Tuesday November 11, 2008 Barry Silk

Theme: Hits for the Cycle

20A: Mom or pop, but not both: SINGLE PARENT

34A: Two fold setback: DOUBLE WHAMMY

44A: Three-pronged attack: TRIPLE THREAT

60A: "Breezing Up" painter: WINSLOW HOMER

Wow, a cycle, and a natural cycle! Wikipedia says "There have been 14 natural cycles in the major leagues." And the last player to hit for the natural cycle is Brad Wilkerson of Montreal Expos (June 24, Expos versus the Pirates).

I am not familiar with "Breezing Up" or WINSLOW HOMER. I only wish that the entry for 60A started with HOMER* to be consistent with other theme answers.

I don't like the clue for EARNS (9D: Takes home) due to HOMER. I hope it's a SILKY (25A: Soft and lustrous) puzzle to you. The intersection of AQI & AQUINO gave me lots of trouble. And I struggled with lower right corner.

Across:

8A: Mock: JEER AT

14A: EPA pollution measure: AQI (Air Quality Index). Barry crossed AQI with AQABA (Red Sea gulf) in his last puzzle. Really hard crossing with AQUINO (2D: Woman of the Year). Corazo AQUINO succeeded Marcos and she was Time's 1986 Woman of the Year.

16A: Mexican state on the Pacific: OAXACA. Have you been here before? What's the origin of this name OAXACA?

19A: Scandinavian coins: KRONER. Of Denmark and Norway. Singular form: KRONE.

23A: Hydroxyl-carbon compound: ENOL. I am used to the "Organic compound" clue.

29A: Bandanna: DO-RAG. Interesting word origin from Wikipedia: "A popular folk etymology claims that the term derives from drive-on rag, a term first used by U.S. soldiers during the Vietnam War to refer to a mulim bandage often used as a head covering."

50A: Heat-resistant glass: PYREX. I always wonder why Corning did not sue Anchor Hocking for its Fire-King brand. PYREX is Greek for Fire-King after all.

54A: Coral segment: POLYP. New to me. Which segment is POLYP? Is it edible?

63A: Kyoto garment: KIMONO

66A: Supercomputer maker: CRAY. I forgot. CRAY appeared in our puzzle before.

67A: Mystery man: MR. X

71A: Weekend follower: MONDAY. Ah, "MONDAY MONDAY".

Down:

1D: Ran out: LAPSED

3D: Sicilian sir: SIGNOR. It's Xian Sheng in Chinese.

7D: Talk of Toledo: ESPANOL. See this Top 30 Languages of the World. #2 for ESPANOL.

10D: Unusual stuff: EXOTICA. So close to EROTICA.

22D: Like some films: RATED R

26D: __ Linda, CA: LOMA. New to me. See this map. What is it famous for?

27D: J-O connection: KLMN. I suppose there is no other way to clue to this string of letters.

28D: "Divine Secrets of the __ Sisterhood": YAYA. Have you seen the movie?

32D: Too, too cute: TWEE. No idea. It does not sound "Too, too cute" to me. In fact, it does not sound cute at all.

45D: Layered board: PLYWOOD. I don't know much about PLYWOOD. Is it cheaper than plain wood? Can you make PLYWOOD out of walnut/cherry trees?

46D: Grumman fighter plane: HELLCAT. Here is a picture. I've never heard of it before.

53D: Persian victor at Thermopylae: XERXES. XERXES I to be exact. I am not familiar with him or the Battle of Thermopylae, which is "one of history's most famous last stands" according to Wikipedia. General Patton did mention this battle in the movie "Patton", but I did not pay attention to it.

55D: Nina's sister ship: PINTA. And Santa Maria.

63D: Rudyard Kipling novel: KIM. I got it from across fills. Have never heard of this novel before. More than 1/5 of Koreans have KIM as their surname, including Kim Jong-il.

64D: Union contract?: I DO. I like this clue. I DO.

C.C.

Monday November 10, 2008 Michael T. Williams

Theme: Shape Up

17A: Starting all over again: BACK TO SQUARE ONE

38A: Prepare to be surrounded: CIRCLE THE WAGONS

59A: Geometric arrangement of binomial coefficients: PASCAL'S TRIANGLE

I've heard of PASCAL'S TRIANGLE, but I have no clue what it is. CIRCLE THE WAGON is a new idiom to me. Is "Katy bar the door" a well-known phrase?

I like this puzzle. Nice theme and straightforward cluing. And a gentle spa-coddling for my raisin-in-the-sun like brain.

Across:

14A: Panache: BRIO. Are you familiar with the musical term "con BRIO"?

15A: Ostriches' kin: RHEAS. RHEA is also the mother of Zeus, Hades, Hera, Poseidon and Demeter in Greek mythology.

21A: Abalone opener: OTTER. Wikipedia says some OTTERS are expert in opening shellfish.

27A: Assassinated Israeli leader: RABIN. Nobel peace winner 1994. He was assassinated in 1995. President Clinton called RABIN "a martyr for peace". I wonder if the constructor thought of BEGIN & Sadat & Camp David when he worked on this grid.

31A: Money plant?: MINT. I like this clue.

42A: Sicilian volcano: ETNA. Literally "I burn" in Greek. The Sicilian resort is called ENNA. See ETNA and ENNA?

44A: Granter of wishes: GENIE. Is there a "Granter of dreams" in any lore/myth?

68A: Palm fruits: DATES. Inaccurate clue. Chinese DATES are not "Palm fruits". I really miss the fresh dates and the tree-ripe persimmons in Xi'An.

Down:

3D: Guitar run: LICK. No idea. What is "LICK"? I don't understand the clue either. What does "run" mean?

7D: Next in a series: abbr.: SEQ (Sequel). I would not have got this one without the across fills.

9D: NASA's partner: ESA (European Space Agency). I am tired of this clue.

12D: Use a diapason: TUNE. Is "diapason" a special musical term?

18D: Holland or Lincoln, e.g.: TUNNEL. Not familiar with Holland TUNNEL.

24D: Small-time gambler: TINHORN. New word to me.

25D: International accord: ENTENTE. So close to détente.

26D: Goulash or slumgullion: STEW. Not familiar with slumgullion. It does not sound or look appealing to me.

40D: Island near Corsica: ELBA. I had no idea that ELBA belongs to Italy.

51D: Beaver Cleaver's dad: WARD. I guessed. Have never watched "Leave it to Beaver".

C.C.

