WEDNESDAY, Jan. 28, 2009 - M. Langwald (Rescuer of Odysseus / Leader deposed in 1955 / Puzzlemaker Rubik)

Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium

THEME: "MADE IN TAIWAN" - first words of theme answers, spoken in order, become a giant homophone of this phrase, allegedly found on CHILD'S TOYS (60A: Bearers of a phrase suggested by saying the starts of 17-, 24-, 38- and 49-Across)

Word of the Day: UMIAK - The umiak, umiaq, umiac, oomiac or oomiak is a type of boat used by Eskimo people, both Yupik and Inuit, and was originally found in all coastal areas from Siberia to Greenland. Its name means "woman's boat," as opposed to the kayak, which means "man's boat" (wikipedia)

I haven't seen a "Made in Taiwan" label in a long, long time. CHILD'S TOYS are now, predominantly, notoriously, "MADE IN CHINA" - that is the phrase on almost every piece of inventory in the "Christmas Tree Store" here where I live - we went inside once just to see if we could find Anything without a "MADE IN CHINA" label on it. No success - literally none - until we got to the back of the store, where the art prints were, and found something made in Canada, and then something made in the U.S.A. How many "MADE IN TAIWAN" labels did we see? None. I've been in a lot of toy stores in recent years - having a child will do that to you. Can't recall seeing a "MADE IN TAIWAN" sticker. I feel like the "MADE IN TAIWAN" label was a common thing in this country 20+ years ago, before the big industrial boom in China. Today's theme, especially with its reference to TOYS, feels oddly dated and off. It's CHINA, CHINA, CHINA now. Everywhere. All the time. Has been for years.

I was secretly hoping LEAD would be somewhere in the puzzle.

Theme answers:

• 17A: Robin Hood's love (Maid Marian) - whose name I can Never spell correctly, perhaps because of my undying (I just typed "undrying!?") love for Mrs. C, i.e. MARION Ross from "Happy Days"
• 24A: One at the front desk, perhaps (innkeeper)
• 38A: Nail-biter, perhaps (tie game)

• 49A: Leader deposed in 1955 (Juan Peron)

Lots of doers of one kind of another, from dwellers (44A: Pueblo dweller -> TAOS) to puzzlemakers (13A: Puzzlemaker Rubik -> ERNO) to chipmakers (24D: Major chipmaker -> INTEL). The roughest "ER" of all, though was 54A: Rescuer of Odysseus (Ino). I've read it several times, even taught it once or twice, and I absolutely blanked on this answer. Talk about your walk-on parts. Yeesh. It's a good thing that the only plausible vowel in the first position was "I," or else I'd have been in real trouble (all praise to crosswordy NILS for the assist - 48D: Rock's Lofgren). Got thrown by 7D: Men in blue - wanted POLICE, which I'm sure was the point of the clue. Had UNI- and wrote in UNITS. Got UNION and grumbled until I realized the UNION in question was one side in the Civil War; then I thought, "good one." As for TAOS, here is yet another place named for a tribe. I didn't know the TAOS were a tribe. Now I do. Soon I will forget. So sad. As for the Rubik's cube - here is an article from the front page (seriously, front page) of my local paper earlier this week. Apparently one of my colleagues is some big deal Rubik's cube solver. She has a solving method named for her.

Bullets:

• 16A: Played for a cat's-paw (used) - not an expression I've ever heard. Must come from a time when toys were Made In Taiwan.
• 19A: Like some telegrams (sung) - cute. Needed crosses.
• 41A: Come to mind (occur) - this doesn't feel ... equivalent. I'm trying to think of phrases where you can swap these out, and I'm failing. You need extra words to make this one work neatly. I guess you could say, "When certain thoughts OCCUR, I just push them out of my head..." In that situation, the swap-out would work. But usually OCCUR is used in the phrase "OCCUR to me [or whomever]"
  
• 55A: 1960s role for Diana Rigg (Emma Peel) - mmmm, Peel.

