T H U R S D A Y October 28, 2010 Jascha Smilack

Theme: Switch the Flip — Familiar phrases with the pattern "[verb] the [noun]" are flipped so that the noun is the verb and the verb is the noun.


Theme answers:

• 18A: Libertarian slogan? (FIRE THE FED).
• 24A: Finish an ascent? (SCALE THE TIP).
• 35A: Tidy up in a wood shop? (DUST THE BIT).
• 43A: Floor an oppressive boss? (DECK THE MAN).
• 51A: Value one's vision? (PRIZE THE EYE).
• 62A: Send a star pitcher for an MRI? (TEST THE ACE).

I really didn't understand the theme on this one until I was almost done. I think the past tense on FIRE THE FED really threw me. I mean, I guess "fed the fire" is a phrase, but I usually think of it in present tense. PRIZE THE EYE also seems a little off to me. I want the phrase to be "keep your eye on the prize," not just "eye the prize." DUST THE BIT, on the other hand, is clever and made me chuckle. My verdict? Uneven execution of an okay theme. I wonder how many possible theme answers ended up on the cutting room floor. There must be a lot of them, right?

Other than the theme, the fill is very light on crosswordese, which is nice, but pretty heavy on abbreviations, some of which are pretty awkward. I guess I don't love this puzzle. But I also don't hate it. For what it's worth. Which I'm sure is not much.

Bullets:

• 17A: Poet who wrote, about children, "And if they are popular / The phone they monopular" (NASH). We have two telephone handsets in our house and whenever I can't find one, chances are very good they're both in PuzzleDaughter's room. Chances are also good that they are both completely dead.

• 20A: Rich sponge cake (GATEAU). That G was the last letter I put in the grid. The clue for LUNGS — 1D: Airway termini — was not making a bit of sense to me and I don't know the word GATEAU. But the G seemed like a reasonable guess for some reason.
• 28A: Cones and prisms (SOLIDS). I tried "shapes" first.
• 47A: It's often served with lemon (ICE TEA). I tried "hot tea" here.
• 60A: It merged with AT&T in 2005 (SBC). Whoa. This is HARSH (44D: Caustic). I thought CrossWorld's merged telecom company was always MCI. But MCI merged with Verizon, SBC Communications (formerly Southwestern Bell Corporation) merged with AT&T.

• 66A: D.C. underground (METRO). Have any of you watched that new show "The Event"? Its sixth episode just aired this week and I was getting into it but I don't think I can watch it any more. At the beginning of this week's episode a character is supposedly on the D.C. Metro and it's … obviously not the D.C. Metro. Spend some money, people! How hard can it be?! Once that started bothering me, I noticed that the show isn't really very good. I'm going to read the recaps on Television Without Pity and if they're entertaining I might keep watching the show just so I can make fun of it, but otherwise … it's a non-event.
• 68A: Concerning (AS TO). Never sure if this is going to be AS TO or "in re." I tried "in re" first today.
• 3D: Noodle topper (PASTA SAUCE). I really wanted this answer to be a type of hat.
• 32D: Charon's river (STYX). Yesterday Pat Benatar, today Styx.



• 53D: Many Nissan autos (Z-CARS). I was in a cab the other day and saw what looked like a brand-spankin-new Nissan sports car. Bot the cab driver and I couldn't help but stare at it. I've never really been that into sports car, but that one was striking.
• 57D: Wrangler, for one (JEEP). With the JE in place, I wanted this to be JEAN but it didn't really seem right. (Probably because it wasn't.)

Crosswordese 101 Round-up:

• 9D: Günter's gripe (ACH).
• 54D: Busybody (YENTA).

