Conrad who wrote Ushant 1952 / FRI 11-26-10 / Ezio composer / Dressing Rich author Feldon / 1935 Pulitzer-winning biography / Aida chorus subject

Constructor: Gary Steinmehl

Relative difficulty: Medium-Challenging

THEME: Ancient movies with Z-words as the final word in their titles


Word of the Day: TERNATE (12D: Like a clover leaf) —

adj.
Arranged in or consisting of sets or groups of three, as a compound leaf with three leaflets.

[New Latin ternātus, from Medieval Latin, past participle of ternāre, treble, from Latin ternī, three each.[...]] (answers.com)

• • •

Very shortly into this puzzle, I realized I would need to be about twice as old as I currently am for this puzzle to be in my wheelhouse (which is to say, I'd need to be 82—today is my 41st birthday). In the end, I like the look of the theme answers in the grid, but dear lord, all of them, as well as several other clues, felt like something from a Very bygone era, or from some parallel universe where I don't live (somewhere where people enjoy the adult contemporary stylings of BETTE Midler (27A: "___ of Roses" (1995 adult contemporary album)) and say "PENNYwise" (8D: Wise leader?) and read LEAH Feldon (24A: "Dressing Rich" author Feldon), whoever that is). Clue that sums up this puzzle best for me is 52D: Conrad who wrote "Ushant," 1952 (AIKEN). There's literally no part of that I understand. "Ushant"?!—it's like textspeak from the 19th century, e.g. "U SHANT ride in brougham unless pa sez OK." I know a Claude AIKEN. I think he was on "Bonanza" or something like that ... no, dammit, I'm thinking of Claude AKINS, who was in "Sheriff Lobo." Clay AIKEN. That's an AIKEN I know.

A flurry of "?" clues was irking me today too, mainly because I just couldn't find their wavelength—so between clues out of my age-range and "?" clues, I felt like I was being bludgeoned (though I did end up loving the clue on POOLS, 15D: Crawl spaces?, which I couldn't see even with -OOLS in place...). Sometimes these things happen. Always good to know that I can fight my way through a puzzle so outside my frame of reference. I think I've at least *heard* of all three theme movies, although I know ZORRO from pulps and ZENDA from my old paperback collection. I had the Hudson movie as ICE SKATING-something for a while, which led to the stupidest moment of the solve: trying to convince myself that HAKS might be something (5D: They have crowns=>HATS)

"Bug A BOO" (23D: "Bug ___" (1999 Destiny's Child hit)) is about as contemporary as this puzzle gets, which is pretty pathetic, as that song was a "hit" in only the most generous sense of the word—it peaked at #33 (!) 11 years ago, and I assure you that virtually no one solving this puzzle could even hum it for you.

Theme answers:

• 16A: 1968 Rock Hudson action film (ICE STATION ZEBRA)
  
• 30A: 1940 Tyrone Power adventure film, with "The" (MARK OF ZORRO)
  
• 46A: 1937 Ronald Colman adventure film, with "The" (PRISONER OF ZENDA)
  

Don't particularly like that two films are "adventure" and one is "action." Don't particularly like that two of them have their initial "THE"s removed. But the Zs are nice.

Last major complaint—that NE corner. The POULTS / UDE (10D: Ulan-___, Russia) / TERNATE triad should have gotten laughed out of the building for awkwardness and obscurity. You can let one of those guys in there, but to have them all holding hands? Come on. POULTS, dear lord (8A: Turkey tots?). And as if the word itselfa isn't bad enough, a cutesy clue to boot. It's all very tough to love for this BOSOX-loving PHD (28A: Green Monster's squad + 37A: Many a prof).

I do like that there's an INDEX FINGER (17D: Telephone dialer?) in the DIKE (44A: Big bank investment?). Very "Little Dutch Boy."



Bullets:

• 14A: Lamont Library locale (HARVARD) — guessed off the -RD (ERA and DDT were the first things in the grid)
  
• 34A: Dweller along the Skunk River (IOWAN) — wanted this to be a tribe member of some sort, but it appears to be simply somebody living in Iowa.
  
• 35A: 1935 Pulitzer-winning biography (R.E. LEE) — pure crossword muscle. Didn't know it, but last two letters were -EE and that (grid-friendly) spelling of the general's name just leapt right to mind.
  