• 53D: Place for pimiento (olive) - I wrote in LOAVE and thought "No way, that's not a word!" Indeed.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

PS Happy Birthday to reader SethG

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TUESDAY, Sep. 16, 2008 - Michael Langwald (The first letter of "circle" (but not the fourth) / Daisy Mae's man / First lady played by Madonna)

Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium

THEME: Cooked + Food - theme answers are common phrases referring to some kind of cooked food, clued (wackily) in a non-food context

STEAMED CRAB and FRIED TURKEY don't strike me as common phrases, certainly not in the way that GRILLED SHRIMP and ROASTED PEANUT are. Further, three animal fleshes and ... a PEANUT? The clues on these answers are also kind of tortured. Overall, a very blah puzzle for me, though like most puzzles, it has its moments. The clue on VANNA was nice => 15A: Revealing woman on TV? Then there was SOFT C (12D: The first letter of "circle" (but not the fourth)),which brought back memories of when we used to see this kind of self-referential clue more often (2007?). I enjoy olde timey comix, so Li'l ABNER (39A: Daisy Mae's man)


and SAD SACK (25A: Perennial loser)


were both welcome answers. Speaking of comics ... check out this unbelievably fantastic "Archie" shoe I found over at the great comics and illustration blog "The Ephemerist":


My daughter's birthday is coming up in another week, but ... somehow I don't think I can afford these. Nor do I think she is old enough for them. Still, She Would Flip.

Back to the puzzle ... well, at least it has my favorite flavor of dog - 10D: "Chocolate" dog (lab):


Theme answers:

• 17A: Grouch who's plenty mad? (steamed crab)
• 27A: Pipsqueak under cross-examination? (grilled shrimp)
• 48A: Wee lad feted by the Friars? (roasted peanut)
• 64A: Burned-out goofball? (fried turkey)
  

And the rest ...

• 6A: Show hunger, in a way (drool) - if you are a dog, yes.
• 32A: Bird in "Arabian Nights" (Roc) - alleged to have been able to carry off elephants. Reminds me of my (now) favorite extinct bird ... one that's still waiting to appear in a puzzle: HAAST'S EAGLE. Look out, Moa!

• 56A: Shows with pavilions (expos) - I went to one in Vancouver in '86. It was kind of a big deal. Fergie and Prince Andrew got married while I was there (they were married in England, not Vancouver, just to be clear). I had a commemorative Swatch watch from said EXPO, and really really wish I hadn't lost it.
• 67A: "Goodnight" girl of song (Irene) - IRENE is odd for being one of the most common 5-letter answers there is, while also being a name that almost nobody gets named anymore. Hence the crossword fame of IRENE Cara. This song ("Goodnight IRENE") is another good source of IRENE.
• 4D: Glossy finish (enamel) - had to think about this one a bit. I think of ENAMEL as an entity in itself, not a "finish." Oh well. Just after solving this puzzle last night, I was reading Dante's "Inferno" and came across these lines, which refer to all the great figures of classical literature and history (the "virtuous pagans") that Dante comes across in the first ring of hell (Limbo):
  

Before me on that green enameled field
such glorious spirits appeared that I still prize
within my soul the sights that were revealed. (IV.118) (tr. Palma)

• 11D: First lady played by Madonna (Evita Perón) - once again EVITA is clued as a "first lady." Madonna won a Golden Globe for "Best Actress, Musical or Comedy" for her performance in "Evita."
• 29D: Party warmer-upper (ice-breaker) - very nice long answer. [Party starter] would have worked - "warmer-upper" is a bit cutesy.
• 35D: As originally placed, after "in" (situ) - this phrase (or part of a phrase) is far far more common in the crossword than it is in, let's say, real life.
• 49D: Western mountain chain, with "the" (Sierra) - as I told Will, we (Central Californians) called them "the SIERRAs" (plural) or "the SIERRA Nevadas," but I see that "The SIERRA" (singular) is acceptable as well. To someone, somewhere.
• 52D: March marchers (Irish) - I had trouble with this, mainly because (I realize now) I no longer associate St. Patrick's Day with the IRISH. This answer could have been DRUNKS or some five-letter equivalent, as far as I was concerned. Though I'm sure the day is a source of ethnic pride to some, for most folks it's an excuse to drink green beer.
• 57D: Federico of the Clinton cabinet (Peña) - like IRENE, another common name for which there are a dearth of viable clues. My favorite PEÑA is Tony.
• 58D: Baltic feeder (Oder) - these four-letter Euro-rivers should be required to have colorful clues. I count 61 "Baltic feeders" at the Wikipedia list, and the site says the list is "incomplete."

