Saturday August 7, 2010 Joon Pahk

Theme: None

Total words: 70 / Total blocks: 31

Average Word length: 5.54

Interesting grid design, isn't it? The two cross-shaped 8-black-square blocks, the two 3-black-square blocks along the left and right edges (called "fingers" in Cruciverb talk, as they look like fingers poking into the grid. Coined by veteran constructor Mel Rosen, who also gave us the term "cruciverbalist".), as well as those single 9 stair ladder style black squares in the middle break the grid into very open yet tightly connected sections.

Triple stacks of horizontal 10s & vertical 8s in each quadrant. Each Across 10 is also intersected by several long Downs, including a triple stacked 6s in the corresponding corner. Here are the long 10s:

1A. Ripped muscles? : SIX PACK ABS. Awesomely scrabbly start. I suspect this is the seed entry. Hope it's a gimme for you after our lively discussion of Ryan Reynolds' six pack abs a while ago.

15A. While away : IN ABSENTIA. Fell into the "while away" verb phrase thinking.

17A. Like some suits : PINSTRIPED. Perfect fit for Hillary Clinton.

60A. Contemporary folklore : URBAN MYTHS. Well, maybe this is the seed entry. Nice one.

63A. Draws : STALEMATES. Was thinking of sketching "draws". Not sports tying "draws".

65A. One may be set on a stage : HORSE OPERA. I figure it had to be some kind of *OPERA.

Only 8 three-letter fill. Multiwords aplenty, some are very refreshing.

I had my normal Saturday struggle & frustration. So many things to learn. So many ways to be misled.

Across:

11. "House Hunters" network : HGTV. I am aware of the show. Have never watched it though.

16. Flying start? : AERO. Start in words related to "flying", as in aerodynamic.

18. Right-leaning: Abbr. : ITAL. Loved the clue. Right leaning indeed.

19. Christian denom. that observes the Sabbath on Saturday : SDA. No idea. It stands for Seventh-Day Adventist.

20. Fix, as a wicker chair : RECANE

21. WCs : LAVS

22. Renaissance Faire word : OLDE

24. Hide : SKIN. Was thinking of the "conceal" meaning of hide.

25. Biodegrade : ROT

26. Prefix with biology : NEURO. Neurobiology.

28. Cut : SNIP

30. Painting on utensils or furniture : TOLE. Like this tray. French for "sheet of iron", says Dictionary.

31. Former Monterey Bay fort : ORD. Fort Ord. Closed in 1994. Named after Civil War Major General Edward Ord.

33. Ringling Museum of the American Circus city : SARASOTA. Ha ha, I know this trivia.

35. Language subfamily that includes Maltese : SEMITIC. Oh, I only know Arabic and Hebrew belong to Semitic.

39. Feverishly : LIKE MAD. Nice answer.

40. Defense against intruders : WATCHDOG. To me, a watchdog is a person or an organization, not the defense itself.

42. "Vamoose!" : GIT. "Vamoose" is used several times in that silly crossword movie "All About Steve".

43. Angelo's instrument : ARPA. Italian for "harp". Angelo is "angel". I was stumped.

44. Playing a fifth qtr., say : IN OT (Overtime). Not enough block for my OTING.

46. "This I Promise You" band : 'N SYNC. I only know their "It's Gonna Be Me".

50. Any U.S. Army E-4 thru E-9 : NCO. Oh, good to know.

51. "Iron Chef America" chef Cat __ : CORA. She stymied many last time. I like the Japanese flavor in "Iron Chef America".

53. Robbie's dad : EVEL (Knievel). Know he has a daredevil son. Not the name though.

54. Fire : SACK. Not the hot fire I have in mind.

56. City SSW of Cleveland : MEDINA. No idea. We have a Medina in Minnesota too.

58. A storm may affect it, briefly : ETA (Estimated Time of Arrival). Refreshing clue.

59. "__, you noblest English!": "Henry V" : ON, ON. Shakespeare always gives me headache!

62. Shuffle alternative : NANO. Both iPod types.

64. Phosphoresce : GLOW. Phosphoresce is a new word to me. Verb. Looks like a noun, doesn't it?

Down:

1. Nurses : SIPS ON. Nurse a drink.

2. When an engine might stall : IN IDLE

3. City visited by Marco Polo : XANADU. The ending DU literally means "capital". We call it Shangdu in Chinese. Shang = Upper.

4. "Viewers Like You" help support it: Abbr. : PBS

5. Tycho Brahe's sci. : ASTR (Astronomy). I recognized Brahe when I googled his image. He had a fake nose.

6. Roman goddess of agriculture : CERES. That's how we got the word "cereal".

7. Two-time 1970s NBA champs : KNICKS. Don't know. Don't follow NBA.

8. Going to great lengths : AT PAINS

9. Like national elections : BIENNIAL

10. "Justine" author : SADE. Marquis de Sade. Hmm, An Erotic Classic.

11. Salute : HAIL

12. "Not in public, you two!" : GET A ROOM. Nice entry.

13. "Get Shorty" co-star : TRAVOLTA (John). Another gorgeous one.

14. __ Act: 1919 Prohibition legislation : VOLSTEAD. Wikipedia said it was named after Andrew Volstead, Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, which oversaw its passage.

23. The Boston Symphony played its second movement to commemorate FDR's death : EROICA. Beethoven's Symphony No. 3. Latin for "Heroic". Originally dedicated to Napoleon. Was unaware of this trivia.

27. Surg. specialty : ORTH. Orthopedic I suppose.

29. Moralizer : PRIG

30. Trypanosome transmitter : TSETSE. The scary African fly. I don't know the meaning of trypanosome.

32. Gogo's pal, in "Waiting for Godot" : DIDI. No idea, Sir!

34. Comparable : AKIN

35. Bittersweet farewell : SWAN SONG. Here is the origin of the phrase.

36. Drum site : EAR CANAL. Man, I was thinking of musical drum, not eardrum.

37. Resort town W. of the Delaware Water Gap : MT. POCONO. In Pennsylvania. The clue means nothing to me.

38. "Emperor __" : CONCERTO. Another Beethoven reference. OK, Jayce, tell us something about this concerto.

41. Theresa Dunn's ideal Mr., in a 1975 novel title : GOODBAR. Have never heard of the novel "Looking for Mr. Goodbar"

45. Experiments : TRIALS

47. Actress Mimieux : YVETTE. Famous for her role in "The Time Machine".

48. Like hell? : NETHER. Hot clue!

49. Midwest League's baseball level : CLASS A. Well, who pays attention to Class A league? Not I!

52. Douze mois : ANNEE. French for "year". Douze = 12. Mois = Months.

55. Not just suppose : KNOW

56. Cloying sentimentality : MUSH

57. A few rounds, perhaps : AMMO. Thought of drink rather than firearm "rounds".

61. Kisser : YAP. Both slang for "mouth".

Answer grid.

