Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Title: Stick Pin Swords
Author: Alan Arbesfeld
Theme: Stick 'P' in S-Words.

• 17a: Reason to stop filming "Star Trek"? (SPOCKS AWAY).


• 20a: First comment from a certain doctor? (ORIGINAL SPIN). A spin doctor.


• 39a: Insecure vet's admission? (IT'S HARD TO SPAY). Ouch.


• 57a: Bee winners, usually? (BEST SPELLERS). My instinct was that bestseller was a b-word, but I guess it's common as two words as well.


• 62a: Cash for methamphetamines? (SPEED MONEY). Drug reference tag.

This is a great example of how a fantastic title turns a ho-hum concept into a beautiful theme. Plus, all the base and modified phrases are excellent.

Sunny Spots:

• 6d: Casino game for egomaniacs?: Abbr. (ANAG). Toughest and coolest clue of the day. "Casino game" and "egomaniacs" are anagrams of each other. Very nice.

Sundries:

• 16a: "Blue Suede Shoes" songwriter Perkins (CARL).


• 19a: 1975 Hot Chocolate hit (EMMA). I don't remember this one at all. I remember "I Believe in Miracles (You Sexy Thing)", which I think was one of the songs they danced to in "The Full Monty", wasn't it?





• 22a: San ___ (department of Paraguay) (PEDRO). Oh, please. How about a "Vote For Pedro" clue?


• 25a: Springfield Elementary School teacher Krabappel (EDNA). I don't watch "The Simpsons" enough to know the peripheral names, but that's my own fault. After all, they've been on now for 45 seasons.


• 27a: Pakistani president Asif ___ Zardari (ALI).


• 28a: Rotation player's need (CUE). Rotation is a billiards game.


• 33a: Cartoon girl with a pink T-shirt and orange shorts (DORA). Never seen it, but all I needed was "Cartoon girl" and I was pretty sure where this one was going.


• 42a: "I bet" (YEAH SURE).


• 43a: Belt (SLUG). I started with SOCK, changed it to SWIG when I got the G, and then finally to SLUG.


• 45a: Tennis gold medalist at the 2008 Olympics (NADAL).



• 47a: What you must know how to do to solve a kakuro puzzle (ADD). One of the many Japanese pencil and paper games trying to ride the Sudoku wave.


• 50a: Sex starter (UNI). I went with ESS first, but it's a cryptic prefix, not a cryptic letter clue.


• 61a: "As I see it," in chat room shorthand (IMHO). In my humble opinion. Which is funny, because it's almost never a humble opinion.


• 68a: Mostest-loved thing (FAVE).


• 69a: What often does it? (EASY). Cute.


• 2d: Royal headwear? (CAP). As in a Kansas City Royal baseball player.


• 7d: "Holy smokes!" (ZOWIE).



• 9d: "Diary of the Sinai Campaign" author (Moshe DAYAN).


• 10d: Winners when led in no-trump (ACES). Bridge clue.


• 11d: Where to find designer discounts (SAMPLE SALES).


• 21d: Blue gemstone (LAPIS).


• 24d: Dinner leftovers? (DIRTY DISHES).


• 41d: Tent for nomads (YURT). I just saw this again recently.


• 45d: Sexually attractive (NUBILE). Comes from the Latin for "to marry".


• 53d: Comeback (REPLY). Went RALLY first.


• 56d: You might celebrate its independence with a BBQ (USOFA). I never noticed SOFA was part of U.S. of A. That's kind of appropriate, don't you think?


• 58d: "Copacabana" bartender (TONY).




• 59d: Blocks at a daycare center (LEGO). I'd be happier if the answer were plural.


• 65d: Jones (YEN).
This may have started as a drug reference as well.

Suns of Bitches:

None to speak of.

Nice puzzle. Not much else to 47a (ADD).

Thanks for listening.

- Pete M.

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Title: Catching Some Rays
Author: Alan Arbesfeld
Theme: Phrases that contain people or things that are Rays

• 17a: Rotten, e.g. (PUNK ROCKER). Ray Kroc, founder of McDonalds. This is my favorite clue of the theme bunch, referring to Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols.



• 23a: Telescope measure (FOCAL LENGTH). Ray Allen, of the World Champion Boston Celtics.


• 38a: Instruments for measuring minute differences in pressure (MICROMANOMETERS). Of "Everybody Loves Raymond".


• 48a: WWII vehicle (SHERMAN TANK). This is where the theme went wonky for me. Three people in a row named Ray (all first names), and now we get manta ray? I was trying to figure out who Ray Herman was.


• 60a: Homestretch (FINAL PHASE). A second "thing" ray (sounds like "sting ray" with a lisp), alpha ray technically balances out the theme (3 people and 2 things), but it would have felt a lot more balanced if, say, the second and fourth fills were swapped. Having three last names in a row followed by two ray types gives the impression of two themes cobbled together rather than of a cohesive concept.

Sunny Spots:
You know, nothing really jumps out. Both long downs, TERRORIZES and DELINEATED are fine words, but nothing to write home about.

Sundries:

• 7a: Drama with lots of fans (NOH). Cute clue, but kind of obvious.


• 10a: Home, informally (DIGS).


• 14a: Unification Church member (MOONIE).


• 20a: Alter, in a way (SPAY). Ouch.


• 25a: Pam's longtime doubles partner (MARTINA). Pam Shriver and Martina Navratilova.


• 30a: Like the walls of some college buildings (IVIED). More than some, in New England.


• 34a: He was on the first cover of Dynamite magazine (ALDA). As Hawkeye of "M*A*S*H", apparently.



• 44a: SI unit of electrical resistance (OHM). No, SI isn't Sports Illustrated. This clue pairs with 1d: Current units, for short (AMPS).


