Spring Fling

THEME: Double ZZs top double DDs.  Well known phrases which have the first word include the letters DD are changed to have the first word have ZZ in its place. A somewhat new fun way to do a "replace the letter" puddle, I mean puzzle. We do not need any pics of double ZZs, do we? 

More specifically:

17A. Moving like a dog in a narrow tube?: MUZZLING THROUGH. MUDDLING THROUGH, is where you plod along.

27A. Dud sparklers?: FIZZLE STICKS. FIDDLE STICKS probably originated from the violin playing in the street, which did not include high class music. It is why we have fiddling around.

41A. One solving several crosswords simultaneously?: PUZZLE JUMPER. PUDDLE JUMPER is an expression for a plane which goes on a short flight.

50A. Brilliant bees?: BUZZING GENIUSES. BUDDING GENIUSES, is used to descrine young people who show extreme potential early in life.

Hi everyone, lemonade back with another new constructor, who has given us a puzzle with a little bit of everything, puns, tricks, obscurities, music and more.

So let's see what Peter picked....

ACROSS:

1. Make sound: HEAL. Boom we start with trickery, sound noy being related to noise, but to hale and hearty. Nice.

5. Fictional elephant: BABAR.  Aww, and I get my favorite elephant again this week; read the books to your grandkids.

10. Pine: ACHE. Deception number two, not a tree, but pining away, extra nice.

14. Capital at the foot of Mount Entoto: ADDIS ABABA. We have often discussed this Ethiopian CAPITAL at the base of Mount Entoto, which is not to be confused with the dog, or the BAND which did have a song about Africa.

16. Gambler's marker: CHIT. The sophisticated IOU.

19. Spots on cartes: ILES. Okay Jeannie, we get our French lesson today- cartes= maps and iles=islands.

20. Straight opening?: ORTHO. My favorite clue, because it is a double cross, unlike all of our other opening lcue, which means you are to create a word beginning with the clue, this is the literal definition of Ortho, which is a prefix meaning STRAIGHT, like ORTHODONIST, too straightener, or ORTHOPEDIST.

21. Kennel worker: GROOMER. Well, you hope they keep the big sweeties groomed.

25. Greek sphinx, from the neck down: LIONESS. This is as opposed to the Egyptian Spinx, which is masculine and nice, the Greek being feminine and nasty. If you want more information you can read this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sphinx#Egyptian_sphinxe&gt>LINK..

29. Good for growing, as soil: LOAMY. Nice balck dirt, unlike the san we have in Florida.

30. Traps: WEBS. Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive.

31. Pick up: GET. When you are the store, I need some milk.

34. Razor brand: ATRA. There you go, last week's AFTA has morphed into the razor, everyone happy?

35. Contempt: ODIUM. A simple Latin word meaning hate.

37. Stadium level: LOGE. We have had this recently; just think sky boxes at the ball park.

38. Sigh relative: TSK. Oh goody, our word of the week, with yet a different slant.

39. Othello, for one: MOOR. Speaking of deceipt, poor moor.

40. Wonder Woman weapon: TIARA. She had her lasso, her wrist bands and her invisible plane.

44. Anniversary gala: JUBILEE.

47. Häagen-Dazs array: SORBETS. Of course this is accurate, but not my first thought; by now I assume everyone knows this compnay was from Brooklyn and used the fancy foreign name to justify their higher prices.

48. Words after take or save: A SEAT. back to the ball park, go marlins.

49. Z-zebra link: AS IN. Z as in Zebra.

57. Performer of many Dylan songs: BAEZ. I have seen her perform at Woodstock, in Lennox Mass., many times, and always loved her http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGMHSbcd_qI&feature=related>VOICE .

58. San Diego Zoo attraction: GIANT PANDA.

59. __ breve: ALLA, means all brief or quick in Italian (like our word brevity), and in musical notation I believe means a faster tempo, but I will defer to JzB to give you the full scoop on this one.

60. Folklore threats: OGRES. They get such a bad rep, but Shrek is a pussycat, sortof.

61. Not at all bleak: ROSY. Just like this puzzle, not at all bleak, but rather fun so far, no big holes.
Okay on to part two!

DOWN:

1. It may be glazed: HAM. Or my eyes after doing the blog.

2. URL ending: EDU.

3. Woodworking tool: ADZ. This is the second puzzle which I blogged with lots of ZZZZZs.

4. Songwriter Phair: LIZ. One of many female singers who started about the same time, but I do not think she ever sang at the Lilith http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z36Z0Fo-7zQ>FAIR.
5. One holding property in trust: BAILEE. Out token legal term, used for the hat check girl, the parking attendent and the pawn shop.

6. Li'l __: old-themed restaurant: ABNERS. Never heard of this chain.

7. Traveling companions?: BAGS. Nice misdirection here as well, and those of you with mothers in law, be nice it is Mother's Day Sunday.

8. NYC dance co.: ABT. http://www.abt.org/> AMERICAN BALLET THEATER.  Where they teach  dancers to 28D. Pirouette: TWIRL.

9. Word of support: RAH. Rah rah siss boom bah. Rah Rah ree, kick em in the knee, Rah Rah rass, kick em in the other knee.

10. Cache crop?: ACORNS.  Nice cash/cache sound alike.

11. Laundry conveyor: CHUTE. I have never had a laundry chute, only garbage ones.

12. Good times: HIGHS. Well, what a controversial clue, I mean admittedly lots of people smoke pot, but...oh he just means emotional highs. Nevermind.

13. Group values: ETHOS. A bit more greek today.

15. By a narrow margin: SLIMLY. A bit of a stretch as a word, but I guess better than nonely.

18. Rank and file movers: ROOKS.  A nice chess clue, describing the movement of the piece.

21. Key of Schubert's Impromptu Op. 90, No. 3: G FLAT. If it has five letters it will be soemthing flat, then wait and see the perp.

22. Popular party people: RIOTS. Oh man get a couple of drinks in him, and he is a riot!

23. Arkansas's ___ National Forest: OZARK.

24. Baum princess: OZMA. Many of you may not know how many books Mr. Baum wrote about OZ, and all of the characters not in the movie, but they even have their own wiki sight where you can learn  http://oz.wikia.com/wiki/Ozma>EVERYTHING OZ. PS welcome back KAZIE.

25. Stead: LIEU. These days in my world, this attached DEED IN....

26. Warhead vehicle, briefly: ICBM. InterContinentalBallisticMissile.

31. Blow one's top: GO APE. I seldom see this without a thrid word modifier.

32. Coastal wader: EGRET. They love Florida.

33. They may signify joy: TEARS. But not when you have to sign the DEED IN LIEU.

35. Exude: OOZE. Seems like it fits with this puzzle, which is oozing zzzz.

36. Nap: DOZE. Hopefully on one is sleeping through my efforts.

37. Branch: LIMB.

39. Media lead-in: MULTI. See, there is the standard cluing for an opening or lead-in.

40. Source of some greens: TURNIP. For Thelma and the other Southern Belles who cook with Turnip Greens.

41. Italian square: PIAZZA.  Not to be confused with the ex-Met Mike, who was Italian, but failry hip, thuogh the bleach blond look was not a good move.

42. Ascetic of yore: ESSENE. A biblical reference, aapropriate for this season.

43. Articulations: JOINTS. More confusion, and the less common use of articulation, not words, but separations.

44. Sluglike alien strangled by Leia: JABBA. Yes, she was http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZ95CvQZFb4> ANGRY.
 .
45. Standard: USUAL.

46. Chisel's edge: BEZEL. Sounds so much like Bevel and they are related.

49. Bacteriologist's supply: AGAR. For their Petrie dishes.

51. IHOP '__: takeout food program: N'GO. Well I already told my IHOP wrestling story, so it is up to you to comment, though if only this had been worked into the ROO puzzle....

52. Short job: GIG. Devin's band played a GIG at Uncle Lou's; he did not want me to go, because the place was a little sketchy, Great to be a dad.

53. Syr. seceded from it in 1961: UAR. United Arab Republic; not much on being united.

54. __-cone: SNO.  Don't eat the yellow ones.

55. Money VIPs: EDS. Cannot fool me twice, the magazines editors! Ha!

56. Mention: SAY. Say good night Gracie. Good night Gracie.

psst

THEME: How to have great ABs. The letters AB are added to the beginning word of a known phrase to create a new and humorous new phrase. We still see so many add on puzzles, so let's look and find what I believe new constructor Mr. McDermott has done to amuse us.




17A. Entrance exam study guide?: ABOUT DOORS. I really like the trickery of ENTRANCE EXAM cluing DOORS.









62A. Behar's home?: ABODE TO JOY. Beethoven's WORK is trivialized into the View hostess, Joy Behar.









11D. Steal office supplies?: ABDUCT TAPE. We recently discussed duct tape, now we our ABDUCTING (kidnapping) TAPE, fun.









28D. Missing letters?: ABSENT MAIL. SENT MAIL being an email concept, making this a fresh clue.









Happy Friday; Lemonade back on the job, with a doable but cleverly clued puzzle, with a simple theme, but many common answers clued differently, and 7 fill in the blank clues. When you are teaching some one to do crosswords, everyone suggests they start with the FITB clues. While you do this effort, I will highlight all the fill that I can twist into having a meaning directly for me, maybe you can do the same with different angles.















Across:















1. Put one's hands at ten and two: STEER. Very visual, but seldom follwed by anyone after they secure their license.









6. Aptly named lotion: AFTA. A brand of AFTER shave.









10. 1970 NBA expansion team: CAVS. The Cleveland Cavaliers, and ex-home of Lebrin James.