Sunday November 9, 2008 Robert H. Wolfe

Theme: Selective Collective

27A: Group of pooches: OODLES OF POODLES

120A: Group of tropical fish: MASSES OF WRASSES

16D: Group of swine: SCORES OF BOARS

34D: Group of food fish (var.): SCADS OF SHADS

37D: Group of jumpers: LOADS OF TOADS

39D: Group of jumpers, briefly: SLEWS OF ROOS

59A: Group of male donkeys: STACKS OF JACKS

I've never heard of the tropical fish WRASSES (120A). Why there is a "var." mark for 34D?

What a puzzle! Now I feel like a raisin in the morning sun, not dried up and not plump either. I think I still have some moisture left.

I've never filled in so many blanks on a Sunday puzzle. The simple rhyming theme certainly helped. And there was no obscure medical/chemical term intersecting one another to frustrate me.

Had to do a few googling and a few V-8 moment wite-outs in the end. But today's efficient solving makes me feel rather smart. Not much to complain except the clue for SASH (86A: Pageant ID). The abbreviated ID is asking for an abbreviated answer. A simple "Pageant wear" will do the job.

Across:

9A: Type of committee: AD HOC. And another Latin phrase: HIC (77A: __ jacet).

21A: Dentition: TEETH. Dention and teething are synonymous, not TEETH, right?

25A: Mediterranean island nation: MALTA. Its capital is Valletta.

26A: Parkinson's medication: L-DOPA. I forgot. It appeared in our puzzle before.

32A: Gang follower?: STER. Gangster, mobster, teamster, etc.

36A: Kind of tea or remedy: HERBAL

60A: "__ the Explorer": DORA. Lovely DORA bedding set for a small girl.

80A: Switched switch: OFF ON. I don't understand the grammar of the clue.

88A: Both haves of a fly?: TSES. Tsetse. I guess there is no other better way to clue TSES.

89A: "The Right Stuff" org.: NASA. Pure guess. I've never heard of the movie "The Right Stuff" .

92A: Prairie coverage: OAT GRASS. Oh, I did not know that this grass is called OAT GRASS. So different from wheatgrass.

95A: Swanson of Hollywood: GLORIA. She appears in almost every JFK biography due to her affair with Joe Kennedy Sr.

97A: Disney World attraction: EPCOT. Have you been to EPCOT Center?

107A: Everett of "Citizen Kane": SLOANE. I googled his name. I found the movie hard to follow.

111A: such being the case: AS IT IS

123A: Plant with two seed leaves: DICOT. No idea. See this Monocot vs DICOT link. What are "two seed leaves"?

128A: Century plant: AGAVE. The fiber AGAVE yields is called sisal hemp.

132A: Desert traveler: NOMAD

133A: DOD part: DEPT. DOD is Department of Defense.

Down:

1D: Poetic stanza: STROPHE. I would not have got this word without the across fills.

2D: Spaces between leaf veins: AREOLES. The singular form is AREOLA, which was clued as " Ring around the pupil" last time.

4D: Space station of old: SKYLAB. From 1973-1979. MIR was de-orbed in 2001.

6D: New bread abroad: EUROS. I like this clue.

9D: Start of sphere: ATMO. Atmosphere.

10D: View from Mount Pisgah: DEAD SEA. Where is Mount Pisgah? I only see Mount Nebo.

15D: Capp of comic strips: ANDY. Hmm, I'd love the clue to be ANDY Garcia related.

17D: Long-snouted animal: TAPIR. He is ugly, like a pig. I did not know his name before.

28D: Day's march: ETAPE. Again, without the adjacent fills, I would not have obtained this word. I don't think I understood "Day's march" last time when we had the discussion.

29D: Bay window: ORIEL. See this link.

45D: Animal fat: LARD. It's pork fat. Suet is beef/mutton fat.

47D: Thin wdt.: NAR. Narrow? What is "wdt"? Width?

50D: Defeat decisively: TROUNCE

51D: Bombing runs: SORTIES

52D: Corey of "Murphy's Romance": HAIM. Another google. Have never heard of Corey HAIM or "Murphy's Romance" before.

53D: Silents star Theda: BARA. The Vamp. I often confuse her with the "It" girl Clara Bow.

55D: Oscar winner Kedrova: LILA. She won Oscar for "Zorba the Greek".

63D: Supreme Court Justice Black: HUGO. What case is he famous for?

74D: Far from the flock: LOST

94D: Diamond of "Night Court": SELMA. Is she the pretty girl on the front row? I've never heard of her name before.

96D: Fretting: IN A STEW

98D: Tapioca source: CASSAVA. Have you had fresh CASSAVA before?

102D: Yellowstone attraction: GEYSERS. Great picture.

108D: Eviction: OUSTER

109D: Trooper's gun: RADAR. Or the Nehi drinker (M*A*S*H).

119D: Vincent Lopez theme song: NOLA. I could only find this theme music clip, not the song.

C.C.

Saturday November 8, 2008 Allan E. Parrish

Theme: None

Total blocks: 30

This does not feel like an Allan E. Parrish puzzle, does it? There are no Z, Q or X. I think Barry Silk's puzzles are more consistent, with all those scrabbly letters.

I just had a quick look at my blog summery earlier. Since Jan 21, we've solved 45 Alan P. Olschwang puzzles, 28 Alan E. Parrish, 25 Michael T. Williams, 20 Barry Silk and 18 Josiah Breward. I wish John Underwood could be more productive. Some of Norma Steinberg's and Stan Whitten's puzzles are very entertaining too.

I don't expect much grumbling about this puzzle today. Pretty straightforward cluing. Most of the new words are obtainable from the adjacent fills. The clue for TRADE NAME (33D: Corporate ID) should not be abbreviated.

Across:

1A: '80 arcade game: MS. PAC-MAN. Stumper for me. I only knew PAC-MAN.

15A: Bologna tongue: ITALIANO. Both Jude Law and Matt Damon are great in "The Talented Mr. Ripley". I like "Tu Vuo' Fa L'Americano", though I don't understand the meaning of the lyrics.

17A: Denial: NEGATION

20A: Loss of memory: AMNESIA. I also love "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind". It's about AMNESIA, lacunar AMNESIA to be exact.

23A: Show shock, e.g.: REACT. "It's not what happens to you, but how you REACT to it that matters". Hard to obtain Epictetus' stoical self-discipline though.

26A: NASA orbiter: ISS (International Space Station). Our editor likes to clue ESA as "NASA's ISS partner".

27A: 1997 Nicolas Cage movie: CON AIR. Some of it is too violent for my taste. I like the song "How Do I Live".

31A: Space station visitor: ASTRONAUT. I have an autographed John Glenn picture.

34A: Behind with bills: IN ARREARS

39A: Ones with a will: TESTATORS. What is the word for "Ones without a will"?

45A: Old-time actress Renee: ADOREE. I forgot. Saw this clue before. She was a silent film star. And she died when she was only 35, without a will.

46A: D-Day vessel: LST. It's used in "Saving Private Ryan".

