Ryan and Brian Do Crosswords

I enjoyed today’s Allan Parrish puzzle even though the answers came in fits and starts.  Well, honestly, the answers always come in fits and starts for me but today they seemed more fitsy and startsy than usual.  And I got completely stuck on one cross.

24A. Saturn model of 2003-07 (ION).  I had the _ON, tried and A and an E and decided I had something else wrong.  Nothing else was wrong so my futile search ate up a bit of time.  I’m not sure why I didn’t just try the rest of the vowels.  There aren’t that many of them.  Around 7, right?  I don’t understand why my brain makes the decisions it does.  For instance, on the first day of college, I wore a blue vest and yellow jeans.  Makes no sense.

And the cross was no help.

21D. Abbott and Costello movie based on a Ziegfeld musical (RIORITA).  I had R_ORITA and was sure it somehow had to be SENORITA even though that’s too many letters.  Somehow I’ve never seen or heard of this movie.  And I’m a big Abbott and Costello fan.  As those of you at Brian’s wedding know, I can do the “Who’s on First?” routine in Spanish.

I eventually just cycled through the alphabet and stumbled across the right answer.

I enjoyed the theme of “Things Found in a Diner”.  I would love to know how Mr. Parrish came up with it.  Table, Booth and Counter are not items that would appear to make up a good theme.  But they do and Mr. Parrish did a nice job with them.

20A. Particle-detecting device (GEIGERCOUNTER)

36A. “Sic semper tyrannis!” crier (JOHNWILKESBOOTH).  I was kinda hoping this would be Crazy Joe Davola.  Not enough letters.  I just saw a History Channel show about Booth.  I don’t like these reenactments that the History Channel does.  They’re so cheesy.  I’d much rather they go with the Ken Burns route of pictures, photos and interviews.

54A. Chemistry class poster, perhaps (PERIODICTABLE)

Other highlights:

16A. Baseball exec Minaya (OMAR).  I don’t normally have sympathy for the Mets or Mets fans but getting knocked out by the Marlins on the last day of the season at home for the second year in a row has got to suck.

1D. Early Commodore computers (AMIGAS).  I had an Amiga.  I didn’t do too much computing on it.  I think I had some lousy word processor that I could never quite get to print properly.  Mostly, I played games.  And most of those games were made by Cinemaware which had graphics that were absolutely mind boggling at the time.  I remember The Three Stooges, Rocket Ranger and TV Sports: Football most vividly.  For anyone who cares, it looks like you can go to their site and download an Amiga emulator and the ROMs for the old games.  I’ll have to try that out.

26D. “There’ll be ___ time …” (AHOT).  Does anybody know the rest of this quote?

31D. Like Knights Templars (MASONIC).  Looks like they’re making the prequel of The DaVinci Code into a movie.  I hope they can capture the sheer magical boredom of the first film.  If Tom Hanks cannot save a movie then that movie cannot be saved.

36D. Computer image file format (JPEG).  I just did a google image search for JPEG in an attempt to make the internet implode.  That did not happen but here’s the first image that came up.

The latest episode of Fill Me In: A Crossword Podcast is out.  One of our best episodes featuring a great interview with Jim Horne of xwordinfo and the upcoming official New York Times crossword blog.

Next stop, Wednesday.

In today’s long awaited episode of Fill Me In: A Crosscast Birdbag, Ryan and Brian’s smarterness is nearly eliminated altogether with the overwhelming brillianciness of a special surprise guest star named Jim Horne, genius of all things crossword management.

Also in this episode:

• Actually, nothing. We talked to Jim for about 40 minutes, and that’s mostly it.

It’s been a while, so we don’t really remember what to do… Zambezi? And something else… Barley?

 

 Fill Me In #026: Now with sprinkles of smarterness! [60:11m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

I had my second ever sub-five minute time with this Sharon Delorme puzzle despite being completely stuck for the first 20-30 seconds up on the top left.

4D. Pacific island in major W.W. II fighting (OKINAWA). I put IWO JIMA here which totally screwed the whole thing up. If I hadn’t spotted the gimmie of 17A. Actress Spelling (TORI) I might still be doing this puzzle.

