Saturday, November 30, 2019, Joe Deeney

22:16

The trend continues. My Saturday time is the fastest of the turn this week. Strange but true! Today's time might have been even faster, but I got hung up on two squares that I eventually made (correct!) guesses for. As a casual viewer of the Marvel Comics, the actual name of Thor's hammer never struck home, so I was left to wonder if the first letter for the answer to 45D: "Went over," was d, l, or, R as in READ. My other problem was the cross between 42A: "'Abyssinia'" and 26D: "Compensate for something?" I had _ATA and REMI_. I wanted the correct REMIT, but at first I couldn't figure out why TATA was right. But then I did. :)

But I'm getting ahead of myself. My first pass through the puzzle evoked only STROP, LAERTES, BENE, BETTY, and TRACY. Thanks to the concentration of known items in the northeast, I focused on that section first. A few educated guesses later, plus a small assist from recently selling a Bruce Springsteen concert t-shirt on eBay, helped me make short work of that section. DABAT sure is odd-looking. 

The sections of the grid are compartmentalized today so it's almost like four separate little puzzles. That meant that completing the northeast didn't give me much of a leg up on other nearby sections, so I headed to the southwest. Adding DAWN and ICING to the already-in-place BETTY provided the ENERGY I needed to put the hammer most of the way down on that section. ADAMSRIB for "Biblical starting material" is humorous.

From there, it was on to the southeast. I was able to put in BANTAMS off the B in BENE, and after I filled in EWERS for "Some still-life fixtures" I was able to get the amusing ESTATELAW for "Subject of passing interest?"

Next stop: the northwest passage. I tried "wonka" for "Eponymous candy man," which fortunately was 100% incorrect, so it came out quickly. Once I paired REESE with TRACY, I could see the clever ESCAPEKEY ("It gets pushed in a corner"), and the enjoyably weird-looking ZEROESOUT. ARTCLASS for "Where one might be graded on a curve?"  is also nice.

Then, as discussed above, I had to address those two blanks in the center before I could finally CEYLON to the "Congratulations!" message.

Well, we've come to the end of another fine week of puzzles. I hope you've enjoyed it as much as I have. As I pass the review baton to our esteemed co-blogger Colum Amory, I have only one thing to say, TATA, TTYL, and Our feet are stained!

~Frannie.

Friday, November 29, 2019, Sam Buchbinder

22:24, FWOE

Today's time, even with a FWOE, is one second faster than yesterday's. I'm blaming a heavy dose of tryptophan.

MEIR OCCURred down in the southeastern-most point. Despite the frequency with which it appears in a puzzle, I can never remember the "Mount in Greek mythology." I vaguely recollected that it takes the form of [vowel] SS [vowel], but I made the mistake of entering guesses for the vowels and blithely moved on. One guess turned out to be incorrect, sadly. It's OSSA not aSSA. Derp. Had I recognized the birth name of BONO, this would never have happened.

After that sad bit, INEEDALIFT. LETS move on to a selection of fun clues and answers:
"Something to hold while waiting" (TRAY)
"Raked in the chips" (WONBIG)
"Overjoy" (SEND)
"Food product that's good even if it's cracked" (WHEAT)
and my favorite, "Twice-committed crime?" (BIGAMY) - ha!

We are treated to a self-referential clue at 49A:"It's found at the start of this clue" (CAPITALI). For some reason, this one seemed fairly obvious to me. On the other hand, I was totally duped by "Organization that Jordan was once part of" (BULLS) - ha! My focus on the country rather than the basketball player, plus a few other answers in that section, SLOEd me down.

LOVEPOTION is nice fill, but I didn't find the clue so enchanting ("Fantasy concoction"). And although I didn't really like the answer IMTHEWORST ("Ugh, totally my fault!") and "Grow nearer to bedtime" (LATEN) doesn't pass my SMELLTEST, the GEMS keep me looking forward to MORETOCOME.

~Frannie.

