Thursday December 10, 2009 Dan Naddor

Theme: PHENOMENAL (57A. Clue for 17-, 22-, 36- and 44-Across)

17A. See 57-Across: OVER THE TOP

22A. See 57-Across: BEYOND BELIEF

36A. See 57-Across: TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE

44A. See 57-Across: OFF THE CHARTS

Incredible! I wish "Incredible" were the real clue for PHENOMENAL rather than "Clue for ...". Not fond of this kind of self-referential, circling cluing style. It frustrated me.

I do like cross-references in the grid. I like the extra effort the constructors spend in connecting certain entries. But cross-references offer you a defining clue for guidance. Take the PRIM & PROPER clues on Tuesday for example. 10D Down PROPER is clued as "See 10-Across", then 10-Across is "With 10-Down and "and", rigidly formal". At least, you have "rigidly formal" as a definitive clue, which gives you a basic idea of what the cross-reference is about.

Today's Dan Naddor Index (non-theme entries with 6 or more letters) is 8. And among them, FALSE ALARM (14A. Wolf cry, often?) and its symmetrical partner INDISPOSED (60A Not feeling well) have the same amount of letters as two of the theme entries and stacked direct ly with them. I don't mind this kind of distraction at all, since the unifying 57A clearly points out which ones belong to the theme answers. And those two are just awesome fill.

Neat to have MOUSSE (40A. Salon preparation) intersect MOOSE (29D. Caribou relative).

Across:

1. "Food, Body and Mind" diet maven: CRAIG (Jenny). The other diet maven is ATKINS. maven

6. Pierce portrayer: ALDA (Alan). In M*A*S*H.

10. Lummoxes: OAFS. Add letter F to lummox, we've got the confusing "flummox".

16. River past Thebes: NILE. Thebes was an ancient city on the NILE. Somehow I thought of STYX, the River of the damned Hades.

18. "Fall back" interval: HOUR. Spring Ahead, Fall Back. China has no Daylight Saving Time, despite its vastness.

19. What F or M may indicate: SEX

20. Shinto temple gateway: TORII. Dennis just linked this TORRI picture when we had TORI (clued as "Doughnut shape" last time). Plural of Torus. I am still waiting for someone to give Torii Hunter some crossword recognition that he richly deserves. Nine consecutive Gold Glove Awards, what more credentials do you want?

21. Longtime Chicago Symphony maestro: SOLTI (Georg). 31 Grammys. A record.

24. Steppes native: TATAR

27. Purge: RID

29. Like many rebates: MAIL-IN

41. Tiger Woods's dad: EARL. Sweet picture. I liked his book "Playing Through". Lots of gems inside.

42. Airline with a hub in Copenhagen: SAS. The "Airline with a hub in Amsterdam" is KLM.

43. Uptight: ANTSY. Oh, I always associate "uptight" with "stiff" rather than ANTSY.

51. Iraqi port: BASRA. Was listening to a Terry Gross "A Messenger for the Marines" interview last night. Just could not control my tears.

52. Cliff dwelling: AERIE

53. "__ to Extremes": Billy Joel hit: I GO. Was unaware of this song title.

56. Gunny fiber: JUTE. A good Scrabble word. I did not know the gunny & burlap connection.

59. Slaughter who famously scored the winning run in the 1946 World Series: ENOS. Nice trivia to a tired name.

61. Reveille counterpart: TAPS

62. Latin 101 verb: ESSE. "To be" in Latin.

63. Frère de la mère: ONCLE. French for "uncle". Frère = Brother. Mère = Mother.

Down:

1. Some are CPAs: CFOS

2. All-night party: RAVE. Ignorant of this RAVE meaning.

3. Infield mate of Derek: ALEX. Instinctively wanted A-Rod.

4. Haifa's country: Abbr.: ISR. HAIFA is often clued as " Israeli seaport". Good to have a change.

5. Go-__: GETTER. Ha ha, I wanted Go-go girl.

6. Olds compact: ALERO. Learned from doing Xword. The model only existed for for six years.

7. Romance languages ancestor: LATIN

8. R2-D2 or C-3PO: DROID

9. Rock blaster?: AMP. Fell into the TNT trap.

10. Waiting to talk: ON HOLD

11. Garlicky mayo: AIOLI. Ai = garlic. Oli = oil.

12. Rampal's instrument: FLUTE

13. Calligrapher's embellishment: SERIF. I find it very soothing to practise Chinese calligraphy.

15. Call to a mate: AHOY

21. It flows along La Rive Gauche: SEINE. La Rive Gauche = The Left Bank in French.

22. Good thing to go out with: BANG. Go out with a bang. Good clue.

23. Grease, so to speak: BRIBE

24. Cairn terrier of film: TOTO. Oh, I did not know that Toto is a Cairn terrier.

25. Out of control: AMOK

26. Art community near Santa Fe: TAOS

30. Soccer star Freddie: ADU. Too much hype on him earlier on.

31. "__ only money": IT'S. What's this? Movie title? Song title?

32. Rock's __ Lobos: LOS. Literally "The Wolves".

33. Greek house?: FRAT. Frat house. Nailed it.

34. "__ not to reason why": Tennyson: OURS. I forgot. Rich Norris used this clue before.

37. Home of the College World Series: OMAHA. Good to know.

38. They're often next to fives: TENS. Cash box compartment.

42. Chill pill target: STRESS. Not familiar with "chill pill" at all.

43. At the original speed, in music: A TEMPO. New musical term to me.

44. __ d'art: OBJET. Literally "thing" in French.

45. Regional wildlife: FAUNA

46. Setting that affects depth of field: F-STOP. Camera setting.

47. Songwriter Sammy et al.: CAHNS. Just learned that he wrote the lyrics for "High Hope".

48. Pays attention to: HEEDS

49. Immortal PGA nickname: ARNIE (Palmer). Penned in ERNIE first and was ready to complain that Ernie Els has yet to achieve the immortal status.

50. Roberto's rivers: RIOS. Spanish rivers.

53. Dedicated by the auth.: INSC. Inscription I suppose. Not a familiar abbr. to me.

54. Highlander: GAEL. Scottish Highlander.

55. Quaint word in some tavern names: OLDE

57. Dessert choice: PIE. Do any of you love Larabar also?

Answer grid.

C.C.

Wednesday December 9, 2009 Robert E. Lee Morris

Theme: Bad Boys - The surname of each theme answer is synonymous with "malicious".

17. Bassist for the Sex Pistols: SID VICIOUS. He died of heroin overdose in 1979. Sex Pistols pioneered the punk rock music.

