star: PHENOMenon

9. N.C. State's conference: ACC. Atlantic Coast Conference, A collegiate athletic league consisting of: Boston College, Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Maryland, Miami, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Virginia, Virginia Tech, and Wake Forest.

10. "Who, me?": WHAT'D I DO? Quite a few vernacular entries like this today.

11. Tiny: MICRO

12. When Brutus sees Caesar's ghost: ACT IV.

13. Hullabaloo: NOISE

22. "I didn't need to know that," informally: TMI. Too Much Information.

25. Birds' bills: NEBS.

26. Humorist Bombeck: ERMA

27. Islamic leader: EMIR

28. __ soda: SAL. Washing soda, sodium carbonate.

29. Grinch victims: WHOS. Dr. Seuss Christmas classic.

30. Place for Christmas lights: EAVE. Anyone else fall for the trap at first and put "tree"?

34. Tee choices: XLS. T-shirts, not golf tees for once.

36. Gospel writer: LUKE.

37. Camelot lady: ENID. Wife of Geraint in the Aurthur legend. I think she moved to Oklahoma eventually.

39. Removes gently: EASES OUT. umm, err, nope, not going there.

40. Eye-opening theater: IMAX. Image MAXimum.

41. Fellows: LADS

42. Rural prefix: AGRI. As in agriculture. Could have been AGRO as in agronomy.

43. Beatles' "A __ in the Life": DAY. I read the news today, oh boy.

48. Security threat: SPY. Actually in the computer world, the largest security threat is the legitimate users being naive, or simply not being careful

49. Course for weavers?: SLALOM. Skiing course, tricky clue.

51. Fired up: AVID

52. Like some weights: METRIC

53. Bochco series: LA LAW. How did Laurie Partridge ever find time to study law with all the touring her family did?

54. City NW of Orlando: OCALA. Near Silver Springs Park.

55. Brand on a patio, maybe: WEBER. Anyone still use charcoal for grilling anymore?

56. Hole site: OZONE. Another hot debate along with global warming.

60. Foal's parent: SIRE. Had MARE at first.

61. Rink, often: OVAL

62. Canterbury's county: KENT

64. Some NFL linemen: RTS. Right Tackles.

66. Feature of a two-ltr. monogram: NMI. No Middle Initial.

67. Neighbor of Aus.: GERmany. Austria's two-letter abbreviation is AT. Can you imagine if someone named Dot worked at the Austrian Department of Transportation and had to tell someone her email address? dot@dot.gov.at (say it out loud).

Answer grid.

Al

Wednesday February 10, 2010 Don Gagliardo

Theme: Nice Things - Common English nouns rooted in French. All playfully clued as if they were things from the French Riviera resort city Nice.

17A. Nice retinue?: ENTOURAGE. Like those bodyguards/nannies following the Jolie/Pitt clan.

21A. Nice nonpro?: AMATEUR. Bobby Jones is probably the most famous amateur athlete.

26A. Nice keepsake?: SOUVENIR. Lots of Twins 1987 World Series souvenirs in our house.

39A. Nice stand?: ETAGERE. The knickknack holder.

48A. Nice behind?: DERRIERE. And THONG (40D. It doesn't cover much of a 48-Across). Wish I had a "Nice behind".

55A. Nice rubdown?: MASSAGE

62A. Nice walk?: PROMENADE

24D. Nice squad?: BRIGADE. This word does not sound French, does it?

Bonus fill (The "l'amour" seeking skunk):

34D. With 53-Down, French toon who would be right at home in this puzzle?: PEPE

53D. See 34-Down: LE PEW

Nice puzzle, oui? Kazie should enjoy this one, given her passion for word origins and her mastery of French.

As Salinger did with silence, Don "Hard G" Gagliardo made an art of this often employed "Nice something" gimmick. Eight of the theme entries in perfect symmetry. Bravo Zulu! I think my favorite all time French wordplay is SEINE, clued as "Flower in Paris" or "Parisian Flower". Flow-er, thing that flows.

I also loved some of the long Down entries today, US TREASURY (28D. Govt. note issuer) in particular. I don't believe I've seen it in any grid before. Freshness (known known, not unknown unknown fresh words) is a big factor in my enjoyment of a puzzle.

As usual, Don has kindly provided us with a note of how he came up with the theme. I've attached it at the end of my write-up.

