MONDAY, Nov. 23, 2009 — Joan Buell

THEME: From The Waist Down ... — pieces of clothing with body parts in their names

Well the SHIN and ANKLE are part of the LEG, and the HIP is not even part of the leg, but all the articles of clothing do cover roughly the area just about your ANKLE at a minimum, so I guess they have that in common. I hit 17A: Beatles footwear and thought I was going to run smack into yet another BEATLES puzzle today (see NYT), but no. Which is fine by me.

Theme answers:

• 17A: Beatles footwear (ANKLE BOOTS) — I did not know this was a signature piece of Beatles wear.
• 10D: Goalie's protective pair (SHIN GUARDS) — all soccer players wore these when I played as a kid. Very necessary.
• 30D: Pants with a low waistline (HIP HUGGERS)
• 66A: Stockinglike workout wear (LEG WARMERS) — mmm, 80s. My sister owned some of these. Actually, my daughter owns some now and loves them. She's 9, which may be how old my sister was when she had hers.

Crosswordese 101: EARLAP (49D: Winter hat feature) — My lab does this to my shepherd/husky. That is, she laps her ears. If you are like me (and why wouldn't you be), the first time you saw this word, you wondered where the "F" had got to. For some reason, both EARLAP and EARFLAP are perfectly acceptable words for describing the same phenomenon, i.e. those dorky yet oh-so-comfortable appendages on your winter hat.



What else?

• 41A: WWII noncombat females (WAACS) — I thought it was WACS. And ... it was. I read a description explaining the difference and still didn't understand. The WAACs (Women's Army Auxiliary Corps) were British and active in WWI. Then somehow briefly there was a WAAC in 1942 in the U.S. that then became just the WAC (Women's Army Corps). There was only one year of WAAC in U.S. (1942-43). So ... I don't think I like this answer.
• 14A: Psychic's card (TAROT) — like this better as a "deck" rather than just a "card."
• 37D: Hawaiian island (MAUI) — had the "A" and put in OAHU!
• 40A: Like the diving-board end (DEEP) — feels like "... of the pool" was left off the clue.
• 53D: Tequila plant (AGAVE) — used to sweeten at least one of my breakfast cereals.
• 13D: Anne of "Archie Bunker's Place" (MEARA) — I never watched this "All in the Family" sequel, but I do love Anne MEARA for her recurring role on Rhoda, among other things...

See you Friday,

~RP

[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter]

Everything Else — 1A: Closes in anger, as a door (SLAMS); 6A: Cause damage to (HARM); 10A: Cover for a pillow (SHAM); 14A: Psychic's card (TAROT); 15A: Belle man (BEAU); 16A: Watering aid (HOSE); 17A: Beatles footwear (ANKLE BOOTS); 19A: Ancient Andean (INCA); 20A: In a dishonorable way (BASELY); 21A: Japanese electronics giant (NEC); 22A: Pinot __ (NOIR); 23A: Country meadow (LEA); 25A: Spanish wine punch (SANGRIA); 27A: Seasoned pros (OLD HANDS); 32A: The "T" in some fraternity initials (TAU); 33A: 503, in old Rome (DIII); 34A: Casa kitchen crock (OLLA); 36A: Half a '60s pop group (MAMAS); 40A: Like the diving-board end (DEEP); 41A: WWII noncombat females (WAACS); 43A: Sitar music (RAGA); 44A: Seaweed-wrapped Japanese fare (SUSHI); 46A: Analogy phrase (IS TO); 47A: Contest with pistols (DUEL); 48A: Put into service (USE); 50A: Sledding spot (HILLSIDE); 52A: Word game involving a stick figure (HANGMAN); 56A: "No way, laddie!" ("NAE!"); 57A: Highly excited (AGOG); 58A: Edge of a hoop (RIM); 60A: Double-checks the math (RE-ADDS); 65A: Copenhagen native (DANE); 66A: Stockinglike workout wear (LEGWARMERS); 68A: At any time (EVER); 69A: Apex (ACME); 70A: Words after have or save (A SEAT); 71A: Stage constructions (SETS); 72A: Sampras of tennis (PETE); 73A: Burial places (TOMBS); 1D: Wild guess (STAB); 2D: Superboy's girlfriend Lang (LANA); 3D: Boats like Noah's (ARKS); 4D: Beauty mark (MOLE); 5D: "A Streetcar Named Desire" woman (STELLA); 6D: "Real Time With Bill Maher" network (HBO); 7D: Really long time (AEON); 8D: Interest percentages (RATES); 9D: Oman's capital (MUSCAT); 10D: Goalie's protective pair (SHINGUARDS); 11D: "Objection, Your __!" (HONOR); 12D: Computer text code (ASCII); 13D: Anne of "Archie Bunker's Place" (MEARA); 18D: "See ya later" ("BYE NOW"); 24D: Stevenson who lost twice to Eisenhower (ADLAI); 26D: "Apocalypse Now" setting, briefly (NAM); 27D: Bettor's concern (ODDS); 28D: Stead (LIEU); 29D: Fizzles out (DIES); 30D: Pants with a low waistline (HIP HUGGERS); 31D: Cut dramatically (SLASH); 35D: Join the cast of (ACT IN); 37D: Hawaiian island (MAUI); 38D: Got on in years (AGED); 39D: Bargain hunter's delight (SALE); 42D: Sporty Toyota Camry (SOLARA); 45D: Suffix with intellectual (ISM); 49D: Winter hat feature (EARLAP); 51D: Eye lasciviously (LEER AT); 52D: Mythological underworld (HADES); 53D: Tequila plant (AGAVE); 54D: Octet plus one (NONET); 55D: Dad's brother's daughter, to dad (NIECE); 59D: Corp. leadership gp. (MGMT.); 61D: "I __ busted!" (AMSO); 62D: Judge (DEEM); 63D: Colorless (DRAB); 64D: Retd. Air France fliers (SSTS); 67D: Like early morning hours (WEE).

