Friday December 12, 2008 Robert H. Wolfe

Theme: Sound Alike

17A: Golf?: PLAY A ROUND (AROUND)

55A: Take a dive?: THROW A BOUT (ABOUT)

11D: Compete in a steeplechase?: JUMP A BOARD (ABOARD)

28D: Race on earth?: RUN A GROUND (AGROUND)

I was not aware of the boxing term "dive". But "PLAY A ROUND" came to me immediately so I got the theme very early on. It certainly helped me fill in several blanks. I found today's down fills much easier to obtain than the across ones.

Two major problems in this puzzle:

1) DIVE (24A: Swoop) is an answer, so "dive" should not be part of the clue for 55A.

2) POUT (51D: Look sullen) and POUTY (33A: Peevish) in the same puzzle? They are of the same root for goodness sake.

I do like the clues for GOOSE (6D: Nene, for one) and GUEVARA (41D: Che from Argentina). Lovely to see "Nene" and "Che" as clues rather than the fills. I had the mistaken idea that Che was from Cuba.

Across:

1A: Walker in water: WADER. Nice clue. All alliterations.

14A: Napoleon, for a time: EXILE. Another nice clue. Try "Dalai Lama" next time. He has been an exile for a long time.

15A: SSS classification: ONE A. Here is a detailed list. Have you ever seen a Purple Heart medal in person?

16A: King novel, "__ Key": DUMA. Got the book title from down fills. I've never read any Stephen King book.

21A: Bonny girl: LASS. "Bonny" is rooted in BON (57D: __ mot (witticism)).

22A: Swooped: DIPPED. Are they are really interchangeable?

25A: __ Gorda, FL: PUNTA. New city to me. What is it famous for? The name is "Fat Point" in Spanish.

26A: Low, foglike clouds: STRATI. Singular form is STRATUS.

34A: Small traveler in space: METEOROID

36A: Japanese ethnic group: AINU. The aboriginal Japanese. AINU is literally "human" in their language.

37A: Hindu garment: var.: SAREE. SARI is more common. Same with RANEE, which is a variant of RANI.

41A: Prickly, Scottish shrub: GORSE. I totally forgot about this bush. Dictionary says it's a genus of Ulex. Kind of reminds me of IBEX (Mountain goat) and IlEX (Holm oak). A bunch of weird looking words.

45A: Rope on the range: RIATA. Sometimes it's REATA. What's the difference between RIATA and LARIAT?

47A: Whence Zeno: ELEA. Zeno of ELEA.

50A: B.C. or P.E.I.: PROV. We have provinces (22) in China. Xi'An is the capital city of Shaanxi Province.

58A: Potent beginning: OMNI. Also "Present beginning".

61A: Art movement: DADA. OK, here is Dadaist Duchamp's "Mona Lisa". Here is the explanation on the DF meaning of L.H.O.O.Q..

Down:

3D: Naturalist Fossey: DIAN. Got her name from across fills. Is DIAN a nickname of DIANA?

9D: Pharisee rival: SADDUCEE. Completely unknown to me. Dictionary defines SADDUCEE as "a member of a Palestinian sect, consisting mainly of priests and aristocrats, that flourished from the 1st century b.c. to the 1st century a.d. and differed from the Pharisees chiefly in its literal interpretation of the Bible, rejection of oral laws and traditions, and denial of an afterlife and the coming of the Messiah."

10D: Make work: ADAPT. Are you comfortable with this clue?

29D: Job extras: PERKS. What amazing PERKS Google offers to its employees!

44D: Exhale forcefully: BLOW. Also the title of a Johnny Depp movie.

52D: Inning sixths: OUTS. Baseball term. "Three up, three down". Why "sixth" instead of "six"?

53D: Very small: ITSY. This reminds me of a good clue for SANTA ("He has a small staff").

C.C.

Thursday December 11, 2008 Alan P. Olschwang

Theme: Just Do It

17A: Start of G. K. Chesterton quip: IF A THING IS

29A: Part 2 of quip: NOT WORTH

40A: Part 3 of quip: DOING

48A: Part 4 of quip: IT'S WORTH

64A: End of quip: DOING BADLY

Well, Chesterton's original quote is "If a thing is worth doing, it's worth doing badly".

Mr. Olschwang's distorted quip does not make any sense to me. Why would you want to waste your effort on something that's not worth doing?

This is the first time that the quip actually helped me fill in quite a few blanks. Normally I rely on the down clues for the across quip answers.

Across:

1A: Waste from smelting: SLAG. Or DROSS for a 5-letter synonym.

2A: Lie about publicly: SMEAR. I suppose so, though I associate SMEAR with anonymous sources and their sleazy tactics.

10A: Pool surface?: FELT. Why "?" mark? I don't think it's needed.

20A: Panama Canal engineer: LESSEPS. I googled his name. He was also the developer of the Suez Canal. Wikipedia says he was only involved in the early efforts of the Panama Canal construction. And George Washington Goethals is more well-known as the chief engineer.

21A: Bargains: DICKERS. New word to me. DICKER sounds very DF.

23A: Chou of China: ENLAI. It's Zhou ENLAI in Mandarin Chinese. He is our first premier and the most beloved one.

32A: Emulate a beaver: GNAW. Lots of squirrels in our neighborhood. So I would have clued it as "Emulate a squrrel".

45A: Cultural mediums: AGARS. I always thought the plural form for medium is media.

59A: Flower arrangement: IKEBANA. I like this one. Very simple & Zen-like. I think you can break IKEBANA into IKE + BANA if you have difficulty remembering this word. Eric Bana is excellent in "Munich" and "Troy".

66A: Guitarist Clapton: ERIC. OK, clue ERIC as "Actor Bana" next time then. Here is Clapton's "Wonderful Tonight". So good. What a rock muse Pattie Boyd is!

68A: Cambodia currency: RIEL. Cambodia is the only country with RIEL as its currency. I tend to confuse RIEL with RIAL, the prevalent currency in the Middle East.

71A: Swimmer Torres: DARA. She looks pretty. Saw her name somewhere before, but then I promptly forgot. Had to google again.

Down:

1D: Big name in tools: SKIL. I got this tool after cheating on LESSEPS. What does SKIL stand for?

2D: Word of woe: ALAS. Would be AH ME if the clue were in plural form ("Words of woe").

4D: Readied: GOT SET

5D: Maritime cargo: SHIPLOAD

6D: Table constellation: MENSA. New constellation to me. I always associate MENSA with those who have high IQ. MENSA is "table" in Latin. "Stupid" in Spanish.

26D: Desert plants: CACTI. The hosts for those cochineal insects.

27D: Enlightened one, in Buddhism: ARHAT. I obtained the answer from across clues. It refers to "a Buddhist who has attained Nirvana through rigorous discipline and ascetic practices". I just mentioned the Zen enlightment Satori yesterday. How is Nirvana different from Satori?

31D: Dressing pick: RANCH. I don't understand this clue. Why "pink"? (Note: I misread the clue as "Dressing pink" earlier.)

