Thursday, January 29, 2009

Title: Chop to it
Author: David J. Kahn
Theme: is spelled out at 39a: Antelope with spiraled horns (and a hint to this puzzle's theme) (ADDAX). In other words, the letters A and X are added to common phrases to create new and unexpected answers that are then clued. Like most themes it's easier to show than to spell out:

18a: Levy on cover girls? (MODELTAX).

60a: Try to influence a game show leader? (COAXHOST).

3d: Person born in northwest Germany 1,500 years ago? (NATIVESAXON).

6d: Deception requiring a vote recount? (TALLYHOAX).

25d: Is a student in a housekeeping course? (TAKESWAXING). Also, I guess, a class one might take in cosmetology

36d: Dissertation about neuron appendages? (AXONPAPER). My least favorite of the themed entries -- because I'm not too hip on sub-atomic stuff and I can't find a picture of an axon.

Sunny Spots:

52a: Place for steamers? (SPA). Love those sauna jokes.

26d: NPR's Hansen (LIANE). Co-host with Will Shortz of the NPR Weekend Edition Sunday Puzzle, which I will win someday.

9d: Start of a noted palindrome (MADAM). As in "Madam, I'm Adam." My first thought was AMANA, as in the start to another noted palindrome "A man, a plan, a canal, Panama."

Suns of Bitches: Nothing really, although I did not and still don't know anything about "Knuffle Bunny" so 47d: Girl in the "Knuffle Bunny" books (TRIXIE) was tough.

Sundries: (Presented sans commentary due to poor time management)

1a: Like some yogurt (NONFAT).

7a: Chip maker (IBM).

10a: With 35-Across, die (PASS).

14a: "Spamalot" costar (AZARIA).

15a: Prix fixe alternative (ALACARTE).

17a: "I want to hear all the details" (DOTELL).

19a: "Idylls of the King" name (ENID).

20a: "Otello" premiere locale (LASCALA).

22a: Accelerate, with "up" (REV).

23a: Edgar Allan Poe character Arthur Gordon ___ (PYM).

24a: Courage and fortitude (METTLE).

28a: Spellbind (ENCHANT).

32a: Adjust one's sights, maybe (REAIM).

33a: Language of Afghanistan (PASHTO).

35a: See 10-Across (AWAY).

37a: Jazz trombonist Winding (KAI).

38a: 60-year-old carrier (ELAL).

41a: Fender flaw (DENT).

42a: ___-en-Provence (AIX).

43a: 11% of DC (LXVI).

44a: Weights (ONUSES).

46a: Franklin (CNOTE).

48a: Sherbet variety (RAINBOW).

50a: Matisse and others (HENRIS).

53a: Galoot (APE).

56a: "Understood" (IGOTCHA).

59a: Line through the poles (AXIS).

63a: Cans (POKIES).

65a: What a zigzag line might represent in a schematic (RESISTOR).

66a: Make clear (EVINCE).

67a: False negative? (TRUE).

68a: Fashion monogram (YSL).

69a: Kitchen appliances (RANGES).

1d: LaDuke was his vice presidential running mate in 1996 and 2000 (NADER).

2d: Triatomic form of oxygen (OZONE).

4d: Ethel's husband (FRED).

5d: Be hurting (AIL).

7d: Cat food brand (IAMS).

8d: Cartel (BLOC).

10d: Epicurean sense (PALATE).

11d: Works at the Whitney (ART).

12d: D.C.'s Union, for one (STA).

13d: Census form info (SEX).

16d: Waldorf salad ingredient (CELERY).

21d: Org. with a staff of Aesculapius logo (AMA).

23d: Mtge. point, for example (PCT).

27d: Gives out (EMITS).

29d: Wild bunch?: Abbr. (NHL).

30d: First name at the 1976 Summer Olympics (NADIA).

31d: "You're going to like us" sloganeer (TWA).

33d: Crayola color that used to be called Flesh (PEACH).

34d: Dress with a flared skirt (ALINE).

40d: TiVo, e.g. (DVR).

41d: Couple (DUO).

43d: Vivien and Janet of filmdom (LEIGHS).

45d: It has four franchises in Calif. (NBA).

49d: Freak ending? (ISH).

51d: Black, in a way (SOOTY).

54d: Knight, e.g. (PIECE).

55d: A lot of stress? (ESSES).

57d: General ___ chicken (TSOS).

58d: Keyboard key (CTRL).

59d: Having a similar quality (AKIN).

60d: Monitor, for short (CRT).

61d: "Jingle Bells" contraction (OER).

