Friday March 26, 2010 Gary Steinmehl

Theme: THE POWER OF TEN (51A. Exponential measurement, and in a way, what's demonstrated in how answers were formed in 20-, 34- and 41-Across?) - IO, which looks like Arabic number 10 in a way, is attached to the end of each common phrase.

20A. Barbecue area without chairs?: STANDING PAT(IO). Standing Pat.

34A. Relative value used in a scientific workplace?: LABORATORY RAT(IO). Laboratory Rat.

41A. Small apartment for a comical septet?: SEVEN CARD STUD(IO). Seven-Card Stud. Poker game. (Card is a slang for someone who is comical/facetious. Thanks, Dennis.)

Then we also have OHIO (63A. One of Pittsburgh's Three Rivers). OH, IO, marvelous! Did you guys catch the IO & 10 connection immediately? I hope Bill G did. He just encountered a similar gimmick in another puzzle.

I really like the theme tie-in entry THE POWER OF TEN. It certainly spices up our regular add/delete/substitute a letter string Friday fare, exponentially.

The four 9-letter non-theme answers all crumbled easily for me, with their straightforward clues. Did struggle a bit with a few short entries, very deceptive clues with several alternative answers.

Across:

1. Sugar substitute?: DEAR. Endearment "Sugar" substitute. The intersecting DOT (1D. Pointillism unit) prevented me from filling in BABY/BABE. Shout-out to our Dot, whose husband Irv will be 96 years old at the end of this month. Possibly the oldest crossword solver in our group.

5. Flirtation: PASS

9. Travel needs, perhaps: VISAS. Travel abroad.

14. End of an estimate: OR SO

15. Rival rival: ALPO. Not familiar with the pet food brand Rival.

16. __ coffee: IRISH. I wanted TEA OR.

17. Hobart resident: TASMANIAN. Did not know Hobart is the capital of Tasmania, though the answer appeared rather swiftly.

19. Lip-smacking: TASTY.

22. Certain mil. member: NCO

23. Gray head?: LEE (R. E. ). The Civil War "Gray" side. Great clue.

24. Cereal ingredient: BRAN

27. Stallone role: RAMBO. Did you want ROCKY also?

31. Plant activity: Abbr.: MFG (Manufacturing)

38. Lost a lap?: AROSE. Mine was STOOD. At least, I was in the correct "lap" direction.

39. Padre's hermana: TIA. Hermana is Spanish for "sister". Father's sister = Aunt. Several Spanish references in the grid.

40. Snacking (on) to excess: OD'ING. Overdosing.

44. Before, in verse: ERE

45. Backspace, often: ERASE. And ERROR (61. What an X may indicate).

46. "O, gie me the __ that has acres o' charms": Burns: LASS. I peeked at the answer sheet. Have ne'er heard of the poem.

47. Word-word link: FOR. Word for word. FOR links word & word.

49. Pres. between JAG and GC: CAA (Chester A. Arthur). JAG = James A Garfield. GC = Grover Cleveland. Stumped me. Gimme, Melissa?

58. Bread: MOOLA. Tough without the question mark.

59. Like clones: IDENTICAL

62. Supply, as paper to a copier: FEED

64. California baseballer: GIANT. Could also be ANGEL.

65. Signs: INKS

66. Chuck __, only coach to win four Super Bowls: NOLL. With the Steelers. Learning moment for me.

Down:

3. __ mgr.: ASST

4. Prominent facial feature: ROMAN NOSE

5. Ill-fated opener of myth: PANDORA. Pandora's Box.

6. Et __: and others: ALII. Masculine plural. Et alia is neutral plural. Et aliae is feminine plural.

7. Bridge: SPAN

8. Berlin number: SONG. Irving Berlin. I bet Kazie was in the German "number" direction too.

9. Curriculum __: VITAE. CV. Resumé.

10. Fit to be tied: IRATE

11. Spanish ayes: SI SI

12. Reference words: AS TO

13. Unassuming: SHY. Was surprised by how unassuming Andre Agassi is in his various interviews.

18. Mandela's gp.: ANC (African National Congress)

21. Gamer's maneuver: PLOT. (Added later: The answer should be PLOY. Sorry for the error.)

24. Apathetic: BLASE

25. Harder to dig up: RARER. Harder to find (dig up), like a Mint/Near Mint condition Mickey Mantle Topps 1956.

26. Upstairs: ABOVE

28. Fragrant oil: ATTAR. Rose oil.

29. Kelly of "One Tree Hill": MOIRA. First encounter with this actress. She looks demure.

30. Wire fasteners: BRADS

31. Highest peak on Crete: Abbr.: MT. IDA. Got me again. MT always give me trouble.

32. "Done!": FINIS. I sure need a French hint in the clue.

33. "We Got the Beat" singers: GO-GO'S. Here is the clip. I cheated.

35. TV Chihuahua: REN. Ren and Stimpy.

36. Baloney: ROT

37. Excessive flattery: ADULATION

42. Uno minus uno: CERO. Spanish for "zero" I suppose.

43. They can ruin diets: SECONDS. Really?

47. Pen resident: FELON. The prison "pen". I just can't get pigs out of my mind. I am a Pig. Can't be friends with those who are born in the year of Snake.

48. Illusionary genre: OP ART

50. Back on the water: AFT. Back of the boat.

51. Famous Amos: TORI. Tori Amos. Loved the sweet "Famous Amos" clue. What's your favorite cookie?

52. Joyful group dance: HORA

53. Coffeehouse connection: WIFI

54. 1950s British prime minister: EDEN (Anthony). Prime Minister from 1955-1957. Succeeded Churchill on the latter's second term.

