Wednesday, 11/4

BEQ 5:30
NYT 10:15 (PG)/4:11 (A)
Onion 4:09
LAT 2:43
CS untimed

Hi, everyone. PuzzleGirl here covering for Orange who is not feeling well At All. Poor thing! I'll check in with her in the morning and see how she's doing, but you might be stuck with me all day. Hey, it could be worse. I'm just going to do a quick write-up to get things started and then you all can have at it in the comments.

Ricky Ini Liu's New York Times crossword

I haven't had to work this hard to figure out a theme in a loooong time. I had No Idea what was going on. I solved in AcrossLite and when I was done, I opened up a text document and typed each theme answer out so I could look at all of them together. I noticed the Os, but thought maybe they needed to be dropped? TRI-CEREAL? Is that a thing? MEN COMICS? Maybe you need to add a W to the beginning to make WOMEN COMICS? ??? I also noticed what felt like a ton of Zs in the grid and wondered if that had something to do with the theme. I was really confused is what I'm saying. Turns out the manipulating that needs to be done is for one of the Os in each theme answer to be changed to an X. So TRIO CEREAL in the grid is a nod to that silly rabbit with his Trix Cereal. OENOPHOBIC was changed from xenophobic. (That seems kind of random.) Other theme answers include:

• [Foreboding cartoons?] = OMEN (x-men) COMICS
  
• [The way of the government?] = FEDERAL TAO (tax)
  
• [Film that's been speechified?] = ORATED (x-rated) MOVIE
  
• [Shout of disapproval exactly like another?] = BOOING (boxing) MATCH

It all seems so simple now. Sigh.

Updated Wednesday morning:

Will Johnston's CrosSynergy/Washington Post puzzle, "Yard Work—Janie's review

It's autumn. If you live in a northern climate zone, it's time to get your yard ready for winter. If you live in a southern zone, you probably do this all year long. In today's puzzle, Will comes up with four activities to put on your "to do" list (no matter where you live), each of which appears as the first word in the four theme-phrases. Ready to do some work? You're going to:

•17A. Cut the grass, by way of CUT AND DRIED [Formulaic]. Hmm. We just saw this phrase as theme-fill last Wednesday in Paula Gamache's "He's No Gentleman"...
•11D. Trim the hedges, courtesy of TRIM THE TREE [Prepare for Santa, in a way]. This one's confusing. It's the only verbal theme-phrase and the base meaning needs the Christmas context so that we read "trim" as decorate and not tidy/cut. The word tree in the fill is also problematic as there may be trees in the yard. Why not TRIM AND TONE [Popular health-club workout?] or something nautical rather than botanical like "TRIM THE SAIL" [Request of Michael?]? Something that isn't UNCLEAR [Hazy], please.
•25D. Edge the lawn, via EDGE OF NIGHT [Soap opera with 7,420 episodes, with "The"]. Last seen on 12/28/84, it aired for 29 years...
•53A. Prune the bushes, compliments of PRUNE DANISH.

"EGAD!" [Quaint outburst], after all that work, you might want to MUNCH [Chew (on)] something. You might even want a prune danish. Or, depending on the weather, I s'pose, GELATI [Italian desserts] or FLANS [Caramel-topped desserts], and maybe some MINT JULEPS [Derby Day quaffs] to wash 'em all down. Or not...

As was the case with yesterday's puzzle, I found that I enjoyed the non-theme fill considerably more than the theme-fill. To borrow from the puzzle (but not to be SASSY [Impertinent]), it's simply less cut and dried.

Using the fill, I like that I can tie together the idiomatic BAD RAPS [Unjust judgments, slangily] with reasons some folks earn 'em. "She's the SPOTTIEST [Most erratic] employee when it comes to clocking in. Sure, she's always around at TEN A.M. [Coffee break time, for some], but when she goes back to the selling floor, face it: she's [Unambitious to the max] SHIFTLESS! Except for the paycheck, she probably RUES [Regrets] the day she ever walked in here..." I also like the way [...to the max] does not deliver an adjective ending in "-est." Sneaky. Good.

I like the crossing of EGG [It can be scrambled] and EGGAR [Actress Samantha of "Walk, don't Run"]. The "alphabet soup" fill is also nice with T-BARS [Ski tows], MR. T ["I Pity the Fool" star] and B-GIRL [Female hip-hopper]. I almost added A-BEAM to the list, but that word's ABEAM [At right angles to the keel]. Oops... Among today's SIDE ISSUES [Incidental topics] is the B-Girl Scholarship available at St. Paul, MN's McNally Smith College of Music. For some aspiring performer or musicologist, this is very cool and probably GODSENT news [Very timely, as an unexpected blessing].

I'm willing to bet that [Skater Sonja] HENIE wore a LEOTARD [Acrobat's attire] on more than one occasion; and even that a RUSTLER [Range thief] might dare to show up at a RODEO [Cowpoke competition]. Do you suppose there are many yoga-practitioners among the cowboy population? And if so, what are their MANTRAS [Meditation intonations]? Can't say for sure, but I do imagine their favorite song of these yoga-practicing cowpokes would be "Om, Om on the Range"...

Did somebody say "yoga"? I just read this on Twitter: "i've been doing some reading. turns out, the bhagavad gita never mentions yoga pants."

Dan Naddor's Los Angeles Times crossword

I refer you to my L.A. Crossword Confidential post for my thoughts on this puzzle.

Brendan Quigley's blog crossword, "Themeless Wednesday"

The last square to fall was the D in MONARDA, [Perennial family that includes bee balm and horsemint]. Say what?

Top fill, top clues:

• BABY FAT is [Children's coat?]. Lively entry.
• USED CAR is a Ford [Focus that might be a little off]. My mom bought a Focus about 8 or 9 years ago when there was a new model and regretted it—now she drives a tried-and-true Toyota Corolla with fewer repair needs.
• "RIUNITE on ice, that's nice." Is ["America's All-Time Favorite Italian Wine"] still available, or did it vanish by the '80s?
• ROSIE the Robot? [She works for Mr. J], J for Jetson.
• WOWED 'EM is nice.
• [Cabbage from the Far East] is YEN, "cabbage" being slang for "money."
• "THE TWIST," good song, good fill.
• [Run off] clues XEROX. Wasn't expecting that. Erased ESSEX, in fact, because I figured the beginning X was impossibly wrong for [Run off].
• If you type *headdesk* in an online setting, your readers gather that you're beating your head against your desk, expressing stupidity or, more often, futility. HEADDESK is clued as an [Expression of frustration, in modern day slang]. Just last week, Brendan had FACEPALM in another themeless, and I asked why it wasn't mini-themed with HEADDESK. So here the answer is, a few days later.

Francis Heaney's Onion A.V. Club crossword

Ooh, I love this theme. 63D: ONE is the [Distance forward in the alphabet that each changed letter in the theme entries has moved]. Francis has four pairs of 6-letter words/phrases and two pairs of 5s:

• 18A. [Revealing photos of an old movie actress?] are Fay WRAY'S X-RAYS. One possessive, one hyphenated plural. The X is ONE letter past W.
• 23A. If you ANGLED ANG LEE, you [Set an Oscar-winning director at a slant]. One verb, one full name.
• 32A. [Roasting a blues legend?] clues BAKING B.B. KING, following the structure of the ANG LEE answer. Before I saw that the changed letter was only ONE off, I had BBQING B.B. KING here. (No, I hadn't looked at the crossings.)
• 41A. [Cotton fabric for chadors?] is MUSLIM MUSLIN. Adjective, noun. Muslin takes its name from the French mousseline in turn derived from Mosul, Iraq, where the fabric was made. This pairing may be more apt than I first thought.
• 51A. [Problem for superpowered pickup artists?] is HEROES' HERPES. The square daily newspaper puzzles never seem to have HERPES, do they?
• 60A. BOSOX BOTOX is clued as a [Treatment to keep a ball club looking youthful?]. I wonder if this was the seed entry.

Favorite clues:

• [Gay prostitute customer Haggard] is named TED.
• The [Family name in ___ history] is CURIE for science, FOYT for racing.
• [Trenchcoated antiheroes] are P.I.'S. Wait, antiheroes shouldn't be in a clue when HEROES' HERPES is in the grid.
• [It might require Java] clues an APPLET. Yup.
• [Fought-over leftovers] are an ESTATE.

Miscellaneous points:

• OXO isn't just an [Ergonomic kitchenware brand] anymore—they make office supplies. I have their clipboard.
• ["The world's local bank"] clues HSBC. I have never heard of this.
• [Hip-hop's Das ___] EFX? Never heard of him/her/them. I don't suppose Das EFX is/are German?
• [Matador, e.g.] is a LABEL? Never heard of it.
• XKE is clued as a [Jaguar make]. I think someone recently was saying that nobody ever really referred to it as the XKE, but I just heard Click or Clack, one of the Tappet brothers, invoking the XKE last weekend.
• KAREN O is the vocalist for the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Wikipedia tells me. She's also a ["Where the Wild Things Are" soundtrack artist]. Kosher to have Things in this clue and THINGY as the very next answer?

Read More...

Summary only...

Sunday, 9/27/09

NYT 41:31 (paper)
Seattle Times 23:35 (paper)
LAT 16:12 (paper)
CS 11:10 (paper)
BG 25:29 (paper)

Happy Sunday, everyone. Sam Donaldson here, spelling Orange and spilling on the Sunday crosswords. I am honored that Orange gave me another shot at guest blogging--I feel like a young stand-up who gets called over to the guest chair by Johnny Carson after a set! "Just don't screw this up...."

