Peter Collins’s New York Times crossword—Amy’s recap
NY Times crossword solution, 10/26/24 – no. 1026
Shout-out to the central spanner, ORGAN TRANSPLANT. The organ in question was a kidney, transplanted from one twin to his brother. Transplant science has come a long way in the decades since! Also nice to see: Big MAMA Thornton, IDENTITY THIEVES (strictly as a crossword entry, of course), the STANLEY CUP, SELF-PITY, and RAVISHING.
Not so keen on SUN LOUNGE, MINK STOLES, LAWN TOOL, UNENTERED. I’m feeling some arbitrariness in their midst. And ACNED is unappealing as words go.
Actress VIBEs with Joan CUSACK, Judith IVEY, MERYL Streep, and Laura INNES. LOOS and RHEA could also have been clued via actors) but “I hate trivia” folks would have complained.
A gimme: 48d. [Chicago’s ___ Center, formerly known as the Amoco Building], AON. Real ones still think of it as the Standard Oil Building, of course. It was hilarious when they had to replace the entire marble cladding on this 83-story building because it had been a poor choice to use thin sheets of Carrara marble.
Adam Aaronson’s Los Angeles Times crossword — Stella’s write-up
Los Angeles Times 10/26/24 by Adam Aaronson
I really liked this puzzle! There were some fresh, new-to-me entries, and some very clever cluing of ones I’ve seen before. Highlights and only a couple of lows:
- 15A [Speaker of the house?] is AMAZON ECHO. Haaaahahahahhaa! I knew I was going to like this solve a lot when I dropped this entry in.
- 18A [Quantity of strontium in an award-winning 2018 photograph] is ATOM. I completely missed this clue when solving, but it’s a super interesting way to clue an otherwise throwaway entry.
- 19A [Professor’s domain] is EDU. Again, this is an entry that’s normally a throwaway, but that little bit of deviousness makes the clue special.
- 36A [Stallone role] is RAMBO, but could very easily be ROCKY if you get in via the first letter, which I did. (I knew better than to fill anything in until I had another crossing!)
- The bottom right stack of 10s was my one “meh” area of the puzzle. IMO the clue [Made a solo arrangement?] couldn’t save LIVED ALONE from being a somewhat boring entry, and I think every crossword editor saw DESIRE PATH from a different constructor at the same time and thought, “That’s a sparkly entry!” I think I’ve filled it in three or four times in the last month and could deal with not seeing it again for a while. APPLETINIS and its singular also feel like they go in that “lively the first time, becoming overused” category.
- The NW corner with the J and a bunch of Zs between JAZZ FUSION at 1A and the crossing ZAZU and ZZZ is a flex! (A good flex!)
- 13D [Energy consumption unit?] is a PROTEIN BAR, which is both an entry I don’t feel like I’ve filled in a million times, and also a great clue.
- 25D [Fast-fashion giant based in Singapore] is SHEIN. Given the ubiquitousness of clothes from SHEIN these days, I think it should be in the rotation of 5-letter entries in puzzles, and I’m glad to see it here.
- 27D [Crudely drawn cartoons expressing frustration] is RAGE COMICS. This phrase is new to me. Color me interested!
- 39D [Likely ticket holder?] is SPEEDER. Here’s another great clue I completely missed while solving.
NYT: “LOOS and RHEA could also have been clued via actors . . . .”
RHEA could obviously have been RHEA Perlman. But until now, I didn’t realize that Anita LOOS had an acting career. I’ve always thought of her as a writer.
Wikipedia lists a few other LOOSes who were actors, but none meet my criteria for inclusion in a mainstream media crossword.
I guess roles in four movies can be called a career.
Today’s WSJ variety puzzle by Patrick Berry is a thing of beauty! What a masterwork.