Somehow, it feels like it’s been months since our last episode. Is that true? We’re not sure. If you have an opinion on this, you should write a review about us on iTunes, and also email us with your thoughts. We can be reached at rbxblog at gmail dot com.

This week’s episode does not include:

• a proper introduction
• Ryan saying the name of our theme song
• anyone playing that damn green pickle turd
• a satisfactory abbreviation for players in the American League
• a running time of less than 38 minutes

Without these features, how could you possibly enjoy this episode? That, dear viewers, is our challenge to you.

Zambezi and oat.

Today’s puzzle was constructed by John Farmer and features a theme I don’t entirely understand.  In five instances, two identical entries cross and their crossing letters spell out RINGO.  Seems quite random to me.  Unless we’re to assume the crossing entries represent the shape of a STARR or that they are symbolic for crossed drumsticks.  Admittedly, I don’t know all that much about The Beatles so there may be some other symbolism at work here.  Anybody else have any insight?

The crossing entries are:

DURAN DURAN

BLING BLING

TWINKLE TWINKLE

SUGAR SUGAR

KNOCK KNOCK

Do people say BLING BLING?  I thought it was just bling.  Or blingadocious.  Or blingalicious.  By the way, a google image search for “crossword bling” comes up with nothing in the way of jewel encrusted accoutrements.  An untapped market just waiting for someone to make their fortune.

Other highlights:

13A. QB Manning (ELI).  Hey, I know something about football!

20D. They line up between centers and tackles: Abbr. (RGS).  Oy, I know nothing about football!  What does this stand for?  Right Guards?  Rear Glanks?

42A. Dress shirt accessories (CUFF LINKS).  Ok, I think I found some crossword bling.

35D. Lennon’s “Two Virgins” partner (ONO).  Well, this is just weird.  If the puzzle is about RINGO and you mention Lennon and Ono in another clue shouldn’t you go the whole way and somehow work Paul and George in there?

I’d love if someone could explain this theme to me.

Next stop, Wednesday.

(This will also be an interesting test to see if Amanda reads my non-weekend posts.)

Today’s puzzle has a byline that almost fits the puzzle’s theme, James Mulhern and Ashton Anderson.  The theme was “A word that rhymes with Doc Ock [and] a word that is made up of letters.]

17A. Like a story that can’t be believed (COCK AND BULL).

The cock’s on the housetop, blowing his horn:
The bull’s in the barn a-threshing of corn:
The maids in the meadows are making of hay:
The ducks in the river are swimming away.

27A. Military strategy during the 2003 invasion of Iraq (SHOCK AND AWE).

45A. Subject of a 1950s “revolution” (ROCK AND ROLL).

61A. Prepare to use a rifle (LOCK AND LOAD).

Fine Monday theme although one that probably won’t show up in The New York Times Big Book of Pacifist-Friendly Puzzles.

Other highlights:

16A. Lyricist Gershwin (IRA).  Amanda.

32A. ___ the Hutt (“Star Wars” villain) (JABBA).  An alternative, and much easier, clue would have been “Spice smuggling native of Nal Hutta and fierce rival of Gardulla the Elder”.  I mean, this is a Monday puzzle.  Let’s give everybody a chance to solve it.

39A. Veep’s superior (PREXY).  Wha?

11D. Candy with a hole in the middle (LIFE SAVER).  Candy?  I don’t know.  These are mints, right?  I don’t consider mints to be candy.  I’ve never had a craving for big roll of life savers.

32D. Give a Bronx cheer (JEER).  Isn’t it odd that JEER is one letter away from JETER?

52D. “Too rich for my blood” (I FOLD).  Kept reading this as IF OLD.

56D. Trebek who says “And the answer is…” (ALEX).  Couldn’t this clue just have been “Trebek”?

Nice puzzle today.

Next stop, Tuesday.

Today’s puzzle is by Sunday favorite Elizabeth C. Gorski and features a MAN OF MANY WORDS theme.  Like most puzzles from Ms. Gorski it’s not too difficult, it’s full of fun and clever fill and is a joy to solve.

I have to admit though, I didn’t no-google this.  I was 2 empty boxes away.  I knew one of the boxes was a vowel so I could have cycled through the vowels in the one box while cycling through the whole alphabet in the other until I hit on the right combination but I just said the hell with it and looked them up.

98A. Faux gold (ORMOLU) and 94D. Tittle (JOT).  I had ORM_LU and J_T.  Obviously, this is the one I knew was a vowel.  I thought “tittle” meant to make someone laugh or to excite someone.  I guess that’s titillate.  Apparently, both JOT and TITTLE mean “a small quantity”.  So, next time you go to McDonalds make sure to order a Big Mac and a tittle of fries.  See what they say.

According to wikipedia ormolu is an 18th-century English term for applying finely ground, high-karat gold in a mercury amalgam to an object of bronze.   How that all means “faux gold” is a mystery to me.

103D. City rebuilt by Darius I (SUSA) and 103A. Beachgoer’s hair lightener (SUNIN).  I had _USA and _UNIN.  I guess since Sammy Sosa showed up a couple time already this week the appearance of a city I’ve never heard of that was rebuilt by a guy who’s never been in my kitchen only makes sense.  As for SUNIN, I’m at a loss.  Is this two words?  One word?  Three words?  I don’t get it.  Personally, my own hair is being lightened by the gradual emergence of my pale scalp.  Could that be what this means?

So, yeah, I could have cycled through all those letters and eventually hit on the right ones but there was no way I was actually going to figure these answers out.

As for the theme, it’s fun but I bet it’s more fun for people familiar with JOHNNY MERCER’s work.  Ten of the songs he wrote lyrics for show up in the grid along with the entry BROADWAY MUSICAL.  Plus, if you connect the circled letters in alphabetical order you get the shape of a clef.  Is it an F clef?  Who knows?  Brian?  Dan?  Jon?  Harry?  What kind of clef is this?

Other highlights:

35A. Thrice daily, on an Rx (TID).  TID?  I thought this was TER.  Has it always been TID?

40A. Bread box? (ATM).  I always struggle with the various ATM clues.  I knew bread was referring to money but I kept thinking about safes and wallets.  In any puzzle, whenever I eventually enter in ATM it always comes as a surprise to me.  I think even if the clue was “Electronic console in many delis and banks where one inserts their bank card, enters their PIN and extracts currency” I’d think, huh, a refrigerator, maybe?

41A. Last non-A.D. year (ONE BC).  I bet they had quite the party that year.

55A. 2001 World Series winner (ARIZONA).  We have a cat named Arizona.  Normally, we feed him wet food in the morning.  Lately, though, he’s been puking and wheezing a bit after eating it so we’re only feeding him dry food today.  He is most distressed.  He’s running around the apartment, caterwauling and banging on doors.  We’ve tried to explain that it’s for his own good but he’s not listening.

12D. “Garfield: ___ of Two Kitties” (2006 film) (A TAIL).  Good lord, there was a sequel?

76D. “The Wizard ___” (OF ID).  Nice little misdirection here.  I used to read a lot of Wizard of Id when I was growing up.  You know, I’m not even going to search for a strip to post here.  It’s probably going to be horrible which, in turn, will make question how I spent my time in my formative years.  Who needs that on a Sunday morning?

97D. 7-Up, with “the” (UNCOLA).  I feel like it’s been years since I’ve had a 7-Up.  Do they still call it the Uncola?  And what makes it an uncola?  Isn’t it still full of chemicals and high fructose corn syrup?  Here’s a 1971 slightly creepy commercial with longtime spokesman Geoffrey Holder.

Fun puzzle, today.  I’m off to have a tittle of breakfast.

Next stop, Monday.

Today’s New York Times puzzle is by one of our favorites, Joe Krozel, Rhymes with Puzzle.  Joe can always be counted on to provide fun, amazingly constructed puzzles and his latest offering does not disappoint.  Compared to last week’s Bob Klahn Grid of Impossibility, today’s puzzle is a bit on the easy side but that doesn’t detract from its excellent design and enjoyment factor.

The first thing I noticed was the quadruple stack of 15s running across the center.

32A. Overhead shower (INCOME STATEMENT).  This time I was onto the whole shower/shower trick but got fooled by overhead.  I thought the answer might be some sort of projector but, clearly, I was wrong.

37A. 1988 comedy starring Richard Dreyfuss and Raul Julia (MOON OVER PARADOR).  I knew this one immediately and got it without any crossings.  Even though I’ve never seen it, the combined help of being a huge Dreyfuss fan and being super aware of all that went on in 1988 made this one a gimmie.

38A. Song with the lyric “City of a million warm embraces” (ARRIVEDERCI ROMA).  This one was a bit more difficult.  Made even more difficult by my insistence on trying to fit CHICAGO in somewhere.  Even though we’ve said arrivederci to Roma they say as long as you through a coin into the Fontana di Trevi you’ll definitely come back.  (We forgot to do that but we took our picture in front of it so hopefully that will count.)

39A. Pomelo relatives (MANDARIN ORANGES).  Other names for the pomelo include: Chinese grapefruit, jabong, lusho fruit, pompelmous, and shaddock.  Shaddock?  Isn’t that a fish?

Hopefully Joe will read the blog today and tell us how he was able to accomplish this impressive stacking.

Other highlights:

26A. “Tootsie” Oscar nominee (GARR).  Seriously, who’s better than Teri Garr.  You know what?  As soon as I finish writing the blog, I’m going to make myself a sandwich and watch Tootsie.

28A. Charter (LET).  What does this mean?  LET like in “let an apartment”?

45A. Where things are bolted down on base (MESS ROOM).  Love the clue but isn’t it MESS HALL?

3D. One maturing quickly, for short (TBILL).  What did I put here first?  TWEEN.

6D. “That was the turnoff!” (YOU PASSED IT).  I have no sense of direction.  Even with a GPS I’m constantly missing exits and tearing off in the wrong direction.  I think I might get a t-shirt made up that has a picture of GPS and the words “recalculating route”.

8D. Charging giant, informally (AMEX).  Great clue.

12D. 1998 film featuring Colonel Cutter (ANTZ).  As soon as I read the clue, I knew it was ANTZ.  No idea why.  I barely remember the movie and I certainly don’t remember Colonel Cutter.  I didn’t write it in right away because I had no reason to believe I was correct.  Finally, I couldn’t deny my destiny any longer and typed my way to correct entry glory.  Colonel Cutter was voice by Christopher Walken, by the way.

28D. Renoir at the Getty (LA PROMENADE).  This got filled in entirely by crosses.  Beautiful painting, though.

45D. Tacit storytellers (MIMES).  You’ve got to hand it to mimes.  People hate them but they keep showing up to the party.

Really great puzzle today.  I can spend the rest of Saturday feeling more smarter.  And watching Tootsie.

Next stop, Sunday.

Today’s puzzle was constructed by Dana Motley, a name I’m not familiar with but apparently this is her 29th NYT puzzle.  I did no-google it but it was a struggle and I’m not sure I understand everything I entered into the grid.

6A. Watch things, briefly (LCDS).  I put SCAN here first thinking it meant to briefly watch things.

15A. Hot time in Montréal (AOUT).  You know how much we love foreign words here at the Be More Smarter offices.  This clue is usually answered by ETE but today it’s 4 letters long hence the French word for August.

21A. American goldfinch (YELLOW BIRD).  Hmm, is a Yellow Bird a type of American goldfinch?  Or are American goldfinches yellow birds?

26A. Funshine, Grumpy or Love-a-lot (CARE BEAR).  According to Wikipedia, in their last movie Oopsy Does It!, the insignias which used to be called tummy symbols were renamed “belly badges”.  Here’s a fun game, see how many times you can read the preceding sentence before you burst into flames.

29A. Meridian shower (GLOBE).  Never fails.  I always fall for the shower (when stuff falls from the sky)/shower (hey, check out my Pog collection) misdirection.

33A. Moves quickly, as a cloud (SCUDS).  Ok, since when?  When has anybody you know (even slightly) looked up at a beautiful sky and remarked on the scudding of the clouds?  Clouds waft.  Very dense pudding scuds.

47A. Was an accountant? (NARRATED).  Once I noticed the question mark (only took me 20 minutes) this one was pretty easy.

51A. Bygone laborer (ESNE).  Poll of the day: Would you rather be stuck on desert island with foreign words or with words nobody uses anymore?  Which would be more helpful in acquiring coconuts?

60A. Source of high anxiety? (ACROPHOBIA).  Ohhhhkaaayyyy, why the question mark?  Isn’t high anxiety more or less a literal translation of acrophobia?  The question mark made me see if MARIJUANA would fit.  Which, in turn, made me think of Rob Schneider.  Which is never a good thing.

10D. Best Actor Tony winner for “Mark Twain Tonight!” (HOLBROOK).  Why do I know this?  Why do I know he’s married to Dixie Carter?  I couldn’t tell you one thing in which I’ve seen Hal Holbrook.  Ok, not true.  I went to see Master Class on Broadway starring Dixie Carter and Hal was in the audience.

13D. President who was born a king (FORD).  Ok, just looked this up.  Gerald Ford’s birthname was Leslie Lynch King, Jr.  Nice clue.

26D. Piccolo duet? (CEES).  I just this very minute figured out what this means.

30D. Item-concealing shoplifting aid  (BOOSTER BOX).  This was the last thing I entered.  Why?  Well, I’ve never heard of it.  Does it actually exist?  I don’t know.  The only thing I’ve ever shoplifted was a bag of confetti when was I six.  I eventually confessed my mother and took it back.  And by “eventually” I mean 5 seconds after I left the store.

34D. Honoree of a 1998 ticker tape parade (SOSA).  Wow, I forgot about that.  We all really got sucked in that, didn’t we?

43D. Dog for logs (ANDIRON).  This makes absolutely no sense to me.

I think I liked this puzzle but I don’t think I loved this puzzle.  It was not a total joy to solve but I appreciate it.  Nice interlocking of words and all that.

Next stop, Saturday.

Speaking of today’s puzzle, it was constructed by Brendan Emmett Quigley Down Under Starring Tom Selleck and, as is the norm for BEQ, it’s great.

I thought I wouldn’t have too much trouble with it as I got the rebus within the first couple of minutes.  I don’t know how the name DIAMOND JIM BRADY came to me but it did.  There are 5 DIAMONDS hidden throughout the grid.  Is there any significance to the number of diamonds or their placement that I’m not catching onto?

My downfall was 17A. Tending to cut off (ISOLATIVE).  I had ISOLAT___ and just couldn’t come up with the rest.  All I could think of was ISOLATING which I knew didn’t work with the crossings.  I came close when I put in ISOLATINE which I don’t believe is a word unless Apple has a solatine factory I don’t know about.  That screwed up that whole area and I was too beat to figure it out.  Kinda blows as I made my way quite well through the rest of the grid.

20A. Like some fancy soap bubbles (TORIC).  I don’t get this.  I was trying to think of fancy soaps.  I think the only two brands of soap I know are Dove and Lava.

32A. Chapter’s starting point, usually (RECTO).  I’m guessing this has something to do with the Bible?

65A. Marine snail (WHELK).  Not sure where I pulled this one out of.

14D. Some A.L.’ers (DHS).  C’mon!  Totally unnecessary!  This could have been “Some Yanks” or “Some Chi Sox” or something along those lines.

Really good puzzle today.  Whenever I do a BEQ puzzle I feel like I’m way behind him in cleverness, hipness and smartness and it’s always a fun challenge to try and catch up.

Next stop, Friday.

Today’s puzzle was constructed by Kelsey Blakely and featured an ingenious theme that took me a while to wrap my head around.

39A. Start of a count…or the letter frequencies in 17-, 30-, 46- and 64-Across (ONE TWO THREE FOUR).  One, two, three, four?  That’s amazing!  I’ve got the same combination on my luggage!

After I filled in the entry I had no idea what it could mean.  Now, it seems fairly obvious but at the time it was a mystery.  Turns out, all four theme entries are made up of one letter that appears 1 time, one letter that appears 2 times, one letter that appears 5 times (Three, sir.) 3 times and one letter that appears 4 times.  Very clever.  Would someone like to explain to me how one comes up with entries like this?

17A. User of barley malt (BEER BREWER).

30A. Emphatic boast of responsibility (I DID INDEED).

46A. One way to be armed (TO THE TEETH).

64A. “And away go troubles…” company (ROTO ROOTER).

I think this is one of those themes that I enjoy more upon reflection than I did while actually solving the puzzle.

Other highlights:

10A. Where “La Dolce Vita” was filmed (ROMA).  My plan is to eventually post all of our vacation pictures here on the blog, one clue at a time.  Here I am outside one of the best gelaterias in ROMA.

20A. Sharing properties (SIMILAR).  Man, I really thought this was going to be SUBLETS or something.

37A. Turf group (GANG).  Ba-da-da-da-daaaaa, ba-da-da-da-duh-da-daaaaa.

38A. Slo-___ fuse (BLO).  I have no idea what this is.  I just googled it and I still have no idea.

51A. Marvel Comics villain with an eyeball-like helmet (ORB).  This guy I’ve never heard of.  Apparently, he was stunt motorcycle rider who slid 25 yards on his unprotected face after an accident.  He was fine for the first 24 but that last yard left him hideously disfigured.  This next bit is straight from wikipedia: “After his recovery, for reasons never adequately explained, Shannon was given a powerful motorcycle helmet by They Who Wield Power. The helmet, which was modeled to look like a giant eyeball, could hypnotize people. A later version could also shoot powerful laser beams from its pupil.”  So, there you go.  Origin story solved.

63A. ___ Jannings, Best Actor of 1928 (EMIL).  How come when I hear the name “Emil Jannings” I think of figure skaters?

7D. Gilder’s need (TOW).  I read this as GILDER’s need.  This confused me as GILDER makes me think of only one thing (even though it’s spelled differently).

INIGO:  You’re sure nobody’s following us?

VIZZINI:  As I told you, it would be absolutely, totally, and in all other ways, inconceivable. No one in Guilder knows what we’ve done. And no one in Florin could have gotten here so fast. Out of curiosity, why do you ask?

INIGO:  No reason. It’s only, I just happened to look behind us, and something is there.

41D. China’s Lao-___ (TSE).  Not to be confused, of course, with Lao Che, the Chinese gangster who tricked Indiana Jones into giving him the remains of Nurhaci, first emperor of Manchu Dynasty.  Totally different guy.

56D. “Less filling’” brand (LITE).  Wha?  I don’t get this.  Isn’t something like MILLER LITE the brand?  LITE is just the adjective of the brand, right?

Fun puzzle, today.

Next stop, Thursday.

This is the seventy-ninth of an ongoing weekly series where your hosts, Brian Cimmet and Ryan Hecht, talk about crosswords, crossword solvers, crossword constructors, and a whole bunch of whatever else they just happen to think of.

Today’s episode includes:

• Answers we got right and wrong (including Peter Maas, Isaac Asimov and Amy Tan)
• People who both write to us and don’t (including Daniel Rosen and Jonah Kagan)
• Contests that may or may not earn you prizes (such as cookies or puzzle books in Italian — they are on the way!)
• Also a ton of bumping the microphones. We’re not sure why. We think it’s Brian’s fault.

We feel fairly confident that if you liked at least 30% of the past seventy-eight episodes, you have a 30% chance of liking this one. Besides, it includes a reference to this video:

But now, the podcast:

If you have a chance, rate us on iTunes. We’re trying to reach double figures in the category of “number of reviews.”

Zambezi and oat.

Today’s puzzle is by Alan Arbesfeld and has a great theme.  Great!

61A. and 63A. Name associated with the starts of 17-, 23-, 36-, 45- and 57-Across (WOODY ALLEN).  My mom is the biggest Woody Allen fan there’s ever been.  We had all his great early films on VHS and we’d watch them over and over and over again.  At the time, my two favorites were Sleeper and TAKE THE MONEY AND RUN.  I think the movies are even better now that I get the jokes I didn’t understand as a kid.

Here’s the first 8 minutes of Take the Money and Run which contain one of my favorite lines ever.

Here’s the rest of the theme answers.

17A. Happen (TAKE PLACE).

23A. First cable series to win an Emmy for Outstanding Drama (THE SOPRANOS).

36A. Process involving illegal drug profits, say (MONEY LAUNDERING).

45A. Flip side of the Beatles “If I Fell” (AND I LOVE HER).

57A. Retreat in fear (RUN SCARED).

Other highlights:

28A. “Your Moment of ___” (“The Daily Show” feature) (ZEN).  These are mostly pretty excruciating but I look forward to them every show.  I can’t get the embedding to work properly from The Daily Show website but here’s a link to a good one.

41A. Feelings, informally (VIBES).  Wasn’t this also a terrible movie with Jeff Goldblum and Cyndi Lauper?  Checking imdb…yes, it came out in the banner year of 1988.  The tagline was “Put your hands on our hands and feel the… VIBES.”

26D. Catches, as fly balls (SHAGS).  In 8th grade P.E. class all the mean kinds called me Shag because I had long, unruly hair.  When we started softball in the Spring and Ms. Strande told us to go to the outfield and SHAG fly balls that was a bad day for me.

Oh, and my favorite line from the Woody Allen clip?  Cello teacher: “He had no conception of the instrument…he was blowing into it.”

Fun puzzle and great theme today.

Next stop, Wednesday.

Today’s puzzle was constructed by Lynn Lempel and features a downward motion theme.

18A. Throat soother (COUGH DROP).

23A. Time just after sunset (NIGHT FALL).  I thought sunset and nightfall were the same things.  Isn’t the time after sunset just night?

36A. Where dishes may pile up (KITCHEN SINK).  Yum.

51A. Go in without a suit (SKINNY DIP).  Delicious with potato chips.

Nice, solid, easy Monday theme.

Other highlights:

1A. Actor’s representative (AGENT).  I’m meeting with one tonight.  Maybe this is a good sign.

14A. Copy machine powder (TONER).  I don’t know if you’ve ever worked with a professional office copier/printer but I look at them as huge, irritating, dirty, wasteful, annoying, dastardly, loud, uncooperative advertisements for a paperless society.

15A. German king who became an early Holy Roman Emperor (OTTO).  I really need to learn my royalty.  They come up a lot in these puzzles.  There were 4 Ottos who ruled the HRE.  I’m not sure to which one this clue is referring.

35A. Alan who directed and starred in “Betsy’s Wedding” (ALDA).  Alan Alda strikes me as the type of person who does the NYT crossword puzzle.  I wonder what it’s like to see your name pop up almost once a week.

45A. Sneaky types (WEASELS).  Weaseling out of things is important to learn. It’s what separates us from the animals… except the weasel.

49A. Latino’s Yankee buddy (ANGLO).  This is a weird clue.  Did anybody besides me put JETER here first?

Nice puzzle today.

Next stop, Tuesday.

It was constructed by Robert W. Harris and featured a COLONIZATION theme.  In-the-language phrases with ANT added to them.

23A. “O say can you see” or “Thru the perilous fight”?  (antHEM LINE).  Hey, only 147 days until someone sings this at the first Dodger game of next season.

25A. Resident of a military installation? (BASE TENant).

40A. Tropical fruit seller? (PLantAIN DEALER).  Can you eat a plantain like a banana?  I think I’ve only had them dried or fried.  Can you just peel one and go to town?

61A. Place to get drunk in the kitchen? (PantRY BAR).

67A. What overuse of a credit card might result in? (GIant BILL).  We just got one of these from AT&T.  But at least I have a phone that can double as a light saber.

84A. Gentleman’s intransigent reply? (MADAM IM ADAMant).  I think this can be a lesson for everybody: Ants destroy palindromes.

105A. Where nitpickers walk on a street (PEDant XING).  This one took me a while.  I didn’t think a pedant was anything but “a person who makes an excessive or inappropriate display of learning”.  Apparently, a pedant can also be “a person who overemphasizes rules or minor details”.

108A. Online beauty contest (WEB PAGEant).

Very nice theme.

Other highlights:

1A. Oriole, e.g. briefly (ALER).  Seriously?  This is how you start off a crossword puzzle?  Did Shakespeare open Hamlet with a discussion of nail fungus?  (Well, possibly, but it’s certainly not in the final version.)  Ok, let’s all get to know John ALER.  We’ve talked about him on the podcast.  He’s a lyric tenor.  He was born in Baltimore in 1949.  He made his debut at Julliard in 1977.  And he’s won 4 Grammys.  C’mon people!  Let’s get this entry reclued.

36A. Architect Saarinen (EERO).  That’s pronounced AIR-O.

37A. Confronting boldly (BEARDING).  Who knew BEARD had so many meanings?

1. The hair on a man’s chin, cheeks, and throat.
2. A hairy or hairlike growth such as that on or near the face of certain mammals.
3. A tuft or group of hairs or bristles on certain plants, such as barley and wheat.
4. One who serves to divert suspicion or attention from another.
5. Printing The raised slope on a piece of type between the shoulder or counter and the face. Also called neck.
6. To furnish with a beard.
7. To confront boldly.

And then, of course, there’s this guy.

49A. Collectible disks (LPS).  Ok, I know it doesn’t fit but who else thought of POGS first?

59A. Hair net (SNOOD).  Learned from crosswords.

96A. &&&& (ANDS).  Is there no other way to clue ANDS?

102A. Redheaded kid of old TV (OPIE).  I’m normally not such a big fan of Ron Howard movies but I just watched the last hour and a half of Apollo 13.  Turns out, it’s a really good movie.

117A. Handy ___ (ANDY).  Is this an actual thing?  Or is it just two words that rhyme?

37D. ___ Motel (BATES).  I put ROACH here first.  That screwed me up for a while.

43D. Bit of fluff (LINT).  Did some laundry yesterday.  Didn’t check the pockets of my pants.  Washed 2 winning lottery tickets (worth $4) and two checks (worth $30).  That’ll teach me to want clean clothes.

69D.  Diner manager/waitress in “Garfield” (IRMA).  So, some minor character from a comic strip everybody hates is ok.  But Julliard trained lyric tenor John ALER is not?

88D. “Night of the Living Dead” director, 1968 (ROMERO).  I watched this for the first time when I was way too young.  The image of the little girl going after her mother with the spade became etched in my brain and prevented a good night’s sleep for at least 3 weeks.

Fun puzzle today.

Next stop, Monday.

Today’s puzzle was constructed by Bob Klahn and solved by people other than me.  As soon as I saw Klahn’s byline I knew I was in for a rough time and he certainly didn’t disappoint.  I started solving approximately 9 hours ago and I currently have maybe 20% of the puzzle complete.  Frankly, I’m surprised I’ve figured out that much.

What I know (haven’t checked answers so all of this could be wrong):

30A. Well-armed predators (OCTOPI).  What else could this be?  Easiest clue in the puzzle by far.

27A. Local operation? (UNION SHOP).  This one didn’t give me too much trouble.  I figured “local” was referring to unions.

22A. West Coast N.F.L.’er (NINER).  I don’t think I like NFLer anymore than ALer or NLer but I know nothing about football so I won’t rant about it.  What football teams play on the West Coast?  According to my brain the answers are: Chargers, Raiders, Forty-niners and Seahawks.  Are there more?  Maybe.  But NINER fits.

19A. Like some friends (FAST).  Had __S_ and somehow thought of it.

10D. Selfish (ME FIRST). This one needed a lot of crosses.

11D. Not likely to go with the flow (AT ANCHOR).  Leave it to Klahn to sneak in a literal clue when you least expect it.

12D. Despair (LOSE HOPE).  I’m about to lose hope I’ll ever finish a puzzle again.

13D. Doughty (INTREPID).  Doughty is not a word I know.  Got this with crosses and have no idea if it’s right.

22D. “The Bungalow Mystery” solver (NANCY DREW).  So far, this was the big guess of the day.  I had N__C_____ and came up with it.  I’d like to see Ms. Drew try to solve this puzzle.

39A. The Who’s “Live at ___,” 1970 double-platinum album (LEEDS).  This is a guess but I think it’s right.

And I have the bottom right corner.  STORMY for Not at all fair was tricky as heck.  As was SALABLE for Ready to move.

Over on the left side I don’t have much.  I think the author of “Underboss” is Peter MAAS.  I’ve seen that in other puzzles.

Let’s see, what else:

37A. As different as night and day, e.g. Could this be SIMILE?  That seems too easy.

And the last answer I came up with was 29D. Partygoer (GUEST).  That was about 2 hours ago.

Good lord.  Here’s a picture of my unfinished grid.  I started solving on paper last night which is the elapsed time on the applet is less than 5 hours.

And how come I can’t figure out 31D. Hard-hit line drive?  Before I had SIMILE in there I thought it might be SCREAMER.

Well, I’m going to keep working on it.  Did anybody else have as much trouble as I’m having?

Next stop, Sunday.

Why would somebody hack our site?  There’s certainly no money to be gained.  Is it possible that people sit around and write programs simply because they enjoy destroying other people’s work?  Really?  I do not like these people.  These people are bastard people.

Narrowing down a list of possible suspects I’ve come to the conclusion that the person who did this is none other than Philadelphia Phillie centerfielder Shane Victorino.  Mr. Victorino has done everything in his power to make my life miserable for the past 2 years and I find it very suspicious that on the first day he has some free time our site gets hacked.  Mr. Victorino, why do you hate me?

Today’s puzzle?  Ah yes, today’s puzzle was constructed by one of our all-time favorites, Doug Peterson, Crossword Gentleman and Man About Town.  This has got to be one of Doug’s best weeks.  First, his team wins the World Series and now his puzzle holds the coveted Friday slot.

Given Doug’s bad taste in baseball teams the center of the grid sports an unsurprising entry.

31D. Baseball nickname that’s a portmanteau (AROD).  Yankee fans are finally happy with Arod.  Isn’t that just dandy.

The puzzle is great.  Full of fun fill and fun clues.

10A. Page with convictions (OPED).  I couldn’t wrap my head around this one.  I kept thinking it was a person’s name (like Ellen Page) or a verb (as in, call someone’s name over the PA system with convictions).

14A. Dull type (IGNORAMUS).  Ignoramus is great word.

15A. Campus V.I.P. (PREXY).  Doug is so full of beans because the Yankees won that he feels he can just make up words.

17A. Clearly riveted (AGAPE).  I put IN AWE here first.

36A. Subject of the 2005 biography “iCon” (STEVE JOBS).  Have I mentioned that we love our iPhones?

37A. Spotted (LENT).  Oh my, this was tough.  I was sure it was SEEN.  Then I had _ENT and I wrote down all the words it could possibly be.  And about 10 minutes later I figured it out.

56A. Best in shows (EDNA).  Never heard of her.

5D. A tall Roman column is named after him (TRAJAN).  Here I am lost in Rome.  If only I knew the name of that huge column behind me.

8D. “The English Patient” Oscar winner (JULIETTE BINOCHE).  I remember this because everyone thought Lauren Bacall would win.  Hey, remember how The English Patient was 15 hours long?

9D. Comment when following someone (I SEE).  This is my favorite clue in the puzzle.  Very clever.

10D. Source of ballpark pitches (ORGAN).  Well, I knew it wasn’t going to have anything to do with throwing a baseball.  I thought it might be referring to advertising so I had ___ AD for a while.  On a side note, the last two vestiges of the Dodgers’ time as the most stable franchise in baseball are Vin Scully behind the mic for 60 years and Nancy Bea Hefley on the Dodger Stadium organ for 22 years.

35D. Sight-seers at the Prado? (OJOS).  I got this one pretty quickly but really enjoyed it.

Great puzzle today.  Great week for Doug.  And, Shane Victorino, we’ve got our ojos on you.

Next stop, Saturday.

If you’re experiencing any weirdness with the podcast (particularly episodes 77 and 78) or the blog please let us know.

Neither of us really know what we’re doing but we’ll try to get over this hump as smoothly as possible.

Thanks.

[Somehow comments from last week's Friday puzzle have attached themselves to this post.  I haven't asked Brian yet but I'm going to guess neither of us know how that happened.]

I suppose by now you’ve all heard the big baseball news.  It’s huge news in my neck of the woods and I hear twitter went nuts after it was official.  And let me tell you, no one is more excited about it than me.  That’s right, Los Angeles Dodger Andre Ethier has been named the Pepsi Clutch Performer of the Year.  After a long season of ups and downs it’s wonderful to know that, as a Dodger fan, it was all worth it.  Congratulations Andre, I’ll be hiding under my bed until Spring.

Yesterday, I mentioned Patrick “Kangastavarat Laulu Merkille Vuoden Jalka” Blindauer on the blog and look who shows up today.  Patrick’s theme is, not surprisingly, a lot of fun.

36A. 1897 novel subtitled “A Grotesque Romance” (THE INVISIBLE MAN).  I think I may have seen Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man but that’s about the extent of my experience with this character.

There were further instructions on the Notepad: “When this puzzle is completed, one letter of the alphabet will appear 22 times. Shade in its square everywhere it appears. The result will be an image suggested by 36-Across.”

The letter that appeared 22 times was S and when you shaded all of them in they did indeed suggest a man who, up until that time, was invisible.

The spine of the man is made up of 7 S’s provided by the answer to 25A. 1973 horror flick about a doctor who turns his assistant into a cobra (SSSSSSS).  Has anybody seen this movie?  It looks wonderfully awful.  It stars Dirk Benedict (nee Dirk Niewoehner) who you may remember as Faceman on the A-Team.

Other highlights:

11A. Ryan of “Top Gun” (MEG).  Still haven’t seen this.

27A. Holds (CLASPS).  I had CLAMPS here which screwed me up for a while.

58A. Where the Samoyed dog comes from (SIBERIA).  Good gravy, these guys are cute!

64A. Panties, old-style (STEP INS).  Probably for the best they’re not called this anymore.  I just can’t see Victoria’s Secret models posing in step ins.

10D. Headwear banned by the N.F.L. in 2001 (DO RAG).  Don’t football players wear helmets a lot of the time?  Who would even see the do rag?  Next thing you know they’ll be banning step ins.

40D. Yank (AMERICAN).  I guess this clue is well-timed.

44D. The Rum Tug Tugger, e.g. (TOMCAT).  This sounded like a pirate ship to me.  Instead, it’s a character from Cats.  I have never seen Cats.  I will tell you this though.  Every video I’ve seen and every song I’ve heard makes me want to hurl myself out the window.  And, certainly, without doubt, the worst song of the bunch is Mr. Mistoffelees.  It might very well be the worst song in the history of musical theater.  And here it is.  Enjoy.

Popout

47D. 1987 Suzanne Vega hit (LUKA).  Definitely the catchiest song ever written about domestic violence.

49D. Word of objection (IT ISNT).

Mr Vibrating: No you didn’t, you came here for an argument.
Man: Well, an argument’s not the same as contradiction.
Mr Vibrating: It can be.
Man: No it can’t. An argument is a connected series of statements to establish a definite proposition.
Mr Vibrating: No it isn’t.
Man: Yes it is. It isn’t just contradiction.
Mr Vibrating: Look, if I argue with you, I must take up a contrary position.
Man: But it isn’t just saying ‘No it isn’t’.
Mr Vibrating: Yes it is.
Man: No it isn’t, Argument is an intellectual process … contradiction is just the automatic gainsaying of anything the other person says.
Mr Vibrating: No it isn’t.
Man: Yes it is.
Mr Vibrating: Not at all.
Man: Now look!
Mr Vibrating: That’s it. Good morning.

Great puzzle.

Next stop, Friday.

For those of you who don’t know, Patrick “El Blindito” Blindauer has reached his funding goal and his suite of holiday puzzles is a go.  I know we’re all very excited about this here at the Be More Smarter offices.  We’re big fans of Patrick and we’re big fans of interconnected puzzles so this could turn out to be the greatest thing ever.  If you want to get involved you can get all the information here.  It seems like the link to pledge money is inactive but that page tells you how you can get in contact with Patrick and I’m sure he’ll be able to hook you up.

Today’s puzzle was constructed by Ricky Ini Liu and features a Letter Substitution Theme.  This is also the NYT debut for Mr. Liu.  I enjoyed the theme but I did miss that meta entry that usually pulls the whole thing together.

In this theme the letter X is substituted for the letter O.

18A. Three ingredient breakfast serving? (TRIO CEREAL).  I really wanted this to be TRI OMELETS.

24A.  Afraid of wine? (OENOPHOBIC).  Anybody remember the Xenophobe video game?  I remember I thought that Xenophobe was the name of the alien race I was battling.

53A. Foreboding cartoons? (OMEN COMICS).  Here’s what seems to be a combo of Superman and The Omen.

60A. The way of the government? (FEDERAL TAO).  I enjoyed this one.

3D. Film that’s been speechified? (ORATED MOVIE).  I envision that this is an entry Mr. Liu really wanted in the puzzle but he had no idea how to clue it.  It’s a valiant try but doesn’t make much sense.

26D. Shout of disapproval exactly like another? (BOOING MATCH).  This clue is actually quite clever and makes perfect sense when you really think about it.

So, yeah, I enjoyed the theme but, as I said, was missing that final clue.  Something like:

67A. Italian wildebeest and a hint to this puzzle’s theme (OFORX).  You know, something like that.

Other highlights:

5A. Computer that once came in “flavors” (IMAC).  Holy crap, we love our iPhones.

32A. TV character who jumped the shark, with “the” (FONZ).  Well, I think the jump the shark website has jumped the shark.  Apparently, they sold the site to Gemstar publishing and now it redirects you to the TV Guide website with no mention of any shark jumping.  But your address bar still says jumptheshark.com.  I don’t understand.  Isn’t the whole “jump the shark” concept still popular?  Why would you just get rid of the website?  Oh well, you can still enjoy it via the web archive service.  I particularly enjoy the Ted McGinley page.

6D. Mime who created Bip (MARCEAU).  This clue also could have been “Name a mime”.  I mean, can you name another mime?  Are there any other mimes that even have names?

Great puzzle today.  Happy debut, Mr. Liu.

Next stop, Thursday.

This week’s motto: “Next week’s title will be funnier.”

Below, please find the web-based version of “Fill Me In, a crossword podcast.” You can also get this show on iTunes by clicking the appropriate iTunes button to the right.

In a sadly unsurprising move, this episode contains frighteningly little about crossword puzzles. However, we have learned that our viewers are not dead set on puzzle talk — in fact, several enjoy the banter more than the analysis, the guest stars more than the hosts and in particular, the voices of those other than the people who actually show up at the studio. As a result, here’s what you get this week:

• Pickle tips with Amanda’s voice
• Email from a vacuum cleaner
• A not-really-legitimate use of ARRR
• Brian’s sister

Also — check out these pictures.

The guys on the left is the actor Jack Shea from “Nightmare on Elm Street.” On the right is our dear friend Mike Nothnagel, Pen Pal Extraordinaire and Constructor of the Friday Puzzle and the Oracle. (The photo of Mike was taken during his Serious Era, specifically, while serving as a judge at Lollapuzzoola 2.) Separated at birth? You decide!

That’s what we’ve got to show for it. What have you done lately?

Zambezi and oat.

I had a very elaborate dream last night.  I was in a big musical production that was turning out to be a big disaster.  It was written by WP Mozart who in my dream seemed to be the famous Mozart but now I’m thinking maybe it was just some guy with the last name of Mozart.  The musical starred me and Alan Rickman.  The big set piece was a field of quicksand that we all got trapped in during some sort of French Revolution-style battle.  And the name of the show was Three Lamplights in the Fog.  If anybody wants to flesh the show out with some songs please let me know.

Today’s puzzle is by Barry Boone and is a quote puzzle in honor of Election Day.  Today’s Election Day is not getting quite as much press as last year’s but, still, voting is good.

The quote was said by MARIO CUOMO.

YOU CAMPAIGN IN POETRY YOU GOVERN IN PROSE.

You know, quote puzzles just don’t do it for me so I’m not too excited about the theme but the puzzle is well done.

Other highlights:

26A. What Fred Ott did in the first movie to be copyrighted (SNEEZED).  Never heard of this before but here it is.

Popout

41A. “Gimmie ___ ding!” (DAT).  Is this referring to the song?

Popout

51A. Win the World Series in four games, say (SWEEP).  Oy. [sigh]  When does Spring Training start?

59A. ___ McMuffin (EGG).  Big fan.  Very delicious.  I highly recommend adding ketchup.  Really pulls the whole thing together.

65A. Surgeon’s assistant (NURSE).  Very odd.  There was just a big thread about this on the Cruciverb list.  The major point of the thread was this type of cluing lessens the role of the NURSE.  We have a friend who is a nurse and I asked her if being clued as “doctor’s assistant” would offend her.  It might have been the first time I actually saw someone bristle.  In my opinion, I think this is a bad way to clue this word.  Nurses are nurses.  Doctors are doctors.  They play two different roles.  There are so many ways to clue the word NURSE that demeaning the job they do doesn’t make much sense to me.  I’m going to see if I can get our friend to chime in on this.