36. Muttley's evil master in Hanna-Barbera cartoons: DICK DASTARDLY. No idea. Wikipedia says he's a racer who aimed to win "solely through cheating and trickery".

59. "The Wonder Years" star: FRED SAVAGE. I only knew his brother Ben Savage. I really liked watching "Boy Meets World" when I first arrived in the US.

Wish DICK DASTARDLY were a real person. The theme would have been tighter and more focused.

Quite a scrabbly puzzle, with 3 J's, 2 Z's and several K's. A rather smooth solving for me, despite several unknowns. The crossing sure helped.

Across:

1. Hurts with a horn: GORES. Gruesome start.

6. Trudge: PLOD. Not today.

10. Where E.T. came from?: AFAR. Could only think of UFO. Nice clue.

14. As vertical as possible, as an embedded anchor: APEAK. New word to me. And ROPE (15A. Anchor attachment). Nice 'anchor" sequence.

16. Charm: MOJO. Tiger's is fading fast.

19. Run off at the mouth: BLAB

20. Made the trip: CAME. Awful storm outside now.

21. Uncommonly big: OUTSIZED. Like ego.

28. Friend you probably never met: PEN PAL

30. Spread with cocktails: PATE. Who doesn't like pâté de foie gras?

33. Leopardlike critter: OCELOT. Nice to see you again.

35. Skye of film: IONE. She's in "Say Anything ...".

40. Like many a 45-Across: DANK. And CELLAR (45A. Underground room).

41. Hitchcock classic: PSYCHO. Wish I had never seen the movie.

42. Swing voter: Abbr.: IND. And JAN (43D. Pres. inauguration month).

43. Singer Feliciano: JOSE. Got him today. See, I am capable of learning.

49. '50s Kenyan revolutionary: MAUMAU. Great to see the full name rather than the half MAU. "When doubled, Kenyan revolutionary" is just as bad as the old "Half fly" for TSE.

51. PBS funder: NEA

53. Cancún coins: CENTAVOS. Spanish for "cents". Alliteration again.

56. Hebrew prophet: AMOS. Got the answer from crosses. He's a minor prophet.

57. Fast fliers: JETS. SSTS too.

61. War god: ARES. In Greek myth. TYR is the Norse war god.

62. "Law & Order: SVU" actor: ICE-T. Yawner.

63. Sloping edge of a chisel: BEZEL. See this picture.

64. Author Zane: GREY. Again, strung his name together from crosses.

65. Big name in lawn equipment: TORO. Or DEERE. Toro is based here in MN.

66. Fish basket: CREEL

Down:

1. It's replaced after a fill-up: GAS CAP. Its symmetrical partner in the grid is RESELL (48. Transfer for a price, as a used car: RESELL). I like the car connection. Good bookends for the grid.

2. Sedative: OPIATE

3. St. John's athletes, until 1994: REDMEN. Now Red Storm. Native American sensitivity issue.

5. Go downhill fast?: SKI. Can't fool me.

6. Toyota hybrid: PRIUS. Latin for "prior".

7. Pirate's haul: LOOT

8. Music with a number: OPUS

9. Stop: DESIST. Cease and desist.

10. The color of honey: AMBER. Sweet! I love honeyed nuts.

11. Nonsense: FOLDEROL. Often see the answer as clue.

12. Steely Dan album pronounced like a continent: AJA. Pronounced like "Asia".

13. Stick up: ROB

18. Air-conditioned: COOLED

22. Ballet-dancing Muppet: ZOE. I've never even seen one episode of "Sesame Street".

24. Pass rusher's success: SACK

26. VAIO computer maker: SONY. Our old editor once clued VAIO as "Sony computer".

27. Golfer's gismo: TEE. I spell gismo as "gizmo".

30. Rapper's entourage: POSSE

31. Mem. of the bar: ATTY. Much better than ATT.

34. Indy 500's 200: LAPS

35. Golden calf, e.g.: IDOL

36. Agent Scully of "The X-Files": DANA. Not a fan of "The X-Files" either.

37. Hall of Fame guest of honor: INDUCTEE

38. Permission to use: ACCESS. Access to database. Permission to use the database. OK.

39. Perlman of "Cheers": RHEA. Danny DeVito's wife.

44. Uniform: OUTFIT

46. Childbirth education pioneer: LAMAZE. I like the answer.

47. Orbital high point: APOGEE. Low point is Perigee.

51. Acknowledge with a head movement: NOD TO

54. Sacramento's __ Arena: ARCO. Home to Sacramento Kings.

56. Say assuredly: AVER

57. Binge: JAG. Both mean "a drinking spree".

60. "Desperate Housewives" network: ABC

Happy Birthday, Hahtool! Thanks for bringing us inspiring QOD every morning.

Answer grid.

C.C.

Tuesday, December 8, 2009 Timothy L. Meaker

Theme: PHONE (61A: Caller's device, and word that can precede the ends of the answers to starred clues)

17A: *Art class supply: SKETCH BOOK. Phonebook.

35A: *Suitcase attachment: NAME TAG. Phone tag.

53A: *Arcade attraction: PHOTO BOOTH. Phone booth.

11D: *Dreaded end-of-semester handout, perhaps: REPORT CARD. Phone card.

27D: *Hotel offering: WAKE-UP CALL. Phone call.

Argyle here. Quite heavy themage for a Tuesday, with 5 theme answers and a unifying entry, which is nicely placed at the very end of the grid. Total 62 theme squares. I liked the puzzle.

Across:

1A: Caught some z's: SLEPT.

6A: Solheim Cup co-sponsoring org.: LPGA. The Solheim Cup is a biennial golf tournament for pro women golfers contested by teams representing Europe and the United States. It is named for the Norwegian-American golf club manufacturer Karsten Solheim.The Ryder Cup is the equivalent men's event. LPGA, in full, the Ladies Professional Golf Association.

10A: With 10-Down and "and," rigidly formal: PRIM. (10D: See 10-Across: PROPER.) Neato.

16A: McEntire of country: REBA. She has her own TV show, too. Sitcom

19A: Birthstone for a 6-Down, often: OPAL. 6D: Fall sign: LIBRA. Zodiac sign for birthdates: September 22 - October 22

20A: Words of apology: I'M SORRY.

21A: Left, at sea: APORT. Right, at sea: ASTARBOARD. (That's what the dictionary said. Trust me.)

22A: __ Nostra: COSA. Allegedly, the Mafia operating in the United States.

23A: Not as ruddy: PALER.