It's just now "back to school" time at my place of employment (the University of Washington in Seattle). We use a trimester system with three ten-week terms, meaning fall classes finally start this week. Even though everyone else has been in school for a month or so already, I need to get back into the groove. Accordingly, I'm going to assign grades to today's puzzles. As in real life, final grades will be completely arbitrary and capricious.

Patrick Berry's New York Times crossword, "That is Two Say" (Final Grade = A)

Apologies off the top for the crappy picture of the completed grid. My version of Across Lite (downloaded circa 1620) does not support multiple letters in one box. Not a problem for me since my custom is to print the puzzle and solve by pencil anyway. But since you don't want to decipher my handwriting, I planned to type my solution into the empty grid and snap that picture. Works just fine if there's no rebus. Oops. "No problem," I thought, "I'll just download the updated version of Across Lite and I'll be off to the races." Naturally, for some reason, my computer won't let me download the newer version. So I went MacGyver on y'all and snapped a pdf version of the completed grid. You'll see my chicken-scratch in the rebus squares, but I keyed in all the other letters.

Last month I finally got around to purchasing "Crossword Puzzle Challenges for Dummies," Patrick's guide to crossword construction. Oh, how I wish I would have followed the advice of others and purchased this sooner. Patrick explains the ins and outs of construction so lucidly, I admire his prose almost as much as his puzzles (high praise indeed). If I remember correctly, Patrick endured the frustration of many solvers on the crossword blogs for his last NYT Sunday-sized puzzle, the fraternity rebus. In my view, today's rebus should garner more compliments than scorn. It was a toughie (for me), but a goodie.

The gimmick here was to squeeze two letters into 13 assorted boxes. Read in one direction, the two letters were simply two letters--no big deal. In the other direction, however, they were to be read aloud. It's now been fifteen minutes since I first typed that lame explanation and I still can't do better. Let's look at the entries using the rebus squares so it all makes sense:

• Insert the letters "CU" to form CUDGEL, the short, heavy [Club], reading across; read them aloud for the down entry and you get C U (see you) LATER, a [Casual farewell]. Hmm, I thought listing the entries would make it all so clear.
  
• You need to cram "DK" into a single box so as to get BEDKNOBS, the [Post decorations on four-posters], reading down. Reading across, you have TOOTH D K (decay), a [Dental problem].
  
• Better put "SA" at the start of 37-Across, since SALIENT is [Very noticeable]. On the down side, you get the [Life magazine staple], the PHOTO S A (essay).
  
• Put "DM" into a single square to make ADMIRABLE, something [Praiseworthy]. That'll give you CARPE D M (diem), a [Latin catchphrase sometimes seen on sundials]. Like most everyone in my generation, I first seized "carpe diem" from "Dead Poets Society."
  
• [Chianti and Beaujolais] are REDS, but you'll need to cram the "ED" in one square to make it work. Turns out the [Singer who played herself in "Ocean's Eleven"] is E D (Eydie) GORME.
  
• Here's the one that broke it open for me: I knew the ["Married ... With Children" actress] had to be K T (Katey) SAGAL, since the swoon-inducing Christina Applegate was just not going to fit. And sure enough, I had two or three K-TEL records as a kid. It was the [Music compilation maker].
  
• KARATS are [Units of fineness], as in the more karats you cram into the jewelry give to your sweetie, the finer you look. The "AT" in KARATS then serves up the "equatorial" AROUND THE WORLD IN A T (eighty) DAYS, the [1873 adventure novel that begins and ends in London].
  
• To make the ["Fer-de-Lance" mystery novelist], REX STOUT, work you need "XS" in one box. Reading down, you find that TO X S (excess) is [How drunks drink].
  
• I like the clue [Chisel face] for BEZEL. Sounds like a good insult--"Oh, can it, chisel face!" Borrow the middle letters and you will REST E Z (easy), or [Stop worrying].
  
• My father would be proud to know that I knew CRANK CASE, the [Dipstick housing], right off the bat. Use the "KC" to make K C JONES, the [Driver of the Cannonball Special], a drag racer shaped like a locomotive. Here's a fun diversion: type "dipstick" in Google's search field right now and watch how it suggests "dipstick housing" as the first suggested search phrase. I wonder if that was the case a few hours ago? The phrase turns up a lot of hits, but I have a hunch today's puzzle might have affected its status on Google.
  
• Loved this one: cram "QP" into one square to form JOHN Q. PUBLIC, the [American everyman] reading across and a Q P (kewpie) DOLL reading down. Did you know "kewpie" is German for "creepy?" It's not, but it should be.
  
• Act like an R.N. and shove an "IV" into a square so that you send SHIVERS, a [Flu symptom], reading down. It's OK, though, because you're treating POISON I V (ivy), clued as [It's not to be touched].
  
• Shove Nevada ("NV") into southeast section of the grid to make CANVAS, the [Sneaker material]. Doing so will make others GREEN WITH N V (envy) when they read across.

The grid offered plenty of toeholds, with easy fill-ins like Jai ALAI, Sierra LEONE, RUBIK'S Cube, SINO-Japanese War, and From A TO Z. Of the 12(!) clues formatted as fill-ins, only one gave me pause, the Abbott and Costello film, "Here Come the CO-EDS." But the extra hint in the clue (that it was set at a girl's school) and the crossings made it easily gettable. Despite the many fair starting points, however, the rebus had me a little on edge and I found it hard to get traction. This being Patrick Berry, I suspected the two letter combinations in the rebus squares would form a secret message when read in some order. So, ever on the lookout for the meta-theme, I lost some time. Please tell me there isn't a secret message in the grid. How embarrassing would that be!

In discussing how to fill grids with familiar terms in his book, Patrick says he knows a lot about movies but little about television, politics, and opera. Save for television, I'm right there with him. But even I can get AIDA, the [Opera set in Egypt]. I like seeing LIAM NEESON, the [Ethan Frome portrayer, 1993], in the grid, and for some reason I like that TART abuts TROLLOPE, even though the latter has an "E" on the end so it refers to the [Author of the Barsetshire novels].

Here are some confessions from solving this puzzle (abridged since this has to be posted before Tuesday): (1) still don't know how [Leopard's home?] clues IMAC; (2) needed lots of crossings to tease out COSTA BRAVA, the [Resort region near Barcelona]; (3) never knew GRAHAM as a [Car make of the 1930s]; (4) am blushing a little that I could throw TATIANA Romanova, the ["From Russia With Love" Bond girl], into the grid with only one letter crossing; (5) never heard of a TULIP TREE, the [Yellow poplar]; (6) thought I was better in science than I really am, for both MARKER GENE (a [Key sequence in a chromosome]) and MIDRIB (the [Leaf vein]) were new to me; and (7) while I normally have an allergic reaction to variant spellings in crosswords, somehow I was fine with two of them in this grid (PATINES for [Surface films] and IKON for a [Venerated image]). Oddly, I'm significantly more freaked out about Jacob RIIS, the ["How the Other Half Lives"] writer.

So this proved to be a workout for me, but I enjoyed it. I feel smarter for having solved this puzzle (and dumber for confessing all of my ignorance here). So it gets an "A." As does "Crossword Puzzle Challenges for Dummies." And, for that matter, so does "Puzzle Masterpieces."

Merl Reagle’s Seattle Times crossword, "O Punnish Me” (Final Grade = B+)

Once again I'm re-branding Merl's syndicated crossword--you know it on this blog as the "Philadelphia Inquirer" crossword. And to celebrate the re-branding, it looks like Merl's trying something entirely new for him: puns. I thought about listing the theme entries in order of "groaniness," but check it out: the puns actually get groanier from top to bottom!

• [Western-style wieners?] are PRAIRIE DOGS. I sort of shrugged at this one. Cute (because c'mon, what's cuter than a prairie dog?) but not a groaner.
• Fittingly, it takes two long entries to contain the [tubby executive's last resort if he doesn't get his way?]: SITTING ON THE / BOARD OF DIRECTORS. I smiled when I caught on to this one--but no groan.
  
• THAT WAS CLOSE would be how one could say ["Glenn just went by," in other words?]. That is, if one wanted to refer to the actress Glenn Close without using both her first and last names. An audible "Mmm" here (think Marge Simpson when she's mildly exasperated)--close to a groan but no cigar.
  
• [What your dog keeps doing that prevents you from filing on time? (suuure)] is LYING ON YOUR TAX RETURNS. As one who teaches tax law, I like almost all references to taxes in my crosswords. This one elicited a light chuckle.
  
• [The door prize at a zombie party?] is a DEAD GIVEAWAY. Ding ding ding! We have our first groan.
  
• HAPPY ON THE INSIDE is a [Sad result of "The Seven Dwarfs Meet Godzilla"?]. Maybe others thought this was gross, but I loved the creativity of the clue. It reminds me of the classic "Bambi Meets Godzilla" short film.
  
• And the [result of trying to sew on a zipper with the lights off?] is a FLY BY THE SEAT / OF YOUR PANTS. I groaned! I laughed! I loved!

Do you agree that the puns get better (or worse, if you're a pun-hater) as you progress down the grid? I know Merl likes to save his best "punch line" for the bottom, and in my view he chose wisely here. The order of the theme entries here is just perfect, even if serendipitous.

