Sunday, March 30 - Paula Gamache

One more hour and it's lights out. We're joining in Earth Hour tonight, dining by candlelight once Don comes home.

Paula Gamache's Sunday puzzle, Mixed Feelings, has both of my favorite things...circles and anagrams. That on top of a Mike Nothnagel Saturday...well, it just doesn't get any better than that.

The circled letters within each theme answer can be rearranged to make an emotion of some sort...or a mixed feeling.

23A: Pedicurist's need (TOENAIL CLIPPERS)...becomes elation.

30A: Wearer of uniform #37, retired by both the Yankees and the Mets (CASEY STENGEL)...becomes ecstasy.

52A: Whispering party game (TELEPHONE)...hope.

68A: Champion figure skater Irina (SLUTSKAYA)...lust. I never realized that slut became lust, but both words remind me of "Lust," a short story by Susan Minot.

88A: Manual transmission position (THIRD GEAR)...rage. Since first would also have fit, I had to wait until I got some downs to complete the answer.

109A: Kitchen implement used with a little muscle (POTATO MASHER)...shame.

118A: Bats, balls, gloves, etc. (SPORTS EQUIPMENT)...pique.

14D: Come-hither look (BEDROOM EYES). For the record, I don't think of bedroom eyes as a come-hither look...either you have them or you don't. Both of these guys do. The anagrammed feeling is boredom...which I wouldn't feel if I were with either of them.

16D: Protective mailer (PADDED ENVELOPE)...ah, love. A nice feeling.

50D: Some business attire (PINSTRIPED SUIT)...pride. Am I being too proud if I say that I got this with only the N in place?

67D: Bearing nothing (EMPTY HANDED) becomes empathy.

Favorite clues include 14A: One on two feet (biped), 66A: Divider of wedding guests (aisle), 72A: Leaves for lunch? (salad), 93A: Big shot after making a big shot, maybe: Abbr. (MVP), 123A: Capital of Italy (Euro), 128A: Company-owned building, e.g. (asset), 11D: Fall setting (Eden), 15D: Coming-clean words (I lied), 18D: License to drill?: Abbr. (DDS), 33D: "They're in my hot little hands!" (got 'em), 40D: Heads in the Pantheon? (capita) and 114D: Cause for an R, perhaps (gore).

I liked the connected cluing for 21A: He's seen on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel (Adam) and 31D: Consort of 21-Across (Eve). Haven't seen it and had no idea.

I definitely paid attention to JimH's music post the other day. If you did, then you knew 92D: F equivalent (E sharp). And if you read his guest blogger, Seth G, today, you were also able to get 56A: Holiday celebrating deliverance from Haman (Purim).

I really struggled to remember how to spell 46D: Poet Omar __ (Khayyam). I filled in the K and the M...beyond that I had to wait for some crosses. There were several other answers relating to the arts, including 19A: Literature Nobelist Morrison (Toni), 43A: Close overlapping of fugue voices (stretto), 95A: Peter Shaffer play based on the lives of Mozart and Salieri (Amadeus), 2D: Writer Peggy known for the phrase "a kinder, gentler nation" (Noonan), and 48D: Rhyme scheme of "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" (AABA). There was also the connected cluing for crossword regulars aria and solo...at 55A [Diva's delivery] and 80A [55-Across, e.g.], respectively, and 78A: Picassos and Pissarros (art).

There were a few things I was only able to get from crosses...among them 10D: Port west of Monte Vesuvio (Napoli), 32D: Capone henchman (Nitti) and 51D: Yellow Teletubby (Laa-Laa).

That's it for tonight. Don will be home soon, and we'll enjoy the bread I made today with a big salad, followed by strawberry shortcake.

Here's the grid...



...and I'll see you tomorrow.

Linda G

Friday, March 7 - Paula Gamache

I spent the day resting...doctor's orders...but I have no business being up this late. Leslie and Candy came over for dinner, and Elaine served up a delicious beef stew with homemade biscuits. She's turning into quite the cook. Anyway, they didn't leave until 9:45, so I was very late getting to the puzzle.

Not a good thing when it was a Friday puzzle...not a good thing when it was one of Paula Gamache's puzzles.

