Sunday, November 30, 2014, Matt Ginsberg

Zap!

Frannie figured out the title, which refers (we think) to the idea of using the remote to change the channel away from commercials. In other words, to "zap" "ad"s. Does that sound right to you? Personally, we never use the term "zap" to mean change channels, or use the remote, or whatever it means, but I guess we've heard it.

So anyway, the ADs are not included in the Across answers. Well, they can be, and they make a normal phrase, but if they're removed, they fulfill the definition given in the clue. BRO[AD]MINDED for example, is a known phrase, but BROMINDED answers the clue "19A: Focused on one's fellow fraternity members?" in an amusing way. Some are not so funny, like IRISHBALL[AD] (24A: Dublin dance?), but I guess more are funny than are not so. 

It took us a while to finish this, and we ended in the CLARA (10A: Pianist Schumann, early champion of Brahms) quadrant, which is a bit sad, because CLARA was the second answer I put into the grid (ADDS (1A: Interjects) was first), but it was taken out midway through, for one reason or another. Maybe because we tried "stat" for RUSH (13D: "A.S.A.P."), but whatever the reason, it was a bad one. There's a HORUS sculpture in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum that is pretty much my favorite piece of art in the place, but I didn't know until now that he was an 21A: Egyptian war god. I mean, I knew he was Egyptian, but war? C'mon Horus!

So let's see… ELUCIDATES (111A: Clarifies) is nice, and ZLOTYS (61A: Polish capital) (why oh why did I even bother with "Warsaw" in there?) reminds me of when Frannie's sister and her college boyfriend were traveling in Eastern Europe, because I remember the boyfriend saying it was always good to have a lot of zlotys on your person in case the public stalls were out of toilet paper. I guess the exchange rate was favorable back then.

I liked the symmetrical snark at 69D: Major annoyances (ROYALPAINS) and 16D: "Well, fine" (BELIKETHAT). Didn't know EDESSA (95D: Ancient Macedonian capital), or TONYMARTIN (72D: Singer whose "I Get Ideas" was on the charts for 30 weeks), and probably a few other things, but overall this seemed like a pretty good Sunday.

- Horace

Saturday, November 29, 2014, Elizabeth C. Gorski

0:42:11

Sometimes we have wondered what a puzzle would look like, and be like to solve, if it contained no THREELETTERWORDs, and now we know. It was a bit of a slow start today, and toward the middle I was thinking that maybe I was starting to miss the three-letter words, but the grid grew on me, and by the end I was a fan.

I always like seeing AENEAS (12D: Principal lieutenant of Hector in the "Iliad") in there, and we're both big fans of James ENSOR (44D: "Masks Confronting Death" painter, 1888). At first, it was simply because we had been introduced to him by the They Might Be Giants song "Meet James Ensor," but since then we've seen some of his works in various museums, and he seemed to have had a sense of humor, as well as being a decent painter.

I loved EVENODDS (33D: They're 50-50), ORDAIN (40D: Transition to fatherhood) was clever, and MUESLI (39D: Food whose name means "little purée) was interesting. ANSONIA (51A: Historic residential hotel in Manhattan) and AROO (41A: "King ____" of old comics) were unknowns. The former has quite an interesting history. It's on Broadway, on the Upper West Side, and when it opened in 1904 it was the largest residential hotel in New York City. It was the first to have air-conditioning, and for the first few years of its existence (before the health department shut it down) there was an animal farm housed on the roof, including chickens, ducks, goats, and cows (transported via a "cow elevator"). Every day a bellhop delivered fresh eggs to all the tenants. Now that's my kind of place! The latter, well, it's said it was an intelligent strip that abounded in sophisticated puns and wordplay, which is probably why it only lasted a short time. It last appeared nearly fifty years ago.

I'm rambling, so I'll close now. It was an interesting Saturday puzzle, and a decent enough challenge.

- Horace

Friday, November 28, 2014, Tracy Gray

0:52:38

Unusual to have a rebus on a Friday, but we'll take it! And perhaps because it is so unusual, it took us a good long while to realize what was going on. We had gotten quite a ways in when finally it just became obvious, and three of the rebuses were filled in almost simultaneously. The fourth, E[SALE]N (64A: Big Sur institute) was only gettable thanks to my Dad referring to ADAM[SALE] (50D: Water) a lot when we were kids. He also familiarized us with the expression "Shank's Mare" for walking, which has also come in handy once or twice while doing crosswords.

