Wednesday November 11, 2009 Allan E. Parrish

Theme: Hit List - The first word of each # 1 hit song title is a synonym of "permanent".

20A. 2002 #1 hit for rapper Ja Rule: ALWAYS ON TIME. I've never heard of the the song or the rapper. Ja Rule's real name is Jeffrey Atkins.

36A. 1989 #1 hit for Paula Abdul: FOREVER YOUR GIRL. Know Paula Abdul from her previous gig with "American Idol". The song faintly rings a bell.

56A. 1989 #1 hit for the Bangles: ETERNAL FLAME. Someone just linked the Bangles on the blog the other day. The song is a total unknown to me.

Were all the above hits familiar to you?

This theme reminds me of David W. Cromer's "Always Faithful" puzzle, but with a tighter structure. Only three 12-letter theme answers, which allow for plenty of sparkling long entries (I counted 22 non-theme fill with 6 letters or more). And only 32 blocks. We often see 38 on weekdays.

Great to see Allan E. Parrish's byline again. Like Barry Silk, he likes to use scrabbly letters, though not much in this puzzle.

Across:

1. Taylor of "The Nanny": RENEE. She played Fran Fine's mother.

10. Patsies: SAPS

14. Are: EXIST. ARE is often clued as "Exist".

15. ''Star Wars'' royalty: LEIA. Princess Leia, played by Carrie Fisher. I am surprised that her mother, Debbie Reynolds, is still alive. Tough luck in men.

17. Senate minority leader McConnell: MITCH. From Kentucky. His wife is Bush 43's Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao. Contemporary political names are normally my gimmes.

18. Enchilada wraps: TORTILLAS. And REESE'S (51D. Popular candy pieces). Hmm, food is always welcome in our blog. By the way, care to share with Jeannie and all of us your thanksgiving stuffing recipe? A bit of Minnesota wild rice can flavor up the taste immensely.

22. Lake Wobegon creator: KEILLOR (Garrison). Ah, Minnesota reference. Welcome to Lake Wobegon, where all the women are strong, all the men are good-looking, and all the children are above average...

23. Without any help: UNAIDED

27. "¿Cómo ____ usted?": ESTA

28. "__Cop": 1987 film: ROBO. Always wanted "Mall Cop".

30. Sugar coating: GLAZE

31. Thrice, in Rx's: TER. Again, no TID (ter in die), Latin for "three times a day".

33. Bone: Pref.: OSTE. As in osteoarthritis.

35. Rural area: LEA

41. Milne marsupial: ROO. Kanga's kid in "Winnie-the-Pooh".

42. Airline to Ben-Gurion: EL AL. Ben Gurion International is EL AL's home base. Named after Israel's first Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion.

43. 1950s-'60s "Man on the Street" comic Louis: NYE. Learned his name from doing Xword.

44. Radio station alert sign: ON AIR

46. Academia VIP: DEAN. The clue seems to be asking for an abbreviated answer, doesn't it, Jerome?

48. Apt. balcony: TERR (Terrace). I am inured to the "territory" clue.

52. He shared a Nobel Peace Prize with de Klerk: MANDELA. In 1993. For their work in ending the apartheid in South Africa.

54. Will beneficiary: LEGATEE. With TEE in place, I mindlessly wrote down TRUSTEE.

58. Ploy: STRATAGEM. Awesome entry.

61. Country singer McCann and others: LILAS. No idea. Here is her "I Wanna Fall in Love". Do you like her bangs?

62. Mil. no-show: AWOL

63. Heavyweight bout?: SUMO. Heavyweight indeed.

64. Blazing: AFIRE

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

67. Hardwood trees: TEAKS. The wood is used in shipbuilding.

Down:

2. Forces out of the country: EXILES. Stupid Saddam should have accepted exile offer. War would have been avoided.

3. Jerk: NITWIT

4. Intensify: ESCALATE. Another great entry.

5. __ alcohol: ETHYL

6. Corrida charger: EL TORO. Spanish for "the bull".

7. Quite a long time: AEON

8. Master performer: VIRTUOSO. Italian for "skilled".

10. Cirque du __: SOLEIL. Literally "sun" in French. Has anyone seen a Cirque du Soleil show in person?

13. '60s activist gp.: SDS (Students for a Democratic Society)

19. Mental pictures: IMAGERY

21. Chestnut horse: SORREL. And ROAN (38D. Colorful horse).

24. Mustachioed Spanish surrealist: DALI. Most famous for his melting clock ("The Persistence of Memory")

25. Former Israeli president Weizman: EZER. Wanted EBAN. Confused him with Abba Eban.

29. Peter of "Everybody Loves Raymond": BOYLE

32. City NNE of Seattle: EVERETT. Obtained the answer from crosses. What's Everett famous for?

34. Prison escape route, perhaps: TUNNEL. Love "The Shawshank Redemption".

36. Gift tag word: FROM. Christmas is coming.

37. Chaplin's last wife: OONA. The "Alley Oop" character OOOLA.

39. Speed trap device: RADAR GUN

40. "Mind your own business!": GET A LIFE. Oh, I had the wrong understanding that "Get a life" means "Don't be so obsessed with something".

45. Role models, say: IDEALS

47. Los __: Manhattan Project site: ALAMOS. In New Mexico.

49. And others: Latin: ET ALIA. Neutral plural of et al; et alii is masculine plural, et aliae is feminine plural.

50. Comment: REMARK. Here is a detailed explanation on this "How to Post a Comment" on our blog. Come and join us for the daily crossword (or non-crossword topics as the day goes on) discussion.

53. Purchase alternative: LEASE

55. F-sharp equivalent: G-FLAT

57. Verne captain: NEMO. Literally "no one" in Latin. From Verne's "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea".

59. Pan Am rival: TWA. Once owned by Howard Hughes.

Answer grid.

Happy Veterans Day, Dennis, Argyle and all those who have served in the military.

C.C.