55A: Aircraft pioneer: CESSNA (Clyde). Ha, I forgot all about him & his aircraft. My poor graying brain!

59A: Spanish pianist Jose: ITURBI. No idea. Here is ITUBRBI playing Chopin's "Fantaisie-Impromptu".

61A: Molded dishes: ASPICS. I am going to try this vegetable ASPIC someday. Marvelous idea to sprinkle over some pistachio nuts.

62A: Pittsburgh players: STEELERS. They have won 5 Super Bowls. Vikings: 0.

Down:

1D: Mediterranean island: MINORCA. Great map. See MINORA & Majorca? They belong to Spain. I've never heard of it before.

3D: Public spectacle: PAGEANT. What a mysterious case with that little PAGEANT princess JonBenet!

5D: Tickets: CITATIONS

12D: Vertical bar between panes: MULLION. Unknow to me. These are not MULLIONS, are they? They are horizontal.

24D: Piranha: CARIBE. No idea. Ozzi Guillen likes to call Twins players "Piranhas".

30D: Greek advisor at Troy: NESTOR. Another unknown. Dictionary says NESTOR is "the oldest and wisest of the Greeks in the Trojan War and a king of Pylos." He was an Argonaut and was 110 when the war started. I don't remember seeing him in "Troy".

32D: Conductor Toscanini: ARTURO. I forgot his name, again. He has appeared twice in our puzzle before. He was a conductor for the New York Philharmonic for 10 years (1926-1936). He looks so intense.

35D: One-time link: AT A. One AT A time.

36D: Island near Martinique: ST LUCIA. See this map.

37D: Mollycoddles: COSSETS. Any other synonym besides pampers?

40D: Mouth: ORIFICE

44D: French port on the channel: CALAIS. Forgot also. Shouldn't the clue be "French port on the English Channel"?

47D: "Countdown" network: MSNBC. I only watch "Hardball with Chris Matthews" now.

51D: Fractions of a joule: ERGS. 1 joule = 10 million ERGS.

52D: Frobe of "Goldfinger": GERT. No idea. Got his name from the across fills.

58D: Latvian chess maker: TAL (Mikhail). He was born in Riga, Latvia. See this picture. I've never heard of Iakov Damsky.

C.C.

Friday November 7, 2008 Barry Silk

Theme: How Now Brown Cow

20A: Feeling Okay?: HOW ARE THINGS?

29A: Occasionally: NOW AND THEN

46A: Rolling Stones hit: BROWN SUGAR

56A: Farmer's outing contest: COW CHIP THROW

I was bewildered by Barry's choice for 46A. I wanted a BOW* phrase, thinking of a WOW rhyming theme. (Addendum: I was not aware of "How now brown cow" phrase. Thanks, Chris.)

I've never heard of COW CHIP THROW. I did not know the meaning of COW CHIP. How can people stand the smell?

Are you OK with the HORNET clue (67A: Charlotte pro)? Shouldn't be "New Orleans pro"? I also don't understand the STRIP clue (55D: Get into your birthday suit?). How so?

Across:

1 Math proof letter: QED. Have not seen ERAT (Often clued as "Part of QED") for a while.

4A: Triton's sch.: UCSD (University of California, San Diego). I did not know that Tritons is their mascot.

14A: Verse starter?: UNI. No guts to clue it as "Sex starter"?

15A: Lanai neighbor: MAUI. I wonder why Hawaiian language are so vowel intensive.

16A: Having a tapering end: POINTY

18A: Tournament passes: BYES

23A: Luke's Jedi mentor: OBI-WAN. Do you know how the author came up with this name? It sounds very Japanese.

33A: Glum drop: TEAR. Very unexpected clue. I like it though.

44A: Linguist Chomsky: NOAM. I forgot. Saw this clue before. Is he very famous?

48A: Key with 3 sharps: A MAJ. I suppose "3" indictes that the answer needs to be abbreviated.

53A: QVC rival: HSN (Home Shopping Network). QVC will be a very scrabbly answer for "HSN rival".

54A: Court decree: ASSIZE. This is a new word to me. I thought of WRIT.

59A: #1 hit by the Fleetwoods: MR. BLUE. Here is the song. New to me also.

62A: Purim's month: ADAR

65A: Soda brand: NEHI

68A: C. Everett __: KOOP. I googled. He was Reagan's Surgeon General.

Down:

1D: Cape Cod clam: QUAHOG

4D: Eclipse shadow: UMBRA. Partial shadow is penumbra.

6D: Mutton fat: SUET. Is it the same as lard?

9D: Beatnik instrument: BONGO DRUM. BONGO was clued as "Drum type" in Barry's last puzzle. Here is "Let There Be Drums" again.

12D: MO town: STL. I am used to the "Cardinal's letters" clue.

13D: Part of a wd: SYL And PHRASE (64A: String of word).

27D: Cameo stone: ONYX. This ONYX tile looks broken.

31D: Injustice: WRONG

32D: Bo's number: TEN. Very sexy bellyrolling scene.

33D: Brownstone, perhaps: TOWNHOUSE. Or this brand of cracker, perhaps.

37D: Roof with removable panels: T- TOP

40D: Nonvenomous snake: BOA. I had no idea that it's nonvenomous.

43D: Comparable to candy or kisses: AS SWEET. How old is this sign?

45D: Plains tribe: ARAPAHO. Sigh, I forgot again. It's been in our puzzle 3 times since I started blogging.

49D: Desert illusion: MIRAGE. Do you like "The English Patient"?

50D: Portuguese islands: AZORES. See this map. It's in North Atlantic. New to me.

51D: Gems: JEWELS

57D: Slugger Aaron: HANK. We often see AARON clued as "Slugger Hank".

59D: Radar gun meas.: MPH

C.C.

Thursday November 6, 2008 Alan P. Olschwang

Theme: Eloquence in Politics

20A: Start of Mario Cuomo quip: YOU CAMPAIGN IN

36A: Part 2 of quip: POETRY. YOU

54A: End of quip: GOVERN IN PROSE

Wow, I always thought this was Hillary Clinton's original quote. I am eager to see if Obama can deliver what he has promised. I've been mesmerized by his oratory style, very poetic.

Mario Cuomo had left the political arena when I arrived in the US, so I don't have a good understanding of his political philosophy. This is such a great line, so succinct and true. It kind of reminds me Beverley Nicols' quote on marriage: "Marriage is a book in which the first chapter is written in poetry and the remaining chapters written in prose."

Quite a few EE combinations in the grid. Very bad clue for MERGE (31D: Blend together). See 9D: Amalgam: BLEND. A simple "Traffic sign" would have avoided this duplication. I also dislike the clue for NATO (56D: Amer.-Eur. alliance). Canada and US are NATO members. Mexico is not. Why "Amer." then? The clue is not tight.