TUESDAY, June 9, 2009—Joan Buell

Theme: Capital People—Theme answers are people whose last name is the also the name of a world capital.

This is a great theme in theory, but I've really only heard of one of these guys. Jeremy London? I have a very hazy notion of knowing that name at some point, but I never would have been able to tell you it was from "Mallrats." Oh yeah, I didn't see "Mallrats." I think my cousin was an extra in that movie though. I should probably see it. His last name is Ziegenhagen. I don't think he'll be showing up in a puzzle any time soon. But I digress. The point is that I really don't think any of these guys are famous enough for a Tuesday puzzle. Except Irving Berlin, obviously. Jack London? Yes. Jim Rome? Sure. Paris Hilton would be okay. Yes, yes, I see the issues with each of those, but I guess I'm saying that if I was trying to come up with theme answers for this theme, I probably would have given up because I couldn't find any that worked. Feel free to disagree with me in the comments.

Theme answers:

• 17A: "Fanny" composer and lyricist (HAROLD ROME).
  
• 26A: "Mallrats" costar (JEREMY LONDON).
  
• 43A: "God Bless America" writer (IRVING BERLIN).
  
• 58A: Frequent "Happy Days" director (JERRY PARIS).
  

Crosswordese 101: There are two kinds of government workers in CrossWorld. You've got your G-MAN, and you've got your T-MAN (15A: Fed under Ness). How to tell them apart? Unfortunately both are often clued simply as "Fed" and you have to wait for the crosses. If the clue is more detailed, though here are the words you're looking for.

• T-MAN: Eliot Ness, Untouchables, IRS, tax, counterfeit.
  
• G-MAN: FBI, Bureau, undercover, kidnapping, "X-Files."

(For some reason, whenever I see "The Untouchables," I visualize "The Incredibles." And now maybe you will too.)

Bullets:

• 10A: "__ Angel": Mae West film (I'M NO).



• 19A: Waffle brand (EGGO). Mmmm, waffles!
  
• 36A: Belted out (SANG). I don't believe I've ever seen this clue before and I love it!
  
• 37A: Wood for crafts and rafts (BALSA). I've always liked the sound of the word BALSA.
  
• 41A: Ticked off (SORE). I actually entered ired at first, which is a truly awful word. I was thinking of "ticked off" as a verb, not an adjective.
  
• 42A: Second careers for thoroughbreds (SIRES). The male thoroughbreds anyway.
  