41D: Hades, e.g.: GREEK GOD

46D: LP surface: SIDE B

49D: Crosspiece of a ladder: RUNDLE. I got the answer from across clues. New word to me.

51D: Part of a knight's outfit: TABARD. New word to me. It's sleeveless. What is that logo emblazoned on his TABARD?

60D: 1998 Sarah McLachlan hit: ADIA. I really have difficult memorizing this song. ADIA is Swahili for "Gift from God".

61D: Dodger, in MLB jargon: NLER (National Leaguer). I wish we could get rid of DH in American League.

62D: "Clan of the Cave Bear" heroine: AYLA. I drew a blank on her name again. The book is written by Jean M Auel whose surname appeared in our puzzle occasionally.

C.C.

Wednesday December 10, 2008 Allan E. Parrish

Theme: SKI Trails (Famous Polish Americans)

20A: "Morning Joe" co-host: MIKA BRZEZINSKI

38A: 1967 Triple Crown winner: CARL YASTRZEMSKI

55A: Longtime Duke coach: MIKE KRZYZEWSKI

SKI is "of", like English suffix "son", Norweigian "sen" and Spanish "ez". Irish put their O' and Mac in the middle, so do Arabs with their "ibn" and Italians with their "di/de". Does anyone know what's the difference between "di" and "de"? What would be my name in Polish? Xi'anski?

I only knew 55A as "Coach K". And Seattle Slew popped into my brain for 38A. I was thinking of the racing Triple Crown. I've actually got quite a few Carl Yastrzemski baseball cards. But I did not know that he is a triple crown winner. Even if I did, I would not know how to write out his surname.

As for Mika Brzezinski, I think I will know how to spell her family name when hell freezes over. There is a reason why Jim Miklaszewski (NBC Pentagon correspondent) is called "Mik".

Did you have a hard time with this puzzle? I didn't. I googled those three names very early on. And now I have got absolutely no satisfaction from filling in all the blanks. Such an empty feeling. Terrible. From now on, I will only seek Google as a last resort.

Did you notice the style difference between Barry Silk and Allan E. Parrish? Both of them are great creators of scrabbly puzzles. But Silk uses lots of Q's, while Parrish is an expert on Z's. I often found letter Q missing in his puzzles.

Across:

1A: Richie's mom, Fonzie-style: MRS. C

14A: Junior of the NFL: SEAU. He is a 12-time Pro-Bowl linebacker for the Patriots.

16A: Like the Arctic: POLAR. My first reaction is frigid.

18A: Israeli weapons: UZIS

24A: Chilean catch: SEA BASS. Why "Chilean"?

25A: Maker of 6D: MOTOROLA And 6D: Slim cell phone brand: RAZR. Does anyone have a iPhone?

32A: Ancient Turkish city: ADANA. Here is the map again. I simply forgot. Identical clue in this constructor's last puzzle. Wikipedia says ADANA is the fifth most populous city of Turkey.

42A: Deep __ bend: KNEE. Gym term?

43A: "Science of Logic" philosopher: HEGEL. See this book cover. Unknown to me.

48A: School of Paris: SORBONNE. Here is a list of famous SORBONNE graduates. I did not see Jackie Kennedy there.

50A: Old name for a 2-wood: BRASSIE. I thought of mashie, which is 5-iron.

54A: Like some NYC theaters: OOB. OOB is Off-Off-Broadway.

65A: High: pref.: ALTI. Like altitude.

67A: French WWI fighter planes: SPADS. The plane is an aronym of its manufacturer Societé Pour Aviation et ses Dérivés. Foreign to me.

Down:

2D: 20 quires: REAM. Nice trivia.

4D: Swiss ticker: CUCKOO. CUCKOO clock?

5D: Mixer: CLUB SODA

7D: Yavapai Coll. state: ARIZ. I've never heard of Yavapai Coll. Curt Schilling's alma mater.

9D: Way from Rome to Brindisi: APPIAN. My first encounter with APPIAN Way. Wikipedia states that it "was the most important ancient Roman road".

10D: Romantic light: MOONBEAM

11D: "I Still See __" ("Paint Your Wagon"song): ELISA. Here is the song. Unknown to me. I've never seen Clint Eastwood in a musical before.

13D: Gilmore of basketball: ARTIS. What a strange name, ARTIS, ART IS (long?). It's begging for a T.

22D: Buddhist discipline: ZEN. SATORI is often clued as "Zen enlightenment".

27D: Shredded: TORE. 51D: Shred: RIP UP

28D: Whip-wielder LaRue: LASH. Is he well-known? I've never met this guy before.

40D: Focuses (on): ZEROES IN

46D: Glacial ridges: ESKERS. New word to me also.

47D: 3/23/01 Newsmaker: MIR. It's de-orbed on this date. I would not have got MIR without the across fills.

50D: Coll. hotshots: BMOCS. BMOC is Big Man on Campus.

52D: Japanese dog: AKITA. This clue made me think of Mkat. She used to comment here often, together with Katherine and Dennis.

53D: Pound and Stone: EZRAS. Knew the poet Pound, not Stone.

58D: Swiss painter: KLEE. I don't know what he tried to express with this "Flower Myth", do you? Is it something DF?

59D: Holm oak: ILEX. I got the answer after I cheated on coach K's name. Both the clue and the answere were new to me. ILEX sounds like an animal, like IBEX. Holy hotwick curvy horns!

C.C.

Tuesday December 9, 2008 Normal Steinberg

Theme: Window Dressing

21A: Hollywood auditions: SCREEN TESTS

56A: Reappearance on stage: CURTAIN CALL

3D: Fix-up: BLIND DATE

36D: Elm or maple, e.g.: SHADE TREE

This theme is so similar to Doug Peterson's June 25 puzzle.

No pun or any wordplay in this puzzle. Very straightforward clues. Rather bland though. Take LEAP (31A: __ of faith) for example, I remember once we had "Act of faith?" clue. I also like "Quantum movement?".

I guess it's too risky to play with ERECT (68A: Upright). I can't remember which constructor tried to clue ERECT as "Like member of congress?" for the NY Sun. I had no idea that when not capitalized, congress can have a sexual meaning (#5). Is that a familiar definition to you?

Across:

1A: Westminster, e.g.: ABBEY. Beatles' fans probably want the clue to be "ABBEY Road". The song "Come Together" is on this album.

17A: Tissue layers: PLIES. I guess our editor was not in the mood for "Knee-bending movements" any more.

19A: Writer Shelley: MARY. She wrote "Frankenstein". Wife of Percy Bysshe Shelley. I was not aware that she was writer.

26A: Actor Borgnine: ERNEST. I guessed. Have never heard of this guy before. What did he say is his secret for long life?

29A: "Star Wars" warrior: JEDI

39A: Petruchio's wife: KATE. From "The Taming of the Shrew". Another guess. Knew Kate, did not remember her husband's name.

