Wednesday, December 5 - Allan E. Parrish

The good news...I was able to finish the puzzle without help from Google. The bad news...I didn't get the theme, revealed at 71A: This puzzle's theme (deer).

I always learn something new, but I had to look up two of the theme answers in the dictionary to see how they fit in with the theme. Did anyone else have this problem?

17A: Source of rump roast (hindquarter). I never knew this...hind is the female of the red deer, in and after its third year.

63A: Worrisome economic condition (stagflation). I did know stag.

11D: "Sunglasses at Night" singer, 1984 (Corey Hart). I knew the song, but not who sang it. Got it from crosses but couldn't make a connection to the theme. Hart is a male of the European red deer, especially after its fifth year, when the crown antlers are formed.

26D: Court anonym (John Doe). I didn't see this as a theme answer until I was including it in my favorites below. Forest...trees...

34D: John Candy title role (Uncle Buck). I wasn't a John Candy fan and didn't know the movie...had to rely on crosses and a couple of good guesses (see below). Fortunately, I knew how buck related to the theme.

Favorite answers:

5A: Donahue of "Father Knows Best" (Elinor). That was probably not a gimme for the younger solvers out there.

22A: P.M. between Pearson and Clark (Trudeau)...why the abbreviation? I was slightly confused by that.

24A: Charity event, maybe (bazaar). Great word. Z and three As.

26A: Shared taxi (jitney). Knew the word but always thought it was just another word for taxi. Another great word.

29A: Panama and others (isthmi). I never thought about how isthmus would be pluralized. I was thinking about hats initially.

48A: Like some oaths or vows (solemn).

52A: "I am six. I am a city child. I live at the Plaza" speaker (Eloise).

2D: Mystical board (Ouija). If Ouija is to be believed, I was supposed to marry someone else.

5D: Shevardnadze of Georgia (Eduard).

8D: Capone colleague (Nitti).

18D: Shows cowardice (quails).

41D: Teachings of Buddha (Dharma). Clued differently, but two days in a row!

49D: One of the Mitchells in an old UPN sitcom (Moesha). Never heard of the Mitchells or Moesha.

My guesses were confined to the southwest corner...62A: "The Simpsons" storekeeper (Apu), 66A: Input-jack label (MIC)...who can read that?, 69A: Golf's Se Ri __ (Pak), along with a major cross at 59D: Capital of Samoa (Apia). I had to rely on the Applet to tell me when I finally had it right. Earlier in the week, I'd be unhappy about it, but it seems fair enough for a Wednesday. I'm sure that was an easier corner for those who watch TV, know more about sports...and know more about geography than just the U.S. capitals.

That's it for today. Here's the grid...



...and I'll see you tomorrow.

Linda G

Monday, August 6 - Allan E. Parrish

A fairly typical Monday puzzle with a theme that will bowl you over. The six theme answers are:

17A: Result of hitting the pause button on a movie (freeze frame).

38A: Extra (to spare).

61A: Old-time songwriters' locale (Tin Pan Alley). This should have been a gimme for anyone who did Thursday's puzzle. Today's clue was slightly different, and we didn't have to remember that Sn is the symbol for tin.

11D: Dairy Queen offering (banana split). That brings back childhood memories. A banana split was our special treat for an A and B report card. I ate plenty of them then, but I can't remember the last time I ate one.

25D: Attack before being attacked (first strike).

27D: Millinery accessories (hat pins). [Thanks to reader Howard B for pointing out that this was also a theme answer. How could I have missed it...crossing to spare so beautifully in the center?]

There were a few other answers that were in recent puzzles. Yesterday we had parrots as part of one of the long theme answers. Today it reappears as a noun at 56A, clued as Chatty birds. 48D: Playwright Sean (O'Casey) was in the puzzle on July 26...the one where all the words at the left margin were clued with a dash, and the clues for all of the two-word answers appeared on the right side. I'm probably not describing it any better now than I did when I blogged it!

I'm always excited to get sports-related answers of any kind. 29A: Hall-of-Fame QB Johnny (Unitas) and 46D: Baltimore nine (Orioles).

If I gave an award for the best Pope clue and answer, it would go to 14A: Pope before Paul V, whose papacy lasted less than four weeks (Leo XI). Not only is it good, but it looks good in the grid...LEOXI. It crosses at the X with 4D: Carry out, as an assignment (execute). And if that's not Scrabbly enough, sitting atop it is 1A: Do very well (at) (excel), crossing with 2D: Generation __ (thirty-something) (X-er). That, of course, reminds me of my favorite eighties show, thirtysomething, which Lifetime plugged as, The show that's just like life, only with better writers.

Moving from the eighties to a little bit of sixties history...6A: Alabama march city (Selma) and 28A: The "B" in L.B.J. (Baines). It was real life for many of us, not just something we read about years later. And it seems like it was just yesterday.