Tuesday November 10, 2009 Donna S. Levin

Theme: DRIVE (68A: Hit from a tee, and word that can follow the first words of 20-, 28-, 49- and 59-Across)

20A. One-hit wonder: FLASH IN THE PAN

28A. Controversial school subject: SEX EDUCATION.

49A. President's selective rejection: LINE ITEM VETO.

59A. Pact addressing nuclear proliferation: TEST BAN TREATY.

FLASH DRIVE: A small electronic device used to store digital data, more portable and robust than a hard drive, ranging in capacities from 64MB to 256GB. I'm not savvy enough to need one.

LINE DRIVE: Baseball term for a batted ball that travels low, fast, and straight. The bane of pitchers.

TEST DRIVE: Taking a car out for a ride prior to purchase.

I left out SEX DRIVE because who here doesn't know about that!

Argyle again. This puzzle is not as scrabbly as Barry's yesterday, but smooth as well. Several nice Bob Klahn style clue echos (either sequential or crossing).

Some might have some trouble but the perps will probably rescue them.

Across:

1. Labor union foe: SCAB. SCABS was just clued as "Picket line crossers" yesterday.

5. 1999 Ron Howard film: ED TV. Starring Matthew McConaughey.

9. Clunker of a car: LEMON.

14. Building passage: HALL. Crossing SHAFT (1D. Mine passage). Nice "passage" echo.

15. Retired Cunard flagship, for short: QE II. Trouble for anyone?

16. Atlanta campus: EMORY. The university is recognized internationally for its outstanding liberal arts college, superb professional schools and one of the Southeast's leading health care systems. Emory's main campus is located in the suburban Atlanta neighborhood of Druid Hills.

17. Diva's number: ARIA.

18. Samovars: URNS. Samovar is a Russian term for a metal urn with a spigot, used to boil water for tea and traditionally having a chimney and heated by coals. Picture

19. Love, to Luigi: AMORE. Italian. OK, here is Dean Martin's "That's AMORE".

23. Stylistic judgment: TASTE.

24. Fishing aid: NET.

25. Hitter's stat: RBI.

36. It may be copped in court: PLEA. Cop a plea.

37. VCR successors: TIVOS. C.C. won't like 13D: TV's "Science Guy": NYE. because of TV in the clue.

38. Oodles: A LOT.

40. Mlles., in Spain: SRTAS. Mademoiselle is French for Miss, señorita in Spanish.

43. Soccer immortal: PELE.

44. Like thick carpets: PLUSH.

46. Beehive State college team: UTES.

48. No-goodnik: RAT.

54. European toy dog, briefly: POM. Pomeranian.

55. Enter, as data: INPUT. Data is the plural of DATUM (31D. Bit of information)

64. Gemologist's weight: CARAT. What's the difference between CARAT and KARAT again? (From Crockett: CARAT a unit of weight and KARAT a unit of pureness.)

66. Perjurer: LIAR.

67. "__ and Away": 1960s hit: UP, UP

71. Hood's scheme: CAPER.

72. Halloween cover-up: MASK.

73. IRS IDs: SSNS. Typical bottom edge word.

Down:

2. "Cheers" waitress: CARLA. Rhea Perlman (CARLA) is married to Danny DeVito. And 6. Actor Bruce: DERN. Bruce is the father of actress Laura Dern, whom he had with his ex-wife, actress Diane Ladd.

3. Fictitious name: ALIAS. Oh, C.C. gets quite a few annoying porn comments from this Nora Pearlstone (Rich Norris alias name) blog entry. Can someone have a look and see which link might cause such problem? Be careful with what you link at the Comments section too.

4. Explosions: BLASTS.

5. Prefix with lateral: EQUI. Meaning "same".

7. Windshield option: TINT.

8. Four-armed Hindu deity: VISHNU (VISH-noo). “The Preserver". Brahma is the Creator and Shiva is the Destroyer.

9. Eagerly took advantage of, as an opportunity: LEAPT AT.

10. Jane Austen novel: EMMA.

11. Song with the lyric "I'm crossing you in style": MOON RIVER. "Moon River", was composed by Johnny Mercer (lyrics) and Henry Mancini (music) in 1961, for the movie, Breakfast at Tiffany's.

12. NHL legend Bobby: ORR.

21. Dickens schemer Uriah: HEEP. From "David Copperfield".

22. Common Mkt.: EEC. European Economic Community.

26. When repeated, Yalie's cheer: BOOLA. "Boola Boola" is Yale's fight song.

27. Map in a map: INSET.

29. T-shirt sizes: XLS.

30. Eternally, in poems: E'ER. V is normally omitted (as in ne'er too).

31. Bit of informatition: DATUM

32. Bit of advice: TIP. Sequential "Bit of..." echo.

33. Canada's national tree: MAPLE. Hi, Geri!

34. Do-or-die poker bet: ALL-IN.

35. There and back: ROUND TRIP.

39. Mao __-tung: TSE. Wayne R Williams is probably still using his "Half a fly?" every day now. Tung simply means "east" in Chinese.

41. Off-road ride, briefly: ATV. Repeated offender.

45. Cool cat: HIPSTER.

47. Mix: STIR.

51. The Democrats' donkey, for one: EMBLEM.

52. Outdoes: ONE-UPS.

56. Half of the "California Dreamin'" singers: PAPAS.

57. One-eighty: U-TURN. 180 degrees is half-way round a circle (360 degrees)

58. Works on a keyboard: TYPES.

60. Icicle site: EAVE.

61. Verdi's slave girl: AIDA. The princess from Nubia (thanks, JD, and welcome back).

63. Difficult journey: TREK.

64. Swine flu watchdog agcy.: CDC. Center for Disease Control. Quite a topical fill.

65. Coach Parseghian: ARA. Of Notre Dame. Literally "Altar" in Latin.

Answer grid.

Argyle

Monday November 9, 2009 Barry Silk

Theme: Hocus Pocus

20A. Toy that might answer "It is decidedly so": MAGIC EIGHT BALL.