Sure, there are only seven puns in the grid, but two of them are long enough to span two lines, so I feel there is plenty of theme here to enjoy. We're treated to a couple of Qs and Xs in the grid, and some clever clues to boot: [It's witnessed by seconds] for DUEL and [Sushi candidates] for EELS.

I liked that the clues for two consecutive down entries were related: John Henry EATON was the [Secretary of War, 1829] and William Howard TAFT was the [Secretary of War, 1904]. At last, the payoff for memorizing the list of former War Secretaries back in fifth grade!

I breezed through the solve until I came to a screeching halt in the far east. I was befuddled by Hosni MUBARAK, the [Cairo VIP], since I kept thinking I was supposed to come up with a term like "pharaoh." I had ROW A for the [Good seat site], but alas it was ROW I (I take it the I is for "one" and not the letter "I"). Kept wanting ADAM'S as the [Rib adjective] when it was PRIME, and that precluded me from getting EPH, the [Galatians follower: abbr.] (short for Ephesians), for a long time. Didn't help that SASHA being a [Nickname for "Alexandra"] was new to me. Getting stuck on this many entries in such close proximity created the perfect storm, so my relatively slow time comes as no surprise.

So why just a B+ and not a higher mark? Well, there were a few sour notes. Case in point: NARR, short for "narration," or [Voice-over]. Odd to see WSW and SSE (both clued as a [Compass pt.]) in the same grid. Also odd to see QE-II, the [Noted liner, briefly] together with the aforementioned ROW I. But I guess two odds make it even, so all is well. I'm sure more than a handful of solvers got stumped with the [Gary Cooper film, "They Came to ___"] CORDURA. Cordura's a nylon fabric originally made by DuPont so sayeth the Holder of All Truth). So they came to Cordura ... after trying burlap? Because cotton was bad and wool was even "worsted?" OK, we need to move on....

Alan Arbesfeld’s Los Angeles Times crossword, "Put the Finger On” (Final Grade = CREDIT)

We interrupt this blog for some late-breaking news:

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Publishers of the Los Angeles Times announced today that the newspaper will be renamed the Los Angeles Plus. "Multiplication proved too difficult for our readers," said one editor who wished to remain anonymous. "We felt that having the 'Times' in our name dissuaded potential readers. The 'Plus' tells readers they won't have to do anything harder than addition."

Now back to your regularly scheduled blog post.

Well, in light of this news, the increasing ease of the LA Times puzzles makes sense! If you haven't noticed, this and other crossword blogs (there are other crossword blogs?) have bemoaned the easy puzzles of late. Word on the street is that papers still relatively new in carrying the syndicated puzzle have put pressure on the editors to ease up on the puzzles. So instead of a Monday-to-Friday progression of difficulty, we get a Monday-to-soft-Tuesday progression. I can join the chorus in disliking the effect this has on the puzzles, but I can't take it out on the editors or the constructors. When a student in class submits a late paper because of extenuating circumstances, I usually grade the paper on a pass-fail basis instead of assigning a letter grade. I think it's right to do the same thing here, too. If the clues had been a little more challenging, this would have been a really enjoyable solve. As it was, it was a pleasant (albeit brief), breezy stroll. We have established that I'm not a competitive speed solver, but when I finish a 21x grid in under 17 minutes, it's easy.

Oh, the theme? Pretty conventional, but it had a fun feel to it. Alan takes eight phrases and adds an "ID" to end of one of the words, then gives the resulting wacky phrase a suitable clue:

• Add an "ID" to a rap singer and you get a RAPID SINGER, clued as [Ella while scatting?].
  
• A [Bow-wielding Southern god?] would be Charlie Daniels. But here it's a DIXIE CUPID.
  
• LIPID SERVICE is a fun name for a [Cholesterol check?].
  
• My favorite clue-answer pair is the [Possible reply to a dentist's "Where does it hurt?"]--ON THE CUSPID.
  
• A [Twisty hair style for active people?] is a SPORTS BRAID.
  
• ASIATIC FLUID is the answer for [Japanese sake, e.g.?]. As a base term, Asiatic flu felt forced to me, but a quick Google search convinces me it's legit.
  
• Liked KID RATIONS, clued as [Candy, cookies, and soda?], as a fun play off of K-rations.
  
• [What Depp did, over and over, to acquire the auction item he so badly wanted?] clues JOHNNY REBID. Maybe not my choice for the final, "punch line" entry, but it's solid.

Six of the eight theme entries were in the top six and bottom six rows, so those sections are relatively dense with theme. The middle nine rows have only two theme entries, and neither is impressively long for a 21x grid. Consequently, the midsection feels a little thin to me. Still, I liked a lot of the long downs, including BAR AND GRILL, QUIT COLD, ACT NOW, and SUPERPOWER. The rest of the fill may not have blinded me with sparkle, but I felt it was solid. Yes, I muttered a little when I saw STR, the [Orch. section], and SER, the [Rev.'s talk]. In fact, I'll go on record that SER may be my least favorite abbreviation in crosswords. If I ever have to use that entry, I'm cluing it as the Spanish verb (and then watching the editor change it to the abbreviation, probably). Of course, if I have to use that entry in the first place, editors will likely pass on the puzzle anyway. But the point is that the puzzle was quite solid overall. Just think how much better it could have been if the constructor and editors were free to make it a normal Sunday puzzle. Sigh.

William I. Johnston's CrosSynergy "Sunday Challenge" (Final Grade = B)

Accountants will like this 70-word themeless puzzle because its assets evenly match its liabilities. Consider first the assets: the best entry in the grid, NUDIST CAMP, gets matched with the puzzle's best clue, [Place where nothing is going on?]. The grid features four 15-letter entries, and two of them are lively: LOVE ME, LOVE MY DOG, clued as ["Fido is part of the package"], and SNAKE IN THE GRASS, a [Backstabber]. The clue [Like Vera Wang and Anna Sui] rescues the third 15-letter entry, CHINESE-AMERICAN, from mediocrity. Sure enough, I took the bait, trying to see where "DESIGNER" would fit in the answer. ARMENIAN may be a ho-hum entry, but it's jazzed up through a celebrity reference in the clue, [Cher's heritage, in part]. In the northwest, MINT TEAS looks nice atop I'VE HAD IT.

But there are also some liabilities. The ugliest is TCHR, the [N.E.A. member]. I might have to rethink the hatred for SER. Then the [Glamorous Gardner], AVA, crosses the [Old greeting], AVE, right in the center of the grid. AIR PASSAGE feels clunky, and the clue, [Ventilation duct], does little to make it dance. I know RAPID TRANSIT MAP isn't forced, and yet it still looks and feels that way to me. It cried for some zip, but the clue, [Guide for commuters], offered no help. The proper number of European rivers to appear in any one grid is 0.6; this one has two, the NEVA and the ARNO. There were some missed cluing opportunities, as ABSTRACT ART seemed to deserve better than [Nonfigurative creation], and BRAIN TEASER appeared underserved by [Poser]. I get that "poser" can serve as misdirection, but what about something like ["How many times can you take away 2 from 21?," e.g.]? Finally, consider the following four consecutive down entries in the southeast: ARNO, MAIS, ESAI, SSNS. Show that corner to your non-solver partner or friends and watch them shake their heads. They'd have a point--it's probably too much concentrated crosswordese.

Every asset in the puzzle is offset by a liability. Perfect balance for the accountant, but hard to grade for me. In the end, I chose a "B" on the strength of the NUDIST CAMP.

I broke into the grid with STOLI, the [Vodka brand], not because I really know the brand but because I noticed that 1-Across was a plural. That meant the answer to 8-Down likely started with an "S," and Stoli's the only vodka brand I know starting with "S." Then came Mauna LOA, good ol' Max VON Sydow, and from there LOVE ME, LOVE MY DOG came immediately. TAMABLE, something [Subject to breaking?], took me way too long because I kept seeing "tam," as in the hat. Sometimes Scottish ancestry works against you (it also works against you when you try to get a tan). The northeast came next, then down to the southeast and then the southwest. I kept wanting BINDI for BONDI, the [Popular beach near Sydney]. I know Bindi is the name of the late Steve "Crocodile Hunter" Irwin's daughter (she wasn't the one who, as an infant, was held perilously close to a gator by her dad in a ballyhooed incident--that was her brother). I figured maybe she was named for the beach, but PIS was not working as a [Terminal abbr.].

Emily Cox and Henry Rathvon's Boston Globe Crossword, "Doubleheaders" (Final Grade = B-)

THE THEME entries here consist of wacky two-word phrases where the first word is repeated at the start of the second word (just like the first two words in this sentence):

• A [Little underling?] is a MINI MINION. One entering an adit would be a MINI MINION MINING.
  
• GALA GALAXIES are [Where stars are festive?]. One suspects some stars would be GALAVANTING at such events.
  
• [Kitty borchures?] are CAT CATALOGS. They feature the latest trends in the cat's pajamas.
  
• [What makes me puzzling?] is MY MYSTERY. Two years into therapy and it's still not solved.
  
• A [Queen's party for Solomon?] is a SHEBA SHEBANG. Easily the liveliest theme entry and the highlight of the puzzle. Shebang! Shebang! (Good grief, I just referenced a Ricky Martin song.)
  
• A COMMA COMMAND is a [Grammarian's rule?].
  