Across:

1. Struggle (through), as a tedious book: WADE. Or "... as a LAT Friday/Saturday puzzle".

5. Leatherworking tools: AWLS

9. Sheriff's star: BADGE

14. Incur additional cell phone charges, perhaps: ROAM

16. Gonzalez in 2000 headlines: ELIAN. I was still living in China. But the INS raid photo was everywhere.

19. Mel, "The Velvet Fog": TORME

20. Slob's opposite: NEATNIK. And TITANIC (45. Ill-fated vessel). Don't see K sound ending words in grid often.

23. Filmdom's Lupino: IDA

24. 'Hood bud: BRO

25. Prefix with mom, coined after historic 2009 births: OCTO. Prefix for "eight". The annoying Octomom.

30. Dying-out sound: PFFT. Gone!

32. Riddle: POSER. Puzzling stuff.

35. "Dropped" drug: LSD. The Timothy Leary drug.

38. Space bar neighbor on a PC: ALT. Had to look at my keyboard.

41. Wall St. news: IPO (Initial Public Offering). Or Hawaiian for "sweetheart". Hey, Ipo!

42. Spoil: MAR

43. "Thanks __!": A HEAP. Not an expression that I use.

44. Old beaker heaters: ETNAS. Named after the Sicily volcano.

46. Within: Pref.: ENTO. Opposite of EXO.

50. Actor Morales: ESAI

52. Phillies' div.: NLE (National League East). Shout-out to the big Phillies fans: Dennis & Barry Silk.

54. Tiny amount: BIT

57. Played some jazz numbers, say: DID A SET. Put ED at the end immediately. Dummy!

61. "__ be seeing things": I MUST

64. Ship-finding acronym: LORAN. Long-RAnge Navigation.

65. Overhang: EAVE. Not fond of singular form.

67. Refuse: SAY NO

68. "__ in Rome ...": WHEN. Do as the Romans do.

69. Site of a Lincoln profile: CENT

Down:

1. Small songbird: WREN. Look at how erect this wren's tail is. Has to be a "he", right, Lois?

2. Primo: A-ONE

3. Entered material: DATA

4. Eliciting feeling: EMOTIVE. Only know emotion.

5. Vikings running back Peterson who holds the NFL record for yards rushed in a single game: ADRIAN. Gimme for me/Jeannie/KQ. Lots of Adrian Peterson jersey wearers here in Minnesota.

6. Unsound, as an argument: WEAK

7. Relay race part: LEG

8. Asparagus unit: SPEAR. How do you like your asparagus prepared, Mainaic?

9. __ blocker: BETA

10. Umpteen: A LOT OF

11. Privileged connection: DIRECT LINE. The "Cold War connection" is HOT LINE.

12. Whole range: GAMUT. No A TO Z today.

13. It began on viernes in 2010: ENERO. Spanish for "January". Easy guess. I did not know viernes means "Friday".

18. Take in too little: UNDEREAT

22. One with a long face: MOPER

26. Cybertrash: SPAM. Irritating!

27. "Return of the Jedi" green-skinned dancer: OOLA. No idea. Why is she green-skinned? One O short of OOOLA, Alley Oop's girlfriend.

29. "Dies __": IRAE. Literally "wrath". "Dies Irae" = Day of Wrath. The Requiem Mass hymn.

31. Full scholarship, e.g.: FREE RIDE. Chinese government paid all my university education.

36. Have heated words: SPAR

37. Two tablets, say: DOSE

47. Maxima maker: NISSAN. Literally "Made in Japan". The Japanese Kanji character for SAN means "produce/make".

49. Cleanup hitters, briefly: RBI MEN. Like Justin Moreau, Twin's RBI man.

50. Actor Jannings and pianist Gilels: EMILS. Only know Emil Jannings, the first ever Oscar winner (1928).

51. South Pacific island nation: SAMOA. Capital is Apia.

56. Periodic table fig.: AT. NO. (Atomic Number)

57. Peace symbol: DOVE

59. "East of __": EDEN. The John Steinbeck novel. James Dean starred in the movie. Pretty good.

60. Means of determining proficiency: TEST

63. Cheer syllable: RAH

Constructor's note:

"The inspiration for this puzzle comes from Rich himself. Rich is adept at making a clue sound like it is going to be one thing, and it takes a clever turn. For example, in his puzzle from the Crosswords Club in January, a clue was “Plan for a chair”. Our minds are so attuned to thinking of “plan” as a verb in that situation that we read the clue and go “Huh?” The answer is AGENDA.

