Friday, January 1, 2016, David Steinberg

12:09

Happy New Year! May 2016 be everything you wish and nothing you fear. Colum here, taking over the blog again. It's the second year of this experiment. It seemed longer somehow, but that's not any commentary on how much I've enjoyed blogging on this site. I have Horace and Frances here in Albany for our annual celebration, and we've had a few conversations about the improvement in our times. As an example, Friday, January 2, 2015 was also by Mr. Sternberg, and my time was 18:35. That's fairly comparable, the same solver and the same constructor, with 67% of the time one year later.

We also talked about how crosswordese has become a fairly reliable entree to the more difficulty puzzles. Today, my first entry was at 31A: Sinner's heart? (ENS). ELOI was my next entry at 7D. But that was it for the entire north section.

Instead I broke into the lovely middle slanted stack with 27D: Mature (RIPEN) and 28D: Historic computer (ENIAC). ETAS and FCLEF also were straightforward. In fact, if I have any complaint about this puzzle, it's that the cluing was far more simple than I would have expected for Mr. Sternberg and a Friday (e.g. 34D - LOUREED).

My favorite clue-answer pair is in that stack, namely 33A: One side of the Mideast (RICEPILAF). That's great, and no need for a question mark. You also get LOVEBEADS above POLEDANCE. Other nice long answers include WALDENPOND complete, TOMATOPASTE. And I feel somewhat SHAMEFACED that it took me so long to figure out 20D: Song that Paul Mccartney wrote at 16 (WHENIMSIXTYFOUR). I thought about "I Saw Her Standing There", which references a 17-year old.

1A: Prominent feature of dubstep music (BASS) - B-. I thought it might be that, but hesitated. Later on, I finally figured out 1D: Base for some ice cream (BROWNIE), which was much preferred. I made some yesterday for our New Year's gathering.

I also wanted to mention the pair of symmetrically placed "Edge" clues (RIM and LIP). Overall a very nice start to the year. Looking forward to tomorrow!

- Colum

Thursday, December 31, 2015, Ben Tausig

0:28:40 (F.W.O.E.)

I'm annoyed that I FWOE'd on this one, but in my defense, AGASP (31D: Audibly floored) is a dumb word. Well... of course I can't really say that. It Googles up well enough, and sure, "aghast" is spelled with an H... and "RtS" doesn't really stand for anything having to do with rotational speed, but still...

OK. Rant over. Let the fawning praise commence: I loved this puzzle. And perhaps more importantly - because it's certainly more unusual - I liked the fill better than the theme! Sure, PASSGO is a nice MONOPOLY theme, patented on this day, and symbolic of turning the corner on another year, as it were, but the resulting theme answers, like GOOGLEDOCS (20A: Enjoy the swimsuit edition of The New England Journal of Medicine?) ... well... ok, "ogle docs" is absurd, and if you've learned anything about me in the last three years, you've learned that I'm a fan of the absurd. I'm also a fan of Google docs. (This is new information to you. Don't feel like you should have known this, too.) So ok. But what about EGOMANIACS (56A: People obsessed with being online?)? "E-maniacs" is much weaker (and less absurd) than both "ogle docs" and "wan master."

But I don't want to spend too much time on the theme, because the fill is just beautiful. It's a pity it had to start off with a mere abbreviation - SNL (1A: Onetime gig for Wiig, in brief) (C) - and a crosswordesy one at that! But off of that we get 2D: Proscription (NONO), which is nice, and the even better LOCO (3D: Spanish nuts). And what about 14A: Low note? (MOO)? That's good clueing for average fill. And there's also good clueing for good fill, as in 4D:Wallop (SHELLAC), 29D: Bridge sitter? (EYEGLASSES), and 21D: They share the air (COHOSTS).

I wasn't fooled for a second, amazingly, by 55A: Half of us? (ESS), but 19A: Commercial leader? (ADEXEC) was one of the last things I got. I had the C at the end for a while and thought "They couldn't have two of these, could they? But no. They couldn't.

Did not like USH (25D: Escort, slangily), and SVU and IFC are weak, but jeez, what about the clue for tired old NEE (44D: Born on the bayou?)?! That's excellent. It should probably be my favorite, but I'm stuck on 70A: Swiftly built home? (NEST).

What a way to end the year. Here's to more of the same in 2016. May you all be happy and healthy.

- Horace

Wednesday, December 30, 2015, Mary Lou Guizzo and Jeff Chen

0:07:09

Ms. Guizzo and Mr. Chen are at it again! Last week it was a Christmas puzzle, and today they have given us a New Year's Eve puzzle. It's a day early, but I'm not complaining.

