Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Title: Eight is Enough
Author: Matt Ginsberg
Theme: The whole puzzle uses only eight common letters: A, E, I, O, R, S, T, and N.

• 15a: One more than the number of different letters in this puzzle (NINE).

This is a great example of how a clever theme does not always translate into a great puzzle. We get saturated by words that have only these letters all the time, since they're by far the easiest words to use in fill. So, in a way, the theme here is to have no interesting letters and thus few interesting words. Plus, knowing the theme makes solving super super easy, since it's not at all a problem to discount potential fills due to having the wrong letters. There are several would-be tough down clues that I honestly never even saw until I was finished.

Sunny Spots:

• 17a: Losing team in Super Bowl XXXIV (TENNESSEE TITANS).


• 26a: 1799 discovery that made possible the decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyphics (ROSETTA STONE).


• 63a: Song in "The Jazz Singer" (TOOT TOOT TOOTSIE).

Sundries:

• 1a: Trying experience? (TASTE). Good clue.



• 16a: 51, famously (AREA). Nickname of a Nevada Air Force Base that is the center of many UFO conspiracy theories.


• 21a: Trireme equipment (OARS).



• 23a: "The Heat ___" (IS ON).


• 31a: Degauss (ERASE).


• 38a: Mollusks that eat starfish (TRITONS).


• 45a: Glass in the radio booth (IRA).



• 46a: Hoopsters Archibald and Thurmond (NATES). Nate "Tiny" Archibald spent several years with the Celtics, including the 1980-1981 championship season.


• 56a: "___ Hair Salon" (2004 Jenifer Lewis movie) (NORAS).


• 59a: ___ Féin (SINN).


• 69a: Nap follower? (STER).


• 70a: Future duogenarian? (TEEN). Very Gordonesque clue, but nice. In other words, someone who will be twenty.


• 71a: Schnozz (SNOOT). If it weren't for the theme, one might have gone with SNOUT here. It's not like the crossing helped.


• 2d: Greek counterpart of Mars (ARES). I can't decide if crossing ARIES and ARES is a positive or negative. It was noticeable, but it didn't really make me smile or anything.


• 4d: Sneaks (TENNIES). I'm thinking this is British slang. No one around where I live calls sneakers tennies.


• 9d: Bump-spike go-between (SET). Kudos for the volleyball clue.



• 10d: Mad features (SATIRES).


• 24d: Galley marking (STET).


• 41d: Tizzy (SNIT). At least tizzy is a cool word.


• 47d: Vaughn's costar in "The Break-Up" (ANISTON).


• 49d: Condé ___ Building (Times Square skyscraper) (NAST). Is this something people outside of New York are expected to know?


• 51d: Dodici mesi (ANNO). Twelve months = year.


• 60d: Japanese golfer ___ Aoki (ISAO).

Suns of Bitches:

There were a bunch of down clues that I had no idea about. Luckily for me, I didn't need any of them.

• 6d: CNBC analyst Ron who used to host "Street Signs" (INSANA).


• 8d: "___ de Castro" (16th-century tragedy by António Ferreira) (INES).



• 26d: Tony winner Roger (REES). He played Robin Colcord on "Cheers" and has been in a few other things I've seen since, but his name was never on my radar.


• 39d: "Nuts" director Martin (RITT).


• 61d: Composer Rota who scored "The Godfather" (NINO).

I think my comments on the theme pretty much say it all.

Thanks for listening.

- Pete M.

The Setting of the Sun

This just in from Peter Gordon:

Tomorrow is the last edition of the New York Sun. I will continue to
publish the puzzles I have in the pipeline, but I'll have to charge for
them, since the Sun will no longer be paying the authors. Once those run out (probably in early March), if I don't have 2,500 subscribers paying a dime a puzzle, then I'll probably stop. So spread the word! As to where the puzzle will be, I don't yet know, but if you go to

http://crosswordfiend.blogspot.com/

or

http://www.cruciverb.com/

or

http://www.fleetingimage.com/wij/xyzzy/08-nys-puz.html

there will an announcement on one of those.

--Peter

Of course, you can check in here as well.

- Pete M

Monday, September 29, 2008

Title: Avian Anatomy
Author: Mark Feldman
Theme: Phrases derived from bird parts.

• 18a: Keen observer (EAGLE EYE).


• 20a: Horripilation (GOOSE FLESH). Ick.


• 32a: Dark red sometimes called Spanish wine (PIGEON BLOOD). Double ick.



• 48a: Jimmy Buffett fan (PARROT HEAD).


• 50a: Certain carpentry joint (DOVE TAIL).

I'll be honest. I could have done without the flesh and blood fills. Give me goose neck and pigeon toed anyday.

Sunny Spots:

• 52a: "Chico and the Man" costar Freddie (PRINZE). I loved this show growing up. Looking back on it now, I'm not exactly sure why.




• 35d: Big lug (PALOOKA). Great word.

Sundries:

• 15a: Yaz had 1,844 (RBIS). I've probably ranted about this before, because I have a real pet peeve against RBIS. The plural of RBI (run batted in) is RBI (runs batted in). One RBI, two RBI, 150 RBI. It's already plural. RBIS is bogus.


• 43a: They're cobbled together (SHOES). Kind of obvious, but sorta cute.


• 46a: Use a blowtorch on, perhaps (WELD).


• 47a: "High ___" (1952 Gary Cooper film) (NOON).


• 56a: Golf hole goal (PAR). Well, maybe. For really good golfers, par is not a great result. For people like me, bogey would be fine. Par is the "expected" result, but not necessarily the goal.


• 1d: Argue over a price (HAGGLE). Reminds me of one of the great scenes in "Monty Python's Life of Brian". Here it is:




• 6d: Grew crops without much water (DRY FARMED).


• 12d: Stall (BUY TIME).


• 13d: Hastened, with "up" (SPEEDED). Shouldn't this just be SPED?



• 19d: Actor Estevez and designer Pucci (EMILIOS). Plural names are always kind of a stretch.


• 21d: Dance that requires a bar (LIMBO).


• 31d: Suddenly reacts to a strong wind, as a window (FLIES OPEN).


• 32d: Holiday during which many bagel stores close (PASSOVER).


• 34d: Like some triples (STANDUP). Baseball clue. At first, I was thinking college dorm rooms, but even there you have room to lay down.


• 43d: Get cheeky with? (SPANK). Cute.


• 49d: Nonkosher (TREF). I learned this from puzzles.

Suns of Bitches:

• 11d: 11th-century French saint (THEOBALD).
Yeah, okay.

Not too much to say about this one. It was okay, but it didn't thrill me.

Thanks for listening.

- Pete M.

Friday, September 26, 2008

Title: Buried Treasure
Author: Daniel A. Finan
Theme: Two squares are 'X' for the down clue and 'SPOT' for the across clue.

• 18a: Is unjustifiably critical (TAKES POTSHOTS).


• 9d: Smoked salmon (LOX).



• 62a: Character voiced by Estelle Harris in "Toy Story 2" (MRS POTATO HEAD).


• 48d: Deficiency of element #8 (ANOXIA).


• 25d: Lush (TOSSPOT).


• 39a: Rule for finding buried treasure ... and a hint to making sense of this puzzle (X MARKS THE SPOT).

I'll be honest, I got the middle theme hint right away and wasn't sure what was going on. Then I hit the "Toy Story" clue and thought it was "MR POTATO HEAD". "Ah!" I said to myself. "The buried treasure is a POT! (Perhaps of gold?)". I was then disappointed when I got TAKE POTSHOTS AT, as it the tense didn't fit the clue. Finally I looked at the center clue again and realized that X doesn't mark the POT, it marks the SPOT. And all was well in PeteLand.

Sunny Spots:

• 3d: Castle in the air (DAYDREAM). Great clue and fill, plus it reminds me of one my favorite Don McLean songs. Actually, one of my favorite songs, period.

Sundries:

• 1a: Color similar to robin's-egg blue (JADE).


• 5a: Pitch (SPIEL). Pitch can mean so many different things, it's impossible to guess without some crossing help.



• 10a: They might have underwires (BRAS). Very easy clue for a Friday. Does anything besides a bra have an underwire? Here's one that may not have an underwire. It certainly sends a mixed message, but it is an EYE CATCHER (8d: It attracts attention).


• 14a: Tapas bar dessert (FLAN).


• 15a: Zenith alternative (SANYO).


• 16a: Move like molasses (OOZE). Another really easy clue for a Friday.


• 17a: Legends (KEYS). As in the parts of charts or maps that tell what the symbols mean.


• 23a: "Full House" dog (COMET). Never watched the show, but it sounds like a dog's name.


• 30a: "Lenore" writer (POE).



See! on yon drear and rigid bier low lies thy love, Lenore!
Come! let the burial rite be read -the funeral song be sung! -
An anthem for the queenliest dead that ever died so young -
A dirge for her, the doubly dead in that she died so young.



• 31a: Crepuscular (DIM). Relating to twilight.


• 33a: Superlatively stylish (TONIEST). This one makes me cringe a little. Toniest? Really?


• 37a: Lixiviates (LEACHES). Tough verb, but nice.


• 46a: Personal possession (CHATTEL).


• 55a: One who whimpers (SOBBER). I'm not crazy about forced -ER words.


• 57a: "Dead Ringers" star (IRONS). I'm assuming Jeremy here, but I don't care enough to actually go look it up.



• 61a: Dawg (BRO). If you've ever seen Randy Jackson on "American Idol", you know what they're talking about.


• 65a/42d: Sequoia, e.g. (AUTO, TREE). I have no problem with cluing two words the same. In fact, sometimes it can really spice up a puzzle. But, at least one answer needs to be interesting. AUTO and TREE? Not so much.


• 68a: El ___ (Spanish newspaper) (PAIS). I'm assuming this means "The Country", since it's close to the French "pays".


• 69a: Under-21 request, sometimes (HIT ME). FAKE ID didn't fit. Of course, we're talking about blackjack here, not someone's age.


• 1d: Idlewild, today (JFK). The airport.


• 2d: It might be tapped out (ALE). Hmmm. I'm not sure about this one. If they mean that ale is tapped out of a keg (i.e., drawn from), then that feels like a bit of a stretch in usage. "Tapped out" tends to mean there's nothing left, but the term is applied to the keg itself, not the no-longer-contained-within ale.


• 7d: Graphic novel artist (INKER). I'll forgive the -ER in this case, because it gives me an excuse to post the following very funny piece.





• 10d: ___-chic (fashion style) (BOHO).


• 11d: One who helps with the rent (ROOMIE).


• 12d: Tenochtitlán citizens (AZTECS).


• 24d: Room in the game Clue (SPA). I don't recall a spa anywhere in Clue. A quick check reveals that the rooms are the study, kitchen, dining room, ballroom, library, billiard room, conservatory, lounge, and hall. What gives?


• 26d: They might give you 2% (MILKMEN). Cool clue, but pretty obvious, I thought. Still, it does evoke this great commercial.




• 32d: Characteristic of a transitional period in the Stone Age (MESOLITHIC). As long fill goes, words like MESOLITHIC are kind of meh.


• 34d: 2002 Owen Wilson movie (I SPY).


• 36d: Lead, e.g. (PART). As in lead role.


• 41d: Away from the city, say (OUTBOUND).


• 50d: Try for an apple (BOB). An apropos clue, as it is finally apple season around here.


• 58d: Two-time NBA MVP Steve (NASH). Not my favorite Nash, but okay.


• 63d: Honey Graham ___ (Quaker cereal) (OHS). See, now here's a place where you could have had fun with the clues. 58d: Graham ___, 63d: Honey Graham ___. That would have rocked!


• 64d: Hollywood ending? (DEE). Cryptic letter clue. Could have gone with "Start to drive?" here and "Prepare to drive" at 66d: Wood in a golf bag? (TEE). Sometimes they're plastic, but most are still wood.

Suns of Bitches:

• 44a: Tentlike dwelling (YURT). You know it's Friday when you get YURT in a spot that could have been YURI with only minor tweaks.



• 6d: "3 on a Toothbrush" author (PAAR). News to me.

Overall, not terribly hard for a Friday, but a decent workout. Would have been a bit harder if the central theme entry hadn't been so obvious. A nice puzzle.

Thanks for listening.

- Pete M.

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Title: Themeless Thursday
Author: Jeffrey Harris
Theme: None

Sunny Spots:

• 1a: Go-go gadget? (DISCO BALL). A great clue and awesome fill at 1-Across.


