Gift Returns
by Natalia Shore
edited by Mike Shenk
December 25, 2009 (or so)
Full answers available on WSJ's crossword puzzle page or with the following week's puzzle on WSJ's online Leisure Weekend or Lifestyle Arts pages.
Those more knowledgeable than I inform us that this week's constructor is the editor under the anagram of Another Alias. Or for me, yet more proof that I have no business playing Scrabble. I couldn't anagram my way out of a baper pag, no matter how much I enjoyed Stephan Fatsis' Word Freak (Houghton Mifflin 2001, Penguin 2002) or the documentary Word Wars. (On a completely off topic aside, Word Freak lives on my desk. Specifically, under my printer's paper tray, so when the Blog Supervisor sleeps on the printer, she doesn't break off the tray.)
Theme: Two-word nouns with the first word amusingly reversed.
FLOG CLUBS {23A “I'm returning these woods – I beat myself up every time I use them”} - A coincidence I'm sure, but ya gotta wonder.
NIT SOLDIERS {25A “I'm returning these toy fighters – they're really lousy”} - Bugs do not pass my breakfast test.
MINED JEANS {39A “I'm returning these pants – I don't dig them like I used to”}
EVIL RECORDING {48A “I'm returning this concert CD – it's profoundly bad”}
SAG HEATER {63A “I'm returning this room warmer – it makes my floor bend downward”}
DEB LINENS {69A “I'm returning these sheets – I tuck them in, but they're always coming out”}
MOOR FRESHENER {78A “I'm returning this scented spray – it smells like a bog”}
GOD COLLARS {86A “I'm returning these pet accessories – they're quite holey”}
TOPS REMOVER {106A “I'm returning this laundry product – it only works on blouses”} - Throughout her life, my grandmother feared for my wardrobe. Whenever I visited, she wanted to buy me tops. Not shirts, not blouses, but tops. Memory can attack from the weirdest angle.
RAW BONNET {110A “I'm returning this feathered headdress – it's just not refined”}
Some weeks, the theme answers need crosses to get got. This week's were detailed enough that they could be determined on their own & then used to help with the downs.
Cool Crossings:
It cannot be an accident that BOA {111D Fluffy wrap} crossed feathers with WAR BONNET.
Or that
RNS {108D ER personnel} were around the corner from the ICU {100A Hosp. section}.
Or that
DIRTY {117A On the take} was in the laundry aisle near TOPS REMOVER.
Repeats of the week: ENYA {118A Irish New Age star}
NYT Friday [12/25/09] {16D “And Winter Came ...” artist} Co*mm*en*ta*ry.
&
LA Times Thursday [12/31/09] {52D One-named New Age singer}. Commen*tary.
also
INCA {19A People who honored the creator Viracocha}
appeared as INCANS in NYT Thursday [12/31/09] {70A Pachacuti's people}. Co*mm*en*ta*ry.
I confess to being new enough to regular puzzling that crosswordese & crosswordese people still constitute happy gimmes.
Puzzle on the web: HIS NIBS
{43D Mock title for a pompous boss} or a source for fountain pens.
Fusspot Peeve of the Week:
J DATE{40D Online singles service available in English, French and Hebrew} – What, no Oxford comma?!? Compulsive menu proofreaders will enjoy Anne Fadiman's Ex Libris (Farrar 2000). I have only read a review of The Lexicographer's Dilemma: The Evolution of "Proper" English from Shakespeare to "South Park" by Jack Lynch (Walker 2009) but it is now firmly on my wish list. I too “get afflicted with that crankiness when a TV anchor describes a Chihuahua rescued from drowning as 'very unique' or...” Of course, the must-read for grammar geeks remains Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynne Truss (Gotham 2006 pb). Even if she is soft on the Oxford comma [p85].
News To Me [I got 'em but I didn't get 'em]: 0
Opportunities To Learn New Things: 0
Admissions of Defeat: 2
TEED {74A Prepared for a drive}/ORMOND {50D Julia of “Legends of the Fall”}
Drive = golf is almost what the Englishman calls crossword Pavlovian. Witness the LA Times Wednesday [12/30/09] {32A Driver's aid} TEE. Commen*tary. However, one still needs to read the clues. PrepareD past tense, not prepareS -> TEEs.
RAITT {55A “Something to Talk About” singer}/MINT {39D Source of change}
Knew of Bonnie, couldn't spell her. MINe {Source of change} as in silver mine, kinda, sorta, please?
STTA was also the title of a movie in which a gentleman of my acquaintance was the stunt rider for Robert Duval.
Katherine Walcott
Puzzle Fan
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Stocking Stuffing
by Dan Fisher
edited by Mike Shenk
December 18, 2009
Full answers available on WSJ's crossword puzzle page or with the following week's puzzle on WSJ's online Leisure Weekend or Lifestyle Arts pages.
Theme: People, things, and words with a TOY surprise inside. Two spliced, one Japanese, one French, one American, and two Russian. Harks back to the international origins for KI-D in Elizabeth C. Gorski's November 13 puzzle.
BLUEPOINT OYSTERS {23A They were originally harvested off Long Island} – Kurlansky's book on the subject is embedded in my To Read pile. He is also working on New York on the Halfshell, “A fully illustrated version of the Big Oyster with its unusual history, recipes, science and humor for 7 to ten year olds. The history of New York City told through its famous oyster beds and how they were destroyed.”
TOYOTA PRIUS {34A Popular hybrid}
CHATOYANCY {47A Iridescent quality of some gems} – The nonjewelery world knows this as cat's eye: “The term "chatoyancy" comes from the French "chat", which means cat and "oeil", which means eye. So, the term "chatoyancy" literally translates as "the eye of a cat". For this reason, this phenomenon is also known as cat's eye effect."
LA TOYA JACKSON {67A “Just Wanna Dance” singer}
LEO TOLSTOY {83A Count Vronsky's creator}
DOSTOYEVSKY {94A “Notes from the Underground” author} – An attempt at the definitive fan page has Dostoevsky. Wiki has the TOY spelling as main with 6 other varietiations.
GOOD TIDINGS TO YOU {109A Carol wish}
TOY {108D Stocking stuffer found in seven of this puzzle's longest answers}
News To Me [I got 'em but I didn't get 'em]:
TRON {74A Light cycle rider of film} - The film, the game.
KPMG {29D One of accounting's Big Four} - A Texas A&M professor supplies everything you'd want to know, including accounting humor.
It's a Small World After All: 2
Dual appearances by this week's puzzle personalities:
MEADE {42A Victor at Gettysburg} also appearing in the NYT Sunday [12/20/09] as {117A Army of the Potomac commander during the Civil War}. Having lived in Pennsylvania & in Dixie, I must say I do not get the continued fascination with this divisive & bloody era.
U THANT {71D Kurt Waldheim's predecessor} was also in the LA Times Tuesday [12/22/09] as {54A '60s United Nations secretary general}. I really should know this, from crossword puzzles if not from an awareness of the outside world.
Admissions of Defeat: 2
ITTY {58A Microscopic}/CANTAB {44D Darwin College student} – I was so sure of ITsY that I figured CANsAB was an Aussie reference that went past me. I will put questionable answers in light pencil, but once a letter is written in, I have trouble reevaluating, even in the presence of impenetrable crossings. The Googleverse supports cantab as an abbreviation for Cantabrigian, i.e. www.cantab.org.
VIDA {16A Life, in Lima}/DON BUDGE {18D First player to win tennis's Grand Slam} - MEADE got me BUDGE but I missed DON. vON BUDGE could have been a last name for all I know about tennis. VIvA, VIDA, whatever. OTOH, if ITsY/ITTY had been the the only thing between me & a win, I would have been apoploptic.
Commentary: Wishing you & yours a happy Feast of St. Stephens here and in ENGLAND {119A Where Boxing Day is celebrated}.
Katherine Walcott
Puzzle Fan
by Dan Fisher
edited by Mike Shenk
December 18, 2009
Full answers available on WSJ's crossword puzzle page or with the following week's puzzle on WSJ's online Leisure Weekend or Lifestyle Arts pages.
Theme: People, things, and words with a TOY surprise inside. Two spliced, one Japanese, one French, one American, and two Russian. Harks back to the international origins for KI-D in Elizabeth C. Gorski's November 13 puzzle.
BLUEPOINT OYSTERS {23A They were originally harvested off Long Island} – Kurlansky's book on the subject is embedded in my To Read pile. He is also working on New York on the Halfshell, “A fully illustrated version of the Big Oyster with its unusual history, recipes, science and humor for 7 to ten year olds. The history of New York City told through its famous oyster beds and how they were destroyed.”
TOYOTA PRIUS {34A Popular hybrid}
CHATOYANCY {47A Iridescent quality of some gems} – The nonjewelery world knows this as cat's eye: “The term "chatoyancy" comes from the French "chat", which means cat and "oeil", which means eye. So, the term "chatoyancy" literally translates as "the eye of a cat". For this reason, this phenomenon is also known as cat's eye effect."
LA TOYA JACKSON {67A “Just Wanna Dance” singer}
LEO TOLSTOY {83A Count Vronsky's creator}
DOSTOYEVSKY {94A “Notes from the Underground” author} – An attempt at the definitive fan page has Dostoevsky. Wiki has the TOY spelling as main with 6 other varietiations.
GOOD TIDINGS TO YOU {109A Carol wish}
TOY {108D Stocking stuffer found in seven of this puzzle's longest answers}
News To Me [I got 'em but I didn't get 'em]:
TRON {74A Light cycle rider of film} - The film, the game.
KPMG {29D One of accounting's Big Four} - A Texas A&M professor supplies everything you'd want to know, including accounting humor.
It's a Small World After All: 2
Dual appearances by this week's puzzle personalities:
MEADE {42A Victor at Gettysburg} also appearing in the NYT Sunday [12/20/09] as {117A Army of the Potomac commander during the Civil War}. Having lived in Pennsylvania & in Dixie, I must say I do not get the continued fascination with this divisive & bloody era.
U THANT {71D Kurt Waldheim's predecessor} was also in the LA Times Tuesday [12/22/09] as {54A '60s United Nations secretary general}. I really should know this, from crossword puzzles if not from an awareness of the outside world.
Admissions of Defeat: 2
ITTY {58A Microscopic}/CANTAB {44D Darwin College student} – I was so sure of ITsY that I figured CANsAB was an Aussie reference that went past me. I will put questionable answers in light pencil, but once a letter is written in, I have trouble reevaluating, even in the presence of impenetrable crossings. The Googleverse supports cantab as an abbreviation for Cantabrigian, i.e. www.cantab.org.
VIDA {16A Life, in Lima}/DON BUDGE {18D First player to win tennis's Grand Slam} - MEADE got me BUDGE but I missed DON. vON BUDGE could have been a last name for all I know about tennis. VIvA, VIDA, whatever. OTOH, if ITsY/ITTY had been the the only thing between me & a win, I would have been apoploptic.
Commentary: Wishing you & yours a happy Feast of St. Stephens here and in ENGLAND {119A Where Boxing Day is celebrated}.
Katherine Walcott
Puzzle Fan
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Your Mileage May Vary
by Myles Callum
edited by Mike Shenk
December 11, 2009
I assume most readers also do the NYT's puzzles, yes? In case you missed it, the WSJ's editor switched seats as constructor for the Sunday 12/13/09 puzzle. Com*men*tar*y.
Full answers for this week's puzzle available on WSJ's crossword puzzle page or with the following week's puzzle on WSJ's online Lifestyle page.
Theme: Phrases in which M, P, & G occur in order
MULTIPLY BY EIGHT {23A *How to get 24 from 3}
COME UP AGAINST {41A *Confront}
CAMPFIRE GIRLS {64A *Their motto is “Give Service”}
BUNGEE JUMPING {83A *It involves a leap of faith}
QUIT COMPLAINING {107A *“Whine, whine, whine!”}
HUMPHREY BOGART {16D *Actor who was once a chess hustler}
CAMPAIGN BUTTON {49D *Pol's promo}
MPG {108D What “varies” in position in the answers to the seven starred clues}
Word of the Week: MOUES {75D Annoyed expressions}
Try to say moue without making one.
Brainworm: GATO
{72A Cat, in Castile} Gotten easily from a Dr. Seuss childhood. Alright everyone sing, “Cat, hat. In French chat chapeau. In Spanish, el gato in a sombrero...” Wiki has the end entirely in Spanish, "Cat. Hat./In French, chat chapeau./In Spanish, el gato en un sombrero." When you sing it, both work.
News To Me: 3+
OLLAS {20A Spicy Stews} – We recently bought a pressure cooker, also know as an olla express. Big in Europe but not so much in the US. Our extravagance with energy amazes me.
PARLOUS {61A Fraught with danger} – Not to be confused with garrulous, which is only fraught with boredom.
ARP {63A Colleague of Grunwald and Ernst} – Jean, Alfred, & Max, all Dadas.
Mystery Cross:
SNEE {112A Ko-Ko's dagger} – Not only from the Mikado but apparently Gilbert's inspiration for it.
crossing
ANSA {105D Archaeological handle} – Ansa can also refer to “either of the ends of Saturn's rings which appear to project out from either side of the planet.”
Puzzle Patterns:
The puzzle resounds with visual and content echoes. {85D Echo:IMITATE} One is sloppy; half a dozen is a design choice. The duplication is clearly intentional in the repeat clue for EON & AGES{37A &116A Long time}. In addition, DIAL & RING {74A & 78A Call on the phone} not only repeat the clue but are stacked. The former brings to mind the Benoit College Mindset List. Read it & don't feel old – I dare you. My Mindset moment came in the early 90s when I was working in a college textbook store. One semester *Das Kapital* was required reading for government courses. Next term, it was on the history lists.
I gather it is verboten for a word to appear twice crossword? Mr. Callum had to be tweaking that rule with SALIS {97A Cum grano ____ (with a grain of 29-Down)} & SALT {29D See 97-Across}. Later: this rule was happily whacked upside the head on Thursday's NYT puzzle [12/17/09]. Awesome.
Since I wanted to USE part of one [USE UP {43D Exhaust}] to answer the other [EMPLOYS {17D Puts to work}], I'm calling it an echo.
J.R. saunters in twice with reference to his mother [ELLIE {6D With 25-Down, J.R.'s mother} EWING {25D See 6-Down}] and to the man who portrayed him [LARRYS {87D Holmes and Hagman}]. There is also a letter echo in the EWING/EWELL {28A Tom of “The Seven Year Itch”} cross.
Finally, there is a grand letter cross in the upper left corner.
LAMP {26A Reading aids}
SAMPLE {29A Use bits of one recording in another}
CAMPHOR {34A Moth repellant}
plus FLUME {22A Logging Channel} on top & GALE {39A Big blow} on bottom makes a diagonal string of four As, four Ms, & three Ps. Has anyone ever done a puzzle with the same letter along the diagonal?
Dunno that all these echoes change the solving but they sure make the pondering more fun, hence the extended blog this week.
Opportunities To Learn New Things & Admissions of Defeat: 4 problem spots. (sounds better than a word count.)
Had to look up the name stack of NEUMAN {93A “The Fly” director Kurt}/ETTORE {101A Car designer Bugatti}
Completely missed on the TEENA {5A “Lovergirl” singer __ Marie}/ELLIE cross area.
The QUI {107D On the __ vive} could have gone either way (e or i) and didn't.
When SNEE refused to come together, ANSA was no help.
I try to console myself that two weeks ago I was happy that my mind was working at all.
Taking Issue: ROAN
{19A Reddish-brown} Nope. *Horsewords: The Equine Dictionary* (Trafalgar 1997) defines roan as “a specific color pattern consisting of a uniform mixture of colored and white body hairs.” The colored hairs do not have to be brown ones. The American Roan Horse Association recognizes “blue roan, red roan and bay roan body color.”
As for other uses, Your Dictionary has, “said chiefly of horses.” So we can go with the equine usage.
Nota bene: ROAN was used correctly on Friday, September 11, 2009 {58A Chestnut with white mixed in, e.g.}
Commentary: Is it Product Placement if I don't get anything out of it? As I'm still huddled in the vestiges of the 20th century, I don't have the phone power to evaluate Crosswords for iPhone. I pass this along for people who might be more plugged in. I could see myself doing a crossword on a handheld before reading on one. I've got too much invested in the codex to change now. I did try an iPhone once, which tempted me to get one without a calling plan for the BubbleWrap App. Apparently it has a timer. I was popping too fast to notice.
