Monday, April 14 - Christina Houlihan Kelly

It's Monday...so that means we're back on Easy Street. I wonder how long before the puzzles turn challenging again.

Maybe it's just that my brain has failed me, but the last two weeks have really seemed more difficult than usual.

Christina Houlihan Kelly serves up an entertaining theme today...four theme answers, all ordinary phrases, but with clues that could literally stop you in your tracks.

20A: Bidding impediment? (auction block).

33A: Outdoor meal deterrent? (picnic hamper).

44A: Truth obstruction? (reality check).

58A: Metallic element's obstacle? (aluminum foil).

I had a hard time picking a favorite...they were all good...but I think aluminum foil wins, followed by picnic hamper.

I love it when I actually remember things from previous puzzles, and that happened a few times with this one.

17A: From __ (completely) (A to Z)...that used to stump me fairly often.

18A: Cheri formerly of "S.N.L." (Oteri). She wasn't on when I watched the show, and I only know her from a previous puzzle.

10D: Napoleon, on Elba or St. Helena (exile). Okay, I knew this, but it's been cemented by frequent appearances.

24D: Les États-__ (Unis).

45D: Grades 1 to 12, briefly (elhi)..had never heard that expression used before I started doing the New York Times.

Favorite answers in the grid:

16A: Lucy Lawless TV role (Xena).

27A: Steisand film about a Jewish girl masquerading as a boy (Yentl).

38A: Gas brand with the slogan "Put a tiger in your tank" (Esso). That takes me back many years.

39A: Book after Daniel (Hosea).

6D: Crime boss known as the Teflon Don (Gotti). I thought the reason might be something disgusting...thankfully that wasn't the case.

11D: "The Two Gentlemen of __" (Verona).

13D: Annoy (rankle). Such a good word.

46D: Mozart's "__ Fan Tutte" (Cosi).

48D: Dahl or Francis (Arlene). I know both names, but I seem to remember Arlene Dahl from the television game shows of my youth.

Just one more late night for Don after tonight...I know he's so ready for this tax season to be over. I saw his secretary today...she's worked for him for five years and doesn't recall it ever being as crazy as it was this year. On Friday, he still had thirty returns to do. The really crazy thing is that he'll get them all done. He's looking forward to spending the rest of this week and all of next week at home...puttering around the yard, walking with the dogs, just enjoying seeing the place in daylight.

Here's the grid...



...and I'll see you tomorrow.

Linda G

Tuesday, September 11 - Christina Houlihan Kelly

This may very well be another constructor debut. It's a fairly straightforward puzzle, but the first clue stumped me...to the bitter end. Literally. More about that later.

It's been an awful day and my head is fuzzy. I was able to finish the puzzle, but I'm not sure I understand the theme...but the theme answers are:

16A: Golf club used in a bunker (sand wedge). Okay, is this supposed to be a take-off on sandwich? Because the next three answers all end with a kind of sandwich you'd get in a deli. Or is a wedge a kind of sandwich?

22A: Butcher's device (meat grinder).

44A: U.S.S. Nautilus, for one (American sub).

55A: Spider-Man or the Green Lantern (super hero).

I was just bragging on Sunday that I had nailed Q and A in the 1-Across spot, since that type of clue had been known to trip me up in the past. Well, you know what they say about pride...here's the fall. 1A: The whole ball of wax (A to Z). And I didn't get it. I couldn't even understand the clue for 4D: 1-Across's end, in England. I went online and entered in all of the answers, then started going through the alphabet to fill in that square. Of course, when I got to Z it accepted the puzzle. But I still didn't get it for a few minutes. Atoz? WTF? Yeah, I'm blaming it on my crappy day.

I didn't know 36A: Architect Ludwig Mies van der __ (Rohe) but was able to get it from crosses. Same with 25D: Swedish version of Lawrence (Lars), but it was easy enough to guess the R.

5A: Court cry (oyez). I think we just had it, but it's a great puzzle word. And I liked its cross at 8D: New York's Tappan __ Bridge (Zee). I must have seen it when we were there a few years ago.

Didn't get confused by the identical clues at 37D: Séance sound (knock) and 53D (moan), although I often do. We had a séance at Patty Knoll's house when we were in the ninth grade. We tried to bring back John F. Kennedy...don't ask me why. Anyway, we looked up to see someone standing in the doorway with crossed arms, and we all screamed. It was only her mother, but we all thought she looked just like JFK. That was the end of our séance, and we all had to go to bed.

Some good words that don't often appear include 15A: Mediterranean island country (Malta), 31A: Xerox machine output (photocopy), 37A: Krispy __ Doughnuts (Kreme)...the one here closed a few weeks ago (I feel responsible, since I'd only been there a couple of times), 39A: Tourist shop purchases (souvenirs), 43A: Taste bud locale (tongue)...kind of ties in to the deli thing (yick), 9D: Expert (maven), 23D: Iran's capital (Teheran), 43D: Some supper club attire (tuxedo), and 48D: Brownish photo tint (sepia).

I'm feeling dizzier by the minute, so it's time to say Ciao! (62A: "Toodles," in Milan). Here's the grid.

Please take a moment of silence on Tuesday for all of those who lost their lives...or a loved one...on 9/11.

And I'll see you tomorrow.

Linda G