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

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

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

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