Sunday, December 16 - David J. Kahn and Steve Kahn

It's about time I nailed a puzzle. I was beginning to think it was time to turn in my Pentel.

The title, Movies You May Have Missed, is only slightly deceptive in that they weren't movies at all. The theme answers are plays on the names of well-known movies, with a twist...revealed at 78D: Lois Lane player of early TV, whose first name is a hint to this puzzle's theme (Noel Neill).

No, it's not about Christmas. Noel = No L. That letter is missing from each movie title, and the new titles are then clued.

Theme answers in a moment...but here's Ms. Neill with the man I will always picture when I think of Superman...George Reeves.

And the theme answers are:

24A: Prison movie about a medical miracle? (Dead Man Waking). I never saw Dead Man Walking...it was too intense for me.

31A: Tim Allen comedy about unionizing seasonal workers? (The Santa Cause).

50A: Prequel to "Reservoir Dogs?" (Pup Fiction).

64A: Ingmar Bergman classic narrated by Jacques Cousteau? (The Seventh Sea).

79A: Chaplin comedy about a religious migration? (The God Rush)...the second best answer.

98A: Chiller about glass-climbing reptiles? (Snakes on a Pane)...another good one. The answer, not the movie...which, of course, I didn't see.

109A: Tom Cruise action thriller about a nasty argument? (War of the Words).

6D: Sci-fi movie about gender discrimination? (Men in Back).

38D: Spoof about the soul of a fraternity? (Anima House). THE very best of the theme answers.

42D: Bogart/Bacall mystery about serious basement dampness? (The Big Seep).

I picked up on the theme fairly early on...up in the corner where Men in Back and The Santa Cause intersect.

Some days I like puns better than others. Today was a day that I liked them, and I thought this was a fun puzzle to solve. I'm probably a little giddy because I was able to finish it without tearing my hair out.

The award for the best clue for an often-seen answer goes to 20A: Garden figure (Eve). Second place...22A: Cookie introduced in 1912 (Oreo). If they've clued it that way before, I've forgotten.

There were a couple of connected clues in this puzzle...1D: Parade honoree, for short (St. Pat), with 15D: Home of 1-Down (Erin); and 73A: With 69-Down, not just hard of hearing (stone/deaf).

This is the third time in just a couple of weeks that "My Hero!" has appeared. Today it's a fill-in-the-blank, with the answer appearing at 66D. I wonder how many others thought it was My Word.

My favorites...either for the clue or the answer...include 30A: Global warming? (detente), 36A: Monkey business (trickery), 45A: Court pseudonym (Roe), 53A: Onetime host of "Classic Concentration" (Trebek)...I think of Hugh Downs, but I guess he was pre-Classic, 59A: Judicial cover-ups? (robes), 60A: "Answer the question" (yes or no), 72A: "Out of Africa" author (Dinesen), 78A: Cloud of gas and dust (nebula)...prettier than it sounds, 93A: Joan Baez's "Farewell, __," written by Bob Dylan (Angelina), 115A: Jealous Olympian (Hera), 7D: French red (Medoc)...a wine, not the French word for red, which is rouge, 13D: "Honest!" (I swear), 41D: Singer __ Neville (Aaron), 54D: Chihuahua, por ejemplo (estado), 61D: County of Cooperstown, N.Y. (Otsego), 75D: __ Reader (Utne)...classic crossword staple, and 99D: Pitcher of milk? (Elsie)...my absolute favorite clue!

Things I didn't know (or didn't remember) but got from crosses...10A: "__ fan tutte" (cosi), 23A: Movie critic Kael (Pauline), 28A: O.K.: Var. (indorse), 47A: Home of golf's Sony Open (Oahu), 55A: Home of Chennai (India), 58A: Airports (dromes), 4D: Jazz guitar great Herb __ (Ellis), 57D: Sister of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands (Irene), and 82D: Pizzeria in Spike Lee's "Do the Right Thing" (Sal's).

I just noticed that we have both Mom and Dad in the puzzle...Mom at 7A: One making a delivery (no question mark?) and Dad at 29D: Pops. I didn't put an S at the end of that one...didn't know what was up, but I was sure something was.

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



...and I'll see you tomorrow.

Linda G

Monday, October 8 - Steve Kahn

Linda G here, back from two glorious weeks on Kauai. Before I say anything about the trip or the puzzle, I want to thank the guest bloggers who worked so diligently to keep this blog going in my absence:

• Howard B, the first guest blogger, as well as the unfortunate soul who ended up blogging last Friday's killer of a puzzle.


• Robert, a/k/a Green Genius, who filled in for five spots, including the weekends...giving up precious family (and party?) time.


• Dave (the blogger known as Evad), pitched in and took a Sunday so that Robert could go spend a fun weekend with his lovely wife. For reasons I can't explain, blog hits were at an all-time high on one of Dave's days.


