Wednesday May 6, 2009 Mike Peluso

Theme: GALLERY (43D: Anagram of 54-Across's ending that can follow the first word of 20-, 30-, 40-, and 54-Across)

20A: "Kids Say the Darndest Things!" author: ART LINKLETTER

33A: Congressional bone of contention: NATIONAL DEBT

40A: Decide to prosecute: PRESS CHARGES

54A: Food reaction shared by about 3 million Americans: PEANUT ALLERGY

Does NATIONAL GALLERY refer to National Gallery of Art? I did not know that the place occupied by those press corps is called PRESS GALLERY. Always thought it's just press room or press briefing room. Wikipedia says US Senate established its first PRESS GALLERY in 1841. And the White House did not designate a press room until 1902.

PEANUT ALLERGY is a very creative theme entry, with the anagram ending and a word that can precede GALLERY. Peanut is actually not a nut. It belongs to the legume family. I vaguely remember a teenager died after kissing her boyfriend who had been eating peanut butter. Milk, egg and wheat can be life-threatening to some. Many don't tolerate soy/fish/shellfish and other tree nuts. Those eight food account for about 90% of all food allergies.

Once I had a tuna sandwich and I reacted severely. The doctor could not tell whether it's the tuna or wheat that caused my problem.

Smooth sailing this morning. I think I like puzzles with a simple 4 theme entries. Dan Naddor's heavy themage puzzles are awe-inspiring. But they overwhelm me. I guess they are for advanced solvers. This constructor Mike Peluso seems to be fond of word preceding/following theme pattern. Remember his last CAPE grid?

Across:

1A: Underworld VIPS: DONS. I was thinking of Hades' underworld, not the criminal mafia's underworld. I like how it crosses OMERTA (2D: Last book in Puzo's "Godfather" trilogy). The trilogy consists of "The Godfather", "The Last Don" and "OMERTA" (published after he died.) OMERTA, of course, is also the Mafia code of silence. I also like Puzo's "The Sicilian". So good. It's regarded by some as the literary sequel of "The Godfather".

5A: Bench warms: B TEAM

14A: Radiate: EMIT. Thought of BEAM first.

15A: Emmy winner on her 19th try: LUCCI (Susan). She looks very pretty. Beautiful skin. She said she snacks on sardine, which is rich in omega-3 fatty acids. I don't buy her secret though. I tried, it did not work on me.

16A: Guadalajara bread: PESO. Bread is slang for money. I don't think it can fool anyone any more.

17A: City on the Truckee: RENO. I kind of like the "Splitville" clue in our puzzle last time.

23A: "In my opinion...": I THINK. Descartes actually wrote "Je pense donc je suis" before he stated the Latin "cogito ergo sum".

24A: Raise canines?: TEETHE. I was trapped by "canines" again.

28A: Well-bred: GENTEEL. Like Jackie. She did not think "there are any men who are faithful to their wives". I bet every man has been unfaithful to their wife at some time. No? Have you always been faithful to your wife?

32A: Pirate's quaff: RUM. Oh, is it pirate's preferred drink? Not ALE?

38A: Clock-setting std.: GMT (Greenwich Mean Time).

39A: Tracy's Trueheart: TESS. Learned from doing Xword. I like her surname Trueheart, I also like Ada Lovelace.

46A: Uncomfortable spot: HOT SEAT. Aren't you glad you are not A-Rod right now?

49A: Busy pro in April: CPA. I think Doug Peterson is a CPA.

50A: "Boston Legal" actor: SPADER (James). I like him in "The Pentagon Papers".

52A: Atoll encloser: LAGOON. Wikipedia says the word atoll was popularized by Charles Darwin.

58A: Phoenix suburb: MESA. Did you know MESA was founded by Mormon pioneers?

60A: Suffix with hippo-: DROME. Hippodrome is a new word to me. Hippo is from Greek, meaning "horse", like Latin prefix "equi" I suppose. DROME is a combining form meaning “running,” “course,” “racecourse”, says Dictionary.com.

61A: Mower-making giant: TORO. It's based here in MN.

63A: Western: OATER. Occident popped into my mind immediately.

64A: Shortly: ANON. Archaic word, right?

Down:

1D: Foil, as a plan: DERAIL

3D: Jazzy intervals: NINTHS. New definition to me. I only knew the baseball NINTH inning.

4D: Popular vodka, familiarly: STOLI. I've never had STOLI, have you? How about some CORONA (47D: Beer served with a lime)?

5D: Pancake, when holding a sausage: BLANKET. Pig in a BLANKET. Learned this food from Dr. Dad a year ago. This is Cantonese style. The sausage is sweet, so is the bun.

6D: Plastic surgery procedure: TUCK. The answer revealed itself. I've never heard of tummy TUCK or any other TUCK surgery.

7D: Green sci.: ECOL (Ecology)

9D: Herbal beverage: MINT TEA

10D: Binge: SPREE

11D: Partridge's home: PEAR TREE. My husband writes "The Twelve Day of Christmas" for his bowling column every year. I've never been amused. I don't know. Many times I don't understand the fun.

13D: Barber's challenge: MOP. No idea. Why challenge? Hard to cut?

25D: O'Hare and JFK: HUBS

26D: Initial response team, initially : EMTS. Needs "briefly" as hint. (Note: My bad. I did not notice "initially" earlier).

29D: When bats fly: NIGHT. I always want to add a prepositon (at) to this kind of fill.

30D: Inquisitor __ de Torquemada: TOMAS. No idea. Wikipedia says this guy spearheaded the Spanish Inquisition. TOMAS is Spanish for Thomas, right?

31D: __nous: ENTRE. "Between us". Debra Ollivier titled her book as ENTRE nous. Quite interesting read.

33D: Bahamas airport code: NAS. No idea. Maybe the rapper NAS knows. It's the code name for Nassau Interntional Airport.

34D: Sot's shake: DTS. DT is Delirium Tremens.

35D: Bldg. units: APTS

36D: Golf lesson subject: GRIP. Just had STANCE the other day. What next? Posture? Here are some simple tips on GRIP. It's actually not that easy to have a light grip pressure.

37D: Gets worse after getting better: RELAPSES

41D: Old Mets home: SHEA. Mets are now playing at Citi Field now. What's the name of that bridge on their logo? Here is my favorite METS player (Johan Santana).

42D: Deep-fried frank: CORN DOG. Have never had a CORN DOG before.

44D: List ender: ET AL

48D: "Fiddler on the Roof" fear: POGROM. I like "Fiddler on the Roof" a lot.

49D: Memorable repeated question by the economics teacher (played by Ben Stein" in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off"): ANYONE. All right, forward to 0:48. Probably the longest clue I've ever seen in a LAT puzzle so far. I like it.

51D: Meted (out): DEALT

53D: Insinuate: GET AT. New phrase to me.

55D: River to the Caspian: URAL. See this map. The one on the right is the shrinking Aral Sea.

56D: Dorothy's dog: TOTO. Surprising. "The Wizard of Oz" is listed as #3 Top Musicals in Ameria.

57D: NAFTA part: Abbr.: AMER

59D: Outer: Pref.: EXO. "Inner: prefix" is ENTO.

Answer grid.

C.C.

Tuesday May 5, 2009 David W. Cromer

Theme: Of Course!

17A: Golfer's java-dispensing target?: CUP OF COFFEE

62A: Drawing of the area next to the fairway?: ROUGH SKETCH

11D: Mound near a sand trap?: BUNKER HILL

29D: Really large putting surface? GREEN ACRE

Ha ha, no water hazard! Wish there were a TEE though. From TEE to GREEN, "Golf is a good walk spoiled", as scoffed by Mark Twain.

