Saturday, July 16, 2011 Tom Heilman

UGH ~!

Sorry, but this offering today had some real cringers in it. First time I have blogged Tom Heilman; the last Saturday from Tom was May 2010, and the results seemed to be on par with this puzzle....

Splynter here, on a DNF Saturday -

Words: 66

Blocks: 27

ACROSS :

1. Public mockery : PASQUINADE - tough start; had I not had the "U" in both the A. and D. clues, the Q would not have been a choice

11. Opening movement of Holst's "The Planets" : MARS - a WAG, but it IS "The Planets"

15. Cleans up : EXPURGATES - Sounds more like making the mess....

16. First Dominican-born Major League Baseball manager : ALOU - a classic CW WAG here

17. Everglades denizens : ALLIGATORS - got it

18. Hoot? : DAMN - I don't give a "hoot" about....

19. Occupation : TRADE

20. "Lady, shall __ in your lap?": Hamlet : I LIE

21. They may be geological : ERAS

22. Direct : BOSS - the verbs, here

23. A plan may be put on it : HOLD

24. Artist son of Andrew Wyeth : JAMIE - Nope, don't know these people; here's some of the art

25. Kyrgyzstan city : OSH

26. Pregnant pause, perhaps : TENSE MOMENT - good clue/answer

28. Surface phenomena affected by magma : GEYSERS - got it - more here

30. Judges : DECIDES

31. Complex design : WEB

32. Fatal opening? : NON - Like in NON-fatal injury...?

33. Statement of equality : ITS A TIE - yeah, but meh

37. Coastal freeze : FAST ICE - I knew it was some sort of __ ice

41. Established favorable conditions (for) : SET THE STAGE - good one I did NOT get

43. Pita look-alike : NAN - nailed it, but a three-letter answer on Sat. doesn't help much....

44. Narrow ridge : ARETE - here

45. Faithful : TRUE

46. Crack agent? : NARC - Crack, the rock cocaine, and the DEA man who busts you for it

47. "Okay then" : I SEE

48. Scented souvenirs : LEIS

49. Chemical prefix? : PETRO - I REFUSED to put this in, even though I had it, since there was NO WAY it could cross with PETR-....and it did....

50. Poet Walter __ Mare : DE LA - Nope, don't know this guy

51. Independent way to live : OFF THE GRID - I guess, but I wouldn't necessarily describe it as independent; more like low key, or on the "lam"

53. Barely better than none? : SLIM when your choices are "slim and none"

54. Railing with molded supports : BALUSTRADE - you know I HAD to get this one; I might have a huge balustrade to build next month

55. Court cry: Var. : OYEs - a variation on OLEs ????

56. Private : ONE-STRIPER - ARGH~! Got me, never thought of the military

DOWN:

1. Moor feature : PEAT BOG - wasn't he the lead singer of some rock group?

2. Frontman on the 1987 debut album "Appetite for Destruction" : AXL ROSE - Guns N Roses; got him, knew him, thought I might have a chance; he's the one in the middle - the guy with the cigarette is my second favorite guitarist, Slash.

3. Flamboyant : SPLASHY - Axl was splashy, not Slash-y

4. Plugs of tobacco : QUIDS - my parents are both British; to me a "quid" is slang for a buck, a pound, a dollar, and not used in the plural

5. Seriously suggest : URGE

6. Supermarket chain with Chicago H.Q. : IGA - quick, name a three-letter food store....there's one WAY out east here on Lon Guyland

7. United __ : NATIONS - see the last clue/answer, 52D.

8. Components of the Maldives : ATOLLS - had islets to start

9. Scoffed at : DERIDED

10. __ est percipi: to be is to be perceived : ESSE - Four years of Latin told me "to be" is ESSE

11. Raked it in : MADE A MINT - had MADE MONEY to start; not a bad WAG

12. Protected, in a way : ALARMED - as in your home, with the "Slomin's shield" or ADT

13. Arugula alternative : ROMAINE

14. Down times? : SUNSETS - good clue/ans. and visual

23. Beetle of note : HERBIE - OH ~! The Volkswagen ~! VERY good ~!

24. Playful : JOCOSE - Bzzz - Denied; didn't get it

26. Use a ring, maybe : TEETHE - had TIE OFF (like drapes) at first; the T_E helped

27. Household : MENAGE - Let's get DF here, and lighten this one up ~!

29. Elite tactical units : SWAT TEAMS - nailed it; today it was YES or NO - I either got it, or I didn't, and had no hope, to boot