One tactic that has been employed by the LA Times puzzles that got me so many times was to start a phrase with the word “nice”, and then go on to describe some object that turns out to be French. “Nice hat” is CHAPEAU. “Nice house” is MAISON. I don’t know if those words actually appeared, but one can understand the effect. So after falling for this gag umpteen times, I decided to take it a step further. What if the word in French was actually a word that we use in English? So that is simply the basis of this puzzle. It still hasn’t cured me of seeing “Nice” and thinking in English, because we really do think reactively and quickly. By the way, the French place “Nice” is not pronounced like our English “nice” (it sounds like niece).

Answer grid.

C.C.

Tuesday, February 9, 2010 Julian Lim

Theme: A AND E (61A: "Dog the Bounty Hunter" network, and a hint to the theme in this puzzle's four longest answers) - Two-word familiar phrases starting with letters A & E.

17A: Using a treadmill, e.g.: AEROBIC EXERCISE. They mean actually using the machine for something besides throwing your clothes on.

26A: Regional air travel brand since 1984: AMERICAN EAGLE. Operating over 1,800 flights a day, serving 159 cities across the USA, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean, American Eagle is considered to be the world's largest regional airline system. Red, white and blue planes.

43A: Aviator who said "the lure of flying is the lure of beauty": AMELIA EARHART. Earhart was the first woman to receive the Distinguished Flying Cross, awarded for becoming the first aviatrix to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. She set many other records before disappearing on a flight over the Pacific, attempting to fly around the world

56A: Movie DVD special feature, perhaps: ALTERNATE ENDING. Some have multiple endings and you can choose which one you want.

Argyle again.

I keep looking for something more from the theme but I don't see it. Hm-m-m, 28 A's and 26 E's. Help me out C.C., is that a lot?

Across:

1A: Part of DMV: MOTOR

6A: Need a backrub, say: ACHE

10A: "__-daisy!": UPS-A. And 39A: "__ boy!": ATTA. 13D: "Hang on __": A SEC. All partials.

14A: Nobel Peace Prize winner Root: ELIHU. In 1912, as a result of his work to bring nations together through arbitration and cooperation, ELIHU Root(1845-1937) received the Nobel Peace Prize.

15A: Walk like a drunk: REEL

16A: Entre __ (between us): NOUS. (French)

20A: 29-Down, for one: DOE. 29D: Bambi's aunt: ENA

21A: The Beatles' "__ Loser": I'M A

22A: Relating to flight technology: AVIONIC

23A: Laurel and Getz: STANS. STAN Laurel, comedian with his partner, Oliver Hardy. STAN (The Sound) Getz, was a jazz saxophone player.

31A: Either Bush, e.g.: TEXAN. And KARL (51D: Bush advisor Rove). A Bush echo.

32A: Round-buyer's words: "ON ME". Music to my ears.

33A: Baker's meas.: TSP. (Teaspoon)

36A: Leftover bits: ORTS. Scraps from the table.

37A: "I don't think so!": "NO WAY!"

40A: On the authority of: PER

41A: Friend: CHUM

42A: Vietnamese, e.g.: ASIAN

47A: Corp. heads: CEOs

48A: Hospital staffer: NURSE

49A: Beer unit: SIX- PACK

52A: Former telecom giant: GTE

53A: Former Pakistani president: ZIA. General Muhammad ZIA-ul-Haq was the sixth President of Pakistan from 1977 to his death in 1988.

59A: Encircle: GIRD. Where we get girdle from.

60A: Fiber-rich food: BRAN

62A: Many MP-3 player batteries: AAAs

63A: Game with six colorful characters: CLUE. Miss Scarlet, Professor Plum, Mrs. White, Mr. Green, Mrs. Peacock(blue), and Colonel Mustard. The movie had three alternate endings. (For bonus points, name the butler.)

64A: Google alternative: LYCOS. Anyone have experience with it?

Down:

1D: Honeyed liquor: MEAD

2D: Land O'Lakes product: OLEO. And real butter, too.

3D: Run out of gas: TIRE. Automotive clue?

4D: "I've got you now!": "O HO!"

5D: Add insult to injury: RUB IT IN

6D: Major or Minor tarot card group: ARCANA. The trump cards and the Fool are "the major arcana" while the ten pip and four court cards in each suit are called minor arcana.

7D: So-so mark: CEE

8D: Penta- plus one: HEXA-. "Six" prefix.

9D: Mt. Fuji statistic: ELEV (Elevation). Or any mountain.

10D: Dweebish: UNCOOL

11D: Leaves for the holidays?: POINSETTIA. Nice misdirection. Leaves is noun here. Named after J. R. Poinsett (1799–1851), American minister to Mexico, who discovered the plant there in 1828. (Didn't know that.)