Good puzzle today.

Next stop, Wednesday.

My wife and I watched three 80’s movies this weekend.  Breakin’, Nightmare on Elm Street, and The Stepfather.  Here’s our question.  Did any movie make sense in the 80’s?  They all seem to be ridiculous and full of gaping plot holes and big hair.  Maybe this triptych of movies is not the best sample of the era but it seems the equivalent movies made nowadays are, plotwise at least, built upon much firmer ground.  Breakin’ is totally awesome though.

Speaking of awesome, today’s puzzle is by Andrea Carla Michaels (Brian: Does she have a nickname?  Me: Not yet.) and Kent Clayton (making his NYT debut).  A very nice Monday puzzle.  So nice in fact that I finally broke the 4 minute mark on an NYT puzzle.  My time was 3:50 which means for possibly the first time I’m almost within two minutes of Dan Feyer, Winner of the C Division, Winner of the B Division’s time.  Not too shabby.

51A. Ripley catchphrase that’s apropos to 20-, 34- and 42-Across (BELIEVE IT OR NOT).

20A. Spring egg distributor (THE EASTER BUNNY).  I’m Jewish so my involvement with Easter begins and ends with the Cadbury Creme Egg.

34A. One who leaves money under a pillow (TOOTH FAIRY).  Somehow I missed out on this whole thing.

42A. Head of a major toy outfit (SANTA CLAUS).  Again with the Jewishness.  Santa Claus just wasn’t a big part of my childhood.  One time we did go to visit Santa at the North Pole setup at Knott’s Berry Farm.  I spent the entire time on line crying.  Finally the elves took me behind the big Santa chair and gave me a candy cane to shut me up.  I’m not even sure what I was doing there.  Maybe it wasn’t even me.  Although the crying sure sounds like me.

Certainly not a very difficult theme but I very much enjoyed the clues which added a little pizzazz to familiar entries.

Other highlights:

5A. Crack and Pop’s companion (SNAP).  I don’t think I’ve ever had a bowl of Rice Krispies.  I’ve certainly had my share of Rice Krispie Treats but as a cereal I find them uninteresting.

17A. Jeopardy (RISK).  I think the correct answer is WHAT IS RISK?

26D. Skater Harding (TONYA).  You think Nancy Kerrigan is pissed that she will be forever linked to Harding?

55D. Apple MP3 player (IPOD).  iPhones are cool.

Fun puzzle today.

Next stop, Tuesday.

More technical difficulties.  Bleh.  This time it’s with the feed for our blog.  Is anybody experiencing a problem with that?  For instance, do you read us through google reader or other RSS reader?  Is it not updating?  Let us know if you’re experiencing any problems.

Today’s puzzle was constructed by Matt Ginsberg and Pete Muller and featured the theme, COMPOUND FRACTURES.  Lots and lots of fun.  One of the more enjoyable themes I’ve seen in a while.

22A. Eyewear providing hindsight? (RETROSPECTACLES).  I supposed this doesn’t need an explanation but I’m going to give one anyway.  RETROSPECT = hindsight, SPECTACLES = eyewear.  Awesome.

29A. Peanut-loving ghost (ELEPHANTOM).  Do elephants really like peanuts?  Or is that just in the cartoons?

43A. Rare mushroom? (PSYCHEDELICACY).  Ok, I have to admit, the most mind-altering drug I’ve ever taken is Nyquil.  So, are mushrooms really mushrooms?  Or are they just called that?  Does everyone think I’m a total square now?

56A. Gives up smuggled goods? (CONTRABANDON).  This clue made me think of Han Solo.

71A. High school athletic star at a casino? (ROULETTERMAN).

81A. Noble Les Paul? (GUITARISTOCRAT).  I got through about 15 minutes of that Aristocrats movie.  Nothing less enjoyable then watching people sit around and talk about how funny they think they are.

99A. “Maybe” music? (PERHAPSODY).

101A. Dreams that don’t die? (FOREVERIES).

108A. Bug that never takes a ride? (CENTIPEDESTRIAN).

21D. Like online medical advice for kids? (WIKIPEDIATRIC).

44D. Vegetable that gives you an emotional release? (CATHARTICHOKE).

11 really great theme entries.  Nice job.

Other highlights:

17A. Some extra books (APOCRYPHA).  Can someone explain this clue to me?

20A. Post a modern status update (TWEET).  I can’t seem to maintain any kind of twitter stamina.  I’ll post a bunch of updates for 2 days or so then not log in for a month.

27A. Repeated a Benjamin Franklin electrical equipment (FLEW A KITE).  Did Benny really do this?  I thought it was just a legend.

34A. “___ Can Cook” (onetime PBS show) (YAN).  More WOK puns per minute than any other cooking show in history.

62A. Guards against chapping (LIPBALMS).  One of my favorite scenes ever:

Popout

79A. Barack Obama, for one (ORATOR).  So nice to have a well-spoken president again.

93A. Boombox button (REC).  So, yesterday was Halloween.  Brian and I, the wives and our Friend Adam Who Most Definitely Does Not Work At NPR watched some scary movies last night.  We saw [REC] which was the original version of Quarantine.  Pretty scary and had moment that had most of us screaming in fright.  We also watched the original Nightmare on Elm Street which is completely ridiculous.  Although, there is a funeral scene and the minister is the spitting image of Mike Nothnagel, Penpal Extraordinaire and Constructor of the Friday Puzzle and the Oracle.  We need to figure out how to get a screen capture of it on the blog.  The resemblance is uncanny.

6D. iPhone download (APP).  Yup, we caved.  Pickles and I have been proud iPhone owners for almost 20 hours.  They’re awesome.  Anybody have any APP recommendations?

18D. “The Human Stain” novelist (ROTH).  Great book, ridiculous movie.

28D. Had as a base (WAS ON).  Hmmm, gotta say, that’s a little awkward.

61D. Mad man? (NEUMAN).  Ohhhhhhh, Alfred E. Neuman.  Jeez, I really didn’t understand that.

80D. “Happy Days” role (RALPH).  Always nice to see a Ralph Malph reference.  He’s still got it.

Really great puzzle today.

Next stop, Monday.

Anyone who knows me on Facebook might have seen my latest status – no, it’s not about shoelaces, like Ryan’s. Mine is about being in a crappy mood. And guess what – this puzzle did nothing to alleviate that mood. So here goes.

Foreign:

• ET ALIA (22A. Plus other things)
• APRES (35A. French following)
• ERES TU (45A. 1974 pop hit with Spanish lyrics)
• SENTA (14D. Wagnerian heroine)
• GEISHA (15D. Companion abroad)
• DANSEUSES (6D. Frequent Degas subjects)
• SAENS (41D. Saint-___ [Faure contemporary])

Obscurity:

• RECTO (24A. One side of a leaf)
• GANTRIES (15A. Spanning frameworks)
• HUSSARS (23A. Brilliantly dressed cavalrymen)
• STERNA (41A. Axial skeleton parts)
• TERRENE (50A. Earthly)
• INDORSED (7D. Supported: Var.). By “var.”, they mean “misspelled.”
• ARCANA (9D. Secrets) – also, perhaps the theme to this puzzle.

Words that are total crap and not actually words:

• FISHIER (1D. Comparatively shady). You tell me the last time you compared shady situations.
• STILES (8D. Subway station sights). They are called turnstiles. I have the album.
• SERENER (21A. Less agitated)
• SNEERERS (48A. Disdainful bunch). Almost an anagram of 21A.
• MARRER (38D. Graffitist, e.g.). The clue also satisfies this category heading.
• DENATURE (32D. Change the essence of)

Gaping Chasms of Ignorance:

• DANSEUSES/HUSSARS. The U.
• ERES TU/ORRIS OIL (31D. Perfume ingredient). The S.

Facts I don’t understand:

• SUPERIOR (5D. Like the 2 in “x squared”). Superscript, maybe. Superior? I don’t see how.
• IN PORT (20A. Harbored). This seems like a made up word that should be a phrase, like “in a port.”
• IGNORE (40D. Slight). I don’t know… Something doesn’t match in my mind about this. I’m torn, and I want to get to the bottom of it… Oh, never mind. I’ll just slight it.
• MARINATE (44A. Imbue with flavor, in a way). Why “in a way”? Isn’t everything “in a way”? And if this entry, which is totally straightforward, needs an “in a way,” then why not DISARMS (6A. Makes less offensive), which is decidedly punny?

Clues I actually liked:

• TRAVOLTA (4D. He played a governor in “Primary Colors”)
• SHOE STORE (25. Establishment with many horns)

Overall, this puzzle had way too many nonsense words, way too many assorted S/E/R combinations scattered about, and was yet another clever-to-create, intriguing-to-look-at and lousy-to-solve puzzle.

I told you I was in a bad mood.

Those  of you who follow my facebook status updates know that my shoelaces are driving me nuts.  For some reason they are getting longer and longer.  I’ve double and triple-knotted them but they continue to flop on the ground, picking up dirt and getting caught in various contraptions.  Lately, they been wrapping themselves around the wheels of my office chair at work which makes for a lot of fun when I stand up.  I just don’t know what to do.

Today’s puzzle is by David Levinson Wilk and features a Plinko-style layout.

I have to say, while I enjoyed the layout of the puzzle I wasn’t so keen on most of the fill.  The layout necessitated a lot of 3-letter entries which, in turn, necessitated many foreign words and abbreviations.  That being said, the construction is impressive in that David fit 12 fifteen-letter answers in the grid.

I solved the entire puzzle except for one letter.  Looking back, I can’t believe I didn’t get this one letter.  As a matter of fact, I find it astounding that I didn’t get this one letter.

24A. 1974 Rolling Stones hit (DOO DOO DOO DOO DOO).

1D. Mil. base until 1994 (FT ORD).

I put VOODOO DOO DOO DOO which seemed like a reasonable title for a rock and roll song.  It gave me FT ORV but, hey, why not?  Once I had the rest of the puzzle filled in and realized I still had a mistake I went back to this entry.  And I put ROO DOO DOO DOO DOO which seemed less reasonable but still possible.  It gave me FT ORR which sounded like a great name for a military base.  When the applet still wouldn’t accept my answer, that was it.  My brain shut down.  For some reason, I never tried another letter for that box.  Not once did it occur to me that it could be DOO DOO DOO DOO DOO.  I mean, the answer was right in front of me.  It was right in front of me FOUR TIMES!!!  But, nope, couldn’t get it.  I would appreciate it if you didn’t tell my mother about this.

Other highlights:

17A. Whitney Houston hit recorded for the 1988 Summer Olympics (ONE MOMENT IN TIME).  This one I just knew.  I was pretty keyed into sports during the summer of 1988.  And I actually had this album.  I remember the day I received my SAT scores and realized I’d never have to take that stupid test again, I ran into my room, blasted this song and ripped up all my test prep books.  At the time, I had no idea that I had reached the absolute peak of my academic career and that everything would be downhill from there.  Well, I guess the song was fitting.

58A. Big newsstand seller for some magazines (SWIMSUIT EDITION).  Hmm, ok, I’ll give this one a pass.  But, it really is SWIMSUIT ISSUE, isn’t it?  To me, EDITION means the next version of something.  Like, the 2009 EDITION of the SWIMSUIT ISSUE.  Am I right?  Am I wrong?  Why am I not posting a picture of swimsuit model here?

1A. It no longer circulates around the Seine (FRANC).  Clever.

6A. Skate part (FIN).  Also clever.  I had KEY here first.

9A. Must informally (GOTTA).  I put HASTA here first.  That really confused me for a while.

46A. Behind (CAN).  Hee hee.  Butt.

56A. Anthropomorphic film villain (HAL).  Not knowing what anthropomorphic meant made this clue tricky.  I know now it means “ascribing human form or attributes to a being or thing not human”.  All I could think of were DVD ads.  Isn’t that word used in those?  Surround sound!  Dolby digital 5.0!  Anthropomorphic widescreen!  I may be wrong about that.

I won’t go into all the foreign words and abbreviations I didn’t care for but here are two crossing I could have lived without.

57A. Parisian pronoun (TOI) crossing 53D. German indefinite article (EINES).  Foreign word crossing foreign word.  Bleh.

34D. Austrian article (DER) crossing 39A. Celtic sea god (LER).  Foreign word crossing obscure god.  Double bleh.  Not to mention the fact the LER can also be spelled LIR and LYR.  Triple bleh.

In short, I felt the puzzle was a good try but I think this was a case of clever layout trumping enjoyable fill.

Next stop, Saturday.

In the comments for the last podcast there was some discussion as to the existence of a food product called bread & butter pickles.  I can verify that there is indeed such a thing.  I can also verify that they are one of my favorite types of pickles.  A comment on the site wisegeek gives a possible reason for the name:

I read that during the depression people said they were so good one could eat them as a sandwich between bread and butter.

So there you go.  Pickle mystery solved…or is it?

Today’s puzzle is by Joe Krozel, Rhymes with Puzzle and it kicked my ass.  I eventually got everything except for one letter.  That one letter highlighted my ignorance on the topics of tennis and classical music.

53A. Beethoven dedicatee (ELISE).

40D. 1991 and 1992 U.S. Open champ (SELES).

I put ELISA and SELAS.  I really should have known both of these.  I know I’ve entered them correctly in previous puzzles but today this crossing ended in disaster.  This puzzle was HARD and to figure everything else out and still not get the coveted “thank you for playing” message was pretty frustrating.

The theme, I think, is AIR.  All the theme answers started with that sound.

18A. Sinclair Lewis novel (ARROWSMITH).  My favorite chapter is the one where Steven Tyler and Run DMC get together.

26A. Series of sorties (AIR OFFENSIVE).

46A. Gateway Arch designer (EERO SAARINEN).  Well, now I know how to pronounce his first name.

57A. Bomb (AEROSOL CAN).  Huh?

Other highlights:

23A. Venetian feature (LAGOON).  I thought they had canals there.  Aren’t they famous for canals?

34A. Wind element (REED).  Hey, we were just talking about this on the podcast.  I didn’t know that woodwinds and reeds are the same thing.  Brian set me straight.  Although, we were both unsure why a flute is considered a woodwind/reed instrument since it doesn’t use a reed nor is it  made out of wood.

39A. Set on the court (ASSIST).  Oh, I get it.  Volleyball.

49A. Made a switch in a game (CASTLED).  Clever.  This drove me nuts.  I had ___TLED and for a while the best I could come up with was WHITLED which is a misspelling of a word that doesn’t make sense anyway.

52A. Carriers of arms (SLINGS).  Also very clever.

4D. Like some traffic (STOP GO).  Hmm, isn’t it stop AND go traffic?  My first thought when I saw this was it must be a rebus puzzle.  I figured the AND was hidden in there somewhere.

32D. What’s barely done in movies? (LOVE SCENE).  I guess I went a bit too far when I put in NUDE SCENE.

50D. Unalaska native, e.g. (ALEUT).  Since I didn’t know Unalaska is an actual city in Alaska, this clue took me forever.  I thought it might be a riddle of some kind, maybe natives who live in the opposite of Alaska which would be…Rio?  No idea.  Do states have opposites?

Good, very difficult puzzle today.

Next stop, Friday.

The question of the day is:

If the punch line to “How do you find Will Smith in the snow?” is “You look for the fresh prints” then what is the punch line to “How do you find Will Shortz in the snow?”  One answer from tabstop is “Go across and then down”.

Today’s puzzle was constructed by Mike Torch and, I thought, was pretty difficult for a Wednesday.  That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy the puzzle.  I did.  I think it’s great.  Just more difficult than I’m used to on Humpday.

The theme deals with the silent K.  What’s up with the silent K?  Why do we use it?  How does it help us as a society?

The theme took in-the-language phrases and added a silent K to turn them into brand new phrases for all to enjoy.

15A. Retired Big Apple basketball player? (OLD KNICK).  How is it possible that Christmas is only 2 months away?

21A. Was well-versed in a will? (KNEW TESTAMENT).

38A. Guinevere, to Lancelot? (LADY OF THE KNIGHT).  The other day I watched some of the Jimmy Fallon show.  Wait, wait, hear me out.  Monty Python was on.  Well almost all of Monty Python.  There was a cardboard cut out of Graham Chapman and, for some reason, Palin wasn’t there.  The reason I’m thinking of this is that they talked a lot about Holy Grail.  And my point is that Jimmy Fallon is completely ill-equipped to be a talk show host.  He mumbles, he’s nervous and he can’t look anyone in the eye.  How on Earth did they think it was a good idea to give him his own show?  Here’s what I expect will happen.  Conan will continue to get beaten by Letterman.  NBC will come to their senses and realize Leno at 10pm five nights a week is pure madness.  Leno threatens to return to the Tonight Show, unseating Conan.  Conan plays his trump card by having sex with everybody who works on his show in order to boost his ratings.  Without a show to host, Leno moves into his chin and tours the country as Chinny McGee, Roadie for Hire.  Jimmy Fallon mumbles.

48A. Macramé company’s goal? (KNOT FOR PROFIT).  Why do I think that macramé is plaster of paris?

64A. Select a sweater? (KNIT PICK).  Using the word KNIT when referring to SWEATERS is very popular in crosswords.  I have never encountered this in my non-crossword sweater experiences.

Other highlights:

1A. Slightly sharp or flat, as a voice (PITCHY).  Did you have OFF KEY here?  I sure did.  I talked to Brian about this PITCHY business.  Here’s what he says, “If you’re singing in tune, you are hitting each pitch precisely.  If I hit a C on the piano, and you sing the same exact note, you are in tune, on pitch, etc.  But if you’re a little bit off the pitch, a little sharp (high) or flat (low), it’s called being a little pitchy.”  This doesn’t make any sense to me.  PITCHY seems to mean the opposite of what it sounds like it should mean.

41A. Like some suspects (USUAL).

Who is Keyser Soze? He is supposed to be Turkish. Some say his father was German. Nobody believed he was real. Nobody ever saw him or knew anybody that ever worked directly for him, but to hear Kobayashi tell it, anybody could have worked for Soze. You never knew. That was his power. The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist. And like that, poof. He’s gone.

1D. Torre Pendente city (PISA).  You may remember this picture of me from Pisa.

Well, XOP is a whiz at photoshop and he was able to fix it for me.

Now, all of Italy is safe.

Great puzzle today.

Next stop, Thursday.

Today’s podcast title comes from the results of a poll conducted right here on this very blog.nbsp; You cannot argue with the data.

Here’s what’s coming up on today’s show:

• Woodwinds
• A visitation
• The C chord makes a triumphant return
• Ryan sees something on the horizon
• The father of a boy named Sue
• Two Pasadenas for the price of one

We are still looking for audio of fictional lyric soprano Rosanna Nler. If anybody knows where we can find some clips please let us know.

Zambezi and oat.

It’s going to be a bit of a short post today.  Brian is still in Wisconsin competing in the Iditarod and I’m running everything here at the Be More Smarter offices.  I had to do a lot of work on the podcast tonight which hasn’t left a lot of time for blogging.

Today’s puzzle is by Chuck Deodene and features a CHEERLEADER theme.  The theme answers have circled letters that spell out a cheer that I doubt has been said by any cheerleader in the past 80 years.

17A. Solid with four triangular faces (tetRAHedron). Nerds and geeks will also know this as a four-sided die.

25A. Chief of staff in the Obama White House (RAHm emanuel).

35A. Start of the Bible (geneSIS).  I just read that R. Crumb has put out an illustrated version of Genesis.  It’s supposed to be amazing.

37A. Post-W.W. II demographic, informally (BOOMers).  The first time I heard the term “baby boomers” was when my mom bought the Trivial Pursuit Baby Boomer Edition.  It came out when I was 9 and I’m going to guess I was pretty lousy at it.  My brother always won Trivial Pursuit in our house.  It didn’t matter which edition we were playing.  We used to team up against him and he’d still beat the familial pants off of us.

49A. High muck-a-muck (grand pooBAH).  I was just about to go off on how the term “Grand Poobah” always reminds me of the McRib sandwich but I covered that ground over a year ago.

RAH RAH SIS BOOM BAH

Seriously, I’ve never heard anybody actually say this in the context of showing team spirit.  SIS BOOM BAH I know as the punch line to the joke “What is the sound of a sheep exploding?”  I vote for the other sounds in these phrases to be the knew cheerleader mantra.  How about DRON GENE ERS POO!  YEAH!

DRON GENE ERS POO!  DRON GENE ERS POO!  DRON GENE ERS POO!

This may really catch on.

Other highlights:

41A. Bit of wordplay (PUN).  Speaking of Wordplay, I passed Ellen Ripstein on the street last night.  (That sounds like a Paul Simon song.)  I didn’t say anything because she seemed to be in a bit of a rush.  But, Ellen, hello!

47A. 1958 sci-fi classic, with “The” (BLOB).  What’s the scariest movie you’ve ever seen?  We’re watching scary movies this Halloween and we’d love suggestions.  No need to name The Exorcist.  I’ve seen it a few times already and the bejeezus have been sufficiently scared out of me.

66A. Bird of prey’s dip (SWOOP).  We also would have accepted guacamole.  Birds of prey love guacamole.

12D. Online music mart (ITUNES).  I’d say you have until Saturday to talk us out of buying iPhones.

Fun puzzle today.

Next stop, Wednesday.

This is going to be a Brendan Emmett Quigley Down Under Starring Tom Selleck-centric blog post.  First off, he’s running a contest on his blog in which you could win a copy of his great, new diagramless book.  (Depending on when you read this post you’ll have to either be speedy or own a time machine as the deadline is Aug 26 at 8:00AM EST.)  Second, on his blog, he goes off on a bit of rant about the 19 Things a Man Should Never Say list from Esquire.  Brendan is right, the list is mostly nonsense and insulting although I strongly agree that “going forward” should never be said by anybody of any gender under any circumstances.  It’s horrible and makes me want to rip my face off.

Third, Brendan has constructed today’s NYT puzzle.  The theme is WISHFUL THINKING and I almost no-googled it but got tripped up by a Nexus of Ryan’s Ignorance.

The theme here is very cool although it took me a little while to get going on it.

112A. NBC football analyst/reporter and longtime writer (PETER KING).  A corollary of knowing nothing about the sport of football is also knowing nothing about those who analyze it.  For myself, I couldn’t analyze a football game my way out of a paper bag.

The bulk of the theme is made up of a quote.  Yes, the dreaded quote puzzle.  Today, though, I found the quote to be a lot of fun and very gettable.

A wish by Peter King on 9/21/09:  MY GOAL IN LIFE IS TO BE A CLUE IN THE NEW YORK TIMES CROSSWORD PUZZLE.  I’VE NEVER TOLD ANYONE THAT BUT IT’S TRUE.

I have no idea if Mr. King has known this puzzle was going to appear or if he opened the puzzle today and was surprised to find it was all about him.  I also don’t know how Brendan knew he wished this on 9/21/09.  Maybe it was in one of his articles.  Whatever it is, I enjoy the self-referential entries and I’m sure Mr. King is completely thrilled by this.  Wishes do indeed come true.

As for my nexus of ignorance, up in the top center I had a number of entries that were just slightly wrong.

10D. Noah Webster, for one (DEFINER).  I had REFERER which not only makes no sense but is also misspelled.

12D. Pullover, e.g. (KNIT).  I had UNIT.  As in, a pullover is one unit of clothing.  Also as in, Ryan doesn’t know what the hell he’s talking about.

9A. Its motto is “Under God, the people rule”: Abbr. (SDAK).  I had SRAU thinking that was maybe some sort of secret society.  Like the Masons or something.  My other thought was that it was something from Bolivia.  SRAU sounds vaguely Bolivian to me.

27A. Nita of silents (NALDI).  I had a number of things here.  I think the closest I got was NEDDE.  I know she shows up in puzzle a lot but I simply can’t remember her name.  Nita Naldi, Nita Naldi, Nita Naldi…I’ve already forgotten it.

34A. Actress Merrill (DINA).  This, I just didn’t know.

24D. Obama’s honorary deg. from Notre Dame (LLD).  Didn’t know this either but  I figured he got some sort of law degree.  LLD stands for Doctor of Law.  I’ll repeat that.  LLD stands for Doctor of Law.  We have a number of lawyers he read this blog.  Matthew Besse, Michael Marcus, explain.

Favorite entry:

61D. Piazza dei Miracoli town (PISA).  Hey, I was there!

Least favorite entry:

75D. Member of the Brew Crew, e.g. (NLER).  Gaaaaaahhhhhh!  Seriously, we’ve talked about this.  It must stop.  Those of you who listen to the podcast will know that we are trying to raise the profile of fictional lyric soprano Rosanna Nler in order to get this entry clued differently.  Please spread the word.

Great puzzle today.

Next stop, Monday.

Today’s puzzle is by Paula Gamache and is very nice.  So nice, in fact, that I couldn’t bear to finish it.  And by “couldn’t bear to finish it” I, of course, mean “couldn’t finish it”.  I tried but, in the end, the bottom right absolutely stumped me.

Here’s what I had:

47D. Like new ones (CRISP).  New dollar bills are totally overrated.  Incredibly difficult to count.

41D. Nonhuman baby sitter? (TEEVEE).  The length of this entry stumped me for a while but with a few crossing I got it.

39D. Alternator driver (FAN BELT).  Ok, sure.  I got this with a bunch of crossings.  I pretty much know how to add gas to a car but that’s about it.

37D. Stand where you lie (BED TABLE).  The puzzle was full of “the other meaning of the word”.  No, not the one you’re thinking of.  The other one.

57D. It has a ball (EYE).  Isn’t the eye and the eyeball the same thing.  I mean, what beside the eyeball makes up the eye?

56A. Dupe’s exclamation (IVE BEEN HAD).

Ok, here’s what I had wrong:

53D. Lee side (REBS).  This is probably the most clever clue in the puzzle.  I put REAR thinking of the sea and a boat.  Not once did the Civil War cross my mind.

49D. Chrissie of the Pretenders (HYNDE).  Lot’s of music-related clues.  I got close on this one.  I had HYNES.

48A. Her alter ego is Princess Andora (SHERA).  I feel I should get points for this one.  I had SHIRA.  That’s really close.  I mean, I knew what the answer was I just spelled it wrong.  I would have been right on Jeopardy.

Here’s what I couldn’t figure out:

59A. Time to pull a product (SELL BY DATE).  This was frustrating.  I had two wrong letters and just couldn’t figure it out.  I had SELLAYE___.  The best thing I could come up with was SELL-A-YEAR I, thinking it was maybe some yearly sales event.

61A. “Turn! Turn! Turn!” songwriter (PETE SEEGER).  More music clues.  Yes, I knew the song.  No, I didn’t know who wrote it.

42D. Ugly Dungeons & Dragons figure (SEA HAG).  This clue I’m not in love with.  I played a lot of D&D in my day and I certainly don’t associate sea hags with the game.  Plus the word “figure” seems unnecessarily misleading.  There’s lots of numbers and figures in D&D, the whole fighting system being based in math.  I don’t know.  Boo, on this clue.  Why not reference Popeye?

43D. Busy (ORNATE).  Again, not what you’re thinking it is.

44D. Irish (DANDER).  I was completely lost on this.  I understand it now.  Irish, as in getting your Irish up.  The best I could come up with was PADDIE.  Somebody explain my thinking there.

The rest of the puzzle was also full of great clues.  I especially enjoyed It begins where a person hails from for TAXI RIDE and Routine delivery for ONE LINER.

I had a very odd moment when I was trying to figure out 17A. “Baby Hold On” hitmaker, 1978 (EDDIE MONEY).  Again, I know next to nothing about music.  The only crossing I had was the N.  After staring for a bit I thought, hey, TINA TURNER fits here.  Later on, when the entry directly above EDDIE MONEY did, indeed, turn out to be TINA TURNER I was quite surprised and I only hope I can harness this power to do good.

Great puzzle today.

Next stop, Sunday.

Sadly, do you know what goes along with hating the Phillies? Hating fans of the Phillies. And today, that specifically means Barry C. Silk, Friend and Confidante of Doug Peterson, Crossword Gentleman and Man About Town. Barry has chosen a Friday on which to provide us with a Saturday Stumper, even though that’s Newsday’s thing and this is the New York Times. Clearly, there has been a mix-up. Did you get stuck with an unsolvable puzzle like we did? Let’s look.

Gaping Chasms of Ignorance:

• 10D. ___ Heights (GOLAN) and 21A. Mythical Hun king (ATLI). I don’t think Joon Pahk can get on my case for this one. Maybe he’ll argue that I should know ATLI, but I will argue back that he forgets I have a music degree. As for the crossing, we’ve got two proper names, neither of which actually exists. [NOTE: Upon further examination, it seems that Atli is a variant on Attila. We thought Attila the Hun was real. Someone – Joon – please explain.]
• 15D. 2001-05 Pontiac made in Mexico (AZTEK) and 28A. Converted from coal via distillation (COKED). What the hell? All I could tell was that it wasn’t AZTEC, because I had C—ED, and C-CED didn’t make any sense any which way. The crossing here is the K, but we’ve never heard of coking. Coke is for drinking (if you’re Ryan). Coke Zero is also for drinking (if you’re Brian).
• 34D. They help with dating (TREE RINGS), 31A. 1980s El Salvadoran president (DUARTE) and 48A. Sacrifice site, in Siena (ARA). I broke through this southeast corner with great pride when I came up with this entry for 34D: GREETINGS. Absolutely, when you’re beginning to date someone, the beginning of each date is crucial – the way you say hello, be it with flowers, a kiss, a wave from the hired limo, whatever. GREETINGS are pretty important. And since ATA seemed as likely a place in Siena as ARA… and DUARGE might as well be someone from El Salvador… why not?

[NOTE: Here’s why not – 54D. Representation of 34-Down: Abbr. is YRS, which doesn’t make any sense with GREETINGS. Although now that I read it, “Representation of tree rings: Abbr.” sure seems clunky…]

Entries Which I Don’t Know (Or Think Need To Be Challenged):

• 16A. Spendthrift’s antithesis : STINTER. My favorite online definition of STINTER is “an economizer who stints someone with something.” Thank you, Free Online Dictionary.
• 23A. National park with the Pink Cliffs : BRYCE CANYON
• 25D. Fancy to a fault : ADULATE. I don’t understand. “To praise excessively.” What is faulty about this?
• 37A. They won’t cover your back : HALTERS. Stupid me, I had HATTERS in here for a while, and kept thinking it was pretty random.
• 38A. Hand over : RENDER. I had TENDER in here for a very long time, making 1D a complete mystery to me.
• 39D. Below C level? : POOR. What does this mean?
• 41D. 18 or 21, typically : OF AGE. This seems weird. I understand that “He is of age” and “He is 18” means it passes the substitution test. But it still seems weird.
• 52A. Acronym for a kind of PC video screen display : WYSIWYG. This stands for What You See Is What You Get. I have never ever heard this used in reference to a “PC video screen display.” In my experience, it refers to the reliability of a printed product to resemble its on-screen counterpart. This clue suggests that the acronym refers to the screen, not the image on the screen. Very misleading. [NOTE: I got this one anyway.]
• 59A. They don’t move quickly : LARGOS. I don’t like the use of “largo” as a noun.

Gimmes, the Few and Far Between:

• 3D. TIgers’ place : PRINCETON. My first guess was AL CENTRAL, but this was second.
• 29A. Tibia neighbors : PATELLAS. Other than “does it end with an S or an E?” this was easy. I may know nothing about mythology, but bones are a specialty.
• 30D. Fine with the Stooges : LARRY. The effort to play on the word Fine did not do anything to trick me.
• 33D. Take another good look at : RE-EXAMINE
• 37D. Hobby with call signs : HAM RADIO
• 43A. Washington locale : VALLEY FORGE. I don’t know why I knew this, but I did.

So there it was. Barry C. Silk has double-trumped us here with the Phillies and the Friday. Good luck in the World Series, Barry. I have put a hex on Chase Utley and Ryan Howard. What you see is not what you get. Muahahahaha!

Speaking of baseball, we’re going to start a Be More Smarter fantasy baseball league next season.  We’ve already got a few people involved but we’re looking for more.  If you’re interested leave us a comment or send us an email.

Today’s puzzle is by Joel Fagliano, a 17-year old making his NYT debut.  Joel, of course, hails from Philadelphia.  I will try to overlook that fact in my discussion of his puzzle.

The theme was a lot of fun.

A SHOT IN THE DARK

All of the answers to the starred clues are missing the word SHOT.  [The following observation came to me from Orange's blog via a Doug Peterson, Crossword Gentleman and Man About Town liason.]  Where the word SHOT should be is instead a black square.  The black squares are dark so you can think of the word SHOT being in the dark.  Very clever.

And here’s the opening sequence from the classic movie.

5A. *Jigger (GLASS).

17A. *”That’s way off” (NOT BY A LONG).

38A. *Photo (SNAP).

39A. *Colorful party drink (JELLO).

40A. *Rejected (DOWN).

62A. *Quick hitch-up (GUN WEDDING).

71A. *Y-shaped item (SLING).

10D. *What “fore” may precede (TEE).

61D. *Track-and-field event (PUT).

Other highlights:

I had a lot of trouble with the crossing of ECRU (1A. It’s similar to cream) and EAN (1D. Suffix with Euclid).  I thought the word was Euclidian not Euclidean.  And it took me forever to think of cream as a color and not something you feed to cartoon cats.  Speaking of that, does anybody give their real cats cream or milk to drink?  I’ve heard it’s not good for their digestive system but any time we give them a little sip they LOVE it.

35A. “For real!” (I MEAN IT).  Anybody want a peanut?

44A. Pack rat (HOARDER).  Fascinating show.

58A. Solo in science fiction (HAN).  I don’t think the Wookie likes being leaned on.

8D. Nick name? (SANTA).  Good one.  I had NOLTE here first.

Fun puzzle, today.

Next stop, Friday.

Ok, on to today’s puzzle by Peter A. Collins, a very nice puzzle with a very nice theme.

65A. Genre for 1- & 22-Across, 22- & 26 Across, 26- & 46-Across and 46- & 49-Across (POP).  And when you put those pairs of entries together you get:

BOY GEORGE

GEORGE MICHAEL

MICHAEL JACKSON

JACKSON BROWNE

I guess it’s a popstar name ladder.  Is this the first popstar name ladder to appear in the New York Times?  Is this the first popstar name ladder to appear anywhere?  Jim Horne, answers please.

Long time readers of the blog will remember I know next to nothing about music but, in this instance, I can name at least one song from the first three popstars.  On the other hand, I wouldn’t know a Jackson Browne song if it bit me on the ass.  I’m looking on wikipedia and none of the songs they list ring a bell or any other musical instrument.

I just went to youtube with the intention of posting a Jackson Browne song but then I figured that’s what you all would be expecting me to do.  So, instead, here’s a guy with the last name of Brown solving a Rubik’s cube while on a pogo stick.

Can we keep this popstar name ladder going?  Are there any popstars with Browne as their first name?

Other highlights:

I had trouble with the crossing of OVO (35A. Ab ___ (from the start) and OVOLO (31D. Convex molding).  Is that a fair crossing?  If POP was crossed with POPCORN would people take that sitting down?  I guess the example isn’t really the same since I’ve actually heard of both POP and POPCORN while I remain in serious doubt about the actual existence of an OVO and an OVOLO.  Also, I wouldn’t know a convex molding if it bit Jackson Browne on the ass.

20A. Flying A competitor (ESSO).  I’ve been called a Flying A more than a number of times.  I had no idea I was being compared to a gas company.  I guess that makes me feel a little better.

38A. Barrio quaffs (VINOS).  I don’t understand this one.

18D. “Oh, ___!” (Pooh expression) (BOTHER).  Hey, why does my food taste funny?

22D. Dharma’s sitcom spouse (GREG).  I somehow missed this entire show.  Is it still on?

55D. Where the traitorous Vidkun Quisling lived (OSLO).  What is this?  Is this from Harry Potter?

Fun puzzle, today.

Next stop, Thursday.

(Loyal viewers, we hope that you have gotten accustomed to your general sense of disorientation while listening to this show.)

Here’s what’s in store within Episode The Seventy-Sixth:

• Gina Gershon’s lips
• A musical tripod
• Reverend Spooner, and whether he existed
• Summer camp, and whether Ryan went
• All the other typical stuff: Viewer Mail, Fiction with Thomas Heilman, The Thunder Round, and all the nonsense we can fit into 37 minutes.

Share and enjoy!

Zambezi and oat.

Today’s puzzle is by Gary Cee, who we’ve seen a handful of times over the past several months, if memory serves. I’m not sure I’ve seen enough of a sample size to commit to a solid opinion on Mr. Cee, but today’s puzzle certainly fits the Tuesday mold pretty darn well. The theme:

• 17A. View from the Oval Office : ROSE GARDEN
• 25A. Premium Scotch whiskey : CHIVAS REGAL
• 37A. Event featuring sports stars of yesteryear : OLD-TIMERS’ GAME
• 52A. Pastry sold at pizzerias : SAUSAGE ROLL
• and it all becomes clear with 61A. Make an abrupt change … and a hint to this puzzle’s theme : SHIFT GEARS

See how the letters in GEARS appear in each of the other answers, but scrambled differently? Clever. It also made me think back on that gearshift Sunday puzzle a few months ago. Did you do that one? I don’t have the authority to share unsolved puzzles, but I can show you the solution.

I know it’s not really like me, but I actually have nothing negative to say about this puzzle. Sorry, Amanda, but I actually liked this just fine. Part of that might be due to the fact that it’s late and I should be asleep and this puzzle was super easy, but part of it might just be because it was good. If I were to complain, it might be that the fill was a little on the generic side (EDNA, ESAU, SIRS, ARLO, OREL, ARM, AIR, AREA, STYE, AERO, RIO – all kinda standard stuff), but there were still a few surprises (CLASS A, NODOZ, NAAN, VINEGAR). There may have been a few too many partials and/or multi-word entries (AM TOO, A BITE, IT’S A DEAL, A PAR, LT. GEN, USA! USA!, ASST. DA, STOP AT), but since I still don’t truly know the difference between a partial and a multi-word entry, this may not be a fair complaint.

[Insert unnecessary acknowledgment of the certain incoming comment from Joon Pahk, in which he tells me the difference between a partial and a multi-word entry.]

If you haven’t listened to the latest episode of Fill Me In, you should. It’s available. Also, if you’re scared to jump into our podcast without having listened to anything else yet, go read our info page — and then come back and listen.

See you Wednesday!

On the upside I completed Lynn Lempel’s crossword in 4:34 which is not a bad time for me.  The theme was OOH AND AAH and the answers to each starred clue contained both those sounds.

16A. *Backwoods locale (BOONDOCKS).  Is this funny?  I think I’ve lost my ability to tell.

27A. *Particle with no electric charge (NEUTRON).  Ok, is this funny?

49A. *Stew made with paprika (GOULASH).  This is kinda funny.

3D. *Apollo 11, 12 or 13, e.g. (MOON SHOT).  I’m guessing this wasn’t funny.

10D. *Commotion (HOOPLA).  Umm…funny?

39D. *Teased hairdo (BOUFFANT).  Pretty funny.

48D. *Home of the University of Arizona (TUCSON).  After much searching I found absolutely nothing even remotely funny about Tucson.

Next stop, Tuesday.

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.

Today’s puzzle was constructed by Chuck Deodene and I had to google to get the final letter in place.  It was the B that crossed BRNO and BREL.  With _RNO I was sure that the missing letter was a vowel and when none of them worked I scoured the rest of the grid for a possible error and didn’t come up with anything.  I turned to google and quickly realized I needed a B.  That’s frustrating especially because I’ve heard of both of the terms.  BRNO from crosswords and Jacques Brel from that musical, To Jacques Brel and Thanks for All the Fish (or something like that).

I did figure out the rest of ,what I would call, a harder than average Saturday puzzle.

After my first pass through the clues I knew exactly one thing, IVAN Drago.  I’ve never actually seen Rocky IV but “I must break you” became a very popular phrase between my friends and I in junior high school.  It popped up quite frequently when we played D&D.  (Reason #379 why my school years were a social disaster.)

With IVAN solidly ensconced in the grid I spent the next hour or so staring at a lot of empty squares.  I don’t remember exactly how I finally broke through but I know POTABLE (34A. Unlike seawater) was a big part of my success.  I guess it makes more sense than UNSALTY.

Brian and I were chatting on the phone while solving the puzzle (being careful not to give any answers away to each other) and we both doubted the wordliness of BENTHIC.  I have since looked it up and it does indeed mean something related to the bottom of the sea.  Also, if you say it out loud enough times you can convince yourself that you have a lisp.

