Guilt Trip actress Graynor / SAT 11-2-13 / One may be played by geisha / Game in which lowest card is 7 / Austrian conductor Karl / Scandinavia's oldest university / 2002 Cesar winner for Best Film / They were labeled Breakfast Dinner Supper

Constructor: Tom Heilman

Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium

THEME: none

Word of the Day: Karl BÖHM (5D: Austrian conductor Karl) —

Karl August Leopold Böhm (August 28, 1894 in Graz – August 14, 1981 in Salzburg) was an Austrian conductor. […] Böhm was praised for his rhythmically robust interpretations of the operas and symphonies of Mozart, and in the 1960s he was entrusted with recording all the Mozart symphonies with the Berlin Philharmonic. His brisk, straightforward way with Wagner won adherents, as did his readings of the symphonies of Brahms, Bruckner andSchubert. His 1971 complete recording of the Beethoven symphonies with the Vienna Philharmonic was also highly regarded. On a less common front, he championed and recorded Alban Berg's avant-garde operas Wozzeck and Lulu before they gained a foothold in the standard repertory. Böhm mentioned in the notes to his recordings of these works that he and Berg discussed the orchestrations, leading to changes in the score (as he had similarly done, previously, with Richard Strauss).

• • •

Unlike yesterday, where I thought I was slow and my time was normal, today I thought I was fast … and my time was normal. Well, normal-ish. Somewhat on the low side, but not as low as I thought. With no significant hang-ups, I thought I was gold, but I guess there was one significant hang-up—namely, the entire bottom of the puzzle. There must've been a good minute or so in there where I lost my grip on the puzzle and just couldn't punch down into the south. I had NOOGIE, NUTS and POISE, and also USTINOV (46D: 1967 Emmy winner for playing Socrates), but still found the puzzle intractable for a bit. Eventually tested MORE at the end of ONE MORE—still don't quite understand how the clue works (45D: What a slightly shy person may request)—and that seemed to do the trick. Got ROT, guessed UTTER, and away I went.

Back to ONE MORE—I get that "shy" can mean "not having enough money" or "socially reserved" … but I guess here it just means "short of some unstated, desired amount." Like, when I'm shy one pancake and I ask for ONE MORE. Or something. Don't like it, though I'm sure it's defensible, somehow. The rest, I liked. I think the made-up modern lingo is a bit out of control in the NE—never even heard of JAM CAM (9A: Traffic reporter's aid) or KIDULT (18A: Grown-up who's not quite grown-up), though both are inferable—but everything else seems fair and aptly, often cleverly, clued. I missed the part in baseball where the Twins and ORIOLEs are "rivals" (16A: Twin's rival). They're not in the same division and not from the same part of the country, so … another full-court sports clue boner. But [Result of knuckling down?] is great for NOOGIE, and [Troubling post-engagement status, briefly] makes nice use of misdirection on "engagement," so overall the cluing seemed pretty decent. I like the workaround on ILLIN' today (27A: "You Be ___" (1986 hip-hop hit))—no more wading into the whole "does it mean 'doing well' or 'doing badly'?" mare's nest. Just quote Run-DMC and move on (good advice, generally).


Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

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Nagg's wife in Samuel Beckett's Endgame / FRI 2-15-13 / Piranha director 1978 / 1890-1941 Italian colony / Ziploc bag introducer / CW series based on French film / Wicker seat place / Knuckles the Echidna's company

Constructor: Tom Heilman

Relative difficulty: Medium (tilting slightly toward the Easy side) 

THEME: none

Word of the Day: LITOTES (39D: Figure of speech like "not unlike") —

n., pl., litotes.
A figure of speech consisting of an understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by negating its opposite, as in This is no small problem.

[Greek lītotēs, from lītos, plain.]

Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/litotes#ixzz2Kw1sTwH7

• • •

This is pretty damned good for a puzzle with a relatively low word count (62). The only real cringer was ILL-GOT (48A: Procured unlawfully, old-style) (Add TEN to that one, and you've got a deal). I had the weird experience of getting the longer answers very easily, but struggling a bit with the short stuff. NELL held me up badly (43A: Nagg's wife in Samuel Beckett's "Endgame"). No idea, so I couldn't move through that section and into the SE easily at all. And then there were the 3s in the SE. I guessed JOE DANTE (51A: "Piranha" director, 1978), but then couldn't figure out how the J or the O or the E was right, and so took him out ... only to put him back in again a little bit later. I don't know that meaning of "extrude" (JUT). I think of extruding as something done to meat, perhaps in the making of sausage. I can't think of a word where -OSE = "-ish," but I'm sure some exist. And ... well, ESA is obvious in retrospect, but I think I was unsure if there was some meaning of "demonstrative" in 53D: Spanish demonstrative that I wasn't getting. It's just a demonstrative pronoun. Other than these small but significant snags, I sailed through this with some lucky guesses and some up-my-alley stuff. Knew right off the bat that 1A: Smelting ended it was an AGE, but I couldn't remember which. So I wrote in AGE, got all the Down crosses, and took off like a shot from there. Got THIS INSTANT from the TH- and GAS ENGINE from the GA-. Took a little bit longer to get RINGSIDE SEAT and SLIDING SCALE, but not much longer. Got COPACETIC from the -T-C. ALOUETTE from the L (!?) (36D: Kindergarten song). I did have some general slowness in the SW, with only a misspelled KEENAN in there for a bit, until I stumbled on the clue for LITOTES. Hurray for somewhat ARCANE literary knowledge! I got that one instantly and the SW fell from there. Once I figured out SPREAD EAGLE (9D: Like a snow angel maker, at times), the NE opened up, and I finished things off at the PROPEL / APOLAR "P".

[14D: Caine character who's left wondering]
I think people will have trouble today coming up with the not-exactly-highbrow pop culture— specifically "NIKITA" (50A: CW series based on a French film) and JOE DANTE— and then with the Beckett (NELL). That [Wicker seat area?] might crush some folks too. I'm guessing there's some senator named Wicker. Needless to say, never heard of him (him?). Yup, Roger Wicker, R-MS. Who the hell outside Mississippi knows that? ERITREA might be a little difficult for people to pick up as well (10D: 1890-1941 Italian colony). Not sure why it came to me so quickly–possibly because when I think of Italian colonies, I think of Ethiopia, which is ERITREA-adjacent (just to the south).

That is all.

For those who missed my Thursday announcement: "American Red Crosswords"—a collection of 24 original puzzles that I put together to benefit the Red Cross's Disaster Relief Fund—is available for download now from americanredcrosswords.blogspot.com. Puzzles were edited by Patrick Blindauer. Will Shortz wrote the introduction. And many, many big-time constructors donated their talents. So go donate to the Red Cross, download some puzzles, and enjoy the weekend.

Thanks,

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

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Actress Rue of Rules of Engagement / SAT 12-17-11 / English explorer who named Lake Victoria / TV title lawyer Stone / Scandalous 1980s inits. / Old Testament outdoorsman

Constructor: Tom Heilman

Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium

THEME: none 

  
Word of the Day: John SPEKE (38A: John ___, English explorer who named Lake Victoria) —

John Hanning Speke (4 May 1827 – 15 September 1864) was an officer in the British Indian Army who made three exploratory expeditions to Africa and who is most associated with the search for the source of the Nile. (wikipedia)

• • •

Not a lot of time this morning, so this will have to be short.

Fell asleep last night before getting to the puzzle (it happens). Woke up at 5-something and immediately sat down to solve. Even in my early-morning stupor, I solved this in under 9 minutes, which is fast. Not record fast, but fast. Might have been record fast under normal (i.e. fully awake) conditions. Did the first 3/4 lightning-fast, but then slowed a bit around the, let's say, Missouri section of the grid. Stupidly wrote in ORS instead of ERS and ended up having real trouble seeing TELETYPES (39A: Fax forerunners), despite the fact that I had the first "T" *and* the "Y." Real "D'oh" moment when I finally figured it out. Also elusive in that region was LISSOME (41D: Easily bent)—I wanted FISSILE ... is that a word? ... yes:

adj.

1. Possible to split.
2. Physics. Fissionable, especially by neutrons of all energies.
3. Geology. Easily split along close parallel planes.

[Latin fissilis, from fissus, split. See fissi-.]

Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/fissile#ixzz1gnLACgde

Easily bent, easily split. You can see my confusion. Or I can see it, at any rate. Also had trouble seeing GET TIRED, as I wanted TATTERED (37D: Run down). Everything else was a snap. Oh, I wrote in PANAMA pants at 18A: Kind of pants. So that happened.