I am more used to aiming at the "hole" rather than at the "CUP". Cute clue for 17A though. I like the consistency of all the theme entries, all placed at the very beginning.

More bonus golf fills:

46A: Golfer's position: LIE. Tough to hit a good shot when the ball lies below your feet.

28D: Golfer's choice: IRON. I started golfing with my 7-IRON.

53D: Golf legend Walter: HAGEN. Gimme. I read some tidbits about him, Bobby Jones and Gene Sarazen in various Jack Nicklaus' books. He was the first American to win British Open. And he had 11 major wins, just behind Jack (14) and Tiger (18). He was also very flamboyant, so unlike Ben Hogan, who was such a mysterious & secretive loner.

I did mis-hit a few shots though. The worst club in my bag definitely is my brain.

Across:

1A: Cab fare calculator: METER. Nailed it immediately. Spectacular start at the upper left corner for me this morning.

6A: Old saw: ADAGE. "Saw" means maxim/ADAGE.

3A: Jazz style: BOP. Learned from doing Xword. I don't really know what BOP/bebop is.

15A: ___ dance: BELLY. Look at Shakira's abs. Her father is of Lebanese descent. Guess that's how she loves BELLY dancing.

16A: Game with Skip and Reverse cards: UNO. Obtained the answer from down fills. Is it really the world's #1 family card game? Or just a wordplay on numbero UNO?

19A: "If I ruled the World" rapper: NAS. Learned his name from doing Xword. Can't stand rap.

20A: Woman with a habit?: SISTER. Good clue.

25A: Distance runners: MILERS. COE is often clued as "Miler Sebastian".

27A: "Who cares?": BIG DEAL

30A: Sesame Street grouch: OSCAR. The trash can muppet. Schindler of "Schindler's List" is OSKAR.

31A: Discount rack abbr.: IRR

34A: Dispenser of theater programs: USHER. Wonder why USHER's parents named him USHER.

39A: Curved sword: SABER. OK, it's curved, too-edged too.

41A: What to do just before the surprise party starts: HIDE. Not if the party is for me.

42A: Calendario page: ENERO. January. Caldendario is Spanish for calendar. I did not get the answer immediately.

44A: Stunning weapon: TASER. Love the clue.

47A: Guitar parts: NECKS. See this picture. Strange defintion of heel.

49A: Detected, as a rat?: SMELLED. Nailed it immediately.

51A: Cascades peak: SHASTA. Is it a Native Indian word? What's the meaning of SHASTA then?

53A: Port-au-Prince's country: HAITI. Just learned that French is HAITI's official language. I thought they speak Spanish.

54A: Bodybuilder's pride, briefly: PECS. Has anyone seen Gerard Butler's "300"? Incredible body, all those Sparta soldiers.

57A: Command used when creating a new file name: SAVE AS

64A: "__ Got a Secret": I'VE. Easy guess. Have never heard of this TV game show.

65A: Nurse, vis--à-vis medication: DOSER. Is DOSER a common word?

67A: Avignon article: LES. Like "LES Misérables", Dennis' favorite musical. I think he only likes Susan Bolye's voice though.

Down:

1D: Apples with screens: MACS. I am a PC person. This kind of apple clue can't fool anybody now.

2D: Needle case: ETUI. Will Nediger clued ETUI as "Notions holder" last time. I like that clue better.

6D: Blood classification letters: ABO. Has anyone tried Blood Type Diet? Scroll down and see which food you should allow/avoid in your daily diet. I am a type O, and I can't give up cauliflower.

7D: Skim, as soup: DEFAT. Oh, it's a real word.

8D: __ Romeo: sports car: ALFA. Learned this name when Kazie suggested ALFA Romeo for a possible ROMEO clue in late March. They belong to Fiat now, according to Wikipedia.

12D: Studio sign: ON AIR

13D: Internet forum messages: POSTS. "Blog messages" too. By the way, what are your favorite movies? Come to the Comments section and share with us. I like "The Godfather" (I & III), "Major League" & "Cold Mountain".

22D: Symbol after "Http:": SLASH

24D: Soccer player's shoes: CLEATS

26D: Post-op section: ICU. Reminds me of my SKIS ("Street supplies?") confusion last time. I was not familiar with the Olympic skier Picabo Street. Buckeye later joked that she made a large contribution to a Denver hospital, and they named a wing after her. And the wing is called "Picabo, ICU".

27D: Light meal: BITE

30D: Ukrainian port: ODESSA. Interesting. I did not know all city names in Greek/Latin are feminine.

33D: Org. for Bucks and Bulls: NBA. Alliteration again.

35D: Pop singer Brickell: EDIE. Paul Simon's wife. What song is she famous for?

36D: Sax or oboe: REED. Only learned this morning that saxophone is named after its Beligum inventor Adophe Sax.

38D: Bride's purchase: DRESS. Katherine Heigl's "27 Dresses" is pretty silly. This is her famous thong bikini shot (0:18).

40D: Careless: REMISS

45D: Hollywood do-overs: RETAKES

48D: Explosion sound: KABOOM. I like this fill.

50D: Horse stable: LIVERY. Got the answer from across fills. I've never heard of "livery stable" before. Dictionary defines it as "a stable that boards horses and keeps horses and carriages for hire."

51D: Go bad: SPOIL

52D: Throw with strain: HEAVE

58D: Harrow rival: ETON. Both Churchill and Nehru are Harrow graduates.

59D: Elec. designation: AC/DC. Or the rock band name.

60D: "__ Gotta Have It": Spike Lee film: SHE'S. Another easy guess. Have never heard of this film. What a strange blurb: A Seriously Sexy Comedy.

63D: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., e.g.: HRS. Just saw Dolly Parton's "9 to 5" the other day. Very silly too.

Answer grid.

C.C.

Monday May 4, 2009 Gia Christian

Theme: B All You Can B

17A: Excellent performance: BANG-UP JOB

29A: Sci. class where many an "Eeuw!" is heard: BIO LAB

46A: Bill for what you drink: BAR TAB

62A: Satan: BEELZEBUB

11D: Betray by bad-mouthing: BACK STAB

39D: Angels or Dodgers: BALL CLUB

Another puzzle from our editor Rich Norris. Gia Christian is his alias name, anagram of "Again It's Rich".

There are total 16 letter B's (NY Times' record is 20) in this puzzle. And 1 Z, 1 J, 1 X and 5 K's. Quite impressive for a Monday puzzle.

I've never heard of BANG-UP referred to as "excellent". Argyle said the related words are: bully (?), corking (?), cracking, dandy and great.

My favorite fill today: KIBITZ (41D: Be a nuisance at the card game). I just learned this word a few weeks ago and I was able to nail it in one try. Quality word, very scrabbly.

Argyle co-blogged today's post with me. He will blog here alone next Monday.

Across:

5A: Beatnik's "I understood": I DIG. Whom exactly does a beatnik refer to?

9A: "I goofed": MY BAD. Can you imagine Shakespeare saying "MY BAD" to Anne Hathaway?

15A: The Beatles' "Love __": ME DO. Here is the clip.

16A: Italian violin maker: AMATI. Joshua Bell used his expensive STRAD for the famous subway incognito performance. Antonio Stradivari is a student of Nicolo AMATI.

19A: Big name in precision blades: X-ACTO. New brand name to me. Argyle said it's used by model makers everywhere.

20A: Dangerous household gas: RADON. Dictionary says it can cause lung cancer.

21A: Perp's excuse: ALIBI. Argyle is not OK with this clue.

23A: Author Kesey: KEN. He wrote "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest".

