Mezzo-soprano Marilyn / FRI 2-24-12 / President's daughter on West Wing / French loanword literally means rung on ladder / Psychedelic 1968 song featuring lengthy drum solo / Once-autonomous people southern Russia / 1980s Tyne Daly role / Hymn sung to Apollo / Homeric character who commits matricide

Constructor: Patrick Berry

Relative difficulty: Medium-Challenging

THEME: none

Word of the Day: whatnot (51A: What a whatnot has = BRIC A BRAC) —

n.

1. A minor or unspecified object or article.
2. A set of light, open shelves for ornaments.

Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/whatnot#ixzz1nGXoLi3i

• • •

This seems an OK puzzle, but I didn't enjoy it much. With the exception of (finally) figuring out "INAGADDADAVIDA" (48A: Psychedelic 1968 song featuring a lengthy drum solo), most of the effort didn't seem quite worth it. STOCKS AND SHARES is a meaningless phrase to me (30A: Paper assets). I mean, I know those words, but I wouldn't put them together into a grid-spanning central phrase. I just learned that there are things called "STOCKS AND SHARES ISAs" (Individual Savings Accounts). OK. Started out lightning fast in the NW, then got to WATER- and couldn't build on it at all. Two really bad wrong guesses (SALUTE for SNAP TO (8D: Acknowledge a commander's entrance, maybe), EAR LOBE for EARLOCK (?) (14D: One hanging at a temple) kept me at bay a long time in the north. Don't know who ALAN BATES is (15A: 1968 Best Actor nominee for "The Fixer"). This fact strangely does not EMBARRASS me. Stuff like HERBAGE and ELLIE meant nothing to me (35D: Nonwoody plant parts). [Blank] SLIDE could've been at least two other four-letter words besides ROCK. I certainly didn't know what a "whatnot" was (in this clue's sense of the word), and though the only -AC-ending word I could think of was BRIC A BRAC, it kept seeming wrong for various reasons (51A: What a whatnot has).



The thing that irritated me most about the puzzle—in fact the only thing that I found genuinely irritating at all—is the clue for ORESTES (38A: Homeric character who commits matricide). If we are calling ORESTES a "Homeric character," then virtually every known character from classical mythology is "Homeric." ORESTES is not a "character" in either of the Homeric epics—not in the sense that English-speaking human beings generally understand the word "character." He is mentioned in both. Briefly. Despite the fact that you could lawyer up a defense of the clue on a "letter of the law" basis, this clue is fundamentally dishonest. Aeschylus wrote substantially about ORESTES. Homer simply waved at him in passing.

Bullets:

• 13A: Mezzo-soprano Marilyn (HORNE) — no idea, but didn't matter 'cause that corner was easy. Also had no idea "DONAHUE" was ever on MSNBC (25A: It was MSNBC's highest-rated program when canceled in 2003).
• 21A: French loanword that literally means "rung on a ladder" (ECHELON) — this was a gimme—a gimme I could've used in a much harder part of the grid. A gimme that was wasted in this already-easy corner.  

• 37A: It has a denomination of $1,000 (T-NOTE) — uh ... OK. I was thinking G-NOTE, for obvious reasons.
• 41A: Weapons used to finish off the Greek army at Thermopylae (ARROWS) — I'd forgotten this. And rounding off the classical trifecta of clues, we have PAEAN (5D: Hymn sung to Apollo).
• 2D: Poet who gave us "carpe diem" (HORACE) — ah, the opening of this puzzle, when everything seemed so right. I went THAI / IN NEED / ARETHA / HORACE in about 10 seconds. 
• 7D: Kaplan who co-hosted six seasons of "High Stakes Poker" (GABE) — at four letters, I figured it had to be him, but my incorrect SALUTE kept clashing with him, so I wouldn't put him in. TV poker, ugh ... more stuff I just don't care about. Puzzle is just outside my general sphere of interests.
• 33D: Once-autonomous people of southern Russia (COSSACKS) — lots about them in Anna Karenina. At least I think that's how I know about them.Whoa, Tolstoy also wrote a novel titled, simply, "The COSSACKS." I did not know that.
• 12D: Letter on Kal-El's costume (ESS) — It's technically "Clark's" costume, but ... whatever. This was a gimme. Just covered the "ESS" specifically in a recent class discussion of Frank Miller's "The Dark Knight Returns."
• 47D: 1980s Tyne Daly role (LACEY) — 'Cause CAGNEY wouldn't fit.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

Bourbon enemy / FRI 1-20-12 / 1997 film with song Tupelo Honey / Head nurse on Scrubs / North American home 30,000 islands / What dickey simulates / Inventor given gold medal by Titanic survivors

Constructor: Patrick Berry

Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium

THEME: none

Word of the Day: BITT (5A: Mooring post on a ship)

n.

