I thought the entire fill was pretty snappy, and I love the theme. And the addition of two rebus squares was the icing on this delicious cake.

Mmmm...puzzle cake..
Tuning Spork | Homepage | 07.16.09 - 1:17 am | #

Lookee there at 20A -- an ARTLOVER, whee!

I was also amused at Orange's cruising along with Catamarans for a while, as I was under the impression she usually works the Downs first, and 1A had to be Take A DEEP Breath, no? I had my own slow spots, though, where NON-PlusED finallly appeared -- thought it was misSPELT and should have a double S (?)

I doubt that 52D SPELT is merely Brit, as I use that spelliing and also Dwelt, Spilt, etc. -- but have a feeling we've visited that question at sometime in the last year... QUEEN clued as Doyenne did strike me as odd, however.

Lots to like in the fill, even if the Start of a title by Hemingway had several possibilities, like THE OLD Man and the Sea. TILSIT and SCONES at tea sounded luverly. ICE Fog seemed to be wanted at 43D until I saw LATTICE and ADRENO crossing IN A Fog.
ArtLvr | 07.16.09 - 2:30 am | #

I loved this one. Anticipating a rebus didn't make it one iota easier. Clever theme, tricky fill, and a clue for ETUI that's new to me, anyway. My little daughter has a breadbox-sized sewing box that I call an ETUI, as in "Did you bring your ETUI in from the car?" No narcotics, though.

My favorite Thursday in ages.
Sara | 07.16.09 - 6:51 am | #

I liked the many layers to this one as well. Won't forget for a while that ELEVEN + TWO is an anagram of TWELVE + ONE. Nice to have the THIRTEEN and ITADDSUP as corresponding theme entries as well. Excellent Gorski!
Evad | 07.16.09 - 8:26 am | #

The CS by Paula Gamache was another bonus in this Xchix week! Delicate touches throughout -- and I was just driving past Saginaw last Saturday. Favorite town name near there which should make it into a crossword one day is Zilwaukee!
ArtLvr | 07.16.09 - 8:46 am | #

Orange - I am fascinated by the contents of your ETUI - because in this instance it is a reversal of 11 Down.

Also, I was writing a note to my wife mid-puzzle, and I somehow typed a "+" instead of a close-quote. I thought that was a little eerie when I later discovered the theme, especially since the "+" is not really near the """.

I loved this puzzle. Lots of gratification.
David | 07.16.09 - 8:56 am | #

ACPT attendee and food writer T. Susan Chang reviewed a vegan cookbook for the Boston Globe. There's a cookie recipe...with SPELT.
OrangeXW | Homepage | 07.16.09 - 9:51 am | #

NEEDIER for [Less affluent] hit me with a clunk and a rankle. Anyone else?
Lee
Lee Glickstein | 07.16.09 - 10:30 am | #

Lee: What, you don't think that a pediatrician who makes less than a plastic surgeon is, in fact, NEEDIER?

ArtLvr, I can't find your e-mail address. Would you e-mail me, please?
OrangeXW | Homepage | 07.16.09 - 10:40 am | #

At a certain economic level, the less affluent are not any needier than the more affluent, but looking for a better clue, I haven't come up with one yet. Hi, Lee.

And a Doyenne is affluent, but not necessarily a Queen, except perhaps figuratively. Loved the puzzle, though. Just thought I'd pick up on other comments and agree with them.
Zulema | 07.16.09 - 2:00 pm | #

I thought it was a great, with the layers of a math theme, a rebus, an anagram, the fill "anagram," and the possible title quite a lot of successive unfolding. That challenged and impressed me. While that and the fill made it a relatively hard Thursday, the only one that felt too deliberately obscure to me was MERLE.
John Haber | Homepage | 07.16.09 - 3:05 pm | #

BTW, good point from ArtLvr about their being other Hemingway titles of the right length, making that not a gimme. My first thought was THE SUN (also rises), as that's his most frequently taught (and probably admired) at the college level.
John Haber | Homepage | 07.16.09 - 3:08 pm | #

Case File is comon usage by police detectives on the cop shows I watch.
R larson | 07.16.09 - 3:23 pm | #

Re: TOHAVE

I hung on to MOHAVE until the end because of the NYT spec rule that partials cannot exceed 5 letters.
abide | 07.16.09 - 4:33 pm | #