Tuesday, January 28, 2025

Matt Jones’s Jonesin’ Crossword, “1,2,3,4” — see the first words of the starred clues’ answers. – Erin’s write-up

Jonesin’ solution 1/28/25

Hello lovelies! This week’s Jonesin’ grid contains some fighting words! Let’s break down the theme:

• 16a. [*”Yeah, that makes sense”] I FIGURED
• 19a. [*Officially kick off, like a host country’s leader at the Olympics] DECLARE OPEN
• 34a. [*”2001″ subtitle] A SPACE ODYSSEY
• 51a. [*Portable storage devices] THUMB DRIVES
• 58a. [*1983 Matthew Broderick movie with the quote “The only winning move is not to play”] WAR GAMES

So we take the first words of the theme answers and get I DECLARE A THUMB WAR, the age-old battle of digital dexterity.

Other things:

Turkish Angora cat

• 17a. [Cat or goat breed] ANGORA. Look at this Turkish Angora cat and its majestic floof.
• 43a. [Viennese pastry] STRUDEL, not to be confused with
• 35d. [Crumbly topping] STREUSEL.

Until next week!

Zachary David Levy’s Wall Street Journal crossword, “Exit Interviews”—Jim’s review

Theme answers are idiomatic terms synonymous with “Get lost!” but clued with respect to a person who is partly famous for being related to one of the keywords in the entry.

Wall St Journal crossword solution · “Exit Interviews” · Zachary David Levy · Tue., 1.28.25

• 17a. [“Beat it, Ben Franklin!”] “GO FLY A KITE!”
• 26a. [“Just leave, John Muir!”] “TAKE A HIKE!”
• 37a. [“Pack it up, Steve Prefontaine!”] “RUN ALONG NOW!”
• 53a. [“Disappear, David Hasselhoff!”] “POUND SAND!”
• 61a. [“Clear out, Cornelius Vanderbilt!”] “MAKE TRACKS!”

This one really depends on knowing who these guys (and they’re all guys) were. Ben Franklin made for a good start, since his kite-flying exploits are widely known. But I certainly didn’t know who Steve Prefontaine is/was, and while I know the name Vanderbilt, I couldn’t have told you he made his fortune in the railroad industry. Yes, David Hasselhoff was on Baywatch for many years, but I’d associate sand with his fictional character, not the actor himself who’s had plenty of other roles. So while I like the general idea of this theme, it felt hit or miss. Of course, if you know all these guys, you probably enjoyed it more.

In the fill I was also thrown by POLESTARS clued as [Guiding principles]. This usage is new to me and it wasn’t helped by the fact that I wanted WAIL instead RAIL at 68a [Complain strongly]. Elsewhere, things flowed more easily with highlights MACHINE WASH, RETRIBUTION, FOLLOWS UP, and MAE WEST.

Clues of note:

• 43a. [Start for fat or fiction]. NON. Elegant little clue because while it clearly works with the answer, it’s also a play on the phrase “fact or fiction”.
• 68a. [Complain strongly]. RAIL. I wonder if this wasn’t clued with respect to a railroad because it sits directly under the word TRACKS. I wouldn’t have minded if the clue was based on the bird.
• 9d. [Prison, slangily]. THE PEN. I usually hear this referred to as “state pen”. Cruciverb clues bear this out as well. And so does the old Police Squad episode.

3.25 stars.

Elizabeth C. Gorski’s Cr♥ssw♥rd Nation puzzle (Week 713), “This Year’s New Neutrals! “—Ade’s take

Crossword Nation puzzle solution, Week 713: “This Year’s New Neutrals!”

Hello there, everyone! Definitely hoping you all close out the first month of the new year in style! 

There’s a chance that solving this puzzle will cause you to look gray in the face, mainly because we’re dealing with puns in which a word in each of the phrases that make up the theme answers is replaced by a similar-sounding one that also happens to be the name of a neutral color!

• • • • MOTLEY ECRU (17A: [Neutral color inspired by the “Dr. Feelgood” band?])
      • TAN GOGH (36A: [Neutral color inspired by “Starry Night” painter Vincent?])
      • TAUPE BRASS (50A: [Neutral color inspired by Pentagon bigwigs?])
      • TAMPA BEIGE (10D: [Neutral color inspired by football’s Buccaneers?])
      • CREAMWORKS (27D: [Neutral color inspired by the “Antz” animation studio?])

Whew, that Southeast portion of the grid was a bear, and I’m sure I’m not the only one who might share that sentiment! Figuring out the “brass” part of Top/TAUPE BRASS and remembering PABA (53A: [Former sunscreen additive]) allowed me to untangle the rest of the answers that I was unfamiliar with in the area, particularly YUBAN (60A: [Coffee brand from Kraft Foods]), TRANSEPTS (50A: [Cathedral cross sections]), and BUSBY (45D: [Hollywood choreographer Berkeley]). Maybe if Busby referred to the former Kansas City Royals pitcher and MLB All-Star Steve Busby, I would have had a better chance off the bat with that entry! Though there’s a chance that either Busby would be a mystery!