I enjoyed the theme a great deal. I’m not 100% sure what the term is for words that are spelled the same but pronounced differently. I think it’s homograph but if anybody knows a more accurate term please chime in.

18A. One who embroiders a waste conduit? (SEWERSEWER). This is the most interesting person of the group. I’d like to meet the hobbyist who spends their time embroidering aspects of the sanitation infrastructure. I just did a google search for embroidered sewer and if this person is out there they have not yet established an internet presence.

26A. Sketcher of a bureau compartment? (DRAWERDRAWER)

47A. Presenter of a bathroom stall? (SHOWERSHOWER)

60A. One pulling a tall structure? (TOWERTOWER)

Other highlights:

1A. It may get a licking after lunch (OREO). You would think after all these puzzles that I would immediately think OREO after reading the clue. Not so. I was clueless until I got a cross or two.

65A. Put up with (ABIDE). You know those cheeseballs you buy when company comes over? They’re a big baseball sized hunk of processed cheese rolled in nuts. I love them but my wife cannot abide them. For those of you who can abide them here are some delicious recipes.

49D. Many men’s hairlines do this (RECEDE). I did not enjoy this clue or answer at all. I think the clue should be change to something like “Many men’s hairlines unfairly do this” or “Here’s something your hairline does that sucks” or “No matter how many creams or pills you buy the universe will still make your hairline do this as part of some cosmic joke” or “Sonofabitch!”

51D. Actor Damon and others (MATTS). Well, I was going to post a video of Matt Damon’s views on Sarah Palin but for reasons not entirely clear to me I’m trying to keep the blog as nonpartisan as I can. Although I encourage people to rant and rave in the comments. So, instead, here’s Matt on Letterman doing an impersonation of Matthew McConaughey.

As you may recall the Dodgers were mentioned twice in Sunday’s puzzle.  They lost the last game of the regular season so they are now 5-3 when mentioned in the puzzle.  Next season I’ll start from opening day so the results will be much more scientific.  The Dodgers start the playoffs in Chicago on Wednesday.  Because the scheduling gods hate me, game time is at 6:30pm ET.  Right when I’m at work.  Pain in the ass.  If anybody out there knows how to get TBS over the internet please let me know.  I’m somewhat desperate.

Next stop, Tuesday.

And a new no-google streak begins. I solved this Cathy Millhauser puzzle in just under an hour which is a pretty good Sunday time for me. I really enjoyed the ‘TWAS PUZZLING theme which resulted in some nicely goofy answers.

23A. When jerks come out? (THETWITCHINGHOUR). You ever see that episode of Fawlty Towers where Basil has to introduce a guy named Mr. Twitchen to a guy who has a twitch? Well, if you haven’t you really should. The bit begins at the 3:30 mark in the video.

38A. String around a cake box? (DESSERTTWINE)

53A. Men or women who pinch? (THETWEAKERSEX)

78A. Nerd’s essence? (THESOULOFTWIT). This is my favorite one. Sounds like a band that performs at Comic Cons.

95A. Roast the other side of the marshmallow? (FLIPONESTWIG)

113A. Discouraging comment to a cloner? (YOUCANTTWINEMALL)

36D. Moth, perhaps? (TWEEDKILLER)

41D. Fabric that really breathes? (LIVINGTWILL). I put LIVING TWEED here first thinking it was some drug reference of which I was unaware.

Other highlights:

15A. [How dare you!] (SLAP). Great way to clue SLAP.

29A. Novice (NEWBIE). Am I a moron? I thought this was spelled NOOBIE.

33A. Some people or food at parties (DIPS). Another great clue. How long has it been since you’ve heard someone called a dip? Sounds like something out of the Mary Tyler Moore show.

34A. Nonkosher sandwiches (BLTS). Anybody remember the McDLT? Ok, but does anybody remember the commercial for the McDLT that had Jason Alexander showing off his song and dance skills? It is possibly the most awesome thing I’ve ever seen. And here it is.

60A. Orbital point (APSIS).  Never encountered this word before so I looked it up: The point of greatest or least distance of the orbit of a celestial body from a center of attraction.