12D: Sleeping girl in an Everly Brothers hit: SUSIE. Clip They were Marine Reservists and there is a picture of them, with guitars, in their Dress Blues.(@ 0:44)

18D: All-in-one Apple computer: iMAC

19D: Crest: RIDGE

23D: Mmes., in Madrid: SRAS

24D: Kids' outdoor winter project: SNOW MAN. Bet there are a lot of them out there.

26D: Resting on: ATOP

27D: Trifling: MERE

28D: Old-time breaking news cry: "EXTRA, EXTRA!"

30D: Actress Adams of "Enchanted": AMY. Growl

34D: Marquee name: STAR

35D: Gasp: PANT

37D: Org. with Senators and Capitals: NHL. National Hockey League teams, the Ottawa Senators and the Washington Capitals.

38D: Québécois's approval: "OUI". What you might here from a Montreal Canadiens player. (Note the spelling.)

39D: Queens tennis stadium: ASHE. Named for tennis great, Arthur Ashe.

41D: Civil rights activist Chávez: CÉSAR. Mexican labor leader and civil rights activist.

42D: Munitions center: ARSENAL

44D: Bermuda rentals: MOPEDS. Here is a cute one.

45D: University of Oregon city: EUGENE

46D: Museo hangings: ARTE. Museo is Spanish/Italian for "museum".

47D: Eyelashes: CILIA

49D: The Star Wars films, e.g.: SAGA

50D: "Squawk Box" network: CNBC

53D: Brass component: ZINC. An alloy of copper and zinc used to make trombones.

54D: Prefix with China: INDO

55D: Awfully long time: AGES

57D: Fraternity letter: TAU. And shaped like a cross.

58D: Word before break or care: DAY

Answer grid.

Argyle

Monday, February 8, 2010 Jerome Gunderson

Theme: SHOOTING STARS (55A: Meteors, and what 20-, 28- and 48-Across all are) - Three diversely famous people known for their shooting skill.

20A: Pool legend portrayed by Jackie Gleason in "The Hustler": MINNESOTA FATS. The Hustler is a 1961 American drama film. It stars Paul Newman as Eddie Felson and Jackie Gleason as Minnesota Fats. "Fast Eddie" desires to prove himself the best player in the country by beating legendary pool player "Minnesota Fats."

28A: NBA center who was a three-time MVP: MOSES MALONE. A three-time NBA MVP and one of the NBA's 50 greatest players, Malone had a twenty-one year career in professional basketball. Although he was a high scorer, he is more famous for his rebounding (getting the ball after a shot misses). He currently resides in Sugarland, TX, a suburb of Houston. Quote: "What am I doing? I’m doing nothing, just relaxing and enjoying life. I did 21 years of hard labor in the NBA, invested my money right, so I’m set. I earned the right to relax and enjoy, you know?"

48A: Wild West show markswoman: ANNIE OAKLEY. She was an American sharpshooter. Oakley's amazing talent and rise to fame led to a starring role in Buffalo Bill's Wild West show. Using a .22 caliber rifle at 90 feet, Oakley reputedly could split a playing card edge-on and put five or six more holes in it before it touched the ground. (1860 – 1926).

Argyle here.

Without 55A, I'm not sure I would have made the connection. I felt the construction was uneven for a Monday. Mostly easy-peasey entries but a few tough ones, i.e.: 9A: John who married Pocahontas: ROLFE or 8D: Old music halls: ODEONS.

Give us your opinion; that is what we're here for.

Across:

1A: Grandmotherly nickname: NANA. Certainly better than the recent NANNIE.

5A: Hershey's caramel candy: ROLO

14A: The yoke's on them: OXEN. A spin on "the joke's on them."

15A: In the sack: ABED

16A: Sci-fi staple: ALIEN

17A: Small salamander: NEWT. A young NEWT is an eft.

18A: Therapist's response: "I SEE". And "How do you feel about that?"

23A: 1860s White House nickname: ABE. (Honest ABE Lincoln)

26A: Pecan or cashew: NUT

27A: Mingle at the party: MIX. If we all got together, would it be mixed nuts?

37A: Shoe without laces, e.g.: STEP IN

38A: Emulate Rembrandt: ETCH

39A: Holliday of the Old West: DOC

41A: Lady's man: GENT

42A: It's in the eye of the beholder: BEAUTY. Check out the daisies at the bottom.

45A: Caveman Alley: OOP. Cute clue. Alley OOP was/is a comic strip character known for riding on his dinosaur with his girlfriend, Ooola.

