The Pirates of the N.C.A.A. / WED 8-4-10 / Czech Currency / Dagger in "The Mikado" / Residents of 10 Downing St.

Constructor: Elizabeth C. Gorski

Relative difficulty: Medium

THEME: Turn to Stone— 5 answers have anagrams of "stone," alternating in the first or last word.


Word of the Day: KORUNA (Czech currency) —

The basic monetary unit of Czechoslovakia, introduced as the Czech crown after the 1914-18 war (abbrev. Kč), and replaced and revalued after the 1939-45 war as the crown of the Czech and Slovak State (abbrev. Kč); 1 Kč = 100 hellers. Also, a coin corresponding to this unit. (OED.com)

• • •

Caleb Madison here again, filling in for Rex today and tomorrow. In a perfect world, I'd have some sort of theme song whenever I come on the blog... Any suggestions? Brendan Emmett Quigley has already coopted "Tom Sawyer" for his 'Behind the Puzzle' posts. For now, I'll go with this:



There's a long intro, but you get the point.

On to the puzzle! When I saw the byline, I got my magic markers out, ready to draw a martini glass or a spider or a museum on my grid... no such luck. Seeing Elizabeth Gorski's byline on a puzzle is kind of like seeing Joss Whedon's name on a T.V. ad or John Woo's name on a movie poster or Big Boi's name on an album cover. Whatever it is, you know it'll be good. This puzzle was no exception. 6 solid theme entries, plus nice open corners with stacked 11s and 9s intersecting. Unusual, nice grid. The theme itself is pretty nice too. We've seen STONE as the basis of a theme before here, but here, a totally new twist.

Theme answers:

• 17a: Unwritten reminders- MENTAL NOTES
• 23a: The Pirates of the N.C.A.A.- SETON HALL
• 29a: Robert Frost poem about a snowfall- THE ONSET
• 43a: It may have wire binding- STENO PAD
• 50a: Oranges, reds and golds- FALL TONES
• 61a: Petrify... or what five alternating words in 17-, 23-, 29-, 43-, and 50-Across can do?- TURN TO STONE

Never heard of "The Onset" but it was easily gettable with both the theme and the crossings. Also, FALL TONES is a bit hackneyed, but again, the theme was tight enough that it didn't really matter.

Bullets:

• 18a: "Top Gun" target (MIG) — Any reference to "Top Gun" automatically makes me like a puzzle, as does a reference to "Buffy," "The Wire," Hall & Oates, or Phillip Marlowe. Is two "Top Gun" links too much? Nahhhhhhhh.
  
  

  [Warning: NSFW]

• 14a: Gorged, gorged and gorged some more, informally (ATE UP A STORM) — as far as longer answers go, this and ONE SENTENCE (64a: Many a Twittermessage) seem a bit of a stretch. I've only used 'dance up a storm', and the arbitrary-number-in-front-of-a-unit thing is never too great. The only not so great answer in the whole puzzle is...
• 65a: Taxonomy suffix (ZOA) — inferrable (like protozoa) , but not pretty. It's the price a constructor pays for FRIZZ
• 45a: Trees loved by squirrels (OAKS) — Makes me think of...
  
  



• 35d: Wham-bam-thank-you ma'am types- CADS— I have a hunch who's responsible for this clue- the same person who's out in Pleasantville with Will Shortz right now, trying his hardest to fill the shoes that I left when I interned for Will two summers ago. Forget it, Natan Last. Never gonna happen. You're probably just as inferior to me as an intern as you are as a constructor.
• 37a: Shaped like pizza slices- WEDGY— I would have put this in the 'bad stuff' category... but I kind of like it. It's marked 'rare' in the OED (I'm working there this summer, so that's the source I'm using), and I can't imagine using it, but it bears so much resemblance to another word that it's fun to say. Also, it's a word they'd use in "Buffy"
• 44d: One with no tan lines- NUDIST— That's one way to look at it.
  
• 10d: Residents of 10 Downing Street- PMS — This clue could also have been Once-a-month condition for Natan Last. This was my one mistake. I hastily filled in BUSMAN for 5a: Urban commuter's aid (BUS MAP) and didn't check/know the crossing. In retrospect, BUS MAP makes way more sense. Not a Natan Last-sized mistake, but a mistake all the same.

And I leave you today with a cover of a song by 15d: Dolly who sang "9 to 5."



Signed, Caleb Madison, Serf of the CrossWorld, Better At Everything than Natan Last

[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter]

Update from Natan Last:

1. At least I'm not ugly.

2. If you wave your wand with just the right amount of swish, you'll note that CALEB MADISON anagrams to I AM LORD VOLDEMORT. Wassup wit dat?

3. Did you guys know that Caleb ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ I think at least four babies brutally and ■■■■■■■■■■■was on the run from the law for, what, three years, until ■■■■■■■■■■■■■ puked on himself, i think someone said "it helped his look" ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ only to find he was naked in front of the whole auditorium ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ to which the girl replied, "in your dreams" ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ and I swear if Caleb edits this at all ■■■■■■■■■■■■ need a stick for walking.

4. I love you CrossWorld!