• 47A: Slaughter of baseball (ENOS). He scored the winning run for the Cardinals in the 1946 World Series and, apparently, was Pete Rose's role model for running hard to first base on walks. We'll certainly talk about him in a future installment of Crosswordese 101.
  

• 53A: Texas city, familiarly (BIG D). That would be Del Rio. Just kidding, it's Dallas.
  
• 60A: Boo Boo's buddy (YOGI). Raise your hand if you just heard "Heeey, Boo-BOO" in Yogi's voice in your head.
  
• 1D: Parrot (ECHO). Very, very nice. Love this. I can't tell you happy I am to see ECHO instead of aper.
  

• 2D: Titleholder (CHAMP). This tripped me up. I wanted it to be owner but couldn't get it to work for the crosses. Very nice misdirection.
  
• 4D: Moonshine container (STONE JUG). I don't believe I've ever heard this before.
  
• 8D: Clue, e.g. (GAME). Again with the trickiness! I originally taught my kids to play Clue using the "Clue, Jr." game where the object is to figure out who ate the cake at what time, and what they had to drink with it. When they got a little older they wanted to play the real game, complaining that "Really! Who cares who ate the cake??"
  
• 25D: Paella pot (OLLA). You were paying attention to Orange's Crosswordese 101 lesson last week and got this one no problem, right? Right??
  
• 27D: Brouhaha (MELEE). Both of these words are awesome. Also donnybrook and fracas.
  
• 32D: '30s heavyweight champ Max (BAER). His son—Max Baer, Jr.—played Jethro on "The Beverly Hillbillies."
  

• 42D: Charlotte, to Anne or Emily (SIS). The Brontës.
  
• 46D: Tramp's love (LADY). The 1955 Disney film, "Lady and the Tramp."
  
• 51D: Grant and Carter (AMYS). Yep, that about covers the Amys. Wait! I know at least one more!
  

Everything Else — 1A: Money on the Web (E-CASH); 6A: Kind of palm tree (SAGO); 14A: Broadway's Rivera (CHITA); 16A: Chesapeake Bay catch (CRAB); 20A: Handwriting on the wall (OMEN); 21A: Coupling device (YOKE); 22A: Get __ of one's own medicine (A DOSE); 23A: Course of study for future docs (PRE-MED); 25A: River that forms at Pittsburgh (OHIO); 31A: Approximately (ABOUT); 34A: Hard to handle (EELY); 35A: Fluffy wrap (BOA); 39A: Fun house feature (MAZE); 40A: Social beverage (TEA); 48A: Less arduous (EASIER); 51A: "You are here" symbol (ARROW); 55A: Lunch or dinner (MEAL); 57A: Pained cry (MOAN); 61A: Lotion additive (ALOE); 62A: Youngest of Chekhov's "Three Sisters" (IRINA); 63A: "Ignore that change," to a printer (STET); 64A: Covet (WANT); 65A: Experimental bomb blast, briefly (N-TEST); 3D: ABC or NBC, e.g. (AIRER); 5D: Henry V, as a prince (HAL); 6D: Walked with purpose (STRODE); 7D: Frantic way to run (AMOK); 9D: 1300 hours (ONE); 10D: Stranded at O'Hare, perhaps (ICED IN); 11D: Hershey's product (MR. GOODBAR); 12D: Bothers persistently (NAGS); 13D: One of the reeds (OBOE); 18D: Salon colorist (DYER); 22D: Sailor's call (AHOY); 24D: Player at the new Citi Field (MET); 28D: "Absolutely!" (YES); 29D: Exude, as confidence (OOZE); 30D: Aberdeen turndowns (NAES); 31D: Piedmont wine area (ASTI); 33D: As often as not (ON AVERAGE); 37D: Wet, spongy areas (BOGS); 38D: Wall St. hedger (ARB); 39D: Many a gas station store (MINI-MART); 41D: Winter coat? (SNOW); 44D: A party to the plot (IN ON IT); 45D: Be sorry for (REGRET); 49D: Beyond unusual (EERIE); 50D: Pours or drizzles (RAINS); 52D: Plant anchor (ROOT); 53D: "Dracula" star Lugosi (BELA); 54D: Appliance on a board (IRON); 56D: D.A.-to-be's exam (LSAT); 58D: Chew the fat (JAW); 59D: ATM user's need (PIN).