Brian was convinced 29D. Literally, “my master” was referring to a Disney character.  Either BAMBI, DUMBO or SIMBA.  I don’t think they’ve made a Disney movie centering around a RABBI but I think it’s high time they did.

My first thought for 21A. Track speedster beginning in 2000 was USAIN Bolt.  Turns out it was ACELA which actually isn’t much faster than the regular train but it sure is more expensive.

I liked 14A. Sputnik launch time (SOVIET ERA) but I can’t be the only person to enter in SPACE RACE, can I?

61A. Guard against drifting (SNOW FENCE).  Is this really a thing?  I mean, are there fences specifically made for snow?

2D. Hip-hop top (HOODIE).  Hey, I wear a hoodie almost everyday.  Does that mean I am in with the hip hop?

Good puzzle today.

Next stop, Sunday.

But let’s make it worse, shall we? Let’s… uh… have a blog by Brian! Yes, that’s how to do it! Today’s puzzle is from one of my many puzzle nemeses, Karen M. Tracey. I think all of my nemeses are people I haven’t actually met. Karen M. Tracey is one. And we know Patrick Berry is one. There are probably others.

I had to Google three squares in this puzzle to get it right. One of those three is maybe my fault. The other two are icky, and to this uneducated dope, unfair. Let’s take a look at those Gaping Chasms of Ignorance:

• 6D. More than merely meet (GET TO KNOW) and 15A. “Beloved” heroine (SETHE). The crossing is at the first E in Sethe. My initial entry was an O. I realize that the clue for 6D is in the present tense, but I might argue that you have to make some kind of commitment to go beyond being someone’s passing acquaintance (i.e., merely meeting them), and that such a commitment requires time. If this time is to pass, one will not have done “more than merely meet” until the end of said time – at which point they can say that they got to know that someone. Look, I’m sure Joon or someone will chime in here and tell me about verbs and tenses, and it probably involves being transitive (which continues to mean zilch to me), and I should have known better and I should have entered GET to know instead of GOT to know, but the truth here is that neither Sethe or Sothe is actually a name that anyone has, so while I might admit that this one could be my fault, I will only take partial responsibility for my lack of success. [NOTE: After writing this, I found the image above to add to this post. I now see that the author of this book has one of the most wonderful first names in all the world, and I should really pay more attention to her work. My apologies.]
• 25D. Sonny (BUB) and 32A. 1930s bomber (B-TEN). I see no reason in the entire world why this is any more acceptable than BUD/D-TEN. And don’t tell me it’s because there was no such plane as a D-10. BUB and BUD are interchangeable, and there’s no real way to guess which random initial letter goes with the name of an airplane from 80 years ago.
• 36D. Largest of the Canary Islands (TENERIFE) and 58A. Male protagonist in William Inge’s “Good Luck, Miss Wyckoff” (RAFE). This is exactly the kind of crossing that annoys me. It’s two proper names, neither of which is normal. Back when we were preparing for Lollapuzzoola 2, I was doing a lot of work on the puzzles and talking with constructors about one thing or another. Doug Peterson’s puzzle, when I first did it, had plenty of trivia I didn’t know. But the thing that made the puzzle a joyous solve for me was that there were no trivia vs. trivia crossings. Every place that there was some obscure name of a horse or a Nepalese emperor or a planet from another solar system, it always crossed with normal, definable words – words which, even if I didn’t know them, I could work out the options based on standard rules of English. But here, when it’s a crossing of TPNNOWIN (two proper names, neither of which is normal), I will suggest that the crossing square could have reasonably been B, C, D, F, K, L, M, N, S, T, V or Z. Maybe MAYBE I will admit that “Rafe” has existed elsewhere in the world as a name. However, the only places I have ever heard it are where “Ralph” is pronounced as “Rafe” — in H.M.S. Pinafore (the male ingenue is named Ralph Rackstraw) and with the actor Ralph Fiennes.

These crossings aside, there was a ton of stuff I didn’t know (and will likely not remember, I’m sorry to say), but stuff I was still able to get, or at least guess correctly.

• 9D. Toy developed in China : PEKINESE. Developed? Hmm.
• 11D. Emperor’s relative : ADELIE. Is this like Nero’s little sister? Random name, fortunately crossing with mostly normal things (EIDERS [27A. Coastal island colonists] being the possibly exception), so it gets a pass.
• 14A. Writer of the history “Ab Urbe Condita” : LIVY. Wiklqpedia says that the title of this work is “Ab Urbe Condita Libri.” As if that makes a difference.
• 17A. London broil, often : FLANK STEAK. When is London Broil not flank steak? I’ve never eaten London Broil, so I have no idea. In fact, the only thing I know about London Broil is that during Act Two of “The Odd Couple,” Felix is preparing London Broil for the Pigeon sisters, and since Oscar isn’t concerned with the timing of dinner, the broil is ruined, and Felix is furious. Ryan and I want to do a reading of “The Odd Couple” at some point. We will be looking to cast the rest of the characters from crossword people we know. About the only request I have is that Andrea Carla Michaels be one of the Pigeon sisters.
• 23A. “Where people go to dance the night away,” in song : TUXEDO JUNCTION. I don’t know this song. Once I got the junction part, all I could think of was “Conjunction Junction” from Schoolhouse Rock.
• 30A. Lusatian ___ (German/Polish border river) : NEISSE. Regular readers know how I feel about too much obscure foreign words.
• 33D. Draining aid : COLANDER. I had –LANDER for a long time, and was totally stumped. Now I feel stupid.
• 33A. Brush : COPSE. I apparently don’t know the word copse, because this doesn’t make sense to me.
• 38A. What you probably have a head for : SHOWER. Something about the wording of this doesn’t land for me. I get it, and I get that it’s being cutesy, but something is amiss. (Speaking of “amiss,” we have another A-word to join the two from yesterday. 5A. Stunned : AGASP)
• 47A. Chateaubriand accompaniment, often : BEARNAISE SAUCE. I think this might be another steak dish I’ve never had. Isn’t chateaubriand a steak dish? I’ve also never had bearnaise sauce. Is it good? (And by the way – how is this dish different from London Broil, other than the vegetables on the side?)
• 55D. Familial title : SIS. Title? No. And why does “Sonny” return the answer BUB, but SIS gets a family-related clue? Isn’t “sonny” family related as well? Bleah.

Karen M. Tracey, you have won again. Perhaps for the next podcast, I will rehash a group of Karen’s puzzles, and spend a few minutes exploring whether she will always kick my ass, or if I will ever have a chance.

See you Saturday!

Today’s puzzle comes to us from Vic “The Gavel” Fleming, our judicial friend from Arkansas. Or is he from Hawaii? One might wonder, in that 43D. Theme of this puzzle is, in fact, HAWAII.

Now it’s the theme, but only in a sort of encyclopedic way, as far as I can tell. I mean, there’s no real theme here, except that a bunch of the fill has something to do with our westernmost, southernmost, islandmost state. Here’s what we’ve got:

• 17A. Entertainer born 12/1/45 in 25-Across : BETTE MIDLER
• 25A. Capital whose name means “sheltered bay” : HONOLULU
• 34A/36A. Only official residence of a reigning monarch now in the United States : IOLANI PALACE. I don’t understand the clue. Do they mean that the U.S. insists that all reigning monarchs who are sick of their own castles come live at Iolani Palace? Or does it mean that there’s one reigning monarch in particular who lives there? Or that there’s one monarch somewhere else who has a second home? Someone clarify this for me.
• 44A. Measured base to peak, the world’s tallest mountain : MAUNA KEA
• 54A. Politician born 8/4/61 in 25-Across : BARACK OBAMA. Duh.

But what’s the point? I turned to our friend Jim Horne over at the New York Times to find out.

…

…

And… I’m back. And Jim Horne doesn’t tell us anything. Which leads me to believe that my first instinct is right, and the “theme” here is little more than a few random bits of trivia.

So with that in mind, I have to ask – why? And maybe even more specifically, why have trivia about other states in a puzzle that alleges to be about Hawaii? We’ve got IOWA CITY (34D. It’s west of Davenport), we’ve got OCALA (26D. Seat of Marion County, Fla.), we’ve got LA BREA (46A. Los Angeles fossil site), we’ve got PIPELINE (12D. Oil conduit) – okay, that’s not specific, but it sure makes me think of Alaska.

I have to say, theme-wise, this puzzle leaves me more than empty. (Less than empty?) I’m so nonplussed, I’m subtracted. This isn’t a theme, it’s an easy themeless Thursday. But I’ll pick a couple bones, a few things that I didn’t love (because that’s what I do – if you want love, you need to read Ryan’s posts).

• 8D. More than budding and 39A. Every seven days : ABLOOM and AWEEK. Officially, these are not cheater squares, because they have the letter A in them. But I will call them half-cheaters. Those words are aphony.
• 22D. Dabble in : PLAY AT. I don’t know that I find these two terms agreeable with one another. I dabble in crossword construction, but I don’t think I play at it. I think I do it sincerely and with intention for proper use. “Play at” suggests I don’t really do it, or it doesn’t really matter, whereas I see dabbling as a sideline of significant interest, not just a whimsical hobby.
• 31D. Priscilla and John and 37A. Actress Locke of “The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter” : ALDENS and SONDRA. The crossing of two trivia questions. Meh. I had it all but the D, but I’ve never heard of any of these people, and had to just guess the D. I didn’t know if Priscilla and John were maybe ALLENS or ALIENS or ALEENS…
• 38D. Start of a letter to Landers : DEAR ANN. Really? I know her sister was Dear Abby, but did the reader’s requests really begin with “Dear Ann”?
• 41D. Five-time Kentucky Derby winner and 41A. Common pollutant : ARCARO and ASH. This had me stumped for a while, in that I figured it was either MR. CARO or DR. CARO who had won the Derby five times (I didn’t realize horses wouldn’t run it five times) – and I figured MSH or DSH was an acronym for something I’d never heard of. Oops. Silly me.

This puzzle has a fair share of three-letter junk fill: NAM, HAR, CPA, HIC, EPH, XLI, AMO and KOD are the ones that jump out to me. But then there was plenty of other fill that was thoroughly enjoyable: NAMATH, ARABIA, AMELIA, CHERUBIC, ONE-UPPED, PARKA, ACHTUNG.

Foreign language alert of the day: PRET, AMO and ACTE.

See you Friday.

Today’s puzzle by Richard Silvestri features an extremely clever theme.

36A. What this puzzle’s four missing clues spell, in order (PUBLIC EDUCATION).  I figured out the answers through crosses but I was still stumped as to what it might mean.  I got it into my brain that somehow the answers spelled out public education which made no sense to me.  Finally, it clicked and fell into place.  The four clues are PUB, LICE, DUCAT and ION.

BRITISH ALE HOUSE

COOTIES

OLD COIN

CHARGED PARTICLE

Very cool.  I enjoyed the twist of figuring out the clues from the entries.

Other highlights:

9A. Perle who inspired “Call Me Madam” (MESTA).  I only know this from crosswords and, even so, I needed a bunch of crossings before I remembered the correct name.  MESTA doesn’t sound like a real name to me.  It reminds me of Mulva from Seinfeld.

15A. Stand buy (ADE).  Clever clue but does anybody really call it ADE?  You don’t go up to a stand and ask what kind of ades they have, do you?

26D. Piece of music (OPUS).  Speaking of Opus, did you see they released the Bloom County Complete Library Volume 1?  That’s going on my wish list.  My three favorite comic strips are: Bloom County, Calvin and Hobbes and The Far Side.  I think Berkeley Breathed, Bill Watterson and Gary Larson get together for tea and laugh about the dreck that remains in the comics page.  Just look at this.  Here’s a sample of a crappy comic strip called Daddy’s Home:

Ok, I’ll wait…no, I know you’re all in hysterics now from this incredibly funny comic strip so I’ll give you some time to collect yourself…ok, all good?  You see, this child with the raised arms can’t believe his parents won’t let him go.  Go where, you may ask.  Authors Tony Rubino and Gary Markstein (yes, it took two people to write this comic) don’t like to get caught up in details that may add depth to their story.  It’s up to the reader provide these details and judging from the wide-eyed panic on the child’s face and the drops of sweat shooting off the top of his hair I’m going to guess his parents are refusing to let him go to the local brothel.  The parents then exchange a few panels worth of witty banter with the father coming to the conclusion that by the time their son understands the reasoning behind their refusal it will already be too late.  The mother then expresses her dismay that her husband, whom she thought she know, doesn’t recognize the point at which his banter crosses the line into hurtful jabs at her poor parenting.  You can also tell by the proximity of each parent to the other that any passion that once existed has long since evaporated from their loveless marriage.

Not exactly the type of material conducive for an early morning chuckle, is it?  In contrast, here’s a Calvin and Hobbes:

[sigh]  The comics page sucks now.

55D. Sondheim’s “___ the Woods” (INTO).  I never pass up an opportunity to mention that this is just about my favorite musical of all time.  It also contains my favorite lyrics:

Only three more tries and we’ll have our prize.
When the end’s in sight,
You’ll realize:
If the end is right,
It justifies
The beans!

Really clever puzzle today.

Next stop, Thursday.

Why does it feel like it’s been years since the last episode? Our new motto: “Our fun makes time fly so fast, you don’t even realize you’re dying while you listen.”

Today on the show, we are providing the following forms of audio entertainment:

• One new podcast, fresh out of the hard drive
• Parts Two and Three of the latest Fiction With Thomas Heilman
• Four winners to last week’s contest
• Five puzzles by Patrick Berry
• Six answers from the Oracle
• And (seven plus eight plus nine) additional minutes of nonsense.

We’ve got Greeks, Romans, and the song stylings of a lyric tenor we’d never heard of before. Tune in — you don’t want to miss this one.

Zambezi and oat.

First off, the League Championship Series are set.

NLERS

• Ryan Hecht vs. Barry C. Silk, Friend and Confidante to Doug Peterson, Crossword Gentleman and Man About Town (rematch!)

ALERS

• Doug Peterson, Crossword Gentleman and Man About Town vs. The Ottawa Angels of Brazil

Good luck to everybody except Barry.

Today’s puzzle is by Sharon Delorme and features a very funny theme.

ROYAL FLUSH

All the theme answers ended with a euphemism for a toilet.

LITTLE JOHN

LETTER HEAD

HEIR TO THE THRONE

SARDINE CAN

I’m not sure how this theme got past the Sunday Breakfast Test but I’m glad it did.

I got pretty stuck up in the top left corner.  I eventually figured it out but:

SALADA?????

Now, I’m not a tea drinker but I’ve heard of the major brands of tea.  Or at least I thought I had.  I’ve never, ever come into contact in any form with SALADA tea.  Is this really a well known brand?  What is it doing in my Tuesday puzzle?

Ok, unfortunately, that’s all I have time for today.  Fun puzzle.  Fun theme.  Good times.

Next stop, Wednesday.

1. That Jonathan Papelbon, closer for the Boston Red Sox, gave up three runs in the ninth inning, which ultimately led to the Anaheim Angels of Anaheim sweeping their way into the American League Championship Series.
2. That I have a splitting headache.
3. That I finally got the Java applet working on my computer, and I was all set to be one of the first ten people to finish the puzzle, except it was wicked hard, and I ended up being eleventh.
4. That I have to blog. We’ve been through this before – Ryan is better, Ryan is more fun, everyone hates Brian – I understand that this is the way of the world, but it’s Still Not Fair.

So somehow, we have a Monday theme hidden within a Wednesday puzzle (complete with Friday fill in a couple spots), and as of this writing, Amy Reynaldo is the only one who finished it in normal Monday time. But whatever – she thought Saturday was normal for Saturday, and I finished it in under 20 minutes (which is way not normal for me for Saturday). Anyway…

The theme is conceptually one we’ve seen a thousand times. Five entries that play with the five vowels. I don’t recall if this is one of the Ten Deadly Themes of Brendan Emmett Quigley’s, but it’s not one that does much to thrill me.

• 18A. Likely result of pollution along a beach : SWIMMING BAN
• 23A. Title bear of 1960s TV : GENTLE BEN
• 41A. Receptacle for some donations : USED CLOTHING BIN
• 54A. “It’s so good” in Paris : C’EST SI BON
• 62A. Lenten treat : HOT CROSS BUN

To all of it, I say blah, bleh, blih, bloh, bluh.

Blah. I didn’t even get the theme until after I was the eleventh person to finish the puzzle on the applet, and went back to look at it. I guess GENTLE BEN and HOT CROSS BUN are actual things, things that are terms and definable and recognizable. But the other three seem like rather arbitrary terms used just to incorporate the rest of the theme. I would rather see actual things that require the theme portions to be what they are. Ban deodorant – you have to call it that, or it’s not accurate. Jonathan Papelbon. That’s his name, and he’s a horrible, horrible person. See, those would be more specific, more important entries. C’est si bon? Please.

Bleh. By the way – either I’m getting less and less tolerant of all the French and Spanish and whatnot, or there’s more and more of it. Does anyone out there solve non-English crosswords? And when you do, is there a random amount of English thrown in? It just seems weird to me, that there’s a certain amount of stuff that goes into crosswords that’s not English – when this is an English word game. I know the rules aren’t the same, but in Scrabble, there’s no playing random French words, even if they’re commonly known. And what makes it weirder (to me) in crosswords is that there can be a few, but not too many. Why any at all?

I continue to not wholly love this puzzle today, so let me gripe about a few other things:"

• 8A. Make equal, as the score : EVEN UP
• 45A. Make equal, as the score : TIE

Blih. It’s cute when two clues in a row are the same (but obviously calling for different answers). But when they’re miles away from each other, all this does is confuse the hell out of me. I already had the 8-Across clue in my head (not yet filled in because EVEN UP is a little arbitrary to me, and it didn’t come quickly to mind), and when I got to 45-Across, I wondered if I was experiencing deja vu.

[Side note: Is there a non-French way to say “deja vu” so I can not be hypocritical?]

• 38D. Mel who was #4 at the Polo Grounds : OTT
• 63D. Bobby who was #4 at Boston Garden : ORR

Bloh. Again, the two similar clues are way far apart in the grid, and I’m unenthused with both the repetitive cluing and the fact that OTT and ORR are so similar to each other and that they’re generic crosswordiness.

By the way – lots of threes in this puzzle. 78 words overall. Is that a lot for a Monday? Seems like it’s the high end for this sort of puzzle.

Bluh. All the random stuff that seems kinda obscure for Mondays:

• 7D. “___ at ‘em!” : LEMME. Seems pretty random, like a lot of this puzzle.
• 17A. ___-o’-shanter : TAM
• 20A. “You ___ wrong!” : ARE SO. What is this? This is as random as it gets. It’s just the middle of a sentence, it’s not a phrase. To be a phrase, it has to be something we all say or hear or think. I think I’ll clue something as “I ___ dishes.” I’ll put the answer at the end of this post for you.
• 27D. Emperor after Nero : GALBA
• 31A. “Le Coq ___” : D’OR. Apparently, “The Golden Cock.”
• 35D. Has left the office : IS OUT. Bluh indeed.
• 44A. 1910s-20s flivver : MODEL T. In this case, it’s the clue that is weird.

Just for comparison – 61A. Milan’s home is ITALY. Duh. That’s Monday.

Oh, and my pet peeve clue of the day : 58D. Citi Field player, for short (N.Y. MET). For short for whom? Who calls them “the N.Y. Mets”? We either say “the New York Mets” or “the Mets.” So for whom, I ask, is this short? Nonsense is what it is. Nonsense.

See you Tuesday.

* answer to my random clue: DID THE

That’s not the reason though.  The reason is I couldn’t figure out one section of this darn Randolph Ross puzzle and kept putting off googling it in hopes my brain would eventually come around.  Which it didn’t.  And so I googled.  And now we’re all here.

102D. Fleeces, perhaps (ROBS).  I had CONS.  To me, CONS is more appropriate.  “Fleeces”, to me, means tricking someone out of money.  “Robs” is overtly taking money.

113A. Italian isle (ELBA).  I had ETNA.  The N came from CONS.  The T came because it was the only Italian thing I could think of.

101D. Janis’s comics partner (ARLO).  This is one of those answers that shows up all the time but I can never remember it.  I had _RTO and thought it might be YRTO or ERTO.  You know, if the New York Times had a comics pages I might be better at this stuff.

And for 100-Across which was part of the name of the Naples opera house I had SAN CYCLO or CYCLE or CACLI or any number of somewhat Italian-sounding made up words.

So, there it is.  I got myself into a bind and couldn’t work my way out of it.  If I had thought of ROBS then I might have been able to come up with the rest of it.  But I didn’t.

As for the theme, I thought it was alright.  It was called AUTHOR! AUTHOR! but had nothing to do with the Pacino movie.

The theme was lacking an extra layer of something for me.  Maybe another layer of cleverness or, perhaps, a thin coating of refried beans would have worked.

All you really needed to know were the last names of two authors and you had your answers.

For instance, 47A. C.P. and E.B.’s essay on purity? (SNOW WHITE).  That’s it.  The clue could have been “C.P. and E.B.” and I would have come up with the same answer.

I fully realize that a person who couldn’t finish the puzzle on his own probably shouldn’t complain about that same puzzle being too simplistic but the Dodgers sweep has left me feeling emboldened and, as Vin Scully would say, full of beans.

Rather than recount the whole theme that I wasn’t crazy about I’ll instead talk about what I liked in the puzzle.

19A. Name after “you” (JANE). Great clue.

26A. Prove it (THEOREM).  Ok, I didn’t really like this one mostly because I don’t understand it.  Is THEOREM a verb?

65A. Drop ___ (start to strip) (TROU).  This phrase never fails to make me laugh.  I also enjoy the word TROUSERS.  Are TROUSERS different than SLACKS?

79A. Went by Saturn, say (MOTORED).  Ok, this one I don’t get.

Did you guys feel the same as I did about the theme?  Am I being unnecessarily picky?  Or, perhaps, the real answer is that I STINK (53A. Admission of ineptitude).

By the way, the game of Ghost that I started yesterday with the letter T ended up as TRILINGUIST with Crosscan finishing up the word.

And a new game has been started: Q U

Next stop, Monday.

Today’s puzzle is by Natan Last and is, I’d say, a medium-hard Saturday.  I got stuck in many different places but eventually no-googled it.  After the first 12 minutes I had exactly one answer entered, 7D. Willy Wonka’s work force (OOMPA LOOMPAS).  I was facebook chatting with Doug Peterson, Crossword Gentleman and Man About Town at the time and I said, “It’s been 12 minutes and I only have one answer.”  Doug replied, “You must have the Willy Wonka answer.”  Ok, so not only is Doug an incredibly fast speed-solver (he did this puzzle in 5:39) he is also psychic.  I’d like to try to work this into a new podcast segment.  “Doug knows the only thing you know” or something like that.

There were actually a few really easy clues:

34A. Actor Efron of “High School Musical” (ZAC).  I don’t usually like that I know this but today it came in handy.

30A. “___ the Viking,” 1989 film starring Tim Robbins (ERIK).  I remember enjoying this in the theater but I’m guessing it probably wasn’t that good.  It does have a heavy Monty Python influence.  It was directed by Terry Jones and featured John Cleese.  And it wasn’t the only Python-centric clue in the puzzle.  46A. Tony winner between “Avenue Q” and “Jersey Boys” (SPAMALOT).  This was kind of funny when I first saw it but about a year later my brother was in town and we saw it again.  Oy, dreadful.  Really not funny.  Avoid at all costs.  Rent Holy Grail.  Or watch this Lego version:

Or watch this video from Robot Chicken:

But don’t waste your money on Spamalot.

1A.  Is an accessory for (ABETS).  This was such a gimmie that I figured it must be something else.

Most clever clue in the puzzle:

33D. Officer who was still hunting in the 1920s-’30s (ELIOT NESS).  “Still” as in where one makes hooch.  Very clever.  I was about to go off on how the The Untouchables is an average movie with an amazing score.  Turns out I already did that almost exactly one year ago.  Oddly, I also posted that Robot Chicken video in that same entry.  What else have I plagiarized from myself?

Funniest (in hindsight) wrong answer I came up with:

2D. Like Japan’s national diet (BICAMERAL).  My first guess?  OMNIVERAL.  Could be a word, right?

Clue/entry I still don’t understand:

12D. Reeve’s charge (MANOR).  Who is Reeve?

Thing I’ve never heard of but sounds fun:

6A. Ghost, e.g. (WORD GAME).  I don’t know how I’ve never come across this game.  For those who don’t know (like me, circa 5 minutes ago) its a game in which players take turns adding letters to a growing word fragment, trying not to be the one to complete a valid word. If a player completes a word, they lose that round of the game and starts a new round. Each fragment must be the beginning of an actual word.  Ok, I’ll start: T

Really fun puzzle today.

Next stop, Sunday.

Ok, ok, I know this isn’t a baseball blog.  So, onto today’s puzzle.  I had a lot of trouble with, but eventually no-googled, this David Quarfoot toughie.  The top left corner was the last portion I figured out.

1A. Composer of a famous ring cycle (JRR TOLKIEN).  This one took me forever.  Once I got it I felt like a bit of an idiot.  All I could think of was the music.  What is it, an opera?  Anyway I had no idea who composed it (Richard Wagner) and was staring at __R_O_KIEN so I thought maybe it was BARTOK KIEN.  Sounds like the name of a composer, doesn’t it?  1-Down was no help as the answer was JC CHASEZ (’N Sync member) which doesn’t appear to be a real name.

I finally cracked it when I figured out 2D. Joint letter? (ROOMMATE).  First, I thought it might be about mail in prison.  Then I realized where the clue was headed and came up with CO OWNERS which kind of works.  I don’t know how I finally came up with ROOMMATE but I think we’re all relieved that I did.

19A. Letters at sea (HMS).  I cycled through USS, SOS and CPO before landing on the right combo.

28A. They’re usually worn over petticoats (SARIS).  I was sure this was either MINIS, MAXIS or MIDIS.  Clearly, I don’t know as much as I should about women’s underthings.

Other problem spots:

65A. One whose oils may be graded (ART STUDENT).  Yep, I had _R_ STUDENT and it took me about 45 minutes to figure out the rest.  I kept thinking FRY STUDENT which isn’t really a thing.

46A. Letter greeting never read by its intended recipient (DEAR SANTA).  I had no idea on this one.  I didn’t really even understand how to read the clue.  Then I got the TA at the end and it immediately made sense.

64A. Mountain West Conference team (UTES) crossing 46D. Blue Demons’ home (DEPAUL).  Oy, college sports crossing college sports seems a little unfair.

Other highlights:

30A. All-time strikeout leader’s nickname (MR OCTOBER).  Tricky clue as it immediately makes you think of Nolan Ryan.  I believe his nickname is the Ryan Express.  Instead the clue is going for the hitter who as the most strikeouts.  And it is indeed Reggie Jackson who fanned 2,597 times.

42A. Bad mark (D PLUS).  What a depressing grade.  Yes, you sucked but you were among the best of the suckers.

33D. Self-titled album of 1969 (ELLA).  Who else had the E and the A and then tried to figure out how old ENYA is?

37D. Strain (TUNE).  Tricky.

48D. A 747 has two of these (AISLES).  Remember when those aisles were occupied by people serving you food?  Now they’re the domain of a few surly folk charging you five bucks for a tiny pouch of Munchie Mix.

Very nice puzzle today.

Next stop, Saturday.  Go Dodgers!

Today’s puzzle, constructed by Scott Atkinson, was fun but had a theme I couldn’t figure out.  I no-googled the puzzle but, when I was done,  I had no idea what the theme meant.

33A. Repeatedly…and a hint to the answers to this puzzle’s starred clues (TIME AFTER TIME).  I don’t know what I thought this could be.  I guess I thought that if you said the two words in each answer out loud then it would sound like a certain time of day.  Does that sound insane?  Possibly.  Turns out, each word in the answers was a type of TIME.  Thank god for Doug Peterson, Crossword Gentleman and Man About Town who explained it to me.

18A. *Baseball feat (DOUBLE PLAY).  Double time and play time.  We would also have accepted HITTING CHRIS CARPENTER’S THIRD PITCH OF THE GAME FOR A TWO RUN HOMERUN WHICH GAVE THE DODGERS A LEAD THAT THEY WOULD NEVER RELINQUISH.

24a. *Phsyics period (HALF LIFE).  This is also the name of a video game I’ve never played.

48A. *Brave front (GAME FACE).  This is what I have on when I watch Dodger playoff games, my game face.  I had to watch Game 1 at work with the sound off.  When Kemp hit the homerun I had to grab the edge of my desk and clamp my hand over my face to keep from yelling.  I think I pulled a muscle in my neck.

52A. *Asthmatic’s concern (AIR QUALITY).

So, there it is.  A nice, quality theme that was completely beyond my comprehension.

Other highlights:

1A. ___ salad (dish with ground beef) (TACO).  Taco salads are great.  It tastes like a taco but you can fool your brain into thinking you’re being healthy.

17A. Like many old gym socks (RIPE).  Great clue.  Wasn’t there some running joke in Welcome Back, Kotter about Juan Epstein’s gym socks?

26A. Garth Brooks, by birth (TULSAN).  I’m not exactly sure who Garth Brooks is.  Is he the one who flies around with a guitar?  And, Tulsan?  Is that a first name or last name?

32A. Not just turn down (MUTE).  Another good clue.  I put MAKE here first.  As in turning down a bed is not quite as involved as making a bed.

39A. Golden Globe-winning English actor McShane (IAN).  Pickles loves Deadwood.  I’ve never seen it.  Am I missing out?

3D. Basilica feature (CUPOLA).  You mean, like this?

6D. Many Mel Brooks films (SPOOFS).  Before going to Italy pretty much everything I knew about ancient Rome I learned from History of the World, Part I.

36D. Like circus elephants (TAMED).  We would also have accepted IMPRISONED, ABUSED or EXPLOITED.

50D. ___ the Dragon, rule of old Wallachia (VLAD).  I’m confused.  Is this Dracula?

Fun puzzle today.  Go Dodgers.

Next stop, Friday.

Why am I talking about baseball so much?  Well, it’s something I’m fanatical about but also today’s puzzle by Tim Wescott featured a baseball-themed theme.

57A. Setting for a 20-Across…as represented by this puzzle’s circled letters (BASEBALL DIAMOND).  And 20A was WORLD SERIES GAME.

The circled letters were arranged in a diamond shape with each point of the diamond spelling out a base: HOME, FIRST, SECOND, THIRD.  And in the middle of the grid was MOUND.  There were a couple of other baseball-centric entries with Gene AUTRY (long time owner of the California Angels of Prince Edward Island) and Sammy SOSA (who continues to wrongly believe he will be inducted into the Hall of Fame).

The theme was fun and well done.  No problems there.  There were problems though and they were in the bottom left.  AXON crossing with AXIL crossing with ANEW crossing with BABA with clues referencing cakes with kick, botanical angles, de novo and dendrites.  Now, I’m a pretty easy audience for the most part.  Just make sure ALER or NLER isn’t in there and I’m usually happy.  But this has to be about the least fun corner of a crossword I’ve encountered in a long time.  As I used to never say in the 80s, “Gag me with a spoon.”  I eventually figured it out but only because I cycled through a bunch of letters and clicked submit over and over.  Bleh.

I was also not a huge fan of AALTO crossing ALMAS or HOMIE crossing the circled HOME.

It’s late, I’m tired and I don’t want to say anything else negative so here’s my ODE to Naples.  (From the Trianon pizzeria.)

Next stop, Thursday.

This time, it’s Episode 74. Here’s a little taste of what’s inside:

• Brief references to a few of Justin Long’s movies
• Another lunch option besides a cheeseburger and fries
• Another 34.8 minutes worth of show, but as I write this blurb, I can’t remember a single thing we didn’t edit out

Seriously — we’re going to try and make Episode 75 worth listening to. Just be patient.

Zambezi and oat

And here’s the official widget.

Today’s puzzle is by Matt Ginsberg and features an extremely enjoyable theme.

18A. Only common word in the English language with the consecutive letters MPG (CAMPGROUND).

And there are five other similar clue/entries.

28A. …ADQ… (HEADQUARTERS).

48A. …KSG… (THANKSGIVING).

62A. …ZKR… (BLITZKRIEG).

2D. …SPB… (RASPBERRY).

35D. …NKC… (CRANKCASE).

I thought all this was very cool.  Two questions.  1.  How do you even find out about these words? and B.  How do you fit 6 of them in one grid?  All very impressive.

Other highlights:

1A. Christine’s lover in “The Phantom of the Opera” (ERIK).  Wasn’t this RAUL?  I though this was RAUL?

26A. Moves back, as a hairline (RECEDES).  The receding I can deal with.  I don’t like it but I can deal with it.  It’s the spreading out of the scalp on the top of the head that bothers me.  Again, I ask, who benefits from this?

43A. Actress Winona (RYDER).  My friend Max and I ran into Winona Ryder at Tower Records back in 1992.  We went up to her and asked her if she was Winona Ryder.  She looked at us and said she wasn’t.  Ever since then I’ve known that Winona Ryder is a dirty liar.

45A. Captain for 40 days and nights (NOAH).  Because I know nothing about the Bible, I put NEMO here.  I guess that means I know nothing about classic literature either.

66A. Cowboy star Lash, who taught Harrison Ford how to use a bullwhip (LARUE).  Yup, that Kingdom of the Crystal Crap garbage has really tainted all my thoughts about Indiana Jones.  I can no longer think of my favorite all-time movie without feeling a twinge of disappointment.  I really could do without that.

19D. Mirth (GLEE).  Is the show Glee any good?  I’ve heard it’s good.

63D. Capital of Zambia? (ZEE).  Just when I’ve trained myself to think “money” every time I see “capital of such and such”.  Now we’re going back to the old gag where it means the letter?  I don’t know what to think.

Great puzzle today.

Next stop, Wednesday.

Today’s puzzle is by Mark Feldman and features things I don’t think I’ve ever seen.  Really big bills.

No, not those kind of bills.

17A. $500 (WILLIAM MCKINLEY).

25A. $5,000 (JAMES MADISON).

43A. $10,000 (SALMON P CHASE).

57A. $1,000 (GROVER CLEVELAND).

And the main theme entry was RIGHT ON THE MONEY.

Cool theme although it would have been slightly cooler if the value of the bills went in order but, still, pretty cool.  Are these bills still around?  Can you use them?  I can’t imagine they’d be very useful except to deposit in the bank or to light Scrooge McDuck’s cigars.  I mean, could you go into a 7-11, get a Slurpee and a frozen burrito and pay with a Salmon P Chase?  I guess they wouldn’t have enough change for you.  But, what if you bought 10,000 lotto tickets and you didn’t need change?  Hey, wait a minute, if you have $10,000 in your pocket what the hell are you buying lotto tickets for?  You think you’re better than me, you rich bastard?

Other highlights:

4D. Ice house: Var. (IGLU).  I think in this instance “var.” means never, ever, ever used.  Such as in  “Toyota model: Var. (FLARGH)”.

58D. Hitter’s stat (RBI).  Baseball’s regular season is over.  The Dodgers were 2-2 when mentioned in the puzzle.  Here’s how the postseason looks:

• Ryan vs. St. Louis Cardinals
• Barry C. Silk vs. Todd McClary
• Brian vs. [random city name] Angels of [completely different random city name]
• Doug Peterson vs. Minnetroit Twingers

Good luck to everybody.

Next stop, Tuesday.

Today’s puzzle was by our good friend Todd “Mcay” McClary and was a welcome breath of fresh air after last Sunday’s very difficult Patrick Berry puzzle.  I can see Todd’s puzzle eventually being compiled in a book titled Easy, Breezy Sunday Crosswords featuring a cover photograph of Will Shortz sipping a pina colada and relaxing on the beach in a crossword-themed Hawaiian shirt.  (Do shirts like that exist?)  Now, just because Todd’s puzzle was a touch on the easy side doesn’t mean it wasn’t a lot of fun.

The theme was INITIAL OFFERINGS and the entries consisted of proper names followed by words that, when spoken, sounded like the names’ initials.

23A. Article written by an early American patriot? (SAMUEL ADAMS ESSAY).

39A. Dental problem for a boxing promoter (DON KING DECAY).  Second Sunday in a row that featured word play for DECAY.  Reminds me I really need to go to the dentist.

47A. Desire to be more like an actress of Greek descent? (NIA VARDALOS ENVY).  The only thing I remember from that Big Fat Greek Wedding movie was the father who soaked everything in Windex.  The rest has mercifully exited my brain.

66A. Adorable child of an edgy filmmaker? (QUENTIN TARINTINO CUTIE).  I’m going out on a limb here and saying Inglorious Basterds will win Best Picture.  There, it has been written.

88A. Tent used by a Latin musician (TITO PUENTE TEPEE).

94A. Television award given to a Surrealist? (MAX ERNST EMMY).

115A. Rodent named for a 20th-century novelist? (KURT VONNEGUT CAVY).  I’m not a big rodent fan but I’ve never heard of a cavy so I’m going to google for a picture…ok, not so bad.  A guinea pig is a type of cavy and they’re kind of cute.  They’re still way too closely related to rats for me but, yes, kind of cute.  But not cute enough to post on the blog.

Fun theme.

Other highlights:

21A. Major-league manager who won World Series in both leagues (LARUSSA).  He didn’t win the 1988 World Series.  No, he sure didn’t.

25A. Line formed at a barbershop? (PART).  My part is becoming less of a line and more of a circle.  This depresses me.

44A. Chinese dynasty of 1,000 years ago (LIAO).  LMAO.

56A. Godzilla contemporary that was a giant flying turtle (GAMERA).  I think just “giant flying turtle” would have worked here.  I can’t name another giant flying turtle.

122A. Car air freshener shape (PINE TREE).  Why is that?

54D. Empath on “Star Trek: T.N.G.” (TROI).  I feel…pain.

80D. ___ suey (CHOP).  This is the next thing that Brian will prepare, consume and photograph for the blog.  I can’t wait till he reads this and finds out.

105D. Prince Valiant’s son (ARN).  Whoohoo!  I finally remembered this!

110D. Single-named artist (ERTE).  How is this not ENYA?  Am I not doing a New York Times Crossword?  Is this Sudoku, a word search, the Jumble?  NYT single-named artist = ENYA.  If I can’t rely on that the whole fabric of my world may become untethered from the infinite number of giant flying turtles holding up the planet.

Ooh, I guess I’m tired.  Great puzzle today, Todd.

Next stop, Monday.

Thank you. I now return you to your regularly scheduled blog with Ryan.

Today’s puzzle was constructed by Brad Wilber and took Brian 12 minutes and 42 seconds to successfully complete.  I have no clue how he did this.  I loaded it up with the intention of completing it in 11 minutes and 37 seconds but did not get the “Thank you for playing” message until 47 minutes and 59 seconds had passed.  Isn’t the ACPT coming up in a few months?  Don’t I want to do better than last time?  Why is my brain not cooperating?

But enough about me.  Let’s talk about Brad Wilber and his excellent Friday puzzle.  Fun fill, clever clues and very little crosswordese.  Good stuff.

15A. Tape deck convenience (AUTO REVERSE).  If I remember correctly tape decks in your car were much more advanced than tape decks in your home.  They had the auto reverse.  They also had the ability to fast forward to the beginning of the next song.  I can’t remember the last time I actually played a tape of any sort.

16A. Boyhood nickname in “The Phantom Menace” (ANI).  To get your weekend started off right here’s some horrible dialogue from the movie.

Anakin Skywalker: Are you an angel?
Padmé Naberrie: What?
Anakin Skywalker: An angel. I’ve heard the deep space pilots talk about them. They live on the moons of Iego, I think. They’re the most beautiful creatures in the universe.
Padmé Naberrie: You’re a funny little boy. How do you know so much?
Anakin Skywalker:I listen to all the traders and pilots who come through here. I’m a pilot, you know. Someday, I’m going to fly away from this place.

Now that’s podracing!

17A. Its clock was featured in the 1945 film “The Clock” (PENN STATION).  Here’s a picture of the original Penn Station before it was destroyed in 1963.

Now before you start feeling all upset, remember the new Penn Station has an Auntie Annies Pretzels.  And those are delicious pretzels.

37A. Where people do stretches (PRISONS).  I can’t be the only one who put THE ARMY here, can I?

51A. “Return of the Jedi” dancing girl (OOLA).  Poor Oola.  Trained in one of the best dancing schools on Ryloth her future seemed bright until she was tricked by Bib Fortuna and Jerris Rudd into becoming a dancer in Jabba the Hutt’s court.  After an ill advised refusal of Jabba’s advances she was eaten alive by a rancor.  Her legend, however, lived on in the form of impersonator Dame Needa, who put on a nightly Oola tribute show at the Gardulla Oola hotel and casino in Mos Eisley.

