02.09 Wed

W E D N E S D A Y February 9, 2011
Samuel A. Donaldson

Theme: All this for just $19.95!!! — Theme answers are familiar phrases heard on infomercials.

Theme answers:

• 22A/24A: Infomercial appeal (BUT WAIT / THERE'S MORE).
• 38A/49A: Infomercial appeal (OUR OPERATORS ARE / STANDING BY).
• 54A: Infomercial appeal (CALL NOW).

Fun theme. Brings to mind Dan Aykroyd and the "Bass-o-Matic." Yuck. (Yet hilarious nonetheless.) Good stuff in this grid. Love the long downs with their preponderance of Zs: HAZARD PAY and GRIZZLIES. Other highlights for me include:

• 8D: "Mean" señor (HOMBRE).
• 46D: Knucklehead (NITWIT).
• 26D: South Pacific island region (OCEANIA).

We've also got a little bit of that "paired cluing" we've been talking about lately with:

• 18A: "The Lion King" king (SIMBA).
• 30D: Lyon king (ROI).

That seems particularly clever to me for some reason. Also:

• 42A: Yves or Yvette, e.g. (NOM). More French!
• 57A: "Yes, Yvette" ("OUI"). Still more French!

The most trouble I had in this grid — and I can't believe I'm telling you this — is where I entered KIMONO for KOMODO (35D: __ dragon: largest living lizard). That's one of the more ridiculous missteps I've had in quite a while. One time last year I was working a puzzle where the clue was "Southern morsel" and I already had CRA**** in the grid. The answer, of course, is CRAWDAD, but I entered CRAISIN. HAha!

Bullets:

• 6A: Home censorship aid (V-CHIP). I just realized that I don't know exactly what this is. Is it hardware? Like an actual part of a television set? Or is it software that you set up through your cable company? I'm not the most diligent parent, is what I'm saying.

• 11A: Journalist's last question? (HOW). The first questions, of course, are WHAT, WHERE, WHY, and COOKIES?
• 14A: "Au contraire!" ("NOT SO!"). I tried NO WAY first.
• 15A: "You think I'm to blame?" ("WHO ME?").
• 16A: "If you even dream of beating me you'd better wake up and apologize" boaster (ALI). Okay, that's just awesome.
• 28A: Likely loser in war (DEUCE). "War" in this case refers to the card game.
• 58A: Nook download (E-BOOK). No love for the Kindle, huh?

• 64A: "Do ___ to eat a peach?": Eliot (I DARE). This is from Eliot's "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock," which I've never read. But now that I've admitted that publicly, I'll probably go do it. Wikipedia tells me it's "one of the most recognized voices in 20th-century literature, and is the quintessential urban zeitgeist of the 20th century," so, yeah, it seems like something worth reading. We'll see.
• 65A: MI and LA (STS.). MI and LA are postal codes for the states (STS.) of Michigan and Louisiana.
• 67A: "So Much in Love" singers, with "The" (TYMES). The song sounds familiar, but I'm quite sure I've never heard of the TYMES. Here's some guys you probably know covering the song:
  


• 2D: Actor Lundgren of "Rocky IV" (DOLPH). It's almost embarrassing how quickly this answer came to mind.

• 11D: Incentive for dangerous work (HAZARD PAY).
• 13D: Volume component (WIDTH). I was stuck on the audio type of volume. Took me quite a few crosses before I remembered volume = length x WIDTH x height.

Have a great day, everybody. See you back here tomorrow.[Follow PuzzleGirl on Twitter.]

