NYT Tuesday 5/12/09 - Dissolving

This Tuesday New York Times crossword had a familiar theme based on adding letters to phrases, but for once didn't result in puns: "DISsing" a phrase changes its meaning in surprising ways, most notably with Miss America (which becomes dismiss America).

Unfortunately, it took me a very long time to work out what was going on: I had maybe three quarters of the grid done before seeing the thematic pattern, by which time adding the remaining DISses made little difference.

Solving time: 8 mins (no cheating)
Clue of the puzz: 62d ant {Tiny colonist}

Theme

Four fanciful phrases made by adding dis to the front of real ones:

17a disarm and hammer {"Beat swords into plowshares"}
27a dismiss America {"Ignore the red, white and blue"}
45a disbar and grill {"Oust from practice, then interrogate"}
61a disband on the run {"Scatter while fleeing"}

Solution


Grid art by Sympathy [about the grid colors]

Crucimetrics

Compilers	Wayne and P. K. King / Will Shortz
Grid	15x15 with 38 (16.9%) black squares
Answers	78 (average length 4.79)
Theme squares	58 (31.0%)
Scrabble points	270 (average 1.44)
Letters used	ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

New To Me

25a Ron {Silver of the silver screen}. Ron Silver, who died in March this year, was an actor in film and television. I associate him most with the movie Reversal of Fortune, in which Ron played the defense attorney Alan Dershowitz.



66a Amy {Etiquette guru Vanderbilt}. Amy Vanderbilt (1908-1974) wrote an authoritative book on etiquette in the 1950s. It is still popular enough that it is regularly updated. I doubt I need a book on etiquette: any peculiarities in my behavior are put down to the eccentricities of my English upbringing.

6d Utah {Six-sided state}. This really made me rack my brain: is there a hexagonal state of the USA? Utah is approximately square, but has a corner taken out of it by Wyoming. It is one of only three states (with Colorado and Wyoming) whose borders are defined solely by lines of latitude and longitude.

63d HRs. {Four-baggers: Abbr.}. Magdalen suspected I wouldn't understand this clue and she was right: a "four-bagger" is a home run in baseball (even though there isn't a bag at the home plate).

Noteworthy

8d Todd {Rocker Rundgren}. I knew the name Todd Rundgren without being very clear what he was famous for: that's perhaps because he has done so many things in his career as composer, musician and producer. Here's the classic Hello It's Me recorded in 1973.



28d inked {Put one's John Hancock on}. The origin of John Hancock as a nickname for signature was known to me even in the UK. However, that didn't help much with solving this clue which calls for the less familiar "to ink" as slang for "to sign" a contract or the like.

29d Stoli {Vodka brand, informally}. I can't let an association with a fav TV show from the UK go by: a Boddy Stoli (a cocktail of Bollinger champagne and Stolichnaya vodka) is the preferred tipple of Edina and Patsy on Absolutely Fabulous. I hope this has been shown on BBC America as it's a classic and one of the shows I miss seeing repeats of.



62d ant {Tiny colonist}. A nice clue calling to mind Virginia Dare, the first child born to English parents in the Americas - I learned of her first from an NYT puzzle last month. The colonist called for here is even smaller than Virginia.

The Rest

1a tan {Get some sun}; 4a erupt {Blow one's stack}; 9a Babar {Kid-lit pachyderm}; 14a as a {Naked ___ jaybird}; 15a ratio {Sine, cosine or tangent}; 16a Aruba {Tourist mecca off the coast of Venezuela}; 20a afar {Way off}; 21a shade {Parasol's offering}; 22a apse {Cathedral area}; 23a ate {Grazed, say}; 35a antic {Marx Brothers-like}; 36a moose {Meat favored by Sarah Palin}; 37a Ave {With 44-Across, a traditional Catholic prayer}; 39a TKOs {Ring decisions, for short}; 40a Berry {Chuck who sang "Maybellene"}; 41a spat {Petty quarrel}; 42a eel {Moray, for one}; 43a neato! {"Peachy keen!"}; 44a Maria {See 37-Across}; 48a act {Take steps}; 49a Art {The "A" in MoMA}; 50a imam {Shi'ite leader}; 53a oater {Typical John Wayne film}; 57a rile {Stir up}; 64a ocean {Neptune's realm}; 65a inner {Word before city or tube}; 67a least {Smallest possible}; 68a needs {Has to have}; 69a spa {Masseur's place}.

1d tada {Bit of verbal trumpeting}; 2d as if {"A likely story"}; 3d NASA {Shuttle org.}; 4d err {Pull a boner}; 5d Ramses {Any of several Egyptian kings}; 7d piña {___ colada}; 9d baa {Ovine sound}; 10d Armani {Giorgio of fashion}; 11d bump {Fist ___ (modern greeting)}; 12d Abes {Lincoln and others}; 13d rare {Like proverbial hen's teeth}; 18d Aramis {A Musketeer}; 19d heresy {Rejection of church dogma}; 24d tic {Behavioral quirk}; 26d ore {Rich rock}; 27d date {Palm fruit}; 30d smear {Makeup mishap}; 31d aorta {Main artery}; 32d moron {Mental midget}; 33d Capri {Blue Grotto's isle}; 34d avail {To no ___}; 38d et al {List-ending abbr.}; 40d beat on {Bang, as a drum}; 41d Sartre {"No Exit" dramatist}; 43d NBC {"30 Rock" network}; 44d mgr. {Dugout V.I.P.: Abbr.}; 46d sambas {Rio dances}; 47d darted {Moved like a hummingbird}; 50d idol {Miley Cyrus, to teens}; 51d mice {Owls' prey}; 52d a-sea {Where pirates go}; 54d ad in {Score after deuce}; 55d tone {Mute, with "down"}; 56d -enne {Feminine suffix}; 58d IRAs {Portfolio holdings, briefly}; 59d lump {Sugar unit}; 60d Enya {One-named New Age singer}.