24A: Winter fisherman's tool: ICE SAW. Is it electric? (Argyle said: bar, auger, yes. Saw, no. Saws are used to harvest ice blocks.)

26A: Out of kilter: AMISS

33A: Germany's von Bismarck: OTTO. He originated "Laws are like sausages, it is better not to see them being made." Just learned the other day that OTTO has a "Wealth/Rich" root in German.

41A: Skewered meal: KABOB. Have never used KABOB alone. Always shish KABOB.

47A: Concorde, e.g.: SST. SuperSonic Transport. It's clued as "By gone boomers" in a NYT puzzle in March.

50A: Academy trainee: PLEBE. First year student. Thought of CADET first.

54A: The Big Apple, initially: NYC

55A: Eurasian range: URALS. The mountain range between Asia and Europe.

59A: Flourless cake: TORTE. This TORTE does have flour.

60A: Conger catcher. EELER. Rather ugly.

64A: Handles roughly: MAULS

66A: Old Bologna bucks: LIRE. Or LIRA.

67A: Round trip?: ORBIT. Great clue.

68A: Revue component: SKIT

Down:

1D: Rubble: DEBRIS

2D: Newton and Stern: ISAACS. A mathematician/physicist and a Jewish violin virtuoso.

3D: Smoothing tool: SANDER. Have never seen a SANDER in person.

4D: Science fiction award: HUGOS. Named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stores, according to Wikipeida. And the awards have been presented since 1955. See HUGO Awards logo. It has a rocket.

5D: Babysitter's handful: IMP. Little Beelzebub? I was thing of TOY.

6D: __ vu: DEJA. Opposite of "jamais vu". And the last vu is "presque vu".

8D: Desert largely in Mongolia: GOBI. True. It has a large presence inside China too (the Inner Mongolia autonomous region). We call GOBI Desert as "Gebi Shamo". Shamo is literally "desert" in Chinese.

9D: A stitch in time..." is one: MAXIM

10D: Vocalist Sumac: YMA. Just learned that her stage name means "beautiful flower/girl".

12D: Vouch for: ATTEST TO

13D: Singer Celine: DION. I like "The Power of Love".

18D: Lacking what it takes: UNABLE

22D: Eater of puréed peas: BABY

25D: Nintendo game system: WII. It competes with Microsoft's Xbox360 and Sony's PlayStation 3, according to Wikipedia.

27D: Dubuque native: IOWAN. Got the answer. Don't understand why the constructor singles out Dubuque.

32D: Put on __: pretend: AN ACT

34D: Tout's hangout, briefly: OTB (Off-Track Betting)

35D: Eagle's nest: AERIE. 80% vowels in this word.

38D: 2012 is the next one: LEAP YEAR

43D: "Ten-four" speaker: CBER. "Ten-four" is OK in CB talk.

44D: "Krazy" comics feline: KAT. That KAT was a real kard.

47D: Belgrade's country: SERBIA. Kosovo is part of SERBIA, isn't it?

48D: Ringed planet: SATURN. Ringed indeed.

49D: Host who expects you to answer his answer: TREBEK (Alex). This is Jeopardy!

51D: Explode: BURST

53D: Carols: NOELS

54D: Verne captain: NEMO. Has anyone read Verne's "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea"?

56D: First grade basics: ABCS

57D: Faucet problem: LEAK

58D: 18-wheeler: SEMI

61D: Connecticut Ivy Leaguer: ELI. Yale University is founded by Eli Yale.

Answer grid.

Arygle & C.C.

Sunday May 3, 2009 Gail Brabowski

Theme: Torn Fabric

23A: As it was formerly known, channel with the slogan "play every day": GAME SHOW NETWORK (Mesh)

32A: "Enough": THAT WILL DO (Twill)

43A: Waldo of kids' books, e.g.: HIDDEN IMAGE (Denim)

60A: Couldn't rush at rush hour: SAT IN TRAFFIC (Satin)

82A: "That used to be the cases": NOT ANY LONGER (Nylon)

96A: It can be seen from the Seine: EIFFEL TOWER (Felt)

103A: Safe bronzing product: SPRAY-ON TAN (Rayon)

123A: The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, e.g.: ONLINE NEWSPAPER (Linen)

Another smooth puzzle from Gail Grabowski. Very creative theme and great theme title. Out of those 8 long theme answers, I have never heard of Game Show Network. I only watch a bit of news and ball games every day. I faintly remember that the Seattle Post - Intelligencer went totally online in March. ONLINE NEWSPAPER is my favorite theme entry. It's topical. And I like the unexpected hidden LINEN fabric.

I thought all fabrics are all natural, you know, cotton, linen, satin/silk, mesh, twill, felt, etc. Nylon, rayon are man-made. I guess I am wrong.

I imagine Ms. Grabowski has a very pretty vegetable garden: tomatoes, bell peppers, green beans and various herbs. But I don't believe she grows or likes lima beans. Nobody ever calls lima beans LIMAS alone (64A: Succotash staples).

Someone asked last time what a cheater/helper square is. In today's grid, the single black square on the upper right corner (directly above NERO (22D: Fictional sleuth Wolfe) and lower left corner (directly below SPCA (103D: Gp. advocating adoption) are two examples. They are used to shorten fills (thus eliminate obscure answers) without increasing the word count.

Across:

1A: Dance floor flasher: STROBE. Is anyone a Phish fan?

14A: Big name in hotels: RITZ. Reminds me of PUT ON THE DOG last time. I wanted PUT ON THE RITZ.

16A: Biblical landfall: ARARAT. Noah's Ark landed on Mount ARARAT.

20A: Farm eatery?: LEA. Excellent clue.

21A: 2000s scandal subject: ENRON. My ENRON golf balls are not worth much.

26A: "The Cider House Rules" Oscar winner: CAINE (Michael). Unknown to me. Not familiar with the movie.

27A: Name to a position: APPOINT

28A: Gauguin's retreat: TAHITI. Here is Gauguin's "Two Women on the Beach" once again.

30A: Defeat: LOSS. Thought the clue was asking for a verb.

34A: Marine predator: ORCA. The killer whale.

42A: Cutter's cousin: SLOOP. Both Single-masted.

47A: Took the role of: ACTED AS

52A: Legal hurdle: BAR EXAM. And PRE-LAW (112A: Future litigator's study)

54A: Mil. bigwigs: GENS

55A: Olympics cheer: USA. Wanted OLE.

56A: Flimsy: LAME

57A: Platte River settler: OTO. "Prefix for ear" as well.

58A: Some e-mail receiver: PDAS. Wish I had some Research in Motion (the Blackberry manufacturer) stock.

63A: Candied veggie: YAM

66A: Yukon, e.g.: Abbr.: TERR. I was thinking of Yukon gold potato.

67A: Tiny arachnids: MITES. And GNAT (116D: Itty-bitty biter).

68A: Crew members: OARSMEN. Helsmen too.

70A: Broadway "Music Man" portrayer Robert: PRESTON. No idea. Wikipedia says he was in the film musical as well.

78A: Site of many styles: SALON. D'oh, hairstyle.

86A: Time alert: DING. Not fond of the clue, as ALERT is the answer for 106D: On one's toes.

87A: Short flight: HOP

88A: "Bonanza" brother: ADAM. Easy guess.

89A: Strauss's "__ Heldenleben": EIN. Stumped. It's literally "A Heroic Life".

90A: Lambaste: SLAM

92A: Rub the right way: MASSAGE. I love this clue.

94A: Hard to dispute, as a theory: TENABLE

98A: Select group: A-LIST. Wanted ELITE.