• 17a: Pu pu platter portion (SPARE RIBS). Mmmm... spare ribs.


• 43a: "14 Shades of Grey" group (STAIND). I saw these guys live a few years back. Very good. Here's the song you'll know, if you've heard them before. Or the following, which is my favorite:




• 8d: Drives in the back seat of a car? (LIBIDOS). This was hands down my favorite clue/answer pair in the puzzle. Inspired!


• 35d: Song with the repeated lyric "Mr. Mojo risin'" (L.A. WOMAN). I like the Doors. Always have. Plus, for you puzzlers out there, "Mr. Mojo Risin'" is an anagram of "Jim Morrison".

Sundries:

• 18a: Hotel founder Ritz (CESAR). I didn't know this, but thankfully it's a normal-enough name.


• 19a: Signal to start speaking, perhaps (TONE). At the tone, please leave a message...


• 20a: Wryly incredulous query (IS THAT SO?).


• 22a: Woodworking tools (AWLS). I generally think of awls more in terms of leatherworking, but I guess they're used for wood as well.



• 25a: Murrelet relative (AUK). I had the _UK before I even read this clue, so it wasn't a big stretch to figure out.


• 26a: Two points, maybe (FEE). Points here as in percentages, as when closing a mortgage.


• 27a: Gambol (CAVORT). Both excellent words.


• 29a: After-dinner mints, e.g. (FREEBIES).


• 31a: Go off the edge of the page (BLEED). Thank you for choosing a clue that passes the "breakfast test".



• 32a: British logician famous for his diagrams (VENN). Gimme for a former math major. Venn diagrams are those overlapping circles that describe the unions and intersections of sets.


• 35a: Swain (LOVER). Classic old-style fill.


• 38a: Taiwan's setting (CHINA SEA). Gimme.


• 45a: Farceur (WAG).



• 46a: Runner-up to Sorenstam at the 2005 LPGA Championship (Michelle WIE). I didn't even see this clue, but it's a name you should know. At 18 years of age, she's already been a pro for three years and is absolutely phenomenal. Her attempts to compete with the men have not been particularly successful to date, but I wouldn't bet against her in the long run. She's a superstar.


• 47a: Mnemonic of film (JOHNNY). Keanu Reeves film, a few years before the much more successful "Matrix" series.


• 48a: Green Al (GORE). Bet you don't often think of Al Gore and Al Green at the same time, do you? I know I don't.


• 49a: Precisely (ON THE DOT).



• 52a: Painter of "The Absinthe Drinker" (MANET). I put in M_NET and waited for the crossing. Never can keep those two straight.


• 53a: Neighbor of Greece (MACEDONIA).


• 58a: 2007 film with the tagline "You can only imagine the truth" (ATONEMENT). I still haven't seen this. Need to.


• 59a: New pet owner, perhaps (NAMER). This is such a horrendous fill, and yet I knew immediately - with no crossings - what the answer was going to be. I'm not proud.


• 60a: Woods's chipper (SAND WEDGE). I've bitched about the difference between chipping and pitching before. I reiterate my stand.


• 1d: Attachment on a spinning wheel (DISTAFF).


• 2d: Like current heads of state (IN POWER).


• 3d: He was credited as Man Dodging Debris in "Spider-Man 2" (STAN LEE). The original creator of Spiderman. Cool trivia.


• 4d: The asteroid belt's largest body (CERES). I must have heard this recently, because I knew it right away.



• 6d: Word after "Don't pass" and "Don't come" on a craps table (BAR).


• 7d: Slugger from Louisville (ALI). Cute, but easy.


• 21d: C-4 alternative (TNT).


• 27d: "Convoy" narrator, e.g. (CBER). You wanted to forget this C.W. McCall song forever, didn't you? Well then, don't click on this link then.


• 28d: Dancer Koklova who was Pablo Picasso's first wife (OLGA). I had the OL__ before I even saw this clue, so it was pretty obvious.


• 30d: Like all known perfect numbers (EVEN). If you don't know what these are, you probably don't care. But here's a link just in case. Warning: It's mathy. But you knew that.


• 31d: Asia, e.g. (BAND). Speaking of songs you'd just as soon forget, how about "Heat of the Moment"?



• 33d: Body part protected by a greave (SHIN).


• 36d: The largest of the Ryukyu Islands (OKINAWA).


• 37d: Setting for part of "Forrest Gump" (VIETNAM).


• 38d: Bach specialty (CANTATA).



• 40d: "Girl With a Pearl ___" (Vermeer painting) (EARRING).


• 41d: Contemporary (AGEMATE). I've never heard of this word, but it made complete sense once I filled in the missing G.


• 48d: Pink flamingo alternative (GNOME). If you like tacky garden accessories, why settle for alternatives? Go for both, and add a color ball as well.


• 50d: First word of the theme song to "The Monkees" (HERE). "Here we come!"

Suns of Bitches:

• 9d: "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman" star (LASSER). Not a name I recognize.

I thought this puzzle had pretty nice fill, but I must admit I found it a bit easier than expected for a Themeless Thursday. Still, it evoked many pictures and links, which is a plus for blogging. So, we'll give it a general thumbs up.

Thanks for listening.

- Pete M.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Title: "Oh, Yes!"
Author: Lee Glickstein
Theme: Adding an "Oh" sound at the end of phrases.

• You are here => YOU ARE HERO (17a: What Leander said to his lover?).



• Rent to own => RENT TO ONO (21a: Provide Yoko with quarters?). This one amused me quite a bit. I wonder what kind of a tenant she'd be?


• Cowbell => COW BELLOW (35a: Intimidate author Saul?). This is the only one of the group that didn't actually change the spelling of the original phrase. But I'll forgive that since it gives me an excuse to post this clip.


• Hip boot => HIP BHUTTO (44a: Cool former prime minister of Pakistan?).


• Bookmark => BOOK MARCO (54a: Schedule Polo for a performance?).



• Wounded Knee => WOUNDED NEO (64a: Injured "Matrix" character?).
The Wounded Knee massacre was not a high point in American history. In fact, it's a little morbid to use it as theme fodder.

Six theme entries isn't always easy to do, especially when they overlap like the first two and last two do. There does seem to be a lot of tragedy and loss interwoven into this theme; Hero and Leander, Yoko Ono, Benazir Bhutto, and Wounded Knee all evoke a sense of sadness for me. I don't think that was the intent of the constructor.

Sunny Spots:

• 3d: Cover subject of the first issue of Us magazine (PAUL NEWMAN).


• 32d: Gives a high gloss to, in a way (SPIT SHINES).

A nice set of off-beat food choices includes:


• 15a: Gourmet mushroom (MOREL).



• 16a: Fuzzy fruit (KIWI).


• 22d: Vegetarian cuisine choice (TEMPEH).


• 39d: Source of low-fat meat (EMU).

Sundries:

• 14a: Chemical featured on a 1989 "60 Minutes" segment (ALAR).


• 20a: "Save Me the Waltz" novelist Fitzgerald (ZELDA). F. Scott's wife. Clues for Zelda generally go here or to the Nintendo series.


• 23a: Unaristocratic, to a Brit (NON-U). I learned this from puzzles.


• 28a: 1956 Glenn Ford film remade in 1996 (RANSOM).


• 32a: With 36-Down, 1984 Cyndi Lauper hit (SHE / BOP). I had forgotten about this one. I didn't need the reminder.


• 40a: Emmy-winning "Miami Vice" actor (OLMOS). Another 80s clue, though I really enjoyed "Miami Vice", especially in the first couple of seasons. It was really revolutionary for its time, featuring great new music and often going several minutes with little or no dialogue as the music and visuals said it all. It was also one of the first shows that didn't always feel like it needed to tie everything up in a cute little bow by the end of the show.




• 41a: Sweet ending (OSE). Glucose, sucrose, fructose, etc.


• 47a: Trick-taking game played with a 32-card deck (ECARTE).


• 50a: French seasoning (SEL). Salt.


• 66a: Limerick popularizer (LEAR). Lear's limericks are actually pretty bad, if you ask me. "But Pete", you say. "Most limericks are pretty bad." Well, you may have a point. There certainly are some funny ones, but most of those are too obscene to be included here. But Lear's? Judge for yourself.
  

  There was an Old Man with a beard,
  Who said, 'It is just as I feared!
  Two Owls and a Hen,
  Four Larks and a Wren,
  Have all built their nests in my beard!'


I mean, please. Actually, I once defended the artistic merits of limericks in a Haiku forum (posts were all supposed to be in the form of Haiku) with the following:


Lim'ricks for you; not
"art" like haiku; but I; de-
cry; your point of view.



• 69a: "Say It ___ So" (1983 Hall and Oates hit) (ISN'T). I really wanted AIN'T here, but that's Weezer.


• 71a: "Jim Rome Is Burning" airer (ESPN). Never watched the show, but I've heard of it.


• 1d: Former CEO of Def Jam (JAY-Z). Seen this one before.


• 4d: Former home of Picasso's "Guernica" (PRADO). Easy guess.



• 6d: Former host of "Last Comic Standing" (Jay MOHR).


• 7d: Algonquian speaker (CREE).


• 8d: The world's largest particle physics lab (CERN). According to Wikipedia, this originally stood for "Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire".


• 9d: Fate who spins the thread of life (CLOTHO).


• 10d: Home of the Beacon Journal newspaper (AKRON). This clue could have just said "U.S. city" for all the help it was.


• 18d: Tried to get a seat (RAN). In an election year, this one should be a gimme.


• 26d: GI tract bacterium (ECOLI). Ick.


• 27d: 1997 N.L. Rookie of the Year Scott (ROLEN). For some reason, I knew this right off the top. And that's unusual, as I don't follow the National League at all.


• 34d: Scanner brand (EPSON).


• 45d: With 67-Across, colorful bird that feeds on insects (BEE EATER). This would have been cooler as a single entry with EEE in it.


• 50d: Golf garment (SKORT). Went for SHIRT first, then SKIRT. SKORT is a weird word, and not easy when crossings ARNO (63a: Illustrator of more than 100 New Yorker covers).



• 52d: "George of the Jungle" character (APE).


• 53d: Inner circle (CADRE).


• 55d: Filthy lucre sources? (ORES). Meh.

Suns of Bitches:

• 1a: Inspector in Agatha Christie stories (JAPP). I should probably know this, but it doesn't look familiar at all.


• 54d: Maidenform rival (BALI).


• 56d: Judah's second son (ONAN). I've seen it, but I still needed the crossings. It's a name I'm going to remember.

This had a good mid-week mix of tough and easy fill, the long fill was decent, and the theme was fine, if depressing in spots. All in all, not one of my favorites, but a decent puzzle for sure.

Thanks for listening.

- Pete M.

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Title: Ultimate Band of Fiction
Author: Mark Feldman
Theme: Fictional characters whose last names end with a musical instrument.

• 3d: Main character in "The Omen" (DAMIEN THORN).



• 10d: Hazzard County hottie (DAISY DUKE).


• 21d: "Vanity Fair" girl (BECKY SHARP).


• 31d: TV character who came out of the closet in "The Puppy Episode" (ELLEN MORGAN).



• 39d: 1971 role for Donald Sutherland (JOHN KLUTE). Yes, Joon, another "Klute" clue. You really need to go rent this movie.

Be honest. If it weren't for the title, would you have figured out this theme? I think it would have taken me a while to see it. Which is to say, it didn't help me in the least during solving. Luckily, the puzzle wasn't particular difficult, so the lack of theme help didn't matter. In fact, the theme clues were pretty straightforward "you know it or you don't"-type clues.

Sunny Spots:

• 1a: Body of science (CADAVER). Morbid? Sure. But it's still a great fill at 1-Across.

Sundries:

• 8a: Wiseguy (MADE MAN). Raise your hand if you tried MAFIOSO first. I did.


• 15a: College professor's community (ACADEME). I want this to be ACADEMIA, but I've been disappointed regarding this fill before recently, so I was ready for it.


• 16a: Mother-of-pearl source (ABALONE).


• 17a: Evil (DEMONIC). The fact that this crosses DAMIEN is a nice touch.


• 22a: Collection of electronic newsgroups (USENET). Gimme for me. Usenet was bigger than the World Wide Web back when everything was still text-based. Can you imagine web sites with no pictures? It wasn't that long ago.


• 23a: Billy Blanks workout (TAE BO). I didn't recognize the name immediately, but the AE left no doubt what the answer was going to be.