Later: Ryan, of Ryan and Brian Do Crosswords, comments on iPhone crosswords, Thur 12-17-9. [re all the Laters - see what bonuses I get for procrastinating?]
I would be happy to Place other crossword Products - until such time as I start to I feel used.
Katherine Walcott
Puzzle Fan
by Myles Callum
edited by Mike Shenk
December 11, 2009
I assume most readers also do the NYT's puzzles, yes? In case you missed it, the WSJ's editor switched seats as constructor for the Sunday 12/13/09 puzzle. Com*men*tar*y.
Full answers for this week's puzzle available on WSJ's crossword puzzle page or with the following week's puzzle on WSJ's online Lifestyle page.
Theme: Phrases in which M, P, & G occur in order
MULTIPLY BY EIGHT {23A *How to get 24 from 3}
COME UP AGAINST {41A *Confront}
CAMPFIRE GIRLS {64A *Their motto is “Give Service”}
BUNGEE JUMPING {83A *It involves a leap of faith}
QUIT COMPLAINING {107A *“Whine, whine, whine!”}
HUMPHREY BOGART {16D *Actor who was once a chess hustler}
CAMPAIGN BUTTON {49D *Pol's promo}
MPG {108D What “varies” in position in the answers to the seven starred clues}
Word of the Week: MOUES {75D Annoyed expressions}
Try to say moue without making one.
Brainworm: GATO
{72A Cat, in Castile} Gotten easily from a Dr. Seuss childhood. Alright everyone sing, “Cat, hat. In French chat chapeau. In Spanish, el gato in a sombrero...” Wiki has the end entirely in Spanish, "Cat. Hat./In French, chat chapeau./In Spanish, el gato en un sombrero." When you sing it, both work.
News To Me: 3+
OLLAS {20A Spicy Stews} – We recently bought a pressure cooker, also know as an olla express. Big in Europe but not so much in the US. Our extravagance with energy amazes me.
PARLOUS {61A Fraught with danger} – Not to be confused with garrulous, which is only fraught with boredom.
ARP {63A Colleague of Grunwald and Ernst} – Jean, Alfred, & Max, all Dadas.
Mystery Cross:
SNEE {112A Ko-Ko's dagger} – Not only from the Mikado but apparently Gilbert's inspiration for it.
crossing
ANSA {105D Archaeological handle} – Ansa can also refer to “either of the ends of Saturn's rings which appear to project out from either side of the planet.”
Puzzle Patterns:
The puzzle resounds with visual and content echoes. {85D Echo:IMITATE} One is sloppy; half a dozen is a design choice. The duplication is clearly intentional in the repeat clue for EON & AGES{37A &116A Long time}. In addition, DIAL & RING {74A & 78A Call on the phone} not only repeat the clue but are stacked. The former brings to mind the Benoit College Mindset List. Read it & don't feel old – I dare you. My Mindset moment came in the early 90s when I was working in a college textbook store. One semester *Das Kapital* was required reading for government courses. Next term, it was on the history lists.
I gather it is verboten for a word to appear twice crossword? Mr. Callum had to be tweaking that rule with SALIS {97A Cum grano ____ (with a grain of 29-Down)} & SALT {29D See 97-Across}. Later: this rule was happily whacked upside the head on Thursday's NYT puzzle [12/17/09]. Awesome.
Since I wanted to USE part of one [USE UP {43D Exhaust}] to answer the other [EMPLOYS {17D Puts to work}], I'm calling it an echo.
J.R. saunters in twice with reference to his mother [ELLIE {6D With 25-Down, J.R.'s mother} EWING {25D See 6-Down}] and to the man who portrayed him [LARRYS {87D Holmes and Hagman}]. There is also a letter echo in the EWING/EWELL {28A Tom of “The Seven Year Itch”} cross.
Finally, there is a grand letter cross in the upper left corner.
LAMP {26A Reading aids}
SAMPLE {29A Use bits of one recording in another}
CAMPHOR {34A Moth repellant}
plus FLUME {22A Logging Channel} on top & GALE {39A Big blow} on bottom makes a diagonal string of four As, four Ms, & three Ps. Has anyone ever done a puzzle with the same letter along the diagonal?
Dunno that all these echoes change the solving but they sure make the pondering more fun, hence the extended blog this week.
Opportunities To Learn New Things & Admissions of Defeat: 4 problem spots. (sounds better than a word count.)
Had to look up the name stack of NEUMAN {93A “The Fly” director Kurt}/ETTORE {101A Car designer Bugatti}
Completely missed on the TEENA {5A “Lovergirl” singer __ Marie}/ELLIE cross area.
The QUI {107D On the __ vive} could have gone either way (e or i) and didn't.
When SNEE refused to come together, ANSA was no help.
I try to console myself that two weeks ago I was happy that my mind was working at all.
Taking Issue: ROAN
{19A Reddish-brown} Nope. *Horsewords: The Equine Dictionary* (Trafalgar 1997) defines roan as “a specific color pattern consisting of a uniform mixture of colored and white body hairs.” The colored hairs do not have to be brown ones. The American Roan Horse Association recognizes “blue roan, red roan and bay roan body color.”
As for other uses, Your Dictionary has, “said chiefly of horses.” So we can go with the equine usage.
Nota bene: ROAN was used correctly on Friday, September 11, 2009 {58A Chestnut with white mixed in, e.g.}
Commentary: Is it Product Placement if I don't get anything out of it? As I'm still huddled in the vestiges of the 20th century, I don't have the phone power to evaluate Crosswords for iPhone. I pass this along for people who might be more plugged in. I could see myself doing a crossword on a handheld before reading on one. I've got too much invested in the codex to change now. I did try an iPhone once, which tempted me to get one without a calling plan for the BubbleWrap App. Apparently it has a timer. I was popping too fast to notice.
Later: Ryan, of Ryan and Brian Do Crosswords, comments on iPhone crosswords, Thur 12-17-9. [re all the Laters - see what bonuses I get for procrastinating?]
I would be happy to Place other crossword Products - until such time as I start to I feel used.
Katherine Walcott
Puzzle Fan
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Scrambled TV Signals
by Patrick Blindauer
edited by Mike Shenk
December 4, 2009
Full answers available on WSJ's crossword puzzle page or with the following week's puzzle on WSJ's online Lifestyle page.
Theme: TV show titles twisted into off-beat but real alternatives. Old feed examiners don't retire, they just go to seed.
SESAME TESTER {22A TV show about someone who examines seeds?} Sesame Street
WHEEL OF TEN FOUR {31A TV show about some CB users?} Wheel of Fortune
THE SADDAM FAMILY {47A TV show set in a bunker?} The Addams Family
SERRATED DEVELOPMENT {64A TV show about a breakthrough in knife research?} Arrested Development
THE PRICE IS GIRTH {84A TV show about junk food repercussions?} The Price is Right
THE DOWNER YEARS {100A TV show about a period of depression?} The Wonder Years
LEAD OR NO LEAD {113A TV show about a filling station choice?} Deal or No Deal. Also on the right side of the puzzle was the gas-themed FUEL OIL {33D Heating need} crossing OUT OF GAS {56A Exhausted}.
Fortunately for the anagram-deficient, only one word of each title was scrambled. Plus an easy reversal in the last.
Other Crosses: 2
The aquatic SEA HAG/AVAST, {43A Foe of Popeye} crossing {45D Salt's “Halt!”}
OTOH, I could have lived without the abbreviated TEL/STDS, {41A Rolodex abbr.} crossing {37D EPA output: Abbr.}, or EMS/TMS, {55A Ambulance letters} crossing {42D Corp. identifiers}. Abbr are bad enough when taken alone. First you have to dredge up the word. Then you have to figure out which letters to toss back. Crossing them squares the pain.
Nomination for Word of the Week: current
OCEAN {39A Site of current events} was a fine mislead as I tried to figure out which CNN subject was most current. Unfortunately it mitigated the equally clever AMMETER {50D Current gadget} as I was primed to look for alternate meanings of current.
The SEALS {77D Ball-bearing creatures}/TEE {42A Ball-bearing item} are a similar mutually defining pair. Or they should be. I had worked up a correct but wonked approach that had SEALS dually defined as creature and as mechanical item containing ball-bearings. No - seals, ball, circus. Duh. After corkscrewing my mind to this extent, it took forever to look straight on and see the golfball resting on the TEE.
News To Me [I got 'em but I didn't get 'em]:
ESP {63A Ability tested with Zener cards, for short} Gotten on a long shot from the scene in Ghostbusters. Make your own.
EEE {73A Possible reading of a Brannock device} Trivia jackpot. Totally new information for a common item. We've all seen them, now we know their name. This is the sort of fix information junkies live for. I won't spoil it, ya gotta look.
DAME EDNA {5D Barry Humphries comic character} Comic not comics.
DDE {61D 34th C. in C.} Nevermind, light dawns. Hint, we are now on our 44th.
ERA OF {65D ___Good Feelings} A specific period during the presidency of James Monroe.
Opportunities To Learn New Things: O
Flying without hitting the Google-net this week.
Admissions of Defeat: 6
Less of a disaster than the amount might suggest, since five errors centered on my inability to spell AMMETER. l still think the clue is clever, even if I couldn't spell the answer. The other was an input error with ARTLOVERS {80D They often end up in a museum}. Sometimes if the across word has provided a letter, I'll skip over the line but not the letter, writing it in the line below instead. ARTLOVEeS was just plain sloppy.
Commentary: Last summer, I heard Leonard Nimoy at Dragon*Con. Once I stopped geeking out and saw Mr. Nimoy instead of Mr. Spock, I came to the conclusion that Mr. N. an extremely artistic and extremely odd person. I would love to be at his table during a dinner party. Extend that dinner invite to this week's puzzle constructor, Mr. Blindauer. Anyone who can pun this outrageously would definitely be able to sing for his supper. Of course, I have no idea how much sociability or charm Mr. Blindauer displays in 3-D. It may be that he's so much cooler online. I know I am.
Space forced me to move the constructor links down from the top. PB is scattered all over the web: Wordplay interview, Cru bio, acting profile, and cast pic.
I first made Mr. Blindauer's ecquaintance at his Kickstarter project. Welcome to a whole new world. The question remains to be see, is it Brave or not? The range of Kickstarter means that people with niche passions can join the other hundred people in the country with whom they Reach. So, are we shaking off our geographically-centered viewpoints and building non-traditional communities that will create foundations for a new form of society? Or are we dissipating our energies in ever more attractive, ever more expanding ways while the same old Powers That Be ferret out and rule over our every thought and action? The Internet: grassroots consensus or new opiate of the masses?
Katherine Walcott
Puzzle Fan
by Patrick Blindauer
edited by Mike Shenk
December 4, 2009
Full answers available on WSJ's crossword puzzle page or with the following week's puzzle on WSJ's online Lifestyle page.
Theme: TV show titles twisted into off-beat but real alternatives. Old feed examiners don't retire, they just go to seed.
SESAME TESTER {22A TV show about someone who examines seeds?} Sesame Street
WHEEL OF TEN FOUR {31A TV show about some CB users?} Wheel of Fortune
THE SADDAM FAMILY {47A TV show set in a bunker?} The Addams Family
SERRATED DEVELOPMENT {64A TV show about a breakthrough in knife research?} Arrested Development
THE PRICE IS GIRTH {84A TV show about junk food repercussions?} The Price is Right
THE DOWNER YEARS {100A TV show about a period of depression?} The Wonder Years
LEAD OR NO LEAD {113A TV show about a filling station choice?} Deal or No Deal. Also on the right side of the puzzle was the gas-themed FUEL OIL {33D Heating need} crossing OUT OF GAS {56A Exhausted}.
Fortunately for the anagram-deficient, only one word of each title was scrambled. Plus an easy reversal in the last.
Other Crosses: 2
The aquatic SEA HAG/AVAST, {43A Foe of Popeye} crossing {45D Salt's “Halt!”}
OTOH, I could have lived without the abbreviated TEL/STDS, {41A Rolodex abbr.} crossing {37D EPA output: Abbr.}, or EMS/TMS, {55A Ambulance letters} crossing {42D Corp. identifiers}. Abbr are bad enough when taken alone. First you have to dredge up the word. Then you have to figure out which letters to toss back. Crossing them squares the pain.
Nomination for Word of the Week: current
OCEAN {39A Site of current events} was a fine mislead as I tried to figure out which CNN subject was most current. Unfortunately it mitigated the equally clever AMMETER {50D Current gadget} as I was primed to look for alternate meanings of current.
The SEALS {77D Ball-bearing creatures}/TEE {42A Ball-bearing item} are a similar mutually defining pair. Or they should be. I had worked up a correct but wonked approach that had SEALS dually defined as creature and as mechanical item containing ball-bearings. No - seals, ball, circus. Duh. After corkscrewing my mind to this extent, it took forever to look straight on and see the golfball resting on the TEE.
News To Me [I got 'em but I didn't get 'em]:
ESP {63A Ability tested with Zener cards, for short} Gotten on a long shot from the scene in Ghostbusters. Make your own.
EEE {73A Possible reading of a Brannock device} Trivia jackpot. Totally new information for a common item. We've all seen them, now we know their name. This is the sort of fix information junkies live for. I won't spoil it, ya gotta look.
DAME EDNA {5D Barry Humphries comic character} Comic not comics.
DDE {61D 34th C. in C.} Nevermind, light dawns. Hint, we are now on our 44th.
ERA OF {65D ___Good Feelings} A specific period during the presidency of James Monroe.
Opportunities To Learn New Things: O
Flying without hitting the Google-net this week.
Admissions of Defeat: 6
Less of a disaster than the amount might suggest, since five errors centered on my inability to spell AMMETER. l still think the clue is clever, even if I couldn't spell the answer. The other was an input error with ARTLOVERS {80D They often end up in a museum}. Sometimes if the across word has provided a letter, I'll skip over the line but not the letter, writing it in the line below instead. ARTLOVEeS was just plain sloppy.
Commentary: Last summer, I heard Leonard Nimoy at Dragon*Con. Once I stopped geeking out and saw Mr. Nimoy instead of Mr. Spock, I came to the conclusion that Mr. N. an extremely artistic and extremely odd person. I would love to be at his table during a dinner party. Extend that dinner invite to this week's puzzle constructor, Mr. Blindauer. Anyone who can pun this outrageously would definitely be able to sing for his supper. Of course, I have no idea how much sociability or charm Mr. Blindauer displays in 3-D. It may be that he's so much cooler online. I know I am.
Space forced me to move the constructor links down from the top. PB is scattered all over the web: Wordplay interview, Cru bio, acting profile, and cast pic.
I first made Mr. Blindauer's ecquaintance at his Kickstarter project. Welcome to a whole new world. The question remains to be see, is it Brave or not? The range of Kickstarter means that people with niche passions can join the other hundred people in the country with whom they Reach. So, are we shaking off our geographically-centered viewpoints and building non-traditional communities that will create foundations for a new form of society? Or are we dissipating our energies in ever more attractive, ever more expanding ways while the same old Powers That Be ferret out and rule over our every thought and action? The Internet: grassroots consensus or new opiate of the masses?
Katherine Walcott
Puzzle Fan
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Unreal Estate
by Todd McClary
edited by Mike Shenk
November 27, 2009
Full answers available on WSJ's crossword puzzle page or with the following week's puzzle on WSJ's online Lifestyle page.
Theme: Real estate terms applied to well-known landmarks.
BRIDGE LOAN {25A The crooked realty agent tried to sell some sucker the Golden Gate by offering a ...}
CAPITAL PROPERTY {27A He tried to sell the National Mall, describing it as ...}
LIQUID ASSESTS {53A He tried to sell the Great Lakes, claiming they were ...}
LOCK IN CLAUSE {70A He tried to sell Alcatraz, even drafting a contract with a ...}
BALLOON PAYMENTS {98A He tried to sell the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade route, even arranging for ...}
CLEAR TITLE {101A He tried to sell the Crystal Cathedral, fabricating a ...}
CLOSING COSTS {16D He tried to sell Brandenburg Gate, offering to take care of ...}
LISTING AGENT {60D He tried to sell the Tower of Pisa, passing himself off as a ...}
(Is well-known redundant for landmark? If it isn't WK, would it qualify as a LM?)
