Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Title: Georgia On My Mind
Author: Randall J. Hartman
Theme: Phrases with GA added

• 17a: Trip to Libreville? (GABON VOYAGE). Libreville is the capital and largest city, which makes it fair game.


• 27a: Din when enjoying a cigarette? (SMOKING GUNGA). This clue doesn't work for me at all. "Gunga Din" is the name of a poem. You can't just break it in half and treat each half as a synonym of the other. Well... you can, but I don't have to like it.


• 48a: LSD that's out of this world? (GALACTIC ACID). Drug reference tag.



• 64a: Boost actress Sonia? (PUSH-UP BRAGA). Unsurprisingly, my favorite clue of the bunch. At first I couldn't decide whether to grab a picture of Sonia or of a push-up bra. Turns out I didn't have to choose at all.

I like the theme idea, and most of the theme entries are fine. This is the type of theme that helps a little, in that you know a couple of letters that are going to appear. And sometimes you can suss out an answer if your brain is on the same wavelength. But it doesn't give too much away, which is good.

Sunny Spots:

• 15a: Like some professors' wardrobes (TWEEDY). As easy as this was - my only other thought was STODGY - I really like this word.



• 22d: Blue screen character (SMURF). Very nice clue!

Sundries:

• 1a: Harridans (HAGS). I'm pretty sure I've seen harridan in puzzles before, but I didn't know what it was right away.


• 22a: "Lady" group (STYX). I didn't even see this clue.




• 23a: Clown employers (RODEOS). Nice clue. Rodeo clowns are those crazy dudes who distract the bull so the rider can get the hell out of there without being trampled on. I know; I have cable.


• 32a: Show featuring hair and fiber expert Nick Stokes (CSI). The name was useless to me, but what other show would feature a hair and fiber expert?


• 35a: Crustacean eater (IBIS). Interesting clue for this one. Not at all my first instinct, but perfectly accurate.


• 36a: Object of an extended quest (GRAIL).




• 37a: "Oy gevalt!" (OH NO). Yeah, you don't hear "oy gevalt" much up in this neck of the woods.


• 57a: Comic strip written by Jerry Scott and illustrated by Jim Borgman (ZITS). I had no idea who wrote or illustrated this strip. But I've seen it, so once the Z was in place it was a gimme.


• 62a: First name in swashbuckling (ERROL). Flynn, of course.


• 63a: "I'm impressed!" (OOH). 66a: Come up short (OWE). I'm vaguely amused by this duo being side by side.


• 70a: Codger (GEEZER). Both excellent words.


• 71a: Thankful closing? (NESS). I misread this clue and went with LESS (as in THANKLESS), which made 51d DARREL instead of DARREN, but it looked okay to me. Those are the tough errors to find.


• 1d: "The Red Rocker" Sammy (HAGAR). I was pretty sure it wasn't Sammy Davis (Jr.)




• 2d: Poplar tree (ALAMO). Went with ASPEN at first, as I expect we were supposed to. Did I know that alamo was a kind of tree? Maybe somewhere in the dark recesses, but it didn't leap out.


• 4d: Calculi (STONES). As a math major, I remember that calculus means stone - I think it may harken back to the abacus, but I could be wrong and I'm too lazy to double-check - so this wasn't too hard. I would have preferred a more brash clue like chutzpah or cajones, though.


• 5d: "Buzzin'" network (MTV). I can't remember the last time I watched anything on MTV. Remember when they actually ran music videos?


• 6d: "The ___ Adventure" (1984 TV movie) (EWOK). Never saw it. The Ewoks were, in my opinion, the lowlight of the entire first trilogy. Luckily for them, the prequel trilogy came out to provide plenty of lowlight competition. Next to Jar Jar Binks, the Ewoks look mighty fine.


• 10d: Change your locks? (DYE). I wasn't fooled on this one for even a second.


• 11d: Cocktail with scotch and Drambuie (RUSTY NAIL). Booze tag! I've heard of this coctail, but never had one. Scotch should be single malt and unadulterated except for a splash of pure water.