101A: Ben-Gurion Airport is its hub: EL AL. Hebrew for "skyward".

108A: Watch for cops, e.g.: ABET

113D: Intending: AIMING

117A: Seasonal dancing center?: MAYPOLE. No idea. Dictionary says people dance around the MAYPOLE during May Day celebration. Must be in Europe then.

128A: More chilling: EERIER

129A: Corpse sniffer of film: ASTA. "The Thin Man" dog.

131A: Web page stats: HITS

132A: Celtic rivals: LAKERS. Is it because last year's playoff? Why not "Clippers' rival"? Both of them are based in LA after all.

Down:

1D: Major account: SAGA. Love the clue. Last time our editor clued it as "Big account".

2D: Spider web, say: TRAP. "Golf hazard" too. There seems to be a golf term in every LAT puzzle. Rich Norris is a golfer. Today it's STANCE (99D: Golf lessons subject).

3DL Cloverleaf part: RAMP

4D: Cakesters brand: OREO. Holy moley, have never heard OREO Cakesters. Looks tasty.

5D: Herb garden herb: BASIL. The only herb I use is chives.

6D: Prefix with centric: ETHNO. Ethnocentric is a new word to me. I do know ETHNO is a prefix for culture though.

8D: Blogger's indulgence: RANT

9D: It might be harebrained: IDEA. Love this clue too.

11D: Slow-moving critters: SLOTHS. Penned in SNAILS first.

12D: Lofty: AERIAL. New definition of AERIAL to me. Can I say "It's an AERIAL goal"?

13D: Jabber: YAK

14D: Expense report need: RECEIPT

15D: Counting everything: IN ALL

16D: Warble: TRILL

17D: Subdivided: ZONED. Got the answer with Across help.

24D: NFL fifth quarters: OTS. Or "MLB 10th-inning".

25D: "The noblest frailty of the mind": Shadwell: WIT. Again, obtained the answer with Across help. I was not familiar with his line "And WIT's the noblest frailty of the mind".

29D: Like many families: TWO-CAR. Are you OK with the clue?

33D: Pub proposal: TOAST

34D: "I can hardly wait!": OH BOY

35D: Gaucho's lasso: RIATA. The ranch in "Giant" is REATA.

36D: Circ. info holder: CD-ROM

37D: Stock add-on: ADE. Stockade.

41D: Group meeting in the Palais du Luxembourg: SENAT. I did not know French Senate meet in the Palais du Luxembourg. I thought of NATO, whose members actually meet in Brussels.

44D: Clarify: EXPLAIN

45D: Bottom point: NADIR

48D: Small and sprightly: ELFIN. Can't get PIXIE out of my mind.

49D: Bonkers: DAFT

50D: Nice friend: AMIE. Nice is the French city.

55D: Like suspicious e-mail, usually: UNREAD. My first response: JUNKED.

59D: Biblical lion wrestler: SAMSON. Samsonite is named after this Biblical strongman.

68D: "Dreams From My Father" memoirist: OBAMA. See the bookcover.

69D: Track long shots: NAGS. What a shocking performance by Mine That Bird at the Derby yesterday. I picked No Where to Hide, but he turned out to be a No Where to Be Found.

71D: Icky stuff: SLIME

72D: Harmonic and melodic: TONAL. Mandarin Chinese/Cantonese are TONAL too. Cantonese has 9 tones, Mandarin 4.

73D: Gray area?: Abbr.: ANAT. Why?

74D: Valuable vein: LODE

77D: Ruckus: MELEE

79D: It's a wrap: SHAWL. Last time SARI was clued as "It's a wrap".

80D: Subject of Randy Wyatt's play "Synonymy": ROGET. Easy guess. Have never heard of the play. Did not know who Randy Wyatt is.

81D: Mimics: APERS

83D: Cowardly: YELLOW. Did not know YELLOW is slang for "cowardly". I actually thought cowardly is an adverb.

84D: '60s protest: LIE-IN. Like what John Lennon and Yoko ONO did?

85D: Epitome of thinness: RAIL. Really RAIL thin.

91D: Juilliard deg.: MFA. Master of Fine Art I presume. Why single out "Juilliard"?

95D: It includes Napa and Sonoma counties: BAY AREA. Unknown trivia to me. San Francisco is a lovely city.

97D: Southernmost of the 48 sts.: FLA

100D: Watched from behind: TAILED

104D: "The Devil Wears __": PRADA. Fun movie. Anna Wintour herself loves the film.

105D: Bank takebacks: REPOS

107D: Abbr. between a first and last name, maybe: NMI (No Middle Initial)

109D: Upscale auto: BMW. Just found out that BMW now owns Rolls-Royce.

111D: Very competitive: TYPE A. I was thinking of a normal adjective. Tricky clue. Dennis is a TYPE A, don't you think so?

114D: Foot part: INCH

115D: Radar's soda: NEHI. Learned from doing Xword. I've never had NEHI. Wikipedia says it's a a brand of Dr. Pepper Snapple Group now.

118D: Find a space: PARK

119D: Bee's charge?: OPIE. The Mayberry kid. This has become a gimmie to me. Ron Howard is so talented.

120D: Unwelcome eyeful: LEER. No LEER/OGLE wobbling this time.

Answer grid.

C.C.

Saturday May 2, 2009 Alan Olschwang

Theme: None

Total blocks: 30

Total words: 72

Read Alan Olschwang interview if he is new to you.

From time to time, I do miss Mr. Olschwang's weekly quip/quote puzzle. Don't you? There is a certain wit and warmth in his work. I will never forget his "Play Ball" TMS puzzle. He placed each ball player in their proper diamond position in the grid. Very impressive.

I was so happy to see his byline this morning. And I had a fantastic start. Filled in the long 17A and the intersecting ACHOO (3D: Cold burst?) immediately and with authority. Didn't we just have a similar ACHOO clue in LAT? Or I might have seen it in Paul's "Clever Clue of the Month" prelims shortlist.

There are eight 9-letter words in the grid, two in each quadrant, none has the annoying RE, ER, EST, ED, ING affix as our old puzzles did. And I like the four 15-letter fills. 58A was an unknown to me:

17A: Where many strings are pulled: BEHIND THE SCENES

27A: Fall opportunities for high school seniors: EARLY ADMISSIONS

58A: Former Boer republic: ORANGE FREE STATE

8D: Classic ghost story: A CHRISTMAS CAROL

I did encounter pockets of trouble later on. But I had fun penning in and then wite-outing my reckless guesses. I am definitely getting better dealing with Rich Norris. His mind can't be as deep as ... hmm... existentialism.

Across:

1A: The Pleiades' Alcyone, for one: GIANT STAR. Easy guess. I've never heard of the Alcyone Star. Wikipedia says it's in the constellation Taurus. About 440 light years from earth. And it's the brightest in the Pleisades open cluster. It's named after the mythological figure Alcyone, one of the mythological Pleiades. I don't know the heck what I just wrote.

10A: Bag opening?: DOGGY. Good clue.

15A: Touching base: IN CONTACT

16A: Dull thing, in slang: SNORE. Oh really? I did not know this. I do lots of SNORES every day then, including soaking our morning glory seeds earlier.

19A: Street address: BRO. Clever clue. Definitely trickier than the direct "Address in the 'hood". And MADAM (32A: Polite title).

22A: Shellac: STOMP. And TROMP (53A: Shellac). I like the pair.

25A: Turbulent waters: RIPS. New definition to me. Last time RIP was clued as "Fiber flaw".

27A: German aviation pioneer Lilienthal: OTTO. The German Glider King. New name to me also. Wow, OTTO is not Auto, but "wealth" in German.