News To Me [I got 'em but I didn't get 'em]: 3, at least
DOS {38A Good behavior} As in dos & don'ts, I assume?
T[-]MAC{108A Yao Ming teammate, to fans} Tracy McGrady on the Houston Rockets.
STARR {80D Best replacement} It's a Beatles thing. I did try to parse this as people rather than description but all I could conjure was Brenda Starr from the comics and Olympic rider Greg Best. Once I had the outstanding Gem Twist cantering around in my head, no mere drummer was going to oust him.
Progress Report: 3 Opportunities To Learn New Things & 1 Admission of Defeat
This one went down with something resembling style & grace except for the nest of proper nouns in the top middle. I had to make the digital acquaintance of EAGAN {21A Boston-based columnist Margery}, AMELIA {33A 2009 Hilary Swank biopic}, ALBANO {5D Pro wrestling's Captain Lou}, before I could coble together AZERA {8D Hyundai sedan}, STROM {9D Senator succeeded by Lindsey}, and HARRIS {11D Br'er Fox's creator}. Identifying this crowd was not helped by my inability to confidently corral the consonants in LISZT {20A “Les Preludes” composer} nor to shift from sanitarium & to baseball for {7D Bats} -> IS UP.
So the majority of my brain has rebooted save for this patch of Google green and a error-red spot where I took an erroneous flyer on ACCRA {90D Gold Coast port}.
Commentary: What do you mean it's Thursday again?! Where are my weeks going? The plan is to solve the puzzle on Friday, take a break for weekend warrior activities, and post on Monday. The reality is – not that. Invariably, I'm still finishing on Monday, Tuesday goes up in smoke, I surf and draft on Wednesday, and then post just in time to start all over again on Friday. The problem about being good with deadlines is being no good without one.
Katherine Walcott
Puzzle Fan
by Todd McClary
edited by Mike Shenk
November 27, 2009
Full answers available on WSJ's crossword puzzle page or with the following week's puzzle on WSJ's online Lifestyle page.
Theme: Real estate terms applied to well-known landmarks.
BRIDGE LOAN {25A The crooked realty agent tried to sell some sucker the Golden Gate by offering a ...}
CAPITAL PROPERTY {27A He tried to sell the National Mall, describing it as ...}
LIQUID ASSESTS {53A He tried to sell the Great Lakes, claiming they were ...}
LOCK IN CLAUSE {70A He tried to sell Alcatraz, even drafting a contract with a ...}
BALLOON PAYMENTS {98A He tried to sell the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade route, even arranging for ...}
CLEAR TITLE {101A He tried to sell the Crystal Cathedral, fabricating a ...}
CLOSING COSTS {16D He tried to sell Brandenburg Gate, offering to take care of ...}
LISTING AGENT {60D He tried to sell the Tower of Pisa, passing himself off as a ...}
(Is well-known redundant for landmark? If it isn't WK, would it qualify as a LM?)
News To Me [I got 'em but I didn't get 'em]: 3, at least
DOS {38A Good behavior} As in dos & don'ts, I assume?
T[-]MAC{108A Yao Ming teammate, to fans} Tracy McGrady on the Houston Rockets.
STARR {80D Best replacement} It's a Beatles thing. I did try to parse this as people rather than description but all I could conjure was Brenda Starr from the comics and Olympic rider Greg Best. Once I had the outstanding Gem Twist cantering around in my head, no mere drummer was going to oust him.
Progress Report: 3 Opportunities To Learn New Things & 1 Admission of Defeat
This one went down with something resembling style & grace except for the nest of proper nouns in the top middle. I had to make the digital acquaintance of EAGAN {21A Boston-based columnist Margery}, AMELIA {33A 2009 Hilary Swank biopic}, ALBANO {5D Pro wrestling's Captain Lou}, before I could coble together AZERA {8D Hyundai sedan}, STROM {9D Senator succeeded by Lindsey}, and HARRIS {11D Br'er Fox's creator}. Identifying this crowd was not helped by my inability to confidently corral the consonants in LISZT {20A “Les Preludes” composer} nor to shift from sanitarium & to baseball for {7D Bats} -> IS UP.
So the majority of my brain has rebooted save for this patch of Google green and a error-red spot where I took an erroneous flyer on ACCRA {90D Gold Coast port}.
Commentary: What do you mean it's Thursday again?! Where are my weeks going? The plan is to solve the puzzle on Friday, take a break for weekend warrior activities, and post on Monday. The reality is – not that. Invariably, I'm still finishing on Monday, Tuesday goes up in smoke, I surf and draft on Wednesday, and then post just in time to start all over again on Friday. The problem about being good with deadlines is being no good without one.
Katherine Walcott
Puzzle Fan
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Faculty Meeting
by Randolph Ross
edited by Mike Shenk
November 20, 2009
Full answers available on WSJ's crossword puzzle page or with the following week's puzzle on WSJ's online Lifestyle page.
Theme: Professions, people, & things reinterpreted as teaching staff.
ENGLISH TEACHER {22A} Faculty member at Eton?
PROOF READER {30A} Member of the math faculty, at times?
RHODES SCHOLAR {40A} Faculty member with expertise on a Greek island?
DRILL INSTRUCTOR {62A} Faculty member at a dental school?
SEMI(-)CONDUCTOR {85A} Part-time music faculty member?
GRAVE MARKER {93A} Serious faculty member when it comes to grading tests?
MORAL AUTHORITY{109A} Faculty member who advises theology majors?
PRIVATE TUTOR {13D} Faculty member working for the U.S. Army?
PAST MASTER {15D} Faculty member in the history department?
CROSS TRAINER {58D} Angry member of the athletic faculty?
STAGE COACH {68D} Member of the drama faculty?
Snaps to ENGLISH TEACHER for being in common use in both senses: a teacher of English who is an English person. Few puns are fully true in both interpretations. One usage is usually an amusing stretch.
Word of the Week: TWEE {116A Affectedly dainty}
Such an annoying, squeaky little word for such an annoying, squeaky little concept.
Wild Guesses: 2
I guessed right but the wildness of said guessing bleeds out any satisfaction.
MEL OTT {35A Giant star} A two-word baseball hero, clue indicating team; not a one-word astronomy/Hollywood enigma, clue indicating magnitude/fame. No word-splitting difficulties can ever be as embarrassing as the amount of time I once spent over CASIN { __ cat}. I have five of the critters. I should know this. A new breed? A literary reference? A metaphor for how deeply I have repressed my initial struggles with A as in Apple, B as in Boat, and their ilk?
MOTETS {54A Sacred compositions} Emphasis on composition over sacred.
Baseball & music. I never had a chance.
Commentary: For the previous two weeks, I have been blaming a cold for my poor performance. Well, the cold is over and I'm still stupid. In *Gridlock* (Thunder's Mouth/Avalon 2006), Matt Gaffney is depressed (p1) about the prevalence of sudoku, “Though sudoku is popular with the general public, it gets the cold shoulder from some crossword constructors,...” (p17) Call me a logic slut, I like both. However, sudoku is an even harsher measure of ability. You can con yourself into thinking that the hundreds of variables make this week's crossword puzzle harder than most. Switch to numbers. I am slowly working my way through the books from the World Sudoku Championships. If I aced a puzzle on the recto last month, it's hard to say that the puzzle on the verso represents a different sensibility. Furthermore, it's one thing to fail because your logic is twisted. Putting the two of the same number in one box is just wrong. Fortunately, errors of this suddenness and volume are not permanent. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
The Jonesin' crosswords Gaffney talks about in chapter 5 are here.
Katherine Walcott
Puzzle Fan
by Randolph Ross
edited by Mike Shenk
November 20, 2009
Full answers available on WSJ's crossword puzzle page or with the following week's puzzle on WSJ's online Lifestyle page.
Theme: Professions, people, & things reinterpreted as teaching staff.
ENGLISH TEACHER {22A} Faculty member at Eton?
PROOF READER {30A} Member of the math faculty, at times?
RHODES SCHOLAR {40A} Faculty member with expertise on a Greek island?
DRILL INSTRUCTOR {62A} Faculty member at a dental school?
SEMI(-)CONDUCTOR {85A} Part-time music faculty member?
GRAVE MARKER {93A} Serious faculty member when it comes to grading tests?
MORAL AUTHORITY{109A} Faculty member who advises theology majors?
PRIVATE TUTOR {13D} Faculty member working for the U.S. Army?
PAST MASTER {15D} Faculty member in the history department?
CROSS TRAINER {58D} Angry member of the athletic faculty?
STAGE COACH {68D} Member of the drama faculty?
Snaps to ENGLISH TEACHER for being in common use in both senses: a teacher of English who is an English person. Few puns are fully true in both interpretations. One usage is usually an amusing stretch.
Word of the Week: TWEE {116A Affectedly dainty}
Such an annoying, squeaky little word for such an annoying, squeaky little concept.
Wild Guesses: 2
I guessed right but the wildness of said guessing bleeds out any satisfaction.
MEL OTT {35A Giant star} A two-word baseball hero, clue indicating team; not a one-word astronomy/Hollywood enigma, clue indicating magnitude/fame. No word-splitting difficulties can ever be as embarrassing as the amount of time I once spent over CASIN { __ cat}. I have five of the critters. I should know this. A new breed? A literary reference? A metaphor for how deeply I have repressed my initial struggles with A as in Apple, B as in Boat, and their ilk?
MOTETS {54A Sacred compositions} Emphasis on composition over sacred.
Baseball & music. I never had a chance.
Commentary: For the previous two weeks, I have been blaming a cold for my poor performance. Well, the cold is over and I'm still stupid. In *Gridlock* (Thunder's Mouth/Avalon 2006), Matt Gaffney is depressed (p1) about the prevalence of sudoku, “Though sudoku is popular with the general public, it gets the cold shoulder from some crossword constructors,...” (p17) Call me a logic slut, I like both. However, sudoku is an even harsher measure of ability. You can con yourself into thinking that the hundreds of variables make this week's crossword puzzle harder than most. Switch to numbers. I am slowly working my way through the books from the World Sudoku Championships. If I aced a puzzle on the recto last month, it's hard to say that the puzzle on the verso represents a different sensibility. Furthermore, it's one thing to fail because your logic is twisted. Putting the two of the same number in one box is just wrong. Fortunately, errors of this suddenness and volume are not permanent. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
The Jonesin' crosswords Gaffney talks about in chapter 5 are here.
Katherine Walcott
Puzzle Fan
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Find Your Inner Child
by Elizabeth C. Gorski
edited by Mike Shenk
November 13, 2009
Full answers available on WSJ's crossword puzzle page or with the following week's puzzle on WSJ's online Lifestyle page.
Theme: ----KI + D-----
Who knew that English had so many words ended in -ki? I knew our language adopted words from other countries but 5 international origins for 7 words verges on the profligate.
SUZUKI DEALERSHIP {22A Its business is going through cycles} Japanese origin
KHAKI DRESS {34A Safari-inspired weekend wear} Indian origin
KABUKI DANCE {44A National Theatre of Japan offering}
CHICKEN TERIYAKI DINNER {67A Bento box entree} Japanese
SKI DOWNHILL {95A Compete in the Super G} Norwegian origin
TIKI DRINKS {101A Samoan Fog Cutter and Day Tripper, e.g.} South Pacific origin via California at the original tiki bar
PULASKI DAY PARADE {119A Annual fall event on Fifth Avenue} Polish origin. One of those clues that's easier if you live in NYC, as the parade was held the previous Sunday, November 7, but not held on General Pulaski Memorial Day, October 11.
KID {127A Child in seven of this puzzle's longest answers}
Miscellaneous Internet tidbit: Pictures of chic CRUMB containers {6A Silent butler's catch}
Commentary: Since I still inhabit that zipping, buzzing world unique to cough syrup, we will continue to ignore my performance. Instead let us ponder what puzzles tell us about their constructor. Coincidentally, this Sunday's New York Times's puzzle was also by Ms. Gorski. From what I have read of the puzzle industry, constructors may submit puzzles months before they are published. Therefore, it is sheer happenstance that the downs in one helped me with the acrosses in the other.
WSJ - PEACEKEEPER {18A Mediation pro}
NYT [11/15/09] – MEDIATED {17A Helped settle an argument}
WSJ – ILER {51A Robert of “The Sopranos”}
NYT – ditto {31A}
In the total absence of data, one wonders about Ms. Gorski's need for mediation. Is her life that turbulent? Perhaps the lives of those around her roil in chaos and she lies at the still, calm center playing PEACEKEEPER. If it is anything like my family's issues, I wonder if she also is tempted to lob a few oxymoronic Peacekeepers.
Furthermore, what is her obsession with Mr. ILER? Is the attraction in the cast of his features or in the arrangement of his consonants?
While we are baselessly speculating on Ms. Gorski's life, here is one of her alter egos.
Katherine Walcott
Puzzle Fan
by Elizabeth C. Gorski
edited by Mike Shenk
November 13, 2009
Full answers available on WSJ's crossword puzzle page or with the following week's puzzle on WSJ's online Lifestyle page.
Theme: ----KI + D-----
Who knew that English had so many words ended in -ki? I knew our language adopted words from other countries but 5 international origins for 7 words verges on the profligate.
SUZUKI DEALERSHIP {22A Its business is going through cycles} Japanese origin
KHAKI DRESS {34A Safari-inspired weekend wear} Indian origin
KABUKI DANCE {44A National Theatre of Japan offering}
CHICKEN TERIYAKI DINNER {67A Bento box entree} Japanese
SKI DOWNHILL {95A Compete in the Super G} Norwegian origin
TIKI DRINKS {101A Samoan Fog Cutter and Day Tripper, e.g.} South Pacific origin via California at the original tiki bar
PULASKI DAY PARADE {119A Annual fall event on Fifth Avenue} Polish origin. One of those clues that's easier if you live in NYC, as the parade was held the previous Sunday, November 7, but not held on General Pulaski Memorial Day, October 11.
KID {127A Child in seven of this puzzle's longest answers}
Miscellaneous Internet tidbit: Pictures of chic CRUMB containers {6A Silent butler's catch}
Commentary: Since I still inhabit that zipping, buzzing world unique to cough syrup, we will continue to ignore my performance. Instead let us ponder what puzzles tell us about their constructor. Coincidentally, this Sunday's New York Times's puzzle was also by Ms. Gorski. From what I have read of the puzzle industry, constructors may submit puzzles months before they are published. Therefore, it is sheer happenstance that the downs in one helped me with the acrosses in the other.
WSJ - PEACEKEEPER {18A Mediation pro}
NYT [11/15/09] – MEDIATED {17A Helped settle an argument}
WSJ – ILER {51A Robert of “The Sopranos”}
NYT – ditto {31A}
In the total absence of data, one wonders about Ms. Gorski's need for mediation. Is her life that turbulent? Perhaps the lives of those around her roil in chaos and she lies at the still, calm center playing PEACEKEEPER. If it is anything like my family's issues, I wonder if she also is tempted to lob a few oxymoronic Peacekeepers.
Furthermore, what is her obsession with Mr. ILER? Is the attraction in the cast of his features or in the arrangement of his consonants?
While we are baselessly speculating on Ms. Gorski's life, here is one of her alter egos.
Katherine Walcott
Puzzle Fan
Thursday, November 12, 2009
I'm a PC
by Myles Callum
edited by Mike Shenk
November 6, 2009
Full answers available on WSJ's crossword puzzle page or with the following week's puzzle on WSJ's online Lifestyle page.