14. Poet Neruda: PABLO. He is becoming our poet laureate.









15. Affect, in slang: GRAB. How do mr. McDermott's clues GRAB you so far?









16. Reed in a pit: OBOE. Orchestra pit, another nice visual.









19. Jim Davis pooch: ODIE. Well first you need to know who created GARFIELD, but better than the usual drool clue.









20. Parlor treat: SUNDAE. Lois and Carol probably had different treats in mind in their parlors.









21. "Break a leg": GOOD LUCK. You are never supposed to wish an actor good luck, thugh no one is sure why they must break a leg. One myth says it came from John Wiles Booth, who broke his leg when heleapt on stage to shoot Lincoln, bu that hardly makes sense.









23. Mediterranean high spot: ETNA. The mountain in Sicily. I would have LOVED the clue if left out the "spot."









25. Dazes: TRANCES.









26. They go nowhere: DEAD ENDS. Because of all our canals, Ft. lauderdale has more dead end streets than any other city. (I just made upo that fact!)









30. Lead singer Micahels of Poison: BRET. He had a very trying year with health problems, and the Donald, but he was once quite the STAR . ( I represent rock and roll bands).









31. Sphere: ORB. From the Latin Orbis, meaning circle. (It also can mean eye, and I studied Latin for years).









32. American Patriot Deane: SILAS. I suggest you read about this one time hero, one time pariah. LINK . (he was born in Conn. near where I was born).









34. Legally prevent: ESTOP. Both Latin and a legal term.









37. Game with a Ural territory: RISK. This game never thrilled me; not into war I guess.









39. Only part of Egypt in Asia: SINAI. Hard to recall Egypt is an African country.









41. "Ditto": SAME. How many remember DITTO and MIMEOGRAPH machines?









42. They're tucked in a cannonball: KNEES. Jumping into the pool to make a huge wave.









44. Suisse capital: BERNE. Ah ha, not EURO; I went to Switzerland to Ski. Berne? No it was quite chily, actually.









46. Selfish sort: PIG. Ah, more about this.









47. Russian refusal: NYET. A shared MEMORY ?









49. Squash relative: RACQUETS. Squash actuall derived from this GAME .









51. Flanders city: ANTWERP. Belgium.









54. Sink or swim, perhaps: NOUN. Tricky, but becoming common.









55. Cross, often: MEMORIAL. So sad to see them on the edge of the highway.









57. Title for Bovary: MADAME. M. Flaubert's novel.









61. Man __: O WAR. Since we are approaching the Kentucky Derby, it is appropriate to see the forst super horse in a puzzle.









64. John __, the Lone Ranger: REID. How many recall our discussion of the Green Hornet (because of the movie) who is Britt Reid, the nephew of the LR?









65. Atty.-to-be's exam: LSAT. I used to teach an LSAT prep class, to help kids get into Law School, many are now suing me for getting them in.









66. Maternally related: ENATE. Well, NATAL we know is birth, but did not know this word.









67. Six-sided rooms: ELLS. A nice change from the overhead trains.









68. Guidelines: Abbr.: STDS. Now for me, I would clue this Crabs and Clamydia, because of the following clue, 69. Battle of the __: SEXES.









Ok, on to the rest.



Down:









1. Mudbath offerers: SPAS. Also many places in the south now.









2. House of Dana perfume: TABU. This perfume was introduced in 1932, and used the creative spelling to get attention, something the Beatles capitalized on.









3. "By a swan's __ bill": Keats: EBON. Maybe CA knew this line, but the erps filled with this common poetic abbreviation.









4. Gave the runaround: ELUDED. My FAVORITE .









5. Spins: ROTATES.









6. Back: AGO.









7. Throat trouble: FROG. Got a frog in your throat, or are you croaking?









8. Card worth a fortune?: TAROT. Nice fresh way to clue this standard. With, 43D. 8-Down user: SEER.









9. Engross: ABSORB. A bit of a confusing fill, as it conflicts with the theme; deliberately?









10. Snoopy-wearing-shades trait: COOLNESS. he actually is Joe Cool, when he wears them.









12. Declare: VOICE. As in opinions, which reminds me where are WH?









13. Looks for: SEEKS.









18. Menace with a blond cowlick: DENNIS. A shout out to our own.









22. Schoolyard pressure: DARE. I like this clue, and certainly my earliest memories of the schoolyard were a series of stupid dares.









24. Stage surprise: AD LIB. It was always fun to watch White Fang and Black Tooth deliberatly change things to throw Soupy Sales off his game.









26. Doofus: DORK. Funny, I just was explaining this to a foreign friend of mine.









27. "__ Brockovich": ERIN. Did you like the MOVIE ?









29. Less fruity?: SANER. Like fruit cake? Meh.









33. Wrap around a wrap, maybe: SARAN. Nice play on wrap/wrap.









35. Drop: OMIT.









36. Identifies: PEGS. My ex-wife's least favorite nickname. She thought she had me pegged.









38. Googling elements: KEY WORDS. Actually, it is AOL that ued that term.









40. Net __: INCOME. When I was a kid I was fascinated why anyone would consider money GROSS income.









45. Puts on a par (with): EQUATES.









48. Olympic qualifying events: TRIALS. Well he could have use a legal clue....









50. Incomplete: UNDONE. We are almost done, so hang in.









51. Martin's "That's __": AMORE. DEAN remember when we loved our drunks?









52. Staircase support: NEWEL. We have had this clue before; also my son Devin's middle name is Newell.









Speaking of brewers of beer, he is offically a brewer now, with business card.



56. Pack: LOAD. I caution him not to get too loaded at work.









58. Trojan War hero: AJAX. I am sure you all recal this giant redheaded warrior, and my betta.









59. Floating speck, perhaps: MOTE. Which is what I have floating in my eyes because of all the surgeries.









60. Looks closely at: EYES. Did I mention eyes?









63. Some NFL linemen: DTS. Last week it was Delerium Tremens, I guess that means the draft is on and we all need some Defensive Tackles.









Well, another new guy, another new experience. have a great week-end, here comes May!

Friday, April 22, 2011

THEME: The old switcheroo. Each pair of answers trade ER for OO, or vice versa, which are the ending letters in SWITCHEROO. By switching the letters, you get a different and amusing answer. And, the ultimate switch is having all of the theme answers clued in DOWN. How many were deceived like I was by the long answer YOU ARE HERE, which looked like the start of the theme? But, no. here it comes.

5D. Convicts' level on a prison ship?: PERP DECK.  This was POOP DECK, which comes from the French word--la poupe--meaning the stem. The French comes from the Latin term Pupiss--meaning the head or stem of something. The poopdeck is the raised portion at the rear "stem" or "head" of the ship that overhangs the rest of the deck. Do not get CONFUSED . PERP here means perpetrator, not our own perpendicular.

11D. Narrow passage where catcalls are heard?: BOOING STRAIT. BERING STRAIT is the passage between the easternmost pint of Asia and the westernmost point in North America. Baseball season brings out many of the Boo Birds.

(Notice the clues alternate OO to ER and ER to OO ).

24D. Creative user of worn-out clothes: TATTER ARTIST. TATOO ARTIST is a very popular career
though Jews do not believe you should mark your body. I do like the imagery of someone making beauty out of rags.

41D. Evict a "Wizard of Oz" actor? : BOOT LAHR. Poor BERT LAHR, fired despite his wonderful portrayal of the Lion. I like this one too, as I can picture a swift kick in the pants of poor Mr. Lion.

And the oddly placed unifier, 7D. Deceptive swap that literally resulted in 5-, 11-, 24- and 41-Down: THE OLD SWITCHEROO.

Lemonade here. A really fun theme, from my new pal Scott Atkinson. I thought this was an easier Friday, but wit wit and some tricks. lets go to town and see where we are.


Across:


1. Victims of a storied loser: SHEEP. I really have no clue, but the perps filled easily.

6. Dough dispensers: ATMS. Becoming a common misdirection.

10. Björn Ulvaeus's group : ABBA. Mamma Mia, what do you think the B stands for?

14. Humiliate : ABASE.

15. Takeout choice: THAI. My favorites are Pad Thai and Pad Siew.

16. Procrastinator's word: SOON. I will have this blog done soon.

17. Mall map phrase: YOU ARE HERE.  10 letters, and 17 across, the theme, right?

19. "King __": KONG. Jack Black, what were they thinking?

20. Forcibly expel: UPROOT. How appropriate for this Passover season where the Egyptians chased away the Jews.

21. Like all kidding?: ASIDE. Why would I do that?

22. Nova Scotia hrs.: AST. ATLANTIC STANDARD TIME , back to time zones, and how complicated they really are.

25. Ken, for one: DOLL. Barbie's Beau.

26. Key with all white notes: A MINOR. On a Piano I assume.

27. Unlike decaf, facetiously: LEADED. I drink unleaded often, now.

29. Making into cubes: DICING. Anyone else think of Ron Popiel?

31. Tempt: ENTICE. Oh yeah, baby, behave!

32. Jolly Roger sidekick: SMEE. Captain Hook's first mate.

33. Pampering place: SPA.

36. "The Chosen" author: POTOK. We often speak of Chaim Potok, and his book My Name is Asher Lev.

37. Not here: AWAY. Not a home game.

38. See 38-Down: CTRS, and 38D With 38-Across, large pol. arenas : CONV, convention centers. I like how they played off each other.

