Five Norwegian kings / SUN 7-16-17 / Nighty-night wear / Bird bills / Actress Kazan / Word before Cong or Minh / Resident of Tatooine / Irish for "We Ourselves" / Hong Kong's Hang Index / Scott of "Joanie Loves Chachi"

Constructor: Andrea Carla Michaels and Pete Muller

Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium

THEME: DRINKS ALL AROUND (29D: "It's on me!" ... or a hint to this puzzle's circled letters) — Drinks are "all around" in circled letters in almost-symmetrical places "all around" the grid. Starting at 12 o'clock and proceeding clockwise, we have six drinks on our menu:

• BEER (what I'm drinking right now)
• PINK LADY
• COSMOPOLITAN (at 5 o'clock, which it is, somewhere)
  
• WINE
• TIA MARIA (I read this backwards at first, and was all, "What's a MAI TAI RA?")
• DIRTY MARTINI

Our revealer crosses COCKTAIL LOUNGES (61A: Places to get looped).


Word of the Day: NED ROREM (82A: "Miss Julie" opera composer, 1965) —

Ned Rorem (born October 23, 1923) is an American composer and diarist. He won a Pulitzer Prize in 1976. He received his early education in Chicago at the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools, the American Conservatory of Music and then Northwestern University. Later, Rorem moved on to the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia and finally the Juilliard School in New York City. Rorem was raised as a Quaker and makes reference to this in interviews in relation to his piece based on Quaker texts, A Quaker Reader. In 1966 he published The Paris Diary of Ned Rorem, which, with his later diaries, has brought him some notoriety, as he is honest about his and others' sexuality, describing his relationships with Leonard Bernstein, Noël Coward, Samuel Barber, and Virgil Thomson, and outing several others (Aldrich and Wotherspoon, eds., 2001). Rorem has written extensively about music as well. These essays are collected in anthologies such as Setting the Tone, Music from the Inside Out, and Music and People. His prose is much admired, not least for its barbed observations about such prominent musicians as Pierre Boulez. Rorem has composed in a chromatic tonal idiom throughout his career, and he is not hesitant to attack the orthodoxies of the avant-garde. (Wikipedia)

• • •

If the spirit moves you
Let me groove you

Laura here, toasting Rex with a BEER as he takes a break. We've seen more than a few alcohol-themed puzzles over the years -- heck, there's a whole book of them -- but here's a new twist (Charles Dickens walks into a bar. "I'll have a dry martini." Bartender: "Olive or twist?"). Nice double-revealer crossing in the center; fun finding the embedded drinks all around the grid. I would've liked slightly more consistency in the themers -- we have the generic categories BEER and WINE but then cocktails like DRY MARTINI, PINK LADY, and COSMOPOLITAN, and a liqueur: TIA MARIA. The challenge, I can imagine, was to find symmetrical alcohol varieties that would then fit all-roundly all around the grid. While I toast the constructors' ambition, their grid suffered in terms of fill that would accommodate the theme. ERNA (111A: Met soprano Berger), ERLE (20A: First name in courtroom fiction), ELSA (110A: Captain von Trapp's betrothed [which reminds me of this McSweeney's classic]), ORLE (53D: Shield border), and ERTE (101A: Artist who designed costumes for "Ben-Hur") are all handy combos of letters that have vowels on the ends and consonants in the middle. Cheers: new take on old theme; jeers: tired fill to get the new take to take.

As one of the 44D: Boomers' offspring (GENX), I appreciate a grid that contains both Joanie Loves Chachi (34D: BAIO [Scott of [the aforementioned] [who was a total asshole regarding costar Erin Moran's death earlier this year]) and FONZ[ie] (57D: 1970s TV cool dude, with "the").

"Sit on it!"

With Andrea's collaboration today, and -- since I last guest-posted -- puzzles by Susan Gelfand, Lynn Lempel, Zhouqin Burnikel, Ruth Margolin, and collaborations from Elayne Boosler and my college classmate Lisa Loeb, we are now up to 14% women constructors so far this year: 28 out of 169. 2017 is still tracking to be the worst year on record for women constructors at the New York Times. I encourage all aspiring constructors to take a look at Andy Kravis's new project, Grid Wars -- he has some excellent tips.

Bullets:

• SENG (12D: Hong Kong's Hang ___ Index) — An alternative to NYSE as a stock index in the fill.
• DRAKE (30A: Male duck) — Could've clued as "'Hotline Bling' artist who got his start on 'Degrassi: The Next Generation'." 
• NOME (43D: Gold rush city of 1899) — I had gotten this through crosses, and then going back and looking at the grid, at first I thought it was something like: Response to "Me!": "NO, ME!"
• DRAPE (106A: Hang) — How about, instead: "Clothing material source for 110A's rival"?