33. Discussion-ending words : I SAID SO - I had "THAT'S IT" and couldn't shake it

34. In a word : TERSELY - got it, but spelled it TERSLEY

35. Pinball ball, perhaps : STEELIE - I love pinball, like the "Black Knight" and the Addam's Family", but did not know this term until I started writing today

36. Grammy winner for the 1993 album "Mi Tierra" : ESTEFAN - I thought PUENTE (Tito), but spelled it wrong anyway

37. Thomas Mann's "Doktor __" : FAUSTUS - Um, nope

38. Caught : IN A TRAP - yeah, I guess

39. Four-wheel drive? : CAR RIDE - Really~?!?!?

40. Spy, at times : ENCODER

42. Gimcrack : TRIFLE

46. Pola of the silents : NEGRI - image

48. Western howler : LOBO

49. Stone: Pref. : PETR - not gonna say it again....

52. President when the U.N. was created : HST - I wanted Woodrow Wilson, but he was denied his "League of Nations".

Answer grid.

Oh well, at least I move into my new apartment this weekend - I am off to lick my NON FATAL mental wounds....thanks for listening to me gripe

Splynter

Note from C.C.:

Here are a few wonderful pictures from another blog regular (and his brothers). Easy to tell who he is, yes? I love the first one.

Friday July 15, 2011 Bruce R. Sutphin

Theme: TAG you are it. Each of the four theme answers are in the language two word phrases which change into completely different and witty new phrases by adding a TAG before the final E in the second word. There is also a unifier, which I found unnecessary, but then this seemed a really easy Friday.

Hey, it is lemonade, and I confess I am unfamiliar with any prior puzzles from Mr. Sutphin. I have seen his name mentioned around the ACPT, but that is all. Maybe he is a lawyer getting ready to retire. Anyway, here we go.

20A. Gnome held against his will?: GARDEN HOSTAGE. GARDEN HOSE, I wonder why people began adding garden to hose; we use the same on to wash the car, or the dog. I do like the visual of the TRAVELOCITY Gnome tied up and held for ransom.

27A. Meteorologist's view?: WEATHER VANTAGE. WEATHER VANE, the twirly on top of your house if you live in New England, and a nice use of VANTAGE as view.

43A. Team equipment manager's snafu?: JERSEY SHORTAGE. I have never watched an episode of JERSEY SHORE, and you will have to provide your own links.

51A. Stamps with nudes?: EROTIC POSTAGE. An EROTIC POSE, does not have to be nude.

66A. Some graffiti signatures (which were used to form this puzzle's four longest answers): TAGS. Of course you should know HOW TO.

Okay on to the rest of the story.

ACROSS:

1. It's covered in silk: CORN. My ex-wife, just would not fit. You think it is HEALTHY ?

5. British bakery buy: SCONE. I may be half French, but I love me a good scone. My youngest bakes great ones.

10. Mass measure: GRAM.

14. Head start?: IDEA. Oh I get it, the idea starts in our head!

15. "Breaking Bad" actor __ Paul: AARON. never heard of this ACTOR, who shares my sons name and my birthday. Anybody watch the show?

16. Result of getting too far behind, briefly: REPO. Nice new way to clue this standard crossword fill.

17. Extends, with "to": ADDS. Like Rory McIlroy at the U. S. Open and his lead.

18. Serious alarm: DREAD. No one is quite sure where this word comes from but it has an almost onomatopoeia like sound about it.

19. Skip and jump lead-in: A HOP. The hop skip and jump is now known as the triple jump. The phrase is still used by some to convey a place being close by; my house is a...