A vertical post, usually one of a pair, set on the deck of a ship and used to secure ropes or cables. 

tr.v. bitt·ed, bitt·ing, bitts

To wind (a cable) around a bitt. (freedictionary.com)

• • •

[It's pledge week here at the Rex Parker site (thru Sat.) —read my pitch for donations in the opening paragraphs of Sunday's write-up, here ... and thanks for your faithful readership (and the many kind messages I've received so far)]

• • •

Deceptively simple. So clean and clear that it starts to border on ho-hum. Nothing here is gonna jump out and bite you, or make you jump up and cheer. It's all just ... creamy. No particularly grabby or contemporary answers, but all of it solid, which is remarkably hard to pull off when you have this much white space to fill. I found the puzzle extremely easy until I hit the NE, which stopped me cold. Couldn't come up with the latter parts of BUYS OUT (24A: Secures every share from) or RAN SHORT (28A: Had some inventory problems), and while I got LITHE OK, I put in both ABAFT and STERN before finally alighting on ABEAM (16A: Nautical direction). Thought maybe [Prompter] was a relative adjective, or else something akin to a cue card, so CATALYST was tough to come up with. I had no idea LAKE HURON had that many islands (12D: North American home of 30,000 islands). Astonishing. While I think the whole concept of RENT-TO-OWN is a terrible idea, I think that answer looks mighty nice in the grid (11D: Like some store furniture). Only other issue was putting in NATCH for NO DUH (1D: "Well, of course"). Otherwise, very smooth sailing.



Bullets:

• 9A: Head nurse on "Scrubs" (CARLA) — not a show I ever watched, and yet I can picture the character clearly. Weird. "Scrubs" featured actor Donald FAISON. He has a name that could be useful in crosswords, but so far, no one's used it.
• 19A: Highly rated 1997 film with the song "Tupelo Honey" ("ULEE'S GOLD") — ULEE is super-common in crosswords, of course, but, strangely, this marks the crossword debut of the full title "ULEE'S GOLD."
• 37A: Inventor given a gold medal by Titanic survivors (MARCONI) — Something to do with radio, no doubt. He didn't invent the lifeboat, did he?
• 52A: Colorful Amazon swimmer (NEON TETRA) — worked by inference here, and managed to get the whole thing off just the "N"
• 41A: U.K. Triple Crown racecourse site (EPSOM) — standard xword fare. Very much worth knowing.  
• 26D: Bourbon enemy (BONAPARTE) — me: "But ... how could anyone hate bourbon? It's sooooo good."
• 3D: Mammy's son (ABNER) — something to do with the comic strip, no doubt. I was utterly stumped.
• 13D: Tiramisu ingredient, often (AMARETTO) — wanted some kind of cheese, possibly ricotta. The actual cheese in tiramisu is mascarpone.
• 38D: Leroux who created the Phantom (GASTON) — knew this without knowing how/why.
• 30D: The Village ___ (musical group with the 1963 hit "Washington Square") (STOMPERS) — well, I guess that's as good a STOMPERS clue as you're going to see. Maybe [Tantrum throwers, at times]. Or these.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

Diamonds to a yegg / SUN 1-1-12 / Twelve Oaks neighbor / Quijano Don Quixote's real name / Swirly marbles

Constructor: Patrick Berry

Relative difficulty: Medium

THEME: "Addendum" — sound of "um" is added to end of familiar phrases, creating wacky phrases, which are clued "?"-style

Word of the Day: GOLEM (119A: Monster of Jewish folklore) —

In Jewish folklore, a golem [...] is an animated anthropomorphic being, created entirely from inanimate matter. The word was used to mean an amorphous, unformed material in Psalms and medieval writing. // The most famous golem narrative involves Judah Loew ben Bezalel, the late 16th century chief rabbi of Prague. // The word golem occurs once in the Bible in Psalm 139:16, which uses the word גלמי, meaning "my unshaped form". The Mishnah uses the term for an uncultivated person: "Seven characteristics are in an uncultivated person, and seven in a learned one", Pirkei Avos 5:9 in the Hebrew text (English translations vary). In modern Hebrew golem is used to mean "dumb" or "helpless". Similarly, its is often used today as a metaphor for a brainless lunk or entity who serves man under controlled conditions but is hostile to him and others. "Golem" passed into Yiddish as goylem to mean someone who is clumsy or slow. (wikipedia)