• 25a: Southpaw (LEFTY).


• 36a: Fake-out in a rink (DEKE).



• 39a: Daughter on "The Jetsons" (JUDY).


• 40a: First "American Idol" winner Clarkson (KELLY). I didn't watch "Idol" back then. Picked it up in Season 5.


• 41a: Cinematic technique (SLO-MO). We just had this fill yesterday. It's like a slo-mo replay all over again.


• 46a: Grig, e.g. (EEL).


• 47a: "___ Song Trilogy" (TORCH).




• 48a: LaBeouf of "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" (SHIA). I knew this, but I can imagine the crossing of this with 48d: Govt. loan agency (SBA) might have given some people fits.


• 50a: Ban's predecessor as U.N. secretary general (ANNAN).


• 51a: Place for taps (BAR ROOM). Not the bugle call here.



• 53a: Its mascot is Mr. Bluelight (K-MART).


• 55a: Son of Cain (ENOCH).


• 58a: Birds do it (WARBLE). Love the clue. Calls for some Ella Fitzgerald, don't you think?




• 62a: Word with box or boy (POOR).


• 65a: Generally (AS A RULE).


• 67a: One of the Leeward Islands (ANTIGUA).


• 70a: Where krónur are spent (ICELAND).



• 71a: Inflatable life vest (MAE WEST).


• 72a: Sublets (RERENTS). I'm not crazy about RE- words, which tend to show up a lot on the bottom row or rightmost column of puzzles.


• 2d: Amtrak train name (ACELA). This shows up quite a bit.


• 6d: Arab chieftain (EMIR). Ditto.


• 12d: Phoebe, to Saturn (MOON).



• 13d: Hathaway of "Get Smart" (ANNE). She played Agent 99 in the movie version.


• 24d: Hit on the bean (BOP). I would have gone with a Ramones clue on this one.


• 33d: "The Elements of ___" (Strunk and White book) (STYLE).


• 34d: "___ la vista, baby!" (HASTA). Classic Ahhnold.




• 44d: Like some missiles (AIR-TO-AIR).


• 52d: Discus great Al who won gold in four consecutive Olympics (OERTER). I'm not sure if I know this from puzzles, or whether I knew it before. Either way, it's fairly deeply instilled now.



• 56d: What an umpire's indicator indicates (COUNT).


• 57d: Cerberus's threesome (HEADS). The three-headed dog of Greek mythology.

Suns of Bitches:

None.

This puzzle ran a little smoother for me than yesterday's. The 15x16 construction was necessary to accommodate the lone 10-letter entry, BECKY SHARP, since central entries in a standard 15x15 must have an odd number of letters. Unfortunately, when CADAVER is your bright spot in the non-theme fill, you know things are a bit on the dull side. Not a bad puzzle, by any means, but a little more sparkle would have livened this baby up a bit.

Thanks for listening.

- Pete M.

Monday, September 22, 2008

Title: How Does That Feel?
Author: Justin Smith
Theme: Tactile adjectives used in a non-tactile way.

• 17a: Artificial intelligence topic (FUZZY LOGIC).


• 27a: Unpaved edge of a road (SOFT SHOULDER).


• 45a: Awkward situation (STICKY WICKET).


• 60a: Relaxing music genre (SMOOTH JAZZ).

This theme didn't do much for me while I was solving, as it seemed like kind of an arbitrary set of adjectives. But in retrospect, I guess it's okay. The fact that the adjectives are being used in a different, non-tactile way adds that little extra that makes it hold together reasonably well for a Monday.

Sunny Spots:

• 4d: Tornadic toon from Warner Bros. (TAZ). One of my favorite cartoon characters.


• 5d: In ads, it's spelled R-O-L-A-I-D-S (RELIEF). Solid pop culture reference.


• 11d: Hershey's offering in a yellow wrapper (MR GOODBAR). Mmmm... chocolate.



• 47d: TV character who got notes signed "Epstein's Mother" (KOTTER). I used to love this show. I'm not sure what that says about me.

Sundries:

• 10a: Interfraternity council prez, e.g. (BMOC). Big Man On Campus.


• 14a: Shade by the beach? (AQUA). Almost too easy.


• 15a: Castaway (EXILE).


• 16a: Humor writer Bombeck (ERMA).


• 20a: 5% of LX (III). This is the easiest Roman numeral math we've seen in a while.


• 22a: Instructions starter (STEP ONE).


• 24a: "You may relax, soldier" (AT EASE).


• 37a: Icy coatings (HOARS).



• 39a: Former NFL quarterbacks Stabler and O'Brien (KENS). You know I'm not good with first names, but this one was a no-brainer for me.


• 43a: Like many replays (SLO-MO).


• 48a: "The Truth About ___ Geller" (James Randi book) (URI). Name a Geller. And no, Sarah Michelle is spelled GELLAR.


• 49a: Lubricant reservoir in a crankcase (OIL PAN).


• 53a: Chiquita products (BANANAS).



• 59a: '70s teen idol Garrett (LEIF). I'm pretty sure my sister had a poster of Leif along with Andy Gibb.


• 64a: Pet problem? (PEEVE).


• 2d: Declaration to one's boss (I QUIT).


• 3d: ___ Kabloozie (character voiced by Ruth Buzzi in "Sesame Street" shorts) (SUZIE). I'm not sure if I knew this or whether it just made sense.


• 6d: Nerve cell impulse transmitter (AXON).


• 8d: Nutmeg State Ivy Leaguers (ELIS). Even if you don't remember that Connecticut is the Nutmeg State and that Yale is in Connecticut, you've seen this answer enough that "Ivy Leaguers" should have done it for you.


• 10d: "C'mon, buddy, help me out" (BE A PAL).


• 25d: Yard sale caveat (AS IS).


• 29d: "Ditto" (SO AM I). Reminds me of the first minute and a half of this clip...



• 30d: Ruinous damage (HAVOC). Havoc is a really cool word.


• 36d: Opposed to organized labor (ANTI-UNION).


• 41d: NEA part (NATL). I went with ARTS here at first, until I was 46d and realized it shouldn't be (you rarely see an answer word in another clue in a well-edited puzzle).


• 43d: It's got you covered (SKIN). Cute.


• 46d: Partner of arts (CRAFTS).


• 50d: Instrument with 88 keys (PIANO). A total gimme, but I do love the piano.


• 51d: Lumbermill tools (ADZES).


• 54d: Like a sports car, briefly (AERO). Ummm. Okay. I guess. Kinda.


• 55d: They're unarmed, but dangerous (ASPS). Bit of a stretch for a clue, but okay.


• 56d: "Peter Pan" character (SMEE). A crossword staple.


• 61d: "Reading the ___" (2008 book subtitled "One Man, One Year, 21,730 Pages") (OED). I need to get this book; it sounds fascinating. And no, I'm not being facetious; I really want to read it.



• 62d: Triangular sail (JIB). Love sailing clues. Even easy ones.

Suns of Bitches:

• 65a: Little ___ ("Hairspray" role) (INEZ). I'm sure I've seen this name before, but I needed the crossings to get it.


• 40d: Journalist Nellie (BLY). Ditto.


• 52d: Mozart's "Le ___ di Figaro" (NOZZE). Tough for a Monday, but a nice fill word.

This was a fairly Scrabbly puzzle for a Monday - in fact it's a pangram, using every letter at least once - and is a typical example of how Monday Sun puzzles differ from Monday Times puzzles. The Sun is almost never as easy as a NYT Monday, which is why it's a favorite among puzzle connoisseurs, and why it would be a crying shame for this puzzle to go the way of the dinosaur if the Sun should go under at the end of this month as it's threatening to do. Any wealthy puzzlers out there want to step in and invest in the Sun?

Thanks for listening.

- Pete M.

Friday, September 19, 2008

Title: Weekend Warrior
Author: Tom Heilman
Theme: None

This is a classic Weekend Warrior which, for me, means hard. I had to scrabble for toe-holds and tease out answers section by section until it finally fell open. As such, I'm not going to bother trying to separate the hard from the easy, the "good" from the questionable. Let's just take 'em as they come.

• 1a: Definitive statement (LAST WORD). Very nice fill that frankly took me longer to get than I'd like to admit. In fact, the NW was the last quadrant to fall.


• 9a: Springy? (FONTAL). Yeah, I get it, but... eh.


• 15a: Cofounder of Lucky Duck Productions (Linda ELLERBEE). I didn't know this at all, but it's a name I recognize so I was comfortable with it once it filled in.


• 16a: Spanish city that's the capital of Asturias (OVIEDO). No idea. Doesn't ring a bell at all.


• 17a: Naval formation (FLOTILLA). Another one I should have gotten more easily. For some reason I had ARMADA on the brain, which obviously doesn't fit, but it successfully blocked out any other useful thoughts. I hate when that happens.


• 18a: 1980 remake of "Down to Earth" (XANADU). I'm familiar with the film, though the fact that it's a remake of something is news to me. Great fill word, though, with the leading X and trailing U. Beautiful.



• 19a: Color-changing climber (TREE TOAD). This one feels like the kind of fill you put in because it's the only thing that fits. Nothing glaringly wrong with it, but it's just filler.


• 21a: Dance in triple meter (JIG). Not too many dances in three letters.


• 24a: "___ to Deodorant" (Coldplay song) (ODE). Great twist on a common word.


• 25a: Self-titled #1 album of 1982 (ASIA). The original "supergroup", I believe. Never liked them.


• 27a: Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary (GEICO). Ok, that's obscure.


• 28a: Particles of the meson family (PSIS). I didn't know this one, but was happy when I was able to shove a Greek letter in there. It just felt right.


• 29a: Sub spot (BENCH). Sub as in substitute. My first guess was OCEAN.



• 33a: Blokus piece (TILE). I thought, even after I got this right, that Blokus was some guy's name, like an author or artist. Turns out it's a board game, but not one that I've seen before.


• 36a: Sub spot (DELI). A nice partner to the BENCH, above.


• 37a: Volcano of Ecuador (COTOPAXI). This is a really cool-looking nasty fill word. It's not like it's something you could guess, or even nod and say, "Yeah, that looks right". I think I've seen it before somewhere, but I needed the crossings to get it.


• 46a: Low rollers (TIRES). I wasn't crazy about this clue. Even with TI_ES, I had to run through the alphabet to find what made sense. I almost settled on TIDES.



• 49a: Gelatin brand (KNOX). Vaguely familiar. Very vaguely.


• 51a: Happens to (BETIDES). I got this one off the leading B. Somehow, I just knew that's where this one was going.


• 53a: Bath suds? (ALE). Bath the city, I would say.


• 54a: Like a good drill team (IN STEP). Almost went with IN SYNC first, but thought better of it.


• 56a: Bad (SINISTER). Sinister literally means "from the left" or "left-handed". Any of you out there get ruler-slapped by a nun for writing with the "wrong" hand?



• 58a: 1952 Brando role (ZAPATA). Nice fill word.


• 59a: Good (OBEDIENT). Well, sort of. There have been some pretty obedient bad people in history.


• 61a: Fester (ULCERATE). Ewwww. (PB2: I can see why we'd want to avoid this one...).


• 62a: City on the Loire (NANTES).


• 63a: Brief buzz creator (TEASER AD). The "AD" part seems redundant, but it's still okay.


• 1d: Ring leader? (LEFT JAB). I'm pretty sure I've seen this clue before and I still didn't get it right away. Wonderful clue.


• 2d: Standing order (ALL RISE). Cute.


• 3d: Fizz ingredient (SLOE GIN). Well, it's an ingredient in a sloe gin fizz. Not fizz in general. But good fill.


• 4d: Kopf, across the Rhine (TÊTE). I don't know much German, but I know that dummkopf basically means "stupid head".


• 6d: Like a mango (OBLONG).


• 8d: Broadcasting no-no (DEAD AIR).


• 9d: Source of the heart stimulant digitalis (FOXGLOVE). This piece of trivia was actually lodged in the deep recesses of memory. Not sure why.


• 11d: Original MTV veejay Blackwood (NINA). No idea.


• 12d: Shade of pink (TEA ROSE).


• 13d: Included as a bonus (ADDED IN).


• 26d: Massachusetts town in Middlesex County (ACTON). I live in New Hampshire, so this wasn't unfamiliar.


• 28d: Make erect, with "up" (PRICK). Wow! This clue/answer combination is a bit, if I may say, ballsy, don't you think?