• 46a: Confine (TIE DOWN).


• 53a: Timex competitor (CASIO). Guessed SEIKO first, which slowed down this corner a bit.


• 62a: Title apiarist of a 1997 movie (ULEE). Sitting atop 65a: Waggle dance performers (BEES).


• 64a: Roman alternative (ITALIC). Type fonts.


• 2d: Prettify (DO UP).


• 3d: "The Best of Everything" novelist Jaffe (RONA).



• 4d: One of the Pac-Man ghosts (INKY). Inky, Pinky, Blinky, and Clyde. Inky is the cyan-colored one.


• 5d: Pocket contents? (AIR). Of an air pocket, sure.


• 6d: "Sweet ___" (2005 Rolling Stones song) (NEO CON). A song aimed squarely at George W. Bush. Here are the lyrics:
  

  
  You call yourself a Christian 
  I think that you're a hypocrite 
  You say you are a patriot 
  I think that you're a crock of shit 
  
  And listen, I love gasoline 
  I drink it every day 
  But it's getting very pricey 
  And who is going to pay
  
  How come you're so wrong 
  My sweet neo con....   Yeah 
  
  It's liberty for all 
  'Cause democracy's our style 
  Unless you are against us 
  Then it's prison without trial 
  
  But one thing that is certain 
  Life is good at Haliburton 
  If you're really so astute 
  You should invest at Brown & Root.... Yeah 
  
  How come you're so wrong 
  My sweet neo con
  If you turn out right 
  I'll eat my hat tonight 
  
  Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.... 
  
  It's getting very scary 
  Yes, I'm frightened out of my wits 
  There's bombers in my bedroom 
  Yeah and it's giving me the shits 
  
  We must have loads more bases 
  To protect us from our foes 
  Who needs these foolish friendships
  We're going it alone 
  
  How come you're so wrong 
  My sweet neo con
  Where's the money gone
  In the Pentagon 
  
  Yeah ha ha ha 
  Yeah, well, well 
  
  Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah 
  Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah... 
  Neo con 



• 8d: Negro Leagues great Buck (O'NEIL). By the time I read this clue, I already had ONEI_. What else is it going to be?



• 11d: Eyewitness's activity at a lineup (IDING). I don't know if or how to punctuate that one, but it doesn't look right the way it is. I.D.-ING?


• 12d: Full range (GAMUT).


• 18d: Seventeen-year locusts, e.g. (CICADAS).


• 22d: Rob's boss on "The Dick Van Dyke Show" (MEL).


• 24d: Jodie's "Nell" costar (LIAM). Jodie Foster and Liam Neeson.


• 27d: Bridal shower? (RICE).


• 32d: Righteous Babe record label founder DiFranco (ANI). Blah blah blah DiFranco.



• 33d: Taqueria offering (TOSTADA). Mmmmm.


• 47d: Bad way to be caught (IN A LIE).


• 48d: Benchwarmer (SCRUB).


• 50d: Rival of Bobbi (ESTÉE). Bobbi Brown and Estée Lauder, cosmetic giants.


• 57d: China setting (ASIA). Cute clue, but easy.


• 61d: Former currency of Spain: Abbr. (PTA). Short for peseta. Again, Peter Gordon eschews the standard PTA clues.

Suns of Bitches:

• 41a: Singer/actress Linda (EDER).



• 59a: Last name of a team of comedic brothers (RITZ). I don't believe I've ever heard of the Ritz Brothers. Let's see... ah yes, 1930s films -- no wonder. My first two thoughts were MARX and COEN.


• 35d: Jared of "Panic Room" (LETO). Are we on a Jodie-Foster-movie kick today? Reminds me, I need to watch "Taxi Driver" again soon.


• 49d: Runner Gebrselassie who holds the world record in the marathon (HAILE). I'm sure I've seen this name several times before, but it just doesn't stick.

Despite the slight awkwardness of the theme layout and lack of really crackling non-theme fill, this was a pretty solid puzzle. No major complaints. Let's leave it at that.

Thanks for listening.

- Pete M.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Title: E-Trade
Author: Alan Arbesfeld
Theme: Moving an E from one word of a phrase to another.

• Swing state => SEWING STAT (17a: Number of stitches per minute?). With or without the question mark, I think this clue warrants a "for example".



• Guest of honor => GUST OF HONORÉ (24a: Passionate outburst from painter Daumier?). Might be a tad obscure for some, but I didn't mind it.


• Stars and Stripes => STARES AND STRIPS (36a: Burlesque show happenings?). Despite the fact that I'm not crazy about the use of "happenings", I really like this fill.


• Bare the brunt => BAR THE BRUNET (49a: "Don't let that dark-haired guy inside!"?). Cute.


• Orange Bowl => ORANG BOWEL (59a: Specimen in a simian autopsy, maybe?). Eek! This is certainly a fill you would never see in the NYT. Most of the time, I find this lack of forced prudishness refreshing, but this one just kind of grosses me out.

Sunny Spots:

• 16a: You might get off on this (RAMP). I love this clue.


• 47a: Musses up (TOUSLES). This is an example of a good verb fill. Not a terribly common nor obscure word, yet one that evokes an immediate image or feeling. Another good one is RATCHETS (9d: Increases by degrees, with "up").


• 56d: Item in a tale of whoa? (REIN). This clue just cracks me up. Sorry.

Sundries:

• 1a: Where barkers may be found (FAIRS).




• 10a: Fossey subjects (APES).


• 15a: Sonoma neighbor (NAPA). California wine regions.


• 19a: Setting for part of the documentary "Sicko" (CUBA). Michael Moore's film about the U.S. health care system. Haven't seen it, so I'm not sure where Cuba plays in.


