Thursday, October 30, 2008

Title: Themeless Thursday
Author: Will Nediger
Theme: N/A

Hmmm, this themeless Thursday puzzle actually seems to be themeless. That's unusual. Maybe I'm missing something.

Hey, maybe it's a pangram.

Nope, unless I screwed up somewhere (always a possibility) it lacks a Q.

Sunny Spots:

64A: Did the Wright thing? (FLEW) Well, DESIGNED A BUILDING won't fit, so you know he's talking about Orville and Wilbur and not Frank Lloyd.

48A: Chase scenes were often seen during its broadcasts (SNL) I was kinda torn on this one as to whether it belonged here or in the Suns of Bitches category. I like the clue, but shouldn't it have a question mark after it or at least some indication that the answer is an abbreviation?

59A: Certain toy, for short (PEKE) I mean, if they're going to let us know the dog's name has been shortened, shouldn't they do the same with "Saturday Night Live"?

58D: Novel idea? (PLOT) By the way, next month is National Novel Writing Month, and I intend to participate. If you think you might to write a novel in November (no pressure, it doesn't have to be a good one, as it says on their website "Valuing enthusiasm and perseverance over painstaking craft, NaNoWriMo is a novel-writing program for everyone who has thought fleetingly about writing a novel but has been scared away by the time and effort involved") you can get more information here.

Sundries:

24D: Cranny (NOOK) If these words mean the same thing, why do we always say "nook and cranny" instead of "nook" or "cranny"?

55D: Movie character who says "The, uh, stuff that dreams are made of." (SPADE) Humphrey Bogart as Sam Spade in "The Maltese Falcon." As far as hardboiled detectives go, I was always more of a Chandler than a Hammett man, but this is a great movie and a great line -- changing only letter from Prospero in Shakespeare's "The Tempest": "We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life is rounded with a sleep." Carly Simon later had a hit song with the same title as Mr. Spade's famous line (minus the "uh").

(By the way you can win a few bar bets by challenging your fellow imbibers to quote the last line of "The Maltese Falcon". Most people think the "dreams" line is it, but the last line is actually from the guy Spade makes his poetic pronouncement to. He says, "Huh?" and that's the last lien of the movie.)

62D: Producer of Coldplay's "Viva la Vida" album (ENO) Musical reference, three letters, it's got to be ENO. It's interesting though that he's associated with this short musical name as his real full name is Brian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno.

45D: Like some marriages (SAME SEX) I try to keep politics out of my crossword commentary. I don't always succeed but I do try. I can't help wondering though why the party that prides itself on staying out of people's personal lives is the same party that wants to tell you who you can and cannot marry.

67A: Doctor's words (TRY TO RELAX) The only time a doctor has ever said this to me was during a procedure where it is impossible to relax.

42A: Circles (ENGIRDLES) When I was a kid, "girdle" was the punch line of every other dirty joke. I still remember this little ditty from second grade:

"Yankee Doodle went to town a riding on a turtle, turned a corner just in time to see a lady's girdle."

I wasn't too sure exactly what a girdle was but I knew it was both dirty and hilarious.

Suns of Bitches:

50A: Pussy thing on a puss (ZIT) Not too difficult to figure out once you get your "u" sounds all straightened out. But still -- Yuck! I doubt you'll ever see the word "pussy" in a New York Times clue.

See you next Thursday.

Norrin