55. Offend the olfactories: REEK. Thanks for the ODOR explanation yesterday, everyone.

57. Pointed fastener: NAIL

58. Unit of RAM: MEG (Megbyte). I was thinking of the component word unit for RAM (Random Access Memory).

60. Texter's tehee: LOL.

Answer grid.

Picture of the Day: Here is a happy photo of our gifted linguist Kazie and her husband in front of the Little Rock Capitol Building. The picture was taken last Friday March 19, 2010.

On the front page of the blog, there is a Blog Photo sidebar. Please email me (crosswordc@gmail.com) your picture if you want to be included in our virtual family. Thanks.

C.C.

Interview with Jeff Chen

Jeff Chen made his LA Times debut on July 3, 2009 with a fascinating "Set In" puzzle, in which four familiar phrases are subjected to literal cluing and twisting. For example, THE ELEPHANT ROOM is clued as "It's too important to ignore, literally", a word play on "Elephant in the Room".

And many of us enjoyed his last FALL puzzle (FALL can be added to each descending theme entry to form a common word). It has a very simple & elegant visual image. Jeff gave us more in-depth analysis on that puzzle in today's interview. He might provide us with his inspiration for today's "Four of a Kind" puzzle in the Comments section if he finds time later today.

How did the FALL theme idea come to you? And what kind of troubles did you go through to make the grid work?

After doing the New York Times and Los Angeles Times puzzles every day for about six months, I began to wonder why they always had horizontal theme entries, hardly ever vertical. I thought it would be fun to put a theme together that play off of vertical answers. One item on my running list of ideas was "words that can be followed by the word FALL" (this was back in August), but I had put it on the back-burner because both the LAT and NYT were going away from that over-used type of puzzle theme. But tying it to a vertical set of answers seemed like it might make it fresh enough to get accepted. Luckily, Rich agreed!

Theme and block placement is a fun puzzle in itself. Most of the time it's not so difficult to come up with a set of placements, unless you have more than 4 theme entries, or most of your entries are 12 or 13 letters long. Both conditions restrict the amount of space you can put between theme entries, due to the rules of crosswords. Having more space between theme entries gives you more flexibility in coming up with a clean fill. This particular grid was only challenging because I couldn't get my mind to work with vertical answers. Once I flipped everything to construct horizontally, it didn't take long. Simple matter to switch the grid diagonally after that.

You mentioned earlier on our blog that "Trying to anticipate solvers' "aha" moments as well as points of frustration has been a great exercise in creativity". Which entries did you think would give the solvers the "Aha" moments and which ones did you expect some groans or frustration?

I like the idea of people wondering why theme entries tie together while they work their way through the puzzle, then all of a sudden figuring it out in a little moment of happiness. I hoped that the answer FALL being in the bottom corner would do that. I also like looking for odd words and phrases to put in after the main answers, such as THWACK. I don't know why, but that word makes me laugh.

Perhaps the most important thing I've picked up from reading blogs (thank you all!) is that solvers (maybe above all else), hate being frustrated or bored when doing what should be an entertaining diversion to the day. Therefore, I try to work really hard in avoiding "crosswordese", partials, or little known names. Sometimes this means completely redoing a grid from the start, but for me it's worth it.

What is it like to work with Rich Norris? What have you learned about his theme/fill preferences?

I've really enjoyed working with Rich. I agree with his notion that it's a high priority is to avoid those annoying words and partials that only crossword fanatics know. He's very responsive, and spends time thinking about what his audience would like. An example of his responsiveness: I was curious how to get more crosswords published, so asked him what he needed more of. He was quick to answer that he could use fresh, easy Monday level puzzles, as well as Sundays, so I've been focusing my efforts on those. It's nice to go back and forth with him on puzzles.

What's your background? And what prompted you to construct your first crossword?

I got my Mechanical Engineering BS and MS in 1993/1994, and worked for seven years in product design consulting. I loved working on medical devices, which I felt could help so many people with the quality and length of their lives. I went to business school to make a career change toward more decision-making, and helped a friend start a pharmaceutical company in 2002, Acucela Inc. We did a nice deal in 2008 so I decided to leave the company, travel, and work more with local non-profits.

I enjoy all kinds of puzzles (one of my goals in life is to finish top 50 in the Google World Puzzle Championship qualifying exam), but for some reason shied away from crosswords. A friend got me into them two years ago, and I couldn't believe what I'd been missing. Not too long after, I decided that another goal of mine would be to get one published.

How does becoming a constructor affect the way you solve & enjoy a puzzle?

I find that I stare at and analyze grids before I even start solving. I love seeing a Monday puzzle with wide-open space, an odd grid where someone bends a rule but comes up with something interesting, or especially when a constructor manages to stuff a puzzle with goodies without compromising the solver's fun factor.

What kind of puzzles do you solve every day? And who are your favorite constructors?

Due to time constraints, I just do the LA Times and the NY Times daily, and CrossSynergy on Sundays. Another of my goals is to be able to solve the NYT Saturday regularly, but I'm still a long ways off. About 75% of the time I can almost finish the NYT Friday. There's usually a small pocket of squares that causes me to bang my head against the wall.

I enjoy the variety within constructors, but I look forward to, and simultaneously shudder, when I see Bob Klahn's name on a themeless puzzle. KLAHN!!! It's tough to beat Elizabeth Gorski when it comes to visual puzzles. She's amazingly productive and creative. I could go on and on about all the great constructors out there.

Besides crossword, what else do you do for fun?

