Wednesday, August 15 - Ray Fontenot

It's nice to see another of Ray Fontenot's themed puzzles. His last NYT puzzle was the all-day film festival back in June.

I normally don't get too excited about a four-part long theme answer, but this one was fun. The four theme answers spell out a newspaper headline about a workplace mishap:

20A: MAN WHO FELL INTO

34A: UPHOLSTERY

42A: MACHINE NOW

51A: FULLY RECOVERED.

A clever theme, well executed...and plenty of good fill. There's something for everyone in this puzzle, including some learning opportunities for me.

I didn't know 17A: Queen of Carthage who loved Aeneas (Dido), or its cross at the second D...3D: "Celeste __" (aria) (Aida).

41A: Feudal serf (esne).

6D: 1952 Winter Olympics site (Oslo). It was easy enough to figure out, but this is one I should know. After all, I was in utero at the time.

7D: Minnesota's St. __ College (Olaf). This was just a lucky guess. When you're talking Minnesota and a four-letter name, it's either Olav or Olaf.

I had a little trouble in that general area because of an error at 8D: Hand (out). I had dole instead of the correct answer, mete. Once I fixed that, it was easier to get 5A: Mike holder on a film set (boom), 15A: Castaway's spot (isle) and 18A: Part of a blind (slat). None of those were working with dole.

30D: Astronomer Tycho __ (Brahe). Never heard of him.

33D: Close-fitting tartan pants (trews). I need to find a picture of these. Here they are...in Black Watch.

A learning process of another kind was involved with 37A: Mideast ruler: Var. (Amir). I just read this page in Amy Reynaldo's book, How to Conquer the New York Times Crossword Puzzle. I thought it might be Agha at first, but I persevered. If you don't have this book, you're making your life...at least your puzzling life...more difficult. The book is full of tips and includes more than 60 practice puzzles.

Favorite clues/answers in the puzzle include:

38A: Ingenuous (naive). I've always liked the word. People who are naive...not so much. Unless it's genuine. Can you be genuinely ingenuous?

5D: Knights' neighbors (Bishops). I got the answer but didn't GET it until I was finished with the puzzle.

9D: Designer McCartney, daughter of Paul and Linda (Stella). A wild guess. I must have seen it somewhere.

11D: Bingo call (B Ten). Best answer of the puzzle.

26D: Twitch (spasm). Another word I just like.

35D: Ignore the alarm? (oversleep). I can't do that very often. Dooley's internal alarm never fails, and he makes sure that we get up.

43D: "Go ahead, tell me" (I give up). I had speak up. A good wrong answer.

Today was a multiple puzzle day. This morning I did the New York Sun...another puzzle extraordinaire by Patrick Blindauer. See Green Genius for the completed grid and commentary.

I recently subscribed to Ben Tausig's Weekly xword group. Today was a Tyler Hinman puzzle that I finished without much difficulty. I'm beginning to think that I'm better suited to morning solving...i.e., with coffee. Amy includes this one in her Tuesday blog, so click on the link above or in the sidebar for commentary on the Hinman puzzle, as well as four or five others.

Here's the Wednesday grid...

...and I'll see you tomorrow.

Linda G

Tuesday, August 14 - C. W. Stewart

This puzzle made me laugh...except for the crossing that had me tearing my hair out. More about that later.

Six of the theme answers are clued Doofus, and they're all reminiscent of Three Stooges-type humor. The theme answers are: 18A: Nincompoop; 27A: Birdbrain; 48A: Dingaling; 55A: Noodlehead; 4D: Numskull; and 39D: Dumbbell. I wouldn't use any of those words, but at least one website used Doofus to describe Dubya.

The best part of this theme was the final answer. 61D: A person who is not a doofus (you). Major sucking up? Nah...I think it's pretty genuine, and it echoes the sentiments of those of us who think that if you attempt to do this puzzle, you're way ahead of someone who won't even try.

I was going great guns with one gimme after another. Most of the theme answers came to me right away... only Noodlehead eluded me, and only for a short time. I thought knucklehead would be in here. That was my father's pet name for one of my brothers. Seriously, it was said in jest and with a lot of love. Michael would probably still answer to it today.

Before I forget...I got hung up at 33A: CD players. It didn't help that I drew a complete blank on 34D: Traitor. Jeez Louise...when I finally figured it out, I kicked myself in the butt. I absolutely was not seeing that a J belonged there, giving me DJs and Judas. I had even gone through the alphabet...Budas, Cudas, Dudas. I feel like a doofus! It almost rhymes.

