Thursday, May 8 - Harvey Estes

This is one of the easiest Thursday puzzles I can remember...at least in terms of figuring out the theme.

Sitting short and sweet in the center of the puzzle...34D: Handheld computer, or holding hands (PDA)...setting the stage for the two long theme answers.

3D: With 6-Down, 34-Down / 6D: See 3-Down (public display of / affection)

11D: With 35-Down, 34-Down / 35D: See 11-Down (personal digital / assistant)

That was some feat of construction! I'll be the first to admit that I groaned when I saw those clues. I just ache all over from coughing so much, and I'm feeling on the grumpy side...and I just didn't want to deal with clues I couldn't figure out. So I skipped them and just started working what I could...adding a few letters here and there...until it became apparent.

Other good long answers...21A: They really get steamed (espressos), 23A: Red River area (Indochina), 54A: What a solid yellow line may indicate (no passing), and 58A: "Be right there!" (in a moment). Two of them were gimmes, one took a couple of letters to guess...the third eluded me for far too long. I'll leave it to you to guess which was which.

Spicy fill and/or cluing at 14A: Take over (usurp), 17A: Free, in France (libre), 20A: Michael of "Monty Python" (Palin), 36A: Red Sea's Gulf of __ (Aqaba), 42A: Dutch beauty (tulip)...mine are up and looking gorgeous, 43A: "Hungaria" composer (Liszt), 44A: Graham of rock (Nash)...a favorite of mine in the seventies, 47A: Round end (peen), 68A: "It Don't Come Easy" was his first solo hit (Starr)...had Ringo at first, 13D: Chasers in a saloon, perhaps (posse)...clever cluing, 37D: Place for a body to repose (bier)...in the summer, my body frequently reposes in a beer, 48D: Polite turndown (no ma'am)...the older I get, the more I dislike being called ma'am, 50D: Unwelcome end, with "the" (kibosh), and 61D: "Shall We Dance?" star, 2004 (Gere).

38D: Place for some icons (apse) is the best clue I've seen for a word that appears with some frequency.

66A: Zodiac symbol (lion)...both that and Leo are fairly common crossword fare, but I'm sure that fellow blogger Donald will be happy to see it nonetheless.

63A: "Paint the Sky With Stars: The Best of __" (1997 album) (Enya). She has the right combination of letters to make it into the grid fairly often. I haven't heard this one, but I just love the back of this CD.

Spend enough time doing crossword puzzles and you'll never stumble on 10A: Per (a pop), 64A: Met highlight (aria), 65A: Western (oater) or 26D: Uzbek sea name (Aral).

I liked seeing 49A: Put out (irk) and 51A: W. Eur. country that does not belong to NATO (Ire) side by side...even if they didn't have similar meanings in this case.

Don, the lover of all things ketchup, will like the clue at 32A: Move like ketchup (ooze). As a lover of Z, I like the answer.

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



...and I'll see you tomorrow.

Linda G

Saturday, December 22 - Harvey Estes

Finally..back among the living. I was one sick puppy.

Thank you again for your kind words and comments. It was heartwarming to know that some of you were concerned when a post didn't appear on time.

Harvey Estes's puzzle was one tough puppy. I was only able to finish it with a lot of outside help, and I don't think that was due to my diminished capacity. It'll be interesting to see what others thought.

My only gimmes were 9A: Where one can retire young? (crib), 20A: Caret indication (insert) and 34A: Watergate judge (Sirica).

I used to live in Kansas...and I've lived in Colorado for the last twenty years...but I couldn't get 5D: Kansas city (Salina) or 33D: Colorado city on the Rio Grande (Alamosa) until I had several letters in place. I wanted Topeka and Durango, respectively...hey, they fit.

Needless to say, I didn't have much of an anchor in any quadrant...so I turned to Google and found:

17A: "The Treachery of Images" painter (Magritte).

18A: Whipps candy bar maker (Reese's). Never heard of it...must not be dark chocolate.

32A: Tony-nominated "Pippin" actress (Irene Ryan)...although that isn't the first name it gave me that fit.

2D: "His eyes are __ fire with weeping": Shak. (red as). I don't get why Shakespeare was abbreviated...

26D: __ shorthair (cat breed) (Oriental). I only knew American, which also fit in the grid.

Favorite clues or answers include 22A: French teacher (maître)...I should have known that, 25A: Back to back: Fr. (dosados)...guessed that, but had it spelled wrong initially, 43A: Kind of hero (unsung), 44A: Big herbicide producer (Monsanto)...not WeedBGon, as commented earlier today on yesterday's post, 46A: Mushroom producers (A-tests), 47A: Natural wave catcher (outer ear) and 51A: Eyeballs (assesses).

