THURSDAY, March 25, 2010 — Jeff Chen

Theme: "Fore!" — Say the theme clues out loud and pretend the homophone of what you say is the clue.

Theme answers:

• 20A: CCCC? [foresees] (TELLS THE FUTURE).
• 39A: AAAA? [forays] (MILITARY ATTACKS).
• 56A: TTTT? [forties] (CHILLY FORECAST).

I really enjoyed this puzzle. I thought the cluing was tricky but not too tricky and I had several missteps and "but but but …" moments. We didn't see much in the way of theme density today, but I think the rest of the puzzle makes up for it. Oh, and I love a bunch of the epithets in both the clues and answers:

• 5A: Dishonorable types (CADS).
• 24A: Yokel (RUBE).
• 63A: Big jerks (BOZOS).

Missteps:

• 9A: Gets off the road, in a way (PLOWS). Me: "Why won't tows fit? Why the h**l won't tows FIT?"
• 49A: Deli option (TUNA). Wanted the more common rye here.
• 22D: Wolf pack member (U-BOAT). Was thinking Boy Scouts.
• 28D: At an impasse, as the Senate (DEADLOCKED). Entered gridlocked without too much hesitation.

Couple more things:

• 3D: Prepared to speak to a tot, maybe (KNELT). Seems like a fresh clue to me. I think we get the "marriage proposal" clue too often.
• 8D: Messy situation (SNAFU). We've talked about this recently, haven't we? "Situation Normal All Fouled [or choose another f-word] UP."

• 32D: Trans-Siberian Railroad city (OMSK). Any of those cities that end in SK remind me of Seinfeld's "Rochelle, Rochelle."
• 41D: España feature (TILDE). You weren't tricked by this, right? Tell me you weren't tricked by this!
• 25A: Bird was one, briefly (CELT). And finally, if you were a basketball fan in the 80s, do yourself a favor and find some way to watch the new HBO special "Magic and Bird: A Courtship of Rivals." We happened to catch it at the hotel last weekend and it's outstanding.

Crosswordese 101: The clue for today's CW101 word — 34D: Banned apple spray — is typical. If you see the words banned, bygone, or controversial having to do with an apple, orchard, of fruit spray, you can be certain you're looking at ALAR. The word is sometimes — but rarely — also clued as "winged" or "wing-shaped."

Everything Else — 1A: Torah holders (ARKS); 14A: Spear or pepper follower (-MINT); 15A: End of grace (AMEN); 16A: Sound portion (AUDIO); 17A: On the briny (ASEA); 18A: Pro __ (RATA); 19A: Spills carelessly (SLOPS); 23A: Amount consumed (INTAKE); 27A: Hemingway's Santiago, in the story's title (OLD MAN); 32A: Pontificate (ORATE); 35A: Jessica of "Good Luck Chuck" (ALBA); 38A: Relieve (EASE); 42A: "Get outta here!" ("SCAT!"); 43A: Coward of the stage (NOEL); 44A: Clarifying words (ID EST); 45A: Inchon native (KOREAN); 47A: "__ never work!" (IT'LL); 52A: Hunk (ADONIS); 60A: Santa __: Silicon Valley city (CLARA); 61A: Fuzz (LINT); 62A: DEA agent's discovery (KILO); 64A: Ocean predator (ORCA); 65A: Penultimate fairy tale word (EVER); 66A: Used up (SPENT); 67A: __-do-well (NE'ER); 68A: Information __ (DESK); 1D: Valuable violin (AMATI); 2D: Like baked dough (RISEN); 4D: Overhead projection? (STALACTITE); 5D: Monopoly (CARTEL); 6D: Eastern nurse (AMAH); 7D: Discourage (DETER); 9D: Many a Matisse (PASTEL); 10D: Doozy (LULU); 11D: It's added to natural gas (ODOR); 12D: Use a rag on (WIPE); 13D: Coast Guard pickup (SOS); 21D: Olympic event since 1968 (SKEET); 26D: Poi essential (TARO); 29D: Medieval club (MACE); 30D: More than wonders (ASKS); 31D: Egg site (NEST); 33D: Moneyed, in Madrid (RICO); 36D: Soap ingredient (LYE); 37D: Indonesian island (BALI); 40D: Invalidate (ANNUL); 46D: "Finally!" ("AT LAST!"); 48D: __ sauce: seafood serving (TARTAR); 50D: Polymer introduced by DuPont in 1938 (NYLON); 51D: Blazing (AFIRE); 53D: Like a babe in the woods (NAIVE); 54D: British __ (ISLES); 55D: Childbirth symbol (STORK); 56D: Equine sound (CLOP); 57D: Smog, e.g. (HAZE); 58D: Make smooth, in a way (IRON); 59D: Fairy tale opener (ONCE); 60D: Items used by good buddies (CBS).