I also don't understand the clue for GEES (42A: Launch forces). How so?

Across:

1A: FBI agent: G-MAN

9A: Full-scale attack: BLITZ. I am glad the campaign ad BLITZ is over.

17A: NYC theater: ANTA (American National Theatre and Academy). No idea. Is it very famous? Why British spelling for "Theatre"?

18A: Afrikaner: BOER. "Farmer" in Dutch.

28A: Orch. section: STR

29A: Disney dwarf: GRUMPY. Hmm, too bland a clue. I really like the "Happy colleague?" clue for "DOC" last time. "Sleepy friend?" or "Dopey pal?" or "Bashful buddy?" all sound great.

32A: Apple leftover: CORE. And PIP (36D: Apple seed). Have you tried honeycrisp yet?

33A: Scottish River: TAY. It's the longest river in Scotland.

43A: Big galoot: OAF. KLUTZ will be a great fill too. Very scrabbly.

51A: A Gabor: EVA. I like this Anne Bancroft "Yma Dream" too. I suppose you can add Uma (Thurman), Oprah, Yoko (Ono), etc. Oh, Yo-Yo Ma too. Who else can you think of?

52A: Thelma or Tex: RITTER. Know Tex RITTER, not Thelma.

61A: Andy's radio partner: AMOS. I memorized it from doing Xword. Did you listen to it when you were a kid?

67A: Low-blow weapon: KNEE. Very unexpected clue for me.

Down:

2D: Canon rival: MINOLTA. I am not familiar with this brand. It's merged with Konica in 2003.

3D: Insurance statistician: ACTUARY

4D: Rights grp.: NAACP. Wow, it's founded in 1909.

5D: Go under: SUBMERGE

7D: Primal goddess of Greeks: GAEA. She is the Mother Earth. Her husband Uranus is Father Sky. They are parents of Titans and the ugly Cyclopes. Zeus is their grandson. I am getting better at this Greek Mythology.

11D: Sir Walter Scott hero: IVANHOE. Nope, I've never heard of this hero or the book. Interesting, Wikipedia that Robin Hood is mentioned in this novel also.

13D: Final letter: ZEE. Another insipid clue. What about "Head of Zoo"?

27D: "The One I Love": R.E.M. Here is the song. What does "Another prop has occupied my time" mean?

35D: Rumor spreader: GOSSIP

38D: Ones who pine: YEARNERS. Is this even a word?

40D: Poetic planet: ORB

44D: Truly amazing: AWESOME. I love Doesitinink's "There is no charge for awesomeness." AWESOME!

57D: Fertility goddess: ISIS. It's a Egyptian goddess. This is ISIS nursing her son Horus. Notice her cow-horned head? That's her symbol.

C.C.

Wednesday, November 5, 2008 Edgar Fontaine

Theme: Nanny (Fine) Rhyme Time

20A: 1977 PGA Championship winner: LANNY WADKINS

50A: Slugger with second-most grand slams: MANNY RAMIREZ

3D: "Lethal Weapon" star: DANNY GLOVER

25D: Candy brand: FANNY FARMER

LANNY WADKINS is a familiar name to most golf nuts. He used to cover every PGA Championship for CBS. I did not know that he won 1977 PGA. Filled in MANNY RAMIREZ quickly, though I had no idea that he has the second-most grand slams (20), only 3 behind the record holder Lou Gehrig. Had no problem getting DANNY GLOVER. But FANNY FARMER was new to me.

Nice and easy puzzle for me. There were several unfamiliar names, but most were obtainable from the adjacent fills. I liked how the two Across theme answers intersect the two Down clues.

My favorite today is the clue for YUAN (52D: Dynasty before Ming). YUAN is mostly known as "Chinese Currency ". YUAN Dynasty (1271-1368) was founded by Khubai Khan, grandson of Genghis Khan.

In his poem, Samuel Taylor Coleridge poem wrote: In Xanadu did Kubla Khan /A stately pleasure-dome decree /Where Alph, the sacred river, ran /Through caverns measureless to man/Down to a sunless sea."

The Dynasty before YUAN is called Song, and the Dynasty after Ming is Qing, the last Dynasty in China. Had to memorize this in primary school, the same as you did for all the 43 US Presidents I suppose.

Most of the crossword constructors must be excited that Obama won the election. Now they can have fun cluing his two daughters' names: Malia and Sasha, very crossword-friendly, plenty of vowels.

Across:

1A: Brewski: SUDS. This reminds me of a clue for ALE: "Bath suds". Bath is the spa capital of the UK. It's located in south-west England. See it? It's close to Bristol.

5A: Shoot from a cover: SNIPE. I love Clint Eastwood/John Malkovich's "In the Line of Fire".

10A: Principal Skinner's nemesis: BART. I got it from the down clues. Have never watched "The Simpsons".

14A: Grizzly weapon: CLAW

23A: Opposite of the seven seas?: DRYLAND. I did not know that DRYLAND is a word.

29A: "Pursuit of the Graf __": SPEE. I've never seen this movie, have you? I cannot understand the fun of "I am as mad as Hell, and I am not going to take it any more!" in Peter Finch's "Network".

31A: "Exodus" hero: ARI. He is portrayed by Paul Newman in the movie.

32A: Bases on balls: WALKS

35A: FDR's Blue Eagle: NRA (National Recovery Administration). NRA is also National Rifle Association of course. I wonder why it's called Blue Eagle instead of Brown Eagle?

38A: Nabokov novel: PNIN. Learned from doing Xword. Have never read this book.

39A: RPM part: REV. I wrote down PER first.

45A: Fire from a low-flying aircraft: STRAFE. I can never remember this word. So close to STRIFE in spelling.

53A: River of Pisa: ARNO. Here is the map. See Florence and Siena?

56A: Bible version: DOUAY. No idea. I strung the answer together from across fills. What is DOUAY?

Down:

2D: Of an arm bone: ULNAR. Ulna: ULNAR. Radius: RADIAL.

4D: Tchaikovsky ballet: SWAN LAKE. Very pretty.

5D: Gives rise to: SPAWNS.

9D: Applied scientist: ENGINEER. I would not have got this answer without the across fills. Such a narrow definition of ENGINEER.

21D: Kissers: YAPS. I sure have problem with English slangs.

26D: Gallico novel, "Mrs. __ Goes to Paris": 'ARRIS. Have you read this novel? I've never heard of it before.

27D: Laughing: RIANT. Present particle of French verb "rire" (laugh). Risible has the same root. (Note: Thanks, Martin.)

32D: Merchandise: WARES. New definition to me. I always associate WARE with hardware, software, silverware, etc.