NYT Monday 5/11/09 - Altered Perspectives

The theme of today's New York Times crossword reminds me of a quotation about altered perspectives that I have vague memories of: something like "I'm a freedom fighter, you're a terrorist". The sentiments expressed by the song titles are apparently random, but you wonder if there's a joke in there if you can just order them the right way.

As usual, this Monday puzzle presented few difficulties, although there were the usual odd things I didn't know and had to work around. Today it was Abba Eben, Stephen Vincent Benét, Elly May Clampett and Keene, NH - all hopefully added to the memory banks for the next time they appear.

Solving time: 6 mins (no cheating)

Theme

Four hit songs that start with a personal pronoun:

17a She's a Lady {1971 Tom Jones hit}
30a You're So Vain {1972 Carly Simon hit}
48a I'm A Believer {1966 Monkees hit}
66a He's a Rebel {1962 Crystals hit}

Solution


Grid art by Sympathy [about the grid colors]

Crucimetrics

Compilers	Fred Piscop / Will Shortz
Grid	15x15 with 40 (17.8%) black squares
Answers	78 (average length 4.74)
Theme squares	40 (21.6%)
Scrabble points	293 (average 1.58)
Letters used	ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

New To Me

69a Elly {___ May Clampett of "The Beverly Hillbillies"}. Elly May Clampett was the hillbilly family's daughter, played by Donna Douglas. I'm sure The Beverly Hillbillies made it to the UK in their day, but I don't think I'd have understood much based on this episode.



71a Benét {Poet Stephen Vincent ___}. Stephen Vincent Benét (1898–1943) is known for such works as the narrative poem John Brown's Body; also the short story The Devil and Daniel Webster, about attorney Daniel Webster's defense of a New Hampshire farmer against "Mr. Scratch".



3d Keene {New Hampshire college town}. Staying in The Granite State, we have the home of Keene State College, whose 6,400 students form approximately a quarter of the population of Keene. The only difficulty here was avoiding spelling it like one of Magdalen's favorite groups.



6d Eban {Abba of Israel}. This one really had me thinking: is there an ABBA tribute band in Israel? Or was it to do with Abba, meaning "father" in Semitic languages. The latter is closer, but I would never have guessed the answer was a surname. Abba Eban (1915-2002) was an Israeli politician who rose to become Deputy Prime Minister. He seems to have been prominent before I became much aware of politics in the Middle East.

57d R E Lee {C.S.A. general}. The abbreviation in the clue pointed to abbreviation in the answer, rationalizing the unusual form of one of the most famous generals in US history. I hadn't come across C.S.A. before: it's short for Confederate States Army, which existed from 1861 to 1865.

Noteworthy

40a Snerd {Bergen dummy Mortimer}. Magdalen explained Edgar Bergen and Mortimer Snerd to me last fall, when we were solving the NYT puzzles informally. The idea of a ventriloquist on the radio seemed rather ludicrous and I didn't think I'd get to see a clip, but here is one from a Thanksgiving special sponsored by Coca-Cola in 1950.



54d cleat {Golf shoe gripper}. Although cleat in this context is technically in the language, in Britain "stud" is much more common. Magdalen and I are mourning Tiger's poor final round in The Players' Championship - nothing to do with his cleats I hope.

The Rest

1a Lake {Africa's ___ Victoria}; 5a hemp {Rope material}; 9a gamma {Letter after beta}; 14a ides {___ of March}; 15a Obie {Theater award}; 16a avian {Bird-related}; 19a zesty {Appealingly piquant}; 20a toner {Photocopier cartridge contents}; 21a Niobe {Weeper of Greek myth}; 23a scents {Perfumery emanations}; 25a Tabasco {Hot sauce brand}; 33a caps {Items on which baseball insignia appear}; 37a pre- {Opposite of post-}; 38a salts {Seasons or deices}; 39a an in {Have ___ (be connected)}; 43a I see {Words of understanding}; 44a visor {Windshield flip-down}; 46a vee {Geese formation shape}; 47a last {Finishing 11th out of 11, e.g.}; 52a lensmen {Photographers, informally}; 53a rector {Parish leader}; 58a nacho {___ chip, which might be topped with 19-Across 27-Down dip}; 61a alive {Still kicking}; 62a Jabba {___ the Hutt of "Star Wars"}; 68a alien {Martian or Venusian}; 70a -aire {Suffix with concession}; 72a sloe {Gin flavoring}; 73a Tate {London art gallery}.

1d lists {Rosters}; 2d ad hoc {Kind of committee}; 4d Essen {Krupp Works city}; 5d hol. {Christmas or Thanksgiving: Abbr.}; 7d midi {Longish skirt}; 8d peyote {Mescaline-yielding cactus}; 9d gazebos {Garden pavilions}; 10d Ave. {N.Y.C.'s Park or Lex}; 11d mis- {Prefix with place or print}; 12d mat {Yoga class surface}; 13d any {"___ takers?"}; 18d arty {Pseudo-stylish}; 22d BAs {English majors' degs.}; 24d sops {Absorbs, with "up"}; 26d avail {Be of use}; 27d salsa {Tex-Mex preparation}; 28d cites {Uses as a reference}; 29d onset {Beginning stage}; 31d urn {Makeshift vote receptacle}; 32d Reeve {Superman portrayer Christopher}; 33d cavil {Be nitpicky}; 34d anime {Japanese cartoon art}; 35d Pisan {Native of the Leaning Tower city}; 36d snobs {Nose-in-the-air sorts}; 41d rev {Minister's nickname}; 42d deer {Animal that may be caught in the headlights}; 45d remnant {Carpet leftover}; 49d lea {Meadow}; 50d inches {Rainfall units}; 51d rear {Derrière}; 55d tibia {Fibula's neighbor}; 56d overt {Plain to see}; 59d hell {Satan's domain}; 60d Oslo {Norway's capital}; 62d jab {Sharp left or right, in the ring}; 63d ale {Ginger ___}; 64d bin {Bargain basement container}; 65d bee {Quilting party}; 67d aye {Sailor's assent}.