56A. Shuffling goal (RANDOM ORDER).  I really thought this was going to be BUFFALO.

63A. Modern retelling of the Faust legend (DAMN YANKEES).  Whatever Oola wants, Oola gets.

1D. Sadie Hawkins Day creator (CAPP).  Learned this from crosswords.

12D. Actress Katharine Ross’s actor-husband (SAM ELLIOTT).  There are many people who I don’t look like.  Sam Elliott is one of those people.

23D. Petal-like poinsettia part (BRACT).  Of course, the bract, my favorite part of the poinsettia.

34D. Ship to the New World (PINTA).  How come everybody knows the names of Columbus’s ships?  Why was that an important fact to teach all school children?

50D. Bart Starr’s alma mater, briefly (BAMA).  Here’s how much I don’t know about football.  My first guess here was RADA, the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts.

54D. Entertainment partner? (ARTS).  Has anybody watched Hoarders?  Its a show on A&E (why it’s on A&E, I have no idea) about compulsive hoarders.  It’s kind of horrifying, totally fascinating and makes you want to clean out your entire living space.

Really fun puzzle today.

Next stop, Saturday.

Patrick has been making some of the most fun and surprising puzzles in recent years, and I’m certainly eager to see this big project of his get underway. If that widget above doesn’t link you to Patrick’s project page, try this instead.

Here’s how Patrick’s got this set up, if I understand it correctly. Throughout October, he’s calling for pledges toward his ultimate financial goal of $2,000. Five bucks gets you a copy of the puzzles (PDF format). Thirty dollars gets that plus two of Patrick’s puzzlebooks. Pledge $200, and you get a customized puzzle by Patrick. And the grad prize, if you win, is either $290 or your entry fee to the 2010 ACPT (whichever you prefer).

I can’t recommend this highly enough. The puzzles are bound to be stellar, and I absolutely love these sorts of multi-puzzle, meta-puzzle sets. (As a matter of fact, I’m working on one of my own right now!)

Enjoy it, everyone… I know I will!

Second: I. Am. Not. In. Italy.

Third: You all know that Ryan and I are different people, right?

Fourth: Good grief, I am so not in Italy. I was in Italy in 2005. I am not there now. See at the top of this post, where it says “Brian solves the NYT puzzle”? I share this blog with my good friend Ryan Hecht. When he solves the puzzle and posts it, the post starts with “Ryan solves the puzzle.” We both import these posts into our respective Facebook accounts so as to better promote our blog. And now half of my friends think I went to Italy. I nearly lost a month of work because a prospective employer wasn’t going to bother to offer me a job because he thought I was out of the country. No joke.

Today’s puzzle comes to us from our good friend Patrick “miniatur ini burung hantu yang tidak dapat melihat” Blindauer, and his latest collaborator, Rebecca Young. Patrick is often noted for his puzzles that truly break the mold – I would put him and Joe Krozel into a category of sorts together in that respect. Rebecca is new to constructing, at least as far as the New York Times is concerned, but this partnership has sure produced yet another very clever gimmick.

First of all, if you’re trying to do this puzzle in Across Lite, you’re missing a few very important features. Grab this PDF file for a slightly more complete puzzle experience. For those who already solved in Across Lite and are confused (this would be me), here’s what’s missing:

1. The centermost square is supposed to be blank
2. The clue for 18A. should read With 55-Across, direction indicator (and what to draw in the center of this puzzle)
3. There should be a clue for 55-Across reading See 18-Across.

It’s still possible to solve this puzzle without these things, but it completes the concept with them. Let’s look at the theme:

• 18A. With 55-Across, direction indicator : COMPASS
• 6D. Toymaking center? : ELOPHTRON. However, this up-down word needs to be read in the direction it points on the 18-Across, i.e. upward. NORTH POLE.
• 27A. Its motto is “Duty, Honor, Country” : TNIOPTSEW. Again, check your bearings. WEST POINT.
• 45A. Cockney, e.g. : EASTENDER. If this was the first of the theme entries you got (as it was for me), then you had no idea what was up because this word gets entered eastward (i.e. normally).
• 33D. Long-running TV series set in Colorado : SOUTH PARK. Also, entered normally.

Now the weird bit in all of this is the 55-Across thing. Because, see, there is no 55-Across. The square marked 55 is in the middle of 54A. Place name popular in the 1990s (MELROSE). The 55 is on the R. I guess technically, 55A is ROSE, but… what the hell is that? COMPASS ROSE? Apparently, that’s the name for the symbol (like the one pictured at right) that has all the directions on it. And I guess if you got the version of the puzzle that has the blank empty square you can draw a little COMPASS ROSE in the middle of your puzzle.

I will admit, I had to Google a spot in the southwest (which was not part of the compass trick – that stuck to the basics, north, east, south and west only). 42A. Jag meant absolutely nothing to me upon reading it. I had –REE, and I kept thinking it had something to do with rocks. So the word I put in was SCREE, which has something to do with mountains. This led me to CA-ELA for 43D. Bobby’s wife on “Dallas.” As I’ve never seen Dallas, and since this is someone’s name, it could really be anything. CABELA, CAIELA, CALELA, CANELA, CARELA (which was the most name-looking of the bunch). Oh, and to make matters worse, this proper name I don’t know crossed with a three-letter acronym, which again means it could be anything (50A. Global finance org.) And if that wasn’t enough, 42D. Slanders really badly now was SL-MES, and the only word that was a word was SLIMES, which I figured must be slang if anything, so I had no real idea whatsoever.

(Answers: SPREE, PAMELA, IMF and yes, SLIMES.)

This corner would have been guessable, I suppose, if I had had anyone there to tell me that my first guesses were wrong. Oh well. My no-Google streak continues to be zero. And speaking of horrible streaks – who else thinks the Red Sox will be the first team to begin their post-season run after losing the last 10 games of the regular season?

See you Friday!

Today’s puzzle is my Kevin G. Der – “Hyphen” – Youkilis and features a literary geographical theme. The notepad states:

When the puzzle is done, the circled letters will spell, from top to bottom, the name of the town where all the people in this puzzle’s theme once lived.

The mystery location is CONCORD MA.  I thought for a moment the circled letters were arranged to suggest the shape of Massachusetts but now I don’t think so.  Clearly, Kevin is slacking.

And what people lived in Concord, MA?

RALPH WALDO EMERSON

NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE

LOUISA MAY ALCOTT

HENRY DAVID THOREAU

I feel quite lame in that, besides reading part of The Scarlett Letter in high school and part of Walden in college, I have not experienced the works of these authors.  I haven’t even seen the lousy movies they inspired.  Ah, the mid-nineties, when Demi Moore was at her most popular and her movies were at their most unenjoyable.

Ok, so have you guys read these?  Am I missing out?  I try to read 2 or 3 classics a year.  This year it’s been Jane Eyre and Pride and Prejudice (admittedly, the latter was to prepare for Pride and Prejudice and Zombies).  Should I put any works by these authors on my list?

Other highlights:

15A. It beats nothing (A PAIR).  This is an odd clue.  I’m assuming it means if Tex McGintey has A PAIR and Buffalo Bingus has NOTHING then Tex beats him.  But doesn’t that go for any poker hand?  A full house beats nothing also.

43A. Mushy snowball sound (SPLAT).  Hmmm, I disagree.  A mushy snowball definitely makes some sort of sound but I don’t think SPLAT is it.  How about SMUSH-MA-HUSH?

44A. Tre + tre (SEI).  This is Italian.  I learned my numbers.

50A. Little hooter (OWLET).  Funny clue.

62A. 2008 Pixar robot (WALL E).  Kevin, what do you do at Pixar?  And can you get me a job?

68A. iPhone function (EMAIL).  Along with anything else you can think of.  I wish there was an app that would turn my phone into an iPhone.

Today’s post has to be on the short side because work is way too busy tonight.  Hopefully, I can make up for it with this Daily Show clip about the iPhone.

Next stop, Thursday.

• a Viewer Mail bag with people who have either never written in or have only rarely written in
• suggestions for how to make Bingo worse next time
• a surprise musical performance from Ryan and Brian
• an even more surprise musical performance from Sammy the Dentist
• and the piece de resistance: our roving reporter Amanda talks to us about the Pleasantville tournament

Last week, as you all know, we played Bingo during the show. Andrea Carla Michaels won, and as requested, sent us a picture of herself demonstrating her glee:

Also, we received a few images from non-winners (that’s the nicer term). First, from David Stein and his son; then, from Xan Vongsathorn’s name.

All in all, a successful voyage. And now — on with Episode 73!

Zambezi and oat

Today’s puzzle was by Paula Gamache (her 41st NYT puzzle in the Will Shortz era) and featured a nautical theme.

71A. Clueless…or where the answers to this puzzle’s starred clues all were first used (AT SEA).

And the starred answers were:

17A. *Dangerously unpredictable sort (LOOSE CANNON).  From Wikipedia: When a storm began, all cannon had to be securely fastened and lashed in place. A gun that broke free of its lashings would roll uncontrollably around the deck with the motion of the ship, causing havoc.

39A. *Junk (DEEP SIX).  From the Urban Dictionary: Nautical in origin, it comes from a call indicating a depth of six fathoms (over ten meters), a depth from which recovery of an item tossed overboard would be very difficult.

61A. *Inviolable, as rules (HARD AND FAST).  It’s amazing what you can find when you google this phrase.  From the Phrase Finder: This is a nautical term. A ship that was hard and fast was simply one that was firmly beached on land.

11D. *Likely to happen (IN THE OFFING).  From the Phrase Finder: It is quite simple to understand once you know that ‘the offing’ is the part of the sea that can be seen from land, excluding those parts that are near the shore.  Someone who was watching out for a ship to arrive would first see it approaching when it was ‘in the offing’ and expected to dock before the next tide. Something that is ‘in the offing’ isn’t happening now or even in a minute or two, but will inevitably happen before too long.

25D. *Jammed (CHOCK A BLOCK).  From Morte Arthur, circa 1400: Charottez chokkefulle charegyde with golde.

Other highlights:

35A. “___ first you don’t succeed…” (IFAT).  Also, the name of Apple’s new vegetable shortening.

38A. Sleuth, slangily (TEC).  Who remembers the old SNL skit with Kevin Nealon, the Politically Incorrect Private Investigator (P.I.P.I.)?  If you do remember it do you have a video of it?

22A. Collette of “The Sixth Sense” (TONI).  Why are people still giving M. Night Shyamalan money to make movies?  The Crappening wasn’t enough?

44D. Bide-___ (WEE).  Um, ok, what the heck does this mean?

Fun puzzle, as always, from Paula.

Next stop, Wednesday.

Here I am with my nachos before:

And after:

Delicious.  In other Dodger news they were mentioned in the puzzle on Saturday and won (and clinched a playoff spot).  Their 2009 NYT Crossword puzzle record is now 2 wins and 2 losses.

Today’s puzzle is by Lynn Lempel and I’m just realizing I have no idea what the theme is.  Hold on…Ok, wow, I still have no idea.  I’m going to have to cheat and look at Orange’s blog…ah, well, it’s fitting that the theme is FAILURE because that’s what I feel like right now.  The theme answers each end with a word that can mean FAILURE.

17A. Abrupt way to quit (COLD TURKEY).  The jury seems to be out as to the exact origin of this phrase.  My favorite hypothesis is a withdrawing addict looks like a cold turkey carcass.

40A. Chocolaty morsel munched at movies (MILK DUD).  Love the alliteration.  And I love MILK DUDs.  Here’s a recipe for milk dud cookies.

63A. Round, red firecracker (CHERRY BOMB).  Has anybody ever lit one and flushed it down the toilet?  How did that work out?

11D. Narcs’ raid (DRUG BUST).

39D. Beach footwear (FLIP FLOP).  On the beach, I’m all about the Crocs.  I’m not a big FLIP FLOP fan.  I don’t like that thingie in between my toes.

Fun theme even if I didn’t notice what it was.

Other highlights:

4A. Nog ingredient (RAW EGG).  Man, I really thought this was NUTMEG.

42A. N.F.L. six-pointers (TDS).  Walking past bars in the city today it is apparent that people really like football.

70A. Annual tennis championship in Queens, N.Y. (US OPEN).  Nice to see my boro mentioned by name in the puzzle.

29D. Fives and ___ (TENS).  Is this a phrase?

31D. Africa’s fourth-longest river and site of Victoria Falls (ZAMBEZI).  Hey, it’s the first half of our podcast signoff.  If only 32A was OAT instead of OAR.

51D. Tarzan and kin (APE MEN).  There are other APE MEN?

Great Monday puzzle.

Next stop, Tuesday.

It’s a Patrick Berry puzzle, which in my opinion has come to mean two things. One, it’s masterfully crafted, and usually contains very clever wordplay, a fun gimmick, and a buttload of trivia, much of which I don’t know. The other thing it means is that Patrick Berry has written a zillion puzzles, and I wonder if he gets a bit of a free pass based on his reputation as a master puzzle crafter. Maybe the more seasoned constructors, like Mr. Berry, get certain puzzles accepted, puzzles which would likely be rejected had they been delivered by rookies. Maybe? Maybe. I’m thinking specifically of the very frustrating puzzle from August 2, 2009, which contained, essentially, unchecked squares with Greek letters spelled out in them. Today’s puzzle has another multiple-letters-in-a-box gimmick, but its inconsistency leaves me dissatisfied and annoyed.

The gimmick is hinted at by the title: “That Is Two Say.” Okay, this title doesn’t actually make any sense, except that the word “two” probably means that there will be, duh, two of something. Fine. In this case, it’s that some squares (randomly scattered around the grid) will get two letters in them. And these squares, when read in one direction, will sound like the two letters as syllables, and in the other direction, the letters will just be part of the bigger word.

Did that make sense? No? Good.

The first one I got was 60A. Music compilation marketer and 60D. “Married… With Children” actress. In this case, it’s K-TEL Records and KT (Katey) SAGAL. Get it? See, across, it’s the normal spelling of… wait, not really. I guess not really, because K-TEL isn’t a normal word. So in this instance, the K is a letter, and the T is part of TEL. But the down version seems to follow the vague formula, in that the name Katey and the letters KT both sound the same, when spoken aloud.

Okay, let me try to find one that works better.

108A. It’s not to be touched and 96D. Flu symptom, with “the” : POISON IV and SHIVERS. So this one works a little bit better. Except I’m not 100% sold since IV looks so much like the word it sounds like, ivy. I mean, the I isn’t even representative of a longer-spelled-out syllable. It’s just I.

Fine. One more try. Let’s see if there’s one instance of the theme actually working. How about 103A. American everyman and 104D. Carny booth prize : JOHN Q. PUBLIC and QP (Cupie) DOLL. Nope. Same kind of problem as with K-TEL.

Seriously? So this so-called theme doesn’t really follow a terribly consistent pattern, unless that pattern is to kind of work and kind of not.

Now, there are sections of the grid I haven’t even finished yet. I gave up, because I found solving this puzzle to be so frustrating and un-fun that two hours was more than enough. Below is my grid. The circled letters are the “theme,” and the grayed out boxes are the things I had to cheat on.

Oops. I already see a mistake I only partially corrected. 77A. Driving surface is TEEPAD, not TEEWAD. What’s a TEEPAD? I guess it’s some kind of golf thing. I had previously tried FREEWAY here, with the FR in one box, and then attempted to come up with the name of a Pointer sister that had an FR in it. I don’t know what I was thinking.

Here’s the rest of the theme entries:

• 14A. Club and 14D. Casual farewell : CUDGEL and CU (see you) LATER
• 24D. Post decorations on four-posters and 31A. Dental problem : BEDKNOBS and TOOTH DK (decay)
• 40A. Praiseworthy and 13D. Latin catchphrase sometimes seen on sundials : ADMIRABLE and CARPE DM (diem). First of all – Latin has catchphrases? Is that why the language has lasted the test of time so well? And second of all, the sundial thing – is that just there so that when you think of the one Latin phrase you know (carpe diem) you second-guess yourself because there were no sundials in “Dead Poet’s Society”?
• 47A. Chianti and Beaujolais and 48D. Singer who player herself in “Ocean’s Eleven” : REDS and ED (Edie, or maybe Eydie) GORME
• 67D. How drunks drink and 74A. “Fer-de-Lance” mystery novelist : TO XS (excess) and REX STOUT. Yes, use this one horrible time to not talk about Nero Wolfe, which is the only way anyone knows who Rex Stout was.
• 70A. 1873 adventure novel that begins and ends in London and 55D. Units of fineness : AROUND THE WORLD IN AT (80) DAYS and KARATS.
• 83D. Chisel face and 87A. Stop worrying : BEZEL and REST EZ (easy)
• 93A. Dipstick housing and 94D. Driver of the Cannonball Special : CRANKCASE and KC (KC? Or Casey?) JONES
• 116A. Jealous and 107D. Sneaker material : GREEN WITH NV (envy) and CANVAS. This may have been the one theme crossing that actually seemed to a) work, and b) be solvable by the idiots in my office (me).

My last series of gripes is with the entries that just don’t make sense for me:

• 56A. Authors’ aids: Abbr. : AGTS. How does this work? If the agent is helping the author, is he not an aidE? Or does the mere fact that he’s aiding the author make him an aid? And what agents aren’t really just in it for themselves anyway? The author is merely a vehicle to bring income to the agent.
• 78D. One end of a digression, for short? : PAREN. What is this, for parenthesis? Who says “paren”? And why does this clue get a question mark? It’s not clever, and it’s not wordplay. In fact, it’s not even a word.
• 83A. Republic once known as Dahomey : BENIN. Joon, don’t even bother. I’m in a bad mood already.
• 89D. Mug with a mug : TOBY. What on earth is this?
• 97A. Masters piece : POEM. Who is Masters? Someone famous? I’m sure. I’ve never heard of the Bard Masters.
• the crossing of 106A. Unaccented syllable and 100D. “Peer Gynt” princess : ATONIC and ANITRA. First of all, ANITRA and ANITA in the same grid? Feh. See also: SMIT/SMUT and TEATS/YEATS. Second of all, stop crossing two things that aren’t words.
• the crossing of a whole bunch of names and a theme entry made the middle of the grid a big-time goat rodeo. REX STOUT crossing with TO XS, TROLLOPE and DUANE.
• 101D. Bad connection, say : MISHIT. I had all but the first two letters in place, thanks to crossings. And thanks to that, my crossword puzzle had a naughty word in it, and all the letters were right. Ha ha ha.

You know – I’m going to stop here. I just didn’t like this puzzle. I didn’t like that the theme squares were randomly placed, that they had no consistency with across and down, that they had no consistency with whether the letters were parts of words or initials or letters or whatever.

I admire Patrick Berry’s puzzles a great deal – most of the time. I admit, I didn’t care for the one with the Greek letters. And I don’t care for this one very much. It’s clever, but I wanted it to be done thoroughly, not arbitrarily.

I look forward to the rest of the world singing Mr. Berry’s praises in the comments below.

The first thing that shows up when you launch a new puzzle with this software is the puzzle constructor’s name. I had just finished watching tonight’s Red Sox/Yankees game when I downloaded the puzzle, and was pleased to see our good friend Joon Pahk (Squirrel of Discord) show up on my screen. Pleased, and then somewhat scared. Joon, I think, has a personal agenda to get me to learn more nonsense geography. So I figured this puzzle would have about forty clues worth of random places in Iceland or something.

I got off to a typical Saturday start by entering exactly nothing upon my first read-through of the clues. The second time around, I started plugging in things that seemed right, even if I wasn’t 100% sure. The so-called gimmes:

• 23A. ___ Beach (former home of Dodgertown) : VERO
• 25A. Team known as the Americans until 1907 : RED SOX

Okay, hang on a second. Joon – is it a coincidence that there is a Dodger reference and a Red Sox reference side by side in this puzzle? Or because you know Ryan and me, and you know that we’ll do your puzzle, and you know that we’ll write about it and talk about it – you did this on purpose, didn’t you. Just to get accolades from BeMoreSmarter? Well…

…it worked! This is awesome. This is the most awesome puzzle of the week, of the month, and of the – well, we’ll stop at month. Dodgers and Red Sox, side by side. Let’s hope the postseason works out better than tonight (Dodgers lost 3-1 to the Pirates, and I watched the hapless Americans fall to the Yankees 9-5). Okay – more answers I may have almost known:

• 1D. In relation to : VIS A VIS
• 9D. “According to some…” : IT IS SAID
• 12D. Provides with a seat : VOTES IN
• 22D. His #14 was retired by the Mets : HODGES
• 40D. Cousin of catnip : OREGANO
• 43A. Author of the controversial kids’ book “In the Night Kitchen” : SENDAK. I read this book when I was younger. I don’t remember now what was controversial about it, but I remember that I liked it. I have a vague recollection of there being a drawing in it that included the little boy naked, perhaps dancing amidst some ingredients or something. I thought it was all quite fantastic. [Upon further review, I have discovered that it was the little boy’s nudity that caused much of the uproar. How is it that we delight over family photos of our young children or nieces or nephews dancing naked in the front yard – delight to the point of even using them later in life as awkward, embarrassing moments in front of first-girlfriends or the like – and yet when there is a cartoon about a little boy who appears naked in a drawing, it makes the book ban-worthy? What in the world is wrong with the world?]
• 50A. 1971-97 nation name : ZAIRE. I did need one crossing to trigger this answer in my brain – the Z from BAEZ (35D. “And a Voice to Sing With” memoirist)

This got me started, and before long, I had knocked out the northeast (stumbling briefly on 10D. Base of a number system, which I thought was CODEX for no particular reason. This lead incorrectly to COVET instead of RIVET, which lead to OMAN instead of IRAN, and it wasn’t until OMOMA (16A. Cooking product was actually AROMA) that I decided there was a problem. By the way, 10D is RADIX.

The southeast was more troublesome, since 44D. Game involving spinning a top on a string seemed like something I should know (when I wasn’t reading Maurice Sendak’s horribly inappropriate fiction, I was probably amusing myself with scientifically fascinating toys), but I had DI-B-L-, and couldn’t get EL DIABLO (which didn’t fit and didn’t make sense) out of my head. No combination of letters seemed to work, and even now, seeing DIABOLO there, I realize that I never knew this word, and maybe that’s not the scientifically fascinating toy I played with as a boy. Those vowels all crossed things I didn’t have – BASAL BODY for 67A. Cell organelle with microtubules. Seriously, Joon? The clue has two words I’ve never heard of before. Organelle sounds like a miniature pipe organ for girls, and microtubules are maybe parts of a circulatory system, piping freshly aerated blood into my fingertips.

Since I’m in the southeast, let’s give a huge high five for JUXTAPOSE. Awesome word, and that whole corner is pretty fantastic. JUXTAPOSE/OVERRULED/BASALBODY. Even if that third one doesn’t mean anything to me, the trip-nines looks wonderful. XERXES? Sweet. EARL “The Pearl” Monroe? Brilliant. (Lots of sports today, which I was quite pleased with. Thank you, Joon.)

The northwest was next, but I was in a bad bad way. Lots of blank squares meant lots of guessing, and in my case, wrong guessing. 1A. Momentous 1960s convention was merely V—-A—I, and I was trying to think of important things from the 1960s. The first thing to pop into my head was the Vietnam war, so into the grid went VIETNAM-I (two letters at the end were probably some kind of code, and who knows what it could be). This led to the certainty that 4D. Contacts 21st century-style was TMS (text messages) instead of IMS (instant messages). Then I tried AN S for 8D. Business end?, which was more disaster. Seeing a few letters in place for FOOTLOOSE (17A. Carefree – should have been SANS SOUCI, which is probably not English… grr…), and I had a whole bunch of disaster going here. It took the recognition that 28A. Axiom producer meant some other version of axiom… a car. Duh. Okay, ISUZU. This means that 24D. Location of the Boston Mountains and Buffalo River is not OREGON but OZARKS. 32A. Patron of barristers and notaries is not some British version of the person who hires a lawyer over there, but the patron saint, in this case ST. MARK. Whew. Exhausting, but the corner finally fell. And that damn convention? VATICAN II.

Now to the southwest. Got going okay when I discovered that 39A. Domain of Paul Bunyan didn’t have to be the city he was from, but rather the genre – FOLKLORE. 37D. Worker’s ideal came next, and it’s DREAM JOB. My mother and I were saying just tonight that no one’s job is ever always fantastic. Can you think of a job that might be? I can’t.

My final struggles came with the bottom three across answers in the southwest corner. 60A. [Vatican II] topic (referencing 1A) could be anything. Turns out it was LATIN. 64A. Hard to get a reaction out of made me go for STOIC, STONY, STONE… but no, it was science here, and the entry is INERT. Clever. Finally, 66A. Where the owl and the pussycat went, in a poem. I never read it. A country? A state? A place? I finally go TO-EA. I’m thinking it’s KOREA, and my 39D was wrong. TOBEA. TOFEA. TOREA – is that a place? The answer was TO SEA. Makes much more sense.

Joon, I applaud you. This was just about the perfect kind of puzzle for me. I really like themeless. I like a handful of answers I can get, a handful more than need some mental wriggling, and a final handful that just keep not making sense over and over until finally they click, and that click leads to a cascade of dominoes in my head, and suddenly it’s ISUZU-OZARKS-FOLKLORE-FIRELIT-IRIS-OREGANO-EGOTISM-PINTA-PLANES-XERXES-JUXTAPOSE-DREAMJOB-LEOX-KNOLLS, and the puzzle is done.

It’s way late, and I have to work in the morning, so no pictures. Sorry. Plus you’re stuck with me for one more day until Ryan gets back from his top secret mission. So… See you Sunday!

I’d love your opinions on them, so please feel free to say anything and everything in the comments. I use this blog as a place to try out first drafts, so it’s not like I’m pretending that these are polished, finished products. Heck, there might even still be wrong clues or misspelled entries.

Also, what do you think of the 7×7 form? Is it too small to be worth it? Too easy to be challenging? Maybe I should really go for far more complicated fill? Really, any opinions are welcome.

Oh — and if you know anything about PDFs, maybe you can tell me how to make both of these into a one-page PDF. Don’t they look silly, with all the huge white margin?

• Puzzle Snack 1 (PDF, sorry no PUZ available)
• Puzzle Snack 2 (PDF)

Today’s puzzle is from Robert Doll, and it surprised me by being a combination of easy-for-a-Friday (I got about 75% of the grid very quickly) and also at the same time, impossible. I stared at the southwest forever, having decided that if Ryan can no-Google all these Saturdays on which he doesn’t know anything, I can at least no-Google a Friday. I’m the reigning E Division champion, for crying out loud. What the hell is wrong with me?

But alas, it was not to be. For there was an impossible series of crossings. Two GCIs and one 50/50, and no matter what I did, the throughline made no sense to me. 34D. Gull’s cry is apparently I BEEN HAD. I assumed that “gull” meant something other than the bird, but I certainly have never heard the word used in any other way. And I had I—E-HA- going down, with some major question marks going across. To wit:

• 38A. Nigerian native : IBO
• 41A. ___ Correo : AEREO
• 51A. Province between Palermo and Catania : ENNA
• and 61A. Things often passed on : Abbr. : RDS

Well, the last one I knew was either RDS (roads) or RTS (routes). That was my 50/50. I thought of IBO for 38A, thinking that maybe I knew it from somewhere. Then I decided that I knew it because IBO was an abbreviation for something stock market-related. (I never got around to deciding that I was thinking of IPO [initial public offering] and that IBO isn’t a stock market acronym, but whatever.) So I abandoned IBO, and was still waffling on RDS/RTS. All this time, of course, I’m trying to figure out what a gull is when it’s not a bird.

In the meantime, I had E-NA for 51A, and deciding that Palermo and Catania were either Italian or Spanish, the only thing that seemed to make sense to me was ETNA. It’s a mountain, maybe it’s a province as well. Here’s what I know about provinces. If you tell me how many are in Canada, I can name all but one. If you tell me how many are in any European country, I can say, “I’m sorry – what do you take me for, some kind of person who knows anything?”

And as for 41A, I knew it was something in another language, and that it could be any letter at all, but that it was probably a consonant. Good thinking, moron.

So I was back to square one, with three foreign words crossing a kind of noise a bird makes, because in 30 minutes of staring, “gull” was still a bird. I decided on IBO (yes), ARREO (no), ETNA (no) and RDS (yes), leaving me with IBRETHAD. And so I decided that an ibrethad was the scientific name a seagull made when squawking on the beach. Voila, I’m done, hooray.

I’m looking back on when I get particularly stuck in crosswords, and without doing the specific math, it sure seems like most of the time, it’s with foreign words or names. In this puzzle, it was IBO, AEREO and ENNA. Joon Pahk, Squirrel of Discord, has reminded me on numerous occasions how much I don’t know about world capitals. My mother and I lamented the other day (while solving some old puzzles together) that neither of us know much about four-letter rivers of the world (now including the Nile, which I have come to learn I know nothing about).

So I need to learn more about the world. What should I do? Buy an atlas? Buy a globe? Take sporcle.com quizzes? I would love advice from the brilliant masses who read this blog on what might be the best way to educate myself in the ways of the world – or at least in the ways of words and names in other languages.

I learned two written languages as a kid – English and music. I’m now barely above average at both, and possess zero knowledge of anything else. Is this the end of the road for me, or is there hope?

Well, no matter what, it’s the end of the post for me. See you Saturday.

P.S. Are there any good collections of themeless puzzles out there, moderately challenging (Friday-ish) that are all in English?

P.P.S. I did a Google search for “i been had” +gull and discovered that there were 23 hits. Twenty-three. That’s how many kids were at recess in Maura Jacobson’s puzzle last week. And the first six hits were other people’s blogs for today’s puzzle. Yet this is still a well-known-enough concept for a crossword puzzle? Hm…

Today’s puzzle is by one of our favorites, Brendan Emmett Quigley Down Under Starring Tom Selleck.  As usual he provided us with a fun theme and a tricky yet fun puzzle.  As many of you know, we here at the Be More Smarter offices think Brendan is the coolest guy in crosswords and today’s puzzle only helped to confirm our feelings.

The theme appended an extra S onto in-the-language phrases.

17A. Band without a drummer? (THE BEATLESS).  Brian is a musician and plays in bands.  My dream is that he will play in a band that doesn’t have a bass.  And he will call his band the Baseless Accusations.  So far, this hasn’t happened.  I continue to hold out hope.

24A. “See ya, idiot!”? (SO LONG ASS).  Both the clue and entry made me laugh.  Both are wonderful ways to say goodbye to someone.

35A. Mission of an Army officers’ school (TRAINING BRASS).  Can someone please explain the concept of the training bra to me?

47A. Nice touch from Roger Daltry and Pete Townshend (WHO CARESS).  Considering Townshend’s legal troubles, this entry takes on another ickier dimension.

54A. Playful kiss on the Discovery (SHUTTLE BUSS).  This one doesn’t seem to fit with the rest.  All the other entries are pronounced differently than their in-the-language counterparts.  This one is pronounced the same.  It doesn’t mean it’s bad, it’s just different.

Very fun theme.

Other highlights:

5A. ___ Thule, distant unknown land (ULTIMA).  I don’t know anything about Ultima Thule but I did play a lot of Ultima on the computer in high school.  Good times.

16A. Musician who started the Obscure Records label (ENO).  Much like you almost always see a baseball clue in puzzles constructed by Barry C. Silk, Friend and Confidante to Doug Peterson, Crossword Gentleman and Man About Town, you can bet there’ll be references in Brendan’s puzzles to bands and labels of which I’ve never heard.

63A. Like this puzzle…not! (EASY).  I can’t tell if this is a pun about the theme or if Brendan is using the last clue in the puzzle to warn us about the difficulty level.

5D. Home of Arches National Park (UTAH).  I’ve been there.  It’s great and makes you feel like you’re walking on another planet.  I have video of me there.  Unfortunately, it’s on a HI8 cassette which means it’s a pain in the ass to watch it.

9D. Rapid, to Rossini (MOSSO).  Dude, c’mon, seriously.

57D. One to one, for one (TIE).  Great clue.

Another great puzzle by Brendan and, shockingly, my 25th no-google in a row.

Next stop, Friday.

This Friday, Sept. 25, will be the 13th annual Westchester (N.Y.) Crossword Puzzle Tournament, hosted by Will Shortz. The event goes from 7:30 to about 9:45 p.m. The contest will be held at the St. John’s Episcopal Church, 8 Sunnyside Ave. (corner of Bedford Road), in Pleasantville. The atmosphere is relaxed and friendly. The puzzles will consist of the Monday through Thursday crosswords from next New York Times. Two of the four constructors are expected to be on hand as officials. Prizes are awarded in many categories. Regular Times crossword constructors can’t compete, but are welcome to help judge. The cost to enter is $30 (or $45 for a doubles team), which includes coffee and dessert, with all the proceeds going to the Pleasantville Fund for Learning. Registration can be done at the door. The site is convenient from MetroNorth or by car. For more information, call 914-773-7794 or visit <www.pleasantville-fund-for-learning.com>.

Unfortunately, neither Brian nor I will be able to attend. Brian has family obligations and I’ll be on a mini baseball road trip. My friend Max and I will be seeing the Dodgers in DC and Pittsburgh. Rain is threatening in DC and the G20 conference will be going on in Pitt so it should be an interesting weekend.

Today’s puzzle was constructed by Jonathan Gersch and has a HENRY HUDSON theme. Did Henry Hudson do something special on September 23? Or is there no significance to the puzzle showing up today? As far as I can tell he was on a TRANSATLANTIC voyage and backed by SPICE TRADErs when he sailed through the ARCTIC OCEAN and into NEW YORK HARBOR aboard the HALF MOON on September 11, 1609. And on September 12 he sailed up the extremely coincidentally named Hudson river before returning to AMSTERDAM. As for September 23, I have no idea what he was doing. Perhaps he was being a YENTA or applying GEL or looking through his ETUI for a pin or a needle. It’s hard to say. Perhaps he was dreaming of outfitting his future ship DISCOVERY with furnishings from IKEA.

Other highlights:

49D. “24” agent Jack (BAUER).  Pickles and I love this show.  I don’t know how the writers are going to work themselves out of last season’s ending.  Jack was on his death bed after being exposed to a deadly biological weapon.  I do know next season will take place in New York and will possibly be the final season.

53D. “You don’t need to wake me” (IM UP).  I used this entry in a puzzle I recently constructed.  The clue I came up with was “Insomniac’s usual answer to ‘Are you asleep?’”  I think I like Mr. Gersch’s better.

Short post today.  I’m home from a long shift, falling asleep and having trouble typing.

Fun puzzle.  Is there a connection to September 23?

Next stop, Thursday.

It’s Episode 72 of Fill Me In, and we still continue insisting through practice that we are qualified to do a podcast. If you’re new to the show, you should check out our info page. If you’re not new to the show, good luck keeping up.

In today’s episode, we have a number of new and exciting features:

• Live semi-interactive bingo!
• A field reporter from the past!
• A thunder round bonus sound effect not provided by us! (And no, we don’t understand it either!)

Hey, and you thought it would just be the same garbagey nonsense we usually do.

Zambezi and oat.

Today’s puzzle was constructed by Gail Grabowski and the theme was “Tough!” I’ve never met Gail but I see her name pop up constantly in the puzzle bylines of all the major outlets and her puzzles are always quite fun.

The three “Tough!” answers are:

JUST DEAL WITH IT

TOO BAD SO SAD

THEMS THE BREAKS

I haven’t had somebody say TOO BAD SO SAD to me in a long while. I can’t remember a specific instance but the phrase conjures up memories of being made fun of in grade school. I’m sure I have some deeply painful and unresolved issues that this puzzle is helping to manifest. So, that’s good times.

Other highlights:

23A. Riverbank cavorter (OTTER). I don’t know much about otters. Are they like koalas and pandas? Super cute to look at but if you get close they’d have no problem biting your face off?

49A. Gladiator’s milieu (ARENA). You mean, like this?

64A. Citi Field team (METS). This has got to be the greatest disparity between fanciness and newness of the ballpark versus quality of the team.

7D. Payment at many a New York bridge (TOLL). Do you know what the toll is to cross the Verrazano bridge? $11.00!!! Whenever I cross I try to go as slow as possible to make sure I get my money’s worth.

11D. Like many automobile braking systems (ANTI SKID). Now, I don’t own a car. And the last car I owned didn’t have a functioning braking system anyway but isn’t this called ANTI LOCK brakes?

30D. Thurman of “Kill Bill” (UMA). Have you seen Inglourious Basterds yet? Why the hell not?

35D. Bit of 1773 Boston Harbor jetsam (TEA CHEST). I’m not a big tea drinker so I’m not well schooled in all the various containers in which to store tea. But, I always pictured the Boston Harbor tea to be in crates. Am I alone with this?

Fun puzzle today.

Next stop, Wednesday.

Was it just me or was Mark Feldman’s puzzle one of the harder Monday puzzles in a while?  The theme was MAGAZINE READERS which took me entirely too long to figure out.  I had MA_A_IDEREADERS and got way stuck.  The incorrect D came from 32D. Disney deer (ENA).  ENA falls into the category of short answers I see all the time but can never remember.  Much like Prince Valiant’s son. (Which I’ve forgotten again. TOR?  FLO?  LARRY?)  I also did not know 24D. Oslo’s country, to natives (NORGE).  Taking all the Norgian solvers into consideration this still seems a little too difficult for a Monday.

It wasn’t until I finally figured out the connection of the other theme answers that the main entry made sense.

17A. Official with stopwatch (TIME KEEPER).  I am perpetually late so I wouldn’t know anything about this.

20A. Bragging sort (SELF PROMOTER).  This was my 22nd no-google in a row!

56A. One good at forming connections with others (PEOPLE PERSON).  Thank you, Facebook.

60A. Miser, e.g. (MONEY LOVER).  I am also perpetually cheap which is probably why I’ve never bought a stopwatch.

Has anybody else noticed their magazines getting thinner and thinner?  No wonder Brendan doesn’t do a puzzle for Time Out New York anymore.  Each issue is only 3 pages long now.

Other highlights:

19A. Goat cheese (FETA).  Shouldn’t this be “type of goat cheese”?  Not all goat cheese is feta and not all feta is made from goat milk.

7D. Florentine painter Fra Filippo ___ (LIPPI).  Now that I’m a world traveler this one was pretty easy.  Here’s one of his works we saw at the Galleria degli Uffizi.

48D. Cassiterite (TIN ORE).  It’s never a good sign when things I’ve never heard of are in the Monday puzzle.

Fun, if slightly difficult, puzzle.

Next stop, Tuesday.

Less terrible would be an accurate description of today’s crossword puzzle, entitled “Closing Bell.” Actually, it was significantly less terrible. It was quite a nice puzzle. I had a few problems, to be sure, but overall, I liked it. Designed by Michael Ashley, this puzzle takes normal phrases and adds DING to the end to make new phrases.

• 23A. Goal of Sun-Maid’s marketing department? : RAISIN BRANDING
• 39A. Salad bar activity? : GREENS FEEDING. This was less good. I think a “greens fee” is a golf thing, right? Regardless – isn’t “feeding” when you sort of hang out and graze? I wouldn’t do that at a salad bar. I’d take my plate back to my table, thank you very much. I am not a horse.
• 52A. Book on how to repair rodent damage? : OF MICE AND MENDING
• 69A. Reason that nothing’s growing on the farm? : LONG TIME NO SEEDING
• 88A. Question from a campaign committee? : AIN’T WE GOT FUNDING
• 98A. Exercise for beginning yoga students? : GENTLE BENDING. This one took me forever. Who is Gentle Ben?
• 120A. Tardy illustrator’s assurance? : DRAWING PENDING. I don’t understand. Is the drawing “pending” because the illustrator is late finishing it?

Then I had my mistakes:

• 32A. Willow twigs : OSIERS. Apparently not ONIONS. But since 7D. P.M. preceded and succeeded by Shamir pretty much read like Blah blah blah by blah and blah, the answer was just as easily PERES as PEREN. 33D. Haitian president Preval? Sure, could be basically any four letter combination, since I don’t know a damn thing about Haiti. How about NENE? No, it’s RENE? Okay. Who knows.
• 60A. Overseas news source, in brief : VOA. And since 49D. End of a ballade could be anything French, I figured EN ROI was a lovely way to tie up a song, by cheering a king. Instead, it’s ENVOI, which doesn’t look like it means much of anything.