Everything Else — 1A: Utopian (IDEAL); 17A: Spanish silver (PLATA); 19A: Londoner's last letter (ZED); 20A: Raising (UPPING); 27A: St. Louis landmark (ARCH); 29A: Like stale jokes (OLD); 30A: Riches' opposite (RAGS); 34A: Struggle (VIE); 35A: "The change is yours" ("KEEP IT"); 41A: Conditional promise (IF I CAN); 43A: Some votes (AYES); 44A: Clearasil target (ZIT); 45A: "__ the G String": Bach work (AIR ON); 47A: Chichén __: Mayan ruins (ITZA); 56A: Verdi opera with a Shakespearean plot (OTELLO); 61A: Inflict, as havoc (WREAK); 62A: Las Vegas-to-Salt Lake City dir. (NNE); 63A: Sparkle (VERVE); 66A: Alan of "Little Miss Sunshine" (ARKIN); 1D: Feedback (INPUT); 3D: Troops encampment (ÉTAPE); 4D: Buzzing with activity (ASTIR); 5D: Advanced (LOANED); 6D: Rd. Rabbits (VW'S); 7D: X, to Greeks (CHI); 9D: Permeate (IMBUE); 10D: Gardening moss (PEAT); 12D: Acid used in soap (OLEIC); 21D: International finance coalition (G-SEVEN); 23D: Polish Solidarity leader (WALESA); 25D: Sierra Club founder (MUIR); 29D: "__ the ramparts ..." (O'ER); 31D: "__ Wiedersehen" (AUF); 32D: University of Montana athletes (GRIZZLIES); 33D: Gregarious (SOCIAL); 36D: Wrath (IRE); 37D: French possessive (TES); 39D: Back stroke? (PAT); 40D: Conflicted (TORN); 45D: On the job (AT WORK); 47D: Desktop images (ICONS); 48D: Needle (TAUNT); 49D: Neither stewed nor pickled? (SOBER); 50D: Hardly cool (NERDY); 51D: Twinkle (GLEAM); 52D: Trumpet sound (BLARE); 53D: Joins, as oxen (YOKES); 55D: Lake Tahoe's aptly named Cal __ Casino (NEVA); 59D: Egg: Pref. (OVI-); 60D: Baseball's Griffey (Jr., too) (KEN).

F R I D A Y November 26, 2010 Samuel A. Donaldson

Theme: Kapow! — Theme answers are familiar phrases with a type of "punch" added to the front end.

Theme answers:

• 17A: Flight from a heated argument? (CROSSFIRE ESCAPE).
• 27A: Talkative "King of Country"? (JABBERING STRAIT).
• 44A: Gene carrier responsible for truancy? (HOOKY CHROMOSOME).
• 59A: Liven up, with "to" (and a hint to how 17-, 27- and 44-Across were created) (ADD A LITTLE PUNCH).

I'm having a little trouble with this theme. I get it, and I think it's a cute idea, but I guess I just don't like the answers. I got the first theme answer — CROSSFIRE ESCAPE — and thought this would be some kind of word chain theme because both CROSSFIRE and FIRE ESCAPE are things and, more importantly I guess, compound words. I thought maybe the next theme answer would start with, I don't know … "hatch"? The other two theme answers change the pronunciation from the base phrase to the resulting phrase and they're not compound words and, yeah, just seems inconsistent and not quite up to par. The only other problem I have with the puzzle is FUSEE. Um, what? FUSEE? Who knew a 42A: Signal flare could be called a FUSEE?

After all that, I do want to say that I appreciate the grid's Scrabbliness and like quite a few of the medium-length down answers like LOSES BIG, WISEGUYS, KAYAKS, POP-UP, and even BANJO. Even though I'm not crazy about the theme, there's some good stuff in here.

Bullets:

• 1A: Knack (FEEL).
  
• 14A: Othello's confidant (IAGO). Shakespeare has a lot of characters with great names, but IAGO is the best of the best as far as I'm concerned. For some reason, I just love that name.

• 25A: Jack succeeded him (IKE). John F. Kennedy (Jack) succeded Dwight D. Eisenhower (IKE) to the U.S. presidency. (On a related note, JFK Jr. would have been 50 years old yesterday. Sniff.)
• 35A: Allegheny, as of 1979 (USAIR). I had forgotten that USAIR used to have a different name. I thought "A river changed its name? I wonder why!"
• 37A: A.L. Central team, on scoreboards (CLE). For the sporst-challenged, that's CLEveland.
• 39A: Word on the Great Seal of the U.S. (NOVUS). The front of the seal says E pluribus unum ("out of many, one"). The reverse has two phrases: Annuit coeptis (basically, "Providence has approved of our undertakings") and NOVUS ordo seclorum ("a new order of the ages").
• 41A: Gram. topic (ADJ.). You might discuss ADJectives in the context of GRAMmer.