• 30d: Cool (HIP). This is amusing in that anyone who still says "hip" is decidedly not cool.



• 32d: Name engraved on the Claret Jug in 2002 (ELS). The Claret Jug is the trophy given to the winner of the British Open.


• 34d: Gym entrance requirement, sometimes (LATE PASS).


• 37d: Watch brand (CITIZEN).


• 38d: Senators hear it before facing off (O CANADA). That's the Ottawa Senator of the NHL.


• 39d: A winner might have it (TOP SPIN). Reference to tennis. Or ping pong or volleyball, I suppose.


• 40d: Common cartoon ending (IRIS OUT). This is a term I was unfamiliar with, but it makes total sense once I got it.




• 42d: Rampaging (ON A TEAR).


• 43d: Cornmeal mush (POLENTA).


• 47d: Like some underwear (EDIBLE). This is not at all where I was expecting this clue to take me, but I certainly got a good chuckle out of it.


• 48d: Tutor to Nero (SENECA).



• 51d: Frequent costar of Humphrey (BETTE). Bette Davis and Humphrey Bogart.


• 52d: 45 halves (SIDES). I used to collect 45s (for you young-uns, those are vinyl singles, played at 45 rpm instead of the usual 33 1/3), so this one didn't fool me. Great clue.


• 57d: Marco, to Omar Khayyam (SIRE). Another piece of trivia I just didn't know.

This is exactly what I expect and like in a Weekend Warrior. Like a good Saturday NYT puzzle, I expect to have to poke and prod until things unfold. Too easy and it's unsatisfying. Too hard and it's not fun at all. A decent struggle that ultimately required no Googling to solve? Perfect.

Thanks for listening.

- Pete M.

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Title: Those Were the Days
Author: Alex Boisvert
Theme: Quip by comedian Demetri Martin

• I REMEMBER WHEN


• I USED TO REALLY BE


• INTO NOSTALGIA.

I know a lot of people aren't fans of quip and quote puzzles, since you only get one "Aha" moment instead of perhaps several. But I like Demetri Martin's brand of humor, so this one was fine by me.

Sunny Spots:

• 8d: Rehearsal (DRY RUN). I'm not sure what the origin of this phrase is, but it might be military (i.e., without live ammo).


• 11d: Pickle (QUANDARY). Good word, with a Q to boot.


• 44d: Palace guard, perhaps (EUNUCH). This amuses me because it reminds me of my all-time favorite "Dilbert" cartoon.

Sundries:

• 5a: Sale spot (YARD). Yard, barn, tent, ... pick one.


• 9a: Excite (PIQUE).


• 14a: "Piece of My Heart" singer Franklin (ERMA). Aretha's older sister. Janis Joplin's version is a cover of this original. Hear it here.


• 15a: Prefix with mensch (UBER). I do like the prefix UBER-.


• 17a: Da ___ (from the top, in music) (CAPO).


• 19a: Barbecue sides (SLAWS). It's a rare barbecue that has multiple slaws, but okay.



• 23a: Italian sandwiches (PANINI).


• 24a: 180, familiarly (UEY). Guessed the correct spelling the first time.


• 25a: POTUS #34 (DDE). Eisehower, the 34th President of the United States.


• 32a: Fidel's brother (RAUL).


• 40a: Like the accent in "crème" (GRAVE). High school French to the rescue again.


• 41a: Verklempt person's cry (OY VEY).


• 45a: Beast in Numbers (ASS). We're talking Bible here.


• 50a: Longtime Kentucky basketball coach Rupp (ADOLPH). I didn't know this, but it's a common enough name that it fell pretty easily.


• 56a: Rapids transit? (CANOE). I'm not sure why the '?' is necessary here. My first instinct was KAYAK, as it has nicer letters. Here's a nice Winslow Homer painting on the subject.



• 58a: Jamaican tangelo (UGLI).


• 59a: Quarters where quarters might be played (DORM). Quarters is the bugle call indicating it's time to return to quarters for the evening. Hear it here.


• 61a: Popular cat name (CLEO). Really? People name their cats Cleo? I've never met a cat named Cleo. Or is there something about this clue that I'm missing?


• 62a: Railroad company known as "The scarlet woman of Wall Street" (ERIE). I'm sure there's a story here, but I'm too lazy to digging for what it might be.


• 64a: Felled (HEWN). This was in the destruction zone of the puzzle, along with 55d: Struck down (SLEW), 57d: Hack (AXE), and the red herring, 56d: Hack (CAB).


• 1d: Offering at epicurious.com (RECIPE).


• 2d: It's called Masis in Armenian (ARARAT). This clue has Peter Gordon written all over it.


• 5d: Superlatively scrumptious (YUMMIEST).


• 12d: Motor City org. (UAW).


• 13d: Overhead rumblers (ELS).


• 30d: "Cantar de ___ Cid" (Spanish epic poem) (MIO).


• 31d: Result of dropping a can of corn (ERROR).



• 32d: "You may ___ on it" (Magic 8 Ball pronouncement) (RELY). For those of you who never broke one of these open, here is what the inside die looks like.


• 33d: Winter precipitazione (NEVE). A little stretchy, but I know it's "neige" in French, so it's not totally out there.


• 34d: Walter's "Hopscotch" costar (GLENDA). Walter Matthau and Glenda Jackson.


• 35d: "What hump?" speaker (IGOR). From "Young Frankenstein".




• 37d: Second-largest Mediterranean island (SARDINIA).


• 38d: Illuminati symbol (EYE).


• 39d: "Birthplace of ___ Pioneers" (phrase on an Ohio quarter) (AVIATION).


• 43d: Sobbing syllable (HOO). Half of Boo-hoo. Kind of weak.


• 45d: Current TV cofounder (AL GORE).

Suns of Bitches:

• 60a: Spaceship in "Wall-E" (AXIOM). I never saw the movie, so this was crossings only.


• 4d: "The Shock Doctrine" author Klein (NAOMI). Hitting my first-name weakness again here.


• 7d: "And Then There Were None" director Clair (RENE). Ditto.

Overall, this puzzle was just okay for me. The theme was fine, for a quote, but I wasn't crazy about the non-theme long fill. QUANDARY was good, if not exciting. YUMMIEST... well, jury's still out on YUMMIEST. SARDINIA and AVIATION are both a little dry.

Thanks for listening.

- Pete M.

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Title: Reading for a Bit Part
Author: Jeremy Horwitz
Theme: Films based on books in which the book's author makes a cameo appearance

• 18a: 1989 film in which author Stephen King plays a minister (PET SEMATARY).


• 36a: 1999 film in which author John Irving plays a stationmaster, with "The" (CIDER HOUSE RULES).


• 59a: 1996 film in which author Kurt Vonnegut Jr. plays a sad man on the street (MOTHER NIGHT).

This is the kind of interesting trivia that makes for a cool theme. I don't remember the film "Mother Night", but it stars Nick Nolte and gets reasonable reviews on IMDb.

Sunny Spots:

• 1d: Moot (ACADEMIC). I just love the word "moot". Reminds me of a great SNL skit with Jesse Jackson, "The Question is Moot". It may take a couple of minutes to download, but it's worth it.



• 43a: North America's highest mountain (DENALI).


• 2d: Squid (CALAMARI). Nice pair of words ending in "I".


• 39d: Blobby light source (LAVA LAMP).

Sundries:

• 9a: Paddles, maybe (HAZES). "Thank you, sir, may I have another."



• 17a: Singer/actress Lohan (ALI). Lindsay's little sister.


• 22a: Outcast (EXILED). Adds a little Scrabbliness to the NE corner.


• 23a: Arabic for "commander" (EMIR).


• 27a: Snow or blow (COKE). It's been a couple of days since we've had a good drug reference clue. Well, wait no longer.


• 28a: Woman in charge of a bordello (MADAM).


• 30a: "The Pagan Stone" author Roberts (NORA).


• 31a: Phone button (STAR). I had OPER to start. Actually, that's not entirely true. I had MUTE, then OPER.


• 32a: Tabriz residents (IRANIS).


• 34a: Word with feet or shoulder (COLD).


• 48a: Heart of the matter (PITH). Literally.


• 51a: Loco (BATS). I'm sure I'm not the only one who tried NUTS first.


• 55a: Medium relative (ORACLE).


• 57a: Automobile pioneer Gottlieb (DAIMLER).


• 63a: Holiday music (BLUES). I was fooled, going with NOELS. But no, it's the sultry and awesome Billie Holiday.




• 3d: Port-of-Spain setting (TRINIDAD).


• 4d: Hitchcock's first color film (ROPE).


• 5d: Former "At the Movies" cohost (EBERT).


• 7d: Stubborn sort (ASS).


• 8d: Confederate commander at Gettysburg (LEE). Yesterday featured ASS and MEADE; today we ge ASS and LEE. Go figure.


• 10d: Tomfoolery (ANTICS).


• 11d: Big fan (ZEALOT). Part of the Scrabbly NE.


• 12d: Cry of discovery (EUREKA).



• 13d: James Dean's infamous Porsche (SPYDER). Infamous because he died in it, in a head-on collision.


• 19d: Got the gold, e.g. (MEDALED).


• 21d: Grammer part (CRANE). I was little slow on the uptake on this one. The references are to Kelsey Grammer, who played Frasier Crane.


• 25d: One of the Ten Plagues (LOCUSTS).



• 29d: Joan of art (MIRO). Cool clue. Cool artist.


• 38d: Take a piece from (UNARM). We just had a piece twist yesterday, so this one wasn't quite as fresh as it might have been.


• 40d: Steel anniversary (ELEVENTH).


• 44d: Fission gear? (A-BOMBS). That's pussion it a bit, don't you think?


• 45d: Sentence abbreviator (PAROLE).


• 46d: Square figure (STATUE). Good one.



• 47d: "Hand With Reflecting Sphere" artist (ESCHER). Gimme for me. I love Escher's work.


• 49d: Limited financial risk (HEDGED).


• 53d: 1986 Indy 500 champ Bobby (RAHAL). I know almost nothing about auto racing and I know this name, so it must be pretty easy.


• 60d: Point of writing (NIB). The writing tip of a pen.


• 61d: Nancy's role on "Rhoda" (IDA). I didn't know it off the top, but it felt right when I got it.

Suns of Bitches:

Surprisingly, none.

This was a decent Wednesday puzzle for me. Not spectacular, but decent. On the minus side, I'm not crazy about starting off with 3-letter across fill. The NW corner kind of sets the mood for the puzzle, so I prefer a little more flash in that area and in the across clues in general. On the plus side, the down fill was quite good. And, at 72 words, it's getting down into themeless territory for word count, which is a bonus for a mid-week themed puzzle. Add in the interesting theme, and you've got yourself a pretty nice puzzle.

Thanks for listening.

- Pete M.

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Title: There Goes the Picnic
Author: Lee Glickstein
Theme: Inserting ANT and RAIN into phrases

Cow pies => COW PANTIES (
• 17a: Underwear for Elsie?).



• Ted Knight => TRAINED KNIGHT (23a: Well-schooled jouster?).


• Bah Humbug => BAHRAIN HUMBUG (53a: Nonsense from Manama?).


• Con game => CANTON GAME (63a: Mah-jongg, e.g.?). Canton, China. Not a subdivision of Switzerland.

Sorry I'm late on this one, but was just exhausted last night and didn't even have the energy to look at the puzzle, never mind blog it. But I'm here now, so here we go.

The theme is strange in that ANT and RAIN are each used twice. I would have expected either the same insert four times or else four different reasons for spoiling a picnic. But let's face it -- cow pies to cow panties makes up for it in one gorgeous entry.

Sunny Spots:

• 3d: Erma Bombeck column (AT WIT'S END).


• 7d: Affirmative response (QUITE SO). Jolly good.


• 34d: Unwanted lawn growth (CRAB GRASS).

Sundries:

• 16a: Paul in the Songwriters Hall of Fame (ANKA). I'm guessing there are others: McCartney and Simon both come to mind. If I remember my trivia, Paul Anka wrote the "Tonight Show" theme song.


• 19a: Slangy snag (PROB). No prob here.


• 22a: Present announcement? (IT IS I). Cute clue for a common entry.


• 29a: Space explorers' wear (G-SUITS).


• 33a: 564% of CCL (MCDX). Complain if you want, but I much prefer Roman numeral math to obscure year-of-the-pope clues. And this is another that's not hard to do in your head. 564% of 250 = 250% of 564 = 25% of 5640 = 1410.