If I knew for sure that I'd be home tomorrow, I would have waited until morning to solve it. It was foolish to tackle it this late, and I basically threw in the towel. Had a few answers, Googled a few more...ended up with the top half of the puzzle finished and a good part of the bottom. But it was late...and time to declare the puzzle finished (thanks, Donald...good advice).

Fellow blogger JimH had already posted his finished grid, so I borrowed a couple of answers from him. That gave me enough of a toehold in the bottom half to finish things up.

The long answers were all good...and all multiword. How does Paula Gamache manage to stack things like this?

In the top half:

1A: Climbing Mt. Everest, for Sir Edmund Hillary (claim to fame).

12A: 1937 Paul Muni drama (The Woman I Love).

14A: Art, metaphorically (jealous mistress). That was so good I can hardly stand it...although my first answer was imitation of life.

The bottom stacks:

45A: Census Bureau data (vital statistics).

47A: Only if it's worth the trade-off (not at any price).

48A: London Zoo locale (Regents Park).

Other multiword answers were 17A: Probe (poke into), 27A: It's hard to recall (dim memory), 6D: Like most medicine bottles (tamper resistant), 11D: 50-50 proposition (even bet) and 29D: It's headquartered in the G.E. Building (NBC TV).

I had a few gimmes, some with pretty clever cluing. 18A: Manfred __ Earth Band (Mann's), 20A: Basic verse option (ABAB), 22A: Drum containers (ears)...clever, 25A: Legato indicator (slur)...thanks to piano lessons, 26A: Coast Guard boat (cutter), 33A: Clued in, once (hep), 7D: Things in rings (onions), 19D: Princess Ozma's creator (Baum), 25D: "Dear" ones (sirs) and 35D: Meter makers (poets).

Unfamiliar answers, many of which I got from crosses, include 23A: Site of the siege of Candia (Crete), 38A: Singer who is part owner of Forbes magazine (Bono), 41A: Cousin in a Balzac title (Bette), 10D: Holmes fought him (Moriarty), 14D: Artist Wyeth (Jamie)...I only know Andrew, 22D: Nine __ (London district) (Elms), 28D: "Blue II" painter, 1961 (Miró)...I know the name but not particular works, 30D: Sacramento suburb (Florin) and 46D: Country singers England and Herndon (Tys).

It's time for me to get cozy (26D: Under a quilt, say) if I want to cure (23D: Bug zapper?) what ails me.

Here's the grid...



...and I'll see you tomorrow.

Linda G

Thursday, January 31 - Paula Gamache

I rarely finish one of Paula Gamache's puzzle without resorting to Google...but today was an exception. That's somewhat surprising...considering how few gimmes I had.

But I just kept plodding along...guessing here and there, changing a few answers...and I got it. I checked the grid on the Applet and had something wrong. I changed 64A: "Finnegans Wake" wife from Anne to Anna...and my solution was accepted.

I'm always delighted to see circles in the grid. A note at the top of the puzzle (in Across Lite...I don't know about the print version) said: The circled letters in the answers to the seven starred clues, reading left to right or top to bottom, spell words that can complete familiar phrases that start with "break."

Theme answers:

16A: * Not just stupid (brain dead)...[break bread]. I'm sure they meant no disrespect with that clue and answer. It seemed a little off, although I've been known to describe myself that way on occasion.

22A: * Setting in Sherlock Holmes's "The Man with the Twisted Lip" (opium den)...[break open].

37A: * Perplexed state (wit's end)...[break wind]. I don't know if that passes the breakfast test, but I'm sure it got a few laughs.

49A: * Informers (rat finks)...[break ranks].

59A: * Dessert made from a product of a 10-Down (apple tart)...[break apart].

10D: * Orchard part (fruit tree)...[break free].

33D: * Fairy tale meanie (evil queen)...[break even].

I thought the theme was clever, and the construction of a puzzle like this just blows me away. The theme answers were all better-than-average fill, as was much of the nontheme fill:

18A: Where William the Conqueror died (Rouen). That's one of those words that I must have heard sometime in my life. When I had a couple of letters in place, I just knew what the answer was.

19A: Kerosene (lamp oil). This was one of the last answers to fall...in large part because of an error at 2D: "That's __!" (director's cry). I couldn't decide between a wrap (the correct answer, and the first thing I wrote) and a take. I should always go with my gut.

