Tuesday, May 21, 2024 | (2024)

LATuntimed (Jenni)

NYT3:42 (Amy)

WSJ5:18 (Jim)

Matt Jones’s Jonesin’ Crossword, “Opera Biffs” — classing it up, but with one letter off. – Erin’s write-up

Hello lovelies! For the Jonesin’ this week we have a change-a-letter theme involving opera.

• 17a. [Opera that’s sorta supernatural, but by chance?] MAGIC FLUKE, from Mozart’sThe Magic Flute
• 24a. [Opera about actor Ribisi turning into a canine]DOG GIOVANNI, from another Mozart work,Don Giovanni
• 28a. [Opera about an Irish wiggly dessert?]O’JELLO, from Verdi’sOtello
• 41a. [Opera about a superhero mechanic?]CARMAN, from Bizet’sCarmen
• 44a. [Opera where a future king turns blue-green?]WILLIAM TEAL, from Rossini’sWilliam Tell
• 56a. [Italian opera about pub quizzes?]LA TRIVIATA, from another Verdi,La Traviata

Other things:

• 5d. [“King of the Surf Guitar”]DICK DALE. His 1962 rendition of the folk song “Misirlou” became known as the theme of the moviePulp Fiction.
• 18d. [1988 Olympics track star nickname]FLO JO. Florence Griffith Joyner still holds two world records and an Olympic record for sprinting.

Until next week!

Jeanne D. Breen’s Wall Street Journal crossword, “Rogues in Love”—Jim’s review

Today’s theme consists of circled words spelling out rough synonyms of “head” atop other circled words that are rough synonyms of “heels”. The revealer is HEAD OVER HEELS (51a, [One way to fall in love, and, in another sense, what each set of circled letters shows]).

• 20a. [Classic Campbell’s variety] CHICKEN NOODLE atop 23a. [Louts] CADS.
• 30a. [Stuffed toy in a 1990s fad] BEANIE BABY atop 35a. [Scoundrels] RATS.
• 39a. [Intellectual property protectors] PATENT LAWS atop 43a. [Churls] DOGS.

The theme works, but some of the inconsistencies bothered me a bit. First, we have two slang words for head (NOODLE and BEAN), but PATE isn’t so slangy. Second, we have one head word which is its own word (NOODLE), one which is part of a longer, cutesy form of itself (BEANIE), and one which is found within a completely unrelated word PATE/PATENT. Perhaps if a different entry could’ve replaced the last one, these inconsistencies might have gone away. Lastly, the old-timey slang “heels” and “cads” makes the puzzle feel dated. No one really uses these terms anymore (AFAIK).

I do like the great long fill, though: ALL HEART, CONESTOGA, AT PEACE, and SHELF SPACE. Sadly for me, I needed every crossing for POINCIANAS [Tropical trees with brilliant scarlet flowers]. If only I’d known that was the real name for what I know as the “flame tree” on Guam, I could’ve plunked that in right quick.

Clues of note:

• 20a. [Classic Campbell’s variety]. CHICKEN NOODLE. The omission of “soup” in the clue made me expect it would be in the answer. I think this clue would be better as [Classic soup variety].
• 48d. [Causing quaking]. EERIE. Hmm. I don’t think of something being EERIE as evoking a trembling fear.

Three stars from me.

Zachary David Levy’s New York Times crossword—Amy’s recap

The theme revealer is 63a. [Make safer, in a way … or what the starts of 17-, 27-, 38- and 52-Across might be?], BABY-PROOF. CRIB NOTES, BOTTLE GOURD, CARRIAGE HOUSE, and MOBILE PHONE begin with words that are merely circ*mstantial evidence of a baby: a crib with a mobile hanging over it, a bottle, and a carriage. There is room for reasonable doubt!

Fave fill: VERSACE, TOPAZ, a HEATH bar.

Three more things:

• 15a. [Often-discarded part of a fruit], RIND. I think you can pickle watermelon rind, and candied orange peel is a thing. But most often? To the compost!
• 43a. [Millennial’s successor, informally], GEN ZER. I’ve seen Gen Xer, but Gen Zer just looks wrong.
• 37d. [Kind of motor used in robotics], SERVO. Never really watched Mystery Science Theater 3000, but it did have a robot character called Tom Servo. I’ll bet at least 10% of solvers don’t really know anything about robotics technology but got help from Tom Servo here.

Four stars from me.