23. Runner on snow: SKI. A literal answer.

25. Drink in a yard: ALE. Our obligatory BEER reference, and a fun GAME ?

26. Math ratios: SINES. Not to be confused with THIS.

32. Faris of "Scary Movie" films et al.: ANNAS. Do you like this ACTRESS? Blonde or brunette?

33. They may shrink if they aren't fed: EGOS. Nice clue, and the Corner can be a place to feed some.

34. Visit: GO TO.

35. Pasty: WAXEN. Hmm, I like the other set, 53D. Whiten: PALE.

37. Light touches: PATS. There my dear, stop crying and I will get you an ice cream cone.

41. Unrivaled: A ONE. Really, numero uno?

42. Debonair neckwear: ASCOT. A formal neck tie, popularized in the 1880's, taking its name from the Royal Ascot race meeting, where all the fine gentleman wore this looser version of the starched cravat.

48. "12 Angry Men" director: LUMET. A wonderful play and movie, you might enjoy his INTERVIEW.

49. "No thanks, I just __" : ATE. gave at the office?

50. Stop up: DAM. I am not one to miss a chance to link to BEAVER.

56. Jackson 5 brother: TITO. The only brother still getting any pub.

57. Coffeehouse order: LATTE. No thanks, I am a straight coffee drinker.

58. Tony relative: EMMY. The name "Emmy" was chosen as a feminization of "immy", a nickname used for the image orthicon tubes which were in early TV cameras. Coincidentally, the prime time nominations were made public yesterday.

61. Doesn't waste: USES.

62. Take in, maybe: ALTER. Like the waist in my pants; oops, no that is let out.

63. Short evening?: NITE. Is this now an acceptable word?

64. Benchmarks: Abbr.: STDS. Standards.

65. Lowly workers: PEONS. A degrading word from the Spanish pe�n meaning an unskilled laborer, like an indentured servant.

Well we have filled lots of three, four and fives, so let's see what the Downs do.

DOWN:

1. Operation Neptune Spear org.: CIA. I think you can buy a T SHIRT.

2. Curious: ODD. Am I the only one who thought of THIS.

3. Arcturus, for one: RED GIANT. A star classification, we had a nice discussion of these after a Jerome puzzle back on April 23, 2010.

4. Galileo's patron: NASA. A nice deception, not the ancient astronomer, but the exploration program of our SOLAR SYSTEM.

5. It might be Western or English: SADDLE. How many ride? I like it but not many horse live in condos.

6. Professional pursuit: CAREER. I was going to put their secretary, but it would not fit.

7. Israeli ambassador to the U.S. Michael: OREN. He wrote the RESPONSE to the Obama plan. No politics, but an interesting read.

8. First matchmaker?: NOAH. Well if you are going on a boat and can keep only two, you had better get your kids companions.

9. Prefix with morph: ENDO. The opposite of ECTO.

10. Part of e.g.: GRATIA. Our Latin lesson, exempli gratia. For example.

Comments

• ah thanks! = )
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  by - AJ - on August 10th, 2007
• 6 years of Latin, at your service! ;-)
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  by Shopping Sheryl - home from the hospital on August 10th, 2007
• ah good resource!
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  by - AJ - on August 10th, 2007
• I'll try my best whenever you need some help.
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  by Shopping Sheryl - home from the hospital on August 10th, 2007

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11. Put back up: REHANG. I guess....45D. Second flip: RETOSS. Fits with REHANG. Icky/

12. Zenith: APOGEE. We just had this discussion.

13. Acts gloomily: MOPES. From Ger. mopen "to sulk."

21. Sounds from stands: RAHS. Rah Rah Ree, kick em in the knee, Rah Rah Rass, kick em in the other knee.

22. Grounded big birds?: SSTS. Supersonic transports.

23. Booty: SWAG. What do you think, Stole Without A Gun?

24. Game with 80 balls: KENO. Las Vegas; original lottery game.

28. "The __ of Steve": 2000 comedy: TAO. An obscure, but critically acclaimed romantic comedy.

29. Bugs: VEXES.

30. Beauty antecedent?: AGE. I always held the door for my two older brothers and always said, "Age before beauty." I was an endearing child.

31. Reims rejection: NON. French lesson Lolita, a toughy" NON = No.

35. Tribulation: WOE. A good guilt word, woe is me.

36. "__ takers?": ANY. I wanted UNDER and feel bad about that thought process.