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Everything Else — 1A: Fat job? (LIPO); 5A: Interstate exit (RAMP); 9A: See 12-Down (AFTER); 14A: Pararescue gp. (USAF); 15A: Organic compound (ENOL); 16A: Hanker for (CRAVE); 22A: Pithy saying (SAW); 23A: NFL game foursome (QTRS.); 27A: Buying outing (SPREE); 33A: Farm expanse (LEA); 38A: Grads (ALUMS); 41A: Sandwich request (RYE); 42A: Untrusting (LEERY); 46A: __ scripta: written law (LEX); 48A: It can be rolled, pressed or stuffed (SUSHI); 56A: Warrior trained by the centaur Chiron (AJAX); 61A: Be amazed (at) (MARVEL); 65A: Like pretzels (BENT); 67A: "Rigoletto" highlight (ARIA); 69A: Dust crops, e.g. (SPRAY); 70A: Certain NCO (MSGT); 71A: A library book may be on it (LOAN); 2D: Stern with a Strad (ISAAC); 4D: Useful (OF HELP); 5D: Proved false (REFUTED); 6D: "Star Wars" saga nickname (ANI); 7D: Code creator (MORSE); 8D: Fabric fold (PLEAT); 10D: Radio abbr. (FREQ.); 11D: 300-pound president (TAFT); 12D: With 9-Across, fairy tale ender (EVER); 13D: Great American Ball Park team (REDS); 19D: Checker's dance (TWIST); 21D: Flying prefix (AER-); 25D: One of 24 in un jour (HEURE); 26D: Sci-fi writer Frederik (POHL); 29D: Sheltered side (LEE); 30D: "That's my take" ("I BELIEVE SO"); 31D: Desperate (DIRE); 33D: __-da: pretentious (LA-DI); 34D: Juice: Abbr. (ELEC.); 36D: Orch. work (SYM.); 37D: Flirt (TEASE); 39D: NYSE, e.g. (MKT.); 40D: Stride (STEP); 45D: Edible part of a pecan (NUT MEAT); 49D: Doo-wop syllable (SHA); 50D: Like some supplements (HERBAL); 52D: Building girder (I-BEAM); 55D: John with Grammys (ELTON); 56D: Green dispensers (ATMS); 58D: Copernicus's sci. (ASTR.); 59D: Bonus, in adspeak (XTRA); 63D: Peke, e.g. (TOY); 64D: One might be bummed, briefly (CIG).

FRIDAY, July 9, 2010 — Jascha Smilack

Theme: "SHH!" (59D: "Zip it!") — Theme answers are familiar phrases where an S word is turned into an SH word. Wackiness ensues.


Theme answers:

• 17A: "The herring ate my homework," e.g.? (SHAD EXCUSE).
• 24A: Number on a bag of walnuts? (SHELL-BY DATE).
• 35A: Stumbling block for a beauty pageant contestant? (DEADLY SHINS).
• 48A: Really needing to do laundry? (OUT OF SHORTS).
• 58A: Reason to eat lunch alone? (MIDDAY SHUN).

I can't say I'm exactly enamored with the theme answers. OUT OF SHORTS is awesome, but the others don't do much for me. I wanted the base phrase of the first one to be poor excuse or lame excuse but couldn't make a fish out of either of those. I don't even really get what DEADLY SHINS is supposed to evoke. Is deadly supposed to mean … ugly? I can't help think that the beauty pageant contestant in question is a robot or something and little doors open up on her shins and guns come out and shoot all the other contestants. Will someone please get to work on that screenplay?

Couple things I didn't know today. As an English major, I'm sure I've seen HEST (1A: Command, to Shakespeare) at some point, but I couldn't dredge it up from my memory. I knew that drei is German for three and I knew roughtly how to pronounce SECHS (5A: Drei doubled) but not how to spell it. I've seen HOSEL (8D: Golf club socket) in a puzzle before, but needed every cross for it today. My super WTF of the day, though, was 33D: "The Return of the Native" vamp Eustacia VYE, apparently from Thomas Hardy's 1878 novel. Wow. Random.

More:

• 15A: Comment before a swim, maybe (I'M HOT). Coincidentally, this is also what the robotic beauty pageant contestant says before the swimsuit competition.
• 20A: Role for Harrison (HAN). I'm sure you've all seen this before, but I don't ever get tired of it so here it is again.



• 53A: Pres. during the 1929 market crash (HCH). Herbert Clark Hoover.
• 54A: A, in Israel (ALEPH). ALEPH is the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

• 5D: Some pizza slices (SIXTHS). Wanted eighths here. Wouldn't fit.
• 11D: Hatch in the Senate, e.g. (UTAHAN). Orrin Hatch is one of Utah's senators.
• 34D: Edition: Abbr. (ISS.). Issue.
• 37D: Iowa wrestling legend Gable and others (DANS). Continuing my campaign to get Dan Gable in a puzzle. Replacing clues for DAN in my blog posts seems like it might not be the most effective strategy, but it's all I got.
• 41D: 1880s first family (ARTHURS). Today is a good day to know your presidents.
• 43D: Words after "jolly," in an old jingle (HO HO HO). Which old jingle would this be? Anyone?

