Brian: Sunday, 3-30-08
New York Times 20:44
Boston Globe 31:30
Philadelphia Inquirer 19:12
I have spent most of today working on crossword puzzle designs of my own, and I’m currently stuck in the lower right of my own grid, unable to find a 10-letter word to sit atop one of my 15-letter theme answers. I’ve taken breaks from this task to attack the Sunday dailies that are on their way to the internet.
New York Times: Mixed Feelings
by Paula Gamache; edited by Will Shortz
I had a similar reaction to that of JimH, which was that the gimmick to this puzzle only really became apparent after everything was finished. About halfway through solving, I recognized that the circled letters in each answer could be anagrammed into a “feeling.” Having solved the Boston Globe puzzle earlier in the day (although it is featured lower down in this blog), and having played too many games of Scrabulous on Facebook, I have anagramming permanently etched into my brain. Don’t get me wrong — I’m not that good at it. But I still think in scrambled letters sometimes.
The solving of this puzzle went very quickly, although I did get stuck in a couple spots — twice due to mis-typing (or, as I caught myself once, typing too quickly for the Firefox applet to understand), and twice due to incorrect letters. I haven’t timed myself on too many Sunday puzzles, but this one is my best (Sunday) time so far.
There were a handful of sports clues on here, which made me wonder for a moment if there was a tie-in to the baseball season getting underway. (Incidentally, I will be at Yankee Stadium for opening day. I’ll be the tall one brining my own turkey sandwich into the park.) 6D. Elite athlete is an ALL-STAR; 93A. Big shot after making a big shot, maybe: Abbr. is the MVP, even if a “big shot” refers (most likely) to basketball; of course 30A. Wearer of uniform #37, retired by both the Yankees and the Mets is the inimitable CASEY STENGEL (I would have survived that clue with either the #37 or the Yankees/Mets thing, but didn’t need both); 118A. Bats, balls, gloves, etc. would be SPORTS EQUIPMENT (and specifically baseball); and I even wondered if part of the compound answer for 50A. Some business attire (PIN-STRIPED SUIT) might refer to the Yankees’ home uniforms.
I had a little trouble at the bottom in the middle, as I put the complete incorrect answer of ROME in for 123A. Capital of Italy (this clue deserved a question mark, as the answer was EURO). Combine this with my inability to be aware of things I had never learned with regards to 113A. K.G.B. predecessor (O.G.P.U., as it turns out, which might as well mean Old Guys Poop Ugliness, for all I know), and a I had a lot of problems in this area.
Elsewhere on the grid, I didn’t even see a few clues until I was complete, having done enough consecutive downs to not need the across, or vice verse. Good puzzle, and I did it quickly, which made me feel more smarter.
Boston Globe: Car Wrecks
by Henry Hook
I enjoyed this puzzle until the end, when I was stuck at a crossing for which I simply didn’t know either answer, and had no choice but to guess and guess until Across Lite gave me the happy pen. The troublesome square was between 38A. Maffia of “Nip/Tuck” (ROMA, at left) and 39D. Brit’s raincoat (MAC). Having neither seen a single episode of “Nip/Tuck” nor worn a raincoat in England, I had no idea what went there… Lots of things looked possible: RONA/NAC, RODA/DAC, ROXA/XAC (sure, why not?)… Oh well.
The theme was enjoyable, even if some of the answers were unfamiliar to me. I actually remembered to check the puzzle’s title (”Car Wrecks”), and immediately discovered the game. Theme clues were listed in all capital letters and were awkward anagrams of car make and model names. The first one that jumped out was 13D. OAK IN STORE (KIA SORENTO). After that, I was able to first place in the manufacturer’s names of most cars, and then used the downs to find the models. The theme answers:
19A. CHEVROLET AVEO- 23A. HYUNDAI SONATA
- 44A. LOTUS ELISE (never heard of this one, so it is pictured at right.)
- 53A. BUICK ENCLAVE
- 56A. TOYOTA SIENNA (I fought with this for a while; I was sure that 47D. Miso soup ingredient was SOY [not UDO], and couldn’t find a car make that put the Y in the fourth slot)
- 77D. HONDA PILOT
- 88A. FORD FREESTAR (for some reason, I insisted to myself that it was FORD FORESTER, which satisfied all the downs I had found up to that point — although it obviously didn’t satisfy all the available letters)
- 91A. NISSAN XTERRA (tricky, with “XTerra” not being a real word — nice try, Boston Globe!)
- 97A. MINI COOPER
- 121A. ISUZU ASCENDER
- 127A. CHRYSLER ASPEN
A few other clues held me up for a bit. 57D. Supplements, with “out” only looked like EKES because most any clue that is ___, with “out” is going to be EKES. Since I think of eking out something as just barely getting it, the implication is that there was none of “it” to begin with, so what exactly are we supplementing here? The crossing with 67A. Disordered left me stumped, as I didn’t know that definition of PIED.
Philadelphia Inquirer: Oh, It’s You Again
by Merl Reagle
I’m fairly new to the crossword scene, but I already like Merl Reagle’s puzzles (as well as his general dry wit, evident in both the 2008 ACPT and in the movie Wordplay). This one had a very simple theme, once I discovered it. Each long answer had the string OU twice. I’d love insight into the puzzle’s title, though — wouldn’t it make more sense to either include only the letter U or the word YOU twice in each answer? Why OU?
Nonetheless, it was a fun solve, and passed the time nicely between me placing my dinner order with Top China over the phone and the order finally arriving (which, as I type this, has not yet happened… Where are you, Top China?).
And now, you can stop holding your collective breath. Dinner is long since over, the wife and I have watched two movies, and I can finally present you with the answers to the theme clues:
- 18A. Dolby, DTS or Sony option (SURROUND SOUND)
- 22A. Mental bloc? (ENCOUNTER GROUP)
- 38A. Survival-skills organization (OUTWARD BOUND)
- 49A. Legendary Los Angeles nightspot (THE TROUBADOUR)
- 66A. Words of regret (COULDA, SHOULDA, WOULDA)
- 89A. Rural relative (COUNTRY COUSIN)
- 96A. Words of rejection in a famous Seinfeld episode (NO SOUP FOR YOU!)
- 119A. The Skipper’s plan, on paper (A THREE-HOUR TOUR) — On paper? On sheet music paper, maybe. “A three-hour tour” is known as lyrics from the theme song…
- 123A. Disappear intentionally (GO UNDERGROUND) — This was the cleverest of the answers in that the first OU pair was split up. Nicely done, Mr. Reagle.
And that will be all for the night…
