1:12:15
Tell us, did you also get bogged down in the NE? Frannie thinks that others will just rip through that quadrant, but I'm not so sure. I still don't really understand CLUSTERED (11D: Nearly set?). I kept thinking of concrete, but you couldn't say that that ever gets "clustered." I suppose you could say that runners at the start of a race are "clustered" around the starting line before "Set" is called, but is that fair cluing? What, dear reader, am I missing? Also, it didn't help that we had "moAn" for 11A: Kvetch (CRAB) for quite a while, and "ACTiii" instead of ACTTWO (24A: Setting for many reprises). Luckily, though, I knew TAMARIND (33A: Ingredient in Worcestershire sauce) from a GAMES magazine scavenger hunt that ran probably 30 years ago, at least. I think they asked for a food product that included both anchovies and tamarind. It's funny what things stick in your brain. Anyway, Frannie finally got the very nice ALLOWANCE (13D: Minor payment), and I pulled LILO (15A: Disney title character surnamed Pelekai) out of nowhere, and then we still fought for probably twenty minutes before I got UGLY (18A: Hostile). I then put in BOYWONDER (14D: Early riser?) because it fit, not because I understood the clue. I actually removed it before handing it over to Frannie, because I couldn't defend it and didn't want to embarrass myself. About a minute later, she handed it back to me with the "Well Done" message displayed. SHOW (21A: Lose one's place?) (hmm... I get it (horse racing), but that's a toughie) and the aforementioned CRAB were, I think, the last to fall.
In spite of our difficulties, and, really, also partly because of them, we enjoyed this puzzle. A good Saturday should have you scratching your head for a while. There was plenty of fun stuff, too, starting right at 1A: 1960s sitcom character with the catchphrase "I see nothing!" (SGTSCHULTZ). That went in immediately. As did TATIN (3D: Tarte ____ (French apple dessert). All that watching of Jacques Pépin is finally paying off! And speaking of Jacques, he would surely scoff at anyone making omelets using a hinged pan! (31D: Cookware that's often hinged (OMELETPAN)).
I never remember that 15A: Pitchblende, e.g. is a URANIUMORE until all the crosses pretty much force it. Love the words PAEAN (26A: Elated outpouring) and BUSHWHACK (29D: Clear one's way, in a way), and HATH (51A: Verb in the world's first telegraph message) was a fun bit of trivia. ("What hath God wrought?") "Wrought" would have been better, frankly. I'll put that into the notebook for our future crossword constructions.
I thought the Watergate was a hotel, not an apartment building, but I could be wrong about that. And if I were doing this alone, I'd still be scratching my head about ARGYLESOCK (61A: Accent for plus fours, often). Frannie tells me that the "plus fours" are a type of pant. According to the Wikipedia, "Plus-fours are breeches or trousers that extend 4 inches below the knee, and thus four inches longer than traditional knickerbockers, hence the name." So there you go.
Overall, a lot of interesting, fun, and hard clues with very little slop. A good Saturday.
- Horace
Saturday, November 30, 2013
Friday, November 29, 2013
Friday, November 29, 2013, Ned White
0:42:12
Loved it. Great start (and finish) with the bookended PUDDYTAT (1A: Carton canary's bane) and MELBLANC (58A: Voice of 1-Across). You know, Dad took me to see Mel Blanc speak at Clark University long ago. He was great. But you knew he would be.
I'm gonna say there was no slop today. Even the threes were enjoyable, from the rare variant ETD (18A: Gate announcement, briefly) to the well-clued URL (54D: It might end in "mil"), and I even remembered ASU (49A: Sun Devil Stadium's sch.)! There was a PILE (1D: Ton) of clever clueing, starting right off with the first down pair of "Ton" and 2D: Ton, e.g. (UNIT). And 8D: It has eight neighbors: Abbr. (TENN) sets one up for the tricky 49D: Mont. neighbor (ALTA). Well, ok, there's the one piece of junk. The clue is tricky (because, come on, who ever thinks of Canada?!), and I suppose that's short for "Alberta," but I've never seen that abbreviation before.
NODUH (32A: "That is so obvious!") was a good one. Frannie exclaimed "They're going there?" when she filled that one in, but we both like that they did. Some side-by-side cryptic-type cluing with 15D: Delta lead-in (CHARLIE) and 9D: Stars and stripes, say (PLURALS), and we liked how the "Stars and stripes" clue paired nicely with 12D: Hammer and sickle holder, maybe (SHED) (Fantastic!). Also, what about 38D: One shot in a cliffhanger? (JREWING). It's all so good. So tight.