Signed, Laura Braunstein, Sorceress of CrossWorld

[Follow Laura on Twitter]

[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]

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Idomeneo heroine / SUN 9-8-13 / Musician with gold-selling album Sugar Lips / Candy bar featured in Seinfeld episode / Country composed of 200+ islands / Lenovo competitor / Pussy Russian girl group

Constructor: Pete Muller and Sue Keefer

Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium

THEME: "Bumper Cars" — car models are lined up (bumper to bumper) to form silly phrases, clued  "?"-style

Theme answers:

• 23A: Search for a cradle-robbing woman in New York City? (PARK AVENUE COUGAR QUEST)
• 37A: High-handed ambassador stationed off the Italian coast? (CAVALIER CAPRI DIPLOMAT)
• 55A: Peace treaty between a predator and its prey? (BOBCAT RABBIT ACCORD) (my favorite theme answer)
• 67A: Tom Brady, in the 2002 Super Bowl (INTREPID RAM CHALLENGER)
• 78A: Musical piece for a "Star Wars" battle scene? (STORMTROOPER SONATA)
• 98A: Advocate for pro-am tournaments? (CELEBRITY GOLF DEFENDER)
• 116A: Diminutive Aborigine? (MIDGET OUTBACK EXPLORER)

Word of the Day: TESSERA (96D: Small mosaic tile) —

A tessera (plural: tesserae, diminutive tessella) is an individual tile, usually formed in the shape of a cube, used in creating a mosaic. It is also known as an abaciscus or abaculus. // In early antiquity, mosaics were formed from naturally formed colored pebbles, but by 200 BCE cut stone tesserae were being used in Ancient Roman decorative mosaic panels and floor mosaics. Marble or limestone were cut into small cubes and arranged into representational designs and geometric patterns. // Later, tesserae were made from colored glass, or clear glass backed with metal foils. The Byzantines used tesserae with gold leaf, in which case the glass pieces were flatter, with two glass pieces sandwiching the gold. This produced a golden reflection emanating from in between the tesserae as well as their front, causing a far richer and more luminous effect than even plain gold leaf would create. (wikipedia)

• • •

Very straightforward Sunday puzzle. Bit of a step back from recent Sunday puzzles in terms of theme conception, fill quality, and difficulty. There is a mildly cute quality to the clues for the theme answers, but that's about it, interest-wise. Mostly it's just rote fill-it-in stuff—we're back to a high word-count puzzle with lots and lots of short fill, which usu. makes the puzzle easier and the fill more bland. There's really not much to talk about today. No real tough spots. No scintillating moments. A pretty run-of-the-mill Sunday. Not at all bad, just not that remarkable. The only surprises were the few car models I did not know—DIPLOMAT (Dodge) (bygone), BOBCAT (Mercury) (bygone) (barely existed) (Pinto variant), STORM (Geo) (Haha) (bygone!), CELEBRITY (Buick? ... nope, Chevrolet) (bygone), MIDGET (MG) (bygone) (in retrospect, I *have* heard of this).


Difficulty I encountered was scarce and unexciting. Took me a while to see AIRWAVE (3D: Broadcast medium), even after AIRWA- (wanted -WAYS) (??). Tried SHEIK and SAUDI before SWAMI (46A: Turbaned type) (clearly not thinking there). Took a while to come up with ROLL / TALE, due only to standard clue vagueness (53D: Sushi bar offering + 63A: Relation?). Went through SNEER and SNORT before hitting on SNIFF (83D: Disdainful response). Had OCTA instead of OCTO (I'm putting myself to sleep just writing these little hiccups out) (51D: Twice tetra-). Had -ORKED and stared for a while before hitting on FORKED (102D: Split). Most weirdly of all, wrote in FTA at the very end, when I clearly meant ATF (95A: Smuggler-chasing org.). When I didn't get the Happy Pencil, I thought for sure I'd spend many minutes tracking down whatever stupid error I had, but it turns out the stupid error was the last thing I'd written in, so I found it instantly.


I think my favorite thing about this puzzle is the clue for RIOT (99D: Pussy ___ (Russian girl group)). I look forward to the day the NYT prints the name of their future male counterparts, Cock Revolt.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

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1960 #1 Brenda Lee hit / TUE 6-11-13 / Six-sided randomizer / Czech Republic river / Pong purveyor / Got it in radio lingo / Watch with old slogan Modern Masters of Time / World capital whose name means victorious

Constructor: Peter Muller

Relative difficulty: Medium-Challenging (again, as with yesterday's puzzle, just a touch tougher than your average for this day of the week)

THEME: MIXED BAGS (62A: Assortments ... or what you'll find in 17-, 25-, 30-, 44- and 50-Across) — one of each of the permutations (or "mixes") of the letters BAG (excluding BAG itself) can be found broken across the grid's two-word (or, in the case of CRABGRASS, compound-word) theme answers

