Tuesday, October 31, 2017

7:58

I got a BOOST on the solve today by having read the article about MARTIN LUTHER in this week's New Yorker two minutes before starting the puzzle. Talk about quelle coïncidence! The theme answers went in like a hot knife through butter. If I had to pick a favorite theme answer, I would choose INDULGENCES - not the Catholic Church kind, but the fine-dark-chocolate-and-coffee or onion-dip-and-Sunday-Night-Football kind.

Other supporting religion-related fill included APRIL (Easter's month, usually), HIJAB, AVE, DOGMA, and LIE. ;)

We got a couple of yuks at 4D "French bean? (TETE), 46D "Post production?" (CEREAL), and my favorite, 56D. "Newspaper piece that always starts at the end? (OBIT) - ha! A nice twist on an old chestnut. I also liked MAPLE, RIOTS, RAGER, PUGETSOUND, and WINERIES.

There were a few more things "that are Ceasar's" in the puzzle than IDIG like IAMS, AER Lingus, NESTEA, ATARI, PAM, and TCM, but others may not AGREE.

It's time to put on your Sunday best because solving times at the head of the review are going to take a NOSEDIVE starting tomorrow when our esteemed co-blogger Mr. Amory takes over.

Peace out.

~Frannie.

Monday, October 30, 2017, Jay Kaskel

6:05

A fun holiday-themed puzzle today featuring common phrases re-clued to be appropriate for witches. My favorite was Computer help for a witch? (SPELLCHECK), but Educational institution for witches? (CHARMSCHOOL) had its own appeal.

Mr. Kaskel also managed to scare up some nice theme-related fill including
EERIE, HAGS, EVIL, and maybe even ALARM and PARA had they been clued differently. Hell even made an appearance, although only on the clue side (24D). I've seen the movie "The Ghost and Mrs. MUIR," but I know that title best from the TV series version that my sister and I watched regularly when we were young.

This being a Monday, the puzzle was thin on tricks, but other treats included PERT, HEARHEAR, and PARSE. And, you'd think it was Huygen's BIRTHDAY today with so many answers he's bound to enjoy like TOPLESS, KEG, and REDS.

Both DEKE(S) and CSPOT(S) make it in for the second day in a row. On my watch, OWIE is still in the lead with three consecutive appearances.

We take our puzzles the way we might be forced to accept a witch, WARTSANDALL. In this grid the warts are few, but ACERS "Super tennis servers" at 48A gave me a fright.

Happy Halloween!

~Frannie.

Sunday, October 29, 2017, Ross Trudeau

Going Off Script

Generally, it's do a puzzle, review a puzzle, forget a puzzle, but today, thanks to Mr. Trudeau (and Sir Elton John and Tim Rice), I can't get HAKUNAMATATA out of my head. Fortunately, I'll be seeing a production of "The Pirates of Penzance" this afternoon. I'm hopeful that will force a reset.

Today's theme answers come in pairs that feature signature quotes from movies and a companion noun formed with the name of the actor that speaks the quote plus the word LINE. So, the aforementioned Hakuna Matata is a LANELINE because Nathan Lane (among others) says it in "The Lion King." Once you discover the pattern, the theme answers are easy prey. My favorite is SHOWMETHEMONEY and its partner CRUISELINE. This one's a little more interesting because Carnival has a number of possible meanings, especially with the hidden capital. But, I don't have to tell you that.

I love the word VAPID (69A) but I found the clue Uninspired. :) TOKEN and CALICO are both nice. (73A and 86D). Small beam (90A) for GRIN was cute. I am sucker for your language-related clues, so I enjoyed 110A "Language in which the first four cardinal numbers are ane, twa, three, and fower (SCOTS). So like us.

Is it my imagination, or is there a sci-fi/space theme with ORION, PHASERS,  LTSULU, and REDSTAR?


via GIPHY

I typed in LEHI (Where Samson slew the Philistines) shortly after I input its anagram, ELHI, everybody's favorite designation for the K-12 school years. Maybe a constructor could try "Greeting in Franglais" to squeeze in LEHI. In any case, both combinations are in good company here with such old chestnuts as ASTI, ESE, AGT, ADA, ERS, ETNA, YUP, ALE, EPEE, FED, ONEAS, etc. :)

Hakuna matata.

~Frannie.

Saturday, October 28, 2017, Roland Huget

41:21

I looked at the statistics in my puzzle app today. I am not a fast puzzle solver, but I do seem to be getting faster, which is encouraging. Although, I'm not exactly sure why I want to spend less time on my one puzzle a day. I also noticed that my times show a definite increase across the days of the week. But, in my case, Thursday is my least improved. I should probably have broached this subject on a Thursday, but I don't have any Thursdays left in my current review slot. Come Wednesday, there will be a new sheriff in town. And he's fast. :) Anyhoo, that's not why I called you all here.

There was some good stuff in this puzzle including GOITALONE, OVENREADY, and EXCELSIOR. That's a great word.

In the funny/clever categoire:
5D. "M," e.g. (NASAL) - the capital had me thinking 007 for a while
33A. PAPERY (thin and dry) - nice for Halloweekend
34A. MOONIE - I thought immediately of the movie "Airplane"
56A. TENTDRESS - It sounds frumpy, but I Googled it and some people seem able to pull it off, so to speak.
40D. Enjoy the music, say (GROOVE) - I dig.
43D. It can get the blood flowing (STENT) - Har.
48D. Awards for Best Play and others (ESPYS). At first I entered TonYS. Ha!
52A. LOSEASTEP for "Get older and slower" was apt, sadly apt.