• 62A: Idaho flower (SNAKE). If you're wondering why you've never heard of a SNAKE flower, that's because (like me) you were pronouncing that word wrong. This clue is actually asking for something that flows through Idaho. And that would be the SNAKE River.
• 63A: Cat's-paw (TOOL). I have never heard of this tool. I continue to amaze myself with the stuff I don't know.
• 8D: Company in Germany? (ZWEI). Playing on the phrase "Two's company, three's a crowd." ZWEI is German for "two."
• 9D: Signal callers: Abbr. (QB'S). Even the sports-challenged know this one means quarterbacks, right?

• 10D: Sportscaster Bob dubbed "Mr. Baseball" (UECKER). I actually knew who this clue was talking about, but I can enver remember how to spell his name.
• 26D: Chess jumpers: Abbr. (KTS.). Abbreviation of "knights."
• 50D: Bart Simpson's teacher __ Krabappel (EDNA). You're welcome.
• 56D: Pop's pal, at breakfast? (SNAP). Took me a while to decipher this clue. It's a reference to the Rice Krispies … what are they, elves? SNAP, Crackle, and Pop.
• 57D: 2006 NSA suer (ACLU). I assume this has something to do with wire-tapping, but I'm not going to look it up right now. There's much more family togetherness to be had today!! Enjoy your Friday. I hope you don't have to go shopping.

[Follow PuzzleGirl on Twitter.]

Everything Else — 5A: Big name in crackers (RITZ); 9A: Earthshaking news? (QUAKE); 15A: Not many (A FEW); 16A: Where to look out? (BELOW); 20A: Thumbs-up (ASSENT); 21A: Baking shortcut (MIX); 22A: Flamboyant band since the '70s (KISS); 23A: Ask for (SEEK); 36A: Karate skill symbols (BELTS); 38A: Minor damage (DING); 40A: Propeller sound (WHIR); 43A: Devout (PIOUS); 47A: Run a fever, perhaps (AIL); 48A: Informal rejection (NOPE); 49A: Big bunch (BEVY); 52A: Absorb, as a loss (EAT); 55A: Affects, as one's heartstrings (TUGS AT); 64A: Cole Porter's alma mater (YALE); 65A: Boss's privilege (SAY-SO); 66A: Office suites, e.g. (APPS); 67A: Like yarn (SPUN); 1D: Pay stub abbr. (FICA); 2D: "I'm all __" (EARS); 3D: Obstacles to quiet on the set? (EGOS); 4D: Takes a real beating (LOSES BIG); 5D: Roof support (RAFTER); 6D: "__ Had $1000000": Barenaked Ladies hit (IF I); 7D: Six years, for a senator (TERM); 11D: Kyrgyzstan range (ALAI); 12D: Keystone krew? (KOPS); 13D: Meadow mamas (EWES); 18D: Contemptuous look (SNEER); 19D: Isn't fiction (EXISTS); 24D: Put the __ on: end (KIBOSH); 27D: David's kingdom (JUDAH); 28D: "... say, not __" (AS I DO); 29D: Bela Fleck's instrument (BANJO); 30D: "Fat chance!" (NEVER); 31D: Fasten, in a way (GLUE ON); 32D: Blessing evoker (ACHOO); 33D: Pelvic bone (ILIUM); 34D: Like Coolidge, famously (TERSE); 39D: Proton sites (NUCLEI); 40D: Crackers? (WISE GUYS); 42D: "Thought you should know," on a memo (FYI); 43D: Like some children's books (POP-UP); 45D: Whitewater craft (KAYAKS); 46D: Sites of many affairs (MOTELS); 49D: Largemouth __ (BASS); 51D: End of the war (V-DAY); 53D: "__ girl!" (ATTA); 54D: Sporty car roof (T-TOP); 58D: Afterwards (THEN); 60D: MGM mascot (LEO); 61D: Cut (LOP).

