Saturday May 29, 2010 Fred Jackson III

Theme: None

Total words: 72

Total blocks: 34

I think this is Fred's first Saturday. He now needs a Sunday to complete his LAT "hitting for the cycle".

Fred places triple stacks of 10's Across on the upper right and lower left corners. Then triple stacks of 9's Down on the upper left and lower right. He has a total of 13 multi-word entries in the grid. My favorite clues today are:

9D. Cell dweller: INMATE. Prison "Cell".

27D. Record holder?: FELON. Criminal record. Got me.

Across:

1. Powder holders: KEGS. Gunpowder?

5. Movie warning: PG-THIRTEEN. PG-13. Weird to see the rating spelled out.

15. Elision from Eliza: 'ENRY. Henry Higgins. "My Fair Lady".

16. Unequaled: ONE AND ONLY. Awesome entry.

17. Times when the French fry?: ETES. French for summer. Rich used this clue before.

18. Stern boss: TASK MASTER. Might be Fred's seed entry. I was thinking of Howard Stern and his boss the Sirius Radio.

19. Orphaned author raised by the Allans: POE. Did not know Poe was an orphan.

20. Winter warmer: HOT TEA. And PARKA (49. Winter warmer).

21. __'clock scholar: TEN O'. Ten O'clock scholar is "schoolboy who habitually arrives late". New expression to me.

22. Incomplete rainbow: SUN DOG. Hmm, this is the image of a sun dog to me. The "incomplete rainbow" definition is also new to me.

24. It may be fit for a queen: TIARA. Sweet clue.

26. Dry gulch: ARROYO. Nailed it.

27. Buff: FIEND. Enthusiast.

29. Kit Carson House site: TAOS. Not aware of this trivia.

30. They may come in a pack: LIES. Of course I was thinking of wolves.

32. Verbal flourishes: TADAS

36. "Here __ Again" (Whitesnake #1 hit): I GO

37. Start of a religious title: DALAI. Dalai Lama. Dalai is literally "ocean" in Mongolian. Lama is "guru". The current exile Dalai Lama is the 14th one.

39. Amphibian youngster: EFT

40. Score markings: TEMPI. Plural of tempo. Musical score.

43. When both hands are up: NOON. Oh, clock.

44. Some bank holdings: DATA

45. Club newsletter: ORGAN. No idea. Why? (From Dennis: "Organ'" can be used in describing newsletters from different clubs, a "periodical".)

47. Like some kisses: STOLEN. Sweet clue.

51. "Let's keep moving!": ONWARD

52. Champagne designation: BRUT. Very dry.

53. Tangles, or disentangles: RAVELS. Unravel has the same meaning, right?

57. Year before Columbus's fourth voyage: MDI. 1501. Who knows?

58. California shopping mecca: RODEO DRIVE. Expensive stuff.

60. Penn name: SEAN. Sean Penn. Nice play on "Pen name".

61. "It doesn't get any better than this": I'M IN HEAVEN. Another awesome entry.

62. Pioneering puppeteer Tony: SARG. How quickly have I forgotten his name!

63. Alabama and Mississippi are in it: COTTON BELT. Felt very clever getting one, Rose!

64. Large order: ELKS. The fraternal order. I was thinking of the large manufacturing order.

Down:

1. Doesn't quit: KEEPS AT IT. Superb!

2. Posse: ENTOURAGE. Great to see "Posse" used as a clue once.

3. Where one might anticipate being introduced: GREEN ROOM.

4. M.O. : SYS (Sytems). M. O. = Modus Operandi. I got the answer via crosses.

5. Vernacular jackpot: POT O' GOLD. Vernacular because "F" is dropped?

6. No-see-um, e.g.: GNAT. Was stumped last time by the clue.

7. Mike holder's opening, often: TEST. Indeed.

8. Cod cousin: HAKE. Have never heard of the hake fish.

10. Dietary no.: RDA. Recommended Daily or Dietary Allowance. I don't know which one.

11. Fiesta fare: TOSTADA. Looks delicious!

12. Decide to compete: ENTER

13. "Uncle Vanya" role: ELENA. No idea. Only spotted Yelena in this Wikipedia character entry. Are they the same?

14. "Stoned Soul Picnic" songwriter: NYRO (Laura). Can never remember her name.

20. Today, in Tijuana: HOY

23. List of acceptable behavior: DO'S. Do's and Don'ts.

25. 1099-__: bank-issued tax form: INT

28. Five-time Japan Senior Open winner Aoki: ISAO. Ao repetition in both his names.

31. Ending for Louis: IANA. Louisiana. The clue fails to amuse me.

33. Richard Simmons weight-loss program with color-coded cards: DEAL-A-MEAL. Not on my radar.

34. At night: AFTER DARK

35. Sports page feature: STANDINGS. Solid fill!

38. Cheeky: INSOLENT

41. Sign to heed: PORTENT

42. Nettle: IRK

44. Average fellow?: DOW. Dow Jones Average I suppose? Why "fellow"?

46. Party locale: GARDEN

48. Shipping wts.: TNS (Tons)

49. Ad: PROMO

50. Review of books?: AUDIT. Accounting book. Loved the clue.

52. __-a-brac: BRIC

54. __ League: ARAB. Did not come to me immediately.

55. On the qui __: alert: VIVE

56. Big name in jumping: EVEL (Knievel). The daredevil.

59. "Well, well!": OHO

60. 157.5 degrees from N: SSE

Answer grid.

C.C.

Friday May 28, 2010 David Poole

Theme: H(ead) Off - The H sound of the first word of a familiar phrase is dropped. The resulting phrases are gridded in their A, E, I, O, U vowel-starting order.