• 37a: Dog star's first name? (RIN). Rin Tin Tin. Easy.


• 47a: Where the Rapidz play baseball (OTTAWA).



• 49a: Sacred beetle (SCARAB).


• 52a: Roy Rogers rival (ARBY'S).


• 58a: First woman to land a triple axel in competition (Midori ITO).


• 67a: "Milo's Hat Trick" author Jon (AGEE).


• 68a: Frankincense, e.g. (RESIN).


• 2d: Space ape of 1961 (ENOS).


• 5d: No. for Maine (ERA). I'm guessing Maine is a baseball pitcher.


• 12d: Teensy bit (SKOSH).


• 18d: Abbr. for someone with only two names (NMI). No middle initial.



• 28d: It has a five-sided flag (OHIO).


• 46d: Lei women (WAHINES).


• 54d: Blessing precursor (ACHOO).


• 55d: Fence (HEM IN).


• 56d: Lea low (MOO). Very good.


• 65d: Piece-keeping gp. (NRA). Excellent clue.

Suns of Bitches:

• 69a: Singer Childs (TONI). I've probably seen this name before in puzzles, but it never rings a bell. here's a sample.

All in all, this felt a touch easier than yesterday. As for enjoyment, you had me at cow panties.

Thanks for listening.

- Pete M.

Monday, September 15, 2008

Title: Totally Slick, It
Author: Ogden Porter (Peter Gordon)
Theme: Rhymes with "icket"

• 20a: Character in "Pinocchio" (JIMINY CRICKET).


• 37a: Unlikely source of wealth (LOTTERY TICKET).


• 52a: Pseudonymous author of "A Series of Unfortunate Events" (LEMONY SNICKET).

A straightforward rhyming scheme today, which is standard Monday fare. Only three theme entries here, but they're all pretty snazzy.

Sunny Spots:

• 10d: 1975 #1 hit for the Bee Gees (JIVE TALKIN'). A great reminder of how terrible music was during the mid-70s.


• 3d: "Bein' Green" singer (KERMIT). Arguably the best Muppet song ever. So simple; so powerful. Love it.




• 29d: Commuting a sentence, e.g. (ACT OF MERCY). Nice fill.

Sundries:

• 1a: Sommer of "Deadlier Than the Male" (ELKE). Isn't it funny how things tie together sometimes. Here's Elke with the above-mentioned Kermit the Frog.


• 5a: ___ and Gomorrah (SODOM).


• 10a: Photo file format (JPEG).



• 14a: Tavern on "The Simpsons" (MOES).


• 18a: Tiger Beat's target audience (TEENS).


• 19a: Spot checkers? (VETS). Spot as in the dog's name. Very cute.


• 25a: Alamogordo event of July 1945 (A-TEST). It's always a guess whether this is going to be A-TEST, H-TEST, or N-TEST.


• 30a: "The Pirates of ___" (PENZANCE). Classic Gilbert and Sullivan.




• 33a: Challenger astronaut McAuliffe (CHRISTA). I watched this tragedy live on TV. It still ranks among the more horrific experiences in my life.


• 40a: One who might hail a cab? (WINO). Does this mean cab as in cabernet? If so, I'm not sure I get the "hail" part. And either way, all I can really say about this is "Ugh!".



• 41a: Brand of rum (BACARDI).


• 42a: Very quickly (IN A FLASH).


• 59a: Interjection of annoyance (BEANS). I've never actually heard anyone use this in this way, that I can recall.


• 63a: Remarkable thing (LULU). Awww... give me a "To Sir With Love" reference anyday!


• 66a: ___ turn (skiing maneuver) (STEP).


• 1d: Key of Anton Bruckner's Symphony No. 7 (E-MAJOR).


• 6d: Dyson rival (ORECK). Both brands of vacuum cleaner.


• 7d: One who commits a crime, in police slang (DOER).


• 8d: Atlanta arena that hosted the 1988 Democratic National Convention, with "the" (OMNI).



• 30d: Shrink (PSYCH). I'm not 100% sure whether this is a noun or a verb here.


• 37d: Bellybutton buildup (LINT). Ewwww.


• 40d: Xbox alternative (WII).


• 43d: Moon vehicle, for short (LEM).


• 45d: Invite to dinner, say (ASK OUT).


• 46d: Tachometer part (NEEDLE).


• 47d: Really enjoys (EATS UP).


• 49d: "First Look" cable channel (MSNBC).



• 54d: 1994 film directed by Michael Apted (NELL). Not terrifically hard to figure, but it still doesn't feel like a Monday clue to me.


• 58d: Murphy Brown's TV show (FYI).

Suns of Bitches:

• 23a: Giants defensive end Umenyiora (OSI). This seems like a stretch for a Monday, but again, this is a New York-centric newspaper.


• 49a: 1978-2002 Kenyan president Daniel arap ___ (MOI). Am I in a time warp here? I could have sworn it was Monday. Excusez-MOI!


• 22d: Second baseman Matsui (KAZ). Okay, no New York excuse here; this guy plays for the Houston Astros.

Well, the theme was certainly Monday-ish, but many of the clues and fill seemed much more mid-to-late-week to me. Not that the puzzle was that hard overall; it really wasn't. It's just that a few of them kind of surprised me. Still, I liked the puzzle just fine.

Thanks for listening.

- Pete M.

Friday, September 12, 2008

Title: How Offensive!
Author: Mark Feldman
Theme: Positions on a football offense.

• 17a: Container with hooks (TACKLE BOX).


• 25a: Shepherds, sometimes (GUARD DOGS).


• 52a: Game-starting face-off's spot (CENTER ICE).


• 63a: Gymnast's maneuvers (BACK FLIPS). The backs, of course, tend to be specialized. You have fullbacks, halfbacks/tailbacks, and quarterbacks, so named because of their relative distances behind the line of scrimmage at the start of a play. If the halfback lines up behind the fullback, he is called a tailback, but it's the same responsibility (runs, short catches, occasional blocking).


• 3d: Public officer in charge of the treasury (RECEIVER GENERAL).


• 11d: Highway sign (END CONSTRUCTION).

This theme is well-timed to the start of the NFL season, and highlights the all-important-but-often-unsung offensive line -- center, guards, tackles, and ends. Six theme entries, with two 15s each crossing two of the other theme entries, is a nice touch.

Sunny Spots:

In lieu of the traditional "Sunny Spots" today, I bring you "An American Love Story":

• 43a: 2002 Mel Gibson movie (SIGNS).


• 35a: Moves ahead slowly (NOSES).


• 61a: Strike a chord, perhaps (STRUM).


• 25d: Vittles (GRUB).


• 65d: Hydrotherapy locale (SPA).


• 8d: "___ Healing" (1982 Marvin Gaye hit) (SEXUAL).


• 56d: Swell (BULGE).


• 37d: Lobby piece (SOFA).


• 4d: Unvarnished (NAKED).


• 46d: Close to the hour (TEN OF).


• 49d: Call of the wild? (TIMBER).


• 5a: A follower, sometimes (PLUS).


• 27d: Leaves speechless (AWES).


• 60d: Nimble (SPRY).


• 47a: "Weird Al" Yankovic's first hit (EAT IT).


• 63a: Gymnast's maneuvers (BACKFLIPS).


• 5d: Request (PLEA).


• 24a: Altar utterance (I DO).


• 2d: Time passages (ERAS).


• 53d: Add-on (EXTRA).


• 1d: Excess (FAT).


• 26d: Flag (DROOP).


• 20a: "Ta-ta!" (SEE YA).

Sundries:

• 1a: Everglades plant (FERN). Don't ferns pretty much grow anywhere? Don't other things grow in the Everglades besides ferns?


• 9a: Ego maniac? (FREUD). Trying a little too hard to be cute here.


• 23a: "House Call" network (CNN).


• 27a: Tom Swifty wd. (ADV). "This coffee is cold!", Tom said icily.


• 32a: Gets rid of (WEEDS OUT). Good one.


• 38a: River through La Rioja (EBRO). Crossword staple.


• 39a: Novel whose four parts are titled "The Plaintiff," "The Defendants," "Brief to Counsel," and "The Trial" (QB VII). By Leon Uris.



• 42a: Driver of Bart and Lisa's school bus (OTTO).


• 45a: U. faculty member's title (ASST. PROF.). This is kind of ugly for an eight-letter fill, don't you think?


• 47a: "Weird Al" Yankovic's first hit (EAT IT). A parody, of course, of Michael Jackson's "Beat It". See the video here.


• 58a: Staff note (MEMO). Trying to sound musical in the clue, but I wasn't biting.


• 59a: Racetrack figures (TOUTS). This one was only vaguely familiar to me. Apparently, it's someone who dishes out advice on bets.


• 61a: Strike a chord, perhaps (STRUM). This one actually was musical.


• 68a: Hiker's snack (GORP). I guess people found "trail mix" too hard to say. Cool word, though.


• 69a: It often gets dressed in the kitchen (SALAD). Cute.


• 70a: Symbols of density (RHOS).


• 71a: "Anywhere Is" singer (ENYA). Got to go to the list of four-letter singers... CHER? No. SADE? No. DIDO? No. ENYA? Bingo!



• 6d: Smash preceder, maybe (LOB). Tennis.


• 12d: Not clean (USING). Ah yes, the requisite drug reference.


• 22d: III, to a modern Roman (TRE).


• 25d: Vittles (GRUB). Both of these words are just very cool.


• 30d: Poule's counterpart (COQ). What? You don't know your French farm animals? Poule is hen.


• 40d: "The Lake ___ of Innisfree" (Yeats poem) (ISLE).


• 41d: Suffix with sulphur (ISE). This is just icky.


• 44d: Dammed up (STEMMED).


• 49d: Call of the wild? (TIMBER). "Oh, I'm a lumberjack and I'm okay..."




• 54d: "Skip" (COACH). Short for "Skipper", what you might call your coach.


• 64d: "The ___ Show" (VH1 reality show) (CHO). I know this from crosswords only.

Suns of Bitches:

• 19a: Ashley's sister in "Gone With the Wind" (INDIA). This is guessable to a point (I guessed correctly), but crossing it with 9d: "Life So Far" memoirist (FRIEDAN) and 10d: Sen fraction (RIN) is just mean.


• 7d: Samoan island where Robert Louis Stevenson died (UPOLU).


• 28d: Mazar of "GoodFellas" (DEBI).


• 33d: Costar of "The 39 Steps" (DONAT).

Not too much else to say here. A good friday puzzle (as opposed to a Good Friday puzzle, which would be a whole different thing), with a nice theme. Today's my 21st anniversary, and I'd just like to say that the "love story" above was completely inspired by the puzzle itself and is not intended to be autobiographical in any significant way.

Thanks for listening.

- Pete M.

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Title: Themeless Thursday
Author: Karen M. Tracey
Theme: None

Sunny Spots:

• 20a: Luddite's organizational aid (INDEX CARD). Luddite's eschew technology. Excellent clue and fill.


• 14d: It might burn a hole in your pocket (READY CASH). Kind of easy, but very pretty.


• 30d: Cryptozoology subject (SASQUATCH). Love it. Do you suppose it's coincidence that it's so near to HENDERSON 32d: Baseball's all-time leader in steals, evoking the film "Harry and the Hendersons"?.

Sundries:

• 1a: Groom (STABLE MAN).



• 10a: Eberhard ___ (pencil brand) (FABER). Awww... give me a Dean Wormer clue any day.


• 16a: In concert (AS ONE).


• 17a: Device that measures work performed (ERGOMETER). If you know ergs are units of work, then this is not too hard to figure out.


• 18a: National forest in Utah (UINTA). I've run into this one before, so it fell more easily than it otherwise might have.


• 19a: Blow away, maybe (ERODE).


• 22a: Fountain of jazz (PETE). One of the greats on clarinet.




• 23a: First name of Billy Crystal's character on "Soap" (JODIE). "Soap" was a show that took chances. Well before its time.


• 24a: Alter (SPAY). Ouch.


• 25a: Be unfair? (RAIN). My first thought was FOUL, but this is actually better.


• 27a: Surf alternative (ERA). Detergent brands.


• 30a: Rifts (SCHISMS). Great word. Straightforward clue.


• 35a: Pianist Templeton and others (ALECS). I guess this one's a shout out to those who think clues these days are too modern.


• 36a: Some Art Deco collectibles (ERTES). Standard crossword fare.