SATURDAY, April 24, 2010—Samuel A. Donaldson

THEME: No theme today—It's a themeless puzzle, just like every other Saturday. I always wonder how many people get accustomed to figuring out themes the rest of the week and rack their brains trying to tease out a theme from a Saturday grid.

Happy birthday to PuzzleGirl! She hits the big three-O today, and you'd never know it to look at her. Andrea Carla Michaels and Doug Peterson and PuzzleSister Elizabeth Olson White teamed up to make a birthday crossword for Andrea; you can get it here.

Happy birthday to my son Ben, too. He's turning 10. Double digits! There is no denying his tween status. Yesterday, he tuned the car radio to a pop hits station for the first time and identified that song I thought was by a woman as a song by Justin Bieber. Oh! The 15-year-old singin' boy does a good falsetto. No wonder the girls go wild for him.

Today's puZZle is packed with the letter Z and its friends. You've got your QUIZZICAL and PAPARAZZI, [Übermensch philosopher] NIETZSCHE with his five-consonant pile-up, ZOOMING ZEALOTS, the papal Star Wars conclave of JEDI and JOHN PAUL I, and more. After putting in my first answer, MOLOKAI, I gambled that the [Big name in publishing] would be KNOPF (20A) owing to its oddball consonant pairs, and that pointed the way towards the overall Scrabbliness-on-speed of the crossword. Either the clues were really easy or I coasted on Sam's wavelength, as sub-4:00 themelesses are not my norm.

Favorite bits, on top of the aforementioned words:

• If you've got to have crosswordese geography names URAL and ARAL, why not cross them? We've got 15A: [Evaporating sea] for ARAL and 7D: [Kazakhstan river] for URAL. I can't tell you what a disappointment it was for me last November when Ural Williams didn't show up for my high school class reunion. I knew his name was crosswordese when we were 14, but never got a chance to discuss it with him. I am astonished to see no listing for URAL in the Crosswordese 101 index.
• Speaking of crosswordese geography, OREM gets dressed up with a fresh clue—16A: [Utah home of the Timpanogos Storytelling Festival]. Call me a nerd if you must, but sometimes I appreciate it when lame repeaters get new clues. Surprisingly, OREM hasn't been XW101ed yet, either. That one's easy—4-letter Utah town = OREM. 4-letter Russian town = OREL, which is also the first name of pitcher Orel Hershiser. Oh, unless the Russian town starting with O is ORSK or OMSK—just to keep you off balance.
• 30A: ELIA KAZAN usually gets the crosswordese fill-in-the-blank (FITB) treatment with just ELIA in the grid, but he gets the full name this time. Man, without "Kazan" in the clue, ["Gentlemen's Agreement" Oscar winner] was a mystery to me.
• 1D: The [Groundbreaking invention] isn't so amazing after all. It's a PICKAXE, which may be used to hack away at the ground.
• 4D: [Dime novels] are PULPS. Rex Parker's non-crossword blog is Pop Sensation, where he writes about pulp fiction book covers. Do they call 'em PULPS, Rex?
• 6D, 22D. For [Star chasers], I wanted something like ASTRONOMERS to fit, but it turned out to be the double-Z PAPARAZZI. The other kind of stars figure into [Stellar]/ASTRAL.

I have no idea who 38D: [Russian supermodel Vodianova] is, but with the N in place, NATA**A was likely. Turned out to be NATALIA rather than NATASHA. According to New York magazine, she's got three kids and is an activist on behalf of Russian orphans. Check this out: One of her kids is named Neva, after the 4-letter river crossword solvers know and love.

Crosswordese 101: URAL! At long last! The usual clues touch on these points: It's the name of a Russian and Kazakh river that feeds the Caspian Sea as well as the mountain range that separates Europe and Asia.