Word of the Day: ERGOT (29A: Plant fungus) —

Ergot or ergot fungi refers to a group of fungi of the genus Claviceps.^[1] The most prominent member of this group is Claviceps purpurea. This fungus grows on rye and related plants, and produces alkaloids that can cause ergotism in humans and other mammals who consume grains contaminated with its fruiting structure (called ergotsclerotium).^[2][3] Claviceps includes about 50 known species, mostly in the tropical regions. Economically significant species include C. purpurea (parasitic on grasses and cereals), C. fusiformis (on pearl millet, buffel grass), C. paspali (on dallis grass), and C. africana^[4] (on sorghum). C. purpurea most commonly affects outcrossing species such as rye (its most common host), as well as triticale, wheat and barley. It affects oatsonly rarely. (wikipedia)

• • •

A tight, if unexciting theme, not noticeable at all until until post-solve reflection. This is a straight-over-the-plate, solid puzzle, with bonus points for including every possible permutation of BAG in the theme answers. My first trouble spot today was the NE, where I misspelled LAPIS (with a "U" instead of an "I"), couldn't see LET ME GO (9D: Prisoner's plaint) or IN SIN (12D: Living ___), and thought N.Y.C.'s Columbus ___ was going to be something was less obvious (SQR?). I was just lucky to remember ERGOT (29A: Plant fungus), a word that blew up one of my puzzles in the early blogging days, and thus a word I have never forgotten. My other trouble spot was BIG BANDS. The trouble was partly that I was looking for a much more specific answer—some group, with a name, like Bill Halley's COMETS or Buddy Holly's CRICKETS—and partly because I'd written in ZEE instead of ZED at 35D: Final section of the OED, which mean I had BIG -ANES. Nearly went with MAAED (45D: Bleated) and BIG MANES, then caught sight of the ZEE problem (which I had mentally flagged earlier as a possible mistake), and fixed it, and thus finished. Didn't immediately know "I'M SORRY" (before my time, though I know the tune) (28D: 1960 #1 Brenda Lee hit) and thought ZENO (59D: Paradoxical Greek) might be spelled with an "X" for some reason (like the phobia?), but everything else was reasonably smooth. Time was in the 3:40s somewhere—a bit high for a Tuesday, but only a bit.


Heaven 17 - Let Me Go
Theme answers:

• 17A: Reason for rehab (DRUG ABUSE)
• 25A: Trail (LAG BEHIND)
• 30A: Darts and snooker (PUB GAMES)
• 44A: Sinatra backers, sometimes (BIG BANDS)
• 50A: Groundskeeper's bane (CRABGRASS)

My main complaint on this one is the cluing, which is quite dull. Very straightforward, not a lot to it. Notable exceptions include the clues on CAIRO (60A: World capital whose name means "victorious"), and, to a lesser extent, SEIKO (52D: Watch with the old slogan "Modern Masters of Time").

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

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Classic mountain bikes / WED 10-10-12 / 1970 #1 hit with lyric Easy as / Tea-growing Indian state / Needle-nosed swimmers / Hotheaded Corleone / Elicitors of groans / Spirit of Islamic myth

Constructor: Pete Muller

Relative difficulty: Easiest Wednesday of 2012, according to my admittedly spotty records

THEME: PAJAMAS (26D: Nightwear ... or a hidden feature of 17-, 21-, 33-, 41-, 54- and 59-Across?) — six theme entries are all two-word phrases (or compound words) where first words/parts end with "P" and second words/parts start with "J"

Word of the Day: STUMPJUMPERS (41A: Classic mountain bikes) —

Insulting term for a hick or redneck. Implies they breed within their family tree, or "jump the stump". Often used by other hicks/rednecks, to mark one as the lowest of the low. (urbandictionary, most popular definition)

Also:

The Specialized Stumpjumper is a mountain bike produced by Specialized Bicycle Components. When it was first produced in 1981, the Stumpjumper was the first mass-productionmountain bike. The Stumpjumper is still in production, although its design has changed significantly since it was first sold. Stumpjumpers have been raced professionally by riders including Christoph Sauser and Ned Overend. (wikipedia)