40A: Songwriter Newman: RANDY. Unknown to me. Wow, this guy scored so many films.

64A: __ incognita: TERRA. Or TERRA Cotta, TERRA firma.

70A: __ souci (carefree): SANS. What is the opposite of SANS souci? Avec souci?

Down:

2D: Manila machete: BOLO. I obtained the answer from across fills. Not familiar with BOLO knife. Coconuts are very hard to crack.

7D: Knowing: WISE. This is a new definition of "Knowing" to me. Can you say "He is a knowing guy"?

8D: Aunt Bee's nephew: OPIE. I am more familiar with the "Mayberry kid" clue.

10D: Hucksters: ADMEN. I just learned the meaning of HUCKSTER a week ago when it's clued as "Hawker". Had no idea that it could also be an adman.

28D: Jacob's first wife: LEAH. Rachel's sister. I vaguely remember this Bible story.

29D: Singer Jackson: JANET. I was actually watching TV when the "Wardrobe malfunction" happened. I did not think it's too much though.

41D: "__Never Walk Alone": YOU'LL. Does it refer to Elvis' song?

44D: Post-storm help grp.: FEMA. I can't imagine the lives of those FEMA employees. Too much pressure.

51D: Head covering: SCALP. I wanted SCARF.

53D: Sign of spring: ARIES. Wow, they need more than one marriage to find happiness?

57D: Ephron or Lofts: NORA. Did not know the British author NORA Lofts. I liked NORA Ephron's "Sleepless in Seattle". She has such a wonderful sense of humor. I still could not believe that Carl Bernstein did not tell Ephron who "Deep Throat" was when they were married.

C.C.

Monday December 8, 2008 Stanley B. Whitten

Theme: The Who

15A: Lendl playing badly?: IVAN THE TERRIBLE

37A: Namath serving drinks? JOE THE BARTENDER

58A: O'Donnel working construction? ROSIE THE RIVETER

I was thinking of JOE THE PLUMBER. Had never heard of JOE THE BARTENDER.

Besides BILLY THE KID and JACK THE RIPPER, who else do you think will be a great theme answer candidate? This constructor (Stan B. Whitten) is probably too modest to clue STAN THE MAN. Had our ex-governor JESSE "THE BODY" run for the senate seat in November, Minnesota probably would not have this messy recount now.

I adore this puzzle. Great theme and a rare action-filled "Do" puzzle. Lots of verbs, so unusual: GOOF, ERRS, EMBED, ELATES, ENJOY, REVERE, OGLE, SNEAK, STATE, OVERLAP, ELEVATE, STUNS, MOOED, and ROTATES.

Some of the fills can also be verbalized too: DETOUR (34A: Way around), LIVE (2D: In person), OUT (7D: On the market), FORCE OUTS (9D: Some failures to advance runners) and ENTER (62A: Key PC key). I think a simple "Go in" would be perfect for ENTER.

Across:

1A: Pixyish: ELFIN. I always thought the adjective for pixie is "pixie-like".

19A: Palm starch: SAGO. Is anyone suffering from gluten intolerance/sensitivity? SAGO flour is safe, so is rice flour of course.

16A: Govt. agents: T-MEN. I think the most famous movie about T-MEN is probably "The Untouchables". Kevin Costner plays Eliot Ness.

20A: Long-distance operators?: REMOTES. Nice clue.

21A: Spotted wildcats: OCELOTS. Do you know that cougar, puma, mountain lion and panther are the same thing?

24A: First wife?: EVE. I suppose you can also clue EVE as "First mother?/grandma?" or "First offender?". "Second name?" though.

28A: Clarinet relative: OBOE. Ah, the most popular "blow" instrument in Xword!

30A: Dr. Tim's drug: LSD. I sure don't believe "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" has anything to do with LSD.

44A: French movie: CINE. I always thought it's CINEMA.

64A: Scottish dagger: SNEE. Dirk is also "Scottish dagger". I don't know the difference between the two.

Down:

3D: "The Film-__ Man": FLAM. Here is clip. I've never seen the movie.

4D: Uncorrupted: INNOCENT. They are not really synonymous, are they?

10D: Subway gate: STILE. Good change. I am tired of the "Steps over a fence" clue.

11D: Early pulpit: AMBO. New word to me. This AMBO looks quite modern.

12D: Moolah: GELT. I wonder how many calories are in one of these GELT coins. Probably the same as in one clementine.

18D: Conditional contraction: HE'D. I don't think I would have got it without the across fills. Sometimes simple word stumps me.

27D: Afrikaners: BOERS. Taiwan was under the Dutch control from 1624 to 1662 (The Dutch Formosa).

29D: Cylinder diameter: BORE. I did not know this.

30D: Rock shelf: LEDGE. New definition to me also.

31D: Inscribed stone pillar: STELA. The plural is STELAE.

34D: Undies: DELICATES. That's why they should be hand-washed.

39D: Happening that didn't happen: NON-EVENT. I don't understand this clue. The event, though anticlimatic, did happen, right?

50D: Pitcher Hershiser: OREL. Wikipedia says OREL Hershiser is "the only player to receive the Cy Young award, the Championship Series MVP award, and the World Series MVP award in the same season (1988)."

51D: Lemming cousin: VOLE. What is he eating? Lemming is new to me.

53D: Unit of loudness: PHON. Learned from doing Xword. Looks like a sound prefix to me.

C.C.

Sunday December 7, 2008 Arlan and Linda Bushman

Theme: Must "C" Movies

23A: Movie about George M. Cohan's sweet tooth?: YANKEE DOODLE CANDY (DANDY)

43A: Movie about interpreter fees?: COST (LOST) IN TRANSLATION

63A: Movie about a rain forest chef?: THE JUNGLE COOK (BOOK)

91A: Movie about a kennel owner's purchase: A FISTFUL OF COLLARS (DOLLARS)

114A: Movie about a versatile container?: A CAN (MAN) FOR ALL SEASONS

16D: Movie about a dance troupe?: THE CAST (LAST) WALTZ

62D: Movie about a sleuth's heavenly helper? THE CLUE (BLUE) ANGEL

Such a clever theme. Perfect theme title as well.

I thought of the movie "Some Like it Hot", but the "C" change will result "Come Like it Hot", probably too DF. "Annie Hall" is a great candidate too, but it's impossible to clue "Annie Call" grammatically. "Fargo" (Cargo) does not have enough letters to be a theme answer.

Of the above 7 movies, the only movie I've seen is LOST IN TRANSLATION. And the only movie I've never heard of is A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS.

I seriously doubt the GOLD clue (109A: Fort Knox cache) is the constructors' original. They are far too experienced a team to make clue/answer (65D: Military stronghold: FORT) duplication mistake.

The cluing mistake for DETENTE (17D: International accord) somehow comforts me. I thought I am the only one who is often confused by DETENTE and ENTENTE. What can I say? Confused minds think alike?