37D: Magnificent: SPLENDID. Do you like NPR's "The SPLENDID Table"?

38D: First public performance: PREMIERE. Same pronunciation as premier, right?

48D: Love in Limousin: AMOUR. Good alliteration in the clue. "Love in Louvre" (Cupid & Psyche) will be great too.

48D: Silk -cotton tree: CEIBA. See this picture. Kind of like cotton, isn't it? New word to me. Wikipedia says it's also called kapok, and it's a sacred symbol in Maya mythology.

49D: Pound and Stone: EZRAS. Know the poet Pound, have never heard of EZRA Stone before. What is he famous for?

51D: Sushi wrapping: NORI. I also love NORI rice cracker.

55D: Keanu in "The Matrix": NEO

C.C.

Tuesday November 4, 2008 Willy A. Wiseman

Theme: Winner or Loser?

4A: Winner or loser?: BARACK OBAMA

58A: Winner of loser?: JOSEPH BIDEN

1D: Winner or loser?: JOHN MCCAIN

31D: Winner or loser?: SARAH PALIN

I wish 58A were JOE BIDEN. But then the symmetry would have been lost.

Great puzzle, perfectly matched theme pairs in the grid. Brilliant! Even the none-theme presidential fills have a 180-degree symmetry and evenly divided between GOP and Dem:

3D: W: GEORGE BUSH. His anagram is "He bugs Gore".

29D: "Commander in Chief" star: GEENA DAVIS. Her Veep is a Democrat.

25D: Dick Cheney's predecessor: AL GORE

28D: Presidential also-ran of the past: LANDON. He lost to FDR in 1936.

Only one minor flaw, the clue for EKING (44A: Barely making do) should be "Barely making do, with "out").

I want to share with you this hilarious Yma Dream. Some of those guests are our crossword stalwarts: Yma Sumac, Ava Gardner, Abba Eban, Oona O'Neill, Eva Gabor, Uta Hagen, Ida Lupino, Matah Hari. The others are: Ugo Betti, Ona Munson, Aga Khan, Ira Wolfert, Ilya Ehrenburg, Anna Magnani, Pia Lindstrom & Mieczyslaw Horszowski. I love those photos in the clip.

All right, if you haven't, get out and vote.

Across:

16A: Exploit too much: OVERDEVELOP. Isn't this a photography term?

19A: Saul's uncle: NER. I memorized this name from doing Xword. OK, so Saul's father is Kish. And Kish and NER (father of Abner) are sons of Abiel. So complicated.

21A: Dodger Pee Wee: REESE. Ha, I did not know that he is a champion marbles player and pee wee is a small clay marble. I always thought he was very short. He is in the HOF of course. Here is a picture of REESE with Jackie Robinson.

24A: Speaks roughly: RASPS. Or "Sings roughly"? Do you like "Good Morning, Vietnam"?

28A: George Sand novel: LELIA. I've never read LELIA. I truly believe Chopin would have lived longer had he not left George Sand. "There is only one happiness in this life: to love and to be loved".

33A: Closet item: HANGER

34A: Former queen of Spain: ENA. She is the Queen of Spain from 1906 -1931.

39A: A Gandhi: INDIRA. Interesting, her son Rajiv's name is "lotus flower" in Hindu language. Why would she name her son a flower?

43A: Yellowish pink: PEACH. It's symbol of longevity in China.

50A: Altar of stars: ARA. It's always the palindromic ARA if it's a 3-letter blank.

56A: Extinct: DEAD AS A DODO. New expression to me, though I knew DODO is extinct.

Down:

2D: Too much to take: UNBEARABLE. Our Xword actress Lena Olin is in "The UNBEARABLE Lightness of Being". She also appears in "Chocolat", together with Juliette Binoche, Judi Dench and Johnny Depp.

4D: Hobgobins: BOGIES. What does "Boogie Street" refer in Leonard Cohen's song?

7D: Island group in the Moluccas: ARU. See this map. It's Indonesia's island. I've never heard of ARU or Moluccas before.

8D: Mil. watchdog grp.: CDI (Center for Defense Information). Absolutely no idea. Got it from the across clues. It's established in 1972 according to Wikipedia.

26D: Tuscany commune: SIENA. Our editor has been very fond of "commune" lately. But it's a city, isn't it?

30D: Factual fault: INACCURACY

37D: Phom Penh cash: RIEL. I guessed. Here is their bank note.

39D: Mushroom with black gills: INKY CAP. Unknown to me. See this picture. Wikipedia says INKY CAP is "poisonous when consumed with alcohol, hence another common name Tippler's Bane." Have you ever had it? Does it blacken your tongue?

45D: Chrissie of the Pretenders: HYNDE. Another unknown. Here is their "Stop Your Sobbing".

46D: Pilgrimage to Mecca: HADJ. Also spelled as HAJJ. It's the 5th pillar of Islam.

C.C.

Monday November 3, 2008 Josiah Breward

Theme: The Fab Four

17A: Cornpone: JOHNNYCAKE

66A: NYC street game: RINGO LEVIO

11D: Asian figwort trees: PAULOWNIAS

29D: D. C. neighborhood: GEORGETOWN

I recognized the PAULOWNIA tree when I saw the picture. I could almost smell its flowers and see my childhood. But too bad, I did not know its English name.

I am not fond of today's theme entries at all. They don't feel tight to me. And the word "Asian" should not have appeared in theme answer 11D or 38A: Asian nation (LAOS). Why not "China's neighbor"? ASIAN is an answer for 31D: From Tibet, for example.

Easier puzzle though. I was really hammered hard yesterday.

Across:

1A: Abrasive tool: RASP. Our editor likes to clue RASP as "Coarse file".

15A: Kukla's pal: OLLIE. Kukla, Fran & OLLIE.

16A: "Peter Pan" pet: NANA. She is a St. Bernard.

25A: New York City harbor entrance: NARROWS. See the red strait? Not a familiar name to me.

58A: Author of "Portnoy's Complaint": ROTH (Philip). No idea. Here is the book cover. Is it an interesting read?

65A: "Typee" sequel: OMOO. Its subtitle is "A Narrative of Adventures in the South Seas".

68A: Bryn __ College: MAWR. Edith Hamilton's alma mater. Kathrine Hepburn also attended this college. I love the letter she wrote to Spencer Tracy in her biography "Me, Stories of My Life". Very touching.

69A: "Lou Grant" star: ASNER (Ed). He also "kidnapped" Kunta Kinte in "Roots".

70A: "The __ on the Floss": MILL. George Eliot novel. I got it from the down clues. What is it about?

Down:

1D: Hindu prince: RAJA."British rule in India" (before 1947) is RAJ.