25A: Egyptian city on the Nile: ASWAN. Site of the Aswan Dam. The High Dam(111 m) was completed in 1970. The earlier Old Aswan Dam or Aswan Low Dam was completed in 1902.

28A: Like some chocolates purchases: ASSORTED.

32A: Actor Delon: ALAIN. Alain Delon (born 1935) is a César Award-winning French actor. By the age of 23, he was compared to James Dean. He was even called the male Brigitte Bardot. He worked with 49D: Schneider of film: ROMY. on the stage in 1961.

33A: Ohio A.L. team, on scoreboards: CLE.

34A: Commercial suffix with Water: PIK.

41A: In the dark: CLUELESS.

43A: Judaic feast: SEDER.

44A: Fourth estate, as it's known: PRESS.

45A: Thai bread?: BAHT. Cutesy clue for currency.

47A: Food that's filled and folded: TACOS.

49A: Brockovich portrayer: ROBERTS. The movie, Erin Brockovich (2000) Starring Julia Roberts.

52A: "__ my lips!": READ. George H. W. Bush's downfall.

56A: Author __ Stanley Gardner: ERLE.

57A: San __, Italy: REMO.

59A: Bought, to a retailer: SOLD.

60A: Jet-black stone: ONYX.

Down:

1D: NYSE units: SHS. Shares

2D: Mythical trickster: LOKI. Norse god who creates discord. If you want more, go to Wikipedia. There was too much to condense.

3D: K-6: ELEM. Elementary school.

4D: X-ray alternative: PET SCAN. Positron Emission Tomography (Help? Someone?)

5D: Business big shot: TYCOON.

7D: Tricky maneuver: PLOY. A little misdirection here.

8D: Shine, in product names: GLO. Like Mop-N-Glo.

13D: Soda shop buy: MALT.

18D: Slugger's stat: Abbr.: HRS. Home runs.

21D: As a companion: ALONG. She took her brother along.

23D: Tests for jrs.: PSATS.

24D: Big land mass: ASIA.

25D: Meat garnish: ASPIC.

26D: Frosting feature: SWIRL.

28D: Baldwin and Guinness: ALECS.

29D: Southfork Miss: ELLIE. From the TV show, DALLAS. Portrayed by Barbara Bel Geddes, Miss Ellie was the matriarch of the ranch, Southfork.

35D: "Frasier" brother: NILES. Actor David Hyde Pierce

36D: Iowa college town: AMES.

40D: Promise to marry: BETROTH.

42D: Worn by wind: ERODED.

43D: 1984 Cyndi Lauper hit: SHE BOP. Video.

45D: Wrinkle remover: BOTOX.

46D: Blood typing letters: A B O.

47D: Very, in Verdun: TRES.

48D: Prefix with sol: AERO.

50D: Oz barker: TOTO. Dorothy's dog in "The Wizard of Oz".

51D: WWII weapon: STEN.

53D: In favor of: PRO.

54D: Egg producer: HEN. So the chicken came first?

55D: Any of four Ottos: Abbr.: HRE ( Holy Roman Emperor).

Answer grid.

Argyle

Monday December 7, 2009 Robert Fisher

Theme: Shady Deals - Three ways that you can be conned.

20A: Prospecting swindle: SALTING THE MINE Planting bits of gold in the ground to make the mark think that a mine is valuable.

37A: Multilevel investment swindle: PYRAMID SCHEME This is not the same as a Ponzi scheme which investors are paid out from the funds from new investors. In a pyramid scheme, those who recruit additional participants benefit directly. (In fact, failure to recruit typically means no investment return.) It is bound to collapse because it requires exponential increases in participants to sustain it.

53A: Sleight-of-hand sidewalk swindle: THREE-CARD MONTE The mark has to pick the target card from the three face-down cards presented to him. The three shells and the pea is a similar swindle. TUTORIAL

Argyle here. Trust me.

Across:

1A: Ringing phone on stage, e.g.: PROP A classic blooper from the days of live TV was the phone that wouldn't stop ringing even after it was picked up.

5A: Place to unwind: SAUNA

10A: Complacent: SMUG

14A: Medal recipient: HERO Finally, a HERO that isn't a sandwich.

15A: Panama divider: CANAL Bisects the country

16A: Ice cream parlor order: CONE I like this clue for CONE better then a construction site marker, especially if it's chocolate.

23A: USN rank: ENS Navy Ensign.

25A: Shadow: UMBRA Nothing shady about this shadow.

27A: Suffix with farm or home: STEAD I guess you could have a homestead on the farmstead. Currier and Ives

29A: Fly in the ointment: SNAG

32A: North Pole toy maker: ELF They better be busy!

33A: Thinner, as smoke: WISPIER

36A: Temptation on a hook: BAIT

40A: Stratagem: PLOY

41A: Accomplished with a single try: ONE SHOT

43A: Quiche base: EGGS

44A: Inuit craft: KAYAK Inuit are members of the Eskimo-Aleut family.

48A: Essence of roses: ATTAR

50A: Sigma follower: TAU Greek alphabet.

52A: King beater: ACE

58A: Brit's elevator: LIFT

59A: Cube or sphere: SOLID

60A: Similar (to): AKIN

61A: Load to bear: ONUS

62A: Reclassified planet: PLUTO

63A: Golfer Ballesteros: SEVE Spanish professional golfer has announced that he is planning to play in the 2010 Open Championship at St Andrews. He has been treated for a brain tumor. Now he's 66A: Ready to drive, as a golf ball: TEED

64A: Like the stepsisters in "Cinderella": UGLY

65A: Red Sea republic: YEMEN

Down:

1D: Parts of a cycle: PHASES

2D: Stinging crawler: RED ANT

4D: Big name in breakfast cereal: POST They began in 1895 with the first Postum, a "cereal beverage". The first cereal, Grape-Nuts, was developed in 1897

5D: Barely adequate: SCANT

6D: Stereotypical pirate's cry: AARGH!

8D: Poet Ogden: NASH A short NASH poem: "Fleas" Adam had 'em.

10D: Curtain material: SCRIM Not familiar with this word. The Dictionary has two main entries; the second is: "A transparent fabric used as a drop in the theater to create special effects of lights or atmosphere."

11D: Ray from a natural satellite: MOON BEAM Ray Walston

12D: Be situated beneath: UNDERLIE

13D: "My goodness": "GEE"

21D: Gandhi's land: INDIA

22D: Java holder: MUG

26D: Shipboard direction: AFT

28D: Bad way for plans to go: AWRY

29D: Go-with dishes: SIDES

30D: Loch of lore: NESS North-West of St Andrews.