• 18d: Rich girl in "90210" (NAOMI). Never watched it, but I had the _AOM_ before I saw the clue, so it was a pretty easy guess.




• 24d: Jerks (SOBS). I'm assuming this is S.O.B.s, as in sons of bitches, as I can't think of a context in which sobbing and jerking are the same.


• 29d: Oldest brother in Hanson (ISAAC). No clue, but again the double-A made it pretty clear.


• 30d: Arizona county that borders Maricopa (GILA). My first instincts were MESA and TAOS, but GILA was a close third.


• 31d: Film composer North who was nominated for 15 Oscars (ALEX). Didn't know it, but never saw the clue until it was all filled in.


• 32d: Where whips can be seen: Abbr. (CONG). In congress, the majority and minority whips are the disciplinarians of their party.


• 33d: Dan Uggla hit the last home run there (SHEA). Never forget that this is a New York-based puzzle.


• 34d: Flustered (IN A LATHER).


• 41d: Place "it's fun to stay at," according to song (YMCA). This is a Monday clue for a Wednesday puzzle.


• 44d: Paleon., e.g. (SCI). Ick. SCI always feels like it's going to be a decent fill when you're making a grid, but its clues tend to be really ugly, like this one.


• 46d: Record marking (SIDE B). Never saw this clue either.


• 50d: Real (IN ESSE). Latin that shows up enough to remember.


• 51d: Running back McFadden (DARREN). Had DARREL, due to my above-mentioned misread of 71a.



• 55d: "Animal House" party wear (TOGAS). My first-ever R-rated film. It still holds a special place in my memories.


• 58d: Big Ten wrestling powerhouse (IOWA). If you say so. Still, I got it right away.


• 60d: Cheez ___ (WHIZ). Almost worthy of a potty humor tag, but not quite.


• 61d: Pull some strings? (TUNE). Cute.



• 64d: Breed sometimes crossed with a beagle (PUG). What breed isn't sometimes crossed with a beagle? Granted, some combinations are harder to envision that others, but love works in strange ways.

Suns of Bitches:

• 21a: Boutros's successor at the U.N. (KOFI) crossing 7d: Singer with the Grammy-winning R&B album "Because of You" (NEYO) is just mean. Even if you know one or both, crossing KOFI and NEYO at a vowel should give you pause. Throw in 5a: Knit (MENDED), which could just as easily have been MELDED and you've got yourself a pretty nasty section for a Wednesday puzzle.

Except for the KOFI/NEYO/ME(L|N)DED sector and the GUNGA DIN theme entry, no major complaints.

Thanks for listening.

- Pete M.

Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Title: Rear Ends
Author: Patrick Blindauer
Theme: Phrases whose first two and last two letters combine to make a synonym for "rear" (ass).

• 17a: Belmont Park statue subject (SECRETARIAT) => SEAT.


• 24a: Farm laborer (HIRED HAND) => HIND


• 29a: Melt ingredient (TUNA FISH) => TUSH.



• 44a: Takes out for use after a period of inactivity (DUSTS OFF) => DUFF.


• 50a: "Pardon My Sarong" costar (BUD ABBOTT) => BUTT.


• 62a: Endorse without question (RUBBER STAMP) => RUMP.

Thematically, this puzzle was a mixed bag for me. On the plus side, there were six theme entries (assuming I didn't miss any today) and the theme involved asses, which plays to my admittedly juvenile sense of humor. Also, it's cool not only that there are six 4-letter synonyms for REAR, but that they all can be formed as above using common names and phrases. On the minus side, the theme didn't help me at all; in fact, I had to go back afterwards to figure out what it was. And I wouldn't have noticed it at all without the title to make me look at it right. On the neutral side, the theme entries themselves were neither stellar nor duds, but were decent enough.

The Rest of the Puzzle

• 1a: See 41-Across (SALE). I'm not crazy about references to other clues at the 1a spot, especially when it's the second half.


