Friday, March 26, 2010

“Enough!”
by Myles Callum
edited by Mike Shenk
March 26, 2010

Full answers not yet available on WSJ's crossword puzzle page. So take all answers with g. of salt.

Theme: Phrases joined by the letters TMI and clued with Too Much Information.
FILET MIGNON {23A *Cut from the tenderloin – its name means “dainty cut”!}
SALT MINES {25A *Sources of halite – that's a type of evaporitic deposit!}
DETROIT MICHIGAN {35A *Midwest metropolis – it has a view of Canada to the south!} - The southwestern section of Ontario runs between Lakes Huron and Erie, passing south and west of the eastern edge of the lower Michigan peninsula – a toe of Canada under the thumb of the mitten, as it were. Windsor, the city at the tip and the southernmost area of Canada, connects to Detroit by the Ambassador Bridge and the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel. Similarly, I am always surprised at how much of California is east of Reno, NV. I tend to think of the states as neatly-outlined, brightly-colored boxes rather than as accretions formed war, transportation, and/or commerce. Where did I come by such grid-like thinking? For the full story on state borders, see How the States Got Their Shapes by Mark Stein [Collins 2008], an historical trivia goldmine.
ROBERT MITCHUM {55A *“Night of the Hunter” star – his middle names are Charles Durman!}
I DONT MIND A BIT {76A *“Fine by me!” - that sounds like something Mr. Ed might say!}
CABINET MINISTER {98A *High-ranking official – Canada's Leona Aglukkaq is one!}
GRIST MILL {114A *Flour-making plant – the Greek geographer Strabo wrote about one!}
COCONUT MILK {116A *White liquid used in cooking – it's called gata in the Philippines!} - Part of Thai cooking.
TMI {71D Briefly, a feature of each starred clue, and a chunk of its answer}

It's a Small, Small Puzzle World: 4
Given 242 answers in this puzzle and ~2000 words during the week (2 puzzles [LAT & NYT] x 6 days x over-100 words per puzzle + 2 Sunday puzzles x over-200 wpp + large fudge factor), odds are something will repeat. I'm not talking about bizarre crosswordpuzzlese but simple English words or puns with similar sensibilities. There are a finite number of English words and an even smaller set that fit happily into a crossword. However, this week hits one of those weird statistical blips between the weekly WSJ puzzle and today's [Friday 3/26/10] LA Times:
OR SO {31A Estimator's phrase}WSJ &{14A End of an estimate}LAT
LOL {13D Online chuckle} WSJ & {60D Tester's tehee*} LAT
CELL {11A Pen holder} WSJ & FELON {47D Pen resident} LAT
ROSE {84D Got up} WSJ & AROSE {38A Lost a lap?} LAT
*I would have said teehee but Urban Dictionary says it's a cute girlish laugh.

News To Me: 3
ELIHU {19A Benefactor Yale} - long version of the crossword-familiar Eli.
ANIS {29D Tropical cuckoos}
ONE O(ld) CAT {93D Classic baseball variant} - “This is town-ball modified to suit the occasion when only three or four boys play the game.” What, girls can't play?

Admissions of Defeat: 0?
Guessed on OCTAL {6A Notation used for Unix permissions}/COGNOMEN {7D Handle} - lOGNOMEN? nOGNOMEN? During my daily weight-bearing-stave-off-osteoporosis walk, the random noise in my head offer up COG- as in cognate, cognition, etc. That makes OCT- which sounds sufficiently computeresque. BTW, I believe the usage is UNIX. WSJ style may dictate otherwise. Also guessed on TNN {33A It became Spike in 2003}/ANIS. Was it The Nashville Network? By Jove, it was. Knowing the answer is the best, but guessing right is a close second.

ACPT Countdown Clock: 356 days
Friday, March 26, 2010, to Friday, March 18, 2011.
Likelihood of my attendance at the ACPT: 20%.
Down from a baseline of 30%. Had trouble with Wed & Thurs NYT this week. Only a decent showing on this puzzle saves it from going lower. I thought lack of progress was frustrating. Now I'm backsliding!

Constructor's Corner: Myles Callum
bio, scroll down
“The hard part is coming up with a theme that will be fun or reasonably entertaining. For the Wall Street Journal, I sometimes comb through financial glossaries looking for terms to play off or construe literally, like "Back Pay," where you can come up with lively entries that have words at the end that are synonyms for money-e.g., SHAKE YOUR BOOTY, HIT A SOUR NOTE, LOVE ME TENDER, etc. And I like doing puzzles that have words or acronyms hidden inside, like the TMI in this one. But the fun part here was getting the idea to liven it up by also giving "too much information" in the clues.

