Brian: Monday, April 14
I don’t like the 01-02-03 format of my date headers anymore, so I’m switching to more word-y ones. Feel free to register your complaints.
New York Times – 4:03 (which might be a personal best, using the applet)
CrosSynergy – 10:23
New York Sun – 4:50
New York Times
by Christina Houlihan Kelly; edited by Will Shortz
I spent a bulk of today working on my insanely insane spreadsheet, but have learned quite a bit about Excel in the process. Hooray, Excel! For example, I now have averaged a sub-5-minute Monday over the past twenty Mondays I’ve done.
Today’s puzzle was quick and easy, and I’m starting to think that maybe Tuesday should become my default level of choice. We’ll see. The theme today was barriers, I suppose:
- 20A. Bidding impediment? : AUCTION BLOCK
- 33A. Outdoor meal deterrent? : PICNIC HAMPER
- 44A. Truth obstruction? : REALITY CHECK
- 58A. Metallic element’s obstacle? : ALUMINUM FOIL
I don’t think I’ve ever referred to my campsite trunk as a hamper, always a basket or cooler. But that’s okay… Of course, I parsed it as PICNIC CHAMPER (giving myself an extra C) for some reason, and wondered for a bit what a “champer” was.
I think Ryan and I are going to do a Saturday-Sunday-Monday podcast sometime Monday night, so keep your iPods peeled for it…
CrosSynergy: Abracadabra!
by Patrick Blindauer
Not only did the central clue (and structural concept behind this puzzle) totally stall me, but once I finally filled it in, I had no idea what it even meant. That, to me, signifies a sadly unsatisfying puzzle. 40A. Magician, and word whose ten letters make up every answer in this puzzle. It seems I’m looking for a five-letter magician’s name and a ten-letter word (which may or may not have anything to do with said magician)… Right?
The answer is PRESTIDIGITATOR. I have no idea how to parse that. Hold on a moment, while I ask Wikipedia…
[time passed: about four minutes]
Okay, I’m back and with the answer. We are not looking for a five-letter magician’s name (who is PREST, I wondered?) and a ten-letter word (IDIGITATOR is not a word). Apparently, PRESTIDIGITATOR is a word in itself that means magician and only contains ten letters [A, D, E, G, I, O, P, R, S, T] which then make up the rest of the grid.
Ah, yes. How wonderful. Presto-chango, and when was I ever to have learned that ridiculous word?
New York Sun: Green-lighting
by Michael Langwald; edited by Peter Gordon
This was cute and fun, and rejuvenated me after my disappointing turn on the CrosSynergy. Here, 69A. Middleman (and a hint to this puzzle’s theme), which is a GO-BETWEEN, serves as the set-up for all the long answers:
- 17A. Word of encouragement : YOU GO, GIRL!
- 21A. 1984 #1 hit for Prince and the Revolution : LET’S GO CRAZY
- 31A. Carousel : MERRY-GO-ROUND
- 48A. Carefree : HAPPY-GO-LUCKY
- 64A. “That subject is off-limits” : DON’T GO THERE
Straightforward and enjoyable. Thank you, as always, New York Sun.
