Saturday, June 11, 2016

Andrew Kingsley’s New York Times crossword—Amy’s write-up

NY Times crossword solution, 6 11 16, no 0611

While I was solving the puzzle, my mom called and I eavesdropped while she talked to my son, and then as soon I finished the puzzle I talked to her for a half hour. I don’t vividly remember the puzzle at this point. Let’s see what’s in it!

Fave fill: SELFIE STICK, “TOP THAT,” quaint ACCURST (gotta use that word more often), MALL SANTA, “I CAN EXPLAIN,” ATHEISM, COUSCOUS, COMPADRE, and ST KITTS.

Clue notes:

• 13a. [Poison also called white arsenic], RATSBANE. Never heard of it. Dictionary labels it “literary.” Easy enough to get the BANE part, but the rest was a crapshoot.
• 39a. [Grub for a grub], LEAF. Nice! [Food for a larva] would be no fun at all.
• 12d. [About 2% of the Hope Diamond], ONE CARAT. Really thought this was going to be something geological.
• 34d. [“The vice of a few intelligent people,” per Voltaire], ATHEISM. Not familiar with the quotation but I like it.
• 54d. [Elephantine Island is in it], NILE. Huh? Wasn’t thinking an island named after elephants would be up in Egypt. The name’s possible derivation’s reviewed, along with the island’s history and significance, here.

Lesser fill (which is to say, fill I wasn’t pleased to see): J’AI (although I like this French swap for the usual jai alai), PARI-, NE’ER, ABES, ERST, RARA, ARLISS, ONE-L, plural abbrev PTAS, and dusty old [Soviet co-op], ARTEL.

Wasn’t sure how legit “SO DOPE” (56a. [Way cool, in modern lingo]) was, but I consulted my household contemporary slang usage expert and he said it’s fine.

3.75 stars from me.

Mark Bickham’s LA Times crossword – Derek’s write-up

I recognize Mark’s byline this time! Still not used to his constructing style yet, and the time reflects it. I can usually finish a Saturday LAT in around 6 or 7 minutes, and this one took me nearly 9 minutes. Once I get used to his style, maybe I can solve his a little quicker. A great puzzle, though! Interestingly, this puzzle contains F. A. O . SCHWARZ, G. I. JOES, D-CON, G-STAR, and DNA TEST! (Did I miss any others?) A little mini-theme, if you will? Regardless, that makes for a little difficulty in solving when you’re not ready for initials and things like that. It also makes for some lively fill. Once again, there are great entries in here, very little dreck, and this was a fun solve. 4.4 stars today!

Some of my faves:

• 15A [Writing desk] ESCRITOIRE – A great word!
• 17A [Where the Walking Piano scene in “Big” was filmed] FAO SCHWARZ – I recently heard somewhere that this movie premiered exactly 28 years ago! I looked it up, and sure enough this movie premiered on 6/3/88. I actually saw this one in the theater way back when. And this was surely an iconic scene!
• 6D [Foxhole absentees, so it’s said] ATHEISTS – I have always loved this saying! I can only pray I never experience the horrors of armed combat.
• 11D [Absent-minded A. A. Milne title character] MR. PIM – If you say so! Never heard of this character. I am, again, uncultured. I’ll have to stick this on my Kindle!
• 13D [Goes down as planned] TAKES A DIVE – This seems a tad off to me. Am I crazy? If we are talking sport diving, it kinda makes sense. I will squabble on this one a bit.
• 27D [Classic film words of self-revelation] I’M A REAL BOY – From Pinocchio I believe!
• 28D [TV hero who famously kissed 52-Down] JAMES T. KIRK – 52D is UHURA. Another iconic scene from pop culture is referenced!
• 39D [Complex parts] NEUROSES – I think this may be the best clue in the puzzle! Nicely done!

Have a great weekend!

Frank Longo’s Newsday crossword, “Saturday Stumper” – Derek’s write-up

OK, so maybe not working is helpful to solving? Still off work with symptoms from meningitis, and now that the worse of the headaches are gone, I am able to do some solving from the couch. Perhaps the solving is easier without being physically exhausted! You may be thinking, “Derek, your solving time is over 20 minutes!” And you would be correct; but for a Longo puzzle, that 20 minutes, for me, is a great time! Many times I have battled his stumpers for over 30 minutes, and make no mistake, this one is HARD. Frank is a pro, as I have said many times. This 70-worder seems almost like child’s play to him, as the words seem to mesh so effortlessly. I am truly impressed by his talents. A solid 4.5 stars today!

A few notes:

• 23A [Musicista mitico] ORFEO – I had to look this up: it translates to “legendary musician” from Italian, so it refers to the 16th century composer. You are now, like me, a tad smarter!
• 40A [It may be based on shells] PASTA DISH – There are many candidates, but I think this is the best clue in the puzzle. I will mention a few more as we go, but this one I think elicited the biggest grin/groan!
• 44A [Stop-gap solution?] PUTTY – This one is also quite good!
• 56A [Its solo riders must be 18+] UBER – Uber is now pretty much everywhere; you can catch an Uber ride even here in North Central Indiana! Are taxis going to go away? Only time will tell!
• 4D [SpongeBob pal Patrick] STARFISH – Ashamed to say I got this immediately!
• 9D [Favorites list] HIT PARADE – Not a phrase used often these days, in the era of playlists and such. Or is it just me?
• 11D [1952 presidential election predictor] UNIVAC – I know there is ENIAC and UNIVAC among old computers. You know: the type that used to fill an entire room?
• 34D [“Props, dude!”] YOU DA MAN! – I would have clued this as some sort of golf reference, as you often hear someone shout this after a player has hit a tee shot. Of course, now that I think about it, maybe that was more of a late 90s early 2000s phenomenon. Anyway, it is timely: we can all see if it happens next week at the U.S. Open, which starts Thursday. Conspicuously Tiger-less, might I add … !
• 36D [It may mean “Good dog!”] ATTA GIRL – I will call this one the 2nd best clue. Best clue for this entry I have ever seen!
• 41D [Certain Looney Tunes shout of approval] ARRIBA – A Speedy Gonzalez quote is always welcome!
• 51D [Lead-in to joule] TERA – Another good way to clue a rather common prefix.