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

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THURSDAY, Apr. 24, 2008 - Michael Langwald (EDUCATION PROVIDER SINCE 1440)

Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium

THEME: "I GOT YOU BABE" (62A: 1965 hit by the performers suggested phonetically by the ends of 18-, 24-, 37- and 56-Across)

And your rebus:

SUN - from MIDNIGHT SUN (18A: Summer arctic phenomenon)



KNEE - from WOUNDED KNEE (24A: 1890 battle site that's now a memorial)


ANNE - from SAINT ANNE (37A: Grandmother of Jesus)


SHARE - from MARKET SHARE (56A: Measure of a company's dominance)


I did this last night right before bedtime, and now barely remember it. Not sure that's the puzzle's fault. What I remember most is not the theme (though the theme is admirably outlandish), but some answers that made me balk. The first was BATCH (9A: Trayful of cookies), which my brain is assuring me is right, but which my heart is rejecting. I think my heart wants "baking" to precede "trayful." Perhaps that's implied. No one said the balking was rational. Then there was UIE (33A: Turnabout, in slang), which irks me only because I have only just acclimated myself to this word, and that was difficult enough when it was spelled UEY. Now I've got UIE to contend with? Hang on ... checking database ... UEY is 3 times more prevalent, although I have, apparently, seen UIE several times in the past couple years. Harrumph. Last balk: A BEAR (71A: Cross as _____ (annoyed)). I wrote in A BOAR, figuring BOARs are fare more likely to be "cross" than BEARs. I love "cross" as a word meaning "angered." It's very retro. I remember hearing it (possibly from mom) in the 70s, but I'm not sure anyone's used it in earnest since. The hyperbolic "furious" or the crass "pissed" have driven "cross" to the margins. I'm going to try to bring it back. Somehow.

The stuff I really liked today includes CARTONS (47D: Smokes in bulk) - the answer's ordinary but the clue is hot - and BERTHA (36D: Mother of Charlemagne), which, like "cross," feels decidedly old-fashioned. You do not want to make BERTHA cross, believe me. Ooh, one more balk: RAN AWAY (1D: Escaped). I had GOT AWAY, which I find to be much the superior answer. Just because you RAN does not mean you "escaped."

Your xword vocabulary of the day (after UIE / UEY):

• 23A: Predecessor of Romans (Acts)
• 66A: Daybreak deity (Eos)
• 27D: Education provider since 1440 (Eton)
• 34D: Foreign visitors? (ETs)
• 39D: River to the Rhine (Aare)

And ... a long list of stuff:

• 14A: Alicia Keys #1 album "_____ Am" ("As I") - remarkably hard for me to parse. YO, I AM? AM I AM? Alicia Keys is insanely talented.
• 20A: Bad off, after "up" (a tree) - this wins for "Most Insane Looking Clue of the Day." I keep reading "bad off" as a verb. "BAD OFF, mutha@#$#!" Or "I'm gonna bad off now ..." (whatever that might mean - just typing that made me laugh very hard ... still laughing even as I'm typing this).
• 28A: Mayo can be found in it (año) - the SANE (58A: Sound) answer here would be JAR. Please keep in mind that we have already heard, a million times, the complaint that ANO (sans tilde) is scatological.
• 31A: "Solaris" author Stanislaw _____ (Lem) - I should really read this guy. I see his name everywhere.
• 45A: Pool accessory (rack) - which pool?, you ask. Precisely.
• 61A: "Sanford and Son" setting (Watts) - made myself laugh out loud mid-solve when I got the two T's (--TT-) and tried inventing my own variant spelling of GHETTO.
• 67A: Classic sportster, for short ('vette) - that "RTST" letter run in "sportster" is rubbing something in my brain the wrong way.
• 4D: Field for Fields (comedy) - works for Totie, W.C., and, on occasion, Kim.
• 7D: European capital (Minsk) - the outer reaches of "Europe." I wanted a unit of currency here.
• 8D: Like some bagels (oniony) - "I'd like an ONIONY bagel please ... but not the ONION bagel ... too ONIONY."
• 10D: Baja's opposite (alta) - I like that this answer sits right next to the word that sounds like the French word for "baja" - BAH (9D: Cross word). CROSS!
• 12D: Condiment made with a mortar and pestle (chutney) - great answer. Up there with ONIONY for deliciousness, but far more ... legitimate as a word.
• 13D: Two-wheeled carriages (hansoms) - the puzzle's most common carriage. Everything I know about carriages, I learned from xwords (having never lived in the 19th c. myself).
• 25D: Item for a travel bag (etui) - HA ha. I've kinda missed this word. Haven't seen it since the tournament. Probably belongs up with the other answers in today's "Crossword Vocabulary" section.
• 51D: War preceder (Man-o-) - the horse or the sea creature, it matters not. Few words are as xword-clue specific as "preceder."
• 57D: Cookout offering (kabob) - tricky word. Many acceptable spellings. Thought it's probably not traditional, I would think a KABOB and CHUTNEY on an ONIONY bagel might actually work.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of Crossworld