• 21a: 6% of L (III). 6% of 50 equals 50% of 6.


• 30a: Sister of Goneril (REGAN). From "King Lear".


• 31a: Fake fat brand (OLEAN).


• 33a: Canon shooter (EOS). Camera model.


• 41a: Sugar substitute? (HON). Are there people out there who call each other "Sugar"? Is this a Southern thing? I mostly hear DEAR (66a: Treasured). Might have been a nice balance to clue OLEAN as "Fat substitute".


• 42a: Class action gp.? (PTA). Clever.



• 44a: Cheesy Chihuahua chip (NACHO). A little alliteration: alluring or lame?


• 52a: Money manager? (EDITOR). Money magazine.


• 54a: Daughter of Cronus (HERA). ERIE rule, for me.


• 63a: "Must've been something ___" (I ATE).


• 65a: Digs of twigs (NEST). Rhyme time: sublime or crime?


• 67a: 1968 A.L. Cy Young Award winner McLain (DENNY). I remember Denny Doyle, but not Denny McLain.


• 2d: Support in skulduggery (ABET). Simple, but I love the word skulduggery.


• 4d: Slicker, e.g. (RAINGEAR).



• 5d: BART stop (STN). The BART is San Francisco's (Bay Area) rapid transit system.


• 10d: Mysterious matters (ARCANA).


• 11d: Yank who was a Red (PAUL O'NEILL). I guess this was supposed to evoke some war or national misdirection, but it was pretty clearly baseball to me.


• 12d: Barbecue leftover (EMBER). I was slower than I should have been here because my mind was thinking food.


• 18d: Meat (GIST). The meat of the issue.



• 25d: Magazine that dropped "Reader" from its name and then put it back a few years later (UTNE). I only know this from puzzles. I've never read it.


• 29d: Youngest person to win a Grammy (LEANN RIMES). Interesting trivia.


• 37d: Earth, e.g. (SPHEROID).


• 40d: Nurse employer (REST HOME).


• 46d: Comedian Margaret (CHO). This one I knew. I've seen her act on television more than once.




• 47d: "I, Tina" autobiographer (TURNER).


• 48d: Blood type of a universal donor, briefly (O-NEG). That's O-Neg, not One-G.


• 49d: Set in motion (BEGAN). Watch out for those verbs that can be present or past tense...


• 50d: Saw (ADAGE). ...and those verbs that are also nouns.


• 51d: Rodeo lasso (RIATA).


• 55d: McGregor of "Deception" (EWAN).

Suns of Bitches:

• 20a: "Mr. Mom" director Dragoti (STAN).


• 26d: "High Noon" director Zinnemann (FRED). Two director's first name clues in one puzzle? No, thanks.


• 38d: Not know from ___ (be ignorant) (A TO B). I've never heard of this expression. I went with ADAM, even though the definition felt a little off.


• 60d: "Criss Cross" novelist Lynne ___ Perkins (RAE). No idea.

Decent puzzle. Running late. Not much else to say.

Thanks for listening.

- Pete M.

Monday, November 3, 2008

Title: Breezy Tunes
Author: Alan Arbesfeld
Theme: Phrases whose first words are also the start of song titles that end "in the Wind".

• 20a: 1967 Van Morrison album with the hit "Brown Eyed Girl" (BLOWIN' YOUR MIND). Referencing the Bob Dylan song "Blowin' in the Wind".


• 25a: Weapon in the game Clue (CANDLESTICK). Referencing the Elton John song "Candle in the Wind".


• 43a: Cordless cleaners (DUST BUSTERS). Referencing the Kansas song "Dust in the Wind".


• 53a: 1990 Roscoe Mitchell album (and this puzzle's theme) (SONGS IN THE WIND). Hmm. I suppose as a guy whose last name is Mitchell, I should know who this guy is. Since I don't, I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that he's country. Let's check... nope, jazz! Wow, I couldn't be much more wrong there. Listening to this clip, he sounds a bit more edgy than the jazz I typically listen to. More Ornette Coleman than, say, John Coltrane or Stan Getz.

I didn't pay any attention to this theme until after I was done, and even then it took me a few seconds for it to click. But I'm a huge music fan, so in the end I have to admit I liked it just fine.

Sunny Spots:

• 41a: Debug? (FUMIGATE). Like the fill, love the clue. As a software engineer, I can really appreciate this one.



• 42d: 1939 title role for Robert Donat (MR CHIPS).


• 34d: Eavesdrops (LISTENS IN). Easy clue, but nice fill.

Sundries:

• 9a: Bowling unit (FRAME).



• 15a: Coke is it (COLA). This is such an obvious reference to the old Coca-Cola ads that I can't in good conscience slap a drug-reference label on it.


• 16a: Voting machine component (LEVER). I obviously live in the sticks; our voting "machines" are a paper ballot and a golf pencil. No hanging chads here.



• 17a: ___ Bloom (character in "Bloom County") (MILO).


• 31a: Like some phones (CELLULAR). I don't know what percentage of phones these day are cellular, but it certainly seems like more than half. I wonder if "Like most phones" would be accurate.


• 39a: It can be measured with a protractor (ANGLE). I'm a math geek; this was a piece of cake.


• 40a: X-ray doses (RADS).


• 48a: "Rendezvous With Rama" novelist (CLARKE). Is this Arthur C. Clarke? Let's check... yup! Hey, I'm one for two on guesses so far.


• 57a: When the Tide goes out? (RINSE). Cute clue.


• 58a: Garr of "Oh, God!" (TERI). "Oh, God!" is one of those movies that is simultaneously silly and profound. I actually really like it, and I'm not 100% sure why.