• 15a: Like listing letters (ITALIC). Listing to the side, as in slanted.



• 16a: Words said when standing in front of a train? (I DO). A bridal train.


• 20a: Shout targets (STAINS). Shout, the detergent.


• 21a: 60 minutes: Abbr. (DEG). Degrees are made up of minutes and seconds, just like hours are.


• 23a: W.'s alma mater (YALE U). Ick. Yale is enough. Nobody says Yale U.



• 26a: Early Jacko do (FRO). Jacko = Michael Jackson.


• 34a: "The Merry Widow" composer Franz (LEHAR).


• 41a: With 1-Across, money-saving event (FIRE / SALE). See 1a.


• 42a: "Lost in Translation" setting (TOKYO). This movie got really great critical reviews, but I thought it was really slow and dull.


• 46a: It may hang from a toy (ID TAG). A toy poodle, perhaps.



• 53a: Yawl pair (MASTS). Yawls and ketches are two-masted sailboats. The yawl has the mizzen mast "yawl the way back" behind the steering.


• 58a: Jim's "Man on the Moon" role (ANDY). Jim Carrey. Andy Kaufman.


• 59a: Beyond help, in a way (DOA). Dead on Arrival. Ouch.


• 64a: Lowest honor (TEN). Bridge tag. Honors are ace, king, queen, jack, and ten.


• 2d: Queen of the Misty Isles, in the comics (ALETA). Didn't know it, but didn't see the clue either.


• 3d: Neighborhood pub, to a Brit (LOCAL). I just this morning was listening to "Slap and Tickle" by Squeeze, which includes the line "He drove off to his local; where he felt anti-social." How strange that it shows up in a puzzle that same day.




• 5d: Quarter halves (BITS). A quarter is "two bits".


• 11d: Cashew cousin (PISTACHIO). Two of my favorite nuts.


• 13d: Part of WWJD (WOULD). What would Jesus do?


• 18d: "Tuff ___" (1986 hit for the Fabulous Thunderbirds) (ENUFF). Easy enough to figure, even if you didn't know it.


• 24d: Hookah hookup (HOSE). Drug reference.


• 25d: GI bill? (DOL). Why GI, exactly? This one felt a little over-clever.


• 29d: Parlor piece, for short (TAT). Tattoo parlor.


• 30d: Spanish cardinal (UNO). Cardinal number.


• 31d: "Well, duh!" (NO KIDDING).


• 35d: Sandy bark? (ARF). Oof.


• 39d: Air force? (GUST). Went GALE first.


• 40d: Medium ability (ESP).


• 43d: Place to play the race card?: Abbr. (OTB). Okay, that's clever. In a non-PC sort of way. OTB is off-track betting.


• 48d: Peanut, in the South (GOOBER).


• 51d: Football wager (UNDER). One of the many bets one can lay is the over/under, where you bet whether the two teams' combined scores will be over or under the specified number.



• 52d: Raga drum (TABLA).


• 54d: Site of the rite stuff? (ALTAR).


• 57d: Green party VIP? (ST PAT).


• 63d: Tolkien's Legolas, e.g. (ELF). Love the Tolkein clues.

Suns of Bitches:

• 5a: Natty of literature (BUMPPO) crossing 9d: Swiss watch brand (PIAGET) was a total guess-the-letter crossing for me. And P was about my eighth choice.

The only major problem I have with this puzzle is the BUMPPO/PIAGET crossing. A minor nit is that it's a tad heavy-handed with the punny clues. Now don't get me wrong, I love a good punny clue. But after a few too many, you just start to groan.

Happy New Year, all, and thanks for listening.

- Pete M.

Friday, October 3, 2008

Title: Weekend Warrior
Author: Karen M. Tracey
Theme: None

Wow, this puzzle was nasty. If I had been faced with this at an ACPT, I would not have finished it. As it is, there was some guessing involved. On the scale of "nice Karen" to "evil Karen", this one was definitely skewed toward the latter.