NPR Puzzle 5/10/09 -- Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day. Will's on-air challenge was a series of word puzzles around the words (mother, mere, mom) associated with the day. I didn't do all that well, mostly because I was multitasking (fancy word for "wasting time" on the computer while the radio was on), although I did get the 11-letter word using the letters of MOTHER and having MOM as the middle syllable.

Ross has set this week's value added puzzle: A common 9-letter word that has MOM in the middle ( _ _ _ M O M _ _ _ ). I haven't solved that yet, and I'm resisting using TEA. Dramamine? Hmmm. I'll keep working on this. Or ask Himself for a hint...

Meanwhile, some sadistic listener in New York City named David Hill has sent in another number puzzle, similar to the one used two weeks ago, but different. Here's today's version:

5 = 4
7 = 17
9 = 25
35 = 2
14 = ?

Five = Four, Seven = Seventeen, Nine = Twenty-five, Thirty-five = Two

The inclusion of 35 takes a bunch of options off the table -- it's not hours in a day, days in a month, letters in the alphabet. There is a method used by cryptic puzzles sometimes, where you add up the numeric value of the letters and subtract multiples of 26 to get a new letter, but you can see that's not what's going on here -- (f) 6 + (i) 9 + (v) 22 + (e) 5 =16 (not 4!).

Time for some help. Let's see what Henry has to say! Hmmm. He hasn't solved it (yet) but had some of the same ideas that I had, plus one I hadn't thought of. I'll go check that quickly; here's a Happy Mother's Day video while you're waiting:



Alas, no, that idea didn't work. (In that idea, 38 = 2). And the idea that both Henry and I thought of doesn't seem to pan out. Humpf. Well, it's time to pass it along to Ross, who's much more dogged than I am. He really doesn't like to fail, whereas I am remarkably comfortable with failure.

NYT Sunday 5/10/09 - For Woods

The timing of this golf-themed puzzle seems fortuitous, as Magdalen (Tiger's greatest fan) has been glued to the coverage of The Players Championship this week. (Actually scarcely a week seems to go by without some kind of televised golf tournament, so maybe there was no particular intention behind the scheduling of this crossword.)

We really enjoyed the puns on offer, especially submarine sand wedges and wet tee shot contests. The only one we thought a bit of a stretch was a lowdown birdie shame (which we assume derives from a lowdown dirty shame).

Patrick Berry - the compiler of this puzzle - is the author of Crossword Puzzle Challenges for Dummies. It's the book of crosswords I'm currently working through (as if solving the regular New York Times puzzles daily weren't enough). I'm currently on puzzle 42 of the 70 puzzles, which are ordered in increasing difficulty. Those in the 40s are taking me around 20 minutes, so are about equivalent to a Thursday NYT.

Solving time: 45 mins (no cheating, collaborative effort)
Clue of the puzz: 20a halo {Cause of lightheadedness?}

Theme

Puns with a golfing theme:

22a caddie corner {Where golf bag handlers congregate inside the clubhouse?}
26a submarine sand wedges {Golf clubs tossed into the drink at Pebble Beach?}
40a the putter fly effect {Tendency to throw one's club after sinking a short stroke?}
63a no holes barred {Like golf courses that let you play the full 18?}
83a wet tee shot contests {Competitions to see who can drive a ball farthest in the rain?}
101a a lowdown birdie shame {Thoroughly undeserved under-par result?}
109a fast four wood {Fairway club swung quickly?}

Solution


Grid art by Sympathy [about the grid colors]

Crucimetrics

Compilers	Patrick Berry / Will Shortz
Grid	21x21 with 76 (17.2%) black squares
Answers	136 (average length 5.37)
Theme squares	111 (30.4%)
Scrabble points	589 (average 1.61)
Letters used	ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

New To Me

6a blat {Unappealing trumpet sound}. This onomatopoeic word seemed familiar, but not in the context of trumpets. Dictionaries to hand suggest a blat is the bleating sound from sheep, car horns or the like (which I guess may cover trumpets).

61a Lilo {Disney character from Hawaii}. Somehow I have escaped seeing Lilo & Stitch since they first appeared in the 2002 movie, so wasn't aware Lilo was from anywhere special. Lilo Pelekai is the little Hawaiian girl who adopts Stitch (the product of genetic experimentation by aliens) as her "dog".



68a NEA {Org. funding many PBS programs}. Just when I'd learned that NEA is the largest labor union in the US, this clue comes along to disturb my confidence. The second most common way of cluing NEA is as the National Endowment for the Arts.

46d CDC {Org. that combats epidemics}. A timely clue, with swine flu being so much in the news at the mo. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were established in 1946 to provide information to enhance health decisions and promote the health of the US people.

59d Joon {"Benny & ___" (1993 film)}. Magdalen reminds me that Benny & Joon is one of the movies we can get for free if we send off enough coupons from our cereal packets. We have quite a stack of these free movies waiting to be watched, so I've put the brakes on getting more for the noo. This one is a 1993 rom-com starring Johnny Depp, with Aidan Quinn and Mary Stuart Masterson as siblings Benny & Joon.



65d bucko {Londonderry lad}. I never heard this used when living much closer to Northern Ireland than I am now, so the answer didn't ring true to me; but checking my dictionary, I stand corrected.

bucko n (pl buckoes) a swaggerer, a domineering bully (orig naut sl); a young lad, chap (chiefly Irish).
From The Chambers Dictionary

76d Ole {___ Miss}. Magdalen breezed past this clue which I needed to research. I see Ole Miss is the University of Mississippi, a nickname it acquired in a contest in 1897. A good thing for the sake of academic dignity that the Colbert Nation wasn't around in those days to bias the contest.

98d Edsel {Car with a horse collar grille}. News of the heroic failure of the Edsel in the late 1950s reached even England, though I didn't have a clear image of the car in my mind and mention of horse collar grilles piques my interest. The accompanying picture says it all. Incidentally, the car is named for Henry Ford's son Edsel (1893–1943).

Noteworthy

20a halo {Cause of lightheadedness?}. I like this clue which reminds me so much of how halos are depicted in art.

96a ref {One who works while others play?}. Our heads were still full of the New York Met's La Cenerentola relay when we solved the puzzle, so our first thought was conductors. But since a three-letter word was called for, it has to be ref.