• 64a: There are none in a no-no (HITS). Nice baseball clue to go along with 57d: Shutout spoiler (RUN).


• 1d: Latin dance (SAMBA). I never know whether this one's going to be SAMBA, RUMBA, SALSA, TANGO, or CONGA without a crossing or two.


• 4d: Vermont ski town (STOWE). Been there. Skied it.


• 5d: Watergate, e.g. (SCANDAL).


• 6d: One of a pocketful of flowers (POSY). "Ring around the rosie; pocketful of posy...". A song about the plague.



• 9d: Calgary hockey team (FLAMES).


• 10d: Acting in opposition (RESISTING).


• 21d: Acquire, as debt (INCUR). My first thought was RUN UP, but this one's good too.


• 22d: Bar beverage (RYE). Bar beverages in three letters: RUM, GIN, RYE, ALE. I think those are the major ones. Snags the booze tag, anyway.


• 28d: Swenson of "Benson" (INGA). Vaguely familiar name.


• 30d: Anterior cruciate ligament's locale (KNEE). Anyone who follows sports probably knows this one. ACL surgery is increasingly common these days.


• 32d: Jacob's twin (ESAU). Standard fare.



• 44d: Everything and plain, say (BAGELS).


• 45d: ___ Enterprise (USS). You don't need to be a Trekkie to know this.



• 46d: Sharp pain (STITCH). I just got back from Disney, so I saw the STITCH from "Lilo and Stitch" several times throughout the week. I'm not sure if cluing it in that direction would be easier or harder. Do you get stitches anywhere besides your sides?


• 55d: Classic pop (NEHI). Soda. I believe Grape Nehi was Radar's favorite drink on "M*A*S*H".

Suns of Bitches:

None.

This was a nice Monday puzzle. No complaints at all.

Thanks to Joon for standing in for an extra day while I was away. And for all of you for putting up with my "mail-it-in" Monday and Wednesday coverage last week. But I must say, it was great to get away for a week; we had a wonderful time at DisneyWorld -- the first time we've been without kids since before we had kids -- but it's nice to be back, too.

Thanks for listening.

- Pete M.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Title: Pick-Me-Ups
Author: Alan Arbesfeld
Theme: Adding ME to phrases.

• Flu season => FLUME SEASON (17a: When water parks make their money?).


• Conga lines => CON GAME LINES (23a: "It's easy, pal-just keep track of the shell with the pea" and others?).


• Sha Na Na => SHAME NANA (31a: Embarrass grandma?).


• Do or die => DOME OR DIE (40a: Motto of indoor stadium advocates?). "Do me or die" would have a whole different connotation. See how good cluing is important?


• Princess Di => PRINCESS DIME (45a: Coin featuring Sleeping Beauty?).



• Lee Majors => MELEE MAJORS (57a: Ones getting a degree in riot control?).

I love this theme. It's a great example of what you get when both the base phrases and the new phrases are full of sparkle. I mean, check out the base phrases: conga lines, flu season, Sha Na Na, Lee Majors... wonderful stuff! I was hooked at FLUME SEASON and wasn't let down throughout the puzzle. I was a little fuzzy regarding the title "Pick-Me-Ups", but I guess it just means phrases "picking up" the MEs. I was looking for more "up-ness" somewhere, but it was not to be found.

Sunny Spots:

When you include six sparkling theme entries, you don't need the rest of the fill to be spectacular; you just need to keep it reasonable and entertaining. Which it is.

Sundries:

• 1a: Maker of Centipede (ATARI). If it's a classic video game being referenced in a crossword, it's probably ATARI.


• 15a: Partially lit (TIPSY). My guess of ESSEX for 8d: ___ Downs (English racecourse) (EPSOM) led me to try PISSY here, figuring it was a Britishism along the lines of getting pissed. Note that if this had been the NYT puzzle, I wouldn't even have considered it. I consider that a compliment to Peter Gordon and the Sun.


• 29a: Russian fighter jet (MIG). If you didn't know this right off, you need to go rent "Top Gun" again. And not just because I'm in it (well, in a manner of speaking).


• 30a: Alter (AMEND). If someone can explain the difference between AMEND and EMEND, I'd like to hear it. I'm always guessing, and I almost always guess wrong.



• 38a: Blue-footed bird (BOOBY). Heh heh... Hey Beavis, he said "booby".


• 39a: Imposture (HOAX). Lots of Xs in this puzzle.


• 42a: Perfume during a church service (CENSE). Isn't it INCENSE? Is this slang, like 'CENSE?


• 44a: Maybelline's parent company (L'OREAL).



• 52a: First-stringers (A-TEAM). I would have preferred a colorful Mr. T reference here.


• 56a: It might have a certain ring to it (TUB). Clever clue. What was the Dr. Seuss book with the bathtub ring? I think it was "The Cat in the Hat Comes Back". Let me check... yup, that's the one.


• 61a: Library implement (DATER). Is this that inkpad date stamp that libraries used to use before everything was bar coded and scanned? I never heard it called a dater.


• 65a: It gets put in a sinkhole (DRANO).


• 1d: ___ Romeo (ALFA).


• 2d: Joust (TILT). As in tilting at windmills, a la Don Quixote.


• 5d: Freezing (ICE COLD).



• 6d: "Sylvester and the Magic Pebble" author William (STEIG).


• 10d: Illustration, for example: Abbr. (SYN). Another of those very clever cryptic definitions. "Illustration" and "example" are synonyms.


• 11d: Relay race handoff (BATON). Very appropos with the Olympics just finished.


• 13d: Its state flower is the bluebonnet (TEXAS). Name a five-letter state that ends in S.


• 22d: Words on a sticky note attached to a contract (SIGN HERE). If you've ever closed on a house, this should have been a gimme for you.