20A: N.B.A. center who has pitched for McDonald's, Pepsi and Visa (Yao Ming). I was at a real disadvantage here...I don't follow basketball, and I don't watch television. Fortunately, that section of the puzzle was falling into place nicely, so the crosses gave me his name.

36A: Daily or weekly, e.g.: Abbr. (adv.). I love clues like this...I get the answer, but I don't get the answer. Until later.

47A: Grill (quiz). That has to be one of the best words ever...both a Q and a Z!

57A: Major Italian tourist site (Pompeii). That was in the puzzle a few weeks ago...in fact, the syndicated puzzle for today (Wednesday...not Thursday).

58A: "Ich __ dich" (German words of endearment) (liebe).

63A: This and that (olio). Another of those words I'd never heard until I started doing crossword puzzles. I can't remember when I saw it last, though.

1D: Cellist Casals (Pablo).

6D: __ Hugo, 1975 Isabelle Adjani role based on a real-life story (Adele).

15D: Stimulated (aroused).

21D: Completely strange (alien).

23D: Music download source (Napster).

27D: They replaced C rations (MREs). When the girls were in Civil Air Patrol, we thought this was very funny...now I can't remember why. I'll have to ask them.

37D: Some luau dancers (wahines). I haven't shown a Hawaii picture in some time. Here's one from our first trip...taken for the book I plan to write about bathrooms I've visited. Reserve your copy now.

38D: Resort island ESE of Valencia (Ibiza). This was in the puzzle a few weeks ago and I hadn't heard of it. This is its second appearance since then...and a gimme now.

48D: Planetary shadow (umbra). I wouldn't have gotten it without crosses. Because I had Anne for 64A, I had umbre for this...it looked okay to me.

51D: Author Zora __ Hurston (Neale).

52D: Popular Japanese beer (Kirin). Wouldn't have remembered that, but the crosses took care of it.

That's it for tonight. My goal is to be asleep before 10:30...at least in bed by then.

Here's the grid...



...and I'll see you tomorrow.

Linda G

Saturday, January 5 - Paula Gamache

Regular readers know that they can find Madness posted by 10:00 p.m. (MST). That will generally be the case, except...for the next few months, I won't post the Saturday puzzle until Saturday morning. Tax season has officially started, and Friday nights will be spent with Don. For now, dinner out...as the season progresses, I'll take dinner to his office. But I'm a fairly early riser...I was up this morning at 7:00 solving the puzzle, and the post will be up within the hour.

Saturday puzzles are supposed to be tough...and Paula Gamache's puzzles are usually tough. I couldn't have done this without outside help. By the way, although I often say that I Googled something, the search engine I use is Dogpile...All the best search engines piled into one. Check them out if you haven't. Their dog is always dressed in something cute...a vampire for Halloween, in formal attire for the Oscars, a leprechaun for St. Patrick's Day...they're very creative.

On with the tough puzzle. It was superb...maybe even one of Paula's best.

Horizontal stacks top and bottom, all excellent:

1A: Saucily titled best-selling diet book (Skinny Bitch). Haven't read it but might. A bit of trivia...it became popular when Victoria Beckham was photographed holding it. That may be reason enough not to read it. I can't think of anyone who needs a diet book less than she does.

15A: It's featured in "A Night at the Opera" (Il Trovatore). Even knowing that it means The Troubadour, I had an A instead of an O for the third letter, messing up its cross at 5D: Cry from a daredevil cyclist (no hands). Once I got that, I was off and running in that quadrant.

17A: Target of a school bully (teacher's pet). I know we've seen that phrase in the past six months. I was the teacher's pet in some of my college classes...they loved nontraditional students...but no one beat me up.

51A: They really ought to be kicked (nasty habits). Excellent clue and answer. I wish my girls would kick their nasty smoking habit. I still find it hard to believe that two smokers came out of this household...I love them, but I don't love how they smell. And I hate what it's doing to their young bodies.

55A: Sign of stress? (acute accent). I didn't even see that answer...must have gotten it from the downs. Clever.

57A: Is a hero (saves the day).