Here is a sweet photo of our Lucina and Dodo from their recent Coven gathering. This is their group photo. What were you gals cackling about?

C.C.

Friday August 6, 2010 Charles Barasch

Theme: Oh, K! - K is added to the end of C (in one-syllable word), which is preceded by five different vowels (O, U, A, E & I), with pronunciation unchanged.

17A. Pre-1991 Russian veto? : SOVIET BLOCK. Soviet Bloc. Soviet Union dissolved in 1991.

29A. West Florida currency? : TAMPA BAY BUCK. Tampa Bay Buc. Tampa Bay is on the west coast of Florida.

35A. Assault by killer trucks? : BIG MACK ATTACK. Big Mac Attack. Mack Trucks. Here, the middle Mac rather than the end Attack (2-syllables) is in play for the K-addition. Inconsistent with other theme entries. Maybe the constructor can't find a one syllable *AC containing common phrase to play around. Can you?

43A. Construct a microscopic house? : BUILD ON SPECK. Build on Spec.

57A. Jumpy bug? : NERVOUS TICK. Nervous Tic.

Though I am not fond of the odd entry 35A, I did like how the constructor placed it in the middle row (actually, K is in the very center of the grid) and combined the resulting end black squares with those of theme entries 29A and 43A to divide the left and right edges into two rather than our normal weekday three parts, bringing us long paralleled entries in the upper right and lower left corners.

Al mentioned that nearly half of Dan's puzzle yesterday comprises of three- or four-letter entries. This one has 42, out of a total of 74 answers. I am thinking that half of every puzzle is made up these small building units, just like half of every puzzle is consisted of vowels.

Maybe Santa or anyone who is fascinated by grid structure can count the total number of three & four entries and give us a ratio report for a week or two. Then we'll see the pattern.

Across:

1. Like some teeth : GAPPED

7. Recover : HEAL. Comforting word for our sharp-witted shenanigan-maker Lois.

11. WWII Normandy lander : LST (Landing Ship Tank)

14. '60s-'70s San Francisco mayor : ALIOTO (Joseph). Stranger to me. What was he famous for, besides the mayor-ship?

15. Business opening? : AGRI. Agribusiness.

16. National Poetry Mo. : APR.

19. Madre's brother : TIO. Mother's brother = Uncle. In Spanish.

20. Certain cardholder's cry : UNO. Had no idea that the card name is called out during the play.

21. Bit of tryst talk : COO

22. Boot : EJECT

24. Site of some adoptions : PET SHOP

27. Genes responsible for hereditary variations : ALLELES. Also RNA (55. Uracil is one of its basic components ). Both alleles and uracil are new words to me.

31. On __ with : A PAR

33. Reactor safety overseer: Abbr. : NRC (Nuclear Regulatory Commission). Established in 1974. Succeeded AEC (Atomic Energy Commission)

34. Opposing vote : NAY

40. Equi- ending : NOX. Equinox. Latin for "night".

41. Actress Scala : GIA. First encounter with this actress. Looks pretty.

42. He beat Okker to win the 1968 U.S. Open : ASHE. Not familiar with the Dutch Tennis player Tom Okker.

48. Out there : AT LARGE

49. Occupy : INHABIT

53. Developmental step : STAGE

54. E lead-in : BCD. Alphabetically. BCDE.

56. Chickadee relative : TIT. Oh, the bird.

62. __ Zion Church : AME. I forgot. AME = African Methodist Episcopal.

63. Gunk : CRUD

64. Easter Island attraction : STATUE. Wikipedia says Easter Island (an Polynesian island) is widely famous for its 887 extant monumental statues. Has anyone been there?

65. Not the color of money? : RED. Green is the color.

66. Directors' banes : HAMS. Well, all actors ham, don't they? Just that some are good, some are bad.

67. Respected ones : ELDERS

Down:

1. Get ready to travel : GAS UP

2. All by oneself : ALONE

3. Scissors feature : PIVOT. Always associate pivot with a living being.

4. Islands staple : POI

5. Time to tan in Cannes : ETE. Summer.

6. Web outfit : DOT COM. "Outfit" here means "company", correct?

7. Symbol of virtue : HALO. Raja has the same "halo" connotation, correct, Vidwan?

8. Kind of trip taken by oneself? : EGO. Nice clue.

9. Circle part : ARC

10. Plausible : LIKELY

11. Fashionable repast : LATE LUNCH. Needs a question mark, don't you think? Otherwise, why "fashionable"?

12. Tangy dessert : SPICE CAKE. Have never had this dessert. What makes it tangy?

13. One of the original Politburo members : TROTSKY (Leon). Assassinated in 1940 in Mexico.

18. Comet Hale-__ : BOPP. I am sure it's a gimme for Spitzboov.

23. Bush seen in Florida : JEB. He still lives in Florida?

25. Dateless : STAG

26. Hurt : HARM

27. Incantation beginning : ABRA. The beginning of the word Abracadabra.

28. Milk: Pref. : LACT. Literally ''milk''.

30. Singer Paul and family : ANKAS. OK.

31. "Finally!" : ABOUT TIME. Nice clue/answer.

32. Slightly eccentric : PIXILATED. Another new word. It's made of pix(ie) and (tit)illated.

36. Worked up : AGOG

37. Art film theater : CINE

38. Driver's gadget, for short : TACH. Thought of golfer "driver" first.

39. "May I __ favor?" : ASK A. Total 6Ks in the grid.

40. Magic, at one time : NBA STAR. Oh, Magic Johnson.

44. Hang back : LAG

45. Soak : DRENCH

46. Trillionth: Pref. : PICO. I forgot also. Al gave us a list last time.

47. Ultimate purpose : END USE

50. Shiny, in product names : BRITE. Bright.

51. Bring upon oneself : INCUR

52. Directors' units : TAKES. I like this noun clue.

54. Some underwear : BVDS

58. Notable period : ERA

59. Mai tai ingredient : RUM

60. Cardinal's letters : STL. St Louis Cardinals.

61. Pinch : TAD. A pinch/tad of. Not Tinbeni's sunset toast Pinch!

Answer grid.

Here is a recent photo of our irreplaceable and inimitable MOREL guy Dennis, who has been unfailingly supporting & helping me since the start of this blog and has been brightening our mornings with his consistently informative and entertaining comments. Thanks, Dummy!

C.C.