The Rest

1a kempt {Neat}; 10a tbsp. {Medicinal amt.}; 14a bio. {Science class, briefly}; 17a friars {Minorites, e.g.}; 19a Mayle {"A Year in Provence" author}; 21a end {Close}; 24a in a sense {If you look at it the right way}; 28a aria {Classical singer's selection}; 30a pace {Work off nervous energy, in a way}; 31a elk {Big game}; 32a gats {Hit makers?}; 33a paz {Guerra's opposite}; 34a toil {Struggle}; 36a boas {Fluffy scarves}; 39a Elsa {Fashion designer Schiaparelli}; 47a Oreo {Cookie sold in a blue package}; 48a erode {Eat away at}; 49a fedoras {Fops' tops}; 53a Slidell {Louisiana city on Lake Pontchartrain}; 56a pecs {Bench presser's pride}; 57a Harcourt {Publishing firm bought by Houghton Mifflin}; 58a tassel {Set of threads?}; 59a jerk {Ding-a-ling}; 60a Pei {Bank of China Tower architect}; 62a RCA {___ Dome (former Colts stadium)}; 69a Otis {Former Magic player Smith}; 71a Eos {Dawn goddess}; 72a muse {Cogitate}; 73a lucent {Clear}; 75a Piano Man {Billy Joel's first Top 40 hit}; 78a tics {Quirks}; 79a invades {Makes a strong entrance?}; 80a scholar {The American ___ (Phi Beta Kappa publication)}; 81a Ditka {N.F.L. Coach of the Year in 1985 and 1988}; 82a hies {Spurs (on)}; 89a bray {Barnyard call}; 92a than {Comparative follower}; 93a CPOs {Some ship personnel, briefly}; 94a oui {"Parlez-vous français?" answer}; 95a Li Po {Tang dynasty poet}; 98a Erle {___ Stanley Gardner}; 100a Amex {Visa alternative, for short}; 108a negligee {Nightwear}; 112a cue {Shark's stick}; 113a orbs {Some Christmas ornaments}; 114a trees {Golf course obstacles}; 115a beaned {Knocked dizzy}; 116a ape {Long-armed animal}; 117a nest {Digs in the forest}; 118a Hals {Dutch Golden Age painter}; 119a Ayers {___ Rock (Aussie landmark)}.

1d KFC {Restaurant chain headquartered in Louisville}; 2d era {Part of B.C.E.}; 3d midsize {Category of sedan}; 4d Padua {"The Taming of the Shrew" setting}; 5d Trib {"Lou Grant" paper, for short}; 6d baric {Containing element #56}; 7d Lynne {Jeff of the Traveling Wilburys}; 8d alee {Out of the wind}; 9d terse {Not at all garrulous}; 10d think of {Come up with}; 11d band {Unadorned ring}; 12d slaw {Cabbage dish}; 13d pose {Sit (for)}; 14d Bengal {Bay of ___ (terminus of the Ganges)}; 15d insets {Alaska and Hawaii on U.S. maps, often}; 16d Odessa {Stalin named it a "hero city" after W.W. II}; 18d Sem. {Relig. school}; 19d morale {U.S.O. shows boost it}; 23d Capitol {National Mall sight}; 25d edge tool {One applied to a grindstone}; 27d Albee {"Tiny Alice" playwright}; 28d apt {Germane}; 29d rah {Crowd cheer}; 34d tureen {Buffet table dish}; 35d Otello {Verdi opera}; 37d affair {Public scandal}; 38d seer {Crystal gazer}; 41d pods {Cacao holders}; 42d repels {Drives back}; 43d frère {"___ Jacques"}; 44d locksmith {Key employee?}; 45d yds. {1,760 make a mi.}; 50d ruined {Bankrupt}; 51d Arlene {"What's My Line?" panelist Francis}; 52d stoats {Brown furs}; 53d strops {Sharpens, as a razor}; 54d lactic {___ acid (sour cream component)}; 55d Isaiah {First of the Major Prophets}; 57d here {"You can have this"}; 60d Passat {Volkswagen sedan}; 64d hearth {Brick construction}; 66d El Niño {Weather changer}; 67d duvets {Down-filled quilts}; 70d snowy owl {Quebec's official bird}; 74d case {Medical patient}; 77d Matt {Olympic swimmer Biondi}; 78d 'tis {"___ the season!"}; 79d I hope so {Unconvincing "yes"}; 81d Deneb {Brightest star in Cygnus}; 84d earnest {Like true believers}; 85d C clefs {Symbols seen on viola music}; 86d Someone {"If I Needed ___" (Harrison-penned Beatles song)}; 87d Tue. {Day of the wk.}; 88d six {Early wake-up time}; 89d Blanca {Bahía ___, Argentina}; 90d rile up {Agitate}; 91d apogee {Highest point}; 97d fifth {Liquor bottle}; 99d rites {Observances}; 100d Amway {Direct-sales giant}; 102d Dion {"Ruby Baby" singer, 1963}; 103d ogre {Man-eating giant}; 104d webs {Attic fillers}; 105d rara {___ avis}; 106d hub {Indirect flight stop-off}; 107d area {Vicinity}; 110d o'er {National anthem contraction}; 111d DDS {Tooth-care deg.}.

NYT Saturday 5/9/09 - Catalytic Cracker

I'll stick my neck out here and say this was the hardest puzzle of the year so far. It started off easily enough and I got the 15-letter answers early on, which was very helpful. By half an hour, I had everything done except the NE corner.

I needed one or two answers to act as a "catalyst" and I eventually came up with people for 10-down, but even that did nothing to speed me up. After another ten minutes getting nowhere, I decided it was time to collaborate with Magdalen, who I thought might have 39-across, 42-across, 11-down or 30-down. No dice.

However, working together, we got feline, sped up and hence the long down answers to complete the grid. Unfortunately, we put in unliterate instead of unliterary and then settled for guesses at 39-across, 42-across and 33-down. We should really have sussed ALer for the last one, but fell into the trap of thinking Jay and Ray were first names - foiled again!

