Thursday, 10/1/09

NYT 5:02 (paper)—The Thursday puzzle doesn't quite display properly in the applet or Across Lite; here's a PDF showing how it's meant to appear
LAT 3:17
CS untimed (J)/3:33 (A)—another Blindauer!
Tausig untimed

Patrick Blindauer and Rebecca Young's New York Times crossword

For Rebecca Young's debut crossword, she brought her boyfriend Patrick along for the ride. In the PDF/print version of the puzzle, the center square is blank so you can draw the world's teeniest compass rose; in the other versions of the puzzle, there's a black plus sign in the middle and you'll need Wite-Out to draw your compass. The theme entries travel in the cardinal directions indicated by their first word:

• 27A. [Its motto is "Duty, Honor, Country"] clues WEST POINT, which heads west as TNIOPTSEW.
  
• 6D. [Toymaking center?] is Santa's NORTH POLE, or ELOPHTRON heading north.
  
• 45A. An EASTENDER is clued as [Cockney, e.g.]. East is the way Across answers normally travel.
  
• 33D. SOUTH PARK is a [Long-running TV series set in Colorado], running Down/South as normal. Wow, not mentioning the animation aspect leads us in all sorts of directions. The only other Colorado shows I can think of are Mork and Mindy and, I only recently learned from a Sporcle.com quiz, Dynasty.
  
• 18A, 55A. [With 55-Across, direction indicator] is a COMPASS, and 55-Across is the nutty second part of 54A, MELROSE—a compass rose is the doodad labeled with N/S/E/W.
  

I have a soft spot for crossword answers that travel in unexpected ways, and the interlocking of the this-way-and-that theme entries is cool. Other good stuff: DIAPER is clued as [Something needed for a change]. [Women who get high?] are STONERS. No, wait. That's too short. They're SOPRANOS. [Been abed] clues LAIN, but the clue just looks goofy. "Have you ever been abed? Is abing what you like to do?" Oh, ["The ___ Report"] stars Stephen COLBERT. Love him.

If you hate crossword puzzles in which answers appear backwards or upwards, I don't think we can be friends anymore.

Updated Thursday morning:

Patrick Blindauer's CrosSynergy/Washington Post puzzle, "Look Both Ways"—Janie's review

Let's face it. In this puzzle, Patrick's got us comin' and goin'. And why? Because the theme-fill, as 63A (the final theme-entry) explains, is made up of PALINDROMES [Phrases that read the same forward and backward...]. Through various dictionary pages, I find that this word combines not the Alaskan surname for "wannabe," but the ancient Greek word pálin meaning "again"/"back again once more," with (the Greek-derived) combining form -drome, meaning "running"—just in case you wanted to know! Giving us one classic and two modern classics of the genre, those phrases that "run back again once more" (with feeling...) are:

• 17A. MADAM, I'M ADAM [Original introduction?]. What a gentleman he was, even in those pre-fig leaf (pre-original sin) days.
• 24A. DO GEESE SEE GOD? [Theological question about fliers in formation?] I'd not heard of it, but this is also the title of a movie directed David Slade. Not SNL's David Slade, but Brit film director David Slade, who's now filming The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (for those of you what follow these things...). This palindrome also puts me in mind of a play that had a little off-Broadway run not too long ago called Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead, which imagines characters who strongly resemble Charles Schulz's Peanuts characters as adolescents. Some irreverence ensues...
• 53A. LIVE NOT ON EVIL [Advice for bad guys?]. And apparently, also the name of a goth band... I know you'll be shocked to know I'd never heard of 'em. Here they are performing Scary Polka. Lawrence Welk is rolling over in his grave. For any number of reasons.

If you're ever in BAJA [ ___ California], the sun is very strong there, so don't forget the SPF 30 and/or try to fine some SHADED areas to enjoy your respite. Perhaps the veranda of your INN would offer some relief.

A [Major leaguer or golf instructor] is a PRO. So, too, is actress Dame JUDI DENCH. Ditto queen-of-the-noir Claire TREVOR and that consummate COUPLE of the American stage, Jessica and Hume [Tandy and Cronyn, e.g.]. Yes, the term also applies to star of the small screen and Broadway stage, SOPRANO Kristin Chenoweth (and [Country singer Tim] MCGRAW). I confess, however, that when I saw the clue [Kristin Chenoweth's voice type] and the seven spaces waiting to be filled, I was tempted to enter GRATING. Kidding!! (Mostly...)

