Milkman of musical fame - WEDNESDAY, April 15, 2009 — Michael Vuolo (Colorful glacial layer / Butchers discards)

Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium

Theme: Cutlery — Three phrases (one spanning three entries) include words for dining utensils.

Word of the day: Globalism — an ideology that emphasized the current trend toward international organizations and institutions. (answers.com)

Hello, internet! It's Caleb Madison a.k.a. Calmad a.k.a. Bobby Digital (not at all) here, trying desperately to fill the comedically giant footprints left by Rex. I feel like I need a cool crossword pseudonym. Any suggestions?

On to the puzzle. This puzzle, Will tells me, was the fourth puzzle in the recent Boston Crossword Tournament. Altogether, this puzzle has a lot going for it. Though the two ells framing the center of the grid aren't exactly attractive, they make for some beautiful double 9s in the Pacific Northwest and Southeast. The theme is tight, and spans 61 squares, which is pretty impressive. That's about 1/3 of the usable (as in non-black) squares. Very nice.

I was smiling from square one, when I realized that MGS was clued via Stax's Booker T. instead of the measurement. I have all of those Stax records thanks to a box set purchased by my dad a while ago. When I listen to them, I like to play "Which Rapper Sampled This?"

Nice dancing. Have fun wiping the vaseline off of your teeth!

The only beef I have with this puzzle is the overabundance of 3-letter words. 25, to be exact. That's a lot. Some are fine: KIT (61D: Hobbyist's purchase), PEN (10D: Slammer), ASS (34A: Dolt) … but a lot of them are quite the opposite: INV (27D: Accts. payable receipt), CIE (28D: French bus. firm), OEN (40D: Wine: Prefix), MCI (41A: Co. acquired by Verizon in 2006) and others. The only one of those that was a gimme was OEN, which was an educated guess. The long downs were great, all spanning two theme entries each. "BABYMAKIN'," coincidentally enough, also fits in place of SOUL MUSIC (3D: Barry White's genre). Did that trip anyone else up?

THEME ANSWERS:

• 17A: Have surgery (GO UNDER THE KNIFE)
  
• 24A/37A/50A: Privileged (BORN WITH A / SILVER SPOON IN / ONE'S MOUTH) — Very cool how this phrase breaks up so evenly.
• 60A: "Gimme!" ("FORK IT OVER, BUDDY!") — Very colloquial, but is the "buddy" part necessary? I feel like the clue's "Gimme!" could be friendly, while the answer seems like it should be yelled at a timid tourist by an angry New Yorker.

BULLETS:

• 4A: San Diego Zoo attractions (pandas) — I had _AN_AS, and since I had never seen San Diego or its zoo, I put in "MANTAS" as in Manta Rays. I changed it when I realized that titto (7D: "Likewise" (DITTO)) was horribly, horribly wrong. I can imagine what titto would mean if it were slang, and I love it / it disgusts me. In retrospect, the movie "Anchorman" should have taught me this answer.
  

• 26A: Colorful glacier layer (blue ice) — looking at a picture, it doesn't seem so "colorful." It's mostly just different shades of blue. This answer makes me think of "Zoolander" and his Blue Steel. Can't find the exact clip but that whole movie is pretty funny:



• 48A: Designer's starting point (concept) — I got the beginning C, and wrote in "CONTOUR." I figured it was a fashion-y thing to start with, and the first three letters fit. Also, doesn't any creative project start with a concept? Is there something that my shopophobic brain isn't grasping here?
  
• 56A: Geisha's accessory (fan) — Did anyone else write in "OBI"? I feel like I've been brainwashed to associate anything Japanese with obis.
  
• 8D: One of the 12 tribes of Israel (Asher) — A much louder, catchier Asher has recently entered the cultural spectrum. My friend Gabriel showed me Asher Roth's song "I Love College" a couple days ago. I recognize its lack of musical talent, but nevertheless, it's an earworm if I ever heard one. I would put the YouTube video up, but it won't allow me to embed it. Here's a picture of him looking hip and collegial. I assume that sweater is an "Animal House" reference. If John Belushi had a baby with Glenn Close, and the baby was reared by a Yuppie and Bart Bass, it would look something like Asher Roth.
• 19A: Fuzzy fruit (kiwi) — Finally! An excuse to post this:
  
  
  "Flight of the Conchords" — along with "The Wire," "Twin Peaks," "Arrested Development," and "30 Rock" — is one of my favorite TV shows. I'm seeing them in concert, for the second time, later today!
  
• 23D: "Numb3rs" network (CBS) — I have a love/hate relationship with this show.
  

• 39D: "Vas ___ Vas" (former derivative Spanish-language game show) (O No) — Ah the lengths Will goes to disguise our girl Yoko! The host of this Telemundo "Deal Or No Deal" spinoff looks like Peter Linklage.
  
• 49D: Comrade of Mao (Chou) — Mao and Chou sounds like a brand of cat food. Also, the band Manu Chao:
  

That's it for me. Don't worry: Rex will be back soon.

Madison, out.


[Quick Note from PuzzleGirl:]

Got an email from constructor Eric Berlin the other day and thought I would pass along the info to you.

