Thursday, November 23, 2023, Vasu Seralathan

It's a busy day, but I'm squeezing in a little time to talk turkey about today's puzzle. I'd like to be able to say I gobbled up this puzzle, but, in fact, I was a bit slow to catch on to the trick of it, despite the fact that I love the kind of visual word puzzle represented by the four theme answers. The first one I got was GUTBUTSING depicted by the clue "BEL LY" - ha! I thought they all deserved a seat at the table, with EYEOPENING (OPTO-) and "MAR" (ARMTWISTING) being my other two favorites. 

Although not specifically Thanksgiving-themed, we get a nod to today's festivities with 1D: "Site of what many regard as the first Thanksgiving" (PLYMOUTH). Perhaps, in some cases, other apt entries might be CHAR ("Grill past perfection"), LADLE, and, hopefully, OOHED ("Audibly enthused").

In addition to the fun main course, there was lots of added gravy. I enjoyed the simple SMASH for "'Hulk' action, the C/AP "Emphatic type" (BOLD), "One taking the lion's share" (HOG) - heh - and a personal ROI, "What the Dutch call 'klompen'" (CLOGS). "Pan, e.g." was, or could be, nicely misleading, especially today, but I had enough letters in place to see GOD. Also, how about the constructor yamming it up with the pair "Knock-off weapon" (LANCE) and "Hunting tips?" (SPEARS)? :)

Well, dear Readers, speaking of spears - the pickle variety! - I have to get on to other DOINGS. I'll be back tomorrow if I am not too stuffed to type. Happy Thanksgiving to one and all!

~Frannie.

Wednesday, November 22, 2023, Will Pfadenhauer

If there really were a sport called ODDBALL, I might finally become a sports fan. It could be fun to see players RUNWILD, CATCHOFFBALANCE, or THROWOUTOFWHACK. Would play involve an eccentric orb bit? And would it be played on an uncommon? Maybe the idea will take off. Who knew quidditch would became a thing?

Overall, this puzzle was a little sporty and shoot-y spice for my personal tastes. (AMMO, THEBREWERS, Mel OTT, BBGUNS). To be fair, though, there's a COMBO of other varied topics including GWEN Stefani, MALBEC, SALSA, DIODE, and IDES, to name a few, plus some fun, unconventional vocabulary in both clues and answers. I particularly enjoyed besmirch, Xenomorph, hogwash, and everybody's favorite, THRIFT. Am I right?

C/AP-wise, I enjoyed "Progressive rock?" (MOLTENLAVA), "Busyness representative?" (BEE), "Like Christmas lights after December 25, often" (ONSALE), and "Sanctuary against extinction" (ARK).

Not that it super matters, but I thought the clue paring of Santa and the Tooth Fairy as entities most active ATNIGHT was a little incongruous because 'at night' seems to indicate a more general situation, which applies to the Tooth Fairy, who could be active any night of the year, but applies less well to Santa, who is famously active only one night a year. Talk about NIT picking!

~Frannie.

Tuesday, November 21, 2023, Kevin Christian and Andrea Carla Michaels

Today's theme was a real gas, with the ends of FOUR answers being types of beans (FREIDAPINTO (actress), UBERBLACK (who knew such a thing existed?), the amusing AIRONTHEGSTRING ("Bach piece whose title sounds a bit risque" - ha!), and ROYALNAVY - a bean fit for a king!). The revealer was the amusing BEANCOUNTER ("Corporate number cruncher who might be interested in the ends of 17-, 26-, 37-, and 47-Across?). 

Although already full of beans, even more fiber was supplied by two servings of broccoli: FLORET and RABE. Be-leg-u-me, it takes real guts to process that much roughage. Thankfully, to make it all come out right, there's a lot of muscle provided with the aforementioned ROYALNAVY, plus SEABEES, USARMY, and Air Force ONE. 

A mung my other favorites today were "Stately potato?" (IDAHO), "Do some grapplin'" (RASSLE), "They'll show you the world" (GLOBES), and "Chess announcement." (CHECK). Filling-wise, I enjoyed RELIC, CASK, REPUTE, and YAWED.

How about the surprising return of Fannie MAE? I also wondered about the clue for 1A: "Highly rated March telecast, with 'the.'" I thought everyone found the OSCARS telecast too long and boring - maybe that's just me. I suppose, "highly rated" might not refer to STAR power, but to number of viewers. If that's the case, then soy be it.

~Frannie.

Monday, November 20, 2023, Sam Ezersky

It's funny to me that today's theme re-parses the name of the 5th U.S. state because I often find myself pronouncing it as if it were said, 'Connect i[h]cut'. Why? No clue. But, this puzzle supplies several answers in which the letters I C U T connect with others to form common nouns or phrases, including PICKUPTHEPHONE and PLASTICUTENSIL. Quite the art of the state.

Idaho why, but today's puzzle solve time was way above average for a Monday for this solver. I wasn't particularly going for speed, but a misstep at 1A - usa instead of the correct AVA, and a precipitous ending of 'plURALISM' at 40A (MULTICULTURALISM) - didn't do me any favors. 