31D: St. Louis's Gateway __: ARCH

35D: Bullet-on-metal noise: PING Also, makers of golf clubs. I think our constructor today might be a golfer.

36D: Second in a series: BETA

37D: Cooking up a coup: PLOTTING Jeannie, do you have a recipe for cooking up a coup?

38D: Like kids' enthusiasm: YOUTHFUL

39D: Folderol: HOKUM Not a good match.

40D: Actress Zadora: PIA In her younger days

43D: Before, of yore: ERE

45D: Derek Jeter, e.g.: YANKEE

46D: Busy: ACTIVE

47D: Wailed: KEENED

49D: Culturally pretentious: ARTSY Old coots would say someone was artsy-fartsy.

50D: Hackneyed: TRITE

51D: Home builder's afterthought: ADD-ON

54D: Notice: ESPY

55D: Nat or Natalie: COLE

56D: School reunion attendee: ALUM

57D: Hops oven: OAST

58D: Singer Rawls: LOU R&B and Soul.

Answer grid.

Argyle

Sunday December 6, 2009 Dan Naddor

Theme: Subliminal Messages - Big company names are embedded in each industry-appropriate advertisement message.

23A. Airline message: SEE ISRAEL ALL OVER AGAIN. Embedded is EL AL (74D. Apt company found in 23-Across)

37A. Electronics message: THE REASON YOU LOVE TV. Hidden inside is SONY (18D. Apt company found in 37-Across).

66A. Shipping message: RELIABLE PICKUP SERVICE. Contains UPS (5D. Apt company found in 66-Across).

98A. Automotive message: BUILT FOR DURABILITY. Holds FORD (89D. Apt company found in 98-Across).

116A. Cosmetics message: EXPLORE A LASTING BEAUTY. Encloses L'OREAL (53D. Apt company found in 116-Across).

And ADMAN (104A. Brains behind this puzzle's theme messages). Hmmm, it's actually Dan Naddor.

All the above ad messages are positioned in Across and symmetrically placed. All the company names are randomly placed in Down and cross one theme entry in which it's not hidden.

Quite a few noticeable "It ...." style clues in this grid:

59A. It gets the ball off the ground: TEE. Golf.

62A. It may be pediatric: Abbr.: ICU

124A. It's about 10% of the Earth's surface: EURASIA. But with more than 71% of the world's population.

6D. It paves the way: TAR

95D. It's read often at conventions: NAME TAG. I was thinking of the speech.

I am quite fond of "It..." style cluing. It often paints a vivid picture.

Also enjoyed the Asian references (esp food) in this grid: EEL (10D. Sushi choice), CHOY (12D. Bok __) and SOBA (34D. Thin Japanese noodle). CHOY is Cantonese for "vegetable". Bok means "white". Eat a ton of cold soba in summer time. Soba is made of buckwheat flour.

Across:

1. Works out: COMPUTES. Was in the gym "works out" direction.

9. Like the shore, often: BEACHY. And TAN (26A. Go for the bronze?). Tricky clue. The question mark did not prevent me from thinking of bronze medal.

15. Chapters in history: ERAS

19. Bridge opening: ONE SPADE. Often clueless about bridge or card game answers.

20. School for Torah study: YESHIVA. For future rabbis.

22. Court plea, for short: NOLO. Short for nolo contendere. Latin for "I do not wish to contend".

28. What "I believe in," in a Beatles title: YESTERDAY. Nice clue.

29. Cunning sort: SLY FOX

33. Perot of politics: H ROSS. H used to be a problem for me. Not any more. It stands for Henry.

36. Latin 101 word: ERAT. Latin for "was". I am used to the E in Q.E.D. clue.

44. Bag: VALISE. And then BAG (120D. Capture). Even though the latter is a verb, I still don't like the clue/answer duplication.

46. Kindle downloads: E-BOOKS

47. Toledo-to-Valencia dirección: ESTE. Spanish for "east".

48. "Rebel Without a Cause" actor: MINEO (Sal)

52. Ear projection: AURICLE. Auri is a prefix for "ear".

55. Peek-a-boo player: TOT

56. Feminine ending: ENNE. So are ETTE & TRIX.

57. Plot inventors: CABAL. Cabal is a small group of plotters. No plural, right?

60. San Luis __: OBISPO. Literally "St. Louis, the Bishop" in Spanish.

63. Dieter's unit: CALORIE. And PHEN (70D. Fen-__: banned diet aid).

65. Hyper toon pooch: REN. Stumper. From "The Ren and Stimpy Show".

75. Razz: RIB

76. House-warming presence?: GAS HEAT. Good clue too.

77. Cambodia's Lon __: NOL. Simple palindrome.

78. Bush tour: SAFARI. Of course I was thinking of President Bush.

81. Mischief-maker: IMP

84. Perfect: IDEAL

85. Casa chamber: SALA. Casa = House. Sala = Room.

86. Env. enclosure: LTR

87. Something to turn over: NEW LEAF. Turn over a new leaf.

90. "Brokeback Mountain" director Lee: ANG. And KAI (68D. Chiang __-shek). Both are Cantonese spelling. I grew up with Jiang Jie-shi, Mandarin spelling of Chiang Kai-shek. Quite different.

91. Last: FINAL

94. Kept going: HELD ON

96. Building blocks: ADOBES. Was picturing Legos.

103. Phil or Card: NLER (National Leaguer). Phillies and Cardinals both belong to National League.

105. California prison city: FOLSOM. Not familiar with Folsom State Prison.

109. "My Point...and I Do Have One" author: DEGENERES. I adore Ellen. Have never read her book though.

114. "Evil Woman" gp.: ELO. Three letter band is often ELO.

115. Sine __ non: QUA

123. Relaxing venues: SPAS

125. Agitated: IN A STATE. Oh, I only know "in a lather".

126. Construction site marker: CONE

127. Practicing: PLYING

128. Contest in which you try to get your opponent on your side: TUG OF WAR. So simple in retrospect.

Down:

1. Goes for: COSTS. Wanted TRIES. "Goes for" has so many meanings.

2. "Paper Moon" Oscar winner: O'NEAL (Tatum). She won Oscar for the movie (youngest Oscar winner). Moses is not her father, right?