Thursday August 5, 2010 Dan Naddor

Theme: ARREST (48D. Run in, and a hint to the ends of the answers to starred clues) - To "run someone in" is to bring them to the police station. The last word of each of the theme entries means to nab an alleged lawbreaker. Nab is related to kidnap. Arrest is from Latin: ad+re+stare (to-back-stand). Stare comes from the base *sta- "to stand", and also gives us the lovely crosswordese word "STET", an editor's directive to let the text stand (without correction).

18A. *If absolutely necessary: IN A PINCH. If you pinch (steal) something, you get pinched (grabbed as though with pincers).

20A. *Ranger, for one: FORD PICKUP. The first pair of theme answers overlap each other. So do the last pair.

37A. *"Am I missing something here?": WHAT'S THE CATCH.

55A. *Like manual laborers: BLUE COLLAR. Arrest sense is to grab someone by the collar.

59A. *Boisterous frat party: BEER BUST. I wanted BASH here instead of BUST before I figured out the theme. Both mean to smash, like on a drunken spree, which has the "wild party" meaning. Prohibitionists used to bust in to speakeasys and arrest everyone they could catch.

Somewhat related: 3D. Capture: CORRAL. and 7D. Capture: TRAP.

Al here, with a Dan Nador puzzle no less.

Maybe it's just me being on Dan's wavelength most of the time, but I kind of blew through this one. Very doable puzzle, perhaps not as punny or fun as Dan's past puzzles have been though, nearly half the words were three or four letters, though also 24 non-theme entries of six or more letters, half of which are placed in each Down corner, paralleling one another. No J, Q, X, Z, so not very scrabbly.

Across:

1. Ricky Martin's "Livin' La Vida __": LOCA. The crazy life.

5. Start of many addresses: HTTP. Internet Addresses, otherwise known as URLs: Universal Resource Locators. Hyper Text Transfer Protocol makes it possible for browsers like Firefox and Internet Explorer to traverse the World Wide Web. URLs can start with HTTP:// but that is only one example. Many other types of internet transfer protocols are too numerous to list here, but some examples are FTP (file transfer), NNTP (network news), and SMTP (simple mail)

9. Lawyers' org.: ABA. American Bar Association.

12. Schools for Jules: ECOLES. French. And 39D. Lycée attendee: ELEVE. French for student. Lycée is the last three years of education before University.

15. Prefix with sol: AERO. Aerosol

16. Heater: GAT. Slang for a gun, taken from Gatling

17. On the line: AT RISK. Could easily tip one way or another.

22. "It's the real thing" soft drink: COKE. Coca Cola marketing campaign. Good Grief!

23. Govt. watchdog: EPA. Environmental Protection Agency.

24. Not just my: OUR. Plural possessive.

25. Current pioneer: TESLA. Nicola. Has the unit of magnetic force named after him.

26. Quandary: DILEMMA. Latin: DI (two) lemma (premise).

30. One who raised Cain: EVE. Cain and Abel were Adam and Eve's sons.

32. Sea salt?: TAR. A sailor. Could be from the job of applying tar to the bottoms of ships, or from the tarpaulin that they sometimes used in clothing. Also Gob.

33. Spare tire site?: WAIST. Not so easy to deflate.

35. Refuse to budge: INSIST. Latin: In (upon) sistere (take a stand). Related: assist (stand by), and once again STET (let stand).

40. Blacks out: FAINTS.

41. Coeur d'__: ALENE. City in Idaho.

42. Many a CBer's workplace: RIG. Citizen's Band radios. Do they still use those? Seems kind of dated. Big rig = Semi-trailer.

43. Brit. recording giant: EMI. Electric & Musical Industries Ltd.

45. "CHiPs" star: ESTRADA. Erik. California Highway Patrol motorcycle cop. His character name was Ponch. (Poncherello)

49. Kind of alcohol: ETHYL. Ethanol, the kind we drink.

51. Little john?: LAV. Abbreviation (little) for lavatory. A British crossword style of clue.

53. Lady's man: SIR. English Lords are addressed as: Sir.

54. Language that gave us "plaid": ERSE. Scottish Gaelic. The word means: Irish.

61. Lisa's "Friends" role: PHOEBE. Lisa Kudrow/Phoebe Buffay.

62. "Happiness __ Warm Puppy": "Peanuts" book: IS A.

63. Manipulative type: USER.

64. Drives: IMPELS.

65. Relative of -trix: ESS. Feminine suffixes: dominatrix, baroness

66. Place with a pool, informally: THE Y. YMCA. A bit tough to parse, doesn't it?

67. Apt name for a Dalmatian: SPOT.

Down:

1. Flipped (through): LEAFED. Book pages

2. Eight-footers?: OCTOPI. Tentacles count as feet? Or are octopi 8 feet long?

4. "Put __ on it!": A LID.

5. Three-line verse: HAIKU. 5-7-5 syllable meter. Does not need to rhyme: Yesterday it worked. /Today it is not working./ Windows is like that.

6. Professor's goal: TENURE. A guarantee they get to keep the position, usually requires research and publishing credentials, which means that rather than spending their time on students, they might be concentrating their time elsewhere. I had at least one prof like that. Schools need a different reward system IMHO.

8. Appear unexpectedly, with "up": POP. Maybe that's why dads are called pops? No, darn it, from an old French word similar to pappa.

9. Religious doubter: AGNOSTIC. Someone that asserts that it cannot be known whether God exists, compare Atheist, who asserts that there is no God, and Gnostic, who asserts that it is knowable.

10. Political repercussions: BACKLASH. Machinery too. I can see how they're related...

11. Deep down: AT HEART.

13. Sixth sense, for short: ESP. Extra (beyond) Sensory Perception.

14. Schuss, e.g.: SKI. From old Norse: skið "stick of wood".

19. Diamonds, to hoods: ICE.

21. Oregon highlight: COAST. Michigan's freshwater shoreline, at 3,288 miles is the longest in the world. Alaska has the most total coastline of the 50 states though, at 6,640 miles. Oregon only has 296, just sayin'.

25. Letter?: TENANT. One who lets (rents or leases) a room, apartment, or house.

27. McGregor of "The Men Who Stare at Goats": EWAN. Also the young version of Obi Wan Kenobe in Star Wars.

28. Hot Wheels maker: MATTEL. Mattel toys have not been made in the USA since 2002.

29. Midler's "Divine" nickname: MISS M.

31. Bad habits: VICES. If you have any, you should try to clamp down on them...

34. "J to __ L-O!": Lopez remix album: THA. Words fail me.

36. Trick ending?: STER. Suffix: trickster

37. Many a server, in the old days: WAITRESS. Not sure why it was necessary to specify "the old days", but then again, I don't go to restaurants very often. Did I miss something?