• [Where only men act?] is a STAG STAGE. For some reason I think I would have liked [Chippendale's platform?] better for a clue, but maybe that's what happens when a Ricky Martin earworm takes hold.
  
• APE APERITIF is a [Banana daiquiri?]. Most apes I know prefer hard alcohol to other intoxicants. Offer them barrels of wine and they'll just kidnap your friend and throw the barrels at you so fast you have to keep jumping over them.
  
• MISS MISSOURI is a [Midwestern beauty queen?] Tweet! Foul! Inconsistent theme entry! Five yard penalty! See below.
  
• [Where hunks pose?] is a STUD STUDIO. Geez, this and a STAG STAGE in the same grid? Where's the MAN MANSION?

Look, I was absolutely 100% sure-fire confident that MISS MISSOURI had to be MISS MISSOULA. For one thing, I love Missoula, Montana. It's home to the University of Montana (Go Griz!), breathtaking scenery (especially now as it stretches into fall), and some of the nicest people you'll ever meet. But more importantly, all of the other theme entries are contrived phrases (unless "stag stage" is in the language and I'm just too sheltered). There may be "cat catalogs" peddling trinkets or pet-care supplies to felinophiles, but I don't think the phrase could be considered common or real. Miss Missouri, on the other hand, is real--a real title held by a real person (currently Tara Osseck, an absolute sweetheart, based on her blog). We're not supposed to see a real phrase mixed in with nine other wacky ones. (Peter Gordon taught me that lesson when I submitted a theme query to the New York Sun in my very early days of constructing.) Even if we can let the inconsistency slip, the clue should not have signaled wackiness with the "?" at the end. The puzzle was fun overall, but this bugged me enough to affect the final grade. Of course, it's entirely possible that I'm missing something here, but that often happens in grading exams too.

My refusal to let go of MISSOULA really slowed me down. But there were other little bits of knotty fill. I had no idea that CHORINE, clued as [Rockette, for one], was an informal name for a woman in a chorus line. And I was lucky to get ARDEN, [The Bard's wood], through crossings. Apparently, it's prominent in "As You Like It," but I haven't read (the Cliff's Notes for) that one yet.

I was surprised to see TEA at 108-Down when ALICE is clued at 110-Across as "Girl at a tea party." Ditto with MENS, a [Clothing store line], given that "men" appears in the clue to STAG STAGE. I feel that I should have finished this puzzle about 4 or 5 minutes faster than I did, as most of the fill and the clues were sufficiently straight-forward.

Oh, and the [Canadian skating great], Brian ORSER, makes yet another appearance in our crosswords this week. Orser's been a trendy entry of late. I'm pretty sure Crosscan is to blame for this, but I'm not sure how.

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Thursday, 9/3/09

NYT 4:53
LAT 3:12
CS untimed (J)
Ink Well untimed

C.W. Stewart's New York Times crossword

Talk about your ass-backwards themes, eh? The four theme entries that begin with a synonym for "heinie" are presented BOTTOMS UP—or PUSMOTTOB in reverse. That's 20D: [*"Cheers!"...or a hint to answering this puzzle's five starred clues], including itself. The other four theme entries are:

• 6D: [*Auto accessory], or seat cover, which is REVOCTAES when written upwards.
  
• 12D. I first thought the [*Crewman on the tail of a bomber] might be the name of a character from Catch-22, but it's a generic rear gunner, or RENNUGRAER.
  
• 28D. [*1968 Barbra Streisand starring role] is Fanny Brice, a.k.a. ECIRBYNNAF.
  
• 35D. The rump roast is a [*Beef cut], and backwards that's TSAORPMUR.
  

Well! Those look crazy in the grid. I like backwards themes. Ben Tausig once had one with "reverse YGOLOHCYSP" (3/16/06) that looked as crazy as this one. (The Across Lite files for years of past NYT crosswords are linked on this page of Jim's Xword Info database, which is a cool new feature. Of course, I spoiled the theme of Ben's puzzle for you already.)

The clue most likely to be Googled is 1A: [English poet Coventry ___, who wrote "The Angel in the House"]. Who? Coventry PATMORE? Is he (she?) part of the standard canon? I do not recognize the name. Kinda rough start to the puzzle, a 7-letter answer you (or I, at least) draw a complete blank on.

Ten (or so) other clues/answers:

• 1D: [Have heat] clues PACK, as in "Are you packing heat?" as in "Are you carrying a gun?" The "have heat" wording is counterintuitive and perhaps deliberately throws solvers off the track. The P was my very last letter in this puzzle—*ATMORE could've begun with many other consonants for all I knew. I give the PACK clue a "grr, do not like." Later in the puzzle, SIGHT is clued as a [Rifle part] and that's right near AIM and TERROR. This crossword is making me antsy.
  
• 37A: [Popular newspaper columnist who writes for Good Housekeeping] is HELOISE. How is it possible she is still alive? Oh, the current Heloise is the daughter of the original one. Gotcha.
  
• Botany! AWN is 50A: [Plant bristle], a CACTUS is a 22A: {Desert water source], and AREOLES are "small areas bearing spines or hairs on a cactus." Here, though, that last word is clued as 15A: [Parts of irises].
  
• 57A. Geography! I didn't know BANGKOK was a [World capital known locally as Krung Thep Mahanakhon], but that sounded Thai and I had the final K in place.
  
• 5D. "Which twin has the Toni?" [Twin Tony whose #6 jersey was retired] is Minnesota Twins player Tony OLIVA.
  
• Pus mottob!
  
• 27D. [Holder of a black marker] is an EASEL. I am picturing a conference room EASEL with a giant pad of paper and black markers at the ready. The very best sort of chart, of course, is the pie chart. Have you seen this one, with the "pie I have eaten" and "pie I have not yet eaten" data?
  
• 45D. [Fountain orders] are milkSHAKES. It has been too long since I had a chocolate milkshake. I really want one now, but that would require leaving the house. Mmm, chocolate. 52D: [Chocolate brand] is DOVE, but that's also a soap brand. One must be clear when sending someone to the grocery store with instructions to buy some Dove bars.
  
• 50D. ABED is clued as the [Opposite of up]. What?!? That's so wrong. This puzzle has elsewhere demonstrated that the opposite of up is PU.
  
• 60D. ADD isn't just the opposite of "subtract," it's also A.D.D., or attention deficit disorder. [Hyperactivity may be a sign of it, for short]. 100% in-the-language now.
  

As I said, I liked this back-ass-wards theme, and I'm mildly amused that one of Ms. Stewart's previous creations, the 5/28/08 NYT puzzle, had a BALLS theme. My inner 14-year-old boy appreciates that.

Updated Thursday morning:

William I. Johnston's CrosSynergy/Washington Post puzzle, "Scary Puzzle"—Janie's review

Wanna hear something really scary? Only 58 days 'til Halloween!!! Where does the time go?! Getting us in the spirit of things, Will has laced his puzzle with four phrases whose first word is associated with All Hallows' Even:

• 20A. MONSTER TRUCK [Vehicle that may crush cars]. So from what I read, monster truck rallies are really good clean fun. Not to everyone's taste perhaps, but definitely crowd-pleasers. What can I tell you? All in all, I think I'd rather see a community-theatre production of KISMET [Show with tunes adapted from the music of Borodin] or "AIN'T [___ Misbehavin'"]... Btw, Will's got another [Big rig] in here as well: SEMI.
• 33A. GHOSTWRITER [Author's secret collaborator]. Or not-so-secret... Kinda scary indeed to think of the way even ghostwriters use mod'ren technology to market themselves. But hey—a writer's gotta make a living, too!
• 42A. WITCH DOCTOR [Tribal healer]. Only one thing to say here and that's "Oo-ee-oo-ah-ah"... In 1958, that was the coolest!
• 55A. SKELETON CREW [Limited staff].

If you've got your WITS [Ingenuity] about you, there's really not a lot in here to PSYCH you out or generate real TERROR [Extreme fright]. I chose to solve in an untimed way because... well, I have a pretty good sense of what my times are for the CS puzzles and sometimes I simply prefer to solve and enjoy. I liked seeing POTOMAC [Watergate view], in this case, a view by sunset... And look what an internet search turned up: a recipe for "Aragonese fried vegetables with AIOLI AU GRATIN."

There's a bit of an audio mini-theme going on with MONO [Single channel], INWARD [How needles move on LPs] (anyone still have a turntable? I'm still not ready to part with mine...), AMP [Piece of concert equipment] (that'd be a rock concert, most likely...) and RE-MIX [Make a new version in the sound studio]. I feel pretty safe in saying that while you can find a lot of stereo recordings of Edith Piaf, most of the early discs by ["The Little] SPARROW" [(Piaf's nickname)] were recorded in mono.

Finally, the only thing that scares me more than seeing ACER and APER in the same grid is seeing WREATHS [Christmas garlands] on the third day of September. Only 113 days!!

Daniel Finan's Los Angeles Times crossword

Daniel's PARTS OF SPEECH theme takes that phrase literally, as successive overlapping 3-letter parts of the word speech: SPE starts SPELLING BEE ([Where to hear letters recited]). PEE begins a PEEPING TOM ([Lady Godiva spotter]). EEC begins pretty much no familiar phrase other than E.E. CUMMINGS (["anyone lived in a pretty how town" poet]. And ECH is the start of ECHO CHAMBER ([Recording studio feature]).