Oh, and couple is also a way to describe [The Dynamic ___] DUO. But tell us, Patrick, is that Batman and Robin you're referring to or Oprah's (also kinda scary [see above...]) Acai berry and colon cleanse regimen?

[League of legal eagles (abbr.)] is a superb clue for fill we see all the time: ABA. But look—it's alliterative, assonant and it has a rhyme in it. That's just lovely. And what a great "set up" it is for the next clue, [Commit a court infraction?]. PERJURE? Nupe. Too many letters for one, and wrong "court" for the other. This time it's the basketball court, where your team'll be penalized if you TRAVEL.

If one [Fed one's face], one ATE. If one ate only an OAT, a [Granola grain] or had but a small bowl of ROTINI [Twisty pasta], one might want A BIT [Slightly] more to satisfy oneself.

A few more clue/fill faves and then I'm history. In no particular order of preference:

• [Lose one's shadow, say]/SHAVE. Think "Richard Nixon"—or even of that terrific character actor, Dan Hedaya, who played Nixon in Dick;
• [Alka-Seltzer-landing-in-water sound]/PLOP, as in this immortal jingle from Speedy; and
• [Gelatinous light sources]/LAVA LAMPS. Never thought of 'em that way, but that's how they appear. In fact their "lava" innards (while practically a state secret) are basically a combination of water and oil. Which, as we probably all learned pretty early on, do not mix.

Jonathan Seff's Los Angeles Times crossword

This is a solid puzzle, but the theme variety is one I'm not a fan of: Each of the four 15-letter theme entries is clued with a word that sounds like "doe."

• 17A. [Doe] is an ANONYMOUS PERSON, Jane or John Doe.
  
• 27A. [Do] is a KEY NOTE IN A SCALE, as in "do, re, mi...."
  
• 49A. [Dough] is a BREAD-BAKING NEED.
  
• [D'oh] is the famous HOMER SIMPSON CRY.
  

Now, what I don't like about this sort of clue/answer flip-flop theme is that it spotlights phrases that would not otherwise pass muster as crossword fill. Has anyone ever used the phrase "bread-baking need" or "key note in a scale"? I rest my case.

I like the CON MAN (4D: [Hustler]), and YMCA, or [Pantomimed disco song title]. Hey! Did you know the original Village People "YMCA" video did not feature the pantomime? They sort of did a "Y" that led into clapping their hands over their heads, but that's it. Also—tie-in with yesterday's LAT puzzle—the leather man has a prodigious horseshoe mustache.



Ben Tausig's Ink Well/Chicago Reader crossword

My feet did not like this theme because it did not include Merrell or Naot, my feet's preferred footwear brands. Here's the theme:

• 56A. TIE YOUR SHOES is [Generally good advice, and a hint to this puzzle's theme]. Each theme entry contains two SHOE brands, TIEd together, and clued by way of the words' usual meanings.
  
• 20A. [RV that runs on inexpensive fuel?] is a DIESEL CAMPER. I don't know what Camper shoes look like, but I know of Diesek,
  
• 23A. Stacked under that entry is KEEN PUMA, or [Animal likely to catch plenty of elk?]. My husband and son love their Keen sandals, and Puma makes sneakers.
  
• 35A. SIMPLE COACH is clued as [Team leader who calls the same play every time?]. Simple shoes are just that, and are sometimes made with renewable or organic resources, I think. Coach is mainly a handbag/briefcase/accessory company. They make shoes? Apparently yes, even canvas sneakers with the "C" logo.
  
• 54A. PONY VANS might be [Vehicles for moving racers from track to track?]. Pony sneakers, Vans skate sneakers.
  

Assorted other clues and answers: HOVA is [Jay-Z, self-appointedly]. As in Jehovah? See also JAH, or [Reggae god]. SPERMS are [Origins of all people, partially]; both SPERM and SPERMS are valid plurals. [Thing flashed at Woodstock] is a V-SIGN, among other things. MARC ECKO is the [Clothing impresario who bought Barry Bonds' record-breaking home run ball].

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Thursday, 10/2

Sun 4:58
NYT 4:34
LAT 3:49
CS 3:15

The New York Times crossword is credited to one Samuel A. Donaldson. Is it that Sam Donaldson? Wikipedia says the ABC News legend's middle name is Andrew so...it could be. The famous Sam Donaldson was depicted in one of my favorite Emily Cureton crossword drawings. Or it could be a different Samuel Donaldson. Either way, it's a good puzzle with a solid theme and deftly triple-stacked 9-letter answers in the fill. The theme's unified by the [Two-time Time Man of the Year], Richard NIXON, and each of four theme entries nixes an ON at the end of a word:

• BAT TWIRLER (playing on baton twirler) is an [Anxious baseball player at the plate?]. 
  