Elizabeth C. Gorski’s Cr♥ssw♥rd Nation puzzle (Week 678), “Connecting Flights”—Ade’s take

Hello there, everyone! Only a couple of weeks left in May, so hoping that you close out the month in style!

Definitely was hyped seeing the title of the puzzle, as I know I’ll be taking a flight in the next 2-3 weeks to either Minneapolis or Dallas for the NBA Finals. (Please, Boston, beat Indianapolis so I don’t have to take flights to both the Eastern Conference AND Western Conference host cities … I don’t have that kind of quid, unless some generous person/family in Indianapolis wants to put me up for a couple of days, if the Pacers win the East!) As for this grid, it’s on the lam, as in the five theme answers all have the letters LAM spanning multiple words within those entries.

• • • SMALL AMOUNT (17A: [Little bit])
    • CINDERELLA MAN (23A: [Ron Howard film with Russell Crowe as a heavyweight boxing champ])
    • TEQUILA MARTINIS (37A: [co*cktail alternatives for Margarita lovers])
    • VANILLA MOUSSE (49A: [Decadent dessert made with heavy cream, egg yolks and bean extract])
    • CALL A MARINE (60A: [Toby Keith song with the lyric “They’re built to improvise, adapt and overcome”])

There are so many non-themed crossword entries that could be paired together to make, at the very least, some sort of loose connection, from H-HOUR (7D: [D-Day time]) and V SIGN (49D: [Churchill’s triumphant gesture]), to ASEA (47D: [On the Aegean, say]) and AQUANAUTS (30D: [Undersea explorers]), to RUDY (22A: [NYC mayor between David and Mike]) and UNFIT (38D: [Ill-suited]). All fit like a glove! It’s that time of the year when many students are taking the SAT, or are waiting for their SAT scores, so this part-time SAT tutor has had all of the RADII that his eyes could possibly digest for the spring without going mad (22D: [Bicycle spokes, essentially]). Tomorrow will be teaching geometry for a New York State Regents exam, and, I’m pretty sure I’m going to be teaching how to create certain constructions using a compass. Wait … didn’t I leave this behind like 25 years ago to be a journalist?!?!

“Sports will make you smarter” moment of the day: REAL DEAL (5D: [Genuine, with “the”) – It’s so interesting to see this entry intersecting the theme answer that references boxing, since “Real Deal” is the nickname of the former heavyweight champion of the world, Evander Holyfield. He’s the only four-time heavyweight champion of the world, first winning the title in 1990 after knocking out James “Buster Douglas (the person who upset then-undefeated heavyweight champion Mike Tyson earlier that year) and winning it for the last time in 2000. Of course, part of his reign as world champion came after a) defeating Tyson to reclaim the belt in 1996 and b) winning a rematch against Tyson one year later when Tyson infamously bit off part of Holyfield’s ear during the third round and was disqualified. Sorry for the graphic description, but, hey, it’s a part of sports history.

Thank you so much for the time, everybody! Have a wonderful and safe rest of your day and, as always, keep solving!

Take care!

Ade/AOK

Catherine Cetta’s Los Angeles Times crossword — Jenni’s write-up

It always throws me a little when the theme answers go down instead of across. It really matters for this puzzle.

The themers:

• 3d [*Pasta-shaped colorful foam float] is aPOOL NOODLE.
• 9d [*Totally chill] isLOOSEY GOOSEY.
• 21d [*Celebratory search engine logo] is aGOOGLE DOODLE.
• 25d [*”So awesome!”] isTOO COOL.

And the revealer: 31d [Enthusiastic audience responses, and a feature of the answers to the starred clues] isSTANDING OS. Fun!

A few other things:

• ALTOS are not just between sopranos and tenors. We are an important section in our own right. I mean, really. Harumph.
• BOING is a fun word.
• We get [Sty emanation] forODORand [Sty emanations] forOINKS. All we need is [Stye emanation] for EYELASH.

What I didn’t know before I did this puzzle: never heard of the Banzai Pipeline onOAHU. Surfing, not oil.

Universal Crossword – Matt F’s Review

Title:Low Fashion
Constructors:Priyanka Sethy and Rajiv Sethy
Editor:Taylor Johnson

When I see a shared surname on the byline I begin to speculate on the relationship. Long lost cousins, spouses, parent and child… the list goes on. Since I do not know these constructors personally, I can only let my imagination run wild. In any case, I love to see a family collaboration in the puzzleverse!