It's the PARTS OF SPEECH bit that makes this work well. You can make a theme out of successive overlapping parts of other words—STRAND gives us STREET SMART, TRACTOR PULL, RANK AND FILE, and AND I LOVE HER—but without a solid justification. "Unraveled strand" is simply not in the language the way "parts of speech" is.

CLARK BAR is clued as a [Candy in a red and blue wrapper]. I was picturing maybe the Oh Henry bar in yellow and brown; the Clark bar is indeed red with blue lettering. Not a candy bar I ever buy, that's for sure, but a colorful crossword entry all the same.

Other bright spots in the fill: There's a PLETHORA ([Teeming amount]) of 'em. (And I refer you here to the "What is a plethora?" clip from the movie Three Amigos.) We've got TAG TEAM [Wrestling partners], BERMUDA with a geography nerd clue ([Hamilton is its capital]), a hedge MAZE clued as ["The Shining" climax setting], casual SEE YA (["Later!"]), and the adjective TITANIC ([Colossal]).

For more on this puzzle, check out PuzzleGirl's take.

Ben Tausig's Ink Well/Chicago Reader crossword

The theme entries are five fictional sci-fi doodads, clued with Ben's claims of reality tacked on. For example, at 17-Across we have BABELFISH, and it's clued as [Sci-fi translation device (that my uncle actually caught one of in his pond and one time he let me use it)].

Two favorite clues:

29A. [Early Costello single] is the lovely song "ALISON." Here's a 10-year-old live performance, but I caught a newer performance last year when Elvis opened for the Police.

• 72A. [Powdered one's nose, as it were] clues WENT.

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Summary only...

Monday, 7/20

BEQ 4:13
LAT 2:43
NYT 2:29
CS 7:22 (J―paper)

Two extra puzzly bits from the New York Times:

(1) Will Shortz will be answering reader questions through July 24. Send your questions to askthetimes@nytimes.com. I wonder how one's odds of getting accepted to Harvard or Yale compare to one's chance of getting a crossword published in the Times. Given that each top high-schooler can't take more than one admission spot and a good number of crosswords are created by repeat offenders, I'll bet the yield is lower for a crossword newbie than an Ivy wannabe.

(2) The Puzzability team (Robert Leighton, Amy Goldstein, and Mike Shenk) has crafted another thematic suite of puzzles for the NYT's op-ed section. This one commemorates the 40th anniversary of the moon landing. The individual puzzles range from easy to extra easy, and I completely skipped the one logic puzzle and had no trouble getting to the final answer. (Hey, Times tech people: You should consider posting a link to a 7-page PDF rather than a bunch of 1-page PDFs so that printing the puzzles out is easier for those of us who support the paper via online page clicks.)

Pancho Harrison's New York Times crossword

Ha! I can't believe Pancho put PANCHO in his puzzle (48A: [Mexican revolutionary ___ Villa]). I recall some grumbling when Frank Longo once put a LONG O sound into one of his crosswords, but I don't quite see the point of the complaint. I'm waiting for a famous-enough REYNALDO to get my last name in the puzzle, and in the meantime say thanks to 13D: ["The Joy Luck Club" writer Tan] for giving AMY continuing literary cred.

A request to our crossword constructors and editors: Can we limit 15x15 puzzles to a maximum of two baseball references? This one's got 32D: [Hall-of-Famer Mel] OTT, 31A: [Ninth-inning pitcher] for CLOSER, and 9D: [Seventh-inning ritual] for STRETCH. Why, that's 50% more baseball content than I want!

Today's theme is tied together by 57A: PLANT MANAGERS, or [Factory supervisors...or a hint to the starts of 20-, 36- and 42-Across]. I'm confused, because those other three answers begin with parts of plants, but I don't get what the MANAGERS part has to do with it. The plant parts begin these phrases:

• 20A. [What the love of money is, they say] clues ROOT OF ALL EVIL. I'd kinda like this better with THE at the beginning, but it's still a lively phrase.
  
• 36A. To [Stop a prevailing trend] is to STEM THE TIDE.
  
• 42A. To LEAF THROUGH something is to [Quickly turn the pages of] it.

Highlights:

• 11D. EXPLOSIVE! That's a material like [Nitroglycerin or dynamite].
  
• 35D. To TRANSPOSE letters is to have them switch places, as demonstrated in [Make lemons into melons, e.g.]. Oranges transpose into onagers, but you probably don't want to eat the latter.
  
• 54A. From the Department of Outdated Slang comes the goofball pairing of MY EYE and ["Oh, bushwa!"].
  
• 45D. [One who mounts and dismounts a horse] is a GYMNAST. A while back, I posted a YouTube video to L.A. Crossword Confidential—a clip from Gymkata of a fight scene between a gymnast with a pommel horse and a horde of angry peasants. Go watch it and mock the ludicrous moviemaking.

Monday Crosswordese Roundup: Now, if you're new to crosswords, this puzzle's got some crosswordese you'll want to learn if it was unfamiliar to you. 17A: [Sicilian spewer] is Mount ETNA—pretty much any mention of a volcano in Europe or spewing in Italy takes us straight to ETNA. 24A: [RR depot] is STA. here, but occasionally it's going to be STN. instead; the abbreviated "RR" for "railroad" is your hint that the answer is an abbreviation for "station." 71A is ESSO, the old ["Put a tiger in your tank" brand] of gasoline; the answer to most gasoline-related clues is ESSO (while NEON accounts for most gaseous references). There's a musical term in the fill-in-the-blank clue 6D: [___ breve (2/2 time in music)] is missing its ALLA. 7D is RIAL, clued as [Iranian money]; Middle Eastern currency clues typically call for RIAL, RIYAL, or DINAR. 22D is a [Low-lying area], or VALE; the word's related to "valley" and starts with the same first three letters but sometimes the answer you need is GLEN.

Updated Monday morning:

William I. Johnston's CrosSynergy/Washington Post puzzle, "Extinguishing Features"—Janie's review

When I saw the title of today's puzzle, I felt for sure this would be one in which letters were dropped from one well-known phrase to create a new one. But no. This is really about the measures you should take to protect yourself in the event of fire: Stop, Drop and Roll, the last of which actually appeared yesterday (in this context) in the Venzke/Daily "Sunday Challenge." Now don't SNIFF if this doesn't sound like the merriest idea for a theme. Will has woven the warning into three active phrases and pulled everything together in the final one. In this way we're instructed to:

• 17A. STOP ON A DIME [Brake quickly];
  
• 28A. DROP ME A LINE ["Don't forget to write!"]; and
  
• 48A. ROLL THE DICE [Take one's chances, metaphorically]. (This one and 28A, btw, look to making their CS debuts.)

The person who pulls it all together and who doesn't want you to take your chances—metaphorically or otherwise—is the:

• 63A. FIRE-FIGHTER [Professional whose safety message is found in the beginnings of 17-, 28-, and 48-Across].

Will appears to have given us two theme-related words in ARSON [Torch job] and CHAR [Burn]. Hey—when yer hot, yer hot, right?

Now, it's not that I don't take the warning seriously, but I do have to share two images I found for the same message. One is an album cover for the (wild 'n' crazy lookin') Foxboro Hot Tubs...; and the other a poster, to all intents and purposes the kind a teacher might place in the classroom—but for one tiny change in the wording: "Stop, Drop and Roll... Will Not Work in HELL"! (And on the subject of Hell... do check out Ian Frazier's amusing piece in last week's New Yorker, "The Temperature of Hell: A Colloquium", featuring Al Gore, Satan and others on the subject of climate-change...)

Both TAILGATES [Joins the pregame party] and GUERRILLA [Tag for low-budget marketing techniques] also appear to be CS firsts. I particularly like that clue for the latter. Ordinarily I think of the word in connection with CHE [Comrade of Fidel], so I find it refreshing to see it as it's clued today—in a way that forces me to think about the range of its meaning/usage.

Looking at some clue/fill combos, I also liked the avian references—one in the clue [Pigeon, to a con artist] for the snappy EASY MARK, the other in the fill CAPON, punnily clued as [Fixed chicken]. (Poor rooster!) Got myself IN A JAM by trying to make IN A RUT work for [Stuck], and was amused to see DRESS emerge in response to [Slip cover?]. And as for that [City with the world's tallest man-made structure], have you seen pix of DUBAI lately??

Haven't seen the remake of ["Taking of] PELHAM [1 2 3..."], but did watch the original a few weeks ago. It has a taut, edgy screenplay by the late Peter Stone and a great jazzy score by David Shire to match. A genre flick, to be sure, but it sure delivers. And if the tension is all too much, you can always chill out with the Four Preps, who immortalized in song Santa CATALINA [Island off California]. It really doesn't get much mellower than that!

Robert Harris's Los Angeles Times crossword

Wouldn't you have expected a splashy Sunday crossword yesterday paying homage to today's 40th anniversary of NASA's moon landing? Instead, we get the celebration in a perfectly timely Monday puzzle. When the first theme clue was [57-Across, 12-Down or 24-Down], it seemed like a mean way to kick off a Monday theme—but it quickly became apparent what the theme was and after the weekend's mentions of the anniversary, it all came together in short order. That first theme answer, 16A, is ASTRONAUT. The rest of the theme plays out like this:

• 35A. TRANQUILITY BASE is the [Landing site of 7/20/1969.
  
• 57A, 12D, 24D. The three ASTRONAUTs are Neil ARMSTRONG, Buzz ALDRIN, and Michael COLLINS.
  