I could go on, but I will stop there! Enjoy your weekend!

Ethan Erickson’s Wall Street Journal, “That Hurts!” — pannonica’s write-up

WSJ • 6/11/16 • “That Hurts!” • Sat • Erickson • solution

Tacking on—punctuating, if you will—an OW to humorous effect. That’s the intent.

• 23a. [Quality material for basketry?] GOOD WILLOW (Goodwill). I’m thinking this the Goodwill corporation, or perhaps even the generic phrase, rather than, say, a reference to the film, whose character was Will Hunting.
• 25a. [Something hard to look out through, unless it has knotholes?] WOOD WINDOW (woodwind).
• 37a. [Item on a bed?] SLEEPING PILLOW (sleeping pill).
• 61a. [Deep dugout for Hammerin’ Hank?] AARON BURROW (Aaron Burr). How many people have full names that both begin and end with a doubled letter?
• 75a. [Feline food that’s only so-so?] FAIR CAT CHOW (fair catch). Far and away my favorite themer, due to the radical redivision of CATCH to CAT CH…
• 96a, [Rural tract named in honor of Elizabeth II’s sister?] MARGARET MEADOW (Margaret Mead).
• 114a. [“Let me in!” for example?] DOOR BELLOW (doorbell).
• 117a. [Phoenix’s final indulgence?] FIRE WALLOW (firewall).

Fair enough.

• 6a [Melodramatic lament] ALAS, 92a [Wistful sigh] AH, ME, 26d [Shows woe] WEEPS, 108a [Suffer] AIL.
• 17d [Apple introduction of 2001] IPOD, 34d [Apple introduction of 2010] IPAD. Sheesh. 94a [“Really!”] I SWEAR, 124a [“By Jove!”] I SAY.
• 82a [Kind of bore or basin] TIDAL, 115d [Boring existence] RUT, 91d [Undermine] ERODE.
• 67a [Liquor in a bee’s knees] GIN. The other famous ‘bee’ cocktail is the bee STING (see 73d [Jellyfish attacks]). Both also have honey as an ingredient, though many mellifluous imbibables aren’t apinomial.
• 74d [Simone Signoret movie that one the 1977 Foreign Film Oscar] MADAME ROSA. New to me. Here’s the AllMovie synopsis: “Madame Rosa (Simone Signoret) is an aging former prostitute who, in her dotage, makes a living by caring for the children of other prostitutes in Paris’ Arab community. Haunted by memories of her experiences in a Nazi concentration camp, Rosa is seized with the notion that the Gestapo is still after her. She thus begs one of her young charges (Samy Ben Youb) not to give away her “hiding place.” Madame Rosa was based on Momo, a novel by one Emile Ajar (better known as Romaine Gary).” Holocaust survivor + prostitute with heart of gold = Oscar shoo-in. 13d [Holed up] HIDING.
• Okay, back to my RUT of pairing linkable clues and/or answers. 116d [Route] WAY, 73a [Process] SYSTEM.
• 21a [Hostile to] ANTI, 64d [Supporter’s answer] YEA.
• Language lesson! 36a [Currency whose name means “round”] YEN, 65a [Moorish word for “lord”] CID.
• Favorite clue: 18d [Post production] NEWS.

CAPABLE (90d), anodyne crossword.

Tony Orbach’s CrosSynergy/Washington Post crossword, “Water, Water, Water Everywhere” —Ade’s write-up

CrosSynergy/Washington Post crossword solution, 06.11.16: “Water, Water, Water Everywhere”

Good morning, crossword lovers. Today’s crossword puzzle, brought to us by Mr. Tony Orbach, is surrounded by water, in a sense. Each of the theme answers is a pun, with the answer composed of three words that each can also come before the word “water.”

• HIGH HOLY SURFACE (17A: [Top of a stack of Bibles?])
• FRESH ROSE BRANCH (40A: [Just-picked, hardy flower stem?])
• WHITE HOT MINERAL (65A: [Extreme-temperature bit of magma?])

Been to TAMPA three times now, but have never made my way to Busch Gardens (9A: [Busch Gardens locale]). Is there a limit on the number of times you can do to Tampa without heading there?!? This grid was able to appeal to fans of both baseball teams in New York, with both MET (34A: [Citi Field player]) and DEREK featuring (55D: [Career Yankee Jeter]). Usually, seeing one abbreviation for a degree is one too many, but we have two here, and both are plural: MBAS (11D: [Degrees for aspiring entrepreneurs, for short]) and MFAS (34D: [Degrees for aspiring painters, for short]). Favorite clue/fill of the day definitely was HIPSTERS, and, being in Brooklyn, I come across them a few times on my travels around the Big Apple (42D: [Stereotypical bohemians, informally]). OK, maybe more than just a few times.

“Sports will make you smarter” moment of the day: REMI (70D: [Do followers, in a scale]) – Former French national soccer team player REMI Garde most recently was the manager of the sinking ship that was/is Aston Villa in the Barclays Premier League. As a manager, he had more success with the team he also spent his most years at as a player, Lyon, where he led them to the Coupe de France title in 2012.

See you all for the Sunday Challenge!

Take care!

Ade/AOK