51A: __ Lanka: SRI

52A: Food from a shell: EGG

54A: Immigrant's subj.: ESL. (English as a Second Language)

61A: Dog from Wales: CORGI. Used for herding.

62A: Supermodel Macpherson: ELLE. Another candidate for areoles?

63A: Hops drier: OAST. Easy for me. Difficult for you?

67A: Age, as tires: WEAR

68A: "__, be a pal!": C'MON

69A: Actress Zellweger: RENEE

70A: Stitches: SEWS

71A: Mild-mannered Clark: KENT. Superman's secret identity.

Down:

1D: Oui's opposite: NON

2D: Gave the __: fired: AXE

3D: Arizonan's neighbor: NEW MEXICAN

4D: Naysayer: ANTI

5D: Word with trout or sherbet: RAINBOW

6D: Fixated: OBSESSED. Like some of our anons.

7D: Majors and Trevino: LEES. Lee Majors is an actor; Lee Trevino is a professional golfer. (Senior Circuit now.)

9D: Sound from a woodpecker: RAT-A-TAT

10D: Name of several Norwegian kings: OLAF

11D: Peru's capital: LIMA

12D: Tootsies: FEET. I disagree; tootsies are just the toes to me.

13D: Conclusions: ENDS

21D: War site during LBJ's presidency: NAM. (Vietnam)

22D: Antacid brand: TUMS

23D: One-celled organism: AMOEBA. Finally with the extra "O".

24D: Attacked by Dracula, say: BITTEN

29D: Novel on the Net: E-BOOK

30D: Kid's interlocking block: LEGO

31D: Ali Baba's magical command: "OPEN SESAME"

32D: California NFL team, briefly: NINERS. San Francisco Forty Niners.

33D: Involve: ENTAIL

35D: Feng __: Chinese aesthetic system: SHUI. Literally translates as "water".

40D: Picnic side: COLESLAW

43D: Line on a golf course schedule: TEE TIME

44D: Hindu mystic: YOGI

46D: Tin alloys: PEWTERS

49D: Former V.P. Spiro and family: AGNEWS. (Nixon's V.P.)

50D: Affirmative vote: YEA

55D: Al Capone feature: SCAR

56D: Sock darner's target: HOLE. This is an interesting darner's egg; if you could afford a Sterling silver egg, why not buy new socks?

57D: Algerian port: ORAN

58D: Giant who's not jolly: OGRE

59D: Joy: GLEE

60D: Heavy metal is a subgenre of it: ROCK

64D: Leif, to Eric the Red: SON. Norse explorers.

65D: Blowup letters?: TNT

Here is Jeannie's Daisies painted by WM. Also, Happy Two Year Anniversary with Crossword Corner, Crockett! Here is his first ever comment.

Answer grid.

Argyle

Sunday February 7, 2009 Dan Naddor

Theme: Heros Welcome - SUB (hero sandwich) is inserted into familiar phrases.

23A. Confidential town green projects?: (SUB) ROSA PARKS. Base phrase is civil rights activist Rosa Parks. "Sub rosa" is literally "under the rose" in Latin. From the old practice of hanging a rose over a meeting as a symbol of confidentiality.

28A. Inferior salad dressing ingredient?: (SUB)STANDARD OIL. Standard Oil.

33A. What a white flag indicates?: COMBAT (SUB)MISSION. Combat Mission.

50A. Pine tar?: BATTING (SUB)STANCE. Batting Stance. Baseball players use pine tar (substance) to improve grips on balls/bats.

65A. Early 1600s threat to the English throne?: KING JAMES (SUB)VERSION. King James Version. King James reigned from 1567 to 1625.

82A. Government overseer of the mortgage crisis?: (SUB)PRIME MINISTER. Prime Minister.

94A. Dannon disciples?: YOGURT (SUB)CULTURE. Yogurt Culture. The good bacteria, right, Al?

101A. Bookkeeper's gift?: (SUB)TOTAL RECALL. Total Recall.

115A. Sensational sapphire, say?: (SUB) LIME STONE. Limestone.

Just what we always expect from Dan Naddor: heavy themage, fun & long theme entries and playful clues. All of the SUBs are nicely sandwiched in. Yogurt Culture is the only base phrase I am not familiar with. I also did not know that the plural form for hero is heros when it means hero sandwiches.

Jazzbumpa should love this puzzle. Lots of music references in the grid:

41A. Musical work: OPUS

54A. Song for which Pavarotti won a 1980 Grammy: 'O SOLE MIO. Here is a clip. Italian for "My Sun".