39. GWB, for one: PRES. More abbreviations hinted at by the clue.


40. Net addition?: FLIX. The Net Flix streaming to your TV is fabulous; my son has it and you can watch all the great movies.

41. Type of cleansing acid: BORIC. I am sure I have mentioned I used boric acid as an eyewash ingredient for years, and also to keep roaches out of my house. Odd combination.

42. Galley tool: OAR. Very tricky as this word means kitchen on a ship, a proof of a book as well as a ship manned by human oarsmen.

43. Trapper's quest: PELT. You ever wonder how little Minx and Chinchillas became so valuable?

44. Where the House of Grimaldi reigns: MONACO. You can understand why their prince wanted to marry this WOMAN .

45. Northwest Passage ocean: ARCTIC, I like how this is followed by 47A Old Russian council SOVIET, which conjures up the frozen tundra of the old Soviet Union.

48. Oversee a museum: CURATE, the verb to describe what a CURATOR does, not to be confused with the noun, and its religious meaning.

50. Subtle taste: HINT. My son made a Porter with just a hint of chocolate.

52. Jerry Rice's 208 is an NFL record: TDS. Touchdowns, and unbelievable record. After dancing, Jerry is now not doing too well trying to be a professional golfer on the nationwide tour.

53. They beg to differ: ANTIS. I like the clue, but I had trouble getting the sound.

54. Shoe annoyance: PEBBLE. How do they get in there anyway?

56. Muckraker Jacob: RIIS. We have had this MAN before.

57. Hirschfeld drawing: CARICATURE. He made pen and ink come alive is his DRAWINGS .

61. One may be assumed: POSE. Models anyone?

62. All-inclusive: A TO Z. Our friend Mr. A TOZ.

63. Very unpopular: HATED. Really unpopular, wow.

64. Tonsil drs: ENTS. A lemonade special repeat, Ear Nose &hroat.

65. Horse halter: WHOA. Okay, which sicko was picture Dale Evan Buttermilk in a halter top?

66. Like non-oyster months, traditionally: R LESS. June, July and August.

Okay, break time, and still no theme?

Down:

1. Enunciate: SAY.

2. "The Wire" network: HBO. If you have not seen it, you may want to watch this acclaimed series set in BALTIMORE .

3. Rivière contents: EAU. Wake up Jeannie, it is French lesson time; rivière means river and eau is water.

4. Rebekah's firstborn: ESAU. Don't you love how he just adds an S and we have the  next answer.

6. Playwright Fugard: ATHOL. This writer has appeared three times already this year, the last two in Sunday puzzles.

8. Shopping place: MART. Hence, WAL or K.

9. "Sprechen __ Deutsch?": SIE. You, literally Do you speak German?

10. Invites across the threshold: ASKS IN. A Dan Naddor like two word answer which gives odd letter progression until you realize it is two words.

12. Aptly named auto body adhesive: BONDO. Another great 3M product named by their crack staff which gave us POST-ITs.

13. Management target: ANGER. Nice deception here, and a bad movie with Jack Nicholson and Adam Sandler.

18. Diminish slowly: ERODE. Is that what is happening to me, I am eroding.

21. Grenoble gal pal: AMIE. Okay, bonus French today. notice the E on the end, that lets you know this friend is a she.

22. Syria's most populous city: ALEPPO. There are many things abut this city to FEAR.

23. Title for Salma Hayek: SENORA. Spanish for married lady, but ever since I saw Desperado, an actress I would not FEAR

26. __-deucy: ACEY. I played this and pretty much every card game I could find as a child; now not so much.

28. Creator in Caracas: DIOS. You need to know Caracas is the capital of Venezuela, and therefore a place where they speak Spanish, Mon Dieu, another language lesson!

 30. Big-screen format: IMAX. AVATAR was so amazing in 3-D at IMAX.

34. Compared at the mall, say: PRICED. Mall (4 letters starting in MA) not to be confused with Mart
35. Fancy accessories: ASCOTS. Fancy, or pretentious? NC, any thoughts? These ties are named for the races where they were worn by the European elite.

37. "__ Ask of You": "Phantom" duet : ALL I.  Is this a crowd FAVORITE ?

40. Big celebration: FETE.

43. Cuts for agts.  PCTS. Percentages which is how agents are paid.

44. "Hardball" network: MSNBC.

46. Picks up: RAISES. Not my first choice, I found this one hard to parse.

48. __ diem: CARPE. Just for me, some good old Latin, meaning seize the day.

49. North, once: UNION. Versus the Confederates.

51. Balearic island: IBIZA. A really beautiful island near Spain, and where I may have to go to get some papers signed to transfer ownership of a hotel in the Dominican Republic. What tough duty. Also a hangout for Hollywood's A list.

54. It's taken on some hikes: PATH. But be sure to put it back so others can use it. Nice clue.

55. Bibliography abbr.  ET AL. Latin abbreviation for Et Alia, and others

57. Corvine sound: CAW. Did we just travel to ancient Rome? This is from CORVINUS, which means crow in Latin. The INE ending, like BOVINE and PORCINE was also a clue we were talking animals.

58. Salt Lake athlete: UTE. Like many I prefer Joe Pesci in My Cousin Vinnie.

59. Court matter: RES. A token legal term for me, and we are out with

60. Slate workers, for short: EDS. Just as I began, I end not sure why, other than teachers and a blackboard are educators and ED degrees.

Theme: Lost in the City or the Country. Each of the six theme answers are the Capital of of a Country, with a aingle letter taken from the name of the country to create a new and wacky phrase. You can perhaps propose a better theme, but the concept is simple, though unstructured. The letter can be a consonant or vowel; it can be first last or in the middle and theletters taken out WAONIQ, make only NO IQ, AW!

Hello, Lemonade riding the Friday express, and expressing my admiration for this puzzle; so lets do the theme entries.


16A. Celtic quaffs?: CARDIFF ALES. CARDIFF, WALES. Supposedly quite depressing, near the North Sea. Martha Grimes place one of her Richard Jury books there. You do need to know a Quaff is a libation.

30A. Caribbean baby animal?: HAVANA CUB. HAVANA, CUBA.

38A. Arabian guy?: MUSCAT MAN. MUCAT, OMAN. We see this combination often, as clue or fill.

52A. East Asian "pet"?: BEIJING CHIA. BEIJING, CHINA. The amazingly long lasting CHIA PETS. This leads into a subtheme, with 12D. Capital ENE of Khatmandu: LHASA. This is NOT THE DOG . 24D. Some Chinese restaurant decor: GONGS. 48D. Contemporary of Mao: ZHOU This LEADER and a clear shout out to our leader.

11D. Iberian bridge?: MADRID SPAN. MADRID SPAIN, which gives us two spanish speaking countries.

26D. Mesopotamian savings plan?: BAGHDAD IRA.. BAGHDAD IRAQ. My favorite, liking the concept of the war torn land setting up savings accounts, when they may be dead by bombing the next day.

This is from the constructor who gave us the RINKY DINKY puzzle last month, and has show some creativity. So what do you all think? I had lots of fun. Oh let us solve it first.


Across:

1. Chuck E. Cheese's order: PIZZA. Wow, a puzzle starting with two Zs; this offering has the highest scrabble score of any I recall, though a K and X short of a Pangram. Couldn't he work a bowl of KIX in somewhere?

6. Disaster response gp.: EVAC. An EVACuation ambulance, which can be by sea, air or land. Hmmm, foreshadowing? We also have, 41A. 911 response initials: EMS. Emergency Medical System, manned by EMT's.

10. Eric the Red's birth year, roughly: CML, 950. This shout out for our Norwegian contingetn, was born Erik Thorvaldsson (Old Norse: Eirīkr Þōrvaldsson; 950 – c. 1003 a.d), and was kicked out of Norway for manslaughter. He went to Iceland where he murdered at least three people. He continued his murderous ways until he set out and helped colonize Greenland. His son was Leif Ericcson, the first European to make it to the Americas.

13. Lets go: FREES.

14. Conscious: AWARE.

15. "A likely story!":HAH.

18. Old cereal box letters: RDA. Recommended daily allowance.

19. __-Caps: SNO, the movie version of the nonpareils (semi-sweet chocalate with dots of sugar) which we loved as children.

20. Anderson of Jethro Tull: IAN. Okay, though the name sound Norse, he is a Scottish musician who brought the flute to rock and roll. Is their most famous song AQUALUNG ?

21. Pyle portrayer: NABORS. Gomer Pyle, USMC; I guess a shout out to Dennis. While Nabors was a very talented singer he was the long time partner of Rock Hudson, which shocked the crap out of me.

23. Composer Stravinsky: IGOR; another sighting of this name, spelled with an I.

25. Words of affection from Luigi: CARA MIA, my dear in Italian. Am I the only one who thinks of GOMEZ whenever I hear this phrase?

26. Club ingredient: BACON, Club Sandwich, noy club you use to hit, or go to get sozzled.

28. Astronaut Grissom: GUS. Gus Grissom, was part of the very first class of astronauts and had been chosen to command the first Apollo mission, when he and Roger Chafee and Ed White died in a fire while training. I was 18 and remember hearing about it like it was yesterday. Guw would have been 85 on April 3.

29. Seed alternative: SOD. Good thing we are not in an earlier puzzle, or I would not know sod all.

32. Impudent: SASSY. I cannot think of a better word to describe our corner ladies.

34. Senescent: AGING. I cannot think of a better word to describe... oops, I mean our first word from classic latin, from SEN, meaning old (like SENILE, SENIOR) and ESCENT meaning becoming, like ADOLESCENT, ACQUIESCENT, TUMESCENT.