Crosswordese 101: Not a lot of crosswordese in the puzzle. There are a couple words that I think of as "high-end" crosswordese — they don't appear all that often, but I've never seen them outside of crosswords. I seem to recall, though, that a few people had trouble with YETI last time it appeared. YETI (26D: Hairy Asian giant) is another name for the Abominable Snowman, a legendary ape-like creature that lumbers around the Himalayans scaring the snot out of people. Clues for YETI will most often contain the words mysterious, elusive, Himalayan, hairy, legend, creature, hoax, sighting, or giant. The clue might also include a geographical hint: Himalayas, Nepal, Tibet, Bhutan, Asia, or Mt. Everest. He's sometimes referred to as "Bigfoot's cousin."

Other crosswordese in the puzzle that we've already covered:

• 16A: Yours: Fr. (À TOI).
• 18D: Being, to Ovid (ESSE).

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Everything Else — 10A: __ money (HUSH); 14A: Lit. collection (ANTH.); 19A: Restraining order (HALT); 21A: Cubic meter (STERE); 22A: "Say what?" ("HUH?"); 23A: Like Brahms's Symphony No. 3 (IN F); 28A: Cases (out) (SCOPES); 30A: "My Fair Lady" lyricist (LERNER); 31A: Frequently embroidered pronoun (HERS); 32A: Pilot (AVIATE); 39A: Linguistic habits (USAGES); 40A: Hunk of tobacco (CHAW); 43A: Like some collisions (HEAD-ON); 46A: Much of Libya (SAHARA); 52A: Highest degree (NTH); 55A: Letters seen next to a 4 (GHI); 56A: Maker of Regenerist skin products (OLAY); 60A: Rear (HIND); 61A: Inuit relative (ALEUT); 62A: Hopping game? (HARE); 63A: Handicapper's concern (ODDS); 64A: Hyssop and catnip, e.g. (HERBS); 65A: Sign of a leak (HISS); 1D: Hemp extract (HASHISH); 2D: Heighten (ENHANCE); 3D: Silicon Valley school (STANFORD); 4D: Ecclesiastical deg. (TH.D.); 6D: Host (EMCEE); 7D: Rude dude (CHURL); 9D: __-ThÉrÈse, Quebec (STE.); 10D: Taunting laugh (HAH); 12D: The sugar in your latte, say (SOLUTE); 13D: "Hie thee __, / That I may pour my spirits in thine ear": "Macbeth" (HITHER); 25D: Humdrum (BLAH); 27D: Bathe, as in sunlight (DRENCH); 29D: False start? (PSEUDO-); 32D: H.S. math course (ALG.); 36D: Starting from (AS OF); 37D: Rather and others (DANS); 38D: Kidnap, in a way (SHANGHAI); 42D: Some surfers (WAHINES); 44D: Greek mathematician (EUCLID); 45D: Nearby (AT HAND); 46D: Parade occasion, for short (ST. PAT'S); 47D: Hardly healthy-looking (ASHY); 49D: Selassie of Ethiopia (HAILE); 50D: Having gone around the block more (OLDER); 51D: Provide a new soundtrack for (REDUB); 57D: NFL stat (YDS.); 58D: __-jongg (MAH).

THURSDAY, April 8, 2010 — Jascha Smilack

Theme: Horsing Around — Familiar phrases are clued wackily as if the word horse has been added to them.


Theme answers:

• 20A: Uneasy about a farm team member? (DODGING THE DRAFT).
• 37A: Uneasy about a long shot? (AFRAID OF THE DARK).
• 54A: Uneasy about an aquarium fish? (CHICKEN OF THE SEA).
• 67A: Word to add to 20-, 37- and 54-Across to make sense of the answers (HORSE).

Hey, everybody. It's been kind of a long week for me — home with PuzzleSon who, as it turns out, is Bronchitis Boy. Got some antibiotics for him today and he needs to stay home from school the rest of the week, but I predict he'll feel better by Saturday. PuzzleHusband has offered to stay home with him tomorrow so I can at least get to work one day this week. I'm sure the fact that tomorrow is the first day of the Masters has nothing to do with his generosity.

Hey, one more thing before we get to the puzzle. Somehow, the one-year anniversary of this blog completely snuck by me, I guess because March is always super busy for me. In fact, I remember last year when Rex, Orange and I were emailing each other about putting this thing together and I was all "Sure, sign me up, whatever, I'm watching wrestling right now …." So Happy Bloggiversary to Us! And a big thanks to you all for coming along on this adventure. Being a part of the online crossword community has been a blast for me and has made this little hobby a lot more fun. I hope it's done the same for you.