• 42a: Peter Parnell play about physicist Richard Feynman (QED). Didn't know it, but it was easy enough to figure, once I had the Q.


• 43a: T, e.g. (TOP). As in shirt, I suppose.



• 44a: "The Destroyer" adventure series hero Williams (REMO).


• 47a: Reese's "Pleasantville" costar (TOBEY Maguire).


• 53a: Execrable (ATROCIOUS).


• 56a: Unit equal to one billion gammas (TESLA).


• 57a: Don't stop (KEEP GOING).


• 60a: HBO series about movie star Vincent Chase (ENTOURAGE).


• 61a: Dr. Heimlich of Heimlich maneuver fame (HENRY).


• 2d: Dodgers hiree of 2007 (Joe TORRE). I'm no fan of the Yankees, but I thought the way they let Torre walk away was disgraceful.


• 3d: Computerese, e.g. (ARGOT).


• 4d: "Brighton Beach Memoirs" Tony winner (Matthew BRODERICK).



• 5d: Key fruit (LIME). Mmmm... Key lime pie.


• 11d: "Sound mind, sound body" shoe company (ASICS). Name a shoe company that fits. I don't recall this phrase.


• 13d: Intermissions (ENTR'ACTES).


• 21d: Chair designer Aarnio (EERO). Oh, my! Another EERO.


• 23d: Good name for a phys ed teacher (JIM). Ugh.



• 34d: Some hospital figures, briefly (E.R. DOCTORS).


• 38d: Naan alternative (ROTI). Both styles of Indian bread.


• 39d: Made uneasy (SPOOKED).


• 40d: Car radio conveniences (PRESETS).


• 51d: 1964 #1 hit for Lorne Greene (RINGO).




• 52d: Their numbers are in the book (PAGES).


• 54d: Encrusted (CAKY).

Suns of Bitches:

• 33a: "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" musical (ROBERTA). I don't my musicals. If it's not standard stuff like "Oklahoma" or "Music Man" I'm lost. This one's from 1933.


• 40a: Division of India (PRADESH). Okay.


• 62a: "Manhattan Transfer" novelist (DOS PASSOS). The crossings with BUENO and ARIAS were both a little sketchy for me, but I guessed correctly.


• 12d: "Golden Boy" protagonist Joe (BONAPARTE). Another oldie. This one from a 1939 film based on an Odets play.


• 48d: Three-time Wimbledon winner Maria (BUENO). I should probably know this, but I don't. Margaret Court and Billie Jean King are the only names I recall from that era of women's tennis.


• 50d: Costa Rican president Óscar (ARIAS).

This puzzle has plenty of pop culture in it, but when Remo Williams and "Soap" are among the more current references, it makes the whole thing feel a little... well... old, I guess. Alec Templeton, "Roberta", "Ringo", "Golden Boy", Maria Bueno, "Manhattan Transfer", even Pete Fountain has been around forever. Sure, we've got Matthew Broderick and Tobey Maguire, but that's about it for this century. Overall, the puzzle was fine. Tough in spots -- the SW was the last to fall for me -- but generally fair. It just felt like it was dipping back into the before-I-was-born time a little more than I would prefer.

Thanks for listening.

- Pete M.

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Title: E Before I
Author: Richard and Judith Martin
Theme: Phrases where the I and E in a key word are reversed. I think you can suss out the original phrases without me spelling them out...

• 17a: What you'll see if you watch "Raging Bull" followed by "Taxi Driver" followed by "The King of Comedy"? (MUCHO DE NIRO). Love "Taxi Driver". One of my all-time favorite films. Apparently, the famous mirror scene was a complete ad lib by De Niro; the script just read "Travis looks in the mirror".




• 24a: Where to buy "G.I. Jane" and "Striptease"? (DEMI STORE).


• 35a: Sign at the Three Seasons Hotel? (NO SPRING CHECKIN). Love this one. Best entry in the puzzle.


• 49a: Not quite half a score of jeans? (NINE LEVIS).



• 58a: Where a Russian revolutionary leader kept his coats? (LENIN CLOSET). This was a gimme. Almost too easy.

This theme hooked me on the first entry. My only mild complaint is that the first two theme entries use movie titles to refer to movie stars, a pattern that does not even come close to continuing. My even milder complaint is that NINE LIVES contains two words that could have been changed, but only one was. This seems vaguely arbitrary, but let me reiterate -- these are really, really minor beefs. On the whole, this theme really made me smile. And that's the measure of success that matters most to me.

Sunny Spots:

• 38d: Writer in "The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test" (KEN KESEY). "In", not "of". The book was written by Tom Wolfe. Ken Kesey, of course, wrote "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest".

Sundries:

• 1a: Cotillion presentees (DEBS). Is this a bygone tradition, or do people still do these? I've never seen it, but I'm a New England hick.



• 11a: Dr. Seuss story about stubbornness, with "The" (ZAX). When you need good Scrabbly letters in a short word, Dr. Seuss is your man.


• 15a: "Wanna bet?" (OH YEAH). Not as colorful as the recent musical reference.



• 16a: Samara dropper (ELM). I had know idea what a samara was, so I was torn between ELM and ELK. If 13d had baffled me, I might have been in trouble. But it didn't. Turns out samara are those winged seeds, like maple trees also have. Who knew they had a name?


• 20a: Seoul brothers? (KOREANS). Cute.


• 29a: Dupes (DITTOS). I remember in grade school, when we used to get copies off a mimeograph machine (I can still recall the fresh ink smell), they called them "dittos". I'm not sure if there was a reason this term was used for that technology, but I can't say that I've heard it used since copiers took over.


• 31a: Kettledrums (TIMPANI). I played them in high school.


• 46a: Candle bracket (SCONCE). Good word.


• 53a: Liam's role in "Schindler's List" (OSKAR).


• 62a: Crimson rival (ELI). Harvard v. Yale.


• 63a: County seat in west Texas (ODESSA). This seems to show up a lot. More often than it probably should.


• 64a: Campbell of "Panic" (NEVE).



• 66a: Wildcatter's dream (GUSHER). Wildcatter is not a term I'm familiar with. I was assuming it was a reference to whitewater rafting, but no, it's an exploratory oil driller. This actually made for a tough cross at 58d: Birling need (LOG), if you didn't know that birling was a log-rolling sport. I didn't recall it off the top, but it clicked when I was running possibilities through my head.


• 67a: Put highlights in, say (DYED).


• 4d: Train (SCHOOL).


• 5d: Olympic skier Miller (BODE). It's Miller time, I guess, as we also have 44d: Fashion designer Miller (NICOLE).


• 7d: "Blue Skies, No Fences" memoirist Cheney (LYNNE).


• 8d: Jefferson's belief (DEISM).


• 9d: Hammer home? (EAR). Good clue.


• 11d: Fanatic (ZEALOT).


• 12d: Like some guards (ALL-PRO).


• 13d: Opening days? (XMASES). Even with the '?', it would be nice to get an indicator that we're dealing with a shorthand spelling.


• 21d: Top story? (ATTIC). I don't see the need for the '?' here.


• 22d: Severn feeder (AVON). My first thought was AARE. How sick is that?



• 23d: Snorkasaurus of cartoons (DINO). From "The Flintstones".


• 25d: Good bakers (IDAHOS). Potatoes.


• 26d: ___ qua non (SINE).


• 28d: Withhold (STIFLE).


• 32d: Like Scriabin's Symphony No. 1 (IN E). We already had ENE as a suffix, thus this more obscure cluing.


• 33d: Diamond head: Abbr. (MGR). Reference to a baseball manager. I think this one deserves the '?' more than "Top story". How about you?


• 34d: Part of APR (PCT). Quibble: APR is Annual Percentage Rate. PCT is short for "percent", not "percentage".


• 36d: Act the fop (PREEN).


• 37d: Brazilian coin (REAL). Tough clue for an easy word.


• 39d: Centuries-ago speaker of Quechua (INCA).


• 45d: Trap, as by a winter storm (SNOW IN).



• 48d: "Soldier of Love" singer Donny (OSMOND).


• 50d: Fan blades (VANES).


• 51d: 1977 #1 hit for Stevie Wonder (I WISH). From "Songs in the Key of Life". Hear it here.


• 56d: Cicatrix (SCAR).



• 60d: Wall-E's love interest in "Wall-E" (EVE). Didn't know it, but it fell easily. Sorry about the naked photo, but she is a hot one, isn't she?


• 61d: Cubs pitcher Lilly (TED). I wouldn't have known him if he hadn't pitched in the American League for years.

Suns of Bitches:

• 30a: Yellow solid (ONE). I will readily admit that I couldn't figure this one out. And I adore pool, too. I have a really nice custom McDermott cue and everything. I had to ask Amy over at Diary of a Crossword Fiend what this one meant. If I wasn't so sure that DINO was correct, I would have gone with ORE here, which at least made some semblance of sense to me. Now I get it, but man that seems tough for a Wednesday, especially with no context in the clue. I'm going to blame it on the fact that I never refer to pool balls as "stripes" and "solids", but rather as "high" and "low". Yeah, that's it...

All in all, a decent Wednesday with a cute theme. Not a ton of sizzling fill, but a pleasant puzzle nonetheless.

Thanks for listening.

- Pete M.

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Title: Radiohead
Author: Caleb Madison
Theme: Rock bands with names that include facial features.

• 20a: "She Don't Use Jelly" band (THE FLAMING LIPS). Not my favorite song by these guys, but here it is in case you missed it. I much prefer "Ego Tripping at the Gates of Hell" off the "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots" album.




• 34a: "All Star" band (SMASH MOUTH). Big radio hit here, but again I think the rest of the album was better. Judge for yourself. Compare it to, say, this.


• 42a: "Lua" band (BRIGHT EYES). This one I didn't know off the top, but I've heard of the band. Even if I hadn't, it's a reasonable enough name to figure out.


• 53a: Confronting unpleasant consequences of one's actions (and a hint to this puzzle's theme) (FACING THE MUSIC).

This is nice, modern theme by 15-year-old Caleb Madison, who made his constructing debut with the New York Times this past May. I like that the title is also the name of a band.

Sunny Spots:

• 25a: With 6-Down, figure on a controversial New Yorker cover of July 2008 (BARACK / OBAMA). I'm not going to reprint the picture here. If you haven't seen it, it's easy enough to find. In order to be effective, satire has to be unmistakeable. Cut a little too close to people's actual perceptions and you walk a dangerous path.


• 1d: Hit video game set on an island (MYST). This was a such a unique game, with no shooting and no hype. A real groundbreaker.


• 9d: Painter of "The Starry Night" (VAN GOGH). I will always be reminded of the gorgeous Don McLean song when I think of Van Gogh.





• 25d: Ian's role in "The Fellowship of the Ring" and "The Return of the King" (BILBO). This is a little tricky in that the Ian with the most prominent role was Ian McKellen, who played Gandalf. Ian Holm played Bilbo Baggins. Still, I love all things Tolkein, so it's fine by me.

Sundries:

• 1a: 1968 massacre site (MY LAI). Kind of brutal to start off at 1-across with a massacre, but we'll let it slide.


• 6a: One of five Norwegian kings (OLAV). Sometimes it's OLAF, so you have to check the crossing.


• 16a: Iolani Palace's island (OAHU).


• 17a: "Coming of Age in ___" (Margaret Mead book) (SAMOA).


• 23a: Sistan and Baluchestan is its largest province (IRAN).


• 24a: Gut reaction? (OOF). Cute. Goes well with 37d: Reaction to a slap on the wrist, maybe (OUCH).


• 33a: Beatnik's "Gotcha" (I DIG).


• 41a: Less tentative (SURER). Blatant filler. Nobody says they were surer about something.



• 45a: Poodle pal of Clifford the Big Red Dog (CLEO).


• 46a: Subj. of the book "The Meaning of Everything" (OED). Oxford English Dictionary. Of course, as a crossword fanatic you knew that.


• 47a: Onetime singing partner of Paul (ART). Reference to Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel.




• 48a: Title character in a Robert Louis Stevenson book (MR HYDE).


• 51a: Posthumous Pulitzer winner James (AGEE). People whose last names contain 70% vowels live forever in puzzles. Get to know them.


• 60a: 2002 A.L. Cy Young Award winner Barry (ZITO).


• 5d: Bold alternative (ITALIC). Nice clue.


• 7d: "Rosemary's Baby" author Ira (LEVIN).


• 10d: Artistic theme (MOTIF).