Things I've never heard of:

Hey! You changed the section title! Well, yes, I did; and that's not all. The Sun puzzle is changing to subscription only, and I've decided it's time to make a few changes around here, too. Mostly to make my life easier. You see, not all puzzle discussions fit neatly into those predefined categories. So, I'm going to loosen things up. You may also notice I've dropped the "new york sun" and "crosswords" tags from each puzzle. I've decided it just adds clutter, and I'm not convinced it provides any benefit, especially now that we're established in the search engines. Finally, and most significantly, I'm not going to continue to try to do this all by myself. I'm in the process of lining up a couple of co-bloggers to take share the load (details to come). This will have the dual benefit of providing different perspectives throughout the week, and maintaining what sanity I still cling to. I strongly encourage everyone to subscribe to the Sun puzzles -- if there are not over 2000 subscribers by January, the puzzle will likely die. It's only 10 cents a puzzle, which is a ridiculous bargain for the quality and freshness you receive, plus it's an extra outlet for many of the same great constructors you see at the Times. It would be a shame to see it go under. Okay, where were we...ah yes, things I've never heard of...


• 1a: Fancy indoor headpiece for a woman (MOBCAP). This is not a common word, as far I can tell (it only gets around 15,000 Google hits), but I've certainly seen one, so it's educational.


• 16a: Aztec god of the sun and war (HUITZILOPOCHTLI). I'm sorry, it seems someone sat on the keyboard while constructing this puzzle. This is the kind of clue that verges on ridiculously unfair, since it is not only obscure but also virtually impossible to deduce at any point in the seemingly-random string of letters. Seriously, you could remove any letter from that monstrousity and it would be a total guess what the letter was. So, the crossings had better be supremely fair then, right? Well, you be the judge.


• 36a: Khrushchev's successor (KOSYGIN). I feel like I'm supposed to know this, but I don't. This created a guess-the-letter at the 'K' crossing with IKURA (33d: Salmon roe, at a sushi restaurant).


• 5d: WWII beachhead (ANZIO). I guessed correctly on this one, so perhaps I've seen it before.


• 14d: Chicago company (JOFFREY BALLET). The 'O' was a total guess-the-vowel for me. I guessed E.

Cool stuff:

• 7a: Relative of Wednesday (FESTER). "The Addams Family".


• 13a: Green borders (APRONS). The apron is the area around a golf green that is mown shorter than the fairway, but not as short as the putting surface.


• 14a: Energy drink from Wet Planet Beverages (JOLT COLA). "All the sugar and twice the caffeine". Well, not so much any more. Now, it's high fructose corn syrup.


• 18a: Literally, "first generation" (ISSEI). Standard crossword fare.


• 21a: Jamb spot (DOOR FRAME).


• 24a: Oxo rival (EKCO).


• 27a: Old Dodge model (DART). I had a friend with a Dart; they just ran forever.


• 32a: "Goodness gracious!" (DEARIE ME).


• 41a: Low wind (BASS OBOE).


• 43a: Scottish chemist who invented the vacuum flask (DEWAR). Not the Scotch distiller, apparently.



• 46a: Friend of Dumb Donald (FAT ALBERT). "Hey, hey, hey!"


• 57a: Joseph Ratzinger, today (POPE BENEDICT XVI).


• 61a: "Saturday Night Live" alum Kevin (NEALON).


• 1d: When doubled, a tropical fish (MAHI).



• 2d: Penguin of the comics (OPUS).


• 3d: Rite performed on the eighth day of life (BRIS). Ouch.


• 4d: Department in France's Bourgogne region (COTE D'OR). This one's fair, but nasty. I didn't parse it correctly until it was completely filled. _O_EDOR was not clicking at all.


• 6d: Penultimate of a group of 24 (PSI). Greek alphabet. Learn it.


• 9d: Bagel topper (SCHMEAR).



• 10d: Self-titled debut album of 1978 (TOTO).


• 11d: Salmon tail? (ELLA). Ick.


• 15d: Illusory works (OP ART).