So. The puzzle. Really enjoyed this one! This is one of those puzzles where you really have to wonder how the theme came about. I mean, it's perfect. Three phrases (all 15 letters!) starting with "uneasy" words that, coincidentally, end with a word that can be a type of horse. (Stop right there. Step away from the keyboard. I know a seahorse isn't actually a type of horse, so please don't email me about it.) I'd love to know if this theme arrived like a bolt of lightning or if it required a lot of time and attention. So Jascha Smilack — if that's your real name! — let us know, would you?

Misc.:

• 6A: "Iron Chef America" chef Cat __ (CORA). Sounds more like a stripper than a chef.
• 43A: Hi or lo follower (RES). Just, now this very minute, is the first time I've ever thought about Hi & Lois as a play on "hi and lo."

• 45A: "Analyze That" star (DENIRO). Could not remember who was in this. I'm going "Robin Williams? Jack Nicholson? Billy Crystal?"
• 60A: Casual top (POLO). Tried really, really hard to stretch TEE out to four letters.
• 3D: Stockholm native (SWEDE). I just finished the second book in Steigg Larsson's trilogy, The Girl Who Played With Fire. It all takes place in Sweden. It's one of those books that's just about impossible to put down.
• 4D: Colored a bit (TINGED). Could have been tinted. I left the G's square open until I could confirm through crosses.

• 8D: Act like fools? (RUSH IN). Cute clue.
• 10D: Honored with a crown of foliage (LAURELED). Clunk!
• 12D: Go for a Masters? (GOLF). Timely!
• 33D: "__ hollers, ..." (IF HE).



• 34D: __ matter (GRAY). The very first thing that came to my mind was … "It don't matter." Sometimes I wonder what the heck is wrong with me.

Crosswordese 101: An OAST (7D: Brewery feature) is a malt-drying oven used in breweries. Key words to look out for in clues for OAST are hops, kiln, dry and brewery. Apparently, an OAST can also be used for drying tobacco, so every once in a while you'll also see a clue refer to tobacco.

Everything Else — 1A: Must (HAS TO); 10A: Trails (LAGS); 14A: Dickens's mysterious Mr. Drood (EDWIN); 15A: Fidel's successor (RAUL); 16A: "__ Named Sue" (A BOY); 17A: Israeli ambassador Moshe (ARENS); 18A: Like some profs. (ASST.); 19A: Web links (URLS); 23A: Michael Phelps sponsor (SPEEDO); 24A: "Dies __" (IRAE); 25A: Humble (DEMEAN); 28A: Play footsie, say (FLIRT); 32A: It may be up (JIG); 35A: Plus (AND); 36A: Shoe part for Astaire (TOE TAP); 41A: Maps (CHARTS); 42A: Fair-hiring abbr. (EOE); 44A: "Flowers for Algernon" author Daniel (KEYES); 48A: Top-shelf (A-ONE); 50A: Where Caligula reputedly tried to seat his 67-Across (SENATE); 59A: Winery prefix (OENO-); 61A: Stock phrase (AT PAR); 62A: Exploit (DEED); 63A: Etonic competitor (AVIA); 64A: Peachy (SWELL); 65A: Wood shaper (ADZE); 66A: Appear dramatically (LOOM); 1D: Call before the game (HEADS); 2D: __ in the bucket (A DROP); 5D: Like some daring football kicks (ONSIDE); 6D: Steep outcropping (CRAG); 7D: Brewery feature (OAST); 9D: Let out, say (ALTER); 11D: Start of a spell (ABRA); 13D: CBS part: Abbr. (SYST.); 21D: Roaming types (NOMADS); 22D: Green Goblin portrayer in Spider-Man films (DAFOE); 26D: Rock producer Brian (ENO); 27D: Newspaper revenue component (AD FEE); 29D: __-Tass: news agency (ITAR); 30D: Red inside (RARE); 31D: I-90 in Mass. et al. (TPKS.); 32D: Magic harp thief (JACK); 36D: Believer (THEIST); 38D: First three numbers, in some directories (AREA CODE); 39D: "Not a problem!" ("IT'S OK!"); 40D: Cargo unit (TON); 45D: Again, to Gaius (DE NOVO); 46D: Talk out again (REHASH); 47D: "Old" punches? (ONE-TWO); 49D: High country (NEPAL); 51D: According to (AS PER); 52D: Dabbling ducks (TEALS); 53D: Bogart's "High Sierra" role (EARLE); 54D: Musical ending (CODA); 55D: Follow (HEED); 56D: Don Juan's mother (INEZ); 57D: Random collection (OLIO); 58D: Fire suppressant (FOAM).