Hannah Binney’s New York Times crossword— Sophia’s write-up
Theme: The end to each highlighted answer can also be a container for water
New York Times, 12 30 2024, By Hannah Binney
- 18a [Flower that reflects yellow when held under one’s chin] – BUTTERCUP
- 23a [Primitive timer] – HOURGLASS
- 38a [N.F.L. all-star game] – PRO BOWL
- 51a [Place for policy wonks] – THINK TANK
- 61a [Make logical sense … or what the ends of 18-, 23-, 38- and 51-Across do] – HOLD WATER
A great final Monday puzzle of 2024! I really like how each of the answers Hannah chose changes the meaning of the water-holder from literal to figurative. Given the end of the NFL season is upon us, PRO BOWL feels quite timely. I also didn’t know that BUTTERCUPs reflect yellow, that’s a cool fact.
All of the theme answers are pretty short (9 letters max) so even with five of them, there’s a lot of space in the grid for fun fill. MOCKTAILS, STEM CELLS, ROOT ROT, I’M OKAY, BESTIE are all exciting. There are a few answers in the grid that feel kind of connected, like SO SO and SO AND SO (although I didn’t realize that had such a negative meaning, as clued?). I also noticed both ALTO SAX and TENOR. I liked seeing UBE too (and I have a feeling we’re going to see that a lot more frequently).
There were some more modern-skewing clues than some Mondays: [Wish for a romantic pairing between, in modern parlance] for SHIP and [Obnoxious person, informally] for TOOL I also learned some new things from the clues [Creatures that are actually black with white stripes] for ZEBRAS and [Canadian province that’s home to the Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump World Heritage Site] for ALBERTA, which is appreciated to keep things interesting on a Monday! The only real trouble spot I had was “tap” instead of TUB for [Bathroom fixture].
Congrats to Hannah on her NYT debut! And I’m so happy to see Will Shortz back as NYT editor after nearly a year away – we’ve missed you, Will. Happy 2025 everyone!
Lee Taylor’s Wall Street Journal crossword, “Monkey in the Middle”—Jim’s review
Theme answers are familiar words and phrases that feature the letters APE within.
Wall St Journal crossword solution · “Monkey in the Middle” · Lee Taylor · Mon., 12.30.24
- 16a. [Audience participation after a Dian Fossey lecture?] Q AND A PERIOD.
- 39a. [Window dressing for Curious George?] DRAPERY.
- 61a. [Journalist reporting on Koko?] MEDIA PERSON.
- 10d. [Affordable food for Kong?] CHEAP EATS.
- 34d. [Emergency vehicle for Caesar?] ESCAPE POD.
This seemed like it was going to be a potentially tricky theme but then it turned out to be pretty straightforward. It is Monday after all.
Not sure that I care for the ape-ified clues when the entries themselves have not been altered in any way. In crosswords, a question mark in a clue is meant to indicate wordplay, and there just isn’t any here, other than the letters APE being featured in each entry. On the other hand, if all the clues were played straight, I think the theme would be less interesting.
The highlight of the theme for me was realizing the letters in question are in the exact center of each entry. That elevates the construction and syncs up well with the title. And yes, I know that a monkey isn’t an ape. I expect we all know that, but in the informal arena of the crossword, I think it’s okay if we look the other way for a bit.
Clue of note: 2d. [Tennis star Naomi, or her birthplace]. OSAKA. I didn’t realize she was born there as well. What say we all adopt this convention and replace our surnames with our birth cities? Howdy, I’m Jim Reno.
Janice Luttrell’s Los Angeles Times crossword — Stella’s write-up
Los Angeles Times 12/30/24 by Janice Luttrell
Hey, remember in-person banking? If not, this puzzle is a throwback to that. The revealer at 55A [“You can count on that!,” and a hint to the starts of 16-, 25-, and 43-Across] is TAKE IT TO THE BANK, because each theme answer starts with something you can take to a bank:
- 16A [Form submitted to the post office before moving] is CHANGE OF ADDRESS, with CHANGE also being coins you can deposit at a bank.