It went along smoothly and happily until we ground to a halt in the SW corner. We KNEW that "Pope" was too easy an answer for 46D: John Paul II, e.g., but we couldn't help ourselves, and that really threw a wrench into 55A: Ray Charles's Georgia birthplace (ALBANY), which I kept thinking I should recognize, but which I couldn't see when it was "AP__NY." Finally, we agreed that REORG sounded good for 57A: Inc. magazine topic, and things came together. ALAR (47D: Creator of bad apples?) though? Is that because it tastes bad? I actually tried "Alum" here, influenced, I think, by the Warner Brothers cartoon references. Oh, wait, I just looked it up... it was banned for fears that it caused cancer. Got it.
Strangest trivia fill - DIAN (19A: Longtime model Parkinson of "The Price is Right"). Who knows that?
OK, we could probably go on and on, and I'm sure I missed great clue/answer pairs, but suffice it to say, we thoroughly enjoyed this one. Great vacation-day puzzle!
- Horace
Loved it. Great start (and finish) with the bookended PUDDYTAT (1A: Carton canary's bane) and MELBLANC (58A: Voice of 1-Across). You know, Dad took me to see Mel Blanc speak at Clark University long ago. He was great. But you knew he would be.
I'm gonna say there was no slop today. Even the threes were enjoyable, from the rare variant ETD (18A: Gate announcement, briefly) to the well-clued URL (54D: It might end in "mil"), and I even remembered ASU (49A: Sun Devil Stadium's sch.)! There was a PILE (1D: Ton) of clever clueing, starting right off with the first down pair of "Ton" and 2D: Ton, e.g. (UNIT). And 8D: It has eight neighbors: Abbr. (TENN) sets one up for the tricky 49D: Mont. neighbor (ALTA). Well, ok, there's the one piece of junk. The clue is tricky (because, come on, who ever thinks of Canada?!), and I suppose that's short for "Alberta," but I've never seen that abbreviation before.
NODUH (32A: "That is so obvious!") was a good one. Frannie exclaimed "They're going there?" when she filled that one in, but we both like that they did. Some side-by-side cryptic-type cluing with 15D: Delta lead-in (CHARLIE) and 9D: Stars and stripes, say (PLURALS), and we liked how the "Stars and stripes" clue paired nicely with 12D: Hammer and sickle holder, maybe (SHED) (Fantastic!). Also, what about 38D: One shot in a cliffhanger? (JREWING). It's all so good. So tight.
It went along smoothly and happily until we ground to a halt in the SW corner. We KNEW that "Pope" was too easy an answer for 46D: John Paul II, e.g., but we couldn't help ourselves, and that really threw a wrench into 55A: Ray Charles's Georgia birthplace (ALBANY), which I kept thinking I should recognize, but which I couldn't see when it was "AP__NY." Finally, we agreed that REORG sounded good for 57A: Inc. magazine topic, and things came together. ALAR (47D: Creator of bad apples?) though? Is that because it tastes bad? I actually tried "Alum" here, influenced, I think, by the Warner Brothers cartoon references. Oh, wait, I just looked it up... it was banned for fears that it caused cancer. Got it.
Strangest trivia fill - DIAN (19A: Longtime model Parkinson of "The Price is Right"). Who knows that?
OK, we could probably go on and on, and I'm sure I missed great clue/answer pairs, but suffice it to say, we thoroughly enjoyed this one. Great vacation-day puzzle!
- Horace
Thursday, November 28, 2013
Thursday, November 28, 2013, Loren Muse Smith and Jeff Chen
0:35:09
Happy Thanksgiving, reader! Frannie and I hosted for nine, and had a wonderful time. It's a miracle, really, that I'm still conscious, but while I am, I will make use of these final waking moments to review the puzzle that Frannie and I did together late last night.
First off, the 14x16 grid looked very odd on the iPad mini. It didn't fit into the space allotted to it, and in the margins is visible blurred text, as though the puzzle were merely scanned from the paper itself and simply inserted into the software. That's not the case, I don't think, which makes the newsprint odder still. But that's really quite immaterial, is it not?
The SNAKESONAPLANE (61A: Cult classic whose title is depicted four times in this puzzle) seems a little ill-advised on a weekend when half the country is travelling, but the execution, with "ASP" appearing directly over different types of flying machines, is kind of cute. The fill, however, was not my favorite. PAS (1A: Not for the Parti Québecois?), for starters, bothered me. "Pas?" I'm no native speaker, but it just doesn't seem right to me. Wouldn't "Contre" be better? And then ISPS (4A: Comcast and CenturyLink, in brief), ETAS (8A: Terminal info), ODE (12A: Words of praise), and RIAA (13A: Org. that fought Napster) (?) all right in a row? That's not a great start.