62A. Dope (SKINNY).  Many years ago I came up with a catchphrase that I was certain would sweep the nation.  If you wanted information from somebody you would say, “Fatten me up with the skinny!”  Never really took off like I thought.  Mostly because it was never uttered outside my apartment.  Well, that, and politics.  You know, it’s always politics with these things.

89A. Capital of South Australia (ADELAIDE).  Are you like me?  Does the mention of this city immediately make you think of Adelaide resident Francis Cadell who successfully navigated the Murray River?  Let me tell ya, if these banks could talk.  Am I right?  Who’s with me?

117A. ___ Center, home of the New Jersey Nets (IZOD).  This one took me a while as I know zip doodley about basketball but, really?  There’s a sports arena named after a brand of polo shirts?

16D. Gyro meat (LAMB).  If you ever find yourself in Jackson Heights make sure to stop at Sammy’s Halal Cart for the best lamb gyro platter in the city.  $5 for an enormous amount of delicious food.

43D. Strawberry of note (DARRYL).  The first of two Dodger references in today’s puzzle.  Most people don’t associate Darryl with the Dodgers but he played 3 troubled seasons with them from 91-93.  He was, without a doubt, the most talented baseball player I’ve ever seen.  Obviously, things didn’t work out like everybody envisioned.  I hope he has found some happiness and peace.

63D. Pitcher of a perfect game, 9/9/65 (KOUFAX).  Sandy is the kind of guy that when you see him it makes you want to be a better person.  Not only the greatest pitcher in Dodgers history but, arguably, the great left-hander in the history of the game.  In his last season he had 27 wins, 317 strikeouts and an ERA of 1.73.  Amazing.

So, we’ll see how the Dodgers do today on the last day of the regular season and I’ll update their crossword stats tomorrow.

Next stop, Monday

Ok, I’m stuck.  I got about 75% percent of the grid done in 10 minutes but I’ve been staring at the bottom right of this Karen M. Tracey offering for quite a long time now.

62A. Louis Armstrong’s “Weather Bird” collaborator.  Well, it’s somebody HINES.  Somewhat maddening as I feel this guy/gal has appeared in crosswords many times before.

64A. Not willful? Ok, this ends with STATE.  Could it end with ESTATE?  Is it some joke about a legal will?

59A. Courage.  I’m pretty sure this is STOUTNESS.  It’s definitely something NESS.

56A. Young vixen.  I have __T.  I just don’t know what it is.

41D. Soviet premier Kosygin.  ALO_S__.  No clue.  Absolutely no clue.

42D. New Brunswick’s river. RAM_T__.  I’m not sure where New Brunswick is.  Judging by the name it could be in the US, Canada or Great Britain…or somewhere else.

So that’s where I’m stuck.  The two keys are Young vixen and Not willful.  If I can get those two I have a chance at figuring the rest out.  The others are trivia that I’m not going to suddenly know.

As I said, the top came pretty easily.  (Keep in mind I haven’t checked any of these answers so some or all of them may be wrong.)

1A. Third Servile War leader (SPARTACUS).  I started the Kirk Douglas film once but couldn’t get through it.  I did enjoy finding out that the battle between Mel Brooks and Gregory Hines in History of the World, Part I was a bit of a parody of one of the scenes in Spartacus.

10A. 1970s R&B trio in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, with “the” (OJAYS).  Taken directly out of my tuchus.  I couldn’t name you one of their songs.

15A. Driving ambition? (HOLEINONE).  I got this one immediately which, to me, means it’s too easy for a Saturday.

16A. Hero (POBOY).  I now know that 99% of hero clues have some type of sandwich as the answer.  By the way, my wife and I gave up on Heroes halfway through last season.  I heard the premiere sucked.  Is that true?

22A. Fatty acid, e.g. (ESTER).  Hey, this answer was in yesterday’s puzzle.  I think this is called applied knowledge.

31A. Whence the expression “mum’s the word” (DONQUIXOTE).  That is something I did not know.

35A. “Hogan’s Heroes” figure.  Ok, I haven’t typed it in yet but it certainly looks like this is going to be NAZI.  Am I wrong?  I thought NAZI was banned from the puzzle.