And the vertical stacks:

12D: Yosemite Valley peak (El Capitan). That shouldn't have taken me so long to figure out.

13D: Dumped (poured out). I was thinking of dumped, as in a relationship.

14D: Harms (ill treats).

28D: Where Fredo Corleone gets shot (Lake Tahoe). That Sonny. [Oops, it was Michael...thanks, Bob.] I'm much nicer to my brothers better than he was to poor Fredo. I only saw the first movie...required for a World's Greatest Films class. I Googled (Dogpiled) to read about what happened in the later movies.

29D: Passive-aggressive and the like (oxymorons). The very best answer in the puzzle. I love the word (an X!), and I love oxymorons...jumbo shrimp, military intelligence. I can't think of a third one...maybe some of you will share your favorites.

30D: Common desiccant (silica gel).

Favorite clues include 16A: Tickled user's response (LOL), 37A: Yes or no follower (siree), 50A: Not be generous with (hog), 8D: Wee, to a wee 'un (itsy) and 40D: No Yankee fan (reb). I wasn't crazy about the cluing for 11D: They're straight (heteros) or 27D: Babes (foxes). Both are insulting and could have been clued otherwise.

Things I didn't know but got from crosses (or Dogpile):

35A: Château __-Brion (Bordeaux wine) (Haut).

36A: Arizona senator Jon (Kyl).

42A: Ben Jonson poem (To Celia).

49A: Peggy of "The Dukes of Hazzard" (Rea).

3D: __ disco (European dance music) (Italo). Should have known that...I think it's been in the puzzle before.

6D: 1884 short story by Guy de Maupassant (Yvette).

31D: Kentucky college (Berea).

37D: Steinbeck's birthplace (Salinas).

43D: Governor who helped found Ohio State University (Hayes).

In addition to the long answers, other favorites include 23A: Chooses by divine election (anoints), 27A: Enamel strengthener (fluoride)...I've always loved the UO combination in the word, 33A: Alliance (axis)...right next to 34A: College bookstore stock (texts), 39A: Lands in the Persian Gulf (Emirates), 43A: N.F.L. salary limit (hardcap), 47A: Like 1, but not I (or is that l?) (Arabic), 1D: University of Alaska Southeast campus site (Sitka)...have been there, so it was a gimme, 2D: Anne of fashion (Klein), 10D: Private dos? (crewcuts), 24D: Every month has one (ides), 34D: Body found high in the Andes (Titicaca)...remembered it from a previous appearance and 45D: UnitedHealth rival (Aetna)...my health insurance provider.

I had a couple of wrong answers in the northeast that made the downs hard to see. 12A: Center starter? (epi)...thought I was smart with CEE...and 32A: T preceder (to a)...not ESS.

I don't see how 53D: Dating letters is BCE. What am I missing?

Today will be my no-driving day for the week. I'm looking forward to hanging around in my flannel pants and a t-shirt, taking down the Christmas tree, baking bread...and working the Sunday puzzle later in the day.

Here's the Saturday grid...



...and I'll see you tomorrow.

Linda G

Friday, November 23 - Paula Gamache

When four women...all good cooks...join forces to create a Thanksgiving dinner, the resulting feast is quite spectacular. No one left hungry...that would be an understatement. Right about now, though, I'd kill for a piece of pie with my coffee. Thankfully, all the leftovers stayed with the host.

I hope you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving day...however you spent it.

Paula Gamache always dishes up an A-one puzzle, and today's was no exception. Stacks of ten-letter entries and more multiword answers than I can remember seeing at any time.

1A: Bit of income for the Department of Motor Vehicles (license fee).

15A: What someone might win after stumping a cultural group? (ethnic vote)

17A: Greek salad ingredient (goat cheese)...not feta.

26A: Where Yankees are found at Shea (visitors' dugout). I guessed that with the first U in place...that courtesy of 22D: Don in the National Radio Hall of Fame (Imus).

40A: Fan fare? (Ballpark franks). Clever cluing to boot.

53A: Axiom (basic truth).

57A: Witness to Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Adidala's secret wedding (Artoo Detoo).

59A: Rod Laver won two (Grand Slams).

7D: "A thousand pardons" (ever so sorry).

12D: Consecutive (back to back)...my favorite.