So anyway, aside from E[SALE]N, TOT (33A: Small amount of liquor), and EILAT (43A: Gulf of Aqaba resort city), which were unknowns, the rest was pretty darn clean. Sure, SYST, RIA, and SHMO (4D: Ordinary guy: Var.) might get a "hmph," but really, there's quite a bit of good stuff that overshadows anything hmphable.

We love any reference to a TESLACOIL (32D: Electrical transformer), and right beside that, ADMISSION (31D: What a ticket is good for) was one of my favorite answers, just because it is so obvious! I was putting in TEAKETTLE (12D: It whistles while it works) at the very moment Frannie was putting on our tea kettle for a late morning cup, and it's interesting to learn that ADELE is the "2D: Singer who was awarded an M.B.E. in 2013." I kind of like WORDS as a term for "3D: An argument," and BEGAT is a similarly old-timey-seeming word for "29A: Fathered."

The pairs of "Expert" clues (OLDPRO, VETERAN) were fun, as was the BED/COT cross-reference.

In all, it was quite enjoyable. I'm considering making one online purchase today, but so far, nothing else has been bought. We're saving the bulk of the shopping for "Small Business Saturday" tomorrow!

- Horace

Thursday, November 27, 2014, Stanley Newman

0:34:49

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am so full right now. Also, in the last 24 hours I made cranberry relish, a mince pie, hard sauce, roasted butternut and acorn squash, stuffing, a horseradish/Brussels sprouts dish, gravy, I cut up carrots and celery into sticks, canned some sauerkraut that I started a few weeks ago, and I cooked an 18-pound turkey, plus I shopped for most of the stuff and did most of the dishes. Also, did I mention that I am too full? Everything was under control until the very end, when I drank the better part of a quart of eggnog. Uhhgggghhhhh...

So anyway, the puzzle was fun enough. Frannie figured out the "language-y" "thank you" theme. What were there, three of those? I think I had something like "__A_ZIEMI__L_" for the Italian one when I handed it over, but I had no idea what was going on.

On the other hand, certain things, like POMELO and SCYLLA went right in. And POTOMAC (34D: It meets the Shenandoah at Harper's Ferry) was just beautiful. So evocative! So American! See also 54A: Eastern terminus of the Erie Canal (ALBANY).

I also enjoyed BUZZ (25A: [Wrong!]), POUTS (40A: Classic diva performances?), LAURELS (2D: Honors), and RETORT (42D: Counter with a sharp edge) (Tricky!) But coffee connoisseurs are so "39D: Over and done with" JUTE as a 31D: Coffee sack material. They're being packed in Grainpro®  nowadays, which keep in more of the "coffee-ness," and don't impart so much "jute-iness."

I thought of Huygens when I filled in JUDGEJUDY (31A: Highest paid TV star of 2014, by far), and of Colum when I put in DOSAGES (12D: Doctors' orders), although I don't think he actually writes prescriptions. (Do you?)

Overall, a very clean puzzle (didn't know AUEL, but the crosses were fair), and a decent Thursday puzzle. And before I close, I will say for the both of us, MUCHASGRACIAS, GRAZIEMILLE, and MERCIBEAUCOUP for looking in on us, whether you're one of our two or three regulars, a casual reader, or if this is your first time here, Thanks. We're having fun doing the puzzles and writing a little about them each day, and we hope you're having fun too. Now go eat some more pie!

- Horace

Wednesday, November 26, 2014, Michael S. Maurer

39:06

Frannie here. I went it alone this morning, as you may have already guessed by the number above. Horace had "other things to do" apparently. It took me quite a while to get the key theme answer because I have not historically classified WARGAMES as a sci-fi drama. That was my first mistake. My last mistake was entering IOWAN instead of IOWAS. The singularity of the clue (53D. Midwest tribe) threw me off. I supposed I should have spent a little more time wondering what A, B and C NTS were in D.C., but truth is, I didn't. The other source of trouble for me was BIREME (43D. Old galley) crossed with 42A. Org. originating the three-point shot (ABA). I wanted the letter B in that cross, but I was not familiar old warships with two decks of oars. After the fact, when you think about "bi" and "reme" it makes perfect sense, but I find that is often the case after the fact.