18A. "'The Sound of Music' name" (along with the corresponding downs, obviously) had me stumped for a while. I tried Greta, Liesl (probably not spelled accurately), and Maria, and then I realized it as was a TRAPP. Ha!

I was able to drop ESTES Kefauver right in to 55A because I had just read his name in a "New Yorker" over coffee. Quelle coincidence!

I have played a lot of cards in my time, but never euchre, so 20A (Jack of the trump suit, in euchre) was a no go without crosses. When I got BOWER from the downs, I was intrigued. From the Wikipedia entry for euchre, I learned that euchre "is the game responsible for introducing the joker into modern packs; this was invented around 1860 to act as a top trump or best bower (from the German word Bauer, 'farmer', denoting also the jack)." Fun fact.

Thanks to the interesting grid pattern today, we had only two three letter words. One abbreviation (CWT) and the first name of an actor I've never heard of - my apologies to UGO Tognazzi. Another feature of the grid pattern meant that there were only four squares shared between the corner blocks, essentially creating four small puzzles. Our esteemed co-blogger, Mr. Amory, is not going to like that. :)

There were some entries that I thought came ABEAM. In the humdrum category I suggest 52A. Some old Ford cars, briefly (MERCS), 7D. Echo (REVOICE), and 26D. Markings on a theater stage (TAPELINES). There were also two entries a little out of reasonable USAGE range, IMHO: ARILS and ANTAE.

~Frannie.

Friday, October 27, 2017, David Steinberg

19:00

A solid puzzle today with plenty of long fill. Three stacks of tens at the top left and bottom right, plus two sixteen running top to bottom in the west and east. A number of the clues were entertaining including 1A Line judge? PALMREADER, 43A Noted evictee (ADAM), and "Something that's had its head turned? (EMOTICON). My favorite answer is EMBITTERED, which reminds me of Strindberg and Helium: F & S. As for the sixteens, GETANAFOREFFORT was better than LINKEDINPROFILE, but I could DIG both. 

I got a good start with PEPYS, whose diary I am reading intermittently. EPICFAIL is always nice to see written down, if not to experience. The shout out to Somerville at 28D (EDT), which I'm going to assume refers to the city in MA, helps me overlook the otherwise uninteresting crosswordese. While it's true that EEL has also slipped in, but I confess I've grown quite fond of eel - in a puzzle setting - and I miss it when it's away for a long time. The clue at 63D, "Letters for the detail averse" (TMI) struck me as particularly APP. APP! And speaking of, it's always nice to have KRUSTY make an appearance.

I had quite a time of it with 24D. I started with rUST, then took it out because I wanted Skin for 23A (Fruit throwaway), then went to dUST to accommodate SeEd after I got LINKEDINPROFILE, then finally got to MUST and STEM. Fun! I notice that this puzzle also has a two-part clue whose parts were next to each other as the app flies: ONE PLAYER. Sweet.

The shape of this grid allowed for some robust long answers, but REAPed AFEW less fabulous short answers like ISP, EDU, SGT, WBA, and JEN. And no one likes a FEE, but I do like a NUT.

~Frannie.

Thursday, October 26, 2017, Jacob Stulberg

39:43
FWOE

When it comes to information about the world's volcanoes and their relative positions on the earth, I'm sorry to say my notebook couldn't be more MTE. On the other hand, I do know a lot about TI[MTE]BOW, so I was still able to solve the puzzle, albeit at a rather sedate pace and with one error. I guessed wrong at the cross between Norfolk Southern and others: Abbr. (44D) and46A "Bandstand Boogie" bandleader Larry (ELGART). I guessed RtS for 44D, but with a little more thinking after the "Almost there" message, I realized RRS was wanted.

The theme charms and amuses me. I love it that the name of MTEREBUS has the word rebus right in it. What could be more apt for a rebus puzzle? Apt!

Of the theme answers, the clue for FORTSU[MTE]R was my favorite (Site of a famous opening shot). And, although not one of my personal strengths, I liked the clue (Not remain aloof) and answer (MIX) at 35D.

The clue that surprised me the most today was "Courageous and energetic sort, they say" (ARIES). I don't know that I've ever seen a clue based on alleged characteristics of an astrological sign before. I would never have gotten it without crosses. I'm guessing Horace enjoyed it. And possibly 39A (TIS) as well.

I didn't enjoy the clue for 1A at all (Doesn't lose) and the answer is no prize either (HAS). It's fine, but it's certainly not fine. I also thought the cluing Smell like for REEKOF at 49D was a little off.

~Frannie.

Wednesday, October 25, 2017, Jules P. Markey

12:14

It looks like Mr. Markey heeded Wall Street's urging: each type of bank embedded in the theme answers is broken up across at least two of the words in the answer. The admonishment is APT! SOLDATALOSS spans the most words at three and contains my favorite bank of the ones in the puzzle. People who know me know I am generally a big fan of banks. I like storing my coins therein. I am OK with breaking up big bank conglomerates, but I don't like to break an individual bank, except a snow bank. I love kicking snow banks apart in the spring when they start to melt. But I OGRES.

The two long down answers, CRIMEWAVE and FIREDANCE, were both strong. And it was nice to see good ole MERV Griffin make an appearance. He was a fixture of the television of my youth.

By Yodalica (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)]

There wasn't much I was ASSAD to see in here, although the non-theme fill was somewhat heavy on the crosswordese (OAS, NEA, TSA, EKE, ILIA, EMU, AGA). Maybe the cluing could have been a little bit SLYER. Perhaps that's what tomorrow's puzzle will bring.

~Frannie.