To be brief: this is a very nice grid. High word count (70) means a very smooth grid. Grid is anchored by some lively long answers: QUICK FREEZE (23D: Way to preserve food freshness) and "I'M JUST SAYIN'" (11D: "That's my two cents"). To be clear, the latter is Great as an answer, but truly horrendous as a thing to say. It's worst when the "I'M" is dropped and it appears at the end of whatever it is you are just saying. It reads like a "f#^% you." You aren't "just sayin'," you are saying whatever you're saying in a way that is smug and condescending and cowardly. The phrase (particularly as a sign-off) is the hallmark of the person who has no ability to fashion a legitimate argument and is afraid of confrontation. It's absolutely false humility. You should never use it. See also "'Nuff said," also revolting.


Bullets:

• 20A: Winner over NYY in the 2001 World Series (ARI) — first answer in. Huge gimme. That series is legend—one of the best ever played.
• 26A: Old Testament outdoorsman (ESAU) — that's a new way of describing him. "Let's finish our pottage and then ... fly flishing!"
• 44A: Heroince of Bulwer-Lytton's "The Last Days of Pompeii" (IONE) — Between Bulwer-Lytton and SPEKE and DISRAELI (6D: Powerful friend of Queen Victoria), this puzzle has a very Anglophilic vibe.
• 53A: TV title lawyer Stone (ELI) — Good to be able to rack up these 3-letter gimmes. Never saw this show, but know that it's an ELI clue. As for the SARA clue ... ???? (1D: Actress Rue of "Rules of Engagement")
• 57A: Rum-flavored desserts (TORTONIS) — Never had one. Not a big rum-flavored dessert fan. Rum-flavored rum, on the other hand ...
• 54D: One guilty of pseudologia (LIAR) — sounds like a bad disease.
• 45D: Dos for dudes (STAGS) — thought "Dos" referred to hair and so had SHAGS (?!).
• 8D: Scandalous 1980s inits. (PTL) — another very early entry. Got it without crosses. Considered SDI, but didn't think that was "scandalous" enough. This is a clue that will be much easier for the over-40 set. If you didn't live through the whole stupid PTL scandal, how in the world would you know about it? They're not teaching that *$&% in school, are they?

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

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Native of central Caucasus / SAT 7-23-11 / Big mystery during summer of 1980 / Ancient rival of Assyria / Friendly things in old ads

Constructor: Tom Heilman

Relative difficulty: Medium

THEME: none


Word of the Day: OSSET (13D: Native of the central Caucasus) —

n. a member of an Iranian people living in S Russia and N Georgia, chiefly in Ossetia in the Caucasus. (Collins Eng. Dict.)

• • •

OSSET is like RUCTION, only more so ... though now that I see the relation to "OSSETia," I can at least say I've heard of the region involved (South Ossetia, to be specific—there must be some kind of troubles there, otherwise why would it be in the news? Here it is—declared independence from Georgia in 1990, fought two wars with Georgia in (1991, 2008), now autonomous but not officially recognized by Georgia). All this info doesn't make me like OSSET any more. The rest of the puzzle seems pretty strong, and "WHO SHOT J.R.?" is one of my favorite answers of the year (31A: Big mystery during the summer of 1980). I thought this puzzle was pretty damned hard, but then my time came in just a shade over yesterday's—i.e. pretty normal for a Saturday. Biggest trouble spots involved (not surprisingly) complete mystery answers: the aforementioned OSSET, the "come on it's an abbrev. for 'horizontal'" HOR (32D: Biblical mount where Aaron died), the "I know that word only from 'Canterbury Tales'" REEVE (30A: Town council president, in Canada), and the "why haven't you memorized him by now?" NEY (47A: Waterloo marshal).