3. Kid's picking word: MEENY. "Eeny, meeny, miny, moe...". Lost on me.

4. Chi follower: PSI. Before Omega. The second-to-last Greek letter.

7. Child expert LeShan: EDA. Got her this time.

8. Stew: SEETHE

9. Close way to win: BY A NOSE

11. Visual communication?: Abbr.: ASL (American Sign Language)

13. Queen's home: HIVE. D'oh, queen bee.

14. Saint Laurent of fashion: YVES. See YSL in grid often.

15. Personalize, at the jeweler's: ENGRAVE

16. Car salesmen's offers: ROAD TESTS

17. Inter __: ALIA. Inter alia = Among others.

21. Soviet cooperative: ARTEL (ahr-TEL). I forgot.

24. Old Banca d'Italia unit: LIRA. Banca d'Italia = Bank of Italy in Italian.

25. Prefix with -nautics: AERO. Aeronautics.

30. Town on the N.J. side of the George Washington Bridge: FT LEE. Nailed it today.

31. Louisville's river: OHIO

32. Crosses (out): XES

35. Muzzle: SNOUT

39. Old times: YORE

40. Arkie's neighbor: OKIE. Did not know Arkie is a nickname for Arkansas.

41. Pac-10 powerhouse, for short: USC (University of Southern California). The Trojans.

42. Sporty car roof: T-TOP

43. Reject: VETO

44. Super Bowl's __ Lombardi Trophy: VINCE. So many great quotes from Vince Lombardi.

45. Void: ANNUL

48. Rabin's predecessor: MEIR (Golda).

50. English horn relative: OBOE

51. Timber defect: WARP

54. Film critic Roger: EBERT. Do you follow his movie reviews?

57. One in line at an airport: CABBIE

58. DXX ÷ X: LII. 520 ÷ 10 = 52.

61. Bill: Abbr.: INV (Invoice)

63. Stone monument: CAIRN. No idea. It's a man-made pile of stones, often in a conical form. Often used as landmark.

64. ER test: ECG. Or EKG. Heart chart.

67. Apt name for a financial planner?: IRA. Apt indeed.

69. Prime letters?: USDA. Tricky clue.

71. "Under Siege" star: SEAGAL (Steven). This movie was not in my radar.

72. Cockamamie: INANE

78. Concrete section: SLAB

79. Westernmost Aleutian island: ATTU. Learned this trivia a while ago.

80. Lesser of two evils, metaphorically: FRYING PAN. Stumper. "Jump from the frying pan into the fire" is not in my vocabulary.

81. "Tadpole" actor Robert: ILER. Only know him in "The Sopranos".

82. Pinochle combination: MELD. No idea. Have never played Pinochle.

83. "The Taming of the Shrew" setting: PADUA. A city in NE Italy. Close to Venice.

85. Female oracle: SIBYL

88. Comedy first baseman: WHO. From Abbott and Costello's "Who's on First?".

91. Pic, commercially: FOTO

93. Everything before the last resort: ALL ELSE. When all else fails..

97. "What's the __?": DIF. Slangily.

99. __'clock scholar: TEN O. New to me also.

100. Bordeaux brother: FRERE. French for "brother".

101. Island south of Borneo: BALI. I guessed.

102. Part of the conspiracy: IN ON IT. Did not come to me easily.

106. __ Valley: 1960 Winter Olympics site: SQUAW. No idea. Dictionary says squaw is disparaging term for a woman, true?

109. Fam. tree member: DESC (Descendant)

110. Really big show: EXPO

111. Sign on for another tour: RE-UP

112. 1950s-'60s Chief Justice Warren: EARL. He chaired the Warren Commission for the JFK assassination investigation.

113. Make laugh in a big way: SLAY

117. "__ was saying ...": AS I

118. Fall from grace: SIN. Big big "sigh" for Eliot Spitzer. I really liked him.

119. Serengeti grazer: GNU

121. That, in Toledo: ESO. So is ESA.

122. Justice Dept. raiders: ATF (Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms). No idea. Triple bogey finish for me today.

Answer grid.

C.C.

Saturday December 5, 2009 Kyle Dolan

Theme: None

Total blocks: 35

Total words: 72 (the maximum word limit for a themeless)

I think this is the first time we have a themeless Saturday with a mini-theme. A mini-theme has two symmetrically placed theme answers that share something in common. In today's case, it's "environmental":

6D. Work in the environmental sector: GREEN COLLAR JOBS

9D. Environmental impact factor: CARBON FOOTPRINT

Both have 15 grid-spanning 15 letters. Awesome entries! In the language and au courant, with Obama's penchant for talking about renewable energy.

Also a bit of Italian undercurrent flowing:

34A. "__ tu": Verdi aria: ERI. Literally "were" in Italian. Tu = You. Eri tu = "It was you".

3D. Trattoria order?: MANGIA. Italian for "Eat"/"Enjoy your meal".

45D. Bologna bridge: PONTE. Italian for "bridge". As in Florence's Ponte Vecchio ("old bridge").

Very enjoyable puzzle. Still had to peek at the cheat sheet. Quite a few "D'oh" moments for me. Would have quibbled about the clue/ANSWER duplication in SARGASSO (35D. Sea named for its seaweed) and SEA (39A. Watery expanse). But I like the trivia in 35D. Great crossing of SARGASSO and SEA.

Across:

1. Like some pigeons: HOMING. Homing pigeons.

7. Little shot?: PIC. Oh, photo shot.

13. Wild Asian equine: ONAGER. See this picture. It has a a black stripe on its back.

14. "Measure for Measure" heroine: ISABELLA. I can never remember those Shakespeare character names.

17. "Receiving poorly," to a CBer: TEN- ONE. No idea. Waiting for Argyle to explain. (Here is Argyle's reply.)

18. Singer/pianist with the 2002 hit "A Sorta Fairytale": TORI AMOS. Wikipedia says "A Sorta Fairytale" is her most commercially successful single in the US to date. Have never heard of the song before.

19. Russian fighter: MIG. Used in Korean War. Acronym of its Russian designer Mikhail Iosifovich Grevich.

20. Shockers in the deep: EELS. The electric eels generate shocks.

22. Rear: BOTTOM

23. Rival of Bjorn: ILIE (Nastase). In 1970's. Too early for me to remember.

25. "On the contrary!": NOT SO

27. "Forever, __": 1996 humor collection: ERMA (Bombeck). See the book cover.