Theme Synopsis:

Based on the title, I figured we’d be looking for articles of clothing at the tail end of the theme answers. Fashion is a broad category, but our revealer helps to narrow things up:

• 36D – Harshly criticize … and a hint to the starred clues’ answers = DRESS DOWN

Each vertical theme answer contains a type of dress at the bottom:

• 3D – Afternoon, in Paris = APRES MIDI
• 9D – Calling your boss “Mom,” for example = FREUDIAN SLIP
• 22D – Major change = SEISMIC SHIFT

Overall Impressions

I’m no fashionista, so “shift dress” was new to me; but after Googling I can confidently say I’d recognize one on the street. These are the fun facts we collect as crossword solvers! This is a nice theme with a tight constraint, and the grid is well-designed. Entries like UM YEAH, WHAT A DAY, and I BET help to keep the fill engaging throughout (I’m a sucker for a fun colloquialism). Music heads will appreciate the BASS / SITAR cross.

Thanks for the puzzle, Priyanka and Rajiv!

Brooke Husic’s New Yorker crossword — pannonica’s write-up

Just when I’d given up on the New Yorker recalibrating their difficulty adjustments, we get a decently challenging Monday puzzle and then a reasonably tough one today.

I will, however, quibble with two crossings which are subpar. First, 13d [VHS replacement] DVD / 18a [“Bessie” co-writer and director Rees] DEE—this one could have been DVR and REE. Second, 44a [Part of a Miss Piggy costume] SNOUT / 39d [São __, Brazil] PAULO, which some might think could be SNOOT and PAOLO. I don’t believe these are intentionally ambiguous but feel that the editing could’ve been a little tighter on them.

• 13a [2021 film based on the work of Haruki Murakami] DRIVE MY CAR. Still on my to-watch list! Aside: since my mention ofPast Lives (2023) being on that same list, I have screened it—my opinion is that it was good, not great. Perhaps my expectations had been raised too high.
• 15a [Magazine whose name is a pronoun] ELLE. Aha, but not an English pronoun!
• 28a [Zigzagging moves whose popularity overseas spread to the NBA] EURO STEPS. Sounds more like a dancing contest show, right?
• 37a [Multimedia artist __ Red Star] WENDY.
• 53a [Housemates that hardly ever go out?] INDOOR CATS. Some will leap at any opportunity to ‘escape’, others are wary. Mine is curious and will explore a little if I prop open the front door (e.g., while I’m making morning coffee), but dashes back inside at the first instance of other-human activity. She was much more adventurous as a kitten.
• 54a [What an ovenbird makes on the forest floor] NEST, which for this species is also referred to as an oven, hence the eponymy. “The placement of the nest on the ground makes predation by snakes, red squirrels, and chipmunks a greater concern than for tree-nesting birds. Chipmunks have been known to burrow directly into the nest to eat the young birds. The female can perform a distraction display, simulating a crippled bird, when a potential predator is in the vicinity of the nest.” (Wikipedia)
• 1d [The Great Banyan, for one] TREE. The largest tree specimen in the world. “The area occupied by the tree is about 18,918 square metres (about 1.89 hectares or 4.67 acres). The present crown of the tree has a circumference of 486 m. and the highest branch rises to 24.5 m; it has at present 3772 aerial roots reaching down to the ground as a prop root.” (Wikipedia)
  
• 2d [What allows some headbands to keep their shape] WIRE. !?
• 22d [2022 Steve Lacy album that alludes to his late-May birthday] GEMINI RIGHTS. I’d first tried GEMINI RISING. Hmm, late May … that’s where we are now… it’s 23rd May. And this is not the Steve Lacy I know (primarily through his dedication Thelonious Monk’s music).
• 7d [They often contain letters you don’t want anyone else to read] PASSWORDS. I understand what the clue is doing, but it feels kind of tortured.
• 20d [Mystery authors?] GHOSTWRITERS. Cute.
  
• 21d [Course that might cover “Paradise” and “This Side of Paradise,” for short] AMERICAN LIT. Toni Morrison (1988), F Scott Fitzgerald (1920).
• 23d [“Much __ About Nothing”] ADO. Crossed by 26a [Tasks on a list] TO-DOS. This feels dupey.
• 41d [Structures that urban skiers grind] RAILS. Not sure I know what ‘urban skiers’ are—wouldn’t they mostly be using cross-country equipment?—but I got the answer easily.
• 46d [Escape into a book] READ, 47d [Nourishes oneself] EATS. Fortuitous pairing.
• 51d [School such as Navajo Tech or I.A.I.A.] TCU (tribal colleges and universities).