• 40A: "Aida" chorus subject (ISIS) — I can't be the only one who has ASPS here at first. Can I?
  
• 41A: Where Hausa and Djerma are spoken (NIGER) — No idea. Just figured it out from crosses. I hope I never see "Hausa" or "Djerma" in a grid.
  
• 45A: "She's Got You" singer, 1962 (CLINE) — lest you think I dislike everything pre-1970 ... this one was a gimme because I Love Patsy.

[Why is she dressed like ISIS?]

• 28D: Katharine Lee ___, writer of "America the Beautiful" (BATES) — do people really know this stuff?? Norman and Kathy want their damned crossword name rights back.
  
• 38D: "Ezio" composer (HANDEL) — after "Water Music" and "Messiah," it's all hazy to me.
  

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter]

Read more...

Ex-Runaways guitarist Ford / WED 3-10-10 / * d'amore instrument / Penguin's hangout / Terrier in whodunits / Selena portrayer familiarly

Constructor: Gary Steinmehl

Relative difficulty: Easy

THEME: WITHIN COST (55A: Reasonably priced ... or a hint to 17-, 19-, 26-, 34-, 42- and 51-Across) — six theme answers all begin with CO- and end with -ST, thus putting the rest of their letters literally "WITHIN COST"


Word of the Day: GESSO (13D: Painter's undercoat) —

Gesso (Italian pronunciation: [ˈdʒɛsːo]) is the Italian word for "chalk" (from the Latin gypsum from the Greek γύψος), and is a powdered form of the mineral calcium carbonate used in art. Gesso was traditionally mixed with animal glue, usually rabbit-skin glue, to use as an absorbent primer coat for panel painting with tempera paints. It is a permanent and brilliant white substrate, as long as it is used on wood or masonite. This mixture is rather brittle and susceptible to cracking, thus making it unsuitable for priming canvas. In Geology, Italian "Gesso" corresponds to the English "Gypsum", as it is a calcium sulphate compound (CaSO₄·2H₂O). (wikipedia)

• • •

Quick write-up today, as I have to go receive an award for ... well, for merely staying put for ten years with the same employer, but hey, hardware is hardware. Actually, I think I'm getting a tote bag or an umbrella or something. Who knows? What I know is that the ceremony is at 8 (^&@!ing) 30 in the morning. So, moving right along...

Very jarring to go from my slowest Tuesday of the year to my fastest Wednesday of the year. I filled this one in with almost no hesitation. I think this must be my fastest time ever for a puzzle whose Main Theme Answer Was Unfamiliar To Me. I mean, I can infer what "WITHIN COST" means, but it's not a phrase I hear often (ever). "Under budget" I've heard. "WITHIN COST" kind of sort of rings a bell, but I just had to piece it together. From where I sat, it could have been [anything] COST. In fact, that tiny piece of real estate in the far SW took me longer than any other section, by a long shot (still not that long). Wasn't *positive* about NUNCA (49D: Never, in Nogales), and so was missing the "N," and the little answers in the SW were clued unobviously (except for IBM — 56D: Big Blue — which is how I began unraveling it). If I've seen OBOE d'amore (instrument) before, I've forgotten. I wanted VIE for WOO (55D: Try to win) (note: VIE would need "for" to be an appropriate answer). And TOG (57D: Dress (up))... well, the less said about that, the better.

I am impressed by the theme density, and the quality of some of the theme answers, but not so much by the theme itself. The only thing "WITHIN COST" in these answers is a bunch of gibberish. UNTAGAIN! ASTTOCOA! Also, the grid was a bit ... dull. Here's a weird fact: this grid has 25 "O"s, but only 21 "E"s. "O"s on every line but the top one. Even if you discount all the "O"s necessitated by the theme ... that's a lot of "O"s.

Theme answers:

• 17A: Key building support (CORNER POST) — had a tiny bit of trouble here with "CORNER." Could think only of NEWEL at first. Then wrote in CENTER ...
  
