Compass Reading 
Spot in a poker game PIP
Big name in compacts ESTEE [Lauder, not cars]
Bee drawers NECTARS [not artists]
Popeye’s behind? AFT
Theme: reading the words along the four outer edges of the grid while following the direction of a compass, the answers complete the second half of a term, the first half of which is the compass direction one is reading. That is,
ASIAN,
SIDE, and
WIND are read from left to right, or eastward; and “East” precedes
ASIAN,
SIDE, and
WIND in a term. Similarly,
DAKOTA and
PACIFIC are read from top to bottom, or southward; and South DAKOTA and South PACIFIC are terms. One must read backward to get
COAST,
WING, and
BANK, and that direction is west, as in West COAST, etc. Reading from bottom to top is northward, and
KOREAN and
AMERICA are words that go with North.
“Apt” geographical element needed to complete {theme} DIRECTION
Main vessel SEABOAT [don’t think it’s used today --- “blue water boat” is current]
Treinta/seis CINCO [what’s wrong with Cinco de Mayo?]
Peruvian pronoun ESA [what’s next, Mongolian interjection?]
This one will be one of the best of 2011.RATING:
Three grins = Excellent: Loved it; Two grins = Good: Enjoyed it; One grin = Satisfactory: A bit bland for my taste; One teardrop = Unsatisfying: No fun