This puzzle also contained six GCIs. People – stop crossing proper names when neither of them is the least bit normal. Stop it. Just stop stop stop it:

• 33D, as I said before, could have been pretty much anything. And the middle of it wasn’t any easier than the initial letter. 50A. Beat poet Cassady – well, apparently it’s NEAL, but why not just about anything else? Cassidy is spelled wrong, so why not anything else in the answer?
• 48A. Composer Thomas : ARNE. And since 49D was a rather meaningless word to me, ARNE was just as easily ARNO or ARNI. What do I know about music?
• 93D. Town on the SE tip of Italy that’s the title setting for a Horace Walpole novel : OTRANTO. First of all, does this clue have a misplaced modifier? The town is the title setting, not Italy – is that right? What do I know about grammar? And then – 105A. Push too hard, maybe is RILE? I don’t get that at all. Anyone (Joon), explain it?
• 101D. Tokyo’s airport : NARITA. Okay, sounds vaguely Japanese. But 117A. Throws together is RIGS? How does that work? What do I know about throwing things?
• 104D. Whom a thane attended (whateverthehellthatmeans) : LORD, and 118A. Eight-time Canadian skating champion : ORSER. Crosscan, want to tell us about Orser?

So in general, I thought the puzzle was clever and fun, but in specific, I had trouble with a bunch of proper names. I like the trivia, yes, but I like the trivia to cross with things that people actually know.

Okay, it’s 4am. I need to be asleep.

See you Monday.

Today’s puzzle by Mel Taub ends the Half Centurrry Puzzlemakers Week.  Herrre’s what the notepad has to say about Mel, and a bottle of rrrum:

Mel Taub had his firrrst Times crrrossworrrd published on October 24, 1954. His Puns and Anagrrrams puzzles (of which this is an example) have appearrred in the Sunday Magazine since 1955, and a bottle of rrrum.

My firrrst thought when I saw this puzzle was, “I’m doomed.”  I’m not verrry good at crrryptics and I’m terrrrrrible at anagrrrams.  Moving letterrrs arrround in my head has always made me a little carrr sick.  But after closerrr examination the puzzle was much easierrr than I had fearrred.  The firrrst two I got werrre, and a bottle of rrrum:

38A. Pedrrro’s hand in Oman (MANO).

39A. ___ prrressurrre (cause of a jetty collapse) (PIERRR).

Once I got those two I figurrred I’d be able to get the rrrest.  And I was rrright.  And it was much easierrr than one of those durrrn blasted crrryptics which I can’t make heads orrr tails out of, and a bottle of rrrum.

Some of my favorrrite clues, and a bottle of rrrum:

34A. Rrretro style (EDOM).  MODE spelled backwarrrds, and a bottle of rrrum.

4D. The dirrrection to Hussein’s hearrrt (SSE).

26D. Irrreland’s currrrrrency unit since 2001 (EXPOUND).

38D. Intellect in 1500 (MIND).  I thought this one was verrry cleverrr, and a bottle of rrrum.

41D. Wrrriter whose worrrk descrrribes him to a T (POE).

I think it’s a prrretty bold move to publish this style of puzzle as one of the daily crrrossworrrds and I’m surrre therrre will be some who will be up in arrrms about it.  My only complaint (and it’s not much of a complaint) is it was a touch too easy for a Saturrrday.  On the otherrr hand, people who say they don’t like crrrossworrrds because of all the trrrivia should like this puzzle.  Almost all of the answerrrs are sitting therrre in the clues, and a bottle of rrrum.

Now, what about crrryptics?  I feel like I should starrrt doing them.  I was thinking about getting the Rrrandom House Guide to Crrryptic Crrrossworrrds.  Is that a good place to starrrt, and a bottle of rrrum?

Fun puzzle today.  I enjoyed the themed week.  And this was my 20th no-google in a rrrow, and a bottle of rrrum!

Next stop, Sunday, and a bottle of rrrum.

Ok, today’s puzzle.  It’s the fifth puzzle in Half Century Puzzlemakers Week.  It was constructed by Charles E. Gersch.  Again, I’m at work and I only have access to the applet so I can’t see the whole notepad.  What I do see tells me, “Charles Gersch, of New York City, had his first crossword published on Februar”.  Not a whole lot of insight into Mr. Gersch’s life but I can assume he started constructing his first crossword some time in Januar.

I thought this puzzle was a lot of fun and much, much easier than yesterday’s.  Charles had three 15-letter answers going across the grid.

16A. Something that may cover a house (INSURANCE POLICY).  This one took me way too long to figure out.

35A. Pitcher’s ploy (INTENTIONAL WALK).  Hmm, I guess.  It’s really the manager’s ploy though.  A pitcher never makes that decision on his own.

55A. Literary character played in film by Charles Laughton, Anthony Perkins and Geoffrey Rush (INSPECTOR JAVERT).  Here’s something that’s always puzzled me.  Why, in old books, are the town names obscured?  For instance, one of the first lines of Les Miserable is “In 1815, M. Charles-Francois-Bienvenu Myriel was Bishop of D—-.”  I’ve never understood this.

Other highlights:

24A. Satirist Freberg (STAN).  I first heard of Stan Freberg in my 9th grade English class.  It was taught by Mr. Raabe (who I just friended on Facebook!) and he used to play Stan Freberg Presents the United States of America.  Hilarious.  Purfuit of Happineff.  Good stuff.

34A. Its maiden flight carried it’s country’s president home (EL AL).  Clever way to clue this crosswordese.

41A. Not so good (ADVERSE).  This is a weird clue.

44A. Stay longer than (OUT WAIT).  I’m going to guess that people don’t like this answer.  OUT WAIT is not really in-the-language, is it?

49A. Gift tag word (FOR).  FOR has got to be hard word to clue.  This is a pretty good attempt at doing something a little different.

52A. Chambers in a bar (DIANE).  My favorite clue.  And what a great move it was for Shelley Long to leave Cheers.  What would life be like without Troop Beverly Hills and Frozen Assets?

9D. Natural history museum exhibit (SKELETON).  I totally had MASTODON here.  It really should have been MASTODON.

15D. “Cracklin’ ___” (Neil Diamond hit) (ROSIE).  My whole life I’ve thought this was Cracklin’ ROSE.  That’s embarrassing.  Speaking of Mr. Diamond, many of you know that Fenway Park always has a sing-a-long of Sweet Caroline.  It’s cheesy but fun.  But, last time I was at a Mets game they did the same thing.  That Is Lame.  They can’t come up with a different song?  Poor Mets, they’re a mess.

Good puzzle.  As I’ve gone through it to write this post it appears a little more uneven than it seemed while I was solving it.  I had a good time solving it though.

Next stop, Saturday.

Good stuff.

On to today’s puzzle which by some miracle I no-googled. It’s part of the Half Century Puzzlemakers Week. I’m at work so I only have access to the applet which means I can only read part of the Notepad. So I can’t tell you everything about today’s constructor, Arthur Schulman. I can tell you he’s a retired psychology professor at the University of Virginia. And that he constructs crossword puzzles. After that, the notepad cuts off. Using a bit of intuitive reasoning I’m going to guess that his favorite food is ravioli, he prefers the aisle seat over the window when flying westbound and the movie, Sixteen Candles, changed his life.

The puzzle featured one of the harder Thursday themes in a while. It consisted of very short, arcane words that have definitions unknown to me.

37A. Ais (THREE TOED SLOTHS). Ohhhkaayy.

3D. Ocas (WOOD SORRELS). I had WOOD BARRELS first thinking it was a reference to Donkey Kong. I don’t know what compelled me to enter in the correct answer. I have no idea what a wood sorrel is. I’m guessing it’s either a jumpy-ass little mammal or a type of onion.

7D. Moas (FLIGHTLESS BIRDS). Ok, this one I’ve heard of. Probably from crosswords.

9D. Eri (ASSAM SILKWORM). There’s more than one type of silkworm? Do tell.

18D. Ara (CONSTELLATION). I know nothing about constellations. I remember in the 5th grade we studied Orion and everybody made fun of me because I had a similar name. It didn’t matter than Orion was a hunter and probably a macho dude. Those clever 5th graders found some way to turn it around on me and send me home crying.

27D. Ers (BITTER VETCH). Ok, besides the word BITTER none of this makes sense. This excerpt from wikipedia should clear things up: The Spanish pulse mix comuña contains Common Vetch and Bitter Vetch in addition to vetchling (Lathyrus cicera) seeds; it can be fed in small quantities to ruminants, but its use as a staple food will cause lathyrism even in these animals. Ah, now I get it.

I have to say, as crazy as this puzzle was I did enjoy it. The process of going from complete confusion to actually solving it was fun.

My biggest guess:

42A. “Fish Magic” and “Viaducts Break Ranks” (KLEES). I had the K and the S and I took the leap. I know nothing about Klee. Well, except that his first name was Paul and his favorite food was ravioli.

My only complaint with the puzzle is the difficulty level was a little inconsistent. We had these incredibly hard clues and then we had stuff like Future dr.’s exam (MCAT) and Perrier rival (EVIAN). Not that I should complain. Without the gimmies I never would have no-googled. Ok, work is finally over. I’m heading home.

Next stop, Friday.

Today’s puzzle continues our week of Half-Century Puzzlemakers’ Week. Maura Jacobson designed today’s grid. Her first New York Times puzzle appeared on March 6, 1955. And she has contributed a puzzle to each and every American Crossword Puzzle Tournament for the last 32 years. In addition, she also has written a weekly puzzle for New York magazine since 1978, and I have to say that when I first started doing crosswords, I found a bunch of old New York magazines, discovered her puzzles and discovered that they were exactly my skill level. So Maura and I go way back. She doesn’t know me, but we go way back.

Our theme today is… wait a minute, I have to check… hang on, I’m looking at someone else’s blog to find out. Sadly, that’s the situation here – I don’t quite understand what the theme is. Let’s see:

• 64A. 1962 Robert Mitchum/Shirley MacLaine film … or the outcome of 17-Across and 40-Across? : TWO FOR THE SEE-SAW
• 17A. Playground situation #1 : TWENTY-ONE SWINGS
• 40A. Playground situation #2 : TWENTY-THREE KIDS

Okay, now I get it. Apparently on this particular playground, there are two too many children for the swings, so they have to play on the teeter-totter. I have to say, if I ever saw kids streaming out of the school at recess, and 21 of the 23 went for the swings – that would be creepy enough. What about tetherball? What about tag? What about sneaking around the corner of the building for a TOKE of something (31D. Hit, of a sort). What about the losers who tried to not even leave the school building during recess because they’d rather play in the computer lab for 15 minutes writing programs in BASIC? What about them, huh?

The other mini-theme here seems to be IN. IN A TUB, IN THE USA, INTRA, INGA… A few others hidden: SINATRAS, IWIN, RINGO…

So I continued to be on Maura’s wavelength here, solving this Wednesday puzzle in well under five mintues, which is pretty quick for me for a Wednesday. I will also say, however, that despite being easy, I didn’t totally care for the theme. Are TWENTY-ONE SWINGS and TWENTY-THREE KIDS phrases I should know? I mean, do they have any bearing on the rest of life, or are they merely 15-letter terms that can satisfy the peculiar equation of S = K – W (where K is the number of children, W is the number of swings available, leaving S to be the number of children without swings)…?

I look forward to the inevitable discussion below. You may commence comments.

See you Thursday!

The lesser news: Despite 47 votes on last week’s poll, not a single one of you voted in favor of us abandoning our podcast. So, here we are with Episode 71. Tra la. Check this out:

• Ryan runs into an old friend in Italy
• Various names anagram into funny phrases
• Brian and Ryan fight over what is or is not accomplished
• Viewer mail, contests, thunder, etc.

Furthermore, we have two bits of media to share. One is a video of the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain performing “Wuthering Heights.” The other is a photo of me eating ham salad. That’s right, it’s been over a year, but I finally did it. And if that wasn’t enough — Ryan and I made the ham salad from scratch. Take that, Dan Feyer!

Zambezi and oat.

Today’s puzzle is the second in the Half-Century Puzzlemaker’s Week.  This one was constructed by Fran and Lou Sabin.  According to the notepad:

Lou Sabin, of Milltown, N.J., sold his first puzzle to The Times in 1950. He now constructs crosswords with his wife, Fran. Altogether Lou has had more than 150 puzzles in the paper.

You can check out all 29 of Lou’s Will Shortz-era NYT puzzles here.

Today’s theme was THINGS WITH WINGS.

1A. *One attracted to a flame (MOTH).

17A. *Bygone $20 gold coin (DOUBLE EAGLE).  How come the $1 coin has never really been popular in the US?  I was using the €1 and €2 coins in Italy and they were great.  Very convenient.  And I’m not sure if there’s an equivalent of the penny in Euro currency but they sure didn’t use them where we were.  Also very convenient.  I loved that nothing cost €4.99.  Do merchants really think that pricing something at $4.99 is actually fooling anyone into thinking the item is substantially cheaper than if it was priced at $5?  Anyway, what were we talking about?  Oh right, wings.

58A. *President’s ride (AIR FORCE ONE).  Also the name of the last Harrison Ford movie that didn’t make me want to rip my face off.  That was in 1997.  Let’s look at what’s happened during the last 12 years.

• Six Day Seven Nights – dear god, that was horrible.
• Random Hearts – sweet mercy, that was bad.
• What Lies Beneath – would have been better if they didn’t give away the ending in all the posters.
• K-19: The Widowmaker – meh, instantly forgettable.
• Hollywood Homicide – completely unwatchable, i got through maybe 20 minutes.
• Firewall – fun, but a rehash of other Harrison Ford movies and not done as well.
• Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Crap – soul crushing, childhood destroying garbage.
• Crossing Over – this was a movie?

So, for the past 12 years his best movie was Firewall?  Yoinks!!

69A. *Pest you might slap (GNAT).

12D. *Mark on a Brit. military pilot’s uniform (RAF INSIGNIA).

24D. *Nocturnal songster (NIGHTINGALE).  Is there some sort of song with nightingales?  Something like: “Night!  Yeah!  In!  Yeah!  Gale!  Yeah!  My momma’s going to buy me a diamond ring!”  Am I remembering that incorrectly?

Other highlights:

47A. “To your health!” (PROSIT).  Huh?  I’m not sure how to parse this.  Is it PRO SIT?  PROS IT?  PR OSIT?

2D. Singer who funded New York’s Strawberry Fields memorial (ONO).  So, did anybody get The Beatles Rockband?  Is it as fun as it looks?

5D. Shot out, as lava (SPEWED).  We went down to the ruins of Pompeii which were amazing.  It’s a whole city with streets and houses and theaters that had been wiped clean by the wrath of God.  Amazing stuff but the Italians really need to work on their signage.  Very confusing and we weren’t even sure which mountain was Mt. Vesuvius.  We think maybe this one was it.

6D.  Peter Fonda title role (ULEE).  Someday I should watch this movie.

41D. Dr. Frankenstein’s assistant (IGOR).  Hump?  What hump?

Congratulations to XOP and XOP2 for coming up with the correct answer to “What was the Maestro’s real name?”  The answer: Bob Cobb.

Next stop, Wednesday.

Ditto.

Oh, and for those of you who are already missing Brian’s posts, here’s a link to one of his classic entries.

And, in case you’re curious, The International Herald Tribune does carry the NYT crossword. It publishes every puzzle except for Saturday. The IHT weekend edition comes out on Saturday and contains only the Sunday puzzle. On the upside, I was able to do Sunday’s puzzle at around 3AM Saturday morning New York time. So if you ever want a head start on the Sunday puzzle all you need to do is fly to Europe. On the downside, the very thin IHT costs €2.50 which is also the going price for a very small bottle of Coca-Cola.

Oh, and one other thing. I saw a lot of crosswordese while I was there. The ARNO river, a statue of ERATO, many APSEs and NAVEs, an OPEL dealership and NERO’s Golden House just to name a few. The place is like a Monday puzzle come to life.

Speaking of Monday’s puzzle, today’s was constructed by Bernice Gordon and is part of the Half-Century Puzzle Maker’s Week. From the notepad:

All the daily crosswords this week, Monday through Saturday, are by puzzlemakers who have been contributing to The Times for more than 50 years. Bernice Gordon, 95, of Philadelphia, had her first Sunday crossword published on January 23, 1955. Her first weekday puzzle appeared three years earlier. She is the oldest known puzzlemaker in the newspaper’s history.

What a wonderful idea. And it certainly ensures this week of puzzles will be filled with things of which I’ve never heard.

The theme is something we’ve seen before but it’s one of those that I always enjoy.

17A. Film director’s sound? (OLIVER’S TONE).

26A. Birth control advocate’s fury? (MARGARET’S ANGER).

43A. Jazz pianist’s court appearance (GEORGE’S HEARING).

57A. Comedian’s parents? (TOM’S MOTHERS).

I guess that last one is a bit of a stretch. How come there are never any sitcoms about someone with two mothers? We’ve had My Two Dads and Two and a Half Men but nothing with two mothers…you know what? Never mind. I’ve answered my own question.

Other highlights:

33A. Architect Saarinen (ELIEL). I can never remember any of these guys. Why can’t they have normal names like Pete and Joey?

10A. Onetime center of Italian violin manufacture (CREMONA). Oh, more crosswordese that we saw. An AMATI and a STRAD violin.

18D. Derriére (REAR). I had a teacher in grade school who always made us use the word derriére when referring to the buttocks. We’d get in trouble if we used the word FANNY. Ah, childhood.

42D. Eminent conductor (MAESTRO). Remember the Maestro from Seinfeld? Okay, but who remembers the character’s real name?

Fun puzzle today and looks to be a great week.

Next stop, Tuesday.

Today’s puzzle is a bit of an unusual one. It seems that if you access the puzzle online (via the PUZ file to use with Across Lite or through the nytimes.com applet), you can’t get the full effect. Here’s a link to a PDF of the puzzle.

As you can see, there’s a Bingo game smack dab in the middle of the puzzle. For those of you who attended Lollapuzzoola, you probably can tell as quickly as I could where constructor Todd Gross got his idea for embedding another game into the middle of a crossword puzzle. Todd – I’ll be collecting my inspirational 10% whenever you’re ready.

So the grid contains a handful of entries that are unclued, but turn out to be call numbers for the Bingo game. For example, 1A and 1D are B-SEVEN and B-TWELVE, respectively. Check off all the Bingo squares as you go, and if you did it right, you might just win. (Win what? Hard to say. Ask Will Shortz.)

First, one side of my brain. I think this was very clever. It broke the mold, it did something new. Unclued entries within a theme are a tricky concept, and this one went even further by having an entire second game in the grid. (Also, I think maybe the word count was lower than usual, due to a 5×7 block of nothingness in the center.) The fill, overall, was good (a few nit-pickies coming up later).

It was interesting using a new element to help my solving. I was able to figure out certain answers because they existed in the Bingo grid. Six letters with a Y at the end? It’s either N-FORTY or G-FIFTY. Doing this helped me get crossings that otherwise would likely have stumped this solver.

On the other side, I guess I should ask this first – did everyone get the same Bingo card? Or does it vary from paper to paper? If we all got the same Bingo card, then there’s no real game here. We all get bingo. Maybe some of us get it faster than others, but we all get the same winning card. However, if all the newspapers around the world printed different variations of the Bingo card, then it’s more of a game. (I wonder, of course, how this could even be possible, though, considering the millions of print copies of the New York Times that must be run off.)

A handful of things were new to me:

• 18D. Combine that makes combines : DEERE. I don’t even know how to say this clue out loud. The only noun kind of combines I know is where football teams test out the skills potential new players.
• 23A. The Pequod, e.g. : WHALER. Is this from Moby Dick? Where’s Joe Krozel and Peter Collins when you need them?
• 79A. What “prn” on a prescription means : AS NEEDED
• And a GCI: 93A. Writer Zora ___ Hurston and 94D. Popular 1940s radio show “___ Alley” : NEALE and ALLEN’S. I didn’t know if that was an A or an E. I guessed A, for what it’s worth.

And a couple I didn’t love:

• 22A. It comes after a “long time” : NO SEE. Cute, but it doesn’t sit right for me.
• 35A. Plumbing or heating : TRADE. What? Heating is a trade?

What’s your thought on this Bingo puzzle? Gimmicky with no reward, or clever beyond your wildest dreams? Chime in below.

See you Monday! (Or, rather – you’ll all see Ryan on Monday!)

PUZ version… PDF version. Enjoy!

It’s a first draft, so any comments and thoughts are totally welcome. Also, I did a lot of revising on not a lot of sleep, so there’s bound to be typos, errors, repeated strings, things that flat out don’t work — just let me know in the comments or via email.

Four-Plus in PUZ format. Four-Plus in PDF format.

Thanks! Enjoy!

A heads-up about tomorrow’s puzzle. On Sunday, there will be an element of the puzzle that will not work in either Across Lite (the PUZ files) or in the Java applet on the New York Times website (huzzah, I hate the applet). So if you’re among those who don’t get the dead tree edition of the Times, you’ll need to locate a PDF of the daily puzzle. It will be available at Jim Horne’s Wordplay blog, and we’ll try to get a copy of it here as well. (However, I will not be home from work tonight until about 10:00, so it will be a later arrival for us.)

Anyway, on to today…

Barry C. Silk, friend and confidante of Doug Peterson, Crossword Gentleman and Man About Town is the constructor of this fine Saturday puzzle. The only weird thing – where’s the baseball? Barry, we talk about how you always include two baseball references in every puzzle. I don’t see any. Well, except 23A. Nobel-winning chancellor who must be Jackie BRANDT, a one-time all-star outfielder for the Orioles. Or maybe 49D. Dud (FLOP), which can be used to describe just about every starting pitcher in a Boston Red Sox uniform. Two months ago, Ryan and I were joyous over the very definite possibility of a Red Sox/Dodgers World Series. Now, we’ll both be lucky if our respective teams aren’t removed from Major League Baseball by the end of the season.

Oh, sorry. The puzzle. Even without baseball, Barry does open the puzzle with what I think might be a rather signature move. Lots of people do this, but Barry maybe more than others. He sticks a fun phrase (and in this case, one with an X) into 1-Across. Here, it’s a pet that hisses when frightened, and it’s not a HOUSE CAT (my first try), but rather a BOX TURTLE. Who knew?

That stacks nicely with APRIL FOOL and STARE DOWN (which I don’t totally get – Cow with a drawn-out look. I guess cow must mean something other than a cow). In the opposite corner, we finish the grid off with TUMBLE DRY, AIR COOLED and STEEPNESS. I like the first two, but the third is mostly word-finishers, I suppose.

Somehow, AIR QUALITY INDEX (31A. 0-to-500 scale that goes from least to most hazardous) jumped out at me with only two crossings, and I don’t think I’ve ever heard of it. The other 15-letter entry went down the middle – LOW HANGING FRUIT (8D. Easily reachable goals). When is Sukkot? I know it’s about hanging fruit in your house, but I don’t know when it happens. In the spring, probably.

I’m going to file YEST (35D. Very recently: Abbr.) with Caleb Madison’s SAR (for Sardinia) in a box labeled “horrible non-abbreviations that we pretend are abbreviations anyway.” If anyone else would like to file anything there, please be my gue. (Clue for that last word: Household visitor: Abbr. [5])

I want to write more, but I’m going to be posting a new puzzle of my own as well, so I’ve got to tie things up here. Barry – I really liked this puzzle. Totally up my mental alley (which sounds creepy, but isn’t), I was able to get through this in good Saturday time, somewhere around 25 minutes. Thanks, Barry!

See you Sunday!

Today’s puzzle comes to us from Caleb Madison, Wunderkind. It’s a Friday, which leaves Caleb just two days shy of the cycle (Monday, Saturday). I expect to see it soon. This puzzle also marks the second year in a row that Caleb has had a puzzle on the eleventh day of this ninth month. Coincidence, most likely, but we’ll have to wait until 2010 to be sure.

I’d say this was a relatively easy Friday puzzle, especially considering my record of failing miserably on Fridays. The grid here was a rather eye-catching design, with bold black stripes (including some so-called “cheater” squares), and a few long entries. I’ll start with those:

• 21A. “I’ll Make Love To You” Grammy winners : BOYZ II MEN
• 27A. They may convince people to get rides : CAR COMMERCIALS
• 32A. One who has practiced his hitting skills : TRAINED ASSASSIN
• 41A. Highest-grossing black-and-white film of all time : SCHINDLER’S LIST. I’ve never seen this. How terrible am I?
• 49A. Two-time Oscar winner for Best Adapted Screenplay : MARIO PUZO

I’m looking through these clues and wondering if maybe this puzzle sets a record for longest clues. Or maybe highest clue words/puzzle words ratio. Lots of long clues. Good clues, fun clues, but long clues.

Plenty of stuff I didn’t know, but it was still gettable.

• 9D. “La Cousine Bette” novelist : BALZAC. Like Sen-Sen, I first became aware of Balzac through lyrics from The Music Man.
• 10A. Parker of “Old Yeller” : FESS
• 13D. Group of “nine-and-fifty” in a Yeats poem : SWANS
• 17A. The lithograph “Mustache Hat” and others : ARPS
• 34D. Mediterranean isl. : SAR. Maybe. This might be wrong. It was next to another abbreviation (33D. Part of many Canadian place names, which I think is STE), but this is too much abridged geography for me.
• 41D. Domain of King Tyndareus : SPARTA. Was King Tyndareus in 300? My wife loved that movie. I fell asleep during the one part where all the zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…
• 57D. “Per ardua ad astra” org. : RAF. Sure.

Weird coincidental clue du jour: 31A. Blizzard hazard (WHITEOUT). I saw a trailer for a movie with this title. Looks to be almost as bad as how I perceive “All About Steve” to be. Probably won’t see either of them.

No graphics today. It’s late, and I’m off to bed. I realize I haven’t written this to inspire much discussion. For those who like to discuss, please offer topics. Perhaps one of them can be how I can turn my Facebook ads back into English? Or make them disappear?

See you Saturday!

In other news, I snap my two-puzzle streak of not really liking the puzzle a whole lot. Today’s was more enjoyable, but maybe only because there was a music theme involved:

• 30D. Theme of this puzzle : MAJOR SCALE
• 4D. Composition of a 30-Down : EIGHT NOTES

And then the eight notes of the scale were each crammed into a single box, making this something of a rebus puzzle.

• 61A. Last name in mystery / 53D. Olympic sport since 1964 : DOYLE / JUDO
• 53A. Voice of Scar in “The Lion King” / 55D. Rod’s partner : JEREMY IRONS / REEL
• 46A. Ball catcher / 43D. Friendliness : MITT / AMITY
• 40A. On ___ track / 34D. Actually : A FAST / IN FACT
• 34A. Shoe part / 24D. Smirnoff competitor : INSOLE / ABSOLUT
• 24A. “___ salute!” (Italian drinking toast) / 19D. ___ ease : ALLA / ILL AT
• 18A. “Mona Lisa,” e.g. / 11D. Not pro : OIL PAINTING / ANTI
• 10A. “Where’s ___?” / 13D. Half a ring : WALDO / DONG

As I was working on this, I got a little nervous that I was going in the wrong direction when I saw entries that had notes of the scale in them but were not rebus entries: EYRE, LAST CALL, REESE, etc. But then, I looked at the grid, and realized that the eight notes included in the grid are positioned equidistant along the diagonal, from southwest to northeast. Quite clever.

A few things I didn’t know:

• 7D. Memphis’s locale : NILE. Okay, now hold on just a second. I have a set of nightmare Jeopardy! categories, and one of them is “Four Letter Rivers That Aren’t The Nile.” What the hell is this, Memphis? Memphis is in Tennessee. I know this. I’ve been there. I have to adjust my nightmare categories now to include the Nile. So much for knowing one river.
• 20A. Football formation : WISHBONE. I don’t remember seeing this one in the playbook on Madden 2009.
• 31A. Bush solicitor general Theodore : OLSON. I hope they mean “former President” and not “shrub.”
• 36A. TV’s Houston and Dillon : MATTS. Who is Matt Houston? A quick check with IMDB, and we discover that “Matt Houston” was a television show from the early 80s. This is an era of television history we like to call “The Time Before XOP and XOM Allowed Their Children to Watch Television.”
• 47D. They’re located behind the ears : MANES. I don’t care for this. I mean – how about THE WALL. Or YOUR BACKYARD. Or CANADA (depending on which way you’re facing). I mean – everything is behind the ears from one perspective or another. MANES seems somewhat random.

Also, we had another instance of two clues that are clever in that they don’t turn out to be the definition you think – but then both of them end up meaning the same not-the-most-popular definition. 44D and 42A are both clued as Pain, but one is HASSLE and one is NUISANCE. We’re onto this new scheme of double-trickery. So knock it off.

Also, did I completely forget to talk about NLER back on Tuesday? Yes, it was there (3D. Pirate or Padre, for short). Just stop it already! PLEASE!

Ryan is back in a couple days. If you still need your Ryan fix, try this classic from the archives.

See you Friday!

Question: How many things can be wrong with a dishwasher?

Today’s puzzle (today’s crossword puzzle, that is) is by Richard Chisholm, and has nothing to do with 09-09-09. Instead, it’s one of those puzzles that doesn’t really explore new territory, but it does do a rather pedestrian theme to the tune of a fine Wednesday puzzle. That theme is clued at 25D. Some shoes… and a feather of this puzzle’s theme (EEES). I might rather if this answer was just EEE, since it’s a weird term to pluralize, and EEES is not the string of letters repeated in the other entries:

• 17A. Arborists : TREE EXPERTS
• 24A. Capitalism : FREE ENTERPRISE
• 40A. Disagree : DON’T SEE EYE TO EYE
• 50A. Tuneful Ford : TENNESSEE ERNIE
• 62A. Art show that might feature “Fish Magic” : KLEE EXHIBIT. This last one was my least favorite, but it was my fault. My brain decided to parse the clue wrong, and I thought I was trying to find a MAGIC show that featured “Fish Magic.” Plus I don’t know anything about Klee.

To the theme, I say: meh. To the rest of the puzzle, I also say: meh. The whole thing was kind of blase for me. It was fine, it was nothing too exciting, and time-wise, fairly typical for me on a Wednesday (8-ish minutes). I got almost everything done in about four minutes, and screeched to a dead halt in the southeast. How about this fleet of answers all in that lower right:

• 63D. Mid first-century year : LVI. How much do we love these sorts of entries? Not much at all. This one didn’t even include any element of hope, since the first letter could be L, X, V or I. Fun.
• 64D. Ballot marker : XER. Seriously? This is a word? A ballot marker is maybe a pen, maybe a voter, maybe a difference-maker, but an XER? Oy.
• 54D. Fix firmly : Var. : IMBED
• 55D. Slate or Salon : E-ZINE
• 59D. Jeanne d’Arc et al.: Abbr. : STES. Gotta love a clue that includes French, Latin, English and abbreviations.

We also had a Crossing Of Foreignerity, with 27D. Libertine of myth ___ Park, N.J. (ROSELLE, which sounds French even if it isn’t — and forgive the editing, but it was brought to my attention that I referenced the wrong clue) and 48A. My ___, Vietnam (LAI, which sounds Vietnamese, purely because the clue suggests so).

Some general crosswordiness filled out a bunch of the grid with AES, ESSES, BAA, EAU, AMAJ, ATT, AMI, EWE, ESC, WAR, ADA and SOL. Too many abbreviations for my taste (ESTD, BBQ, EDT, STES, CRTS, MSGR, DMZS, WWW, AES and DRS) and not quite enough references to obsolete programming languages (GOTO).

Enjoy 9:09:09am on 09-09-09, kids. See you Thursday!

Here on Episode 70, we offer four of these five items:

• Ryan makes progress on his INNER NERD puzzle
• Brian thinks Independence Day is a decent movie
• Ryan learns Italian from XOP
• We decide that “All About Steve” is going to suck, purely based on the trailer
• We decide that “All About Steve” is worthy of several Oscars, purely based on the trailer

Also, we want to plug Eric Berlin’s Game Night Crosswords (link updated to reflect Eric’s changed site) — a fantastic contest set of puzzles. Check it out, it’s totally worth it. And remember, you still have a week to complete the official contest from last week, which is a PUZ file from Neville Fogarty, Squishy Defeated.

So, dear friends, please enjoy Episode 70.

Oh yes, another thing. We are trying a new feature, so if you have a chance, please vote in the poll below. We’re trying two things — one is to see if this poll thing works, and the other is… well, what we’re asking in the poll.

Today’s puzzle is from Alan Arbesfeld, and it’s a “Word That Can Follow” theme. 71-Across points us to six other entries, the ends of which can all be followed by DANCE. Those six entries are:

17A. Borrower’s limit : CREDIT LINE. Below, a Line Dance. Who’s the fool in the front row wearing flip-flops?

21A. Joe Six-Pack’s protrusion : POTBELLY

36A. Harmless-to-humans slitherer : GARTER SNAKE. I think I might be more interested in a Garter Dance than whatever a Snake Dance is. Also, I need to find more opportunities to use the term “harmless-to-humans” in my daily routines.

44A. Typical visitor to Cooperstown : BASEBALL FAN

54A. One cause of deforestation : ACID RAIN

64A. Conflict settled by the Treaty of Paris in 1856 : CRIMEAN WAR

This puzzle also broke a convention, which is that no entry should be longer than a theme entry. Two ten-letter entries out-length the two eight-letter theme entries, unless there’s a Leafs Dance (11D. Canadiens’ rivals : MAPLE LEAFS) or a Light Dance (28D. Go-ahead : GREEN LIGHT).

I’m pooped, so that’s about all I’ve got for now. Wish I was Ryan? Click here.

See you Wednesday!

And in the meantime, I had two minutes and fifty-three seconds today to solve this puzzle by Andrea Carla Michaels (Does she have a nickname? Not yet) and Ashish “Xan Vongsathorn” Vengsarkar. Of course, the stupid applet hates me, and took thirty seconds to load. So my time online looks like 3:24, when it was actually one of a select few of sub-threes for me.

The theme today is a fishing theme. This is all well and good, as I enjoy almost everything that has to do with fishing except for actually fishing. I like hearing about fishing stories. I like playing Fish Wrangler on Facebook. And I like eating fish. So this was right up my alley. We’ve got a ton of theme fill here, so let’s start with that:

• 1A. Card game in which a player might ask, “Got any 8s?” : GO FISH
• 20A. Fall for it : TAKE THE BAIT
• 41A. Start something that one shouldn’t start : OPEN A CAN OF WORMS
• 57A. Be a sucker : GET REELED IN
• 72A. Hook, line and ___ : SINKER
• 11D. Algae color : MARINE GREEN
• 24D. Disney lyric repeated before “Darling, it’s better / down where it’s wetter” : UNDER THE SEA

I was awfully impressed by the fill of this grid. A whole lot of theme going on (seven entries with crossings), and not too much crosswordy nonsense. In fact, the only entry I wasn’t too hot on was COR (42D. Where streets meet: Abbr.). I don’t love seeing made up abbreviations even when they’re completely gettable.

I’m really curious to know how Andrea and Ashish teamed up to make this puzzle. Fortunately, I can satisfy that curiosity by reading Jim Horne’s blog over at Wordplay. Check it out.

I have to say, I think this puzzle is a fantastic meeting of the minds. When flying solo, Andrea tends to provide a light whimsy in her puzzles, themes that are easy on the brain and often smile-worthy. Ashish is always so crafty and creative with either the wordplay of his theme or the tight fill. And this puzzle incorporates both of those elements so wonderfully – it’s almost too rich a puzzle to show up on a Monday.

Thanks, Andrea and Ashish, for one of the best Monday puzzles I’ve seen. And now – I’m back to Facebook’s Fish Wrangler.

See you Tuesday!

P.S. Miss Ryan? Here you go.

Today’s first challenge comes to us from a regular reader of this blog, who has asked me to stop apologizing for not being Ryan. Can I apologize for apologizing? Here’s the thing – you come here to read Ryan’s blog. So do I. He’s hysterical. So I just want to make sure you know that his vacation is only temporary, and he’ll be back sometime around September 13.

Our second challenge is the Sunday puzzle, this time from Robert H. Wolfe. The title is “The Argonne.” Both Google and Wikipedia give us a lot of options for what The Argonne is. Google’s first choice is some apartments in Washington, DC. Wikipedia’s is a forest in France. I think my favorite random source might be some mailing list that includes this:

I have medium sized hands, and hold JT30s and Green Bullets comfortably, but the Argonne seems too massive for me and uncomfortably heavy. Of course, I cannot speak for it’s tone, or if Big Walter Horton actually used it. Perhaps he had huge hands.

This is a picture of Big Walter Horton:

Anyway, the puzzle. See, I’m avoiding the puzzle only because it wasn’t my favorite puzzle. The theme was straightforward enough — “Argonne” meant “R gone” and certain phrases had an R removed from them to make new phrases. The thing I didn’t care for was that with long entries, there’s no way to remove one letter and have it change much. So the new “clever” entries weren’t a whole lot different from the original entries (which weren’t anything to write home about in the first place). The puns were so-so, and I just didn’t get into it. But the theme answers were:

• 3D. Word signed for a deaf toreador? : NON-SPEAKING OLE (role)
• 7D. Fish in a firth? : SCOTTISH EEL (reel). What is a firth? According to the Collins Essential English Dictionary, it’s a narrow inlet of the sea, especially in Scotland. (I tried to use Merriam-Webster online, but the page had more ads for AOL than definitions for “firth,” so I gave up.)
• 24A. Some skiing stars? : CROSS-COUNTRY ACES (races). See, it used to be “cross-country races.” Follow it now?
• 28D. Reaching 21? : BECOMING THE AGE (rage). This was awful. I thought the term was “becoming all the rage,” so I didn’t like that element of it. Also, there’s already a real turn of phrase for turning 21, which is “coming of age.” So this new entry wasn’t clever, it was just odd.
• 35D. What an unevenly milked cow might have? : RIGHT FULL UDDER. Okay, this was even worse. I don’t know that I know what the original phrase should have been. “Right full rudder”? What is that? This sort of entry belongs in one of Trip Payne’s Wacky Warriors from the New York Sun.
• 40D. Camouflage? : COMMANDO AID (raid). “Commando raid” is in the language?
• 51D. Mythical twin’s bird tale? : ROMULUS AND EMUS (Remus). Again, it’s just random. That it satisfies the singular arbitrary rule of the theme is fine, but there’s nothing interesting about it.
• 71D. What the N.H.L.’s Hurricanes skate on? : CAROLINA ICE (rice?). Again, can we not have started with real things? What is Carolina rice? It’s apparently a brand of rice. I am familiar with maybe two brands of rice. Rice-A-Roni and Uncle Ben’s. I think this is another brand. But I might be wrong.
• 114A. Departure call from a Spanish vessel? : SHIP-TO-SHORE ADIOS (radios). This was the only entry I really liked. Although the fact that there were two entries that became Spanish when the R was removed seemed a little redundant to me.

Okay – can I apologize for not liking the puzzle? I like a lot of crosswords. But this one did nothing for me. I thought it was a skimpy theme, and I thought the theme entries were random. If you’re going to do such a simplistic theme (take phrases and remove ONE letter – and only remove it ONCE!), I want the phrases and/or the clues to be real zingers. I want them to be fun, I want them to sparkle. I liked the ADIOS one, but the rest were nothing to me.

I had two GCIs in here (those are Gaping Chasms of Ignorance), both of which were mystery vowels:

• the O between 61D. One of the Cyclades (IOS) and 67A. One of a pair of biblical nations (MAGOG). Apparently the nations were Gog and Magog (which, according to Wiklqpedia, were also known as Yajooj and Majooj). Most recently, Magog was in the news when George W. Bush (former owner of the Texas Rangers) used Gog and Magog as biblical examples for why France needed to support his invasion of Iraq. I’m sure it made about as much sense to France as it does to me.
• the A between 83D. Chase in films (ILKA) and 103A. Fictional village visited by Major Joppolo (ADANO). This one I guessed correctly on the first try, but it was still a guess. Could have been an E.

Also, I have a new word to add to my list of –AGE words I think are horrible: TUTORAGE (4D. Educational work after school). Bleah. Don’t we call it tutoring?

Solvers of the world – please chime in and say wonderful things about this puzzle. I didn’t like it, but maybe you did. I know I’m just one opinion, and a pretty meaningless one at that. So I’d love to hear some positive thoughts on this puzzle to balance out my crankiness.

See you Monday!

We’ve been big fans of Mike’s work ever since we first started doing this blog. His themeless weekend puzzles quickly became some of our favorites, and we bestowed him with maybe the second nickname in “Fill Me In” history (Dan Feyer, I think, was the first). When it came time to put together our puzzle roster for the first Lollapuzzoola, we turned to Mike, who designed a wonderful puzzle that seemed themeless at first, but wound up being a big set up to a ridiculous game of Twister. Yes, it’s true.