The clues for HANGGLIDER (34A: One interested in current affairs?) and SEMINARY (41D: School at which students are collared?) were nice, and I always enjoy a chess-type clue like 6D: Future queen, maybe (PAWN). Also, I learned a little about old toothpaste brands and the name of yet another small antelope. But even with all that, and a nice Latin clue (63D: Bellum's opposite (PAX)), I still found this puzzle bland and full of crosswordese. I think maybe they figure a lot of people won't be doing this puzzle because they will be, as I will be in a minute or two, lying on the couch in a food coma.
- Horace
Happy Thanksgiving, reader! Frannie and I hosted for nine, and had a wonderful time. It's a miracle, really, that I'm still conscious, but while I am, I will make use of these final waking moments to review the puzzle that Frannie and I did together late last night.
First off, the 14x16 grid looked very odd on the iPad mini. It didn't fit into the space allotted to it, and in the margins is visible blurred text, as though the puzzle were merely scanned from the paper itself and simply inserted into the software. That's not the case, I don't think, which makes the newsprint odder still. But that's really quite immaterial, is it not?
The SNAKESONAPLANE (61A: Cult classic whose title is depicted four times in this puzzle) seems a little ill-advised on a weekend when half the country is travelling, but the execution, with "ASP" appearing directly over different types of flying machines, is kind of cute. The fill, however, was not my favorite. PAS (1A: Not for the Parti Québecois?), for starters, bothered me. "Pas?" I'm no native speaker, but it just doesn't seem right to me. Wouldn't "Contre" be better? And then ISPS (4A: Comcast and CenturyLink, in brief), ETAS (8A: Terminal info), ODE (12A: Words of praise), and RIAA (13A: Org. that fought Napster) (?) all right in a row? That's not a great start.
The clues for HANGGLIDER (34A: One interested in current affairs?) and SEMINARY (41D: School at which students are collared?) were nice, and I always enjoy a chess-type clue like 6D: Future queen, maybe (PAWN). Also, I learned a little about old toothpaste brands and the name of yet another small antelope. But even with all that, and a nice Latin clue (63D: Bellum's opposite (PAX)), I still found this puzzle bland and full of crosswordese. I think maybe they figure a lot of people won't be doing this puzzle because they will be, as I will be in a minute or two, lying on the couch in a food coma.
- Horace
Wednesday, November 27, 2013
Wednesday, November 27, 2013, Jules P. Markey
12:04 (Horace's time - we each did the puzzle on our own today)
It's time to talk turkey. And gravy, squash, and dressing. A real smörgåsbord. Clues ran from tough nuts to crack (at least for this reviewer) like 10D: LaCrosse, for one (BUICKSEDAN) to easy as pie (71A: "That threw me for a __" (ALOOP)). Being a Wednesday puzzle there wasn't a lot to sink one's teeth into, but one or two clues had me ruminating. In addition to car models (not in my wheelhouse), I have never seen LOOIES as slang for lieutenant (57A: Officers above sarges). Nor have I ever heard of Lisa LOEB (46A: with the 1997 hit "I Do"). I also first entered udon for SOBA (58A: Noodles in Japanese cookery), possibly because I have no idea what kind of noodle is what, but, the crosses kept me from having to eat crow and I was able to submit without error.
Some other nice food references to fill the plate: ORZO (59D: Rice-size pasta), 69A: Fillet (BONE), and 35D. Egg: Prefix (OVI), and one of Horace's favorites, QUIK (25D: Old Nestle brand).
A possible point of interest in light of yesterday's language discussion: there's not a single obviously French word in this food-themed puzzle, unless you count ETTE (62A: Suffix with Rock). We have ENERO (15D: Warm month in South America), and MEZZO (68A: Many an aria singer, informally) in addition to the above mentioned ORZO, mais pas de mots français. Sacre bleu!
And last, but not least, my favorite clue of the day: 54D: Body measurement (GIRTH). Perfect for Huygens and Thanksgiving Day.
~Frannie
It's time to talk turkey. And gravy, squash, and dressing. A real smörgåsbord. Clues ran from tough nuts to crack (at least for this reviewer) like 10D: LaCrosse, for one (BUICKSEDAN) to easy as pie (71A: "That threw me for a __" (ALOOP)). Being a Wednesday puzzle there wasn't a lot to sink one's teeth into, but one or two clues had me ruminating. In addition to car models (not in my wheelhouse), I have never seen LOOIES as slang for lieutenant (57A: Officers above sarges). Nor have I ever heard of Lisa LOEB (46A: with the 1997 hit "I Do"). I also first entered udon for SOBA (58A: Noodles in Japanese cookery), possibly because I have no idea what kind of noodle is what, but, the crosses kept me from having to eat crow and I was able to submit without error.