• 19A: Across the entire United States (COAST TO COAST)

• 26A: Unable to run (COLOR FAST)
  
• 34A: Boomerang, in a way (COME HOME TO ROOST)
  
• 42A: Publisher of The New Yorker (CONDE NAST)
  
• 51A: Be disadvantageous to (COUNT AGAINST)
  

Bullets:

• 15A: Bone connected to the supinator muscle (ULNA) — crosswordese gets dressed up in fancy-clothes
  
• 58A: Ex-Runaways guitarist Ford (LITA) — Knew this was LITA before I ever saw the clue, but boy was I glad to see the clue. Best clue of the day. "Runaways" movie comes out soon, featuring ... Dakota Fanning (as you've never seen her before ...). It's not getting good reviews, but I think I might have to see it anyway:

• 63A: Name registered at many an escort service (ALIAS) — well that's a depressing clue. Student of mine gave me the complete run of Brian Michael Bendis's comic "ALIAS" to read recently. Just started, and it's fantastic.
• 1D: Drug for a poisoning victim (IPECAC) — Vomit! Enjoy your breakfast.
  
• 6D: Chicago exchange, for short (MERC) — short for "Mercantile Exchange." I've only seen MERC with a car clue before. Interesting.
  
• 9D: Selena portrayer, familiarly (J-LO) — Her very name already reads as totally dated to me. I suspect she's never going anywhere, grid-wise.
  
• 18D: String after Q (RST) — :(
• 27D: Penguin's hangout (FLOE) — I did not know this. I got it easily, but ... all the penguins I've seen have been in water or on land. Even in "March of the Penguins." Oh, wait. There's this:

• 43D: Simon and Diamond (NEILS) — you can't give me NEIL Diamond and not expect me to play something.

• 46A: Tennessee gridders (TITANS) — "Gridders" : football :: "Cagers" : basketball
  
• 53A: Terrier in whodunits (ASTA) — Remember that time that ASTA came running up with the ULNA in his mouth!? A clue! Good boy!
  

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter]

Read more...

TUESDAY, Oct. 30, 2007 - Gary Steinmehl

Relative difficulty: Challenging

THEME: Scary sounds - familiar phrases have their final words "misspelled" as sounds one might hear in a haunted house

Well, it was scary alright.

Theme answers:

• 20A: Scary sound from the ocean? (humpback wail)
• 28A: Scary sound from a war zone? (battle creak)
• 37A: Scary sound from a cornfield? (farm groan)
• 50A: Scary sound from a steeple? (bell and howl)
• 57A: Misspells, say, as a ghost might at 20-, 28-, 37- and 50-Across? (makes a boo boo)

I haven't disliked a Tuesday puzzle this much since the great PFUI debacle of early 2007 (see sidebar). We will name this one "The Great ARDEB debacle" and then we will never speak of it again after today. Actually, ARDEB was only the tip of the debacle iceberg.

Top 5 reasons this puzzle was terrible

5. It's a Halloween-themed puzzle. Today's date: October 30.

4. The worst set of paired answers in recent memory:

27D: _____ Irvin, classic artist for The New Yorker (Rea)
38D: Name that's an anagram of 27-Down (Rae)

First off, even though I'm almost certain he (he?) has been in the puzzle before, REA Irvin means Nothing to me. Second of all, you couldn't even bother to write a clue for RAE? Your clue is like parenthetical information in search of an actual clue. RAE is not nearly strong enough a name to be clued simply as "Name." Not by a long shot. Now, I pieced these together reasonably easily, but with absolutely no pleasure. I could handle the REA clue, but to have to be forced to return to it by the second abominable non-clue. No, that's just too much to ask of me on a Tuesday.

3. Gobs of terrible clues:

• 11D: Helpless? (unaided) - if you're going to use the Question Mark, make the clue truly Question Marky. I understand that these are not normally considered synonyms, but one literally means "without help" ... and so does the other one.
• 59D: Styptic agent (alum) - look, you can have "styptic" or you can have "ALUM" - pick one. I am only vaguely certain of the definition of either one. I'm looking them up now ... OK, I was right about "Styptic," but I thought ALUM was a lily, which it is not - that's ARUM (thanks for the help there, Orange). Ugh. ALUM = college grad. Try that one next Tuesday.
• 36A: Theory's start (idea) - I HATE (62A: Abominate) this clue most of all. First, I wanted a prefix. That's what "start" often means in clues. Second ... IDEA? IDEA!? In that any thought one has is an IDEA, then sure. In that Anything One Does starts with an IDEA (besides, perhaps, fighting or flighting), then yeah, great, IDEA. How about [Brooklyn Bridge's start]. I'm sure IDEA is an accurate enough answer. This answer is hereby formally invited to go to hell.

