Thursday, April 13, 2023

Peter Gordon’s Fireball Crossword, “Themeless 160” – Jenni’s write-up

I guess this one is blazingly hard in a way that did not lend itself to problem-solving, at least not for me. I am no longer interested in plugging in random letters to see what I get so I checked Peter’s grid. It’s possible that if I hadn’t been annoyed by the unfair crossing (or what I thought was an unfair crossing) I might have figured it out. It’s also possible that if my problem area hadn’t started at 1a I would have liked the puzzle better. 1a sets the tone for my solving experience and when it’s not appealing – or in this case when it’s frankly annoying – it leaves a bad taste in my mouth for the rest of the grid.

So what’s at 1a, you ask? [Base-20] which is VIGESIMAL. Yes, I can see that it’s analogous to decimal. It’s still arcane. I’m sure some math folk are wondering what I’m complaining about. I checked with the math expert in the house and he gives it serious side-eye. His exact words were “That’s obscure for no good reason.” Since he’s a national expert on, among other things, math curricula and standards, I’ll take that as an official ruling.

So OK, it’s deeply obscure math trivia which would be OK if all the crossings were fair. Unfortunately for me, 7d is [“Nosferatu”] star. That’s MAX SCHRECK. Never heard of him. Which, again, would be fine if the crossings were fair. The nail in the coffin was another math clue at 17a. [Ellipses have them] is MINOR AXES. That’s not really obscure – I’ve heard that before – and I would have probably been able to infer it and thus get to MAX once I had the X except I was fed up and couldn’t parse it to figure out AXES.

I just reread those three paragraphs and wow, do I sound cranky. 1a reads as showing off to me. It feels like the constructor is saying “hey, I know something you don’t know!” in a six-year-old singsong voice. If you’re wondering how this is different from the way some of you feel about the New Yorker puzzles…if the Fireball was always like this, I’d stop subscribing and stop doing the puzzles. What puzzles me (sorry) about the ongoing complaints about the New Yorker is that current cultural trivia is their brand and you know it going in, so if that’s not your bag, then skip them. The same with disliking specific constructors. I don’t reliably (or even often) dislike Peter Gordon’s puzzles. I usually really enjoy them. And the Fireball series consistently delivers some of the most clever and enjoyable and sometimes fiendish (sorry) puzzles going. So I stick around for the good stuff and every now and then I complain. Today is now. Or then.

Fireball, April 12, 2023, Peter Gordon, “Themeless 160,” solution grid

What I did like:

• 3d [Knife that “goes through frozen food as though it were melted butter,” according to an old ad] is GINSU, of course. Here’s the original. I remember them – of course – and had forgotten that it was not just butter but melted butter. That’s what makes it art.
• The SNEETCH makes an appearance! On our recent travels we found ourselves in La Jolla and went hiking through the Torrey Pines preserves. Torrey Pines were the inspiration for the truffula trees in the Lorax. Highly recommend both La Jolla Cove and hiking in Torrey Pines.
• 26a [Place for a small purchase] is a TOEHOLD. My idea of an enjoyable tricky clue. Or at least tricky-ish.
• Could do without AWHIR (oops. This was supposed to be things I liked. Sorry.)
• 46a [Poacher of foreign workers] is an AMAZON ANT.

What I didn’t know before I did this puzzle: thoroughly covered above.

Colin Ernst’s Wall Street Journal crossword, “Get a Big Reaction”—Jim’s review

The revealer is NUCLEAR / FISSION (39a, [With 41-Across, massive reaction found four times in this puzzle]). The other theme answers are familiar phrases that feature the bigrams AT and OM (squeezed rebus-style into one square each) separated from each other by a few squares. I’m surmising that the intention is that each phrase “splits” the ATOM. As a bonus, we get physicist Enrico FERMI at 8d [Pioneer in this puzzle’s theme].

Wall St Journal crossword solution · “Get a Big Reaction” · Colin Ernst · Thu., 4.13.23

• 16a. [One whose talents are slow to develop] L(AT)E BLO(OM)ER.
• 23a. [Getaways, of a sort] VAC(AT)ION H(OM)ES.
• 51a. [Where caps and gowns are worn] OPER(AT)ING RO(OM).
• 63a. [Give yourself a timeout?] C(AT)CH S(OM)E ZS.

Very cool theme. I’ll be honest though in that I didn’t fully catch on until I started writing up this post. For some reason I was viewing the ATs and the OMs as their own things and I didn’t put them together until after the solve. Perhaps it would have been helpful for solvers as dense as me if the revealer could’ve been some variation of “split the atom.” But, on the other hand, it is Thursday, and I didn’t mind having to do a little bit of extra thinking to make sense of it all.

Fill highlights include CUSTOM-BUILT, RECIPE BOOK, GARBANZO, and REST STOP. I’m giving UNKNOTS the side-eye, and again, I have to be honest that I don’t think I’ve ever heard of ESWATINI [Landlocked nation between South Africa and Mozambique]. Ah, it used to be known as Swaziland and only changed its name in 2018. Good to learn some new geography via the puzzle. Thanks, puzzle!

Clues of note:

• 36a. [Big supporter?]. TRUSS. I guess 50 days in office for former British PM Liz TRUSS doesn’t warrant a crossword clue.
• 30d. [Child labor?]. RECIPE BOOK. Julia Child, that is.
• 56a. [Guest vocalist on Arcade Fire’s “Reflektor”]. BOWIE. Did not know this. The song came out in 2013. BOWIE passed away in 2016.