62d: Tempe inst. (ASU).

64d: Fertilizable gametes (OVA).




Today's puzzle was brought to you by your friendly neighborhood addax.
Have a nice Thursday, Norrin

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Title: Go Team!
Author: David J. Kahn
Theme: Add USA to a common phrase.

• G.E. Building => USAGE BUILDING (20a: New grammar student's goal?).



• Med school => MEDUSA SCHOOL (26a: Group of young jellyfish?). Did you know that a medusa was a jellyfish? I didn't, but it makes sense when you think of the Medusa's tentacled hair.


• So to speak => SOUSA TO SPEAK (45a: Headline about an upcoming lecture by "The March King"?). Here's an awesome version of Sousa's "Stars and Stripes Forever" for solo guitar.




• Sage advice => SAUSAGE ADVICE (53a: Tips on cooking chopped meat in a casing?).

Very cool theme, coinciding nicely with the Beijing Olympics. All four theme entries are excellent both in their base phrases and reconstructed meanings.

Sunny Spots:

• 40a: Kegling spot (ALLEY). Kegling is another name for bowling. I prefer to think of it as a noun, picturing a bunch of baby beer kegs running around.


• 59a: Frozen rope (LINER). As a baseball term, liner is not that exciting. But "frozen rope" is just a beautiful metophor for it.



• 3d: No-goodnik (SCOUNDREL). I like scoundrel as a word. It implies, to me, a certain je ne sais quoi that is not totally evil or unlikeable.


• 27d: Hoe houses (SHEDS). Love the innuendo in the clue.

Sundries:

• 6a: Play tricks (JAPE).



• 14a: Goal of a "For your consideration" ad, maybe (OSCAR). I guess I don't read the right magazines, because I'd never seen one of these before that I can recall. But it's logical, and so not particularly difficult.


• 15a: Dodger teammate of Fernando in the 1980s (OREL). Always looking for new ways to squeeze Orel Hershiser into the puzzle, eh?



• 18a: Richard of "Home Improvement" (KARN). I knew exactly which character this was, Al Borland. But I didn't know the actor's last name without some crossing help.


• 25a: Peer group (NOBLES). I didn't get this at first. A peer is a nobleperson in Great Britain.


• 31a: Wife of Cronus (RHEA).


• 38a: Goosen rival (ELS). Quick, name a golfer besides Els in three letters. Yeah, I couldn't either. Well, that's not entirely true, there's Wie and Pak, but they're not MALE (39a: Like Viagra takers), and play in a different league than Retief Goosen.


• 42a: Sigourney's role in "Gorillas in the Mist" (DIAN Fossey).


• 44a: Media center? (DEE). Cryptic clue. Didn't fool me for a second. Well, maybe just that long.


• 57a: Mathematician Gödel (KURT). "Gödel, Escher, Bach" was one of my favorite reads back in college. If you like math at all, you should check it out.


• 63a: Taunting remark (GIBE).


• 2d: Hot flick? (ASH). Cute.


• 4d: Long Island county that borders Queens (NASSAU).


• 7d: Shatt-al-___ (river to the Persian Gulf) (ARAB).


• 8d: Big zinc exporter (PERU). I'm embarrassed at how long I stared at _E_U without seeing a country name in there. What's wrong with me?


• 9d: Weather phenomenon (EL NINO). Gimme.



• 10d: "Jurassic Park" actor (GOLDBLUM).


• 12d: Piglet's creator (MILNE). Gotta love all the "Winnie-the-Pooh" characters. Great stories.


• 23d: Headquarters of ConAgra (OMAHA). Easy guess from the O.


• 33d: Added up (MADE SENSE).


• 37d: Stopped, in legalese (DESISTED).


• 41d: Subject of many Hindu texts (YOGA).


• 43d: Home rule? (NO TV). Is this a rule in many homes? Not many that I've been in.


• 46d: Releases from censorship (UNGAGS).



• 48d: Actor whose character said "Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer" (PACINO). From "Godfather II".


• 55d: "Fantastic Four" actress (ALBA).

Suns of Bitches:

• 28d: Duke Frederick's daughter in "As You Like It" (CELIA). Not one I knew. Got it from the crossings.

Despite my having a slow time in the North Dakota section, I enjoyed this puzzle. I don't think it was harder than yesterday's, but that one was tough for a Tuesday. This puzzle felt about right. Good one.

Thanks for listening.

- Pete M.

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Title: Two of a Kind
Author: David J. Kahn
Theme: Two men who have won five major awards: Oscar, Tony, Emmy, Grammy, and Pultizer Prize.