58A. "Evita" role: CHE. The "Evita" narrator.

119A. Stereo knob: TREBLE

6D. "Red Seal" record co.: RCA

17D. "Dedicated to the __ Love": 1960s hit: ONE I. Easy guess.

31D. Very, in music: ASSAI (uh-SAHY). What's Italian for "enough"? Similar to Assai, isn't it?

33D. Jazzy Laine: CLEO. Nope. Complete stranger.

50D. Key with five sharps: Abbr.: B MAJ. I blanked.

51D. Concert souvenirs: STUBS

70D. Jazz club unit: SET

99D. Tuba's first note?: OOM. Oom-pah is the rhythmical sound made by a tuba.

My favorite clues today are the three with "it":

21A. It's not free of charge: ION. Ion is charged atom.

27A. It might be a bust: STATUE. Indeed.

35D. It may be held at lunchtime: MAYO. Related to today's SUB theme.

Across:

1. Zingers: BARBS

6. Dennis in comics, e.g.: RASCAL. Shout-out to our morel guy Dennis who loves flying United. And URCHIN (43D. Ragamuffin).

12. Phone button letters: GHI. The 4 button.

15. Prince William's alma mater: ETON

19. Voodoo relative: OBEAH (OH-bee-uh). In West Indies. I can never remember this sorcery name.

20. Iron target: CREASE. Was imagining a golf iron.

22. One of a 15th century trio: NINA. Columbus's ship.

25. Old English pub proprietors: ALEWIVES

30. Gillette razor: ATRA

45. Slightest: LEAST

46. Metallic money: SPECIE. The coined money. Same root as species?

47. Chaperon: ESCORT

49. Big name in ice cream: EDY. Edy's. To be exact.

57. U.S. security: T-NOTE. Treasury security.

60. "Tahitian Women on the Beach" artist: GAUGUIN (Paul). Here is the painting.

64. Trounce: WHIP

71. Divide: PART

72. Wave through, as at a guard station: LET PASS

73. Reef dweller: EEL. Did not know eels dwell in reefs.

74. "Just as I thought!": OHO

75. Grave: ACUTE. As in grave/acute shortage of food/medical supplies in Haiti.

77. Hostage negotiator's group: SWAT TEAM

88. Letters before F?: TGI. Oh, TGIF. I wanted CDE, thinking of alphabet.

89. Vehicle with caterpillar treads: SNO-CAT. No idea. Why "caterpillar treads"?

90. Wicker material: RATTAN

91. Procyon or Canopus: F STAR. Always at a total loss of the star classification.

93. Vittles: EATS

99A. Welsh actress Tessie: O'SHEA. Sorry, don't know you. I am used to Milo O'Shea clue. Also not familiar with LILI (109D. Taylor of "Six Feet Under"), which is often clued as "Leslie Caron film". CLEO (33D) also has also a new clue today. Rich Norris is in "Change I Can" mood.

100. Next in line: HEIR. In line to succeed a title.

110. Looked like a wolf: LEERED

114. '60s Defense secretary: MCNAMARA (Robert)

117. Server of many kosher meals: EL AL. The Israeli airline.

118. Sylvester, to Tweety: TAT. Puddy Tat (pussy cat). Not familiar with "The Sylvester and Tweety" at all. Filled in SLY.

120. Malfunction: ACT UP

121. Sing the blues: WAIL. Mournfully. Nice clue.

122. That, in Tijuana: ESO. Or ESA.

123. Becomes pervasive: SETS IN

Down:

1. Head honcho: BOSS. We often see the abbreviated EXEC.

2. Touch: ABUT

4. Drinkers may run them: BAR TABS

5. Berate loudly: SHOUT AT

7. Some dadaist works: ARPS. Jean Arp. Dada pioneer.

8. 12-time Pro Bowl NFLer Junior: SEAU. Now with the Patriots. I simply remember his name as S-EAU.

9. Low-__ diet: CARB

10. Solicits: ASKS

11. For fear that: LEST

12. Designer Versace: GIANNI. Only know his surname.

13. Not abandon, as principles: HOLD TO

14. Sincerely: IN EARNEST

15. Seat of Oklahoma's Garfield County: ENID. Four letter Oklahoma name, what else could it be?

16. Modern recorder: TIVO

18. Cosmos' org.: NASL (North American Soccer League). I've never heard of NY Cosmos.

24. Spanish muralist: SERT (José María).

26. Like some humor: WRY

29. DDE opponent: AES (Adlai E. Stevenson)

34. Refs. that take up lots of shelf space: OEDS. OED = Oxford English Dictionary.

37. Get in the pool: BET. Of course I was thinking of swimming pool.

38. Old AT&T rival: MCI. Now Verizon.

39. "There's no __ team": I IN. Said Michael Jordon.