• 24d: Shirley Dinsdale was the first person to win one (EMMY). Name a four-letter award that begins with E.


• 27d: Magazine contents (AMMO). I've seen this ruse too often to be fooled.


• 34d: Jim-dandy (A-ONE).


• 38d: Oscar-winning role for Jane in "Klute" (BREE). Great film also starring Donald Sutherland. I tried to spell it BRIE, like the cheese, at first.




• 41d: Like some meds (OTC). Over-the-counter.


• 42d: Charge (COMMAND). As in "I'm in charge here".


• 45d: Boy in "The Snowy Day" (PETER).


• 50d: John on a farm (DEERE). Easy, but cute clue. OUTHOUSE didn't fit.

Suns of Bitches:

I'm bad enough trying to remember first names of people I know, never mind those I don't. Luckily, they were relatively normal names, unlike yesterday's collection of INAs and PIAs.

• 63a: Baseball announcer Hudler (REX).


• 33d: First name in "The Lonesome Train" (ABE).


• 53d: Marathoner Mota (ROSA).

I thought this was a great puzzle for a Tuesday. The theme entries were plentiful and enjoyable, the fill and clues were decent, and the hard stuff wasn't all that hard. Two thumbs up.

Thanks for listening.

- Pete M.

Monday, August 18, 2008

Title: embodiment of nature
Author: alan arbesfeld
Theme: phrases that combine a body part and a terrain type.

• 3d: Delta locale (RIVER MOUTH)
• 8d: Landing spot for naval forces (BEACHHEAD)
• 15d: Neighborhood (NECK OF THE WOODS). great expression. does anybody know where it comes from?
  
• 35d: Cayuga or Seneca, e.g. (FINGER LAKE). aptly named, as you can see from the picture.
  
• 39d: Region at the base of a mountain range (FOOTHILLS)

really nice, tight theme--the kind we've come to expect from a monday new york sun puzzle. if i wanted to quibble, i could gripe about the OF THE in the middle of the central theme entry, and the fact that the ordering of the body part and terrain isn't quite consistent, but i think it's impressive enough to find five totally in-the-language answers that all fit the theme. by the way, the fact that the central entry NECKOFTHEWOODS is fourteen letters necessitates the 15x16 grid of this puzzle. sure, alan and peter could have left out NECKOFTHEWOODS and had a normal 15x15 grid with four symmetric theme answers (and no extraneous OF THE), but if you ask me, NECKOFTHEWOODS was the highlight of this puzzle, so i'm glad they chose to do it the way they did.

i read somewhere that body parts are the basis of the most overused (and hence stalest) theme attempts by beginning constructors. i think this is why you see clever doubled-up themes like this (and the recent "anatomy of poker") theme in the sun. there are just so many expressions or compound words which include body parts that you can always do more than just the body parts themselves.

by the way, in case you haven't guessed it already, this is joon filling in for pete. as such, you'll get a slightly more discursive blog post than usual.

Sunny Spots:

• 4a: In a blue state (SAD). i've seen clues like this before, but it's still great.
• 55a: Hush-hush (TOP SECRET). this wasn't how it was clued, but i just wanted to point out that top secret! is my favorite movie of all time. seriously.
• 65a: Fit together well (DOVETAIL). i just love this word.
• 69a: Actor Penn of the "Harold & Kumar" films (KAL). i haven't seen the second one, but the first one was pretty funny. i admit i only went to see it because i thought it was cool that two asian-americans were starring in a mainstream motion picture, and i was actually a little disappointed that the korean guy (john cho) was the "straight man," but KAL penn was really funny. he can also be seen as one of lex luthor's henchmen in superman returns, and a random terrorist type in season six of 24.
  

Sundries:

• 1a: Passover's mo., usually (APR). ever wonder why passover and easter are usually at around the same time, but sometimes (including this year), they're off by a month? after all, the events of the easter triduum commemorate jesus eating the passover meal for the last time with his disciples. as it turns out, the (roman-rite) christians wanted to have them match up, but they didn't actually bother to ask the jews how they calculate their months. so they made their best guess: easter falls on the sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox. (hey, it's vaguely lunar, and so is the hebrew calendar. close enough, right?) most of the time, it works, but when there's a "second adar," as there was this year, then passover ends up a month after easter. i'm not sure how orthodox christians calculate the date of their easter; maybe they're smarter than us.
  
• 13a: 40% of MCCLV (DII). our weekly dose of crazy roman numeral math, courtesy of peter gordon. this one works out to 40% of 1255 = 2/5 of 1255 = 2 x 251 = 502 = DII. for goodness's sake, peter, it's monday! can't we get a [Half of MIV] or something? is there a method to the madness? actually, i have a new theory, based on this clue only, that he tries to write the clues so that they contain no common "numerals" with the answer. anybody want to look up a counterexample?
• 14a: "Let's get going!" (C'MON). i sort of wish the clue were a little more colloquial, to match the answer. maybe ["Let's roll!"]? or ["Pleeeeease?"]?
  
• 17a: Influence (LEVERAGE). i'm just glad this wasn't clued as a transitive verb. those of you who have worked for tech companies can commiserate.
• 19a: Really annoys (EATS AT).
• 20a: Traps at a ski lodge, maybe (ICES IN). two short phrases that are very common crossword fodder, but can be tricky for beginners to parse.
• 21a: Prereq for differential equations (CALC). i guess "prereq" is the tipoff that the answer is in its short form, but when i was in high school i called it "diff e q." i guess nobody cares what i called it in high school.

