05.12 Thu

T H U R S D A Y
May 12, 2011
Mangesh Sakharam Ghogre

Theme: Figures of Speech — Each theme clue is a number the answer to which is a definition of a homophone of that number. Clear as mud?

Theme answers:

• 17A: 8? (HAD DINNER). [ate]
• 26A: 2? (EXCESSIVELY). [too]
• 50A: 1? (TOOK THE GOLD). [won]
• 62A: 4? (IN FAVOR OF). [for]
• 39A: They're not literal, and this puzzle's title (FIGURES OF SPEECH).

Love this puzzle! And it's weird because I knew I was going to love it. I couldn't get enough crosses to decipher the first couple theme answers, so I just MEANDERED (36D: Wandered aimlessly) through the grid until I could. It finally happened when I got down to IN FAVOR OF and the theme was immediately apparent. The anticipation I felt while waiting to get to a theme answer that would break it open for me was very cool and was brought to an end by a real "aha" moment. (Which is much better than when it ends with a "wtf" moment.) But even then, there was still some puzzling to do with the remaining theme answers because at least two of the numbers have more than one homophone (I can't think of a homophone for "eight" other than "ate" but maybe I'm just blanking out here.)

Also, the reveal answer is awesome. FIGURES OF SPEECH. They're numbers (FIGURES) that sound like words (SPEECH). And in this puzzle, the numbers are literally transformed into words. Which is awesome on a whole 'nother level because a FIGURE OF SPEECH is, by definition, not literal. This is starting to blow my mind, man.

Ya know what I think I like about this? It feels like a Thursday puzzle to me. In the NYT, the Thursday puzzle often has something particularly tricky about it and that's what I really look forward to on Thursdays. The LAT doesn't use that convention though, so it took me a while to get used to a "straight" Thursday puzzle. And while this one isn't as creative/innovative/weird as some of the Thursdays over at the NYT, it's definitely leaning that way, so it was a nice surprise.

Bullets:

• 14A: French darling (AMIE). Wait for it … French!
• 15A: Reduce bit by bit (PARE). I tried WEAN first, which really messed things up in that section for a while. Also, embarrasing simply because it's so wrong.

• 16A: Virginia political family (BYRDS). I was helping PuzzleDaughter study for a social studies test earlier this week and we talked about Harry Flood Byrd, Sr. I remember thinking to myself "Isn't that a West Virginia name?" But that's a whole different BYRD.
• 19A: "Back Stabbers" group, with "The" (O'JAYS). I didn't think I was familiar with this song, but when I went to find the video, I realized I am. Check out these smooth moves.
• 47A: Contrary retort (DOES NOT). I tried IT IS NOT first.
• 57A: Its full name means "jumping flea" in Hawaiian (UKE). Who knew?
• 68A: "Up in the Air" Oscar nominee Farmiga (VERA). How did I miss this movie? It looks pretty good. Anybody seen it?
• 70A: Lake Michigan city (GARY).
• 4D: Start to cure? (PEDI-). I would pretty much give my left arm for a mani-pedi right now. Hey, do you think I would get a discount …?

• 25D: Newsman Roger (O'NEIL). I wanted it to be Roger MUDD. (Am I showing my age?)
• 34D: One who brings out the inner child? (MOM). Now I don't know if I'm just in a good mood or what. I can imagine that at certain times I might not be quite so charitable with this clue/answer pair, but to be totally honest, it cracked me up today. In a groany kind of way.

Crosswordese 101 Round-up:

• 5A: "Battle Cry" author (URIS).
• 58A: Raison d'__ (ÊTRE).
• 1D: Morse character (DAH).
• 41D: Yale of Yale University (ELIHU).
• 42D: Printers' measures (EMS).