• 17d: Onetime Coliseum team, briefly (L.A. RAMS). I briefly considered DA RAMS. You know, rivals of "Da Bears"?


• 25d: New Hampshire city (KEENE). I live in New Hampshire. We only have thirteen cities, and only two have five letters: KEENE and DOVER.


• 26d: Reba McEntire's music genre, briefly (C AND W). I wasn't fooled here at all.


• 31d: Early number? (ETHER). Nor here. Numb-er is one of my favorite twisty clue words.


• 34d: Strip on which fencers compete (PISTE). Puzzle knowledge.


• 42d: Abuse, as a welcome (OUTSTAY).


• 44d: Much care (PAINS). As in, taking pains to do something.


• 47d: Oldish youngster (TWEEN).


• 48d: Child's gadget (RICER). Julia Child.


• 55d: Engine driver in a Who song (IVOR). This is old Who, from the song "A Quick One, While He's Away". IVOR did not ring a bell at all, but it had to be right. If you just want to hear the reference, skip ahead to around 2:50 in the following clip.

I'm not at all opposed to difficult puzzles, but I like some payoff in the long fill. This puzzle didn't deliver that for me. HUIATZHASRXFHCHTAPOILI was painful, POPE BENEDICT XVI was dull, and JOFFREY BALLET was okay, but had a guess-the-vowel situation in it that was impossible to deduce if you didn't know the answer. Even KOSYGIN, in the center, felt like it was supposed to be a "marquee" fill, but I didn't care for it. Now to be fair, there was some great stuff in here. JOLT COLA, FAT ALBERT, ummm... hunh. I guess that's about it. BASS OBOE and SCHMEAR were okay, too.

Not my favorite KMT, by a long stretch.

Thanks for listening.

- Pete M.

Friday, August 8, 2008

Title: Weekend Warrior
Author: Barry C. Silk
Theme: None

Sunny Spots:

• 17a: Familiar name of a Virginia sculpture based on a Pulitzer-winning picture taken by Joe Rosenthal (IWO JIMA MEMORIAL).


• 23a: Repeated action in a mathematician's random walk (COIN TOSS).


• 33a: Aloof person (COLD FISH). Great phrase.


• 56a: Batter-fried snack (MOZZARELLA STICK). Mmmmmm.

Sundries:

• 8a: Chihuahua timeouts (SIESTAS). See, we need siestas in the United States. A nice nap in the afternoon would make the workday so much more pleasant.


• 15a: Developer noted for its drive-through kiosks (FOTOMAT). Nowadays, every corner pharmacy does 1-hour photos, but I remember when this was a pretty novel concept.


• 19a: Car that is often black and rarely green (LIMO).


• 20a: Bolshoi bends (PLIÉS).


• 21a: She's buried in Kenya's Meru National Park (ELSA). The lion from "Born Free".


• 22a: Inning threesome (ENS). Cryptic letter clue. But since OUTS didn't fit, what else could it be?


• 26a: "Hamlet" courtier (OSRIC).


• 30a: ___ game (first matchup of March Madness) (PLAY IN). The final two teams selected play each other for the 64th spot in the tourney.


• 36a: Emulate running mates? (ELOPE). It has long been my belief that ELOPE is the word with the most really clever clues. This is certainly one of them.



• 38a: Cruise part? (ROLE). Tom Cruise, that is. Who, by the way, played Lt. Pete Mitchell in "Top Gun".


• 39a: Gave up the ghost (CASHED IN).


• 41a: One holding up a sign at the airport, e.g. (MEETER). This is one of those -ER words that just feels forced to me.


• 43a: They're cobbled together (SHOES). Nice clue.


• 44a: Sternmost member of a crew team (STROKE). I'd seen this before, fairly recently, and I still couldn't remember it without a couple of crossings.


• 55a: The Jalón flows into it (EBRO). You gotta know your four-letter rivers. As soon as I got the B, I knew which one it was.


• 62a: March honoree, informally (ST PADDY).


• 4d: Austin Powers's power (MOJO).