25D: Cuisine that may be served with a chork (Asian Fusion).

27D: "Everything's cool" (it's all good).

41D: Start of a little daredevil's declaration (look ma). I had betcha for too long. I was thinking more about the daredevil, not the declaration.

Related clues at 35D: Waste product (trash bag) and 30D: Put into a 35-Down (toss). I originally had trash can...also thought of trash bin.

Didn't know 1D: __ Mason (asset management firm) (Legg), 3D: Fictional character who first appeared in "The House Without a Key" (Chan), 5D: Robertson of CNN (Nic), or 28D: Ninth-century founder of the Russian monarchy (Rurik).

Spent too much time trying to figure out 51D: Wilson's vice pres. __ Marshall (Thos). Didn't make the abbreviation connection and wondered if we were dealing with a rebus...MAS in one square?

10D: Big shoe spec (EEE width) was a good guess which opened up a few spots. Other multiwords were 25A: Target (aim at), 45A: "Jeez!" (oh, gosh), 48A: Flawlessly (to a T), 2D: "__, dislike it" (start of Marianne Moore's "Poetry") (I, too), and 11D: Candidate for the proverbial glue factory (old nag).

Liked the cluing for 8D: They're not for you (foes), 14D: Related (said)...not the kind of related I thought they wanted and 32A: They're taken to the cleaners (suits).

It's been a long day, and I'm ready to call it quits. No early morning shopping for me, though. I did that once in my life, and that was enough.

Here's the grid...



...and I'll see you tomorrow.

Linda G

Thursday, November 8 - Paula Gamache

I don't know if I dare say this...

This was the easiest Paula Gamache puzzle I've ever seen...not that there weren't some tough spots and some words I'd never heard of. All in all, though, it was a very doable (with the help of my friend Dogpile) Thursday puzzle.

The theme is revealed at 53A: Unfeeling nature...or a literal hint to 19-, 31- and 38-Across (heart of stone). The word stone is at the heart of the three theme answers.

19A: Internal-combustion device (piston engine).

31A: "American Psycho" author (Bret Easton Ellis).

38A: Loser in a staring contest (first one to blink). This was the easiest answer, by far.

First, the words I'd never heard of and would never have gotten without the help of crosses.

45A: Temper, as metal (anneal). Huh?

63A: Equipment in chuck-a-luck (dice). Well, of course I've heard of dice...it was chuck-a-luck I didn't know.

7D: Sinn __ (Fein). Maybe someone can fill me in.

32D: Marie Antoinette, par exemple (reine). And that's French for...what?

41D: Stewpot (olla).

Clues I really liked include 5A: Contents of a scoop (info), 9A: Glass substitute (mica), 18A: "Skunk egg" (onion), 4D: It's read to the unruly (riot act), 8D: The end (omega), 25D: Visitor from afar (alien), 44D: Beach maximizer (low tide), and 57D: Sturdy feller? (axe).

Favorite answers in the puzzle:

30A: "Trés sexy!" (oo la la)...not quite sure how many words to make that, but I think oo is spelled ooh.

61A: Apply (exert). I like any words that have an X.

5D: Beach adjacent to Copacabana (Ipanema)...and there were songs about both the clue and the answer.

24D: "Rag Doll" singer, 1964 (Valli). I wasn't sure how to spell it, though, and had Valle at first.

26D: Kind of surgery for the eyes (Lasik). That seems like a rather wordy clue for this late in the week.

42D: One who's late to adopt the latest (old fogy). One of my favorite cartoon strips is Zits...Jeremy often makes fun of his dad for this very thing. Poor ol' Walt.

Well, that one doesn't show Walt, but it was the only one I could find without searching forever. I used to think if I had a boy, he would have been Calvin...and I'm sure he'd have grown up to be Jeremy. Counting my blessings...

31D: Without question (by far) is another favorite.

It seems kind of strange to like 46A: Vaccine target (polio), but it's a word I don't recall seeing before. I went to school with kids who had polio...it's hard to remember there was a time before the vaccine.

Knew but struggled to remember 64A: Best of the early Beatles (Pete). Also struggled with 66A: Tolkien's talking trees (ents). I don't know why I can never remember this...got it from crosses.