Flash ahead to this year’s Lollapuzzoola 2, we knew we wanted another Nothnagel creation on the docket, so we checked with Mike to see what he might want to construct. When he devised this themeless puzzle, it was pretty much a no-brainer to use it as our championship round puzzle. The grid was full of wonderful stuff, we worked out two levels of clues (for our two skill divisions), and then Dan Feyer went and solved the whole damn thing in just over seven minutes, edging out Francis Heaney for the Lollapuzzoola title. For those seeking a PDF file of the puzzle, you can get both the version from the New York Times (which was our “Express Division” version), or the slightly easier take (the “Local Division” version). Pictured below: Champions Dan Feyer (Express) and Will Irving (Local), along with Ryan and me. (Plus, you can see Mike’s puzzle in the background!)

Entry of the day, as far as we’re concerned: PAPELBON (56A. Pitcher who struck out the final batter of the 2007 World Series). We like it because it’s Papelbon, and we like it because Ryan and I helped edit this one clue in particular.

There’s an awesome entry on the Wordplay blog, courtesy of Jim Horne. He interviews Deb Amlen, who was one of the angels sent to bless our tournament with logic, sensibility and quality judging. They both have been so wonderful to us, and this interview was quite lovely.

Mike, if you’re reading this post, I’d love for you to tell us whatever you want to about this puzzle. And if you don’t mind sharing your view on the story of watching Will Shortz solve it in front of you, I know we’d love to hear that.

And anyone else solving, or who was at Lollapuzzoola, chime in with your thoughts. We’d love to hear from you.

Also, this marks Day One Without Ryan. I know most of you come here to read his pithy comments on the daily puzzle, and if you’re sorely disappointed to find me here instead (which I would be), I offer you two links. One is to an old post of Ryan’s from last year. The other is to a random Wikipedia page. (And if you go the Wikipedia route, try to play Six Wikidegrees of Kevin Bacon, where the goal is to link to Kevin Bacon in six or fewer clicks.)

Joe Krozel, Rhymes With Puzzle (pictured at left) is responsible for today’s crossword. It’s a zinger of a themeless, a relatively low 64-word count, which includes eight 15-letter entries set up in pairs on each of the four sides of the grid. But best of all, this puzzle has only 19 blocks in it. Besides Kevin G. Der-Hyphen-Youkilis’s 18-block puzzle, there have been three 19-block grids. Two of those are Joe Krozel’s (the other being Manny Nosowsky’s). Wow.

I have a recollection of Joe saying once that it was easier to stack 15s in pairs, and thus set in one row from the edge (easier than stacking them in trios on the edge). He’s done that here, and with some great fill. Those long answers:

• 15A. Psychiatrist’s arsenal : ANTIDEPRESSANTS
• 17A. The were used on old TV’s “Twenty One” : ISOLATION BOOTHS. I’m not familiar with “old TV.” What about this show “Twenty One” required old TV? Why can’t this clue simply lose the word “old”? It seems unnecessary, awkward and does nothing to either enhance or complicate the solving experience.
• 44A. Process associated with socialism : NATIONALIZATION. I can’t even begin to explain how little sense this makes to me. I will put both of these words (socialism and nationalization) somewhere up there with four-letter river names (not the Nile) on my list of categories I don’t understand.
• 47A. Having no pressing needs? : CREASE RESISTANT. I am now at the point that when I see the word “press” in a clue, the first thing I think of is ironing. This product at right apparently contains “Crease Resistant Factor.” I don’t understand what that could possibly be.
• 2D. Rebel : INSURRECTIONARY. Ugh. I had INSURRECTIONIST here for a long time. And I still don’t really know what insurrection is, only that it has nothing to do with either resurrection or erection (which are both words I do know).
• 3D. Long-disproven scientific theory : PTOLEMAIC SYSTEM. Do you think anyone ever asked Ptolemy what his “syst” was? And also – why does it take so long to disprove this? Someone who knows a lot about anything (Joon, Doug, anyone), explain everything you know about Ptolemy and why it takes so freakin’ long to disprove him.
• 12D. Launching a start-up, say : ENTREPRENEURIAL. My brain says there’s a disagreement in type of speech between the clue and the answer. But my brain is unreliable. Anyone got an opinion?
• 13D. Number of nights in old stories : A THOUSAND AND ONE. Is this like old TV?

In the rest of the grid, we had a ton of fives, in two sets of stairs, but it seemed a wee bit heavy on the –ED words, particularly right in the middle, with NUKED, HOLED and REASONED stacked atop one another.

Some things I either don’t know, or want to rant about:

• 7D. Sponge skeleton parts : SPICULES. The picture at right is apparently a (or several) spicule(s). I don’t know what I’m looking at.
• 31A. Freshener since the 1890s : SENSEN. Should this not be “Freshener from the 1890s until the 1950s”? What do I know. Nothing. But I have never seen Sen-Sen (or sen-sen, or sensen, or whatever it is) on a Rite Aid shelf in my lifetime. Furthermore, I only have ever heard of this product in lyrics from The Music Man.
• 38A. Ravel’s “Ma Mere ___,” a k a “Mother Goose” : LOYE. I thought goose was FOIS. I thought fois gras was goose liver. I don’t know anything about fancy food.

My favorite entry was AT LUNCH (32D. Out around midday, say), although it’s just because I spend most of my day mentally at lunch. In fact, I’m lunchy right now. (It’s way late at night, and my wife and I just had some Taco Bell. Yum.)

My only real quibble here is with 34D. Breaks in. The answer is ORIENTS. I can’t, for the life of me, figure it out. Can someone explain how this works? This entry killed this from being a no-Google puzzle for me, since without it, I couldn’t get either 40A. Bond variety, briefly (MUNI) or 43A., Late, in Leon (TARDE). Crossing an abbreviation and a Spanish word with something that doesn’t make sense to me seems unfair. But Joe, you’re a genius, so I’m 100% certain that it is fair, and I’ve made a glaring error.

Finally – tomorrow is a big day for us here at the BeMoreSmarter offices. Tomorrow, the crossword puzzle is Mike Nothnagel’s Express Final from Lollapuzzoola 2. In conjunction with tomorrow’s blog post, I’ll be posting the Local version of Mike’s puzzle as well. (For those who missed Lollapuzzoola – this was our final puzzle. Local was the “easier” division, “Express” was the… other division.) That we contributed something toward getting this puzzle into the New York Times is very exciting. Ryan is more excited than I am. I think it’s cool. Ryan thinks it’s the greatest thing in the world. I’m about as confused about that as I am about ORIENTS.

See you Saturday!

1. Get on a train to Newark
2. Fly to Brussels
3. Fly to Milan
4. Take a bus from Malpensa airport to Milano Centrale
5. Get on a train to Rome.
6. Hop on a city bus (#75) to the Trastevere neighborhood where we will disembark and meet up with the owner of the apartment we’re renting for 4 nights.

As I sit here at work, this list of steps seems rather hard to fathom and, quite frankly, appears to border on the fantastic. But, that’s what we’re going to do. I just hope we get there before the other 11 teams.

What do people know about the International Herald Tribune? Will told us they print the puzzle (except for Saturday) but are they on time or six weeks behind?

On to today’s puzzle which was constructed by C.W. Stewart (why does her name make me think of cereal?) and features a very fun theme that, I have to admit, I didn’t fully grasp when I was solving.

20D. *”Cheers!”…or a hint to answering this puzzle’s five starred clues (BOTTOMS UP). The entry is positioned so the B is at the bottom and the P is at the top. And the other starred clues are all positioned in a similar fashion. What I didn’t notice while I was solving is all the theme entries start with a synonym for the tuchus so the bottoms are indeed up. (On a side note, Bottoms Up is also the name of a Paris Hilton movie. The movie, unsurprisingly, looks dreadful. And it features what may be the worst tagline I’ve ever seen. “Are you down for some Tinseltown partying?” Wow. Everything about that sentence makes me want to retch.)

6D. *Auto accessory (SEAT COVER).

12D. *Crewman on the tail of a bomber (REAR GUNNER).

28D. *1968 Barbra Streisand starring role (FANNY BRICE). The fanny pack is the worst thing ever invented. I’ve long maintained that everybody looks like a dork while wearing one. But, you know, here’s Hulk Hogan sporting a fanny pack and it works. By god, it works!

35D. *Beef cut (RUMP ROAST).

Very fun theme.

Other highlights:

40A. Tricky highway maneuvers (MERGES). Hmmm, really? Isn’t merging just the normal way to get on a highway? I think a better clue might be ” Normal highway maneuvers that become tricky after one slips a rabid gopher down one’s pants”.

3D. ___ place (TENS). Ok, so I don’t get this.

5D. Twin Tony whose #6 jersey was retired (OLIVA). One of my favorite ALers. (You see! You see how that doesn’t work? You see how it can’t be used in an actual sentence?)

45D. Fountain orders (SHAKES). So here’s something remarkably unfunny.

I have to say this movie looks better than Bottoms Up.

Ok, I’m off to Italy. Brian will be solo blogging until I get back. Remember, Saturday September 5th. Mike Nothnagel’s Lollapuzzoola puzzle will be in the New York Times. And there will be a blurb about us! A blurb!

Next stop, Rome.

No, we don’t take time off, even after Lollapuzzoola exhausted our every breath. We are still back, and providing you with 38 minutes of questionable quality. In this week’s episode, some of these issues are covered:

• Was David Stein the math teacher of Linden Vongsathorn?
• Will Ryan ever conceive of a crossword-worthy theme?
• Did we receive some of the most innovative Viewer Mail ever?
• Does Brian need a job, starting at approximately 4:20pm on Sunday, September 6?

The answers to between three and five of those questions is undoubtedly yes. So if these topics interest you, please click yourself into a Fill Me In frenzy. (Also, after you listen to our episode, if you think that the “yes” for #3 was particularly awesome [which we do], you should go to his YouTube site for more.)

This week’s contest is a crossword puzzle. There’s no code word, so we have to assume you’ve listened to the show. If you haven’t, just be honest and don’t try to enter the contest, because we’ll know, and Jonathan Papelbon will haunt your dreams. So here’s the puzzle (in PUZ format). Figure out the answer, send it to us, and you may win a prize. (Both “may” and “prize” have rather elastic definitions with us.)

Zambezi and oat.

As for today’s puzzle, I needed this one. I needed a puzzle I could just breeze through, because lately, I have had a horrible streak of no-no-Googles. Every puzzle seemed to have an area full of GCIs, and I just couldn’t figure out a damn thing. Crossings of Mayan gods with Chinese proverbs, crossings of variant spellings of Aramaic pop culture with four letter rivers not the Nile… Ugh. Thankfully, Jim Hyres (pictured at right) has helped my ego tremendously with this very clever (but wholly solvable) Wednesday offering.

The theme exists in the form of four down entries, plus a series of circled letters. Those are:

27D. Quaver : EIGHTH NOTE

13D. Like some Adventists : SEVENTH-DAY

24D. Intuition : SIXTH SENSE

9D. Superfluous person : FIFTH WHEEL

and the circled letters, in a diagonal line from the NW to the SE, spell out B-R-O-A-D-W-A-Y.

I have a few favorite joke New York maps out there. One is the classic New Yorker cover map that shows the New Yorker’s view of the United States.

Another of my favorites is – well, I can’t get a good image of it. This is a bad image:

And then this is a link to a site where you can read more about it, and perhaps purchase your own. I have a copy, which is completely awesome. I tried scanning it, but it’s in a frame with a glass front, and the scans all came out blurry.

I really like maps. Old subway maps are another favorite of mine. Does anyone remember this fancy piece of work from the early 70s? (HINT: I do not.) (HINT #2: You should click the map to see the full-sized version.)

As for the puzzle, it was all pretty smooth sailing. I miss the east side – no Lexington or Park to be found. But still, a very clever graphic design theme in play, and were it not for the super cleverness of the grid’s layout, this would be a Monday puzzle, in my opinion.

I do have a couple quibbles, just to get any sort of comment ball rolling:

1A. Source of the music for a 2001 theatrical hit : ABBA. Meh. “Source of”? I don’t like it. It’s right, I guess, but it sounds a lot like the kind of awkward sentence structures Ryan uses when he talks about Linden Vongsathorn’s math teacher.

15A. Shortly : IN A WHILE. I usually think of this phrase to not mean in a short while, but rather in a long while. Mom, When can I play video games? In a while, as in after you’re done with your homework. Dad, are we at the zoo yet? No, in a while, son, as in in about two more hours. I always use this phrase to suggest that people put on their patience cloak. because in a while means not now.

58A. Stir-fried entree : CHOP SUEY. My parents used to make this dish called American Chop Suey. I realize now, it’s just elbow macaroni with meat-and-tomato sauce. It most certainly was not stir-fried. How did this bastardization of what is probably a much better meal (i.e. the actual Asian dish) come to pass?

51A. Identity theft targets : Abbr. : SSNS. I tried to fit BRIAN CIMMET in here, thinking that maybe the puzzle was speaking to me. As some of you know, I was the target of identity theft recently. And having experienced it (and I’m still experiencing it, apparently), I don’t know that my social security number was the target. It was the enzyme, perhaps. It was the enabler, that’s for sure. But the target? No, I believe that I was the target, and I will not be boiled down to a string of numbers. Not yet, anyway.

62A. Mythical sea creature : MERMAN. Would she have a career now? Would her unique array of talents work in today’s world? I’d love to see someone who has the vision, the talent and the means make a movie that mashes together the careers of some of Broadway’s most singular voices and put them into an American Idol setting. Merman, Channing, Stritch…

53D. Dressy attire for a man : SUIT. Weird clue. First of all, suits are not specific to men. Second of all, aren’t they just kind of normal attire for most men? I mean, everyone in the corporate world wears one every day. I guess it’s not casual, per se, so does that make it dressy? To me, dressy implies that it’s more so than the norm. Oh, and third of all, if suits are so commonplace (as I claim them to be), and dressy means more so (as I claim it to mean), isn’t it women who find themselves to be dressier than “normal” by wearing a suit? (I don’t know if I believe this last bit. If anything, a woman in a suit is a) usually pretty hot, if you have a mild executive fetish, b) probably not more dressed up than when she wears anything else to her office job, and c) forget I said anything – women look great in suits. Especially in movies from the 1980s. Except Debra Winger. I just saw “Forget Paris” yesterday, and she’s a disaster.)

10D. Yank or Ray : ALER. Seriously. We’ve been through this. STOP TORTURING US.

Oh, and in disappointing news, Ryan is going to Italy soon. This is not disappointing for him, but it will be for you, when you have to read crap posts from me for 11 days. I’m very sorry. I asked Ryan if he would write all his posts in advance, and I’d just plug in appropriate clues, but he didn’t think it would work.

See you Thursday, if you haven’t abandoned us by then…

But, for now, on to today’s puzzle. It was constructed by Steven Ginzburg and features a theme I’m not sure I totally understand.

37A. How 18-, 24-, 47- and 56-Across may be defined (BY HOOK OR BY CROOK).

18A. SHARPTURN

24A. SHEPHERDS CANE

47A. SWINGING PUNCH

56A. RACKETEER

Ok, so does this mean that each entry may be defined by hook or by crook? Or may some of the entries be defined by just hook and the others defined by just crook? I guess a SHARP TURN and a PUNCH can be a hook, a RACKETEER can be a crook and a SHEPHERDS CANE be…something, I don’t know.

I appreciate the idea behind the theme but I find it pretty confusing.

Other highlights:

14A. Musical work that’s often not in English (OPERA). Looks like we’re totally going to miss the opera season in Italy. Not that I’m a huge opera fan but I’d love to experience it in Italy. We are taking a tour of La Scala though. That should be fun.

42A. Tops of many Halloween getups (WIGS). Seeing all the Halloween stuff at the local Rite Aid is always bit depressing. I love the summer. I much prefer it when the Rite Aid aisles are full of coolers and beach chairs.

65A. First, second, third or home (BASE). Hmmm, is home plate a base? I guess technically it is but nobody ever refers to it as such. Is there some sort of job I could get as a Baseball Term Usage Monitor? I think I’d enjoy that.

40D. Giant in pasta sauce (RAGU). Will I ever be able to eat RAGU again after eating in Italy? I hope not.

What did you guys think of this theme? Did you understand it? If you did, could you explain it to me? Thank you.

Next stop, Wednesday.

Thanks to all for your comments on my TV commercial puzzle.  I’m very happy my first puzzle wasn’t a complete disaster.  I got some great suggestions from a few of you that I’ll work on incorporating into the final version.

Today’s puzzle was constructed by Fred “I’m from Jersey.  Are you from Jersey?” Piscop.  It features a FOUR/FOR/FORE theme.  Sometimes a feel a little cheated when there’s only 3 theme entries but they’re all 15 letters long so I’ll give it a pass this time.

17A. Roger Bannister was the first (FOUR MINUTE MILER).  When I run on the treadmill at the gym I go for about 30 minutes and cover 3 miles.  This works out to a 10 minute mile.  At the end I am very tired.  Good for Roger.

35A. How something may be done, nostalgically (FOR OLD TIMES SAKE).

54A. Features of yawls or ketches (FORE AND AFT SAILS).

Perhaps not the most thrilling theme of all time but a solid Monday offering.

Other highlights:

49A. Visitor in “District 9” (ALIEN).  Great movie.  And the ending sets up the inevitable lousy sequel nicely.  I think the best movie I’ve seen this years has to be Inglourious Basterds.  I’m biased though.  I’m a huge Tarantino fan.  And I love movies where my people kick butt.  (I’m a big fan of Munich also.)  My second Oscar prediction of the year: Christoph Waltz will win either Best Supporting Actor or Best Actor.

28D. ___ avis (RARA).  I 100% only know this because I do a lot of crosswords.  I have no idea what language it’s in or what it means.  I’m going to say it’s Latin for “rare bird”.

45D. Willem of Spider-Man movies (DAFOE).  I was walking in Times Square yesterday and, apparently, there’s going to be a Spider-Man musical with music by Bono.  Could this be possible or was I in the middle of a fever dream?  Let me check…yup, it’s true.  It’s directed by Julie Taymor of Lion King fame.  My first thought is this will be horribly terrible but you never know.  (But, really, you do know, don’t you?)

Next stop, Tuesday.

I don’t generally like quote puzzles, but I thought I’d try my hand at making one. This is a Stephen Sondheim quote. For all I know, this quote has been done before, but whatever — I haven’t made a puzzle out of it before, so it’s new to me.

I’ve got this for you in PUZ and PDF formats. Beware — it’s an irregular size. Oh, and also beware — I have done almost zero fact-checking, grammar-editing or proof-reading. This is a first draft.

On to today’s extremely clever puzzle by Ashish Vengsarkar and Narayan Venkatasubramanyan.  This is one of the most clever themes I’ve seen in quite a while.  Even after I had figured it out I still had to figure it out some more in order to really figure it out.

The title is Literally So.

23A. –IRC-MS-ANCES (TAKE OUT OF CONTEXT).  When I first saw the clue I thought it was texting speak.  Besides LOL (which I hate) I don’t know much texting speak so I didn’t think I was going to enjoy the puzzle.  But, looking closer, the clue is actually the word CIRCUMSTANCES with the letters C-U-T removed.  Someone’s CUT (or “share of booty”) can also be called someone’s TAKE.  CIRCUMSTANCES can also be referred to as CONTEXT.  And the CUT is out of the CIRCUMSTANCES, hence, TAKE OUT OF CONTEXT.  Brilliant.  I love this theme.

36A. ANTI—VERNMENT UN—ST (BLOODLESS REVOLUTION).  GORE (or “blood”) removed from ANTIGOVERNMENT UNREST (or “revolution”).

52A. AR—CL- (THE MISSING LINK).  I think this one is my favorite.  TIE removed from ARTICLE.  THE, in grammar, is an ARTICLE.  A TIE can also be a LINK so THE MISSING LINK.  Awesome.

70A. P—ARY CARE PHY-ICIANS (DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS).  RIMS removed from PRIMARY CARE PHYSICIANS.

86A. FI-TH WH—L (SPARE NO EXPENSE).  FIFTH WHEEL (or “spare) with the FEE (or “expense”).

98A. WHAT A –ANDA DOES IN –EIS-RELY FA-HION (EATS SHOOTS AND LEAVES).  A PANDA EATS SHOOTS and the phrase is missing the PLUS (or “and”).  So the AND has left.

121A. W—THL-SS R-AD-TER (LEMON DROP COOKIES).  A LEMON  (or “the last car I owned which is sitting somewhere on the side of the Massachusetts Turnpike gently mocking me”) with OREOS taken out (or “dropped”).

I’m sure if you’re here and reading this you’ve probably already figured all of this out but I needed to write it down just so I was sure I understood everything that was going on here.  Let me say again, this theme is wonderful.  Really, really fun wordplay which is what crossword puzzles (especially the Sunday crossword) is all about.  Bravo, Ashish and Narayan.

The theme is so great I can almost overlook 112-Across.  Almost.  I’m not even going to type it here.  I will not sully our blog with that most hated 4-letter entry.

The top half of this puzzle completely mystified me for a good long while.  I still have not seen even part of any episode of American Idol so 1-Across could have been anything.  I’ve also never heard of AFTA so 1-Down wasn’t easy either.

Over on the other side I put MASK instead of EGGS for Halloween purchase and, directly below, I put TANK instead of LEAK for Scuba diver’s worry so I was all kinds of screwed up over there as well.

But, eventually, I figured it out and my no-google streak currently stands at 1.

Wonderful puzzle.

Next stop, Monday.

[Quick Note: lest you get worried that two days in a row means that something has happened to Ryan – he has promised to edit this post to include his own commentary. Skip ahead to the more colorful text.]

[Oh, and Quick Note #2: Ryan is going on vacation for about ten days, so while he’s gone, you’re stuck with me. But don’t worry, I’ll open each post with a link to a past post of Ryan’s, so if you want to feel like he’s still around, you can.]

Today’s puzzle, on the other hand, was a drop in the ocean. A walk in the park. A pie in the face. It was designed by our good friend, Doug Peterson, Crossword Gentleman and Man About Town (and recent constructor of Lollapuzzoola 2’s Puzzle #5, which featured Ryan faking an orgasm). The grid looks very Saturday-y, with four 15s, two staircases of 5s and a plethora of surprising fill (and a few nonsense words just to be sure).

The 15s:

15A. Revealing pieces : INTIMATE APPAREL. I had the first part, but I thought it was going to be pieces of writing, so I tried for INTIMATE MEMOIRS, which is far less an actual thing.

17A. Some coverage providers : CELL PHONE TOWERS. I recently switched to AT&T so I could get an iPhone. Since I hate talking on the phone in the first place, it seemed like it wouldn’t much matter that service in New York is rather spotty. And so far, that assumption has proven to be correct.

46A. Something shown off on a half-pipe : SKATEBOARD TRICK. I never skateboarded. It was all the rage at my junior high school, and I still remember my classmates talking about all the different types of wheels and axels and stickers and whatever, and all I could do was wonder how anyone could see through their stupid mops of hair.

49A. Russia, China and France are in it : SECURITY COUNCIL. Meh. I know nothing about world politics. I am a loser.

Some gimmes (at least, for me):

1A. 2001-08 Yankees pitcher with seven Gold Gloves : MUSSINA. Mike Mussina is probably able to devote more time to crosswords now that he’s retired from baseball. Did you know that in 2008, he won 20 games for the first time, and then retired? No one had done that (won 20 in his final season) since Sandy Koufax retired early due to nagging injuries.

19A. Conjurers : MAGES. I told you I’ve been playing too much World of Warcraft.

39D. Without conviction : WEAKLY. This is how I do most things in my life.

51A. It can be brutal : HONESTY. Ain’t that the truth.

Things I didn’t know:

1D. Algonquian language : MICMAC. This sounds like it should be on a fast food menu.

9D. “Nell” director Michael : APTED

28D. Back up? : PRONE. I tried both PROOF and PROVE here, thinking in a different direction. Now that I see the answer, I’m not sure I understand. Doesn’t prone mean “lying down”? How is the back “up” in this situation?

32D. “On the Malice of Herodotus” author : PLUTARCH

40A. Some farm stock : EMUS

44A. “Peter and the Wolf” bird : SASHA and 45A. “Peter and the Wolf” duck : SONIA. Very tricky, Doug. Usually this kind of technique means that one of these will be a name and the other will be an instrument, say. Very tricky. Here’s a video of some people playing part of the “Peter and the Wolf” score on four bassoons. When was the last time you saw or heard four bassoons? It’s pretty awesome.

50A. Greek salad ingredient : OREGANO. What? I had no clue.

I actually no-Googled this, so once again I have proven that I live weekends backwards.

I now turn you to your regular host, Mr. Ryan Hecht. …Ryan?

DASH (Different Area, Same Hunt) is a puzzle hunt event taking place in eight cities (Boston, Portland, Houston, Los Angeles, Seattle,  and Palo Alto, and San Francisco). Every city contributed one clue to the event, and each city will use all the clues from the contributing cities. The hunt will take place entirely on foot and should last somewhere between 5 to 7 hours. We expect the puzzles to be moderately challenging for most teams, taking between 10 – 30 minutes to solve. These puzzles incorporate wordplay, logic, code deciphering, general knowledge, and lots of creativity. For more information, visit: http://www.playdash.org/ Also, you may follow us at the national level on Twitter at @playdash.

Also – the Bay Area Crossword Tournament is coming up on September 12. $25 registration if you do it now, $30 at the door. Four puzzles, three of which are coming from the New York Times and one from a little-known crossword personality by the name of Tyler Hinman.

And now, onto our main event, the Friday puzzle by David Quarfoot. My memory of David Quarfoot is that his puzzles are a) impossible and 2) contain lots of crunchy letters.

And… my memory is accurate, thank you very much. Being the hack solver I am, I spent a good 40 minutes on about 90% of this before I finally had to turn to XWordInfo.com to check up on an answer. No no-Google streak for this wannabe crossword guru.

The puzzle was full of things I just didn’t know at all – or at least, things that were familiar, but never came into focus from the clues. Is this an instance of clues not pointing to answers? No, just a solver who is a moron. Let’s see:

1A. Rallying cry supported by some monks : FREE TIBET. Seriously. Give me something I can grab onto for the first clue. Free Tibet? Good lord, let’s just start off the puzzle experience by pointing out how non-political and non-aware of everything Brian Cimmet can be.

10A. When Antony says, “I am dying, Egypt, dying” : ACT IV. I actually just guessed this. I assume it’s from “Antony and Cleopatra,” but who can say.

12D. Right in every detail : TO A HAIR. This is a phrase? It took some very clever Googling to even find one site that explained this term.

13D. Two-time president of Romania : ILIESCU. I saw “two-time” and entered HORWITZ.

14D. Facial feature with a point : VAN DYKE. Apparently there’s no such thing as a VEE NOSE.

15A. Company with a maple leaf logo : AIR CANADA. Yeah, I was way off on this because I thought that 2D. One-named Grammy winner of 2007 was RHIANNA, not RIHANNA. Oops. For that matter, I also had AIRHEAD instead of FATHEAD, EEG instead of ECG, TORT instead of TART, ALEUT instead of INUIT and a bunch of blank squares. With all that, IHREOL— doesn’t look like much.

16A. Part of a college cheer : BOOLA. I swear, I never once said this, and I completed four years of college. Did I miss something?

17A. 2004 horror film about a passed-on curse : THE GRUDGE. I remember the poster looked awfully creepy. I never saw the movie.

18A. Major processing center : BRAIN, or what Brian doesn’t have today. I was certain that this was going to have something to do with the military, and Major didn’t mean “primary,” but rather a rank. So much for me outthinking the puzzle.

51D. Get close, maybe : ZOOM IN. It’s not ZONE IN, which is what I first tried. It’s also not ZERO IN, which is what I tried next. This was the entry I had to look up, since I very confidently assumed that if it began with a Z (which I knew from 50A. Princess Fiona’s voicer in “Shrek” for DIAZ), it had to be one of my first two ideas. There couldn’t possibly be three phrases that start with Z and mean “get close,” could there? Yes, there could.

55D. Soften, often : RIPEN. I don’t get this one. How many things ripen more than once? Or does it just mean that lots of things get soft when they get ripe, therefore it happens often, just not to the same thing…? I tried RINSE here, which also doesn’t make sense, but seemed logical. I kept thinking about washing my hands with Palmolive.

The whole area down here was a disaster for me. I didn’t know five of the six long entries that made up the southeast. Aside from VATICAN, I was lost on ADELINA (45D. Legendary soprano ___ Patti), USS COLE (47D. Destroyer in 2000 headlines – do they mean the year 2000, or that there were two thousand newspapers that ran stories?), SIMPATICO (62A. Congenial – I never saw the movie), ERIE CANAL (65A. Construction with many locks – I knew it wasn’t about locks and keys, but I assumed it was about hair) and PENNY LANE (67A. Where “all the people that come and go stop and say hello” – why, why, why could I not get the damn score to “Light in the Piazza” out of my head while reading this clue?”)… All in all, that corner killed me. I needed Google Tickets.

Well, that’s that. I give Mr. Quarfoot’s puzzle an A for being fantastic, and I give this solver an F for failing to know half the stuff.

Ryan, if you want to delete this post and write something more interesting so our readers will be glad they came here, please go right ahead.

I didn’t get a chance to look at Derek Bowman’s puzzle until I got home.  I solved it in 16:37 which isn’t bad considering I’m half asleep.  The theme was very interesting and clever and, I have to admit, I didn’t totally figure it out until I was just about done with the whole thing.

Seven rows of the grid contained circled letters that formed a pyramid shape.  Each row of circled letters spelled out a word:

1. PATTERN
2. PATTER
3. PATER
4. PATE
5. PAT
6. PA
7. A

In addition there were clues asking for alternate definitions of the words.

52A. First row (DESIGN).

64A. Fourth row (HEAD).

4D. Fifth row (DAB).

43D. Third or sixth row (DAD).

51D. Second row (SPIEL).

61D. Seventh row (ONE).

Very clever stuff.  And this is Derek’s NYT debut.  Bravo, Derek!

Other highlights:

16A. Russo who co-starred in “The Thomas Crown Affair” (RENE).  I actually had a line in this movie.  Guess what it was.  “Good morning, Mr. Crown.”  Hee hee.  I can’t believe such an important line ended up on the cutting room floor.  Yes, my line didn’t actually make it in the film but I am in the credits and I do have an imdb page.  Oy, I really need to update that headshot.  For some reason this video has no sound but my name shows up at about the 5:06 mark.

22A. Boot feature (TOE).  It confuses me why this is always a boot feature in crosswords.  Why is it never a sneaker feature?  Or loafer feature?  Don’t they have toes also?

2D. Ancient Spartan magistrate (EPHOR).  Ephor!  Ack!  You sank my battleship!

30D. ___II razor (TRAC).  Anybody know if you can bring a razor on an international flight?

34D. Metallic shade, in Sheffield (STEEL GREY).  Why Sheffield?  Why isn’t it steel grey in Akron?

48D. Like plain text (PROSY).  You know, many great puzzles have one icky entry.  This one is no exception.  Not every entry can be all poeticy and stuff.

Ok, oh my god, I’m tired.  I have to go to bed.  Really nice puzzle today.

Next stop, Friday.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=117059&id=561646579&l=2ca12d589c

Facebook tells me that even if you’re not a member, you can still view this album. I don’t know if that’s true. Can anyone verify it?

Today’s puzzle is by Gary Cee and features a fun theme of people asking for things. Politely asking for things.

17A. “___, please” (diner’s request) (CHOPSTICKS). I think I know what I’m doing with chopsticks. I can make them grab food and shuttle it to my mouth but I often feel a little self-conscious about the whole thing. Am I really using them correctly or am I making a mockery out of an entire culture? I bet this guy on the right never has any trouble.

27A. “___, please” (announcer’s request) (ATTENTION).

36A. “___, please” (award show presenter’s request) (THE ENVELOPE). Please, dear god, don’t let Hugh Jackman host the Oscars again. That was the absolute pits. Did you hear they’re going to have 10 Best Picture nominees this year? I don’t know what pictures will get nominated but I will tell you here and now that Meryl Streep will win the Best Actress Oscar. No doubt.

51A. “___, please” (operator’s request) (ONE MOMENT).  “Corporate accounts payable, Nina speaking. Just a moment…Corporate accounts payable, Nina speaking. Just a moment.…Corporate accounts payable, Nina speaking. Just a moment.”  What movie?

60A. “___, please” (Henny Youngman’s request) (TAKE MY WIFE).  I wonder if this was funny the first time he said it.

Other highlights, please:

10A. Best-selling computer game from the early 2000s, with “The” (SIMS).  I played this game for a while when it first came out.  I think Brian is still an avid player.  I was really into but my interest eventually devolved into figuring out how to make everyone naked and getting them pee.  Then I stopped.

42A. “Twelfth Night” duke (ORSINO).  I was in Twelfth Night once.  I played Andrew Aguecheek.  It was a bad, bad production.  We were in the round, the audience was extremely close and I could see them all falling asleep.  Most disheartening.

43A. Malodorous critter (POLECAT).  Do all polecats spray scent?  Or just skunks?  Are all skunks polecats?  Some polecats are weasels, are skunks also weasels?  It’s all very confusing.

64A. Past the golf pin, say (LONG).  I guess this means you foozled it.

3D. ___ FireBall (hot candy) (ATOMIC).  Why is cinnamon candy always spicy?  Cinnamon isn’t spicy.  Cinnamon toast isn’t spicy.  How did this all start?

5D. Rejoinder to “tain’t!” (TIS).  One of my favorite Daily Show bits.

25D. Jedi enemy (SITH).  We would also have accepted GEORGE LUCAS.

Fun puzzle today.

Next stop, Thursday.

Here in Episode 68, we do a little bit of this and a little bit of that.

THIS:

• Lollapuzzoola recap, Viewer Mail, a summary of Grimaldi’s software

THAT:

• Samuel Hay, the Thunder Round, and how to pronounce t-r-e-a-t-i-s-e.

I’m exhausted, so the episode runs too long. If you don’t like that aspect of it, save the last twenty minutes. You may need it later. (And apologies for editing flaws… I’m on no sleep for a day, so my ears don’t work so well.)

Zambezi and oat.

By the way, we can’t thank Joanne Sullivan enough for the wonderful crossword mosaics she made for our first place prizes. If you’d like to talk to her about getting your own custom made mosaic you can contact her at joannemsullivan[at]earthlink[dot]net.

Today’s puzzle was Bob Johnson’s NYT debut and featured a HYBRID VEHICLES theme.

20A. Residential area of California [think Chevy] (SUBURBAN MALIBU).

26A. Start of a stampede, maybe [think Ford] (MUSTANG ESCAPE).

48A. Part of a peace treaty [think Honda] (ACCORD ELEMENT).

Fun theme.  My wife and I no longer own a car.  We once owned a Mazda that we believe was stored underwater by the previous owner.  Oddly, Brian and I stopped at the same rest stop today where the Mazda had its first major breakdown.  Good times.

Other highlights:

6A. What it takes not to say “I see you’ve put on a little weight” (TACT).  I also make it a practice to not use the term WIDE LOAD around anybody.

17A. Conceals, as a card (PALMS).  I took magic lessons for a time.  They were awesome.  The guy who taught me was amazing at all the slight of hand stuff.  We’d meet at a restaurant for an hour and a half and he’d teach me magic.  In the end, my career was derailed by my incredibly tiny hands.

34A. Realm of Tolkien’s Middle-earth (ROHAN).  I don’t know, the clue seems a bit vague.  I would have preferred something more specific like, “In 2758 of the Third Age, this realm was invaded by Dunlendings under Wulf, son of Freca.”  Or is that too much of a gimmie?

67A. Dr. ___ (Mike Myers character) (EVIL).  Ok, this scene doesn’t have Dr. Evil in it but it’s my favorite scene from the movie.

Fun puzzle, today.

Next stop, Wednesday.

Today’s puzzle by Anthony J. Salvia features a DQ theme.  Does DQ mean anything besides Dairy Queen?  I seem to remember something from L.A. Confidential about keeping something “on the DQ”.  Maybe I’m remembering that wrong.

17A. Tilter at windmills (DON QUIXOTE).  I should probably read this at some point in my life.

49A. Place to order a Blizzard (DAIRY QUEEN).  You know, I rarely get the Blizzard.  I really enjoy the dipped ice cream cones.  And the sundaes.

11D. Star of “The Rookie,” 2002 (DENNIS QUAID).  Much like Kurt Russell, I think Dennis Quaid is a highly underrated actor.  Never saw The Rookie but it’s a baseball movie that involves the Dodgers so I probably should.

25D. Medicine woman of 1990s TV (DOCTOR QUINN).  I’ve never once seen an episode of this show.  Was Fabio in it?

Other highlights:

2D. “Entourage” network (HBO).  I tried to get into this show a few seasons ago.  Oy, it’s so smarmy I couldn’t enjoy it.

7D. Item with earbuds (IPOD).  Kathryn and I are experiencing serious iPhone envy.  Just about everybody we know has one.  Hey, only a year and a half until our Sprint contract is up.  It’s not so much the phone that we want (although it’s very cool) but all those freaking apps.  Good god.  I have a Windows Mobile phone for which there are approximately 3 good apps.  Very depressing.

Ok, Brian (and his iPhone) and I are leaving now on our secret mission.  Fun Monday puzzle today.

Next stop, Tuesday.

Sunday’s Phil Ruzbarsky’s was fun but contained some trouble spots for me.

The first trouble spot was:

73A. Cantilevered window (ORIEL).  I had a bit of a brain fart here.  I knew this was going to be a common crossword word but I got all the letters confused in my puzzle-addled brain and ended up writing in OGIER.  For the record, the only OGIER that comes up in google is Ogier the Dane, a legendary figure with a sword named Curtana.  I think I got the words OGEE and OSIER mixed up which resulted in the sword wielding Dane appearing in my grid.  The crossing of NUMERIC became NUMEGIC which, for no reality-based reason, seemed correct to me.  I also had NOERS instead of NOELS which also was very, very wrong.

The other trouble spot (and this I can’t take all the blame for):

91D. Also, in Arles (AUSSI).  I don’t speak French.  I’ve been studying Italian for the past couple of months and I can say with complete confidence that I don’t speak Italian either.  I had the USSI but the first letter could have been any of 26 options.  The crossing of NASL was no help.  My best guess was NZSL, thinking perhaps Pelé played soccer in New Zealand for a time.

One very odd part of this puzzle was the word RED showing up twice in the grid:

114A. Story of a small Communist barbarian? (THE LITTLE RED HUN).

122A. “The East ___,” song of the Chinese Cultural Revolution (IS RED).

I thought that was a big, big no-no and it actually made me think one of those entries was incorrect.

The theme was fun.  E.U. DOINGS.  Es replaced with Us in common phrases.  My two favorite theme answers were:

77A. Baseball official gets revenge? (THE UMPIRE STRIKES BACK).

93A. “The bolt alone is sufficient”? (WORKS WITHOUT A NUT).

All in all, a very nice example of a Sunday puzzle.  I’d give it more of a write up but I’m slipping into a puzzle coma as I type.

Thanks again to all who came to Lollapuzzoola.

Next stop, Monday.

First of all, in the grand scheme of things, I think the day was a success. We had a Lollapuzzoola record turnout (74 contestants), and not a single one of them told us afterward how much we suck at running a tournament. So I say we win.

Ah, speaking of winners. Toward the end of today, a lot of people were trying to find out their standings. I tried to keep up, but I was having a little Excel trauma, and to a few people, I read off an older incarnation of my spreadsheet. None of the numbers that affected the finals were incorrect, but I may have quoted a few other scores to people incorrectly. Let me fix that here and now, and post a quick list of the overall scores. On this list, E is for the Express Division, and L is for the Local Division.

The Local finalists were Matthew Besse (3rd place), Matt Matera (2nd place) and Will Irving (1st place). The Express finalists were Howard Barkin (3rd place), Francis Heaney (2nd place) and Dan Feyer (1st place). In that Express final, Dan beat Francis by a mere seven seconds. And in addition to his 2nd place in the Local Division, Matt Matera was also named Lollapuzzoola’s Rookie of the Year.

Our deepest gratitude goes out to everyone who was there – the judges (Deb Amlen, Michael Smith, Brendan Emmett Quigley, XOP, Agent Little Zuty, impromptu volunteer judges Doug Peterson and Howard Barkin, and of course our wives, Toni and Kathryn); the constructors (Todd McClary, Peter Gordon, Brendan, Doug, and Mike Nothnagel); the owner of a great deal of ACPT-style stuff (Will Shortz, attendant – who lived up to his name, and stopped by for a visit today); and a huge special thanks to Mike Nothnagel – despite his semi-retirement from being our podcast oracle, he certainly had all the answers to everything we didn’t know how to do.