• 6d: Sent up (LAMPOONED). I started with LAMBASTED.


• 7d: Political leader from Georgia (STALIN). Anytime you see Georgia in a clue, you should be on alert. It's a common ruse.



• 8d: Another name for the sugar apple (SWEETSOP). I've never tasted this, but I've heard of it before. Not sure where.


• 11d: Laid-back (STRESS FREE).


• 14d: "Sisters" costar of Swoosie (SELA). That's Swoosie Kurtz and SELA Ward. And no, I didn't know it from the clue.


• 18d: Social psychology topic (MIND CONTROL).


• 24d: Roll-your-own grass? (SOD). The daily drug inference.


• 25d: In large quantities (BY THE DOZEN). Is a dozen a large quantity? I guess it depends on what you're measuring. My first thought was BY THE TRUCKLOAD, which of course didn't fit.


• 29d: Her first solo recording ("Ringo, I Love You") was released under the pseudonym Bonnie Jo Mason (CHER). The list of one-named singers was pretty easily narrowed to an era down by the Ringo reference.


• 34d: Tangy treat (LEMON TART). Mmmmm.


• 37d: Dragging (LISTLESS). This is a great word, and now I'm curious about its derivation. Can you be listful? It's definitely hard to grocery shop when you're listless, that's for sure.


• 47d: Secretary of the Pointy-Haired Boss, in "Dilbert" (CAROL). Love the Dilbert clues. Wally, Alice, Asok, Carol,... bring 'em on!


• 49d: Flew like a fly (ARCED). Like a fly ball in baseball, not like a housefly.


• 51d: Siberian city (OMSK). I love the name OMSK. It just sounds good.


• 55d: Place in a Robert Redford movie (ETTA). Etta Place was in "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid". Nice misdirection on the clue.

Suns of Bitches:

• 48a: Drawn back thing, for short (TAT). I don't get it. I had TA_, crossing the first letter of 50d: Hungarian wine (TOKAY), which I've never heard of. I just started guessing letters until I hit T. Someone out there will have to explain this one.


• 28d: "The Door to ___ Gorée" (second number in "Bring In 'da Noise, Bring In 'da Funk") (ISLE). Never heard of it. Got it from crossings.


• 53d: '90s Israeli president Weizman (EZER).

Except for the guess-the-letter crossing, this puzzle wasn't too hard for a WW. I came in under 15 minutes, which is a good time for me for a late-week puzzle. Some snazzy fill, too. Nice job.

Thanks for listening.

- Pete M.

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Title: Double Up
Author: Lee Glickstein
Theme: Five two-word phrases with a repeated long-vowel sound have those sounds shifted up to the previous phrase. Yes, it's as crazy as it sounds.

• Pay grade => PEA GREED (17a: Vegetarian's sin?).


• Clean sweep => CLINE SWIPE (24a: Criticism of the singer of "Crazy"?).


• High tide => HOE TOED (38a: Like Edward Scissorfeet?).


• Hope floats => HOOP FLUTES (52a: Encircle champagne glasses?).


• Who knew? => HAY NEIGH (63a: Barn sound that means "I'm hungry"?).

I'm going to be brutally honest here. I hate this theme. First, it wasn't until well after I had slogged through the puzzle that I figured out what the theme was. Sure, I noticed the double vowel sounds, but it was not at all clear what the pattern was. I finally was able to discern the pattern, with a little help from the title, but it was too little too late. Second, every single theme entry feels incredibly forced and, with the possible exception of Edward Scissorfeet, there is no humor to be found. And since when are scissors and hoes equivalent? Nope, for me, this one gets a resounding "Yuck!"

Sunny Spots:

• 29a: Munch kin city? (OSLO). Okay, that's a really nice clue.


• 32a: Cartoon character whose first name is Waylon (SMITHERS). From "The Simpsons".


• 45a: Ranger Smith's nemesis (YOGI BEAR).


• 8d: Nursery rhyme shepherdess (BO PEEP).

Sundries:

• 1a: Org. in the Justice Department (ATF). This was my third choice, after FBI and DEA.