29A: Like some felonies: CLASS A. The most severe felony, right? Imprison for life penalty.

31A: China biggie: SPODE. Named after the English potter Josiah SPODE. I knew immediately the clue is asking for porcelain, but I forgot the brand name. It appeared in our puzzle before.

34A: Branch headquarters?: TREES. Nailed the answer in a NY second.

36A: Inflate: PAD. Did not come to me readily.

40A: Cotillion honoree: DEB. Forgot the meaning of "Cotillion".

41A: Making a crossing: ASEA. Obtained the answer with Down fill help. My first thought was XING.

42A: Sense of style: TASTE. She had style.

43A: Flash: GLINT

45A: Often-allergic attack: ASTHMA. The th in Isthmus is silent too. Both are of Greek origins.

47A: This, in Toledo: ESTO

48A: Not pizzicato: ARCO. No idea. It means "With a bow. Used chiefly as a direction to indicate the resumption of bowing after a pizzicato passage." And dictionary defines pizzicato as "played by plucking the strings with the finger instead of using the bow, as on a violin". So one is with bow (ARCO), the other not.

49A: Battle of Endor fighters of film: EWOKS. Finally I remembered this Star Wars character. Endor is the forested moon EWOKS live.

55A: Ernst contemparary: ARP (Jean). Max Ernst & Jean ARP. Dadaism pioneers.

57A: Chem. unit: MOL. No idea. Molecular?

62A: Out of, as work: NOT AT. Hmm, NOT AT work does not equal "Out of work" to me.

63A: It's pitched at a stake: HORSESHOE. Struggled again. HORSESHOE related clue and answer always give me troubles.

64A: Dreams, to some: OMENS. Yes, indeed, "to some". What's the strangest dream you've ever had? I had an encounter with Phil Mickelson in my dream one night, after his 2004 Masters.

65A: Like an imposition: A LOT TO ASK. I got the answer with down fill help.

Down:

1D: Pop singing brothers from the Isle of Man: GIBBS. What's the origin of their band name The Bee Gees? I did not know they are from the Isle of Man.

2D: Like some gases: INERT

4D: "There's __ in team": NO I. Michael Jordan originated this quote.

6D: Ave. levels: STDS

7D: Chitlins might be cooked with 'em: TATERS. Another guess. I don't know what "chitlins" is. Looks awful.

10D: U.S. Army medal: DSCS. DSC is Distinguished Service Cross. I forgot what's the difference between DSC and DSM (Distinguished Service Medal). Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration.

11D: Like some grounders: ONE HOP. Joe Mauer homered at his first bat (season debut) last night. Awesome!

12D: Ruined: GONE TO POT. New idiom to me.

13D: Scooby-Doo, for one: GREAT DANE. I did not know his species.

18D: It might be sent from a bridge: SOS

23D: 15th century year: MCDL. Roman 1450.

23D: Dabble in: PLAY AT

26D: __ passu: impartially: PARI. New phrase to me. PARI is a prefix for "equal". Like parity I suppose. PERI is the Persian fairy.

28D: Sizable refs.: OEDS. The Oxford English Dictionary.

30D: Latin I word: AMAS

31D: Oil source: SESAME. Use SESAME oil for my salad.

32D: Tumult: MAELSTROM. I can never remember how to spell this word. Looks so similar to maestro.

33D: Resolve, in a way: ARBITRATE. Strung the answer together with the Across help.

35D: O. T. book: ESTH

37D: Go cautiously: EDGE. Feels like this word needs a preposition.

38D: Letter opener: DEAR. It needs a question mark, doesn't it?

39D: "The Last Time __ Paris": 1954 film: I SAW. Is it a good film?

44D: Reagan speechwriter: NOONAN (Peggy). Gimme. She appears on MSNBC often. I love her Challenger speech the most. The last line "They slipped the surly bonds of earth to touch the face of God" poem quote is very moving.

46D: Corrida hero: TORERO. "Hero" refers to main character, not the brave hero hero, right?

48D: Mock: APE. Xword word.

50D: Missouri River city: OMAHA. I wonder if the "Oracle of OMAHA" (Warren Buffett) solves Xword every morning.

51D: Japanese stringed instruments: KOTOS. KOTO is the National instrument of Japan. It actually derived from Chinese zither Zheng. Its kanji 箏 is the same as Chinese character.

52D: Glossy: SLEEK. Wrote down SHINY first.

54D: Exec grps.: MGTS

56D: Gnat, for one: PEST. "Dennis, for one" also.

58D: "Double Fantasy" artist: ONO. Here is the album cover. Do you think May Pang is pretty? She is a John Lennon's "Lost Weekend" girlfriend. She is a Chinese I think.

59D: Loan-insuring org.: FHA (Federal Housing Adminstration). Part of HUD (Department of Housing and Urban Development). Not a familiar abbreviation to me.

61D: Chicken general: TSO. I had never heard of General TSO's chicken until I came to the US, nor had I heard of Chop Suey or Moo Shu Pork. Those are all Chinese American food. Fortune Cookie was also new to me. Clever idea.

Answer grid.

Happy Birthday, TJ in Osseo.

C.C.

Friday May 1, 2009 Gareth Bain

Theme: NIXON (Follower of Johnson, and a two-word hint to this crossword's theme) NIX ON → ON is nixed.

18A: Communist watering hole?: THE RED BAR(ON)

59A: Place for a paw?: LEG OF MUTT(ON)

3D: Plead with one's frontier buddy?: BEG YOUR PARD(ON)

26D: Adorable, bottomwise?: CUTE AS A BUTT(ON)

CUTE AS A BUTT tipped me off the theme. And it's also my favorite theme answer. I wonder if it's the constructor Gareth Bain's seed theme entry. ((Note: Gareth told me his seed entry is NIXON). He is a very young South African. I was thinking of FOOT OF MUTT rather than LEG OF MUTT for "Place of a paw?".

NIXON is the best unifying answer I've seen in a TMS or LAT puzzle. Very creative. Once again, I did not really need it to get the theme answers. Just a wonderful Aha revealing moment. Lots of clever wordplay in this puzzle. I got most. Still don't understand the clue for CASINO (29D: Strip tease?"). How so?

Last time when AYE SIR (47A: Ensign's affirmative) was clued as "Mate's response", both Barry G and Frank (he served in the Navy) mentioned that the sailors normally respond with two AYE's , always "AYE AYE SIR".

This might be our last eased-up Friday puzzle. Rich Norris said the puzzle will return to normal at the end of April/early May.

Across:

1A: Not loaded: SOBER. Just learned that "sauce" is a slang for alcohol too. Off the sauce = SOBER.

6A: Guy: CHAP. Used to think that CHAP only applies to young LAD, but it can refer to grown-up man too.

10A: Nuts' opposite: SOUP. "SOUP to nuts" is a new idiom to me. What is a typical "dessert of nuts"?

14A: Slide subject: AMEBA. Ah, lab slide.

15A: Tuna order: RARE. This ahi tuna looks delicious. Sesame seeds are very easy to get burned.

16A: Ballpark phrase: OR SO

20A: Prius automaker: TOYOTA. Do you know why they named their car Prius? Is it some god's name? Paris' father is Priam.

22A: Fishing for marlin, e.g.: AT SEA. I like this clue. Technically ASEA is also correct, isn't it?

23A: Long-tongued Congo critter: OKAPI. Oh, I did not know this trivia. The long prehensible tongue helps them to grip and pull leaves. I can only remember its unique striped legs.

26A: MV ÷ V: CCI. Roman 201.

