Washington Square
by Elizabeth C. Gorski
edited by Mike Shenk
February 12, 2010

Full answers available on WSJ's crossword puzzle page.

Theme: A border of presidential names with nonpresidential clues.
HOOVER {1A Big name in carpet cleaning}
CLINTON {7A “Atomic Dog” singer George}
REAGAN {14A Frank who led the NFL in interceptions in 1947}
ARTHUR {130A He worked knights}
KENNEDY {131A “Ironweed” author William}
MONROE {132A DiMaggio's love}
HARRISON {1D “Here Comes the Sun” writer}
NIXON {19D Co-star of Parker, Cattrall and Davis}
PIERCE {52D Puncture}
TAYLOR {63D Grammy winner Swift}
COOLIDGE {92D “All Time High” singer Rita}
OBAMA {105D Port north of Kyoto}
PRESIDENTS BOX {72A Theater VIP section, as suggested by the answers on this puzzle's edges}

Although not suggested by the answer clue, five other names appear. I imagine Ms. Gorski had five more clues she didn't want to waste.
BUSH {33A Wild parts of Australia}
LINCOLN {42A Car introduced in 1920}
MADISON {99A Avenue east of Fifth}
FORD {111A Cross, in a way}
JEFFERSON {48D Blues legend Blind Lemon}
These were so symmetric, I wanted the inner names to form a second pattern, or perhaps a secret message along with the black boxes, but that would have been gilding the lily.

The clues came from a range of human activity.
Commerce: HOOVER, LINCOLN
Music: CLINTON, HARRISON, TAYLOR, COOLIDGE, JEFFERSON
Sports: REAGAN
Myth: ARTHUR
Literature: KENNEDY
Film & TV: MONROE, NIXON
Misc verbs: PIERCE, FORD
Geography: OBAMA, BUSH, MADISON
Ten of the 17 clues were proper names.

This should have been easy. Seventeen names from a finite list of 43* names which any American should know by heart. I didn't. Furthermore, I spent waay too long being confused by a president's whose name ends in an A?? Seriously. Being inclined to think historically is no excuse.

*Obama is our 44th president but Grover Cleveland split terms so counts as 22nd and 24th. Therefore 43 men have been 44 presidents.

Off topic: Other presidential trivia. My source for the above was a Presidents of the United States of America laminated placemat that doubles as my desk blotter. According to this infallible source, 4 presidents had full beards; 3 had mustaches; and 3 had an assortment of other face fuzz. Taft's mustache in 1913 was the last facial hair in the White House. Since Kennedy, 8 of the 10 recent presidents are pictured with toothy smiles.


Admissions of Defeat: 2
No comment. I'm not a confrontation person. I don't want to go on record with my opinion of SSW vs. SSe {115A Toronto-to-D.C. heading} being decided by a Flemish Painter {116D FP Jan van __}. Nor how my attachment to GEl instead of GEM {108A Setting item} colors my attitude toward BEDIMS {83D Obfuscates}.


Commentary: ACPT
The American Crossword Puzzle Tournament is next weekend. There will be another puzzle before that but it will probably be over before I post. For those who chose to live vicariously:
Wordplay, the movie.
Crossworld: One Man's Journey into America's Crossword Obsession by Marc Ramano (Broadway 2005). “This book, then, is the story of my quest ... to place at least near the top half of the single largest such competition in the nation.” p28.
From Square One: A Mediation, with Digression, on Crosswords by Dean Olsher (Scribner 2009). Watching Al Sounders lose, pp101-103.
Cruciverbalism: A Crossword Fanatic's Guide to Life in the Grid by Stanley Newman. (Collins 2006). Preparing for and winning in 1981, pp25-35.
Zen and the Art of Crossword Puzzles: A Journey Down and Across by Nikki Katz (Adams 2006). Interviews with Ellen Ripstein & Tyler Hinman, pp177-187.
The Crossword Obsession: The History and Lore of the World's Most Popular Pastime by Coral Amende (Berkley 2001). Commentary on the ACPT from a dozen+ people, pp173-180.
And the winner is
Gridlock: Crossword Puzzles and the Mad Geniuses Who Create Them by Matt Gaffney (Thunder's Mouth 2006). A chapter on judging the ACPT, pp 1-32.
Enjoy.

Katherine Walcott
Puzzle Fan