• • •

Hmmm. An interesting first puzzle back on the job. First observation—apparently my speed-solving chops, such as they are, have not atrophied. I solved this faster than I solve the average Tuesday puzzle. Which brings me to Second observation—this is not a Wednesday puzzle. The theme type is too simple, the cluing too easy. Maybe there was some sense that with a really strange theme answer like STUMPJUMPERS, people would get slowed down somewhat. That didn't happen. Or rather, it did, but not nearly enough to make up for how phenomenally easy most of the rest of the puzzle was. Perhaps this puzzle played very differently for you if 1A: 1970 #1 hit with the lyric "Easy as ..." ("ABC") wasn't a flat-out gimme. Or perhaps you've never heard of a GUN PIT (30D: Defensive excavation). Wait, *I*'ve never heard of a GUN PIT, and I blew right through that section, high on crosses and inference. I don't know. I guess there are potential pitfalls here and there, but ... I mean, [Actress Jolie]??? There has to be a tougher or at least more clever way to clue ANGELINA. The one thing this puzzle has going for it is theme density. A solid six theme answers. Beyond that, it's exceedingly straightforward and highly forgettable. Fill isn't terrible—pretty good, all things considered (I'm choosing to forgive the proximate partials USE AS and ONE IS). My biggest struggle was with 22D: Action hero's underwater breathing aid (REED). It's a clever clue, but that's not why I struggled—I wrote in the "R" (in PROPJET) as a "P" so needed all the crosses and even then got PEED. I also couldn't figure out TICKER (47D: Bygone Wall Street device) because my "K" looked like an "H" and T-CHER wasn't ringing any bells. And yet, even with a theme answer from outer space and multiple self-inflicted spelling/handwriting wounds, I crossed the finish line 90 seconds below average and nearly 30 seconds below my previous low.


Theme answers:

• 17A: Surgically replaceable body parts (HIP JOINTS)
• 21A: Many a corporate plane (PROP JET)
• 33A: On-the-spot appraisal (SNAP JUDGMENT)
• 41A: Classic mountain bikes (STUMPJUMPERS)
• 54A: Bar musicians may put them out (TIP JARS)
• 59A: Serving with syrup (FLAPJACKS)

It's probably BAD to cross BADs (9A: Equally poor = AS BAD / 11D: Elicitors of groans = BAD JOKES). If you are going to dupe *and* cross a word, I would suggest that that word not be BAD. You open yourself up to too many easy jokes about the quality of your puzzle.

Bullets:

• 24A: Supposed skill of some hotline operators (ESP) — this doesn't work great as a clue, first because "psychic hotlines" seem awfully '90s, and second because I don't recall the term "ESP" actually ever being used on ads for said hotlines.
• 40A: Tea-growing Indian state (ASSAM) — klassic krosswordese, like the GARS it grows out of (34D: Needle-nosed swimmers).
• 65A: The hotheaded Corleone (SONNY) — Took me a while to remember his name, even though I'm *teaching* "The Godfather" later in the semester. SONNY has one of the greatest death scenes in the history of film.

• 5D: Manhattan film festival locale (TRIBECA) — I know about this only because DeNiro was a cofounder. 
• 50D: Spirit of Islamic myth (DJINN) — Got it off the "D"; daughter once read a series of books called "Children of the Lamp," and I think DJINN figured fairly prominently therein. 
• 51D: Like a blowhard (touched for the very first time?)
• 57D: Handled the music at a rave (DJED) — no need for "at a rave" here. Clue works without it. The DJ at my stepbrother's wedding this past weekend "handled the music," though there was not a rave in sight. Kenny Loggins was giving a concert directly across the street, but that's neither here nor there. 

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

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Archer's wife in Maltese Falcon /THU 9-8-11/ Nevada county containing Yucca Mountain / Italian scientist who lent name to number / Episode VI returnee

Constructor: Matt Ginsberg and Pete Muller

Relative difficulty: Medium-Challenging

THEME: "Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test" by Tom WOLFE (25A: Author of the 1968 work named in the circled letters (reading clockwise)) — WOLFE is in the grid along with KESEY (44A: Leader of the 35-Across) and MERRY PRANKSTERS (35A: Subject of the 1968 work)


Word of the Day: STU ERWIN (1A: He played Joe Palooka in the 1934 film "Palooka") —

Stuart Erwin (14 February 1903, Squaw Valley, California — 21 December 1967, Beverly Hills, California) was an American actor. Erwin began acting in college in the 1920s, first appearing on the stage, then breaking into films in 1928 in Mother Knows Best. He was cast as amiable oafs in several films such as The Sophomore, The Big Broadcast, Hollywood Cavalcade, Our Town, International House and Viva Villa!. In 1934 he was cast as Joe Palooka in the film Palooka, and in 1935 he had a supporting role in After Office Hours (starring Clark Gable). He co-starred in the Paramount Pictures all-star revue Paramount on Parade (1930). // In 1936, he was cast in Pigskin Parade, for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. // In Walt Disney's Bambi, he did the voice of a tree squirrel. // In 1950, Erwin made the transition to television, where he starred in Trouble with Father, which was eventually retitled The Stu Erwin Show. He co-starred with his wife, actress June Collyer. He later appeared in the Disney films Son of Flubber and The Misadventures of Merlin Jones. He also appeared with Jack Palance in the ABC series The Greatest Show on Earth during the 1963-1964 television season. // Erwin has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6240 Hollywood Blvd. He is buried in Chapel of the Pines Crematory. (wikipedia)

