Thursday, May 1 - Jim Leeds

In yesterday's puzzle, Henry Hook gave us permission to use Google for crossword solving. Yep...it was right there as an answer. But even without his okay, I'd have felt okay Googling to finish today's puzzle.

We haven't seen a New York Times puzzle by Jim Leeds since December 27, 2007...and we haven't had a rebus in some time. It was fairly easy for me to guess that that's what we were dealing with...I just knew that 4D [Boonies] had to be sticks, but it wasn't going to fit.

The theme was revealed at 38A: "That's repulsive!"...or a hint to this puzzle's theme (gross). At that point, though, I thought it would have something to do with a quantity...you know, twelve dozen.

Instead, we have ick hidden in the grid...a total of nine times. Four of the entries give us a double shot of it.

17A: Club founder and president in an 1836 Dickens novel (Mr. P[ick]w[ick]).

18D: Field goal attempter, once (drop k[ick]er).

36A: Handle (mon[ick]er). I think there should have been some indication of an alternative spelling. Moniker is seen more often.

41A: 5th Avenue alternative (Sn[ick]ers). This was another argument for a rebus...I was pretty sure of this answer my first time through.

53A: Century, e.g. (Bu[ick]). [UPDATE: This appears incorrectly in the grid...see Bob's comment and my reply.]

59A: Crispy appetizer (breadst[ick]). I spent too much time trying to think of something deepfried.

61A: Easy winner in bridge (qu[ick] tr[ick]). I know nothing about bridge. I'm not even sure if that's one word or two.

And the downs that crossed them...

4D: Boonies (st[ick]s).

6D: __ and snee (sn[ick]). I'm not familiar with that one.

11D: Hysterical hen of fable (Ch[ick]en L[ick]en). I've heard of Chicken Little and the Little Red Hen. I thought Chicken Licken was a fast-food chain.

35D: Awkward situations, informally (st[ick]y w[ick]ets).

52D: Quiz show gizmo (cl[ick]er). I went to Catholic school for seven years. The word clicker brings up images of Sister Anybody with her little clicker. Sit up straight...get rid of the gum...stop talking and start reading.

56D: Amusement park purchase (t[ick]et).

58D: Eat without enthusiasm (p[ick] at). That's definitely not a problem for me. I really enjoy food...and am lucky that I don't weigh twice what I do.

There were a few answers I wasn't sure about. Some I got from crosses, others from Google.

14A: Ex-Dodger manager Walter (Alston).

47A: Sir Thomas who introduced the sonnet to England (Wyatt). I sort of knew it, but it was more of a guess...confirmed by crosses.

32D: Beaux-__ (Arts). Describing it as ornate would be an understatement.

39D: Opinionated Hannity and others (Seans).

48D: Former CBS chief Laurence (Tisch).

54D: 1934 Chemistry Nobelist Harold (Urey).

Then there was the answer I couldn't get at all...until I checked out Harris's posted grid at Water and Waves. 7A: U.S. Army award: Abbr. (DSC). I checked with Don...it stands for Distinguished Service Cross. I didn't have a clue, and I wasn't getting anywhere with whatever I'd originally had. The crosses weren't much help, either. 7D: Pedestal part (dado), 8D: Parade walks (struts) and 9D: Draper's offering (cloth). It's late, and I'm tired. That's my story, and I'm sticking with it.

Favorite or otherwise noteworthy clues and/or answers...1A: Unicorns and griffins (beasts), 26A: Cause of a sore spot (thorn), 33A: Tiniest bit at the bottom of a coffee cup (last drop), 43A: Grapefruit units (segments)...not sections, 45A: According to __ (Hoyle)...don't get that at all, 46A: Free __ (1850s abolitionist) (Stater), 55A: Waist removal regimens? (diets), 64A: Brown and simmer (braise), 2D: The Jetson boy (Elroy), 44D: Dram or gram (measure) and 46D: Chest: Prefix (stetho).

Time to call it a night. Here's the grid...



...and I'll see you tomorrow.

Linda G

Thursday, December 27 - Jim Leeds

I struggled to stay awake last night to download the puzzle...then managed to solve it before crashing in the big chair with Barnabas. This morning, my scanner is slow, my computer is slow, I'm slow. I think I'll just dump coffee on everything and see what that does.