6D: San Francisco Bay island: ALCATRAZ. I love "The Rock". It's set on ALCATRAZ Island.

8D: "Blue Voyage" poet: AIKEN (Conrad). Unknown to me. "Blue Voyage" is a novel. I like these two lines from his "All Lovely Things":"All lovely things must have an ending /All lovely things must fade and die..."

10D: Ancient Greek poet: ANACREON. Unknown to me also. Wikipedia says he is a "lyrical poet" and notable for his "drinking songs and hymns". And his songs often celebrated "women, wine, and entertaining, and today can be considered eroticism". Very interesting information: Francis Scott Key modified Stafford Smith's melody of "To ANACREON in Heaven" for "The Star-Spangled Banner".

39D: Mediterranean coast: SEASHORE. Why "Mediterranean"?

45D: Tennis star of the '90s: SAMPRAS. He has won 14 Grand Slam singles title: 2 Austrian Open, 7 Wimbledon, 5 US Open. Roger Federer now has 13 singles titles: 3 Australia Open, 5 Wimbledon and 5 US Open.

54D: John Lennon kit: WOMAN. Here is the song.

60D: Sicilian resort town: ENNA. The volcano is ETNA, "I burn" in Greek.

C.C.

Sunday November 2, 2008 Alan P. Olschwang

Theme: Fooled Again

23A: Start of Groucho Marx quip: IN AMERICA YOU CAN

38A: Part 2 of quip: GO ON THE AIR AND

56A: Part 3 of quip: KID THE POLITICIANS,

78A: Part 4 of quip: AND THE POLITICIANS

94A: Part 5 of quip: CAN GO THE AIR

114A: End of quip: AND KID THE PEOPLE

Oh boy, solving a crossword puzzle definitely needs total focus. I felt very distracted earlier and went through hell trying to fill in all the blanks.

Normally I don't have so many problems getting into Olschwang's wavelength, After all, I've solved 43 of his puzzles since I started blogging. But there seems to be an inordinate amount of proper nouns in today's grid. Several corners presented a Sisyphean challenge to me. I thought I had pushed the damned rock to the hilltop. But it kept rolling back. Now I have in front of me an ugly puzzle full of wite-out marks.

I do like the following clues:

36A: Piper's first name?: PIED

9D: Publicity stunt, of a sort: PHOTO OP

43D: Listens without hearing?: LIP READS

The "Lat." clue for ID EST (40D: That is: Lat.) should not be abbreviated.

Across:

5A: Peacock constellation: PAVO. Latin for "Peacock". Here is the map. Unknown to me.

19A: Okinawa port: NAHA. Another unknown. See this map. It's also Okinawa's capital.

20A: Ludwig or Jannings: EMIL. Jannings is the first winner of Oscar for Best Actor ("The Way of All Flesh"). Ludwig is a German author known for his biographies of Goethe, Napoléon, etc. I knew neither of them.

21A: Egypt's Mubarak: HOSNI. He succeeded Anwar Sadat.

22A: Conductor Georg: SOLTI. Another unknown. Wikipedia says he won 31 Grammys in his life time. He spent over 20 years with the Chicago Symphony. He looks so engaged.

27A: Like a lamb sauce: MINTY. Odd clue to me. Chinese people do not use any mint sauce for lamb dish or for any dish. Toothpaste is MINTY.

28A: Old French dance: GAVOTTE. Well, I am not Marie Antoinette, how am I supposed to know this old french dance?

29A: Maj. Barbara's creator: GBS (George Bernard Shaw). Toughie. I've never heard of "Major Barbara" before. Only knew his "Pygmalion".

31A: Dam-building grp.: CVA (Columbia Valley Authority). I only knew TVA.

32A: City west of Detroit: ANN ARBOR. It's home to the University of Michigan (Wolverines).

34A: Hawaiian acacia: KOA. See this picture. KOA wood is valued for furniture and musical instruments. New to me also.

35A: Calculator key abbr.: CLR (Clear). I dislike this clue.

37A: Swarm member: TEEMER. What a strained answer!

41A: Class for U.S. immigrants: ESL

47A: Restrain: INHIBIT. And RASHEST (93D: Most impulsive).

64A: Norway evergreen: RED PINE. It's our state tree.

65A: Arrived at: GOT UP TO. Mine was "TOT UP TO" for a long long time.

67A: Medley or Tilden: BILL. Had no idea that Bill Medley is the half of The Righteous Brothers. Great "Unchanged Melody". Was Bill Tilden a gimme to you? I was not familiar with him at all.

70A: Resembling: suff: OID. Since ISH does not fit. Android for example.

72A: Waldorf-__ Hotel: ASTORIA. This Waldorf salad looks good. I like the walnuts to be toasted and honeyed.

90A: First name in mysteries: ERLE. Did you know that Halliburton's founder is also named ERLE?

91A: Bygone map abbr.: S.S.R.

99A: New Hampshire city: NASHUA. See this map. I don't even know who are NH's senators.

107A: Narrow inlet: RIA

109A: Fall into obscurity: ECLIPSE

111A: Change shape: MORPH

112A: Square one: GET-GO

121A: "The Flying Dutchman" girl: SENTA. I googled. SENTA was clued as "Actress Berger" before.

122A: Comic actor Arnold: STANG. Another google.

123A: Door hardware: HASP. My first thought was JAMB.

124A: Spanish muralist Jose: SERT. See his murals at the Rockefeller Center. I am not familiar with his name.

Down:

1D: Give life to: ANIMATE

2D: Bicuspids' neighbors: CANINES. I did not know the meaning of "Bicuspids".

3D: Bed of a river: CHANNEL. I always thought CHANNEL is just a waterway.

4D: Type of gong: TAM-TAM. No idea. See this picture. Sounds so close to tom-tom drum.

7D: "The __ of Wakefield": VICAR. New book to me also. It's written by Oliver Goldsmith.

8D: Norwegian saint: OLAV

10D: Cassock: SOUTANE. Sigh... another new word to me. What do you call the band Pope Benedict wears around his waist?

11D: Last of coal?: ESCE. Coalesce. It's the "Last of opal" too.

12D: Actress O'Connor: UNA. Got her name from across fills. Have never heard of her before. Which famous movie(s) is she in?

13D: Town in Country Kerry: DINGLE. Here is the map. It's a ridiculously difficult for me. I had DIN??E for eons.

15D: Panama proposition: POR

30D: Highlands hillside: BRAE

33D: Astronomer Tycho: BRAHE. Hmm, this moustache picture looks familiar. I must have searched for him before.

35D: Colette novel: CHERI. The new movie starring Michelle Pfeiffer will be out next year. Colette also wrote "Gigi".