38. Boat rocker, to say the least: HIGH SEAS. Nicely done.

40. It's thrown in: FREEBIE. Also a Frisbee.

44. "Gotta think about it": I'LL SEE.

46. Napping: ASLEEP.

47. Don Quixote's devil: DIABLO. Spanish.

50. "__ out!": ump's call: YER. Baseball terseness.

52. "Back in the Saddle Again" autobiographer: AUTRY. Gene. Birth name: Orvon Eugene Autry.

55. Outback: BUSH. See Kazie's pic.

56. Cost-of-living stat: CPI. Consumer Price Index.

57. Electrical unit: OHM. Resistance measurement. Color code mnemonic for reading the values: Bad Boys Rape Our Young Girls But Violet Gives Willingly = Black Brown Red Orange Yellow Green Blue Violet Gray White

58. Cuts off: LOPS.

60. On the other hand: BUT.

Answer Grid.

Al

Wednesday August 4, 2010 Daniel A. Finan

Theme: Gram Positive - Each of the 14-letter theme answer includes two 6-letter anagrams separated by IN, and the puzzle is a pangram, continuing a very scrabbly week of puzzles.

20A. Male goose during hunting season?: GANDER IN DANGER. GANDER becomes DANGER. Well, if you goose a male in hunting season, be careful.

25A. Sought-after former football announcer?: MADDEN IN DEMAND. Now retired hall of fame NFL coach and announcer John MADDEN becomes DEMAND.

46A. Fencing implement at the shop?: RAPIER IN REPAIR. RAPIER (along with EPEE and SABER, the fencing swords) becomes REPAIR.

51A. Biblical guy who refused to believe the writing on the wall?: DANIEL IN DENIAL. Our constructor gives himself a plug. I wonder if realizing his own name worked was the inspiration for this puzzle?

It has been a long time since we had one of Mr. Finan's efforts, and I really hit a home run for personal pleasure, as I love anagrams. This effort is fabulous, all 14-letter theme entries, with perfect symmetry, each anagrammed word being six letters long, and he employs subtle differences in the use of IN for each clue.

Lemonade here and let's get to work.

Across:

1. Outré: QUEER. Well, damn, what a place to start.

6. __ Mahal: TAJ. Do we all remember TAJ means crown?

9. Door parts: JAMBS.

14. Dictionary note subject: USAGE.

15. Brandy letters: VSO. This means Very Superior Old, 12-17 years old.

16. Drools over, in a way: OGLES. Did any of you guys ever ogle, 40A Bingham of "Baywatch": TRACI. Boys, did you watch BAYWATCH ? They knew how to select lifeguards. Or perhaps, 9D. Singer with the Blackhearts: JOAN JETT?

17. "Call it __": "No winner": A DRAW.

18. S or SE: DIR. Lots of abbreviations today, 24. Small, medium, or large: Abbr.: ADJ. (Adjective), 34. Like waitresses: Abbr.: FEM.

19. Netizen who might hear "You've got mail!": AOLER. Netizen, really?

23. Novelist Deighton: LEN. His first book was the IPCRESS FILE an amazingly successful thriller.

33. Le Pew of skunkdom: PEPE. He has shown up often lately.

35. Shocking buildup?: STATIC. My mind focused on this BUILD UP .

36. Shangri-las: EDENS. A reminder of our recent Utopia puzzle…

38. Purple minus blue: RED. Oh goody, mathematical colors, maybe we can combine them with Roman Numerals. 32D. Early seventh-century year: DCIX (609)

41. Get molars, say: TEETHE.

43. Shiatsu response: AAH. A special massage AAAAAAAAAH for our own Mellissa Bee.

45. "Night at the Museum" creature, for short: T REX. I had a little trouble picturing this one even though I love the MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY .

49. Free (of): RID.

50. __-El: Superman's birth name: KAL. Son of JOR-EL. We also have 63. Super __: game console: NES, which supplanted 30D. Video game trailblazer: ATARI.

59. Part of HDTV, briefly: HI DEF. Which is how we watch 60. "South Park" brother: IKE. You either love or hate SOUTH PARK . While we have our, 6D. Swanson product: TV DINNER.

61. Main life line?: AORTA.

62. "Good __!": Charlie Brownism: GRIEF. A true AMERICAN ICON.

64. Cinemax rival: STARZ.

65. Baby-sits, e.g.: TENDS.

66. Jetta fuel: GAS.

67. English class assignment: ESSAY.

Down:

1. Marsh, for short: QUAG. This is an abbreviation for QUAGMIRE .

2. Meat pkg. letters: USDA. United States Department of Agriculture.

3. Take home: EARN.

4. "Yikes!" : EGAD.

5. Fix by fusing, as metal: REWELD.

7. B-boy connection: AS IN. Tricky for me. B as in boy.

8. Hoops legend: JORDAN. Is there anyone who does not know MJ? Or 59D. NBA bio stat: HGT. Yes, they are tall.

10. With eager anticipation: AGOG.

11. Fr. miss: MLLE.

12. Cold one, so to speak: BEER. My youngest son's other career is at ORLANDO BREWING, makes a dad proud.

13. Ukr., once : SSR.

21. Snorkeling site: REEF.

22. Chimes in with: ADDS.

25. Jason's wife: MEDEA. I made the puzzle too, you keep assigning me the right days, C. C.! Glad I was not married to her though. (Note from C.C.: Lemonade's real name is Jason.)

26. "Not __ out of you!": A PEEP.

27. Driller's prefix?: DENTI. I had trouble getting the I.

28. "That is ..." : I MEAN. Like when you got caught coming home at 2:00 am, reeking of pot and booze, gee dad, it was, I mean....

29. Rush Limbaugh ex __ Fitzgerald: MARTA. Shows who you can date if you have Money never heard of this one.

31. More agreeable: NICER.

33. '80s-'90s tennis star Korda: PETR. His daughter JESSICA is a leading amateur golfer. We also have a tennis echo with, 52D. Score after deuce, maybe: AD IN.

37. Oater lawmen: SHERIFFS.

39. What a full moon mitigates: DARKNESS.

42. Shallowest Great Lake: ERIE. We see this lake once a week at least.

44. Cattle unit: HEAD. Lois, be careful!

47. Waiting at a light, say: IDLING. Which reminds me of being 58D. Like a shirker: LAZY.

48. "The magic word": PLEASE.

51. Desperate, as straits: DIRE. I love Mark KNOPFLER.

53. Must have: NEED.

54. Swedish retail giant: IKEA. If you have not been, it is an adventure.

55. Have-__: the less fortunate: NOTS. The opposite of yesterday's NOBS.

56. S&L offerings: IRAS. Are there any S&Ls still in business?

57. Gillette razor: ATRA. Our crosswordese of the day; when will FUSION become popular in puzzledom; the shave is better.