• • •

Reader wrote me ahead of time and told me this was probably the easiest Sunday puzzle she'd ever done, so I was expecting some kind of record time, but I wasn't even close. It's reasonably easy, but I was hardly faster than normal. There were enough odd words and crafty clues to keep me busy. No strong feelings about the puzzle one way or another. Seems pretty good to me — the "funny" phrases are at the very least interesting, the stacks of two theme answers (NW, SE) are impressive, and the fill is unsurprisingly smooth. What's most weird about this puzzle is the preponderance of cheater squares — black squares that do not add to the word count of the puzzle. These are typically added to make the grid easier to fill, and constructors tend to avoid them if possible. I count ten (!) in this grid. This makes for a choppier grid with shorter fill, especially through the middle. A handful of cheaters in a Sunday grid isn't that remarkable, but I'm a little surprised there are this many, especially in a Patrick Berry puzzle. Still, the result is smooth and mostly enjoyable, so I can't complain too much. Well, I can, but I won't.

Just a few hang-ups today, most notably in the SW, where LONG FOR really made a mess of things for a while. Took a while before I had the good sense to change it to ACHE FOR (89A: Desperately want). I thought TOM was the [Pal of Huck Finn] (JIM) and thought the [Injury symptom] was a CRINK or a CRICK before I ever got to SHOCK. Never heard of MUMM, as far as I know (83D: Big name in Champagne). Wanted MOËT, then wanted ... nothing. Had no idea where Twelve Oaks was. Thought maybe somewhere near NAPA. But no, it's fictional, and it's neighbor is TARA. Took an embarrassingly long time to see NOAH (105A: Rainy day planner?). And FORELEG, yikes. Not a body part I think of or read about much, if ever, so that took a while (19D: "Praying" part of a praying mantis). On the other hand, we had a Zener card-themed puzzle not too long ago, so ESP was easy (75D: Ability to identify Zener cards), and I read a lot of crime fiction, so ICE (70D: Diamonds, to a yegg) and BOGART (14D: "The Big Sleep" co-star, 1946) were cinches. I've read (most of) Don Quixote, but had no recollection of his "real" first name (ALONSO). Not sure I understand the clue on EAT IN (109A: Restaurant greeter's option). If I'm talking to a "greeter," I'm (almost by definition) eating in. Context is lost on me.




Theme answers:

• 18A: Pool ball's "Watch this!" comment? ("SEE IF I CAROM") — awesome
• 23A: High-mounted window you can't stop looking at? (HYPNOTIC TRANSOM)
• 32A: Part of a watch touching the breastbone? (STEM TO STERNUM)
• 46A: "You don't have to be busy to look busy," e.g.? (OFFICE MAXIM)
• 59A: Pill that relieves computer-related anxiety? (SILICON VALIUM) — again, awesome
• 71A: Inhuman group of golfers? (BRUTE FOURSOME)
• 81A: Sultan's wife, perhaps? (HEAD OF HAREM)
• 99A: Jungle king's jeans and overalls? (THE LION'S DENIM)
• 110A: Ennui among quantum physicists? (PARTICLE BOREDOM)
• 116A: Dessert delivered over the internet? (PIE A LA MODEM)    

Bullets:

• 13A: Crosswise to the keel (ABEAM) — like ABAFT, I learned this from xwords.
• 22A: Onetime first name in Israeli politics (GOLDA) — had this been four letters, I'd have been lost, but at five, GOLDA was the first name to come to mind.
• 79A: Handbag monogram (YSL) — one of the few fashion monogram's I'm aware of (besides, perhaps, DKNY).
• 86A: Reed of rock (LOU) — wanted OBOE (no, not really)

• 87A: "1984" superstate (EURASIA) — somehow, this never seems fictional enough to be from "1984"; but there it is.
• 2D: Jimi Hendrix's debut single ("HEY JOE") — already one of the most searched for terms of the day—I apparently covered it in a bygone write-up.
• 8A: "___ hath an enemy called ignorance": Ben Jonson ("ART") — I teach Jonson every year but didn't know this. One of two literary quotes today, the other coming from Harriet Beecher STOWE (29D: Best-selling author who wrote "I did not write it. God wrote it. I merely did his dictation").
• 13D: Swirly marbles (AGATES) — considered AGGIES for a bit. That's slang for AGATES, right? I've never played marbles, so what do I know?

