Tuesday, November 30, 2021, Billy Ouska

Sneaking this blog post in just under the wire...

This is an incredible theme. I just love it! Advertising for tournaments of specific games with re-imagined standard phrases. Thus, the Scrabble tournament gets a sign that says SITFORASPELL. What else are you doing when you're playing Scrabble? 

And how perfect is the Taboo tournament advertisement - DONTSAYAWORD! Indeed, you are not allowed to say specific words in a game of Taboo. So clever.

The LSAT and the MCAT tests both get into this grid, which along with OSHA are probably the only bits here I didn't love.

TITANIUM gets a nice clue to the ancient Greek myth of the precursors to ATHENA and the other Olympian gods, the Titans. Also, an NFL team in Nashville, but the element was named long before they came into existence. Another good clue is at 45D: Where you might bump into a metal fan (MOSHPIT) - metal, as in the genre of popular music.

8D: Wilde or Wilder (AUTHOR) is very nice as well. I like clues which play around with names this way. 

TSUNAMI?

Finally, the pair of clues at 3D: The beginning of the Hebrew world? (ALEPH) and 27D: The end of the Greek world? (OMEGA) are a fun pair. I'm not sure why it's the world in these clues, but it works well enough.

Fun Tuesday.

- Colum

Monday, November 29, 2021, Enrique Henestroza Anguiano

Shot out of a cannon from the get-go, on a Monday evening. So it seemed to make sense that the theme was about a RUNNINGSTART, three examples of phrases where the first word can be reinterpreted as a synonym for speeding along.

I like that each one fits the pattern "X of Y." Would it have been possible to throw in some wacky cluing so that hilarity might ensue? STREAKOFLUCK: a brief moment of good fortune at the casino? But no. I don't see that working right. See? I just solve puzzles. I don't make 'em.

The only answer I take issue with today is ONUSES. How many "burdens of proof" do you need to carry at any given time? Probably one. And the other issue is that the plural in Latin would be "onera." (Those third declension neuter nouns... flashbacks to fourth grade Latin class in Cambridge, England...)

I am amused by the idea of "Shaving Fun" KEN dolls. Did they grow hair for the aspiring beard sculptor wanna be hipsters of the future?

Apparently, the answer is yes. Count on your reliable blogger to do the research for you.

The award for best clue though, goes to 12D: Prez dispenser? (ATM). Hah!

Done in 2:56.

- Colum

Sunday, November 28, 2021, Jeff Kremer

GARAGE SALE PITCHES

Hey everybody! I hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving weekend. I certainly did, enjoying having both girls home after a quick trip down to NYC for the big feast. Unfortunately, I did have to drive my older daughter home to the city and then drive back today, and traffic was on the heavy side. A small price to pay to have everybody together, though.

Today's puzzle takes classic phrases associated with attracting the buyer to a sale, and applies them in silly ways to specific items you might (or in some cases, absolutely never would) find at a garage sale. It seems apt for this particular time of year. Everybody get your Cyber Monday deals tomorrow! Let's celebrate being American!

My favorite theme answers were 91A: Textbook, a few pages torn out, $2! (LIMITEDEDITION) and 43A: Baseball mitt, has a small hole, just $1! (DROPEVERYTHING). I feel like 68A: Guitar, never used, $15! (NOSTRINGSATTACHED) is missing a little from the clue to make it perfect. After all, most unused guitars will in fact come with strings. Similarly, I'm not clear on why 114A: Two fish tanks, accessories included, $5! (ROCKBOTTOMPRICES) is clued as being a pair. Perhaps the addition of the word "each" to the clue would have worked better.

But look at me, acting as if I could create a New York Times crossword puzzle. I mean, maybe I could. I've never really tried. Regardless, I'm just noting little inconsistencies because I get to, as the reviewer in charge today.

The fabulous Madeline KAHN

Some fun non-QMCs today, such as:

41A: What may cover some ground (AREARUG)

2D: It gets the lead out (ERASER)

70D: When you're about as smart as a fifth grader (AGETEN) - I love the literal nature of this one.

107D: Tours can be found on it (LOIRE) - as in the city in France, that is.

108D: Website with star ratings (IMDB)

Not too many LOWPOINTS, so I'll call this a fine Sunday.

- Colum

P.S. Congratulations to Mr. Kremer for his NYT debut!

Saturday, November 27, 2021, Trenton Charlson

A pinwheel of fun material today from the OLDTIMEY YELLOWPAGES (1886) to the more modern XERISCAPING (coined in 1981, according to the Wikipedia) with a lot of good stuff in between. I was surprised to find I had finished the puzzle in just under 22 minutes because the solve didn't seem particularly OOZIER than usual. I had the most trouble with what turned out to be my favorite clue: "Spot early on?" PUP - ha! It didn't help that the final Down cross was itself a little trixsy: "Rather inclined" (STEEP) - clever!

My other misstep was to misread "Collage application." I couldn't figure out how PASTE applied to a 'College' application. Derp. On the upside, thanks to all the Pearl S. Buck books I've read, I know about SUNTZU and SAMPANs. Interesting to see COINSLOT today ("It welcomes change"). Horace and I went to the bank yesterday and on the door was posted a sign claiming there is a nationwide coin shortage. What's up with that? Are they being used for crafts? Is everyone hoarding them for end days?

PIANOLAS

In other mysteries, I liked how the two grid-spanning entries - UNDERCOVERAGENT and THECOASTISCLEAR - kinda go together in an sneaky way. I also enjoyed "Act the cynic, maybe" (SCOFF), "Felt off" (AILED), "Realizes" (NETS), and "Vice principle" (SIN) - apt!