Good puzzle. Four stars.

Robin Yu’s New York Times crossword — Zachary David Levy’s write-up

Difficulty: Average (10m50s)

Robin Yu’s New York Times crossword, 4/12/2023, 0412

Today’s theme: TOO LITTLE TOO LATE (Not enough, and without the urgency, to make a difference … or a literal hint to 18-, 30-, 38- and 48-Across)

• (TOO) CLOSE FOR COMFORT
• (TOO) HOT TO HANDLE
• (TOO) COOL FOR SCHOOL
• (TOO) LEGIT TO QUIT

The TOO is both little (i.e., rebused) and late (at the end of each phrase, rather than the beginning.)  The revealer lands, and the theme entries are idiomatic.  Checks all the boxes.  My big problem here — and it’s not the constructor’s fault — was that I actually finished this at an even faster time, with all of the TOOs as the number 2.  Why?  In part because I’m always waiting for a Thursday twist, and in part because M.C. Hammer’s famous single is actually titled 2 LEGIT 2 QUIT.  I’m only realizing now that the album (for some reason?) spelled out each word, and the clue specifically calls out the album and not the single.  Would have been nice for the puzzle to accept the numeral anyhow.  I also feel obliged to mention that (Secure, in a way) is a ridiculously evasive way to clue MOOR, and I only got it because DOOR and POOR made even less sense.

Cracking: ARTOO DETOO, because you usually only see half of his name in any given puzzle.  I’m sure there are plenty of DARK STAR fans out there as well, but I’ve never seen it.

Slacking: MONOXIDE — nothing wrong with the entry per se, just like there would be nothing wrong with ENANTIOMER or DISULFIDE BOND or anything else culled from an inorganic textbook full of powder-dry vocabulary.

Sidetracking: the GEO METRO was the worst car in the world.  It was touted for being fuel efficient the same way that, say, walking is fuel efficient (walking and the Metro being roughly capable of reaching the same top speed).

Robyn Weintraub’s New Yorker crossword – Kyle’s write-up

Quick thoughts on today’s puzzle:

The New Yorker solution grid – Thu 04/13/23 – Robyn Weintraub

• I really liked the vertical triple stacks of BALTIMORE/END IN A TIE/DEEP SLEEP and “AS IF I CARE!”/CODENAMES/COLD FRONT
• Other great long entries: FIRST CLASS, HOT STOCK TIP, CARAMEL CORN, “DIAL IT DOWN!”, POSTCARDS, FAULT LINE
• Witty clue pairing: 36A PUTS [___ up with (tolerates)] and 38A FED [___ up with (no longer tolerating)].

Thank you Robyn!

Adam Arvidson & Katie Hale’s LA Times Crossword – Gareth’s summary

LA Times
230413

Adam Arvidson & Katie Hale’s LA Times puzzle has a theme akin to yesterday’s, but with more layers. The puzzle is wrapped up at BACKPACK, and each answer has, going right-to-left, a word that satisfies “___ PACK”. They are: RAT, SIX, JET and COLD. So:

• [“Not in public, you two!”], GETAROOM
• [Spot to catch a ride], TAXISTAND
• [Skydiving event], PARACHUTEJUMP
• [Safety device in some kitchens], CHILDLOCK

Other clues & answers worth remarking on:

• [Uttar Pradesh city], AGRA. Worth noting that Uttar Pradesh is the most populous subnational division in the world
• [Playground game that is now a professional sport], TAG. ‘Murica!
• [NYC stretch originally called “Het Cingel” by the Dutch], WALLST. Singel in Afrikaans means “crescent” in street names. Cognate?
• [The ‘gram], INSTA. That clue is pure cringe.
• [Camp sight], COT. This still remains weird for me. A cot here is what Americans call a crib, I think?

Gareth

Gary Larson and Amy Ensz’s Universal crossword, “Travelin’ Band” — Sophia’s write-up

Theme: Each theme answer is a “cover band” made up of a nationality and a band name, that together form a common phrase.

Universal Crossword, 04 13 2023, “Travelin’ Band”

• 37a [“Low Rider” cover band from Seoul?] – KOREAN WAR
• 6d/54d [With 54-Down, “Glycerine” cover band from Melbourne?] – AUSTRALIAN / BUSH
• 16d [“Rock and Roll All Nite” cover band from Paris?] – FRENCH KISS
• 18d [“Sunshine of Your Love” cover band from Dublin?] – IRISH CREAM

Cute theme! The only band I knew from the song title was KISS; the rest I had to rely on crosses/the base phrases to get (BUSH in particular I have never heard of before). This is a nice way to do a proper-noun based theme, there were still many ways to solve the puzzle even without knowing the bands themselves. The base phrases are all solid, with IRISH CREAM and FRENCH KISS being my faves.

Very unique grid pattern – the grid felt very segmented, which isn’t my personal favorite, but that opened up space for lots of longer answers like PRIMADONNA, FLOATIES, and HANDHELD. It’s also elegant that KOREAN WAR intersects with every other theme answer.

Biggest holdup: Did you know that VASSAR and Marist are both 6 letter colleges in Poughkeepsie with A as their second letter? Be sure to put in the right one!

Favorite clue: [Place for some hot deals?] for FIRE SALE