I loved the clue for SPA (117D: Bath, for one). Very clever. Bath is a city in England famous for its spas. See the map? It's to the west of London, close to Bristol.

Across:

1A: Fuzzy fruit: KIWI. Fuzzy indeed. But really we don't call KIWI "Chinese gooseberry" in China.

5A: Use elbow grease: SCRUB. I wonder why NASA prefers SCRUB over cancel when they call off the shuttle launch.

10A: 6-pointers: TDS. I still think "NFL" is needed in the clue for abbreviation hint. 6 is not good enough for me.

19A: Seed protector: ARIL. Testa is the hard, outer coating.

20A: Bath sponge: LOOFA. This is how it looks like before it enters your bathroom. Very tasty when stir-fried with a little bit of meat.

21A: Location of Bradley University: PEORIA. I googled. Caterpillar Headquarters is based here also. And WACO (57A: Baylor U. location). U should not have been abbreviated. Dr. Pepper Museum is in WACO.

29A: Printer's measures: PICAS

30A: Beckham's game: SOCCER. We call it football in China.

36A: Yarn bundle: HANK. Like a skein? I've never heard of HANK used as "Yarn bundle" before.

37A: Close-knit group: CLIQUE. Coterie is one letter too long.

39A: Salami type: GENOA. Can you believe that I've never had salami?

40A: Adriatic gulf: TRIESTE. See Gulf of TRIESTE. It's at the north end of Adriatic Sea. New to me also. Such a sad looking word, so close to TRISTE in spelling.

48A: Deserve: RATE. How so? I wanted EARN.

50A: "Leave it to Beaver" co-star: TONY DOW. Would not have got his name without the surrounds.

63A: Grilled sandwich: PANINI. This veggie PANINI looks so good. When do you use the singular form panino then?

67A: Bremen exclamation: ACH. I guessed. Not familiar with this city/state Bremen.

75A: Twisted treat: PRETZEL

79A: Rose extract: ATTAR. I wonder how many rose petals it takes to make a drop of rose oil.

80A: Rhine siren: LORELEI. Also spelled as LORELEY, which can also refer to the rock along the Rhine River where the siren LORELEI lured the sailors. Too bad, Kazie, I simply forgot it again. All I could think of is Circe.

83A: Legendary Hun king: ATLI. I can't understand why Attila the Hun is also called ATLI.

89A: Disco of "The Simpsons": STU. Learned his name from doing Xword. MOE is the bartender in "The Simpsons".

96A: Hack's question: WHERE TO

99A: Baker's item: PIE PAN. What kind of pie did you have for Thanksgiving?

104A: Ancient letters: RUNES. The first six letters of RUNES are F, U, TH, A, R, K, hence Futhark.

108A: "Over the Rainbow" composer: ARLEN (Harold). Normally I like the original song, but this medley of "Over the Rainbow" and "What a Wonderful World" is so beautiful.

110A: Osaka Okay: HAI. The same with "Cantonese Okay". "Mandarine Okay" is "Shi".

119A: Block: SCREEN

123A: Grandstander: HOTDOG

Down:

1D: Danny or Stubby: KAYE. Got this name from across fills. I know neither of them.

5D: Make glossy: SLEEKEN. New verb to me.

6D: Musical wrapups: CODAS

9D: Undesirable individual: BAD PENNY. New slang to me.

15D: "Banana Boat" shout: DAY-O. I've never heard of "Banana Boat" before. I like that guy's voice. The tune sounds so similar to "Come Mr. Taliban".

18D: Breathing device: SNORKEL

24D: Boredom: ENNUI

33D: Brainpower meas.: IQ TEST. Nice answer.

39D: Small cave: GROT. Only knew grotto. Also, I did not know that cavern is a big cave. Always thought cavern is smaller.

44D: Final strike: THREE. Great clue. Oh by the way, Babe Ruth’s jersey number is 3. Mantle's is 7. Kirby Puckett's number is 34. He died too young.

55D: Hit by the Stones: ANGIE. Is that Mick Jagger? He looks so different.

60D: Kin of CHiPs: LAPDS. But the official acronym for California Highway Patrol is CHP, isn't it?

63D: Opinion leader: PUNDIT

64D: Biotic beginning?: ANTI. Antibiotic. Very unexpected clue.

66D: Home decor co.: IKEA. Do you like the Swedish style food at IKEA?

73D: Bout-stopper: TKO (Technical knockout). The clue needs "for short".

82D: Immature newt: EFT

83D: Estrange: ALIENATE. I like this word "Estrange". I also like espouse.

86D: Hines footwear: TAP SHOES. I guessed. Have never heard of "Hines footwear" before.

89D: Eddied: SWIRLED. I wanted TWIRLED.

94D: Richly appointed: OPULENT. I did not know that "appoint" can mean "furnish".

103D: Monteverdi opera "L'__": ORFEO. Another google. ORFEO is Italian for Orpheus. He shouldn't look back when he tried to bring his wife Eurydice from Hades. Kind of like Lot's wife Pillar of Salt story, isn't it?

104D: Pine product: ROSIN. Never know when to put ROSIN and when to put RESIN.

106D: Pulverize: MASH

107D: Behold, to Guido: ECCO. Italian for ECCE I presume. Guido is the guy who invented the musical notation. Remember the ELA (Guido's high note)?

111D: Egyptian cross: ANKH. Very easy to mix ANKH with the Punjab religion SIKH.

C.C.

Saturday December 6, 2008 Matthew Higgins

Theme: None

Total blocks: 24

Total words: 66

Nice looking grid, isn't it? So open. Only 24 blocks (black squares). This is a record for us. More often we have between 27-32 on a Saturday themeless puzzle. NY Time's fewest block record is 18.

I think I am going to count the total words for Saturday grids from now on. 66 sounds quite low. Our average is probably 70. FYI, the maximum words allowed for a TMS themeless is 72 (78 for themed puzzle). This puzzle holds the record for lowest word count (only 59) in Jim's database.

The plethora of affixes (S, ER & ING) still bother me. But they sure helped me tremendously in tackling today's offering. TARSALS (26D: Ankles) are "Ankle bones", not "Ankles", right?

I have to say again, this grid just looks so pretty.

Across:

8A: Run playfully: SCAMPER. This word always brings to mind the photo of JFK Jr. crawling out of the Oval Office desk. He later said in an interview that the space was too small for Bill Clinton and Monica to play around.

15A: Quintessence: EPITOME. I would like to see QUINTESSENCE clued as "Epitome" some day.

16A: Greek cafe: TAVERNA. New to me. Ink, is this a neuter or a feminine noun?

17A: Invigorate: LIVEN UP

18A: Ice-breaking remarks: OPENERS

19A: Old Turkish title: AGA. I have a question regarding AGA Khan. Is it an Irani hereditary title? Where is his office based? I seem to remember a Pakistani AGA Khan who was active in the 1950s and dated some Hollywood actresses.

20A: Goldbrick: SLACKER. Not familiar with this slang. I was thinking of ingot.