• 17a: With 26-Across, award #1 (PULITZER / PRIZE). Literature.


• 18a: Award #2 (GRAMMY). Music.


• 25a: Award #3 (TONY). Theater.


• 50a: Award #4 (OSCAR). Movies.


• 51a: Award #5 (EMMY). Television.


• 35a: With 37-Across, one of only two recipients of all five awards in this puzzle (RICHARD / RODGERS). Of Rodgers and Hammerstein, etc.


• 56a: With 59-Across, the other recipient of all five awards (MARVIN / HAMLISCH). I know him best for his contributions to "The Sting", one of my all-time favorite films.

Despite the fact that several of the theme answers are shorter than usual, I really liked the theme. This was a piece of trivia that I may have heard before, but I would never have come up with the names unprompted. According to Wikipedia, there are 12 people who have won the four major awards (not including the Pulitzer). Check out the list (including details of what they won for) here.

Sunny Spots:

• 11d: Transparent (LIMPID). Limpid is an excellent word.


• 12d: Obstetrician Fernand (LAMAZE). I love this kind of clue, because at first glance it's a "What the...?", but then you get the answer from the crossings and it becomes a "Doh! Of course!". If you haven't had kids yet, you might be at a disadvantage here.


• 27d: "Help!" name (RINGO Starr). Poor Ringo. He'll always be the lesser-Beatle.


• 29d: "Star Trek" weapon (PHASER). Set to stun. I'm a fan of the original "Star Trek" as well as "Star Trek: The Next Generation". "Deep Space Nine" was okay, "Voyager" might have been tolerable if not for Janeway, and I haven't seen a single episode of "Enterprise".

Sundries:

• 1a: "Kindly answer" (RSVP).


• 5a: The Trojans of the Pac-10 (USC).


• 13a: Little cupid (AMORETTO). I wasn't familiar with this term, but it makes sense. Not to be confused with AMARETTO, which is a liqueur.


• 15a: Television antenna (AERIAL). I bit dated these days, but okay.


• 20a: Hole in a sweater? (PORE). Good clue.


• 22a: Normal (PAR). Props for the golf reference.


• 31a: "___ Spirit" (Noël Coward play) (BLITHE).


• 53a: "The Marvelous City" (RIO).


• 63a: "___ Man" (1992 comedy) (ENCINO). I've got to admit, I'm not a huge Brendan Fraser fan and I'm much less a Pauly Shore fan. Sean Astin was great in "The Lord of the Rings" as Sam Gamgee.


• 64a: Lotion ingredient (ALOE VERA). This is, at least, more interesting a fill than ALOE by itself.


• 65a: Martin of "The Departed" (SHEEN). Now that's a good film.


• 66a: Cut (SAW).


• 60d: Cut (MOW). As crossing words go with the same clue, this one's pretty dull.


• 1d: Thwack (RAP). These don't feel the same to me, but I'm having a hard time defining why. For me, a thwack implies hitting with an object, like a stick, that maybe even has some springiness to it (unlike, say, a baseball bat); rap is something you do with knuckles.


• 3d: Like some ash (VOLCANIC). Super easy, especially with the leading V. I mean, what else could it be?


• 5d: Brand of pretzels (UTZ). Great-looking brand name, to go along with EDYS (67a: Rival of Breyers).


• 9d: "___ Town Too" (1981 hit song) (HER). Not familiar with the song, but not hard to guess.


• 14d: Gen. Eisenhower commanded it (ETO). Common fill. Remember it.


• 16d: Ancient strings (LYRES). I never know whether to put LYRES or LUTES for this one.


• 24d: MGM musical of 1953 (LILI). This I only know from puzzles.


• 39d: Scream (RIOT). As in, that comic was a scream.


• 42d: Some motorbikes (YAMAHAS). Also some pianos.


• 44d: Cowriter of "The Christmas Song" (Mel TORME). "Chestnuts roasting on an open fire..."


• 46d: Char (SCORCH).


• 48d: Graceful African antelope (IMPALA). Also a classic Chevrolet.


• 54d: At another time (ANON). I started with ANEW here, which slowed me down.


• 55d: ___ Miss (OLE). I've seen them in the NCAA basketball tourney.


• 61d: "Big Girls Don't ___" (CRY).

Suns of Bitches:

• 43a: New Jersey town bordering Teaneck (LEONIA).

I thought this was a great theme for a Tuesday, with decent, if not earth-shattering, fill. Overall, I found it quite fair and enjoyable.

Thanks for listening.

- Pete M.