I rock climb, mostly indoors, where yet another goal of mine is to consistently boulder V5 problems (intermediate difficulty stuff). Other climbers sometimes wonder why I spend so much time on my computer there! I love playing bridge, and have a small group of people I play with semi-regularly. I also spend a lot of time in investment management - I help out with a couple of friends and family with their portfolios. I have another goal (tired of listening to my goals yet?) of setting up three friends so they get married, before I turn 40. I only have two years left now, but two friends are getting married in July, so it's still possible! I also play Ultimate Frisbee with my team, "Genghis Khan Wild". Finally, I volunteer with several local non-profits in Seattle: Big Brothers Big Sisters of Puget Sound, Treehouse for Kids, GambiaHELP, Passages Northwest. It's been great to see Obama's call to action spur so many young people to action. I hope it continues!

Thursday March 25, 2010 Jeff Chen

Theme: Four of a Kind - Theme answers are clued with four identical question marked capitalized letters which are pronounced the same as the real hidden clues.

20A. CCCC? (4 C's, pronounced like "foresees"): TELLS THE FUTURE

39A. AAAA? (4 A's, pronounced like "forays"): MILITARY ATTACKS

56A. TTTT? (4 T's, pronounced like "forties"): CHILLY FORECAST

This puzzle reminds of Ashish Vengsarkar's NY Times July 30, 2009 puzzle. Ashish clued EEEE (Ease) as "Facility", QQQQ (Cues) as "Signals" and TTTT (Tease) as "Razz".

Sharon E. Petersen's last LAT has an interesting twist too. Among her theme answers are: CC (Seize) THE DAY (clued as "Time is fleeting" philosophy?) and GG (Jeez) LOUISE (clued as "Good grief!"?)

Anyway, today's theme answers themselves are not very interesting, they seldom are when clues and answers switch positions. But the theme concept itself is so inventive & fun. Jeff Chen has a imaginative mind.

Lots of four-letter words with straightforward cluing, guess that's why I had a easier time earlier.

Across:

1. Torah holders: ARKS

5. Dishonorable types: CADS. We also have NE'ER (67. ____-do-well).

9. Gets off the road, in a way: PLOWS. Get snow off the road I suppose.

14. Spear or pepper follower: MINT. Do you like peppermint tea?

15. End of grace: AMEN

16. Sound portion: AUDIO. The visual portion is VIDEO.

18. Pro __: RATA. Pro rata = In proportion.

19. Spills carelessly: SLOPS

23. Amount consumed: INTAKE

24. Yokel: RUBE

25. Bird was one, briefly: CELT. Larry Bird. Boston Celtics.

27. Hemingway's Santiago, in the story's title: OLD MAN. The title character in "The Old Man and the Sea".

32. Pontificate: ORATE

35. Jessica of "Good Luck Chuck": ALBA. I've never seen the movie. Sounds silly.

42. "Get outta here!": SCAT

43. Coward of the stage: NOEL. Noel Coward.

44. Clarifying words: ID EST. The full form of i.e.. Latin for "that is". I fell prey to I MEAN.

45. Inchon native: KOREAN. Inchon is a seaport in W South Korea.

49. Deli option: TUNA

52. Hunk: ADONIS. A reverse of our recent "Adonis"/HUNK clue. He is my ideal Adonis.

60. Santa __: Silicon Valley city: CLARA. So many CA references in LA Times puzzle.

61. Fuzz: LINT

62. DEA agent's discovery: KILO. DEA uses kilo rather than pound as drug unit?

63. Big jerks: BOZOS

64. Ocean predator: ORCA

65. Penultimate fairy tale word: EVER. "... and they lived happily EVER after.". Also ONCE (59D. Fairy tale opener). Nice fairy tale clue echos.

66. Used up: SPENT

68. Information __: DESK

Down:

1. Valuable violin: AMATI. Another one is STRAD. Loved "The Red Violin". Very real depiction of chaos during Chinese Cultural Revolution.

2. Like baked dough: RISEN. The dough is already risen before it's baked, isn't it?

3. Prepared to speak to a tot, maybe: KNELT. Nice new clue.

4. Overhead projection?: STALACTITE. It hangs from the roof of a cavern, formed from the dripping of mineral-rich water. Shaped like icicle. New word to me.

5. Monopoly: CARTEL

6. Eastern nurse: AMAH. Called so in Hongkong area. We just call is Ama in Guangzhou.

7. Discourage: DETER

8. Messy situation: SNAFU

9. Many a Matisse: PASTEL. Without Gertrude Stein, Matisse might not have achieved such fame.

10. Doozy: LULU

11. It's added to natural gas: ODOR. No idea. Why?

12. Use a rag on: WIPE

13. Coast Guard pickup: SOS. Oh, the signal pickup.

21. Olympic event since 1968: SKEET. Someone just mentioned this trivia on the blog.

22. Wolf pack member: U-BOAT. The WWII German sub. So U-boats form a wolf pack like attacking pack? I've never heard of the term before.