27A: Sees a mental picture: ENVISIONS

29A: More inadequate: LAMER. INANER came to my mind first.

30A: Makes certain: SEES TO IT

31A: Action of endearment: CARESS. And LONGINGS (33D: Strong persistent desires). Hmmm, "amor vincit omnia". What a wonderful 15-letter phrase! Perfect for a Valentine's Day theme answer.

32A: Swinging freely: PENDULOUS. This is the only "ing" clue that I liked.

37A: Athenian philosopher: SOCRATES. He said "Know thyself".

41A: Word-weary: BLASE

42A: One of Sri Lanka's languages: SINHALESE. Or Sinhala. Fascinating, Wikipedia says "Sinha" means "lion", and "la" means "to seize". Unknown to me. The only Sri Lanka language I was aware of is Tamil. And I always associate it with the Tamil Tiger force.

43A: Stadium top, often: DOME. Can you believe that the Twins new stadium will be roofless?

44A: Mold, mildew and smut: FUNGI

45A: Bristle: SETA. Bristly would be setal or setose.

46A: Dos Passos trilogy: U.S.A. I was so happy I finally remembered this trilogy.

49A: Slap the cuffs on: NAB

54A: ABaAabAB rhyme scheme: TRIOLET. No idea. Waiting for Clear Ayes to explain what this scheme is. Funny how it has "Trio" as prefix rather than "Octo" since it has eight lines.

Down:

1D: Interacts: RELATES. I like how it intersects with TOLD (23A: Informed). Wish the clues reflected the tie between the two.

2D: Mediocre imitator of an artist: EPIGONE. New word to me. All I could think of is copycat.

3D: Cockle or mussel: BIVALVE. Oyster is also BIVALVE too. Do you like raw oysters? So tasty!

6D: Light-sensitive photographic coating: EMULSIONS. Got it from the across clues.

7D: Resembling a calyx: SEPALOID. Wow, it's a word. I did not know this. Sepal-oid.

9D: Canaveral and Coral: CAPES. Have never heard of Coral CAPE before.

14D: Scan-line patterns: RASTERS. Another new word to me.

21D: Bruising: CONTUSING. The noun form contusion is more commonly used, isn't it?

24D: Arrange: DISPOSE. Not a familiar definition to me.

28D: Cubic meter: STERE. Who actually uses this word in their daily life?

29D: Classic Gene Tierney film: LAURA. Ha ha, I got LAURA today. Felt a bit sorry for LAURA Bush. She deserves a clue.

31D: Red dye from insects: COCHINEAL. Completely unheard of. Sounds so cruel to crush the insects to get the dye. Wikipedia says the COCHINEAL insects live on cacti. Look at these harvesting baskets.

35D: Conclusion: CLOSURE. I wonder any constructor has thought of a "SURE" puzzle, you know, with CLOSURE, COMPOSURE, EXPOSURE, LEISURE, MEASURE, etc.

36D: Small, bushy-tailed monkey: TAMARIN. New monkey to me. It's tiny. Strange mustache. Wikipedia says TAMARIN's gestation is "typically 140 days, and births are normally twins". And they live to be 18 years old when in captivity.

38D: "I was a __ Werewolf": TEENAGE. I forgot. Mr. Higgins used the same clue in his last puzzle. Looks scary.

42D: Guarantee: SURETY

44D: Peggy Lee classic: FEVER. See this clip. I guessed. I actually thought of NEVER first.

53D: One of Bobbsey Twins: NAN. I bet our editor does not like Indian food. Otherwise, he would have clued NAN as "Indian bread".

C.C.

Friday December 5, 2008 Allan E. Parrish

Theme: Roy Orbison Hits

20A: Hit by singer who died 12/6/88: ONLY THE LONELY

35A: See 20A: RUNNING SCARED

54A: See 20A: OH, PRETTY WOMAN

Too bad today is not Dec 6. It would have been a perfectly timed tribute.

Argyle probably enjoyed this puzzle. Roy Orbison is one of his favorite singers. I was only familiar with "OH, PRETTY WOMAN". I struggled getting into this constructor's wavelength. So many unfamiliar names.

I loved the clue for OCTOPUS (27A: Entree that serves eight?). I also liked how POEM (61A: Wordsworth work) intersects RHYME (51D: Poetic match). But why "Poetic" clue when POEM is the answer? I really hate our editor's lack of attention to details.

Across:

1A: IBM offerings: PCS. I don't understand what's so cool about Macs.

4A: Evil org. in Bond novels: SMERSH. I forgot. All I could think of is QUANTUM.

10A: GameCube competitor: XBOX. Or "Playstation" competitor.

15A: Kiribati capital: TARAWA. See this map. Unknown to me. I did not know where Kiribati is.

16A: Top choice, slangily: FAVE

18A: Movie category: ACTION. Or "Director's cry".

19A: Footnote wd.: IBID. "In the same place" in footnotes. I wonder if there is any way to clue IBID as I BID.

24A: Jordan/Bunny film: SPACE JAM. New film to me.

32A: Peter and a Wolfe: NEROS. Here is Peter NERO practicing Chopin Etude. I've never heard of his name before.

34A: Nabokov novel: PNIN. I memorized this novel from doing Xword. Without the P, I would have filled in SESAME for 34D: Magic word (PRESTO).

41A: Ballteam skipper Joe: TORRE. I misread the clue as "Ballteam clipper Joe", so I was thinking of Joe DiMaggio. Why "Ballteam"?

42A: Hobbit ally: ELF. I guessed. Have never read Tolkien's work. Would be a gimme if the clue were "Santa's ally".

46A: Twisted wool: WORSTED. Such a strange looking noun.

50A: Enzo's automobiles: FERRARIS. Another guess. I forgot who Enzo was. I actually read his bio last week and could not understand what "mule-shoer" is.

53A: Hokkaido port: OTARU. See this map. Foreign port to me.

57A: Osbourne of rock: OZZY

59A: Arctic attire: ANORAK. New name to me also. Inuit people are of Asian race, right?

62A: Notably the '72 Dolphin defense: NO-NAME. I was not aware of this. Only knew they had a perfect season.

64A: Cornmeal bread: PONE. And TAMALE (47D: Hacienda hot meal). Do you like Thai style fish wrapped in banana leaf?

65A: Stylish: DRESSY

66A: Byrnes or Hall: EDD. I kind of like "Hall of fame" for EDD.

Down:

1D: Mount __, PA: POCONO. Is it the same as POCONO Mountains?

2D: Carson character: CARNAC. I did not know this role.

4D: Big house: STATE PEN

5D: Austrian physicist Ernest: MACH. I googled. Can never remember this guy's name.

8D: Dives like an eagle: SWOOPS

9D: "__ and Her Sisters": HANNAH. One of the few Woody Allen movies that I liked.

10D: Case for Scully and Mulder: X-FILE

11D: Bette's title character of '62: BABY JANE. No idea. I have zero familiarity with this movie.