Now, I've made it all the way to the end of the post without including a video. I refuse to embed Justin Bieber in this blog, much less your consciousness. How about Bill Shannon instead? He's a performance artist and dancer who's created his own art form, dancing with the crutches he's always used to walk because of a congenital hip deformity. Words in the crossword that may relate, however tenuously, to this video include FLEXES, ZOOMING, and IMPRESS. Mainly I just wanted to share it because it's cool. You can find Shannon's street and stage performances on YouTube too. Like carrying a suitcase by putting it on a skateboard and clamping it between his lower legs, or whirling around in the air like a breakdancer who's elevated his game a few feet off the ground.



Everything Else — 1A: Psychs (up) (PUMPS); 6A: Frolicker in a Peter, Paul and Mary song (PUFF); 10A: Sith rivals (JEDI); 14A: "Cut __!" (IT OUT); 15A: Evaporating sea (ARAL); 16A: Utah home of the Timpanogos Storytelling Festival (OREM); 17A: Symphony section (CELLI); 18A: Go back and forth (PACE); 19A: It can be hard to get over (HUMP); 20A: Big name in publishing (KNOPF); 21A: Costanza portrayer (ALEXANDER); 23A: Requests (ASKS FOR); 25A: Even considering (DESPITE); 26A: First chronicled Chinese dynasty (XIA); 27A: Bind (JAM); 29A: Washington et al. (STATES); 30A: "Gentlemen's Agreement" Oscar winner (ELIA KAZAN); 34A: Sorry lot? (RUERS); 35A: Curious (QUIZZICAL); 37A: About to bloom (IN BUD); 40A: Saw only good qualities in (IDEALIZED); 44A: "__ Boom-de-ay": vaudeville song (TA-RA-RA); 46A: Withdrawal aid, for short (ATM); 47A: I, to Claudius (ONE); 48A: Lit conditions? (STUPORS); 50A: Fanatics (ZEALOTS); 53A: Aircraft accelerators (TAILWINDS); 55A: They precede finals (SEMIS); 56A: "Play it, Sam" speaker (ILSA); 57A: Fed. anti-discrimination org. (EEOC); 58A: "What __ surprise!" (A NICE); 59A: Demeanor (MIEN); 60A: Eye protector (LASH); 61A: Roadside sign (DINER); 62A: Soothe (EASE); 63A: Half an arcade trademark (SKEE); 64A: Inner turmoil (ANGST); 1D: Groundbreaking invention (PICKAXE); 2D: Part of a place setting (UTENSIL); 3D: Island where Father Damien cared for lepers (MOLOKAI); 4D: Dime novels (PULPS); 5D: Lucky one? (STIFF); 6D: Star chasers (PAPARAZZI); 7D: Kazakhstan river (URAL); 8D: Confronted (FACED); 9D: Shows off at the gym (FLEXES); 10D: 33-day pope, 1978 (JOHN PAUL I); 11D: Learned (ERUDITE); 12D: Greek goddess of agriculture (DEMETER); 13D: Wow (IMPRESS); 22D: Stellar (ASTRAL); 24D: California city near Los Padres National Forest (OJAI); 28D: Tribute maker (MAZDA); 31D: Water skis alternative (AQUAPLANE); 32D: "Friends" actress (KUDROW); 33D: ‹bermensch philosopher (NIETZSCHE); 36D: Attended (CAME); 37D: "Let's go now" ("IT'S TIME"); 38D: Russian supermodel Vodianova (NATALIA); 39D: Bumps' partners (BRUISES); 41D: Moving quickly (ZOOMING); 42D: Lures (ENTICES); 43D: Finishing course (DESSERT); 45D: __ Grotto: ocean-themed Disney World play area (ARIEL'S); 49D: Quarterback's play (SNEAK); 51D: Carne __: Mexican beef dish (ASADA); 52D: October Revolution leader (LENIN); 54D: Shot amount (DOSE).