We also have a little bit of British humor in the northeast...11A: U.K. channel (BBC), crossing with 13D: John who starred in "A Fish Called Wanda" (Cleese). According to this article, he also wrote it, in addition to writing for BBC Radio. I loved Cleese as Basil Fawlty (in Fawlty Towers) and the Black Knight in Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

Fun words to see in the puzzle include 9D: "Goldilocks" character (Mama Bear), 67A: Online birthday greeting, e.g. (e-card), and 71A: Channel with cameras in the Capitol (C-Span), officially, the Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network.

It's late...time to call it a night. Here's the completed grid.

See you tomorrow.

Linda G

Tuesday, July 31 - Allan E. Parrish

Today's theme is revealed at 29D: Word following the last parts of the answers to the five starred clues (walks). The five theme answers are:

20A: Line formatting option (triple space).

40A: Hipster (cool cat). Even I haven't heard that expression in forever. When I hear hipsters, I think ladies' undergarments (or bathing suit bottoms) that sit lower than the waistline.

61A: Education overseers (school board).

11D: College in Worcester, Mass. (Holy Cross).

33D: Kids' game (Pattycake). Toddlers' game is really more like it. I don't think you play pattycake with a child who's past the age of two.

The theme isn't rocket science, certainly, but the puzzle was entertaining enough, with plenty of good fill.

9A: 1986 Indy winner Bobby (Rahal). I wouldn't have had a clue about this, except that it was in last Sunday's puzzle. Another repeat of a recent answer appears at 70A: Der __ (Konrad Adenauer) (Alte). It was clued differently, but a comment was made (either here or at another blog) about Der Alte.

24A: Blockbuster aisle (horror). I don't watch horror movies...never have and never will.

31A: Coke competitor (Pepsi). I'm glad they weren't looking for something like crystal meth. The clue isn't totally accurate, though. Pepsi lovers don't think of Coke as a competitor, and Coke lovers know there is no competition. For the record, I don't drink either. My beverage of choice depends on the time of day. Sometimes it's coffee, sometimes it's beer...Sunshine Wheat, Fat Tire or Hefenweizen.

53A: Kind of pool or medal (Olympic).

56A: Common TV dinner (pot pie). No one in this house considers a pot pie to be dinner, but I guess adding "TV" makes it work. I'll admit that I liked them as a kid.

64A: Ring-tailed mammal (coati). They sure are funny-looking little guys.

69A: Old female country teacher (marm). Schoolmarm is the name of one of the ski runs at Keystone. This site names it the tenth best single ski run in North America. It must be a beginner run, or I wouldn't have done it. I don't ski any more...haven't in about 15 years...and Schoolmarm was my very last run.

2D: Last Oldsmobile to be made (Alero).

4D: Tennis star Pete (Sampras). This is the kind of sports clue I can get. Someone who's been in the news so many times that there's no way I could have missed his or her name.

5D: Grotto (cavern). I like the clue and the answer.

9D: Cesar who played the Joker (Romero). I know he played him in the old television show, but I don't know who played him in the movies. What? Jack Nicholson and Heath Ledger!

21D: Sound reasoning (logic). For as long as I can remember, I've been a random thinker, and I've been married for almost 26 years to the most logical man I know. It's true what they say about opposites attracting...

35D: "Ricochet" co-star (Ice-T). Does this guy look like a Tracy Marrow to you? No way.

Here's the completed grid. As always, let me know if you spot an error in it.



And we'll see you tomorrow.

Linda G

Monday, May 21 - Allan E. Parrish

As much as I enjoyed the luxury of a slow solve on Sunday's puzzle, it was a nice change to whip through this one in short order.

The theme was revealed in the center of the puzzle, at 26D: What the last words of 17- and 61-Across and 10- and 25-Down are kinds of (markets). The theme answers are:

17A: Supreme Court justice known for a literalist interpretation of the Bill of Rights (Hugo Black).

61A: Pie filling (mince meat). For those of you who don't know how absolutely disgusting real mince meat is (I'm not talking about the benign stuff you find in a jar), here's a recipe from 1860.

10D: Some theater productions (summer stock).

25D: 1966 Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass hit (Spanish Flea). If you don't recognize it by name, you can listen to it here. If you're a boomer, you may remember it as the theme from The Dating Game.

Old friends making yet another appearance, some with fresh clues, include 1D: Pale-faced (ashen), 9A: __ Park, Colo. (Estes), 15A: Cheers for toreros (oles), 42A: Jai __ (Alai), 12D: Barely makes, with "out" (ekes), and 56D: Alimony receivers, e.g. (exes).

It helps to know Latin if you're doing the New York Times. 31D: "__, vidi, vici" (veni) comes around fairly often. Know them--they'll be back.

I loved seeing 18D: Onion-flavored roll (Bialy). Don't believe I've ever seen it in a puzzle, although those who have been doing them longer may well have.

30D: Don formerly of morning radio (Imus). Glad to see the word formerly in there. It was well deserved.

