Ryan and Brian Do Crosswords

First off, for those who did not read the very end of Brian’s post yesterday, I have accomplished one of my long term crossword goals. I finished Monday’s puzzle in under 4 minutes. 3:45, to be exact. I did it on the applet and every clue I encountered I knew almost immediately. Or, at least, my equivalent of immediately which I realize is vastly different from Dan Feyer, Winner of the C Division, Winner of the B Division’s immediately. I lucked out in that I didn’t come across any of the clues that I wouldn’t have known like “Vientiane’s land” or “Wyoming’s ___ range”. It was pretty cool but I don’t know what my next goal should be as I don’t think I have a realistic chance of ever cracking 3 minutes.

On to today’s Pancho Harrison puzzle which has POLICE hidden in 4 clues. I had more trouble with this than an average Tuesday but I still managed to finish it in about 7 minutes. Here are the cops:

20A. Adolescent boy’s growth (PEACH FUZZ). I had PEACH FUZZ when I was a teen. Along with acne, crooked glasses and that one guy who always punched me in first period. I was quite dreamy.

55A. Bargains for leniency (COPS A PLEA).

10D. Musial’s nickname (STAN THE MAN). It’s almost baseball season. The day after the Boston Crossword Tournament will be the first day of the season. And, once again, I’ll be charting how the Dodgers do when mentioned in the puzzle.

26A. Dehydration may help bring this on (HEAT STROKE). How is it that Coca-Cola simultaneously quenches your thirst and dehydrates you? No wonder they’re so successful. I need to develop a bacon that makes you hungry.

Other highlights:

25A. “I Pity the Fool” star (MR T). Apparently “I Pity the Fool” was an actual reality TV show where T offered advice to fans. Not surprisingly, it lasted only 6 episodes. It had a great tag line though: Because in Every City, There Are Fools to Pity.

6D. Goofball (DOOFUS). Remember what XOM says, “Doofus is just another word for charm.”

21D. J.P. Morgan co. (US STEEL). I’ve worked pretty much the same soul-sucking, mind-numbing job at various institutions. Now I’m at a law firm but for a while I worked in financial institutions. Merrill Lynch…gone! Lehman Brothers…gone! Bear Stearns…gone! The only one still left standing is J.P. Morgan which I believe will soon own everything. Kind of like Taco Bell in Demolition Man.

49D. Chilly (ALGID). This is the last word I entered. Not surprising considering it’s made up.

55D. “Fast Money” network (CNBC). I very much enjoyed Jon Stewart’s interview with Jim Cramer. I don’t think all Wall Street people are crooks. In fact, I’m sure only a very few Wall Street people are crooks. But I do think people like Cramer have used our money and our ignorance of inside information to fund their gambling. I thought Jon did a great job showing the real Jim Cramer. Here’s part one:

And here’s part 2:

Next stop, Wednesday.