crossword 3:06
meta 1 minutes
meta 1 minutes
hello and welcome to episode #514 of matt gaffney’s weekly crossword contest, “Chic Clique”. i solved this puzzle without the instructions, as is often my wont in week 1. what are the theme answers? four women get their full names into the grid:
- {Toronto-born TV host} SAMANTHA BEE of full frontal with samantha bee.
- {“Postcards from the Edge” screenwriter} CARRIE FISHER. RIP.
- {“The Facts of My Life” autobiographer, 2015} CHARLOTTE RAE. i think this is the first time she’s been a mgwcc theme answer, joining lisa whelchel. kim fields and mindy cohn are still waiting for their turn.
- {Eowyn’s portrayer, in the “Lord of the Rings” movies} MIRANDA OTTO. this is definitely not the first time she’s been a mgwcc theme answer—curiously, from the week just before lisa whelchel. reading that blog post was entertaining for me. back in 2010, i had never heard of anna kendrick or jeremy renner or even all about eve. (only a year later, i sat down to memorize lists of oscar winners because of an impending appearance as a jeopardy! contestant.)
this is a very straightforward meta: the first names of these four women are the first names of the four main characters in sex and the city. checking the instructions, they do in fact ask for a TV show, so we’re good here. and if you didn’t know anything about this tv show, this is another week 1 meta that google could solve for you. i’ve not watched the show but i’m familiar enough with the characters.
bits & pieces:
- {Mocking literary form} SATIRE. neat little apposition to have this up in the SAMANTHA BEE section of the grid.
- {“The People’s Court” host Llewellyn} DOUG. didn’t know this name at all.
- {Actor Handler} EVAN. or this one. when i type “evan han” into google, all of the autocomplete suggestions are -sen, but then again, google knows me.
- {Having recently sold the last item} FRESH OUT. this is a great crossword answer. not sure i’ve seen it before.
that’s all for me this week. how’d you all like this one?
Good to see I am officially correct. I submitted the answer yesterday around 6:20 PM PDT. Matt’s site hasn’t been updated since just after 7:00 PM EDT.
I was stuck on the last names for a few minutes, noting that both BEE and RAE were one letter off of the first names of Golden Girl actresses (Bea Arthur and Rue McLanahan).
Sorry — forgot to update last night before going to bed!
Good start for April. I never watched the show, but the four female first names led me quickly to conclude that Sex and the City was the correct answer, confirmed by Google.
I was glad that Matt accepted SATC as the answer.
As I was filling in the grid (top-to-bottom), I was briefly sidetracked by BEE and FISH and was even flirting with turning RAE into ray before deciding that OTTO to otter was a bit much for a week 1.
I had never heard of Samantha Bee before. I was surprised when I was working on the April 4th LAT from last week (this morning) to run across her again (puzzle by David Poole). Clued as:
“Full Frontal” host Samantha
I think I watched “Sex and the City” once or twice when it first came out but did not remember any of the characters. But like Joon said, Google can solve it for you.
You’re not in North America, right? Because I’m no pop-culture guy, but it’s fair to say Samantha Bee is the biggest new thing in late-night TV in recent years (especially among those of a liberal persuasion).
Also of note, and not sure if Matt intended this cross-reference: [31d: Actor Handler]: EVAN played Charlotte’s husband (née divorce lawyer) Harry Goldenblatt on Sex and the City, as well as (throwback to a few MGWCCs ago) Stooge Larry Fine in a Three Stooges biopic.