44A. 1999 film satirizing media ruthlessness (EDTV).  I’ve got to be honest, I don’t think Ron Howard is a very good director.  Most of his movies lack some connection for me.  Here’s what I think.  He likes to make movies about ordinary human experiences that we can all relate to.  But he has had about the least ordinary life you can imagine.  He’s been a star and a household name since he was a little kid.  I don’t think his vision of reality is anywhere close to mine.  Having said that, Splash kicks ass.

45A. Half-sister of King Arthur.  Ok, I have ELAINE here but that could be very, very wrong.  ELAINE doesn’t sound like character out of an English legend.  This one crosses with the Soviet Premier and the New Brunswick river so if it’s wrong it’s totally screwing up my mojo.

57A. First lady of the 1980s (RAISA).  Is this Mrs. Gorbachev?  My first guess, like most people’s, was NANCY but that was way too easy for a Saturday.

24D. Ancestors from long, long ago (APEMEN).  I hope someone brings up this clue in the Vice Presidential debate.

26D. Vassals (LIEGES).  I’m not sure what’s going on here.  Is this right?  I thought a vassal was a type of servant and a liege was a type of master.  Clearly, I’m wrong somewhere.

28D. Creator of Earthquake McGoon and Moonbeam McSwine (CAPP).  I’m really not sure who Al Capp is.  I thought he was a character in a comic strip.  Or is that Andy Capp?

Ok, it’s time to go to sleep.  I hope to dream of former Soviet Premiers and rivers in towns of indeterminate locations then wake up and finish off the puzzle.  I’ll post an update to let you know how I make out.

Next stop, Sunday.

Is it Saturday today?  It can’t be.  I wouldn’t be sitting at work on a Saturday.  Well, somebody’s got their days screwed up because there’s a Saturday puzzle in the New York Times today.  Good God!  I’ve been at it for 3 and half hours and I still don’t have even half the grid filled.  I have the entire bottom solved and that epic feat pretty much drained my brain of what little solving abilities resided there.

Oh, Barry C. Silk, Friend and Confidante of Doug Peterson, Crossword Gentleman and Man About Town, why must you torment me so.

The key to the bottom for me was 49D. Deconstruct? (RAZE).  That Z helped me with 58A. Dish named for the queen consort of Italy’s Umberto I (PIZZAMARGHERITA).  I was also able to get the one right above it, 55A. Film about an aristocrat captured by the Sioux (AMANCALLEDHORSE).

Others I’m relatively sure about:

59A. Ready for the bad news (STEELED).  I had SITTING here first which I think is also a good answer.

60A. It’s a square (SIXTEEN).  Pretty easy once I had the X from 57D. Curse (HEX).

44D. Leader who said “There is no god higher than the truth” (GANDHI).  I had the G from 44A. Basis of some discrimination (GENDER) but it took me a couple of tries to figure out where the H went.

36D. Was shy (OWED).  That took a while.  It’s right next to 37D. Was shy which I think is RANSHORT but I’m not sure.

I have a few at the top:

19A. Xbox 360 competitor (WII).

21. Actress Suvari (MENA).  Wasn’t she the one covered in roses in American Beauty?

6D. Generates (SPAWNS).

And that’s really it.  I’ve got 11 no-googles in a row so I’m going to keep at it for a while.  Here are a few I absolutely don’t know:

15A. King’s honor.  A 15-letter answer.  I have one letter.  It’s a P and provides no help.

17A. Where moles may try to dig?.  This one I think has to do with spies.  Like the moles that are constantly infiltrating CTU on 24.  So I’m thinking CLASSIFIED FILES or something of that nature.  Again, it’s a 15-letter answer and I have one letter.  This time it’s an A and is as useless as the P.

1D. Clear conclusion? I think this is ANCE but I can’t get any crosses to work so I’m starting to have my doubts.

2D. Sweat. WORK?  Maybe?

3D. Like many of Shakespeare’s rhymes.  I think this is either AABB or ABAB or some variation of that.

Could King’s honor start with NOBLE?

18A. Hamburger’s course? I am completely baffled by this.  Are we talking about a hamburger as in the food?  Isn’t Hamburger also city in Germany?  Maybe there’s a guy named Hamburger.  Is he a teacher?  What does he teach?  Ok, ok, wait.  Is it the river that runs through Hamburger?  The ELBE, maybe?