Theme:
PETTY CRITICISM
{27A Carping? Nitpicking of Richard? Whatever! I'm a PC}
PRIVY COUNCILS
{38A Royal Advisors? Outhouse committees? Whatever! I'm a PC}
PASTRY CHEF {56A Patissier? Tart person? Whatever! I'm a PC}
POTATO CHIP {77A Crisp? Tuber splinter? Whatever! I'm a PC}
PRICE CONTROLS
{89A Anti-inflationary measures? Vincent's knobs? W! I'm a PC}
PRINCE CHARMING
{103A Fairy tale guy? Hexing a pop musician? Whatever! I'm a PC}
POSSE COMITATUS
{15D Sheriff's power? Latin militia? Whatever! I'm a PC}
POSITIVE CHARGE
{52D Proton feature? Favorable use of plastic? Whatever! I'm a PC}
The cleverness lies in the clues. The first part, a straight definition; the second, a humorous, literal reading of the words. Next time I open an outhouse door, I'm going to be looking for a circle of old men in wigs.
The Puzzle on the Web:
AMICE {54A White vestment} Priestly gear.
CRESSETS {61A Metal baskets for burning oil} Cresset Chemical Company (“an innovator in Release Agents, Curing Compounds, Sealers, Hand Cleaners and other products for the concrete construction industry”) has what I assume is a cresset as a logo. Looks like an Olympic torch to me.
IKES {65A Alibi ___ (excuse makers)} From the eponymous book by Ring Lardner.
OLAVS {80A Several Norwegian kings} Five out of 64, including one of the recent ones.
OLEG {113A Russian clown Popov} A member of the International Clown Hall of Fame.
POSSE COMITATUS{15D} A while back I saw a bumper sticker: If You're Not Outraged, You're Not Paying Attention. May I modify that to Confused?
CREES {40D Buffy-Sainte Marie and Tantoo Cardinal, e.g.}
LACER {42D Football factory worker} Wilson Sporting Goods has a video of making a football, complete with hand lacing.
SKEDS {62D Timetables, a la Variety} A search of “sked” at Variety.com yields 9744 hits. An improvement of the complicated mess that is English or decline of standards? Let's decide over donuts.
AMITI {70D Valuable violin} One of the Big Two according to the Met.
Commentary:
We will pass in silence over my personal performance on this puzzle and move on to Puzzles as Measure. When you do the same activity week after week, you notice variation. Some weeks you are plugged into God's own dictionary. The trickiest clue is an admirable little gem that fools everyone but cannot escape your fierce and penetrating wit. Other weeks, when you are gacking and snorting and regretting sharing an airplane with 200+ flu-wielding strangers, you feel dumber than a box of rocks. Yes, there are different sensibilities among constructors. You may have shared a frat party/sports championship/opera score with the constructor. However, The major puzzles also have professionals whose job it is to put out a consistent product. Face it, a person is more of a mood swing than the puzzle is.
Conversely, therefore, a puzzle becomes a gauge of my head space. Mental vapor lock means sudden-onset Alzheimier's or I'm more stressed/sicker than I thought. Bring on the chicken soup.
Katherine Walcott
Puzzle Fan
by Myles Callum
edited by Mike Shenk
November 6, 2009
Full answers available on WSJ's crossword puzzle page or with the following week's puzzle on WSJ's online Lifestyle page.
Theme:
PETTY CRITICISM
{27A Carping? Nitpicking of Richard? Whatever! I'm a PC}
PRIVY COUNCILS
{38A Royal Advisors? Outhouse committees? Whatever! I'm a PC}
PASTRY CHEF {56A Patissier? Tart person? Whatever! I'm a PC}
POTATO CHIP {77A Crisp? Tuber splinter? Whatever! I'm a PC}
PRICE CONTROLS
{89A Anti-inflationary measures? Vincent's knobs? W! I'm a PC}
PRINCE CHARMING
{103A Fairy tale guy? Hexing a pop musician? Whatever! I'm a PC}
POSSE COMITATUS
{15D Sheriff's power? Latin militia? Whatever! I'm a PC}
POSITIVE CHARGE
{52D Proton feature? Favorable use of plastic? Whatever! I'm a PC}
The cleverness lies in the clues. The first part, a straight definition; the second, a humorous, literal reading of the words. Next time I open an outhouse door, I'm going to be looking for a circle of old men in wigs.
The Puzzle on the Web:
AMICE {54A White vestment} Priestly gear.
CRESSETS {61A Metal baskets for burning oil} Cresset Chemical Company (“an innovator in Release Agents, Curing Compounds, Sealers, Hand Cleaners and other products for the concrete construction industry”) has what I assume is a cresset as a logo. Looks like an Olympic torch to me.
IKES {65A Alibi ___ (excuse makers)} From the eponymous book by Ring Lardner.
OLAVS {80A Several Norwegian kings} Five out of 64, including one of the recent ones.
OLEG {113A Russian clown Popov} A member of the International Clown Hall of Fame.
POSSE COMITATUS{15D} A while back I saw a bumper sticker: If You're Not Outraged, You're Not Paying Attention. May I modify that to Confused?
CREES {40D Buffy-Sainte Marie and Tantoo Cardinal, e.g.}
LACER {42D Football factory worker} Wilson Sporting Goods has a video of making a football, complete with hand lacing.
SKEDS {62D Timetables, a la Variety} A search of “sked” at Variety.com yields 9744 hits. An improvement of the complicated mess that is English or decline of standards? Let's decide over donuts.
AMITI {70D Valuable violin} One of the Big Two according to the Met.
Commentary:
We will pass in silence over my personal performance on this puzzle and move on to Puzzles as Measure. When you do the same activity week after week, you notice variation. Some weeks you are plugged into God's own dictionary. The trickiest clue is an admirable little gem that fools everyone but cannot escape your fierce and penetrating wit. Other weeks, when you are gacking and snorting and regretting sharing an airplane with 200+ flu-wielding strangers, you feel dumber than a box of rocks. Yes, there are different sensibilities among constructors. You may have shared a frat party/sports championship/opera score with the constructor. However, The major puzzles also have professionals whose job it is to put out a consistent product. Face it, a person is more of a mood swing than the puzzle is.
Conversely, therefore, a puzzle becomes a gauge of my head space. Mental vapor lock means sudden-onset Alzheimier's or I'm more stressed/sicker than I thought. Bring on the chicken soup.
Katherine Walcott
Puzzle Fan
Monday, November 2, 2009
Once Upon a Recession
by Norman Wizer
edited by Mike Shenk
October 30, 2009
Full answers available on WSJ's crossword puzzle page or with the following week's puzzle on WSJ's online Lifestyle page.
Theme: Nursery Fame No Guarantee
Downturn Hits Fabled Characters
{23A Snow White ...} HAD TO LOWER THE OVERHEAD
{39A Little Miss Muffet...} SOLD ALL OF HER SPYDERS
{56A Tom Thumb...} WAS FORCED TO DOWNSIZE
{82A Little Jack Horner...} DECIDED TO CUT CORNERS
{99A Goldilocks was...} JUST BEARLY GETTING BY
{119A The Three Little Pigs found...} THE WOLF WAS AT THEIR DOOR
After string of letterplay puzzles, contentplay that is not only clever but suited to its venue. On that happy note, I'm off on vacation. Back next week.
Commentary: A mind is a terrible thing to waste.
I'll be in New York City without a laptop. Since I get the NYT and WSJ puzzles online, I'll be puzzlepenic! No seriously, it took me far longer than I wish to admit to figure out the solution to this problem. Sigh.
Katherine Walcott
Puzzle Fan
by Norman Wizer
edited by Mike Shenk
October 30, 2009
Full answers available on WSJ's crossword puzzle page or with the following week's puzzle on WSJ's online Lifestyle page.
Theme: Nursery Fame No Guarantee
Downturn Hits Fabled Characters
{23A Snow White ...} HAD TO LOWER THE OVERHEAD
{39A Little Miss Muffet...} SOLD ALL OF HER SPYDERS
{56A Tom Thumb...} WAS FORCED TO DOWNSIZE
{82A Little Jack Horner...} DECIDED TO CUT CORNERS
{99A Goldilocks was...} JUST BEARLY GETTING BY
{119A The Three Little Pigs found...} THE WOLF WAS AT THEIR DOOR
After string of letterplay puzzles, contentplay that is not only clever but suited to its venue. On that happy note, I'm off on vacation. Back next week.
Commentary: A mind is a terrible thing to waste.
I'll be in New York City without a laptop. Since I get the NYT and WSJ puzzles online, I'll be puzzlepenic! No seriously, it took me far longer than I wish to admit to figure out the solution to this problem. Sigh.
Katherine Walcott
Puzzle Fan
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Capital Gains
by Dan Fisher
edited by Mike Shenk
October 23, 2009
Full answers available on WSJ's crossword puzzle page or with the following week's puzzle on WSJ's online Lifestyle page.
Theme: Word or phrases + DC = clued phrases
ARMY BAR-D C-RACKS
{22A Poet of the platoon can't take the pressure?}
SEMICOL-D C-ON {27A One who's chilling in the big house?}
FAMILY FE-D C-UD {36A Thanksgiving guests treated like cattle?}
PRIVATE BE-D C-ACHES
{62A Stockpiles of money kept under the mattress?}
TEN-D C-EMENT HOUSES
{71A Do upkeep on dwellings made of concrete?}
RE-D C-AR WINDOW
{95A Product that offers drivers a rosy outlook on things?}
HOME A-D C-LONE {106A Duplicated real estate listing?}
SWEET CHAR-D C-ITY
{115A Municipality famed for its sugary leafy vegetables?}
In a reverse of last week, this week I got a majority of the fill & the theme words before I got a sniff of the theme itself. Army Brat? Semi Cold Con? I was up to the 6th theme answer when I finally I got a look thru RE__AR WINDOW.
One quibble. Cud is “is a portion of food that returns from a ruminant's stomach in the mouth to be chewed for the second time.” It is by definition regurgitated. Being 'fed' implies an external source for an item. A combination of the two is not something I wish to contemplate.
Nomination for Word of the Week: DIA
A European Union of foreign words this week.
Spanish words: DIA {25A Box on un calendario}
& ARRIBA {1D Exuberant Spanish exclamation}
Spanish descent: PUENTE {93D Latin jazz legend Tito}
Italian places: RIALTO {24A Heart of Venice}
& MILANO {30D Second-largest city of Italia}
Italian people: MORO {12D Two-time Italian prime
minister Aldo}. Crossing RIALTO no less.
French word: AMI {85A Picardy pal}
French derivation: GRIFFE
{19D Ornament at the base of a column}. Also French for claw.
German word: Kriegsmarine as the clue for U-BOAT
{38D Kriegsmarine vessel}
Admissions of Defeat: 4
C
The first was a defeat but not an error. I ended with my standard collection of single-letter holes with the option to look up or guess. I successfully pulled off the F in GRIFFE from FINS {32A Bass parts}. However the HUL_E/I_E hole refused to budge. No letter made more sense than any other. A few made less sense but didn't thin the pool enough. For the first time, I just had a big, old unfillable hole. I could have looked up HULCE {74D “Amadeus” star} but that would have have unjustly covered my total inability to come up with ICE {89A Clinch}. I expected a head smacking “duh” moment when I looked at the solution but can't say that I get it even now. Anyone out there have a clue about the clue?
A-L
I was so caught up in the ICE block that I missed my other errors, two of which should have been obvious. For LIT ON {52D Discovered by chance}, I came up with the very reasonable hIT ON and therefore ethANS across. The t went down in flames with LYNNE {51D Dick Cheney's wife} and left the smoldering wreck _LhANS for ALLANS {50A Detective Pinkerton and others}. Never saw the hole until I went to confirm that the above was my only defeat. Deuce ADOUT {50D Deuce follower, maybe?}??? Neither Google nor I understand. A word split I can't see? A foreign language? Help?
N
One of the joys of getting older is discovering large print. I have a helpful program to convert one-page PDF files into two-page posters. Voila, I can read the puzzle. The trade-off is one row of clues disappears into the printer. Having written I.D. as a short hand for the missing clue {111A Identify}, I then proceeded to read it as Identity. Instead of NAME, sAME (as in sameness) makes some sense here. For CAsCER instead of CANCER {96D Summer sign}, I have no explanation.
Not my best day.
Commentary: This is your brain on puzzles.
Puzzles are supposed to help us use our brains. Too bad they don't help us understand them.
Fixation – Getting so focused on an incorrect word that you cannot think of other answers. I achieved brainlock on STANards for S_AN_ _ _ {41D Attitudes [STANCES]} to the point that I could not see around it. Didn't matter that it didn't fit.
Momentum - The pace at which a person solves puzzles, be it fast or slow. You can tell when it's missing. You get stuck. You pick DRE {72D “Forgot About ___” (Grammy-winning song)} out of the atmosphere. You find another word. Your momentum picks back up. However, as soon as I stop to recall which clue was the trigger, I stop cold. You'd think I'd learn not to look back.
Momentum II – You are stuck. (I get stuck a lot.) You put the puzzle down and step away. When you come back, a previously impenetrable clue seems obvious. In From Square One, Olsher refers to this as the “crossword puzzle effect” [p32]. I mentioned this last last week but it's a standard feature of the WSJ puzzles for me. For Those Other daily Puzzles, I either whiz thru or get no traction at all. Similarly, single-letter holes are my usual endgame for WSJ. For That Other Puzzle, either filled squares or large, gaping voids.
Memory – How can I remember things I don't know? Even after writing out AMANDA {114A Heather's “Melrose Place” role} I could not tell you where from I dredged up the name nor the last name of the character. It wasn't just that the name fit. I knew it was the right one.
Why?
Katherine Walcott
Puzzle Fan
by Dan Fisher
edited by Mike Shenk
October 23, 2009
Full answers available on WSJ's crossword puzzle page or with the following week's puzzle on WSJ's online Lifestyle page.
Theme: Word or phrases + DC = clued phrases
ARMY BAR-D C-RACKS
{22A Poet of the platoon can't take the pressure?}
SEMICOL-D C-ON {27A One who's chilling in the big house?}
FAMILY FE-D C-UD {36A Thanksgiving guests treated like cattle?}
PRIVATE BE-D C-ACHES
{62A Stockpiles of money kept under the mattress?}
TEN-D C-EMENT HOUSES
{71A Do upkeep on dwellings made of concrete?}
RE-D C-AR WINDOW
{95A Product that offers drivers a rosy outlook on things?}
HOME A-D C-LONE {106A Duplicated real estate listing?}
SWEET CHAR-D C-ITY
{115A Municipality famed for its sugary leafy vegetables?}
In a reverse of last week, this week I got a majority of the fill & the theme words before I got a sniff of the theme itself. Army Brat? Semi Cold Con? I was up to the 6th theme answer when I finally I got a look thru RE__AR WINDOW.
One quibble. Cud is “is a portion of food that returns from a ruminant's stomach in the mouth to be chewed for the second time.” It is by definition regurgitated. Being 'fed' implies an external source for an item. A combination of the two is not something I wish to contemplate.
Nomination for Word of the Week: DIA
A European Union of foreign words this week.
Spanish words: DIA {25A Box on un calendario}
& ARRIBA {1D Exuberant Spanish exclamation}
Spanish descent: PUENTE {93D Latin jazz legend Tito}
Italian places: RIALTO {24A Heart of Venice}
& MILANO {30D Second-largest city of Italia}
Italian people: MORO {12D Two-time Italian prime
minister Aldo}. Crossing RIALTO no less.
French word: AMI {85A Picardy pal}
French derivation: GRIFFE
{19D Ornament at the base of a column}. Also French for claw.
German word: Kriegsmarine as the clue for U-BOAT
{38D Kriegsmarine vessel}
Admissions of Defeat: 4
C
The first was a defeat but not an error. I ended with my standard collection of single-letter holes with the option to look up or guess. I successfully pulled off the F in GRIFFE from FINS {32A Bass parts}. However the HUL_E/I_E hole refused to budge. No letter made more sense than any other. A few made less sense but didn't thin the pool enough. For the first time, I just had a big, old unfillable hole. I could have looked up HULCE {74D “Amadeus” star} but that would have have unjustly covered my total inability to come up with ICE {89A Clinch}. I expected a head smacking “duh” moment when I looked at the solution but can't say that I get it even now. Anyone out there have a clue about the clue?
A-L
I was so caught up in the ICE block that I missed my other errors, two of which should have been obvious. For LIT ON {52D Discovered by chance}, I came up with the very reasonable hIT ON and therefore ethANS across. The t went down in flames with LYNNE {51D Dick Cheney's wife} and left the smoldering wreck _LhANS for ALLANS {50A Detective Pinkerton and others}. Never saw the hole until I went to confirm that the above was my only defeat. Deuce ADOUT {50D Deuce follower, maybe?}??? Neither Google nor I understand. A word split I can't see? A foreign language? Help?