35. Refinery input: ORE. Tricky for me because I thought of OIL.

36. Escape to Vegas, maybe: ELOPE.

37. "__ life!": THAT'S. SING ALONG .

40. Withdrawal concern: DTS. Delerium Tremens, the shakes one gets from alcohol withdrawal. My 10th grad math teacher Mr. Henderson, he would arrive with his coffee and his shaking would make us all nervous.

42. Hardly local: ALIEN, phone home Tinbeni.

43. '70s TV cop played by Robert Blake: BARETTA. Did you watch his murder trial, or his show which had a nice THEME SONG done by Sammy Davis, Jr.

45. Assorted: Abbr.: MISC. Ellaneous.

46. Farewells overseas: ADIEUS, a weak plural, but our french lesson, Jeannie; farewell, not goodbye.

47. Dinghy thingy: OAR. Bore. Rhyme time.

48. Electrical sound: ZAP. Love those bug zappers, fry you flying fiends!

51. Lighting brand: BIC. They won't let me forget my Cristal Bic story will they?

56. "__ you nuts?": ARE.

57. Matching: EQUAL. No longer the leading sweetner.

58. Agony and ecstasy: MOODS, also a fine book and movie about Michaelangelo.

59. Dorm agts.: RAS. Resident Advisers.

60. 640 acres: Abbr.: SQ MI, yes the letter combination looks weird but they tell you it is an abbr, for Square Mile.

61. Opposite of lanky: SQUAT.

Down:

1. Cpl.'s subordinates: PFCS. Private First Class.

2. "__ (So Far Away)": 1982 hit for A Flock of Seagulls: I RAN, we could have had another country, instead we get this TUNE .

3. Reset: ZERO. Like your combination lock.

4. Letter from London: ZED, how they say ZEE in Merry Olde.
.
5. "__ was saying ...": AS I.

6. McGregor of "The Men Who Stare at Goats": EWAN. Another entertainer from Scotland, who has done many diverse movies from Moulin Rouge to Star Wars . An actual actor who plays parts, not himself.

7. Feb. sentiment: VAL, Valentine's Day. Sentiment?

8. Circus sites: ARENAS, Circus Maximus in ancient Rome.

9. French Oscar: CESAR. Did you ever wonder about the FRENCH movies? I love Catherine Deneuve.

10. Y for men only?: CHROMOSOME. I like this word, well done.

14. Way out yonder: A FAR.

17. Shrek's love: FIONA. Also a wonderful character on the Showtime series, SHAMELESS . For mature, open minded audiences only.

22. Like much Hawaiian lava: BASALTIC. You want Lave, I will give you stinking LAVA .

23. Complaint while groping: I CAN'T SEE. Well two things, an obvious shout out to me for my eye problems, just slightly sadistic; but lets face it, when I am groping someone, not being able to see does not matter. It is all in the hands.

25. Dice and ice, often: CUBES. Another rhyming clue.

27. Earhart et al.: AVIATRICES. Flying ladies, did anyone watch the movie?

28. Spiritual leaders: GURUS.

30. It may be tipped: HAT.

31. One commonly follows "said": COMMA. Have you ever had a comma happy boss? What, a, pain.

32. Naval acronym: SEALS. SEA, AIR and LAND .

33. Japanese dough: YEN.

39. Stone monument: CAIRN. These are basically ROCK PILES . Also, a Terrier, like Toto in the Wizard of Oz.

41. And those following, in footnotes: ETSEQQ; this one combines my law and latin backgrounds, as we use this abbreviation whenever we want the reader to read a section of law and those which follow. The latin isliterally "and following." The two Qs are the plural.

43. King with a trunk: BABAR. I learned to read with the adventures of this ELEPHANT , and still collect Elephants.

44. Old TV parts: TUBES. my high school roommate had taken a course in TV repsir; he taught me that they do not blow up, they implode. Fun.

45. Knight's protection: MAIL. Chain mail.

47. Ventura County resort: OJAI, a California gimme for our left coasters, and the direction the golf ball breaks on the greans out there.

49. Operatic slave: AIDA.

50. It's behind us: PAST.

53. Elemental suffix: IUM. So many, LITHIUM, SODIUM, HELIUM as well the magnetic metals.

54. MLB execs: GMS. General Managers. As opposed to field managers.

55. Chantilly crower: COQ. Chicken in French, au vin anyone?

Friday, April 1, 2011, Dan Naddor

THEME: Oh, those silly backwards Semites. Each of the three theme answers are written beginning on the right and working in the opposite direction. Talk about a puzzle being delivered in my wheel house, not only did I grow up learning Hebrew, but I am left-handed, so doing things backwards comes naturally. I wish I had a video of me trying to Iron. Anyway, welcome back, oops that is me.

17. Start of an aptly expressed linguistic observation: CIBARA DNA WERBEH. HEBREW AND ARABIC. If you read the Hardy Boy mysteries you know all about mirror writing.

31. Observation, part 2: DAER ERA. ARE READ.

45. End of the observation: TFEL OT THGIR MORF.FROM RIGHT TO LEFT.

Hello, it is I, Lemonade, back from a brief hiatus, only to appear where I left off with Dan Naddor, Alava Shalom, and a wonderful April Fool's Day deception. For all those who have complained about too much 3 and 4 letter fill, we have an average word length of almost 6 letters. As always, Dan includes many multi-part answers, with a 10,10, 15 top and bottom. leave it to Dan to do a pseudo quote puzzle in reverse.

All right, on with the show, which just for me features lots of law and Latin, and some really interesting Ukrainian humor.


Across:
 
1. Lexington and Concord fighters: MILITIAMEN. Oh Dan, how could you do this to a nice guy like me? Every New England child knows they were MINUTEMEN! But it did not fit. (no insensitive jokes about New England men, please Lois and Carol). Both started with MI but there was no way to get 10 letters...

11. XXXV years after the creation of the original Magna Carta: MCCL. Dan liked his Roman numerals to be math exercises, 1215 plus 35 = 1250.

15. Apple consumers?: ADAM AND EVE. A nice deceptive biblical reference, and perhaps a hint to our Hebrew theme.

16. River through Lake Brienz: AARE. How may rivers start with two As?We are back in BERN(E).

19. Duplicated: CLONED. Ah, the new world order.

20. Roma road: STRADA. The Italian version of the Latin word STRATA. My oldest is going back to Gabii for two months in June.

21. Word with sharp or trouble: SHOOTER. SHARP SHOOTER = accurate shot. TROUBLE SHOOTER, an outsider who comes in to fix things.

23. Hand: SAILOR. C'mon, you all know, "All hands on deck!"

24. Leagues: Abbr.: ASSNS, associations.

25. Like performances by the Wallendas: NETLESS, the famous circus FLYERS have lost many of their family because they performed without a net.

27. Place to build: SITE.

28. Flying need: PHOTO ID. This was the trickiest for me, because I got the "oid" part first. When I finally stepped back to realize how this parsed, I felt rather foolish.

30. Is down with: HAS.

32. Source of support: FAN.

35. It's about 325 miles east of Texas's H-Town, with "the": BIG EASY, and a quick hello to our Hebrew scholar, Hahtool (also Hebrew).

36. "Return of the Jedi" dancer: OOLA. You have to be a real Trekkie to know this unhappy DANCER by name.

37. Like Cologne and vicinity: RHENISH. This related to the Rhine valley and perhaps to the post World War I attempt to create an independent state.

39. Condescend: STOOP. I would never stoop to bad puns to entertain!

40. Fowl with a showy mate: PEAHEN. Mr. Peacock, no foul humor, now!. Drat.

41. Herbal drink: MINT TEA. A wonderful Dan fill to tease you with the TT in the middle.

43. "Bewitched" witch: ENDORA. Brilliantly played by Agnes Moorehead.

44. Place with swinging doors: SALOON. Gunsmoke, anyone?

49. Abbr. on folk song sheet music: TRAD. Traditional.

50. Listed: ENUMERATED. A nice $5.00 word.

51. They have their pluses and minuses: IONS.

52. Fabled tortoise's trait: STEADINESS. Slow and steady wins the race!

Down:

1. Bud: MAC. So many meanings for bud.

2. First name in tyranny: IDI. An Amin after my own heart.

3. Checkup charges: LAB COSTS. Another multiple word answer causing a weird combination in the middle, ABC.

4. Inviting words before "Want to come over?": I'M ALONE. The wife has gone to shop?

5. Mystical decks: TAROTS.

6. Vacant: INANE. Vacuous, empty, senseless, blank, foolish, vacant, hollow, void, meaningless; enough?

7. Dangerous snake: ADDER. They are poisonous members of the viper family, and the only poisonous snake indigenous to Great Britain, I believe. NC?

8. Darn: MEND. Darn, these socks have another hole in them!

9. Mendes of "Hitch": EVA. Okay, one LINK for the boys. Followed by 11D. Hitched: MARRIED.

10. It may be a scoop: NEWS STORY. More multiples.

12. Plots: CABALS. This word is a form of the Hebrew Kabbalah, which is mysticism and secrets. The usage in English reportedly is associated with the CABAL Ministry under King Charles II, from the last names of the ministers. Sir Thomas Clifford, Lord Arlington, the Duke of Buckingham, Lord Ashley, and Lord Lauderdale.

13. Words to live by: CREDOS. Latin meaning to believe.

14. "The Merry Widow" operettist: LEHAR. We have had this COMPOSER before, in fact DAN, DON G. and BARRY SILK all have used this clue.