Ok, Sweat is TOIL.  And the mole thing starts with CIA.

5D. Ithaque, e.g. I have _E_.  Could it be a type of EEL?  Could I be desperately grasping at straws?

8A. Shout after a knock.  This could be WHOISIT or LETMEIN or something totally different.

I’ve now been at this about 4 hours longer than Dan Feyer, Winner of the C Division.  I don’t have any idea how I’m going to finish this.  I don’t know who the U.S. Treasurer was in 1984 was or any locations in Nederland or any books about the Babylonian captivity.  But I’ll give it my best shot.

Before I get back to the puzzle I do need to mention that my beloved Dodgers are the 2008 National League Western Division Champions.  It’s been 20 years since they last won a postseason series.  So, here’s hoping.

Next stop, Saturday.

Hello, everyone.  Quick update.  It’s now been four hours since I typed the preceding and I just no-googled the puzzle.  A mere 8 hours after I opened it up.  I was right, the mole thing did start with CIA.  I later figured out it ended with HEADQUARTERS.  I was close with King’s honor as it turned out to be NOBELPEACEPRIZE.  One thing that tripped me up for a while was putting BEHEMOTH instead of VEHEMENT for Very strong.  Oh, I also had ELTON instead of ASTIN for John of “Freaky Friday”.  I thought maybe it was a song he wrote.

Great puzzle.  Nothing like a nice brain crusher to start the weekend.

Oof, this one took me a while.  I had much trouble with the top right.  Lots of tricky stuff up there.

3D. Middle X, say (TAC).  I’ve never heard of naming your X’s after winning a game of Tic Tac Toe.  I usually just shove the paper in my opponent’s face while doing the Ickey Shuffle.  (Why are there no videos on the internet of Ickey doing the Ickey shuffle?  All I can find are a bunch of yahoos making a mockery of the dance.)

14A. Tony player on “NYPD Blue” (ESAI).  This is a tough way to clue Mr. Morales.  The only NYPD Blue actor’s name I could think of was Jimmy Smits.  When was Esai on the show?  I watched the first few seasons and I don’t remember seeing him.

The theme of this Victor Fleming puzzle was DRAWS.

17A. Draws (RECEIPTS)

26A. Draws (GETSCARDS)

49A. Draws (PULLSAGUN). They pull a knife, you pull a gun. He sends one of yours to the hospital, you send one of his to the morgue. That’s the Chicago way!

58A. Draws (SKETCHES).  Are you like me?  Did you go to elementary school with some girl who spent all her free time drawing Odie?  What’s the deal with that?  What’s with the compulsion to constantly draw Odie?

4D. Draws (TIEGAMES).  I had T__GAMES and struggled to come up with the answer.  I thought it might be TOP GAMES.  As in, TOP GAMES draw lots of fans to the ballpark.  Didn’t make a whole lot of sense though.

11D. Draws (INFERS)

37D. Draws (ATTRACTS)

46D. Draws (CLOSES)

Other highlights:

20A. 1972 musical with the song “Summer Nights” (GREASE).  The movie came out when I was 6 and I must have seen it at least ten times in the theater.  Watching it now, I am astounded by how raunchy the lyrics and dialogue are.  What did I think was going in that scene where Rizzo and Kenickie are talking about his rubber?

22A. Actress Graff (ILENE).  She was in the stage version of Grease.  She was also the mother in Mr. Belvedere.  I never really got into Belvey.  Wasn’t it kind of like Alf only instead of an alien there was a British guy?

62A. ___ Green, Scottish town famous for runaway weddings (GRETNA).  Never heard of this so I looked it up.  In 1753 Lord Hardwicke’s Marriage Act was passed making it illegal for parties under 21 to marry without parental consent.  Elopers fled to Scotland where the first village they encountered was Gretna Green.  And odd law since Lord Hardwicke seems like the type who really understands the giddiness of young love.  Oh, wait, he may just have gas.

64A. What may ensure the show goes on? (TIVO).  Not sure I understand this.  Does it mean a Tivo ensures a show goes on the hard drive of a Tivo?

23D. Sonora snack (TACO).  Time for another installment of “Which taco is more disturbing?”

A.

B.

or C.

