I liked the clue for Bobby ORR in the NYT...because Mel OTT's number was also 4 and the baseball Giants have retired it. That one tripped me up.
Brent H (floridaqqq) | Homepage | 11.28.08 - 6:05 am | #

Orange:
You are correct about "Hur" relating to Ben-Hur. Judah Ben-Hur was the character's full name.
dfurth | 11.28.08 - 6:47 am | #

I put the "O" in for the "retired #4" - figured it had to be one of them - and waited for the crossings. Yom TOV was, of course, a gimme for me :-)

I'm still wondering about 40A, for which I have AWIVE, which just seems wrong...I can Google the Macbeth quote, I suppose. Otherwise the puzzle fell more easily than I expected, and every one of those 15s is unforced and nicely clued. Yum.
Jay | Homepage | 11.28.08 - 6:48 am | #

And, duh, the Googling gives me the answer.

"Ben Hur" was another place where being Jewish helped. "Ben" means "son of".
Jay | Homepage | 11.28.08 - 6:50 am | #

In the Crosssynergy, the pun about the pizza pie was genius! The others were a bit stale though. But was a real fun crossword even if it took me 12:47 (but I'm always on the slow side)
Gareth Bain | 11.28.08 - 7:16 am | #

Okay, call me dense, but I still don't get how "talk ender" is ATIVE.
Ellen | 11.28.08 - 8:50 am | #

See, posting always works: talkative!
Ellen | 11.28.08 - 8:51 am | #

So in crosswords, "ender" in a clue means suffix or syllable? Any other "in" clue meanings? (Probably zillions, and why would you want to give them away to me. Shouldn't I figure it out just like you all did?)
Ellen | 11.28.08 - 8:53 am | #

Ellen, words like "starter" or "opener" can suggest that the answer is a prefix or the first letter of the word.
Orange | Homepage | 11.28.08 - 9:08 am | #

@Ellen-

Most of what you think to be "in" messages are, for the most part, self-evident if you keep an open mind to them. As Orange said starter and opener are just two ways to clue a beginning and ender and tail may be ways to clue a suffix.
edith b | Homepage | 11.28.08 - 10:01 am | #

"YOM TOV" literally means good or happy day or occasion. Yiddish speakers modify the sound so it comes out "YUNTIF" and wish each other "GUT YUNTIF" for "happy holiday".
LAURENCE WALKER | 11.28.08 - 1:28 pm | #

I should have said "means good ... in Hebrew" just to be clear.
LAURENCE WALKER | 11.28.08 - 1:29 pm | #

"... there is also no WE or US in team?"

Do I detect a lack of team spirit here? Two extra laps, Missy!
Penny | 11.28.08 - 2:23 pm | #

Two extra laps? Fine. I will instruct my husband and kid to sit down as well.
Orange | Homepage | 11.28.08 - 2:28 pm | #

Orange--I agree about today's LA Times crossword as being a bit of a bitch. We get this one in the Houston Chronicle. I was able to piece everything together in the demonym puns but the Vocal Ranges of the Prague crooners. I knew it was Czech-something, but was having problems with the "list" and "arpeggioed" clues. I enjoy crosswords because I often learn much from them, or at least from the puzzles of the later part of the week. I so enjoy your blog when I get stuck. I've been reading for a couple of months now. I wish I had time to play with crosswords, too. But, alas, no time!
SCH | 11.28.08 - 6:12 pm | #

algebra definitely takes a plural, but not if you're talking about high-school algebra.
joon | 11.29.08 - 3:50 am | #