18. Latin term usually abbreviated: ET ALIA. More Latin for and others, ET AL, and our favorite Thursday blogger.

21. Window part: SASH.

22. Early Chinese dynasty: HSIA. No clue, so I read this LINK , C. C., your turn.

25. Canadian young adult fiction author McClintock: NORAH. Nope, did not know this AUTHOR either.

26. Nice summers: ETES . By now a gimme for everybody, i am sure.

28. Numbers in a corner, often: PAGINATES. Not a gimme, but I have edited a couple of books, and PAGINATION is a popular word in publishing.

29. Texters' amused syllables: HEES. TEE HEE, or HEE HEE?

31. Mexican bread: DINERO Spanish for money, that kind of bread.

32. What an asterisk may indicate: FOOTNOTE. In law books we also have Head Notes.

33. Lotion additive: ALOE. Phew, an easy one.

34. City WSW of Sacramento: NAPA, easy for you left coasters, but there are so many cities in Cali.

35. Lays eyes on: BEHOLDS.

36. Armchair partner: OTTOMAN, not be confused with the Empire which appeared in my last write up.

37. Hall of Fame defensive back Mel: RENFRO. Mel Renfro was number 20 for the Dallas Cowboys for many all-pro years; he played in 4 Super Bowls for the Cowboys, including number VI, where they beat the Dolphins.

38. Like hell: HADEAN.  More Latin, ancient Roman HADES.

39. "Edda" author __ Sturluson: SNORRI. We have had reference to this ICELANDIC who influenced many of the early Scandinavian authors.

40. Coat opening?: PETTI. Petticoat Junction, the spin-off from Green Acres.

41. Volcanic fluid: MAGMA. I am not touching that.

42. Perjurer's admission: I LIED. Another law reference, because it is Friday and my day.

44. "Melrose Place" actor: SHUE. This is Andrew the BROTHER of Elizabeth, and for you ladies.

46. Explosive initials: TNT. For my personality?

47. __ judicata: decided case: RES. More law stuff, and Latin, it just means things,

48. Some alarm respondents: Abbr.: FDS, no not Feminine Deodorant Spray, Fire Departments.

Wow, with so many long words there are only 66 clues, so I am through early; hope you enjoyed the Return of the Lemonade and see you on the next page. Oh, I lied about the Ukranian humor, but it is April 1.

Theme: I am Positive this is Puzzle is a Plus: Each of Five theme answers are words which when paired with the unifier POSITIVE which is also presented symbolically by the PLUS sign in the middle of the grid, portray a very upbeat approach to life. Based on his conversations here, I would guess this puzzle presents JL's philosophy.

17. *Survey response: FEEDBACK. POSITIVE FEEDBACK, the pat on the back children and workers are always seeking.

21. *Trying to remember: THINKING. POSITIVE THINKING means Norman Vincent Peale to me.

26. *Prospects: OUTLOOK. POSITIVE OUTLOOK is what public companies and political spin masters are peddling.

48. *Disposition: MINDSET. POSITIVE MINDSET is a way to get yourself ready for a difficult task, allowing you to use the full power of your mind. I read the works of Jose Silva.

55. *Cocky manner: ATTITUDE. POSITIVE ATTITUDE is difficult to achieve as a teenager, and must not be confused with arrogance.

And the unifier,

63. Word (suggested by the black shape in this grid's center) that can precede the answers to starred clues: POSITIVE. The black shape being a Plus Sign, also used as symbol for POSITIVE in chemistry, on batteries etc.

Happy day all, your pseudo-guest blogger Lemonade here,(?)once again amazed by Mr. Lampkin's mind. His originality and creativity is not limited to the cluing or the theme, but to the visual aspect of the puzzle, where like his LBAR puzzle, he creates a grid which itself is a clue. He includes his humor, his music and delivers another wonderful time had by all. On to the specifics....


Across

1. Inedible Swiss cheese part?: HOLE. A simple but witty visual clue to begin.

5. Sched. uncertainty letters: TBA. To Be Announced, what shows up on your cable tv guide when the power goes off.

8. Greets the bad guy: HISSES. A shout out to our friend Snidely Whiplash?

14. Bard's black: EBON. Sing a long now? SONG 1.

15. "__ Latest Flame": Presley hit: HIS. Or sing later SONG 2; when I first heard the Beatles and Elvis, I was not impressed, proving my total lack of musical knowledge.

16. Bird that hangs its nest from a branch: ORIOLE. I grew up admiring this BIRD.

19. Rang: TOLLED. "Ask not for whom the bell tolled..."

20. Juliet's volatile cousin: TYBALT. We have seen this recently, but I love how John worked 68A. Oppressive boss: TYRANT into the grid.

23. Suffer defeat: LOSE OUT.

25. Cubic roller: DIE. Nice visual again, 1 DIE, 2 DICE.

29. Cartoon skunk Le Pew: PEPE. He's back.

32. Mideast political gp.: PLO.Palestine Liberation Organization.

33. UPS delivery: PKG. Package.

34. Know-it-all: SMARTIE. I don't see the normal continuation, "PANTS"

38. "Tomorrow" musical: ANNIE. Does anybody recall Sarah Jessica Parker as Annie on Broadway?

40. Push-up sound, perhaps: GRUNT. While not a simple clecho, I love the added 46A. Push-up garment: BRA, which emphasizes how tricky our language is, and therefore our puzzles. A twisted clecho master.

41. Longtime Dodgers manager: LASORDA. Tommy who said he bled Dodger blue.

44. Org. with shrinks: APA. American Psychological Association.

47. Software buyer: USER.

50. Chinese menu general: TSO. Chicken anyone?

53. Beethoven's only opera: FIDELIO. I am not familiar with this OPERA but I knew we would have some of John's music knowledge, and this and 30D. 19th-century Italian violin virtuoso: PAGANINI did not disappoint. Also, 49D. Like staccato notes: DOTTED. I no longer remember musical notation, but I am sure our resident composer does, as well as JzB.

58. Draw into wrongdoing: ENTRAP. A very complicated issue, and John's shout out to an old criminal defense lawyer?

62. __ Tomatoes: film review website: ROTTEN. Initially an irreverent little site, but now the most mainstream central location for movie critiques. Anyone ever throw a rotten tomato at a performer?

65. "Wait!": ONE SEC. Literally man!

66. Calendar col.: THU. COL. abbreviation for COLUMN, eh.

67. Weighty production: EPIC.

69. Short flight: HOP. I guess because you go up and down so quickly; quiet LOIS!

70. Cubicle furnishing: DESK. Dilbert lovers unite.

Okay a short nap, and moving on.

Down:

1. Test the weight of: HEFT. Not a good idea when wooing a new girl friend.

2. Carry out: OBEY. Not a good idea when wooing a new girl friend.

3. Leopold's co-defendant: LOEB. A most horrendous CRIME .

4. Ultimate goal: END ALL. That is the BE ALL and END ALL.

5. "Not to worry": THAT'S OK.

6. Cristal maker: BIC. I could not fit Louis Roederer in three spaces, so it had to be the see through PEN which was the object of my earliest memories, and which betrayed me.

7. Mail an invitation for, as a wedding: ASK TO. I am going to one on the 26th, my ex-anniversary?

8. Best-seller: HOT ITEM.

9. Age opening?: IRON. Right after Bronze in your history books.

10. Hairlike corn feature: SILK. None better than our own BARRY.

11. Like a rock: SOLID.

12. Nicholas Gage memoir: ELENI. Do not confuse him with NICHOLAS CAGE.

13. Rushlike plant: SEDGE. This includes the water chestnut plant.

18. "SportsCenter's Not Top Plays" videos, e.g.: BLOOPERS.

22. Marching syllables: HUPS. And a quick salute to Dennis and our other veterans!

24. Pre-op test: EKG.

26. Play-of-color gem: OPAL. Nice phrase, again very visual, you picture how the light changes color when you move an opal around.

27. Forearm bone: ULNA. Not very HUMERUS anymore.

28. Lots: TONS.

31. Commit 18-Down: ERR. It is after all human.

35. Old boats: TUBS. I think this comes from the boats they used to teach people to row, but I cannot confirm.

36. Memo "apropos of": IN RE. A semi-legal term for me!

37. Pierre's state: ETAT. Our French lesson, Jeannie; we see État often, it just means "STATE" like I live in Florida, and as Kazie explained many moons ago, the English word is the French word where the accent became an "S"

39. Paper in a pot: IOU. Not rolling papers, but in a gambling pot.

42. Gone: DEFUNCT. Like the Studebaker and the DeSoto.

43. Bone-dry: ARID. And a fine deodorant, which really do not de-odor, but mask our smells?

44. Pierre's soul: AME. More French; do you all have "l'âme soeur?"

45. More than fills the inbox: PILES UP. A clue that is only visual.

50. Medium's medium: TAROT. Nice internal clue.

51. Expressionless: STONY.

52. Playful swimmer: OTTER.

54. Diver's concern: DEPTH. Be careful before you dive in strange waters.

56. "__ girl!": ITS A. No, not many in my family, though we do have little Amelia (Mia).

57. Former girls' magazine: TEEN.Aha, the real theme, girls!

59. Ready to eat: RIPE. Not like I am now, but the Orange in the kitchen.

60. Brutus' bird: AVIS. Followed immediately by 61D. Eat like a bird: PECK. Another theme, because we had Oriole above!

64. "Now I get it!":O HO. I am more of an A HA man myself. Now I have done done it.