40. Line part: Abbr.: SEG

41. Andean stew veggie: OCA. Learned these veggies from doing crossword.

42. Something to save for a rainy day: PONCHO. Use ponchos as raincoat?

44. Expensive: STEEP

48. Fr. holy woman: STE (Sainte)

52. Place to get your B.S.: UNIV

53. Token concession: BONE. Throw a couple of bones. Got me.

55. Navel buildup: LINT

56. Tiny bit of work: ERG. The tiny work unit. Fraction of a joule.

60. "__ while they're hot!": GET 'EM

61. Nile biter: ASP. Play on "nail biter".

63. Gloomy guy: GUS

64. Chamberlain of the NBA: WILT. Braggart.

65. Hawaiian priest: KAHUNA. Hey, finally a Hawaiian reference.

66. Collection in which Asimov's story "Robbie" appears: I, ROBOT

68. Hand (out): METE

69. Keister: REAR

71. Riders after robbers: POSSE

75. Heavenly altar: ARA. Latin for "altar".

76. Carthage, for one: CITY STATE. I peeked at the answer sheet.

77. Attempt: STAB

78. Lusty lass: WENCH. I don't associate wench with "lusty".

79. Words following Casca's "Speak, hands, for me!": ET TU. "Et tu, Brute?". Was unaware of what preceded Caesar's last line.

80. Food thickener: AGAR

81. Bog down: MIRE

83. Staples staples, briefly: PCS. The office staples at Staples.

84. Discount rack abbr.: IRR

87. Disco __ of "The Simpsons": STU

91. Charges: FLIES AT. New idiom to me.

92. Track straightaway: STRETCH. Racing track?

95. Mitchell family: O'HARAS. Margaret Mitchell. "Gone With the Wind''.

96. Trattoria dessert: GELATO

97. Former Mideast inits.: UAR (United Arab Republic). The union between Egypt and Syria from 1958 to 1961. Don't confuse it with UAE (United Arab Emirates)

98. River to the Ubangi: UELE (WEY-luh). Probably only Barry Silk knows. He used it in an old TMS puzzle before. UELE is on the upper right corner. The word Ubangi is on the upper middle part, under "Central African Republic".

101. Diving duck: SMEW

102. Bruins' home: UCLA

103. __ B'rith: B'NAI. Literally "Sons of" in Hebrew. B'nai B'rith = Sons of the Covenant. Strange apostrophes.

104. Towering: TALL

105. Round nos.: ESTS (Estimates)

106. Restore to health: CURE. HEAL too.

107. Aid's partner: ABET

108. Overseas bar degs.: LLBS. In England. Barrister's deg.

111. Memorization: ROTE

113. Interior, e.g.: Abbr.: DEPT. Department of Interior.

Just discovered Frenchie's blog this morning. Nice photos.

Answer grid.

C.C.

Saturday February 6, 2010 Barry Silk

Theme: None

Total words: 68

Total blocks: 30

Terrific pair of grid-spanning 15-letter Down entries:

3D. "You may be asking too much": THAT'S A TALL ORDER. Me finish a Barry Silk themeless sans cheating? That's a tall order!

12D. Leader played by Rod Steiger in the 1981 Libyan film "Lion of the Desert": BENITO MUSSOLINI. Nickname Il Duce ('The Leader"), which appears as a crossword fill sometimes. But never his full name. Refreshing! I've never seen the movie. But Libya was an Italian colony during WWII.

Both of them intersect with what I think the seed entry of this puzzle: WAXING GIBBOUS (36A. Phase in which the moon's right half is mostly visible in the Northern Hemisphere). See this sequential order.

Except the lower left corner, the triple stacks of 7s in other three quadrants all posed various troubles for me. As the norm with Barry Silk puzzle, there are always new words/names for me to learn. And the clues. Tricky clues. I've now fully realized how it's the cluing that makes a puzzle more difficult. Misdirections aplenty.

Across:

1. Where some colonies are studied: ANT FARM. Ant colonies. I was thinking of the political colonies.

8. Milky Way cousin: MARS BAR. The chocolate bar. Of course, I fell into the Milky Way galaxy trap.

15. "Ditto": SO HAVE I. One letter too short for MOI AUSSI.