Answer grid.

A nice tight theme, and lots of long words with all the letters, I hope you all enjoyed the ride. Happy Birthday Troy!

Today we also celebrate the birthday of a military mom, Gloria, Lovely Wife to our quick-witted Jazzbumpa. Here is a picture of Gloria with five of their beautiful granddaughters. From left to right: Abby (7+), Rebekka (10-), Gloria, Lauren (6), Amanda (13-) and Samantha (8).

Abby and Lauren live in Florida. Their dad Tom is in Afghanistan (second tour of duty, I think). The rest are in Michigan.

Lemonade

Tuesday August 3, 2010 Gary J. Whitehead

Theme: Track Bets - The start of the first word of each two-word familiar phrase is a bet on horse race finish, in win, place & show order.

20A. Cellarmaster's vessel : WINE DECANTER. Win. Finish first. Can you think of any other "win" containing phrase?

36A. Response to sugar pills, perhaps : PLACEBO EFFECT. Place. Finish second. My favorite theme entry.

53A. It might have a massage setting : SHOWER NOZZLE. Show. Finish third. Scrabbly entry. Letters JQ are missing in this grid.

64. With 65-Across, what the starts of 20-, 36- and 53-Across are : TRACK

65. See 64-Across : BETS

Tight theme. Each bet word is contained in the first word of its mother phrase. The unifier TRACK BETS is placed at the bottom edge. Clear enough for solvers to identify.

Ideally the split unifying words should be placed symmetrically, but TRACK and BETS do not have identical number of letters.

Lovely long Downs (a pair of 8s and 9s) to cross all the Across theme answers. Quite a few multi-word none-theme entries too.

Across:

1. Seize : GRAB

5. Wife of Jacob : LEAH. Rachel's sister, and the real name of our Chickie (in powder blue).

9. Center of Florida? : EPCOT. Epcot Center. I knew it's not Shaq. Thought it's playing on letter R in the very middle of Florida.

14. Move to a new city, briefly : RELO

15. Down-home music venue, familiarly : OPRY. The Grand Ole Opry.

16. Dutch cheese : GOUDA. Edam too.

17. "The Good Earth" heroine : OLAN. "The Good Earth" is the best book I've read about pre-1949 China.

18. Nasty habit : VICE

19. 20 Mule Team cleanser : BORAX

23. Small-screen heartthrob : TV IDOL

24. American or Continental : AIRLINE. Were you thinking of breakfast?

28. Cock and bull : HES. This kind of clue used to trick me.

29. Wedding symbol : RING. No wedding ring for me.

32. In the warehouse : STORED

33. Like many wallets : BIFOLD

35. Farm females : SOWS. I really liked the pigtail clue last time.

40. Wiener schnitzel meat : VEAL

41. __-faire: tact : SAVOIR. Literally "knows what to do".

42. Wan : PALLID

45. Inflection : TONE. Mandarin has four tones. Cantonese nine. Crazy.

46. Ukr. neighbor : RUS

49. Finished, as a deck : STAINED. Unexpected clue for me.

51. Imagined : DREAMT. The only English word that ends in mt, Linda said.

56. Expand, as a collection : ADD TO. Sure need some autographed baseball cards to add to my collection.

59. Author Wiesel : ELIE

60. Colorful horse : ROAN

61. Lose one's cool : PANIC

62. Those, in Tijuana : ESOS

63. Mired, after "in" : A RUT

66. Past fast fliers: Abbr. : SSTS

Down:

1. Investor's concern : GROWTH. Nice cluster of consonants.

2. Go through again : RELIVE

3. "Hand in My Pocket" singer Morissette : ALANIS. She dated Ryan Reynolds for a few years.

4. Like a fillet : BONED

5. Cosmo topic : LOVE LIFE. Cosmo magazine.

6. Grand in scope : EPIC

7. Medieval Spanish chest : ARCA. Is it Spanish for "ark"?

8. Shenzi or Banzai in "The Lion King" : HYENA.Easy guess.

9. __ Sousé, W.C. Fields's "The Bank Dick" role : EGBERT. No idea. Dictionary says the name is from old English, meaning "bright sword".

10. Bad sport : POOR LOSER. And GLOAT (31. Be a bad sport). Clue echo.

11. Mangy mutt : CUR. Alliteration.

12. Harem room : ODA. "Room" in Turkish.

13. Penultimate line on most bills : TAX. Phone/gas bill. The last item before the Total.

21. Greek architectural order : DORIC

22. "My country __ of thee ..." : 'TIS

25. __-Z: classic Camaro : IROC. Just remember it as I Rock

26. Ex-Speaker Gingrich : NEWT

27. Mag masthead names : EDS

30. Wealthy Londoners : NOBS. New meaning to me.

33. Irrational way to go : BALLISTIC. Go ballistic.

34. "Whip It" band : DEVO. Just learned that Devo comes from de-evolution (backward evolution).

36. Bog fuel : PEAT

37. Singer's syllables : LA LA

38. Affection : FONDNESS

39. '80s Pontiac : FIERO. It means "proud" in Italian and "wild", "fierce" or "ferocious" in Spanish, a la Wikipedia.

40. Biden and Bush: Abbr. : VPS

43. At the pawn shop : IN HOCK

44. "Gloria in Excelsis __" : DEO. Latin for "Glory to God in the highest".

46. Five o'clock shadow removers : RAZORS

47. German diacritical : UMLAUT. German men are hard to understand (and date).

48. Surgical blockage relievers : STENTS

50. Nerd : DWEEB

52. Poet Pound et al. : EZRAS

54. Apart from this : ELSE

55. Urban uprising : RIOT

56. Liable : APT

57. __ es Salaam : DAR. Largest city in Tanzania. Arabic for "house of Peace". I can never remember the name.

58. Genetic letters : DNA

Answer grid.

Here are the last pictures from Gunghy's bike trip. Thanks for the awesome pictures and wonderful captions, Punk! I bet you solved at least one crossword along the road, no?

C.C.

Monday August 2, 2010 Allan E. Parrish

Theme: OL' MAN RIVER (57. "Show Boat" classic, and where to find the ends of 17-, 26- and 44-Across) - The ends of first three theme entries are parts of a river.

17A. Soft mattress topper : FEATHER BED

26A. Edison's electrical preference : DIRECT CURRENT

44A. Government-owned financial institutions : NATIONAL BANKS

I am not familiar with the song. The Ol' Man River does refer to the mighty Mississippi, correct?