“Fill Me In” episode 68 will be our personal recap of the event, and will come out on schedule on Tuesday. In the week or so to come, we’ll be posting more stuff from the tourney – pictures, additional stats, sound clips, etc.

If you have comments and whatnot, please post them here. If you have questions, please email them to me at [rbxblog at gmail dot com].

Yay, Lollapuzzoolla!

Anybody who reads this blog is probably there so I think writing anything is probably pointless.  So, I’ll just say I’m almost done with this Karen M. Tracey puzzle.  I just figured out 4D. Swinger’s get-together? (JAZZ SESSIONS).  For quite a while I thought it was ORGY SESSIONS.  Hee hee.

Anyway, I just need that top left and I’ll be done.

But, hey, we’ll see you at Lollapuzzoola!

Next stop, Sunday.

I have long said that the NY Times Friday puzzle is my favorite weekly puzzle.  For me, it has the perfect combination of fun, difficulty and solveability.  And today’s offering from Patrick Berry did not disappoint.  I had a bit of a struggle with the top and bottom right but the whole thing eventually fell into place.

1A. Feature of Psalm 119 (ACROSTIC).  Don’t quote me but I think Psalm 103 has a Sudoku.

16A. 1997 Jim Carrey film (LIAR LIAR).  What happened to Jim Carrey?  His movies used to be funny, right?  Is it just me or does his new film, Yes Man, seem an awful lot like Liar Liar?

24A. Swimmer’s sound (GASP).  I took swimming lessons when I was a kid.  My gasping was usually followed by me throwing up in the pool.  Yup, I was that kid.

28A. Sweet loaf (RAISIN BREAD).  There was a time in my life when I wasn’t too fond of raisin bread.  Now, I love it.  Toast it up, add some butter and cinnamon.  Yum!

32A. First athlete to appear on the cover of Time Magazine (JACK DEMPSEY).  This one took me a while.  Most of what I know about boxing has been gleaned from Coming to America.

44A. It may get you out of a trap (WEDGE).  Nice clue.

47A. Switch hitter? (TRAINMAN).  Another good clue.  I thought it might have to do with trading baseball cards.

2D. Poet Pablo Neruda, for one (CHILEAN).  I think this is the first time I’ve seen this word without it preceding SEA BASS.

4D. It’s designed for quick entrances (ON RAMP).  Except when you’re behind the people who stop before merging.  Don’t they understand how merging works?

7D. Director of “Meatballs” and “Stripes” (IVAN REITMAN).  I was just telling Brian the other day that I’ve probably seen Meatballs more than any other movie.  I had it on a tape and I would play it, rewind it and play it again.  Over and over.  I not totally sure why.  I think I identified with the shy kid.  And I think I wanted to be like those cool counselors.  I’ve watched a few times recently and, while there are gaping holes in the plot, well, it just doesn’t matter!  It just doesn’t matter!  It just doesn’t matter!

Oh, Stripes is great also.  Anybody calls me Frances…and I’ll kill’ya.

8D. Post boxes’ contents (CEREALS).  Honey Bunches of Oats, baby!

22D. Goes from first to third, say (SKIPS A GRADE).  Again, I was thinking baseball.

Great puzzle, today.

Next stop, Lollapuzzoola!

I still don’t understand how the NY Times applet works when it comes to rebuses.  Today’s Elizabeth C. Gorski’s puzzle was all about the PARALLELOGRAM.  PARALLELOGRAM’s must be pretty pissed.  It’s always rectangle this and square that and did you hear what the trapezoid did the other day.  You never hear anyone talking about PARALLELOGRAMs…You know what?  I just read that squares, rectangles and rhombuses are all PARALLELOGRAMs.  If that’s the case I don’t know what P-Gram is all upset about.  Isn’t it enough to be the leader of that crew?  Do you have to get all the ink as well?  Jeez, shapes these days.

Anyway, the rebus had the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 in their own boxes and after you connect them in order you’re left with a parallelogram of your very own.  I had a heck of time getting the applet to accept my solution.  I tried typing all the letters in one box using the “+” trick.  No dice.  I tried typing in the numbers.  Also, no dice.  It wasn’t until I typed in just the initial letter of each number that I finally succeeded.  I enjoy the rebus puzzles but I know I’ll spend at least 10 minutes arguing with the applet.

Other highlights:

1A. Big name in oil (WESSON).  I don’t know what Wesson Oil is made of but I do know it’s chock full of Wessonality.  Well, that and artery-clogging cholesterol.

35A. Clinks overseas (GAOLS).  This is still pronounced like JAILS, right?  Much like GEOFFREY is pronounced like JEFFREY.  Or am I wrong about that too?

48D. Old comic strip “___ an’ Slats” (ABBIE).  This is the second time I recall this comic being referenced in the puzzle.  And the second I’m left wondering just who is this mysterious Rodney Van Gaylord.

Short post today.  Work is over and I’m heading home.  I hope to see you all on Saturday at Lollapuzzoola.  But, before that:

Next stop, Friday.

Today’s puzzle is by Rob Reiner’s new friend, Peter A. Collins and features a theme about THE SECRET GARDEN.  The Secret Garden is a book I’ve never read by Frances Hodgson Burnett.  It has been turned into numerous movies I’ve never seen and a musical to which I’ve never attended.  I know nothing about the plot but I can imagine it involves a lot of shrubbery and whispering.

The other theme entries had circled letters that spelled out GARDEN.

21A. Hamid Karzai, starting in 2004 (AFGHAN PRESIDENT).

26A. One of four generations in a photo (GREAT GRANDPARENTS).

45A. Driver’s electric convenience (GARAGE DOOR OPENER).

Out of these three items which do you think would be the best candidate for a book, movie and musical?  My vote is for GARAGE DOOR OPENER.  Perhaps it’s an enchanted garage door opener that grants a wish every time the garage is opened.  The owner of the opener can have anything his heart desires.  The only catch is he has to kill a guy every time he wants the garage door opener to work.  Wow, this is great.  It practically writes itself.

Other highlights:

37A. “Must’ve been something ___” (I ATE).  Well, as long as it wasn’t raw tomatoes, chocolate/raspberry combo or marzipan I bet it was delicious.

59A. Piltdown man, notably (HOAX).  Wasn’t this the answer to a Friday puzzle a few months ago?

62A. Rocker Quatro (SUZI).  Never heard of SUZI before but I took one look at her picture on the Internet and I knew exactly who she was.  Leather Tuscadero!  Younger sister of Pinky Tuscadero, Fonzie’s old girlfriend.  I vaguely remember these episodes but I definitely remember the secret Leather Tuscadero handshake.  Here she is in all her Leathery glory.

56D. Moore of film (DEMI).  I can’t help but think that DEMI looks back at her career and sees a lot of wasted opportunities.  She was once one of the most popular actresses in Hollywood but made crappy movie after crappy movie.  After Ghost she could have done anything she wanted but her movies from the next decade make up a wasteland of mostly bad ideas poorly executed.  Of course, odds are she sits around playing rummy with Ashton and doesn’t care about that at all.

Great puzzle, Peter.

Next stop, Thursday.

• Brian – “B” for Bigger
• Ryan – “R” for regular-sized

Hope that helps.

Today’s puzzle was constructed by Tony “Y-e-s-s-s-s-s” Orbach and featured a fruit salad theme.

17A. Fountain treat (BANANA SPLIT).  Brian and I went to Carvel yesterday.  I got something called a Brown Bonnet which was a sugar cone filled with more chocolate ice cream than I needed and dipped in chocolate sauce.  It was close to 100 degrees yesterday and by the time I got to the car my Bonnet had turned into brown soup.

27A. Tangy pie filler (LEMON CREAM).  You wouldn’t think lemons would make a tasty pie but they sure do.

37A. Relative of a certain cobbler (APPLE CRUMBLE).  Ever wanted to know the difference between a cobbler and a crumble.  Well, want no longer:

• Cobbler — a spoon pie (more like a fruit stew with dumplings), in which biscuit dough is dropped onto the fruit before baking. The consensus is that the dish got its name because the lumps of cooked dough resembled cobblestones.
• Crumble — a British dessert in which raw fruit is topped with a crumbly pastry mixture and baked. One reference says a crumble is like a crisp, but not as rich.

51A. Candy bar with maraschinos (CHERRY MASH).  Apparently these have been around since 1918 but are only available in the Midwest so I’ve never heard of them.  They consist of chocolate and toasted coconut covering a cherry cream filling speckled with bits of cherries.  Honestly, that doesn’t sound appetizing at all to me.  I’m not much of a fruit and chocolate fan with the worst offender being the combination of chocolate and raspberry.  There are approximately three things I will not eat: raw tomatoes, marzipan and the chocolate/raspberry combo.

59A. Popular Fanta-like soda (ORANGE CRUSH).  Brian and I went to Carvel yesterday.  Brian got something called an Iceberg which consisted of vanilla soft serve whipped with ice and a fountain soda (Brian picked Orange Fanta) and topped with more vanilla soft serve.  Brian got a medium, it was gigantic and I was very impressed he finished the whole thing.

I guess fruit salad is not really a good name for this theme.  It’s more like fruit dessert.  Speaking of everybody’s favorite meal, I invented my own dessert on Sunday night.  It has been dubbed the Root Beer Whippy.  It’s root beer and vanilla ice cream whipped up together in a blender then topped with a frothy root beer floater.  It was a huge hit in the Hecht household.

Other highlights:

43A. Batman and Robin, e.g. (DUO).

2D. Thing with cups and hooks (BRA).  I enjoyed this clue.  Mostly because I couldn’t figure it out until I had the RA.  I kept thinking tarot cards.

39D. Aid in locating a pirate’s treasure (MAP).  Anybody else a fan of the Monkey Island video games?  I’m playing the special edition of the first one on the xbox.

40D. Root beer float with chocolate ice cream (BROWN COW).  That’s news to me.  I thought a Brown Cow was chocolate milk.

Great puzzle today.  Makes me want to go back to Carvel.

Next stop, Wednesday.

For new listeners, check out our informational page before diving in so you have a small sense of what we’re doing. For loyal listeners, you should know that the balance between Viewer Mail and Stories About Crossword Puzzles is tilted a bit more to the left than usual. Otherwise, get ready for this:

• Ryan has the plague
• Brian tries to be nicer
• Lots of people know a ton about porpoises
• “How To Pronounce Xan Vongsathorn’s Name: The Avram Gottschlich Sessions”
• A longer-than-usual episode due to all the excitement building up prior to Lollapuzzoola (HINT: If you hate the “Viewer Mail” segment, but like the rest of the show, skip ahead about 25 minutes.)

Also, we make some references to some amazing crossword people, and we want to link to their brilliance. The two people we are linking today are Alex Boisvert and Matt Ginsberg (this link is to his clue database).

Oh, and please note — there is no new contest this week. Since the biggest contest of the season is Lollapuzzoola, and that happens this coming Saturday, we figured we’d wait until next week to resume our weekly contest event.

Zambezi and oat.

This just in: Our dear friend Stephen Grant — nay, Stephen Edwards (a.k.a. Stephen “Grimaldi” Grant) has fulfilled his end of the Great Pizza Bargain of 2009. Both Ryan and Brian have working Magmic Games software on their respective phones for solving the New York Times puzzle. At the time of recording this podcast, Brian had not yet had an opportunity to fully explore the software. Fear not — a full story on the epic conclusion to this tale is forthcoming. Episode 68, if there’s time. And Episode 69, no matter what.

Today’s puzzle was by Mike Buckley.  This is Mike’s NYT crossword debut.  Congratulations, Mike!  I thought the theme was a lot of fun.

BATMAN JOKERS

17A. 1966 (CESAR ROMERO).  Ridiculous show.  Watchable now only for camp value.

38A. 1989 (JACK NICHOLSON).  This movie was great when I was in high school.  Now, meh, it’s almost as silly as the old TV show.

62A. 2008 (HEATH LEDGER).  I know I’m totally alone with this but I just couldn’t get into this movie.  I wasn’t too keen on the first one either.  And, just like ever other second super hero movie, the hero spends most of his time whining about being a super hero and wanting to be something else.  Oy vey, I tell you what Bruce Wayne.  Let’s switch.  You do PDF conversions and I’ll run around in the Batmobile.  We’ll see whose whining then.

So, to sum up, my perfect Batman movie has yet to be made.  Although, when it does I hope it contains this scene:

Ok, I’m off to meet Brian.  Great puzzle, Mike.

Next stop, Tuesday.

The blog is late today because:

1. I was too tired last night to solve the puzzle. (We spent a lovely day in Coney Island.)
2. I woke up very late.
3. I was completely lost on this puzzle until my wife woke up and helped me.

The puzzle was constructed by Randolph Ross with a theme entitled LET’S TALK ABOUT ME. The title doesn’t give much of a hint as to what the theme was all about. Actually, even after figuring out a couple theme answers I still didn’t understand the theme. Turns out, it was pretty clever but, for whatever reason, it never really grabbed me.

16D. “It’s on me” (FREE RESPONSE). This is the first one I got and it left me feeling a bit lost. Is FREE RESPONSE a phrase? Let’s see…yes, it is. From what I can tell, it’s the opposite of a multiple choice question. Never heard of it before this puzzle though.

29A. “Save me” (MASS APPEAL). Once I got this, I was really confused. I thought maybe the theme was about state abbreviations. MASS for Massachusetts and ME for Maine. I also thought there might be some rebus I was missing.

After that I was totally stuck until my wife woke up and, through her groggy eyes, immediately figured out:

COUNTER PLEA

ERROR MESSAGE

RECEIVING LINE

After that, I made her sit down and solve the rest of the puzzle with me even though she claims she’s bad at them.

We made pretty good progress through the grid but ended up being totally stuck in the RIO DIABLO and BOAC areas. We had a bunch of errors in the first area which made us think the Kenny Rogers movie was titled WIND ORBIT. Turns out, the two things are actually pretty similar.

Poster of Rio Diablo	Graph of Wind Orbit

The BOAC area was a total mess. We certainly had never heard of an EARLAP. I believe in actual, real life English it is known as an EARFLAP. And the section featured one of Brian’s famous trivia boxes with the crossing of BWANA and BOAC.

We finally had to do some googling to get it done so I could provide this excellent example of crossword blogging to our reading public.

Ah well, my no-google streak ends at 13. I’ll, hopefully, start a new one tomorrow.

Next stop, Monday.

Today’s puzzle was by Matt Ginsberg and I somehow no-googled this thing without understanding many of the clues or answers.

20A. De, across the Rhine (VON).  Ohhhhh, I get it now.  As in Vasco De Gama as opposed to Frederick Von Hoofenplaszternack.

21A. Sources of some leather (EELS).  Seriously?  Cows aren’t good enough for you?

26A. Minstrel percussionist (MR BONES).  No idea what this could be.  Is Mr. Bones an actual guy or is it a profession?

43A. Agcy. concerned with ergonomics (OSHA).  Ok, this one I understand.  I just wanted to point out that my first answer was NASA.  That makes me laugh.

46A. Last thing (SHOE).  No clue.  I was sure this was wrong.  I guess it’s right but I don’t know why.

56A. Half a leaf (RECTO).  Not sure about this one either.  Is this referring to pages in a book?  Like quarto?

4D. Baby showers? (TALCS).  Wha?  How much talc are we using here?

23D. Sources of some leather (BOARS).  Again, seriously?

25D. Snake feeder (BOISE).  Ok, I’m guessing this is a river.  Let’s see…yes, and it’s a tributary of the Snake River.  Clever clue.

27D. Pair (BRACE).  As far as I know, these are two completely unrelated words.  It may as well have been SUPERCONDUCTOR and TOMATO.

Adding to the randomness of the puzzle was a quote.  I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a quote puzzle on a Saturday.  The quote was by Ambrose Bierce who I thought, based on his name, was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence.  Doesn’t his name sound Founding Fathery?  Clearly, I don’t know anything about anything as he was born in 1842 and was a satirist.  Sort of like a turn of the century Larry the Cable Guy.  Anyway, his quote is: THE COVERS OF THIS BOOK ARE TOO FAR APART.  That’s actually pretty funny and should have been in the Moby Dick puzzle from earlier in the week.

I can’t say this was my favorite Saturday puzzle of all time but I still enjoyed it.  I think my favorite clue was 11D. Releases from a spring board? (PAROLES).  Dense clue but rewarding once I figured it out.

Ok, I think that’s if for me today.  I feel another sneezing fit coming on.  Oh, by the way, if you’re a Zicam user I would recommend not using it anymore.  It has caused some people to lose their sense of smell.

Current no-google streak: 13

Next stop, Sunday.

Sadly, the constructor of today’s puzzle will not be at Lollapuzzoola. I don’t know if I’m allowed to say why he won’t be there… But I can say who he is: Barry C. Silk, Friend and Confidante of Doug Peterson, Crossword Gentleman and Man About Town. (By the way, Doug is going to be at Lollapuzzoola, so perhaps he can bring a little Barry Silk hand puppet to give us the effect of Barry being there. Doug, what do you say?)

I got off to a smoking start with this Friday puzzle, which was great. Earlier today, I got my ass handed to me with an old New York Sun Warrior puzzle (1/23/04) that seemed to consist entirely of things I had never heard of. BOO BOISIE? WYANDOTTE? CHEMISES, MUSCOVY, ATTAINT… Good lord, did I feel stupid most of this evening after failing to even get half of that grid. But wait – what puzzle am I blogging?

Barry’s. Right. 1A jumped out at me – Alternative to newspaper classifieds was most clearly CRAIGSLIST. Just the kind of entry you like at 1A. It’s gettable, it’s fun, it’s new. That corner was as fast as a Monday, somehow. MAGNA CARTA (15A. Constitution precursor) and ORANGE PEEL (17A. Curacao ingredient), and I was flying.

Little by little, the stacks on the right fell – AUNTIE MAME (12D. Play for which Peggy Cass won a Tony in 1957) and STAR GAZERS (14D. Night watchmen?) helped out over there. A whole bunch of answers I wasn’t the least bit sure of led me to the SE: MORENO (41D. Puerto Rican-born Oscar winner of 1961) and RAZOR (43D. Trimming aid) showed me the way to PRIZE FIGHT (51A. A bout to remember?), EAT ONES HAT (55A. Have some humble pie) and SHARON TATE (57A. “The Wrecking Crew” actress, 1969).

Okay, hang on. What’s with all the actors from forever ago? Peggy Cass (1957), Rita Moreno (1961), Sharon Tate (1969)… We also had Renata SCOTTO (11D. Her 1965 Met debut was as Cio-Cio-San in “Madama Butterfly”). That’s four famous women from 1957-1969. I’m curious what effect these women may have had on Barry Silk. Was he alive during these years? How old was he? Did these women have a lasting impression? Or is it just a coincidence that they all show up in this puzzle – where there’s not a single other woman anytime from 1970 onward. Puzzling…

And with that… Adios, until Saturday.

Hey, here’s some news on Lollapuzzoola – it’s coming up on August 22 (you knew that part), and we’re using the ACPT easel boards for the finals (maybe you knew that, too). For the finals, we’re also going to have noise-cancelling headphones, underneath which the solvers will wear iPods. We’re debating what to put on the iPods for them, but right now, we’re considering the worst episodes of “Fill Me In.” Those should be awful enough to distract any quality solver from actually getting any of the clues. Which is your least favorite episode?

Today’s puzzle comes to us from Patrick McIntyre. According to Jim Horne’s xwordinfo.com, this is Mr. McIntyre’s debut puzzle with the New York Times. I think we need more Patricks out there creating puzzles. Blindauer, Merrell and Berry weren’t enough, so now we’ve got another. And Mr. McIntyre has launched his career with a very Thursday-y theme.

• 32A. Starts of some games … and of the answers to 16-, 22-, 48- and 56-Across : COIN FLIPS. Below, a lengthy video clip from “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead.” It’s a fantastic play by Tom Stoppard, turned into a mediocre film with Gary Oldman and Tim Roth.

And then those other entries begin with various re-arrangements of the letters in the word COIN:

• 16A. Ingredient in some gum : NICOTINE
• 22A. Oscar Wilde and Bill Maher, for example : ICONOCLAST (NYT debut word)
• 48A. Like some passes : INCOMPLETE. This probably refers to football, but it could also refer to my attempts to pick up women circa 2002.
• 56A. Cedar and hemlock : CONIFERS

The entire southeast of this grid was a mystery to me, and only upon revisiting the clue at 32-Across was I finally able to understand what was going on here. I had NICOTINE and INCOMPLETE, but I still didn’t quite get it… I think the wording of the clue at 32-Across was too tricky for my simple mind, and I kept abandoning it mid-read. Plus, in the southeast, I had wrong answers all over the place. ST. PAUL instead of ST. OLAF (40A. Minnesota college), A TEAR instead of A ROLL (47A. Hot, after “on”), DEE instead of REE (59A. Riddle-me-___) and a whole bunch of empty space around these useless letters.

Although I generally enjoyed this puzzle, and solved it in relatively normal time for me on a Thursday, I was a little disappointed with the outer edge, particularly around the south and east. Starting with DWI (36D. Bad record, for short), we continue with CMI (55D. Third year in the reign of Edward the Elder), IDEES (60A. Foreign thoughts), OPED (61A. Kind of column), SDS (62A. New Left org.), and then skipping up to two more shorties, TDS (24D. Patriot’s concerns, briefly) and SSR (12D. Map abbr. until 1991). I guess the super wide-open corners made the fill very difficult, so what could have been seven-letter sides became DWI/CMI and SSR/TDS.

Clues and answers I didn’t know:

• 6D. “Back ___” (1974 Genesis song) : IN N.Y.C.
• 13A. Actor Tognazzi of “La Cage aux Folles” : UGO
• 46D. Organic compounds with nitrogen : AMINES
• 58A. Mathematician Post or Artin : EMIL. Seriously, did they just go hunting for the most obscure Emils in the world?

I guess not much. Quite solvable, once I got my head in gear.

Sign up for Lollapuzzoola. Prizes. Snacks. Awesome people. Me and Ryan acting like fools.

Today’s very clever puzzle is by Rob Reiner’s favorite constructor, Peter A. Collins and Joe Krozel, Rhymes With Puzzle.  The theme was:

9A. and 59A. Novel of 1851 (MOBY DICK).  During my short and highly unsuccessful college career I read MOBY DICK and wrote some sort of essay about it.  It was a tough read and I remember something about the size of the book being a physical representation of the relative size of the whale.  Good god, there was a whole chapter on cetology.  I think I got a B-minus on my essay.  I felt I deserved at least an A-plus since I actually read the whole darn book.  It was exactly this type of thinking that led my college career down the short and highly unsuccessful path.

31A. Character in 9- & 59-Across (CAPTAIN AHAB).  This went right across the center.

6D. 9- & 59-Across (GREAT WHITE WHALE).  This went right down the center.

54A. Incline (and a hint to the location in the completed puzzle of the first line of 9- & 59-Across) (SLANT).  And, sure enough CALL ME ISHMAEL runs diagonally from the top left to the bottom right of the grid.  Once again, Pete and Joe have baffled me as to how this is possible.  If either of you guys are reading this I have a couple of questions.  How is this possible?  Did you place the quote first?  Or did AHAB come first?  Why is there an entire chapter on cetology in the book?  Why did I only get a B-minus on my paper?

Great grid.  Great theme.  It’s what I’ve come to expect from these two.

Ok, I think I have enough energy for one more clue.

57A. Lumberjack competition (ROLEO).  Here’s a video from the 2008 Lumberjack World Championship which, astoundingly, runs for over 10 minutes.  I love many things about this video but I think my favorite is the judge who floats around in a paddle boat in the background.  Question: what kind of accent does the announcer have?  Sometimes he sound Canadian and sometimes he doesn’t.

Alright, I’m done.  Back to the ice cream.

Current no-google streak: 10

Next stop, Thursday.

Today’s puzzle by 18-month old Oliver Hill featured a French theme.

52D. Word that can precede the starts of 20-, 28-, 46- and 57-Across (FRENCH).

20A. Pre-costume ball activity (DRESSING UP).  What is French dressing?  Some restaurants (especially delis in New York) think it’s Thousand Island but French dressing is different, right?

28A. Like Buddy Holly’s glasses (HORN RIMMED).   The French horn looks like a really complicated instrument.  How does anybody have a enough breath to get sound through that series of tubes?

46A. Prepares part of breakfast, say (FRIES AND EGG).   I wonder how they came to be called fried eggs?  I mean, you’re really sautéing the egg, aren’t you?  The cooking method is more or less the same as scrambled eggs.  How come scrambled eggs aren’t called “fried mixed-up eggs”?

57A. Cole Porter musical that’s a play within a play (KISS ME KATE).  French Kiss was a romantic comedy I never saw with Meg Ryan and Kevin Kline.  I remember it came out at around the same time as the romantic comedy Forget Paris with Billy Crystal.  I’ve never understood why Meg Ryan wasn’t in Forget Paris. They could’ve reprised their Harry and Sally magic plus both movies clearly have something to do with France.   By the way, I think it’s time for a When Harry Met Sally sequel.  Neither of them have been in a good movie in a long time and it would be great to see where the characters ended up 20 years later.  Unless it sucks.  Don’t make the movie if it’s going to suck.

Other highlights:

4A. Brother of Nintendo’s Mario (LUIGI).  Do you think Luigi is pissed that Mario gets all the press?  He’s like Frank Stallone.

39A. Angry cry to a vampire (DIE).  This gets my vote for most random clue of the week.

53A. Long-eared hound (BASSET).  Somehow, I’ve never owned a dog although  I’ve wanted a basset hound ever since I was a kid.  At this point, I don’t think the cats would appreciate.  I don’t think our landlord would either.

40A. Gerund end (ING).  Gerunds confuse me.  Definitions like this: “a noun derived from a verb and having all case forms except the nominative” are not much help.

58D. Alien-seeking program: Abbr. (SETI).  If you’re at a loss for what to do the day after Lollapuzzoola you can always attend the TeamSETI Ice Cream Social on the 23rd.

I hope they put some Reeses Pieces in there.  Aliens love Reeses Pieces.

Next stop, Wednesday.

If you’re new to Fill Me In, please read our introductory page. If you’re not new, please listen and enjoy. If you can’t both listen and enjoy, then please at least listen, because the bottom line is that we want you to listen, and we don’t care if you have a good time doing it.

Wait, no. We certainly care. That’s our new motto. Try to be nicer. So please, enjoy first and listen later.

Oh, yeah. Here’s that video of Brendan Emmett Quigley in the Boston Typewriter Orchestra:

And here’s the Peter Collins puzzle we talk about in the podcast this week (in PDF form).

Zambezi and oat.

Now for today’s puzzle, a fun Monday offering by Paula Gamache.

27D. Phone part…or a title for this puzzle? (HANDSET).  Here’s a great cellphone handset you can buy from one of my favorite online retailers, ThinkGeek.

The rest of the theme entries included parts of the hand.

17A. Examiner of heart and life lines (PALM READER).

56A. Small bottle in a purse (NAIL POLISH).

10D. Slow pitch with a little spin (KNUCKLEBALL).  I don’t know who said it first but one of my favorite baseball quotes is an answer to “How do you catch a knuckleball?’”  “Wait till it stops rolling and pick it up.”

25D. Messy art medium for kids (FINGER PAINT).  It was about the time that I started using finger paints that I knew that visual artistry was not in my future.  (And I didn’t need to go to a palm reader to figure it out.)

Other highlights:

1D. Hit with high voltage (ZAP).  Anybody ever seen Zapped?  That’s the movie where Scott Baio uses telekinesis to undress every woman he sees.  Brilliant movie.  Willie Aames was never better.  Thinking of it now has reminded me of a great scene with Patrick Stewart in Extras.

21D. Partitioned-off work space (CUBICLE).  Whoever invented the cubicle needs a swift kick in the ass.  I shudder to think how many hours I’ve sat in one these depressing, three-sided boxes.

47D. One-toothed dragon of old children’s TV (OLLIE).  Never heard of this particular dragon.  My favorite dragon movie as a kid was Pete’s Dragon.  I watched it over and over and over again.  It always made me a little teary when Elliott had to leave at the end.  This is one of those movies I may never watch again for fear it wouldn’t live up to my childhood memories.

Fun puzzle today.  Podcast coming tomorrow.

Current no-google streak: 8

Next stop, Tuesday.

Thank you, thank you, thank you to Patrick Blindauer and Andrea Carla Michaels for this Sunday puzzle. Friday and Saturday left my backside significantly sore from the severe whooping I took from both Manny Nosowsky and Karen M. Tracey. Today’s puzzle, however, was right up my alley. I moved very quickly through it, and might even suggest that it’s one of the easier Sundays I’ve encountered lately. (And to that end, it would be way out of place in Omnibus 9 – have I mentioned my distaste for much of Omnibus 9?)

The puzzle is called “Made for TV-Movies,” which turns out to be merged titles, half television and half movie.

• 22A. Dirt-dishing lass who’s been cut off? : GOSSIP GIRL INTERRUPTED
• 44A. Dad is familiar with top Broadway star? : FATHER KNOWS BEST IN SHOW
• 66A. Actor Joel’s crime scene analysis? : GREY’S ANATOMY OF A MURDER
• 90A. One-quarter of a mourning lacrosse team? : TWO AND A HALF MEN IN BLACK
• 113A. Hollywood hanky-panky? : SEX AND THE CITY OF ANGELS

I’ve seen exactly zero of these television shows. I know “Father Knows Best” is a classic, but I’ve never seen a moment of it. “Sex And The City” and “Gossip Girl” aren’t up my alley at all. “Two And A Half Men” just looks so stupid, I can’t bring myself to turn it on. And “Grey’s Anatomy” is borderline nauseating because the title is a pun – a famous book, yes, and someone in the show is probably named Larry Grey or something. Bleah.

As for the movies, I’ve seen three of them. I think “Girl Interrupted” was good, but I don’t remember much of it. “Best In Show” wasn’t the best movie that team put out (I still think “Waiting for Guffman” was simply brilliant), but it was fun enough. Christopher Guest monologuing about different kinds of nuts was fantastic. And “Men In Black” is one of my favorites. There are times when I wish I knew someone with one of those laser things that make you forget everything that happened. And there are other times when I’m quite certain someone has used one of those on me.

Oh, and as far as movie music goes, Danny Elfman’s theme during the opening credits of “Men In Black” is fantastic. It’s one of my top-played tracks on my iPod.

The rest of the puzzle was really quite simple, with no trouble spots at all. A few things I didn’t know, or clues I enjoyed:

• 1A. Explorer who has a monetary unit named after him : BALBOA. I only know the fictional boxer with this name.
• 27A. Danish coin : ORE. Another weird way to clue that crosswordy-word.
• 68D. Colorado State, athletically : THE RAMS
• 78A. Bygone stadium : SHEA. No, I knew this of course, but this is the first time it’s appeared in the New York Times puzzle since it became “bygone.”
• 87A. Red head, once? : MAO. Favorite clue in the puzzle. Terrific.
• 122A. Bone receptacle : OSSUARY
• 124A. Tomoyuki ___, creator of Godzilla : TANAKA

Very clever theme entries, and a nice fluid fill. Fun to solve at the end of a long week. Andrea and Patrick – bravo!

Andrea and Patrick were two of our first interviews on “Fill Me In.” If you haven’t heard our chats with them, you should check them out. They are definitely two of the most fun interviews we’ve ever had. (Classic Andrea: “Where was Nikolai from?”)

Speaking of “Fill Me In,” episode 66 will be out soon. And before then, I’ll see you Monday!

SEGUE!

Karen M. Tracey kicks my ass. Karen — if you’re reading this, you should come to Lollapuzzoola. You will be invited to kick my ass in person so we can all get past this nonsense and move forward. You need to stop making these insane puzzles that are so completely unsolvable. NEWSFLASH: I did not no-Google this. I had a pair of …

…wait a minute. I knew that all I had to do was write about it, and the game would end. Alex Rodriguez just hit a two-run homer off Red Sox rookie Junichi Tazawa. Fifteen innings, and now it’s over. I’m a Boston fan, but lately, they just can’t seem to stop sucking, can they? They just keep backing themselves into corners where they have no answers, and there is simply no way out. Kind of like the way I dealt with the southwest of this puzzle.

SEGUE!

I’m sure everyone else just knew that there’d be a quartet of Zs plunked right down in the middle of the southwest, right? Wow. Check it out:

• 46A. “The Great Gatsby” setting : JAZZ AGE. I never read it. And of course, I’m thinking geography here. Even after I got the first Z, the only thing I could think of was ARIZONA. As we all know, ARIZONA is only ever clued as “Ryan’s cat who pees on his stuff.”
• 49A. Stumps : PUZZLES. This should have read “A generous term for what this Karen M. Tracey grid does to Brian.” Or perhaps, “Things Brian used to enjoy before being trounced by this Karen M. Tracey crossword.”
• 27D. Explorer of North America’s eastern coast in 1524 : VERRAZZANO. Crosscan, didn’t you have a term for the kind of clues that are full of trivia — trivia which does nothing to help figure out the answer? Ah, yes — the OLAF. I found this clue to be something of an Olaf. Perhaps the 1524 part was useful to history buffs, but I am merely a Losing Red Sox Teams of the 1990s buff, and there you have it.
• 36D. Is an affectionate pooch : NUZZLES. Awkward clue, I think, but it made for the four Zs. Whatcha gonna do.

I had a double GCI (Gaping Chasm of Ignorance) up in the northeast. A whole bunch of foreign stuff in this corner had me quite stumped.

• 24A. Capital of the Buryat Republic : ULANUDE. I know, Joon, I have to learn my countries and capitals. But while I have actually heard of Armenia (yesterday’s puzzle), I have never heard of anything in this clue/answer pair. The A was the mystery letter to me.
• 28A. Cousin of an Omaha : PONCA. Cousin, like their parents were siblings? Or cousin like their great-great-great-great-great-grandparents shared a river way back when.
  1. Ponca
  2. United States
  3. Richard Nixon
  4. Frost/Nixon (film)
  5. Kevin Bacon
• and 24A and 28A crossed with 22D. Zealand resident : DANE. None of these three made much sense to me (DORE, DULE, DICE — anything else, really, would have been equally correct in my eyes), leaving the middle two letters of DANE as Gaping Chasms of Ignorance.

I liked some of the other fill:

• 4D. Title girl of a 1906 L. Frank Baum novel : ANNABEL. Never read it. And since DOROTHY is the same number of letters, I figured maybe Baum wrote a prequel about the days on Auntie Em and Uncle Henry’s farm. Oops.
• 17A. He said “You are free and that is why you are lost” : FRANZ KAFKA. The quote doesn’t matter (it’s another Olaf), since really the clue is just saying “famous person you’ve probably heard of.” But sure. Who doesn’t like Kafka?
• 5D. One of 58 Chopin compositions : MAZURKA. I assume that this means Chopin wrote 58 mazurkas, not that the mazurka just happened to be one of the 58 anythings he wrote.
• 40A. Test control : PLACEBO. I tried PROCTOR here first.
• 50A. 2003 Anthony Swofford Gulf war memoir made into a 2005 film : JARHEAD. Come on, this clue is nonsense. I think it’s just there to fill my head with words so I can’t think clearly. ANd if that’s the goal, it worked.
• 58A. Old royal residence in 29-Across : TARA. 29-Across was the Home of the Knockmealdown Mountains (IRELAND). Who knew? And why isn’t TARA clued as “Any pair of people not named Tara who write to me and Ryan”
• 59A. Pianist with 15 Grammys : COREA. Chick Corea was awesome. I used to be a big fan. I don’t know why I’m not anymore. Clearly, 15 Grammys suggests he’s good.
• 40D. Real-life death penalty opponent played by Sarandon in “Dead Man Walking” : PREJEAN. Not sure why this was in my head somewhere, but it was.
• 46D. Some high-tech images : JPEGS. Someone who knows about graphics and Crossword Compiler, tell me — how can I make a crystal-clear graphic image of my grids? I exported as TIFFs, but it’s slightly grainy. I exported as EPS, and it’s horrible. I want the lines and the numbers to be font-clear, to be PDF-clear, but in an image format. How can I make this happen?

It’s super late, and I hate the Red Sox. I’m going to bed now, and eating at IHOP in the morning. If anyone is in the neighborhood, please join me and the wife as we have our Rooty-Tooty-Fresh-and-Fruity breakfasts.

See you Sunday!

Since we were talking about Toledo yesterday, Crosscan, Winner of the Contest sent us a link of a ukulele version of “Saturday Night in Toledo, OH”.  And here it is:

Today’s puzzle was constructed by Manny Nosowsky and it was extremely scary to look at.  Huge, wide open spaces.  Two 15-letter triple stacks and only 21 black squares.  Once I got going though it turned out to be not quite as hard as thought it would be.  In fact, I think I recorded my fastest Friday solving time with 21:16.

The grid was chock full of great entries and, for a puzzle with so few black squares, there was a minimum of crosswordese.

The triple stacks:

1A. “The loneliest guy in town” (MAYTAG REPAIRMAN).  I didn’t get this until I had finished the whole bottom.  The clue made me think of the Steve Martin movie, The Lonely Guy and I couldn’t get that out of the way to allow the correct answer to push through.  I’m sure Brian loved this as he’s been trying to fix his dishwasher since early 2005.

16A. “Hold on” (ONE MOMENT PLEASE).  I can’t be the only one who put in ONE MINUTE PLEASE, can I?

17A. Handles things evenhandedly (STRIKES A BALANCE).  I thought it was going to be something like SOLOMONESQUE.  Is that a word?

54A. Viking stories, e.g. (NORSE LITERATURE).  I like this.  Took a little while though.  I had the TURE and tried to fit in TALES OF ADVENTURE.  And it would have worked too if not for you meddling kids!

57A. Took flak for something one said, say (GOT INTO HOT WATER).  You mean something like, “The Cambridge police acted stupidly”?

58A. Bedazzlement (STARS IN ONES EYES).  I’m trying to think of the last time I was bedazzled.  I can’t remember exactly but I bet it had something to do with burritos.

Other highlights:

19A. Cracker shapes (ANIMALS).  So I mentioned the worst film in cinematic history earlier this week.  The next day Liv Tyler shows up in a puzzle and today we have animal crackers.  I fully expect Ben Affleck to appear over the weekend.

26A. City where Einstein developed his special theory of relativity (BERN).  Speaking of relativity, have you ever played the Kevin Bacon Wikipedia game?  Go to Wikipedia and click on random article.  Now, using only the links in the Wikipedia articles, try to get to Kevin Bacon’s page in 6 clicks or less…I just tried and didn’t do very well.  My random article was Potemkin City Limits and I clicked on:

1. album
2. royalties
3. sound film
4. film
5. actor
6. gwyneth paltrow
7. brad pitt
8. sleepers
9. kevin bacon

Nine clicks.  Not very good.

34A. 1970s-‘80s sitcom setting (MELS).  Well, kiss my grits.

51A. Mount from which people can see far away (PALOMAR).  Explain.

9D. Businessman/entertainer who was once mayor of Bridgeport, Conn. (PTBARNUM).  I put Jerry SPRINGER here first.  Wasn’t he the mayor of someplace?

26D. Bric-a-___ (BRAC).  Hello, Monday clue.  What are you doing in my Friday puzzle?

37D. Something once bundled with Microsoft products (ENCARTA).  Remember when this was cool?

51D. Bank chains hold them (PENS).  Great clue.

This may set me up for serious ridicule but I just got a new headshot and I thought I’d share it with you guys.  Let me know what you think.

Next stop, Saturday.

Anyway, today’s puzzle.  Lots of fun brought to us by Dan Naddor.

29A. Use the answer to any of this puzzle’s starred clues in ordinary conversation (ERR).

This is a topic I greatly enjoy.  Not only am I constantly making these type of mistakes but I also love pointing out when other people are guilty as well.  This combination makes me extremely fun to be around.

17A. *Privilege (PEROGATIVE).  I’ll admit it.  I had to look this up to figure out the correct spelling: PREROGATIVE.  I don’t think I’ve ever used this word when not singing along to Bobby Brown.  And I’m pretty sure I’ve been pronouncing it incorrectly my entire life.  Thanks a lot, Bobby.

19A. *No matter (IRREGARDLESS).  I don’t believe this is an actual word.  If it is, it means the opposite of what people think it means.  How did this mistake come to be?  It seems much easier just to say REGARDLESS.

31A. *And so forth (EXCETERA).  I’m not sure if I do this or not.  I probably do though.

