Monday, December 17 - Richard Chisholm

For a Monday puzzle, this had some tough ones. The fairly easy crosses brought it back to a Monday level.

While much of the country has been dealing with winter storms, it was nice to have a change of seasons today.

17A: Upstate New York city and spa (Saratoga Springs).

24A: Honeymooners' destination (Niagara Falls). My parents went there for their honeymoon in 1948...they were married in Hartford, so it wasn't a long trip. I've never known anyone else who went there, but it looks beautiful.

42A: Former president of Harvard (Larry Summers).

54A: Comic who played Robin Williams's son in "Mork & Mindy" (Jonathan Winters). I totally forgot that...but once I read the clue, I could see him in my mind. I wasn't able to find a picture of him in that role...picture him in shorts on a trike.

The tough stuff:

14A: Elementary particle (muon). I know very little about any of the sciences. When I had all of the crosses, Don confirmed the answer. I don't know how he remembers things like that.

13D: Swiss city on the Rhine, old-style (Basle). Never heard of it.

18D: Dwellers along the Volga (Tatars). Or them.

19D: Working stiff (prole). Proletariat, sure. Prole, no. According to my dictionary, it's somewhat derogatory.

23D: French city where Jules Verne was born (Nantes).

Multiword answers worth noting including 9A: Lesser-played half of a 45 (Side B)...the clue's too easy, even for a Monday, 56A: Auto route from Me. to Fla. (U. S. One)...we made that trip many times before the interstates, 58A: Smell __ (be suspicious) (a rat), 5D: Shipment to a steel miller (iron ore)...a little tough when I couldn't remember the appropriate letter for 5A: Letter-shaped structural piece (I-bar), 10D: Isle of Man's locale (Irish Sea), and 31D: Time before talkies (silent era).

Favorite answers include 50A: Mythical island that sank into the sea (Atlantis), 61A: Without: Fr. (sans)...one of the few French words I know, 3D: Homeowners' burdens (mortgages), 4D: Like clocks with hands (analog), 9D: Spread out ungracefully (sprawl), 27D: Passionate (fiery), 35D: Broad-minded (tolerant), 37D: Pago Pago resident (Samoan), 43D: Mountain ridges (aretes)...a recurring answer, and 40D: Besmirches (sullies)...love both the clue and the answer.

My favorite clue...44D: Powerful rays for mantas.

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



...and I'll see you tomorrow.

Linda G

Wednesday, November 7 - Richard Chisholm

Richard Chisholm's Wednesday puzzle is a fairly easy one, as Wednesdays go. The theme is revealed at 38A: What 18-, 23-, 55- and 63-Across each comprises (two boats)...and the theme answers are:

18A: Romantic goings-on (love life). I'm so embarrassed to admit that I used to love watching Love Boat. I had a serious crush on one of the crew members...not Julie, but I won't tell who it was.

23A: Tupperware sale event (house party). That was the last one to fall because of an error at 3D: It means "Go with God" (adieu). I had adios, so house wasn't coming together. Party, of course, was a gimme.

55A: Catching cold? (ice fishing). Clever clue, that one. That was the first theme answer I got, so I was able to go back and finish 38-Across.

63A: Cockpit datum (air speed).

The strangest-looking word in the puzzle appears at 4D: Act as a go-between (liaise). It just looks wrong as a verb.

After a long absence, our good friend Euler appears at 7D, clued as [Calculus pioneer]. In fact, it had been so long since we've seen him that it wasn't a gimme.

A few good entertainment answers. 11D: Where "Aida" premiered (Cairo), 12D: Jude Law title role (Alfie), 24D: "All the King's Men" star, 2006 (Penn)and 58D: David of Pink Panther movies (Niven). Stretching that a bit, we also have 13D: Many Justin Timberlake fans (teens), 39D: Toto's home (Kansas) and 54D: Shrek's ilk (ogres).

Clues that refer to time of day are often easy to figure out. We have two in today's puzzle...43A: Early time to rise (six a.m.) and 71A: When many stores open (at nine).

Some decidedly non-crosswordese fill as well. 1A: Scores, as a victory, with "up" (chalks), 34A: Erie Canal city (Utica), 65A: Whodunit plot element (motive), 8D: Chop-chop (pronto), 9D: Embassy figures (envoys), 19D: Smooth, musically (legato), 42D: Points that may have rays (foci), 47D: Lab tubes (pipets)...great word...and 56D: Pillow filler (eider).

I couldn't for the life of me remember a single Clinton cabinet member...it's late, I'm tired, I have high blood pressure, whatever. Because of the crosses, though, I was able to get Reno at 21A.

I didn't know 20A: "Rose is a rose is a rose is a rose" writer (Stein). I may or may not remember it when I see it next.

Well, six a.m. will be here before I know it, so I'll wrap this up for tonight. Here's the grid...



...and I'll see you tomorrow.

Linda G

Thursday, May 3 - Richard Chisholm

I was really doing well when I started this puzzle. Had a few blanks here and there. Not bad for me and a Thursday. At one point, I looked at the puzzle. If you drew a line diagonally from the SW corner to the NE corner, I had the entire left side of the puzzle. The right side wasn't looking too good.

I always cringe when the theme answers are clued to one another. I managed to get 61A (party) and guessed--correctly--at 62A (line), to get the clue for the three 15-square answers.

19A: Political script

37A: Old phone service

50A: Have we met before

Had a tough time with the first one, but I got old phone service right away. We had a party line growing up in Florida. Don and I also had one in Arkansas in the early eighties. We didn't even have to dial the exchange--just the last four digits. Aaah, small town USA.

I guess you could say that Have we met before is a line one could use at a party. Don't try it with me, though. It won't work. Weak there, weak here.

I liked that 1A: One left hanging after an election? (chad) and 1D: Redden and crack (chap) were so similar, but I wrote them in the wrong places, which made me lose a minute or so. I knew 13A: Dwellers at First Mesa, Ariz. (Hopi), but was Pixie Cup an off-brand that I hadn't heard of? Once I discovered my error, 4D: Disposable picnic item rightfully became Dixie cup.

12D: Jack Kerouac or Allen Ginsberg (Beat). Read more about the Beat Generation here.

Liked 5D: Tomfoolery (antics). Both are good words. Wasn't antic just used in the Groucho Marx clue?

I'm sure I'm not the only one who got hung up on 9D: The second of January? (short A). At one point, I thought it must have something to do with the second letter, but there were just too many squares.

Long day ahead of me, so I'm calling it quits. Goodnight.

Linda G