13D: Signed, kind of: XED

21D: Ms. de Carlo: YVONNE. She played Lily Munster.

22D: Author Umberto: ECO. He escaped my memory this morning. I used to remember him.

26D: Game pieces: MEN

28D: Swiss canton: URI. Or "Spoon-bender Geller".

33D: E. Bilko's rank: SGT. Another unknown film to me.

36D: Thawed out: UNFROZEN

38D: __-Magnon: CRO. Why not "Magnon opening?". It sounds more interesting, doesn't it?

39D: Cursor relocator: ARROW KEY

50D: Playboy's founder, fondly: HEF. This guy seems to wear pajamas all year long.

44D: Thing to do: ERRAND

45D: Certain claim holder: LIENOR

49D: Immersed: DUNKED. I SOAKED first.

52D: Boulder: STONE. I wanted ROCK.

C.C.

Thursday December 4, 2008 Alan P. Olschwang

Theme: Awakening

17A: Part 1 of a quip: IT'S NEVER TOO

27A: Part 2 of quip: LATE TO GET UP IN

40A: Part 3 of quip: THE

48A: Part 4 of quip: MORNING - UNLESS

64A: End of quip: IT'S PAST NOON

I like getting up earlier and watching the sun rise, with a cup of hot tea in my hands. It's the most beautiful moment of the day.

Some minor flaws with this puzzle:

59A: Haste result: WASTE. There should be a "?" mark for the clue.

37A: Covergirl Cheryl: TIEGS. Should be "Cover girl". CoverGirl is a cosmetic brand. I love their Lash Blast.

49D: Latin being: IN ESSE. The clue is asking for ESSE. IN ESSE is "Actually existing" in Latin.

Otherwise, just a typical Olschwang Thursday puzzle. Nothing exciting. I am really tired of this endless Evan Esar quip.

Across:

1A: Kind of crazy?: STIR. Yawner clue.

19A: Kingston trio: MTA. Another yawner.

22A: Email attack?: SPAM. Do you think Cyberspace will explode some day? So many traffics and junks.

25A: Fridge raiders: NOSHERS

43A: Singer Emmylou: HARRIS. Such a sad "For No One".

45A: Old Turkish title: AGA. Does "Old" here refer to "Not any more" or "Has been existing for a long time"? I am always confused about the exact definition of "Old".

52A: Strands, in a way: SNOWS IN

56A: Power input point: FEED. I don't understand this clue.

70A: Betel nut sources: ARECAS. See this picture. I always thought betel nuts grow on betel plants. Chewing tobacco is very addictive and so bad for your teeth.

Down:

1DL Finished a steal: SLID. I like this clue.

3D: Part of VMI: INST. George Marshall graduated from Virginia Military Institute. If our editor is not strict with partial fills, I bet many constuctors will go for a "Meet Me IN ST. Louis" clue.

4D: Play an improper card: RENEGE

5D: Off-roader, for short: ATV

8D: Packing a punch: POTENT

11D: Pay: COMPENSATE. It's symmetrical partner is THERMOSTAT (29D: A/C controller).

31D: Hawke or Coen: ETHAN. Have not seen "__ Frome" for a long time

36D: Brit. decorations: DSOS (Distinguished Service Orders). What is the equivalent for US military decoration?

38D: Matures: GROWS. I wrote down RIPES first.

44D: Brandy balloon: SNIFTER. New word to me. I also did not know that balloon can be "a large, globular wineglass".

50D: Politico Gingrich: NEWT. Or "Small salamander".

58D: Point of California: DANA. Not familiar with this city. What is it famous for?

61D: Enameled metalware: TOLE

C.C.

Wednesday December 3, 2008 Verna Suit

Theme: Three Lines

17A: Three lines: HEM RECEIVING TAN

39A: Three lines: TICKET FRONT STAG

64A: Three lines: AIR STARTING NECK

3D: Three lines: TIME PUNCH CHORUS

7D: Three lines: HAIR SHORE BOTTOM

11D: Three lines: DATE CLOTHES HEAD

What is a STAG line?

Normally I enjoy this kind of "Three Something" themed puzzles. They tend to have less blocks (30 today, compared with our average 38) and the the grid feels more open. But this morning I simply could not find much common ground with this constructor. I was larruped good.

Struggled from beginning to the end. SHIRR (14A) for "Make cloth gathers"? I only knew SHIRRED eggs. Is GNAR (19D: Snarl and growl) even a word? I've never heard of TETLEY tea (56A: Twinings rival), nor have I heard of the clue Twinings. All I drink is the real Chinese loose leaf tea.

I love the clue for EGOS (38D: Vanity cases). I was thinking of ETUI though.

Across:

1A: Lens: OPTIC. Really? I've never of OPTIC being referred as "Lens".

15A: Bourgeois sculpture: MAMAN. No idea. Why is it called MAMAN? Looks like a spider. Reminds me of ARACHNE (Spider woman of myth).

20A: Avian haven: NEST. I penned in COOP first.

23A: __-a-porter (ready to wear): PRET. Do you like Robert Altman's "PRET -a - Porter"? Pretty funny.

25A: Shows intestinal fortitude: STOMACHS. I sure don't have this "fortitude".

27A: For two, in music: A DUE. Dictionary explains A DUE as "together; in unison".

29A: N.T. book: EPH. Would not have got this one without the down fills. Bible is definitely my Achilles’ heel.

31A: Sound of rippling water: PURL. I only knew the Chinese sound for rippling water: gudu.

44A: Loudmouth lummox: YAHOO. I wonder why Jerry Yang picked up YAHOO for his company.

45A: Minnow cousin: CHUB. New fish to me. It's quite big. Are you sure it's "Minnow cousin"?

47A: Pen name: BIC. My instinctive thought is "AKA".

50A: Follow: ADHERE TO

53A: Martin or Kingsley: AMIS. Knew Martin AMIS only because of his affair with Tina Brown.

64A E. Lansing campus: MSU. The Spartans. I wonder if they will ever change Big Ten into Big Eleven or Big Twelve someday.

66A: At full speed, at sea: AMAIN

Down:

4D: Not std.: IRR. Are you OK with this clue?

5D: Minotaur's isle: CRETE. Some of the Greek mythology are ridiculous. How could a woman fall in love with a bull?

6D: Hook's underling: SMEE

8D: Ex-G.I.: AM VET (American Veterans). Did this answer come to you readily? I don't recall ever seeing this abbreviation before.

9D: Bared: LAID OPEN

10D: Spike TV, once: TNN

13D: Penchants: BENTS

26D: Like damp basements: MUSTY. I found some nice old Life Magazine at the flea market, but most of them are very MUSTY. The smell simply refused to go away, even after I put them under the sunshine for 3 days.

30D: Some e-mail attachments: PDFS

33D: Madagascar primate: LEMUR. INDRI is often clued as "Madagascar LEMUR".

37D: Ancient temple: NAOS. Greek for temple. I forgot. It appeared in our puzzle before.