Solving time: 50 mins (collaborative effort, 4 mistakes)
Clue of the puzz: 28a true {Not tall}

Solution


Grid art by Sympathy [about the grid colors]

Crucimetrics

Compilers	Brad Wilber / Will Shortz
Grid	15x15 with 30 (13.3%) black squares
Answers	70 (average length 5.57)
Theme squares	0 (0.0%)
Scrabble points	311 (average 1.59)
Letters used	ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

New To Me

42a Gordy {"The Mary Tyler Moore Show" weatherman}. Here's one so obscure even Magdalen didn't remember it (and there's no YouTube clip that I can find): Gordy Howard was the weather caster at WJM-TV, played by John Amos.

52a Iko Iko {Mardi Gras song that was a 1965 hit for the Dixie Cups}. Suspecting the six-letter title involved reduplication was helpful here. Reading Wikipedia's explanation of Iko Iko doesn't get me much further - I'll have to ask our neighbors - experienced Mardi Gras goers - what it all means.



11d Ellie {"Show Boat" girl who sings "Life Upon the Wicked Stage"}. A Broadway reference too obscure for me: Frank Schultz and Ellie May are two of the actors on the eponymous floating theater in this Jerome Kern musical. This is Virginia O'Brien's performance from Till the Clouds Roll By, which includes a condensed adaptation of the musical.



31d MSgt {U.S.M.C. E-8}. If jargon needed exemplifying, then this is it. I'd seen this sort of thing in previous puzzles, so knew not to panic about it and just hope to see a plausible abbreviated military rank in the end. This time it's MSgt, short for Master Sergeant.

35d All I {"___ Have" (Jennifer Lopez #1 hit)}. All I Have was a hit for J. Lo in 2003 and features rapper LL Cool J.



42d go long {Get ready for a bomb}. I thought this must be to do with stock market trading, but couldn't quite see why you'd go long in something that might "bomb". Magdalen explains that a "bomb" is a long pass in American football (but not as long as a Hail Mary).

Noteworthy

28a true {Not tall}. I like this clue, which looked open to lots of possibilities but eventually gave a convincing answer. In fact I only tried one wrong answer tiny before realizing I should be thinking of stories.

29a rev {Preach}. For this to work, either "preach" has to be a noun equivalent to "preacher", or rev has to be a verb. The former seems to be what was intended, though I've not find a dictionary to support it. Very mean clue.

34a Sacagawea dollar {Indian currency}. I was lucky to come across the Sacagawea dollar last month. Although it was previously Sacajawea, the fact that there were multiple spellings stuck with me.

1d came {Amounted}. As in "amounted/came to nothing". Less difficult than I thought it was going to be.

8d Begin the Beguine {Song standard from Broadway's "Jubilee," 1935}. A nice title to get into a long answer. Begin the Beguine is a Cole Porter song based on a slow dance of the 1930s. Here is Jo Stafford to sing it for you.



33d ALer {Jay or Ray}. Ok, we should be wise to this sort of thing by now, but have to fess up to falling for the trick here: Jays and Rays are players for the Toronto Blue Jays and Tampa Bay Rays, therefore ALers.

The Rest

1a cushy job {No backbreaker}; 9a sped up {Was a catalyst for}; 15a annotate {Add to marginally?}; 16a feline {Stealthy sort}; 17a main drag {One running through town}; 18a oo-la-la {Exclamation near a runway}; 19a Este {City in Veneto}; 20a Gris {Cubist who painted "Violin and Glass"}; 22a pipit {Bird notable for walking rather than hopping}; 23a Count Fleet {Triple Crown winner between Whirlaway and Assault}; 25a learn {Master}; 31a Misha {Perfume named for Baryshnikov}; 32a shin {It's just over a foot}; 33a acre {Plot segment}; 37a grab {Take the wrong way?}; 38a lobe {Ring site}; 39a Meara {Tony award nominee for "Anna Christie," 1993}; 40a tsp. {It's sometimes heaping: Abbr.}; 41a slue {Fishtail, e.g.}; 43a petting zoo {Place where kids may feed kids}; 46a Morro {New Mexico's El ___ National Monument}; 47a duel {Emulate Cyrano}; 48a ex-GI {Nov. 11 honoree}; 54a ironweed {Pulitzer-winning William Kennedy novel}; 56a seabed {Good place to look when you're sole-searching?}; 57a nonsense {It doesn't add up}; 58a orders {Waiting list?}; 59a eggcrate {Kind of mattress pad}.

2d Unas {Last pharaoh of Egypt's Fifth Dynasty}; 3d snit {Ruffled state}; 4d hone {It'll give you an edge}; 5d YTD {Financial report abbr.}; 6d jargon {It's hard for laymen to understand}; 7d Otaru {Port on the Sea of Japan}; 9d SFO {Hub northwest of LAX}; 10d people {Nation}; 12d diaper-clad {Like tiny tots}; 13d unliterary {Like much pulp}; 14d peat {Everglades deposit}; 21d striae {Stretch marks, e.g.}; 23d crag {Peak projection}; 24d fund {Financial adviser's suggestion}; 25d liar's poker {Bluffing bar game}; 26d escape road {Emergency racetrack turnoff}; 27d Ahab {Wicked king of Israel}; 30d Vera {Tennis star Zvonareva}; 32d swound {Faint, to Shakespeare}; 36d Omoo {Classic novel whose title means "rover"}; 41d stoker {Steamship employee}; 44d tribe {Reservation holder}; 45d zero g {Free-falling phenomenon}; 46d miso {Paste in Asian cookery}; 48d ewer {One whose mouth and lip may be painted}; 49d Xena {TV opponent of Ares}; 50d gest {Exploit}; 51d idée {Starting point for un inventeur}; 53d ODs {Has one's fill and more, briefly}; 55d NSC {Foreign policy grp.}.

Solution to NPR Puzzle 5/3/09 -- Shortz's Choice

Here's the challenge from last Sunday:

Take a common five-letter first name that contains one V. Change the V to an L, rearrange the letters and you'll get a familiar last name. The first and last names go together to name a famous star living in Hollywood. Who is it?