I would be remiss in my REVUE duties if I failed to mention the plentiful bits and bobs strewn about such as OSU, ESE, PREZ, ETTE, IPA, and CPA, but the BAILOUT here was the clever clueing, especially for latter three ("Kitchen extension", "Draft letters", "Book reviewer?"). You can't ASP for more than that. 

~Frannie.

Friday, November 26, 2021, Kate Hawkins

Interesting solve for me today. Several answers were in my mental memory banks, but it felt like they were waaaay in the back, if you see what I mean. I could almost feel them working their way out of the deepest filing cabinet drawers of my mind. Specifically, "Onetime chain that offered Free Battery Club memberships" (RADIOSHACK), "Best-selling heavy metal band named for a torture device" (IRONMAIDEN) - in my case, it was the torture device element of the clue that clicked, "Duo in an ellipse" (FOCI), "___ Yaga (folklore villain)" (BABA), and, very luckily for me, the name "Aimee SEMPLE McPherson because otherwise, I would still be working on the mid-southeast corner of the puzzle. I didn't immediately know the missing part of her name, it came out one letter at a time, almost like my mind was using a Ouija board. I had some of the other Across answers in the upper block including AREA and ALA (natch), but I couldn't catch on to any of the clever clues in that corner "The art of politics?" (PROPAGANDA), "Entitled sort" (LEGALOWNER), or "Desire of a quick study?" (EASYA) until I had the start letters from SEMPLE. 

Other clever clues included:

"Experts in English?" (POOLSHARKS) - nice.

"#1 dad?" (ADAM) - ha!

"Register" (TILL) - anyone else enter TeLL first?

"Stay good" (KEEP)

"Bit of a character" (TRAIT)

Fill-wise, there were these gems: BESOT, LAVISH, ABIDES, and NUMB - I've always liked that word, for some reason.

In the lower southeast block, possibly due to a personal distaste for the entire crustacean family, PRAWN for  "Cocktail tidbit" was a real stretch. And, unfortunately, as far as I could tell,  STRIKEPAY and ANNE Archer weren't in my data banks at all, but the real cause may be the ERRORPRONE nature of my personal wet ware.

~Frannie.

Thursday, November 25, 2021, Chase Dittrich

It's TRUE that I quickly understood the need for a T/F alternative in five squares throughout the puzzle - each of the letters making the answer match one of the two clue possibilities - but it's FALSE that I got the congratulatory message when I completed the puzzle. :( Maybe because I solved the puzzle late at night in an effort to get the review up early before the busy holiday morning (unsuccessfully, as you may have already noticed), but I went the low-barrier route and entered only TF in the special squares. In my app, apparently, one had to enter either T/F or just T or just F to make the solve a success. I was disappointed because I had finished the puzzle pretty quickly, but that's what I get for cutting corners.  

My fail tale aside, I enjoyed the alternative answers, especially "PC key/ Sitcom ET" (ALT/F), "Wood nymph / Independent person" (T/FREESPIRIT), and "Goodyear blowout / 'Everything must go' event" (T/FIRESALE).

Other C/APs that entertained were:

"Cold-blooded killer" (ASP) - clever.

"Praise loudly" (HAIL)

"Openings for 'To Tell the Truth'" (TEES)

"Pen" (CAGE)

I liked the "Darn" clue for DRAT and then the "Darn, e.g." clue for SEW. I also liked the pairing - of sorts - "Traffic lights you can't go through" (REDS) and "Green-lights" (OKAYS). 

And who doesn't love a reference to LESLIE Nielsen of "The Naked Gun" and, of course, "Airplane" - funniest movie ever. 

By the way, I looked up SAL soda from yesterday's puzzle. According to The Free Dictionary, it's a sodium salt of carbonic acid used in making soap powders and glass and paper. Arm & Hammer sells it in a box that looks a lot like rather too much like their Baking Soda for my taste. If the situation ever comes up, let's hope everyone chooses the correct alternative.

I wish all of you, dear Readers, a restful holiday where your most challenging choice is between LOAF and more ETON. 

~Frannie.

Wednesday, November 24, 2021, Brandon Koppy

Well, dear Readers, quite a different solving experience for me today. It took me a full 26:51 to complete the grid - and this a Wednesday! I didn't have any trouble with the theme - or in fact much of the puzzle, but some of the OBTUSE answers - the "seldom correct" kind! - in the northcentral section brought me to this NEWLOW (probably not actually a personal slow on a Wednesday, but work with me here.) I had a number of pretty solid answers in that section, too: ONO, SOCOOL (which I had, but didn't want), and EWE, for example. But "Omaha stake?", "Little pest", Opposite of radial", and "1990s Indian prime minister" made my progress STAHL. Horace tells me "Omaha" is a type of poker, thus BET. I can see how a TWERP could be considered a little pest, but sadly I spent too much time in the 'insect' area of my vocabulary Venn diagrams rather than the 'annoyance' zone. Derp. And well, my knowledge of Indian Prime Ministers of the 1990s did not extend to Pamulaparthi Venkata Narasimha RAO. :(

Anyhoo, elsewhere in the puzzle, I was feeling my OATES. I thought the theme was fun. Although I personally don't take a PICODEGALLO because of its OMNIPOTENCE in making me feel ill, it's an entertaining idea for the circled letters to represent the "chopped" ONION, PEPPER, and TOMATO within the three theme answers in the top HALF of the puzzle, and then have a 'squeezing' of[LIME] in FISHFORCOMP[LIME]NTS for the finishing touch. I enjoyed the added CRAZINESS of most of the circles representing single letters but the circle for LIME calling for a rebus.

I thought the clue "Including an unlisted number?" (ETAL) was particularly clever. I was entertained by answers for "Comic cry of dismay" ACK and DOH. ZEALS and RUMS stuck me as slightly odd plurals, but who's counting? Oh, and BTW, does anybody know what SAL soda is? 

~Frannie.