- 25A [Actor who played the U.S. president in “Independence Day”] is BILL PULLMAN, with BILL also being paper money you can deposit at a bank. (Remember when BILL PULLMAN was the guy who got dumped a lot in ’90s movies? Or is that just Sleepless in Seattle?)
- 43A [Part of a hotel lobby] is CHECK-IN DESK. I don’t even take my CHECKs to the bank any more! Being able to deposit one using your phone is pretty great.
Some nice evocative-of-everyday-stuff long Downs in ICE MACHINE and LABEL MAKER, and a nice smooth grid overall that led to a quick solve. Nice puzzle!
Seth Bisen-Hersh’s Universal crossword, “What a Puzzle!” — pannonica’s write-up
Universal • 12/30/24 • Mon • “What a Puzzle!” • Bisen-Hersh • solution • 20241230
- 64aR [Winner’s privilege … or the ends of 15-, 30-, 37- and 46-Across, when read in order?] BRAGGING RIGHTS.
- 15a. [MC Hammer hit] U CAN’T TOUCH THIS.
- 30a. [Disconnect way to live] OFF-THE-GRID.
- 37a. [“Oddly …”] THE FUNNY THING IS.
- 46a. [Try to act calmly] PLAY IT COOL.
Following the directions, we get: THIS | GRID | IS | COOL
Okay, so it would be easy to reflexively come down on this theme, disdainfully characterizing it as an unseemly display, but I’m instead choosing to see it as both partly tongue-in-cheek and refreshing in its candor.
In this way, even 59d [They often get in the way of teamwork] EGOS seems lighthearted.
- 1d [“I refuse to join any __ that would have me as a member” (Groucho Marx)] CLUB. I’ve more often seen the quote as “… that would have someone like me …”
- 7d [Adequate] DECENT. Deflating the theme?
- 27d [Cat … or stroke, as a cat] PET. 53a [Touch gently, when read forward or backward] PAT (and TAP). PET and PAT are seemingly unrelated etymologically.
- 35d [Ask someone already dancing to dance] CUT IN.
- 36a ‘Mamma __!”] MIA. 27a [Bearded Smurf] PAPA. 16d [Granny] NANA.
Not a whole lot of excitement in the ballast fill, but everything is more than DECENT.
Brendan Emmett Quigley’s Crossword #1744 — Eric’s review
Brendan Emmett Quigley’s Crossword #1744 — 12/30/24
This one felt a little tougher than Brendan’s recent themeless Monday puzzles. But I was able to build off most answers, and when I got stuck in one place, there was always somewhere else where I could make some progress.
I skipped over the first several answers before I got to one I was certain of, 20A [“17 Again” star Zac] EFRON. I understand why people complain about proper names in puzzles, but once you know them, they’re often the toeholds you need to get rolling. On the other hand, there were many names in this puzzle I hadn’t encountered before.
Two 15-letter answers anchor the center part of the grid:
- 26A [Critical point on an agenda] ORDER OF BUSINESS
- 30A [TV show set in the Pacific View Retirement Community] A MAN ON THE INSIDE This shows up when I log into Netflix, so I know it stars Ted Danson, but that’s pretty much all I know of it.
Lots of other learning opportunities for me:
- 1A [The Egyptian goddess Heqet had a head of one] FROG I don’t recognize that name, which is also spelled Heket. I originally tried IBIS, but 4D [Martha’s husband in “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”] was definitely GEORGE.
- 12A [Italian shoe designer Caovilla] RENE This seems a bit obscure.
- 23A [Clement of “Flight of the Conchords”] JEMAINE I’ve heard that show is funny, but I haven’t seen it.
- 36A [“The Real” cohost Love] LONI The show, which I’ve never heard of, was a daytime talk show that ended a few years ago.
- 50A [Christ the Redeemer material] SOAPSTONE I tried LIMESTONE first.
- 5D [Article III of the Constitution defines it] TREASON I knew that Article III is primarily concerned with the judiciary, but had forgotten that it also covers treason.
- 14D [Fifth major fundraising round before going IPO] SERIES E I don’t know much about venture capital.