“Sports will make you smarter” moment of the day: MICHAEL (43A: [Hoops legend Jordan]) – Seeing this entry allows me to talk about one of the most influential people in sports in the 20th century. Not Michael Jordan, but the late, great sports anchor George Michael, probably my biggest influence in getting into TV and sports broadcasting. Not only was Michael the local NBC 4 sports anchor in Washington, D.C., but he created the transcendent gold standard of sports television highlight shows, “The George Michael Sports Machine,” a then-novel 30-minute program that blended sports highlights and human interest stories. Before the internet and social media, the one-stop shop to find out what was happening in sports was Sunday nights after the 11pm news on your NBC affiliate, when the show aired in syndication. I could go on an on about George Michael and how much he revolutionized broadcast television (let alone sports broadcasting), but this video pretty much says it all. Without George Michael, sports media doesn’t look what it looks like today.

Thank you so much for the time, everybody! Have a wonderful and safe rest of your day and, as always, keep solving!

Take care!

Ade/AOK

Dan Margolis’s New York Times crossword–Amy’s recap

NY Times crossword solution, 1/28/25 – no. 0128

I was waiting to hit RYE as a revealer at the bottom, but no, the constructor played the homophone game. 68-69A. [With 69-Across, courtroom directive … or, homophonically, what the starts of 17-, 28-, 47-and 61-Across are], ALL RISE. They’re all ryes: SEEDED (TEAMS), MARBLE (STATUES), JEWISH (HOLIDAY), and DARK (SHADOWS). I know one of you foodies can explain how a Jewish rye differs from dark, seeded, marble, and light rye. (Chicago also has Lithuanian and Polish ryes.) Mmm, carbs.

ISOLDE seems maybe a bit on the hard side for a Tuesday 1-Across ([Wagner heroine]). I liked the name Tristan as a kid so this name (Yseult is one of many alternate spellings) stuck with me.

Fave fill: SLOSHES! Maybe you’ll use a slice of rye to sop up whatever you’ve sloshed.

Four stars from me.

Patrick Berry’s New Yorker crossword — pannonica’s write-up

New Yorker • 1/28/25 • Tue • Berry • solution • 20250128

Felt a bit easier than the mo-cha Tuesdays typically are.

• 1a [As a companion] ALONG. Right off the bat a half-easy one. ALONG was my reflexive answer, but it seemed maybe a little off. A quick consult with crossing entries confirmed it, though. 4d [Org. with high-sticking penalties] NHL was easy, and then—expecting the G—5d [Biceps, jocularly] GUNS went right in. 3d [Portrayer of King Henry II in two different sixties films] Peter O’TOOLE. Those would be Becket (1964) and The Lion in Winter (1968),
• 6a [Item carried by Diogenes in his legendary search for an honest man] LAMP.
  
• 17a [Foam used by a bather?] POOL NOODLE. Not-entirely-successful misdirection.
• Nice staggered stacking in the center: STRAINERS/SIXTEEN TONS/THE MUNSTERS/TOO BAD SO SAD/REPRESSED.
• 44a [TV show whose episode titles are formatted like file names] MR ROBOT. Yet another show I haven’t seen.
• 56a [Shop lifters?] ESCALATORS. Note space in clue.
• 2d [Cosmonaut Aleksei who performed the first space walk] LEONOV. An answer in that easy northwest section that I didn’t know, but it was filled in automagically via crossings. 6d [Kings of __ (Grammy-winning rock band)] LEON.
• 24d [No longer at sea] ON SHORE. I would have clued this as something like [Sea wind moving toward land] because I feel the clue as written more definitively indicates ASHORE.
• 35d [Dish served with tentsuyu for dipping] TEMPURA.
• 47d [Explosion sound] BLAM, not BOOM.
• 52d [Footwell item] MAT. During the solve it didn’t readily occur to me what a footwell is, but with a moment to consider, I realize it’s where your legs go in an automobile.

Justin Werfel’s Universal Crossword, “Alpha Beta Soup” (ed. David Steinberg) — Matt F’s Review

Universal Solution 01.28.2025

Let’s start with the reveal and unpack the theme from there:

• 50A: [Parts of sorority names … or the ends of 20-, 35- and 41-Across, in two ways?] = GREEK LETTERS

Each theme answer ends with a spelled out Greek letter that doubles as an English acronym (mostly):

• 20A: [Question to a guest who’s en route] = WHAT’S YOUR ETA
• 35A: [TV series that starred Tom Selleck as a detective] = MAGNUM PI
• 41A: [NASA mission that first landed humans on the moon] = APOLLO XI

Two out of three follow a rule where the Greek letter is spelled out when you say the word – “what’s your E.T.A.” and “Magnum P.I.” – but the third does not. No one says “Apollo X.I.” – it’s “Apollo Eleven.” It’s a nice theme idea, ending with Greek letters, but the revealer makes it seem like all theme answers should spell out the Greek letter, and one of them does not, so overall it just fell a bit short for me. Fill was mostly solid. The parallel placement of FESTOON and LEGROOM, with those partnered OOs, was cute, and I see now the other bonus word, FOOTSTOOL, has a pair of OOs as well. UNEARTHED was my favorite bonus word here. I don’t know if OMGYES will stand the test of time. I liked the cutesy clue for RAWR [Baby T. Rex sound, perhaps].