“It´s always instructive to see how Mike Shenk changes your puzzle, both in clues and grid fill. My 1-Across was RATSO, which Mike changed to LOTTO. That didn't surprise me; even as I used it, I was afraid RATSO was too easy because the limited clues are giveaways.

“My original clue for FILET MIGNON was "Cut from the tenderloin. It´s also called the psoas major!" But Mike changed the TMI part to "-its name means `dainty cut´!" which I like a lot better; my version was too esoteric by half, even though it was definitely too much information. Mike also has strong feelings about words used in grid fill, and in most of my early puzzles there were a lot of changes. In my more recent puzzles there are fewer changes, so after 12 years I may be getting the hang of it.”

Thank you Mr. Callum.

Katherine Walcott
Puzzle Fan

Friday, March 19, 2010

Pontification
by Joon Pahk
edited by Mike Shenk
March 19, 2010

Full answers not yet available on WSJ's crossword puzzle page. So take all answers with the appropriate amount of salt. (I still haven't figured out how to amend a blog without reposting and changing the date – and if I'm going to have my act together sufficiently to post this early, I want it recorded!)

Theme: Papal names inserted into common phrases.
URBANE COMMERCE {23A Suave business dealings?}
ALL INCLEMENT {33A Totally stormy?}
KOSHER SALTPETER {52A Ingredient for making gunpowder during passover?}
SATURN BENEDICTION {71A Blessing from a Roman deity?}
PRODIGAL PAULSON {88A Former Treasury secretary who couldn't keep to a budget?}
SIMONLEON SAYS {104A Game in which money talks?}
MIRACLE GROPIUS {121A Wondrous Bauhaus School founder?}
A list of popes.

Full disclosure: Got the pontifical connection. Was less than impressed with the resulting theme answers. I expect better. Totally missed that it was an insertion theme until reading Mr. Pahk's discussion below. I'll take stupid for $200, Alex. In his blog about the 2010 ACPT, Tyler Hinman says, “Here's a little tip: If you have "I guess that sort of makes sense" crossing "I guess that's just a word I've never heard before," YOU'RE WRONG, DUMBASS.” My corollary, if two professional and way-smart cruciverbalists create what seems to be a flaccid puzzle, YWDA.

Nomination for Word of the Week: SANTA
There has to be a very special level of punsters' hell for someone who can clue this with {104D Pole star}. It's the sort of answer where you get the word and have a minute to think, Huh? before the sandbag of sense thumps you upside the pun bone. Also MOO {99D Lea low} - a low in the lea, not a clever term for low-lying meadow & DRESSER {130A Unmentionable place} - a place for unmentionables. Mr. Pahk would easily hold his own at a pun tournament in Callahan's Crosstime Saloon [Spider Robinson /Ace 1977, Tor 1999].

News to Me: 4
PI DAY {117A March 14, to math teachers} - It's got it's own web page. It must exist.

ACETAL {126A Volatile solvent}

ORNETTE {127A Jazz great Coleman}

NO MAS {108A Roberto Duran's uncle?} - Spanish for no more, i.e. crying uncle. Apparently Duran is known for saying that in a rematch with Sugar Ray Leonard. Or maybe not.

Admissions of Defeat: ??
Results skewed this week. I got so excited about the new section that I read it before finishing the puzzle. Had been hung up on a 5x13 box in the bottom, left corner. Still, I never would have gotten HOMESLICE {82D Bro}. HOMEboy & HOMies wouldn't stretch and even I drew the line at HOMEdudes. With that & SIMOLEON SAYS (& the massive theme hint), I completed the rest with no ?s, although that doesn't guarantee no errors. Filed between the Aggg of last week and Almost of the week before.

ACPT Countdown Clock: 363 days
Friday, March 19, 2010, to Friday, March 18, 2011.

Likelihood of my attendance at the ACPT: 30% and falling.
Took a stab at the 2009 puzzles, available by mail. Flew through #1 – ARMS RACE by Byron Walden. Came to a screeching halt on #2 – ALLOW ME TO INTRODUCE MYSELF by Brendan Emmett Quigley. Am girding loins to look at #3.

Enough from me. Below I have started a new section, to which Mr. Pahk was generous enough to contribute.