Thursday, November 28, 2019, Timothy Polin

22:25

OJAI everyone. Let's talk turkey about today's puzzle because that's what I'm full of. Well, that and pie. Lots of pie. Mmmm, pie...

The puzzle's theme features JOHNNYCASH (17A "The Man in Black") and its trick is conveyed by the title of his hit song, RINGOFFIRE (17-Across hit ... or a hint to four connected answers in this puzzle). Four entries form a square in the center of the puzzle, each of which needs the word "fire" to complete it so that it matches its clue. Thus, "Candies that make your mouth burn" are [Fire]BALLS, "Big name in tires is [Fire]STONE, "Performance with twirling torches" is [Fire]DANCE, and my favorite, "Agitator seeking radical change" is [Fire]BRAND. JOAQUIN PHOENIX, who was nominated for an Oscar for his role as Johnny Cash, also plays a part in the theme. 

The one connection I can tenuously establish between today's puzzle and today's holiday (Thanksgiving) is that one uses a RINGOFFIRE to cook many of the day's signature dishes. I myself used one to boil potatoes earlier in the day. Mmmm, potatoes...

Perhaps because I have food on the brain, and elsewhere, I noticed a number of victuals in the grid including STEW, SOY, ZITI, ICEWINE, OFFAL, CRAB, and ONAROLL. Mmmm, rolls...

Here's hoping a controlled ring of fire helped EWES and yours enjoy good food and good company at LACASA today. Also, on this holiday, I think it only right that we offer a SHO of appreciation to all the puzzle constructors and editors out there who always give USS somethin' ALIKE. Thanks!

~Frannie.

Wednesday, November 27, 2019, Matthew Sewell and Jeff Chen

11:41

A remarkably multi-faceted theme today! Circles, shaded squares, grid shape, and thematic content all contribute to the puzzle's a veritable smorgasbord of theme material. We have four herbs, DILL, CHIVES, MINT, and SAGE appearing in shaded squares, each "growing" up from a POT formed by black squares filled with the circled letters S E E D. And if that's not enough, the whole is, topped, front and center, by the SUN. Beautiful. Maybe there's even a little bonus theme material with an UPSY-daisy sprouting off to the side?

Other excellent entries spice up the rest of the grid. "Apple cores, for short" (CPUS) is a very good clue. I enjoyed seeing LOTTE Lenya of old "Mack the Knife" fame, although she was probably known for something else before that song was written. All the long down answers are very good, with PECCADILLOES probably being my favorite, although I do enjoy an ALPINELODGE when I can get one. Also, how weird looking an entry is EMUEGG?

I am anticipating an entirely different kind of GROWTHPOTENTIAL for myself tomorrow as I over indulge in all sorts of deliciousness. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

~Frannie.

Tuesday, November 26, 2019, Olivia Mitra Framke

7:08

My time today was faster than yesterday's by almost a full minute, lending further support to the idea that yesterday was a more difficult than usual Monday.

Today's theme is a regular house of cards. We get three grid-spanning entries that contain the names of tarot cards within common phrases or titles, including THETOWEROFBABEL, THEDEVILYOUKNOW, and THESUNALSORISES. Taking advantage of the cards on the table, the revealer, also a fifteen, is "One examining the starts of 17-, 27- and 28-Across," or TAROTCARDREADER. It's nice that the last theme answer features the Sun, which, according to the Wikipedia, represents good things and positive outcomes to current struggles. What could be more apt for puzzle solvers? Apt!

Elsewhere in the puzzle, Ms. Framke played her cards right by doling out a number of fine clue/answer pairs, including a couple of jokers.
"Mad Libs prompt" (NOUN)
"Walk lurchingly" (REEL)
"Frosted flakes?" (SNOW)
"Leaves home?" (TREE) - ha!

Fun fill like DATA, APOP, SPONGY, and HUNCH only sweetened the deal.

The clue at 43A: "Wasn't naturally" (ACTED) struck me as a bit of a wild card, but I was still able to divine the answer.

A fun puzzle overall. I predict a ROSY future in puzzle construction for Ms. Framke!

~Frannie.

