Thursday, September 18, 2008

Title: Those Were the Days
Author: Alex Boisvert
Theme: Quip by comedian Demetri Martin

• I REMEMBER WHEN


• I USED TO REALLY BE


• INTO NOSTALGIA.

I know a lot of people aren't fans of quip and quote puzzles, since you only get one "Aha" moment instead of perhaps several. But I like Demetri Martin's brand of humor, so this one was fine by me.

Sunny Spots:

• 8d: Rehearsal (DRY RUN). I'm not sure what the origin of this phrase is, but it might be military (i.e., without live ammo).


• 11d: Pickle (QUANDARY). Good word, with a Q to boot.


• 44d: Palace guard, perhaps (EUNUCH). This amuses me because it reminds me of my all-time favorite "Dilbert" cartoon.

Sundries:

• 5a: Sale spot (YARD). Yard, barn, tent, ... pick one.


• 9a: Excite (PIQUE).


• 14a: "Piece of My Heart" singer Franklin (ERMA). Aretha's older sister. Janis Joplin's version is a cover of this original. Hear it here.


• 15a: Prefix with mensch (UBER). I do like the prefix UBER-.


• 17a: Da ___ (from the top, in music) (CAPO).


• 19a: Barbecue sides (SLAWS). It's a rare barbecue that has multiple slaws, but okay.



• 23a: Italian sandwiches (PANINI).


• 24a: 180, familiarly (UEY). Guessed the correct spelling the first time.


• 25a: POTUS #34 (DDE). Eisehower, the 34th President of the United States.


• 32a: Fidel's brother (RAUL).


• 40a: Like the accent in "crème" (GRAVE). High school French to the rescue again.


• 41a: Verklempt person's cry (OY VEY).


• 45a: Beast in Numbers (ASS). We're talking Bible here.


• 50a: Longtime Kentucky basketball coach Rupp (ADOLPH). I didn't know this, but it's a common enough name that it fell pretty easily.


• 56a: Rapids transit? (CANOE). I'm not sure why the '?' is necessary here. My first instinct was KAYAK, as it has nicer letters. Here's a nice Winslow Homer painting on the subject.



• 58a: Jamaican tangelo (UGLI).


• 59a: Quarters where quarters might be played (DORM). Quarters is the bugle call indicating it's time to return to quarters for the evening. Hear it here.


• 61a: Popular cat name (CLEO). Really? People name their cats Cleo? I've never met a cat named Cleo. Or is there something about this clue that I'm missing?


• 62a: Railroad company known as "The scarlet woman of Wall Street" (ERIE). I'm sure there's a story here, but I'm too lazy to digging for what it might be.


• 64a: Felled (HEWN). This was in the destruction zone of the puzzle, along with 55d: Struck down (SLEW), 57d: Hack (AXE), and the red herring, 56d: Hack (CAB).


• 1d: Offering at epicurious.com (RECIPE).


• 2d: It's called Masis in Armenian (ARARAT). This clue has Peter Gordon written all over it.


• 5d: Superlatively scrumptious (YUMMIEST).


• 12d: Motor City org. (UAW).


• 13d: Overhead rumblers (ELS).


• 30d: "Cantar de ___ Cid" (Spanish epic poem) (MIO).


• 31d: Result of dropping a can of corn (ERROR).



• 32d: "You may ___ on it" (Magic 8 Ball pronouncement) (RELY). For those of you who never broke one of these open, here is what the inside die looks like.


• 33d: Winter precipitazione (NEVE). A little stretchy, but I know it's "neige" in French, so it's not totally out there.


• 34d: Walter's "Hopscotch" costar (GLENDA). Walter Matthau and Glenda Jackson.


• 35d: "What hump?" speaker (IGOR). From "Young Frankenstein".




• 37d: Second-largest Mediterranean island (SARDINIA).


• 38d: Illuminati symbol (EYE).


• 39d: "Birthplace of ___ Pioneers" (phrase on an Ohio quarter) (AVIATION).


• 43d: Sobbing syllable (HOO). Half of Boo-hoo. Kind of weak.


• 45d: Current TV cofounder (AL GORE).

Suns of Bitches:

• 60a: Spaceship in "Wall-E" (AXIOM). I never saw the movie, so this was crossings only.


• 4d: "The Shock Doctrine" author Klein (NAOMI). Hitting my first-name weakness again here.