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Everything Else — 1A: Not quite dry (DAMP); 9A: Yippie name (ABBIE); 20A: Ones with dark-spotted faces (DICE); 21A: Annual draft org. (NBA); 23A: 46th U.S. state (OKLA.); 24A: Nuevo __: Peruvian currency (SOL); 29A: Dig up (UNEARTH); 31A: "Ain't __ Sweet" (SHE); 32A: Pastures (LEAS); 33A: Protein building block, for short (AMINO); 36A: Animal's stomach (MAW); 43A: Happy hour order (ALE); 44A: Varnish resin (ELEMI); 45A: When doubled, a fish (MAHI); 46A: "Wheel of Fortune" purchase (AN I); 55A: Female rabbit (DOE); 56A: Business head? (AGRI-); 60A: Insipid (BLAND); 66A: It's slower than adagio (LENTO); 67A: Somber genre (NOIR); 69A: First noble gas discovered (ARGON); 71A: Noted sin scene (EDEN); 2D: Org. featuring seasonal flu information (AMA); 3D: Fifties, say (MIDDLE AGE); 5D: After the current act (UP NEXT); 6D: Operated (RAN); 7D: Goddess of peace (IRENE); 8D: Some Bosnians (SERBS); 9D: Donor classification letters (ABO); 10D: Exclamation from Colonel Pickering (BY JOVE); 11D: Start to stop (BRAKE); 12D: Pastoral poem (IDYLL); 13D: Common college admissions requirement (ESSAY); 18D: Cake finisher (ICER); 22D: Like-minded gps. (ASSNS.); 24D: Bacteria-fighting drug (SULFA); 27D: Try to catch (CHASE); 28D: Food chain (IHOP); 30D: Tempe sch. (ASU); 35D: "Don't mind __" (IF I DO); 37D: Blessing preceder (ACHOO); 38D: Snowy (WHITE); 40D: Monthly expense (RENT); 46D: A lot like (AKIN TO); 48D: Owner of a legendary lantern kicker (O'LEARY); 49D: 1999 movie about a reality show (EDTV); 50D: Indian drum (TABLA); 51D: Wolf, at times (OGLER); 52D: Long-armed ape (ORANG); 53D: Squeezing (out) (EKING); 54D: Columbus's birthplace (GENOA); 59D: Wander aimlessly (ROVE); 61D: Underworld bigwig (DON); 63D: Cedar kin (FIR); 64D: Valuable rock (ORE); 65D: Cheering crowd member (FAN).

W E D N E S D A Y September 8, 2010 Mangesh Sakharam Ghogre

Theme: Now I know my ABCs …. — Theme answers are familiar phrases that begin with the letters A through G.


Theme answers:

• 20A: Elite socialite (A-LISTER).
• 22A: Place for a finance major (B-SCHOOL).
• 27A: Delivery method (C-SECTION).
• 37A: Planned attack times (D-DAYS).
• 48A: Online investing (E-TRADING).
• 54A: Camera lens ratio (F-NUMBER).
• 56A: Bare wear (G-STRING).

This is an awesome idea for a theme. It's too bad D-DAY is so short that it had to be arbitrarily pluralized. I also don't think I've ever heard the phrase F-NUMBER but I'm guessing it's familiar to real photographers (whatever that means). I also wish the outliers LSAT and UCAL (16A: Atty.-to-be's challenge / 63A: Sch. with Riverside and Irvine campuses) hadn't been included. It's much more elegant when none of the non-theme answers fit the theme. But, I want to repeat, I think this is a great idea for a theme and the way the theme answers are laid out in the grid is pretty cool.

The only places I got tripped up were on a couple of the names:

• 1D: Kate of "We Are Marshall" (MARA). Never heard of her.
• 43D: Hall of Fame NFL coach Ewbank (WEEB). Or him.
• 46D: Shakers founder (ANN LEE). This name was back in the cobwebs somewhere, but I needed almost all the crosses for it to emerge.

Crosswordese 101 Round-up:

• 17A: Indian princess (RANI).
• 18A: Flightless birds (RHEAS).
• 36A: Pound of poetry (EZRA).
• 50A: Bambi's aunt (ENA).
• 2D: Airline to Ben-Gurion (EL AL).
• 6D: German coal valley (RUHR).
• 7D: Riviera season (ÉTÉ).
• 13D: Inscribed slabs (STELES).
• 39D: Jackie's "O" (ARI).