"I wonder if you might let your readers know of an event happening this week that they might enjoy very much. You perhaps know that in addition to constructing crosswords, I write puzzle-filled mysteries for kids. My second novel, 'The Potato Chip Puzzles,' comes out this week, and to celebrate, I'm throwing an online 'puzzle party.' Starting on Thursday, there'll be a puzzle on each of seven different kidlit blogs. Solve the puzzle, submit your answer, and you can win a copy of the new book... or even the grand prize, two dozen different children's books and novels from G.P. Putnam's Sons.

Full details here: http://www.winstonbreen.com/puzzleparty.html

I hope to see you and your readers there!"

I gave Eric's first book to PuzzleSon for Christmas last year and he loved it. We will definitely be checking out the puzzles this week. Thanks, Eric!

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THURSDAY, Dec. 18, 2008 - Michael Vuolo (Djinn's home in a popular tale / Numismatist's classification / "Numb3rs" airer / Famous septet)

Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium

THEME: what an UNDERCOVER AGENT who has been SWORN TO SECRECY might say (answer: "IF I TOLD YOU THEN / I'D HAVE TO KILL YOU")

Write-ups between now and Sunday (when grades have to be in) are going to be minimalist. In, out, done. This is the one time of the year where I really feel like I work for a living. So if I don't cover your favorite answers, just cover 'em yourself.

I don't think an actual UNDERCOVER AGENT would say the line in this puzzle. It's more a parody of what an AGENT might say. Further, the "THEN" is rubbing me the wrong way. I like the terser "IF I TOLD YOU, I'D HAVE TO KILL YOU." That, or the more playful "I COULD TELL YOU, BUT THEN I'D HAVE TO KILL YOU." This one is stuck in some kind of no man's land. And yet when I read it aloud, it sounds alright, so I can't legitimately complain.

Theme answers:

• 17A: Keeper of confidential information (undercover agent)
• 26A: Like a keeper of confidential information (sworn to secrecy) - the "swearing" part feels off. The phrase feels more appropriate for girls sharing secrets at a slumber party than for honest-to-god UNDERCOVER AGENTs
• 46A and 60A: What a keeper of confidential information might say ("If I told you then / I'd have to kill you")

SABBATH is a very, very weird word to have in the middle of this particular puzzle. I doubt the bible verse in question at 36A: Subject of Exodus 20:10 says anything about killing people. What does it say? Let's see:

[B]ut the seventh day is the SABBATH of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates.

Man, not only can't you kill people who know your secrets on the SABBATH (assuming you're in that line of "work"), you can't even farm it out to a family member or employee. That's rough.

Highlight of puzzle - the rotational symmetry of ARCSIN (5D: Inverse trig function) and URSINE (49D: Bearish). Bravo, sir. Actually, ARCSIN / COOL IT (6D: "Enough!") and OFF KEY (48D: Out of tune) / URSINE are great symmetrical pairs. URSINE is dangerously close to URINE for my ... tastes, but that shouldn't count against it. I also enjoyed the dual "septet" clues - 25D: Part of a famous septet (Asia) and 7D: Part of a famous septet (Envy). I was sure one of them was going to be a Dwarf.

BOO (43A: Cause of a scare) goes out to ABLATE (37D: Wear away, as a metallic surface), which was the only answer that gave me any trouble. Screwed me up big time in the SW, as I wrote in ABRADE, and then, off the (wrong) "D," played the lovely (yet once again wrong) FAKE ID instead of DECEIT (52A: Scammer's skill). BOO also to RAYED (67A: Like the sun) and EDUCE (63A: Bring out) for just being ugly.

Wrap-up:

• 1A: "Numb3rs" airer (CBS) - I love this for two reasons. One, the word "airer," which is heard almost nowhere but in crossword clues. And two, the fact that my good friend loves trashing the math content of "Numb3rs"; he has an entire website dedicated to doing just that.
• 34A: Fruit used in English jelly (sloe) - crosswordese hiding in a curious answer. See also ASTER (Daisylike flower). Usually ASTER is clued via the fact that it blooms in the fall.
• 56A: Djinn's home in a popular tale (lamp) - oh man my daughter loves the "Children of the Lamp" series. I bought her the brand new, hardcover book in the series and she read it in two days. Highly recommended if you've got a 8-12 year-old reader in the house.
• 64A: Buck for a song? (Owens) - Buck OWENS is a singer. Here he is, singing:

• 1D: Listing in a high-school yearbook (club) - CLUB / BONE / SODA came right away off of CBS
• 9D: With French, one of two official languages of Chad (Arabic) - I did not know this. I'm not sure I knew Chad was a former French colony, let alone that people spoke ARABIC there. I know that Chad is next to Sudan. That is what I know about Chad.
• 10D: Porsche alternatives (Jaguars) - insofar as any car is an "alternative" to a Porsche, then sure.
• 12D: Numismatist's classification (fine) - here's something weird. Had the "E" and hesitated for a split second, trying to decide between FINE and RARE. Went with FINE and then ran right into RAREST (19D: Most prized, often) not five seconds later.
• 30D: Singer/songwriter Leonard (Cohen) - loooooooooooove him. Here's something:

"Everybody wants a box of chocolates and a long-stemmed rose" ... this song reminds me of an ex-girlfriend who died very young. She loved this song, maybe a little too much.

• 53D: Icelandic volume (edda) - Is it EDDA? Or SAGA? "You just have to ask yourself one question: do I feel lucky? Well, do you, punk?"
• 55D: Home of Private Ryan in "Saving Private Ryan" (Iowa) - just like Radar. Cute.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

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