One more tripping spot, and it's one I've fallen into before. 53A: Airport stat. (ETD). As often as not, it'll be ETA, and that's what I had this time. But I wasn't coming up with an answer for 43D: Chicken __ (Tenders) with that A in place instead of a D. And I wasn't sure about 41A: Craggy mountain ridges (aretes), so that slowed me down a little.

Words I liked seeing in this one:

24A: English philosopher who wrote "Wherever Law ends, Tyranny begins" (Locke). I got it from the crosses, though. Don't know the name, but I like the quote.

29A: Cheri (amour). One of the few French words I know. Thank you, Stevie Wonder.

67A: Pig and poi feast (luau). Less than six weeks until Hawaii. I don't think we'll go to another luau, though...we just don't eat that much food at one time.

8D: Sound bite, e.g. (excerpt).

10D: Media executive Murdoch (Rupert).

19D: Difficult experiences (ordeals). In retrospect, this puzzle was more of an ordeal than I originally thought. Maybe a hair more difficult than a typical Tuesday?

24D: Expire (lapse). Actually, expire sounds pretty permanent...in more ways than one.

32D: Many an ex-con (parolee).

42D: Nickname (epithet). That's a word I don't think I've seen in a puzzle before.

And it's been a long day, so I'll keep this one short. Here's the grid...

...and I'll see you tomorrow.

Linda G

Monday, August 13 - Andrew Ries

Get yer daily paper! That's the theme of today's puzzle...revealed at 5A: With 72-Across, the end of 20-, 37-, 44- or 59-Across (DAILY/PAPER). The four theme answers...the last word is commonly used as part of a newspaper name...are:

20A: 1951 Montgomery Clift/Elizabeth Taylor film, with "A" (Place in the SUN).

37A: Venus (Morning STAR).

44A: Place to do business in the Old West (Trading POST).

59A: 1987 Prince song and album (Sign o' the TIMES).

They didn't include our local paper (The Sentinel), but growing up we had the Palm Beach Post in the morning and the Palm Beach Times in the afternoon. They merged in the late eighties, long after I'd left south Florida. Both papers are now called the Palm Beach Post. I can't imagine having the time to read a morning and an afternoon paper. Maybe they don't do puzzles.

This certainly wasn't rocket science, but it was an entertaining puzzle with a bit of interesting fill.

14A: Hiker's snack (Gorp). Mmmmm. Anything with chocolate in it has to be good.

28A: Kindergarten learning (ABCs).

40A: Puppyish (cute) is paired with 67A: Dog that's a little of this, a little of that (mutt). And speaking of cute mutts, here's a link to a previous post featuring pictures of Dooley and Barnabas.

66A: Scott who wrote "Presumed Innocent" (Turow). An excellent book. The movie wasn't bad, but I can't think of a time when I preferred the movie over the book.

8D: Many an art print, for short (litho).

10D: Bach's "__, Joy of Man's Desiring" (Jesu).

11D: Hand protectors for bakers (oven mitts). How appropriate. I just used mine to take a peach cobbler out of the oven. Talk about mmmmm. It's peach time in western Colorado.

36D: Earned run average, e.g. (statistic). That's the best word in the grid, especially if you were solving from the bottom up.

38D: Actor/composer Novello (Ivor). Don't know this guy, but it's a great crossword name.

53D: Man of many marches (Sousa). I always forget and put a Z instead of the second S...and I did it again today. Made it a bit difficult to come up with a word for 69A: In unison (as one)...which was much easier to get when I spelled the man's name correctly.

63D: Still-life object (ewer). This doesn't seem like a Monday clue for ewer. I thought it should be some kind of fruit.

It's always nice to see a reference to my home state in the puzzle. 58D: __ Park, Colo. (Estes). If you ever get a chance to visit that area, don't miss it. The scenery is breaktaking. You can see some of it by clicking on this link to Trail Ridge Road, part of Rocky Mountain National Park. There's also a nice tie-in at 30D: Rugged rock formation (crag). You'll see them all over Colorado. We are so lucky to live in such a beautiful state.

Here's the daily grid...



...and I'll see you tomorrow.

Linda G

Sunday August 12 - Cathy Millhauser

This was definitely a fun Sunday puzzle. The first clue I saw was the theme giveaway...52D: Ralph Kramden catchphrase on TV...and a hint to this puzzle's theme (to the MOON).

I had four or five theme answers in place before I completely figured out what was going on. The first word of each theme answer is either a moon phase...or it completes a phrase about the moon.