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Everything Else — 1A: Bit of cat chat (MEOW); 5A: Phobia (DREAD); 10A: Cell signal strength indicators (BARS); 14A: __ mater (ALMA); 15A: Unconventional (OUTRE); 19A: Where some descents start (ACME); 24A: Dick and Harry's leader? (TOM); 25A: __ name: computer ID (USER); 26A: "__ size fits all" (ONE); 31A: Russian coins (RUBLES); 33A: Grinders (HEROS); 34A: 1960s Canadian prime minister Pearson (LESTER); 38A: Middle __ (EAST); 42A: Ironic tales' tails (TWISTS); 44A: Sharapova of tennis (MARIA); 45A: Low parts (BASSES); 51A: "Baseball Tonight" channel (ESPN); 53A: Like some stocks, for short (OTC); 60A: Wasatch Mountains ski resort (ALTA); 61A: Body-care brand named from the Latin for "snow-white" (NIVEA); 64A: Soup vegetable (LEEK); 65A: Stunning weapon (TASER); 66A: Tableland (MESA); 67A: __ majesty (LESE); 68A: Like some bars (SMOKY); 69A: Pitt in films (BRAD); 3D: Prefix with bus (OMNI); 4D: Oxford vests (WAISTCOATS); 5D: Moola (DO-RE-MI); 8D: Emirate natives, mostly (ARABS); 9D: Menu heading (DESSERTS); 10D: Not at all scintillating (BLAH); 11D: Comparable to a cucumber (AS COOL); 12D: Punk rock icon Joey (RAMONE); 21D: Young 'uns (TOTS); 23D: Rock's M*ouml;tley __ (CRÜE); 25D: Yet to be had (UNEATEN); 27D: Revolutionary Guevara (CHE); 28D: "Oh yeah? __ who?" (SEZ); 29D: Misjudge (ERR); 30D: Auto pioneer (OLDS); 32D: Bit of a fairy tale trail (BREAD CRUMB); 35D: Process: Abbr. (SYST.); 37D: Begs to differ (DISSENTS); 40D: Sloth, for one (SIN); 41D: Price indicator (TAG); 44D: Dillon of "There's Something About Mary" (MATT); 45D: Happen to (BEFALL); 47D: Pan-fries (SAUTES); 49D: Prayer beads (ROSARY); 52D: Trojan War king (PRIAM); 55D: Brand (MAKE); 56D: Computer nerd (GEEK); 57D: "Happy birthday" writer, perhaps (ICER); 58D: Org. that reaches for the stars? (NASA); 59D: "I'm __ it's over" (GLAD); 62D: Brandy letters (VSO).

TUESDAY, March 9, 2010 — Mangesh Sakharam Ghogre

Theme: Eating breakfast makes you fat(?) — The first three theme answers are types of spreads you would put on food. The last theme answer is a spread that might be the result of too much of the other spreads.

Theme answers:

• 17A: Sweet toast topper (STRAWBERRY JELLY).
• 29A: Fruity bread topper (APPLE BUTTER).
• 50A: "Schmeared" bagel topper (CREAM CHEESE).
• 65A: Waist woe (caused, perhaps, by overindulgence in 17-, 29- and 50-Across) (MIDDLE-AGE SPREAD).

Odd theme. After the first two theme answers, I thought it was going to be something about fruit, but the third one blew that. So these are three random things you can eat that might cause you to gain weight. And the operative word there is random. I mean, technically, sure: too much strawberry jelly and you might gain a pound or two. But when I think of gaining weight, I think more along the lines of, I don't know, cookies. Ice cream. Desserts. That sort of thing. Strawberry jelly, apple butter, and cream cheese seem sort of benign in comparison, don't you think?

More:

• 14A: "Well done!" ("BRAVO!"). Very exclamatory puzzle today. See also 9D: "Whoopee!" ("YAY!").

• 15A: Early Yucatán dweller (MAYA). Also a little Native vibe going. See also 6A: Nebraska tribe (OTOE). Earlier today I read a heartbreaking article about the conditions on Indian reservations in the United States. How much composure do you imagine must be required for the Indians not go completely apesh*t when they hear the Tea Partiers proclaiming unironically that they "want their country back."
  