Actually, a 5-letter RIVER will work as a unifier too. But OL' MAN RIVER provides a more sparkling choice, in addition to its 10-letter symmetry to FEATHER BED.

Quite a scrabbly 74 worder. Only letter J is missing. Total 18 entries are of medium 6/7-letter length. A nice mix. Also a few clue echos.

C.C. here. Argyle's sister is visiting. He'll be back next Monday.

Across:

1. Money in Mumbai : RUPEE. Alliteration.

6. Lose effectiveness, as painkillers, with "off" : WEAR. And WEAKENS (10D. Loses strength).

10. Wild or Old region : WEST

14. Pole vault, e.g. : EVENT

15. Palindromic pop group : ABBA. And 'N SYNC (33. "No Strings Attached" pop group). Pop group echo.

16. Big fair : EXPO

19. Eagerly excited : AGOG

20. Monterey County seat that's the birthplace of John Steinbeck : SALINAS. I forgot. We had this clue before.

21. '50s-'60s USSR leader Khrushchev : NIKITA. Cold War is so far away.

23. Grafton's "__ for Corpse" : C IS

24. Set aside for later : STORE. TABLE also has 5 letters.

31. Bills with George on them : ONES. I'd prefer "Bills with Washington on them". Also ABE (8D. Prez on a penny).

32. Roman moon goddess : LUNA

36. NBA position : CTR (Center)

37. Grazing land : PASTURE. And LEA (58D. Grazing land).

39. Small taste : SIP

40. Composer of marches : SOUSA. He died in the month of March also.

42. Like most pets : TAME

43. Fashion's Chanel : COCO

47. Super Bowl XXI MVP Phil : SIMMS. Wikipedia says he's known for inaugurating the phrase "I'm going to Disney World!".

48. Big mouth, in slang : YAP

49. Diocese leader : BISHOP

52. Abandon : FORSAKE

56. Workplace protection org. : OSHA

60. Scold severely : FLAY

61. Croat's neighbor : SERB. I've never understood the Balkan War. Is it about religious conflict?

62. Online read : EZINE

63. Online help pages, briefly : FAQS. Frequently Asked Questions.

64. City transport : TAXI

65. Real bargains : DEALS

Down:

1. NFL arbiters : REFS

2. Eye layer containing the iris : UVEA. Latin for "grape".

3. Ring loudly : PEAL

4. Draws in : ENTICES

5. Cultural, as cuisine : ETHNIC. I miss authentic Thai food & my experiences.

6. Major conflicts : WARS

7. Flow away, as a tide : EBB

9. Philadelphia suburb : RADNOR. What is it famous for?

11. Former soldier : EX GI

12. Dick and Jane's dog : SPOT. Obtained the answer via crossers.

13. Forum garb : TOGA

18. "Born in __": Cheech Marin film : EAST LA

22. Good-night girl of song : IRENE. Have never heard of the song "Goodnight, Irene".

24. Beach bronzings : SUN TANS

25. Psychological shock : TRAUMA

26. Medicos : DOCS

27. Division word : INTO

28. Show over : RERUN

29. Standard practice : CUSTOM

30. Boxing's "Iron Mike" : TYSON. I remember the ear-biting incident.

34. Shaver's mishap : NICK

35. USN noncoms : CPOS (Chief Petty Officers)

37. Barbecue site : PATIO

38. Trust, as a friend : RELY ON

41. Walks with attitude : SASHAYS. Lucina likes to use this word.

43. Turn over at sea : CAPSIZE

45. Customs levy : IMPOST

46. Kept out : BARRED

49. Big Broadway hit, in slang : BOFF. So is BOFFO.

50. Land in el mar : ISLA

51. NBAer O'Neal : SHAQ

52. Formula One racer Teo __ : FABI. His name escaped me also.

53. Nike competitor : AVIA. Latin for "fly".

54. __ Ration: pet food : KEN- L. Third time in a month?

55. "__ Tu": 1974 hit : ERES. Eres Tu = "It is You".

59. Mysterious guy : MR. X. Nice edge word.

Answer grid.

Here is a recent photo of our Cool Hand Larry (Windhover). Looks more like a philosopher than a farmer, no? Still want to share his bike, Annette?

C.C.

Sunday August 1, 2010 John Lampkin

Theme: Them's Fightin' Words - Part of a common phrase is punnily replaced by a similar sounding fightin' word.

23A. Protective gear for public disorder? : RIOT GUARD. Playing on Right Guard, the deodorant brand.

28A. Condiments aisle dispute? : CATSUP BATTLE. Catsup Bottle. We just call it catchup.

43A. Looker in a free-for-all? : THE BELLE OF THE BRAWL. The Belle of the Ball.

67A. Hostility between pinky wrestlers? : FINGER FEUD. Finger Food.

69A. Couple that's always at it? : CLASHMATES. Classmates. Then John gives us BRA (120A. Uplifting garb) and a consecutive ASSES (121. Boobs). He's deviously DF.

90A. Grammar class skirmishes? : PREPOSITIONAL FRAYS. Prepositional phrases.

106A. Table game for tusslers? : SCUFFLE BOARD. Shuffleboard.

117A. Pasta before an affaire d'honneur? : DUEL CARBS. What is this playing off? Dual Carb(buretors)? I've never heard of it before. Affaire d'honneur ="Affair of honor".

I liked how 67A & 69A are placed side by side in Row 11 (very central row) of the grid, separated by a black square it the middle. Technically you can place 23A & 117A in that row too, separated by a group of three squares. Won't look as pretty though.

Fun theme and fun clues, which all have some sort of skirmish words as hints.

Pangram. And no helper/cheater squares. Really takes time and effort to accomplish these two goals. Lower than average block count and word count too. As usual, I green-highlighted all the terrific clue echos.

Just mentioned yesterday that E is the most common vowels in crossword. This one has 52. I think R & S & T are the mostly common consonants. 37 R's in this grid.

Across:

1. Stop at sea, with "to" : HEAVE. New expression to me.

6. CD changers, at times : DJS

9. Tossed in : ADDED

14. Seasonal flue shouts : HO HOS. From Darling Santa. Nice play on "seasonal flu shots".

19. "The Wizard of Oz" tunesmith : ARLEN (Harold)

20. __ race : RAT.Crossing DRAG (6D.__ race). Fill-in-the-blank clues can't get better than this.

21. NPR host Hansen : LIANE. Of "Weekend Edition Sunday". Wife of Neal Conan, host of "Talk of the Nation" (NPR).

22. Critic with an influential thumb : EBERT (Roger). Film critic.

25. Crossword components : GRIDS. Sweet!

26. Roger Bannister, notably : MILER

27. Handlers in a bucket : ICE TONGS. I was picturing a person rather than a tool "handler".

30. Slip : ERR

31. "Evita" role : CHE. The narrator.