22A: Tarot reading, crystals, spiritualism, etc. (NEW Age movements).

33A: Traditional English festival (HARVEST Home).

44A: Little John's weapon in Robin Hood legend (QUARTER staff).

64A: Brooke Shields movie, with "The" (BLUE Lagoon). A blue moon is the second full moon to occur within a calendar month. The Blue Moon, a local restaurant/bar, always has a big party to celebrate.

75A: Its roar is worse than its bite (PAPER Tiger). That's from a sixties song by Sue Thompson. You can hear (and see her perform) it here. Paper Moon was a 1973 movie starring Ryan O'Neal and his daughter, Tatum, who won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress...the youngest actress ever to win an Oscar. (Shirley Temple won an honorary Oscar some years before.)

94A: Dinner bun (CRESCENT roll).

103A: Hair removal site (WAXING salon).

119A: 1987 Kubrick film (FULL Metal Jacket). The name of this one eluded me for far too long. I'm not a huge Kubrick fan. All I could remember was A Clockwork Orange (which fit in the grid, but was much earlier than 1987) and 2001: A Space Odyssey (which wouldn't fit and was much later.) The crosses gave me this one.

And the lone down theme answer (other than the theme hint) was at 38D: Proverbial portion (HALF a loaf). It's better than none...so they say.

Not just a fun puzzle. Not just a clever theme. It's also chock-full of good fill, not just your typical crosswordese.

19A: Dow product (chemical). I was trying to make a brand name fit in there until I had enough letters to show me the error of my ways.

30A: Wheel on a spur (rowel). Didn't know this word and looked it up after the Applet accepted my puzzle.

48A: Does some file transfers (uploads). What exactly is the difference between uploads and downloads?

55A: Comparable to a fiddle (as fit). One of my favorites.

62A: __-deucy (game with dice) (Acey). I didn't have a clue, but I guessed that right off the bat.

91A: Elongated marine fish (eelpout). I had never heard of this, but there's actually an Annual International Eelpout Festival. You can find the dates through the year 2020 right here. Be sure to mark your calendars for next year's...February 15-17.

128A: Like a paradise (Elysian). I had idyllic at first, but the downs wouldn't work. Elysian Fields are in Greek mythology, but this article tells about Elysian Fields in geography and in the arts.

3D: Apple on a teacher's desk? (IMac). That's the best clue I've seen for that answer.

57D: They're blown in the winds (oboes). Again, a good clue for an often-seen word.

65D: Tied surgically (ligated). I worked with a woman who talked about having a tubalization. I wonder if she ever figured out what it really was.

96D: Burn at the end? (cremate). Morbid? Kind of...but good.

97D: Dogie catcher (lariat). Didn't see this until I had a few letters in place.

98D: Underarm (axilla). I remembered this from the last time we had it...today it gave me waxing salon.

99D: Garden fertilizer (manure). I liked its cross at 99A: Abbr. on Rockies skeds (MST). Couldn't believe I actually got that.

This is the first time I can remember not stumbling over St-Lo. I just filled it in for 86D: French town on the Vire. This is real progress.

104D: Centaur's head? (soft C). They get me every time with clues like this. I wanted human...probably others did.

The only clue I didn't like at all was 71D: Opinion pieces (op eds). I was so sure it had to be something else. I'd have clued it in relation to Molly Ivins...anything so as not to use the word opinion in the clue. I wonder if that was an editorial oversight.

There was plenty more to like about this one, but I'm calling it good for tonight. Here's the grid.



I'll see you tomorrow. Toodle-oo! (125A, clued as "Ta-ta"). I would never say either of those, but it sure looks funny in the grid.

Linda G

Saturday, August 11 - Karen M. Tracey

I'd never say that Karen Tracey's puzzles are easy, but I don't recall having this much difficulty with one.

And I don't recall having seen so many Zs in a puzzle. That's pretty impressive. But where did Karen come up with some of these answers? I was clueless...and answerless...and had to resort to Dogpile to get some of them.

19A: Where the African Union is headquartered (Addis Ababa). Maybe the rest of you knew this, and I'm just underinformed.

20D: Mideastern news source (Al Jazeera).

34D: Co-star of Broadway's "Fanny" (Ezio Pinza). Never heard of him. Well, no wonder. I was just a couple years old when he died. More about him here.

I knew the crossing Zs at 36A: Biographical subject of the Best Picture of 1936 (Florenz Ziegfeld), but that didn't help me get 20D or 34D.