26. Poi essential: TARO. I really miss Cantonese taro cakes.

28. At an impasse, as the Senate: DEADLOCKED. One of two long non-theme entries.

29. Medieval club: MACE

30. More than wonders: ASKS

32. Trans-Siberian Railroad city: OMSK. The red arrow area.

33. Moneyed, in Madrid: RICO. Spanish for "rich". Alliteration again. Puerto Rico = Rich Port.

34. Banned apple spray: ALAR. Banned in 1989.

37. Indonesian island: BALI

40. Invalidate: ANNUL

41. España feature: TILDE. The diacritic mark above ñ. We just had UMLAUT yesterday.

46. "Finally!": AT LAST

48. __ sauce: seafood serving: TARTAR

50. Polymer introduced by DuPont in 1938: NYLON

51. Blazing: AFIRE

53. Like a babe in the woods: NAIVE

54. British __: ISLES

55. Childbirth symbol: STORK. I wonder what's the origin of stork delivering babies.

56. Equine sound: CLOP. Was thinking of the sound from equine itself rather than the sound it makes on the road.

57. Smog, e.g.: HAZE

58. Make smooth, in a way: IRON

60. Items used by good buddies: CBS. CB radios.

Answer grid.

Picture of the Day: Here is a great photo of our talented wordsmith Lois and her daughter Katie at VA Beach on a windy day.

Additionally, Dan Naddor has his second puzzle published by NY Times today. Here is the write-up from the Wordplay blog. Lovely notes from Will Shortz and moving tribute from Dan's wife Tracie.

Ming Tian Jian!

C.C.

Wednesday March 24, 2010 Peter Abide

Theme: Name That Tune - All of the song titles consist of a girl's name in possessive form and a word that describes the tune itself.

17A. John Denver #1 hit: ANNIE'S SONG. Here is the clip. I like his "Take Me Home, Country Roads". He looked so innocent in "Oh, God!".

39A. "Guys and Dolls" showstopper: ADELAIDE'S LAMENT. Waiting for Clear Ayes to find the right clip. Mystery tune for me.

61A. "Dr. Zhivago" melody: LARA'S THEME. What's your favorite scene in "Dr. Zhivago"?

67A. With 68-Across and 69-Across, classic game show, and this puzzle's title: NAME

68A. See 67-Across: THAT

69A. See 67-Across: TUNE

This is the first time I saw a theme unifier split in the bottom of the grid in a LAT puzzle. Rather unique and refreshing. Can you find other song titles that fit the same pattern?

I've never watched "Name That Tune", though the answer emerged very quickly. I must have heard of it somewhere before.

Quite a few two-word entries in this puzzle, I counted 14. Nice & smooth puzzle from Peter Abide. This might be his LA Times debut.

Across:

1. Hippo's attire in "Fantasia": TUTU

9. Sun ray: BEAM

13. Actress Lena: OLIN. She is in "Chocolat".

14. "Lion's share" fabulist: AESOP. The saying "Familiarity breeds contempt" comes from his "The Fox and the Lion".

16. Hockey great Phil, familiarly: ESPO. Short for Esposito. I can never remember his name.

19. Largest of the Near Islands: ATTU. The Near Islands are the westernmost Aleutian island.

20. Place for a massage: DAY SPA

21. Campaign funders: FAT CATS. I like how it crosses MOUSY (12D. Meek).

23. Locale in a 1987 Cheech Marin title: EAST LA

26. "Yay!": OH BOY

27. Charon's river: STYX. In Hades.

30. Rub elbows (with): HOBNOB

32. Western __: history class, briefly: CIV (Civilization)

33. Industry kingpin: CZAR. More common than TSAR when applied to business/political big shot, right?

35. Bullies: ABUSES

42. Mississippi River explorer: DE SOTO (Hernando). I confuse him with Juan Ponce de León, who discovered Florida.

44. Baby talk word: GOO

45. Trial sites: VENUES

48. Measuring tool: RULER. Oh, the school measuring tool.

51. Billiards blunder: MISCUE

54. Fork or spoon: UTENSIL. Hmm, not if you have a DF mind as Dennis does.

56. Longtime buddy: OLD PAL

60. __-Honey: candy: BIT-O. Have never heard of this candy.

64. "Cool" rapper?: ICE-T. Thought of LL. Cool J.

65. Polished: SUAVE

66. They're removed via shafts: ORES. Nice new clue.

Down:

1. Repulsive sort: TOAD. Frog too.

2. Bone near the funny bone: ULNA. Literally "elbow" in Latin.

4. Like many salons: UNISEX

5. Andalusia abodes: CASAS. Spanish for "house". Alliteration. Italian "house" is CASA also.

7. Prefix with metric: ISO

8. Informal discussion: CONFAB

9. Shell collector, maybe: BEACH BUM

10. Cornerstone abbr.: ESTAB (Established). Always want a D in the end.

11. Is __: likely will: APT TO

15. Org. for drivers?: PGA. The question mark should lead you to golf. I hope Tiger wins the Masters. Tired of this endless scandal, so distracting.

18. Eco-friendly fed gp.: EPA

22. "Tough luck": TOO BAD

24. Senator Cochran of Mississippi: THAD. How do you pronoun Cochran? We also have SESS (41. Meeting of Cong.)

25. Legendary siren: LORELEI. On the Rhine. In the Valley of Lorelei (also spelled as Loreley).

27. Big batch: SCAD. Only used in plural form, isn't it?

29. Part of YSL: YVES

31. "The Lion King" lioness: NALA. The "Born Free" lioness is ELSA.

34. Temple area of Jerusalem: ZION. Jerusalem's Mount Zion.

36. "Sonic the Hedgehog" developer: SEGA

37. Grandson of Eve: ENOS. Son of Seth.

40. It includes terms of endearment: LOVE NOTE. Sweet!

46. Diacritical pair of dots: UMLAUT. The diacritical mark over a vowel in German words. Like the one above o in Schröder.