Monday, November 25, 2019, Daniel Mauer

8:04

I couldn't figure out today's theme based only on the first theme answer, SNACKATTACK, but I got the knack by the time I completed the third one, CRACKISWACK. BACKONTRACK, and the cool-looking YACKETYYACK complete the pack.

I solved the puzzle in the usual top-left-to-bottom-right order, and found I enjoyed it more as I went along. In looking over the puzzle for this review, I noticed that most of my favorite fill and clue/answer pairs were in the Downs - to wit: SARTRE, DRIP (Insipid one), BATIK, SABOTAGE, CHARMS, ROVERS, and CHAT. Coincidence? I don't think so.

I can't pinpoint the particulars, but this played a little slower for me than many a recent Monday. NADIR didn't leap to mind for "Very bottom" at 1A. It didn't help that I dunno who IDINA Menzel is. Nor did I know that PINETAR was a "Batter's grip-enhancing goo." Perhaps those lacks contributed to my slower PACE.

Not to give Mr. Mauer too much flack, but there was quite a stack of not-so-NEATO abbreviations through which to hack - ATA, AKA, MRI, NOS, and NES, and MRI - plus more tucked inside longer fill like ETCETC and SAIDOK. Also, if there are any AYE votes for 50A: "Muscles used in pull-ups, informally" (BIS) I'd be surprised. You can count me as ONENO on that front.

~Frannie.

Sunday, November 24, 2019, Frank Longo

OPEN WIDE

If it looks like a themeless and solves like a themeless, then guess what, Dear Reader, it is a themeless! And not only that, it's a bit of a stunt puzzle too, because (and yes, I learned this from xwordinfo.com) it has the fewest answers of any NYT Sunday puzzle to date - just 122. Which explains the title.

We've been seeing Mr. Longo's name in Games magazine for decades, so when I met him in person at my first A.C.P.T., I expected a grizzled old figure, but he looks at least ten years younger than me. Same with Mr. Fagliano. For some reason, when I first saw his name I began picturing him as sort of a Vincent Price-like character. Turns out he looks like a kid just out of college. Either creating puzzles keeps you looking very young, or I'm just not very good at picturing people. Maybe a little of both.

I often think that puzzle themes are overrated. Sure, a theme can be very clever, but for me it's separate from the fundamental joy of crosswords, which is the simple structure of clues and answers slowly helped along by the intersecting words. And when I say "theme," I don't mean "trick." Rebus squares, shape-shifting words crawling up or down, assumed letters that "appear" outside of the grid... these kinds of tricks are great. It's the word ladders, the "every last word can have this word added to it" or "is a part of this set," or "find the hidden word in this other word." That type of thing. I mean, it's fine, and usually it's fun enough, but I guess what I'm saying is that I don't need it to enjoy a crossword puzzle. Perhaps I'm just a simple guy.

So how was this themeless? Pretty good. I like the chunky corners with their 11- and 9-stacks, and the long, staggered entries in the middle were good too. There are lots of colorful answers like TIEDYEING, PRISONESCAPE, JEALOUSY, SLAKES, TOOKTOTHESLOPES (and the related SLALOM (Event that usually has gate crashers?) (great clue)), and I even liked METAANALYSES. But as with any "lowest word count" stunt puzzle, you're going to encounter things like COCCUS, TRIODE, ROADSTEAD, CLARO, and SAAR.

I credit Bruce Haight with making me see the light on stunt puzzles. Early in my reviewing career (if I can dare to call it a career), I savaged one of his stunt puzzles. When I met him at the following A.C.P.T., we talked about it and he defended the stunt puzzle as pushing the boundaries. Such experimentation is necessary to keep the field from stagnating. And really, when NASA pushes the boundaries, sometimes people end up getting killed. When crossword constructors push the boundaries, solvers end up learning new words, or gaining a new understanding of some kind.

I'll leave it there.

Congratulations, Mr. Longo, on this achievement. I hope we can look forward to at least a few more Sunday themelesses, whether they push boundaries or not, in the coming years.

- Horace