Some other nice food references to fill the plate: ORZO (59D: Rice-size pasta), 69A: Fillet (BONE), and 35D. Egg: Prefix (OVI), and one of Horace's favorites, QUIK (25D: Old Nestle brand).
A possible point of interest in light of yesterday's language discussion: there's not a single obviously French word in this food-themed puzzle, unless you count ETTE (62A: Suffix with Rock). We have ENERO (15D: Warm month in South America), and MEZZO (68A: Many an aria singer, informally) in addition to the above mentioned ORZO, mais pas de mots français. Sacre bleu!
And last, but not least, my favorite clue of the day: 54D: Body measurement (GIRTH). Perfect for Huygens and Thanksgiving Day.
~Frannie
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
Tuesday, November 26, 2013, Don Gagliardo and Zhouqin Burnikel
0:21:00
This starts out strong with, EDICT (1A: Decree), a nice ten-cent word (especially for a Tuesday). There's nice 70s TV trivia with DANNO (14A: "Hawaii Five-O" nickname) (popular this week, the 5-0), SPOCK (45A: "Live long and prosper" speaker), and SCOOBYDOO (23D: Shaggy's dog) (or was that the 80s?), and the theme is interesting, if a tad odd.
I've never heard of an ESCALATORCLAUSE (39A: Provision in many a construction contract), but maybe the Times has been hearing from a lot of construction workers who say there's not enough in the puzzles for them, and ECOTONE (37D: Transitional zone between plant communities) is also new to me, (ditto for landscape architects).
I liked BEAUTIFUL (11D: Stunning), and TOOTOO (5D: Pretentious, informally) and ITSAGO (43A: "We're on!") were both nice, current, in-the-language (as some say) phrases. Good clueing all around, especially for CELS (31D: Ones drawn to film?) and WOOD (67A: Covered club, usually).
Somebody ought to do a study on French in American crossword puzzles. It's been a while since it was the foreign language to take in school, right? So why not more Spanish? Today we've got two French and one Italian. Four French if you count OSIER (28A: Willow twig) and ESPRIT (25A: Quick wit), and, what the heck, let's throw in EDICT too. On second thought, maybe that comes straight from Latin, but anyway… all that to just one Spanish, and that's only if you count OAXACA (53A: Modern home of the ancient Zapotec civilization), which I don't, really.
All in all, an enjoyable Tuesday.
- Horace
This starts out strong with, EDICT (1A: Decree), a nice ten-cent word (especially for a Tuesday). There's nice 70s TV trivia with DANNO (14A: "Hawaii Five-O" nickname) (popular this week, the 5-0), SPOCK (45A: "Live long and prosper" speaker), and SCOOBYDOO (23D: Shaggy's dog) (or was that the 80s?), and the theme is interesting, if a tad odd.
I've never heard of an ESCALATORCLAUSE (39A: Provision in many a construction contract), but maybe the Times has been hearing from a lot of construction workers who say there's not enough in the puzzles for them, and ECOTONE (37D: Transitional zone between plant communities) is also new to me, (ditto for landscape architects).
I liked BEAUTIFUL (11D: Stunning), and TOOTOO (5D: Pretentious, informally) and ITSAGO (43A: "We're on!") were both nice, current, in-the-language (as some say) phrases. Good clueing all around, especially for CELS (31D: Ones drawn to film?) and WOOD (67A: Covered club, usually).
Somebody ought to do a study on French in American crossword puzzles. It's been a while since it was the foreign language to take in school, right? So why not more Spanish? Today we've got two French and one Italian. Four French if you count OSIER (28A: Willow twig) and ESPRIT (25A: Quick wit), and, what the heck, let's throw in EDICT too. On second thought, maybe that comes straight from Latin, but anyway… all that to just one Spanish, and that's only if you count OAXACA (53A: Modern home of the ancient Zapotec civilization), which I don't, really.
All in all, an enjoyable Tuesday.