29A: French vineyard: CRU. Reminded of Meg Ryan/Kevin Kline's "French Kiss". Luc has a beautiful vineyard in French countryside.

31A: "Turn Me Loose" singer, 1959: FABIAN. No idea. His lip movement does not match the lyrics.

33A: Use up: BURN. Did not come to me readily.

34A: Costs of getting high?: AIRFARES. Great clue.

36A: Some National Music Museum treasures: AMATIS. Another good clue. I've never heard of the National Music Museum though. Strange, it's located in South Dakota.

38A: Deep sleep: SOPOR. Ugh, stumped. Saw identical clue before.

39A: Gen - ___: XER. This time range is a bit confusing. But I am a Gen- XER, born in 1971.

42A: Stressed type: ITALIC. Nice clue.

44A: Blowup in a jam: ROAD RAGE. I remember seeing one scary movie about ROAD RAGE, but I can't think of the title now.

46A: Teen movie stereotype: NERD. Have you seen "Napoleon Dynamite"?

49A: Virgo's mo., maybe: SEP. Virgo (August 23 and September 22).

50A: Roulette bet: ODD. Wrote down RED immediately.

52A: Twin Cities suburb: EDINA. This clue reminds me of our fellow solver T.J. He lives in Osseo, another 5-letter "Twin Cities suburb". Tomorrow is his birthday.

54A: D-Day beach: OMAHA

56A: Defendants' spouses, sometimes: ALIBIS. I like this clue too.

63A: Show jubilation: EXULT. And OOZE (54A: Exhibit aplenty, as confidence). This puzzle has a very cheerful tone.

64A: All-inclusive: A TO Z

67A: Ford, for example: WADE. I actually knew the shallow water meaning of ford. But I still couldn't get President Ford out of my brain.

68A: Lo-cal: LITE

69A: Readily accessible: ON TAP

Down:

1D: It can be helpful in a pinch: SALT. Love this clue too.

2D: Melville South Seas novel: OMOO. "Typee" sequel, learned from doing Xword as well.

4D: Project Gutenberg offering: EBOOK. Oh well, I am definitely living under a rock. Have never heard of Project Gutenberg. It's founded in 1971, and it's the oldest digital libary, according to Wikipedia. I've never seen a Kindle in person either.

5D: Haile Selassie worshipers's movement: RASTAFARI. Ah, Bob Marley. Here is "Stir it Up" again.

6D: Monitor, for short: CRT

7D: "I get it, but ...": HA HA. I don't get it. How so?

8D: First name in soul: ARETHA. Queen of soul. I don't like her hat and I don't understand all the rage about that hat.

9D: Image: PERSONA. Contrasted with anima the inner personality.

10D: Shake alternative: SODA. COLA works too, right?

12D: Permanent U.N. Security Council member: USA. The other four members are: China, France, Russia and the UK.

13D: Neighbor of ESP, in the Olympics: POR. No idea. Why? Spain & Portugal in Spanish?

19D: Dark'ning time: EEN. Opposite morn.

24D: Goat with recurved horns: IBEX. "Recurved" is "curved upward". It's clued as "Alpine goat" last time. I used to confuse IBEX with ILEX, the "Holm oak" Allan Parrish used in his last puzzle.

27D: Cower: CRINGE

28D: Marching well: IN STEP

30D: Took to the streets: RIOTED. Thought of the youth RIOTS in France a few years ago.

32D: Department bordering Savoie: ISERE. No idea. OK, they are bordering each other. ISERE is 38, Savoie is 73. I am used to the Rhone river clue. Actually it's clued as "Grenoble's river" in our last puzzle.

35D: Choose not to call: FOLD. Oh, poker again. I thought it's phone call.

37D: Native of central Spain: MADRILENO. New word to me. It's "a native or inhabitant of Madrid, Spain". Madrid is in central Spain.

43D: Confection created by heating sugar: CARAMEL. Hmmm, crème brûlée, want some?

45D: Operative princess: AIDA. And the "Operative prince" is IGOR. And "Sarah McLachlan hit" is ADIA.

48D: Violinist Menuhin: YEHUDI. Literally, "Jew" in Hebrew. I got his name from across fills. According to Wikipedia, he is commonly considered one of the twentieth century's greatest violin virtuosi.

51D: Global currency org.: IMF (International Monetary Fund). How does its function differ from that of World Bank?

55D: Working hard: AT IT

57D: The "she" in "Of all the gin joints... she walks onto mine": ILSA. From "Casablanca". My favorite line is "We'll always have Paris".

59D: Mason's field: LAW. Erle Stanley Gardner's Perry Mason.

60D: Letter from Athens: ETA. Greek H. Vowel though.

61D: Mars, for one: GOD. Mars is Roman God of War (Greek Ares). I was thinking of the planet Mars. Good morning, Spirit!

Answer grid.

C.C.

Thursday April 30, 2009 Dan Naddor

Theme: ATE (73A: Word that homophonically forms a familiar word when attached to the end of the answer to each starred clue)

18A: *"Unforgettable" singer: NAT KING COLE (Collate)

24A: *Cold War European: WEST GERMANY (Germinate)

31A: *1940s-'60s Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback: Y.A. TITTLE (Titillate)

40A: *Branch source: TREE TRUNK (Truncate)

42A: * Florida city near Fort Myers: CAPE CORAL (Correlate)

48A: *House speaker before Newt Gingrich: TOM FOLEY (Foliate)

58A: * Covered with black dots: FLYSPECKED (Spectate)

67A: * 1976 Olympic decathlon champ: BRUCE JENNER (Generate)

Holy hot wick! 8 theme answers. All gridded in Across. I've never seen such a grid before (Don Gagliardo's soft G is an exception). No wonder this is a special 15X16 grid. Dan Naddor's last Bean Salad puzzle is a 16X15. The extra column is to accommodate the 8-letter theme entry IT'S SO YOU (Dan could not come up with a symmetrical match). Our editor Rich Norris explained that anytime a grid is 16X15 or 15X16 is because of the theme.

I did not really need the unifying theme answer ATE today to get all the theme entries. Very clever idea. My impression of Dan Naddor so far is that he is very thorough and creative in his research.

Have never heard of Y.A. TITTLE or BRUCE JENNER. Flyspecked is a new word to me, so is Spectate, backformation from "spectator", according to dictionary. TOM FOLEY was an easy guess. Is he related to Mark Foley?

I am excited that Dan discovered a new way to clue EELS (14A: Rock band with a fishy name). The rock band was foreign to me. Wikipedia says the band was formed by by singer/songwriter Mark Oliver Everett, better known as E.

The clue for MLLE (53D: M.'s counterpart) is very wicked. I did not pay attention to the abbreviation dot so I was thinking of James Bond's M. The M. here refers to Monsieur. I've never heard of ROK (69D: Seoul soldier) being referred as a soldier. To me, it just stands for Republic of Korea (South Korea). After I looked up the dictionary, I think "Seoul G.I." is a better clue.

I enjoyed this heavy themage puzzle. Some of the clues are very clever:

66A: Formal intro?: SEMI. Semi-formal.

6D: Union station?: ALTAR. " Train stop?" would work on this answer too. I got married in a judge's room though. You?

Across:

1A: Supplies case: KIT. Was worried that "supplies" might be a verb.

4A: Grille cover: BRA. Had no idea that BRA is an automotive slang for "a removable cover for the front end of an automobile to protect it from road debris". I suppose you then open a BRA rather than unhook a BRA?

7A: African hot spot: SAHARA. I like the clue. Spicy hot!