A treat to solve and blog with the greatest visuals in the grid and the clues; will John send us some pictures of Baltimore Orioles from one of his many adventures? Tune in and see. Where did ewe hide the LAMB reference Mr. Lampkin?

Until next time, see you soon (hopefully, eye doctor today).

Theme: Pun for the Money, Too for the Show. The title of an early TV game show has one word changed to a sound-a-like, resulting in an evocative and witty new show. For those who are much younger than I am, this may be a difficult puzzle, but I have never blogged a puzzle more in my wheelhouse, as these are are still somehow fresh in my mind from 50+ years ago. I do love me some puns.

17. Game show about bribery at a checkpoint?: SALE OF THE SENTRY. Really funny clue. SENTRY sounds like CENTURY. SALE OF THE CENTURY was a late 60s early 70s general knowledge game show, which began with Jack Kelly, the actor who portrayed Bart Maverick, to James Garner’s Bret Maverick, as the host. He was replaced by Joe Garagiola, a second string catcher for the St. Louis Cardinals, who was a teammate of Enos Slaughter (see below).

27. Game show about an Algerian governor's search for his spouse?: QUEEN FOR A DEY. DAY sounds like DEY. This was the most difficult because I was unfamiliar with the term Dey (Arabic: داي, from Turkish Dayı, to mean the ruling governor under the Ottoman Empire. However, because the game show was apparent and only the switching of the A for an E would sound the same, it was not too hard. QUEEN FOR A DAY was one of the earliest reality TV shows, which began on radio in the 40s, and went to TV, hosted by Jack Bailey in the 50s, a sob story with no quiz show question asked, but the audience selected the winner based on my old favorite, the applause-o-meter. This was a most distressing show, where the more horrible a woman’s life was, the greater her chance to win. Jack Bailey went on to host TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES where he stayed until he was replaced by a young BOB BARKER.

48. Game show in which "Stuttering pig" might be a clue?: NAME THAT TOON. I wonder if Donna picked the reference to Porky Pig, when she saw the two Ts together in the answer? TUNE sounds like TOON. NAME THAT TUNE was another radio show which was brought to television in the 50s, featuring two contestants trying to name a song after the fewest notes. It was revived in 70s with a young singer then named KATHIE LEE JOHNSON, who later married football great FRANK GIFFORD, and co-hosted Live with Regis and Kathie Lee along with current media darling, Regis Philbin.

63. Game show in which couples confess indiscretions?: TWO TELL THE TRUTH. A fun show and perhaps a new reality TV show starring our wild and crazy celebrity couples. TO sounds like TWO. This is the oddball one, as in each of the first three, it is the last word which morphs into a sound-a-like. TO TELL THE TRUTH has been a tremendously successful and resilient show airing in 6 consecutive decades beginning in the 50s, when it was hosted by the incomparable BUD COLLYER who had achieved fame both as the voice of Superman on the radio, and as the host of BEAT THE CLOCK . After hearing my mother sing, he offered her a job, but she was in nursing school, and my chance to grow up in show business was lost.

Hi, Lemonade here, with my first Donna Levin, an honor and a joy. Forgive me, but once again the puzzle has so many references to my life, I had so much fun. On to the rest of the story.



Across

1. Equipped with 6-Across: ARMED. Okay, she started out with one of those now popular, unfair pairs, where you cannot begin to get answers until you solve the perps. The downs were okay though, so you also got 6A. See 1-Across: GATS, which is a colloquial name for guns.

10. May or Ann: CAPE. Tricky, Cape May is off New Jersey and Cape Ann is north of Boston, unlike its more famous Cape Cod, which is south.

14. Permission: LEAVE. By you leave, sire. An old fashioned word, 'Leave' has been used with the meaning of permission since at least the 9th century, and was very popular in my friend Will Shakespeare's work (more on him later).

15. Natural shade: ECRU. This common puzzle word comes from the French meaning raw, or unbleached.

16. Turow memoir: ONE L. This abbreviation for the first year of law school is a fairly new phrase which did not exist in my day.

20. Warning: OMEN.

21. Understanding words: I SEE. Mira, mira.

22. Elite octet: IVIES. We had reference to the eight IVY League schools just recently.

23. Paragon of redness: BEET. Beets are really not all that red, and in New England we said Red as a Lobster, which are not that red until you boil them.

25. Maneuver: FINESSE. Are you a direct, or finesse player?

31. Muse who inspires poets: ERATO. This is a crossword must know, as are all the muses.

32. 1,000-yr. realm: HRE. Ah, we already had an indirect reference to the Ottoman Empire, and now we have the Holy Roman Empire, which began after Charlemagne and lasted until the 1800s. The OTTOMAN ran from about 1300 to the 1920s.

33. One-time neighbor of French Indochina: SIAM. Now known as Vietnam and Thailand.

37. Arabic is one of its two official langs.: ISR. An abbreviation for Israel, whose population is 20% Arab.

38. Surfer's guide: SITE MAP. Internet surfers, fooled you?

42. "Exodus" hero: ARI. Another Israel reference, this to the engrossing historical novel by Leon Uris.

43. Suffix with grammar: IANS. Ah, we have some GRAMMARIANS among us.

45. Nonsense: ROT. That is a bunch of Rot!

46. Links coup: EAGLE. Two less than par in golf. A hole in one on a par three is also an eagle. I have never made one.

52. Biblical betrayer: DELILAH. The Torah temptress who sold out poor Sampson by cutting his hair, and the inspiration for this SONG .

55. __ dixit: IPSE. See, more for me; a law term meaning something said but unproven.

56. Up in the air: ALOFT.

57. They may be wild: OATS. Yes, and you must sow them while you are young, or so I have read.

59. Stage group: CREW. I tried to make this more complicated than it was, thinking about a team of horses.

66. Relax: EASE. A verb variant.

67. Slobbering canine: ODIE. Again, my first thought when I glanced through the clues was CUJO.

68. Mobile one of song: DONNA. A beautiful deception, as the Italian pronunciation is masked, and the constructor gets her name in the puzzle. This SONG is from Verdi's Opera Rigoletto and the lyrics are:"Woman is flighty
Like a feather in the wind." I heard this music often as child.

69. Batik artist: DYER. All you wanted to know about this CLOTH .

70. Tech support caller: USER.

71. Worry about: SWEAT. Don't Sweat the Small Stuff, and its all Small Stuff. RELAX, we made it through to the Downs.

Down:

1. As well: ALSO.

2. Chew (out): REAM. I am going to ream him a new... oops, have to stop there.

3. Gander, e.g.: MALE. Not the verb; what's good for the goose? She needs a Gander.

4. It's as likely as not: EVEN BET. Nicely clued.

5. "In __ Speramus": Brown U. motto: DEO. Latin, meaning "In G-d We Hope." In English the word 'aspiration' and others come from this root.

6. Bothers: GETS TO. Those un-clued related clues like 1A and 6A are getting to me.

7. Dull discomfort: ACHE. They give me an ache behind my eyes.

8. Timber producer: TREE FARM. Hmm, too simple for me.

9. Pension start?: SUS. A nice classic prefix clue; did you suss it out?

10. Transmits: CONVEYS. Carries etc.

11. They're not pros: ANTIS.Probably the first misdirection clue I remember from watching my parents do the Sunday Times; they are not Amateurs.

12. Famille members: PERES. Now for my French lesson, and a question. PERE means FATHER and FAMILLE is FAMILY; but is it fair because there is only UN PERE PAR FAMILLE, so how can it be plural?

13. "Family Ties" mom: ELYSE. Michael J. Fox's TV mom, a pretty California woman as seen in this LINK who was married for 15 years to David Birney, with whom she worked in Bridget Loves Bernie and now now Meredith has announced she is in a committed relationship with another woman.

18. Feudal holding: FIEF. Another essentially legal concept, describing land which was titled to an individual who could then pass ownership to his heirs in exchange for loyalty to the ruler of the land. The word has morphed into FOEFF and then FEE, which is why land transfers are now said to be in FEE SIMPLE.

19. Strauss's "__ Nacht in Venedig": EINE. A NIGHT IN VENICE, by JOHANN STRAUSS, Jr. While his father was famous for his waltzes, Junior gained favor for his light operettas.

24. Slaughter on a diamond: ENOS. The original hustling ball player, he and Garagiola were stars of the 1946 World Series where St. Louis beat the Red Sox.

26. Notion: IDEA. I have an Notion to give you a good spanking...

27. Former Cunard fleet member, for short: QEII. I love cruising, and once owned a travel agency so I could cruise inexpensively.

28. Starry-eyed bear?: URSA. Do you like Major or Minor better?

29. Make: EARN. What did you make last year?

30. Bonnie Blue's daddy: RHETT. Another GWTW memory.

34. "I hate the Moor" speaker: IAGO. More Shakespeare, from OTHELLO .

35. Woodstock singer before Joan: ARLO. I have previously ranted on ho disappointed we all were sitting in the mud in Bethel New York, when Arlo performed and refused to play even the short version of ALICE'S RESTAURANT which now that his star has dimmed, he is happy to play. I changed my avatar to my uncollected ticket to Woodstock.

36. Manner: MIEN. Another old fashioned word.

39. "__ la Douce": IRMA. A cute MOVIE starring Shirley McLaine and Jack Lemmon (coming to my aid?).

40. Points of initial progress: TOE HOLDS. Our favorite word, describing the pint we first began to solve a puzzle. You think Donna reads blogs?

