Monday, December 25, 2017

Lynn Lempel’s New York Times crossword — pannonica’s write-up

NYT • 12/25/17 • Mon • Lympel • № 1225 • solution

Feels as if it’s been a long while since we’ve seen Lynn Lempel’s byline…

Aha, I’ve checked the site’s tags and it just so happens that I’ve missed her most recent NYT Mondays (September and June—thanks for covering, Amy!), and then there were some WSJ offerings, and a bunch from the now-defunct CrosSynergy franchise. In fact, I didn’t continue inspecting them to discover which was the last one I handled for FiendCo.

Anyway, super-smooth. super-quick. I still don’t know what the theme is, despite encountering the starred clues and registering the revealer. Time to interrogate, I suppose.

• 58a^R [List of popular songs … or a hint to the ends of the starred clues] HIT PARADE.
• 17a. [*Game-quickening timer in basketball] SHOT CLOCK. Hit clock? Hit shot? Hit the clock? Hit the shot? Huh? Seems ‘ends’ in context would mean the back parts, so I’m saying it’s hit the clock.
• 28a. [*Snowbird’s destination] SUN BELT. Ohhhh, synonymys for ‘hit’. Got it. That reminds me—35a [Clobber in the ring] KAYO (the phoneticized version of KO, knock out).
• 47a. [*Long vegetable with a yellow pod] WAX BEAN.
• 11d. [*Marinara sauce thickener] TOMATO PASTE.
• 24d. [*Dispenser of psychiatric advice to Charlie Brown] LUCY VAN PELT.

Clock, belt, bean, paste, pelt.

“Peace on Earth and Whatnot, Charlie Brown.”

p.s. 5a [Congeal, as blood] CLOT, 38d [What psychological trauma may leave] SCAR. Yes, it’s been that kind of year. Shall I go on?

p.p.s. 15a [Years and years and years] EONS, 19a [Arabian Peninsula nation] YEMEN, 20a [Charlotte __ (rich dessert] RUSSE, 25a [Budgetary excess] FAT, 26a [Golf ball propper-upper] TEE, 31a [Wealth] RICHES, 36a [Weirdo] NUT, 37a [Miss America accessory] SASH, 40a [President saying “No!”] VETOER, 43a [Utter failure] FIASCO, 45a [Govt. of the Rebs] CSA, 64a [Something an arrested person tries to “make”] BAIL, 1d [Nighttime wear, familiarly] PJS, 39d [Swine] HOGS, 34d [Stars-and-stripes land, for short] USA.

That’s gonna leave a mark.

Peter Koetters’ Los Angeles Times crossword — pannonica’s write-up

LAT • 12/25/17 • Mon • Koetters • solution

• 1d^R [Babysitting nightmares … or relatives of the ends of the four longest puzzle answers] BRATS. However, the theme answers concern the sausagey things; as the two sorts of BRATS are to my knowledge etymologically unrelated I don’t feel this revealer clue is accurate. Needs more obsequious qualification.
• 20a. [Piltdown Man, purportedly] THE MISSING LINK. Ah, good ol’ Jeremy. By  the way, the entire concept of a “missing link” is evolutionary specious in this implication.
• 26a. [Really skimpy, like the polka-dot bikini of song] TEENIE-WEENIE.
• 42a. [Hangover remedy, so they say] HAIR OF THE DOG.
• 50a. [“Honestly speaking …”] TO BE QUITE FRANK.

Link, weenie, dog, frank. Not the greatest variety of botuliform comestibles here, but a solid enough theme. Only four themers, so it isn’t overstuffed.

• 3d [Go in] ENTER, 12d [Forcefully entered] BROKE INTO. Don’t do this to me, puzzle.
• 18d [Innermost foot digit] BIG TOE. Such an awkward clue. Even though it’s a Monday I certainly would’ve preferred hallux or even replacing ‘innermost’ with ‘most medial’. I don’t feel those terms are too technical. (Just checked: mw.com includes ‘innermost’ in their definition of hallux. I disagree.
• 38a [Stock holders?] are POTS, not LOTS as I initially had it. LAGER for 38d [“Your table’s ready” signaler] doesn’t fly. It’s PAGER.
• 46a [What drinks like Jolt provide] ENERGY. Sugar + caffeine, what could go wrong?
• 9d [Bit of wine sediment] DREG. Just one wee, lonesome DREG.

Speaking of which, I’ve now gone through the clues and answers two complete times without finding anything more remarkable to comment on, so that suggests it’s time to say BYE (1a [“See ya”].

Brendan Emmett Quigley’s Themeless Monday crossword — Laura’s Writeup

BEQ – 12.25.17 – Solution

Short post today so I can get back to the family jigsaw puzzle. I liked the angst-y combo of CASTIGATORS, MISDIRECTED, QUESTIONING, and MALFUNCTION — all leading to some POETIC UNREST. Some less common proper names with entertainers EDIE ADAMS, KERRI Kenney, Mireille ENOS, and MEL B, as well as political figures Eamon DE VALERA, Juan Gregorio de las HERAS, and PEDRO Pablo Kuczynski. Liked the misdirect on WINE LIST — that was the last entry to drop, crossed with PAWN.

I’ll leave you with the song that inspired today’s marquee entry: