Ryan and Brian Do Crosswords

I’m typing this from our brand new computer. It’s splendid. Nice and fast. I just checked the receipt for our old computer. We bought it almost exactly 7 years ago. I can’t believe it lasted as long as it did and without any major problems. And I’m not sure why so may people complain about Windows Vista. So far it seems just like XP but slightly snazzier. Unfortunately, our old speakers don’t work so I’ll be writing the rest of this post in silence.

On to the Michael Shteyman puzzle. Brian and I tackled this one together. It took us about 17 minutes and we had two errors.

49A. It’s barely noticeable (BLIP). We put SLIP here which seemed correct. That gave us FTLS for 38D. Work unit abbr. (FTLB). Turns out that FTLB is an abbreviation for Foot-pound which is a unit of work equal to the work done by a force of one pound acting through a distance of one foot in the direction of the force. While FTLS is a made up abbreviation for Footles which means to waste time; trifle. The reason I know the abbreviation is made up is why would a footler (one who footles) bother with an abbreviation when their main goal in life is to waste time? Food for thought.

21A. Cartoon cat with an exclamation mark in his name (EEK). We put EIK thinking maybe the cat’s name was E¡K. Actually, it’s EEK! I have no idea who this cat is or why his name must be shouted. Perhaps he has some hearing loss from a previous accident or it’s possible he’s a notorious woolgatherer, perpetually staring into space and ignoring the pleas of his loved ones. Who’s to say? Food for thought.

This puzzle was full of terms neither of us knew:

7A. Florist’s container (CACHEPOT). An ornamental container for a flowerpot. I don’t understand this. Aren’t the flowers the ornaments?

26A. 2004 N.B.A. All-Star Michael (REDD). Ok, Brian knew this one. I thought it was Michael KIDD. In fact, Michael Kidd was a Tony award-winning choreographer who was never voted onto the NBA All-Star Team despite a monster 1950 season in which he choreographed Guys and Dolls, lead the league in rebounds and had a .343 batting average.

7D. 1965 hit parodied by the Beatles’ “Back in the U.S.S.R.” (CALIFORNIAGIRLS). I don’t understand, how is it a parody?

28D. Hamlet (DORP). A DORP is a small town. We, as I’m sure many others did, put DANE here first.

45D. Mutated gene (ALLELE). Did you know that paired alleles that are the same are called homozygous and those pairs that are different are called heterozygous? I sure didn’t.

The puzzle was also filled with lots of fun long answers:

17A. Carrier of fatty acids (GOODCHOLESTEROL).

38A. Common restaurant offering that was Julia Child’s last meal (FRENCHONIONSOUP).

59A. Name associated with spirits (EBENEZERSCROOGE).

3D. Unenthusiastic response to an offer (IDONTFEELLIKEIT).

12D. Bakery item folded in half (PARKERHOUSEROLL).

And, of course, my favorite:

19D. “That’s enough out of you!” (PUTASOCKINIT). Another great one.

Next stop, Sunday.