Ryan and Brian Do Crosswords

There seemed to be quite a few people yesterday who were somewhat chagrined that I had never heard of a snow fence.  Well, I hadn’t.  But now I have.  My wife and I live in an apartment and after a snowfall, the walk to the front door is magically cleared by elves (either that, or our super) and we’ve never had a need for a fence.  However, we are currently in the market for a house so I suspect we will soon be confronted with the actual downsides of snow.  At least it won’t be snew.

Today’s puzzle was constructed by Elizabeth C. Gorski making what I believe is her New York Times debut.  Hold on, let me check…oh, sorry this is actually her 171st NYT puzzle.  I’ve got to start paying attention.  The theme was AHEAD OF THE CURVE and the whole puzzle was great fun.

What might at first look like a big @ symbol (in fact, it contains the clue 67A. Symbols like @ (ATS) which I thought was a nice touch) turned out to be a tribute to the 50th Anniversary of THE SOLOMON R GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM.

I thought this puzzle was great.  Not only is it in the shape of the museum but Ms. Gorski also fit in the entries:

SPIRAL SHAPE

FINAL MAJOR WORK OF FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT

NONTRADITIONAL

Plus, there are nine artists clued only by one of their works.  I think I knew just enough about art to be able to successfully solve this puzzle.  MANET, CHAGALL, KANDINSKY, SEURAT, DEGAS, MONDRIAN, PICASSO, ERNST and ARP.

Why did I think that Kandinsky was a classical music composer?  Is it because I know next to nothing about art or classical music?  While you guys are mulling that over take a look at the Kandy Man’s Composition 8.

The rest of the grid was also filled with great stuff:

27A. California wind (SANTA ANA).  I feel like there’s a possible theme idea here.  Add an extra a to SANTANA and you get SANTA ANA.  Does that work for any other names?

39A. 2000s TV family (SOPRANOS).  As far as hour long dramas go, I think this is my favorite.  I watched the whole series on DVD in about a month and a half.

41A. Many a school fund-raiser (RAFFLE).  Never in my life have I ever won anything in a raffle.  Never.  The whole thing is rigged.

72A. Like a bond you can buy with security? (AAA).  Do financial people think this is hilarious?  Because I don’t get it.

79A. Lo-___ (RES).  My favorite is the House Special Lo-res.  Shrimp, pork and chicken.  A little blurry but absolutely delicious.

85A. Like some YouTube videos (VIRAL).  This is one of my favorites.

64D. Words from Charlie Brown (UGHS).  This one is weird.  I don’t remember Charlie Brown saying UGH a lot.  I remember GOOD GRIEF and AAAAUUUUUGGGGHHHH but not UGH.

Really great puzzle today.

Next stop, Monday.