28. Likely visitor to the principal: CLASS CLOWN. Did not come to me readily.

30. Nair alternative: NEET. My first fill in the grid.

31. What it takes?: TWO. This refers to "It takes two to tango", right?

32. Locomotive output: PUFF

35. Biblical verb: SHALT. Thought of SMITE/SMOTE.

37. Sociologist's interests: MORES

41. Prosaic: BLAH

43. Bourbon flavoring: OAK. Good to know.

44. It covers all the bases: TARP. Baseball bases. Can't fool me.

46. Flats: APARTMENTS

51. Ship that sailed from Iolcus: ARGO. Jason and the Argonauts.

52. Highlight reel accompaniment: RECAP

53. Many a retired racer: SIRE. I was picturing a racing car racer, not a horse. Tricky clue.

54. Common lunchbox fare, briefly: PB AND J. Not in mine. Lovely bento box.

56. Sci-fi captain: KIRK. The ''Star Trek''. I penned in NEMO.

58. Never, to Goethe: NIE. German for "never". NEIN is "no".

59. Floundering one: LOST SOUL. I like the clue and the answer.

61. Stuck: IN A JAM

63. Coordinated outfit: ENSEMBLE

64. Like much meditation music: NEW AGE. Do any of you practice meditation? If so, have you really experienced total bliss?

65. 1906 Runabout, e.g.: REO. Here is a 1906 Runabout, complete stranger to me.

66. Stars may represent them: Abbr.: STS (States). Stars in American flag. Got me.

67. Got tight: TENSED

Down:

1. Possible source of unwanted feedback, for short: HOT MIC

2. "Mourning Becomes Electra" playwright" O'NEILL (Eugene). Electra is the sister of Orestes, who was chased by the Furies for the murdering of his mother.

5. Maui flapper: NENE. The Hawaiian goose.

7. Active time for a racetrack crew: PIT STOP. For refueling.

8. Metric lead-in: ISO. Isometric, a new word to me. Iso is a prefix meaning "equal".

10. Shade sources: ELM TREES

11. One may be late: BLOOMER. Late bloomer. Another great clue.

12. Long-grain rice of the Punjab: BASMATI. Not fond of its fragrance.

15. Playbill feature: BIO

16. Downed: EATEN. Was not thinking of food.

24. Bk. after Nehemiah: ESTH (Esther). Bk. before Job.

26. Like a butterfly in water?: SWUM. The swimming stroke "butterfly", not the insect.

33. Big name in oil filters: FRAM. Too bad, not big enough for me to know.

36. Sports trainer's supply: TAPE

39. Office tool: STAPLER

40. Incus or malleus: EARBONE

42. Defensive anger, metaphorically: HACKLES. As in "raise one's heckles". I was stumped.

47. Thor Heyerdahl craft: RA I. Absolutely no idea. There is only RA and RA II here.

48. Stealthy warriors: NINJAS. The stealthy Japanese assassin. I wrote down DRONES. They are stealthy warrior too. No?

49. Combat injury system: TRIAGE

55. Mil. award: DSM ( Distinguished Service Medal)

57. A tot may bounce on one: KNEE. Nailed it.

60. Nth: Abbr.: ULT (Ultimate)

62. Grass appendage: AWN. The bristlelike appendage.

Answer grid.

C.C.

Friday December 4, 2009 Jack McInturff

Theme: Back End - CK is inserted to the second word of a common phrase, changing the long vowel sound into short vowel.

17A. Takedown by Tinker Bell?: FAIRY TA(CK)LE. Fairy Tale. Tinker Bell is a fairy.

24A. Reaction to an amusing porcelain?: CERAMIC TI(CK)LE. Ceramic Tile.

38A. Symptom of poor lighting?: FREQUENT FLI(CK)ER. Frequent Flier. My favorite theme entry.

49A. Supermarket group taking a coffee break, perhaps?: THREE CHE(CK)ERS. Three Cheers. I did not know that cashiers are also called checkers.

59A. Store-brand dill?: STOCK PI(CK)LE. Stockpile.

We also have two more non-theme CK combination entries: ACK (8D. Comics cry of disgust) and FREE KICKS (11D. Consequences of some soccer fouls).

Very chopping solving today. Never really got into Jack's wavelength. Quite a few three-letter abbreviation answers in this grid, and some were quite tough to get: XLI, CIS, CLK for example.

Favorite clue today is EX-CON (50D. Former pen pal?). I immediately realized that pen refers to "prison", but the answer just refused to reveal itself readily.

Across:

1. Afternoon break: SIESTA

7. City on the Cauca River: CALI. Already had the last letter I in place, so CALI came to me immediately.

11. Monastic title: FRA. Italian short for "brother".

14. Many a marigold: ANNUAL. Don't like marigold.

15. Juice letters?: AC/DC. Juice is slang for " electricity or electric power". New to me.

16. VCR button: REW (Rewind)

19. "Little" 1960s singer: EVA. Named after the little girl Eva in "Uncle Tom's Cabin".

20. Former Spanish queen: ENA. Grandmother of the current Spanish king.

21. "The A-Team" actor: MR. T

29. Sought a seat: RAN. Ran office. I plopped down SAT first.

30. Limoges-born impressionist: RENOIR. Already had NO filled in, plus the "impressionist" clue, the name emerged rather quickly.

31. Parsley piece: SPRIG

34. Mideast carrier: EL AL. Literally "skyward".

36. USSR successor: CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States). Got me.

42. NASDAQ listings: COS (Companies)

44. Western prop: LASSO

45. Out in the open: PUBLIC. Dennis's Tiger to Cheetah name change comment yesterday made me laugh. Poor Tiger, a rare triple bogey!

48. Title for Roger Moore: SIR

53. Jersey groups: HERDS. D'oh, Jersey cow. I was in New Jersey sports direction.

54. Super Bowl played in MMVII: XLI (41). Big trouble for me. Not a football fan, completely clueless about the exact Roman numeral for the 2007 Super Bowl. Colts beat the Bears.

58. Sporty truck, for short: UTE

64. MC's aid: MIC

65. First name in architecture: EERO (Saarinen). Designer of the Gateway Arch.

66. Block: IMPEDE

67. Pie chart fig.: PCT (Percent)

68. Inert gas: NEON

69. Like some foot bones: TARSAL. Nice crossing with HEEL (57D. Achilles' weakness).

Down:

1. Place for gems: SAFE. Of course.

2. Words with uproar or instant: IN AN

3. Massive old computer: ENIAC. Debuted in 1946.

4. Baja California __: Mexican state: SUR

5. Scotland's longest river: TAY. New trivia to me. England's longest river is Severn, not Thames.

6. "Gosford Park" director: ALTMAN (Robert). Lots of coverage about this guy when he filmed "A Prairie Home Companion" here in MN.