35A. Sly inquiry: TRICK QUESTION.

51A. Cesar Millan dog-training apparatus: ILLUSION COLLAR. Unknown to me. He is The Dog Whisperer. His wife's name is Ilusion Wilson Millan, so is the collar an allusion to her?

If it is Monday, then I must be Argyle.

Alright! A Barry Silk for a Monday. Sixties music and muscle cars. And just short a 'V' from a pangram. Three Z's. Plenty of lively multiple words too, esp Down entries. Neat to have END (64A. Finish) complete the grid.

For those of you that may never have had a Magic 8 Ball, it has little sayings that float up to the viewing window after you turn the ball over a few times. Like all seers, it is often cryptic. The Wikipedi article has the list of the 20 standard answers. Plus, there are several specialty 8 Balls out there.

Across.

1. Sends a duplicate to, for short: CCS. Carbon Copy, used as a verb. (or as a shout-out to our leader.)

4. Half-baked, as ideas: CRAZY.

9. Tended: SAW TO.

14. Fink: RAT. Both verb and noun.

15. 3:1 or 7:2, e.g.: RATIO.

17. Thurman who played June in "Henry & June": UMA. The 1990 film was loosely based on the book Henry and June by our old friend, French diarist Anaïs Nin.

18. Maine college town: ORONO. Hi Mainiac!

19. Improvise lines: AD LIB.

23. Pub orders: BREWS

24. W. Hemisphere defense gp.: OAS. Organization of American States

25. "Cats" poet's monogram: TSE. T S Eliot.

27. Average: SO-SO.

28. Ancient moralist: AESOP.

31. Despair's opposite: HOPE.

32. Knight fight: JOUST. A la Don Quixote, though he tilts at the windmills.

34. Imus's medium: RADIO. Don Imus, shock jock.

40. Charlatan: FAKER. A good entry for today.

41. Helen of Troy's mother: LEDA. Helen's father is Zeus.

42. OneZip bag maker: HEFTY. Rival of Glad.

48. Cell "messenger," briefly: RNA. RiboNucleic Acid, a single chain, while DeoxyriboNucleic Acid is a double chain, the famous double helix. (Was in yesterday's puzzle.)

49. Critic Reed: REX. Film critic.

50. Barbecue equipment brand: WEBER.

58. Cavity fillers' org.: ADA. American Dental Association.

59. Crooner Mel: TORME. "The Velvet Fog". Silky!

60. November birthstone: TOPAZ. Pure topaz is colorless and transparent but is usually tinted by impurities; aren't we all?

61. Meditative sect: ZEN. Derived from Chinese Chán, literally, "quietude".

63. Covered with marsh vegetation: SEDGY.

Down.

1. Bread bits: CRUMBS.

2. Chevy muscle car: CAMARO.

3. Puts on, as a show: STAGES.

6. Yours, in Paris: A TOI.

7. Criticize in a witty way: ZING.

8. Classic chocolate drink brand: YOO-HOO. Yogi likes it; I didn't.

9. Picket line crossers: SCABS.

11. Affluent: WELL-TO-DO.

12. Sudden and precipitous downturn: TAILSPIN.

21. Pacific island on which a memorable WWII photo was taken: IWO JIMA. !

22. Audible dance style: TAP.

26. Job listing initials: EEO. Equal Employment Opportunity

28. Northern diving bird: AUK. The Great Auk is extinct.

29. Attorney's abbr.: ESQ. Esquire. Also, Esqr.

30. Fill, as with padding: STUFF.

31. Styling goo: HAIR GEL. For some, only Dapper Dan will do.

33. Military training acad.: OCS. Officer Candidate Schools.

34. Hwy.: RTE. Highway - Route

35. Miley Cyrus, for one: TEEN IDOL. Her ticket sales are not that hot any more.

36. Ready-for-the-worst status: RED ALERT.

38. Wild blue yonder: SKY. Nice clue.

39. Camera type, for short: SLR. Single-Lens Reflex.

42. "__ So Fine": 1963 #1 hit: HE'S. By The Chiffons.

43. Is: EXISTS.

45. On fire: ABLAZE. I originally had AFLAME but for a Barry Silk puzzle, I needed ABLAZE.

46. Hard to move: LEADEN.

47. Quick trip that's "run": ERRAND.

49. Foot-long stick, often: RULER.

50. Reeling from a blow: WOOZY.

52. Tibetan priest: LAMA. One 'L'. Literally "guru". Dalai means "ocean". Dallai Lama, "Ocean Teacher", means a teacher who is spiritually as great as the ocean.

53. Native Nebraskan: OTOE. The clue may not be accurate; they moved around a lot but they always show up in crosswords.

54. "Law & Order" gp.: NYPD. New York(city) Police Department

55. Jagged rock: CRAG. Like this picture. Those mountain goats do not seem to have tails, do they?

56. "Let's call __ day!": IT A.

Answer grid.

Argyle

Sunday November 8, 2009 James Sajdak

Theme: What's Yours? - Profession-appropriate mixed drinks.

25A. The barber ordered a __: VODKA TONIC. Made with vodka + tonic water. A barber might use hair tonic.

27A. The heating contractor ordered a __: BOILERMAKER. Beer + whiskey/tequila/vodka. A heating contractor might make or repair a boiler.

40A. The farmer ordered a __: PLANTERS PUNCH. Dark rum + orange juice + pineapple + something else. Farmers are planters.

60A. The popcorn producer ordered a __: HOT BUTTERED RUM. Light rum + sugar + butter + cloves. Popcorn producer needs butter to flavor up the popcorn.

84A. The orthopedist ordered a __: SINGAPORE SLING. Gin + Cherry-flavored liqueur +Dom Bénédictine+pineapple juice. An orthopedist may prescribe a sling for the patient.

102A. The high roller ordered a __: SEVEN AND SEVEN. Seagram's 7 whiskey + 7-up. What's the high roller and Seven and Seven connection?

