Sunday, December 3, 2023

Tracy Bennett’s New York Times crossword, “Freestyling” — Nate’s write-up

12.02.2023 Sunday New York Times Crossword

This week, we’re treated to an in-house, low word count themeless Sunday that mostly felt like a success! There were fun long entries like WHAT ELSE IS NEW, ESTROGEN PATCH, WACKADOODLE, HELLSCAPE, REMIND ME AGAIN, and FANTASY SERIES to keep things feeling fresh, though there were certainly a few bits of glue (MULCTS DACHAS EONIAN along with many proper nouns) to hold it all together. A few of the corners gave me a bit of trouble, but it all thankfully fell in the end.

One thing that caught my eye was the unnecessary “golf” dupe between MINIGOLF at 64D and “golf” in the clue for NINE HOLE at 19D. I’d think they’d have programs to try and catch stuff like that?

All in all, a nice brain teaser before I head out to start the holiday party circuit this evening (thankfully, it’s still warm here in LA, so the parties are outdoors!). What did you think of the puzzle? Let us know in the comments section – and keep an eye out for Tuesday’s puzzle… :D

LA Times crossword, “Do the Dishes” by Steve Marron & Zhouqin Burnikel — Jack’s write-up

Theme: Food puns. Common phrases have their last word replaced with a homophone food item.

December 3rd LA Times crossword solution — “Do the Dishes” by Steve Marron & Zhouqin Burnikel

• 23A. [Score a seafood morsel in a bite of paella?] = PULL A MUSSEL (pull a muscle)
• 25A. [Carefully check some deli stock?] = SCREEN LOX (screen locks)
• 53A. [Hamburgers and hot dogs sold at a NASCAR race?] = TRACK MEAT (track meet)
• 41D. [“This herb is amazing!”?] = GREAT THYME (great time)
• 45D. [Avoid the downside in a corn investment?] = HEDGE MAIZE (hedge maze)
• 66A. [Ingredient that tends to fly out of the stand mixer?] = WILD FLOUR (wild flower)
• 82A. [Make an unusual choice while making borscht?] = SKIP A BEET (skip a beat)
• 112A. [Sketch the Thanksgiving turkey before it’s carved?] = DRAW A FOWL (draw a foul)
• 114A. [Request to a fishmonger for smaller portions?] = BREAK MY SOLE (break my soul)

These are solid puns and an impressive feat to fit nine of them into a 21×21 without ruining the surrounding fill. PULL A MUSSEL is probably my favorite and a nice way to kick off the puzzle. I wonder if any other good ones were left on the cutting room floor for lack of space or symmetry.

I hit a few tough patches in the northwest. For some reason 24D. [Jack kin] = MUENSTER was very tough for me to see. For one, the word “jack” has many meanings (I suppose I’m particularly attuned to it) and I think the unusual spelling of MUENSTER clouded my pattern recognition. Crossing it with an abbreviation with a brutally hard clue contributed to my struggle as well 37A. [Certain, for sure: Abbr.] = SYN. “Certain” is a synonym of “sure.” It’s a fair clue, even a good clue, but brutally hard. Slightly south of there, I failed a music trivia test with ESTE clued as the oldest Haim sister crossing MERLE [Travis or Haggard of country music]. Finally, the M in MERLE crossed 57D. [“See ya!”] = MAÑANA, which also gave me pause. I know that MAÑANA means tomorrow in Spanish and that “tomorrow” is a natural-enough way for Spanish speakers to say goodbye, but not having heard that usage, coupled with no hint of Spanish in the clue ([“Adios!”] would have been an easier clue) stumped me for a bit. None of these snags are the puzzle’s fault. Just my own gaps and hiccups which I eventually sorted through.

Other thoughts:

• 9D. [Super conductors?] = MAESTROS is a lovely clue.
• 36D. [Punishes with a fine] = MULCTS. I don’t remember ever encountering this word before. It’s fun to say and I’m glad to know it.
• 84D. [Unhappy returns?] = BAD KARMA is my favorite entry in the puzzle

Happy Sunday y’all.

Robyn Weintraub’s Washington Post crossword, “Themeless No. 23” — Matt’s write-up

Robyn Weintraub’s Washington Post crossword solution, “Themeless No. 23”, 12/3/2023

Robyn Weintraub themeless. Need we say much more?

Three across spanners draw the eye — I liked the first the best: [Play whose title vehicle stopped service about six months after the play’s debut] A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE.

Classic Robyn in the spoken-phrase long downs WHATEVER IT TAKES and ALRIGHT ALREADY. More in that vein: BELIEVE ME, LATER BRO, NAILED IT.

I find it difficult to say much about themeless 21x21s – there’s bound to be decent connectivity, and plenty of room to ensure highlights in the fill. I’ve sometimes seen folks say that without a theme it can be challenging to keep attention up all the way through a 21. I didn’t feel that here, helped in large part by a decently wide array of source material for the different entries.

