Intact here too, just barely! I had everything but the NW -- until I changed Slate to SLATY and managed to finish from there.

I had also tried Reams before RAFTS, but then saw Rembrandt PEALE which let the SE corner GIVE WAY TO the rest, even LOAM as in Wall-plastering! Are we harking back to log cabins?

Oda used to appear in old xwords as a harem room, which gave me the hint to ODALISQUE. Doubt if QIGONE could have been gettable otherwise. Such SPANG new fill was refreshing!
ArtLvr | 11.06.09 - 11:17 pm | #

Too clever for words.
Clever clues are the spice of crosswords.
Lots of very clever clues...but the end result is
a work that's a bit overly spiced.
Anonymous | 11.06.09 - 11:35 pm | #

Broke into the puzzle via ANITRA, then YAZOO, then AMOS OZ which allowed me to work top to bottom which helped. Finished in the SW. 54A "Remark from a draft dodger?" is a great clue. This one didn't kill me as much as Klahn's usually do, but it was a tough slog all the way.
Al Sanders | 11.06.09 - 11:54 pm | #

I started in the SW (because I was a big Peter Gunn fan) and finished in the SE.

Alternate clue for 54a: {What Alexander Hamilton's ghost says in a draft?)

:-) (I hope)

Bruce
Bruce Morton | 11.07.09 - 7:07 am | #

Orange, just read your analysis (comprehensive and concise as always.) Actually I was historically close to your time. (a minute or two). I had to take spang and qigone on faith; if I hadn't stuck for a couple minutes on 50 and 48a, (and that whole corner), I would have been right there.

Bruce (apologizing for his self-congratulatory mode)
Bruce Morton | 11.07.09 - 7:15 am | #

Re: second Klahn at CS -- again wonderful, especially "ISN'T IT A PIT?" AND DUCK DECO: that might have been Ducky as well as Decoy. I balked a bit at the (start with a) Bang rather than Big follower = Big bang, but OK, I see. Got it because of RAP SONG, pure guess...

Funny to have Nancy Drew redux, especially with Miss MARPLE. KETTLE next to EMERIL and both crossing LADLE? Touch of the pro! Double helping of Kudos to Klahn today.
ArtLvr | 11.07.09 - 8:32 am | #

kl4hned, though less than usual; 15 minutes is a solid saturday spanking, though i've had worse. i don't know how many times i've seen the word flivver, but i never remember it; in fact, i've probably seen this exact clue for CRATE before, but i still needed about a minute to work out the CRA_E/CLA_TER crossing. (my excuse: i was tired.) new words for me: flagitious, SPANG, DEMARCHE, QI GONG.

fwiw, THREE NO(trump) is by far the most common contract in bridge. it's a bit more legit than ONE NO, which is a common opening bid but not nearly as frequent a final contract. but i had the same feelings about ANT EGG, DOURO, and PRAT. good grief.

i found the stumper quite a bit easier than klahn's NYT, although i did spend a good two minutes on the last couple of crossings (BERKELEY/CKS/CARLE/POLICY). what with EMAILER, BEBOPS, GLUES, TRYSTER, MOPIER, COLAS, and CKS, this wasn't the cleanest of doug's stumpers. BEBOPS and GLUES, particularly, could have benefited from being clued as verbs instead of super-awkward plurals.
joon | 11.07.09 - 11:13 am | #

I agree with you, Amy - this puzzle wasn't as bad as other "Wrath of Klahn" puzzles, and certainly no harder than a typical NYT Sunday.

I had a few words that fell immediately during my first pass through the clues that kinda set the tone.

MAAS was immediately guessable based on the Mafia-related title in the clue.

LEEDS was a gimme.

I saw "Harem" and thought ODA and that reminded me of the word ODALISQUE.

ELDORADO came to mind based on a memory of that Dreamworks animated film.

As a musician, TETRAD was obvious, as was SKA.

Those gave me the footholds to make steady work through the rest of the puzzle. The only hangup I had was on SPANG - I had to go through the alphabet to make sure no other letter could replace the G.
Eric LeVasseur | 11.07.09 - 12:31 pm | #

I had one misstep in that I had CHAMBORD for 33D until I realized the crossings didn't work. The "chambermaid" reference threw me off.
Eric LeVasseur | 11.07.09 - 12:34 pm | #

In the CS, I don't understand the clue "Blow the suds off (your suds)" - I know that "suds" refers to beer foam, and the answer is clever, but why is "your suds" in the clue?
Jan | Homepage | 11.07.09 - 1:37 pm | #

"Suds" is the foam, but also slang for "beer." So the clue means blowing the head off the beer, or "beheading." There's a bit much slang, not all in-the-language to my ear, for my taste but it seems like a valid clue.
Martin | 11.07.09 - 1:50 pm | #

jan -- suds is also slang for beer. hence the double (word) play. ;-)

cheers!
janie | 11.07.09 - 1:54 pm | #

Bruce - QiGonG
larry | 11.07.09 - 2:48 pm | #

Vive le Klahn! Always a challenge and a pleasure.
jim finder | 11.07.09 - 3:48 pm | #

Sorry, but this puzzle kicked my butt. One of the hardest Saturday puzzles in a while.
Jeff | Homepage | 11.07.09 - 6:03 pm | #

That puzzle started out much tougher than it ended up being, but it was a pretty steady slow solve. That weather answer alone kept changing from SLEETY to SLOPPY to SLUSHY to finally STORMY.

It sure would be a treat to see a puzzle like this in a tournament. Tough 15 x 15s are more satisfying to solve than larger ones.
joecab | 11.08.09 - 8:13 am | #

Thanks everyone. Actually, I understood the reference to suds and the beheading answer, but I still don't understand why "your suds" was included in the clue?
Jan | Homepage | 11.09.09 - 1:30 pm | #