• 42A. Balancing out ALDRIN is APOLLO, clued [___ 11, mission celebrated in this puzzle].
  
• 9D. Outside of thematic symmetry is the MOON, floating high in the grid. [35-Across is on it].

Sometimes the eye and mind play tricks on the solver. For 10D: ABACUS, I misread the clue as [Bearded calculator]. Beaded! Not bearded.

Does anyone here have a SETTEE as [Part of a living room set]? No? It's just one of those words that live mainly in crosswords that you have to learn if you want to do crosswords regularly.

Updated midday Monday:

Brendan Quigley's blog crossword, "Themeless Monday"


Brendan billed this one as a hard puzzle but I thought it was easy for a themeless. Because I blew the morning at a retaurant (called Orange!) that neglected to cook our food for an inordinately long amount of time (and the food, when it finally came 45 minutes into our visit, was delicious, but I could really have done without the defensive waitress who didn't do a damned thing to stick up for her hungry customers), I'll move right along to the highlights list:

• 63A. [Dominant feature of the 56-Down skyline], 56D being the [Midwest city that is host to the annual Pitchfork Music Festival: Abbr.], or CHI, is the super-tall WILLIS TOWER. Some British company, in insurance, maybe, bought the naming rights to the Sears Tower, which shall henceforth be known to all Chicagoans as "I'm still calling it the Sears Tower. &%$# those limey bastards changing the name!" The only reason I had a clue about Pitchfork is that I have a Facebook friend who works for the Trib and linked to Greg Kot's reviews. Facebook: A handy tool for learning.
  
• 1A. This word isn't as new as WILLIS TOWER, but it was newer to me, i.e., I'd never seen it before. FUNEMPLOYED is clued as [Now having the opportunity to bike across the country, say]. That probably only works for the unemployed who aren't facing foreclosure, eviction, loss of family health insurance, etc., eh? Related entry: The JOBLESS RATE, a [Number that has gone up since Obama took office] and a great crossword entry, though a bummer.
  
• 17A. I love the word BALLETOMANE, meaning a ["Swan Lake" lover, e.g.]. Are there other -mane words? I'm gonna start using egomane, pyromane, nymphomane.
  
• 52A. [English bowl] clues LOO. Simple, yet oblique. I like it.
  
• 61A. Griots are cool. [Griot's specialty] is ORAL HISTORY.
  
• 40D. To EAT CROW is to [Admit failure].

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Sunday, 6/14

NYT 8:12
Reagle LAT Calendar 8:02
LAT 7:48
Reagle 6/7 Philadelphia Inquirer 7:17
Reagle 6/14 Philadelphia Inquirer 7:00
BG whoops, forgot to note my time; 7:something, I think
CS 4:04
NYT cryptic 13:42

Brendan Quigley's New York Times crossword, "D-Plus"

Pop quiz: Among the NYT crosswords published from June 1 to June 14, how many were constructed by women? The answer—can I get a drum roll, please?—is zero. That's right. We are now on day 14 of Female Constructor Obliteration Watch.

No aspersions on Brendan, of course, as his puzzle today is a fine specimen. I grade the "D-Plus" theme as considerably better than a D+. Each theme entry begins with a familiar phrase; Brendan adds a D sound, which compels a spelling change to result in an actual word. The trumped-up phrase is then clued more or less plausibly, and I like how most of the theme played out:

• 23A. "Do penance" becomes DO PENDANTS, or [Make necklace baubles?].
  
• 25A. [Hip lineages?] are COOL BREEDS, arising from a "cool breeze."
  
• 39A. [Tonto's pep?] is SIDEKICK ENERGY. Wow, that's a helluva change for an add-a-letter theme, going from "psychic" to SIDEKICK.
  
• 50A. PASSED MUSTARD builds on "passed muster," and is clued [Gave Grey Poupon to the head of the table?].
  
• 66A. Hah! The Amityville Horror yields AMITYVILLE HOARDER, or the [Greediest person in a Long Island locality?].
  
• 85A. There's a "leper colony" at the root of LEOPARD COLONY, or [Spotted feline's home?].
  
• 94A. This one took me the longest to figure out. HOUSE-ADDRESSED is [Like residential mail?] and plays on "house arrest" with a D sound inserted.
  
• 114A. A "bowler hat" + D = BOULDER HAT, or [Certain Colorado headgear?].
  
• 116A. [Bamboozle Eisenhower?] clues SNOW DWIGHT, from "Snow White." Took me a while to shake Mamie loose from my head.

The least familiar fill, if you ask me, is MAOTAI, or this [Strong Chinese liquor], and KAKA, or [One-named Brazilian soccer star in the 2008 Time 100]. Both of these answers are in the same section of the grid, and MAOTAI's crossing with NARA, [Japan's first capital], might prove a gnarly spot for some solvers.

The best fill begins right off the bat with 1-Across: [1982 best seller subtitled "And Other Discoveries About Human Sexuality," with "The"] clues the G-SPOT. I have no problem with that as crossword fill. Among the other clues and answers I liked, we have [Many keys]/IVORIES and KOOL-AID/[Drink made from a mix]. And the NARTHEX! That's a [Way to the nave] but not, I guess, to the apse. ("I'll take Cathedral Parts for $800, please, Alex." Speaking of cathedrals, apparently the [Curved high-back bench] called an EXEDRA is etymologically related to "cathedral," with hedra meaning "seat.") PAPER LOSS is an [Unrealized hit taken on an investment. [One of the Planeten] is ERDE; that's German for "planets" and "Earth." DOTS is a [Classic pencil-and-paper game] that I ought to teach my kid. DOTH is an [Obsolete auxiliary] word; the primary auxiliaries, the dictionary tells me, are be, do, and have, while the modal auxiliaries include can, could, may, might, must, should, shall, will, and would. [How cringe-making humor might go] is TOO FAR; with the last four letters in place, I was expecting a SHOFAR clue here. Love the word APERÇU, or [Quick look]. ALGER HISS, the [Suspected spy in a celebrated 1949 trial], gets the full-name treatment. Interesting clue for ROAD SIGNS: [They often start with "No"].

Daniel Raymon's NYT second Sunday puzzle, a cryptic crossword

I think Raymon is new to the ranks of NYT cryptic setters, and I felt like I had a harder time than usual sussing out the clues. Or maybe I'm coming down with a bug—I have that foreboding. Does the common cold interfere with anagramming capabilities? Is there research on this? Or did you find the various anagram clues to be less obvious than usual?

Anyway, big thanks go to Will Johnston, who has posted his parsed solution online. Not that I relied on it to finish the puzzle, but hey, I like to encourage you all to do cryptics, and having a thorough explanation of how each clue yields its answer is a good way to learn the ropes. Saves me the trouble of writing it all down!

As Will notes, 16D is a good find in the anagram category. 22A is an anagram that took me forever to figure out, thanks to some unusual letter combos in the answer. Among the two 15-letter answers, 2D is terrific, but I could do without dull words like 7D. That's one thing I like about Harvey Estes' cryptics in Games/Games World of Puzzles—really lively and entertaining phrases in the answer grid.

CHOCOLATE!

Yeah, it's time for a chocolate break from crosswords. We were at Water Tower Place today and the Lindt store is going out of business. 50% off! We probably bought 4 or 5 lbs. of Swiss chocolate, and for only $26. Yum. If you live in Chicago and like Lindt, head on over before the candy's all gone.

Merl Reagle's 6/7 Philadelphia Inquirer crossword, "I Haven't the Vegas Idea"

I just got word from Lloyd Mazer that the Merl Reagle puzzles last Sunday and this Sunday in the L.A. Times Calendar section (filling in during Sylvia Bursztyn's hiatus) are puzzles specifically for that publication, even though they bear the "PI" filenames via the Puzzle Pointers and Cruciverb links. The crosswords Merl published in the Philadelphia Inquirer, Washington Post, and other papers for June 7 and June 14 are different. You can find today's PI/WaPo puzzle at Merl's website, Sunday Crosswords.

The theme, as you might guess from the title and Merl's propensity for punning, is Vegas/gambling-related puns:

• [Really swell in Vegas?] clues PEACHY KENO, adding the game of chance to "peachy keen."
  
• Cheapskates turn into CHIPSKATES, or [Misers, in Vegas?].
  
• My favorite entry is the literary pun PAIR OF DICE LOST—["Your throw didn't win," in Vegas?]—riffing on Milton's Paradise Lost.
  
• Campbell's becomes GAMBLE SOUP COMPANY, or [Big food supplier, in Vegas?].
  
• [First native American to own a gaming parlor?] doesn't mention Vegas in the clue, unlike all the other theme clues. POKER-HONTAS replaces Pocahontas here.
  
• [What gaming fans have, in Vegas?] is SLOTS TO THINK ABOUT (sub "lots" for SLOTS).
  
• [Put off playing a certain game, in Vegas?] is PROCRAPSTINATE. This alteration of "procrastinate" puts me in mind of certain potty talk.
  
• "See no evil" turns into CASINO EVIL, or [Being addicted to gaming, perhaps?].
  
• [Vegas, in a way] is a BETTING ZOO, playing on "petting zoo."

A couple unusual answers in the fill—S. NEV., short for Southern Nevada, is [Where Vegas is, in gazetteer shorthand]. Wow, "gazetteer shorthand"! I don't think I need that much. This answer crosses NEAME, or [Ronald who directed "The Poseidon Adventure" and "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie"]—never heard of the guy.