Constructor's Corner: Joon Pahk
“Random thoughts about the puzzle's construction:

“i don't remember the origin of this puzzle. you might think that PIUS -> GROPIUS would have to be the seed entry, but i don't think that was actually the case. it might actually be one of those puzzles where the title asserted itself first, and then the theme fleshed itself out around it. the idea of doing an insertion theme where you don't insert the same letter or letters every time is, if not exactly new, at least rarely seen. so i wanted to try that, but of course you need to have the inserted bits fall into a narrowly-defined group; otherwise it's just unfair on the solver. anyway, i have a bit of a thing for catholic trivia, but it turns out there are only so many pope names that are famous as being pope names as well as usable in this kind of wordplay. JOHN PAUL is probably the most famous pope name among the current generation, but of course it's not really a part of any longer word or phrase. the same was very nearly true of PIUS; i'm certainly familiar with walter gropius, but i was a bit concerned that he wasn't quite famous enough for a theme answer. the only pope that had a lot of lively pun possibilities was LEO, perhaps in part because it's the shortest, and perhaps because it's the only one that could be slipped into the middle of a word instead of having to be tacked onto the beginning or end. some ideas that i left on the cutting room floor were LEONINE TAILS, HOWDY LEOPARD, OLEO PIONEERS, and the sneaky PILE ON CUSHIONS. i'm pretty happy with SIMOLEON SAYS as the best of the bunch, though, especially with the apt clue about "money talks." (while we're here, happy 60th birthday to my father-in-law, also named LEO.)

“i think the original version of this puzzle had 8 theme answers: the 7 popes in the final version plus JOHN. but JOHN wasn't doing very much other than just sitting there. i think the answer was CHICKEN LITTLE JOHN. and the fill wasn't very good. on the advice of brendan emmett quigley, i redid the puzzle with just the seven strongest theme answers, and to compensate for the relatively light theme, i tried to go for a low word count (136, not easy to do in a 21x puzzle), resulting in some wide-open spaces. there are a few more partial phrases (EYE ON, IS MY, SAID A, ARE UP, IN HER) and a few more "cheater" squares in the grid than i usually prefer, but overall i'm pleased with the fill. HOMESLICE is a new answer that i was very excited about, and the US HISTORY/THE NATION stack is pretty fun. i also kind of liked {They lean to the right}, ITALS, sitting on top of {Left-leaning weekly}, THE NATION, in the grid.”

Thank you Mr. Pahk

Katherine Walcott
Puzzle Fan

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Signs of the Times
by Randolph Ross
edited by Mike Shenk
March 12, 2010

Full answers available on WSJ's crossword puzzle page.

Theme: Road signs starting common phrases
ONE WAY OR ANOTHER {22A Somehow}
SLOW MOTION REPLAY {30A Sports analyst's aid}
ENTER THE DRAGON {46A 1973 Bruce Lee classic}
STAY RIGHT THERE {82A “Don't move!”}
WRONG WAY CORRIGAN {98A Directionally challenged pilot of 1938}
STOP THE BLEEDING {111A Get a bad situation under control}
YIELD THE FLOOR {3D Let someone else speak}
EXIT INTERVIEW {54D Conversation after canning}


Nomination for Word of the Week: EGOISTS {64A I guys}
To my mind, egoist is a pompous way to say egotist, but the OED gives three definitions of the former, only one of which = the latter. Both talk about themselves, in addition, an -ist uses self as, “the guiding principle of his conduct.”


People of the Puzzle: EDISON {43D Holder of 1,093 patents}
1,093! A fact worth a pause for respect.

MOHS {74D Scale on which diamond is 10} – Is it immortality if society knows the name but only science knows the person? Poor Frederick doesn't even make Anonyponymous by John Bemelmans Marciano [Bloomsbury 2009].


Crosswordpuzzlese: DRE {11D Rap Dr.}
Got right off. So, either I'm getting cooler or doing too many crossword puzzles – which is likely to lead the other way. Geek Power!


News to Me: PAWLs {97D Ratchet parts}
The widget that moves the toothed wheel.


Admissions of Defeat: Nevermind.
Too many mystery Proper Noun crosses such as WILEY{25A Pilot Post}/ODAY{5D Jazz Singer Anita} (which I got) or LEON{51A First name in the CIA}/SENNETT{30D Mack, maker of madcap movies} (which I did not). ASHpit/ASHPAN? {39A Fireplace receptacle}. BAAaaaaaa{41A Sheepish response}. File in the Thank You for Playing category.


Commentary: The im/possibility of improvement?
When I first started doing puzzles regularly, I saw a jump in performance after 2-3 months. Since then I've been stuck. Good days/weeks; then bad. So, is it possible to move from a mid-level puzzler to an expert? Or does a certain type of intelligence lend itself to a certain level of puzzling and ya gotta dance with what ya brung? Gloom flowers strewn in my path this week.


ACPT Countdown Clock: 370 days
Friday March 12, 2010, to March 18, 2011.