32. Certain dancer's hope : RAIN. Why? A reference to "Singin' in the Rain"?

33. Ending with Japan : ESE. Japanese.

34. Poking tool : AWL

37. Talk turkey? : GOBBLE. Lovely clue.

40. Diet guru Jenny : CRAIG

42. Worry : FRET

47. __ avail : TO NO

48. Monogram pts. : LTRS. And R.E.L. (41D. Confed. monogram). R. E. Lee. Confederate. Wicked clue.

49. Lecture site : HALL

50. Dagger handles : HAFTS

54. Knotty situation? : NODUS. New word to me. Nodus is Latin for "knot".

56. Solid alcohol : STEROL. What? There's solid alcohol?

58. Bookplate words : EX LIBRIS. Bookplate inscription. Never know how to spell the words libris correctly. It means "library", right?

61. Dogsledding gear : PARKA

63. Like some Byzantine art : ICONIC. Most are icons.

65. Bodybuilder's target, briefly : LAT. I wanted ABS. And FLAB (42D. Bodybuilder's target). And HE-MAN (14D. Bodybuilder). Shout-out to our MOREL guy Dennis.

66. Rep. : AGT

72. Eroded, with "away" : ATE

73. Bit of baloney : LIE. Tasty clue.

74. Flap-doored homes : TEPEES

76. Redder inside : RARER. Meat.

77. Agate and jasper : QUARTZES. Super scrabbly. And TIGER'S EYE (52D. Agate relative).

80. "m" and "n" sounds : NASALS

82. Like 2-Down : NORSE. Cross-referenced with ERIC (2D. "The Red" guy). Eric the Red.

84. Binge : SPREE

85. Broadway successes : HITS

87. Pro follower : RATA. Pro rata = proportionately.

89. Some fuel suffixes : ANES. Hydrocarbon suffixes. Plural of an chemical suffix is never desirable.

95. Drama opening? : MELO. Melodrama.

98. Main blood line : AORTA

99. Golfer's "flat stick" : PUTTER. Most putters actually have some degree of loft.

100. Baseball's Durocher : LEO. Hall of Famer. More famous as a manager than a player.

101. Botanist Gray : ASA

102. Gardner that sounds like a peer : ERLE. And EARL (91D. Peer that sounds like a Gardner). Erle Stanley Gardner. We also have STREET (18D. Mason's assistant).

103. Kid : TOT

104. Double-digit sign? : VEE. Good clue.

110. Ice cream order : ONE SCOOP. I don't eat ice cream.

115. It's trolled at Christmas : CAROL

116. Like fall air, often : NIPPY. Fleeting summer here.

118. Bizet work : OPERA. "Carmen".

119. Some jazz combos : TRIOS

122. Principle : TENET

123. Skillful : ADEPT

124. Nile snake : ASP

125. Not a good way to come up : SHORT. Come up short.

Down:

1. Spy name : HARI. Mata Hari.

3. Burn balm : ALOE

4. Stingray, e.g., for short : 'VETTE

5. Swallow greedily : ENGORGE

7. Honey holders : JARS. I love honey.

8. Part of EST: Abbr. : STD

9. Pool owner's concern : ALGAE

10. Tabloid fodder : DIRT

11. Speaker's platform : DAIS

12. Like minor hardships : ENDURABLE. Didn't come to me readily.

13. Very blue state : DESPAIR. Was thinking of California.

15. Ultimate words? : OBIT. Terrific clue. And OR ELSE (17. Ultimate words).

16. With 55-Down, Beatles song with the line "You may be a lover but you ain't no dancer" : HELTER. And SKELTER (55. See 16-Down). Helter Skelter. Not a familiar song to me.

24. Open, as a scroll : UNROLL

28. Toque wearer : CHEF. Was surprised that toque stumped some in Donna's hat pun last time.

29. Anaheim stadium nickname : BIG A. The Big A. Probably hard for non-baseball fans.

31. Shaved to the max : CLOSE-CUT. I wanted an EST-ending word.

34. Env. directive : ATTN

35. Celebrate in a big way : WHOOP IT UP

36. Listen : LEND AN EAR. Two great multi-words in a row.

38. Alphabetical orders? : BLTS. I figure it can't be BCDE cluster, the real "Alphabetical orders". Also RODENTIA (57. Mouse order). Composed of rodents. Another new word. I was thinking of computer mouse order: click.

39. Jeeves's boss __ Wooster, in Wodehouse novels : BERTIE. No idea. I bet Lemonade knows.

40. Communion cups : CHALICES

44. Village : BOURG. Thought it means "town". Confused it with burg.

45. Tele- ending : THON. Telethon.

46. "Song of Myself" poet : WHITMAN

51. Like the Elks : FRATERNAL

53. Ret. fliers : SSTS

59. T-shirt orders : XLS

60. "If I Were King of the Forest" singer : LAHR (Bert). Cowardly Lion in "The Wizard of Oz".

62. McCain's st. : ARIZ

64. Empty, as a desk : CLEAR OUT

67. Online sidebar headings : FAQS. FAQ = Frequently Asked Question.

68. Charge card charge : FEE. Triple alliteration.

70. Like italics : ASLANT. And AROAR (71. Cheering in a big way). Two consecutive A words.

75. Tense time? : PAST. Past tense.

78. Taken-back auto : REPO

79. Curlew or plover : SHOREBIRD

81. Ballpark figure : STAT. And OR SO (112. Ballpark figure follower). Different ballparks.

83. Old U.S. gas : ESSO

86. Violin add-on : IST. Violinist.

88. Brit's school exam : A-LEVEL. No idea. Taken by whom? For what?

92. Italian cornmeal dish : POLENTA

93. Apple product : IPOD

94. Citrus drinks : FRESCAS. Coca-Cola.

95. Smokey Bear, e.g. : MASCOT

96. Beach book genre : ESCAPE

97. Polo designer : LAUREN (Ralph)

102. Key of four Beethoven piano sonatas : E-FLAT. I peeked at the answer sheet.

103. Lovers' liaison : TRYST

105. It's disposable online : E-CASH. Do you call PayPal money e-cash?

107. Shout after a hook, maybe : FORE. Or after a slice. Golf.

108. Andy's kid : OPIE. "The Andy Griffith Show" kid.

109. Per : A POP

110. Nuptial pronoun : OURS

111. Twice-monthly tide : NEAP

113. Fräulein's upper : OBER. I only know UBER (over).

114. Sibilant signal : PSST

117. Corp. alias : DBA (Doing Business As)

Answer grid.