My vote is for B. because of that unidentifiable white sauce dripping on its forehead and out its rear.  He doesn’t seem to be phased by it at all.  As a matter of fact, he appears quite happy about the whole thing.  Disturbing.

Next stop, Friday.

Interesting and slightly confusing theme in this Lynn Lempel puzzle.

17A. One of the “dumbest dumb animals,” according to 60-Across (HUMMINGBIRD)

27A. Start of the reason the 17-Across is one of the “dumbest dumb animals” (ITSREALLYTIMEHE)

46A. End of the reason (LEARNEDTHEWORDS)

60A. See 17-Across (GEORGEBURNS)

It confused me in that there was a quip, a bird and comedian and, as I was trying to solve the puzzle quickly, I couldn’t grasp what part referred to what. Luckily, it all worked out in the end and I finished with an ok time of 8:31.

I know George Burns from 3 things: Oh God!, Going in Style and, my favorite, The Sunshine Boys. My mom and I watched The Sunshine Boys about 1,000 times when I was growing up. George was great in it. Worthy of an Oscar? Probably not but still a hilarious performance. “Against you in court, I could win with a cow.” And, let us not forget, the wonderful performance by Walter Matthau. A perfectly cast movie.

Other highlights:

21A. Walton who founded Wal-Mart (SAM). I refuse to shop at Wal-Mart. Of course, it’s easy for me to refuse since there are no Wal-Marts anywhere near me. And if there was? Would I overlook their shady business practices and disregard for their workers just because I can get a discount on a blu-ray player? Am I that unprincipled? [Amanda, doesn't this sound like the beginning of soliloquy-type song? Maybe to the tune of "Who Am I?" from Les Miz?]

25A. Unpaid factory worker (ROBOT). Maybe we should be paying our robot workers. Anything to keep them happy. I would really prefer not to be enslaved by them even though I know it’s inevitable.  I would like it on record that I pushed for higher robot wages. Maybe that will help me when I’m thrown before the mercy of robot court. Wait? What’s that you say? My defense attorney is a robot too? No! Damn you, robots! DAMN YOU, ROBOTS! Noooooooooooooooo!

34A. Corn locale (TOE). I put EAR here first. So this went from delicious corn on the cob to whatever the complete opposite of delicious is.

4D. Lousy breaks (BUMMERS). Wow. First appearance of either BUMMER or BUMMERS in the Will Shortz Era.

11D. Imp plus (HOLYTERROR). Also the first appearance of HOLYTERROR. I’m not 100% sure I like the clue. Seems like there might be a better way to word that.

12D. Jon’s comics canine (ODIE). I didn’t understand this clue at all. Is Jon the dude from Garfield? Or does Jon own the comics in which Odie appears?

26D. Something to drool over? (BIB). I really thought this was going to be LIP.

55D. “CHiPs” actor Estrada (ERIK). Erik Estrada, obviously, is totally awesome. Here’s a clip from CHiPs that makes absolutely no sense. But the fact that Estrada can still look cool while taking off skin tight pants is a testament to his total awesomeness.

Next stop, Thursday.

I think the New York Times got their days screwed up again as this Tuesday puzzle by Richard Chisholm was much easier than yesterday’s Monday puzzle.  The theme today was:

61A. Where 17-, 29-, 36- and 44-Across often wind up (INHOTWATER).

17A. One risking arrest (LAWBREAKER)

29A. Some seers read them (TEALEAVES)

36A. Sink items (DIRTYDISHES)

44A. Trattoria offering (SPAGHETTI)

Good theme if a little unbalanced as 3 answers wind up in literal hot water and only 1 answer winds up in figurative hot water.  But that’s being nit-picky.  Of course, being nit-picky is the whole point of having a blog.

Other highlights:

1A. In-box clogger (SPAM).  For those of you who have gmail did you ever notice the ads at the top of your spam folder?  More often than not, they’re ads for spam recipes.  Today there’s one for French-fry spam casserole.  I find it hilarious that gmail doesn’t seem to know what spam means in an email context.  Or does it do that on purpose?

23A. The “V” in K.J.V. (VERSION).  This one took me a while.  We’re talking about the King James Version right?