• Wendy, the brave one...she had never blogged before. It was so nice to have a feminine presence during my absence, and she offered to pitch it for an ailing guest blogger.


• Rick, a/k/a Cornbread. Rick promised to behave himself...no easy feat for him. Rick always makes me laugh, and the pictures he posted (supposedly of me) were no exception.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you all. And thank you, readers, for your comments. I know how much that means.

I'm suffering terribly from jet lag and the four-hour time difference, so I'll make this one short and sweet. In the coming days, I'll post a few pictures from the trip. Yes, Rick, I'll keep my promise to post one of the real me, although no one will ever think of me as Ava again.

Today's theme entries were all about metal. I'm surprised we didn't see Full Metal Jacket as an answer somewhere.

17A: Bond villain (Goldfinger)

29A: Certain trout (steelhead)

42A: Classic blues musician (Leadbelly). I've never heard of him, but according to this article, his name can be spelled as one word or two. I had everything except the B...didn't help that I didn't know 37D: Pole tossed by Scots (caber). It was a good guess, and Across Lite accepted the puzzle.

52A: Patriarchal gorilla (silverback).

Favorite clues and/or answers include:

34A: Endless, poetically (eterne)

37A: Some red wines (clarets). I had merlots initially, until the downs wouldn't work with it.

40A: Wings it (adlibs).

10D: "Stop!" (enough). That one took me a while to get...I was thinking of stop, as in halt. I'd have done better if it had been clued as "Stop it!"

25D: Germ-free (sterile).

It never fails that I slip up with the A- and B-teams (or lists), and I did it again. 5D: Most-wanted group for a party (A list) didn't come right to me. Fortunately, I had enough of the downs to get it before too long.

I think I can comment on the trip, using answers from today's puzzle. It won't be my best writing, though, and it may not 5A: Make sense (add up).

We decided to 44D: Go up, up, up (soar) in a helicopter the second day of our trip. Much of Kauai can only be seen by air or boat, and the views were breathtaking. We saw the location where they're filming Tropic Thunder, but didn't see a single 47A: Woods or Irons (actor). I don't care that I didn't see Tom Cruise, but I would have loved to see Matthew McConaughey or Nick Nolte. (Cleverly clued, wasn't it?). We 32D: Consumed heartily (downed) several varieties of fresh fish, including opa, ahi, ono, and mahi mahi. We also consumed a lot of local beer, but nowhere near a 57D: Fraternity party setup (keg). I did 61A: Lounge in the sun (bask), but I used sunscreen so ended up with a nice golden glow...no burning. We both 22A: Bemoan (lament) the fact that we couldn't stay longer. It was just so relaxing.

Here's the grid...

...and I'll see you tomorrow.

Linda G

Monday, June 4 - Steve Kahn

It was so nice spending the weekend with my family. My sister and brothers live about four hours from me, and I just don't get to see them often enough. Someone's work schedule often gets in the way...but this weekend we were all together. And we had a wonderful time. Most of their children and grandchildren were there, so we had quite a gathering.

And I printed out the puzzle at my sister's, and I have the laptop. All's right with the world.

Including Steve Kahn's Monday puzzle, full of R and R (37A: Break, briefly...or a hint to this puzzle's theme).

The theme answers are:

17A: Company that clears clogged drains (Roto Rooter)

58A: Friendly tournament format (Round Robin)

11D: Silver Cloud of autodom (Rolls Royce)

27D: Classic kids' show (Romper Room)

I was excited by the clue for 1A: "Madness" month (March). Nice to see the blog name in the puzzle!

Some entertaining, cleverly-clued fill:

20A: "Faster!" (step on it). "Red means stop, green means go, yellow means go like hell." Who can name the movie and the actor who said it?

33A: Adjective follower (noun).

50A: The Godfather's voice, e.g. (rasp). The Godfather was another movie we watched in World's Greatest Films. I never intentionally watch violent movies...I had to close my eyes a few times.

6D: One who knows "the way" (Taoist). Without asking for directions.

7D: Unlikely dog for a canine registry (mutt). As far as I'm concerned, they're the best kind. And one of the best cartoon mutts makes an appearance at 26D: "Garfield" canine (Odie).

12D: Bea Arthur sitcom (Maude). I loved that show. The sarcasm, the wit. She was my kind of woman.

31D: Exhortation at a pub (bottom's up). Love it, although I don't think I've ever said it.

37D: "Lovely __, meter maid" (Beatles lyric) (Rita). Definitely a Monday clue. Any other day it wouldn't have been so detailed. One of my favorite sing-along songs on the treadmill.

45D: Like pumpkins and traffic cones (orange). Does this remind you of anyone we know?

Several words that show up from time to time. It's good to remember them.

6A: Crime-fighter Eliot Ness, notably (Tman)

42A: Fancy tie (ascot)

43A: French political divisions (etats)

Okay, so I didn't do so well not blogging. When you're addicted, you're addicted. What can I say?

See you tomorrow night.

Linda G