• • •

Well, that was something. On the one hand, I like the theme idea, though I don't quite understand what the answer going around the perimeter clockwise has to do with the theme. It's a cool trick, but it is related to the book somehow? No matter, that part is fine, though this is one of those themes that favor (heavily) older solvers. The New Journalism and '60s drug culture aren't really on the radar for people who didn't live through the '60s. I got the references, but I have a Ph.D. in English, so I'm not exactly typical. But, again, fine. Narrow, and old-skewing, but fine. The fill in this puzzle, however, was often less than fine. I'LL NEVER and I LEAVE aren't not free-standing phrases in any way, shape, or form. They are partials pretending to be something more substantial. Will doesn't generally allow partials longer than five letters, but apparently he'll allow Two if he likes your theme and you can dress the partials up as legitimate independent phrases. If the MERRY PRANKSTERS skews old, STU ERWIN skews superold. He also happens to look Horrible in the grid. TRACTILE should have its wordness revoked (17A: Able to be drawn out), and PTUI (30A: Cartoon "Yuck!") and O'TEA think I don't see them, but I do. All in all, a little too much KLUDGE for my taste (44D: Workable if awkward solution to a crossword computer problem).



Had weird issues with the NYT solving applet, which was cutting off the ends of some clues, such as 46D: Last word in a showman's spiel [sp...] (VOILA!) and 48A: Like ruckuses or roadster roofs [roo...] (RAISABLE). OK, RAISABLE should've been on my horrible fill list, above. Firefox hates it (giving it the red underline treatment) and really, a ruckus? Sure, and a fit is pitchable. Bah. I actually thought I might sail through this one at first, when SETH (1D: MacFarlane who created TV's "Family Guy") and TARE (2D: Amount ignored in weighing) and USAF (3D: Org. with the ad slogan "It's not science fiction. It's what we do every day") went right in and gave me the first letters of all those long Acrosses in the NE. I got none of them. Never (or barely) heard of STU ERWIN, even EAST- couldn't get me EASTERLY (tried EASTWARD) (15A: Like the trades) and TRACTABLE (a real word) didn't fit at 17A. After some struggle, picked up the theme and again thought I'd sail through (theme got me a lot of free squares). But no. Clued (and filled) to a solid Thursday/Friday level. Very much liked "YOUR MOVE" and SIDEKICKS. Rest of the fill seemed tolerable to poor.



Bullets:

• 8D: Nevada county containing Yucca Mountain (NYE) — Oh, *that* Nevada County. [facepalm] [facedesk] [deskfacepalm]
  
• 18A: National park whose name means "the high one" (DENALI) — so-named because the natives smoked a Lot of weed. It's medicinal, man.
  
• 19A: Bunny fancier (HEF) — there is a new show starting this fall about the Playboy Club. It looks like something that will last ... about five weeks.
  
• 39A: Source of the saying "The gods help them that help themselves") (AESOP) — AESOP knew that welfare just gives poor people incentive to be lazy. Aesop '12!
  
• 34D: Language from which "spunk" is derived (ERSE) — one of the few words less appealing than ERSE is "spunk"
  

We're having epic rains here: schools canceled, record flooding, 10,000+ people evacuated from their homes. Population centers get all the media attention, but upstate NY and New England have just been getting destroyed the past two weeks. Combine climate change patterns (our last "70-year flood" was in 2006, for example) with climate change denial and general gov. brokeness and unwillingness to invest in infrastructure improvements, and things don't look good for near future. It's enough to make me wanna take some acid and get in a van and go do some merry pranking, man. And I'd do it. It's just that the funds aren't RAISABLE at this time.

Happy 10th birthday to my amazing nephew, Miles.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

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West Coast evergreens / SUN 7-3-11 / 1950s NBC icon / Island visited Captain Cook 1778 / DKNY competitor / Stake metaphorically / Private eye Peter

Constructor: Pete Muller

Relative difficulty: Medium

THEME: "My Treat" — all about ICE CREAM SODA (117A: Something delicious to drink).

Puzzle Note: "When this puzzle is done, the circles will contain five different letters of the alphabet. Connect each set of circles containing the same letter, without crossing your line, to make a simple closed shape. The resulting five closed shapes together will form a picture of a 117-Across. The five letters can be arranged to name a good place to get a 117-Across."

[Picture created by following instructions in the Puzzle Note includes a TALL GLASS, TWO SCOOPS, a LONG SPOON, and a FLEXIBLE STRAW. Five letters involved in the picture can be arranged to form DINER]


Word of the Day: MADRONES (47D: West Coast evergreens) —

n.

