Relative difficulty: Medium
THEME: "Play Bargaining" — long "E" sound in familiar phrases changed to long "A" sound, resulting in wacky phrases, clued wackily
Word of the Day: Brunonian (80A: Brunonian rival=>YALIE) —
One who attends Brown University
• • •
This kind of change-a-sound puzzle seems like the kind of thing that Brendan could write in his sleep. Tame and middle-of-the-road by comparison to the stuff you're likely to get twice a week at his (excellent) website. Theme wasn't really my cup of tea, but there are still some interesting aspects to the grid, and some interesting fill. Weird to have a Sunday puzzle with only four 
Across theme answers—majority (6) are Downs. Note how the theme Downs are staggered on a diagonal from SW to NE, and then the Acrosses are sequestered, in pairs, in the NW and SE. A very unusual way to array the theme answers. Some lively fill, especially JOE CAMEL and SCHIPHOL right in the middle of the grid—I just wish I could have remembered exactly how to spell/pronounce the latter; that part of the grid (all around but especially below SCHIPHOL) was by far the hardest part for me to bring down. No idea what a Brunonian was (though it seems obvious in retrospect). Couldn't see FANCY FRAY with just the FAN- in place (every time I look at this answer now, I want it to be FANCY-FACED). Appropriately, it was AARGH (98A: "Why is this happening to me?") that finally got me purchase in that section. All in all, a decent if fairly typical Sunday offering. And in case you're wondering, the best theme answer of the day, by a mile, is JAY STRING.Theme answers:
- 21A: Put a few monarchs on the scale? (WEIGH THREE KINGS)
- 29A: Wrinkly dog holder? (SHAR-PEI PEN)
- 105A: Floral garland for whoever? (GENERAL LEI) — whoever ... wants one? If you're going to leave that in the nominative, it's going to need to be the subject of some verb
114A: Indecisive wolf's question? (TO BAY OR NOT TO BAY)- 15D: Mist from a mall? (SHOPPING SPRAY)
- 27D: Miss who parks cars? (VALET GIRL)
- 33D: In hell? (CHEZ DEVIL)
- 58D: Brawl at a ball? (FANCY FRAY)
- 62D: Leno's necklace? (JAY STRING)
- 56D: Generous carhop's prop? (THE GIVING TRAY)
Bullets:
- 13A: Real-life actor Joe who is a character in Broadway's "Jersey Boys" (PESCI) — Put it in took it out put it in took it out ... all because I misspelled stupid WOOLF! (23A: "Orlando" novelist) (spelled her like novelist Tom)
- 26A: Huggies rival (LUVS) — the idea of diapers as "rivals" is amusing to me. Like Sharks and Jets, only ... more absorbent.
- 38A: Obama whose Secret Service code name is "Rosebud" (SASHA) — OK that's just adorable.
- 57A: Blew by a drummer, maybe (FIFED) — nice clue. Like it.
- 81A: Compromise of 1877 president (HAYES) — I really wish I could say that I knew what the Compromise of 1877 was. Had to have US historian wife explain it to me. That explanation ended with: "The end of Reconstruction, essentially."
91A: Famed Fokker flier (RED BARON) — I saw a trailer for "Filthy Fockers" or "Forever Fockers" or "Fly Me to the Fockers" or whatever the new title in that series is when I was at the movies seeing "Dinner For Schmucks" tonight. Never had a desire to see a Focker movie, and nothing about the trailer changed that. "Dinner For Schmucks" was pretty decent, in case you're wondering — except for the fact that the roles for women (*except* the amazing Kristen Schaal) are Terrible. Freaks and ciphers, all marginal.- 120A: John Mason ___, English priest who wrote "Good King Wenceslas" (NEALE) — one of two five-letter N-names I didn't know today. The other: NANCE (106D: F.D.R. veep John ___ Garner)—a name I'm sure I've not known before.
- 10D: Basketball coach Kruger (LON) — Knew this, but have no idea how, as I couldn't tell you the team he coaches (currently: UNLV). His brother Freddy is Far more famous.
- 43D: "The scavenger of misery," per Shaw ("PITY") — wow, that's harsh/awesome.
- 55D: First player to hit an inside-the-park home run during an All-Star Game (ICHIRO) — one of the very best players in the game, and horribly under-appreciated/underrated. Nobody except Pujols and Rodriguez has had a better 21st century. He has a complete, consistent, outstanding game. And he's languishing in Seattle. Criminal.
- 93D: Mop brand that "makes your life easier" (O'CEDAR) — jingle was Very familiar to me, but somehow I thought it belonged to "Stanley Steamer"
[god the '90s were just godawful]
109D: Entertainer born Tracy Marrow (ICE-T) — he and DRE and NAS are the rap rulers of crosswords, and will be for the foreseeable future. Weird that rap hasn't produced a grid dominator since the mid-90s.
Now your Tweets of the Week—puzzle chatter from the Twitterverse:
- @aimeemann 1 Across...you're long, but you're not so hard! So 1 down should be...no...hm...how about 2 down...let's move on to 3 down...OH FUCK YOU!!
- @Ranabananafish Tilda Swinton is doing crossword puzzles at college town bagels. Wtf.
- @JasonEnloe 80% of my self-worth derives from how quickly I can complete online crossword puzzles
- @danaelblack Just used iPhone to cheat at crossword for first time. Have arrived in the future.
- @Its_DT Finally found the last fuckin word on this crossword puzzle! I just stood up and yelled BIIIITCH!! in a room full of ppl...
So it's August now, and it should be an exciting month, both in terms of the blog and crosswords generally. For starters, I'm going on vacation for a week starting Tuesday! OK, that's only exciting for me, BUT I have a diverse array of people filling in for me—some familiar, some brand new. If the place I'm staying has wireless internet, then I'll probably pick up a day or two in there, but otherwise it'll be fresh voices aplenty from the 3rd through the 9th.
Also in August— Ryan & Brian's Lollapuzzoola 3, Saturday, August 14th, in Jackson Heights, NY (Queens). The crossword tournament for people who are afraid of tournaments. The UnTournament. I mean, it's a real tournament, with first-rate puzzles, but ... the emphasis is on entertainment and happy fun times, not (so much) winning things (though people will win things).
I went last year and had a blast. Lots of familiar names from the world of crosswords will be there. The august Mr. Shortz has been known to show up. Great atmosphere, including (last year) a bevy of young people who couldn't really afford the annual ACPT but who were more than happy to pay a mere $20 to participate in a smaller but no less entertaining tournament. No idea how many people will be there this year—it's growing. Still, it is bound to be far more casual and intimate than the ACPT. So if you've been flirting with the idea of attending a crossword tournament, really, this is the one for you. Information and registration here. Now. Come on. You'll be happy you did. I promise.Lastly, as far as August goes: August 17. That date again: August 17. It's important. I'll tell you why ... on August 17.
See you tomorrow before I don't see you again for a week.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter]
No comments:
Post a Comment