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WEDNESDAY, Mar. 26, 2008 - Michael Langwald (MAKESHIFT BOOKMARK)

Relative difficulty: Easy

THEME: Culinary puns - three celebrities (one living, two dead) have their last names turned into cooking-related puns

This theme is slightly confusing to me, in that the answers are clued as nouns, but the answers (if you read them as puns) are complete sentences. I get that FREY'S reads like a possessive but sounds like a verb ... but the pun doesn't change much of anything, I think that's the problem. Going to pun should fundamentally transform the meaning of the sentence, but here ... we stay in the same universe. Whose eggs are those? Those are Glenn Frey's eggs. Does he FRY them? No, he FREY'S them. Oh. OK. BOIL / BOYLE also feels like an odd verb to describe the making of STEW (though there's no doubt that STEW does indeed boil during preparation). And STEW and STEAK feel arbitrary - you could BOIL or COOK anything - where at least EGGS seems to go with FRY. I realize I'm overanalyzing here. The theme is cute, and the breakfast- lunch- dinner progression in the clues is a nice touch. I miss Peter BOYLE. "Puttin' on the Riiiiiiiiitz!"

Theme answers:

• 20A: Breakfast specialty of a rock singer? (Glenn Frey's eggs)
• 39A: Lunch specialty of an Emmy-winning actor? (Peter Boyle's stew)
• 57A: Dinner specialty of an R&B singer? (Sam Cooke's steak) - SAM COOKE is one of my favorite male singers of all time, if not my favorite. He is single-handedly responsible for any appreciation of gospel I now have.

This puzzle relied heavily on crosswordese, but at least a couple of these words are worth reviewing. While we see ENO (48A: Brian of ambient music) and EWER (66A: Basin go-with) all the time, words like ADAR (6D: Purim's month) and ALB (26D: Priestly garment) show up somewhat less often, and yet are very very handy to know as a solver. Not common, but common enough for you to need to know them if you do puzzles on a regular basis. Another common word, ELATE (36A: Carry away, in a way), is made worse today by the proximity (and symmetry) of its fraternal twin SLATE (44A: Popular online magazine). At least I did not have to endure the dreaded E-MAG (which Slate is often used to clue).

Kwik Kuts:

• 14A: Word before luck or cluck (dumb) - though I don't know what it means, I'm going to start using "DUMB cluck" every chance I get (whenever I am angry at chickens, for instance)
• 29A: Constant complainers (cranks) - If this answer had intersected REX (had REX been in the puzzle), I'd have taken it personally.
• 45A: Part of M.Y.O.B. (own) - also part of B.Y.O.B.
• 51A: Clinton cabinet member satirized by Will Ferrell (Reno) - "Janet Reno's Dance Party" - great great stuff. Can't find a clip anywhere.
• 53A: Arkansas River city (Tulsa) - ah, it's not actually *in* Arkansas. I see. Tricky.
• 64A: Docent's offering (tour) - I really really dislike the word "docent," despite its honorable Latin roots. It's a wussy word. Barely there, and ultra-pretentious-sounding. Needs some hard consonants or something.
• 4D: Butchers' offerings (T-bones) - goes nicely with SAM COOKE'S STEAK. Was there really any need to pluralize "Butchers?" "Offerings" gets you the plural you want.
• 5D: Toiler of yore (serf) - had PEON at first. I can barely look at, let alone say, [Toiler of yore]. Too many "r"s, and one letter away from [Toilet of yore].
• 9D: Makeshift bookmark (dogear) - this I like. I like all compound words with "dog" - DOGLEG, DOGSBODY, etc.
• 11D: Dracula feature (fang) - just one?
• 12D: Big Turkish export (figs) - I do not like these, possibly because we had six fig trees in our back yard when I was a kid, and the ripe fruit that splatted onto the ground was the ugliest, milkiest, stickiest, nastiest stuff that grew out of the ground, as far as I was concerned.
• 22D: Wall St. watchdog (SEC) - took me a while to put in the "S" here, mainly because this is the "S" in GLENN FREY'S EGGS, and I couldn't really believe that was the answer.
• 27D: Pueblo dweller (Taos) - TAOS is a person? A tribe? You can be a TAOS? I just thought TAOS was a city.
• 50D: Sound of rebuke (tut tut) - that's really two sounds, or a repeated sound, but OK.
• 54D: Director Sergio (Leone) - I can't even see his name without hearing Ennio Morricone music in the background. I Love the spaghetti westerns. Once Upon a Time in the West is my favorite.
• 56D: Rubber hub (Akron) - Insert condom-related joke here

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

[drawing by Emily Cureton]

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