Also 1D: Perhaps a little too neat (prim)...was pretty sure that anal wouldn't fly in the NYT, 7D: Is relaxed (rested easy), 8D: Dick Thornburgh's predecessor in the cabinet (Ed Meese)...he's in here often, although never clued this way, 9D: Worse in quality, slangily (cheesier)...again, crappier wouldn't be in a NYT puzzle, 10D: Artist who was a founder of the Pre-Raphaelites (Rossetti), 11D: Encrypted? (interred), 25D: Opposite of encourage (dissuade) and 36D: Targets of those catching some rays? (mantas)...back after a recent appearance.

Favorite clue/answer in the puzzle...27D: Que follower (sera sera). Beautiful.

There were plenty of answers I didn't understand, including:

3D: Creditor's writ (elegit)...okay, that's Latin for "he has chosen."

14D: Tom, Dick or Harry (prename). Huh?

16D: Upper parts of piano duets (primos). I've never played any real duets...maybe I'd have known that otherwise.

28D: Hostilities (animuses).

37D: Early Palestinian (Essene).

39D: Son of Aphrodite (Aeneas). How many sons did she have? I only know of Eros and Adonis...or am I confusing her with someone else?

I still have a few stocking stuffers to get (we were big on stockings in my family, and the tradition continues), but Don doesn't want me to go out...lowered resistance and all. He's probably right, though, so I need to make a list of things for him to pick up. I'm also supposed to bake cookies for high tea tomorrow following Lessons and Carols at church...maybe I can get Elaine to help with that. She and Mike arrived last night and will be here through Christmas. Leslie and Candy will be here Monday morning.

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



...and I'll see you tomorrow. (It's nice to be able to say that again!)

Linda G

Monday, December 3 - Harvey Estes

No theme to the Monday puzzle...but several good long answers and some fresh fill. That makes the fairly standard three- and four-letter words more than okay in my book.

20A: Profanity, e.g. (strong language).

36A: 1995 Woody Allen comedy (Mighty Aphrodite). I wonder where I was in 1995...that doesn't sound familiar at all, and I needed crosses to get it. My all-time favorite Woody Allen movie is/always will be Annie Hall.

49A: Classic "Jeopardy!" category (Potent Potables). I haven't seen Jeopardy in thirty years. That's not a category I remember...but then, thirty years is a long time.

4D: Monument carved from a single stone (monolith). We have several right here in the Colorado National Monument. I have a friend who's climbed this several times. For a more spectacular view of it, click here.

8D: Nighttime advertising sign, maybe (neon light).

11D: Easily read type (large print). I could use that in phone books nowadays. I carry a small (5 x 7) phone book in my car, and that thing is damn near impossible to read...don't know why I bother to carry it.

27D: Golfer named A.P. Male Athlete of the Year four times (Tiger Woods). Who else could that have been?

33D: Cloudburt (rainstorm).

38D: Off-road two-wheeler (dirt bike)...not my idea of fun.

Favorite clues include 25A: Sit behind bars (do time), 40A: Bank robber's job (heist), 2D: Pinball foul (tilt), 6D: Snowman's eyes (coals)...I've never heard the plural used, but it's so appropriate for this time of year that I decided I like it, 22D: Dead duck (goner) and 30D: Pure-and-simple (utter).

Things I didn't know or remember but got from crosses: 18A: Othello's false friend (Iago), 23A: 2007 film "__ and the Real Girl" (Lars), 55A: Earthenware jar (olla), 56A: College in New Rochelle, N.Y. (Iona), 9D: __ de Lion, epithet for Richard I (Coeur)...Heart of Lion, literally, 25D: Brit's service discharge (demob)...from demobilization, maybe?...and 52D: Hydroxyl-carbon compound (enol).

It's always good to see Z in the grid, crossing at 54D: Peri Gilpin's "Frasier" role (Roz) and 60A: Saltine brand (Zesta).

It's been a busy weekend and I'm beat, so it's time to call it a night. Here's the grid...



...and I'll see you tomorrow.

Linda G

Monday, November 12 - Harvey Estes

I don't know if this was a bit tougher for a Monday puzzle or if I can blame it on trying to cook dinner and solve at the same time. I'm generally good at multitasking, but tonight must have been an exception.

So I left the puzzle and tended to dinner. After we'd cleaned up the mess, I sat down and knocked it out in a couple of minutes. The confusion that was the northwest completely disappeared.

The theme is "floral" films, and the three theme answers are:

18A: "Floral" film that was the Best Picture of 1989 (Driving Miss Daisy). Jessica Tandy also won Best Actress--the oldest actress to do so. I'd add it to my Netflix queue, but I just cancelled my subscription. Who has time to watch movies when you're addicted to puzzles and blogs?