40D: Lhasa natives: TIBETANS

41D: Lapland native: SAMI. No idea. Did not know where "Lapland" is.

46D: Shell rival: HESS. Last time our editor clued MYRA as "British pianist Hess".

48D: Normandy town: CAEN. ST LO also has 4 letters.

51D: James novel, "__ Miller": DAISY. Has anyone ever read this book?

54D: Sal of song: MY GAL. Here is the poster. Alien to me. I disliked the clue.

57D: Leslie Caron musical: LILI (1953). GIGI is another Caron musical. It's released in 1958.

60D: Designer letters: DKNY. It now belongs to Louis Vuitton. DKNY, Chanel, Dior all spend lots of money for their brand protection in China. Too many fake products.

63D: ID card letters, at times: NMI (No Middle Initial). The answer revealed itself after I filled in the across blanks.

C.C.

Tuesday December 2, 2008 Barry Silk

Theme: CANYONS (40A: Copper or Snake River) (Note: The clue should be "and".)

17A: Evidence weigher: GRAND JUROR

24A: Manhattan neighborhood: HELL'S KITCHEN

51A: Part of Cambridge University: KING'S COLLEGE

64A: Family pariah: BLACK SHEEP

Boy, did the theme come to you immediately? I spent a long time staring at the theme answers. I've never heard of HELLS CANYON, KINGS CANYON or BLACK CANYON before.

So close to a pangram puzzle. Only letter X is missing.

I really like the clues for BRAND NAMES (29D: Trade words?) and SPUR (61D: Stud poker?), very clever. I also like the position of CANYONS.

The clue for YOST (69A: MLB Manager Ned) is inaccurate. "Former", yes. Ned YOST was fired by Brewers after his team was swept by the Phillies in September.

Across:

1A: McAn of shoes: THOM. I just learned this morning that the brand THOM McAn was named after some obscure Scottish golfer Thomas McCann.

10A: Protest-singer Phil: OCHS. Is OCHS a popular Scottish surname? Och is a Scottish for "Gee", like German "Ach" I suppose?

14A: Dynamic opening?: AERO

15A: Red Sea gulf: AQABA. I was so proud I that I finally got this gulf name.

20A: Conductor George: SOLTI. I forgot. SOLTI appeared in a Sunday puzzle before. Wikipedia says he won 31 Grammys in his life time. And he spent over 20 years with the Chicago Symphony.

21A: American chameleon: ANOLE. His throat looks so strange.

23A: Leaky PA reactor: TMI. I don't recall being informed of this accident when I was China. Maybe I was too young to remember.

27A: #1 hit by the Fleetwoods: MR. BLUE. Here is the song. It's #1 hit in 1959, ages ago.

36A: Italian epic poet: TASSO. I forgot. TASSO wrote the epic "Jerusalem Delivered", an account of the capture of the city during the First Crusade. What does he wear on his head?

46A: Generic poodle name: FIFI

47A: Corsica's neighbor: ELBA. Notice those Italian/French place names? So many end in a vowel. Greek language is unique, with so many words end in letter S.

47A: Cologne trio: DREI. And ZWEI (66A: Two, to a Teuton). "Teuton" is so close to "Teton". Grand Teton, what a DF name.

49A: One equinox: VERNAL. This is Dennis' favorite time.

57A: Edison's rival: TESLA. Our editor sometimes clues it as "Unit of magnetic flux". I was stumped last time when the clue was "Electric-coil creator".

67A: Mann of music: AIMEE. Here is her "I Should've Known". I've never heard of this singer before.

71A: Belgian river: YSER

Down:

4D: 12 times a year: MONTHLY. I wanted MONTHS.

5D: Uris novel, with "The": HAJ. Has anyone read this book?

6D: Peer: EQUAL

8D: Amazon download: E-BOOK

9D: Hit by the Beach Boys: DARLIN. I got it from the across clues. Not a familiar song to me. Barry Silk is a Beach Boys fan. Remember his "Good Vibrations" puzzle last time? Well, it sure helped Phillies win the World Series.

18D: God of France: DIEU. And more French words: ETATS (22D: Les __ - Unis) and OEIL (38D: Eye in Aix).

11D: Laundry clipper: CLOTHESPIN

25D: Queen of Sparta: LEDA. The Swan lady. She is Helen's mother.

28D: White Rose __-Tea: REDI. What kind of tea is this? I have no familiarity with it at all.

40D: Pirate's storage: CHEST

50D: Breastplate of Zeus: EGIS. Needs a "var" hint.

51D: Cartoon Kat: KRAZY

52D: Down in the middle: IN TWO

53D: Singer K. T. __: OSLIN. I forgot her name. Nice song.

55D: Corset tightener: LACER. Is this even a word?

65D: Kenan's comedy partner: KEL. Was this a gimme to you? "Kenan & KEL" is completely foreign to me.

C.C.

Monday December 1, 2008 Stanley B. Whitten

Theme: Tutti Frutti

17A: July 4 noisemaker: CHERRY BOMB

53A: Nonsense!: APPLESAUCE

11D: Neato!: PEACHY KEEN

28D: Bicyclist's perch: BANANA SEAT

I was wondering if this constructor thought of Christina APPLEGATE for 53A. It would be a lovely "Inedible fruit" puzzle. Pearl Buck has PEAR in her name.

My real given name consists of two Chinese dynastries whose capital city was in Xi'An. How did you get your name?

I don't like the clue for HOLMES (29D: Doyle's sleuth) because SLEUTH is the answer to 24A: Clue collector. I also hate the clue for SMEAR (5A: Smudge). So many ways to avoid the letter repetition.

Why "Witty quips" for SALLIES (24D)? Aren't all quips supposed to be witty? It should be "Witty remarks", right? By the way, this definition of of SALLY is new to me.

Nice puzzle, but not as sweet as John Underwood's "Fruity Places".

Across:

1A: A little night music?: TAPS. The military bugle night call I suppose. But why "A little"? TAPS is short for what?

14A: "Rhyme Pays": ICE T

19A: Rattan piece: CANE

20A: Stories in installments: SERIALS

21A: Dieter and Lou: BROCKS. Only know Lou BROCK. Have never heard of Dieter. What a strange name! David BROCK probably has more name recognition than either of them. Talk about a flip-flop.

23A: Handyman's letter: DIY. Handyman also needs KIT (34A: Set of parts)

26A: Jazz vocalist Mercer: MABEL. I was so ecstatic about this clue because I finally committed her to my memory. And I am so ready for "Normand of Silent movie".

29A: Beauty parlor do: HAIRSTYLE. Helen Mirren looks great in any HAIRSTYLE.

33A: Lassie's breed: COLLIE. I wonder what's the origin of COLLIE.

36A: Ziegfeld show: FOLLIES. Not familiar with this show. See also the 1946 film trailer.

41A: Forest fauna: PINE TREES. The clue should be "Forest flora".