Oh, dang. I meant to do the 6/14 PI puzzle and blog it, skipping last week's—and here I did the 6/7 puzzle. I think the 6/14 isn't posted at Merl's blog yet and I assumed it was this weekend's; I was using Lloyd's Across Lite file. Got to add another puzzle to my to-do list...

Updated Sunday morning:

Will Nediger's syndicated Los Angeles Times Sunday crossword,"Watch the Birdie"

In golf, a birdie is ONE UNDER PAR, and that's the unifying answer at 69-Across. In 10 precisely symmetrical spots in the grid (I circled those squares for clarity and was astonished to see the perfect symmetry), ONE appears right under PAR. The coolest part of this is ONE UNDER PAR itself, with a PAR (in PARD) above the ONE and a ONE (in IONE) below the PAR. Often, the explanatory answer describing the theme doesn't exemplify the rule it sets forth, but this one does—twice.

You'd think the fill with PAR and ONE in it would lead to some tortured fill, but some of my favorite entries are in the ONE-under-PAR sections. There's J.R. EWING, the [TV shooting victim on 3/21/1980]; MR. PEANUT, the [Monocled food mascot]; APOLLO IX, or [Lunar Module test mission]; and a BEANPOLE who is, physiologically speaking, an [Ectomorph]. Right beside the PAR/ONE chunks are a bunch of great longish multi-word answers, including IT'S A BOY, or [Delivery notice?]; LEFT HOME, or [Moved out]; a SKI MASK, or [Holdup cover-up; OPENED UP, or [Bared one's soul]; and LIBEL LAW, or [Attorney's specialty]. And PALINDROMIC is a great word to put in the exact middle of a puzzle with heightened symmetry; it means [The same either way].

Favorite clue: TAN is [One of two Crayola colors with the shortest name]; the other is red. ZISSOU, BENELUX, CZECHS, and PLAIN JANE add to the Scrabble score here.

Much more on the puzzle from L.A. Crossword Confidential's PuzzleGirl, who absolutely loved this theme. (It inspired the use of many exclamation points, in fact.)

Merl Reagle's L.A. Times Calendar puzzle, "This Bud's for You"

I think this is the puzzle that's appearing in the L.A. Times Calendar section today. Let me know if it's not.

The theme answers are all flower puns, and I like flowers so this theme was right up my alley. Merl has a whopping 12 theme entries spelling out 11 puns:

• 18A. ASTER OUT puns on "asked her out" and is clued [Invited a lady to the Flower Ball?].
  
• 23A. Violet and violent are just a letter apart. VIOLET TENDENCIES are [What people with Flower Power exhibit?].
  
• 30A. Trilliums are three-petaled wildflowers that sound like "trillions." ONE TRILLIUM DOLLARS is [What you might win in the FTD Sweepstakes?].
  
• 50A. [Flowery adventure film?] is BACK TO THE FUCHSIA (Back to the Future). Given the American pronunciation of this flower/color, hardly anybody spells it right. They go with "fuschia," completely disregarding the flower's eponym, German botanist Leonhard Fuchs.
  
• 57A. [Flowery courtroom remark?] is IRIS MY CASE ("I rest my case").
  
• 62A. [With 74 Across, parent's flowery warning about video games and comic books?] is THAT JONQUIL / ROT YOUR MIND. ("That junk'll...")
  
• 81A. SAVE A PEONY is clued as [What a Southern flower-grower can hardly do nowadays?]. She can hardly save a penny nowadays? Is that the original phrase?
  
• 86A. [Flower shop come-on?] is AZALEA CAN'T RESIST ("a sale you can't resist").
  
• 104A. An Enemy of the People turns into ANEMONE OF THE PEOPLE, or [Ibsen play with the most flowery language?].
  
• 118A. "Thanks for being a pal" becomes THANKS VERBENA PAL, or [Response to someone who sent you flowers?].
  
• 125A. The last theme entry is my favorite for sheer weirdness. GERANIUM is a [Parachuting florist's cry as he leaves the plane?]. Why say "Geronimo!" when you can say "Geranium!"?

A few other clues and answers:

• 63D. [Alexander and Addams] are JANES, the actress and the famous reformer. A similar clue is 51D, [Burt or Hurt, e.g.], for ACTOR. William Hurt and...Burt Reynolds?
  
• 61A. [Basic cable, basically] is PAY TV. If you don't have cable, a dish, or a digital TV, did your TV go away this weekend?
  
• 96D. [How to "carry moonbeams home"] is IN A JAR.
  
• 55D. This one's the very worst answer in the weekend puzzles I've done so far, but it's still easily gettable. IEIO is clued as [E followers in a farm tune], "Old MacDonald Had a Farm."

Merl Reagle's June 14 Philadelphia Inquirer puzzle, "Tri-V-ial Pursuit"

Each theme entry has some tri-V trivia, where the answer phrase contains the letter V three times. With nine theme answers, that's 27 V's in the puzzle.

My goodness, I've been blogging a lot of puzzles. It's almost time for an IHOP pancake break. But first, the tri-V-ia theme includes these answers:

• 62A. [Famed victory speech] is Julius Caesar's VENI, VIDI, VICI, or "I came, I saw, I conquered." What an ass. Am I right?
  
• 72A. One of many schools that could be called the [Wildcats' home] is VILLANOVA UNIVERSITY.
  
• 84A. [1964 musical about a race car driver named Lucky Jackson] is VIVA LAS VEGAS. When I see "musical" I think of the stage, but some musicals really demand cinema, don't they?
  
• 119A/129A. The VELVET DIVORCE is the [Term for Czechoslovakia's peaceful breakup in 1993] into the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The Velvet Revolution (also three V's) was the peaceful end of Communist rule in Czechoslovakia. Writer VACLAV HAVEL was [Czechoslovakia's leader before its breakup]. Havel visited the White House during the Sosa/McGwire home run derby, and referred to "Sammy Soser."

Five assorted clues: [What RNA has that DNA lacks] is URACIL. Ivan PAVLOV was a noted [Dog studier] (6D). Why is 48D SKID ROW [No place to be somebody]? Is that from a song? To [Yield to desire] is 54D INDULGE, as in "indulge yourself with some Lindt dark chocolate/raspberry truffles." 79A/80A are the two-part answer AIR BALL, [With 80 Across, a court gaffe].

Updated Sunday afternoon:

Aw, pancake break was cancelled.

Henry Hook's Boston Globe puzzle in Across Lite, "Essay Questions"

This puzzle had a lot of "meh" fill around the entertaining theme (in which SA, which sounds like "essay," is added to phrases to alter their meaning), but I'll give Henry props for the gutsiness of stacking all the theme entries. Really, who does that? The eight theme entries appear in stacked pairs in each corner of the grid:

• POPULAR SAUSAGE began as "popular usage." The punny clue is [Best of the wurst?]. This answer sits atop SATRAP SHOOTING, or [Ruthless ruler's assassination?]. I'm just nerdy enough to appreciate a bit of wordplay that produces a crosswordese sort of word, SATRAP.
  
• Moving to the upper right corner, we start with SAVANNA WHITE, or [Snow on a tropical grassland?]. Good play on Vanna White! The AB negative blood type becomes SAAB NEGATIVE< a [Point in Volvo's favor?].
  
• Continuing clockwise to the Florida corner, we have a [Chapter in lettuce's autobio?], WHEN I WAS A SALAD, and the double +SA play of SALINE OF SAFIRE, or [Columnist William's lens cleaner?]. If you're gonna have just one theme entry that goes beyond what the other ones do, the last one in the grid is the place to put it, so score one for Hook.
  
• The last pair includes EERIE SAMOANS, or [Polynesians who scare you?]. "Eerie moans" isn't remotely an in-the-language singular unit of meaning, but I do rather like EERIE SAMOANS. A turn signal becomes SATURN SIGNAL, or [Extraterrestrial communication?].

What did I mean about "meh" fill? Things like prefix ANEMO, AMAIN, STOA, EMAG, TIU (that's a [Germanic war god] who seldom appears in crosswords), and an unfamiliar MOORHEN. The clue for NETH. is given as [Du. land] and boy, I've never seen "Dutch" abbreviated that way. Maybe in the etymology note in a dictionary definition or something. I'd have gone with [Dutch land: Abbr.], personally. Fancier fill: KEY WEST, the "VOLSUNGA Saga" of Icelandic legend, documentarian Morgan SPURLOCK (whom a bunch of us met at Sundance), Beatrix Potter's squirrel NUTKIN, and ACADIAN clued as the [Word that gave us "Cajun"].

Will Johnston's CrosSynergy "Sunday Challenge"

Crazy-looking grid, isn't it? I don't remember ever seeing one like this. Between the triple stacks at the top and bottom is a roiling midsection that zigs and zags. The difficulty level seemed about usual for a themeless CrosSynergy puzzle, didn't it? Some clues and answers of note:

• [Advertiser who may be on a lot?] is a USED CAR SALESMAN.
  
• [Naval battle of 1571 in which the Ottomans were defeated as a sea power] is LEPANTO. Say what? The Battle of LEPANTO is not in my ken. With the ANTO in place, I wanted LECANTO (a Florida town near my in-laws' place) or OTRANTO (an Italian place I know from crosswords).
  
• [Binge] is the verb, not the noun, cluing GO ON A BENDER.
  
• In Latin, [In the meantime] is AD INTERIM.
  
• [Hector, in Italian] is ETTORE.
  