Today's theme is C-Plus...the five theme answers are in-the-language phrases, each starting with O...plus C added up front. The new phrases are then clued.

Theme answers:

17A: Certain marine biologist's test? (coral exam).

23A: One way to get into a gang's headquarters? (con the lookout).

35A: Eskimos in an igloo? (cold folks at home).

45A: Pictures of Slinkys? (coil paintings).

57A: Witches' pots, pans, etc.? (covenware)...the first theme answer to fall.

It took some time for me to figure out the theme...just kept plodding away with the crosses. Once I got it, it was (of course) much easier to understand all the others.

I struggled with 1A: Palms (off on)...had everything but the third letter, and nothing sounded right. It wasn't until I got 3D: Coos and hoots (bird calls) that I finally got fobs. It still doesn't sound right...maybe not an expression I've heard.

9A: Casino equipment (rakes). The clue threw me...isn't a rake the house take? I was thinking of tangible equipment.

14A: "__ the Agent" (old comic strip) (Abie). Must be old if I haven't heard of it. Nice to have Abie clued differently.

20A: __ Kooser, former U.S. poet laureate (Ted). Should have known that but had to get it from crosses.

30A: "Breaker Morant" people (Boers). Had no clue...again, the crosses were needed.

40A: Stomach contents (acids). One of only a few gimmes.

41A: "'Starts With F' for a thousand, __" (Alex). Tricky for those of us who remember Jeopardy from its early years...although I can't remember his name at the moment, either.

52A: Prefix with -phile (oeno). This didn't come to me right away, but I refused to put in my first thought...and I was relieved that it wasn't the answer.

59A: Cling Plus brand (Saran). I thought it was referring to a toilet bowl cleaner...had Lysol at first.

60A: Novelist Seton (Anya). Love the name.

61A: Kiss in Kensington (snog). Love the word but can never remember it.

62A: "__ we all?" (aren't). One of several arbitrary fill-in-the-blank answers. I had so say...what the jury would say. That was a pretty messed-up corner for some time.

64A: 1910s heavyweight champ __Willard (Jess). Max Baer is the only one I've had to know for the puzzle so far...other than Ali.

2D: Poulenc's "Sonata for __ and Piano" (Oboe). Good guess on my part...it was the only thing that fit, musically and otherwise. I mean, you wouldn't have a tuba and piano...or a drum and piano...in a sonata.

4D: Triton's realm (sea). Identical cluing for 37D (ocean)...both gimmes.

9D: Beef cut (rib roast). Wouldn't have gotten it without crosses...there are probably ten cuts that would fit in that space.

10D: Hebdomadally (a week). The clue is the best word in the puzzle. Had to look it up, though...totally unfamiliar to me.

11D: Five-time Horse of the Year, 1960-64 (Kelso).

22D: Dried coconut meat (copra). I didn't know it had a name.

25D: Windblown deposit (loess). Never heard the word. If you look at the grid carefully, you'll see that I had lwess...the result of not doing a final check...which makes even less sense. That means that 28A: F.D.R. agcy. was OPA, rather than WPA. Since my scanner is slow, I'm not going to re-scan.

31D: Let pass (OK'd). There's one that looked like an error just now until I read the clue again.

32D: Poisonous flower (wolfsbane). Not sure if it's one word or two, but I'm sure I won't eat it.

36D: Utmost distance from the eye at which an image is clear (far point).

43D: Kind of gland (pineal). Not one I knew.

47D: French frigate that carried the Statue of Liberty to the U.S. (Isere).

49D: Who has won an Oscar for Best Actor three times. There was a clue that began with Who a month or two ago, and it caused quite a stir. Here it is again. The general consensus at the time was that it was deliberate so that it didn't say he or she. While it specifies actor in this clue, there isn't a pronoun for the correct answer...no one. I wonder how much time others spent trying to think who it might have been. I could think of two for Tom Hanks and wondered if he'd gotten one that I didn't remember.

50D: "Fiddler on the Roof" role (Tevye).

Well, it's after 7:00 and I'd better get ready for work. Here's the grid...



...and I'll see you tonight.

Linda G