37. Eureka hrs.: PST. Pacific Standard Time.

38. Dean's domain: ACADEMIA. Sounds so pompous.

39. Draped attire: TOGA. Made more famous by Animal House than anything else.

40. A snifter has a short one: STEM. IMAGE.

41. Piedmont wine region: ASTI.

42. Two-dimensional analogue of volume: AREA. Height time Width, no depth.

43. Legal scholar: JURIST. Yeah, that is me all right.

44. Frustrated the director, perhaps: EMOTED. Hammed it up is the phrase.

46. Expedite: HASTEN. Not Expedia, Travelocity Gnome.

47. Furry frolickers: OTTERS. They love to play.

48. "__ go then, you and I": Eliot : LET US.

"Let us go then, you and I,

When the evening is spread out against the sky

Like a patient etherized upon a table;

Let us go, through certain half-deserted streets,

The muttering retreats

Of restless nights in one-night cheap hotels

And sawdust restaurants with oyster-shells:

Streets that follow like a tedious argument

Of insidious intent

To lead you to an overwhelming question ...

Oh, do not ask, �What is it?�

52. Show support: CLAP. Let us give him a great big hand.

54. Comics dog: OTTO. Sgt. Snorkel's dog in Beetle Bailey, who is the younger brother of Lois, from Hi and Lois.

55. Mannerly man: GENT. Okay almost time for this gent to depart.

59. Short session?: MTG. This meeting is nearing an end.

60. Word said with a fist pump: YES. Time for my fist pump, another in the record books. A tough blog, but I did it.

Answer grid.

Happy belated Bastille Day.

Lemonade

Note from C.C.:

Here is another "Hard to Believe" picture, a curious boy with his sisters. Tell me who the boy is. Hint: He is one of the very few regulars who have read every post/comment on this blog.

Thursday, July 14, 2011, Jeff Chen

Theme: The Truth Is Out There, revealed in 64A. You can find one in the four longest puzzle answers, even if you don't believe: UFO.

17A. Continental alliance's intl. strategy: EU FOREIGN POLICY. Abbr. European Union, and abbr. international.

25A. Treat thicker than the original: DOUBLE STUF OREO. Extreme oreo.

43A. Toyota RAV4 competitor: SUBARU FORESTER. SUVs.

57A. Complaint after a reluctant act: YOU FORCED MY HAND.

Hi all, Al here as usual on a Thursday, with a hidden word theme. Did you spot the Unidentified Flying Objects split between words in all cases? I hope there wasn't any deep probing needed.

Across:

1. Medea's husband: JASON. Sorceress daughter of King Aeetes, who possessed the golden fleece. Unwilling to give it up, he set a series of impossible tasks for Jason to obtain it. Medea fell in love with Jason and assisted him in return for a promise of marriage.

6. Tarboosh : Arabic :: __ : Turkish: FEZ. The 11th Doctor says Fezzes are cool. (spoilers, his significant other doesn't agree.)

9. When bulls crow?: BOOMS. Bulls make money in the stock market when the economy is expanding (buy low, sell high later). Bears are betting that there will be a downturn or recession on the way (sell high futures, buy back low later).

14. Utah County seat: PROVO.

15. Obit number: AGE. Astaxanthin resveratrol

16. Hamilton of "The Terminator": LINDA. In her prime, except for the fourth pic...

20. Prime meridian hrs.: GMT. Greenwich Mean Time.

21. Drops a pop: ERRS. Baseball. Pop-ups should become easy outs.

22. Otolaryngologist's diagnosis: OTITIS. Inflammation of the middle ear.

23. "Richard III" star McKellen: IAN.

24. E or G, e.g.: NOTE. Music, A through G.

32. Bluesy Waters: ETHEL. I so wanted to fill this with Muddy.

33. Resistance units: OHMS. Named for Georg Ohm, a pioneer in electricity theory.

34. "Outstanding!": RAD. Shortening of radical.

36. Looking displeased: POUTY. Glad it wasn't MOUEY.

37. 50-50, say: TIE. In basketball, perhaps. Possible but unlikely in football, very unlikely in other sports.