N
One of the joys of getting older is discovering large print. I have a helpful program to convert one-page PDF files into two-page posters. Voila, I can read the puzzle. The trade-off is one row of clues disappears into the printer. Having written I.D. as a short hand for the missing clue {111A Identify}, I then proceeded to read it as Identity. Instead of NAME, sAME (as in sameness) makes some sense here. For CAsCER instead of CANCER {96D Summer sign}, I have no explanation.
Not my best day.
Commentary: This is your brain on puzzles.
Puzzles are supposed to help us use our brains. Too bad they don't help us understand them.
Fixation – Getting so focused on an incorrect word that you cannot think of other answers. I achieved brainlock on STANards for S_AN_ _ _ {41D Attitudes [STANCES]} to the point that I could not see around it. Didn't matter that it didn't fit.
Momentum - The pace at which a person solves puzzles, be it fast or slow. You can tell when it's missing. You get stuck. You pick DRE {72D “Forgot About ___” (Grammy-winning song)} out of the atmosphere. You find another word. Your momentum picks back up. However, as soon as I stop to recall which clue was the trigger, I stop cold. You'd think I'd learn not to look back.
Momentum II – You are stuck. (I get stuck a lot.) You put the puzzle down and step away. When you come back, a previously impenetrable clue seems obvious. In From Square One, Olsher refers to this as the “crossword puzzle effect” [p32]. I mentioned this last last week but it's a standard feature of the WSJ puzzles for me. For Those Other daily Puzzles, I either whiz thru or get no traction at all. Similarly, single-letter holes are my usual endgame for WSJ. For That Other Puzzle, either filled squares or large, gaping voids.
Memory – How can I remember things I don't know? Even after writing out AMANDA {114A Heather's “Melrose Place” role} I could not tell you where from I dredged up the name nor the last name of the character. It wasn't just that the name fit. I knew it was the right one.
Why?
Katherine Walcott
Puzzle Fan
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Cooking 101
by Tony Orbach & Patrick Blindauer
edited by Mike Shenk
October 16, 2009
Full answers available on WSJ's crossword puzzle page or with the following week's puzzle on WSJ's online Lifestyle page.
Theme: Phrase + C = Cooking Class
CHOP SKIP AND JUMP
{23A Course on keeping fit during vegetable preparation?}
CHOW IN THE WORLD {41A Course on international cuisine?}
CHIP HUGGERS {49A Course for British fried food enthusiasts?}
LETS GET READY TO CRUMBLE
{68A Course on preparing coffeecake topping?}
CROCK OF AGES
{88A Course in time-honored earthenware cooking?}
FORBIDDEN CLOVE {97A Course on a taboo ham seasoning?}
TAKE IT ON THE CLAM
{118A Course about using raw bar condiments?}
Nomination for Clue/Word of the Week: HETERO {59D Straight} First I put HonEst. I was so proud of myself for having come up with an alternative to 'straight as in line' only to be mystified when the across themes made that impossible. More on this below.
News To Me [I got 'em but I didn't get 'em]: 3+
INGRATE {1A Oblivious beneficiaries} – Really? I could picture Leopold being aware of his share in Godmother Petunia's will but not grateful.
AKELA {15A Cub Scout leader}
CAMISE {105A Loosefitting shirt} – Not to be confused with cami/camisole, which qualify as tops but not what my grandmother would call shirts. As a mild claustrophobe, I may never use the word camisole again without wincing, “In some inpatient psychiatric circles camisole has been the affectionate term for a straight-jacket.” Eeek.
And the usual slew of whodat? proper nouns:
Places
BASRA {39A Sinbad's home port} - Sometimes 26 letters just aren't enough. The letters also stand for Bahamas Air Sea Rescue Association & Bay Area Soccer Referee Association.
ASSAM {102A State south of Bhutan} - India
People
REBA {57A Nellie's portrayer in the version of “South Pacific” aired by PBS [McEntire]}, REA {60A Stephen of “The Crying Game”}, ALAIN {74A Director Resnais}, ELYSEE {75A ____ Palace (Sarkozy's residence)} EERO {95A Eliel Saarinen's son}, ELIAS {7D Author Canetti}, TAJ {11D Atlantic City casino, with “The”} ASCH {24D “The Nazarene” author [Sholem]}, NASH {32D He rhymed “Bronx” with “thonx” [Ogden]}, MAYS {64D The Giants retired his number [Willie]}, FABIAN {97D “Turn Me Loose” singer}, ETTA {110D “At Last” singer James}
Most were a mystery until Googled. A few I knew, such as REBA, but didn't know they had done that.
Admissions of Defeat: 1
A lesson in humility. Not the error. RoBELAIS for RABELAIS {87D Creator of Gargantua and Pantagruel} is not going to keep me awake at night. The shadow of Odin made oTLI seem more reasonable that Atli {92A Brynhildr's brother, in myth}, although the name is more recognizable once the nice webpage tells you it is a variant of Attila. No, the edification occurred in the time it took solve the other 99%. My recent streak of victories and near victories made me complacent. Even leading to the stray thought that if my learning curve continued, would I still want to pontificate on puzzles in six months? HA! Usually by Tuesday, it's all over but the guessing and I'm flogging myself to get on with the writing. (BTW tip of the hat to those who do this every day.) This Tuesday, I was flogging myself to get on with the finishing. It began when I got the theme before the fill. Usually even if I get the general idea I need some crossings to get the exact letters. Not so. For example, I got the grid-wide LETS GET off of __MB__. Admirable yes, but the rest of the white boxes where lying there laughing at me.
Not only was it a matter of time but a slew of perfectly reasonable wrong words: Dale for DELL {54D Wooded valley} or Braver for BOLDER {79D More intrepid}. There were even wrong crossings: blouSE for CAMISE led to the reasonable but wrong hbo for TCM {94D Cable channel whose first broadcast was “Gone with the Wind”}. I recall watching endless loops of GWTW back in the dark ages when HBO was the coming thing.
I even had help for which I cannot be blamed. S_Y_ became STYE {58D Lid problem} when the Tuesday NYT [10/20/09] had {70A Eyelid woe}. To the background music “It's a Small World After All”, the same puzzle also used CARLAS {12D France's Bruni-Sarkozy and others}. Not that it helped with ELYSEE. For more SWAA, the Thursday NYT [10/22/09] had the HETERO/Straight combo {48D}.
I had to solve it by nibbling at a few, putting it down, coming back, nibbling at a few more. Why does that work?
Commentary: ASS {5D Imbecile} & APE {56A Galoot}
What is with the animal insults in our language? Asses are smart and apes are graceful. The saying in the equine world is:
A horse knows one thing – what you want him to do.
A pony knows two things – what you want him to do & what he wants to do.
A mule knows three things – what you want him to do, what he wants to do & the fact that he ain't gonna do what you want him to do.
The mule didn't get his smarts from his horse parent.
When I worked at a zoo, my favorite exhibit was the rat habitat built into a wall of the Children's Zoo barn. [You can't have a barn without rats!] Not only did I enjoy startling people who where unknowningly standing next to it, but the rats were fun to watch. If language is any measure, people like to think of themselves as tigers and eagles. However, we as a species have a lot more in common with the rat: active, intelligent, passionately omnivorous, urban-dwelling, disease-carrying, and so on.
Katherine Walcott
Puzzle Fan
by Tony Orbach & Patrick Blindauer
edited by Mike Shenk
October 16, 2009
Full answers available on WSJ's crossword puzzle page or with the following week's puzzle on WSJ's online Lifestyle page.
Theme: Phrase + C = Cooking Class
CHOP SKIP AND JUMP
{23A Course on keeping fit during vegetable preparation?}
CHOW IN THE WORLD {41A Course on international cuisine?}
CHIP HUGGERS {49A Course for British fried food enthusiasts?}
LETS GET READY TO CRUMBLE
{68A Course on preparing coffeecake topping?}
CROCK OF AGES
{88A Course in time-honored earthenware cooking?}
FORBIDDEN CLOVE {97A Course on a taboo ham seasoning?}
TAKE IT ON THE CLAM
{118A Course about using raw bar condiments?}
Nomination for Clue/Word of the Week: HETERO {59D Straight} First I put HonEst. I was so proud of myself for having come up with an alternative to 'straight as in line' only to be mystified when the across themes made that impossible. More on this below.
News To Me [I got 'em but I didn't get 'em]: 3+
INGRATE {1A Oblivious beneficiaries} – Really? I could picture Leopold being aware of his share in Godmother Petunia's will but not grateful.
AKELA {15A Cub Scout leader}
CAMISE {105A Loosefitting shirt} – Not to be confused with cami/camisole, which qualify as tops but not what my grandmother would call shirts. As a mild claustrophobe, I may never use the word camisole again without wincing, “In some inpatient psychiatric circles camisole has been the affectionate term for a straight-jacket.” Eeek.
And the usual slew of whodat? proper nouns:
Places
BASRA {39A Sinbad's home port} - Sometimes 26 letters just aren't enough. The letters also stand for Bahamas Air Sea Rescue Association & Bay Area Soccer Referee Association.
ASSAM {102A State south of Bhutan} - India
People
REBA {57A Nellie's portrayer in the version of “South Pacific” aired by PBS [McEntire]}, REA {60A Stephen of “The Crying Game”}, ALAIN {74A Director Resnais}, ELYSEE {75A ____ Palace (Sarkozy's residence)} EERO {95A Eliel Saarinen's son}, ELIAS {7D Author Canetti}, TAJ {11D Atlantic City casino, with “The”} ASCH {24D “The Nazarene” author [Sholem]}, NASH {32D He rhymed “Bronx” with “thonx” [Ogden]}, MAYS {64D The Giants retired his number [Willie]}, FABIAN {97D “Turn Me Loose” singer}, ETTA {110D “At Last” singer James}
Most were a mystery until Googled. A few I knew, such as REBA, but didn't know they had done that.
Admissions of Defeat: 1
A lesson in humility. Not the error. RoBELAIS for RABELAIS {87D Creator of Gargantua and Pantagruel} is not going to keep me awake at night. The shadow of Odin made oTLI seem more reasonable that Atli {92A Brynhildr's brother, in myth}, although the name is more recognizable once the nice webpage tells you it is a variant of Attila. No, the edification occurred in the time it took solve the other 99%. My recent streak of victories and near victories made me complacent. Even leading to the stray thought that if my learning curve continued, would I still want to pontificate on puzzles in six months? HA! Usually by Tuesday, it's all over but the guessing and I'm flogging myself to get on with the writing. (BTW tip of the hat to those who do this every day.) This Tuesday, I was flogging myself to get on with the finishing. It began when I got the theme before the fill. Usually even if I get the general idea I need some crossings to get the exact letters. Not so. For example, I got the grid-wide LETS GET off of __MB__. Admirable yes, but the rest of the white boxes where lying there laughing at me.
Not only was it a matter of time but a slew of perfectly reasonable wrong words: Dale for DELL {54D Wooded valley} or Braver for BOLDER {79D More intrepid}. There were even wrong crossings: blouSE for CAMISE led to the reasonable but wrong hbo for TCM {94D Cable channel whose first broadcast was “Gone with the Wind”}. I recall watching endless loops of GWTW back in the dark ages when HBO was the coming thing.
I even had help for which I cannot be blamed. S_Y_ became STYE {58D Lid problem} when the Tuesday NYT [10/20/09] had {70A Eyelid woe}. To the background music “It's a Small World After All”, the same puzzle also used CARLAS {12D France's Bruni-Sarkozy and others}. Not that it helped with ELYSEE. For more SWAA, the Thursday NYT [10/22/09] had the HETERO/Straight combo {48D}.
I had to solve it by nibbling at a few, putting it down, coming back, nibbling at a few more. Why does that work?
Commentary: ASS {5D Imbecile} & APE {56A Galoot}
What is with the animal insults in our language? Asses are smart and apes are graceful. The saying in the equine world is:
A horse knows one thing – what you want him to do.
A pony knows two things – what you want him to do & what he wants to do.
A mule knows three things – what you want him to do, what he wants to do & the fact that he ain't gonna do what you want him to do.
The mule didn't get his smarts from his horse parent.
When I worked at a zoo, my favorite exhibit was the rat habitat built into a wall of the Children's Zoo barn. [You can't have a barn without rats!] Not only did I enjoy startling people who where unknowningly standing next to it, but the rats were fun to watch. If language is any measure, people like to think of themselves as tigers and eagles. However, we as a species have a lot more in common with the rat: active, intelligent, passionately omnivorous, urban-dwelling, disease-carrying, and so on.
Katherine Walcott
Puzzle Fan
Friday, October 16, 2009
Come Together
by Harvey Estes
edited by Mike Shenk
October 9, 2009
[Pardon the lateness of this post. A combination of personal & electrical power outages.]
Full answers available on WSJ's crossword puzzle page or with the following week's puzzle on WSJ's online Lifestyle page.
Theme: Popular song titles changed to clued song titles by dropping a letter.
ROCK AROUND THE C[l]OCK (26A Song centered on a rooster?)
PIECE OF MY H[e]ART (42A Song about a venison serving?)
BA[n]D ON THE RUN (61A Song about evil in retreat?)
RAMBLIN MA[n] (80A Song about a jabberin' parent?)
GO[o]D VIBRATIONS (95A Song about a divine earthquake?)
DOW[n] TOWN (113A Song about New York City and its investors?)
which results in
LENNON (125A Letters dropped from six answers “come together” here). It would have been legendary to do this with six Beatles songs but a puzzle feat as is. One wonders how many song titles Mr. Estes had to search to find six that could supply the missing letter and still make sense in a clue. Of course, where there is John, there is Yoko ONO (76A “Double Fantasy” artist).
Cool Crosses: 1
EQUI/EQUINE (73A Prefix akin to iso-) crossing (67D Horsy) - okay, so I am a sucker for symmetry. Despite being the stereotypical horsey old lady, I wasn't familiar with this variant. The Googlesphere vets it.
Nomination for Word/Clue of the Week: POTATOES (7D Shoestring material). Leather? Cotton? Plastic? Huh??? Particularly since ___TOES came first. Honorable mention to CANNIBAL (90D One who has a guest for dinner).
News To Me [I got 'em but I didn't get 'em]: 4
ROTO (38A Old newspaper section) - Rotogravure is still used for “publications, catalogs, Sunday newspaper supplements, labels, cartons, packaging, gift-wrap, wall and floor coverings, and a variety of precision coating applications.”
MES (48A Octubre o noviembre) - Spanish for month.
VONDA (96D Pop singer Shepard) - I have no fears about being thought cool as I get older. I never was.
AUGUSTAN (108A Neoclassical) – 18thC England not 1stC Rome.
Opportunities To Learn New Things & Admissions of Defeat: 0
Only one hole this week but it could have gone either way. ROTO/HOOHA (38A) crossing (28D Commotion) sat around as R_TO/HO_HA for a while. Victory but not a slam dunk.
Commentary: Puzzle Redux
Certain words get puzzle replay. These three are on a short loop. WOE (115D Heartache) & AGER (62D Stress, for one) were both used within the last few weeks with the same clue. WOE was three weeks ago [9/18/09 47D]. AGER was last week [10/2/09, 78D]. However, since they gave me trouble worth noting, I felt smug rather than annoyed at seeing them again.
XXXXX (8A Raid target) was use two weeks ago used [9/25/09] as base phrase in the theme answer APPROACH MOTELS (82A What a mattress salesman might do?) Must we? I know the critters are ubiquitous in Manhattan but so are lot of thing we don't mention in Happy Puzzle World. I believe I spoke of a bug phobia? No, I won't write it out. I don't want those shift-number things skittering around my grid or my blog.
OTOH, it would be hard to make a puzzle blameless to all people. Someone who has lived through an tragic earthquake is not going to find them GODly. While I tend more toward Bourdain than the vegetarians, Hezbollah Tofu is not going to be happy about the Bambi burgers in the middle of their puzzle. [The “H-like splinter faction” quote is from p70 of Kitchen Confidential or here.]