Puzzle carping does not well suit this season of Thanksgiving, so I turn now to clues and answers I enjoyed in today's grid. I thought the theme answers were quite entertaining. Getting to common military phrases through clever alternate clues was fun. I think my favorite was 34A. Inoculation order? (PRESENTARMS). I thought it was a nice touch that most of the theme clues also had a sort of militaryishness about them, although since they didn't all have it, perhaps I am giving credit where credit isn't due. We have the famed potato of KP duty in 17A, the literal word "order" in 34A, and the command-like nature of 49A. I am unable, however, to identify anything even remotely military about 24A. Ebb tide? Drop and give me twenty, Mr. Maurer!

I thought the fill was relatively clean, given the high number of three-letter pit fall possibilities. One that still confounds me is 48A. LAD mag (Maxim or FHM). Is LAD an acronym? Is that really a name for a type of magazine? Huygens, can you shed any light on this one?

Also in the fun bag were BANISH (5D. Exile), SLITHY (6D. Like the toves in "Jabberwocky"), and SLOG (35D. Tough trek). I surprised myself by getting TRADE (10D. Major League Baseball news) right off the bat, so to speak. FRUIT (30D. Most of the symbols on a traditional slot machine) was also easy as pie. SPITBALL (1D. Wet missile) was less appealing. But, being the 40D. Cool CAT that I am, I'll Give it AREST (20D).

~Frannie

Tuesday, November 25, 2014, Jeffrey Wechsler

0:08:13

When I started this last night, after a day spent writing a paper and a night of drinking, I lasted about three minutes. I couldn't figure out the theme, and nothing would come to me. This morning, with my shot of expresso, the theme was immediately obvious and everything went in easily. Funny how things change, eh? Is it all due to the beverage?

Everybody loves JOEDIMAGGIO (62A: American athlete born 11/25/1914), right? Especially those who never saw him play and who grew up with Simon & Garfunkel. Even Red Sox fans. Right? ... anyway, that's the theme. He was called the YANKEE/CLIPPER, and he hit in FIFTYSIXGAMES. I won't say that everyone knows that, but a lot of people do, and for those people, this puzzle most likely went right along.

As is often the case, it seems, I like several of the downs today. ACETIC (2D: ____ acid) reminds me of being in the darkroom, SONATA (3D: Hyundai model with a musical name) and MOTET (71A: Sacred choral composition) are a nice pair, SPIGOT (59D: Faucet) is an underused and underappreciated word, and the NE and SW are filled with nice, long, answers.

There's a lot of fill, so, sure, there's some dreck, but it's a good Tuesday.

- Horace

Monday, November 24, 2014, Robert Seminara

0:11:00

Kind of an odd theme today, but it's so unusual that I kind of like it. ROFL (36A: Texter's expression spelled out by the starts of 18-, 28-, 46-, and 59-Across). It kind of leaves things wide open for the theme answers, doesn't it? Still, FLOORMIRRORS (46A: Some dressing room conveniences) is a little odd, no? The others, though, are all perfectly fine. ROLLINGPINS (18A: Items for flattening dough) is even "Thanksgiving-appropriate." If that's a thing. Which it isn't.

It played tough for a Monday, so that's good. Things like COZEN (16A: Deceive), and ILLFAME (20A: Bad reputation) aren't really Monday-ish. I enjoyed EXALT (3D: Glorify) and PROMPTLY (5D: Right away), didn't love YESES (38A: Affirmatives) (I prefer two esses in the middle - I dislike the trend to single letters in this situation in general), and BEDSORE (24D: Long-term hospital patient's problem) is gross. There's some of the usual early-week fare - OGEE, AGAR, CMI, AGA, EEL - but AROUSES (44D: Shakes from a slumber) should amuse certain solvers.

Overall, it was a fine Monday. Maybe even a little on the plus side, since it took me so long.

- Horace