• 7d: "And Then There Were None" director Clair (RENE). Ditto.

Overall, this puzzle was just okay for me. The theme was fine, for a quote, but I wasn't crazy about the non-theme long fill. QUANDARY was good, if not exciting. YUMMIEST... well, jury's still out on YUMMIEST. SARDINIA and AVIATION are both a little dry.

Thanks for listening.

- Pete M.

Monday, June 16, 2008

Title: Sayings of the Times
Author: Alex Boisvert
Theme: Famous catch phrases from five decades of television.

• 17a: Catchphrase of '60s TV (SOCK IT TO ME). From "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In"


• 25a: Catchphrase of '70s TV (BOOK 'EM DANNO). From "Hawaii Five-O"


• 37a: Catchphrase of '80s TV (ISN'T THAT SPECIAL). From "Saturday Night Live"


• 47a: Catchphrase of '90s TV (HELLO NEWMAN). From "Seinfeld"


• 57a: Catchphrase of '00s TV (YOU'RE FIRED). From "The Apprentice"

Ok, this is going to be short post as I had a high-school graduation and party this weekend, plus a baseball game, Father's Day, watching the U.S. Open (Go Tiger!) and watching the NBA Finals (Go Celtics!). I'll let you guys pick up the slack in the comments.

I like the theme. Nice, easy concept, but with colorful, evocative phrases that bring you back to times in your life that you watched the shows in question.

Sunny Spots:

Not too much really jumped out at me in this one. The most interesting fill is probably:

• 53a: Its ingredients may include cocoa, confectioners' sugar, and vanillin (EXLAX). It may not pass the "breakfast test", but it's a cool word and has two Xs.

Sundries:

• 6a: Exam with maximum score of 45T (MCAT). I was not familiar with the scoring system of the MCAT, but there aren't that many exams that show up in puzzles: SAT, ACT, GRE, LSAT, MCAT. That's about it.


• 10a: "Up and ___!" (Radioactive Man's battle cry) (ATOM).


• 14a: Hot house of sorts (SAUNA). Not too deceptive.


• 15a: Lake that contains Canada's southernmost point (ERIE). Easy.


• 16a: Man-to-man alternative (ZONE). Topical with the NBA finals going on.


• 31a: Hit song's place (SIDE A). For whatever reason, SIDE B seems to show up more in puzzles.


• 43a: Sporty auto, for short ('VETTE).


• 45a: Is steamed (SEES RED). Does this phrase originate from bull fighting (like the bull getting angry from seeing the red cape)? Or something else?


• 65a: Airline that doesn't schedule flights on Shabbat (EL AL).


• 66a: Bollix (up) (MESS). I like the clue for this one.


• 67a: Allowed, for short (LEGIT).



• 3d: Jean-___ Picard ("Star Trek" captain) (LUC).


• 4d: "Puppy Love" singer Paul (ANKA). I don't know why I know this.


• 5d: Vessel moved by the wind (SAILBOAT). Dull, as sailing clues go, but still a sailing clue.


• 7d: Kick the bucket (CROAK). "Kick the bucket" is one of the all-time great euphemisms. Croak? Well, not so much.


• 11d: Venom, e.g. (TOXIN).


• 12d: ___ rings (fried side) (ONION). Mmm. Food.


• 21d: ___ Bach ("Fanfare for the Common Cold" composer) (PDQ). Funny stuff.


• 34d: Explosive liquid, briefly (NITRO).


• 35d: Dinger (TATER). Slang for home run, in baseball.


• 38d: Word with French or English (HORN).


• 40d: Not at all dull (EVENTFUL).


• 44d: Hottie (FOX).


• 47d: Pronoun with a slash (HE/SHE).


• 48d: Sing the praises of (EXTOL).


• 49d: Cousin of an alpaca (LLAMA).


• 51d: Defeats handily (WHUPS). Something seems wrong with this spelling, but I'm not sure what.


• 59d: Scott Joplin creation (RAG). Love Scott Joplin. Good stuff.

Suns of Bitches:

• 28a: Jeremy Piven's role on "Entourage" (ARI GOLD). Huh?


• 10d: Hyundai sedan (AZERA). Never heard of this one, either.

Luckily, both were easily determined from the crossings.

Lots of Xs for a Monday puzzle. Nice theme. Average fill. Overall, a decent Monday.

Thanks for listening.

- Pete M.