38D: Trade association: GUILD

39D: Jiffy: TRICE

44D: Hautboys: OBOES. Hautboy is French for OBOE.

48D: Brit. medical syst.: NHS (National Health Service). This has become a gimme to me.

49D: Step cautiously: TIPTOE

51D: Plane bisecting the body: SAGITTAL. All right, this is a great picture to show you those bisecting planes. Somehow I just could not get the letter G.

53D: Serengeti bounder: IMPALA. They look so skinny.

55D: Netlike caps: SNOODS

56D: Mystical teachings: var. KABALA. Cabala is more common of course.

57D: Part of eyes: IRISES. I am still waiting for van Gogh's IRISES clue.

60D: Lead-ins: INTROS

68D: Vietnam Memorial artist: LIN (Maya). She does have "A Strong, Clear Vision".

70D: Basketry willow: OSIER. Wow, look at these red OSIER dogwood. Kind of like cotton plants after all the cottons are picked.

88D: Writer H. L. __: MENCKEN. Yet another google. He is known as "The Sage of Baltimore". And he is "regarded as one of the most influential American writers and prose stylists of the first half of the 20th century."

91D: Card cheat: SHARPIE. New SHARPIE definition to me.

98D: Rainbow: pref.: IRID. As iridescent. I would not have obtained the word without the across fills.

101D: Sailing ships: SLOOPS. It looks like a boat rather than a ship.

109D: Icelandic epic: EDDA. Elder EDDA is the "Poetic EDDA". Younger EDDA is the "Prose EDDA". Both written between 8th to 13th century.

110D: God of Memphis: PTAH. I always think of ELVIS when I see this clue. PTAH is an Egyptian god. Wikipedia says "In art, he is portrayed as a bearded mummified man, often wearing a skull cap, with his hands holding an ankh, was, djed, the symbols of life, power and stability, respectively." Interesting WAS. I wonder if any constructor thought of cluing DJED as "Egyptian symbol of stability" rather than "spun record" (DJ-ed).

113D: Hood's heater: GAT. I thought ROD first.

116D: Explode: POP. "Explode"? I have problem accepting this clue.

C.C.

Saturday November 1, 2008 Matthew Higgins

Theme: None

Total blocks: 27

Total words: 68

Letter S must be all constructors' favorite letter. It can start a word and end a word. It can be followed by either a vowel or a consonant. I guess that's why we see it popping up everywhere in the grid, esp the first row & last row, first column and last column.

We get 27 S'es today, too many for my taste. But one thing I really like about Higgins' puzzle is the lack of pop culture and actor/actress names, which often stump me. Additionally, he always does solid research on his clues. Nearly all of them are dictionary-accurate, though not lively.

Some of the clues today are pretty good:

32A: Virginia, for one: REEL

5D: Half and half?: ONE. Without the "?", the clue would be good too, but boring.

50D: Bannister, for one: MILER. Roger Bannister is the first man to run the mile in less than four minutes.

Across:

1A: Considers probable: SUPPOSES. Three S'es for the first word, three S'es for the last word (SCORSESE).

9A: Nabokov novel: LOLITA. Have you see the movie remake? My favorite Jeremy Irons movie is "Damage".

17A: Squatter: NESTER. Homesteader. I thought a "Squatter" is someone who squats.

20A: Sinuous: SERPENTINE. "Sinuous" is a new to me. I know "tortuous" though.

26A: Greek harp: TRIGON. It's "an ancient Greek stringed instrument with a triangular shape". New to me. I only know LYRE. If you find a TRIGON picture, please share with us. I could not find one on the internet. (Addendum: Here is a TRIGON picture, and here is LYRE).

28A: Roman deck count: LII. 52. Also the "Number of weeks in a year" for the Romans.

30A: Fix firmly: SECURE. I like the verb cluing.

35A: Wheys: SERA. I am more familiar with the "Blood fluids" clue.

42A: State in northwestern Mexico: SONORA. It's bordering Arizona.

53A: Cancellation: RESCISSION. Only knew the verb RESCIND.

57A: Bay windows: ORIELS. I tend to confuse ORIELS with ORIOLES.

60A: French department on the bay of Biscay: VENDEE. See this map. I've never heard of it before.

61A: Subtraction starters: MINUENDS

63A: "Mean Streets" director: SCORSESE. Have you seen "Mean Streets"? Looks interesting.

Down:

1D: Groups in groups: SUBSETS

3D: Like plunder at sea: PIRATIC. I wanted PIRATEY. I've never heard of PIRATIC before.

9D: State of being cheerlessly solitary: LONELINESS. LONELINESS can be beautiful and inspiring, esp if you are comfortable being alone.

11D: Tilt to one side: LIST. Is this solely a nautical term?

12D: Arteries' innermost linings: INTIMAE. New to me. The plural form of INTIMA can also be INTIMAS.

13D: "I Was a __Werewolf": TEENAGE. Have you seen the movie? It looks horrifying.

14D: Gland near the kidneys: ADRENAL. This is where adrenaline comes from, correct?

21D: Ballet movements: PLIE. These girls are pretty.

27D: Close calls: NEAR-MISSES

29D: Forms into small pellets: GRANULATES. OK, I checked, it's a word.

41D: Statements of obvious veracity: TRUISMS

43D: Semi-translucent glass: OPALINE. It's the same as opalescent, isn't it?

C.C.

Friday October 31, 2008 Allan E. Parrish

Theme: "Classical" Songs

17A: Hit by Della Reese and Puccini: DON'T YOU KNOW

39A: Hit by the Toys and Bach: A LOVER'S CONCERTO

65A: Hit by Eric Carmen and Rachmaninoff: ALL BY MYSELF

Is there a special term for this kind of classical music adapted song? Covering? Are there any other songs inspired by classical music?

This is Eric Carmen's "ALL BY MYSELF", and here is Rachmanioff's "Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor". I cannot really tell which part is plagiarized, can you?

Too many proper names in the grid. I was expecting a Halloween themed puzzle today.

I did not like the NAT clue (19A: Country: abbr.). "___ King Cole" would have fit the theme better. "Amtrak" should be added to the ACELA clue (15A: Bullet train).

Across:

1A: Mr. Basketball of the 1950s: MIKAN (George). He's a legend in Minnesota. Played for the Minneapolis Lakers in the 1950s. So sad that he had to sell his memorabilia to pay his medical cost.

6A: Sports commentator Albom: MITCH. ALBOM was clued as "Tuesdays With Morrie" author Mitch not long ago.

26A: Ms. enclosure: SAE

28A: Composer Schifrin: LALO. No idea. He composed the theme music for "Mission Impossible".

33A: "Original Sin" novelist: P. D. JAMES. I googled her name. What's the book about? (Southern Belle, thanks.)