• 23a: ___-armed bandit (ONE). slang for a slot machine.
• 29a: Minors (YOUTHS).
• 31a: Obits, basically (BIOS). yeah, pretty much.
• 33a: "The Few" of the U.K. (RAF). royal air force. not sure what this "the few" is about. maybe they're like our marines, except not proud.
• 34a: Cow that hasn't had a cow (HEIFER). i guess that's exactly what HEIFER means.
• 39a: Helvetica, for one (FONT). not one of my faves, though do sometimes get tired of times new roman.
• 41a: Body work? (TATTOO). i'd like this clue more if i hadn't just seen it earlier today (sunday) in another puzzle. not the fault of peter or alan--it's a good clue.

• 45a: Never, to Nietzsche (NIE). this isn't the first time i've seen this in a crossword, but i'm wondering why a typical educated american should know this particular foreign word. i've certainly never seen the french word JAMAIS in a puzzle, and more people here know french than german.
• 46a: Blessed sounds? (ACHOOS). this seems like a really tired ? clue. also, the answer is a pretty yucky plural.
• 47a: Suffix with Brooklyn (ESE). i guess you have to clue it as a suffix if the grid also contains SSE (51a: About-face from NNW).
  
• 49a: Canada's capital (OTTAWA). this seems like a pretty important city to know, right? and yet, i'm only about 50% to spell it correctly on any given attempt. sometimes i want that middle vowel to be an O, and sometimes i get the doubled letters wrong--only one T, or even (when i'm particularly insane) two Ws. or should that be one quadruple-U?
• 60a: Dope (INFO). no, this does not qualify as the daily drug reference in the NYS crossword.
• 63a: Basic food item (STAPLE). but eating actual staples probably isn't healthy.
• 70a: Most underhanded (SLYEST). yep, that's how i want to spell it--not SLIEST. and yet, blogger has the pernicious red underline under SLYEST, but not SLIEST. damn you, blogger! it's right the way it is!

• 1d: Wing it (AD LIB).
• 5d: Whirlpool subsidiary (AMANA), and 7d: German make owned by GM (OPEL). a few months ago, i knew neither of these brands. now it seems like i see them in crosswords at least once a week. i'm not sure what this says about anything, other than the obvious: i do too many crosswords every week.
  
• 6d: Labradoodle, e.g. (DOG). that's a very silly name for a dog. my parents-in-law have a cockapoo, which is, if anything, an even sillier name for a dog.
• 10d: Brand of printer (EPSON). now this one i knew. we have a crappy EPSON inkjet. i believe we "won" a class-action suit against EPSON because their printers are insidiously designed to tell you they are out of ink long before they actually are.

• 12d: French beans? (TÊTES). "beans" = "heads" here. didn't fool me for a picosecond.
• 18d: Senator Kefauver who was Adlai Stevenson's running mate in 1956 (ESTES). both of these guys (ESTES and adlai) get a lot of first-name crossword play. who won that election, anyway? not these guys... oh yeah, it was DDE, aka IKE. yeah, he gets a lot of play, too.
• 22d: Sch. whose football team plays at Sun Devil Stadium (ASU). arizona state.

• 25d: "American Idol" host Seacrest (RYAN). i've never watched this show, but i knew this.
• 30d: "Halt! Who goes ___?" (THERE). i'm tempted to actually use this expression sometime today. who's with me?
• 31d: Early software version (BETA). goes nicely with IMAC (32d: Apple product) and INTEL (53d: Chip maker based in Santa Clara) to round out the silicon valley portion of the grid.
  
• 36d: Novelist Wiesel (ELIE). when will 1990s houston rockets guard mario ELIE get any love?
• 37d: Bakery purchases (RYES). another semi-ugly plural.
• 42d: Drunken spree (TOOT). i don't think i've ever encountered this usage.
• 48d: Dandy's tie (ASCOT).

• 50d: Justice Dept. raiders (ATF). bureau of alcohol, tobacco, and firearms. i love that these three are lumped together by the federal government. alcohol and tobacco weren't fun enough by themselves, so they had to add guns into the mix.
• 51d: Winning come-out rolls in craps (SEVENS). if i knew how to play craps, i might have an idea what "come-out" means in this clue. another awkward plural.
• 52d: Velvet ants, e.g. (WASPS). no idea what this is about. are we talking about insects here, or white guys?
• 57d: Spa in France's Haute-Savoie department (ÉVIAN). easily guessable with a few crosses, but ... whoa. that's not a monday clue, is it?
• 61d: Catbird seat? (NEST). i don't think i saw this clue while solving. not bad, though. not bad at all.
• 66d: Multivolume lex. (OED). oxford english dictionary. i have to say, i've only once ever seen a print edition of this, and it was a single volume. (admittedly, a freaking huge single volume with super-micro print and a magnifying glass.) i only ever use the online version.
  

Suns of Bitches:

• 24a: Longtime host of the Miss America Pageant (BERT PARKS). if you say so. of course, the crossings were all super-easy, it being monday and all.
  

overall, a nice monday puzzle. as i said, the theme was great, and it ended up being a very smooth solve for me. the fill wasn't as spectacular, but it was pretty inoffensive other than some forced-sounding plurals, and there were definitely a bunch of sparkly clues/answers in there.

Thanks for listening.

- Pete M.

hey, wait, that's not me. thanks for reading.

joon

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Title: "Oops!"
Author: Alan Arbesfeld
Theme: Dropping "ball" from phrases to form new phrases.

• Ballpark figure => PARK FIGURE (17a: Ranger?).


• Ballpoint pens => POINT PENS (26a: Do masonry work on brick enclosures?). This is my least favorite of the bunch.


• Football pools => FOOT POOLS (51a: Wading places?).


• Pinball machine => PIN MACHINE (65a: ATM?).



• 41a: Making a blunder (and this puzzle's theme) (DROPPING THE BALL).