There are a couple of amusing clues:
- 16A [Nightmare location?] ELM STREET
- 18A [High lights showers?] STAR MAPS
- 33D [Establishments with a lot of flutes] WINE BARS
Barbara Lin’s New Yorker crossword, “Look Both Ways”—Amy’s recap
New Yorker crossword solution, 12/30/24 – Lin
This week’s New Yorker puzzles have themes. Today we have Barbara Lin’s criss-cross theme, with two-word phrases or compounds that work in X-Y and Y-X order. A HOUSE WHITE wine and the WHITE HOUSE. Car GEAR-HEAD and orthodontic HEAD-GEAR (or, fine, hats and such, as this puzzle has it). SPACECRAFT and new-to-me CRAFT SPACE. And card game BLACKJACK meets actor JACK BLACK. The revealer, TURNS OF PHRASE, is clued [Distinctive ways to express things, or what four pairs of answers in this puzzle could be said to constitute]. The theme works well for me with the exception of CRAFT SPACE, which I’m guessing is a newer term that’s escaped my notice since I don’t do crafts.
3.5 stars from me. Bring back the hard Monday themelesses!
hmmm. and looks like 44-A in the nyt could be a bonus entry: TUB!
;-)
NYT: I too like the theme and the lively fill beyond the theme.
But the clue for STEM CELLS ( “Biomedical building blocks”) feels a little off. There is something static about a building block- a set element that is primarily used when assembling a bigger entity. But the essence of stem cells is that they are dynamic, differentiate into distinct shapes and functions, etc. The cluing didn’t feel quite right. For a minute, I thought it was Biomedical building… block– e.g. my research lab is a block in a biomedical building.
I balked at that clue too — but as a (former) physicist I didn’t feel confident enough to criticize it. But thanks for confirming my hunch!
I don’t know that it’s a technical question from biomedicine, apart from the fact that the use of stem cells in medicine is still a trifle speculative. More a matter of what constitutes a building block. There I ‘m inclined to be more flexible.
But would you call seeds the building blocks of plants? That seems like a better analogy to stem cells.
Would I? Maybe, but then I might not at all want to clue stem cells as biomedical seeds, which seems way too hard to grasp. Which just goes to show how hard it would be to come up with a better clue.
And then, too, maybe seeds are less like building blocks because the seed becomes the plant, while a stem cell doesn’t become a whole human being. It just helps supply a better functioning component organ.
A building block is just a component of a larger system. I think of building blocks as flexible more than static. The clue work fine for CELLS, and I think the flexibility aspect of “building block” fits STEM CELLS. Anyway, that was my thought.
“A flexible biological building block” would feel more accurate*. But certainly not easy to come with a perfect clue, especially on a Monday.
*Somehow, biomedical makes it feel more off, although I certain understand that there are potential medical applications for stem cells.
Note lest you be disappointed that this week TNY presents theme puzzles to ring in the new year. I can’t be sure it means Thursday and Friday too.
UBE stopped me cold in the NYT, but I agree that it will come in handy in the future.
UC – great music choices! One I knew and one I didn’t.
PIT and PUT feel left out!
Re TNY 8D, “Part of the name of four of the twenty most populous cities in the US”: I would consider expanding that list to five of the twenty, given the phrasing of the clue. Number 2 on the top twenty list is LoS ANgeles.
Cute!
NYT: the clue for ZEBRAS bugs me. It’s true that zebra skin is black (*), but that doesn’t mean it’s “black with white stripes”. It’s still got both black AND white stripes.
(*) cf https://web.archive.org/web/202009190410/https://brevardzoo.org/animals/expedition-africa/grevys-zebra/
As you say, the skin is black. The stripes are white.
Your link does not provide any additional context. I already stipulated that the skin is black. The skin could be purple, and it would still not be true that a zebra is “purple with white stripes”.
If it’s a metaphysical discussion, sure, whatever you say. If I paint a white wall with red stripes, I call it a white wall with red stripes and you call it a wall with red and white stripes. I wouldn’t be bugged by either, but I’m sure there are things that bug me that don’t bother you.
It is the zebra’s coat that is striped, not its skin. There may be a genetic relationship between skin color and coat color, but skin color does not determine coat color.
The coat is black and white, not black with white stripes, or vice versa.