47. On a winning streak: RED-HOT

48. Apply before cooking, as spice to meat: RUB IN

49. New York city: UTICA

50. "Who cares if they do?!": LET 'EM

52. Math subgroup: COSET. Got the answer via crosses.

53. Last: Abbr.: ULT (Ultimate)

55. They, in Calais: ILS. French for "they". Nice rhyme. Calais (KAL-ey) the French seaport is on the Strait of Dover.

57. Llama land: PERU. Alliteration again. Rich Norris alliterates every possible foreign word.
58. Church approval: AMEN

59. Suffix with Congo: LESE. Congolese. Very straightforward prefix/suffix clue today. Happy, Jazzbumpa?

Answer grid.

Picture of the Day: Here is a gorgeous photo from our fellow LAT solver Annette. She said: "I'm the blonde on the right in the bright colors. My sister Bobbie is opposite me, and her daughter Heidi is in the middle. It was taken at a Bridal Show a few weeks ago, while planning my niece's wedding".

Ming Tian Jian!

C.C.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010 Merle Baker

Theme: GRAND FINALE (61A: Big finish, and what the first words of the answers to starred clues can be) - The first word of each theme entry can follow the word GRAND. Superb tie-in phrase.

17A: *Sam in "Casablanca," eg.: PIANO PLAYER. "Casablanca", my favorite movie but I'm glad we weren't looking for a last name or the actor's name. (Dooley Wilson) He wasn't playing a GRAND PIANO, I know that.

36A: *Fast paced: SLAM-BANG. SLAM-BANG is what NASCAR racing has been this year. And while GRAND SLAM could express some of the accidents this year, it really means a sweeping success or total victory.

42A: *Collapsible headgear: OPERA HAT. (a top hat). GRAND OPERA is big production with lavish costumes and sets and a serious topic.

11D: *Hank Aaron's 6,856 is the career record: TOTAL BASES. TOTAL BASES refers to the number of bases a player has gained by his hits alone. Getting on base any other way isn't counted and any advances once on base aren't counted either. A single counts as one base, a double is two, a triple is three, and a home run is four. Combine them all and you get the GRAND TOTAL.

29D: *1962 Gene Chandler hit: DUKE OF EARL. The song. The meaning of GRAND DUKE at Wikipedia. (It's more than this but less than that.You can figure it out for yourself, if you want.)

And on that note, I'll say Argyle here. I kept waiting for Cruciverb last night but it didn't happen. I know I can count on my fellow blogsters to fill in the thin parts of my commentary. It's what makes this site GRAND!

Across:

1A: "The — Kid: early TV Western: CISCO. Very early. Song by War.

6A: Suit parts: VESTS

11A: "__ the season ...": 'TIS

14A: Choir members: ALTOS

15A: Even if, for short: ALTHO

16A: Cal. neighbor: ORE.

19A: Spinner: TOP

20A: Squealed, so to speak: SANG

21A: Be under the weather: AIL

22A: Formally unsay: RECANT

24A: Cutlass or 88: OLDS. Oldsmobile models.

26A: She plays Julia in "Julie & Julia": MERYL. Watched it this week. Agree with the rest of you; wanted more Julia, less Julie.

27A: Tack on: ADD

30A: Standards of excellence: IDEALS

32A: CEO's degree: MBA. Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Master of Business Administration (MBA)

34A: Dirty: GRUBBY

39A: "Wake Up With Al" weatherman: ROKER Best known as the weather anchor for NBC's Today show. On July 20, 2009, he began co-hosting his new morning show "Wake Up with Al" on The Weather Channel.

40A: China's Mao __-tung: TSE

41A: Studio stand: EASEL

44A: "Honor Thy Father" author Gay: TALESE. Cover. Any readers?

45A: Sun, to Esteban: SOL

46A: Outcome: UPSHOT

48A: Canonized 26-Down: STE.. 26D: Swiss miss, maybe: Abbr.: MLLE.. Hands up for those that saw Swiss Miss and thought "Cocoa!".

49A: Festival showings, perhaps: FILMS

51A: Quartz variety: ONYX

53A: Began the betting: OPENED

55A: UN anti-child-labor agcy.: ILO. International Labour Organization

56A: Old oath: "EGAD!"

60A: Menu phrase: A LA

64A: Roofing material: TAR

65A: Part of a pound: OUNCE

66A: Best-seller list entry: NOVEL

67A: NBC fixture for nearly 35 yrs.: SNL. Since 1975.

68A: Dirty campaign tactic: SMEAR

69A: Show reverence, in a way: KNEEL

Down:

1D: Limits: CAPS

2D: Hip bones: ILIA

3D: Ollie's partner: STAN. Laurel and Hardy.

4D: Zaire, today: CONGO

5D: Disney toon panda, "Special Agent ": OSO

6D: Travel bag: VALISE

7D: Airline to Tel Aviv: EL AL. Literally "skyward".

8D: Farm home: STY

9D: "Spider-Man 3" actress Russell: THERESA. Pic.

10D: More ticked off: SORER

12D: Heavy metal: IRON

13D: Back-to-school mo.: SEPT.

18D: Rice source: PADDY. Sorta like saying your wheat comes from a field.

23D: One of a drum set pair: CYMBAL

25D: Scales of the zodiac: LIBRA

27D: Soil-related prefix: AGRO

28D: Fails to grasp: DROPS

31D: Helpers: Abbr.: ASSTS.

33D: " __ of robins ...": Kilmer: A NEST. Another reference to the poem "Trees" by Joyce Kilmer.

35D: Capital east of the Elbe River: BERLIN

37D: Substantial: MEATY

38D: Elation: GLEE

40D: Base melody: TAPS. A military base.