1.

(Bot.) A small evergreen tree or shrub (Arbutus Menziesii), of Pacific North America, having a smooth bark, thick glossy leathery leaves, and edible orange-red berries, which are often called madroña apples; the wood is used for furniture and the bark for tanning.

• • •

No pleasure here. None. I checked out mentally very early on, once I realized that the theme was straightforward and boring, and the fill was lifeless and often tortured. I have "ugh" and "ugly" written in margins all over the top of the puzzle. At some point, as I say, I stopped caring, and just dutifully filled in the grid. No marginalia in the bottom half. I don't even know what to say today. Theme is self-explanatory. Theme answers aren't good or bad—they just are. Fill is rough all over, but I don't have the heart to list it all. I can tell you that the puzzle lost me completely after just the NW, with its plural OKRAS and IT'SAN and SETA NDAK SDS REATA ABCD DRLAO (19A: 1964 title role for Tony Randall) PADMA DOI. Later I just stared at SIDERITE (33D: Valuable iron ore) and ESOTERY (?) (14D: Obscure things) and MADRONES (47D: West Coast evergreens). But mostly, by then, I didn't care. This is the danger of Sunday—if you don't like it, you're in for a long, uncomfortable ride.

[I only just now tried to draw the picture, per the "Puzzle Note"'s instructions. What I have on my paper looks almost nothing like an ICE CREAM SODA ... Oh, the "E"s are supposed to be a *spoon*! I was like "why is that straw stuck in an olive?"]

Theme answers:

• 25A: Some versions of a 117-Across (BROWN COWS)
  
• 27A: Ingredient in a 117-Across (SELTZER WATER)
  
• 59A: Ingredient in a 117-Across (FLAVORED SYRUP)
  
• 83A: Utensil for 117-Across (FLEXIBLE STRAW)
  
• 121A: Version of a 117-Across (COKE FLOAT)
  
• 4D: Container for a 117-Across (TALL GLASS)
  
• 11D: Like many a 117-Across (CHOCOLATE)
  
• 84D: Utensil for a 117-Across (LONG SPOON)
  
• 87D: Quantity of a key ingredient in a 117-Across (TWO SCOOPS)
  

I learned that an ice cream float is a version of an ice cream soda. I have always thought of them as two entirely different species of drink. I also learned MADRONES and SIDERITE, but I won't remember those.

Bullets:

• 23A: 1950s NBC icon (BERLE) — Uncle Miltie. Way before my time. Still, got it off the "B"
  
• 41A: Kimchi-loving land (KOREA) — Mmm. Wish we had Korean food around here. I haven't had Korean food since I lived in Ann Arbor (*several* choices there).
  
• 48A: DKNY competitor (YSL) — this was where I got the "Y" in ESOTERY. Possibly the low point in the solving experience.
  
• 104A: "Web ___" (ESPN segment showing great fielding plays) (GEMS) — Specifically, it's a "Baseball Tonight" segment.
  
• 12D: Private eye Peter of old TV (GUNN) — he has a very famous theme:

• 72D: Mountain sighting, maybe (YETI) — No. Not "maybe." Just no.
  
• 50D: Like mountains and computer images (SCALABLE) — I like the clue a whole lot better than the answer.
  
• 116D: Old U.S.P.S. routing codes (RFDS) — I'd hate this, but I used it once, so ... [whistling and looking the other way]
• 109A: A stake, metaphorically (SKIN) — most interesting clue of the day. I you have "a stake" in the game, you have SKIN in the game.
  

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

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Classical name of Troy / THU 4-14-11 / David of infomercials / Commercial prefix with dyne / Gravlax ingredient / Wahhabi's belief

Constructor: Pete Muller

Relative difficulty: Challenging [but, then again, I never saw the "note," which *might* have made things easier/clearer—the downloaded puzzle I used had *no* indication there even was a note. . . annoying]

THEME: UMBRELLA — "UMBRELLA" is the clue for four theme answers, only it's found not in the clues, but inside circled squares, which, when connected form an approximation of the shape of an UMBRELLA. All theme answers are clued only by empty brackets.

Puzzle note: (not visible unless hunted down under one of the toolbar menus in my software program): "Four answers in this puzzle are missing the same eight-letter clue - a single word that can be spelled from the eight circled letters. When the puzzle is done, connect the circled letters in order with a line, and you will get an outline of the object the word names."