41. Some motel guests: PETS. I wanted ROACH, but...

44. Napoleon vessel?: SNIFTER. NAPOLEON BRANDY is a designation of how long the liquor has aged. Oddly, I was at dinner with a nephew and his girl friend, explaining about how brandy was first distilled from wine (grapes) but is now made from fruits also, Schnapps, is a form of fruit brandy. COGNAC is a brandy from a specific region in France (just as Champagne, is a sparkling wine from a different region).

47. Recanted in embarrassment: ATE CROW. Meaning admitting you were wrong to the public, perhaps because cooked crow is very unpalatable.

49. Der __: Adenauer epithet: ALTE. Well, after this week you could not get this one wrong.

50. "That sly come __ stare": "Witchcraft" lyric: HITHER. This LOOK was featured in the song made famous by Frank Sinatra.

51. Church area: APSE. Crossword staple.

52. Out: DATED. PASSE and DATED both have 5 letters.

53. His Super Bowl MVP performance was his last NFL game: ELWAY. One of the few to retire on a high note, which I guess is what Bret wanted.

54. Out: LOOSE. This took a while, but I guess it is like let the dogs out.

58. Play to __: A TIE. Kiss you sister, mister?

60. Cryptic character: RUNE. These are the old alphabets which used in Europe until replaced by the Latin one we use today.

61. Italian volcano: ETNA. In Sicily.

62. Comedy routine infielder ...: WHAT. Classic comedy, which like a crossword is based on MISDIRECTION . 64D. ... and Bud's partner in the routine: LOU.

65. QB's scores: TDS. Cheerleaders, just would not fit.

Well, there you have it, a very fun, and seemingly quick solve, filled with memories and humor. Donna at her best. Until next time, remember to eat your vegetables, and there is always room for J E L L O.

Theme: It is a Punderful Presidential Friday. Each of the theme answers is a sound alike pun, clued with the continuing clecho of “Presidential” replacing a word or two in a common phrase with the last name of a president, to make for a silly and humorous new phrase. Interestingly, all but Madison were Republican presidents. I guess in honor of the impending President's Day holiday, we have gone from Presidential Pets to Presidential Puns, put on your seat belts because here we go.

18. Presidential putdown? : GRANT SLAM. (Ulysses S. Grant, our 18th) from the baseball term GRAND SLAM, a bases loaded home run.

23. Presidential advisers?: MADISON CABINET. (James Madison, number 4 and our shortest at 5'4") MEDICINE CABINET.

32. Presidential ATM sign?: FORD DEPOSIT ONLY. (Gerald Ford, number 38) FOR DEPOSIT ONLY, which is what I put on my checks; I never sign them in case they are lost.

48. Presidential university?: COOLIDGE CAMPUS. (Calvin Coolidge, number 30) COLLEGE CAMPUS.

53. Presidential belt-tightening?: NIXON CUTS.
(Richard Nixon, number 37) NICKS AND CUTS.

Happy Friday all, Lemonade here, and I WAS RIGHT, a NADDOR for me and a quintessential example of his wit and skill. We have his recognizable humor, heavy themeage, and fixation with deception both in cluing and using multi word fill; look for the number by each example.
Across:

1. Timeworn observation: ADAGE. Direct from the Latin adagium, meaning proverb.

6. "Pronto!": ASAP.

10. Party person: HOST. C.C, is our party person.

14. Paganini's birthplace: GENOA. I wonder if this reference was deliberate, as the pioneer of the modern style of playing the violin, had at one time as his patron, Mary Louise, Bonaparte's second wife. He was very conceited about his music and wrote his compositions to perform himself; I would say he was a ham, but Jerome would probably threaten me with a salami.

15. One of an historic seagoing trio: NINA. Along with the PINTA and the SANTA MARIA>

16. Not deceived by: ON TO. (1)

17. Los __: city near San Jose: ALTOS. Los Altos a city at the southern end of the San Francisco Peninsula, in the San Francisco Bay Area. The city is in Santa Clara County, California

20. 1926 channel swimmer: EDERLE. GERTRUDE was the first woman to swim the English channel, after only five men had accomplished the feat, and she did it 2 hours faster than any man up to that time.

22. Bernardo's girl in "West Side Story": ANITA. Brilliantly played by RITA MORENO in the movie version.

26. Trademark cousins: PATENTS. Names rather than processes.

27. Trains on supports: ELS. ELevated trains, still popular in Chicago.

28. "Discreet Music" composer: ENO. Brian is my recurring theme this week, as he and his Airport Music were in my recent blog.

29. Movie beekeeper: ULEE. Peter Fonda's gold.

30. People person?: CELEB. Very fun, PEOPLE magazine.

39. "Contact" author: SAGAN. Carl was a very popular scientist who did all he could to bring science to the masses with his books and his Cosmos TV show. He also was involved in SETI. Seeking extra-terrestrial intelligence.

40. "Uh-uh": NOPE.

41. Ex-Saudi ruler __ Saud: IBN. Son of like, Ben.

44. Managed: RAN.

45. Onetime California gubernatorial candidate Huffington: ARIANNA. She is now selling out, by letting AOL purchase her HUFFINGTON POST .

51. Biblical words before and after "for": AN EYE. AN EYE FOR AN EYE, kind of eerie considering my current situation, and the ever present need to atone. (2)

52. Title subject of a G.B. Shaw play: ST JOAN. Jean D'Arc, our favorite military martyr. (3)

56. Blitz attachment: KRIEG. The massive German all out attacks of World War II. Literally lightening war.

59. Prefix with "Language" in a 1993 comedy best-seller: SEIN. Jerry Seinfeld at his best. For example, the number one fear people have is public speaking, with death the number two fear. That means if you are a funeral it is easier to be the corpse than to deliver a eulogy.

60. Gaston's god: DIEU. Oh goody, my Frech lesson, Mon Dieu, that was easy.

61. Perform penance: ATONE. Man, you think because I get this word every time, a higher power is telling me it is time to admit my sins, and change? Nah.

62. Scraps: ORTS.

63. U. of Maryland athlete: TERP. Short for Terrapin.

64. Streisand title role: YENTL. A rare public performance by Barbra at the Grammys.

DOWN. DOWN we go:

1. Turkish honorific: AGA. Not to be confused with the cooker so popular in Europe.

2. Wilmington's st.: DEL. Delaware, the type of Indians near Staten Island, as well.

3. Lover of armies?: ANTEATER. Really fun was to clue the army of ants.

4. Acts of kindness: GOOD DEEDS. (4)

5. Enter cautiously: EASE IN. (5)

6. Americans in Paris, e.g.: ANGLOS. I do not recall hearing this expression from any of my relatives, but hey, maybe because I spoke French with them they were nice.

7. Femme fatale: SIREN. We had SIREN as Vixen recently.

8. Book collector's suffix: ANA. This is used denote a collection of writing by a single author or a single topic, like AMERICANA, or DICKENSIANA. Not a collector like Dennis, but one who puts things together in a single volume.

9. Put down in writing?: PAN. The critics often Pan the blog for too many links.

10. Mubarak of Egypt: HOSNI. Isn’t amazing Dan used fill so current even though this puzzle was written more than one year ago; here is one perception of MUBARAK .

11. Surfing without a board, maybe: ON LINE. Web surfing. (6)

12. New York's __ Island: STATEN. The smallest population of the five boroughs of New York city, this was named Staaten Eylandt (literally "State Island") by Henry Hudson, sailing on behalf of the Dutch government.

13. T in a sandwich: TOMATO. The "T" in BLT.

19. Typewriter feature: TAB SET. (7)

21. Queue after Q: RST. An innovative play on words to spice up the letter string Q R S T.

23. Opposite of bueno: MALO. BUENO=Good, MALO=Bad in Spanish.

24. Psychic couple?: CEES. A new variation, as there are two "C"s in the word.

25. "That's __ ask": ALL I. Yeah right, beware when anyone ever says this to you. (8)

26. Sta-__: fabric softener: PUF. Have not heard of this brand in awhile. Maybe it will be the new Ipana.

30. Hoodwink: CON. From the CONFIDENCE MEN who gain that frompeople and then bilk them.

31. Ruling family name in 19th-century Europe: BONAPARTE. If you want more, I provide this LINK .

33. Connecticut coastal town near Stamford: DARIEN. One of the many small town near Manhattan which attracted the successful New Yorkers looking to escape from the city. The opposite end of the state in every sense from where I grew up.

34. "Yikes!": EGAD. Veddy British, in preparation for RAJ, I guess.

35. Qualm: PANG. Pangs of guilt.

36. Like some workers in an open shop: NON UNION. So Wisconsin people, what do you think of the teacher union stuff? (9)

37. HMO employees: LPNS. Licensed Practical Nurses; one level below Registered Nurses. Sort of like an AA degree compared to a BA.

38. Thumbs-up vote: YEA. Or nay.

41. Response to a doubting Thomas: I CAN SO. (10)

42. More scrawny: BONIER.How many of you thought of this SONG .

43. Prohibitive door sign: NO EXIT. (11)

45. Misbehaves: ACTS UP. (12)

46. British rule in India: RAJ. From this period of BRITISH RULE as we can see from the comments of our now anonymous friend Vidwan, there remain bad feelings among Indian and Pakistani citizens. On a happier note, I strongly recommend the book MAJOR PETTIGREW’S LAST STAND .

47. Post-fall reassurance: I'M OKAY. Not fall autumn, but faw down and go boom fall. (13)

49. Interpol headquarters: LYONS. I was getting psyched for my second French dispute with Dan of the puzzle, when I read the town of LYON (French name, pronounced lee ohn)was anglicized to Lyons. International Police, now with 188 countries signed on.