43D: Boring: HUMDRUM

44D: Like a __ bricks: TON OF

47D: Obama attorney general Eric: HOLDER. A pic with Obama.

50D: Tyke's blocks: LEGOS

52D: Arc lamp gas: XENON

53D: Granola ingredient: OATS

54D: Word after flight or floor: PLAN

55D: Ancient Peruvian: INCA

57D: Contributed: GAVE

58D: Away from the wind: ALEE

59D: Farmer's place, in song: DELL. ''The Farmer in the Dell''.

62D: "Wheel of Fortune" buy: AN 'E'

63D: Printer need: INK

Answer grid.

Picture of the Day: Here is a grand photo of our fellow LAT solver Spitzboov "The Rascal". In his own words: "Sptzboov, in blue hat, sending greetings from the stern of the SS American Victory moored at Channelside, Tampa, FL in Feb., 2010, with his son, Peter."

Argyle

Monday, March 22, 2010 Robert Fisher

Theme: Body Parts - Four theme entries containing two parts of the body in a common idioms.

20A. Hopelessly, as in love: HEAD OVER HEELS

29A. Field sobriety test: FINGER TO NOSE

46A. Fierce way to fight: TOOTH AND NAIL

56A. Facetious: TONGUE IN CHEEK

And a single NAVEL (31D. Umbilicus).

Argyle here. Another serviceable Monday puzzle from Mr. Fisher. Doesn't need much explanation but still fun to do.

Across:

1A. Prefix with brewery: MICRO

6A. Quite a ways away: AFAR

10A. Field furrow maker: PLOW

14A. Like a specially formed committee: AD HOC. Latin, for this

15A. Infrequent: RARE

16A. Learn about aurally: HEAR

17A. Track shoe part: CLEAT. SPIKE would be better; CLEATS are for field games.

18A. Canon shots, briefly: PICS. Canon, the camera, not cannon, the big shooter.

19A. Dark and murky: INKY

23A. Meal remnant: ORT

24A. Cribbage piece: PEG

25A. Writer's coll. major, often: ENG.

26A. Piper in the air: CUB. In flight. Check out the leg stuck out the door and what is that; the wash drying on the line to the tail wheel?

32A. Fossil fuel: COAL

35A. Draw a bead: AIM

36A. Keeps for later: SAVES

37A. A single time: ONCE

38A. Theater chain founded in 1904: LOEWS

41A. __ Beach, Florida: VERO. On the Atlantic side, a little over midway down to Miami.

42A. Firestone products: TIRES

44A. Bit of a chill: NIP

45A. Formerly, previously: ERST

50A. Reply: Abbr.: ANS.

51A. __, dos, tres ...: UNO

52A. '50s car embellishment: FIN. Probably should have been plural; a rare sports car may have had a single fin.

53A. "Antiques Roadshow" airer: PBS

60A. Forte of a certain "doctor": SPIN

62A. Eye blatantly: OGLE

63A. Throw with effort: HEAVE. Caber Toss.

64A. Political alliance: PACT

65A. Mass transit option: RAIL

66A. Game show host: EMCEE

67A. "The Sun __ Rises": ALSO. The first major novel by Ernest Hemingway, 1926.

68A. Somewhat: A TAD

69A. Competed in a bee: SPELT. This will draw some comments.

Down"

1D. Virile: MACHO

2D. Work shirker: IDLER

3D. Copy from your classmate's paper, say: CHEAT

4D. Willie Nelson's "On the __ Again": ROAD. Clip.

5D. Squid cousins: OCTOPI

6D. Broken chord, in music: ARPEGGIO. I'll leave to our experts to discuss.

7D. Expo: FAIR

8D. Shooter with a quiver: ARCHER

9D. Bristle at: RESENT. William Tell bristled at being called an archer. He used a crossbow and was known as a bowman.

10D. Golfer Mickelson: PHIL

11D. Camera's protective cap: LENS COVER

12D. Cask material: OAK

13D. Droll: WRY

21D. Bribable: VENAL. VENAL bad; VENERABLE good.

22D. They're big in Hollywood: EGOS

27D. Online surfers, e.g.: USERS

28D. Stupefy with booze: BESOT

29D. Hertz inventory: FLEET

30D. Edit: EMEND

32D. Terra __: pottery clay: COTTA. The TERRA COTTA ARMY.

33D. Burger topper: ONION

34D. Puzzles involving quotes, usually: ACROSTICS

39D. Hall of Fame outfielder Dave or actor Paul: WINFIELD

40D. Madrid's country: SPAIN

43D. Steer clear of: SHUN

47D. Long-haired cat: ANGORA

48D. Chewy candy: NOUGAT

49D. Yard's 36: INCHES

53D. What a V-sign may mean: PEACE

54D. Slanted edge: BEVEL

55D. Trapshooting: SKEET

59D. Natural rope fiber: HEMP

60D. Place to be pampered: SPA

Answer grid.

Picture of the Day: Here is a sweet photo of our fellow LAT solver Barry G, his lovely wife from Tianjin, China and their adorable son.

Argyle

Sunday March 21, 2010 John Lampkin

Theme: The Clothier's Apprentice - Common phrases involving a sartorial word are humorously re-interpreted & clued as tailor-related. "The Clothier's Apprentice" story is narrated through the combination of clues & answers.

23A. Poor prep technique earned the apprentice the nickname __: TURKEY BASTER. To baste is to sew together loosely. Turkey = Poor.

34A. He thought NASA sewed astronauts' uniforms with the __: SPACE NEEDLE. Have you visited the Space Needle in Seattle?