38. Covered in goo: GUNKY.

40. Allotment word: PER. Per diem means "for each day".

41. Rabbit's title: BRER. Shortening of brother.

42. Actor Davis: OSSIE.

47. Two-time Indy 500 champ Luyendyk: ARIE.

48. Old boat-steering tool: OAR.

49. Yes or no follower: SIRREE.

52. Askew view: BIAS. True clue.

54. Storm of the '90s: GEO. GM's release of an Izusu.

60. Slop: SWILL. Old English swilian, swillan "to wash, gargle," related to the root word of swallow.

61. Canada's smallest prov.: PEI. Prince Edward Island.

62. Moved like goo: OOZED.

63. Country's Tucker: TANYA. A millionaire by the age of 16, married Glen Campbell (45 at the time) when she was 21. When you look up "wild child" in the dictionary, it has her picture by the definition.

65. Draws closer: NEARS.

Down:

1. File format for pics: JPEG. Joint Photographic Experts Group. A compression format that allows pictures to retain their image, yet not take as much storage (if you choose).

2. __ lily: ARUM. Pretty.

3. Player's piano?: SOFT. The full instrument name, pianoforte, literally means soft-loud.

4. Ab __: from the start: OVO. A reference to one of the twin eggs of Leda and Zeus, disguised as a swan, from which Helen was born. Had Leda not lain the egg, Helen would not have been born, so Paris could not have eloped with her, so there would have been no Trojan War.

5. "Seriously!": NO, REALLY!.

6. Not foul: FAIR. More baseball.

7. Clutch contents: EGGS. A clutch is a "nest" in reference to chickens, from clekken "to hatch" perhaps of imitative origin (cluck).

8. Path to enlightenment: ZEN. from the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese word Ch�n, which can be approximately translated as "meditation" or "meditative state".

9. Smashed: BLOTTO. Soaked.

10. Slicker: OILIER.

11. Taking care of business: ON IT.

12. Year when "Hamlet" is believed to have been completed: MDCI.To believe or not to believe, that is the question...

13. Remarks: SAYS.

18. Beach bird: ERNE. The sea eagle.

19. Vanishing sounds: POOFS. Unless you're trapped in an elevator and can't get away. SBDs are only funny to one person.

23. "Doubtful": I BET.

24. D�gito: NUMERO. Spanish digit, number.

25. He played Dillinger in "Public Enemies" (2009): DEPP. Johnny.

26. Great Plains natives: OTOES.

27. Swahili for "freedom": UHURU. Or, the communications officer of the USS Enterprise.

28. "Got that right!": SO TRUE.

29. One taking things wrong?: THIEF. Nice meta-clue. Did you take it wrong?

30. Dadaist Max: ERNST. Certainly not boring.

31. Jack of "The Great Dictator": OAKIE.

35. Batik artist: DYER. This has appeared enough times to not have to search for it, right?

38. Show leniency toward: GO EASY ON.

39. Red letters?: USSR. Union of Soviet Socialist Republics

41. Prickly shrub: BRIER. To go along with Brer Rabbit.

44. Person sometimes 9-Down: BARFLY.

45. Biological ring: AREOLA. Not linking this, even with safe-search on.

46. Gallivant: ROAM. Play the gallant, flirt, gad about.

49. Part of DOS: Abbr.: SYST. Disk Operating System. Why is internal storage a "disk", but a CD-ROM is a "disc"? A disk is magnetic, and a disc is optical (and removable), but that still doesn't explain why...

50. Midwest university with 23 team wrestling championships: IOWA.

51. Bollix up: RUIN.

52. Grievance: BEEF.

53. Peculiar: Pref.: IDIO. Idiosyncratic.

54. Strip under duress?: GAZA. Today' geography lesson.

55. Cabinet dept. since 1977: ENERgy.

56. Numbers on horses: ODDS.

58. PC core: CPU. Central Processing Unit.

59. Soil-moving tool: HOE.

Answer grid.

Al

Wednesday July 13, 2011 Pete Muller

Theme: ALL TOLLED. vowel progression in the last word of each theme answer.

17A. Men's clothing category : BIG AND TALL

22A. 1993 military directive : DON'T ASK DON'T TELL

33A. Bad thing to be caught with at work, with "a" : HAND IN THE TILL

46A. Wears greatly : TAKES A HEAVY TOLL

54A. Rock and roll band whose lead singer often played flute solos : JETHRO TULL

Melissa here.

all fun phrases to see in a puzzle, with two grid-spanners. must have been challenging to come up with them - can you think of any other phrases that end in T*LL and are 9 to 15 letters in length?

