Robert Charlton’s Wall Street Journal crossword, “Misstated”—Jim’s review
I’ve been blogging the WSJ puzzle since just after they started a dailies back in 2015. I think this is the first time I didn’t finish a puzzle without having to look something up. I gave up 20 minutes into trying to sort out that middle-right section. But I get ahead of myself.
The theme is familiar phrases that feature words that are also two-letter state abbreviations, clued as though they were mottos of said states.
Wall St Journal crossword solution · “Misstated” · Robert Charlton · Wed., 10.23.24
- 17a. [Hoosier State’s unofficial motto?] “I’M ALL IN“
- 18a. [Pelican State’s unofficial motto?] “OOH LA LA“
- 22a. [Buckeye State’s unofficial motto?] “OH, COME NOW“
- 40a. [Pine Tree State’s unofficial motto?] “IT’S ALL ABOUT ME“
- 54a. [Bay State’s unofficial motto?] “LOVE YOU, MA“
- 60a. [Keystone State’s unofficial motto?] “PROUD PA“
- 64a. [Sooner State’s unofficial motto?] “THAT’S OK“
For the most part, I enjoyed this theme. The phrases are mostly in the language, and they work as re-interpreted. The one that gets my side-eye is PROUD PA. No one says “proud pa,” everyone says “proud papa.”
As to the fill, I got BEER GUT, DELTOIDS and THROTTLE and gave them a thumbs-up. BOOK A ROOM is fine as well. Loved seeing timely “I VOTED” (get out there and vote, people!), but would prefer not having ENSLAVE in a grid. When I encountered PULI and WEEB, I winced, but I got past them.
But that right section…hoo boy! We have TRUMEAU [Pillar dividing a church entryway] stacked next to TONE ARM [Turntable part] (never heard of either), both crossing uncommon SET TO [Brief tussle], DROP clued opaquely as [Exclude] (I wanted DENY), and a word in the title of a French film UNE (I wanted LES). Oh, and let’s not forget OPE over there at 29d [“Behold, the heavens do ___”: “Coriolanus”]. What the heck? This was a rough mash-up. Oof. At least go easier on the cluing when you have such thorny entries crossing each other.
Clue of note (aside from the ones in the preceding paragraph): 45a. [Take from the top?]. BEHEAD. Making light of a grim entry, but I’ll choose to interpret it as applying to flowers (even though that’s usually called “deadheading”).
I enjoyed the theme and some of the long fill, but one section of the grid was unexpectedly thorny. Three stars.
Rebecca Goldstein’s AV Club Classic crossword, “Down the Drain”—Amy’s recap
AV Club Classic crossword solution, 10/23/24 – “Down the Drain”
Ha! The puzzle was easy enough that I filled everything in without really paying attention to the first four theme clues. Thank goodness for the revealer! 65a. [American Dialect Society’s 2023 word of the year, which describes the decay of online platforms, or what has befallen 18-, 24-, 40-, and 57-Across], ENSHITTIFICATION. Take a familiar word or phrase, add a synonym for “shit,” and clue the resulting wackadoodle phrase:
- 18a. [DIY upcycled cutting board event at the local makers’ studio?], SCRAP LUMBER PARTY. Slumber party + crap. I … would not attend a scrap lumber gathering.
- 24a. [Trashiest spot on the internet?], WEB DUMPSTER. Webster + dump.
- 40a. [Cleansing super-coily strands?], KINK SHAMPOOING. Kink shaming + poo. (My son’s curls get Shea Moisture shampoo.)
- 57a. [Dairy animals that pair their grazings with sweet Italian dessert wines?], MOSCATO COWS. Moo-cows + scat. Briefly thought this started with a weird plural Moscows, but no. Also: Moscato? Yum!
Pretty solid fill overall. And I enjoyed the theme, which you wouldn’t see in a newspaper puzzle but it works for an indie venue like AVCX. Four stars from me.
Matthew Stock & Brooke Husic’s New York Times crossword—Amy’s recap
NY Times crossword solution, 10/23/24 – no. 1023
The theme is A MATTER OF DEGREE, 54a. [Not distinguished by large differences … or an apt title for this puzzle?]. A thing that might be relevant to someone with a particular degree in a field of study, and also has initials that match the degree, make up the themers. B.A. in Communications, BRAILLE ALPHABET. M.S. in Biology, MICROSCOPE SLIDE. And Ph.D. in Computing (feel like that wants to be Computer Science but maybe that’s dated?), POCKET HARD DRIVE. Is that the same as a thumb drive? Term wasn’t familiar to me.
Fave fill: DOULA (my puzzler friend Katje has been a doula!), James Baldwin and GAY LIT, MATH TEAM (ours were called Mathletes), somewhat retro MAPQUEST.
Didn’t know that 15d. [Pi’s last name in “Life of Pi”] was PATEL, having not read the Yann Martel novel nor seen the Ang Lee movie. But tigers and India go hand in hand, and Patel isn’t uncommon. I hear that a tenth of U.S. folks of Indian descent are named Patel.
3.5 stars from me.
NYT: Matthew Stock and Brooke Husic are great constructors, but I didn’t love this one. While BRAILLE ALPHABET, MICROSCOPE SLIDE, and POCKET HARD DRIVE are all things that exist, none of those theme answers are particularly common phrases. BRAILLE ALPHABET could be BURMESE ALPHABET, BENGALI ALPHABET, or {any language that uses alphabets} ALPHABET. I think GLASS SLIDE would be a more common designation for that object than MICROSCOPE SLIDE. And, like Amy, I’ve never heard of POCKET HARD DRIVE before today, either.
And I kind of think the PhD answer should have been PH— D—.
I really liked “Birth day party” for DOULA, though. There were a lot of fun clues in this puzzle.
NYT: Okay, Amy – a couple of weeks ago you gave a puzzle a 2.5 rating because you’ve never eaten BOAR. Then today you give a puzzle with three not-very-idiomatic themers a 3.5??
Today’s theme was an interesting idea that needed a lot more work, “IMHO.”
NYT: Thematically weak and uninspired clues. It looks like a puzzle that comes out of Stan Newman’s assembly line.