37A: Rodeo type: LARIAT. What's the difference among LARIAT, lasso and riata?

44A: __ Island, NY: STATEN. Vaguely remember this Island from watching "Law & Order" reruns. Wikipedia says "Godfather" and "Working Girl" were shot there.

46A: Typical one: EPITOME. My first thought was EXAMPLE.

52A: Lawless princess?: XENA. Lucy Lawless has remarried. I wonder if she still keeps her Lawless surname.

57A: Part of CAP: PATROL. CAP is Civil Air PATROL. New to me.

68A: Stimpy's pal: REN. "You eediot!" Learned from doing Xword.

69A: Deejay Casey: KASEM. Another google for me. I've never listened to "American Top 40/20/10". Wikipedia says he provided the voice for Shaggy on "Scooby-Doo".

72A: Temples: SHULS. Somehow I always associate "Temples" with "pagodas". I suppose it's because I grew up in a city famous for its Wild Goose Pagoda, which is closer to downtown Xi'An than the Terra Cotta Warriors' Tomb.

Down:

1D: 1401: MCDI

4D: Montezuma, notably: AZTEC. Clue me next time! (San Diego State)

5D: Napoleon's commander at Waterloo: NEY (Michel). I am just so obsessed with this nickname: "bravest of the brave".

7D: Interior Secretary under FDR: ICKES (Harold L). Wikipedia says he is "the longest serving Cabinet officer of any department in U.S. history". His son Harold M. ICKES was Clinton's Deputy Chief of Staff. (Note: James Wilson served as Secretary of Agriculture for 16 years under four presidents. Thanks, Jim Fratzke.)

11D: Small chicken: BANTAM. Named after the Indonesia city BANTAM. I've never heard of this breed of tiny chicken before.

13D: From the sublime to the ridiculous: BATHOS. I obtained this word after I cheated on P. D. JAMES. How is different from PATHOS?

32D: Long overcoat: ULSTER. Named after ULSTER the Irish province.

34D: ___ ladder: JACOB'S. Again, without P. D. JAMES, I would not have got this word. Remember Jacob's tears we had several weeks ago?

40D: West bank city: RAMALLAH. See this map. The Palestinian Authority is located there.

42D: Credit-tracking corp.: TRW. Unknown to me. It's now called Experian. So the clue should have "old" as a hint.

48D: Have in mind: INTEND

54D: Vocalist Mercer: MABEL. This is her "Isn't He Adorable". I've never heard of her before. "Vocalist" is the same as "Singer", right?

63D: Cookout brand: T-FAL. Do you own any Emerilware applicance?

66D: Baton Rouge sch.: LSU. The Fighting Tigers. Shaq's alma mater.

67D: Fashion letters: YSL. I am still in love with YSL Opium.

C.C.

Thursday October 30, 2008 Alan P. Olschwang

Theme: Be a Team Player

18A: Start of Bernard Baruch quote: WE DID NOT ALL

24A: Part 2 of quote: COME OVER ON

36A: Part 3 of quote: THE SAME SHIP, BUT

49A: Part 5 of quote: WE ARE ALL IN

54A: End of quote: THE SAME BOAT

Hooray! I actually understand this quote. I've never heard of Bernard Baruch though. He also said:

"If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail."

"Millions saw the apple fall, but Newton was the one who asked why."

This grid looks strange. I've never seen 2 theme answers split up in the center (Row 8) on a 15*15 before. I was confused for a minute, thinking this might be a left-to-right symmetrical puzzle rather than a conventional 180 degree rotational one. Stupid!

Once again, I feel like this puzzle was guest-edited by someone else:

17A: Bull markets: UPS. Our editor Williams would clue it as "Raises".

20A: Cost of living?: RENT. Williams: "Monthly payment"

19D: Alternative to smoking?: NON. Williams: "French/Nice turndown".

29A: Piccadilly Circus statue: EROS. Williams: "Greek god of love".

43A: Deer sirs: STAGS. Great clue. Williams: "Some male deer".

62A: 1969 Peace Prize grp.: ILO. Williams: "Worldwide workers gp."

63A: In place: SITED. Williams: "Located".

47D: Pint drink, perhaps: ALE. Williams :"Pub order".

It's nice to have fresh clues. Our brains need constant stimulation. The clue for CEO (22A: Boardroom bigwig) needs an abbreviation hint. "Boardroom VIP" is good.

Across:

4A: Deep, unnatual sleep: SOPOR. Rip Van Winkle is waking up after 20 years of SOPOR.

14A: "Seinfeld" uncle: LEO. I like this episode.

27A: Olympic sled: LUGE. I just learned that LUGE is also the winning word of 1984 National Spelling Bee. Have you seen "Spellbound"? Those kids are incredible.

28A: Deposited: LAID. I don't think any editor wants to try "__ off" clue during this worrying economic downturn period.

33A: Former French coin: SOU. Another old French coin is ECU.

46A: "South Park" boy: STAN. It also means "country": Pakistan, Afghanistan, etc. Persian origin.

48A: Baloney!: PISH. New word to me.

51A: Junior exec.: ASST

52A: Chem. contaminant: PCB (Polychlorinated Biphenyl). No idea. Its spelling does look toxic.

61A: Churchill Downs event: DERBY. The on-line clue is "Kentucky hat?", which sounds more appealing to me.

65A: Big Apple letters: NYC. Technically, it should have "initially" in the clue.

Down:

2D: Censure: REPROACH. I often confuse "censure" with "censor".

7D: Greek vowel: OMICRON. It's between XI and PI. I cheated on this one.

8D: Cowboy's showcases: RODEOS

10D: Keep inside: BOTTLE UP

11D: Old-fashioned warning: ALARUM. No idea. I am not Shakespeare.

12D: Caviar source: BELUGA. I've never had BELUGA caviar before. Love salmon roe on sushi (ikura).

25D: "Chicago" role: VELMA. Played by Catherine Zeta-Jones. Great musical.

26D: Buffalo's county: ERIE

33D: Alan Ladd classic: SHANE. Have never seen the movie. Samuel Jackson did mention the name SHANE in "The Negotiator".

35D: Take a tour: SIGHT SEE

37D: Brief announcement: BULLETIN

38D: Early or late: UNTIMELY

39D: Warner Bros. creation: TOON. I like the alliteration in those character names: Daffy/Donald Duck, Porky Pig, Roger Rabbit, etc. And DOC (59D: Elmer, to Bugs). I am still waiting for the "What's up, ____?"clue.

43D: Forceful flowings: SPATES

44D: Hebrew month: TISHRI. New to me. It's the first month in Hebrew calendar. The last month is ELUL.

49D: Typist's stat: WPM

Does anyone know what's the music behind this "Women in Art" clip?

C.C.