16. Eisenhower library site: ABILENE (AB-uh-leen). In central Texas. Where Eisenhower attended high school. Stumper for me. (Corrected later: It's Abilene, Kansas. Thanks, Windhover).

17. Turkish travel shelters: IMARETS (i-MAHR-et). No idea. It's Turkish for "building".

18. Año's 52: SEMANAS. Spanish for "weeks". New word to me also.

19. Final touch on a letter?: DOT. This letter refers to i, right?

20. Stretched: CRANED. Stretched the neck.

22. Weaken: WILT

23. While beginning: ERST. Erstwhile.

25. River to the Baltic: ODER. The German/Polish border river.

26. TV host Pennington et al.: TYS. Host of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition". Unknown figure to me.

27. Mail-order pioneer: SEARS

29. "Sands of Iwo Jima" director Allan: DWAN. I wanted ALDA.

31. Creep: BOZO. "Creep" has a pervert meaning to me. Not bozo though.

32. Word with bar or god: TIKI. Funny clue.

34. Carnegie associates: STEELMEN

38. "Franny and Zooey" author: SALINGER. Timely entry. So many curses in "Catcher in the Rye".

39. Scraps: ROWS. Put down ORTS.

40. Energy company founder Halliburton: ERLE. Who knows? OK, Dick Cheney!

41. Initial step, metaphorically: A TO B

43. Passover month: NISAN. The Seder month.

46. Old Eastern capital: EDO. Tokyo, before 1868. Why is Eastern capitalized?

47. Genre of the 1963 hit "Wipe Out": SURF. Here is a clip. Barry loves "The Beach Boys".

49. Extent of damage: TOLL

50. Hair line?: PART. The clue works well without the question mark too.

52. Auto debut of 1958: IMPALA. And MASERATI (8D. Luxury car with a trident emblem). The latter is alien to me. Owned by Fiat.

54. Practiced profession: LAW. Alliteration.

55. Pyrenees republic: ANDORRA. The tiny Tiny country between France and Spain.

57. Cold War link: HOT LINE. "13 Days" is a great movie about Cuban Missile Crisis. The hot line worked!

59. Emblem of power: SCEPTER

60. "Honey, I Blew Up the Kid" star: MORANIS (Rick). Nope. His face does looks familiar though.

61. Most clipped: TERSEST

62. T.E. Lawrence, for one: ARABIST. A specialist in Arabic culture. T.E. Lawrence is of "Lawrence of Arabia" fame. I confused him with D. H. Lawrence.

Down:

1. Spoken thoughts, in a way: ASIDES. I don't quite get the clue.

2. "Enough!": NO MORE

4. Successful way to go?: FAR. "Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far."

5. Paris preposition: AVEC. Voulez-vous coucher avec moi (ce soir)?

6. In again: RETRO. Like baseball jerseys.

7. Get a wrong number: MIS-ADD. Not telephone number!

9. Retired: ABED. Retired to bed! Man, sure need to have a different mind to solve a Saturday.

10. Volcano part: RIM. Clueless. All I know about volcano is the Holy Hotwick hot flow-er lava.

11. Potluck dish: SLAW

13. Breaks down: ANALYZES

14. Leans against, perhaps: RESTS ON

21. Usenet message repository: NEWSGROUP. Usernet newsgroup.

24. "The Honeymooners" role: TRIXIE. Could only think of Ralph/Alice.

28. Pelt: SKIN

30. First st. to join the Union after the end of the Civil War": NEBR. New trivia to me.

31. Mess up: BLOW IT. I did, with this puzzle. However, there's some greatness in my wrongness.

33. Co-worker of Igor and Frau Blücher in "Young Frankenstein": INGA. No idea. Played by Teri Garr.

35. Dark, in verse: EBON. Black, poetically.

36. Pre-combat ritual: WAR DANCE

37. 2008 Steve Carell film based on a '60s sitcom: GET SMART. Nailed it. Silly movie.

38. Overlook, as a fault: SEE PAST

42. Hindu god of creation: BRAHMA. The Hindu "Creator". Vishnu is the Preserver and Shiva the Destroyer.

44. Self-titled 1991 debut album: ALANIS. From Alanis Morissette.

45. Padres' div.: NL WEST. National League West. Always prepared to have a baseball or Philadelphia reference in Barry's puzzle.

48. Stun: FLOOR

51. Lids: TOPS

52. Gets hot: IRES. Ire is always a noun to me.

53. Popular blade: ATRA. The Gillette razor.

58. Research facility: LAB. A rare "honest" and straightforward clue.

Answer grid.

C.C.