Across:

1. Pop singer Jackson : JANET. nipple-gate.

6. Create a cobbler : BAKE. yum.

10. Rubella symptom : RASH

14. Tabriz resident : IRANI. had to look it up.

15. Astonishes : AWES

16. Pelvic bones : ILIA. should be a gimme by now.

19. 53-Across et al: GEM. and 53A. Translucent stone : OPAL

20. Harmonizing groups : CHOIRS. clear ayes & barry g., anyone else?

21. Sushi bar spirits: Var. : SAKIS. usually see sake.

26. Building supporter : JOIST

27. Orbital extreme : APOGEE. the point farthest from a planet or a satellite (as the moon) reached by an object orbiting it. (perigee is the point nearest.) see?

28. Emilio Estevez, to Martin Sheen : SON.

29. Sony portable since 1984 : DISCMAN. dinosaurs now.

38. Seers : ORACLES

39. Large loafer letters : EEE. cute.

41. Droll comic Wright : STEVEN. funny guy.

44. Overfamiliar : BANAL. needed a few perps to get this.

51. Small streams : RILLS. did not know this term.

52. Prized statuettes : OSCARS. gimme. grammys and emmys wouldn't fit.

58. Musical Horne : LENA

59. Snack with a removable top : OREO. new clue for an old friend.

60. Dutch export : TULIP. so pretty. dennis's favorite flower, as i recall.

61. Shuteye aids? : LIDS. hee.

62. Exxon, previously : ESSO

63. Serene spots : EDENS. thought oases first.

Down:

1. Sail at the front : JIB. i know nothing about sailing, but this was still a gimme.

2. Jackie's "O" : ARI. nice clue.

3. Pester : NAG.

4. Passes, as legislation : ENACTS

5. Grunt's helmet : TIN HAT. if he only had a heart.

6. Javanese hand-dyed fabric : BATIK. beautiful.

7. Prize : AWARD

8. Kutcher's "That '70s Show" role : KELSO. have never seen this show, but it's well known trivia.

9. Alien's subj. : ESL

10. Trattoria tubes : RIGATONI. more yum. from the Italian word rigati, which means 'ribbed' or 'lined.'

11. It's tapped in a pub : ALE KEG. was tricky with both words.

12. Black as night, e.g. : SIMILE

13. Bother : HASSLE

18. Lavish parties : DO'S. not sure i've heard it used that way.

21. Mar. honoree : ST. PAT. saint patrick's day - great excuse for a party.

22. Party spinners, briefly : DJ'S. and 57A. 22-Down's vinyls : LP'S

23. "I'm really impressed!" : OOOH

24. Simone of jazz : NINA

25. When repeated, squeals : NAMES. such a tricky clue. 'names names,' as in the huac hearings. several good movies made about the subject: guilty by suspicion with robert de niro, citizen cohn with james woods, and the front, with woody allen (don't click if you're offended by bad language).

29. Beloved princess : DIANA. her absence was sad at prince william's wedding.

30. "Monsters, __" : INC

31. Cardinal letters : STL. is that the official abbreviation on the scoreboard?

32. Friend of Fidel : CHE. fidel castro and ernesto �che� guevara.

34. "Animal Farm" et al. : NOVELLAS. longer than a novelette but shorter than a novel.

35. Work code subject : DRESS. dress code.

36. Letterman rival : LENO.

37. Sharon of "Boston Public" : LEAL. another show i've never seen, have never heard of this actress.

40. Pipe shape : ELL

41. Leisurely walk : STROLL

42. Republic of China capital : TAIPEI

43. Bond girl Britt of "The Man With the Golden Gun" : EKLAND

44. Without thinking : BY ROTE. rote memory.

45. Like some retired racehorses : AT STUD

47. Gardeners, at times : HOERS

48. __ Park, Colorado : ESTES

49. Allergic reaction : ACHOO. bless you.

50. Alt. spelling : VAR. alternate / variant.

54. Java : JOE. coffee.

55. Gran- suffix : ULE. granule.

56. Architect Maya __ : LIN. did not know the name of this woman who, at age 21, designed the vietnam veteran's war memorial.

Answer grid.

Melissa