• 49A: Quilting party (BEE). Anybody ever been to one of these. It sounds kind of fun. Except for the sewing part.
• 54A: Terse order to a chauffeur (HOME). Do you think people really talk that way to their chauffeurs? I don't believe I've ever met anyone with a chauffeur.
  

• 2D: Greek city on its own gulf (ARTA). This was my WTF answer of the day. The Cruciverb.com data base only has this answer listed four times (never in the L.A. Times; twice in CrossSynergy puzzles in 2006; twice in late-week New York Times puzzles in 1997 and 1998). With those great letters, I think we'd see it more often if it was even a mediocre entry.
• 10D: Direct, as a confrontation (TOE-TO-TOE). Raise your hand if you read direct as a verb.
• 26D: "Washboard" muscles (ABS). Now that's just mean in a puzzle about middle-age spread.
• 45D: Cable sta. for old films (TCM). I never get this one. But I just now looked it up and finally figured out why. I get TCM (Turner Classic Movies) confused with AMC (American Movie Classics). I thought it was just that I was an idiot, but now I think it's understandable. Speaking of Turner Classics ....
  

Crosswordese 101: If you know only one thing about make-up, it should be ESTÉE (33D: Cosmetician Lauder). I mean, look at those letters! If you see the words cosmetics, skin care, fragrance, or perfume in the clue (and particular if the clue starts with "First name in …"), chances are, ESTÉE is probably the one you're looking for.

Everything Else — 1A: Silently understood (TACIT); 6A: "Dear" advice giver (ABBY); 10A: Clock sound (TICK); 20A: "No __, no gain" (PAIN); 21A: Cancel (UNDO); 22A: Book of maps (ATLAS); 23A: Peace and quiet (CALM); 25A: __-shanter: Scottish cap (TAM-O); 27A: State with 13-Down: Abbr. (FLA.); 35A: Inform (on) (RAT); 36A: Group of bits, in computer storage (BYTE); 37A: Other half, so to speak (SPOUSE); 38A: Be next to (ABUT); 40A: Wood-dressing tool (ADZ); 42A: Init. response team (EMTS); 43A: Complaint of "the weary" (NO REST); 46A: Kick into a net (GOAL); 52A: Wimbledon do-over (LET); 53A: Made the scene (CAME); 56A: Model of excellence (IDEAL); 59A: Assign stars to (RATE); 62A: Leadership org. for females (YWCA); 68A: Hang in the balance (PEND); 69A: Schedule opening (SLOT); 70A: Without letup (ON END); 71A: Hang around (STAY); 72A: Move cautiously (EDGE); 73A: Enjoys a kiddie pool (WADES); 1D: 1/16 of a cup: Abbr. (TBSP.); 3D: Politician in a political cartoon, e.g. (CARICATURE); 4D: A former Mrs. Trump (IVANA); 5D: Garage service (TOW); 6D: Word of agreement (AMEN); 7D: The __ of Avon (BARD); 8D: Boring way to learn (BY ROTE); 11D: "__ cost you!" (IT'LL); 12D: Bubbly drink (COLA); 13D: Largo, West, et al. (KEYS); 18D: Like roads with many potholes (BUMPY); 19D: Copier problem (JAM UP); 24D: Chem room (LAB); 27D: Old Cannes cash (FRANC); 28D: Repair bill line (LABOR); 30D: School support org. (PTA); 31D: Rock climber's stop (LEDGE); 32D: Windblown desert plant (TUMBLEWEED); 34D: Odometer button (RESET); 39D: Container at an afternoon service, maybe (TEA CADDY); 41D: Playwright Akins (ZOË); 44D: Lowercase (SMALL); 47D: Hibachi residue (ASHES); 48D: Summer sign (LEO); 51D: Proclaim (HERALD); 55D: Loy of "The Thin Man" (MYRNA); 56D: Mischievous tykes (IMPS); 57D: Try to reduce 65-Across (DIET); 58D: Ferber or Best (EDNA); 60D: Popeyed (AGOG); 61D: Place for a beret (TÊTE); 63D: Sugar source (CANE); 64D: Puts two and two together? (ADDS); 66D: Language suffix (-ESE); 67D: Sock-in-the-jaw sound (POW).