• PICK YOUR POIS (poison) might be a [Sign above a luau buffet?]. Outside of Hawaii, I suspect poi gets more play in crosswords than in conversation—and I like it when a bit of quasi-crosswordese gets promoted to a theme entry.
  
• YUK TERRITORY (Yukon) is a [Land of laughs?].
  
• BRAIN SURGE (surgeon) is a [Flood of ideas?].
  

Those corners packed with long answers serve up goodies like AWAY GAMES, or [Road trip events], and SNAKE EYES, a [Loser at the dice table]. Sure, it's taking the easy way out to facilitate the southwest corner with SSSS at 60-Across, but I like the results. I must cavil a bit at the clue for SATURDAYS, [Popular dates for dates]; the 12th is a date, but Saturday is a day. ['80s craze starter] could've been a lot of things (Madonna, MTV, Flashdance...) but here it's Erno RUBIK, the cube guy. This crossword includes two of the A- words I'm fond of, APACE ([Quickly]) and AWRY ([Out of whack]). KEROUAC looks handsome in the grid, too—he's the ["Big Sur" writer, 1962]. I had zero interest in seeing the movie, so ANNA, [Actress Popplewell of "The Chronicles of Narnia"], was new to me. VAS is split into two words, V AS [__ in victory], rather than being kept intact in the VAS [__ deferens].

Tony Orbach's Sun crossword, "Sleeping In," is super-Scrabbly since the theme entries doze off with the insertion of double-Z's:

• [What you might do if you get a dent from someone who slaps your car's hood while crossing the street?] is BLAME IT ON RIZZO. This combines the gross movie Blame it on Rio (50-year-old Michael Caine with a teenage girl? Ick) with the famous Ratso Rizzo scene in Midnight Cowboy (short clip here). "I'm walkin' here!" An inspiration to pedestrians crossing the street everywhere.
  
• JAZZY WALKING is a cool [Cat's means of getting around?]. This one crosses jaywalking with hepcats in the jazz milieu.
  
• A [Vertiginous network?] on cable might be the DIZZY NETWORK, playing on the DIY network and dizziness.
  
• Remember "freedom fries" from back when jingoists in Congress wanted to express their umbrage at France by lashing out at a snack created in Belgium? Add some frizzy hair and you get FREEDOM FRIZZES, or [Curly hairstyles that aren't oppressed].
  

Tony worked in some more Z's, plus a Q, two X's, a J, and some K's. Among the Scrabblier non-theme answers are KRAZY KAT, the [George Herriman comic strip]; a SGT. MAJ., or [High-ranking NCO] with only one elitist vowel; and KAZOOS with an incomprehensible-to-me clue, [Mirlitons].

Updated:

The theme in Paula Gamache's CrosSynergy crossword, "Different Strokes," isn't golf or swimming strokes, but generic tactile stroking:

• A [Square on a piece of toast] is a BUTTER PAT.
  
• The [Classroom favorite] is the TEACHER'S PET.
  
• [It's found to the left on a sink] clues the HOT WATER TAP.
  
• [One who falls for sob stories] is a SOFT TOUCH.
  

Favorite entries: MR. ROGERS, who was a [Gentleman in a PBS neighborhood], and OH HENRY, a [Candy bar once promoted to honor "Hank" Aaron]. I'm not sure I get the gist of [Addition to a board, say] for NEW BLOOD. A corporate board?

I came across a link that says today's LA Times crossword is Jonathan Seff's second published puzzle, but I don't recall a previous one. If you're interested in reviews of crossword applications for the iPhone, Google the constructor's name and you'll find plenty. His theme in this puzzle is phrases that can be clued with [Mark], in sort of an inverse way—the theme answers wouldn't customarily make the cut as crossword fill, so it's a clue/answer flip-flop. Each of these four phrases wouldn't be out of place as a clue for MARK: a CLASSROOM RATING, OLYMPIAN SPITZ, a STRIKE OR SPARE on a bowling scorecard, and a SWINDLER'S VICTIM. In the fill, TO ERR gets a clue that isn't ["___ is human..."]—instead, it's ["Better ___ with Pope, than shine with Pye": Byron]. That line is from this loooong satirical poem. Ah, the long lost art of lengthy satirical poetry...

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