48A. Mixing up orders from a cop and a priest, he __: COLLARED THE WRONG MAN. Superb choice of "a cop and a priest"(clerical collar). Different collar intimation.

65A. He designed a shirt, but wound up with a vest because he __: LOST THE THREAD. I hate when I lose the thread of conversation in blog Comments section.

82A. Jogging, he forgot about the pin cushion in his pocket and __: GOT A STITCH IN HIS SIDE. Learned a few months ago that "stitch" can refer to a sudden, sharp pain.

100A. He thought inferior fabric came from __: WORSTED WOOL. I understand the fabric term "worsted". But is the wordplay inferior "worst" here used as a verb?

113A. Upon reviewing the apprentice's work, the boss said, "Truly you are a __": TAILOR'S DUMMY. Hilarious!

Today marks the one-year anniversary of our switch to LA Times. What a fun, fine pangram gift from John Lampkin!

John is a musician, so quite a few music references in the grid:

7A. A to A, to Puccini: SCALA. Italian for "scale". We all know La Scala in Milan.

22A. Numbered Beethoven work, e.g.: OPUS

32A. Early prog rock gp.: ELO. Often clued as the "Xanadu" band.

88A. "The Planets" composer: HOLST (Gustav). I strung his name together via crosses.

109A. Wagner work: OPERA. Opera is also a plural of opus, isn't it?

122A. Clarinet and oboe: REEDS

104D. Early strings: VIOLS

Also brilliant word-weaving & echos in today's clues, hallmark of John's puzzles. I've highlighted them in green color in my write-up.

Across:

1. Yak: JABBER

12. Cape Town's country: Abbr.: RSA (Republic of South Africa)

15. Country bumpkin: RUBE

19. Farm vet's specialty: EQUINE. And NAG (73. Not much of a racehorse). And AT STUD (83D. Like some retired racehorses). Dictionary defines At/In Stud as: (of a male animal) offered for the purpose of breeding. New to me. Also SHOE (84. Horse's footwear).

20. Like a purring Jaguar: TUNED

21. Gambler's haunts, briefly: OTB (Offtrack Betting). But the clue is asking for plural OTBS.

25. Langley operative: CIA AGENT. CIA is based in Langley, Virginia. (Thanks for the correction, Haltool.)

27. Rotated car parts: TIRES

28. Ultimatum ender: ELSE. We often have OR ELSE.

29. Subj. concerned with habitats: ECOL

31. Fencing move: LUNGE

33. All over: ANEW

36. Dirty deed doer: DASTARD. Triple alliteration.

39. Eggs in labs: OVA

41. "The Chosen" author Chaim: POTOK. Have never heard of the book.

42. Divinity sch.: SEM (Seminary)

43. Shout in a ring: OLE. Bull ring. And I'LL GET IT (74. Response to a ring). Doorbell ring.

44. Finish, as a cake: FROST. Oh, noun "finish".

46. Kilmer poem ending: A TREE. From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn". (Added later: The ending is from Joyce Kilmer's poem "Trees".)

54. Sultan's wives: HAREM. Always thought harem refer to the room they live. Have you ever wondered why those Muslim girls' eyes look bright and mysterious? Well, they use KOHL for eyeliner.

57. Feline greeting: MEOW. And HOWL (85D. Wolf's cry).

59. Repeats: ITERATES

61. Vinyls, for short: LPS

62. Robust: HEARTY

64. Sale indicator: TAG

71. Bordeaux choice: CLARET. Bordeaux wine.

76. Hägar's daughter: HONI. Must be a gimme for all your "Hägar the Horrible" fans. Not me.

77. Censor's target: SMUT

79. Approaching: NIGH. So is NEAR.

81. Choose: ELECT

87. Lucy's chum: ETHEL. "I Love Lucy".

89. 1963 Cleo player: LIZ. And NILE (79D. Cleo's river). The latter is asking for an abbreviated answer.

90. Spot order?: SIT. Spot the dog. And AD REP (11D. Spot seller). TV Ad spot.

93. Enjoys a bath: SOAKS. And the consecutive WET (95. Like a bather). And WASH (51D. Bathe), followed directly by AERATED (52. Like hot tub water). John must love Degas.

96. Flamboyance: PANACHE

105. Family mem.: REL

106. "Au revoir": ADIEU. Does anyone know how to pronounce French R properly?

107. Speedy: FAST

108. Flex at the barre: PLIE. Barre is the ballet rail. And BEND (24D. Flex)

111. Varied assortment: MIXED BAG. Olio!

116. Brief confession: I DID

117. GI morale booster: USO

118. Kick out: EXPEL

119. "Enclosed __ please find ...": HEREIN

120. Dates: SEES

121. St. Helens, e.g.: MTN

123. Carol opening: ADESTE. The opening of hymn "Adeste Fideles" (O Come All Ye Faithful").

Down:

1. Took a red-eye, e.g.: JETTED

2. Eagle constellation: AQUILA. Latin for "eagle".

3. Forty-niners' carriers: BURROS. The Gold Rush forty-niners who arrived in CA in 1849.

4. You can pop a wheelie on one: BIKE

5. Hydrocarbon endings: ENES. I don't mind the pluralized form of a chemical ending. How about you chemical expert, Al/Jazzbumpa?

6. King, in Spain: REY

8. Geezer's invectives: CUSS WORDS

9. Part of a.m.: ANTE. Man, I never know that a. m. stands for ante meridiem (before noon).

10. Poe's Annabel: LEE. Poe's "Annabel Lee".

12. Fragonard's paintings exemplify it: ROCOCO ART. The answer emerged itself. Not familiar with the French painter Fragonard. How does Rococo differ from Baroque?

