Sunday, April 27, 2025

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jacob Reed’s New York Times Crossword “Numbers Game” — Eric’s Review

I understand how this theme works, but what I don’t understand is the point. We have a Sunday-sized grid with Tuesday-level clueing. The catch is that to read all the clues, you have to crane your neck uncomfortably if you’re solving on a desktop computer or a laptop (unless you’re better at reading upside down than I am). On a tablet or phone, if you remember how to use the rotation lock, it’s much easier to do.

The theme answers have clues that appear as LCD digits. I can’t cut and paste those clues, so instead here are the “translated” clues:

• 20A [Big sleigh boss] SANTA CLAUS
• 22A [Bilbo’s O] THE ONE RING
• 43A [Bee Gee’s boogie] STAYIN’ ALIVE
• 45A [Hillbillies’ booze] MOONSHINE
• 57A [Google log] SEARCH HISTORY
• 67A [Bolshoi shoe] BALLET SLIPPER
• 81A [High heels] STILETTOS
• 84A [She is Ellis Bell] EMILY BRONTË I knew “Ellis Bell” was either a pen name or the real name for an author better known by their pen name. I muttered something aloud about not remembering who Ellis Bell was and my husband helpfully Googled them. I imagine that I’d have remembered the third Brontë sister eventually.

Finally, we get a two-part revealer that tells us what we figured out long ago:

• 105A [How to read the “words” written on this puzzle’s 108-Across] UPSIDE-DOWN
• 108A [Device used to read the eight visual clues in this puzzle] DIGITAL CALCULATOR

I’m old enough to remember when digital calculators first became popular, but I don’t remember the juvenile game of typing sequences of numbers that made risqué words when you turned the calculator around. Accordingly, this theme neither charmed nor amused me.

Other stuff:

• 33A [Food-centric broadcasts originating in South Korea] MUKBANGS That’s new to me.
• 38A [Computing company whose logo has remained largely the same since it was introduced by Paul Rand in 1962] IBM This has to set some sort of record for the ratio of the length of the clue to the length of the answer. That’s not a record I’d aspire to hold. (But it is a slightly interesting factoid. My husband is a retired graphic designer, so I probably pay more attention to corporate logos than many people. Some current logos look very dated.)
• 7D [😂] LOL/8D [😂😂😂] LMAO I reached these two before I had noticed the calculator digits and expected the puzzle to be full of emoji clues. It wasn’t. 😢
• 98A [Tolkien character who dies as “the Grey” and returns as “the White”] GANDALF That nicely balances THE ONE RING, but I’ve been a Tolkien geek for 50+ years.
• 14D [Tough customer for a wedding planner] BRIDEZILLA Maybe this term was funny when it was introduced, but it just strikes me as sexist now.
• 35D [Hundred Acre Wood resident] KANGA It’s nice that Roo’s mom gets to show up now and then.
• 39D [Show that, uh, didn’t win 43 of its 54 Emmy nominations] LOST Another long clue with a short answer and a slightly interesting bit of trivia.
• 65D [Periods of abstinence from TV, news, social platforms, etc.] MEDIA FASTS I needed a few crosses to remember this term, which I know only from crossword puzzles.
• 79D [Line in old Apple ads] I’M A MAC Wikipedia tells me that this is from an advertising campaign that ran from 2006 to 2009. Constructors, please delete this from your word lists. It’s not that interesting.

When I finished, I got the annoying message that I had an error. I assumed it was in MUKBANGS, but all the crosses were correct. I eventually realized that I’M IMAC was wrong (it’s a mistake I’ve made before). 89A [___ Tour (annual sporting series)] made much more sense with PGA than PGI.

Evan Birnholz’ Washington Post crossword, “World-Building”—Matt’s write-up

A gentle meta from Evan this week. After solving the grid, we’re prompted for “the missing 11-letter theme answer, formed by combining two entries in the completed grid.”