119A. The handyman ordered a __: SCREW DRIVER. Vodka + orange juice. Screwdriver is a tool for the handyman.

123A. The citrus grower ordered a __: FUZZY NAVEL. Peach schnapps + orange juice. Citrus grower grows navel oranges.

Clever theme, unfortunately it does not resonate with me. Several of the above cocktails were complete unknowns to me. I imagine Argyle & Lois having fun tackling this intoxicating grid.

I love Long Island Iced Tea, what about you? Singapore Sling is a very popular cocktail in Asia too.

As the norm with a Sunday puzzle, quite a few clever and entertaining clues.

Across:

1. Ride without pedaling: COAST

10. Crosswind direction, at sea: ABEAM. Perpendicular to the keel.

15. Frost lines?: POEM. Robert Frost. And 115D. Pound of verse: EZRA.

19. Words before a car or wreck: RENT A. Not familiar with Rent-a-Wreck. What an awful name.

20. American-born Jordanian queen: NOOR. Queen Noor is very articulate.

22. It surrounds Città del Vaticano: ROMA. Città del Vaticano = Vatican City in Italian.

23. Chip producer: INTEL. Not your potato chips.

24. "Don't have __, man!": A COW

30. Whistling zebra?: REF. Vivid misleading clue.

31. Divisions politiques: ETATS. The French political divisions.

32. Maker of durable watches: CASIO

33. Title apiarist in a 1997 film: ULEE. "Ulee's Gold", starring Peter Fonda.

35. "I'm treating": ON ME. Thanks.

37. Band for a tea ceremony?: OBI. Kimono band. Nice clue.

39. Hoop site: EAR. Hoop earrings. I was thinking of basketball.

46. Sailor's sheet: ROPE. Not SAIL?

48. It helped Dr. Leary take some trips: LSD. Plenty in Woodstock.

51. Lower Manhattan district: SOHO

52. Monorail transports: TRAMS

54. Treaty gp. since 1948: OAS (Organization of American States).

57. Sheetful of cookies: BATCH. Wish I could have a chocolate chip cookie now.

59. Wine cask: TUN. And 2D. Winery prefix: OENO. As in oenophile.

65. Emulate Demosthenes: ORATE. I had no idea who Demosthenes (di-MOS-thuh-neez) was. A Greek orator.

67. 43,560 square feet: ONE ACRE. Oh, I don't really know the exact amount in an acre.

68. Early Yucatec: MAYA

69. Spirals: HELIXES. Had trouble obtaining this answer.

71. Some hi-fis: RCAS

72. Hit, biblically: SMITE. Past tense is smit.

74. "You're dreaming": AS IF

75. Emotional problems: HANG-UPS

78. Sinusitis specialists, briefly: ENTS. ENT = Ear, Nose, and Throat.

79. Baffin Bay floater: ICE FLOE. Does iceberg float?

83. "Tuesdays with Morrie" author: ALBOM (Mitch).

87. Driver's ID: LIC (License). And 101. Govt. -issued IDs.: SSNS

91. Naples-to-Venice. dir.: NNW. Clueless.

92. Native shelter: TEPEE. Native Indian.

93. Tiny farm dwellers: ANTS. Ant farm.

95. Obscene: FILTHY

98. Burning: LIT

106. __ cit.: in the place cited: LOC. Learned this footnote abbr. from doing Xword.

108. August hrs. in Augusta: EDT. Excellent clue.

109. TV ally of Hercules: XENA. Played by Lucy Lawless.

113. Drives the getaway car, say: ABETS

116. Rip off: ROB

126. Years, to Caesar: ANNI. Plural of anno.

127. Cherbourg ciao: ADIEU. I've never heard of Cherbourg, a seaport in NW France.

128. Regarding, in memos: IN RE

129. Whirpool subsidiary: AMANA. Our oven brand.

130. Demeanor: MIEN. Same root, mien and demeanor.

131. Scout's mission, briefly: RECON

133. Emerson's middle name: WALDO. Ralph Waldo Emerson.

134. Bunkhouse bud: PARD. Partner/friend. Did not know the meaning of bunkhouse, a rough building with bunk beds for those ranch hands.

135. Put up: ERECT

Down:

1. Bed that's hard to climb out of: CRIB. Another descriptive clue.

3. Look forward to: ANTICIPATE

4. Inscribed pillar: STELA. Also spelled as STELE.

5. "Honor Thy Father" author Gay: TALESE. See the book cover. I can only remember his wife's name (NAN), from "A Little Million Pieces" scandal.

6. Inflames with passion: ENAMORS

7. Andean stimulant: COCA. Chewed stimulant.

8. Connection: HOOK-UP

9. Creator of the pigs Old Major and Napoleon: ORWELL (George). From his "Animal Farm". I was ignorant of those pigs.

10. Off-rd. transport: ATV (All-Terrain Vehicle)

11. Philistine: BOOR

12. Earth, to Kepler: ERDE. German for "earth". Kepler was a German astronomer.

13. Invite trouble: ASK FOR IT

14. Extinct kiwi cousin: MOA. Had no idea that moa is related to kiwi.

15. Mythological shapeshifter: PROTEUS (PROH-tee-uhs). The Greek sea god who could change his shape at will. Total stranger to me.