Other Z crossings include:

27A: Fictional salesman of '80s ads (Joe Isuzu). Have no recollection of that at all. According to this site/video clip, he's everybody's favorite pathological liar and car spokesman. I did, however, know that Z cross...29D: __ Corporation (jewelry retail giant) (Zale).

59A: Relief pitcher Armando (Benitez).

Very few gimmes. 18A: Tablets site (Mt. Sinai), 23A: Slicer locale (deli), 48A: Per __ (diem), 52A: 1988 chart-topping country album (Reba), 1D: Misses at fiestas: Abbr. (Srtas), 12D: Like a well-kept lawn (manicured),14D: Number of wives of Enrique VIII (seis), and 53D: First name in motorcycling (Evel).

Some excellent fill...many that I was able to flesh out with a few letters in place.

1A: Whole __ (shebang). Wanted nine yards.

8A: Place on a Monopoly board (St. James). Best clue of the puzzle.

17A: Line from a scam artist (trust me). Whenever someones says that to me, I don't.

34A: It's hard to fail (easy A). No such thing, IMOO. There were always students who'd get a D or F, even if they showed up on occasion and took the tests. But it's another great clue/answer.

42A: Tap type (soft shoe). Silly me...I was thinking beer tap.

61A: Substitute for some snack foods (Olestra). We were part of the test market for the Lay's potato chips with Olestra. They tasted great. Fortunately for me, they didn't cause the gastrointestinal distress experienced by some.

62A: McDonald's mascot before Ronald (Speedee). I vaguely remember this guy. I tried to find a picture of him, but the only one I can find is on this blog. One of my claims to fame (and it isn't much) is that my junior high best friend is married to Ronald McDonald...well, one of them. He quit his full-time job as an electrician to make more money as a part-time Ronald McDonald. Now he's full time and making really big bucks. He's a better Ronald than the national one, IMOO.

Interesting to see a horde of nomads, clued at 2D and 6D, respectively. Other really good words include:

3D: Exercise of a sort (etude).

8D: Mutualism (symbiosis).

30D: Hair salon option (updo). Here are some interesting ones.

We have two answers clued the same...those always throw me for a minute or so. Jambalaya appears at both 32D (olio)...recently demoted in Rex Parker's Pantheon...and 58A (grab bag).

T-strap makes another appearance at 44D (Pump alternative). Clever clue. Probably intended to make us think gasoline pump?

And is this the debut of Viagra, appearing at 24D (Sex therapist's suggestion)? Does this really pass the New York Times breakfast table test? Just asking...

Here's the completed grid.



And I'll see you tomorrow. Ta-ta! (9D: Cry before disappearing).

Linda G

Friday, August 10 - Patrick Berry

This was a tough one...after all, it's Friday. But when all was said and done, I'd have to say that it may be the most delicious themeless puzzle I've ever seen.

The long fill, both top and bottom, are the best.

1A: Oblong dessert (banana split). We had this earlier in the week, but it's not where I was going with the clue. I was thinking something baked...maybe something chocolate.

12A: Compositions (musical pieces). Again, I was off base, heading in the direction of the written word.

14A: Wizards and Magic, e.g. (basketball teams). I can't tell you how excited I was to figure that one out with only a few letters in place.

45A: Hiding one's true feelings (putting up a front).

47A: French-born architect who designed Washington, D.C. (Pierre L'Enfant). I think we've had him in a puzzle before.

48A: 1930 novel that takes its title from Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night". (Cakes and Ale). I didn't have a clue. Ah...Somerset Maugham.

A kind-of-Scrabbly vertical answer spans the grid at 6D: It separates the Bering Sea from the Pacific (Alaska Peninsula). I figured out pretty quickly that it was a peninsula, but it took a while to get the first word. It crosses at the E with 27A: Old masters reside in them (galleries)...one of only a few gimmes for me.

Other gimmes include:

23D: Wilbur Post's "pal" (Mr. Ed). That made its crossing at 23A: Drab and colorless (mousy) easy to get.

33A: Biblical figure who says to God "Make me understand how I have erred" (Job). That's one you could guess even if you didn't know he'd said that. I mean, no one else was tested the way Job was. That put me on the right path for its cross at 33D: Paleontologist's discovery, maybe (jawbone).

42A: Doesn't stay on topic (meanders). This was actually a good guess that panned out.

44A: Gelato sans milk (sorbet). Mmmmmmm. A nice treat for those of us who can't do dairy. And much more appetizing than 27D: Ice cream flavor (green tea). I like to drink green tea, but I can't imagine it's tasty as ice cream.