• The RIGHT LANE is the [Way to an off-ramp, usually]. Chicago's Eisenhower Expressway has some left lane exits that throw me off.
  
• KAOLINITE is a [Clay mineral used in glossy paper]. I know kaolin, the clay, but not KAOLINITE.
  
• "GUN IT!" is clued ["Put the pedal to the metal!"]. I'll bet you could Google up a slew of misspellings. "Put the petal to the medal." "Put the peddle to the meddle."
  
• Never heard of this IRINA: [Sports Illustrated swimsuit model Shayk].

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Monday, 5/4

BEQ 4:19
Jonesin' 3:08
LAT 2:59
NYT 2:28
CS 6:31 (J -- paper)

Happy 18th anniversary to my husband, who is remarkably tolerant of my crossword avocation. Thanks, hon!

Mark Milhet's New York Times crossword

Today's theme is hesitant trepidation: All three theme entries are clued with [Succumbing to second thoughts]. The answers are GETTING COLD FEET, CHICKENING OUT, and LOSING ONE'S NERVE. Some of the fill in this puppy might give a crossword newbie second thoughts, although the puzzle's an easy one for the seasoned solver. Here are some words that flirt with the "crosswordese" category:

• 46A: EMI is a [U.K. record label]. Yes, it's still a major player in the recording industry, but I suspect it gets nearly as much attention in crosswords as in the music press, and is considerably more prominent in crosswords than in everything else I read.
  
• 58A: ITERS are [Anatomical passages]. I encounter this far more in crosswords than in medical editing.
  
• 6D: ERGS are [Energy units] or units of work. Outside of physics and crosswords, I can't say this word gets much play.
  
• 38D: NIBS are [Writing points], as in the points for a fountain pen. Nibs are also those terrible cherry licorice bits that I can't get enough of. Twizzlers, you are no Nibs.
  
• 40D: FERULES are [Old schoolmasters' sticks], handy for thwacking recalcitrant pupils. This isn't common crossword, no, but neither is it usual Monday fare.
  
• 56D: ENOL is a [Certain alkene]. Not your usual [Organic compound], [Carbon compound], or [Hydroxyl compound] clue. The dictionary on my Mac doesn't include this word, so it's got no business being in a Monday crossword—except for the LEGION ([Veterans' group, informally]) of regular solvers who reflexively fill in ENOL for any 4-letter chemical-sounding clue. If you didn't know this answer, jot it down in your brain—it'll be coming back to a puzzle near you quite soon.
  

There are three Bible answers today, but luckily they're not the more arcane ones like SELAH or NEH. or TAMAR. EDEN is the [Genesis garden]. SINAI is the [Mount ___, where the Commandments were given to Moses]. And NOAH was a [Biblical captain for 40 days and 40 nights].

Milhet's three-part theme leaves plenty of room for more interesting fill in the corners. There's ["Gesundheit!"], or "BLESS YOU"; CORNPONE, or [Dixie bread]; MARVEL [___ Comics, home of Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four]; plus ICE SHEET, HARASSED, and TOTTERS.

Updated Monday morning:

Will Johnston's CrosSynergy puzzle, "Measuring Up" -- Janie's review

Nice to start the week with this puzzle by esteemed moderator of the erstwhile New York Times Puzzle Forum -- and creator of the invaluable page of Puzzle Pointers. (There's also a link in Orange's column of "Crossword Links" at right.)

And it's also nice to see the ways this puzzle lives up to its title. Will gives us three grid-spanning phrases, each of which starts with a type of "measure":

• 17A: LENGTH OF SERVICE [Factor in employee recognition awards] -- LENGTH being a unit of distance -- or, as in this case, time.
• 37A: AREA OF EXPERTISE [Professional's specialty] -- AREA, as we learned in geometry, refers to a plane's size and is determined by multiplying (class?): "length by width." Unlike the previous example (or the next...), this fill does not describe a literal measurement but gives us a strong "in the language" phrase, where "area" means "field." As the exception, it is perfectly placed at the puzzle's center.
• 59A: VOLUME OF TRAFFIC [Commuter's concern] -- VOLUME being a measure of capacity (or sound amplitude). Again -- we're talking about the amount of traffic here -- or possibly the noise generated by it. This commuter is assaulted less by the sound of above-ground traffic than by the decibel level of the subways (and confesses she carries earplugs.....).

SPEED and NANO also come from the "measure" vocabulary pool -- so Will gives us a double bonus.

Three favorite clues: [High wind?] for FIFE, [Pen name] for CROSS and [Worldly wisdom? (abbr.)] for GEOG.

And speaking of GEOG, between the fill and the clues, we get a bit of a world tour here with: SARI [Delhi wrap], NILE [Luxor's river], IRAQI [Baghdad native], USSR [Cold War inits], AMIN [Former Ugandan tyrant]; and foreign phrases [Cul-de] SAC and [Pâté de] FOIE [gras].

It's probably serendipity, but where the demise of Cleopatra is concerned, invert the clue numbers and notice that 36A [Venomous viper] ASP has a complement in 63A's [Luxor's river] NILE.

Never heard of GINO Vanelli, but the crosses allowed me to find the correct fill. Will's a Boston guy -- and it seems there's a special Celts-Gino connection! Also tripped myself up some, trying to make MINI work for NANO; then NEWBIE for NOVICE.

Has anyone ever seen TRON? Ah, well -- perhaps it'll show up on AMC. ;-)

OVER.

Los Angeles Times crossword by Rich Norris's alter ego, Gia Christian

I can't help thinking of the power ballad "Sister Christian" when I see this one of Rich's pen names. (Skip to about 4:05 in the video to see how dramatically the vocalist belts out "You're motorin'.")

Let's call this theme KABOB (41A: [Skewered meal])—each theme entry is a B-to-B kabob:

• 17A: [Excellent performance] is a BANG-UP JOB.
  
• 29A: [Sci. class where many an "Eeuw!" is heard] is BIO LAB.
  
• 46A: [Bill for what you drank] is BIXBY. No, not really. BAR TAB.
  
• 62A: A catchier name for [Satan] is BEELZEBUB.
  
• 11D: To [Betray by bad-mouthing] is to BACKSTAB.
  
• 39D: The [Angels or Dodgers] are a BALL CLUB in the L.A. area.
  

Smooth fill, as we expect from Rich, with 14 6- to 8- letter non-theme answers classing up the joint. And six theme entries! Favorite answer: KIBITZ, or [Be a nuisance at the card game], connecting two theme entries. Favorite clue: [Host who expects you to question his answer?] is Alex TREBEK. Just a few more weeks 'til my Jeopardy! audition in Chicago...

Brendan Quigley's blog crossword, "Inside Jobs"

The theme is "Inside Jobs" and one job is hidden inside each theme vertical entry in this 15x16 grid:

• 3D: ["Pan's Labyrinth" director] is GUILLERMO DEL TORO.
  
• 18D: [Plants with purple flowers] are the unknown-to-me FOXTAIL ORCHIDS. Slightly better known to me: the [South African iris cousin] called the IXIA, which I saw recently in another crossword. It's on the crosswordesey side.
  
• 8D: [SUV that was a prize during "Survivor 2005"] is the PONTIAC TORRENT.
  
• 10D: [Acts of desperation] are LAST-DITCH EFFORTS.
  

Those 11-letter answers at 17A and 62A? Not part of the theme. They're just there to interlock nicely with three theme entries apiece. Favorite fill: Where ASHKENAZ, or [Group of European Jews], meets MATZOH, or [Seder staple]. I bought that record my senior year of high school—the [1983 Huey Lewis and the News album]—and yet I blanked on the title. SPORTS!

Matt Jones's Jonesin' crossword, "Pardon My French"

Matt's theme this week is couleurs—color phrases with the colors translated into French. Like so:

• 17A: [Bugs Bunny, most notably?] clues BLANC RABBIT. He's a gray rabbit, not a white one, but (a) "White Rabbit" is a familiar phrase and (b) Mel BLANC did the voice for Bugs.
  
• 32A: [Fear that you'll smear your makeup?] is ROUGE SCARE. Brendan's puzzle has the original RED SCARE in it today.
  
• 41A: [The woman that seduces hard-boiled film detectives?] turns the equine Black Beauty into a film NOIR BEAUTY. This puts me in mind of Kim Basinger's character in L.A. Confidential and nudges me to link to L.A. Crossword Confidential (Rex covers today's puzzle).
  
• 57A: [Extreme skateboarder who shreds on the halfpipe?] clues VERT MONSTER. The Green Monster is that wall at Fenway Park in Boston. I'm guessing VERT = short for "vertical" in skateboarding argot.
  

Notable stuff in the fill: A marijuana [Joint] is a DOOBIE, but one [In need of joint relief] is ARTHRITIC. Trade names abound—we see CESSNA jets, GUMMI Worms, Mr. PIBB, KOOL-AID (a [Drink that's stirred, but not shaken]), BUGATTI (the [Sports car manufacturer now owned by Volkswagen], maker of the super-fast Bugatti Veyron), and TOFUTTI. Plus the SEATTLE P.I., or Post-Intelligencer, the [Washington newspaper that ended its printed version in March 2009, for short]. For a foreign vibe, we get FUGUS, the Japanese [Poisonous blowfishes], and PRAHA, [Czech Republic capital, to locals]—one of my dearest friends lived in Prague for a decade, so that was a gimme for me.

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