16. O'Neil's daughter: OONA. Chaplin's wife.

17. Radiate: EMIT

18. British raincoats: MACS

26. Help for a while: TEMP. Tricky noun "help".

28. Omani money: RIAL. The Saudi Arabia money is riyal.

29. Keister: REAR

34. Brian of Roxy Music: ENO

36. Fraction of a min.: NSECT (Nanosecond). Wish the word "tiny" were added in front of "fraction".

37. Gardener's brand: ORTHO

38. Element used in a glass production: BORON. No idea. It's element #5.

41. Fragrance by Dana: TABU. "The forbidden fragrance".

42. Cheese burg.: EDAM. The cheese is named after the Dutch town Edam where it originated. Neat play on cheeseburger.

43. Benefit at a swap meet: NO TAX. Swap meet is the same as flea market, isn't it?

44. Laundry conveyor: CHUTE

45. Perfects: HONES

47. No-trade policy: EMBARGO

49. Faline in "Bambi,", e.g.: DOE. Faline is Bambi's wife.

53. Yield: SUCCUMB. I liked this fill.

55. Prepares for battle: ARMS

56. Gobs: SEAMEN. Gob is a slang for sailor. I was picturing a large amount of something.

58. Most saintly: HOLIEST

61. Use a ruse on: TRAP

62. Hardy heroine: TESS. "Tess of the D'Urbervilles".

64. Caning need: RATTAN. Misread the clue as "Canning need" and penned in BOTTLE.

66. Mixes, as cards: RIFFLES. Could only think of shuffle.

69. "Good Morning Starshine" musical: HAIR. Here is a clip.

70. Suffix with opal: ESCE. Opalesce.

75. "Papa Bear" of football: HALAS (George). Have faintly heard of this guy. "Brian's Song" is probably the most famous Chicago Bears related movie.

76. Flared dress: A-LINE

77. "SNL" network: NBC TV

80. Words without deeds: LIP SERVICE

81. Without a letup: ON END. It's back.

82. Spew out: EGEST. Opposite of ingest.

84. Last word at Sotheby's?: SOLD. Nice clue too.

85. QB's errors: INTS (Interceptions)

86. "The House at Pooh Corner" bird: OWL. Guessed.

89. Distant: AFAR

90. Movie technique using three projectors: CINERAMA

94. Bubbly beverage: SELTZER

96. Evil eye: HEX. My friend Roberto used to wear a deep blue evil eye pendant. He worked in Turkey for a few years.

97. First name in design: YVES. Yves Saint Laurent (YSL)

99. It "blows no good": ILL WIND. I liked this clue too.

100. Fly catcher: TOAD. Frog too.

103. Too interested: NOSY

104. Set up tents: ENCAMP

105. Lewis land by the River Shribble: NARNIA. Most of C. S. Lewis novels were set in Narnia, correct?

107. Arrow poison: CURARE (kyoo-RAHR-ee). New word to me.

112. Where to get down: EIDER. Eiderdown. Got the answer immediately, but I was not fond of word "where".

113. Throw a __: lose it: A FIT

114. Spots for burgers: BUNS. Wrote down BARS first. Some bars do serve burgers.

117. Place for a race: OVAL. Oval is a noun?

118. Compromise: BEND

120. Nuke-testing depts.: ENER (Energy). I could hear the whining.

121. Fed. anti-discrimination org.: EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission). Was more familiar with EEO or EOE.

122. Pipsqueak: RUNT

124. Dogpatch denial: NAW. Hillbilly talk again.

128. Thai language: LAO. Spoken in northeast of Thailand.

Answer grid.

C.C.

Saturday November 7, 2009 Bob Peoples

Theme: None

Total blocks: 30

Total words: 70

This grid does not look intimidating, does it? Only a bunch of triple-stacked 7's in each corner. Across & Down. But what a hard struggle for me!

Rich Norris certainly ratcheted up the cluing difficulty (ONO is a good example). Even if he did not, I doubt I would have solved this puzzle without cheating. Several of the adjacent entries are just plain unknown to me.

Across:

1. Treat for tired dogs?: FOOT RUB. Dogs here refer to feet. Wanted MASSAGE. Lots of foot massage parlors in Guangzhou.

8. Snake oil, so it's said: PANACEA. Not seen as such in China. Snake oil is just used to treat join pain.

15. Bridge bid, briefly: THREE NO. Someone please explain this term to me.

16. Fauna: ANIMALS. Flora would be PLANTS.

17. Old Meccan governors: SHARIFS. Literally "exalted" in Arabic. Maybe Omar Sharif knows. I've got no idea.

18. Swift specialties: SATIRES. Jonathan Swift.

20. "Real breakfast 24/7" restaurant chain: DENNY'S. Not familiar with the tagline at all.

22. Ventura County's __ Valley: SIMI. Home to the Regan Library. Another California reference is ANAS (9D. Santa __: West Coast winds). The hot winds.

23. Actress Swenson: INGA. Of "Benson" fame.

25. God of Spain: DIOS. The singular DIO is Italian/German for God. DIEU for the French.

27. Head lock: TRESS

31. City on the Rhine: BONN. Former capital of West Germany.

32. Shrub with clusters of blue flowers: HYSSOP. Of the mint family. New name to me.

34. Betrayals: SELLOUTS. So easy in retrospect.

36. Hotel amenity for business travelers: IN-ROOM FAX. You'd think it's IN-ROOM internet access/WiFi.

38. Delete: CROSS OFF. And REDLINE (39D. Deletion indicator).

41. Tiny white ovum: ANT EGG. Stumper. Those eggs look awfully big.

45. Musical set in Manhattan's East Village: RENT

46. Armstrong singing style: SCAT. Ella Fitzgerald singing style too.

48. Iberian river: DOURO (DOH-roo). No idea. See this map. It flows from N Spain through N Portugal to the Atlantic.

49. Stock suffix: ADE. Stockade.

50. Agcy. that conducts workplace inspections: OSHA. Belongs to the Dept. of Labor.

52. Noilly __: vermouth brand: PRAT. Completely unknown to me. Does anyone know the name origin? Why PRAT, Argyle?

57. Artist who funded Manhattan's Strawberry Fields memorial: ONO. Another unknown trivia.

58. Reminder file: TICKLER. Have never heard of tickler file.

60. Ale seller: BREWPUB. It's a bar serving beer brewed at a small microbrewery on the premises. Probably a gimme for Embien.