13. Sharp-looking heels?: STILETTOS

15. Rapscallion: ROGUE

16. Overturns: UPENDS

17. Botch: BUNGLE

26. Source of a draft?: ALE KEG. The beer draft. I only felt air draft.

30. Seal, as an oil well: CAP

34. Accessory indicating rank, perhaps: SASH

35. Norse goddess of fate: NORN. Any of the three. The Furies also consist of three goddesses.

37. Chan portrayer: TOLER (Sidney). Total stranger to me.

38. Stag: ALL MALE

40. It's cast in a booth: VOTE

44. Big spread: FEAST. Was imagining a big spread of farmland.

45. Play the vamp: TEMPT

47. Austen novel: EMMA

48. Mail order book: CATALOG

49. Pasta sauce herb: OREGANO. Jeannie's sweet potato with dried herbs sound delectable.

50. Roger of "Cheers": REES. First encounter with this guy.

53. Nasty: NOT NICE

54. Pull (up), as pants: HITCH. And LEG (61. An April fooler might pull yours).

58. One of the Earps: WYATT

60. Tiny one: TOT

62. Cartoonist Foster: HAL. No idea. Wikipedia says he's the cartoonist for "Tarzan" and "Prince Valiant".

63. Enters stealthily: EDGES IN

66. Wood fastener: T-NUT

67. Concoct: HATCH

68. "Exactamundo!": RIGHT

69. K-12 catchall: ELHI (ELementary + HIgh school)

75. Alfred Doolittle's daughter: ELIZA. "My Fair Lady".

77. Ever dedicated: STEADFAST

78. Bygone delivery vehicle: MILK WAGON. I don't have any milkman memory as many of you do.

80. Set up, as software: INSTALLED

86. Croat or Serb: SLAV

90. Hindu masters: SWAMIS

91. Salt used in thyroid treatments: IODIDE

92. "Hi and Lois" baby: TRIXIE. Uh-uh. Nope.

94. "Help!" at sea: SOS

96. Place to tie up: PIER. Tie up the boat.

97. Thickish liqueurs: CREMES

98. No social butterfly: HERMIT. Like Salinger.

99. Comic Boosler: ELAYNE. Is she very famous?

101. Bird feeder filler: SEEDS

102. Furry river critter: OTTER

108. Old King Cole's smoke: PIPE. Simple English nursery rhymes are often stymies to me. Cultural gap.

109. Used too much: OD'ED. Overdosed.

110. Squeaky clean: PURE

112. Dover derrière: BUM. Dover is picked for alliteration again.

114. Forest feller: AXE. One more alliteration.

115. Syllable in oldies: SHA

Answer grid.

A special "Thank You" to Rich Norris for a wonderful year of daily entertainment and education.

C.C.

Interview with Will Nediger

One of my favorite LAT Sunday puzzles is Will Nediger's "Watch the Birdie", in which he placed ONE under PAR in 10 different places.

Will is a 19-year old college student from Canada. Since April 2006, his puzzles have appeared in LA Times, NY Times, NY Sun and probably other newspapers/magazines I am not aware of.

Can you tell us your thought process on this puzzle?

I remember solving a wonderful Paula Gamache puzzle in the New York times with a similar grid (stacks of 11-13-15 on the top and bottom). The great thing about Paula's puzzle was that the bottom stacked entries all rhymed: CULTUREVULTURES, GEORGIEPORGIE, and GREENSCREEN. And the top stacked entries were all crisp, fresh phrases: THEONCEOVER, FOOTBALLWIDOW, and SAYTHEMAGICWORD. That kind of grid has lots of possibilities for a themeless, because it's a lot less constrained than stacking three 15s, and 11s and 13s don't get that much currency in themelesses. My puzzle didn't end up as fresh as Paula's, but I'm still pleased with it.

What is your background? How does it influence your crossword style?

I'm currently at university studying linguistics and Spanish, and playing Quizbowl on the side. So I like to include all the usual things in my crosswords: pop culture, in-the-language phrases, and so on. But because of Quizbowl, my puzzles tend to skew more academic (and the same is true of Joon Pahk, who used to play Quizbowl back in the day). This usually happens in the cluing, though, rather than the entries, so a lot of my academic clues get changed in editing. I eagerly await the day when one of my Kierkegaard clues for EITHEROR makes it into print!

How did you first get interested in crossword construction?

I've been interested in construction for as long as I can remember. Of course, I shudder to think of how terrible my early efforts were. I used the old-fashioned pencil-and-graph-paper method, and I erased through a lot of sheets of graph paper. I was also in the habit of putting in entries that seemed like they might be words, and then hoping that they would turn out to be in the dictionary.

Is theme more important to you then the quality of the fills? What is a perfect puzzle for you?

I think I differ from most people in the business, in that I value fill quality over theme quality. Of course, for themed puzzles, the fill is really just a vehicle for the theme, which is primary. But I find that the real art in constructing crosswords is creating a fill that's relatively free from obscurities and other unwanted entries, but that still contains lots of fresh stuff and Scrabbly letters. Actually, maybe I just think this because I'm terrible at coming up with themes. My favourite puzzles are themelesses, of the sorts that Frank Longo, Karen M. Tracey and Matt Jones make. (And yeah, those three people have wildly divergent styles, I know. But they're all great.)

Besides crossword, what else do you do for fun?

All sorts of things: Scrabble (which I'm sure can be said of lots of other constructors, although the two activities are really very different), anything to do with literature, most racket sports, foreign languages...