Katherine Walcott
Puzzle Fan
by Harvey Estes
edited by Mike Shenk
October 9, 2009
[Pardon the lateness of this post. A combination of personal & electrical power outages.]
Full answers available on WSJ's crossword puzzle page or with the following week's puzzle on WSJ's online Lifestyle page.
Theme: Popular song titles changed to clued song titles by dropping a letter.
ROCK AROUND THE C[l]OCK (26A Song centered on a rooster?)
PIECE OF MY H[e]ART (42A Song about a venison serving?)
BA[n]D ON THE RUN (61A Song about evil in retreat?)
RAMBLIN MA[n] (80A Song about a jabberin' parent?)
GO[o]D VIBRATIONS (95A Song about a divine earthquake?)
DOW[n] TOWN (113A Song about New York City and its investors?)
which results in
LENNON (125A Letters dropped from six answers “come together” here). It would have been legendary to do this with six Beatles songs but a puzzle feat as is. One wonders how many song titles Mr. Estes had to search to find six that could supply the missing letter and still make sense in a clue. Of course, where there is John, there is Yoko ONO (76A “Double Fantasy” artist).
Cool Crosses: 1
EQUI/EQUINE (73A Prefix akin to iso-) crossing (67D Horsy) - okay, so I am a sucker for symmetry. Despite being the stereotypical horsey old lady, I wasn't familiar with this variant. The Googlesphere vets it.
Nomination for Word/Clue of the Week: POTATOES (7D Shoestring material). Leather? Cotton? Plastic? Huh??? Particularly since ___TOES came first. Honorable mention to CANNIBAL (90D One who has a guest for dinner).
News To Me [I got 'em but I didn't get 'em]: 4
ROTO (38A Old newspaper section) - Rotogravure is still used for “publications, catalogs, Sunday newspaper supplements, labels, cartons, packaging, gift-wrap, wall and floor coverings, and a variety of precision coating applications.”
MES (48A Octubre o noviembre) - Spanish for month.
VONDA (96D Pop singer Shepard) - I have no fears about being thought cool as I get older. I never was.
AUGUSTAN (108A Neoclassical) – 18thC England not 1stC Rome.
Opportunities To Learn New Things & Admissions of Defeat: 0
Only one hole this week but it could have gone either way. ROTO/HOOHA (38A) crossing (28D Commotion) sat around as R_TO/HO_HA for a while. Victory but not a slam dunk.
Commentary: Puzzle Redux
Certain words get puzzle replay. These three are on a short loop. WOE (115D Heartache) & AGER (62D Stress, for one) were both used within the last few weeks with the same clue. WOE was three weeks ago [9/18/09 47D]. AGER was last week [10/2/09, 78D]. However, since they gave me trouble worth noting, I felt smug rather than annoyed at seeing them again.
XXXXX (8A Raid target) was use two weeks ago used [9/25/09] as base phrase in the theme answer APPROACH MOTELS (82A What a mattress salesman might do?) Must we? I know the critters are ubiquitous in Manhattan but so are lot of thing we don't mention in Happy Puzzle World. I believe I spoke of a bug phobia? No, I won't write it out. I don't want those shift-number things skittering around my grid or my blog.
OTOH, it would be hard to make a puzzle blameless to all people. Someone who has lived through an tragic earthquake is not going to find them GODly. While I tend more toward Bourdain than the vegetarians, Hezbollah Tofu is not going to be happy about the Bambi burgers in the middle of their puzzle. [The “H-like splinter faction” quote is from p70 of Kitchen Confidential or here.]
Katherine Walcott
Puzzle Fan
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Puzzle 5.0
by Randolph Ross
edited by Mike Shenk
October 2, 2009
Full answers available on WSJ's crossword puzzle page (currently mistitled with a repeat of September 25's title but the answers are for October 2) or with the following week's puzzle on WSJ's online Lifestyle page.
Theme: Phrases containing 5 Os
SHOOP SHOOP SONG (24A Tune also known as “It's in His Kiss” (with “The”))
BOOK OF MORMON (32A Sacred text first published in 1830)
HOOK OR CROOK (66A Any means)
GO ON TOO LONG (74A Overstay one's welcome at the podium)
NOT FOOLPROOF (106A Flawed, as a plan)
BLOODY GOOD SHOW (116A Compliment from a West End critic)
BOWL OF DOG FOOD (3D Feast for Fido)
DOOR TO DOOR (46D One way to sell)
VOODOO DOLL (41D Perilous pincushion)
BOY OH BOY OH BOY (60D Excited exclamation)
After the plenitude of Ps last week, we now have oodles of Os. In addition to the 44 Os of the theme answers (6 overlaps), 17 other Os, including NOISOME (22A Highly obnoxious).
Cool Crosses: 1, mostly it was about the Os. The BOOK/KOOK cross – (32A partial) crossing (33D Wackos) - oriented me on the theme.
Nomination for Word of the Week: INFO (38A Poop)
It's all in the cluing. A four-letter word for poop seems obvious but not possible. Of course it was a mislead. Is it me or was there a similar idea in TATA[s] (75D “See ya!”)? Either way, the two clues opened up a space in my brain for blameless clue/word combos that could be misread: athletic supporter –> fan, intercourse –> talk, threesome -> trio, and so on.
News To Me (I got 'em but I didn't get 'em): 4
AMBITS (7A Spheres of influence) - Mysteries of the brain. When it dredged up AMBIT, I said, Oh sure - but what's an AMBIT?
ANOUILH (13D “Antigone” playwright) – Vowel soup with consonants tossed in for garnish.
PETARD (42D Noisy explosive) – The Hamlet phrase apparently means being blown-up by your own prematurely exploding bomb. I had heretofore imagined it as a belt or suspender that got caught on rigging, a pre-modern nautical wedgie.
MOOT (94D Debatable) – One of those words that can mean its own opposite. The point has been mooted vs. the point is moot. OR Subject to discussion/Of no practical importance.
Opportunities To Learn New Things
& Admissions of Defeat: 6/2
A right swiss-cheeser that could have gone either way. I was stumped by 6 holes resulting from crossings of proper nouns. Having decided it is nobler to guess and be wrong that use “performance-enhancing reference works”*, I wrote my choices in the margins. Four fell my way, two did not.
BARRIE/MAHER (21A Pan man) crossing (8D “Real Time” host Bill). As in Peter Pan, as in the man who wrote. Duh. Maher has been permanently misfiled as M(O/A?)HER.
ADL/SARABI (26A Jewish rights org. [Anti-Defamation League]) crossing (1D Simba's mother, in “The Lion King”)
SOLTI/KLO (72A Georg who won more Grammys than anyone else) crossing (67D Nickname of 1957 home run leader Ted). Helps if you know his last name was Kluszewski and not The Burglar who Traded Ted Williams by Lawrence Block.
BOCELLI/TLC/IAGO (86A Tenor with four multiplatinum records) crossing (82D “No Scrubs” group) & (87D Scheming ensign of drama). Iago is a go-to crossword name but ensign had me out to sea, again. Apparently ensign can be a standard-bearer in the army as well as a midshipman in the navy.
AYLA/LOUISE (101A Jean Auel heroine) crossing (102D Charpentier opera)
News To Me & Admissions of Defeat: 2
REBBES (88A Synagogue scholars) - Yiddish for the Hasidic 'Rabbi'. I missed on AGER (78D Stress, for one) but was sure enough that R?BB? was in the ballpark that I never went back to commit to the vowels. More of an oversight than error, but still points off under ACPT rules. One source has spells the word as Rebe while another says it's all a best guess anyway.
Commentary:
NONPROS (35D Olympics athletes, traditionally) – The ancient Greek Olympians were handsomely rewarded, “The word athlete is an ancient Greek word that means 'one who competes for a prize'.” They drew no distinction between amateur & professional. Coubertin was either influenced by the idea of the Noble Amateur or deliberately included it in the modern Olympics to bring in the British. The 19th century upper-class British had developed the idea of the amateur to exclude anyone “who is or has been by trade or employment for wages a mechanic, artisan or labourer, or engaged in any menial duty.” You know - Not Our Kind, Dear.
The 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica [athlete link above] is often seen as the greatest encyclopedia as it was the last time western society in general & encyclopedia makers in specific felt that everything could be known. This belief was shattered once WWI crashed down on everyone's heads. One wonders what the 1911 folks would think of the Internet. It's all there but in an ever-morphing, out-of-control, quatum form.
And finally, EWE (4D She sheep) – Minutes before seeing this clue, I had been reading Stanley Newman's Cruciverbalism: A Crossword Fanatic's Guide to Life in the Grid. In defense of puns, he says, “Don't be ashamed, don't be a sheep – the crossword world will accept ewe.” [p63]
*[Newman p66]
Katherine Walcott
Puzzle Fan
by Randolph Ross
edited by Mike Shenk
October 2, 2009
Full answers available on WSJ's crossword puzzle page (currently mistitled with a repeat of September 25's title but the answers are for October 2) or with the following week's puzzle on WSJ's online Lifestyle page.
Theme: Phrases containing 5 Os
SHOOP SHOOP SONG (24A Tune also known as “It's in His Kiss” (with “The”))
BOOK OF MORMON (32A Sacred text first published in 1830)
HOOK OR CROOK (66A Any means)
GO ON TOO LONG (74A Overstay one's welcome at the podium)
NOT FOOLPROOF (106A Flawed, as a plan)
BLOODY GOOD SHOW (116A Compliment from a West End critic)
BOWL OF DOG FOOD (3D Feast for Fido)
DOOR TO DOOR (46D One way to sell)
VOODOO DOLL (41D Perilous pincushion)
BOY OH BOY OH BOY (60D Excited exclamation)
After the plenitude of Ps last week, we now have oodles of Os. In addition to the 44 Os of the theme answers (6 overlaps), 17 other Os, including NOISOME (22A Highly obnoxious).
Cool Crosses: 1, mostly it was about the Os. The BOOK/KOOK cross – (32A partial) crossing (33D Wackos) - oriented me on the theme.
Nomination for Word of the Week: INFO (38A Poop)
It's all in the cluing. A four-letter word for poop seems obvious but not possible. Of course it was a mislead. Is it me or was there a similar idea in TATA[s] (75D “See ya!”)? Either way, the two clues opened up a space in my brain for blameless clue/word combos that could be misread: athletic supporter –> fan, intercourse –> talk, threesome -> trio, and so on.
News To Me (I got 'em but I didn't get 'em): 4
AMBITS (7A Spheres of influence) - Mysteries of the brain. When it dredged up AMBIT, I said, Oh sure - but what's an AMBIT?
ANOUILH (13D “Antigone” playwright) – Vowel soup with consonants tossed in for garnish.
PETARD (42D Noisy explosive) – The Hamlet phrase apparently means being blown-up by your own prematurely exploding bomb. I had heretofore imagined it as a belt or suspender that got caught on rigging, a pre-modern nautical wedgie.
MOOT (94D Debatable) – One of those words that can mean its own opposite. The point has been mooted vs. the point is moot. OR Subject to discussion/Of no practical importance.
Opportunities To Learn New Things
& Admissions of Defeat: 6/2
A right swiss-cheeser that could have gone either way. I was stumped by 6 holes resulting from crossings of proper nouns. Having decided it is nobler to guess and be wrong that use “performance-enhancing reference works”*, I wrote my choices in the margins. Four fell my way, two did not.
BARRIE/MAHER (21A Pan man) crossing (8D “Real Time” host Bill). As in Peter Pan, as in the man who wrote. Duh. Maher has been permanently misfiled as M(O/A?)HER.
ADL/SARABI (26A Jewish rights org. [Anti-Defamation League]) crossing (1D Simba's mother, in “The Lion King”)
SOLTI/KLO (72A Georg who won more Grammys than anyone else) crossing (67D Nickname of 1957 home run leader Ted). Helps if you know his last name was Kluszewski and not The Burglar who Traded Ted Williams by Lawrence Block.
BOCELLI/TLC/IAGO (86A Tenor with four multiplatinum records) crossing (82D “No Scrubs” group) & (87D Scheming ensign of drama). Iago is a go-to crossword name but ensign had me out to sea, again. Apparently ensign can be a standard-bearer in the army as well as a midshipman in the navy.
AYLA/LOUISE (101A Jean Auel heroine) crossing (102D Charpentier opera)
News To Me & Admissions of Defeat: 2
REBBES (88A Synagogue scholars) - Yiddish for the Hasidic 'Rabbi'. I missed on AGER (78D Stress, for one) but was sure enough that R?BB? was in the ballpark that I never went back to commit to the vowels. More of an oversight than error, but still points off under ACPT rules. One source has spells the word as Rebe while another says it's all a best guess anyway.
Commentary:
NONPROS (35D Olympics athletes, traditionally) – The ancient Greek Olympians were handsomely rewarded, “The word athlete is an ancient Greek word that means 'one who competes for a prize'.” They drew no distinction between amateur & professional. Coubertin was either influenced by the idea of the Noble Amateur or deliberately included it in the modern Olympics to bring in the British. The 19th century upper-class British had developed the idea of the amateur to exclude anyone “who is or has been by trade or employment for wages a mechanic, artisan or labourer, or engaged in any menial duty.” You know - Not Our Kind, Dear.
The 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica [athlete link above] is often seen as the greatest encyclopedia as it was the last time western society in general & encyclopedia makers in specific felt that everything could be known. This belief was shattered once WWI crashed down on everyone's heads. One wonders what the 1911 folks would think of the Internet. It's all there but in an ever-morphing, out-of-control, quatum form.
And finally, EWE (4D She sheep) – Minutes before seeing this clue, I had been reading Stanley Newman's Cruciverbalism: A Crossword Fanatic's Guide to Life in the Grid. In defense of puns, he says, “Don't be ashamed, don't be a sheep – the crossword world will accept ewe.” [p63]
*[Newman p66]
Katherine Walcott
Puzzle Fan
Thursday, October 1, 2009
There's an App for That
by Dan Fisher
edited by Mike Shenk
September 25, 2009
Full answers available on WSJ's crossword puzzle page or with the following week's puzzle on WSJ's online Lifestyle page.
Theme: APP + phrase = new clued phrase
APPRAISE THE BAR (22A Decide if a saloon is up to one's standards?)
APPROVING EYE (33A Favorable look?)
APPEAR FOR MUSIC (47A Show up to take in a concert?)
APPALL A BOARD (64A Give the directors shocking company news?)
APPLYING DOWN (72A Lining with feathers?)
APPROACH MOTELS(82A What a mattress salesman might do ?)
APPEND TABLES(103A Make a textbook clearer with charts?)
APPOINTMENT JAR (117A Crock used in place of a datebook?)
Without An Englishman's nifty crucimetrics, I can't swear to the percentages, but this puzzle appears to have a pronouncedly higher proportion of Ps in addition to the APPlicable ones & their crosses: PAIN (79D Aspirin target), PAL (78A Bud), EPIC POEM (23D Virgil's “Aenid.” for one) and so on. A prolific performance.
Cool Crosses: 5-in-1
Up in the top middle, we have a whole nest of women's issues. It starts with ATHENA (20A Goddess often depicted in armor) crossing HARLOT (12D Jade), wherein lies the goddess/whore dichotomy. SHE (9D Haggard classic) Who Must Be Obeyed gives us the white queen power trope. Surrounded by AN AIR (11D Have __ of mystery), the Femme Fatale stereotype slinks in from 50s noir detective novels. Modern politics has given us Title IX and the ensuing effects on ATHletic (8D School dept.) teams. We finish with the hysterical if gender-divisive definition of CATs (7D Burmese or Balinese) as “tiny women in little fur coats.” This ties together six out of 8 words, a credit to the devious minds of Messrs. Fisher & Shenk or to my having spent way too long entangled with English Departments.
A nod to ACE/MACE, (70A Top trump) crossing (59D Knight club), & ORA/ORE, (93A Man-mouse link) crossing (86D Alcoa purchase), for their symmetry.
Nomination for Word of the Week: APPaloosa.
I know it wasn't there. I kept waiting for it to trot in. In retrospect, I can't think of an appropriate phrase but you can't write about horses for 20 years and not see spots when you hear App.