50. Glyceride, e.g.: ESTER. Organic chemistry was impossible for my limited vision; my professor wrote with one hand and erased with the other.

54. Setting on the Mississippi: Abbr.: CDT. Your clock setting, Central Daylight Time. A toughie in February.

55. A lost driver may hang one, briefly: UIE. We have debated the spelling of a U Turn before.

57. M.D.'s specialty: ENT. No, the Doctors do not work on animated trees from Tolkien, but Ear Nose and Throat.

58. Styling stuff: GEL. Hair styling; I am just too lazy.

Well, it has been an up and down week, but it was great to finish with me and Dan trying to entertain. have a great week end, especially those who get President's day off.

Friday Feb 11, 2011, James Sajdak

Theme: "D" mand you do better than a D PLUS; the letter "D" is attached at the beginning of the first word of a grid spanning phrase to create a new and humorous new phrase which is signaled with a "?" to let the solver know a play on words is involved. In the 4th theme answer, the first word and the third word are the same word, so both have the D added.

17. Soundly defeat by cheating?: DRUB THE WRONG WAY. A drubbing is a beating, and likely comes from an Arabic word that transliterates as DARB. No one would ever accuse our Dfettes of rubbing the wrong way.

24. Gloomy Cuban?: DOUR MAN IN HAVANA. What is particularly intriguing about this clue is the Graham Greene novel, and subsequent MOVIE starring among others Alec Guiness and the incomparable Ernie Kovacs, is a dark comedy poking fun at British Intelligence/ Green was a member of MI5, the place from whence James Bond was born. The movie was also filmed in Cuba, with the approval of then newly empowered Fidel Castro.

46. Discerning pub competitor ?: DART CONNOISSEUR. More little javelins, this week, and a word with Latin, cognoscere "to know, to become well_acquainted with, and some French history.

59. What loving couples exchange?: DEAR TO DEAR GRINS. Certainly a more romantic concept than xxxx eating grins.

And the unifier,
37. Grade that describes this puzzle’s theme: D PLUS. Well, it is almost a C-

An ambitious use of 4 grid spanning entries, tied together solely by the added "D." The sound of the theme is very entertaining, and there are some nice entries, but overall, I found myself lost in places. Maybe it is just me, as this has been a very hard week.

Well lets look at what has been wrought.


Across
1. Part of the deal: HAND. We begin with some nice misdirection, as a hand of cards is part of what is dealt.

5. Little pieces, idiomatically: DRABS. Dribs and drabs is the full phrase, with the speculation it was created for the sound, like helter skelter or hurly burly. DRIBS likely comes from DRIPS.

10. Benevolent group: ELKS. BPOE, the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks; not to be confused with the Moose Lodge.

14. Great Plains tribe: OTOE. This Siouxan tribe was part of the buffalo hunting nomadic Indians of Missouri and Oklahoma. And, 41A. Iroquois enemies: ERIES.

15. Amazing!: OH WOW.

16. House leader during Bill’s presidency: NEWT. Mr. Gingrich is back politicking to be president. He has written 23 books, and overcome being known as NEWT.

20. Henri’s health: SANTE. An alliterative introduction to our French lesson, A votre sante, is the common French toast, "to your health."

21.Critical: DO OR DIE. One of those odd combination of letters which must be parsed as more than one word, or you just sit and stare at the gird. This also brings to mind the Tennyson POEM .

22. Lummox: OAF.

24. Maker of the LX 150 scooter: VESPA. I know no other scooter maker, so this had to be easy.

32.Photo finish?: OPS. Another word play, and what every politician wants.

33. Birthplace of seven presidents: OHIO. Grant, Hayes, Garfield, Benjamin Harrison, McKinley, Taft, Harding; second only to Virginia’s 8 presidents

34. Drive off: REPEL. So many meanings, from warding off, to going down the mountain side.

35. Ardor: ZEAL. Who is your favorite Zealot in history?

40. "James and the Giant Peach" writer: DAHL. Roald, one bizarre mind.

43. Start of Durante refrain: INKA. Fine childhood memories of listening to this SONG .

45. Olympics participant since 1992, to the IOC: CRO. Croatia after the break up of the slavic countries.

50.Cheerios: TA TAS. Just for Nice Cuppa, we have a little British wordplay on departing; not to be confused with TATAS, or any cereal products.

51 Music store section: POP. Nuff said.

52. Martyred first Bishop of Paris: ST. DENIS. A complete unknown HISTORY .

55. Notable early student of Bela: NADIA. Nadia Comaneci and Bela Karolyi, the wonderful Romanian gymnastic student and teacher.

63. ___ à feu: ARME. Literally a firearm.

64. Carnival dance: SAMBA. Not the one with cotton candy, but from Brazil, with passion. You too can learn to DANCE .

65. Unite after a break, in a way: KNIT. When a bone breaks, it heals by knitting itself back together.

66. Caring: KIND. Very literal.

67. Magazine for horse owners: EQUUS. Latin for Horse.

68. Sherpa sighting: YETI. The famous mountain guides see a little abominable snow man?

Time to go down:

Down:
1. Mortar carriers HODS. They actually are used to carry the bricks and the mortar.

2. Handle for a little shaver?: ATRA. Handle meaning name, cute clue.

3. Animal, vegetable or mineral: NOUN. We had this clue before.

4. Unsettled one?: DEBTOR. People are said to settle their debts when they resolve them.

5. Head-slapper’s cry: DOH. Most of us at one time or another and Homer.

6. Scoreboard initials: RHE. Runs, hits and errors at a baseball game. This was a clue in the first puzzle I blogged.

7. How adorable!: AWW. Exactly how a feel baout new grand nephew and niece.

8. Big name in Dairy: BORDEN. I do not believe the company was named after Lizzie.

9. Sports logs since 1972: SWOOSH. The Nike logo, made famous by Mr. Jordan.

10. Like cameos: ENGRAVED. I had a hard time with this one, as I was thinking about brief appearance in a film, not the jewelry. I am not sure all cameos are engraved.

11. Lascivious: LEWD. In the law these two words go together.

12. Title river in a 1957 film that won 7 Oscars: KWAI. Love the MOVIE . Once again Alec Guiness performs.

13. Eyelid malady: STYE. Yes, those of us with eye problems wish all we had to deal with were
styes, or hordeolum, small bumps that can appear on the outside or inside of the eyelid.

18. Latin lover’s declaration: TE AMO. Real Latin, not Hispanic, I love you.

19. Stock term: NO PAR. We have had this many times, it just means the stock has no intrinsic value.

23. Saudi royal name: FAHD. The son of the founder of the country who ruled until his death in 2005; also another Arabic word, meaning courageous, fierce.

24. Talking Heads song, "Sax and ____": VIOLINS. Another SONG .

25. Missed out maybe: DOZED. I never saw this clue, but I guess it personifies if you snooze, you lose.

26. Met tragedy, perhaps?: OPERA. The question mark tells you it is the Metropolitan Opera, many of which are tragedies like OTELLO.

27.It merged with Piedmont in 1989: US AIR. Deregulation leads to consolidation. Not to ne confused with 58D. Piedmont wine region: ASTI. Where Italian sparkling wine is made.

28. Playful bite: NIP. Many puppies and a few babies I know.

29. Swiftly: APACE. The dreaded "A" word.

30. Jacket style popular with 60's rockers: NEHRU. The man, and his influence.

31. Words that lead to nothing: ALL OR. Very cute, all or nothing.

36. Educated: LETTERED. The original studies were of letters.

38. Game based on crazy eights: UNO. Once again, this game in my blog, and once again, we played SkipBo to please Ma Grand-Mère. And 39D. Card in 38-down: SKIP.

42. Meager: SCANT. For our Norwegian contingent, from Old Norse SKAMPT.

44. Words after play or for: A SONG. No money, just some singing.

47. Idle: OTIOSE. Our five dollar word of the day, taken directly from the Latin otiosis. American IDLE, where the OTIOSE become OBESE.

48. Where GOOG is traded: NASDAQ.GOOG is the stock symbol for GOOGLE, which is traded on the Over the Counter Market, National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations" controlled neither by the New York nor American Stock Exchange. It is now the largest market of listed companies.

49. Canine mascot of the National Fire Protection Society: SPARKY. A post Smokey rip off, but you gotta love a dog in a yellow slicker IMAGE .

52. Badlands Natl. Park site: S DAK. The abbreviation of NATL tells you the answer will be an abbreviation also.

53. Dustin’s "Tootsies"co-star: TERI. These puzzles haunt me, as dear Teri Garr appears again on my blog day.

54. Denounce: DAMN. Another reminder of Rhett and Scarlett.

56. Wine partner: DINE. The old dating tradition of wining and dining, to replaced with the post honeymoon whining and shopping.

57. Down but not out: IN IT. If you are not out, you are in.

60. Bird in the bush: EMU. A call out to our transplant from OZ, Kazie, where these flightless but low in cholesterol birds roam.

61. ___Dhabi: ABU. Part of the UAE and home for a new golf course and golf tournament, owned by Martin Kaymer.

62. ___Tafari: RAS. Ras Tafari Makonnen was crowned Haile Selassie I, the 225th Monarch of the Solomonic Dynasty in Ethiopia in November of 1930. He also was the prophet of the RASTAFARIAN movement which emerged in Jamaica. He claimed to be a direct descendent of King Solomon, and therefore of Moses.


Well, that was fun, and next week, I should be back to whatever normal is for me; bec areful out there especially on Valentine's Day; thanks Mr. Sajdak and all the corner.