Today's grid has horizontal symmetry and, if I'm not mistaken, a smiley face with feet in the black squares. The words "auld lang syne" are hidden in three proper names. Translated roughly as "long, long, ago," they are taken from a Robert Burns poem (he took them from a traditional ballad), and used around this time to bid farewell to the passing year. In addition to those words, we find NEW YEARS EVE running along the bottom row. Very nice.

The fill is shakier than I remember it being in the Christmas puzzle. I thought VCHIPS and PCCLONE skewed a little old, and I didn't love the clues for ICEBOX (26A: Antarctica, so to speak) or ENDS (42A: Many rushers). The first is a bit of a stretch, and the second just seems off. I'm no expert, but isn't it other defensive linemen who do most of the rushing?

I did love, as I often do, the longest Down answers; HEALTHYGLOW (25D: Ruddiness) and BOBANDWEAVE (27D: Try to avoid getting punched, say), even though I tend to think of "ruddiness" as more unhealthy. I also like the MAN/APE pairing.

1A: "No ____" ("Sure thing") PROB. C. I guess I could give it a C+ for audacity, but that's it.
Favorite clue/answer - 5D: Something that makes a difference? (MINUSSIGN). Nice.

Frannie and I are ready to see the back side of 2015. "We two have paddled in the stream, from morning sun 'til dine, but seas between us broad have roared, since auld lang syne." This year had some great times, but also had more than its share of hardship. Here's wishing for better things in 2016, for us and, dear Reader, for you.

- Horace

Tuesday, December 29, 2015, Jeff Stillman

0:07:04

KWAME Kilpatrick is set up in the very center of this grid, almost as a marquee answer. I looked him up just now, and he's not the kind of guy you want featured in a puzzle. His Wikipedia entry is one of the longest I've ever seen, most of it filled with details of the felony charges (and convictions) he has racked up. It's not a name I knew, it's not a name I'm happy to have learned, and it's not a name I want to see in a crossword puzzle.

Aside from that, the puzzle is PAR for a Tuesday. The long Downs of BARRELROLL (3D: Air show maneuver) and TRAMPOLINE (31D: Bouncer's place) (nice clue!) were both quite SPLASHY (27D: Eye-catching). And I did enjoy many of the other "W" answers, SWIRL, SWARM, STREW, CRAW, and OWLET.

The theme is fun. The first clue, "18A: Compliment for a fruit-of-the-month club?" (NOTBADATALL) is both tortured and absurd, but the others, especially "24A: Compliment for a planetarium?" (STELLAR) and "60A: Compliment for a charcoal seller?" (YOUREONFIRE) are good.

Nice to see STAD (8D: Dutch burg) in the grid, as both Frannie and I have been learning Dutch lately. And I like that "1D: Chillaxes" (HANGS) is used. That's a great word. Huygens didn't like "Turkey and roast beef" as the clue for MEATS yesterday, but at least those to things are meats. Today's "11D: Pepperoni or sausage" for MEAT could be challenged by some as being made up of many different things, only one of which is meat.

1A: Airport with many connecting flights (HUB). C.
Favorite clue/answer - 12D: Slug (BELT).
Least favorite - 62D: Suffix with differ (ENT). Bring back Tolkien if that's all you've got.

- Horace

Monday, December 28, 2015, Zhouqin Burnikel

0:04:32

Is it just me, or does something feel slightly wrong about building a theme off of a tiny, abbreviated bit of crosswordese? STS (63D: Aves. ... or the initials of 17-, 23-, 40-, 50-, and 63-Across) is the revealer that branches off of the final theme answer. And why is it ok to clue STS with "aves?" I know that in essence a street is a road is an avenue, but don't we have to keep up the illusion of a distinction? Or am I being too picky? The words "faucet" and TAP are both used for the same object, but a street just seems like it needs to be different from an avenue. Sure, maybe street and road, I might be able to get behind those two being identical...

Anywho... I found this to be just SOSO. Aside from a few nice entries like GORGE (58A: Pig out), POISE (51D: Aplomb), and OOMPH (54D: Pizazz), there just wasn't much oomph. Maybe I just reacted badly to the reference to the Bin Laden raid with SEALTEAMSIX, and it got me off on the wrong foot. But maybe it was the inclusion of both ELSA (26D: 2013 film queen who sings "Let It Go") and ILSA (27D: "Casablanca" woman), or the OHS, OLEOS, ACA, LGA, RELO, and ENDS (61D: Two slices of a loaf of bread). That last one is a little random, isn't it?