43A: Perfect or past: TENSE

46A: Six-shooter: PISTOL

48A: Pirate ship: CORSAIR. I forgot. SHIVER ME TIMBERS was clued as "Cry on a CORSAIR" on a NYT puzzle several days ago. Have you used that phrase or "Well Blow Me Down" before?

59A: Der __ (Adenauer): ALTE. Man, this guy's nickname always gives me trouble. It's the same as IL DUCE (Mussolin's title), isn't it? "The leader"?

Down:

4D: "The Lord of the Rings" character: STRIDER. No idea. I guessed.

10D: "Jo's Boys" author: ALCOTT. Have you read this book? I read "Little Women" in Chinese long time ago.

22D: Subterfuges: RUSES. Every time I see "Subterfuge", I see mushroom cloud. Always confuse the word with centrifuge.

25D: "__ of the Field": LILIES. Great movie.

26D: Tidy any loose ends: MOP UP

27D: Treasured violin: AMATI. Strad is the other one.

33D: One of a pair: CORRELATE. I always thought CORRELATE is a verb.

40D: Leave port: SET SAIL

46D: 12-point type: PICA. What is "12-point"?

51D: Rip apart: REND. Its past tense is RENT.

55D: Mom-and-pop grp.: PTA. I was thinking of the Mom-and-Pop stores, so I wanted Small Business Association (SBA?).

C.C.

Sunday November 30, 2008 Josiah Breward

Theme: Canine Connections

23A: Marine canine?: SEA BASS (BASS)ET HOUND

42A: Central American canine?: GUATEMALA (MALA)MUTE

64A: Tennis player's canine?: NADAL (DAL)MATIAN

75A: Dancer's canine?: ASTAIRE (AIRE)DALE

99A: Sculptor's canine?: NOGUCHI (CHI)HUAHUA

117A: Sioux holy man's canine?: SITTING BULL (BULL)DOG

16D: Fancy-tailed canine?: PEACOCK (COCK)ER SPANIEL

40D: Island canine?: GRAND BAHAMAS (MAS)TIFF

Great theme, isn't it? My best Sunday ever. Still needed to google a few proper names though.

Some of the clues struck me as annoyingly and unnecessarily obscure, especially BLAIRS (83A: Brown and Underwood: BLAIRS). Aren't these BLAIRS a better clue?

I think the clue for RAM (88A: Farm butter) needs a question mark to warn the unsuspecting solvers about the word play on butt-er. I could not think of a better way to clue OTHO (110D: Holy Roman emperor). But it has to be reworded because of HRE (78A: Bygone Eur. realm) as an answer in the grid.

I still don't understand the clue for SOLO (109A: Arias for one). Why "Arias" instead of "Aria"? (Addendum: My mistake. The answer is SOLI).

Across:

8A: Sail-extending pole: SPRIT. See this diagram. It's "a small pole or spar crossing a fore-and-aft sail diagonally from the mast to the upper aftermost corner, serving to extend the sail". New nautical term to me.

28A: Seine tributary: OISE. Here is the map. I wonder why there is no le, or la in front of this river. Is it a neuter river?

31A: Height: pref.: ACRO. As in acrophobia. New to me. Somehow I wanted ELEV.

35A: Proud of being wealthy: PURSY. Have never heard of this word before.

45A: Saul's uncle: NER. Learned his name from doing Xword. NER is Abner's father. Saul's father is Kish.

46A: Partner of Porthos: ATHOS. The other Musketeer is Aramis. How come these names all end with letter S? I thought only Greek masculine nouns end with letter s.

51A: Pianist Cliburn: VAN. Is this Dan Rather's voice? I did not know this pianist.

55A: Vinegar produced from fermented ale: ALEGAR. Ale + (Vin)negar. It appeared in our puzzle a few days ago. Sometimes I make my own honegar in summer time: honey and apple cider vinegar.

70A: Slot fills: TABS. Mortise insert is TENON.

71A: Skiing mishap: SPILL. Falling from the skis?

77A: Asian goat: TAHR. I've never seen this Asian TAHR in China. He looks so lonely.

82A: Tropical black birds: ANIS. Normally clued as "Black cuckoos".

89A: Cold remedies?: ICE BAGS. Good clue.

93A: French wine region: RHONE. Its capital is Lyon.

102A: His: Fr. SES. Or her, its.

104A: Eat greedily: ENGORGE. New word to me. Only knew gorge.

111A: Permafrost region: TUNDRA

115A: Like an opera song: ARIOSE. Another new word to me. I've never heard of arioso neither.

122A: Pocatello's state: IDAHO. I guessed. I've never heard of Pocatello before. What is it famous for? Potatos?

Down:

4D: Import-export difference: TRADE GAP

5D: Remove with caution: EASE OUT

8D: Division into factions: SCHISM. Lots of consonants in this word.

10D: Black sheep: ROUE. The likes of Casanova & Don Juan. Have you heard of Lothario?

12D: Tiresome times: TEDIUMS. Strange that the plural form is not TEDIA.

13D: Hawker: HUCKSTER. Another new word to me.

15D: Greek peak: OSSA. It's the only Greek mountain I know.

17D: Spanked: LARRUPED. This word looks so wrong, with the spelling RRUP, yet it's a real word.

18D: Losers: ALSO-RANS. Like Senators McCain & Kerry.

34D: DDE's command: ETO (European theater of operations)

39D: 1930s programs: NEW DEAL. I just learned that Social Security program is part of the NEW DEAL too.

43D: Berman or Cariou: LEN. Have never heard of sportcaster LEN Berman. I like those bobblehead figurines on his shelf. I was not acquainted with actor LEN Cariou either.

50D: Eminent conductors: MAESTRI. I did not know that the plural form for maestro is MAESTRI.

51D: The 4 Seasons singer Frankie: VALLI. Another google. I did not know that it's VALLI who sang "Can't Take My Eyes Off You". Lovely song.

55D: Latin handle: ANSA

61D: "Guitar Town" singer Steve: EARLE. Here is the clip.

66D: Turndown, from Putin: NYET. A "No" from Putin obviously still carries enormous authority in Russia.

69D: Famous meteor shower member: PERSEID. New word to me also. Perseus is the guy who killed Gorgon Medusa in Greek mythology.

76D: Martini's partner: ROSSI. Nice poster.

79D: Moran and Gray: ERINS. Have heard of Moran, not Gray.

83D: Armband: BRASSARD. I was surprised when the dictionary says it's a word. It also looks so wrong. -ARD is suffix denoting "persons who regularly engage in an activity, who are characterized in a certain way, as indicated by the stem; now usually pejorative: coward; dullard; drunkard; wizard. "

84D: Niagara's source: LAKE ERIE. New trivia to me.

85D: Faultfinders: SCOLDERS

93D: Altercation: RUN-IN

96D: Cultivate: NURTURE

100D: Sun god: HELIOS. He is the brother of Selene (goddess of the moon) and Eos (goddess of the dawn). Sol in Roman.

114D: Turkish officer: AGHA. Also spelled as AGA.

C.C.