Here is a link to Gunghy's Meteor Crater shots from his Picaca Web Album. Click on each one, his wonderful captions will show up. Man, he's a great photographer, don't you think?

C.C.

Saturday July 31, 2010 Timothy L. Meaker

Theme: None

Total words: 72 / Total blocks: 35

Average Word length: 5.28

FYI, 72 is the maximum word count allowed for a themeless.

This puzzle is anchored by three triple stacks of 10s in the top right and bottom left corners. A couple of 9s and 8s in Across build up the basic frame work. The Downs are mostly of medium and short length today.

I'd like to guess that the seed word is OPERA HOUSE (16A. Sight from Sydney Harbour). I hope it's a gimme for all of you, since Kazie devoted a whole episode focusing on Sydney Harbour in her Oz trip series.

E is the most used letters in crossword. Today we have 26 Es. S is very common too. 19 in this grid. Definitely not a scrabbly puzzle: no Q, V, X & Z. Still a tough slog for me. The names are killing me!

Across:

1. Not clear-cut : GRAY. Gray area. Most of the Saturday clues are "not clear-cut". Drive me nuts!

5. Census bureau, essentially : DATA CENTER. "Essentially" yes.

15. Artist Bonheur : ROSA. French artist. Died in 1899. Way too obscure for me.

17. Harpsichordist Kipnis : IGOR. Total stranger. Do you know anything about him, Jayce?

18. Aerodynamics research tool : WIND TUNNEL. Gimme for Dudley, I am sure. Warren was a pilot too.

19. Cares for : TENDS

21. Beginnings : SEEDS

22. Servers with wheels : TEA WAGONS. Oh, we call them tea carts.

25. Co. whose largest hub is at O'Hare : UAL. United Airlines.

28. Shooting sound : REPORT. Dictionary explain report as "a loud noise, as from an explosion", as in the report of a distant cannon. Learning moment for me.

29. Items in a nautical table : TIDES. Ah, for Spitzboov.

31. Pub employees : BARMAIDS. I only know bartender. Barmaids sounds outdated.

34. Show-off : HOT-DOG

35. Land in un lac : ILE. French. Island in a lake.

36. Lo-__ graphics : RES

37. Vigor : PEP

38. Suffix with string : ENT. Stringent. Even this stumped me.

39. Took off : DOFFED. I need "hat" in the clue.

41. Hands and feet : MEASURES. A foot = 12". A hand = 4". Both are measures. Stymied me.

43. Wind threat : SHEAR. Another aviation term? What does it mean?

44. "Samson Agonistes" dramatist : MILTON (John). All I know about Milton is "Paradise Lost".

45. Indirect route : ARC

46. White Sands and others : TEST SITES

49. Actress Van Devere : TRISH. First encounter with this actress.

51. Beaumont, Texas, university : LAMAR. Peeked at the answer sheet.

53. Old-time educator : SCHOOLMARM. I liked this entry.

58. Mystical amulet : MOJO

59. Where to find waiters : TRAIN DEPOT. Waiters = Those who wait. Not your restaurant waiters. Tricky clue.

60. Replacement for those left out : ET AL. Latin for "and others".

61. Weathers the struggle : SOLDIERS ON. Great fill too.

62. Rink fake : DEKE. Hockey "fake" move. Learned from doing Xword.

Down:

1. Abrasive bits : GRIT

2. Subject of Joshua Kendall's "The Man Who Made Lists" : ROGET. Roger's Thesaurus.

3. In unison : AS ONE

4. Spar part : YARDARM. Need our sailor Gunghy's explanation.

5. Stock page name : DOW. Dow Jones Index.

6. Bee: Pref. : API. Only know apian.

7. Stretching muscles : TENSORS. Thought the clue was asking for an ING ending word.

8. Hot-blooded : ARDENT

9. "Gremlins" actress : CATES (Phoebe). No idea. Wife of actor Kevin Kline.

10. Former Israeli prime minister Olmert : EHUD.

11. Judgment for insufficient evidence : NONSUIT. Is this the same as "dismissal', Lemonade?

12. Napa vessel : TUN. Wine cask.

13. Capt.'s heading : ESE. Well, it could be anywhere.

14. Family mem. : REL (Relative)

20. Oath taker : SWEARER. Only one er-ending word today, not bad at all. Our old TMS used way too many ER, RE, ED, S, EST affixes.

23. On foot, in France : A PIED. Literally "on foot".

24. Jupiter and Mars : GODS. Both Roman gods. Gunghy just mentioned yesterday that only planets are named after gods. The moons are named after the lesser characters: Titans, Fates, etc.

26. Scary snake : ADDER. Not "one who adds" ER word. Good.

27. Freetown currency : LEONE. Money unit in Sierra Leone. Freetown is the capital city.

29. Nursery purchase : TOPSOIL. Plant "Nursery", Dummy!

30. York and Snorkel: Abbr. : SGTS (Sergeants)

31. Orders : BIDS

32. Welcoming word : ALOHA. Five letters in Chinese too: Ni Hao.

33. Direct : REFER

34. Qualifying races : HEATS

37. Bombard : PELT

40. Elvis sighting, e.g. : FACTOID. I don't get this clue. Sightings are not really 'facts", correct?

41. Accidents : MISHAPS

42. Not tractable : UNTAMED

44. "Animal magnetism" coiner : MESMER (Franz). No idea. Just learned that "mesmerize" is rooted in his name. Interesting!

46. Symbol of equivalence, in math : TILDE. I don't get this clue either. I learned math in Chinese and I sucked.

47. Fake feelings : EMOTE. "Fake" is a verb here. I was in the adjective direction.

48. Man of letters? : SAJAK (Pat). Host of "Wheel of Fortune". Could be a clue for ROGET (2D) too. He is indeed a "man of letters".

50. Noodle __: old product name : RONI

52. Part : ROLE

53. Houston in NYC, et al. : STS. Houston Streets.

54. Zagreb's land, to the IOC : CRO (Croatia). I pictures a happy smile in Tinbeni. Are girls aggressive there?

55. Holbrook of "Evening Shade" : HAL

56. Eeyore pal : ROO. Kanga's kid in "Winnie-the-Pooh".

57. K2, for one: Abbr. : MTN (Mountain). K2 is the second-highest mountain on Earth after Mount Everest. I've never understood what K stands for.

Answer grid.

Here is the final installment of Gunghy's bike trip series. Great to finally "see" him in his armor. He has more pictures to share, but I can't carry on due to my lack of time. I'll link once he uploads them to Picasa or some other website.

C.C.