I don't know... it just seemed a little flat. I like the inclusion of ANNABELLEE (29D: Poe poem that concludes "In her tomb by the sounding sea") - a poem that I once committed to memory, and the theme answers (aside from the aforementioned personal aversion to the first one) are all fine. But overall, I didn't love it.

1A: Breaks the Ten Commandments (SINS). Meh. C+
Favorite clue/answer - 34A: Little matter (ATOM).

- Horace

Sunday, December 27, 2015, Don Gagliardo and Zhouqin Burnikel

BINARY CODE

Often in puzzles, for me, the kind of clue that is the trickiest to see is the literally descriptive kind highlighted in today's theme, only the clue and answer have been reversed. Kind of. Take 23A: PP (SHOPPINGCENTER) - in a normal puzzle the answer would have been the clue, and then the answer would have been "pees." Well, maybe they wouldn't have had "pees," but you see what I mean. A better example might be 95A: ZZ (JAZZDUET), where the reversal of clue and answer would have given "zees." As Sunday themes go, I thought it was a good one.

The fill was a little choppy in places - AVIANS (21A: Grackles and grebes) and AGELONG (27A: Lasting for years and years) were not favorites - but overall it was decent enough. There were also some nice tricky clues, like the courtroom duo of 59D: Like courtroom witnesses (SWORNIN) and 87D: It's heard at a hearing (ALLRISE). Nice.

My last square today was the cross of SPEE (68A: Historic German admiral Maximilian von ____) and ORLEAN (49D: Susan who wrote "The Orchard Thief"). I figured E was the most likely, but that seems a pretty nasty cross, two obscure names.

1A: Savor, as a drink (SIPON). C. I would have preferred "nurse."
Favorite clue/answer - 33A: Court, for short (RHYME). I love that kind of trickery. Runner-up 2D: Has an inspiration (INHALES). Nice.

- Horace

Saturday, December 26, 2015, James Mulhern

0:22:00 (F.W.O.E.)

A lovely Saturday puzzle today with open corners and a pleasing grid. The entry and exit points in the NW and SE are a bit narrow, but it didn't impact the solve at all, as ILLUMINATI (23A: Group in many conspiracy theories) and RIVERDANCE (45A: Traveling show with the number "Trading Taps") were gettable with adequate crosses. And speaking of gettable, the L of DOLTS (46D: Yo-yos) should have been so, but I didn't know LEVIN (53A: "This Perfect Day" novelist, 1970) and guessed nEVIN for some unknown reason. I should have run the alphabet in my head, of course, and will make it a New Year's resolution to do so more consistently when faced with such a square. Oh well. I'm not letting it dampen my spirits.

The rest of the grid was filled with enjoyable, interesting stuff. Right off the bat I said to Frannie "I don't know what the answer to 1A is, but I already know I'm giving it an A." This, if you're not familiar with this blog, was in reference to a system that our colleague Colum started of rating the first Across clue in every puzzle. A good clue in that spot can really set the tone, and today's "1A: His name was lengthened by God at age 99" (ABRAM) is just the sort of interesting factoid that can bring a smile, at least to this old trivia lover. Frannie posited "Moses," which fit, and off of which I entered "meetup" for 1D (Liaison/AFFAIR) and for 4D "Enmity" (Loathing/ANIMUS), which led to the NW being the last section I completed today, aside from the aforementioned "DOLTS/LEVIN" cross, but I still stand by my rating.

Loved the triple-nines in the NE and SW today. All six answers were good, but I especially like TROJANWAR (6A: Theme in much Greek art), FATALBERT (50A: Cartoon friend of Dumb Donald and Weird Harold) (or, "Sesame Street alter-ego who kills Ernie?"), and everybody's favorite, CASUALSEX (56A: "Benefit" of some "friends"). And speaking of that, I also very much enjoyed 37D: What "marriage is the chief cause of," per Groucho Marx (DIVORCE). Very clever guy, that Groucho. And speaking of Groucho, CIGARS (20D: Ones with big butts) had an amusing clue, too.

I won't go on and on, but there are just a couple other answers OFNOTE that I would like to highlight. I loved RHETORIC (14D: Stump speeches, often), especially as an "ending" word, as these are usually filled with Ss, Es, and Ts. And our prime-number-loving friend Huygens will certainly appreciate the inclusion of RIEMANN (7D: Mathematician with a hypothesis unproven since 1859).

A satisfying Saturday.

Favorite clue/answer - 39D: They'll stop traffic (SIRENS), but only when thought of as a tie-in with the TROJANWAR clue.

- Horace

p.s. Can anyone explain CALI (44A: City famous for bad traffic) to me?

p.p.s. Nevermind, I looked it up. It's a city in Columbia. One in which, I'm assuming, the drug trade is a problem. Tough fill!