• 21d: Torah containers (ARKS). If you don't know this from the Bible, you should know it from "Raiders of the Lost Ark".


• 32d: Paroxysm (THROE). Love both words, the clue and the answer.


• 36d: Sedaris of "Strangers With Candy" (AMY). The name sounds vaguely familiar. Maybe.


• 39d: Puppeteer Lewis (SHARI).


• 43d: "Smokey and the Bandit" ride (TRANS AM).


• 44d: Hand for Hook (SMEE). I played Smee in a middle school production of "Peter Pan", back in the mid-70s.



• 51d: Muscleman Charles (ATLAS). Hero of comic-book-reading nerds and geeks everywhere.


• 53d: Paul Bunyan's dog (FIDO). Logical, even if you didn't know it.


• 54d: The whole shebang (A TO Z).


• 55d: County in east-central Arizona (GILA). It's a river and a monster, it might as well be a county as well.


• 58d: Character who said "You used to be a much better liar, Sam" (ILSA). Of "Casablanca".

Suns of Bitches:

None, for the second day in a row. This is probably a record.

I really liked this puzzle, mostly because I'm big into music and this puzzle was full of direct and indirect references to some phenomenal tunes. Not much else that hasn't already been said. Would that all Tuesday's were this enjoyable.

Thanks for listening.

- Pete M.

Monday, September 8, 2008

Title: Space Balls
Author: Ogden Porter (Peter Gordon)
Theme: Phrases that contain dwarf planets.

• 17a: Witches (SORCERESSES).



• 11d: Loose Brie, for example (SPOONERISM). My favorite clue in the whole puzzle. Spoonerisms are the juxtaposition of initial consonant sounds or blends. In this case, the play is on Bruce Lee.


• 28d: Government by the wealthy (PLUTOCRACY).


• 62a: One can be found in 17-Across and 11- and 28-Down (DWARF PLANET).

An apt Monday theme. Perhaps a touch obscure for some, but I liked it fine.

Sunny Spots:

Nothing in the fill really matches the Loose Brie clue for me, but there are quite a few nice Scrabbly fills:

• 23a: The Street of the Lifted ___ (Dr. Seuss story setting) (LORAX).


• 25a: Pointedly criticizes (ZINGS).


• 24d: Photocopies (XEROXES). Nice to see a two-X word on a Monday.


• 10d: Blew up, perhaps (RESIZED). Good clue.

Sundries:

• 5a: Plate in a furnace that regulates the draft (DAMPER).


• 20a: Big name in art glass (STEUBEN). A little tough for a Monday, but fair enough.


• 26a: Golf green gimme (TAP IN).


• 39a: "All ___ the Watchtower" (Jimi Hendrix hit) (ALONG). Unbelievably, this Dylan cover is the only Hendrix song that hit the top 40. He was truly a man before his time.




• 46a: Centenarian, e.g. (OLDSTER).


• 49a: One-___ bandit (ARMED). Aka, slot machine. Or, in Britain, fruit machine.


• 64a: "Cars" character voiced by Paul Newman (DOC). Wouldn't have known this, but I never even saw the clue.


• 65a: Mexican restaurant dish (TAMALE).


• 67a: Maxwell Smart, e.g. (SPY).



• 69a: Thing poked by a voodooist (DOLL).


• 5d: Adventurous person (DARER). Eh. You know I'm not crazy about these forced -ER words.


• 7d: "McCabe & ___ Miller" (1971 Robert Altman film) (MRS). Didn't know this right off, but what else could it be?


• 8d: City across the Ligurian Sea from Nice (PISA). Name a four-letter city that starts with P. Actually, my days playing Diplomacy didn't hurt on this one.


• 9d: Penultimate fairy tale word (EVER). ...and they lived happily ever after.



• 12d: Bornean ape, for short (ORANG).


• 30d: Café ___ leche (CON). I think this is the Spanish equivalent of café au lait. Correct me if I'm wrong.


• 31d: Sauce brand with an accent mark (RAGÙ).


• 37d: Remain unsettled (PEND). Tricky clue for a Monday, but I like it.


• 40d: "Live and ___ Die" (LET). Great James Bond film, with a great theme song by Paul McCartney. You know what Beatle's song I always thought would be a great Bond theme? "Happiness is a Warm Gun".


• 53d: One suffering from Hansen's disease (LEPER). Kind of gross, but there's a twisted tie-in here. John Valby, aka "Dr. Dirty", does a parody of the Beatle's song "Yesterday" that starts: "Leprosy. All my skin is falling off of me. I'm not half the man I used to be...". Funny stuff, in a sick, twisted kind of way. If you've seen him, you know what I'm talking about.

Suns of Bitches:

None.

This one felt a little tougher than your typical Monday, but maybe it's because I was in a hurry. What do you think? Overall, I liked the puzzle fine, but I find there's just not much to talk about. If I've missed something obvious, I have no doubt you guys will pick up the slack.

Thanks for listening.

- Pete M.

Friday, September 5, 2008

Title: Weekend Warrior
Author: Byron Walden
Theme: None. Or, torture the solver.

Sunny Spots:

• 1a: Locale of a rank with medallions (CAB STAND). Very tricky clue. But nice.


• 28a: Drunk tank settings (LOCAL JAILS).


• 59a: Enter tentatively (PENCIL IN). Excellent. I never realized how close this was to PENICILLIN.


• 13d: Yards of ale, e.g. (TALL ONES). Which goes well with 10d: Knocks back (CHUGS), and less pleasantly with 47d: Foul-tasting (SKUNKY).


• 14d: Hung cover? (SHE BANGS). Ah yes, the notorious William Hung from "Americal Idol" season three.




• 37d: Queen, e.g. (GLAM BAND).

Sundries:

• 9a: Big N' Tasty forerunners (MCDLTS). I've been caught by this one before, I'm pretty sure, as I had vague sense of deja vu while entering my guess of McBLT, which actually made some sense to me. I don't remember this sandwich at all. I was in Montreal in the early 80s, so maybe it didn't reach there.


• 15a: Inland Sea arm (OSAKA BAY).


• 16a: Yello song heard in the closing credits of "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" (OH YEAH). You know the song. Hear it here.


• 17a: In a sauce of tomatoes, mushrooms, shredded meat, truffles, and grated cheese (MILANESE).


• 18a: Grab someone else's head? (RUSTLE). Cute. Reference to head of cattle.


• 23a: ___ button (malfunctioning missile destroyer) (EGADS). This is nothing I've ever heard of, but it sort of makes sense. When is this term used? I've read and seen enough thrillers that I would have thought I'd have come across this before.


• 26a: Disease for which riluzole received FDA approval in 1995 (ALS). Lou Gehrig's disease. Very nasty (the disease, not the clue).


• 27a: Long, on Lanai (LOA). I've seen this one before.


• 32a: World headquarters of DHL (BONN).


• 33a: Wheel (TRUNDLE).


• 34a: Certain blood type, briefly (A-NEG).


• 35a: Coffin nails (CIGS). You gotta love nicknames that remind you of the fact that you're killing yourself by smoking.


• 41a: "No prob" (THAT'S OK).



• 44a: Brad Pitt title role (JESSE JAMES). I like Brad Pitt, but have never seen this film. Anyone out there have an opinion on it?


• 48a: Personal abbr. (SWM). There are a lot of abbreviations that could go here, so it wasn't that helpful.


• 50a: Carroll creature (SNARK).


• 51a: ___ Energy (Red Bull rival) (TAB).


• 52a: Rival of Nancy and Tonya (OKSANA Baiul).


• 57a: Gold medalist at the Atlanta Olympics (AGASSI).


• 62a: Northern region of Vietnam (TONKIN).


• 63a: Pipe to a waterwheel (PENSTOCK). This word is vaguely familiar. I could have sworn I've seen it in a puzzle, but the Cruciverb database says no, unless it's too recent to have been added yet.


• 65a: TV host whose first name is spelled by the first and last letters of his surname (TREADWAY). Ty has been in a couple of puzzles of late, so this came readily to mind this time around.


• 2d: Parmesan alternative (ASIAGO). Went with ROMANO at first, then realized it had to be wrong when I read the clue to 56-across.



• 3d: Rodin sculpture subject (BALZAC). If you got the BAL and didn't immediately enter BALLET, then you did better than I did.


• 4d: ___ punk (Mighty Mighty Bosstones genre) (SKA).


• 8d: Used madder or woad, say (DYED). I knew woad was used as a blue dye. Don't know about madder.


• 9d: Subject for Scottish philosopher David Hume (MORAL SENSE).


• 11d: Opposite of eu- (DYS-).


• 12d: Not even considering (LET ALONE).


• 21d: Glockenspiel players (MALLETS).



• 24d: Fairlady, for one (DATSUN). Didn't know this at all. Guessed it after several crossings.


• 29d: "I didn't mean it" (JUST JOKING).


• 30d: Israel's "Hatikvah" and others (ANTHEMS).


• 32d: Southeastern European (BALKAN).


• 35d: System for Chico and Stanislaus (CAL STATE). I don't mind tough clues, but I like to be able to make sense of them after they fall. I don't know who these people are, nor in what sense "system" is being used here. Maybe I'm just slow.


• 36d: Old cold block mover (ICE WAGON). I knew it was ICE-something. WAGON is as good as anything, though my first guess was TONGS.


• 45d: Family that includes okra (MALLOW).


• 46d: Symphony on Norman Bates's phonograph in "Psycho" (EROICA). Let's face it, not that many symphonys have names.


• 49d: Soldering flux material (ROSIN).


• 53d: Physical need?: Abbr. (APPT). Great, tricky clue.

Suns of Bitches:

• 19a: Gordimer's predecessor as Literature Nobelist (PAZ).


• 20a: Stuff, e.g. (LADMAG). Huh? This is not a term I've ever heard anywhere. And, unfortunately for me, LADING fit the clue perfectly.


• 38a: "The Feast of St. Nicholas" painter (STEEN).



• 56a: Romano who voiced Linguini in "Ratatouille" (LOU). Are you kidding me? This guy is a member of the Pixar art department with a couple of voice-overs to his credit. I'm sorry, that doesn't make him crossword-worthy in my book. This clue did, however, make me realize that 2-down wasn't ROMANO.

Wow, this was a Byron Walden through and through. Usually, I'm on the right wavelength and don't struggle too terribly. Not today. This puzzle chewed me up and spit me onto the sidewalk. So many traps and potential missteps, and I fell into most of them. And just downright tough fill, to go along with typically deceptive cluing. Now, this was a Weekend Warrior, which is supposed to be hard, so I'll just say it succeeded with flying colors and tip my hat.

Thanks for listening.

- Pete M.

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Title: Rid Iron
Author: Justin Smith
Theme: Remove the first letter from NFL football team names.

• 17a: Woes of an animal on the range? (BUFFALO ILLS).


• 36a: Things that hear "All That Jazz" and "Cell Block Tango"? (CHICAGO EARS).


• 58a: Charged items of a "Guys and Dolls" guy? (DETROIT IONS).

The title is a cute play on "grid iron", which plays to the football theme, but I was annoyed that the first two theme answers dropped a 'B' and the third one dropped an 'L'. It offends my sense of balance and consistency. When I read the title, I assumed we'd be dropping "FE"; then I got the first two and couldn't figure out what 'B' had to do with iron. Then I got the last one and was just hugely disappointed by the whole thing.

Sunny Spots:

• 2d: "I Wanna ___" (Karen Kaufman Orloff children's book) (IGUANA).



• 11d: Snellen charts can be used in them (EYE EXAMS).


• 29d: In need of a shower? (SAHARAN). Good clue.


• 38d: Orange Monopoly property (ST JAMES). Monopoly clues are fine by me. Classic game, that I haven't played in years.


• 59d: Phrase that could end a single life (I DO). Cute.

Sundries:

• 1a: Quinceañera celebration, e.g. (FIESTA).


• 14a: Snow half-globes? (IGLOOS).


• 15a: Dome light? (HALO).



• 19a: Fashion model Herzigova (EVA).


• 21a: Sweat spot (PORE). My first instinct was BROW.


• 22a: Bridle strap (REIN). That's bridle, not bridal. Don't get any ideas!


• 26a: Neutered (UNSEXED). This is horrible. DESEXED, sure. But UNSEXED??!!? Please!


• 28a: Dashes in a code (DAHS). Morse Code - dits and dahs.


• 30a: Pair of deuces? (PIPS). As in a pair that is found on deuces.