This isn't my favorite theme, but it's okay. On the plus side, it evolves from a nice helper phrase, "dropping the ball". On the minus side, three of the theme entries are adjective/noun phrases, while one oddball is a verb/noun phrase, and an awkward one at that.

Sunny Spots:

• 60a: Hebrew toast (L'CHAIM). Great LCH letter combo, and fun to say, too.


• 3d: Springtime prank victim (APRIL FOOL). Kind of an easy clue for such a nice fill.



• 42d: Longstocking of kiddie lit (PIPPI). Gotta love interesting fill that ends in I.


• 48d: Bass sound (OOM-PAH). This one took longer than it should have, as I was thinking of an actual bass, as opposed to a bass-register brass instrument (like tuba or sousaphone). But it's a nice fill.

Sundries:

• 10a: "Traffic" cop (NARC). If you haven't seen the film "Traffic", it's about the illegal drug trade. Good clue.


• 19a: Crackerjack (A-ONE). Something about this clue crossing NAACP (10d: Spingarn Medal org.) struck my funny bone.


• 24a: Missile pact of 1972 (SALT I). Did they call this SALT I? It seems more logical that it would just be SALT, as they wouldn't necessarily have known there was going to be another. Like, you don't say "Jaws I" or "Rocky I", do you?



• 33a: City founded by Pizarro (LIMA). Pretty obvious with a couple of crossings. Also, Brazilian supermodel Adriana.


• 44a: Vietnam massacre site (MY LAI).


• 47a: Favor preceder? (POR). Cute.


• 57a: Gas brand (AMOCO). If it was 4-letters, it would have been ESSO.


• 64a: Sighed line (AH ME), which crosses 53d: "Holy cow!" (OH, MAN). Here is your Holy cow reference. See if you can guess what it's going to be.


• 72a: Big Brown, e.g. (HORSE). Would have loved the answer to be DOPER.


• 73a: Private dining spot? (MESS). It's a clue I've seen before, but I still like it.


• 4d: Moo goo gai pan pan (WOK). I've seen this clue before, too, but it doesn't hold up as well to repeat viewings.



• 6d: Boost (LEG UP). Gives a whole other connotation to political booster.


• 7d: Achille ___ (hijacked cruise ship) (LAURO).


• 8d: Text scanner: Abbr. (OCR). Optical character reader.


• 9d: Curtains (THE END).


• 25d: Setting of Raymond James Stadium (TAMPA). My first guess after a couple of crossings was TEMPE, which was close (literally, not geographically).


• 31d: Fleet runner: Abbr. (ADM). Admirals run (i.e., lead) a naval fleet.


• 34d: Opening bars (INTRO). It was my first thought.


• 38d: Big name in luggage (SAMSONITE).


• 50d: Like "der" in Ger. (MASC).


• 51d: "Killing Me Softly With His Song" singer (FLACK). Written about Don McLean's song, "American Pie". Here's the Fugees' version, with Lauryn Hill.




• 52d: Colour in a landscape (OCHRE).


• 54d: Modern workout program (TAE BO).


• 55d: Like some eclipses (LUNAR). It had to be SOLAR or LUNAR. Mitsubishi didn't fit.


• 56d: MVP of Super Bowl XXI (Phil SIMMS).


• 58d: "Ten ___ a Dance" (CENTS). This is an old Rodgers and Hart tune. Here's Michelle Pfeiffer singing it in "The Fabulous Baker Boys".




• 59d: Buck of "Hee Haw" (OWENS).

Suns of Bitches:

• 31a: "Ararat" director Egoyan (ATOM). I did not like this clue at all. I had A_OM, crossing a song I didn't know entitled "I _RY" - 32d: "I ___" (2000 Macy Gray hit) (TRY). Well, I'm sorry, but there are several logical alternatives here. I cry. I try. I pry, maybe. And less likely, but still well within the realm of possibility for a song, I dry, I fry, or even I wry (though that one's a stretch). There are lots of fair ways to clue ATOM in this situation. This was not one of them.


• 29d: Actor Marienthal (ELI). I guess you couldn't use Eli Manning, what with a Phil Simms clue already in the puzzle, but how about a Three Dog Night song?

Overall, this was a pretty average Wednesday for me, with several nice clues offset somewhat by a nasty crossing and a so-so theme.

Thanks for listening.

- Pete M.

Friday, May 23, 2008

Title: Auto Trailers
Author: Alan Arbesfeld
Theme: Phrases with car manufacturers hidden at the end.

• SOLAR PLEXUS (18a: Abdominal network).


• HELP ME RHONDA (24a: Song that knocked "Ticket to Ride" out of the #1 slot). Not my favorite Beach Boys tune (I'm kind of partial to "In My Room"), but nice fill.


• ANNO DOMINI (35a: Words before a date)


• LOSES A TURN (43a: Has to wait for the next round, perhaps). We love all things related to games and game shows. Very nice.


• ANTONIO GAUDI (50a: Spanish architect who designed the unfinished Sagrada Familia church in Barcelona). Didn't know this one.


• REGAL BEAGLE (62a: "Three's Company" hangout). This one's super! My favorite of the theme fills.

The strength of this theme is not so much in the concept, which is fine, but in the nice variety of colorful fill, which is quite excellent.

Sunny Spots:

• 15a: A play might be seen better with this (SLO-MO). This shows up periodically, but it's a cool fill with a relatively unusual vowel pattern.


• 47a: Weenies (TWERPS). Twerps is great word. I mean, just look at it.


• 21d: Collectible paper items (EPHEMERA). Epherma comes from the Greek for "a day", and it's used to describe things that last, or were designed to last, a relatively short period of time. Great, descriptive word.