Word of the Day: RADO (33A: Pricey Swiss watch brand) —

Rado is a Swiss manufacturer of watches, with headquarters in Lengnau, Switzerland. It is noted for its use of scratch-proof materials, a field in which it is considered a pioneer. Today the company produces about half a million watches a year with a staff of about 470 in total. [...] RADO watches vary in pricing according to model, age and materials but the core collection of RADO pieces will range from about US$700 to about US$28,000. Models that include pave dials of diamonds and baguette diamonds can cost approximately US $30,000 to $250,000. (wikipedia)

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This took a while, and was not entirely pleasant. Creative and memorable, though, I'll give it that. The empty-set clues for the theme answers made the experience frustrating, which I guess was the point. Wasn't sure if TRAVELERSLOGO was TRAVELER'S LOGO or TRAVELERS LOGO, and in both cases the logos that were presenting themselves to my brain were wrong. Could think only of the haloed Good Samaritan guy you see on stickers on RVs, or else the bear from TRAVELODGE. SHADE PROVIDER = elm, of course. GENE KELLY PROP? Uh ... cane? Only with the HIT FOR RIHANNA did I realize what the puzzle was getting at. Never heard of RADO (33A: Pricey Swiss watch brand), did not know ORECK was associated with infomercials (29D: David of infomercials), forgot about ILION despite teaching Trojan War literature all the time (had ILIUM, which is also right) (12D: Classical name of Troy), never Ever heard of whatever TELEdyne is (40A: Commercial prefix with dyne), blanked on the Hebrew month NISAN (49D: Passover month), can't believe I had to deal with RANDR twice in one week (38D: Service break), and ... and then there's APISH! (10A: Imitative) Took me about 50% longer than my average Thursdays of late. But I got it, and mostly enjoyed the struggle. The UMBRELLA shape (created by the circles) doesn't look Terrible, except for the handle. What the hell? The distance between "U" and "M" is comical. That "U" should be where the second "E" in ELOPED is.



My favorite moment of the solve—wondering what the hell kind of temple features LAPDANCEs (40D: Temple performance). Turns out it's Shirley Temple, and actual answers is TAPDANCE. "Ohhhhhhh.... nevermind."



Cluing was tricky. Started out with clues about docks and pirates, and answers that had nothing to do with the ocean. I know ARIEL as a servant of Prospero and as a book of poetry by Sylvia Plath, not as a Durant (20A: One of the Durants who wrote "The Story of Civilization"). "Gumbo" comes from BANTU. Whu knu? ILLE Pu! (43A: Langauge from which "gumbo" comes) I know what a snow leopard is, but chamois? Isn't that what you use to clean your car? (66A: Where chamois and snow leopards live: Abbr.=>MTNS) Don't remember what gravlax is at all. Sounds like an OTC medicine: "For Serious Constipation: GRAVLAX." Twyla THARP is my homegirl (25D: "Movin' Out" choreographer) ... well, she attended my alma mater, and her last name is one letter (one step in the alphabet) off from my own (real) name, so ... good enough (yes, my real name is UHARP). Weird that I though TRAVELER'S LOGO was related to a halo and then got HALOS at 14D: Nickname for the Anaheim Angels. RADO / RADON intersection is at least mildly unfortunate (intersecting identical four-letter strings not being ideal). This puzzle is 16x15. The end.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter]

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Carl's lifelong companion in Up / SUN 2-14-10 / Pioneering 1740 novel / Mecca trekker / Frequent Sgt. Friday rejoinder / 1993 dance hit

Constructor: Matt Ginsburg and Peter Muller

Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium

THEME: "THAT'S AMORE" — Question "WHAT IS LOVE? (23A: 1993 dance hit and a question answered seven times in this puzzle) is ... well, it's answered seven times, surprisingly — each time, according to a different famous person or character.


Word of the Day: "PAMELA" (96A: Pioneering 1740 novel subtitled "Virtue Rewarded") —

Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded is an epistolary novel by Samuel Richardson, first published in 1740. It tells the story of a maid named Pamela whose master, Mr. B, makes unwanted advances towards her. She rejects him continually, and her virtue is eventually rewarded when he shows his sincerity by proposing an equitable marriage to her. In the second part of the novel, Pamela attempts to accommodate herself to upper-class society and to build a successful relationship with him. The story was widely mocked at the time for its perceived licentiousness and it inspired Henry Fielding (among many others) to write two parodies: Shamela (1741), about Pamela's true identity; and Joseph Andrews (1742), about Pamela’s brother. (wikipedia)

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Happy Valentine's Day. I got you ... a new blog design. Romantic, I know.

I really liked this puzzle — a Valentine's Day puzzle that isn't insipid or sappy, and that caused me to remember ridiculous bouncy dance music from my college years:



Grid is not thematically dense at all, which means that the non-theme fill can breathe. Breathing = vitality. I'm used to seeing Matt work with very demanding (and often impressive) themes and stunts that often compromise the quality of the material not related to the theme. Today, the non-theme stuff is across-the board fantastic, and the cluing is really lively and interesting. I had one WTF? moment right in the heart of the grid, where LUNTS (68A: Lynn Fontanne and her husband) meets TOPO (69D: Hiker's map, briefly). TOPO!? Really? I think TOPO Gigio is something I know of ... from Ed Sullivan? I guessed the "T" because of its (I assumed) derivation from "topography." Maps ... topography. Made sense. How can you be Lynn Fontanne and a LUNT? I mean, I know you're married to the guy, but if you don't take his name ...