46D: Hoops great Abdul-Jabbar (Kareem). One of the few sports-related clues I know. Although there was actually another one in this very puzzle. 66A: Auto racer Yarborough (Cale).

Clever clue and answer at 59A: Syllable repeated after "hot" (cha). Jimmy Durante...what a guy.

There seems to be a mini-theme involving kids. 5D: "What'd I say?!" (told ya), 65A: Winnie-the-__ (Pooh), 37D: Toy block brand (Lego), and 53D: Writer on a slate (chalk). Alas, no playground retorts to go with it.

Alas, however, appears at 6D: "__ poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio."

Very much liked seeing Q up in the NE. 16A: Seismic occurrence (quake), sharing its Q with 9D: Consider identical (equate).

33D: Key related to F# minor: Abbr. (A Maj). Timely, because we had a piano recital today, and I played something in A major. More importantly, I made a chocolate chip cake with butterscotch filling and chocolate glaze. Our piano teacher and her husband will both be 87 next week, and the cake was to celebrate their birthdays.

It seems funny to see peachy (at 48D) clued as A-O.K. We've used the word sarcastically more often than not. You know, saying "She's a peach" because she's really something else that sounds somewhat similar.

I think the only word in the puzzle that was completely foreign to me was 38A: Eurasian duck (smew). I hope Rex shows a picture of it. I've decided I like links much more than pictures. For those of you who blog, you know that inserting pictures really messes up your spacing. I figure I'll do without, except on rare occasions, like the Energizer bunny last week!

Happy Monday. Hope it's a good start to a good week.

Linda G

Monday, April 30 - Allan E. Parrish

For a Monday puzzle, this took me longer than it should have. I was able to figure out the theme early on, so those answers weren't a problem. Something just wasn't clicking with some of the fill. Fortunately, the phone rang, and that short break was just what I needed.

The five theme answers end in B-ND, and are presented in A-E-I-O-U order:

17A: Elastic holder (Rubber band)

25A: Home of Notre Dame (South Bend)

36A: Entrance, as through oratory (Spellbind)

51A: Ian Fleming creation (James Bond) -- making yet another appearance

60A: 1930s political group (German Bund)

Things I learned long ago and remembered for this puzzle:

32A: S-shaped molding (ogee)

4D: Polio vaccine developer (Sabin). I remember all of us lining up to take the oral vaccine when it first came out. I went to school with two girls who had had polio. One of them was in leg braces that were probably permanent. Very scary disease

25D: Synagogue (Shul). Thank you, Harriet and Debi.

42A: Landon who ran for president in 1936 (Alf), which intersects nicely with the second F in 35D: Flute in a march (fife).

48A: Win the first four games in a World Series, e.g. (sweep). I know someone will be proud that that was a gimme. He'll also be ecstatic (maybe that's too strong an emotion) to see Bart and Lisa clued twice in the same puzzle--at 21A: Lisa, to Bart (sis) and at 41D: Bart or Lisa (Simpson)--and to see Shelley Long's character at 24A: "Cheers" woman (Diane).

Speaking of which, it's my sister's birthday. Happy birthday, Mary! Since she doesn't read my blog, I can probably get away with telling you that she's 58 today.

44D: Doug of "The Virginian" (McClure). I had a huge crush on Trampas, the character he played. You can go here to find out more about him.

11D: Greg of "You've Got Mail" (Kinnear). But I liked him better in Little Miss Sunshine. I just looked up his filmography and saw that he and I share a birthday.

Things I didn't know:

48D: Part of Johannesburg (Soweto). If I hadn't checked my solution on the Applet, I'd think that was maybe wrong.

53A: "Filthy" money (lucre). I only make the clean kind, I guess.

29A: 1986 Indy 500 winner Bobby (Rahal). Racing = not my area of expertise.

56A: Deviation in a rocket's course (yaw). I never claimed to be a rocket scientist.

Clues/answers I liked:

39D: Nightclothes (pajamas). Such a cool word. Much better than PJs.

33D: __Lauder cosmetics (Estee). Didn't I just say that's how they should clue the word, as opposed to some obscure (to me) Scottish singer?

52D: Item on which to put lox (bagel). I eat a bagel for breakfast or lunch at least four times a week. But no to lox, and yes to either natural peanut butter or cream cheese.

15A: Big name in can-making (Alcoa)

Other comments:

If I'm going to continue doing crossword puzzles--and I am--I need to learn all the Greek letters. Don's not always around when I'm doing a puzzle. Good thing I already knew rho, which appeared at 61D: Letter between pi and sigma. Oh! I just remembered--last week, Green Genius printed the entire Greek alphabet in a post.

67A: (Eccentric) seemed an odd way to clue loopy. I think of loopy as the post-anesthesia fog (and--later--when you get those nice little shots for pain).

I'd best wrap this up. The patio table is still in the box, but the chairs have been assembled. And the birds are waiting.

Linda G