17A: LPGA star Se Ri __: PAK. Golf HOFer. Lots of Korean golfers have come to the US since Se Ri PAK, but she is my favorite. Her surname name is actually PARK (like Grace PARK or Chan Ho PARK), literally "simple/plain". Someone in LPGA or Immigration made a mistake on her name, but she decided to stick with the error.

23A: Goodyear's home: AKRON. The "Rubber City". Learned this morning that AKRON is also the birthplace of Alcoholics Anonymous, founded in 1935.

27A: Nintendo rival: SEGA. The name came from Service Games of Japan.

29A: Spoils: LOOT. Thought "Spoils" might be a verb as well.

47A: Heineken brand: AMSTEL. New brand to me. It's named after their AMSTEL river. I like the line: One Dam Good Bier.

54A: Gaseous: Pref: AERI. Williams clued AREI as "Interferometer instrument" last time. And the constructor's original clue was "Atmospheric prefix".

55A: Vegan's purchase: TOFU. Do you like TOFU? My husband does not touch it.

63A: Bridge call: I PASS

71A: Fruit in a split: BANANA. BANANA split is a dessert that should not have been invented.

72A: Houston pro, to fans: 'STRO. Short for ASTRO I suppose. I did not know this.

74A: Crude cabin: SHANTY

75A: "Shoot": ASK. Oh, I thought of the irritating exclamation "Shoot".

76A: "L. A. Law" actress: DEY (Susan). Learned her name from doing crossword. Have never seen "L. A. Law" before. She looks pretty.

Down:

1D: "Batman" blow: KAPOW. The sound of his blow?

2D: Cockamamie: INANE. Who made up this slang "Cockamamie"? So strange. Cock-a-mamie.

3D: Initiates action: TAKES STEPS

4D: Deadpan Stein: BEN. Anyone? Anyone?

5D: Assayer's substance: REAGENT. Rea(ct) + Agent. New word to me.

7D: McCain, e.g.: Abbr.: SEN. Thought of REP(ublican) first.

8D: Pond organism: ALGA

9D: Snake oil salesman: HUCKSTER. Learned this word a few months ago.

11D: Enter again: RELOG

12D: Where the action is: ARENA. "The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the ARENA...."

19D: Like some highlighted text: Abbr.: ITAL

21D: Paris possessive: A TOI. Filled in A MOI first.

26D: Wine bouquet: NOSE. Is NOSE a special term for the aroma of wine?

31D: Song spelled with arm motions: Y.M.C.A. Is this really the original video? Why gay talk?

33D: USPS delivery: LTR. Ridiculous for USPS to propose skipping Tuesday mail deliveries.

36D: Dash: RUN LIKE MAD. I suppose so.

37D: Feminine suffix: ENNE. Or trix.

43D: Ancient Italian: ETRUSCAN. I forgot. It's clued as "Of Rome's predecessors" in our old puzzle before. Wikipedia says ETRUSCAN civilization extended between 1200 BC to 100 BC. The ancient country Etruria was located between Arno and Tiber rivers, roughly corresponding to modern Tuscany, according to Dictionary.

49D: Rand McNally staff: MAPPERS. Oh well, I definitely have been living under a rock. I did not know who Rand McNally is.

50D: Co-pay, for instance: FEE

51D: Tolkien henchmen: ORC. And the "Tolkien talking tree" is ENT. I learned both from doing Xword.

55D: 1970 Poitier title role: TIBBS. I like ''In the Heat of the Night''.

56D: Talk show giant: OPRAH. Not her fan. I like Ellen DeGeneres.

57D: Flora's partner: FAUNA

60D: Red suit wearer: SANTA. Ah, I put SANTA last time for the clue "Nick name?". The answer is CLAUS.

68D: Crow family bird: JAY. Noisy, noisy bird. Yes?

Answer Grid.

C.C.

PS: Here is an interesting write-up on Crosswords L.A. Tournament by Crossword constructor Andrea Carla Michaels.

Interview with Doug Peterson

Today is our first Doug Peterson LAT puzzle since the switch. But several of you have solved his Newsday Saturday Stumper in the past several weeks. Those puzzles are hard, and Orange (Amy Reynaldo) the Crossword Fiend loves them.

Doug is very productive constructor. He is a regular contributor to Stan Newman's Newsday. And since he started constructing in 2003, Doug's puzzles have been published by Newsday, NY Times, New York Sun, LA Times, CrosSynery, etc.

Doug is also an excellent speed solver. He finished #38 in this year's ACPT (#18 in 2008). Enjoy the interview. I was surprised by his last answer.

We've solved 7 of your TMS puzzles. You seem to be fond of synonym themed puzzle, like the "Oops" (FALL, TRIP, TUMBLE and SLIP) we had on Oct 8, 2008. Is that your signature? If so, why? If not, how would you describe your style?

I don’t think I have a signature style in my themes. The themes in the puzzles edited by Wayne Williams tended to be straightforward, so I tailored my TMS puzzles to his style. In the L.A. Times, I’ve had puzzles published every day of the week. My themes have ranged from simple synonym or rhyming themes to more complex wordplay themes. Coming up with a theme is usually the hardest part of the process for me. It’s difficult to create an interesting theme that hasn’t been done before. Today’s puzzle features a basic “four of a kind” theme, which is typical for a Tuesday/Wednesday level of difficulty.

You and Barry Silk created a "Cruciverbalist" puzzle for New York Times in Feb. For those who did not have the opportunity to solve the puzzle, can you explain your creating process again? Is cluing more difficult than designing a grid?

Barry Silk and I met at the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament in 2008. We talked about this puzzle there and laid some of the groundwork for its creation. Barry came up with the idea for a puzzle that would detail the steps it takes to create a crossword, from the initial seed of an idea to the finished product. I helped to craft the actual theme answers that were used in puzzle, and then I constructed the grid. Barry filled the grid, and I suggested changes to a handful of entries. Then Barry wrote the clues, and I went through them all and made a few changes.

Designing and filling the grid is my favorite part of the construction process. It’s sometimes difficult, but I love the challenge. Writing clues is my least favorite part. It’s fun to come up with clues for theme entries and the longer, more interesting entries, but writing clues for common words like AREA, ERIE, ORE, etc., is a real drag. It’s not unusual for me to finish a grid in two or three hours and then not get around to writing all the clues for a week or more.

When and where does your crossword Muse often visit you? I am constantly amazed by your productivity and unbridled passion for crossword construction. Do you experience Writer's Block also? If so, how do you overcome those periods of lack of inspiration?

I work on crosswords each night before I go to sleep. It helps me relax. I often experience writer’s block when it comes to themes. I need the Theme Muse to visit more frequently! When I can’t think of a theme, I’ll fool around with a themeless grid or take a walk. A few good themes have come to me during walks. The nice thing about being a freelance crossword constructor is that I don’t have to worry about deadlines.

I understand you were born and grew up in Montana. Can you tell us more about your background? How did you get into crossword solving and construction. Still remember the first time when your first puzzle was published?

I’ve always loved word puzzles, and both my father and grandmother were avid crossword solvers. I started out solving word searches when I was very young and eventually graduated to crosswords. I first became interested in construction after I bought a copy of Random House Puzzlemaker’s Handbook by Mel Rosen and Stan Kurzban. That book taught me all the steps involved in creating a professional crossword puzzle.

Yes, of course I remember the publication of my first puzzle. What a thrill! It was a Newsday puzzle in 2003. I still remember going to the Newsday website and seeing my name above the grid. It was surreal.

And what would people find one thing that's most surprising about you?

I listen to loud heavy metal music when I’m constructing my puzzles. (Not loud enough to wake the neighbors.) Believe it or not, it helps me concentrate.

Thanks for the questions, C.C.