Started with JETÉ (1D: "Grand" or "petit" dance move), which I knew was right both because it *felt* right, and because the "J" in the first position seemed highly likely for the Across (and it was: JET STREAM—1A: It's a blast for some balloonists). Speaking of "blast," South OSSETia was an "autonomous oblast" during the Soviet era. Aaaaanyway, JET STREAM gave me ENUF (7D: Sufficient, informally) gave me WIFI (20A: Provider of a hot spot at a coffee shop?) gave me "THE WIRE" (5D: It was Obama's self-professed favorite TV series). Didn't get far after that and had to restart with SPECS (36D: Design info) and GAZPACHO (44A: A dish best served cold). That took care of the west, mostly (that REEVE part was pretty intransigent). Had O-STAR (!?) for ORION (46D: Giant in astronomy), so didn't get into the SE for a while. REVENGE (one of my favorite topics) got me started again in the east (love the successive twin clues for this and GAZPACHO, btw). SVELTER came easily from there (40D: Relatively sylphlike), and SE corner was easiest of all. Finished in the NE, where I found HORSE (instead of BULL) HOCKEY, and a GRASS STAIN whose clue I still don't fully understand (12D: Yard stick?). Is it that the stain "sticks" to your pants? Yeesh. Last letter in the grid was the first "S" in OSSET. Shocked to get the "Congratulations" signal from my software.

"Sylphlike" looks awfully (and unfortunately) like "syphilitic."

Bullets:

• 15A: Asian symbols of wisdom (ELEPHANTS) — the whole damned continent thinks this?
  
• 22A: Alexander's need (GIN) — Ran the alphabet at -IN, hit GIN, remembered that there was such a thing as a "Brandy Alexander," and figured liquor was a good guess.
  
• 40A: "Friendly" things, in old ads (SKIES) — I always hate when "old" things are well within my memory. Disconcerting.

• 55A: Bit of décor at Trader Vic's (TIKI TORCH) — at first I was thinking of Trader Joe's. Once I got straightened out, this wasn't hard at all.
  
• 2D: Ancient rival of Assyria (ELAM) — EDOM ELOM ELAM ELOI who the hell knows!?
  
• 51D: 1982 high-tech film ("TRON") — a very big deal that I completely ignored. I was too busy playing actual video games at the corner 7-11 and/or pizza parlor.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

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TUESDAY, Aug. 21, 2007 - Tom Heilman

Relative difficulty: Easy

THEME: BEES (60D: Theme of this puzzle) - Each of the four theme answers has a bee-related word in it

This went very fast. Had to search for a while for a typo and still finished in under five. Didn't see or get the theme until the very end; it hardly mattered, time-wise. I need to get some sleep tonight, so I'm going to keep it short.

Theme answers:

• 17A: Police ploys (sting operations)
• 30A: End-of-day spousal salutation ("Honey, I'm home!")
• 46A: "Call when you get the chance" ("Give me a buzz")
• 62A: Bogart/Hepburn film ("The African Queen")

Didn't get a single word until the fifth Across clue I looked at (15A: OBOE). Got my first toe-hold by working the Downs in the NW, four out of five of which I got right on the first pass (with good old standbys like 5D: Wee bit of work (erg) and gimmes like 3D: Quickly growing "pet" (Chia) it wasn't that hard). Had BILL for COST (1D: How much to pay), but that was quickly fixed.

Enjoyed the intersecting SORE EYES (8D: what a welcome sight relieves) and STYE (21A: Lid trouble), as well as the arty quartet of HENRI (4D: Painter Matisse), TATE (42A: Gallery showing works by Turner, Reynolds and Constable), ALBA (58A: Duchess of _____, Goya subject), and ANDY (61D: Pop artist Warhol). The combo of ENERO (34D: First month in Madrid) and AÑOS (43A: Calendario units) is less inspiring. UPTAKE is an interesting word, in that I never hear it except in the phrase "slow on the UPTAKE." Though it's clued properly enough (48D: Mental grasp), it's weird to see it isolated like this.

I liked two of the long non-theme answers: CHIP SHOTS (10D: Lofted approaches to the green) and MEAT PIES (41D: Pastries in "Sweeney Todd") - I think the "Sweeney Todd" pastries are filled with ... people meat. The only answer in the grid I'd never seen before is KIROV (29D: Russian ballet company). I am notorious pathetic when it comes to ballet questions. Luckily, they are fairly rare. Finally, it was nice to see Téa LEONI (28D: Téa of "Spanglish") in the puzzle, first because I sort of like her as an actress, and second because she was fresh on my mind - NPR did an interview with her husband, David Duchovny (of "X-Files" fame) only last week, and her name came up. One of the PERKs (66A: Use of a company car or private washroom, say) of listening to public radio is that occasionally the information comes in very handy, puzzle-wise.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

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