• 33a: Jung's inner self (ANIMA).


• 38a: Rawboned people (SCRAGS). New one on me.


• 42a: C. in C. (PRES). Commander in Chief. I couldn't parse this until after I had the answer.



• 43a: Tim Duncan, for one (SPUR). The no-longer-world-champion NBA San Antonio Spurs.


• 47a: 1994 role for Winona Ryder (JO MARCH). From "Little Women".


• 49a: T man? (REF). This is pushing it a bit. A technical foul in basketball is called a "T", which refs can give out. Ugh.


• 52a: 1954 Heisman Trophy winner Ameche (ALAN). You've got enough sports references already; pick another ALAN.


• 55a: Put down stakes (ANTED).


• 61a: Bohr model depiction (ATOM).


• 1d: Told a taradiddle (FIBBED).


• 3d: Spritelike (ELFISH).


• 5d: One who's doomed, in slang (TOAST).


• 6d: It might be used by a manualist: Abbr. (ASL). A manualist is one who used sign language.



• 8d: Large pinniped (WALRUS). Come on, there's GOT to be a more interesting way to clue WALRUS than this. This feels like a Eugene T. Maleska clue.


• 10d: Song sung by Sam and Donna in "Mamma Mia!" (SOS). Name an Abba song in three letters.


• 12d: Casino on the Vegas Strip (RIVIERA).


• 13d: Cyclist's wear (SPANDEX).


• 18d: Kia model (OPTIMA).


• 27d: Bar food (SALAD). I.e., from a salad bar.


• 31d: Motorola product (PAGER).


• 34d: Neighbor of Benin (NIGER).


• 36d: Ready for inurnment (CREMATED).


• 39d: Polk's fatal affliction (CHOLERA).


• 42d: Light quantum (PHOTON).


• 44d: Cant (PATOIS).


• 46d: Dahlak Archipelago surrounder (RED SEA).


• 48d: Iráklion is its capital (CRETE).


• 50d: Karmic (FATED).

[yawn]

Suns of Bitches:

• 9d: Pompeo of "Grey's Anatomy" (ELLEN). Never saw the show.

You know, some puzzles just hit you right and some don't. This one didn't. My disappointment in the theme was exacerbated by clues that seemed to fall into two categories: overly cutesy or drudgingly dry. Sure, there were a few bright spots sprinkled in, but overall there's not too much to say. I'd just as soon forget about this one and move on to tomorrow. As a matter of fact, I think I will.

Thanks for listening.

- Pete M.

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Title: Oppositely
Author: Daniel A. Finan
Theme: Phrases in the form "adverb adjective", where the adjective form of the adverb has a meaning that appears to be the opposite of the adjective in the phrases, accentuated by the fact that the adverb, as used, does not have this opposite meaning. Hard to explain, but easy to understand when you see it.

• 17a: Like a pillow that's not at all comfortable? (HARDLY SOFT).



• 27a: Like steak orders at bad steakhouses? (RARELY WELL DONE). This one seems a touch different in that the surface meaning of "well done" is not the opposite of rare. In fact, if you are of the opinion (as I am) that steak cooked well-done is ruined, then the clue might better read "Like steak orders at good steakhouses". If you like beef, check out the Beef Aficionado blog.


• 42a: Like a game that isn't much of a nail-biter? (FAIRLY ONE-SIDED).


• 56a: Like a ham's performance? (REALLY FAKE).

This is a nice theme, especially for what appears to be a constructing debut for Mr. Finan. What makes it cool is that it's not at all contrived. It just makes reference to the natural ambiguities of the English language, which is one of the purest forms of wordplay, in my opinion.

Sunny Spots:

• 47a: It's in the National Toy Hall of Fame (PLAY-DOH). Great stuff. As I recall, it's not something you want to leave in your pants pocket and run through the wash. Neither is Silly Putty.



• 21a: Lens choice (FISH-EYE). Used in cameras, not eye-glasses. Though that might be interesting. It would certainly enhance your peripheral vision.


• 38d: Belly areas (MIDRIFFS). So, are there upper and lower riffs, too? Inquiring minds want to know.

Sundries:

• 1a: Between the sheets (ABED). Nothing that ended in -ING would fit... ;-)


• 5a: Dubya preceder (BUBBA). Informal poll. Do you consider either or both of these nicknames to be derogatory? Or are they just good-natured shorthands?



• 10a: There might be cheese at the end of it (MAZE). Mmmm... cheese.


• 14a: Sacramento's ___ Arena (ARCO).


• 16a: Its in-flight magazine is Atmosphere (EL AL). No, you're not supposed to know this, but you are supposed to figure out that an airline in four letters is probably EL AL.


• 26a: Nassau County hwy. (L.I.E.). Long Island Expressway.


• 33a: Game box insert (RULES).


• 37a: Eponym of the trophy for the NFC champion (HALAS). The first of two old-time football names, along with 52d: Football Hall of Famer Sayers (GALE).



• 38a: Wearer of white gloves (MIME). Who doesn't love a mime?


• 40a: Airline in "Catch Me if You Can" (PAN AM). 5-letter airlines are usually either PAN AM or US AIR.


• 46a: Urethane, e.g. (ESTER).


• 60a: Pick up the tab (TREAT).


• 61a: Contract (FLEX). Sometimes the short clues are the trickiest.


• 62a: Jolts with juice (ZAPS).


• 63a: Physicist who's an eponym of a frequency unit (HERTZ).


• 1d: Spa sounds (AAHS). Cheap filler.


• 2d: Dog alternative at a barbecue (BRAT). Can we just combine this with yesterday's clue: "Dog babysitter's alternative challenge at a barbecue"?


• 3d: Brown shade (ECRU).


• 4d: One who's shaking (DODDERER). It's not that it's a terrible word, as -ER words go. It just seems like a waste of a good long entry. These are the secondary fills that you really want to inject with some sizzle.


• 5d: Perfume aromatic (BAY OIL). I assume this is what's in Bay Rum?


• 8d: Belly laugh (BOFF). Ummm... huh. That's not how I've heard the word used.


• 9d: "Lesser" or "Greater" Caribbean islands (ANTILLES). See comment on 4d, above.


• 10d: Worked nicely together (MESHED).


• 12d: Screwball (ZANY).



• 18d: Feline ennead (LIVES). An ennead is a group of nine. What do cats have nine of?


• 22d: It can be corny (SILO). Ugh.


• 24d: 1994 Best Musical nominee (CYRANO). I've never seen it, but there weren't many viable options that fit the letter pattern.


• 25d: Like some highways (TWO-LANE).


• 27d: Cuban dance (RUMBA).


• 28d: Out (ALIBI). Good clue.


• 29d: "Daniel Boone" actor (ED AMES).


• 32d: Maaing mamas (EWES). Baaaaa-ad.


• 33d: Scubaing place (REEF). This wasn't hard, but man does "scubaing" look weird as a word.



• 37d: "The Love Goddess" of Hollywood (Rita HAYWORTH).


• 41d: Passionate (FIERY).


• 43d: Rap's Busta ___ (RHYMES).


• 44d: Star of "Mask" (Eric STOLTZ). Not to be confused with "The Mask", with Jim Carrey, which is a whole different film.


• 47d: Biz bigwig (PREZ).


• 48d: Princess of sci-fi (LEIA).


• 53d: Furniture chain founded by Ingvar Kamprad (IKEA). Is there another furniture chain that you've seen in crosswords? I didn't think so.

Suns of Bitches:

• 59a: "Waiting for Snow in Havana" author Carlos (EIRE). This is not a clue I recall seeing for this common fill.

This is a decent puzzle with a very nice theme. It would have benefitted from a couple of snazzier long down fills, which would have livened up the puzzle considerably, but it's not bad as it is. Just a little run-of-the-mill in spots.

Thanks for listening.

- Pete M.

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Title: Look Ma, No Hans!
Author: Randall J. Hartman
Theme: Removing HAN from phrases.

• Hannah Montana => "NAH, MONTANA" (
• 17a: "Ain't Helena the capital of Idaho?" reply?).


• Hanover, Germany => OVER GERMANY (30a: Like a plane with a view of the Bavarian Alps?).


• Handel's Messiah => DEL'S MESSIAH (48a: Deliverer of singer Shannon?).


• Hangman's knots => G-MAN'S KNOTS (66a: Shoelace problems for an FBI agent?).

An awful lot of crossword themes involve the adding or removal of letters to phrases. Here we have an example of such that, frankly, didn't do much for me. Why? Because neither the original phrases nor the newly created ones had much zip to them. I found them to be kind of dull on both counts. Not that they were terrible or anything - they were perfectly serviceable entries. But compare this set with last Tuesday's for example, and I think you'll see what I mean. I do love the title, but that was kind of the high point of the theme.

Sunny Spots:

• 10d: Divorce alternative (ANNULMENT).


• 29d: Marriage alternative (CIVIL UNION). A nicely balanced pair of long down entries.



• 2d: Webb address? (MA'AM). Excellent. Referring to Jack Webb of "Dragnet". Just the facts, ma'am.


• 11d: Robin Hood's gal pal (MAID MARIAN). Easy, but good fill.

Sundries:

• 14a: City that's home to the Dr Pepper Museum (WACO, Texas). Of course, it's also notorious for other reasons.


• 16a: Crack investigator? (NARC). Good clue.


• 21a: Super Bowl XXIX quarterback Humphries (STAN). This name was vaguely familiar to me.


• 22a: Nagasaki noodles (UDON).


• 23a: Beginning to decline? (DEE). Cryptic letter clue.



• 27a: Bernie of "Ocean's Eleven" (MAC). I really enjoyed this remake. The sequels were okay, but didn't quite measure up to this one.


• 38a: Player who scored the tying run in the bottom of the ninth of Game 7 of the 1997 World Series (ALOU). Once you saw we were talking baseball and 1990s, you should immediately have thought "Hmmm, SOSA or ALOU?"


• 42a: Thing that sucks, informally (VAC). Good clue.


• 43a: "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" novelist Loos (ANITA).


• 45a: "Hedwig and the Angry ___" (INCH).


• 47a: Hold hands? (TARS). Very nice clue, referencing seagoing deckhands. A bit tricky for a Tuesday, but quite excellent regardless.


• 53a: Have an evening meal (SUP). I can't say I've ever used this as a verb, but that doesn't mean it was hard to figure.


• 65a: Toeshoe wearer's bend (PLIÉ).


• 68a: Product with a click wheel (IPOD). I use mine every day in the car to and from work. I don't know how I lived without one.


• 69a: Country whose one-euro coin has a cross on it (MALTA).



• 72a: "Little Miss Sunshine" Oscar winner (ARKIN). People loved this movie. I'm not sure why. I found it amusing in spots, but generally kind of stupid.


• 73a: Mafia boss (CAPO).


• 1d: Completely dominates (OWNS).


• 6d: Part of BFA (ARTS). Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.


• 8d: Rival of Canisius in college sports (IONA).


• 12d: First name in cubism? (ERNO). Erno Rubik, creator of the Rubik's Cube.


• 18d: Fudgees brand (OREO).



• 24d: L'Oréal spokeswoman Longoria (EVA). She's also a celebrity poker player, of sorts.


• 27d: Island rental (MOPED).


• 31d: Figure skater Stojko (ELVIS). I remember him from the Calgary Olympics.


• 33d: Parent company of Yves Saint Laurent (GUCCI).


• 37d: Some bikes (TEN SPEEDS).



• 46d: Word for tuning the third string of a ukulele (HAS). My dog has fleas. Is anyone besides Tiny Tim known for their ukelele playing? I can't think of any off-hand.


• 49d: Puzzling person (ENIGMA).


• 50d: Bruce Banner's alter ego, with "the" (HULK).


• 56d: What some boxers eat (ALPO).


• 60d: Prefix with knock or nuke (ANTI).


• 64d: Winter Olympics host the year the Summer Games were in Helsinki (OSLO).

Suns of Bitches:

• 19a: Foch of "Executive Suite" (NINA). Well, she's been in over a 150 films and shows, according to imdb.com, so I suppose I should know the name. But, this is a 1954 film and she's like the 10th person listed, so it's not like she starred in it or anything.


• 58d: "The Wire" character Little who is murdered in the antepenultimate episode of the series (OMAR). Not a clue. Never saw the show; never heard of the character.

This was an okay Tuesday for me. Nothing terribly offensive, but nothing to write home about.

Thanks for listening.

- Pete M.