2. One of the worst stretches for a Theme Answer I've ever seen:

50A: Scary sound from a steeple? (Bell and howl) - This was the site of my total wipeout, for a number of reasons (see especially #1, below). BELL AND HOWL = Scary SOUNDS, PLURAL. That is just ... fact. Indisputable. I sat there forEver trying to figure out what word HOWL could be a pun of. Over and over and over. Me, to myself: "It wouldn't be the proper noun "HOWELL," would it? But all the other puns are puns on actual words. Further, what is "Bell and Howell" anyway? Are they anything like Belle and Sebastian?" Etc. Actually had to look up "Bell and Howell" when all was said and done to find out that they are some company - founded in 1907 as a motion picture camera company. I have literally Never Heard Of Them. My bad, I guess, but my strident criticism of this so-called "Theme" answer stands.

1. Absurd Crutchword 5000

40D: Egyptian dry measure equal to about five-and-a-half bushels (ardeb) - more post-puzzle Googling. 32K hits total, the first handful of them dictionary sites. I haven't seen such a blatant non-word ... well, in a long time. I'd gripe about this on a Saturday (though I might grudgingly accept it as valid). On a Tuesday. No. Bite me. It's an anagram of BEARD. That's about the nicest thing I can say about it. Speaking of BEARD, I have to shave mine today - it's a World Series BEARD, and I no longer need it.

Other stuff, mostly bad:

• 10A: TV horse introduced in 1955 ... or a Plymouth model introduced in 1956 (Fury) - I really should read the clues all the way to the end. I entered MR. ED without blinking.
• 17A: Drug-yielding plant (coca) - don't most drugs come from plants? Spice the clue up.
• 34A: Kodiak native (Aleut) - officially banned from the puzzle until 2008. Twice in one week = too much face time for you.
• 53A: Tedious (prosy) - you're with ALEUT, PROSY. Twice in one year is too much for you.
• 3D: Cane cutter (machete) - yay, a good (and scary) answer
• 29D: Cowlick, e.g. (tuft) - I guess. In honor of Tintin, I'll let this pass.
• 52A: Musically improvise (noodle) - had TOODLE, a misspelling of TOOTLE. That didn't help me with the whole "BELL AND HOWL" situation one bit.

Signed, R. Deb., Evil Halloween Eve Crossword Sprite

Read more...

WEDNESDAY, Jan. 24, 2007 - Gary Steinmehl

Solving time: 13:16

THEME: Desserts - all theme answers start with dessert names used in non-dessert contexts, e.g. 45A: Credit of a sort (brownie point)

This was not a good puzzle for me, as you can see my by Thursday- or Friday-like time. Did two Thursday puzzles (out of this book) just before I did this one, and both Thursdays were done in (much) better times than today's 13:16. What makes my slowness truly galling is that I know the answers - it's not like I got thrown by obscurity or ignorance. I got thrown by my inability to see the contours for the phrases - that is, to see where words in multiple-word answers began and ended. I was further thrown by my inability to see PIE as a name, let alone a dessert, despite the fact that not only do I know who PIE TRAYNOR (17A (THEME): Pittsburgh Hall-of-Fame third baseman) is - I can quote a "Simpsons" line with PIE TRAYNOR's name in it! I am currently cuing up "Homer at the Bat" (from Season Three) - nope, the quotation isn't there, though in that episode, PIE TRAYNOR is the third baseman on Mr. Burns's first proposed team of ringers for his Power Plant softball team. Hmmm, I'll try "Dancing Homer" (Season Two, when Homer briefly becomes the mascot for the minor league Springfield Isotopes) - I know the quotation is out there somewhere ... HA, YES! Stupid internet didn't have the quotation, but my beautiful, faithful DVDs and my ridiculous infinite patience have rewarded me with the quotation I was seeking! Homer is sad when Mr. Burns sits right next to him at the Power Plant-sponsored Family Night at the ballpark, figuring his good, beer-drinking time will be ruined. But then he and Burnsie start having fun, drinking, doing the wave, etc. Toward the end of the game, the Isotopes look certain to lose, and after watching a 'tope strike out (the second out of the ninth inning), Burns exclaims:

"Damnation! These banjos couldn't carry PIE TRAYNOR's glove!"