Some clever cluing to add to the interest:

21A: Skull Island denizen, for short (Kong).

41A: Long known for playing football (Howie). Took a good minute to realize they wanted a first name.

3D: Potential heiress (niece). When I had the final E in place, I wrote in niece, then erased it. Once I figured out attics (16A: "Heat traps" in houses), I went back to it. I thought they wanted some kind of royal heiress...although one of my nieces thinks she's a Princess. (If you're reading this, Maren...Auntie loves you!)

29D: Early "astronaut" (chimp). I think we've been asked for the name of the first one...that would be Enos.

38D: Stock holder (corral). Not the investment kind of stock.

40D: Romance or horror (genre).

Nice to see the talented Aretha at 26A: "__ Now" (1968 R & B album). Also liked 31D: Undependable (erratic) and 34D: Show the ropes to (orient).

Here's the grid...hopefully it's error free.

.

See ya! (15D: "G'bye!").

Linda G

Thursday, August 9 - Tyler Hinman

There were a lot of firsts for me with this puzzle. In no particular order:

• the first Tyler Hinman puzzle I've solved
• the first nonsymmetrical New York Times puzzle (that I remember)
• the first puzzle with a lot of sports clues...all of which I nailed

I don't quite know how to describe the theme...answers that end in some variation of GALL?

20A: With 22-Across, actor with a black belt in aikido (Steven/Seagal). I didn't know this but was able to guess it from the S and N in Steven.

36A: President with a bridge in Montreal named after him (Charles DeGaulle). This is the second time I've tried to put in the name of an American president. Hello! Other countries have presidents!

53A: He said "Great art picks up where nature ends" (Marc Chagall). I didn't know he said that, but it was pretty easy to figure out the answer.

It's pretty obvious that Tyler's big into sports, but I didn't get tripped up by them this time around. That's not to say that I understood all of them. Sports clues/answers include:

1A: Moon and Starr, for short (QBs).

11A: The Jaguars, on scoreboards (JAX).

19A: The Engineers of coll. athletics (RPI). Don't get this one.

58A: Be disqualified, in the 8-Down (foul out). I struggled a bit with this one, since I was looking for a word that began with D...the result of having Dec for 58D: Winter mo. instead of the correct Feb. That error also made it difficult to guess 65A: "Who Let the Dogs Out" group (Baha Men). Have never heard of them or the song. Here's a link to their official website. While it's still under construction, you can at least see what they look like.

3D: Star near Venus? (Serena). The best clue of the puzzle.

8D: Rockets' and Suns' org. (NBA).

45D: Washington and Oregon are in it (Pac-Ten). More here for those who are interested.

Well, it sure seemed like a lot more than seven. Still, I thought it was a bit much (38D, clued as Too-too).

Unless I'm missing something, Tyler missed having a pangram by one letter. Everything's there except Y.

I have to say I'm not crazy about the looks of a nonsymmetrical puzzle. You know, the old dog new trick thing. I'm sure I'll eventually get used to seeing them, but it just felt wrong to me. A little unsettling.

That said, there was plenty of fill to love in this one.

15A: Tinseltown doings (showbiz). I had an S at the end until I got to 10D: Tenochtitlán dweller (Aztec). I'm sure I wasn't alone.

28A: "I'll Have to Say I Love You in a Song" singer, 1974 (Croce). That was one of his posthumous hits, along with "I Got a Name" and "Workin' at the Carwash Blues." Great talent...gone much too soon.

33A: Item sought in the spring (Easter egg). Without that last G in place, I would never have guessed 23D: Salad bar offering (arugula).

48A: Don't do it (taboo).

1D: Knights' journeys (quests).

40D: Rock singer Russell (Leon). Every summer we have a series of free concerts nearby, along the Colorado River. Leon Russell was one of the performers three or four years ago. His voice was a little crackly...his bones much more so, he said...but it was pure Leon. He played for two hours, including "A Song for You," "Tightrope," and...my personal favorite..."Lady Blue."

47D: Beer, often (chaser). I have never had a beer as a chaser...can't even imagine that.

50D: Italian apologies (scuse). That's not a word I recall hearing in the house when I was growing up. Maybe we never apologized?

54D: __ breve (musical direction) (alla). This was in a recent puzzle, without the musical hint. At the time, I thought it had something to do with a coffee drink. Got it this time, though.

It's late and time to wrap this up. Here's the grid...

...and I'll see you tomorrow.

Linda G