Thursday, December 12, 2024

Sam Acker’s Fireball Crossword, “Motion to Strike” – Jenni’s write-up

The title made me think of themes that dropped motion-related words, or something legal. Wrong on both counts.

We have rebi! They’re not symmetrical. The pattern matters, and Peter’s grid shows it better than mine.

Fireball, December 11, 2024, Sam Acker, “Motion to Strike,” solution grid

• In the NW we have 3d [Bounced from place to place] crossing 19a [1965 western spoof featuring Jane Fonda]: PIN{BALL}ED and CAT {BALL}OU.
• 23a gives us a bit of a different twist. [A walk in the park?] is {BALL}{BALL}{BALL}{BALL} – four balls. The park in question is a baseball park.
• 45a [They’re solid orange in pool] is {BALL}{BALL}{BALL}{BALL}{BALL} – five-balls.
• 60a and 61d give us a single again: [Weirdo] and [Person stepping on toes] are ODD{BALL} and {BALL}ERINA.
• 63a [Golf match with two teams of two] is another {BALL}{BALL}{BALL}{BALL} four-ball.

30d explains what we’re looking at. [Desktop toy named for a physicist (and depicted in this puzzle)] is NEWTON‘S CRADLE. You’ve seen it, even if you don’t know it by that name.

We have an bonus at 10d [Game’s power switch?] is MOMENTUM SHIFT.

I love this puzzle. It’s layered and interesting and works at every level. So much fun. The last Fireball of 2024 was a good’un.

What I didn’t know before I did this puzzle: that the rap song “Big POPPA” was nominated for a Grammy.

Robert Charlton’s Wall Street Journal crossword, “That’s a Take!”—Jim’s review

Theme answers are words and phrases that feature the letters AND, but the clues are written as if those letters were removed. The revealer is “AND…CUT!” (62a, [Director’s call, plus a hint to making sense of eight Across answers]).

Wall St Journal crossword solution · “That’s a Take!” · Robert Charlton · Thu., 12.12.24

• 1a. [Biden or Harris, for short] DEMAND. Dem.
• 7a. [Behave like a helicopter parent] HANDOVER. Hover.
• 17a. [Screw up] ERRAND. Err.
• 18a. [Dark beer] STANDOUT. Stout.
• 34a. [Fiddle feature] STRANDING. String.
• 53a. [Ride for a Quidditch player] BAND ROOM. Broom.
• 56a. [Pops] PANDAS. Pas.
• 61a. [Bra part] SAND TRAP. Strap.

Nice theme that kept me guessing for a good while. That NW corner was tough since you don’t know what’s going on at the start and then you get an entry like REALIA thrown at you and you wonder if it’s part of the theme (it isn’t). But mostly, an enjoyable theme.

With the exception of PANDAS. It’s bad enough we sometimes get PAS (clued as plural fathers) on occasion in a crossword’s fill, but to make it one of your theme answers really weakens the theme (in my view). There’s got to be something more interesting than PAS. Even PANDER would be better. If that corner was re-done, then maybe SST and the crossing of proper names SPAHN and CHEOPS could be removed.

Never heard of MARS ONE [Failed Dutch organization that hoped to establish a colony on the Red Planet], but kudos to the Dutch for a bold vision (sounds like it wasn’t thought through, though). Other interesting tidbits: MEANIES (blue or otherwise), AMIDALA, AREA CODE, and ALTO SOLO.

Clues of note:

• 21a. [Title for Angelico]. FRA. Mmm. Frangelico. Hit me with your best recipe involving the nutty liqueur. I’m usually good with the original Nutty Irishman: Equal parts Frangelico and Irish Cream.
• 22a. [Start of the seventh century]. DCI. I for one would not be opposed to cluing this with respect to the British police rank of Detective Chief Inspector (DCI John Luther, for example).
• 46a. [Scarf stuff]. SILK. I realized this clue would also work for “eat” or “consume”.

Good puzzle overall. 3.5 stars.

Daniel Bodily’s New York Times crossword — Zachary David Levy’s write-up

Difficulty: Easy (8m14s)

Daniel Bodily’s New York Times crossword, 12/12/24, 1212

Today’s theme: solve by numbers

• SWEET SIXTEEN, which is SPOT
• CATCH TWENTY TWO, which is AIR
• AREA FIFTY ONE, which is CODES

Interesting twist on cross-referencing other answers in the grid — conventionally, the whole word is highlighted in pale yellow (at least on the app and website).  The puzzle is undersized at 14×15 to accommodate CATCH TWENTY TWO as the grid-spanning center, so I would imagine everyone’s solves will be on the faster side.

Cracking: did you ever notice how musicians always end their performances ON THAT NOTE

Slacking: IGA Swiatek, currently suspended for doping, while claiming that she was taking a WIDELY ABUSED DOPING AGENT “jetlag treatment” supposedly tainted with trimetazidine

Sidetracking: STRANGERS With Candy