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



...and I'll see you tomorrow.

Linda G

Wednesday, October 17 - Paula Gamache

Well, ILE be darned. I don't usually do well with Paula Gamache's puzzles...they're more than fair, but they're often more than I can handle.

Today's puzzle has the letters ILE inserted somewhere within four in-the-language phrases. The new phrases are then clued.

And the theme answers are:

17A: All the rockets in existence? (MISSILE UNIVERSE).

26A: "Dry-clean only," e.g.? (TEXTILE MESSAGE).

44A: Cooking utensil from central Spain? (CASTILE IRON PAN).

58A: HAL 9000, in "2001: A Space Odyssey"? (HOSTILE COMPUTER).

When the puzzle has long theme answers, I generally start with the down clues...so I ended up with the ILE in the first theme answer. When they appeared in the second one, I knew where Paula was going with this one, and it wasn't too difficult to flesh out the other theme answers once I had the first two. All in all, I liked the theme...clever new phrases, clever cluing of the new phrases.

I managed to pull 1A: The Velvet Fog (Torme) out of somewhere in my brain. It helped that I had TO from the downs...1D: Tabbies' mates (toms) and 2D: Mayberry boy (Opie).

There were a few names I wasn't familiar with...got them from crosses:

28D: Stahl of "60 Minutes" (Lesley). I keep thinking I should start watching television, but when would I have time to solve puzzles, blog AND watch TV?

31D: Astronaut __ Bluford, the first African-American in space (Guion).

37D: First N.F.L. QB with consecutive 30-touchdown passing seasons (Y. A. Tittle). I know we've had the name before, but I just couldn't grab it from the recesses tonight. Well, I just Googled him...after a successful football career, he started selling insurance. Read about him here.

46D: Subject of the 1999 film "Le Temps Retrouvé" (Proust).

In order to pull this off, the puzzle is full of three and four-letter words. Some of them are just plain good.

23A: Noughts-and-crosses win (OOO). I've never heard it called that before.

43A: Piggy (toe)...that took longer to come to mind than I'd like to admit.

48A: Alt. spelling (var.). Good one.

52A: Debtor's letters (IOU).

62A: Restaurant chain acronym (IHOP). The local IHOP is one of 35 restaurants that contributed 35A: First course option (soup) to our Empty Bowls fundraiser last Saturday. We raised more than $25,000 to operate the Soup Kitchen...which feeds more than 200 men, women and children every day.

33D: Mil. option (ROTC).

Several non-crosswordese words I haven't seen appear often.

14A: Smuggler's stock (opium).

41A: Marzipan ingredient (almond).

4D: Animal with a shaggy coat (musk ox). Are they not the cutest looking things? Such sweet little faces.

9D: Mutual fund redemption charge (exit fee).

10D: Deep fissure (crevasse).

25D: Relative key of C major (A minor). I know just enough about music that this was a gimme.

41D: Acid neutralizers (alkalis). My favorite word in the puzzle. Just because.

The only answer I don't understand is 61A: First-year J.D. candidate. I don't even know how to parse it to list it here...ONEL. Is that One L? If so, what does it mean? I worked in law for many years, and I can't make sense of it.

And I'll close on that note. Here's the grid...

...and I'll see you tomorrow.

Linda G

Friday, September 21 - Paula Gamache

Hello, friendly readers. Howard B here. I'm doing my best to stand in for Linda, who is happily vacationing even as you read these words. Speaking of words (not to mention bad segues), we're here today to enjoy the Friday offering by Paula Gamache - a crazy little themeless construction which includes nine 15-letter Across entries.

Ready? Off we go.

Some of those fun Across answers:

1A: Just the pits (AS BAD AS BAD CAN BE) - Special today, you get six words for the price of one! Great, commonly heard clue and answer pair.

Political mini-theme, including:

37A: The "Randi Rhodes Show" network (AIR AMERICA RADIO) - I believe this is the first reference to this station that I've seen in a puzzle. Pretty cool. Also,

53A: Left-of-center party member (LIBERAL DEMOCRAT) - Just as I was noticing these two answers representing one side of the aisle, crossing this answer was 47D: Rove in politics (KARL). That's some democracy in action right there.

