Wednesday, November 13, 2024

Daniel Hrynick’s Wall Street Journal crossword, “Towering Figures”—Jim’s review

Theme answers are familiar(ish) phrases that feature an animal, and each animal crosses the revealer: TOTEM POLE (18d, [Carving that aptly crosses the animals in the starred answers]). (I was glad this wasn’t actually another Animal Crossing-themed puzzle.)

Wall St Journal crossword solution · “Towering Figures” · Daniel Hrynick · Wed., 11.13.24

• 17a. [*Unofficial nickname of South Dakota] COYOTE STATE. Coyote: Intelligence, stealth, guile.
• 23a. [*Soup variety that inspired a character in “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”] MOCK TURTLE. Turtle: Nurturing, protecting, enduring.
• 42a. [*Whence “Land ho!” may be called] CROWS NESTS. Crow: Magical, shape-shifting, creative.
• 47a. [*$20 gold coin minted from 1849 to 1933] DOUBLE EAGLE. Eagle: Divine, courageous, free spirit.

At first this seemed like a very simple theme with animal phrases. But crossing them with TOTEM POLE adds a certain amount of elegance which I enjoyed. I was hoping to find an image of a pole with the animals in question, or at least create one using an online tool. Sadly, it doesn’t appear possible. I’ll settle for the descriptions of what each animal symbolizes which I found here (along with many other animals).

I also enjoyed the grid design for its openness and large sections of white space providing good flow throughout the puzzle. PATCH KIT, HAY RIDE, MINUTIA, and PERI PERI were my highlights of the solve. However, I balked at SPLOOTS [Lies prone with hind legs extended, as a dog might], one because I’ve never heard the term, and two because my elderly basset is losing control of her hind legs and has on occasion ended up in this position. Sadly, after 14 years, we think she is nearing the end as she is fighting health problems on multiple fronts.

Clues of note:

• 1a. [Acknowledges a general’s entrance, say]. SNAPS TO. I really wanted SALUTES here as it makes a more evocative opener for the grid…even if you only really salute outside.
• 20d. [Deep ___ (major trouble)]. DOODOO. This entry makes its debut here (that is, it gets no hits in the Cruciverb database). I suppose the clue makes it more palatable…if that’s a word you would use in this instance.
• 42d. [Cousin of Peppa Pig]. CHLOE. Phew, that’s a deep cut. If I recall correctly, she’s the older, cool cousin of Peppa.

Nice puzzle. 3.75 stars.

Todd Gross’s New York Times crossword—Jim’s review

Jim here filling in for Amy. Theme answers are states with clues that feature star ratings based on the number of stars on their flags. The revealer is STATE / FLAGS (66a, [With 8-Across, the sources of the 31-Down in this puzzle’s reviews]), with 31d being STARS [Rating symbols, as seen in this puzzle].

NY Times crossword solution, 11 13 24, no. 1113

• 1a. [RATING: * A big ditch in a big desert. Big deal.] ARIZONA.
• 24a. [RATING: *  Sin, sun and sand … so? Not worth the gamble.] NEVADA.
• 35a. [RATING: *** Graceland and the Great Smoky Mountains. I volunteer to visit again!] TENNESSEE.
• 51a. [RATING: ******** Fresh salmon and spectacular scenery. Go north, young man!] ALASKA.
• 67a. [RATING: ************* Peaches, peanuts and pecan pie. You’ll always be on my mind!] GEORGIA.

Nifty theme, and it’s nice to see Todd Gross’s byline again. This had the feel of a beguiling Thursday with those inexplicable clues, but once they started resolving into state names, that made it a lot easier. Of course, I wouldn’t recognize any of these states’ flags if they were in a lineup, so that aspect was lost on me, but I still found it fun and imaginative. Let’s see what the FUSSES all about, shall we?

Now that I see them, I think I recognize the ALASKA flag. But that Tennessee one…is bowling the state sport? Because that’s the vibe it’s giving off.

Fill highlights: CRUELLA, DUST RAG, “ZIP IT!,” ACACIAS, and Captain Underpants’ TRALALA. I almost DNF’d on the right side where VINED crosses SIDER and NYRO. Didn’t know the last two, and “ivied” seems more common than VINED when referring to Wrigley Field’s walls.

Clues of note:

• 29a. [Suffix with Sydney]. SIDER. Completely outside my wheelhouse. Never heard “Sydneysider” which refers to residents of that city. But then I’ve never been down under.
• 2d. [Change one’s ways?]. REROUTE. Very cute clue.
• 14d. [450, in ancient Rome]. CDL. You know, CDL referring to a Commercial Driver’s License seems like a common enough initialism that it should work for a clue. Yet all 12 (and now 13) instances of this entry in the Cruciverb database use Roman numerals.
• 23d. [Part of DKNY]. DONNA. In my world, DK stands for Donkey Kong.
• 27d. [Creator of the sleuth C. Auguste Dupin]. POE. In the world’s first detective story, if I recall correctly: The Murders in the Rue Morgue.

Good puzzle. 3.75 stars.