34A: "Floral" film of 2006 with Josh Hartnett and Scarlett Johansson (The Black Dahlia). I'm trying to figure out where I was in 2006, because I have no recollection of this one. At all.

57A: "Floral" film of 1986 based on an Emberto Eco novel (The Name of the Rose). I vaguely remember the name. Very vaguely.

My first thought was American Beauty, even though it doesn't specifically name a flower...although it does name a variety. But it only fit in 34-Across, it wasn't in 2006, and it didn't star Josh Hartnett and Scarlett Johansson. Other than that, it was perfect. Fortunately, I was able to put the thought aside and carry on.

I don't remember the last time I saw a Monday puzzle with 16-letter answers. For that matter, I don't remember a Monday puzzle with this many words to love...and so few three-letter entries.

5A: Filthy place (pigsty), 16A: Win over (enamor), 26A: "Again!" (encore), 31A: Regional dialect (patois), 43A: Feudal workers (vassals), 55A: System of government (polity), 3D: Easily startled (skittish), 12D: __ d'être (raison), 35D: The Creator, to Hindus (Brahma), 43D: To a huge degree (vastly), 51D: Spritelike (elfin), and 42D: EarthLink alternative (NetZero).

Not to mention the four in a row...5D: Group of five (pentad), 6D: Bar of gold (ingot), 7D: Entire range (gamut) and 8D: Slug, old-style (smite).

The northwest difficulty I mentioned stemmed from a wrong answer at 21A: Ran into. I had hit, rather than the correct met. That made both 1D: ["You'll regret that!"] and 2D: [Written up, as to a superior] very difficult. Once I fixed that mess, I saw bad move and on report. Another good multiword answer at 38D: Noncommittal agreement (I suppose).

13D: State with conviction (assert) made me chuckle. Colorado is a state with conviction...or convictions. I'm guessing that there are forty-nine others.

Not too many abbreviations...just two, and they're related. 10D: 1812, 2001, etc.: Abbr. (yrs) and 58D: Calendar pgs. (mos).

I generally forget what W.B.A. stands for, but I remembered it this time for 33D: W.B.A. decision (TKO).

I enjoyed seeing 36D: Name repeated in "Whatever __ wants, __ gets" (Lola). We saw Damn Yankees when I was in the fifth grade, and it made a big impression on me. I've enjoyed live theatre ever since.

53A: Teacher's favorite (pet) reminded me of a foster child we once had who often referred to (in all seriousness) the teacher's pest.

On that note, I'm gonna scram (54A: "Get lost!"). Here's the grid...



...and I'll see you tomorrow.

Linda G

Friday, Spetember 28 - Harvey Estes

Hello again, Howard B here, stepping in for the newly-relaxed Linda B in order to bring you a second helping of crunchy Friday goodness.

We have another fine example of a challenging puzzle featuring two triple-stacks of 15-letter words, with a whole slew of challenging vocabulary to ramp up the difficulty. Often, having several stacks of long words can actually make a puzzle slightly easier, since you can solve large chunks of the puzzle at a time once you figure out those big words. This puzzle resists quick solving, though, due to rather difficult middle and side sections which aren't very open, and require a bit of tough solving.

If this puzzle 1A (LEAVES A BAD TASTE), it may be due to some of those more obscure little words hiding here and there, including:

37D: Relating to heraldry (ARMORIAL),

30A: French study, e.g. (SALLE), and

21A Expert in ancient law (LEGIST).

If you keep at it, though, 17A (BY TRIAL AND ERROR) you may solve it, or at least eventually get a good portion of it done.

I especially liked the near-miss rhyme in the center of 36A(FONDLED) just above 40A(GONDOLA). Insert your own comment here. "30 Rock" creator TINA FEY (33A) sits just above these, either shaking her head in disbelief, or using it as a basis for a new skit. Also can't forget the rustic crossing of VARMINT and AGIN in the top-left. Fun words? Yer darn tootin'!

It's not an easy Friday, and many of the clues are very short and to the point, perhaps offering the solver a few less "gimme"s. Even these short clues were hiding plenty of trickery, such as 47A: Least spotted (RAREST) and 58D:Hearing aids, for short (PAs) as in "Public Address systems". Clever way to clue this inocuous 3-letter combo. Also the interesting phrase lurking at 41D: I MEAN NO, which is clued simply amd directly as "Emphatic turndown".

Oh, if you haven't seen this clue before, it's a good one:

52A: Something needed for your sake? (RICE) - If you didn't get this on the first go-round, don't feel bad; 'sake' = rice wine... it's all in the pronunciation. Sneaky little devil of a clue :).

Here's the puzzle (click for a larger photo. This will not, unfortunately, improve the handwriting.). Good luck with Saturday's puzzle, and have a great weekend!

- Howard B :)