Themers are easy to spot, not only by their length but also by the semi-Something Different nature:

• 23a [More relaxed junkyard dog barks in a shrill way?] CALMER CUR YAPS
• 33a [Beardless theater employees?] SHAVEN USHERS
• 50a [“Conjunction Junction” or “Busy Prepositions” from “Schoolhouse Rock!”?] GRAMMAR SONG
• 67a [Racy books about the hole where Godzilla and Mothra can be found?] KAIJU PIT EROTICA
• 92a [Enjoys one root vegetable?] EATS A TURNIP
• 104a [Tech support caller from Tegucigalpa?] HONDURAN USER
• 118a [Klutzy authority on an intergovernmental org.?] INEPT UN EXPERT

So each themer contains a planet of the Solar System embedded in a nonsense phrase, and our meta answer should contain the one that’s missing. In this case, EARTH. 

I’m not always a fan of “make the answer from entries in the grid,” but I was fine here because I understood the theme well and faced less of a needle-in-the-haystack search because we know going in that the missing themer is 11 letters. 

Near the bottom of the grid is APPEAR, which contains the first three letters of EARTH. Slightly above it, a five-letter word beginning with TH- is THIRD. As confident as I was in the theme and thought I had this puzzle figure out, the apt APPEAR THIRD being the meta answer to give EARTH, which “appears third” from the sun, really caught me by surprise. Delightful.

I found this a smooth solve otherwise – perhaps the theme structure allowed for friendlier letters outside of the embedded planets? I particularly enjoyed NO PRESSURE, MARVIN GAYE, and the side-by-side of BEER TENT and MAD RUSHES.

I’ve been remiss in not sharing Evan’s presentation at Crossword Con earlier this month. If you have 15 or so minutes, it’s a fun little presentation on his willingness and priority in mixing up the types of puzzles we get from each Sunday, even as we might have a picture of what a Sunday puzzle “should” be.

Dylan Schiff’s Universal Sunday crossword, “Sweet Talk”—Jim’s review

Theme answers are familiar phrases that feature words that can precede “cake” in other phrases. However, the letters in these words should be ignored when filling in the crossing Down answers, because these “cakes” have been “taken” according to the revealer TAKES THE CAKE (117a, [Ranks first, or a hint to the seven disappearing words in this puzzle]). As an aid in solving, the Down answers are still valid (though unclued) crossword entries when the “cake” letters are included.

• 21a. [Skinny-dipping “attire”] BIRTHDAY SUIT.
• 34a. [Atmospheric shield with a hole] OZONE LAYER.
• 44a. [Capital of the United Kingdom?] POUND STERLING.
• 65a. [Total killjoy] FUN SPONGE. This one was tough for me to see as I’d never heard the phrase. Is it new slang or have I just missed it?
• 70a. [Notable Vegas prop comic] CARROT TOP.
• 90a. [Iconic 1972 photo of Earth] THE BLUE MARBLE.
• 96a. [Composer’s composition] SHEET MUSIC.

Very nice! I caught on early with the first few Down answers, but the theme still kept me engaged throughout the solve trying to guess what would go in the circles. Speaking of which, I don’t think there’s any thematic reason why all the circled words are on the edges, but sure makes for a tidy presentation. Nicely done.

I won’t go through all the crossings but notable ones are those that cross two circled letters: AGREE ON becoming GREEN and PRALINE becoming PALIN.

In the fill, I don’t think I’ve ever heard HOUSE MOUSE [Rhyming pet] before. Sure, I’ve heard of “House of Mouse”, the Disney Channel show, but not without the “of.” I suppose if you can have a “house cat” you can have a HOUSE MOUSE. However, I don’t think you can have a “house dog” or “house hamster.” TRIJET is another new-to-me term, but it was somewhat inferable. The (O)LES/MEIR crossing at the E was a sticking point for me. But in hindsight, it was pretty clearly supposed to be E.

Otherwise, highlights include CLEANED OUT, MESMERIC, TERMITES, and SO-AND-SO. I also liked seeing KREWES [Mardi Gras parade groups] which reminded me of our time living on the Gulf Coast.

Clues of note:

• 28a. [Hush-hush doc]. NDA. Non-disclosure agreement. “Doc” as in document, not doctor.
• 49a. [Periodic military updates]. SITREPS. Short for “situation reports”. This term came up recently in another puzzle (maybe NYT?). Some people had trouble with it, but I like it.
• 48d. [MoMA’s city]. NYC. “City” in the clue when the C stands for “City”? I don’t know if this is an oversight or not, but it could’ve been avoided easily.

Very nice puzzle with a fun theme, and excellent execution. Four stars.