Friday, January 27, 2017

John Guzzetta’s New York Times crossword—Amy’s write-up

NY Times crossword solution, 1 27 17, no 0127

Untimed, because I was multitasking. There’s a lot to like in the puzzle. These are a few of my favorite things: OPEN BORDERS, MADE A BOO-BOO, “GO FOR IT!”, INTERRACIAL (I have yet to see Loving but a number of states once had laws banning a marriage like mine), STARTER HOME, TOSSED SALAD (people, if you don’t know the sexual slang usage, Google with great care), TITLE FIGHT, ROUGHS IT, and BOILED OVER.

Five other notes:

• 12a. [Half a ten-spot], ABE. Nope, I still don’t know anyone besides the tiny people who live inside crossword puzzles who calls a $5 bill an “Abe.”
• 21a. [Grave robbers], GHOULS. I knew this thanks to a trivia quiz from my H.R. department on Halloween, but to my great dismay, I sure as hell didn’t know it when she was quizzing us.
• 35a. [Many a large desk or sofa], ELL. Yep, my desk is an L-shaped one. iMac before me, laptops to the left.
• 36a. [Ingredients in the national drink of Puerto Rico, to Puerto Ricans], PIÑAS. Did you know the piña colada was P.R.’s national drink? I didn’t. Piña is Spanish for pineapple. Do you know “Pen Pineapple Apple Pen”?
• 5d. [Where many Loyalists resettled after the American Revolution], BAHAMAS. I did not know that. There’s some Bahamian history here.

I like this sort of grid layout, with stacked 10s and 11s in the corners. Four stars from me.

Avery Mojica’s Chronicle of Higher Education crossword, “Come to Papa” — pannonica’s write-up

CHE • 1/27/16 • “Come to Papa” • Mojica • solution

I think it’s well known that ERNEST HEMINGWAY is a kind of gift to crossword constructors. This week’s offering demonstrates that. He’s clued as the [Author of nine novels, including 20, 25 and 44 Across].

• 20a. [Novel in which fleeing lovers reach Switzerland by rowboat] A FAREWELL TO ARMS. A detail which also reminds me of one of my favorite films, Jean Renoir’s La Grande Illusion. Right now, events seem to be playing out in precise reverse of its message.
• 25a. [Novel given a 1953 Pulitzer, with “The”] OLD MAN AND THE SEA.
• 44a. [Novel whose title is taken from Ecclesiastes] THE SUN ALSO RISES.

Another novel with this feature is The Garden of Eden, and there’s also the short story collection Men Without Women.

More booky stuff: 7d [Oscar Wilde’s birthplace] IRELAND, 30d [“The Butter Battle Book” writer] SEUSS, 38aa [“Mexico City Blues” poet] KEROUAC … hm, fewer than I had thought there were.

• I noticed the back-to-back oenological 49a [Sommelier’s asset] NOSE and 50a [Vineyard vessel] TUN.
• Also, the easily-avoided dupe of 37d [Pageboys, e.g.] DOS and 63a [Make over] REDO.
• First time I can recall seeing actress Jane LYNCH in a crossword, described here as the host of “Hollywood Game Night” (26d). But that’s just my experience.

Solid crossword.

Tony Orbach’s CrosSynergy/Washington Post Crossword, “Come Together” —Ade’s write-up

CrosSynergy/Washington Post crossword solution, 01.27.17: “Come Together”

Good afternoon, everyone! Happy Friday! Today’s crossword puzzle, brought to us by Mr Tony Orbach, contains theme entries in which puns are created by adding the letters “COM” to the beginning of common phrases/nouns. All of the theme entries – four of them – happen to be 15 letters long.

• COMMISSION BELLS (17A: [Chimes run when a real estate agent makes a sale?]) – Mission Bells.
• COMPRESS RELEASE (27A: [Removal of a cold cloth form one’s head?]) – Press release.
• COMMOTION SENSOR (48A: [Bouncer with good instincts?]) – Motion sensor.
• COMPASSION FRUIT (65A: [Contents of a gift basket for a sick friend?]) – Passion fruit.

No problems with the grid, though LACY didn’t come as quickly as it should have (1D: [Gossamer]). Besides, almost every time I see “gossamer,” I think of the hirsute orange monster from the Bugs Bunny cartoons. Orange monster, huh? Hmmmmm. Sort of like…OK, OK, I won’t go there! *Bites tongue hard.* Anyways, back to crosswords. I love now that I can fill out entries that are words in French and not have to struggle with it, which was the case with AOUT (23A: [August, in Avignon]). Funny seeing HYATT in the grid, as I was literally looking up hotels in Phoenix for April right before starting on this puzzle today (43A: Marriott rival]). The intersection of ALOU (14A: [Felipe who managed the 2003 division-winning San Francisco Giants]) and ALOE made me chuckle (2D: [Lotion additive]). Not a lot of long fill outside of the 15-letter themes, so my stand out fill of the day outside of the themes was BUM RAP (4D: [Unjust charge]). Alright, time to head out and get ready to start the weekend.

“Sports will make you smarter” moment of the day: NBA (21A: [Org. with Magic and Wizards]) – Last night, the reserves for the 2017 NBA All-Star Game were announced, a game that will take place in New Orleans on Feb. 19. The game was originally scheduled to take place in Charlotte, but the game was moved after the league, spearheaded by commissioner Adam Silver, pulled the game out of North Carolina due to its stance against the HB2 legislation in the state. The move marked the first time since 1990 that a major sporting event was moved out of a city due to political reasons; Super Bowl XXVII was moved out of Tempe, Ariz. and to Pasadena, Calif. because of, at the time, Arizona’s refusal to recognize Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Have a great weekend, peop!

Take care!

Ade/AOK

Patti Varol’s LA Times crossword – Gareth’s write-up

LA Times
170127

Today’s theme consists of a well-worn crossword progression: point / game / set / match – from TENNIS (ANYONE?). The progression is rendered in clue/answer reversal style, never my favourite. At least the definition-answers are not tortured: TAPERINGEND, SAFARIANIMALS, FILMINGLOCALE and FIRESTARTER.

It’s a jam-packed grid, thematically, but there is space for SOSPAD and EGGDROP – both punchy answers, despite useful letters. My mystery man was novelist Ethan. If it was [Royal ___ (pet food brand)], it would’ve been a slam dunk!

3 Stars
Gareth