7. Saguaros, e.g.: CACTI. Have never seen saguaros in person.

9. Cholesterol initials: LDL. "Bad" cholesterol.

10. Strands at the ski resort, perhaps: ICES IN

12. Big-time parties: REVELRIES. Couldn't believe people would crash a White House party.

13. With it: AWARE. Oh, I thought "With it" is a slang for "sane", since "Lose it" means "become insane".

18. Shirt part: ARM

23. 31-Down, e.g.: NCO. And SFC (31D. Army E-7: Abbr.). SFC = Sergeant First Class. Not a familiar abbr. to me at all.

25. La Salle of "ER": ERIQ. Nice u-less Q word. Just like my Mandarin name.

26. Pizza Quick sauce maker: RAGU

27. Scrapbooking, e.g.: CRAFT. KQ loves scrapbooking.

28. Recount: TELL. Recount a story. I was recounting the vote.

32. Like some visions: PROPHETIC. Great clue.

33. Bring back into practice: RESURRECT

34. Cain's eldest son: ENOCH. Don't confuse it with "Seth's son" ENOS.

35. Kojak and Crocker: Abbr.: LTS ( lieutenants). Who is Crocker?

37. Sign of a big hit: SRO (Standing Room Only)

39. Majestic: EPIC

40. Nastase of tennis: ILIE. I just remember him as I LIE.

41. "It Must Be Him" singer Vikki: CARR. Here is a clip.

46. Breakfast companion?: BED. Bed and Breakfast.

47. Ease: LESSEN

48. "Never mind": SKIP IT

49. Haunted house sound: THUMP. Did it come to you quickly?

51. Court recordkeeper: Abbr.: CLK (Clerk). Had trouble with the abbreviation. STENO would be a correct answer too.

52. "Land __!": SAKES. Just learned this exclamation a few weeks ago.

56. "The West Wing" Emmy winner: ALDA (Alan)

60. Place to start a hole: TEE. Tee box. Golf.

61. Pizarro's quest: ORO. Spanish for "gold". Pizarro was a Spanish conquistador. Founder of Lima, Peru.

62. The Monkees' "__ Believer": I'M A

63. "Kiss of life," briefly: CPR. I like this new clue.

Answer grid.

C.C.

Thursday December 3, 2009 Barry Silk

Theme: PLUG (63A. Ad, or word that can follow the end of 17-, 26-, 43- or 55-Across)

17A. "Imagination at work" company: GENERAL ELECTRIC. Electric Plug. Rare gimme theme entry for me. Still waiting for my GE stock to bounce back.

26A. Fried-dough carnival treat: ELEPHANT EAR. Earplug. Have never tasted Elephant Ear. I wanted CORN FRITTER, which has the same number of letters and ends in R too.

43A. The Doors #1 hit covered by José Feliciano: LIGHT MY FIRE. Fireplug. Here is the clip. I've never heard of José Feliciano. His constant nodding made me dizzy.

55A. "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie" author: DAME MURIEL SPARK. Spark Plug. Both the book and the author (Scottish) were strangers to me.

I liked how PLUG ends the grid, good visual image.

Lots of D'oh clues in this puzzle. My favorites are DELI (6D. Sub station?) and RHYMES (38D. Stop and shop e.g.). Both reminded me of the "License to drill?" clue Barry had for DDS (Doctor of Dental Science) in his 2008 Phillies Championship Tribute puzzle. Very clever.

I struggled at the last theme answer. Tough crossing between TORI (59A. Doughnut shapes) and RTE (56D. Way to go: Abbr.) for me. Had a breeze freeze on both. "Way to go," Barry, you got me. I did recognize the torus shape when I googled. Had no idea that its plural form is tori.

Across:

1. Cheese town in the province of Noord-Holland: EDAM. Four-letter Dutch cheese town has to be Edam.

5. Cooper's tool: ADZE. Or adz.

9. Like some potatoes: RICED. How do you like your potatoes prepared? I like oven-baked potato wedges.

14. Snare __: DRUM

15. Powerful 19th century Virginia family: LEES. Of them, R.E Lee appears in our Xword very often.

16. Positive terminal, at times: ANODE. It could be negative terminal at times?

21. Sale condition: AS IS

22. Deceived: LIED TO. What Tiger probably did.

23. Stranded motorist's aid: JACK

25. Cambodian money: RIEL. Pronounced the same as "reel".

30. General on a Chinese menu: TSO. General Tso's Chicken.

33. Fiesta Bowl site: TEMPE. No idea. Arizona State (Sun Devils) is located there as well.

34. Work units: ERGS

35. Group including flower children's children, briefly: GEN X. Stumped me. Flower children refer to those hippies in the 1960's. I was picturing Lyndon Johnson's Daisy Flower Girl ad.

36. Pants fabric: TWILL

38. Actress Blakley: RONEE. No idea. Looks like she's a singer as well.

39. Je t'__: Parisian's "I love you": AIME. And MME (4D. Marseille Mrs.)

41. Drambuie ingredient: HONEY. I've never heard of Drambuie, a honey and herb flavored Scotch whisky.

42. Govt. ID issuer: SSA (Social Security Administration). They issue SSN.

46. Grant and Vanderbilt: AMYS

47. Spotted cat: OCELOT. Hi, buddy, what are you looking at?

50. Exceptional: RARE. Rara in Latin, as in Rara Avis, like Sade or our Kazie.

52. Subway alternative: BUS

58. Cream of the crop: ELITE

60. Merrie __ England: OLDE. And ETON (62A. School founded in 1440). I actually know this trivia.

61. Begat: SIRED

Down:

2. Stowe novel: DRED. Does this book have anything to do with Dred Scott the slave?

3. Quaker Oats trademark: AUNT JEMIMA. Awesome entry.

5. Mount McKinley's state: ALASKA

7. Puzzle center?: ZEES. Two letter Z's in the center of the word puzzle.

8. Subj. taught bilingually: ESL (English as a Second Language)

10. Spy's briefing contents, briefly: INTEL. Intelligence I suppose.

11. Firewood order: CORD. It's been a very mild winter here in Minnesota.

12. Correct, perhaps: EDIT

13. Empire State Building style: DECO

18. "Silent Spring" author Carson: RACHEL. Have heard of the book, not the author.