Likelihood of my attendance at the ACPT: 30%.
Base level of interest: 10% NYC, 10% PuzzleFest, 10% interested traveling companion. 0% of 25% each for Friday NYT, Saturday NYT, & Fireball. Didn't even try this week. (re math: What can I say, it's not an exact science)


Katherine Walcott
Puzzle Fan

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

And the Nominees Are...
by Pancho Harrison
edited by Mike Shenk
March 5, 2010

Full answers available on WSJ's crossword puzzle page.

Theme: Best Actress (mostly) nominees (trivia from BA commentary - mostly)
BURSTYN OUT {23A Ellen's sign-off? (1971, 1973, 1974, 1978, 1980, 2000)} – Ellen Burstyn (real-name Edna Rae Gillooly, and first appearing with screen name Ellen McRae), Best Actress winner for Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974).
BERRY AT SEA {25A Halle in a state of confusion? (2001)} – Won with her first nomination for Monster's Ball.
DUNNE DEAL {48A Irene's business transaction? (1931, 1936, 1937, 1939, 1948)} - No wins; two nominations were consecutive (from 1936-1937).
MOORE INFO {58A Contents of Julianne's bio? (1997, 1999, 2002)} - Often, actresses have been nominated for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress for different films in the same year. ..... A total of eleven performers .... have duplicated that feat. Julianne Moore (Best Actress for Far From Heaven (2002) and Best Supporting Actress for The Hours (2002)).
BATES TRAP {87A Mouse catcher for Kathy? (1990, 1998, 2002)} - It also helps .... for showing acting diversity (Kathy Bates as the horror villainess in Misery (1990).
CRUZ LINES {98A What Penelope has to memorize? (2006, 2008)} - Spanish actress Penelope Cruz was nominated as Best Actress for her role as single mother Raimunda in Volver (2006) - she became the first Spanish woman to be nominated for a best actress Academy Award for a non-English speaking role.
DERN TOOTIN {123A Laura on her horn? (1991)}
THER ON ROOM {126A Charlize's bedchamber? (2003, 2005)} - The first acting Oscar winner from South Africa was Charlize Theron as Best Actress for Monster (2003). In the same year, Theron and Djimon Hounsou were the first African-born performers to be nominated for an Oscar. ...Theron won the Best Actress Oscar as a serial-killer prostitute.
BASSETT HOUND {34A Angela's dog? (1993)} - Gratuitous plug for Thursday Night Bassett Blogging & Sunday Night Puppy Blogging
WATTS COOKING {39A Dishes from Naomi's kitchen? (2003)}


WORD SIBLINGS: _ORE
My last square was the M of MORE {3D Added}/ERMA {1A Aretha's gospel singing sister}. Since my total lack of cool &/or musical knowledge prevented me from checking the cross, I ran thru the possibles for _ORE. I got 11: BORE, CORE, FORE, GORE, LORE, MORE, PORE, SORE, TORE, WORE, YORE. The Million Word Crossword Answer Book by Stanley Newman and Daniel Stark [2007 Collins 2008] added two more [p33]: DORE {French painter} [p1196] & VORE {Eater: Comb. form} [p1265 ].


It's a Small, Small Puzzle World: ERMA
Appeared again in the Sunday NYT [3/7/10] {57A Franklin who sang “Piece of my Heart.”}. Sister Aretha may get the press, but Erma gets the crossword puzzles.


Admissions of Defeat: 1
Phooey, phooey, phooey. I was so proud of myself for catching a mistake that would have ruined a perfect round. In pondering possible pithy comments, I would explain the mysterious PLe. I figured {65A Abba's group} was the Swedish congress, the Swedish music national academy, or whatever. Hmmm. Dunno who Abba is, but PLO works and CROAK makes more sense than CReAK as {54D Swamp sound}. Yippee. Although I got done early, I waited for the answers to be up before claiming my smashing victory. Darn. The San Francisco airport {51A N. Cal. Hub} is SFO not SFa and ADOPT works as well as ADaPT {36D Start using}.

Went down in a – for me – quick hour & ½ during a bout of insomnia Thursday night. Maybe I should get up in the middle of the night more often – despite the vowel confusion.


ACPT Countdown Clock: 378 days
I'm having trouble find a link or on-screen clock that is accepted and allows me to edit. So, for now the hand-cranked version. From Friday March 5, 2010, to March 18, 2011.

Likelihood of my attendance at the ACPT: 80% for the moment. Found a friend who said she'd go if I would. I'll settle down to a more realistic number soon but a compatriot is good for at least a 10% overall gain.

Katherine Walcott
Puzzle Fan