W E D N E S D A Y August 4, 2010 Daniel A. Finan

Theme: Wacky Anagrams — Wacky phrases that consist of "[word] IN [anagram of word]"


Theme answers:

• 20A: Male goose during hunting season? (GANDER IN DANGER).
• 25A: Sought-after former football announcer? (MADDEN IN DEMAND).
• 46A: Fencing implement at the shop? (RAPIER IN REPAIR).
• 51A: Biblical guy who refused to believe the writing on the wall? (DANIEL IN DENIAL)

Fun theme today! Please enjoy this musical interlude while you read about tennis scores.

• 6A: __ Mahal (TAJ).




• 9D: Singer with the Blackhearts (JOAN JETT).

Crosswordese 101: AD IN is shorthand for a particular tennis score. Tennis games are scored in this order: 15-30-40-game. BUT, if both players get to 40, that's called "deuce" and to win the game a player must win the next two points. So let's say I'm serving and the score is deuce. If I win the next point, the score would be (formally) "advantage server" or (informally) "AD IN." If I win the next point, I win the game. If my opponent wins the next point, the score goes back to deuce and we keep going like that until someone wins by two points. In the previous scenario, if my opponent had won the point after deuce, the score would then be "ad out," which also shows up in puzzles occasionally, but not often. AD IN is generally clued as "Server's edge," "Point before 'game,'" "Score just before winning," or 52D: Score after deuce, maybe.

Other crosswordese in the puzzle that we've already covered:

• 30D: Video game trailblazer (ATARI).
• 42D: Shallowest Great Lake (ERIE).
• 57D: Gillette razor (ATRA).

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Everything Else — 1A: Outré (QUEER); 9A: Door parts (JAMBS); 14A: Dictionary note subject (USAGE); 15A: Brandy letters (VSO); 16A: Drools over, in a way (OGLES); 17A: "Call it __": "No winner" (A DRAW); 18A: S or SE (DIR.); 19A: Netizen who might hear "You've got mail!" (AOL'ER); 23A: Novelist Deighton (LEN); 24A: Small, medium, or large: Abbr. (ADJ.); 33A: Le Pew of skunkdom (PEPE); 34A: Like waitresses: Abbr. (FEM.); 35A: Shocking buildup? (STATIC); 36A: Shangri-las (EDENS); 38A: Purple minus blue (RED); 40A: Bingham of "Baywatch" (TRACI); 41A: Get molars, say (TEETHE); 43A: Shiatsu response (AAH); 45A: "Night at the Museum" creature, for short (T-REX); 49A: Free (of) (RID); 50A: __-El: Superman's birth name (KAL); 59A: Part of HDTV, briefly (HI-DEF); 60A: "South Park" brother (IKE); 61A: Main life line? (AORTA); 62A: "Good __!": Charlie Brownism (GRIEF); 63A: Super __: game console (NES); 64A: Cinemax rival (STARZ); 65A: Baby-sits, e.g. (TENDS); 66A: Jetta fuel (GAS); 67A: English class assignment (ESSAY); 1D: Marsh, for short (QUAG); 2D: Meat pkg. letters (USDA); 3D: Take home (EARN); 4D: "Yikes!" ("EGAD!"); 5D: Fix by fusing, as metal (REWELD); 6D: Swanson product (TV DINNER); 7D: B-boy connection (AS IN); 8D: Hoops legend (JORDAN); 10D: With eager anticipation (AGOG); 11D: Fr. miss (MLLE.); 12D: Cold one, so to speak (BEER); 13D: Ukr., once (SSR); 21D: Snorkeling site (REEF); 22D: Chimes in with (ADDS); 25D: Jason's wife (MEDEA); 26D: "Not __ out of you!" (A PEEP); 27D: Driller's prefix? (DENTI-); 28D: "That is ..." ("I MEAN …"); 29D: Rush Limbaugh ex __ Fitzgerald (MARTA); 31D: More agreeable (NICER); 32D: Early seventh-century year (DCIX); 33D: '80s-'90s tennis star Korda (PETR); 37D: Oater lawmen (SHERIFFS); 39D: What a full moon mitigates (DARKNESS); 44D: Cattle unit (HEAD); 47D: Waiting at a light, say (IDLING); 48D: "The magic word" (PLEASE); 51D: Desperate, as straits (DIRE); 53D: Must have (NEED); 54D: Swedish retail giant (IKEA); 55D: Have-__: the less fortunate (NOTS); 56D: S&L offerings (IRA'S); 57D: Gillette razor (ATRA); 58D: Like a shirker (LAZY); 59D: NBA bio stat (HGT.).