63. Ventilation source: AIR HOLE

64. Can't stand: DESPISE

65. Did over on a Selectric, say: RETYPED. Who the heck is still using Selectric?

Down:

1. Ark. city that began as a military post: FT SMITH. Uh-uh, nope. It's the second-largest city in Ark.

2. Candy bar with an exclamation point in its name: OH HENRY! I've yet to try this brand. Love Snickers.

3. Fruits used in making Grand Marnier: ORANGES. Another stumper. The Grand Marnier made from a blend of true cognacs and distilled essence of bitter orange.

4. Three times, in Rx's: TER

5. Senate Majority Leader Harry: REID. From Nevada.

6. Ravenous, probably: UNFED. Reminds me of "The Pianist".

7. Sarajevo's region: BOSNIA. Sarajevo is the capital of Bosnia.

8. Lineup announcement medium, briefly: PA SYSTEM. Was thinking of police line-up.

10. Trivial point: NIT. Trivial point to pick.

11. "The Rachel Papers" novelist Martin: AMIS. Son of Kingsley Amis.

12. Arctic deer: CARIBOU. Reindeer too.

13. Nitrogen or oxygen: ELEMENT

14. Transfers, as legal rights: ASSIGNS

21. "I wouldn't do that just yet": NOT SO FAST. Placed at the very center of the grid.

24. Fielder's stat: ASSIST. Basketball/hockey stat too.

28. Boys, to men: SONS. Would be an OK clue if not for MEN (19A. Gents)

30. Italian sports car, briefly: : ALFA. Alfa Romeo.

31. Old-fashioned proof of purchase: BOX TOP

33. Aces: PROS. Both mean experts.

35. Crow's nest sighting: LAND. Again, not familiar with the nautical term crow's nest.

37. "For sure!": OF COURSE

38. Skillfully made: CRAFTED

40. Plays without intermissions: ONE-ACTS. "Plays" is a noun. I fell into the verb thinking trap.

42. Ace of Base genre: EURO POP. Have never heard of Swedish band Ace of Base.

43. Bit of grit: GRANULE

44. Retire, but not permanently: GO TO BED. "Not permanently" threw me off.

47. Legal profession: THE BAR. Wrote down THE LAW first.

51. Raptor's home: AERIE

54. Cincinnati sitcom station: WKRP. "WKRP in Cincinnati".

55. Tiger's pocketful: TEES. Tiger Woods.

56. Miró Foundation architect: SERT. Got the answer from Across fill.

59. Gift for an island visitor: LEIS. Hawaiian islands.

Answer grid.

C.C.

Friday November 6, 2009 Sharon E. Petersen

Theme: Slip of the Tongue - The first word of a common phrase is replaced by two identical letters which, when pronounced in plural form, sound like the word itself.

17A. Nursery rhyme dish?: PP (Pease) PORRIDGE. "Pease porridge hot, pease porridge cold..."

25A. "Time is fleeting" philosophy?: CC (Seize) THE DAY. Carpe diem.

38A. Reasons?: YY (Whys) AND WHEREFORES

49A. "Good grief!"?: GG (Jeez) LOUISE.

61A. 1999 Kidman/Cruise film?: II (Eyes) WIDE SHUT. It flopped. Stanley Kubrick's last film.

And EE (ease) and TT (tease) came to my mind. What else can you think of?

Such a YY (wise) constructor, Sharon E. Petersen. Very clever theme. One of my favorite LAT puzzles so far. Quite scrabbly too, with 4 J's, 1 Z, & 1 X.

Again, I started from bottom up and figured out the gimmick rather quickly. Still needed the cheat sheet to finish the puzzle.

Across:

1. Alaska's state gem: JADE. Unknown fact to me. I just found out that our Minnesota's state gem is Lake Superior Agate. How about your state?

5. Sonora natives: PIMAS. The Arizona Indian tribe.

10. Soup du __: JOUR. Literally "day" in French.

14. Shepard in space: ALAN. Alan Shepard, the first American in space.

15. Designer Simpson: ADELE. Finally I remember this designer's name. She died in 1995.

19. Island garlands: LEIS

21. Blond Wells race: ELOI. From "The Time Machine".

22. Pained reaction: WINCE

23. Toaster Swirlz brand: EGGO. Owned by Kellogg.

28. Tumblers and tongs, e.g.: BARWARE

35. One of a cup's 48: Abbr.: TSP. A cup has 16 tablespoons and 48 teaspoons. 1 tablespoon = 3 teaspoons.

42. Cio-Cio-__: Madama Butterfly: SAN. Just Japanese suffix used as a term of respect after their names or titles. I am C.C. San.

43. Actress Skye: IONE. She was in "Say Anything ...", together with John Cusack. Nice movie.

44. Three-time pairs skating gold medalist Rodnina: IRINA. No idea. It means "peace" in Russian. Like Greek Irene. Wikipedia says this lady is the only pair skater to win 10 successive World Championships (1969–78) and three successive Olympic gold medal.

45. Gag: JOKE

47. Reaganomics principle: TAX CUTS

53. "Just the facts, __": MA'AM. From "Dragnet".

54. Posture-perfect: ERECT. Reminds me of Frida Kahlo, always erect posture. Back pain.

55. Brest milk: LAIT. French for "milk". Brest is a French seaport. Same pronunciation as breast. Neat clue.

57. Garb for dreamers, briefly: PJS

60. Really smell: REEK

64. Pencil puzzle: MAZE. I've never tried one.

66. Mother of Pollux: LEDA. The swan lady. Mother of Helen of Troy also.

67. Sit tight: STAY

69. Sign that something has turned?: ODOR. I did not miss the sign!

Down:

1. Wisecrack: JAPE. Learned from doing Xword.

2. Heidi's home: ALPS

3. Well-groomed guy: DAPPER DAN. John Gotti was nicknamed "Dapper Don" because of his taste for expensive clothes/cars.

4. "Ambient 1: Music for Airports" composer Brian: ENO. The Windows 95 starting sound is by him too.

5. Game room: PARLOR

6. Prefix with -syncratic: IDIO. Meaning "peculiar".

7. Military physician: MEDIC

8. African country on the Med. Sea: ALG. Algeria I suppose.

10. "'Tis but thy name that is my enemy" speaker: JULIET. From "Romeo and Juliet".