55A. Part of an iceberg that’s visible (TIP).  My brain just wouldn’t process this one as I tried CAP and TOP and then just couldn’t figure it out until I got a cross.

65A. Stretch out on a sofa, say (LOLL).  Totally valid word and definition but still, bleh.  Does anybody actually say, “I’m going to loll on the sofa for a spell”?

1D. Drool, basically (SALIVA).  I enjoyed this clue.  I also enjoy that, according to xwordinfo, SALIVA has been clued as “Juices” three times which is comically grody.

3D. Teeming, as with bees (ASWARM).  No mention of bees would be complete without a picture of one of those crazy mofos that cover themselves in hella bees.

Or a picture of awesome wrestling bees.

7D. Actress Sommer (ELKE).  I’m not entirely certain who Elke Sommer is.  I do know that a google search for her results in many images that are NSFW.  Here is a tamer picture that has Kermit the Frog apparently ogling her bosoms.  I hope Miss Piggy was nowhere nearby.

57D. It keeps things on the level (SHIM).  Here’s a word I didn’t know. A thin, often tapered piece of material used to make something level.  Does shim refer to a specific item or can it be anything?  Like the piece of cardboard or napkin you use to stop a table from wobbling.  Brian, please tell us the story of you and xop adjusting a table at a restaurant.

For all of you eagerly anticipating Episode #26 of Fill Me In: A Crossword Podcast you don’t have to wait much longer.  Brian will be in town for a bit next week and we’ll be recording it on Monday.  And we have a surprise special guest.

Next stop, Wednesday.

First off, the update you’ve all been waiting for: I did no-google Sunday’s puzzle.  Which means I had a no-google week.  Before you go thinking I’m a genius or child prodigy I should say that Sunday’s puzzle took me 4 sessions and about 3 hours of solving time.  But I got it done.

Ok, much like Mark McGwire I’m not here to talk about the past.  On to today’s Peter A. Collins offering.  I have to say, this was a little on the tough side for a Monday.  Here are a few of the clues that, in my opinion, are too difficult/obscure for a Monday:

17A. Sacred song (MOTET)

19A. ___ pro nobis (pray for us: Lat.) (ORA).  On Monday this should really be “man ___ mouse?”  I’ve forgotten all the Latin I didn’t learn from the class I never took.

47A. Russia/China border river (AMUR).  Four-lettered rivers are my least favorite bodies of water.  I guess I could make “flash cards” so I could “learn” these “rivers”.  But that would leave me very little time to be lazy and complain about them.

10D. Michael ___, Cochise player in 1950s TV (ANSARA).  I don’t know who this actor is nor do I know what show featured Cochise.  Was it Maude?

51D. Texas city just north of Dallas (PLANO).   Plano just doesn’t come to mind and I can name lots of Texas cities besides Dallas.  And by “lots” I mean three.  And by “three” I mean Houston.

So, yeah, I just thought those were a little difficult for a Monday.  Anybody else?

The theme was fine if uninspired.  Circled letters spelling out animals you can find in the zoo:

21A. Proceed effortlessly (CRUISEALONG).  SEAL.

38A. Tire irons loosen them (LUGNUTS). GNU.

54A. 1972 hit for the Spinners (ILLBEAROUND).  BEAR.

3D. Less competent (NOTASABLE).  SABLE.

34D. Ensued (CAMELATER).  CAMEL.

As Julius Caesar said in History of the World, Part I, “A bathtub.  Nice.  Nice.  Not thrilling, but nice.”

Other highlights:

20A. “Cat ___ Hot Tin Roof” (ONA).  I was in a production of this show a few years back.  I played the very difficult role of Dr. Baugh.  Difficult in that there’s not much to do besides sitting on stage watching your fellow cast members EMOTE.

26A. Respect that one deserves, in slang (PROPS).  Favorite clue/answer in the puzzle.  I love to see slang that I actually use end up in the grid.

28D. Film unit (REEL).  This is not necessarily a highlight of the puzzle but it does remind me I saw Burn After Reading today.  It was a good move on the Coen Brothers’ part to follow up the near-perfection of No Country For Old Men with a goofy bit of nonsense.  And the movie works well.  Great performances, lots of fun, highly recommended.

Next stop, Tuesday.