News To Me (I got 'em but I didn't get 'em): 2+
OPPUGN (96D Call into question): Impugn sure, but this? I can't even follow the Wiktionary definition.
OXO (58A Big name in kitchen gadgets): As defined. Props for coming with an alternative to a tic-tac-toe clue. I have to admit the relevance when I realize we several Good Grips tools in our kitchen.
http://www.oxo.com/oxoHome.jsp
And of course the usual handful of proper nouns that formed the usual alphabet soup for me: FRAYN (50D “Copenhagen” playwright), UTA (76A Tony winner Hagen), DELIA (110A Sister of Nora Ephron), and the rest. I did know DESOTO (123A Mississippi River discoverer) from DeSoto Caverns & the DeSoto Trail. I must raise an issue with the cluing on this one. I suspect many, many people knew about the Mississippi before the Spaniards stumbled upon it. While a crossword is not the place to argue the morality of the Age of Exploration or even the legitimacy of applying one era's morals to a prior era, we can at least aim to be linguistically accurate.
Opportunities To Learn New Things & Admissions of Defeat: 0
VICTORY! Now I'm going to RAISE THE BAR to getting all of the answers without wild guesses. After the WOE of last week, I carefully groomed the surrounds on NEPALI (1D Language akin to Hindi) and DELIA until these sounded right and proved to be correct. OPPUGN remained a what-else-could-it-be from the crosses.
Commentary: OILED (27A Blotto)
In Gridlock, Matt Gaffney quotes Merl Reagle quoting Margaret Farrar on the rules for crossword puzzles, “Crosswords are an entertainment. Avoid things like death, disease, war and taxes – the subway solver gets enough of that in the rest of the paper.” [p39] In Crossworld, Marc Romano speaks of the ACPT as a weekend that is and should be “Devoid even of the possibility of nastiness.”[p155] He could be talking about puzzles themselves.
To Farrar's list I would like to add public drunkenness. As someone who recently decided to greatly reduce her alcohol intake, I have been APPalled at the amount of casual drinking on TV and in movies. It recalls the smoking prevalent in mid-century media that is now nonexistent in the same venues. I suspect directors did it for similar reasons – to give actors something to do with their hands.
Similarly, I have been struck by the number of cute terms for drunkenness that have occurred here and in That Other Puzzle. It's not the reference alone. A saloon (clue for 22A) is both part of our culture and judgment-neutral. What rankles is the levity of the words blotto, sot, and their ilk. As if it is cute to be that way. Given the glassness of my house, I gently pitch these stones with the intent of being thought-provoking rather than simply provoking.
While on the subject of niceness, my bug phobia and I could have lived without the base phrase for APPROACH MOTELS.
And on that icky note, I sign off to begin tapping my foot until Friday morning.
Katherine Walcott
Puzzle Fan
by Dan Fisher
edited by Mike Shenk
September 25, 2009
Full answers available on WSJ's crossword puzzle page or with the following week's puzzle on WSJ's online Lifestyle page.
Theme: APP + phrase = new clued phrase
APPRAISE THE BAR (22A Decide if a saloon is up to one's standards?)
APPROVING EYE (33A Favorable look?)
APPEAR FOR MUSIC (47A Show up to take in a concert?)
APPALL A BOARD (64A Give the directors shocking company news?)
APPLYING DOWN (72A Lining with feathers?)
APPROACH MOTELS(82A What a mattress salesman might do ?)
APPEND TABLES(103A Make a textbook clearer with charts?)
APPOINTMENT JAR (117A Crock used in place of a datebook?)
Without An Englishman's nifty crucimetrics, I can't swear to the percentages, but this puzzle appears to have a pronouncedly higher proportion of Ps in addition to the APPlicable ones & their crosses: PAIN (79D Aspirin target), PAL (78A Bud), EPIC POEM (23D Virgil's “Aenid.” for one) and so on. A prolific performance.
Cool Crosses: 5-in-1
Up in the top middle, we have a whole nest of women's issues. It starts with ATHENA (20A Goddess often depicted in armor) crossing HARLOT (12D Jade), wherein lies the goddess/whore dichotomy. SHE (9D Haggard classic) Who Must Be Obeyed gives us the white queen power trope. Surrounded by AN AIR (11D Have __ of mystery), the Femme Fatale stereotype slinks in from 50s noir detective novels. Modern politics has given us Title IX and the ensuing effects on ATHletic (8D School dept.) teams. We finish with the hysterical if gender-divisive definition of CATs (7D Burmese or Balinese) as “tiny women in little fur coats.” This ties together six out of 8 words, a credit to the devious minds of Messrs. Fisher & Shenk or to my having spent way too long entangled with English Departments.
A nod to ACE/MACE, (70A Top trump) crossing (59D Knight club), & ORA/ORE, (93A Man-mouse link) crossing (86D Alcoa purchase), for their symmetry.
Nomination for Word of the Week: APPaloosa.
I know it wasn't there. I kept waiting for it to trot in. In retrospect, I can't think of an appropriate phrase but you can't write about horses for 20 years and not see spots when you hear App.
News To Me (I got 'em but I didn't get 'em): 2+
OPPUGN (96D Call into question): Impugn sure, but this? I can't even follow the Wiktionary definition.
OXO (58A Big name in kitchen gadgets): As defined. Props for coming with an alternative to a tic-tac-toe clue. I have to admit the relevance when I realize we several Good Grips tools in our kitchen.
http://www.oxo.com/oxoHome.jsp
And of course the usual handful of proper nouns that formed the usual alphabet soup for me: FRAYN (50D “Copenhagen” playwright), UTA (76A Tony winner Hagen), DELIA (110A Sister of Nora Ephron), and the rest. I did know DESOTO (123A Mississippi River discoverer) from DeSoto Caverns & the DeSoto Trail. I must raise an issue with the cluing on this one. I suspect many, many people knew about the Mississippi before the Spaniards stumbled upon it. While a crossword is not the place to argue the morality of the Age of Exploration or even the legitimacy of applying one era's morals to a prior era, we can at least aim to be linguistically accurate.
Opportunities To Learn New Things & Admissions of Defeat: 0
VICTORY! Now I'm going to RAISE THE BAR to getting all of the answers without wild guesses. After the WOE of last week, I carefully groomed the surrounds on NEPALI (1D Language akin to Hindi) and DELIA until these sounded right and proved to be correct. OPPUGN remained a what-else-could-it-be from the crosses.
Commentary: OILED (27A Blotto)
In Gridlock, Matt Gaffney quotes Merl Reagle quoting Margaret Farrar on the rules for crossword puzzles, “Crosswords are an entertainment. Avoid things like death, disease, war and taxes – the subway solver gets enough of that in the rest of the paper.” [p39] In Crossworld, Marc Romano speaks of the ACPT as a weekend that is and should be “Devoid even of the possibility of nastiness.”[p155] He could be talking about puzzles themselves.
To Farrar's list I would like to add public drunkenness. As someone who recently decided to greatly reduce her alcohol intake, I have been APPalled at the amount of casual drinking on TV and in movies. It recalls the smoking prevalent in mid-century media that is now nonexistent in the same venues. I suspect directors did it for similar reasons – to give actors something to do with their hands.
Similarly, I have been struck by the number of cute terms for drunkenness that have occurred here and in That Other Puzzle. It's not the reference alone. A saloon (clue for 22A) is both part of our culture and judgment-neutral. What rankles is the levity of the words blotto, sot, and their ilk. As if it is cute to be that way. Given the glassness of my house, I gently pitch these stones with the intent of being thought-provoking rather than simply provoking.
While on the subject of niceness, my bug phobia and I could have lived without the base phrase for APPROACH MOTELS.
And on that icky note, I sign off to begin tapping my foot until Friday morning.
Katherine Walcott
Puzzle Fan
Friday, September 25, 2009
Queue & A
by Daniel Rowe
edited by Mike Shenk
September 18, 2009
Full answers available on WSJ's crossword puzzle page (currently mistitled with a repeat of September 11's title but the answers are for September 18) or with the following week's puzzle on WSJ's online Lifestyle page.
Theme: words and phrases converted into terms of venery
Linedance -> LINE OF DANCES
(22A [River, barn, belly])
Thread Count -> THREAD OF COUNTS
(26A [Chocula, Basie, Dooku])
Stringbean -> STRING OF BEANS
(56A [Kidney, jelly, coffee])
Group Policies -> GROUP OF POLICIES
(69A [Energy, economic, foreign])
Listserver -> LIST OF SERVERS
(82A [Acolyte, tennis player, waiter])
Blockbuster -> BLOCK OF BUSTERS
(109A [Brown, Crabbe, Keaton])
Chain Gang -> CHAIN OF GANGS
(119A [Bloods, Hells Angels, Crips])
Apologizes to Mssrs. Rowe & Shenk. Initially, I had THREes OF COUNTS for 26A. I figured it was close enough to three-count and that we must accept occasional imperfections to make the grid work. I should never have doubted.
Cool Crosses: 5
La TETE de mon AMIE. (25A Chapeau supporter) crossing (2D Gallic girlfriend). What is it with all the French? Is the language of Voltaire perceived to be more suitably high-brow for pursuits such as crosswords? Would we feel that way if the latest wave of immigrants spoke French instead of the language of Cervantes? Or if we lived in Quebec? Or is it just all the vowels?
NASTY slamdances NSYNC. (90A 1986 Janet Jackson hit) crossing (79D 'I Want You Back” band). Maleska is titubating in his tomb. For those not in the know, read any book on crossword puzzle history.
ART TEACHER reflected by REACHER. (99A Life class leader) crossing (92D Rude fellow at the dinner table). I hear a new a nursery school song, “The ART TEACHER says 'Don't be a REACHER.' ”? Or is my Sesame Street youth showing?
ASSORTS abutting ASKANT. (125A Puts into piles) crossing (100D With suspicion). I have to admit to a pet peeve against crossword words that tack on an A: AROAR, ATREMBLE, Aso on. Correct but do we really use them? These two are not exactly but close enough to get on my peeve nerve. Before a package of assorted buttons leaves the factory, someone in charge ASSORTS them? I look ASKANT at the need for a variation on askance.
NEMESES encountering a FOE. (127A Archrivals) crossing (120D Challenger). Does this put them on the same side? According to Yahoo! Answers, “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” has origins in Arabic, Chinese and the Book of Exodus.
Nomination for Word of the Week & News To Me: 0
Too caught up in my near victory to notice any. As I type, Count Dooku rears his ugly head. I do not know Dooku. I take great pride in not knowing Dooku. I have no desire to ever know Dooku. I must stop. We are close to descending into a fan rant about the original Star Wars trilogy vs. the first Star Wars trilogy. In A New Hope, I find nothing but despair. I ...... need to go lie down. Link from Wookieepedia, the Star Wars Wiki. Don't ya love the Internet?
Opportunities To Learn New Things & Admissions of Defeat: 1, with multiple arms.
So close. So annoyingly close. Most of grid fell into place in a few hours Friday evening. Was I actually going to solve this on my own? Two more days to figure out or make reasonable guesses for 7 of the 8 remaining boxes. The last box? Two further days & I finally give up. R_D LAV_R was never going to become ROD LAVER (51A & 73D two-time winner of tennis's Grand Slam). The last name crossed with CESAR (91A French film award). Given C_SAR, it was pretty much pick-a-vowel. The real problem came with DO_ (45A Average name). What could be more average than a John/Jane DOe? Which left e_E (47D Heartache) crossing the first name. You ain't kidding WOE. Particularly in a financial paper dealing with the DOW Jones Average.
Final total, two green boxes, one red. On my puzzle paper, theme answer boxes are underlined in orange. “Researched” answers appear in green. Errors discovered by consulting the solution are marked in the traditional red. (These are my pre-blog and non-WSJ puzzle rules. Yes, anal-retentive has a hyphen. I've checked.) So, which scores lower on the self-congratulation scale, one look up & one error or wild guessing & three errors? I have yet to decide.
Commentary:
If you love obscure but valid words – look to whom I'm talking - check out An Exaltation of Larks or, The Venereal Game by James Lipton [Grossman 1968].
Katherine Walcott
Puzzle Fan
by Daniel Rowe
edited by Mike Shenk
September 18, 2009
Full answers available on WSJ's crossword puzzle page (currently mistitled with a repeat of September 11's title but the answers are for September 18) or with the following week's puzzle on WSJ's online Lifestyle page.
Theme: words and phrases converted into terms of venery
Linedance -> LINE OF DANCES
(22A [River, barn, belly])
Thread Count -> THREAD OF COUNTS
(26A [Chocula, Basie, Dooku])
Stringbean -> STRING OF BEANS
(56A [Kidney, jelly, coffee])
Group Policies -> GROUP OF POLICIES
(69A [Energy, economic, foreign])
Listserver -> LIST OF SERVERS
(82A [Acolyte, tennis player, waiter])
Blockbuster -> BLOCK OF BUSTERS
(109A [Brown, Crabbe, Keaton])
Chain Gang -> CHAIN OF GANGS
(119A [Bloods, Hells Angels, Crips])
Apologizes to Mssrs. Rowe & Shenk. Initially, I had THREes OF COUNTS for 26A. I figured it was close enough to three-count and that we must accept occasional imperfections to make the grid work. I should never have doubted.
Cool Crosses: 5
La TETE de mon AMIE. (25A Chapeau supporter) crossing (2D Gallic girlfriend). What is it with all the French? Is the language of Voltaire perceived to be more suitably high-brow for pursuits such as crosswords? Would we feel that way if the latest wave of immigrants spoke French instead of the language of Cervantes? Or if we lived in Quebec? Or is it just all the vowels?
NASTY slamdances NSYNC. (90A 1986 Janet Jackson hit) crossing (79D 'I Want You Back” band). Maleska is titubating in his tomb. For those not in the know, read any book on crossword puzzle history.
ART TEACHER reflected by REACHER. (99A Life class leader) crossing (92D Rude fellow at the dinner table). I hear a new a nursery school song, “The ART TEACHER says 'Don't be a REACHER.' ”? Or is my Sesame Street youth showing?
ASSORTS abutting ASKANT. (125A Puts into piles) crossing (100D With suspicion). I have to admit to a pet peeve against crossword words that tack on an A: AROAR, ATREMBLE, Aso on. Correct but do we really use them? These two are not exactly but close enough to get on my peeve nerve. Before a package of assorted buttons leaves the factory, someone in charge ASSORTS them? I look ASKANT at the need for a variation on askance.
NEMESES encountering a FOE. (127A Archrivals) crossing (120D Challenger). Does this put them on the same side? According to Yahoo! Answers, “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” has origins in Arabic, Chinese and the Book of Exodus.
Nomination for Word of the Week & News To Me: 0
Too caught up in my near victory to notice any. As I type, Count Dooku rears his ugly head. I do not know Dooku. I take great pride in not knowing Dooku. I have no desire to ever know Dooku. I must stop. We are close to descending into a fan rant about the original Star Wars trilogy vs. the first Star Wars trilogy. In A New Hope, I find nothing but despair. I ...... need to go lie down. Link from Wookieepedia, the Star Wars Wiki. Don't ya love the Internet?
Opportunities To Learn New Things & Admissions of Defeat: 1, with multiple arms.
So close. So annoyingly close. Most of grid fell into place in a few hours Friday evening. Was I actually going to solve this on my own? Two more days to figure out or make reasonable guesses for 7 of the 8 remaining boxes. The last box? Two further days & I finally give up. R_D LAV_R was never going to become ROD LAVER (51A & 73D two-time winner of tennis's Grand Slam). The last name crossed with CESAR (91A French film award). Given C_SAR, it was pretty much pick-a-vowel. The real problem came with DO_ (45A Average name). What could be more average than a John/Jane DOe? Which left e_E (47D Heartache) crossing the first name. You ain't kidding WOE. Particularly in a financial paper dealing with the DOW Jones Average.
Final total, two green boxes, one red. On my puzzle paper, theme answer boxes are underlined in orange. “Researched” answers appear in green. Errors discovered by consulting the solution are marked in the traditional red. (These are my pre-blog and non-WSJ puzzle rules. Yes, anal-retentive has a hyphen. I've checked.) So, which scores lower on the self-congratulation scale, one look up & one error or wild guessing & three errors? I have yet to decide.