36A. *Ways things are said (PRONOUNCIATIONS).  This is something of which I’m also guilty and there’s plenty of podcast tape to prove it.  I do know that it’s wrong but my brain will sometimes think I’m about to say the word PRONOUNCE and it’s hard to switch gears in the middle.  Amanda Yesnowitz, The Unparalleled Parallel Verse Engineer, A Shining Light To Us All has called me out on this and threatened to kill me if I do it again.  To quote, “Ryan– I adore you. You know I do. But if you mispronounce mispronunciation one more time, I will have to kill you.”  But, hey, at least she adores me.

41A. *Sign to look elsewhere (ASTERICK).  Ok, this one I definitely do not do.  I’m quite conscious of how I pronounce this word.  I don’t know why, I just am.  I guess that’s how I was raised.

54A. *Stumbled upon (CAME ACROSSED).  Not only have I never done this I’ve never heard anyone do this.  Anybody else?

57A. *As it’s widely believed (SUPPOSABLY).  Not guilty!  I guess I’ve heard this one.  Maybe people think they’re saying PROBABLY.

You podcast listeners may remember two stories I told related to this topic.  The Fresh Direct guy saying IRONICY and the lady on TV saying PERFECTIONISTIC.  Wasn’t there a thread on the Cruciverb list a few months back about incorrect things people say that drive you nuts?  I think the two things that really do it for me are incorrect use of the word LITERALLY and when people say I COULD CARE LESS when they mean the exact opposite.

I hope Brian’s dad (XOP) did this puzzle.  I don’t think I’ve ever spent more than 5 minutes with him without getting into a conversation about pronunciation, grammar or Frank Stallone.

Other highlights:

18D. Backpack fill (GEAR).  Man, I thought this was GORP.

27D. Son of Prince Valiant (ARN).  Good god, I can never remember this!

43D. Informal byes (CIAOS).  It also means HELLO.  At least I hope it does.  If not, I’m going to confuse a lot of Italians.

Fun puzzle today.

Next stop, Friday.

Today’s puzzle by Donna S. Levin had a fun, comic book-related theme.

20A. America’s so-called Third Coast (GREAT LAKES).  I have never been to any of the Great Lakes yet I live in a state that borders two of them.  Clearly, I need to get out more.

28A. One who must be without suspicion, in a saying (CAESARS WIFE).  You know about whom Caesar should have had suspicions?  Gaius Cassius Longinus.  That guy was a jackass.

46A. Many an autobiographer’s need (GHOST WRITER).  There’s a lot of bad autobiographies out there.  Here’s the worst one I could find on short notice.  Yikes.  I know you’re not supposed to judge a book by it’s cover but there’s no way I’m ever going to look at the inside of this thing.  Why the Egyptian clothing?  I understand Mr. Farr became famous for wearing women’s clothing on M*A*S*H but, unless I totally missed the subtext, that show didn’t take place during the Battle of Kadesh.

57A. Character known for exclaiming the first words of 20-, 28- and 46-Across (PERRY WHITE).  I am a nerd so I got this pretty quickly although it does seem a little obscure for a Wednesday.  How many non-comic book fans can name the editor of the the Daily Planet and know what he shouts out when aggravated?

Other highlights:

6A. ___-Ball (game on an incline) (SKEE).  Here’s a trick I learned.  Instead of aiming for the small targets, bank the ball off the side of the lane.  If you get the right angle it’s much easier to score higher and get a bunch of those tickets that you think you’ll save up to eventually get that flat screen TV but you never really do.

22A. Clementine’s shoe size (NINE).  I think I’ve mixed up this song with that “coming from Alabama with a banjo on my knee” song.  This song is a fun little ditty about a young girl who dies in a coal mine.

26A. Tyler of “The Incredible Hulk” (LIV).  Yes, she was in the worst scene in cinematic history but she was also Arwen in the Lord of the Rings.  So, we’ll call it a draw.

48A. Early Beatle Sutcliffe (STU).  This is one of those clues you see all the time in puzzles and, yet, I can never remember the answer.  I always want to put ROY in there.  Who the heck is Roy Sutcliffe?

53A. Like Bill O’Reilly’s “zone” on Fox News (NO SPIN).  Reason #434 why Bill O’Reilly is a total nerf herder.

11D. St. Peter’s, e.g. (BASILICA).  Who’s sick of me talking about my upcoming trip to Italy?  No one?  Great.  I can’t believe I’m going to be standing in St. Peter’s Basilica in about a month.  Mind boggling.

54D. Mattel’s Princess of Power (SHE-RA).  Let’s see, it’s a cartoon with a princess, a flying unicorn and a few furry creatures with rainbow colors.  Jeez, what little girl would like that?

Fun puzzle today.

Next stop, Thursday.

If this is your first time discovering Fill Me In, we recommend you read our informational page about it.

Although we’re done interviewing Peter Gordon for the time being (wasn’t last week fun?), we still found a way to ramble on for 35 minutes. Join us for:

• Ryan’s favorite musical
• Brian invents a horrible Dr. Seuss book
• Prophesy: Not the Dentist will be annoyed by parts that sound “edited” (only to clean up about 85% of the awful clicks and buzzes, honest!)
• Plus, a Thunder Round without introduction or script.

We have a new contest this week, and it’s a crossword puzzle called, appropriately, “Fill Me In” (link is to a .PUZ version). Doug Peterson, CGAMAT, constructed it. There are some circles in the grid. Unscramble the letters in these circles to spell the name of a crossword celebrity. That name is the answer to our contest.

Here’s a strange picture of a bunny eating something.

And a video with a song.

And a podcast.

Zambezi and oat.

Today’s puzzle by Alan Arbesfeld celebrates our Commander in Chief’s birthday by spelling his name backwards 4 times. I believe that’s also how you get Beetlejuice to appear.

17A. Envision in one’s sleep (DRE[AM ABO]UT). I had a horrible dream about the Seinfeld cast last night. It was some sort of combination of their upcoming reunion on Curb Your Enthusiasm and that movie, Hostel.

31A. Sleepwear component (PAJ[AMA BO]TTOMS). I like this clue. It makes it seem like pajamas are something you can plug into the computer.

47A. The Chattahoochee River forms part of it (ALAB[AMA BO]RDER).

63A. Arrive on the Enterprise via transporter (BE[AM ABO]ARD). I still have not seen the new Star Trek movie. I’m not sure how that happened.

Other highlights:

14A. Actress Christine of “Chicago Hope” (LAHTI). People who don’t do the Saturday puzzle will never find out that Christine actually has non-Chicago Hope credits.

16A. Its license plates say “Birthplace of Aviation” (OHIO). I’ve done shows in two places significant to the Wright Brothers. I’ve done a couple of shows in Dayton, Ohio where they had their bicycle shop and I spent a summer doing the Lost Colony in North Carolina’s Outer Banks, home of Kitty Hawk. Yet flying still makes me nauseous. Go figure. Here I am in the Smithsonian with the actual plane they flew.

28A. Like some bad film scenes (RESHOT). I’ve often been asked what I think is the absolute worst scene in the history of cinema. The answer is, without a doubt, the Ben Affleck-Liv Tyler animal cracker scene from Armageddon. This scene makes me want to rip my face off like no other. It certainly doesn’t help that Liv’s father is serenading her in the background while Ben plays with cookies on her bare stomach. Here you go, watch it if you dare.

51A. Classic family name in Florence (MEDICI). You know what I realized recently? The Arno River flows through Florence. I’m finally going to see one of these 4-letter rivers that show up in crosswords constantly. This should really help with my solving times.

Fun puzzle today. I thought the theme was a bit odd but I enjoyed it.

Next stop, Wednesday.

1. I stated that I thought the Sunday puzzle was great.
2. I stated that Pepsi tastes like Coke that’s been strained through a greasy kangaroo.
3. I mentioned Del Taco.

To clarify the first point: Upon further review I believe I overstated my enjoyment of Sunday’s puzzle. While I did enjoy it, I certainly didn’t love it and, I suppose, that would make it “not great”. I think I enjoyed the challenge of the puzzle more than the actual puzzle. If I was an occasional solver and just picked up this puzzle, I have a feeling I would have been quickly frustrated and I doubt it would have inspired me to solve more puzzles. In short, much of it was Greek to me.

To clarify the second point: I was tired when I wrote yesterday’s post and I think I made a mistake. I believe I meant to say Pepsi tastes like Coke that’s been strained through a GASSY kangaroo. Hence, the bubbles.

To clarify the third point: Whenever I go to the West Coast I immediately head to an In-N-Out to get my fix. I don’t think I’ve been to Del Taco since high school. I rarely think about it and never crave it. But, if there was one in my neighborhood I’d probably eat there 3-4 times a week. In some ways it’s better than Taco Bell. Sometimes you just want a burger in one hand and a burrito in the other.

Now, for today’s puzzle by Janet R. Bender which featured a fun Monday them of MAYS, MAIZE and MAZE.

20A. MAYS (SLUGGER WILLIE). I’m not a fan of many ex-Giants but Willie Mays was great. He could do it all, hit for power and average, steal, catch and throw. Here’s something I didn’t know. Willie ended his career with the Mets.

36A. MAIZE (PALE YELLOW COLOR) Why does this make me think of the phrase “My people call it maize”? What is that from?

57A. MAZE (LAB RATS MILIEU). This is an odd answer. It seems to suggest that rats voluntarily hang out in mazes. I don’t believe that’s what actually happens.

Don’t Monday themes usually have 4 entries? I feel a little short changed. How about this one:

MAYES (BRIEFCASE #5 ON DEAL OR NO DEAL) I’m surprised Janet didn’t think of this one herself. What Monday solver wouldn’t know this?

When was there a Star Wars Deal or No Deal? How would that even work?

And finally:

5D. Official’s call with outspread arms (SAFE). Time for one of our famous caption contests. Whoever comes up with the best caption for the following picture gets a Scratchy Yahtzee.

Next stop, Tuesday.

Today’s puzzle is by Patrick Berry and the theme is GROUP FORMATION.  I found this one to be super hard and, I’m sorry to say, it ended the longest no-google streak in my professional solving career.  I’m not sure when the streak start but it lasted at least three weeks.  Ah well, I’ll start another one tomorrow.

I don’t know anything about FRATERNITIES or GREEK LETTERS.  During my short and wildly unsuccessful stint in college I didn’t get involved the Greek scene.  I had a number of friends who loved the whole scene but it seemed to involve an awful lot of vomiting so I kept my distance.

The theme involved a rebus with Greek letters squished into single boxes.  Two things I didn’t know included parts of the Greek alphabet:

DEL TAco.  Del Taco was a huge hangout for me and my high school friends.  It’s like a mediocre Taco Bell and a mediocre McDonald’s all rolled into one neat package.  Where else can you get a spicy chicken quesadilla and a strawberry shake?

pePSI.  Barf.  Pepsi is like Coke that’s been strained through a greasy kangaroo.  It kind of looks like Coke and tastes vaguely similar but it has those greasy kangaroo overtones.

Ok, this may go down as the lamest entry in the history of Be More Smarter.  And that’s saying something.  But it’s late, I’m tired and I need to get up for a big day of fun with my wife tomorrow.

The puzzle was great though.  Excellently constructed and it gave me absolute fits.

Next stop, Monday.

We are officially three weeks away from Lollapuzzoola 2! This is going to be the best second tournament Ryan and I have ever hosted. If you think you’re sick of us promoting it, just wait until we spend about four months of podcasts on the recap! Woohoo!

Speaking of the podcast — if you’re a blog-reader and you tried listening to “Fill Me In,” but just got too confused — we now have a page devoted to explaining what the hell is going on. Check it out.

Okay, let’s quickly recap this Saturday offering from Martin Ashwood-Smith. He combined wide open spaces (awesome) with some very tight passageways (not so awesome), making this almost three separate puzzles with barely a crossover between. Let’s take a look.

Do you see where 3D. Big name in slapstick (JERRY LEWIS) and 35A. One may be out of control (SITUATION) cross at the I? That’s our passageway from the northwest onto the center. Similarly, the O between 29A. Creator of a comic strip duo named after a theologian and a philosopher (WATTERSON – the comic is Calvin & Hobbes, and this was my first entry into the grid) and 27D. 1947 western serial film (SON OF ZORRO) – this is our other passageway. Very tight squeeze to connect the segments, which makes the solve so much trickier. Plus, those passageways were full of very common letters (I, S, O, N), which is all but useless for sparking an idea in my brain.

All that said — the wide open stuff was fantastic. That seven-letter sash down the center of the grid was wonderful, and had some great fill: PARTOOK, CATBIRD, JERBOAS, SELKIRK – see, these words have plenty of the letters I need in my passageways!

I’m curious — Martin (if you’re reading this) or anyone else (if you’re reading this), tell me about these passageways. Do you put basic letters there on purpose to make the solve trickier? Do you make the passageways tighter on purpose? What’s the strategy, from a constructor’s point of view? I solved the whole SE first, and had no clue how to get out. Then I finished the NW, and still my center had WATTERSON and nothing else.

Also, from a constructor perspective — what do you think about the single black squares breaking up the otherwise cavernous NW and SE? I’m sure the fill is infinitely more difficult without those squares, but would it be worth the effort? Would that have made a better puzzle? Or a worse one? Just curious… I’m in a curious way. It’s 3:15 in the morning, and I should have been asleep hours ago.

Yes, hours ago… Okay, I’m off to bed. See you in the morning, perhaps.

Today’s Friday puzzle is by one of our favorites, Mike Nothnagel, Penpal Extraordinaire and Constructor of the Friday Puzzle.  It’s been a while since Mike constructed a Friday puzzle for the Times as his last one was on January 16th.  Not surprisingly, the wait was worth it.  An excellently constructed, medium-hard puzzle with lots of fun fill.

13A. “I’m not done yet!” (THERES MORE).  My high school principal used to shout this all the time at pep rallies.  Everybody would watch the cheerleaders then we’d all leave as Mr. Beale got up to make a speech.  He used to get pretty livid about the whole thing.  At least he had some personality though.  Our vice principal, Dr. Edwards, was like a piece of carpeting with a mustache and glasses.  We always assumed he got his doctorate in attendance.

17A. Oscar-nomiated portrayer of Frida Kahlo (SALMA HAYEK).  Even though I haven’t seen the movie this was a gimmie.  I’m not familiar with much of SALMA’s work but she has been really funny on 30 Rock.

21A. What a player may mean by knocking on the table (I PASS).  In what game?  Bridge, maybe?  All I know is in poker a knock means “I check”.

28A. Baby shower gift (ONSIE).  Lots of our friends are having kids.  There seems to be a new one popping out every week.  Yikes.

35A. Something not on the menu (SPECIAL).  Doug Peterson, Crossword Gentleman and Man About Town mentioned In-N-Out in yesterday’s comments.  In-N-Out has a not so secret second menu with great items like Protein Style burgers and The Flying Dutchman.  My favorite item on the secret menu is Animal Style Fries.  Fries covered with grilled onions, cheese and special sauce.  Delicious.  Now I’m hungry.  Doug!  Maybe you should bring some.

37A. Roll top? (SCHMEAR).  Great clue.  I had an odd experience with this as I put SESAMES which was wrong but showed up lower down in the puzzle with OPEN SESAME (60A. Passage enabler).

56A. Comics character with a “gang” (BAZOOKA JOE).  I don’t think I understand who BAZOOKA JOE is.  Does he actually have his own comic strip?  Or does he just appear on the inside of bubble gum wrappers?

3D. Wasn’t full of holes (HELD WATER).  This reminds me of the end of My Cousin Vinny.

Vinny: Does the defense’s case hold water?

Mona Lisa Vito: No!  The defense is wrong!

Vinny: Are you sure?

Mona Lisa Vito: I’m positive.

I love that movie.

15D. Plumber seen in an arcade (MARIO).  Super Mario Bros. for the original Nintendo still ranks as one of the best games of all time.  How much fun was it to find all those hidden coins and passages?  I spent hours on that game.  I finally was able to finish it after I figured out how to get unlimited lives by jumping on a turtle in a special way.  (Yet another reason why my high school experience was a social experiment gone awry.)

21D. Mayo sauce? (IRISH WHISKEY).  Ok, I’m clueless on this one.  Please explain.

41D. Like many beachgoers (BRONZED).  Not me.  I have two switches: fish belly white and beet red.

47D. Square things (REPAY).  Great, great clue.  You see, I thought “square” was a noun but it’s actually a verb and…well, I guess you’ve figured that out also but, you’ve got to admit, that’s a great clue.

56D. It comes after the last number (BOW).  My favorite clue in the puzzle.

If you’d like to thank Mike Nothnagel in person for this wonderful puzzle come to Lollapuzzoola 2.  Not only will he be there but he’s constructing a puzzle for us as well.

Next stop, Saturday.

Today’s puzzle was by our good friend Ashish Vengsarkar who contributed a puzzle to last year’s Zoola.  The theme was hinted at with two long answers.

16A. Profanities (and a hint to this puzzle’s anomalies) FOUR LETTER WORDS.

51A. Record holders? (and a punny hint to this puzzle’s anomalies) REPEAT OFFENDERS.

First off, I only vaguely know what the word anomaly means.  I’m sure I’ve used it in conversation before but I doubt I could give an adequate definition so let’s clear that up right away.

ANOMALY – Deviation or departure from the normal or common order, form, or rule.

In this case the anomalies were words spelled with one letter repeated four times.

1A. Facility (EEEE). Ease.

8A. Signals (QQQQ). Cues.

19A. Peer group? (IIII). Eyes.

20A. Razz (TTTT). Tease.

47A. Garden sights (BBBB). Bees.

49A. Is behind (OOOO). Owes.

61A. “Man oh man!” (GGGG). Jeez.

63A. Hip (YYYY). Wise.

This was an excellently done theme and it provided a nice Aha! moment.  Mine came towards the bottom when I realized OWES wasn’t working.  What other letters would have worked with the theme I wonder.

CCCC – Seas.

JJJJ – Jays

LLLL – Ells

PPPP – Peas or pees

TTTT – Teas

UUUU – Youse

WWWW – Double Youse

XXXX – Exes

Am I missing any?

Other highlights:

34A. Alley of Moo (OOP).  I really have no idea what this means.  But I’ve been doing crosswords long enough to know that when I see the word Alley I’m probably entering in OOP.

38A. Many “Star Wars” fighters (DROIDS).  This was a little misleading to me because there are a number of items in the Star Wars universe that have “fighter” in the their name.  Xwing Fighter.  Tie Fighter.  Ywing Fighter.  I never would have thought of DROIDS.  Now if the clue was something like “Many mechanical beings whose TranLang III Communicator modules combined with their AA-1 VerboBrains make them ideal for protocol” I probably would have figured it out right away.

40A. Blood, e.g. (GANGSTER).  Great clue.

43A. Some people in a tree (ANCESTOR).  What? Did I just fall off the word search truck?  This was a gimmie.

4D. Like H.P. Lovecraft among all popular writers? (EERIEST).  This seems a little subjective, doesn’t it?  Is that what the question mark in the clue means?  Subjectivity?

5D. Show types (MATINEES).  Another great clue.

55D. Actress Williams of the 1960s-’70s (EDY).  Yowza!  Here she is on Carson in 1973.

Great puzzle today, Ashish.

Next stop, Friday.

In other news, what is the past tense of the verb “sync”?  Is it sank?  As in, I sank my iPod.

Anyway, onto today’s Tim Wescott puzzle which featured a theme that, a first glance, seemed to be about crap baseball players.  At second glance it still seems to be about crap baseball players but with the added twist that there is one crap baseball player from each MLB Division.

The baseball players show up in circled boxes that are part of longer answers.

17A. Argue forcibly (MAKE A STRONG CASE).  ASTRO.  The Astros are currently 51-49 and in 3rd place in the NL Central.

28A. Pesticide spreader, e.g. (CROP SPRAYER). RAY.  The Rays are currently 55-46 and in 3rd place in the AL East.

48A. Terse (SHORT WINDED). TWIN.  The Twins are currently 51-50 and in 3rd place in the AL Central.

61A. Where Olaf I or Olaf II sat (NORWEGIAN THRONE).  GIANT.  The Giants are currently 54-46 and tied for 2nd/3rd place in the NL West.

11D. Juicer remnants (ORANGE RINDS).  RANGER.  The Rangers are currently 56-42 and in 2nd place in the AL West.

24D. Shake hands (COME TO TERMS). MET.  The Mets are currently 48-51 and in 4th place in the NL East.

Well, I change my mind.  The theme is about five pretty good baseball teams and one woefully awful baseball team, the Mets.  Don’t let that record fool you.  They’re really much worse than that.  They do have a nice stadium though.  I’ve now been to both Citi Field and the new Yankee Stadium and Citi Field wins hands down.  It’s not even close.  Yankee Stadium is like a big, cold, concrete and steel mall with absolutely zero food variety.  Citi Field is warm and inviting with some of the best ballpark food I’ve ever had.  Really the only problem Citi Field has is that the Mets play there.

Other highlights:

51A. “Don’t ___ me, bro!” (TASE).  Has anybody not seen this?  If you haven’t here’s your chance.

66A. “___ la Douce” (1963 film) (IRMA).  I posted this clue so I could tell everyone what it means in Italian.  Turns out it’s French.  That reminds me, did you guys read about the Swedish tourists who, while in Italy, typed Carpi instead of Capri into their GPS and ended up in an industrial town in the Northern Italy instead of the resort island off the coast of Southern Italy?  How did they expect to drive to an island anyway?

8D. Yours, in Tours (ATOI).  This isn’t Italian either, is it?

19D. “La Boheme” setting (GARRET).  What’s with all the French?  I’m not going to France.

Nice puzzle today.  The theme was a little random but still nice.  And, to conclude, il bambino è sotto l’aereo.

Next stop, Thursday.

As for this week’s episode — well, it wasn’t enough for Peter Gordon to be a constructor, an editor, a B Finals contestant in 2008 a contributor to Lollapuzzoola next month, and a winner of several contests here on this very show, we decided it was high time that he took over half of our program with an interview. Sure, we’ve got some Viewer Mail and other nonsense, so there’s plenty for everyone to enjoy.

Here are a few links to some of Peter’s stuff — these are all fantastic, and we can’t recommend these puzzles highly enough.

• a bunch of his books on Barnes & Noble
• help revive the Sun crossword puzzle
• a terrific interview between Peter and New York Times blogger Jim Horne
• AND: Peter’s 96-word crossword puzzle entitled The World’s Worst Crossword

One of Peter’s puzzles will be featured in Lollapuzzoola 2: Son of Puzzoola, so you’ll certainly not want to miss that.

So the Zambezi said to the oat…

Today’s puzzle is by Tony “Y-e-e-e-s-s-s” Orbach and features a theme of decreasing expectations.  I will illustrate the theme using the question, “Will this man eventually win an Academy Award?”

17A. “Sure thing” (WITHOUT QUESTION).

28A. “Chances are good” (IN ALL LIKELIHOOD).

35A. “It could go either way” (MAYBE YES MAYBE NO).

43A. “Doubtful” (NOT LOOKING SO HOT).

56A. “Forget it!” (AINT GONNA HAPPEN).

I’ve found that most of my decreased expectations end somewhere in the vicinity of Carrot Top.

Other highlights:

5D. Borscht, e.g. (SOUP).  I spent a lot of my life being scared of borscht.  Probably because of it’s deep purple (is it purple?  I’m color blind) color.  But, you know, I had some recently and it’s quite delicious.  Let’s hear it for beets.

12D. Sequel title starter, sometimes (SON).  You mean like Son of Puzzoola?

23D. The so-called fourth dimension (TIME).  My friends and I played a lot of tag when we were kids.  We made up a rule that when someone wanted a break instead of calling out TIME they’d have to call out “fourth dimension”.  One of the many reasons why my schooling was a social disaster.

32D. God, in Roma (DIO).  We just bought our tickets for the Vatican Museums. (Yes, I know they’re not technically in Rome.)  I cannot believe we’re going to see the Sistine Chapel.  I haven’t been able to wrap my head around that yet.

49D. Where one might see “OMG or “TTYL” (THE NET).  We would also have accepted A SERIES OF TUBES.

Great puzzle today.

Next stop, Wednesday.

Today’s Monday puzzle is by Allan E. Parrish and features a theme that would seem completely random if constructed by anyone else.

17A. College professor’s mantra (PUBLISH OR PERISH).

38A. Highly collectible illustrator (MAXFIELD PARRISH).

59A. Lafayette or Orleans (LOUISIANA PARISH).

I think this is fun although I’ve never heard of MAXFIELD PARRISH.  The following should change that:

I’ve been thinking of entries I could use if I created a puzzle using my name and I’ve come up with these three:

• HECHTOMETER
• WHAT THE HECHT
• I’M SORRY, COULD YOU REPEAT THAT? H-E-K-T?  IS THAT RIGHT? NO?  OK, WELL, WHERE DOES THE “I” GO?  THERE’S NO “I”?  LISTEN, BUDDY, ARE YOU SCREWING WITH ME?  YOU KNOW, MAYBE YOU SHOULD JUST CALL BACK LATER.  I REALLY DON’T HAVE TIME FOR THIS. [dial tone]

It may need some work.

Other highlights:

27A. Yoko of “Double Fantasy” (ONO).  This clue seems to contain much more information than is necessary.  Is there somebody else named Yoko who shows up in crosswords?

54A. Finisher of potter or cakes (GLAZER).  Ok, I’ll admit it.  I’m totally addicted to the show, Amazing Wedding Cakes.  You should see this guy make buttercream flowers.  Crazy.  I’ve searched for the video online but, alas, no luck.

64A. Bed-and-breakfast (INN).  You know, I think these are two different things.

18D. Dairy Queen order (SUNDAE).  Why is Dairy Queen so good?  How come there aren’t any DQ’s in NYC?  You’re telling me I’ve got to go to Jersey to get a Peanut Buster Parfait?

And, now, a quick Lollapuzzoola update.  We have our official list of constructors.  And here it is (in no particular order):

• Brendan Emmett Quigley
• Todd McClary
• Brian Cimmet
• Doug Peterson
• Peter Gordon
• Mike Nothnagel

If you haven’t signed up yet we sure hope you will soon.

Next stop, Tuesday.

This is going to be a short blog for two reasons. One, I’m writing it, and I’m just not as interesting as Ryan. And two, because it’s late, and I’m exhausted. However, I did this puzzle earlier today, and it was quite a bit of fun. It was designed by part-time first baseman for the Boston Red Sox, part-time something-or-other for Pixar (please, tell me what it is you do there!), Kevin G. Der-Hyphen-Youkilis.

You may remember Kevin’s wonder week a while back where he first trounced everyone with his fewest black squares record-breaking puzzle — which was followed shortly by the one where you fold the grid into a paper airplane. Awesome! Kevin once again dazzles here with a jumbo-sized 23×23 grid of vertical symmetry (unlike the standard rotational symmetry of most crosswords) AND it’s got circles in it (at least, in the Across Lite version) AND it’s a rebus AND it has a ton of theme answers AND the rebus squares make a shape AND it all ties together (AND if you want, you can still fold it into a paper airplane, although that has nothing to do with the theme).

First, the long answers:

• 2D. 1981 film in which Helen Mirren plays a sorceress : EXCALIBUR
• 4D & 12D. 1889 Twain novel : A CONNECTICUT YANKEE IN KING ARTHUR’S COURT. This was a my breakthrough. The title came to me, even though I’ve never read the book. Go figure.
• 14D & 76 D. 1953 Ava Gardner film … as depicted elsewhere in this puzzle? : KNIGHTS OF THE ROUND TABLE
• 71D. 2001 Anjelica Huston miniseries, with “The” : MISTS OF AVALON. Wait. Was this part of the theme? I have no idea what this show is.
• 137A. 1963 animated film with the song “Higitus Figitus,” with “The” : SWORD IN THE STONE. For way too long, as a child, I thought this title was “Sword AND the Stone.” I don’t know what that movie would be about, but probably a sword and a stone singing and dancing together as they traipse across medieval Europe.
• 143A. 1998 animated film featuring the voice of Pierce Brosnan : QUEST FOR CAMELOT. Never heard of this. Camelot? Yes. B.C.’s Quest For Tires? Yes. Quest for Camelot? No.

Then we also had five circles in the grid which, if you drew a line connecting them all, you’d make a larger circle (technically a pentagon — unless you didn’t connect the dots in sequence, in which case you make either a star or a lopsided nothing of a shape). Each circle had SIR in it — making a very clever round table of knighted gentlemen. Lovely.

I kept trying to blur my vision to see if the rest of the black squares of the grid made a picture — like it was one of those illusions that if you stare long enough, it becomes a painting or something? Can you people do those? I can’t. I have a totally messed up left eye, and I cannot do those fancy magic eye things for the life of me. I think it’s all a hoax, and you are in on it, just to mess with me. Am I right?

Okay — this is it for now. Ryan might add to this in the morning. More likely, he’ll be coming over to the BeMoreSmarter studios to record Episode 64. Tune in.

And register for Lollapuzzoola! Just four weeks away! Hurrah!

See you Monday.

Today’s puzzle is by Vic [insert sound effect here] “The Gavel” Fleming (pictured at right) and it was a bit easier than most Saturdays.  I made a few leaps of faith that turned out to be correct and got it done in about 45 minutes.

Quite a fun solve with four 15-letter answers.

17A. Inquire about a union contract? (PROPOSE MARRIAGE).  I was on to this pretty quickly but I couldn’t figure out the phrasing.  I knew it ended with MARRIAGE but I was convinced it started with ASK.  I thought maybe it was ASK INTO MARRIAGE which, oddly, is not a phrase nor does it make sense.

39A. They benefit personally (VESTED INTERESTS).  VESTED INTERESTS, that’s a phrase I use but if Jay Leno came by and asked me to define it I think I’d be at a loss.  Then I’d tell him he’s not funny.

60A. Meteorological shocker? (ELECTRICAL STORM).  Seriously, what else could this be?

7D. Losing the fuzz? (COMING INTO FOCUS).  Great clue and answer although I really wanted it to be about evading the police.

Other highlights:

1A. Brand seen near razors (AFTA).  I don’t know what this means.  What is AFTA?  Is it after shave?  According to google, it’s the Association for Temperate Agroforestry.  Why would that be near a razor?

26A. Alter in a clothing store? (RETAG).  Hey, I got this without any crosses.  And I never go clothes shopping.  No, seriously, I never go.  I pretty much wear the same thing everyday.  Ask Brian.  I’d tell you to ask my wife but I don’t like to remind her.

35A. Quarter master? (NUMISMATIST).  This one was a pretty big leap for me.  I’d heard the word but had no idea how to spell it.  So I just sounded it out like they do in a spelling bee and wrote it in there and it was right.  And that is the manner in which I roll.

44A. Filled treats (OREOS).  I guess if I had never solved a crossword puzzle before thin one would have been a little tougher.

46A. Certain joe (DECAF).  I am at a distinct disadvantage with coffee clues as I never drink coffee.  I will, however, be drinking coffee when we go to Italy.  On that note, Pickles thinks I will take me all of 5 minutes in Rome before I say, “When in Rome…”  I’m guessing it’ll be sooner than that.

50A. Kind of joe (SLOPPY).  Alright, that’s it.  I’m making SLOPPY Joes this weekend.

3D. Sing the parts of in succession (TROLL).  Music people, please explain.

14D. Hook go-with? (SMEE).  This one took me a while but it provided a nice AHA! moment.

45D. Brennan’s successor on the Supreme Court (SOUTER).  I had no idea Eileen Brennan was a Supreme Court Justice.  Good for her!

Next stop, Sunday.

Today’s excellent puzzle is by Patrick Berry.  How does he pluralize his name?  If you see him and members of his family are they the Berrys or the Berries?  Patrick, if you’re reading this please let us know.

Ok, I know I’ve addressed this subject many times before but I feel I must do so again.  Dan Feyer, Winner of the C Division, Winner of the B Division completed his puzzle in 3:35.  How is that possible?  Seriously.  How…is…that…possible?  I solved it in what I feel is a respectable 46:30 but that’s 43 minutes longer than Dan.  There was no single clue in this puzzle that I didn’t have to think over for at least a minute or two.  Dan, what the hell?  Where did you start?  Was there anything you didn’t know?  Or did you just look at 1A. It doesn’t exist and say, “Oh, of course, NO SUCH THING.  I am so much smarter than Ryan it’s ridiculous.  Next time I see him I’ll have to trick him into giving me the deed to his farm. Ha, ha, ha!”  Oy, I just don’t get it.

The puzzle was great with a big open grid in the shape of a backwards S.

12A. Find fault with (COMPLAIN ABOUT).  One of my favorite pastimes.

16A. Bloomer after whom bloomers were named (AMELIA).  The wikipedia entry on bloomers contains this phrase, “a Japanese bloomer is worn over underpanty”.  I may get that on a t-shirt.

19A. Toy from China (PEKE).  Now, don’t get me wrong, I love this clue but shouldn’t isn’t PEKE an abbreviation.

24A. You might grind it out (BUTT).  Just this moment I realized this has to do with cigarettes and not some sort of exercise called Butt Grinding.

25A. Fast hits (LINE DRIVES).  Did you see that Manny Ramirez homerun the other day?  I mean, did you see it?  Pinch hit grand slam on the first pitch.  On Manny Ramirez bobblehead day.  And he hit it into the Mannywood seats.  That was pretty cool.

29A. Musical direction that means “lyrical” in Italian (CANTIBLE).  I’m learning some Italian in anticipation of our trip in September.  Check this out, “un giapponese Bloomer è indossato sopra underpanty”.  That should come in handy.

43A. It gets you up and around (SPIRAL STAIRCASE).  Great clue.  Hasn’t Will Shortz said one of his favorite all-time clues had this same answer? It was by Martin Ashwood-Smith and read, “It turns into a different story”.

48A. Words from one who won’t settle (SEE YOU IN COURT).  This one I actually got pretty quickly.

21A. Company with a tree in its logo (KEEBLER).  I know we’re all supposed think the Oreo is the greatest cookie of all time.  And, yes, it’s quite tasty but if I had to choose I’d go with Fudge Stripes every time.  Fudge Stripes kick ass.

29A. Local or regional Boy Scout gathering (CAMPOREE).  I spent most of my childhood terrified of everything.  Hence I missed out on fun things like Boy Scouts, Little League and the development of social skills.

35D. “___ by Sinatra” (1982 collaborative jazz album) (SYMS).  Ah, I get it, SYMS is somebody’s name.  This really had me confused.

47A. What next? Saturday.

Also, who’s coming to Lollapuzzoola? It’s never too late to sign up. We have awesome puzzles in store, designed by some awesome constructors — Peter Gordon, Mike Nothnagel, Doug Peterson, Todd McClary… This is going to be off the charts.

(Rice cereal is awesome. Just awesome.)

Who had trouble sorting out the business in today’s puzzle? This was a great (if slightly inconsistent) theme. It gave me an “aha!” moment, which is rare, and which I love. Most of the fill is short stuff (nothing over seven letters, it seems, with one notable exception), which led to a lot of quick entries for me… Except, a number of them didn’t seem to quite fit the clues — that number being ten. Let’s look closer.

7D. Hit song from 2000… and a hint to 10 symmetrically arranged Across answers : WHO LET THE DOGS OUT?

In “The Tin Pan Alley Rag,” a play for which I’m currently playing piano, Scott Joplin tells Irving Berlin that his “Play A Simple Melody” is inescapable. I feel the same way about “Who Let The Dogs Out” — try as I might, I hear it everywhere. My least favorite incarnations are in commercials or movie trailers where they make it actually about dogs. That wasn’t clever the first time, and it’s still not clever. Stop doing it.

How about those 10 symmetrically placed answers? Well, there are ten entries in the grid that, to make proper sense, need to be reunited with their canine friends.

• 1A. Show-off : HOT [DOG]. As for the other kind of hot dog, Ryan and I are looking for quality soup recipes that include hot dogs. Any suggestions?
• 9A. U.S. Marine : DEVIL [DOG]. Didn’t know this term. I just know the snack cakes.
• 15A. Leader of the pack : ALPHA [DOG]. Who has seen Up, the brilliant new Pixar movie? Crossword genius Kevin G. Der-Hyphen-Youkilis worked on it. Kevin, if you’re reading this, please tell me what exactly you did on the movie. I want to be able to watch the movie again and point to something and say “That! That’s what Kevin did!” Oh, I bring it up because there are a bunch of dogs in the film, and one of them is named Alpha. That’s all.
• 34A. Animal control officer : [DOG] CATCHER
  
• 36A. Folded corner : [DOG] EAR
• 46A. G.I.’s ID : [DOG] TAG. Not only a tricky theme entry, but 100% abbreviations in the clue, 0% abbreviations in the answer. Not sure I like that…
• 47A. Person who raises and sells pups : [DOG] BREEDER
• 70A. One falling into good fortune : LUCKY [DOG]
• 72A. Old sailor : SALTY [DOG]. Didn’t know this one either.
• 74A. Cutthroat : [DOG] EAT [DOG]. Here’s where my issue with the consistency comes up. Why, suddenly, do we get an entry that requires two dogs to make sense? It made me think of Merl Reagle’s puzzle in the 2009 ACPT, where each theme entry was a pig-related pun — except one of them had two puns. I’m on the fence about this. If you set up a convention, you should stick to it, right? Well, what if you can double your fun by breaking your own rules? I don’t know… What do you think?

All in all, this was an enjoyable Thursday. I liked that the grid was super-sized (16 squares from top to bottom, to accommodate the long theme entry), I liked that the theme was secret and not really revealed until you revealed the whole thing at once, and I liked that I was able to do it in just 1.78 MOOT (multiples of Orange’s time).

Lollapuzzoola. Be there. Or I’ll let your dogs out.

Today’s puzzle is by Patrick “I Non Vedenti Affrontare Tep” Blindauer and features a theme near and dear to my heart.

64A. School cafeteria fare…and a hint to this puzzle’s theme (SLOPPY JOES).  I love SLOPPY JOES.  I love just about any ground beef dish but sloppy joes are way up there.  When I was a kid, my mom used to make Manwich for dinner and we’d have them in taco shells.  The taco shells didn’t do a very good job of soaking up the vast quantities of orange grease which would eventually run down my arm.  Delicious.  I don’t know why sloppy joes aren’t on menus of more restaurants.  There’s a bar in Key West called Sloppy Joe’s that, apparently, was a favorite haunt of Ernest Hemingway.  Who knew?  And here’s a great recipe for SJ’s that is much, much better than Manwich.

Oy, I’ve really made myself hungry here.  But there is more crossword to get to.  The rest of the theme consisted of guys named JOE who are too full of ground beef to spell their names properly.

17A. Olympic boxing gold medalist of 1964 (EOJ FRAZIER).  I don’t know much about boxing.  If it’s not about Ali or Tyson I’m pretty lost.

25A. Hero of Super Bowl III (JEO NAMATH).  Also famous for being on the Brady Bunch.

30A. 47th U.S. vice president (OJE BIDEN).  Yes, I had to think about it.  Who can keep track of these numbers?

45A. Oscar winner of 1990 (OEJ PESCI).  Isn’t it time for My Cousin Vinny 2?  I mean, c’mon already.

51A. Singer on day three of 1969’s Woodstock (EJO COCKER).  Man, I was really into the Wonder Years when I was in high school.  All I wanted was for Kevin to kiss Winnie.  It really weighed on my mind.  I cite that as the main reason for my lousy schoolwork.

Fun and delicious theme.

Other highlights:

2D. Roger who played the same role seven times (MOORE).  I caught about 20 minutes of A View to a Kill over the weekend.  Absolutely ridiculous.  Grace Jones.  Christopher Walken.  A James Bond who was just a little too old.  It’s still fun to watch though.  In this trailer, after Bond’s car gets cut in half, check out the stuntman who looks nothing like Roger Moore.

69A. Archie or Veronica (TEEN).  Here’s a fun cover featuring Archie and Betty.

Hee hee.

Great job, Patrick.

Next stop, Thursday.

In an effort to make things right, we have proposed the following. Peter Gordon’s 96-word grid is the official winner of this contest. Neville Fogarty, whose 96-word grid contained two-letter entries, has been given a new personal challenge. If he can come up with a new 96-word grid (not a copy of Peter’s, of course), as well as a pangram fill for said grid, we can award him a second-place prize.

This is Peter Gordon’s 96-word grid:

This is Neville Fogarty’s 96-word grid with two two-letter words (23D and 62D):

The two grids are quite similar, actually (rotate either one 90 degrees, and you can see how close they are).

We are terribly sorry for the oversight. And we look forward to Episode 64, when we can blather on for a good 20 minutes on how we screwed up, how we promise never to do it again, and how that’s not a realistic promise.