T U E S D A Y November 16, 2010Jennifer Nutt

Theme: Chocoholic — Each theme answer ends with a word that can follow the word "chocoloate" in a familiar phrase.

Theme answers:

• 18A: *Chicken soup dumpling (MATZO BALL).
• 35A: *Paleontologist's lucky find (DINOSAUR EGG).
• 43A: *Cappuccino seller (ESPRESSO BAR).
• 3D: *Basic computer component (SILICON CHIP).
• 27D: *Parting smooch (GOODBYE KISS).
• 61A: Confection that can start the ends of the answers to starred clues (CHOCOLATE).

Yummy theme today. Is it too early for chocolate? I'm kind of impressed with this grid. It's hard to pack five theme answers plus a reveal into a 15x15 grid. And Jennifer was able to do it without overloading the fill with clunkers. In fact, without any clunkers at all that I could see. My sparkly entry of the day is definitely LAZY DOG (9D: Quick brown fox's obstacle?). That clue is a thing of beauty. (For anyone who doesn't know, "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" is a sentence useful in learning to type because it includes all 26 letters of the alphabet. These days you can use it to test out a font.)

The only real problem I had was a result of slapping in the AE plural ending on AURORAS (25D: Sky lights). I knew at the time that it could have gone either way, but I decided to take my chances. I know! Livin' on the edge! That mistake made SAID hard to see (52A: Came out with). Other than that, I didn't know that a barque has at least three MASTS. Possibly caused by the fact that I didn't know that a barque is a boat. I read 12D: Texter's guffaw as "Texan's guffaw" and wondered how to laugh with a drawl. (LOL)

I enjoyed this solid Tuesday puzzle. Let us know what you thought of it.

Crosswordese 101: Here are the EVAs you should know for crosswords:

• A character in Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin.
  
• The youngest Gabor sister, who starred in "Green Acres."
  
• The actress EVA Longoria who plays Gabrielle on "Desperate Housewives."
  
• The actress EVA Mendes who appeared in the movies "2 Fast 2 Furious" and "Hitch."
  
• The actress EVA Marie Saint (and you don't have to know anything she's been in because she's only ever clued as a fill-in-the-blank).
  
• And, finally 11D: "The Loco-Motion" singer Little EVA.

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

• 15A: Athletic shoe brand (AVIA).
• 22A: Neophyte (TYRO).
• 47A: Baseball's Diamondbacks, on scoreboards (ARI).
• 7D: Breakfast for Brutus? (OVA).

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Everything Else — 1A: Cold shower reactions (GASPS); 6A: Chicken or turkey (FOWL); 10A: Hair tamers (GELS); 14A: Sacro- ending (ILIAC); 16A: Stratford's river (AVON); 17A: Seward's Alaska purchase, to some (FOLLY); 20A: National flower of Scotland (THISTLE); 23A: Anatomical bag (SAC); 24A: Zeus' wife (HERA); 26A: Fight-or-flight response generator (DANGER); 30A: Ajar, say (OPEN); 32A: Atop (UPON); 34A: Typical studio apartment room count (ONE); 38A: Punch-in-the-gut grunt (OOF); 39A: "Batt. not __" (INCL.); 40A: Bon __: witticism (MOT); 41A: Sit in traffic (IDLE); 42A: Utmost degree (NTH); 48A: Apollo program org. (NASA); 49A: Wee (TINY); 50A: Bunny or kangaroo (HOPPER); 54A: Recede (EBB); 57A: Ahmadinejad's land (IRAN); 59A: Body surfer's ride (BREAKER); 65A: Come up (ARISE); 66A: Crest (PEAK); 67A: Coup d'__ (ETAT); 68A: Correct, as a stitch (RESEW); 69A: Torah holders (ARKS); 70A: Geologic stretches (EONS); 71A: A barque has at least three (MASTS); 1D: Birthday buys (GIFTS); 2D: Hawaii hi (ALOHA); 4D: Buddies (PALS); 5D: Grain-cutting tools (SCYTHES); 6D: Hall of __: athletic standout (FAMER); 8D: Two-time 1980s skating gold medalist Katarina (WITT); 10D: Cameroon neighbor (GABON); 13D: Tina Fey was its first female head writer, briefly (SNL); 19D: Asian ape (ORANG); 21D: Singer Horne (LENA); 28D: __ Gay (ENOLA); 29D: Send for consultation (REFER); 31D: D.C. go-getter (POL); 33D: Tennis's Sampras (PETE); 35D: Shore of Hollywood (DINAH); 36D: Words before the talk show guest enters (INTRO); 37D: Masked men at home? (UMPS); 41D: Charged particle (ION); 43D: Diciembre follower (ENERO); 44D: Frozen cake maker (SARA LEE); 45D: Recipe direction (STIR); 46D: Holstered pistol, e.g. (SIDEARM); 51D: Selections (PICKS); 53D: Looks out for, as a partner in crime (ABETS); 55D: Plague (BESET); 56D: Beer and ale (BREWS); 58D: Belg.-based peacekeeping gp. (NATO); 60D: Place (AREA); 61D: Tax pro (CPA); 62D: "I've Grown Accustomed to __ Face" (HER); 63D: Wine barrel wood (OAK); 64D: Brown shade (TAN).