Desirée Penner and Jeff Sinnock’s AV Club Classic crossword, “Dark Matter”—Jenni’s recap

Took me a minute to figure out what was going on after I solved the puzzle. I’m not sure how to count the theme answers so to keep my typing to a minimum (and enable me to get to work on time) let’s do it this way. There are five answers with circles plus two parts of the revealer. There are also a 26 (I think) answers with slashes in the clues. Hmm.  I’ll list the ones with circles:

AVC Classic, November 13, 2024, Desirée Penner, Jeff Sinnock, “Dark Matter,” solution grid

• 28a [Frequent fall guy for Lucy’s pranks] is CHARLIE BROWN.
• 52a [Melancholy song by Melissa Manchester] is MIDNIGHT BLUE.
• 62a [1998 film taking place in Guadalcanal during WWII, with “The”] is THIN RED LINE.
• 69a [Animal featured on the labels of Delirium beers] is a PINK ELEPHANT. The little check marks in the grid tell you I missed this one the first time. My husband drinks more beer than I do and he filled me in, so to speak.
• 92a [Superhero who harnesses the central part of the Emotional Electromagnetic Spectrum] is the GREEN LANTERN.

We’ll get to the revealer in a minute. I missed the answer to 69a because the circled letters are unchecked. The answers that cross the circled letters correspond to the clues with slashes. So, for example, 8d [Keen on/Article in rap titles] gives us INTO and THA, skipping over the R in CHARLIE BROWN. What’s up with that? The revealer, well, reveals all. 95a [With 25-Across, recurring lyric in a Rolling Stones song about handling loss, and an instruction to the solver to help make sense of this grid] is NO COLORS ANYMORE/I WANT THEM TO TURN BLACK. If we turn all the colors in the theme answers to black, then they are black squares dividing the crossings into two answers. Ta-da! Excellent puzzle – one of those feats of construction that are actually fun to solve and figure out.

What I didn’t know before I did this puzzle: I read the GREEN LANTERN comic books when I was a kid and my brother was in his comics-collecting phase. I don’t remember the Emotional Electromagnetic Spectrum. There’s a lot to learn.

Play that sitar!

Drew Schmenner’s Universal crossword, “Nothing to It” — pannonica’s write-up

Universal • 11/13/24 • Wed • “Nothing to It” • Schmenner • solution • 20241113

• 62a^R [Situation with a winner and loser … and a description of 17-, 26- and 52-Across?] ZERO-SUM GAME.
• 17a. [0 + Ideal, in slang + Fibs = Jeans closers] ZIP + PERF + LIES = ZIPPER FLIES.
• 26a. [Aspiring Ph.D.’s test + 0 = Caribbean nation] GRE + NADA = GRENADA.
• 52a. [Pa’s partner, perhaps + 0 + “That hurts!” = “Copacabana” singer] MA + NIL + OW = MANILOW.

Nicely turned. I don’t know that the editorial decision to capitalize each component of the equations was necessary, but it isn’t problematic.

<soapbox>Too many people believe—and act on—the assumption that SYSTEMS (40d [“All __ are go!”]) are overwhelmingly ZERO-SUM GAMEs, especially in the realms of politics and societal culture. It leads to a lot of antipathy, often enormous suffering, and is completely unwarranted.</soapbox>

• 39a [Try again] REDO crossing 48a [Bridesmaid’s hairstyle] UPDO.
• 19a [Lumberjack’s tool] AXE. Not listed as a variant spelling in the Universal?! A new era?
• 30a [Bakery purchase] LOAF. Just yesterday I bought a tasty shoti.
• 1d [Coltrane’s genre] JAZZ. Works for John, Alice, Ravi, and probably some others that I don’t know of offhand.
• 5d [“That’s all, bye”] OFF YOU GO NOW. I wanted OFF YOU GO but it didn’t fit.
• 11d [Imposed a tariff, maybe] TAXED. Oh jeez don’t get me started on the folly of tariffs.
• 33d [Hallucinogenic letters] LSD. Well, not per se, but sure, ok.
• 35d [Napa Valley tour option] WINE TRAIN. Somewhat different than a certain whiskey train, I imagine.

Caitlin Reid’s New Yorker crossword – Kyle’s write-up

The New Yorker solution grid – Caitlin Reid – Wednesday 11/13/2024

“THAT CAN’T BE RIGHT” and HERE COMES THE SUN anchor this themeless grid by Caitlin Reid, which is very clean but otherwise light on interesting entries. The only other entries longer than 7 letters are TOUR DE FORCE (crossing the two 15s) and ON THE NOSE.

Nice contemporary clue for DEMURE: [“Very ___, very mindful” (viral catchphrase for TikToker Jools Lebron)]. I recently learned this from a coworker.

Jack Maurer’s La Times crossword – Gareth’s summary

LA Times
241113

Jack Maurer’s puzzle today features a fairly typical Wednesday theme trope. The revealer is WORLDSAPART, and four planets orbiting sol are spelt out in circles distributed within four long across answers:

• [Focus of some nongovernmental organizations], HUMANRIGHTS. Mars
• [The five ways romantic partners connect and communicate, per Gary Chapman], LOVELANGUAGES. Venus. Also, ugh.
• [In succession], ONEAFTERANOTHER. Earth.
• [Musician’s calling card], SIGNATURETUNE. Saturn

Gareth