11. Interminably: ON END. How is it different from NO END?

12. Erie Canal city: UTICA

13. Grier of the Fearsome Foursome: ROSEY. His face looks familiar. Must have seen him somewhere before. LA Rams' Fearsome Foursome.

18. Think highly of: REGARD

24. Singer Stefani: GWEN. Very toned. Her band is "No Doubt".

26. Bordeaux wine: CLARET. Red wine.

27. Drink excessively: TOPE. And the person who drinks excessively is a TOPER.

29. Romance novelist Seton: ANYA. No idea. See this picture. Her real name is simply Ann Seton.

30. Bounces back: ECHOES

35. Came out on top: TRIUMPHED. Nailed it.

36. On its way: SENT. Had trouble obtaining the answer.

37. Awareness-raising TV spots, for short: PSAS (Public Service Announcements)

39. Web site that users can edit: WIKI. "Fast" in Hawaii. Wikipedia = Wiki + (Encyclo)pedia.

40. Focus intently (on): FIXATE

41. Large ocean predator: ORCA. With the last A in place, I wrote down SKUA, the predatory sea bird.

45. Silks wearer: JOCKEY. Silks refer to jockey's jacket, correct?

46. Fast asleep: OUT

49. Verminophobe's fear: GERMS. Oh, I thought it's just fear of vermin. Vermis is Latin for "worms". Unknown to me.

51. TV host Gibbons: LEEZA

52. Legendary Broncos quarterback: ELWAY (John). Was he better than Brett Favre?

58. Japanese martial art: JUDO. Literally, "gentle way".

61. Savings vehicle for later yrs.: IRA

62. Cyclades island: IOS. Pronounced as EE-ohs? Don't confuse it with COS, another Greek island where Romaine lettuce was first introduced.

Answer grid.

C.C.

Thursday November 5, 2009 Xan Vongsathorn

Theme: SILENCE IS GOLDEN (57A. Apt adage for this puzzle ) - Common phrases signaling "mum's the word" (I'll be quiet and say nothing). "Non-speaking line" means "saying a line about not speaking".

17A. Non-speaking line?: MY LIPS ARE SEALED

22A. Non-speaking line?: I'M ALL EARS

34A. Non-speaking line?: WORDS ESCAPE ME

50A. Non-speaking line?: NO COMMENT

Today's constructor Xan Vongsathorn is a student in Pomona College, CA. Xan is pronounced as “Chawn”.

This puzzle reminds me the quote "Don't talk unless you can improve the silence" Dennis or Hahtool brought to the blog a while ago.

As usual, I jumped around. Got MY LIPS ARE SEALED very quickly and filled in SILENCE IS GOLDEN immediately. Then I thought the theme is about keeping secret.

Across:

1. Thumper's buddy: BAMBI. Thumper is a young rabbit in "Bambi". Unknown to me. We often see ENA clued as "Bambi's aunt".

6. La Scala production: OPERA. And AISLED (45D. Like theaters)

11. Cap seen on a brae: TAM. Scottish cap. Brae is Scottish hillside.

15. Ad target: BUYER. Sigh! I hardly use my Jack Lalanne juicer. The TV ad was just so appealing.

16. "If you ask me," in chat room shorthand: IMO

21. Spill the beans: TATTLE. A contract to "Silence is Golden".

27. State of rest: REPOSE

28. Little women: PETITES. Good play on the novel "Little Women". And LARGE (56A. Soda size).

31. Aurora's Greek counterpart: EOS. Gimme, correct? I've been mentioning Aurora every time EOS shows up.

32. Romantic hopeful: SUITOR. Silly, but I struggled with the answer. I like to be romanced.

40. Vital anatomical passage: AIRWAY. No idea. It's a passage by which air passes from the nose or mouth to the air sacs of the lungs.

41. George Gershwin's brother: IRA. The clue is a full name, the answer is only a given name. "George's songwriter brother" is much better.

43. Blankety-blank type: SO AND SO

46. Jaime Sommers, TV's "__ Woman": BIONIC. Bionic stands for Bio(logy) + (electro)nic.

49. The Phantom of the Opera: ERIK. Oh, thought it's ERIC.

53. Magnetic inductivity units: TESLAS. Named after physicist Nikola Tesla.

63. Too trusting: NAIVE

64. Prefix with surgery: NEURO. Neurosurgery. Neuro = nerve.

66. "Li'l" guy: ABNER. Li'l Abner.

67. Bygone anesthetic: ETHER

Down:

1. Mooch, as a ride: BUM

3. Start to practice?: MAL. Malpractice. Great clue.

4. Under-the-sink brand: BRILLO. Latin for "bright". I am using the S.O.S. pad.

5. Gets moving: IMPELS

6. President with a Grammy: OBAMA. Two Grammys, for the spoken word books of "Dreams from My Father" and "The Audacity of Hope".

11. Attack à la Don Quixote: TILT AT. He tilts at the windmills (fights against an imaginary enemy). Tilt here means "joust", using a lance.

12. 2001 French film starring Audrey Tautou: AMELIE. Ah, Embien liked this film. So did I. Just lovely.

13. Cover girls, e.g.: MODELS. CoverGirl is a cosmetics brand.

18. Hook's right hand: SMEE. In "Peter Pan".

19. Worn things: ATTIRE. Might have got it quickly if the clue were "Things to wear".

23. Cat call: MEOW. Not the rude catcall. Several nicely worded clues in today's puzzle.

24. Lhasa __: Tibetan dog: APSO. Literally "bearded" in Tibetan language.

25. Like much Thai cuisine: SPICY. That's why they use coconut often, to balance out the spiciness.

29. Greek "H": ETA. See the shape.

30. High point: TOP

32. Attach, as a patch: SEW ON

33. Country where Häagen-Dazs H.Q. is: USA. Man, somehow I always thought Häagen-Dazs is based somewhere in Europe.

35. Continue to irritate: RANKLE

37. Some coll. students: SRS. Xan Vongsathorn is a senior in college. Very unusual name.

38. Diamond source: MINE. No more baseball diamond. Damned Yankees. What Lola wants, Lola finally gets! I kind of like Andy Pettitte though. Very honest handling of his steroid use. Congratulations, Danabw and Democrat in a Red State.