Before I get to the answer (which will trigger a series of associations resulting in the suggestion that Will Shortz owes me a lunch), let me tell you what my value-added puzzles were from Sunday. First up: What three-name nursery rhyme character has all three names starting with the same letter, and ending with another letter? Wee Willie Winkie.

Next up: Ross's software, TEA, gave me three two-word phrases in Core English. They're all common phrases where the first word starts with the same letter as the second word, and both end with the same letter. And what's kind of neat is that you can construct a sentence that would use all three phrases without too torturous a meaning.

To celebrate the end of the _____________, my colleague and I went with our sweeties on a _____________ to have some ______________ at Starbucks.

The answers were Work Week, Double Date, and Coffee Cake.

Okay, so back to Will's puzzle. The answer is Kevin Kline: There aren't that many five-letter first names with V in them (Steven is too long, Evan is too short), so once you think of Kevin, the only remaining challenge is to see the anagram. My hint to help you think of a hint was to keep in mind the process Will Shortz must have gone through to come up with his on-air puzzle, which required famous names where the first and last names started with the same letter, and ended with the same letter (albeit different from the letter starting both names). Susan Sarandon, Marianne Moore, etc.

You imagine Will starting with lists of famous actors, poets, fictional characters -- he's limited it to those where the first and last names start the same, and look! Kevin Kline. But they end with different letters . . . wait -- Kline is an anagram of Kevin, almost. I figure he then looked for another example of this effect, and that's how he got Edgar Degas, whose two names don't start the same. I think Edgar Degas would have been a tougher challenge, but he'd have had to say it was an artist, and then the lists we'd all be consulting would be short enough to make it easy. By telling us only that it was a Hollywood star, in theory we had to consider females. Here's the short list of women's first names with V in them:

Avril
Evita
Ivana
Maeve
Mavis
Olive
Viola

See what I mean? You can think of famous women with those first names, but in almost all cases, there's only one per name. That didn't take long to rule out. Here's the list of men's names with V in them:

Clive
David
Elvis
Kevin
Rajiv
Steve
Vijay

Same sort of deal -- there are famous Clives and Vijays, but not so many that you can't rule them out pretty quickly. Okay, so David and Steve are at least theoretical. David Addil? Adlid? Daldi? Steve Leets? Teels? Steel?

Admittedly, I didn't do any of this. I just thought of Kevin, and then thought of Kevin Kline.

Here's where it gets interesting. When I think of Kevin Kline, I think of A Fish Called Wanda, which is pretty ironic because I never saw it. (Why didn't I think of The Big Chill? I love that movie!) But I rather assumed that my British husband, and my British ex-husband (who also does the NPR puzzle faithfully) would get the reference. Nope. Henry (the ex) laconically admitted as how he'd seen A Fish Called Wanda, but still hadn't been able to come up with Kevin Kline's name. And Ross? Well, he thinks of Sophie's Choice:



And that gets us back to Brooklyn, the site of the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament, which is in the Marriott Hotel, which is mere blocks from the Promenade overlooking the Brooklyn Bridge, which is iconic in the movie.

And that gets me back to the fact that last night we watched the episode of Dinner: Impossible that shows how chef Robert Irvine (a fellow Brit) prepared our lunch. And here's where I am still just a teensy bit peeved. Ross and I were rookies at this year's ACPT, so when Will Shortz announced that there was loads of food and no need for everyone to rush up to the buffet while the puzzle was going on, we believed him. Hah! Never again. In fact, watching the episode showed just how much food was gone by the time we got up there. I kept watching Chef Irvine's team prepare food that I know I never saw, let alone got to sample.

Will, if you're reading this -- you owe us a lunch. Don't worry -- we've got your address; we'll come to you.

NYT Friday 5/8/09 - Duck Soup?

Friday New York Times crosswords can drive me crazy, especially when I get completely bogged down and stare at clues for minutes on end without getting anywhere. This one was something of an exception, then - I suspect it's just an easier one for a change, although my familiarity with some of the longer answers may have given me an advantage.

The grid looks very attractive and has a lively pangrammatic fill with imaginative clues, exemplified by "That was Zen, this is ___" for Tao. The only complaint I would make is the number of three-letter words required to support the slabs of long answers round the edge. Based on my limited experience, I seem to have more fun with themeless puzzles that have fewer very long answers, but lots of areas with crossing answers in the six- to eight-letter range.

Solving time: 24 mins (no cheating)
Clue of the puzz: 35a elope {Get a hand on the road?}

Solution


Grid art by Sympathy [about the grid colors]

Crucimetrics

Compilers	John Farmer / Will Shortz
Grid	15x15 with 45 (20.0%) black squares
Answers	64 (average length 5.63)
Theme squares	0 (0.0%)
Scrabble points	313 (average 1.74)
Letters used	ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
Feature	Pangrammatic

New To Me

26a Stu {Lantz of the 1960s-'70s N.B.A.}. Stu Lantz is now a commentator for the Los Angeles Lakers having played for them at the end of his career.



41a TAs {Some proctors, for short}. This is another example of differences in British and American usage. I went to Oxford University, where proctors enforce university discipline, aided by a private police force: bowler-hatted constables called "bulldogs". Really ... I'm not making this up! But in the US, I gather proctors are merely invigilators for exams, therefore likely to be teaching assistants.

43a Dave {Early TV host Garroway}. Dave Garroway was the host of NBC's morning news show Today from 1952 to 1961. Here he is on What's My Line?



2d ope {"Behold, the heavens do ___": Shak.}. I would have guessed the storm scene from King Lear, but this line is actually from Coriolanus, where the eponymous general is finally persuaded by Mumsy (Volumnia) to desist from sacking Rome:

O mother, mother!
What have you done? Behold, the heavens do ope,
The gods look down, and this unnatural scene
They laugh at. O my mother, mother! O!
You have won a happy victory to Rome
From Coriolanus Act V, Scene iii by William Shakespeare

7d Maher {"Real Time" host}. The full title of the show says it all really: Real Time with Bill Maher. Bill Maher is a stand-up comedian who's most recently targeted organized religion in the feature film Religulous.