"Banjos," awesome. Burns's ridiculously old-timey speech gives me great pleasure. Now that I have confirmed that my memory is not totally faulty, on to the puzzle.

And back to PIE TRAYNOR. I can't tell you how long I stared at PIETR-YNOR and thought "PIETRO? Was there an Italian baseball player named PIETRO YNOR?" This was at the end of my solving experience, after I (supposedly) had the theme. Didn't see PIE. Instead, thinking it was some dumb-ass, made-up dessert like NAPOLEON (29A (THEME): The man from U.N.C.L.E. (Napoleon Solo)), I thought "PIETRA? PIETRI? PIETRO? Italian dessert?" I couldn't even see PIE, let alone PIE [space] TRAYNOR. All because _IDE_E CAMP (18D: With 53-Down, officer's helper) meant nothing to me. An officer is helped by a CAMP? RIDERE CAMP? SIDELE CAMP? Ugh. I don't even remember how I finally arrived at the correct AIDE DE CAMP. So, baseball and French, two things I know something about ... end up crushing my skull. FOYT (5D: Four-time Indy winner) always breaks me, too; I get the -OYT part, and then can never remember what the @#$#-ing consonant is. FOYT is a stupid, hick name. And the F-cross (5A: Easy mark, in cards (fish)) provided no help - not a term I've heard much, if at all.

30D: Infrequent: Abbr. (occ.)
32A: Turn-of-the-century year (DCC)

I had the final "C" of 32A, but not yet having AIDE DE CAMP - which provides the "D" in DCC - I couldn't decide what "year" the damned clue was talking about. Too vague a clue. Arbitrary, stupid clue. Worse, though, is OCC. I had O-C and just stared at it. When is OCC. used as an Abbr.? I know it's (probably ) short for "OCCasionally," but still, ick. I was starting to think that I'd spelled NAPOLEON wrong, and the first letter might be "A" ... that's how stupidly frustrated I got by this one square. Grrr.

9A: Pale hue (aqua)

I never think of AQUA as "pale," though I suppose it has legitimate claim to that designation. On the count of three, all crossworders everywhere will tell me the four-letter answer I instinctively entered here. One, two, three! ECRU! Is that word in the Pantheon, 'cause it should be. ECRU gave me the "E" in ELM (9D: Workable wood), though sadly the answer was not ELM but ASH. That whole NE corner might have been an utter disaster if TEN (23A: Perfect rating) hadn't bailed me out, giving me the terminal letter combination for the two five-letter Downs, 10D: "Indubitably!" ("Quite!") and 11D: Starving (unfed), both of which were very hard to see with just their final letters in place.

47D: Bewhiskered beast (walrus)
64A: _____ salad (tuna)
54A: California river named for a common sight in it (Eel)

With FISH and AQUA in the far north of the puzzle, these two southern hemisphere-dwellers continue our surprisingly deep nautical theme. We could even stretch it to include a first MATE (63A: Spouse) whose ship has SUNK (16A: Done for) off the coast of ELBA (38D: Site of a notable exile). The MATE ASKS (67A: Sets, as a price) for help via RADIO (65A: Dashboard feature), but in the end he is not SPARED (24A: Let go) from a briny death, and a ONE-WAY (49D: Arrow words) ticket to see PETER (48D: Fizzle out) at the Pearly Gates. Now that that little anecdote is over, I can tell you that I am from California, and I don't know that I ever saw a "river" in the state during my entire 12 years living there. Any "rivers" were usually (if not always) dry. River beds, not actual rivers. The fact that there are EELS anywhere in California comes as a total shock to me. As for ELBA, I like the tie-in with NAPOLEON at 29A. Nice.

Most of the rest of this puzzle was tractable. Liked seeing Rhoda's mom IDA (60D: TV's Mrs. Morgenstern) in the puzzle. Nancy Walker is perhaps best known, of course, as Rosie the waitress from the old "Quicker Picker Upper" Bounty commercials. Or is that the "You're soaking in it!" lady? No, "You're soaking in it" was from Palmolive ads featuring "Madge," played by actress Jan Miner. Commercials used to be so much better, somehow. Throw in Mr. Whipple here, and you have a holy trinity of 70's advertising.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

Read more...