• 4a: TV host with the catchphrase "I kid you not" (PAAR).


• 14a: Small contraction? (LI'L).


• 16a: Work of art (OEUVRE). Good fill word.


• 19a: "Wonderful Tonight: George Harrison, Eric Clapton, and Me" author Boyd (PATTIE).


• 21a: Crime perpetrators, in police slang (DOERS). Doers? Really? I've read and watched my fair share of crime drama, and I don't ever recall hearing that one.



• 31a: Like some illusions (OPTICAL). This is one of my favorite illusions. As much as your brain wants it to be otherwise, the "dark" square, A, and the "light" square, B, are exactly the same shade of gray.


• 36a: Female teacher of history? (MARM).


• 37a: Put out, in a way (TAG). Baseball reference.


• 42a: M.'s counterpart (MME). Monsieur and Madame.


• 47a: One walking down the aisle? (SHOPPER). Cute.


• 54a: Robusto! maker (RAGU).


• 58a: Hit locale (SIDE A).


• 71a: Snort (NIP). I went for SIP at first.


• 1d: High caste member in "Brave New World" (ALPHA).


• 3d: Short pass to a running back near the sideline (FLARE).


• 4d: Madison Square ___ (PARK).


• 5d: Fiver (ABE).


• 6d: Pale brew (ALE). Nope, even the beer reference isn't going to save this one.


• 7d: ___-wip (dessert topping) (REDDI).


• 9d: San Francisco Chronicle parent company (HEARST).


• 10d: Beat in the first leg of a triathlon (OUTSWIM).


• 18d: Title character who never shows up (GODOT).


• 22d: "Yes, I'm a Witch" artist (Yoko ONO). She has shown up way more than Brian ENO lately.


• 26d: Start of Caesar's boast (I CAME).


• 27d: Italian city famed for its cheese (PARMA).


• 28d: Elsie's bull (ELMER).


• 33d: Studly (MACHO).


• 34d: Northern hemisphere? (IGLOO).


• 40d: Sources of hubris (EGOS).



• 46d: "Mr. Tuesday Night" (BERLE).


• 48d: Maker of Zoloft (PFIZER). The PF combination is always kind of cool.


• 50d: Calle, across the Pyrenees (RUE). French for "road".


• 53d: Lake that Fredo Corleone is killed on (TAHOE).


• 55d: Like a cardinal (AVIAN).


• 56d: 2003 role for Affleck (GIGLI). The fill is more interesting than the film, I'll give it that.


• 59d: "Years of Minutes" author Rooney (ANDY).


• 60d: Timber-dressing tool (ADZ).

Suns of Bitches:

• 8a: Indian city that was the site of a deadly gas leak in 1984 (BHOPAL). I had everything but the last letter, which crossed 13d: Jackie's younger sister (LEE). I don't like this crossing at all. An Indian city name crossing a girl's name that ends in _EE? It could be anything: B, D, L, R, Z,...


• 20a: Impresario Sol (HUROK). Whatever.



• 59a: Shortstop Dark who was the 1948 Rookie of the Year (ALVIN). It's Wednesday. How about a "Chipmunks" clue?


• 69a: Gourmet store on the Upper West Side (ZABARS). Unfair to anyone outside of NYC. Especially crossing another name that could be anything. 61d: Benaderet of "Petticoat Junction" (BEA) could just as easily have been BEE or BEV or BEL. I could easily envision a store called "Z.L. Bar's".


• 24d: Rosabella's friend in "The Most Happy Fella" (CLEO).


• 44d: Swedish city near Stockholm (UPPSALA). This was only vaguely familiar once I had it from the crossings.

It's hard to compensate for a poor theme. Here, a dull and unhelpful theme combined with too many nasty clues and crossings that made this puzzle solve much more like a Weekend Warrior than a Wednesday, only not as enjoyable. I haven't disliked a puzzle this much in quite some time. It just didn't work for me at all.

Thanks for listening.

- Pete M.