Ryan and Brian Do Crosswords

Gary Cee, in his NYT debut, has provided us with a great theme.  I enjoy this kind of self-referential business where the crossword acknowledges that it’s a crossword.  (Perhaps that doesn’t make any sense.)

36A. Advice for the broken hearted…or one of four arrangements found literally in this puzzle (GET OVER IT).

And the word GET appears over the word IT four times.

PAGE TURNER is over IMITATE Doesn’t PAGE TURNER sound like the name of a 1940’s film actress?

ROGETS is over SUITOR In place of SUITOR, we would also have accepted adherent, beau, believer, booster, boyfriend, buff, bug, cat, devotee, disciple, enthusiast, fan, fancier, fiend, follower, freak, girlfriend, groupie, hound, junkie, lover, nut, partisan, patron, rooter, suitor, supporter, swain, sweetheart, wooer or worshiper.

BEGETS is over BITMAP I can think of nothing interesting to say about either word so, instead, here’s a picture of a bunny with a pancake on it’s head.

SAGE TEA is over INQUISITOR I don’t drink tea but it seems that anything even vaguely green can be steeped in hot water and made into a beverage.  Is this true?  Can you make cilantro tea?  Celery tea?  Are there any rules to this nonsense?

The theme reminded me of a movie I’ve never seen.  Moonlighting.  In that movie Cher:

slaps Nicolas Cage (featured in the Nicolas Cage plot generator):

and says, “SNAP OUT OF IT”

How would one put that in a theme?  Maybe the word SNAP would be on the outside of the word IT.  Such as in…wait, let me check onelook.com.  Ah, yes…such as in SNES MULTITAP, a very popular something or other that was all the rage back in a recent time period.  But wait, here are some more theme answers to knock your socks off:

ATKINS NUTRITIONAL APPROACH

GRANNYS NITECAP

MARIA DAS NEVES CEITA BAPTISTA DE SOUSA

US NINTH CIRCUIT COURT OF APPEALS

The puzzle practically writes itself.

Now that I have your attention, here is part 9 of the Superman adventure “Crossword Puzzle Mystery”.

[audio:http://crosswords.ryanfacestheworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/superman-part-9.mp3]

Next stop, Friday.