19. Inventor Howe: ELIAS. Sewing machine inventor.

24. Winesap, e.g.: APPLE. Nope, first encounter with winesap apples.

25. Contrition: REGRET

26. Singer James et al.: ETTAS

27. Explorer aided by Sacagawea: LEWIS. Or Clark.

28. Dogma-rejecting spiritual genre: NEW AGE. All I know about New Age is that Enya and Yanni are New Age musicians.

30. Court bouncer: TENNIS BALL. Oh, tennis court.

31. Show contempt: SNEER

32. Kind of daisy: OX-EYE. Hope this is the kind Jeannie likes.

40. Artistic merit: VIRTU (ver-TOO). Italian for virtue. New to me.

43. Came menacingly into view: LOOMED

44. Large game fish: MARLIN. Barry probably clued it as baseball related (Florida Marlins) originally. He's an avid baseball fan.

45. 1950s-'60s Yankee Boyer: CLETE. No idea. Clete Boyer played third base for the Yankees.

48. City SW of Bogotá: CALI. Maybe Chickie could tell us a bit about Cali, she lived there for two years.

49. Mideast bigwig: EMIR. Those emirs need to clean up the Dubai mess.

50. Scream: RIOT. Did not know riot can mean "scream". I wanted RANT.

51. Opening for dynamic: AERO. Aerodynamic.

53. Pakistani tongue: URDU. I just learned that Urdu is essentially identical to Hindi in its spoken form but in its literary form heavily influenced by Persian and Arabic and written in an Arabic alphabet.

54. Surfboard fin: SKEG. New word to me. Looks like each surfboard has two skegs.

57. How the weasel goes?: POP. Pop! Goes the Weasel. Excellent clue too.

Answer grid.

C.C.

Wednesday December 2, 2009 Ed Sessa

Theme: RAIN CATS AND DOGS (65A. Come down in buckets; also, when applied in sequence to the answers to starred clues, this puzzle's theme)

17A. *Nightly news show segment: WEATHER FORECAST. Rain.

27A. *Big Apple show: BROADWAY MUSICAL. "Cats", one of our Buckeye's favorite musicals. Clear Aye's too, I think.

49. *1955 Disney animated film featuring Darling Dear: LADY AND THE TRAMP. Both are dogs.

Very innovative theme, isn't it? I've never seen such type before. And all of the theme answers have grid-spanning 15 letters and intersect every Down entry.

Only letter X is missing, otherwise it would be a pangram. Quite a few nice clues in the grid. My favorites are I DO (23A. Veiled consent?) and YALE (60D. It's a lock). The latter is similar to "It's a wrap" for SAREE/SHAWL.

Across:

1. Square after Connecticut Avenue: JAIL. Monopoly property. Scrabbly start.

10. Wax remover: Q-TIP. Oh, earwax.

15. Israeli seaport: HAIFA. The only 5-letter Israeli port that I know.

16. Choice in a booth: VOTE. Have never voted in the US. Not a citizen. China does not allow dual citizenship.

20. Match starter: SERVE. And LOVE (62D. Tennis score). Both tennis terms.

36. Houston Aeros' org.: AHL (American Hockey League). Just realized that Houston Aeros is the affiliate of our Minnesota Wild. Sadly an unknown fact for me.

37. Brass or pewter: ALLOY. Wanted METAL.

38. Overplay a part: EMOTE

39. Breakfast corner: NOOK. What did you have for breakfast today? I've been loving mochi rice balls (with honey walnuts & chopped dates inside) lately.

41. Long Island __: SOUND. The answer revealed itself. I only knew Long Island Iced Tea.

43. Poker Flat chronicler Harte: BRET. Learned the name from doing Xword. Not familiar with his book "The Outcasts of Poker Flat".

44. To the point, in law: AD REM. AD = To. REM is accusative of RES (matter/thing). I can never remember this Latin phrase.

46. Author Nin: ANAIS. The famous diarist.

48. Evian, par exemple: EAU. French for "water".

53. Show about Capote: TRU

54. Candy in 12-piece dispensers: PEZ. Look at her pez collection. Some of the vintage no feet ones are worth hundreds of dollars.

57. Pisa place: ITALY

61. Two-time opponent of Ike: ADLAI (Stevenson)

68. Witty Bombeck: ERMA. Often confuse her with IRMA, The "Joy of Cooking" author Rombauer.

73. Doctor's advice: REST. Wrote down TEST first.

Down:

1. __ of Life: JAWS. Have never heard of this tool. Tiger's wife just used an iron. His sterling brand is now seriously endangered.

2. Not windward: ALEE. It's clued as "Dodging the draft?" in one of Paul's Clever Clue of the Month candidate list. Brilliant.

3. Construction beam: I-BAR

4. Baltic country: LATVIA. Capital is Riga.

5. One who'll be comin' round the mountain, in song: SHE. Easy guess. Was unaware of this folk song.

6. Bellyache: CARP

8. Get an __ effort: A FOR

9. Henner of "Taxi": MARILU. Got her name from Across fill.

10. Home shopping channel: QVC

11. Small hopper: TOAD. Brought to mind Arliss's horny toad in "Old Yeller".

13. Folk icon Seeger: PETE. Peter, Paul and Mary covered several of his songs.

18. Ibsen's "__ Gabler": HEDDA. Nope. See the book cover. Is it very famous?

19. Beethoven's "Für __": ELISE

24. Mice catchers: OWLS. Wanted CATS.

27. Clichéd: BANAL

28. Neighbor of Mary: RHODA. Another stumper. I had no idea that Mary here refers to Mary Tyler Moore.

29. Prayer starter: O LORD

30. Tons: A LOAD

31. Hall of Famer Robin of the Milwaukee Brewers: YOUNT. Gimme. Hall-of-Famer. Unfortunately his baseball cards are not worth much.

32. Mimicking bird: MYNAH

33. Chick of jazz: COREA. The favorite jazz musicians of Katherine, one of the earliest posters on this blog. She is now happily married to a drummer and does not do puzzles any more.

35. Ease off: LET UP

40. Piano's 88: KEYS

42. Reduction plan: DIET. Reduction of weight. "Losing plan" would be a great clue too.

45. Frenzied: MANIC

47. Valuable violin, for short: STRAD. Sometimes it's Amati.

50. Write, as music: NOTATE

51. Steering device: RUDDER

54. Co. VIP: PRES (President). We see EXEC more often.

56. Coors malt beverage: ZIMA. ZIMA means "winter" in Russian.

58. Razor brand: ATRA

59. Exam for an aspiring D.A.: LSAT

63. Important periods: AGES. Of course, I fell into the ERAS trap.

66. Afternoon break: NAP. Not TEA.

67. One of the Bobbsey twins: NAN. Bert's twin sister. Learned from doing Xword of course.

Answer grid.

C.C.

Crossword Rules

Below are two few fantastic links regarding crossword construction rules:

1) Barelybad.com

2) Patrick Merrell

C.C.