Commentary:
If you love obscure but valid words – look to whom I'm talking - check out An Exaltation of Larks or, The Venereal Game by James Lipton [Grossman 1968].
Katherine Walcott
Puzzle Fan
Friday, September 18, 2009
Hear, Hear!
by Elizabeth C. Gorski
edited by Mike Shenk
Sept. 11, 2009
Full answers available on WSJ's crossword puzzle page or with the following week's puzzle on WSJ's online Lifestyle page.
Theme: words and phrases that begin and end with parts of the word sound.
SURROUNDSOUND (121A TV feature, and a clue to six other answers in this puzzle)
SHOPPED AROUND (23A Compared prices)
SECOND ROUND (35A First-week Wimbledon hurdle for Serena)
SOUPBRAND (52A Progresso, for one)
SOUTHERN COMMAND (69A Miami-based Department of Defense group)
SNOWBOUND (89A Stranded at Sugarloaf)
SLEUTHHOUND (103A Detective with a nose for fighting crime)
The middle two came last. Misleads after all the -OUND endings
Cool Crosses: at least 3
The POSSES pulling off a HOLDUP. (129A Spaghetti western outfits?) crossing (104D Sundance activity)
The ARIA from TOSCA. (101A Operatic selection) crossing (73D 1900 Puccini opera)
The ACELA pulling into the STATION. (97A Speedy Amtrak train) crossing (87D Pennsylvania, for one)
BTW, how do people who never lived in NYC know about such things as Penn Station?
Nomination for Word of the Week: Bloviates. (clue for 51D)
If I drew a cartoon of a person who SPOUTSOFF, he or she would have bovine overtones and then disappear in a B.L.E.V.E. [Fire service speak for boiling liquid expanding vapor explosion.]
News To Me (I got 'em but I didn't get 'em): 4
EPOS (47A Long narrative poem) - According to Merriam Webster, it is "1: epic or 2: a number of poems that treat an epic theme but are not formally united," Another fine mislead. You can't help but assume EPic.
Speaking of misleads, kudos for USED CARS (29A They include lemons). I spent way too much time pondering a scientific name for the citrus family that started with U- and end with -ARS.
ISTLE (50A Basketry fiber) - According to the BLM, “small palms such as istle or hemp have been used for blankets”. "Appendix D – Native American and Alaskan Native Resource Uses".(search the above & view as HTML) Umm, do the Alaskan Separatist know that the US Department of the Interior/Bureau of Land Management does not consider Alaskan Natives to be Native Americans?
ARA (67A Faint constellation next to Scorpius) - According to the American Association of Amateur Astronomers, the constellation Ara is know as The Altar.
OSIERS (125A Some willows) – According to the Britannica online, “The shrubby common, or silky, osier (S. viminalis) supplies twigs used for basketmaking in Europe.” Osier and istle baskets anyone?
Opportunities To Learn New Things: 2
For me, most proper nouns arrive as either lucky crosses or as an OTLNT. Opera, baseball, politics, it doesn't matter, I never know them. With the exception this week of IMOGENE (9D Classic comic Coca). No idea that she had her own variety show nor that she inspired Lily Tomlin. [Obit] The syllables just resonated. Therefore, if the crosses refuse to behave, one is forced to look up Choreographer Lubovitch (8D LAR) and the Cheever novel set in a prison (16D FALCONER).
Admissions of Defeat: 3
HONAN/RAMROD - error on the O, (21A Hard taskmaster) crossing (11D Chinese province).I suspected the O but did not commit to it. I couldn't give up HuNAN.
DON/ALDEN – error on the N, (68A Granada Gentleman) crossing (44D Plymouth name). John tried to speak for himself but I went to school with someone named Adler and the synaptic collision came out as ALDEr which I never revisited.
ARROW/WES – error on the W, (85A “Rushmore” director Anderson) crossing (57D Feathered flier). One of my Rs in SOUTHERN COMMAND (69A) looked suspiciously like a P, possibly influenced by the overly large P written into SPREAD (64A Elaborate meal). Therefore I was seeing ARpO_ which my internal autospell rendered as ApRO therefore ApROn. nES Anderson? WES Anderson? (85A) It's all Google to me.
I thought crosswords were supposed to help my brain, not make it into spaghetti.
Commentary:
Recently began reading From Square One: A Mediation, with Digression, on Crosswords by Dean Olsher [Scribner 2009]. His pondering led me to ask why I do crossword puzzles. The author enjoys filling in little black & white boxes because, “I am convinced that we solve crosswords to become unstuck in time.” [p3] Although I can't say I've experienced any temporal distraction, I do get a jolt of intellectual endorphins when the right word fits into its designated space. That's why the correct difficulty level is so important. Too easy, no satisfaction. Too hard, no word. Either way, no additive jolt.
Finally, I leave you with earworms from Guys and Dolls:
(1D Detroit on Broadway)
“That's good old reliable NATHAN!
Nathan, Nathan, Nathan, Detroit!”
host of the
“oldest established, permanent floating
Crap game in New York”
[lyrics]
(109A Markers:IOUS)
Brando, “I will give you my marker.” before breaking into,
“They call you lady luck
But there is room for doubt
At times you have a very un-lady-like way
Of running out.....”
[transcript] & [lyrics]
Katherine Walcott
Puzzle Fan
by Elizabeth C. Gorski
edited by Mike Shenk
Sept. 11, 2009
Full answers available on WSJ's crossword puzzle page or with the following week's puzzle on WSJ's online Lifestyle page.
Theme: words and phrases that begin and end with parts of the word sound.
SURROUNDSOUND (121A TV feature, and a clue to six other answers in this puzzle)
SHOPPED AROUND (23A Compared prices)
SECOND ROUND (35A First-week Wimbledon hurdle for Serena)
SOUPBRAND (52A Progresso, for one)
SOUTHERN COMMAND (69A Miami-based Department of Defense group)
SNOWBOUND (89A Stranded at Sugarloaf)
SLEUTHHOUND (103A Detective with a nose for fighting crime)
The middle two came last. Misleads after all the -OUND endings
Cool Crosses: at least 3
The POSSES pulling off a HOLDUP. (129A Spaghetti western outfits?) crossing (104D Sundance activity)
The ARIA from TOSCA. (101A Operatic selection) crossing (73D 1900 Puccini opera)
The ACELA pulling into the STATION. (97A Speedy Amtrak train) crossing (87D Pennsylvania, for one)
BTW, how do people who never lived in NYC know about such things as Penn Station?
Nomination for Word of the Week: Bloviates. (clue for 51D)
If I drew a cartoon of a person who SPOUTSOFF, he or she would have bovine overtones and then disappear in a B.L.E.V.E. [Fire service speak for boiling liquid expanding vapor explosion.]
News To Me (I got 'em but I didn't get 'em): 4
EPOS (47A Long narrative poem) - According to Merriam Webster, it is "1: epic or 2: a number of poems that treat an epic theme but are not formally united," Another fine mislead. You can't help but assume EPic.
Speaking of misleads, kudos for USED CARS (29A They include lemons). I spent way too much time pondering a scientific name for the citrus family that started with U- and end with -ARS.
ISTLE (50A Basketry fiber) - According to the BLM, “small palms such as istle or hemp have been used for blankets”. "Appendix D – Native American and Alaskan Native Resource Uses".(search the above & view as HTML) Umm, do the Alaskan Separatist know that the US Department of the Interior/Bureau of Land Management does not consider Alaskan Natives to be Native Americans?
ARA (67A Faint constellation next to Scorpius) - According to the American Association of Amateur Astronomers, the constellation Ara is know as The Altar.
OSIERS (125A Some willows) – According to the Britannica online, “The shrubby common, or silky, osier (S. viminalis) supplies twigs used for basketmaking in Europe.” Osier and istle baskets anyone?
Opportunities To Learn New Things: 2
For me, most proper nouns arrive as either lucky crosses or as an OTLNT. Opera, baseball, politics, it doesn't matter, I never know them. With the exception this week of IMOGENE (9D Classic comic Coca). No idea that she had her own variety show nor that she inspired Lily Tomlin. [Obit] The syllables just resonated. Therefore, if the crosses refuse to behave, one is forced to look up Choreographer Lubovitch (8D LAR) and the Cheever novel set in a prison (16D FALCONER).
Admissions of Defeat: 3
HONAN/RAMROD - error on the O, (21A Hard taskmaster) crossing (11D Chinese province).I suspected the O but did not commit to it. I couldn't give up HuNAN.
DON/ALDEN – error on the N, (68A Granada Gentleman) crossing (44D Plymouth name). John tried to speak for himself but I went to school with someone named Adler and the synaptic collision came out as ALDEr which I never revisited.
ARROW/WES – error on the W, (85A “Rushmore” director Anderson) crossing (57D Feathered flier). One of my Rs in SOUTHERN COMMAND (69A) looked suspiciously like a P, possibly influenced by the overly large P written into SPREAD (64A Elaborate meal). Therefore I was seeing ARpO_ which my internal autospell rendered as ApRO therefore ApROn. nES Anderson? WES Anderson? (85A) It's all Google to me.
I thought crosswords were supposed to help my brain, not make it into spaghetti.
Commentary:
Recently began reading From Square One: A Mediation, with Digression, on Crosswords by Dean Olsher [Scribner 2009]. His pondering led me to ask why I do crossword puzzles. The author enjoys filling in little black & white boxes because, “I am convinced that we solve crosswords to become unstuck in time.” [p3] Although I can't say I've experienced any temporal distraction, I do get a jolt of intellectual endorphins when the right word fits into its designated space. That's why the correct difficulty level is so important. Too easy, no satisfaction. Too hard, no word. Either way, no additive jolt.
Finally, I leave you with earworms from Guys and Dolls:
(1D Detroit on Broadway)
“That's good old reliable NATHAN!
Nathan, Nathan, Nathan, Detroit!”
host of the
“oldest established, permanent floating
Crap game in New York”
[lyrics]
(109A Markers:IOUS)
Brando, “I will give you my marker.” before breaking into,
“They call you lady luck
But there is room for doubt
At times you have a very un-lady-like way
Of running out.....”
[transcript] & [lyrics]
Katherine Walcott
Puzzle Fan
Friday, September 11, 2009
Solving (I hope) & blogging on the weekly WSJ Crossword Puzzle
Inaugural blog
With gratitude to Rex Parker for getting me hooked on blogs in addition to the puzzles themselves. Thank you, I think.
Right Here, Right Now
September 04, 2009
by Colin Gale, edited by Mike Shenk
The completed puzzle grid awaits an increase in my blogging ability.
Theme: ASAP embedded in seven phrases across plus ASAP as a stand-alone answer down.
HAS A PENCHANT FOR [22A Likes]
MONTANA SAPPHIRES [31A Output of Yogo Gulch's mines]
NASA PATHFINDER [46A Unmanned solar-powered aircraft tested in the 1980s and 1990s]
WAS APPARENT [68A Couldn't be missed]
LA CASA PACFICIA [80A Nixon's “Western White House”]
MONICA'S APPARTMENT [100A Setting of many “Friends” scenes]
PROUD AS A PEACOCK [112A Oozing hubris]
ASAP [81D Right now, as hidden in this puzzle's longest answers]
Cool crosses:
SATE/I ATE [44A “Must've been something __”/34D Quench]
ROAN/HORSE [58A Chestnut with white mixed in, e.g./50D Groom's Charge]
CANA/DANA [92A “Two Years Before the Mast” writer/82D Water-to-wine miracle site]
Number of words: 238
Number of words requiring The Opportunity to Learn New Things: 3
1)IOWAN [36D Tom Harkin, for one]. Tom Harkin is from Iowa and therefore is an IOWAN. I had MONTANA'SAPPle REd [31A Output of Yogo Gulch's mines]. Who knows, I was happy it had ASAP in it. ENCodE made some sense although ENCASE is correct [18D Protect, in a way]. eO was not leading me toward Iowa nor was lE leading me toward HEAVEN [35D Kingdom come].
2)LA CASA PACFICIA [80A Nixon's “Western White House”]. mA CASA works as long as one's knowledge of rap [80D “Stand Up” rapper LUDACRIS] is even less than one's knowledge of politics.
3)PACHISI [54D Sorry! inspiration]. This a personal record for the saddest use of Google. I work from the printed version of the puzzle. The exclamation point was beyond the event horizon of my current reading glasses. I read the clue as Sorryl (final L rather than !) and assumed a poet unknown to me (one of multitudes) who was inspired by a particular person or place. The worst part is that my grandmother and I played endless games of Parcheesi.
Commentary: On starting a blog on the WSJ puzzle
Yes, the New York Times puzzle is the gold standard. Yes, it comes out daily. However, the weekly WSJ puzzle has a snarkiness that calls to my soul. I do both and read Rex Parker religiously. Sometimes I even finish the puzzle first.
In describing his creation of Discworld, Terry Pratchett says, "The world rides through space on the back of a turtle. This is one of the great ancient world myths, found wherever men and turtles are gathered together; the four elephants were an Indo-European sophistication. The idea has been lying in the lumber room of legend for centuries. All I had to do was grab it and run away before the alarms went off." That's what I did. Grabbed the WSJ blog and ran away before anyone could stop me.
Katherine Walcott
Puzzle Fan
Inaugural blog
With gratitude to Rex Parker for getting me hooked on blogs in addition to the puzzles themselves. Thank you, I think.
Right Here, Right Now
September 04, 2009
by Colin Gale, edited by Mike Shenk
The completed puzzle grid awaits an increase in my blogging ability.
Theme: ASAP embedded in seven phrases across plus ASAP as a stand-alone answer down.
HAS A PENCHANT FOR [22A Likes]
MONTANA SAPPHIRES [31A Output of Yogo Gulch's mines]
NASA PATHFINDER [46A Unmanned solar-powered aircraft tested in the 1980s and 1990s]
WAS APPARENT [68A Couldn't be missed]
LA CASA PACFICIA [80A Nixon's “Western White House”]
MONICA'S APPARTMENT [100A Setting of many “Friends” scenes]
PROUD AS A PEACOCK [112A Oozing hubris]
ASAP [81D Right now, as hidden in this puzzle's longest answers]
Cool crosses:
SATE/I ATE [44A “Must've been something __”/34D Quench]
ROAN/HORSE [58A Chestnut with white mixed in, e.g./50D Groom's Charge]
CANA/DANA [92A “Two Years Before the Mast” writer/82D Water-to-wine miracle site]
Number of words: 238
Number of words requiring The Opportunity to Learn New Things: 3
1)IOWAN [36D Tom Harkin, for one]. Tom Harkin is from Iowa and therefore is an IOWAN. I had MONTANA'SAPPle REd [31A Output of Yogo Gulch's mines]. Who knows, I was happy it had ASAP in it. ENCodE made some sense although ENCASE is correct [18D Protect, in a way]. eO was not leading me toward Iowa nor was lE leading me toward HEAVEN [35D Kingdom come].
2)LA CASA PACFICIA [80A Nixon's “Western White House”]. mA CASA works as long as one's knowledge of rap [80D “Stand Up” rapper LUDACRIS] is even less than one's knowledge of politics.
3)PACHISI [54D Sorry! inspiration]. This a personal record for the saddest use of Google. I work from the printed version of the puzzle. The exclamation point was beyond the event horizon of my current reading glasses. I read the clue as Sorryl (final L rather than !) and assumed a poet unknown to me (one of multitudes) who was inspired by a particular person or place. The worst part is that my grandmother and I played endless games of Parcheesi.
Commentary: On starting a blog on the WSJ puzzle
Yes, the New York Times puzzle is the gold standard. Yes, it comes out daily. However, the weekly WSJ puzzle has a snarkiness that calls to my soul. I do both and read Rex Parker religiously. Sometimes I even finish the puzzle first.
In describing his creation of Discworld, Terry Pratchett says, "The world rides through space on the back of a turtle. This is one of the great ancient world myths, found wherever men and turtles are gathered together; the four elephants were an Indo-European sophistication. The idea has been lying in the lumber room of legend for centuries. All I had to do was grab it and run away before the alarms went off." That's what I did. Grabbed the WSJ blog and ran away before anyone could stop me.
Katherine Walcott
Puzzle Fan
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