I have been to Edinburgh three times, twice for extended stays (including the entirety of the fall semester of my junior year in college). I visited a WOOL SHOP (42D: Edinburgh tourist attraction) exactly no times. Of course I didn't see many TAMS either (28A: Kilt accompaniers) — doesn't mean they weren't there.



I sailed through this one with very little trouble, despite never having heard many of these "LOVE IS..." phrases. I'd heard of "Love is BLIND" (10A: 23-Across ... according to Shakespeare) and "Love is A MANY SPLENDORED THING" (102A: ... according to Frank Sinatra) and "Love is ALL YOU NEED" — aka "ALL YOU NEED is Love" (114A: ... according to the Beatles). The rest were new to me, including the Neil Young quote. I listened to Neil Young's first album earlier today (self-titled). Is that a coincidence? Sort of. I know it's not ironic.


Saigon Kick - Love Is On The Way

Enjoyed the quotey clues today. A fresh clue for NEHI (1A: It was once advertised as "Your favorite drink in your favorite flavor"), a witty zinger from C.S. Lewis (72A: One who's easier to pray for than to visit, according to C.S. Lewis — BORE), and the requisite daily Shakespeare quotation (12D: Teller of a tale "full of sound and fury," per Macbeth — IDIOT).

MACBETH
She should have died hereafter;
There would have been a time for such a word.
To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day
To the last syllable of recorded time,
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more: it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.

John LOCKE wrote "An Essay Concerning Human Understanding" (11D). Locke believed that human nature was characterized by reason — and 300 years later, Norwegian supergroup a-ha extended his insights with their assertion that "Love is Reason"



Remaining theme answers:

• 32A: ... according to Joseph Campbell (friendship set to music)
  
• 52A: ... according to St. Augustine (the beauty of the soul)
  
• 78A: ... according to Charles Schulz (sharing your popcorn)
  
• 123A: ... according to Neil Young (a rose)

Bullets:

• 15A: Mecca trekker (haji) — I've said this before, but this word sounds like a racial slur to me now
  
• 36A: Secret dish in "Sweeney Todd" (meat pie) — thought for sure it would be something like HUMAN PIE. PETE PIE?
  
• 37A: One ___ (baseball variant) (o'cat) — I like O'CAT about as much as I like all "variants" in crosswords, i.e. not at all.
  
• 41A: Martin's partner in 1960s-'70s TV (Rowan) — why not just say "Laugh-In?"
  
  
  
  
• 73A: German region occupied by France and Belgium from 1923-25 — nice variation on the clue, which would normally contain the word "valley" and / or possibly "Essen."
  
• 83A: Sunfish or moonfish (opah) — sounds like an alternative to OLE, i.e. something one might shout at a soccer match.
  
• 121A: Early smartphone (Treo) — I don't own an early, middle, or late smartphone. When I see PuzzleGirl next weekend at the ACPT in Brooklyn, I will, as usual, covet hers.
  
• 8D: Old cruise missile (Navaho) — Didn't know it, then spelled it NAVAJO.
  
• 14A: The saddest key, supposedly (D minor) — really, really glad the cross was obvious on the "D".
  
• 51D: Blessing preceder? (ah-choo!) — an oldie but a ... well, an oldie.
  
  
  
  
• 60D: Chemicals banned by Congress in '76 (PCBs) — I like the way the abbrev. is cued by the shortened year in the clue.
  
• 62A: Butler's locale (Tara) — did not see that trick at ALL ... until it was all filled in. *Rhett* Butler's locale. Aha.
  
• 88D: Chief of staff under Obama (Emanuel) — in trouble recently because of his penchant for profanity. And for his use of the word "retards." I'll let Colbert fill you in.
  
  
  Colbert: 'Sarah Palin Is A F--king Retard'
  
  
  
• 96A: Animals with eye patches (pandas) — a habit they picked up from years of sailing with pirates.
  
• 99D: Frequent Sgt. Friday rejoinder ("No, ma'am") — his version of "No, you $%&!ing idiot."
  
  
  
  
• 106D: Carl's lifelong companion in "Up" — opening of this movie is rightly considered one of the greatest montages in the history of movies. Even better than that part in "Breakfast Club" where they dance on the library furniture.
  
• 115D: Hoped-for answer to "Will you be my Valentine?" (Yes) — a much better answer than "... what? What are you, 8 years old?"

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter]

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