20A. Works in Satan's Museum?: ART OF DARKNESS. "Heart of Darkness". Joseph Conrad novel.

27A. "Tell Senator Bayh to take a number"?: EVAN CAN WAIT. "Heaven Can Wait". The Warren Beatty movie? Evan Bayh, Senator from Indiana.

38A. Egotism?: I ESTEEM. High Esteem. I was confused by the IE combination at first.

47A. Resistance quashers?: OHM WRECKERS. Home Wreckers. We often see OHM clued as "Resistance unit".

55A. Evidence of a love-hate relationship? UGHS AND KISSES. Hugs and Kisses. I don't get the UGHS here. Why? I love the other four question-marked clues. Very entertaining.

I like the orderly vowel progression in the H-off phrases. Neat! The sound-dropping scheme is very Dan Naddor-like. No single black square in this grid. Mostly 3-block clusters.

Several fun clues. My favorite "ones" are:

36A. One objecting to a called strike: SCAB. Of course I was picturing baseball players.

50D. One carrying a bag: CADDIE. Golf. I wanted PORTER.

Across:

1. Willy Loman's favorite son: BIFF. From Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman". Immediate stumper for me.

5. Clothes lines: SEAMS

10. Sweet Sixteen initials: NCAA. And UCLA (55D. The Bruins of the 10-Across).

14. Like some history: ORAL

15. Ballade's closing stanza: ENVOI. Or ENVOY. The poetic coda. We had this clue before.

16. Aloe, for one: BALM. Nice to see ALOE as a clue.

17. Fictional princess: XENA. Did you want AIDA also, Hahtool?

18. Pretense: GUISE

19. First Nations tribe: CREE

23. More felicitous: APTER

25. "Dies __": IRAE. Day of Wrath. We also have IRE (2D. More than annoyance). Same Latin root.

26. Hugh Capet, par exemple: ROI. Have never heard of this dude. He reigned France from 987 to 996.

34. List of chaps.: TOC. Man, it's Table of Contents. Who knows?

35. Amarone or Barolo: VINO

37. Where, to Brutus: UBI. Well, maybe Bob knows it. I've got no idea.

42. __ Friday's: restaurant: TGI

43. Tabula __ : RASA. Several Latin references today.

45. Cousin of hibiscus: OKRA. Really? One is flower, one is veggie, and they are cousins? Maybe Warren will find an article confirming this relationship.

46. Three-time NHL MVP: ORR (Bobby). The Bruins legend.

51. Beatty of "Network": NED. All the name clues today are Wednesday-ish. Rich always gives the one part of the name for actor/actress on Wednesdays.

52. Andean nation: Abbr.: ECUA. The answer for abbreviated "Andean nation" clue is often Ecuador.

53. Patella sites: KNEES

61. 1934 role for Claudette, briefly: CLEO. I only know Elizabeth Taylor's CLEO. Who is the guy on her right? Quite handsome.

62. Birth cert., e.g.: IDENT. Not familiar with this ID abbr.

63. Casualty of German reunification: WALL. Berlin Wall.

66. "Kinsey" star Neeson: LIAM

67. Olds Cutlass model: CIERA. I peeked at the answer sheet. Olds 1980s-'90s.

68. Syrup brand: EGGO

69. Cutting the mustard: ABLE. Just learned the idiom "cut the mustard" not long ago.

70. Moray catcher: EELER

71. Out of concern that: LEST

Down:

1. Place for letters: BOX. So simple in retrospect.

3. Santayana defines it as "redoubling your effort when you have forgotten your aim": FANATICISM. Was ignorant of this quote.

4. Common skirt feature: FLARE. Not my type.

5. Utah state flower: SEGO. Wanted LILY.

6. Adequate, slangily: ENUF

7. Gung-ho: AVID

8. Alhambra wall artwork: MOSAIC. Alhambra is literally "the red one" in Arabic. Kazie and her husband met there.

9. Saw-toothed ridge: SIERRA. Kept thinking of ARETE, Clear Ayes.

10. "The Chris Matthews Show" producer: NBC NEWS. MSNBC to be exact.

11. __ package: CARE. Thought of Gunghy & Jazzbumpa whose son/stepson is/will be in danger's way.

12. Pub quaffs: ALES

13. Central Iowa city: AMES

21. Rome's Fontana di __ : TREVI

22. Central U.S. state: KAN. I've been to only a few states in America. Kansas is not one of them.

23. Conductor Toscanini: ARTURO

24. Authority: POOBAH. Great entry.

28. Contest: VIE

29. Yvette's years: ANS. An is year in French.

30. Far from fine: NOT OK. I don't answers with NOT.

31. Be mature: ACT ONE'S AGE. Fantastic entry. Crossing two theme answers. There is a little girl in every grow-up women, longing to be spoiled.

32. "Hear, hear!": I AGREE. I agree with myself on the above comment.

33. Cars designed to compete with Corvettes: T-BIRDS. The answer emerged itself.

39. Scrape together, with "out": EKE

40. Stray: ERR

41. Hides: MASKS

44. "Totally rad!": AWESOME

48. "His Master's Voice" co.: RCA

49. Carol Burnett persona: EUNICE. I guessed.

54. Banister post: NEWEL

56. Like con artists: GLIB

57. Make sound: HEAL

58. Stem-to-stern part: KEEL. Sailing sounds exciting.

59. Memo words: IN RE

60. High light: STAR. Got me. Nice assonance.

64. Some HDTVs: LG'S

65. Developer's unit: LOT. Or acre.

Answer grid.

C.C.