Wednesday April 29, 2009 Doug Peterson

Theme: How Food Processors Work

17A: Shady high roller's advantage: LOADED DICE

28A: Harbors ulterior motives: HAS AN AX TO GRIND

44A: Log holder: FIREPLACE GRATE

58A: Dojo blow: KARATE CHOP

Once again, I am not sure I got the theme right. I cook differently and hardly use our food processor or any other kitchen accessories. Peeler & knife are the only tools I use every day. I peel everything. And I use my knife to dice, slice, chop, mince etc. It's exotic for me to see others use grater for ginger.

I had fun fooling around with this very scrabbly puzzle (3 Z's, 2 X's, 1 J and several K's). Wrote down HAIR for 19A: "Manx cat's lack" (TAIL). What can I say? I am not a cat person and a hairless cat makes sense to me. Also, I wrote down SAID for 21A: "After all?" (LAST) immediately, thinking the sentence "After all is SAID and done". Theoretically I think I am right. If someone finishes last in the race, he is still part of all, not "After all", correct?

Having seen similar "Dictator's assistant' or "Dictation taker" for STENO before, the "Dictator's aid" clue yesterday gave me no trouble and I did not even bother to comment on. It's so fascinating for me to read your experience in yesterday's Comments section. Thanks for sharing.

Across:

1A: Betting setting: VEGAS. Rhyming clue. The first word that popped into my mind is CASINO.

6A: Oratory with lots of arm-waving: RANT. "Lots of arm-waving" RANT indeed. I used to like Kramer.

10A: Sloop pole: MAST. Perpendicular to the boom. Only learned a few weeks ago that sloop is a single-masted sailing boat.

14A: "Get __!": Relax: A GRIP

15A: Hamburg's river: ELBE. ELBE originates in Czech and flows northwest across German to the North Sea. Same pronunciation with Napoleon's ELBA.

16A: Award for a soap: EMMY. Oh well, I tried to find EMMY award logo, look at what Google gave to me.

22A: Garden hose feature: NOZZLE. Then later on HOSE as an answer to 55: Stockings. I don't know. I still don't like this dupe, even if they are within Rich Norris's 6-letter limit.

24A: Disney pooch: PLUTO. Great list of Disney dog names. GOOFY has 5 letter too.

26A: Islamabad's land: Abbr.: PAK. Just learned that Islamabad literally means "Abode of Islam". I suppose "bad" is a suffix for "abode"?

27A: Above, in odes: O'ER. Opposite 'neath.

32A: By surprise: ABACK. As in "Taken ABACK"

33A: "That is to say ....": I MEAN. I say this often, since I always have difficulty expressing myself. My oral English is very poor.

34A: Himalayan mystery: YETI. Exactly, it's a mystery. I like this better than "Mountain sighting" clue.

35A: Dark earth pigment: UMBER. Strange, it's rooted in umbra (shade/shadow), same as umbrella.

37A: Programming language with a coffee-cup logo: JAVA. It's still hot.

41A: Ho-hum state: ENNUI

43A: Ear-related: AURAL. Sometimes the answer is OTIC.

48A: It has a charge: ION. Yep, ION is charged particle.

49A: Space shuttle astronaut Jemison: MAE. Got the answer from down fills. Have difficulty remembering her name. Wikipedia says she was the first woman of African ancestry to travel in space when she went into orbit aboard the space shuttle Endeavor on September 12, 1992. What does this sentence mean? I wonder if Spirit is awake at this moment when I am typing.

50A: Seller of TV time, e.g.: AD REP. Mine was AD MAN.

51A: Resealable bag brand: ZIPLOC. Can't live without ZIPLOC. Don't like Glad.

53A: Cheese with an edible rind: BRIE. The cheese is named after the French region Brie. The Dutch cheese Edam is also named after the Edam town in Holland. I love Etam bra/thong. Don't know what/whom the heck it's named for.

62A: Leave the premises: EXIT

63A: "__who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it": Santayana: THOSE. Oh, George Santayana originated this line. It's from his book "The Life of Reason". I did not know that. Sometimes life has no reasons. You just fall in love, blindly. Or as Pascal said: The heart has reasons that reason cannot know.

64A: Florida attraction: KEYS. Have never been to FL. Is Miami part of Florida KEYS?

65A: D.C. Party: DEMS. Holy hot wick! I always thought the abbreviation for the Democratic Party is D or DEM.

66A: Caravan stops: OASES. Singular is oasis. Stop and find yourself some wet dates, so sweet!

Down:

1D: Depression between hills: VALE. Oh well, so many choices: VALE, DALE, GLEN, DELL.

2D: Bigheads have big ones: EGOS

3D: Goes for, as straws? GRASPS AT. I like this clue.

5D: Explore caves: SPELUNK. We had SPELUNK & spelunker discussions on the blog last summer.

6D: Team that ended a "curse" in 2004: RED SOX. Remember Curt Schilling's bloody sock? The "curse" refers to the selling of Babe Ruth to the Yankees. The "Curse of the Bambino".

7D: Hit the ground: ALIT. "Hit" is past tense. I was trapped.

8D: Home of "The Office": NBC. Have never watched "The Office".

8D: Fake ID user, often: TEENAGER

10D: Capital of Lorraine: METZ. No idea. Quite close to Germany. No wonder it has a letter Z in the end.

11D: E-tail giant: AMAZON. Have never bought any baseball card from AMAZON.

12D: Beamed: SMILED. When Chinese take photos, we say "qie zi" (eggplant) rather than "cheese".

13D: "Breathing Lessons" Pulitzer winner Anne: TYLER. No idea. Oh, "Breathing Lessons" is a novel. I thought the book is about breathing and meditation. Her face looks familiar. I remember those bangs.

18D: Info to crunch: DATA

23D: Creole vegetable: OKRA. "Fighting OKRA" is a very strange mascot.

25D: More doilylike: LACIER. Are you OK with this clue?

26D: Apple of quince: POME. OK, here is the defintion of POME fruit from dictionary: a fleshy fruit, such as an apple, pear, or quince, having several seed chambers and an outer fleshy part largely derived from the hypanthium. Also called false fruit. Strange, they are real fruit to me. Pomme is French for apple. Pomme de terre is potato.

29D: Face on a fin: ABE. Might be a stumper for those solvers who are not familiar with the American slang five-dollar bill (fin). LAT puzzle appears in more than 700 daily and Sunday papers in the world, including Mexico, Bermuda, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Indian, Japan, Taiwan, etc.

30D: Fibula neighbor: TIBIA. Ouch! Looks painful.

31D: Hurt: INJURE

35D: Emptied one's bags: UNPACKED

36D: Stubborn critter: MULE. And APES (56D: Long-armed critters). Monkeys have long arms too. I think mine are also very long too.

38D: Wyoming tribe members: ARAPAHOS. No idea. But Cheyenne does not fit. What does ARAPAHOS mean in their own language?

39D: Winery container: VAT

42D: Pixar fish: NEMO. Love "Finding NEMO" (Pixar 2003 film).

43D: Go along with: AGREE TO

44D: Minor failing: FOIBLE

45D: Not out-of-bounds, as a ball: IN PLAY

46D: Gem weight units: CARATS. No wobbling between CARATS and KARATS this time.

48D: "The Compleat Angler" author Walton: IZAAK. Is the book very famous? I got this guy from across fills. How am I supposed to know? He died in 1683. Anyone wrote down ISAAC first?

52D: Zoom, for one: LENS

53D: Panama border?: BRIM. Panama hat. Can't fool me.

59D: Dismiss: AXE. Strange to see AX & AXE in one grid.

Answer grid.

C.C.