- Horace
Monday, November 25, 2013
Monday, November 25, 2013, Kevin G. Der
0:06:06
Decent Monday theme and Monday puzzle. Nice nod to EDNA (19A: ___ Krabappel of "The Simpsons") who (Marcia Wallace) died recently. And the clue for PSIS (10A: Greek letters resembling tridents) in that same area was a nice change from a plain old "Greek letters," or the like. SIDEBENEFIT (11D: Secondary advantage) was a nice 11-letter entry, and the symmetrical 8s weren't bad either. My favorite of those was probably EXPELLED (9D: Kicked out).
All the bumper sticker starters were perfectly acceptable. We've all seen all of those.
Lots of little nuisances in the grid, with MITE, GNAT and ANTS, but no real complaints.
- Horace
Decent Monday theme and Monday puzzle. Nice nod to EDNA (19A: ___ Krabappel of "The Simpsons") who (Marcia Wallace) died recently. And the clue for PSIS (10A: Greek letters resembling tridents) in that same area was a nice change from a plain old "Greek letters," or the like. SIDEBENEFIT (11D: Secondary advantage) was a nice 11-letter entry, and the symmetrical 8s weren't bad either. My favorite of those was probably EXPELLED (9D: Kicked out).
All the bumper sticker starters were perfectly acceptable. We've all seen all of those.
Lots of little nuisances in the grid, with MITE, GNAT and ANTS, but no real complaints.
- Horace
Sunday, November 24, 2013
Sunday, November 24, 2013, Gary Cee
0:55:53
HITS AND MS.ES
This was a fun theme - song titles with women's names clued by referencing famous people with those last names. For example, COMEONEILEEN clued with 37A: "Hurry up, Ms. Brennan!" I'm not really sure who Eileen Brennan is, but I am quite familiar with the song. On the other hand, I'm not familiar with the song SARASMILE (55A: "Cheer up, Ms. Teasdale!"), but I am quite fond of the poetry of Sara Teasdale.
Nice little nod to the season with 1A: Parade organizer (MACYS), but the other Thanksgiving-related clue, 26A: Turkey isn't one (REDMEAT), seemed kind of flat. Same with 51A: Market makeup: Abbr. (COS), and why is AYEAYE clued with 66A: "Sí!" at sea? Why use the Spanish there? And why is Spanish not used for OLE (70A: "Hurrah!")? Is "Olé" just thought of as common enough crosswordese that it has lost all association with nationality? Probably. And while we're talking about nationalities, is BRITCOM (100A: "Absolutely Fabulous" or "Father Ted") really a thing? Not that we mind it, but we've never heard it before. And speaking of Britain, that seems to be where the term SHORTTON (5D: 2,000 pounds) is used. Over here, where this puzzle is published, we just say "ton."
Some clues we liked:
34A: Eight, for starters? (OCTO)
49A: Like some queens (APIAN)
42D: Older form of a word (ETYMON) Never heard that before, but it's interesting.
Overall, the clueing seemed either lackluster (118A: More Solomonic (WISER)), a little off (9D: Cuffed (SMOTE)) or very obscure (10D: ____ de Nil (EAU)). Not our favorite Sunday.
- Horace
HITS AND MS.ES
This was a fun theme - song titles with women's names clued by referencing famous people with those last names. For example, COMEONEILEEN clued with 37A: "Hurry up, Ms. Brennan!" I'm not really sure who Eileen Brennan is, but I am quite familiar with the song. On the other hand, I'm not familiar with the song SARASMILE (55A: "Cheer up, Ms. Teasdale!"), but I am quite fond of the poetry of Sara Teasdale.
Nice little nod to the season with 1A: Parade organizer (MACYS), but the other Thanksgiving-related clue, 26A: Turkey isn't one (REDMEAT), seemed kind of flat. Same with 51A: Market makeup: Abbr. (COS), and why is AYEAYE clued with 66A: "Sí!" at sea? Why use the Spanish there? And why is Spanish not used for OLE (70A: "Hurrah!")? Is "Olé" just thought of as common enough crosswordese that it has lost all association with nationality? Probably. And while we're talking about nationalities, is BRITCOM (100A: "Absolutely Fabulous" or "Father Ted") really a thing? Not that we mind it, but we've never heard it before. And speaking of Britain, that seems to be where the term SHORTTON (5D: 2,000 pounds) is used. Over here, where this puzzle is published, we just say "ton."
Some clues we liked:
34A: Eight, for starters? (OCTO)
49A: Like some queens (APIAN)
42D: Older form of a word (ETYMON) Never heard that before, but it's interesting.
Overall, the clueing seemed either lackluster (118A: More Solomonic (WISER)), a little off (9D: Cuffed (SMOTE)) or very obscure (10D: ____ de Nil (EAU)). Not our favorite Sunday.
- Horace
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