Alaska, my assessment of today's C/AP (clue/answer pair) aptness level was on the low side. "Room under a roof" (ATTIC) kind of bothered me. Is an attic really a room? And "Gobble down" which seems so vividly active and almost greedy turned out to be plain old EAT. I thought CINCH for "Sure thing" was also a bit troubling. SILKHATS for "Some high-end headwear" seemed somewhat rando. But, maybe it's a mini-theme, along with LUXURY and PATE ("Hors d'oeuvres spread). 

Nevada one to end on a low note, I thought "Brings on staff" for HIRE was good. I was also happy to see TES for "French for 'your'" instead of the usual (and rather less usual) a toi. I enjoyed "Bob, buzz, or beehive (HAIRCUT). GALORE, SLEEPONIT, and PLAYNICE are fine fill. 

~Frannie.

Sunday, November 19, 2023, Rebecca Goldstein and Rachel Fabi

 

THANKSGIVING MEAL PREP

Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and today's title is a straightforward phrase for punny clues. 

Stockpile bread? - BANKROLLS
Research hors d'oeuvres online? - GOOGLEAPPS
Selects green bean casserole, candied yams and mashed potatoes? - CHOOSESSIDES
Debate roasting versus deep-frying? - TALKTURKEY
Steers the dessert cart? - SHEPHERDSPIE
Make cranberry sauce from scratch? - KICKTHECAN
Reserve the chardonnay for later? - TABLEWINE
Work on one's whisking technique? - GRAVYTRAIN
Pro tip about seasoning stuffiing? - SAGEADVICE

Pretty good set. I think some of those would merit RIMSHOTS ("Ba-dum-tss" sounds). And I always like when the theme is found in both the Across and Down answers. And in asymmetrical, fringe theme we have "Macy's Thanksgiving DAY Parade," "Slices and dices" (CHOPS), "Unspecific amount in a recipe" (DASH), and, for the organized among us, TODOLISTS (Aids in planning).

A few highlights - Shiny silver sticker? (EPEE), Things behind the Times? (NEWSRACKS), and Toddler's time out? (PLAYDATE). And in non-QMCs, It grows on trees (BARK), Locale for many cabs (NAPA), and Developing (NASCENT). That last one is just a good word, that's all. Sometimes that's all it takes. 

I enjoyed it. Frannie takes over tomorrow. Enjoy!

- Horace

 

Saturday, November 18, 2023, Hoang-Kim Vu

An attractive, open grid today. We've got chunky corners and a stepped stack in the middle. Right off the bat I dropped in OCEAN (Charybdis' milieu) and OOPS ("My bad!"), but I also put in pEels for "Kitchen shavings" (ZESTS), so that slowed things down a bit. Eventually, I corrected it to find the "Modern meeting organizer" (ZOOMHOST), ESCAROLE (Radicchio relative), and TEAL (Shade named for a bird). Nice clue for SHEETPAN (Kitchen item for preparing cookies or pizza). I guess there's no reason pizzas have to be round. 

Looking back, I don't know why it took me so long to think of BIGMAC (Burger burgled by the Hamburglar). On the other hand, what the hell is a FOAMPARTY (Festivity with mountains of bubbles)? Verifying with Wikipedia... yup, apparently, the idea can be traced back to a 1932 short film featuring Louis Armstrong. Earlier this year, apparently, was the "First Annual National Foam Party Day," on June 15. You should mark your calendars now for next year!

OK, what else... Until I sit down and power stream "Game of Thrones" I will need every cross for names like SANSA (Elder Stark daughter...). Actually, the same goes for the Bible. When the answer for "Genesis woman" was more than three letters, I needed crosses. (LEAH) Heh.

Best C/AP today? "Sessions of congress?" (TRYSTS). Heh. And does that go with "Did you enjoy yourself?" (HOWWASIT). Ahem.

Actually, I did enjoy it. I wasn't really familiar with a couple of the abbreviations (HRT (Treatment for someone in transition, in brief) (hormone replacement therapy) and DLC (Gamer's post-purchase add-ons, for short) (downloadable content)), but I love thinking about the DRYSALT process (Curing technique), and the central slant stack was solid. A bit of a challenge, but Thursday's this week took me twice as long! Still... it's all good.

- Horace

Friday, November 17, 2023, Hemant Mehta

It's themeless time! Like we like. You know it's going to be a good puzzle when you start with Greek myths (HERA) (Presider over weddings). Right nearby is a REDSOLOCUP (Common receptacle in beer pong) and "The 'glitter of the snack world,' per Ellen DeGeneres" (CHEETODUST) - sounds like a party! And who doesn't enjoy getting TIPSY, or a good ol' TORRID love affair?  

LOTTOBALLS (Focus of a get-rich-quick scheme?) is clever, and the two "Knockoff" clues (PHONY and CLONE) were fun. Of the two long Downs I like "One-sided curiosities" (MOBIUSSTRIPS), but DONTREMINDME ("Ugh, yeah, I'm well aware") isn't bad. 

The QMCs were plentiful today - "Make the grade?" (ASCEND), "Requirement for getting into school?" (STUDENTID), "Canvas finish?" (TKO). And "Pot growers?" (BETS) is perfect for me today, because tonight is Poker Night! :)

Let's see ... what else? I wasn't familiar with the expression BLAMESTORM (Heated discussion of who's responsible for a failure). Blame game, sure. But BLAMESTORM? Not so much. Nor did I know that ASCOT was a racecourse. It's British, of course.

Really, though, there's very little to complain about in this one. A solid Friday.

- Horace