43d dbls. {Some baseball hits: Abbr.}. Easy enough to guess for this puzzle, but I suppose I should check out what a double means in baseball: it's when a batter steers the ball well enough to run all the way to second base ... kind of like getting two runs in cricket. You can also have a ground rule double where a ball is hit fairly but bounces out of play.

Noteworthy

10a Captain Ahab {"From hell's heart I stab at thee; for hate's sake I spit my last breath at thee" speaker}. Famous last words ... Ahab gets caught in his own harpoon line and is dragged down with the whale. Moby-Dick is one of my favorite American novels: several movie adaptations have been made, notably the 1956 version starring Gregory Peck as Captain Ahab.



14a putt {Six-footer, maybe}. Long experience with cryptic crosswords led me to think of insects first. Magdalen was watching The Players Championship when solving, making this putt a lot easier to get.

27a rias {Coastal features}. I was surprised Magdalen had trouble with this one, as I learned it in school geography. A ria, or "drowned valley", is formed when the sea level in a valley rises (or the land falls) resulting in a much bigger estuary than you'd expect, based on the size of the river feeding it. They're very common in the southwest of England and make good harbors.

35a elope {Get a hand on the road?}. A great misleading definition. In Britain, couples seeking to elope used to head for Gretna Green, just across the border into Scotland, where there were laxer requirements for parental consent. Magdalen and I went right by there in March, but had no need of its services.

5d cinches {They're duck soup}. As in "a piece of cake", but I'm congenitally incapable of passing by any Marx Brothers allusion without including a clip.



9d SAS {Lander at Arlanda}. A clue with a bit of poetry. I have to admit SAS makes me think first of Britain's special forces regiment, so I assumed Arlanda was one of their famous victories. Has Britain ever parachuted troops into Stockholm? ... no, Arlanda is Stockholm's international airport, a hub for Scandinavian Airlines System.

12d quantum leap {Abrupt change}. In this context, I have to give a plug for Matt Savage, a sixteen-year-old jazz musician I first heard on Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz. Quantum Leap is the very impressive fifth album for his trio.

25d jabbed {Drew a cross response?}. This was a hard clue for me, but I eventually recognized cross and jab as boxing terms.

47d Tea {"___ With Mussolini" (Zeffirelli film)}. I saw Tea With Mussolini about five years ago in England and remember it fondly for several fine performances from British actresses of a certain age.



The Rest

1a boot camps {Military trials?}; 12a quiet on the set {Order given before shooting starts}; 15a chew {___ toy (pet shop purchase)}; 16a ahs {Magic show reactions}; 18a ray {Glimmer}; 19a kosher {Allowed}; 22a suet {Steamed pudding ingredient}; 23a Eno {Creator of the "Microsoft sound" played when Windows 95 starts}; 24a apter {More inclined}; 25a Jaffa {Mediterranean port since ancient times}; 28a max out {Go to the limit}; 29a currant {Fruit for a tart}; 31a Fabergé {Egg maker}; 32a I'm late {Untimely cry?}; 33a glib {Superficial}; 34a tit {Small bird}; 36a blaze {Brilliant display}; 37a str. {Naval chart abbr.}; 38a nest {Settle in}; 39a coaxed {Used butter on, maybe}; 40a Cie. {Inc., abroad}; 42a brrr {Comment from the chattering class?}; 44a periodic table {Science class decoration}; 49a Space Needle {Landmark in Elvis Presley's "It Happened at the World's Fair"}; 50a isinglass {Common mica}.

1d bait {Chum, e.g.}; 3d Ott {Giant on the cover of Time magazine, 1945}; 4d Tao {"That was Zen, this is ___" (bumper sticker)}; 6d anther {Pollen bearer in a flower}; 8d phew! {"They almost got me!"}; 10d cut your losses {Advice in a bear market, maybe}; 11d Beaufort scale {The higher this goes, the more it blows}; 13d The Fugitive {TV drama featuring Dr. Richard Kimble}; 14d prescient {Visionary}; 17d state tree {Magnolia or pecan}; 19d karate {Class that's not just for kicks}; 20d opine {Give a piece of one's mind?}; 21d stat {Steals, e.g.}; 22d Saxe {___-Weimar-Eisenach (duchy until W.W. I)}; 28d maize {It comes in ears}; 30d rapt {In reverie}; 31d flax {Linen fiber}; 33d glaring {Hard to miss}; 36d Borden {Cremora brand}; 39d croci {Perennials with cup-shaped flowers}; 42d bias {Color}; 45d RPI {Upstate N.Y. school}; 46d cel {Old Walt Disney production}; 48d ads {Some spreads}.

NYT Thursday 5/7/09 - Round the Bend

I really like the rebus theme of this crossword, which is reminiscent of some of the thematic cryptic puzzles I'm familiar with. The compiler did a great job matching up the symmetrical pairs of answers and fitting them into nicely "open" corners. In fact rounds the corner looks the most awkward part of the fill, with seven three-letter words required to shoehorn it in.

It took me a while to figure out these thematic aspects, but once the pattern was clear, it was really helpful to get the corner answers and make inroads in areas that had looked like trouble-spots to start with. So this puzzle didn't drive me round the bend - that's generally reserved for the Friday ones and guess what's coming up tonight!

Solving time: 18 mins (no cheating)
Clue of the puzz: 18a talk radio {Rush job?}

Theme

The O in each corner can stand for hoop/ring/zero/circle, the significance being the same for symmetrically opposite answers. This is hinted at by 40a rounds the corner {Gets past a last difficulty ... or a hint to this puzzle's theme}.