39. Celtic land: ERIN. Or EIRE. Hibernia is Latin for Ireland.

43. Goes after: SETS AT

44. Tater Tots maker: ORE-IDA. Portmanteau of Ore(gon) = Ida(ho).

46. Five-time Wimbledon champ: BORG (Björn)

47. "Later, bro": I'M GONE

48. Brunch staple: OMELET. I like plain one. No cheese, or meat or vegetables.

51. Source of edible oil: OLIVE

52. Crime planner: CASER. Case is a slang for "to check out a bank/house in planning of a crime".

54. "Happy tune" whistler of Broadway: ANNA. No idea. The song "I Whistle a Happy Tune", from the musical "The King and I".

55. Picketer's bane: SCAB

58. "Ich bin __ Berliner!": EIN. JFK line.

59. "How could I miss that?!": D'UH. No difference from D'OH, correct?

Answer grid.

Thanks for the newspaper information yesterday. I am so sorry some of you lost LAT puzzle. Do go to LA Times' website and join us for discussions when you have time.

C.C.

Wednesday November 4, 2009 Dan Naddor

Theme: INLETS (43D. Coastal irregularities, and word anagrammed in this puzzle's four longest answers) - The starting word of each theme entry is an anagram of INLETS.

17A. Respond to Uncle Sam's poster request: ENLIST IN THE ARMY. Pat Tillman did.

28A. Movieland: TINSELTOWN. Hollywood.

40A. "Pay attention!": LISTEN HERE! "Here" did not come to me readily. I could only think of "Listen Up".

53A. Passive-aggressive tactic: SILENT TREATMENT. It causes bitterness on both ends.

Today's Dan Naddor Index (non-theme entries with 6 or more letters) is 19. Quite high. And 13 of them are Down entries, several crossing two theme entries.

Smooth sailing for me. Simple theme and mostly straightforward clues. I tend to have trouble with Dan's sound change puzzles due to my poor command of English pronunciations.

Across:

4. Absurd sham: FARCE. A tragedy played at a thousand revolutions per minute.

9. Music performance rights org.: ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers). And TIN PAN (2D. __ Alley: old music-publishing district).

15. Where work may pile up: INBOX

16. Bit of wisdom: PEARL. Pearls of wisdom (succinct sayings).

20. Navajo relative: APACHE. The Military helicopter is named after this tribe.

21. Wood decay: DRY ROT. Caused by fungi.

22. Tall and long-limbed: LANKY. Can you use LANKY to describe Gisele Bünchen?

23. Hope/Crosby film title word: ROAD. "The Road to ...".

24. Captured: TOOK. Tricky past tense.

33. Outdoor nap site: HAMMOCK

36. Women, in old-fashioned parlance: FAIR SEX. I remember Dennis used this phrase before. Maybe he is old-fashioned.

38. Blow one's top: ERUPT

39. Chasms: GULFS. See, letter L is pronounced in Gulf, but not in HALF/CALF.

43. Pesky little tyke: IMP

46. Retailing pioneer R.H. __: MACY. Odd to see the old Marshall Field's become Macy's.

47. Eternities: EONS

48. Zellweger of "Chicago": RENEE. She played Roxie.

56. Land along the ocean: COAST. Alas, "Coastal irregularities..."

57. Two under par, on a hole: EAGLE. "On a hole" seems so unnecessary.

59. Aches: HURTS. Not PAINS.

60. Father of Beau and Jeff: LLOYD (Bridges). OK, here is a picture of Jeff, LLOYD and Beau. Stumper for me.

Down:

1. Lofty principles: IDEALS

3. Old White House middle name: DELANO. The "D" in FDR.

4. Suspicious: FISHY

6. Sac fly stat: RBI. I wonder what's the record for the most sacrifice flies in a ball game.

7. Approve tacitly: CONDONE

8. Crowd scene actors: EXTRAS

9. Copycat: APER. Reminds me of DEEMER.

10. Furry North Pacific swimmers: SEA OTTERS. And FURS (38D: Animal rights activists' concerns).

11. Hanna-Barbera output: CARTOONS

13. Thickness: PLY

19. Jekyll's alter ego: HYDE. Dr. Jekyll's evil side.

23. Actuary's calculation: RISK. Did you hear the news about a 4-month old 17-pound baby being denied health insurance because he's too fat? Just absurd.

25. Cut or scrape, in totspeak: OWIE

26. Lego relative: K'NEX. How can I remember this brand name? What the heck does it mean?

29. Eric the Red's son: LEIF. Literally "heir". Learned from doing Xword.

30. Loneliness syndrome when kids leave home: EMPTY NEST. I am sure many of you have experienced such loneliness.

33. Captain's position: HELM

34. "Carmen" highlight: ARIA

35. Like weightlifters: MUSCULAR. Don't often see this word in a grid.

37. Draft choice: ALE. Was thinking of sports draft.

39. Five-star leader: GENERAL. My first thought was hotel ranking.

42. Low-cost lodging: HOSTEL

44. Stinker: MEANIE. Are they synonymous to you?

45. Mortar and __: PESTLE. Great to ground toasted sesame seeds.

51. Tolkien tree people: ENTS

52. Six-time Emmy winner Tyne: DALY. Dan Naddor (or Rich Norris) must not like John Daly. They keep cluing this Tyne lady.

54. Chit: IOU. We just had CHIT clued as "IOU" on Monday.

Answer grid.

I'd like to update the list of newspapers that carry LA Times Daily Crossword. Come to the Comments section if your paper is not there, or your paper has dropped LAT. Thanks.

C.C.