Notes:

• 14a [Surface for a small rug?] SCALP. This took me quite a while to grok — we’re talking about toupees here. I haven’t thought about hairpieces in a while – are they out of style, maybe?
• 33a [Good thing to have on hand during a snowball fight?] MITTEN. I was always able to throw better with gloves, but YMMV
• 50a [“Food Network Star” judge Bobby] FLAY. This is a personal issue, but I haven’t paid much attention to Bobby Flay since he put breading on his chicken wings.
• 54a [Sights from ski lifts] TRAILS. Small uncertainty midsolve if this was right, since “runs” felt a bit more natural
• 67a [“Lost in Yonkers” playwright Neil] SIMON. I don’t know the play, but I only know one “playwright Neil.” Hasn’t failed me yet.
• 83a [Ingredients in some pies?] DATA. As in pie charts. I’ve never heard “pies” used in this way, but I can buy it.
• 91a [Gargantua and Pantagruel, e.g.] GIANTS. These names (from a 16th century work by Francois Rabelais) are completely new to me. I see in looking them up that the former is the source of “gargantuan,” a word whose etymology I suppose I’d never considered before.
• 95a [Strongest part of a zombie?] RUM. I’m not sure I’ve ever come across this cocktail!
• 73d [Moreno who was the third-ever EGOT winner] RITA. In competitive awards, at least – putting Moreno third is discounting Barbra Streisand, who completed the quad in 1970 with a “Special Tony Award.” Six individuals have the full set using honorary or special awards.

Jared Goudsmit’s USA Today crossword, “Outlast” — Darby’s write-up

Editor: Jared Goudsmit

Theme: Each of the themers ends with OUT, making it the last part of the answer.

Theme Answers

Jared Goudsmit’s USA Today crossword, “Outlast” solution 12/3/2023

• 20a [Veggie named for a Belgian city] BRUSSEL SPROUT
• 37a [Person looking for the next big thing] TALENT SCOUT
• 49a [Fish such as the steelhead] RAINBOW TROUT

This was a cute theme set, and as a devout lover of BRUSSEL SPROUTs, I was delighted to see the mini cabbages featured in this puzzle. TALENT SCOUT came with time, but once I plugged it in, I remembered to focus on the theme. In turn, I added OUT to 49a and immediately realized the answer was RAINBOW TROUT.

I thought that the grid was nice and open, making it easy to move between sections. It also allowed for longer fill like BEAUTY SLEEP, SMART TVS, and CAT TREAT. I also really liked the couple of puns hidden in answers like 16a [“Road work ___? Uh, yeah, I sure hope it does!”] AHEAD and 29d [“___ telling me a shrimp fried this rice?”] YOU’RE. I was very confused about 23a [Discreetly] because I initially only had the DL from ACHED and QUILL since it was an add consonant combo, but eventually I got ON THE DL. Similarly, I could not come up with the right phrase in 43a [“Not kidding!”] I MEANT IT.

Overall, though, this was really fun! I would say 10d [“Hey, check it out!”] OH LOOK!

Kelly Clark & Jeff Chen’s Universal Sunday crossword, “Coloring Outside the Lines”—Jim’s review

Theme: RAINBOW CONNECTION (107a, [Kermit’s solo in “The Muppet Movie” … and this puzzle’s theme]). The colors of the rainbow, as identified by circles, “connect” different words in the grid.

Universal Sunday crossword solution · “Coloring Outside the Lines” · Kelly Clark & Jeff Chen · 12.3.23

Lovely puzzle! Not least of which because of the nostalgia I hold for that song. I was a kid when that original movie came out. Someone must have given me the audiotape of the soundtrack because I listened to it many, many times on my Sony Walkman.

So we get the song and the rainbow colors (and the nice aha moment that comes when you piece it all together), but we also get the rainbow grid art. Never mind that the colors should be arcing across the sky instead of going up and down. At least they’re all there in some fashion. Nicely done!

In addition we get plenty of fun long fill: “YOU GOOD?,” INLINE SKATE, SHOT GLASS, TIGER LILIES, THE LION KING, HEADLINER, COLONIALS, POWER VACUUM, PAPRIKA, MAN HUG (though I’ve usually heard “bro hug”), ST PATRICK, SCREWBALL, CONSOMME, EMOTICONS, SCOOP NECK, and AMERICANO. Wow! Didn’t know BHANGRA, but it’s a colorful addition to the lineup.

Conversely, that section of LUELLA crossing HE’S A, LIND, and LEHI was rough. I had to guess at that pair of Ls, but they made sense given that 42d is a first name for [Fashion designer Bartley]. Nearby ATTU had to be dug up from the depths, but the crossings there were all fair.

Clues of note:

• 19a. [Jewish mourning period]. SHIVA. Of course I’ve heard the phrase “sitting SHIVA” but I never realized the spelling was the same as the Hindu god of destruction. I can’t imagine that there’s any relation there, is there?
• 28a. [Llama’s feature?]. SILENT L. Hmm. Really? Because I definitely hear an L the way English-speakers say the word (but which L is it?). Of course, the Spanish pronunciation has the word starting with more of a Y sound.
• 125a. [Acted the fall guy?]. RAKED. Nice clue. I do that a lot.
• 71d. [Poisonous Asian snake]. KRAIT. I didn’t know this snake, so I asked our resident snake expert (my daughter). She wasn’t sure either but was eager to learn about it. She did point out the error in the clue, though, which is that this snake (and nearly all snakes with a toxin) are venomous, not poisonous. But then what should we find at 96a but VENOM, clued [Certain snake’s poison]? So I can see why “venomous” wasn’t used in this clue, but “poisonous” is still incorrect. “Dangerous” might’ve been sufficient for the KRAIT clue, and I’d have gone for “toxin” in the VENOM clue. BTW, there are some actual poisonous snakes.

Fun puzzle with an impressive construction and tons of meaty fill. 4.25 stars.