1a hoopster {B-ball player}
6a awe-inspiring {Like the Grand Canyon or Fourth of July fireworks}
67a ring in the new {Welcome January 1, say}
68a hula hoop {1950s fad item}
1d Circle Line {New York City tour provider}
14d zero hour {Showtime, at NASA}
47d size zero {Teeny dress measurement}
55d crop circle {Mysterious art visible from the sky}

Solution


Grid art by Sympathy [about the grid colors]

Crucimetrics

Compilers	Elizabeth C. Gorski / Will Shortz
Grid	15x15 with 34 (15.1%) black squares
Answers	76 (average length 5.03)
Theme squares	59 (30.9%)
Scrabble points	305 (average 1.60)
Letters used	ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

New To Me

21a Reid {"American Pie" actress Tara}. Tara Reid plays Vicky in the 1999 teen sex comedy. The subject matter would seem gross to any minds other than adolescents.



26a Maar {Picasso's muse Dora ___}. Dora Maar (1907–1997) was a French photographer, poet and painter who had a nine year relationship with Picasso.

44a or I {"Show pity, ___ die": "The Taming of the Shrew"}; 12d Padua {"The Taming of the Shrew" setting}. Two references to The Taming of the Shrew, but not explicitly linked in the cluing. The quote is from the scale Hortensio (disguised as a music teacher in order to pursue Bianca) devises.

'A re,' to Plead Hortensio's passion;
'B mi,' Bianca, take him for thy lord,
'C fa ut,' that loves with all affection:
'D sol re,' one clef, two notes have I:
'E la mi,' show pity, or I die.
From The Taming of the Shrew Act III Scene 1

64a thoro' {Complete, quickly}; 60d Thru {Dolly Parton's "Travelin' ___"}. Easy to guess the Dolly Parton song title, which was on the Transamerica soundtrack, but I feel it's slightly inelegant to cross these two rather similar shortenings.



2d somas {Bodies of organisms}. Not a word I use much: soma is the Greek word for body, and in biology means the body of an animal or plant excluding the germ cells. I associate the word more with Soma cubes, those puzzles made up of the different shapes you get by joining up to four cubes together.

3d trams {Suspended air travel?}. In Britain, trams are definitely thought of as land transport. In the context of this clue, I see a tram is a cable car such as you might board to go on the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway.

49d Aspin {Clinton's first defense secretary}. It's nice to have an alternative to a spin, but I'm particularly ignorant of former US pols. Les Aspin was Secretary of Defense from January 1993 to February 1994.

57d Seth {Green of "The Italian Job," 2003}. Seth Green plays technical expert "Lyle" on the heist team. Sorry, but my love for the original movie starring Michael Caine means this remake will never appeal.



Noteworthy

16a neuropath {Phobic sort}. I'm not sure where the compiler got this definition - maybe by confusion with neurotic? My dictionaries suggest that a neuropath actually has a physical disorder of the nervous system.

neuropath n someone whose nervous system is diseased or in disorder.
From The Chambers Dictionary

18a talk radio {Rush job?}. You may not like the man, but you have to admire this clue which beautifully conceals the proper name at the start. Rush is The Mandarin of Talk Radio (self-appointed). I always assumed "Rush" was a nickname, but it seems he was born with it.

19a Namath {Broadway Joe}. I took a book out of the library called Sports Immortals to try to learn some of the US sporting greats. I like its succinctness, but it teed off Magdalen by relegating Tiger Woods to a footnote on the Bobby Jones page. This seems to be because it's based around the collection at the Sports Immortals museum - maybe Tiger just hasn't generated that much memorabilia. Anyway, the book mentions Joe Namath in connection with Super Bowl III for which he was MVP.

22a U Nu {"Burma Looks Ahead" author}. U Nu was the cause of my downfall in a previous crossword, and it's a testament to the value of the blogging that he was no longer mysterious this time around: any three-letter answer with Burma in the clue and you can pretty much write in U Nu.

23a ess {Head of steam?}. A neat way of referring to the initial letter, which can be spelled ess.

50a nappy {Diaper, in Devon}. At last a clue that plays to my strengths. There are more deceptive counties that might have been used - as in "Kent's diaper", for example - but maybe the word nappy is hard enough on American solvers without any extra complications?

20d harps {Strings pulled in heaven?}. A delightfully whimsical definition.

The Rest

15a Lorre {"Casablanca" co-star}; 17a imams {Prayer leaders}; 24a a darn {Give ___ (care)}; 27a jure {De ___ (by right)}; 29a gay {Jocund}; 31a proud papa {Cigar distributor, perhaps}; 36a Frodo {Fictional hero on a quest to Mount Doom}; 42a eerie {Creepy}; 43a his or hers {Unisex}; 46a odes {Heading in a Keats volume}; 47a star {"Notch" on Orion's belt}; 53a ANC {Mandela's org.}; 56a IRS {Agcy. with agents}; 57a save {Stuff the piggy bank}; 58a sit for {Take, as an exam}; 61a zeppelins {Means of some W.W. I raids}; 65a evictions {Ousters}; 66a crump {Crunching sound}.

4d Erma {Humorist Bombeck}; 5d rest {Kick back}; 6d ant {Hill denizen}; 7d wear a {___ smile (grin)}; 8d Euler {Calculus pioneer}; 9d irking {Teeing off}; 10d nord {Sud's opposite}; 11d spa {Where you may get steamed}; 13d I, Tina {1986 Turner autobiography}; 25d death {The end}; 26d myrrhs {Some aromatic resins}; 27d junior {Sonny}; 28d udder {Milk dispenser}; 30d afore {Prior to, poetically}; 31d pre {Paid intro?}; 32d roe {Beluga delicacy}; 33d our {Joint possession word}; 34d Phi {___ Beta Kappa}; 35d Aesop {Classical storyteller}; 37d one {Series opener}; 38d der {Part of many Dutch surnames}; 39d ORs {Hosp. areas}; 41d Cody's {Buffalo Bill ___ Wild West Show}; 45d in a lie {Bad way to be caught}; 48d Trevi {___ Fountain}; 51d avion {Par ___}; 52d penne {Pasta variety}; 53d afoul {Run ___ of}; 54d Norma {Bellini opera}; 59d itch {Scratcher's target}; 62d pct. {%: Abbr.}; 63d SSW {Milwaukee-to-Houston dir.}.