(Edited): I completely missed the political reference in 16-Across, so I've moved it to the mini-theme section. Thanks!
16A: Classic line of debate? (THERE YOU GO AGAIN) - This one stumped me for a while. Thanks to fellow blog denizens Crossword Fiend and Rex Parker, I now know this is a Reagan reference. Also check their sites for more info.

And a smaller answer, but just as much fun,
23A: Food whose name means "little sash" (FAJITA). To think they never taught this in Spanish class. On top of that, now I'm hungry.

Other acrosses included LITTLE OR NOTHING, OVER AND DONE WITH, MAKE A RESOLUTION, ANY PORT IN A STORM, and the SEATTLE SEAHAWKS. Fun stuff, for the most part. Congratulations to Ms. Gamache for fitting all this in there.

Not to ignore the Down answers, but many of them were clued very straightforwardly. Here's a couple that stood out:

11D: String player? (CAT): Awww, cute :).

21D: They may give you a seat (CANERS) - OK, I groaned at that one, but I'm a sucker for that type of clue.

Also the DARK ARTS, split between 52D and 4D.

Here's the puzzle in AcrossLite, as I was a bit short on time and couldn't do the handwritten/scanner thing today.
If anything is wrong, feel free to comment - got in late last night, and my thoughts were likely a bit fuzzy (as if you can't tell from my writing).
Have a great day, post away, and make Robert feel welcome when he guest-blogs tomorrow.

Adios,
Howard B

Friday, August 31 - Paula Gamache

Thank goodness for Google. Without it, there's no way I would ever have finished this puzzle. But it took me so long to solve it that I am completely exhausted, so this will be brief.

There actually wasn't that much to Google, but some of the answers I found gave me a toehold.

Only a couple of gimmes in the puzzle:

1A: Be an agent of (act for). Don't know why I guessed that, but it was right.

15A: Hawaiian "thank you" (mahalo). That's a word that we used often when we were there. The locals were so friendly and so helpful. We're looking forward to experiencing the spirit of aloha once again...just three weeks from tomorrow. And mahalo to those who have agreed to be guest bloggers...Robert, Rick, Howard and Dave. There are still Monday and Tuesday slots available. Let me know if you're interested in filling in one or two days.

22A: Grooming brand introduced in 1977 (Atra).

37A: "__ Peak" (1997 Pierce Brosnan film) (Dante's). Didn't see it, but I'd heard of it.

1D: Unscrupulous (amoral)...that's probably more like a good guess, since I had the AM in place.

3D: Fights with knights (the Crusades)...and with only the TH.

23D: Ancient meeting places (agoras)...a word I know only from crosswords.

There were some good long answers.

33A: Constellation seen on the flags of Australia, Samoa and Papua New Guinea (Southern Cross). This is one of the answers I got from Google. I know two constellations, Ursa Major and Ursa Minor. If I can remember this one, I'll know three.

38A: Parliamentary address? (Madame Speaker).

10D: Skin pics? (cheesecake). Sorry, no visuals here. Liked the similar clue for 12D: Skin pic? (tat). I have actually heard people refer to their tattoos in the abbreviated form.

25D: Cleaning product that may be useful after a party (spot remover).

There were several words that don't appear often in puzzles. 18A: Catholic (eclectic); 43A: Striking figures (picketers)...clever clue, that one; 54A: Void (abrogate); 59A: Opposite of diminish (heighten); 2D: Pantheon heads? (capita)...another clever one; 8D: Scale developer (Richter); 39D: Speak explosively in anger (sputter)...I associate that more with cartoon characters, like Daffy Duck; 40D: Dumps (pig pens); and 45D: Bad-tempered (snarly)...me, by the time I finished this puzzle.

29D: Short, close-fitting jacket (hug me tight). Have never heard that expression, and it isn't in my dictionary. Too tired to Google it, but if someone has, please let me know what turns up.

Liked 61A: Cardinals' gathering place (St. Peter's). I tried to think of the name of the stadium where the Cardinals played their home games.

I'm off to bed. Here's the grid.

...and I'll see you tomorrow.

Linda G

Monday, May 14 - Paula Gamache

I'm spending the night at Orange's blog again. Come and visit...

...and I'll be back to the Madness tomorrow.

Linda G