• 27d: Base kid (ARMY BRAT). Excellent. I wonder if they're called that because of some particular family's kids that really were brats. (PB2, any comment here?)


• 40d: Locker room shower? (ESPN). Very nice.


• 65d: Gray head? (LEE). As in Robert E. LEE, head of the Confederate Army. Great clue.

Sundries:

• 1a: Street cred (REP). I feel like "cred" has been showing a lot lately.


• 4a: Stunned (AGASP). A had AGAPE to start.


• 16a: National competitor (ALAMO). This one didn't fool me; I immediately thought rental car.


• 17a: It holds the mayo (JAR).


• 20a: It can be bid (ADIEU). I was hoping for a bridge fill here (A CLUB, perhaps? Or ONE NO), but it was not to be.


• 22a: ___ noche (tonight, in Spanish) (ESTA).


• 23a: Sheep's tail? (ISH). My first thought was PEE (last letter of "sheep"), but it's ISH (as in sheepish). Either way, it gets the crytic clue tag.


• 28a: "Talk to ___" (HER). Am I missing something here? This feels like a really weak clue for HER. "Talk to the hand!", now that's a phrase worthy standing alone.



• 29a: California's motto (EUREKA). I think I learned this back in high school when we studied Archimedes.


• 33a: Band leader? (BEE). I was already in this mindset from the sheep clue, above, so this was easy. Another cryptic clue.


• 39a: Rap (BLAME). Rap as a noun. Very nice.


• 42a: Religious group (SYNOD).


• 46a: Quinella, e.g. (BET). In horse racing, the quinella bet is for the top two horses in either order, as opposed to the perfecta where order matters.


• 48a: Compass creation: Abbr. (CIR). The circle-drawing compass, not the navigational compass.



• 60a: Arabian Peninsula coastal city (ADEN). It lies on the Gulf of Aden, too, so you may see it clued that way.


• 66a: Land in the Seine (ILE). French for "island". This comes up a lot.


• 67a: Teed off (ANGRY). This is notable because the 5-letter answer to this clue is much more typically IRATE.


• 68a: Siouan-speaking Indians (OTOES). Another crossword staple.


• 69a: NAFTA signer (CAN). It's either USA, CAN, or MEX.


• 70a: Supply with fuel (STOKE). As in a campfire or coal stove.


• 71a: Dos, e.g. (NOTES). As in do re mi.


• 72a: Annapolis affirmative (AYE). Annapolis referring to the U.S. Naval Academy.


• 1d: Indian prince (RAJAH). This shows up about equally with and without the trailing H.


• 4d: Take on (ASSUME). As in resonsibility.



• 5d: Day-___ (GLO). I like that this cross SLOMO. Would be nicer if the entire phrase were included. Day-Glo does not make a good fashion statement.


• 6d: Surfing fan, perhaps (AOLER).


• 8d: ___-Novo (capital of Benin) (PORTO). Didn't know this one off the top, but it was pretty easy to figure with a couple of crossings.


• 9d: Hootenanny lass (GAL). Props for using the great word "hootenanny".


• 10d: "___ ELO" (hit album of 1976) (OLÉ). The hit you'll remember from this is "Evil Woman".


• 11d: Move toward the airstrip (TAXI).


• 12d: Stern contemporary (Don IMUS). Contemporary of, but not equal to, Howard Stern.


• 13d: Bite (NOSH). NOSH is another great word. I have to start using it more in everyday conversation.


• 19d: Like French doors (PANED.)


• 25d: A one-two-three inning makes it go down (ERA). Earned Run Average, for a baseball pitcher.


• 26d: The Blues Brothers and Indigo Girls, e.g. (DUOS). Nice clue.


• 30d: Article in Der Spiegel (EINE). Probably the most common German word in crossword puzzles.


• 31d: It may be hard to undo (KNOT). I was hoping for something cool and edgy when I read this clue, like ZIPPER or BRA STRAP or BAD PERM, but not this time.


• 33d: Leave, in slang (BLOW). As in "Let's blow this joint!", which, as far as I can tell, has nothing to do with Spike Lee movies.


• 36d: Louis Armstrong Stadium divider (NET). Next to Arthur Ashe Stadium, where the U.S. Open of tennis is played.


• 37d: Kimmel Center sch. (NYU). We have to remember that the Sun is a local NYC newspaper. I'm sure this clue is a piece of cake if you're from around there.


• 38d: Poetic preposition (O'ER)


• 39d: Tref 'wich (BLT). Tref means non-kosher. I learned this recently from puzzles. And hey, it's a food clue.


• 45d: One with a chevron: Abbr. (NCO). Non-commissioned officer. I don't know my insignias, so I count on crossings. The clue may as well be "Name a military rank: Abbr.".


• 49d: "Um ... OK" (I GUESS). Nice phrase.


• 51d: Ancient Greek theater (ODEON). This shows up a lot.


• 52d: "That's swell!" (NEATO). Golly gee, that's peachy keen.


• 53d: Heavy metal bar, maybe (INGOT). Good clue surface reading.


• 54d: Seat of New York's Oneida County (UTICA).


• 57d: They're often rolled over (IRAS). Cute.


• 59d: Brand in the freezer (EGGO). Leggo my Eggo! More food.


• 64d: Caustic stuff (LYE)

Suns of Bitches:

• 41a: Macula's locale (EYE). Didn't know this one; got it from crossings.


• 56d: "Brave ___" (William Steig children's book) (IRENE). Ditto.

I didn't think this puzzle was particularly difficult for a Friday, but it was very enjoyable. Nice theme entries and decent fill, with enough things I didn't know off the top that made sense once I got them from the crossings to keep me interested. Good job.

Thanks for listening.

- Pete M.