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

Visitor at beginning of Hobbit / FRI 12-23-11 / Albert's love in Bye Bye Birdie / Flower named for resemblance to turban / Blood shed on Mount Olympus / Murderer in PDQ Bach's spoof opera

Constructor: Patrick Berry

Relative difficulty: Medium

THEME: none 

 Word of the Day: MANDARIN COLLARS (14A: Nehru jackets have them) —

A mandarin collar is a short unfolded stand-up collar style on a shirt or jacket. Mandarin collars start at the neckline and typically rise vertically two to five centimeters. The style originated from Western interpretation of dresses worn by Mandarins in Imperial China. // The length along a mandarin collar is straight, with either straight or rounded edges at top of the centre front. The edges of the collar either barely meet at the centre front or overlap slightly. Overlapping mandarin collars are often a continuation of a shirt's placket and have a button on the collar to secure the two sides of the shirt together. (wikipedia)

• • •

[FOR MY READERS IN SYNDICATION: It's pledge week here at the Rex Parker site (thru Sat.) —read my pitch for donations in the opening paragraphs of Sunday's write-up, here ... and thanks for your faithful readership (and the many kind messages I've received so far)]

• • •

Fairly typical Berry puzzle—solid and smooth. Tiny passageways between puzzle segments made moving through the grid a bit difficult. Top section played pretty easy, but I couldn't get into the middle at all at first—no way PAGINATE was coming, and though I had POLLIWOG (9D: It grows older and then croaks), I also had ANDREO (!?), which I realized afterward was due to stupid ANDREA *Bocelli*. Botticelli's first name was SANDRO? I had no idea. That middle section was the last to fall. I had to reboot in the bottom section with AVER / VALETED (36D: Did Jeeves's job), but had a harder time down there than I did up top, in part because I had OLE instead of RAH at 50D: Stadium shout, in part because I misspelled the answer to 31D: Blood shed on Mount Olympus (ICHOR) at first (I merged it with the autumnal hue OCHRE to get ICHRE), and in part because I thought 46D: Cross (SORE) was ROOD. Once I finally *saw* the clue for MAURA (44D: Actress Tierney)—a gimme—I got MAPLES (44A: Trees sought by leaf peepers) and started to make good headway. Eventually swung back up into the middle via AMEND / SCHMO / SACRILEGE. The "G" in PAGINATE / GORES was the last thing to go in the grid.

Great morbid clue on RUSSIAN ROULETTE (47A: Game you can't lose twice). Horrible, unnecessarily morbid clue on RHESUS (32D: Popular test animal in medical research). Also a poor clue on SEXISTS (33D: They put half the world down)—a pretty simplistic representation of how sexism works. It's not some guy shouting "All women in the world are stupidheads." You can be sexist and not actively "put down" half the world. I get the idea, but the wording stinks. A few interesting trivia clues today, particularly 22A: Flower named for its resemblance to a turban (TULIP). Both P.D.Q. Bach and "Bye Bye Birdie" are generally outside my sphere of knowledge, so neither of those answers came easily (46A: Murderer in P.D.Q. Bach's spoof opera "A Little Nightmare Music" + 38D: Albert's love in "Bye Bye Birdie"). I did not know ANTs had castes, though I guessed the answer easily enough.





SACRILEGE strikes me as something much stronger than simply lifting a fiver (28A: Stealing from the collection plate, e.g.). OSIER (45A: Twig used in wickerwork) and ORLON (10D: Woollike acrylic fiber) are common crossword materials, and I got them both pretty easily (OSIER helped with the whole ICHRE / ICHOR thing). NCR went from being a stumper when I started this blog to a gimme today (49D: Manufacturer of bar code scanners). Thought [Seller of supplements] would have some trick to it, but no—it's just GNC, a store you can find in any mall, USA. Got a couple lucky breaks up top—I teach Virgil every year, so the obscurish MANTUA was not obscurish to me, and my wife and I just started reading "The Hobbit" aloud to one another in the evenings, so the GANDALF visitation is fresh in my mind (1D: Visitor at the beginning of "The Hobbit"). My nephew is going to be an extra in Peter Jackson's "The Hobbit" (filming in NZ, out next December). Excitingish!

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

Yiddish for connoisseur / FRI 12-9-11 / Victorious fleet commander at Actium / Country * 1936 Oscar-winning Disney short / Queen who becomes Senator in Star Wars saga

Constructor: Patrick Berry

Relative difficulty:Medium

THEME: none

 Word of the Day: In OMNIA paratus (9D: In ___ paratus) —

Latin: "Ready for anything" (motto of the U.S. Army's 18th Infantry Regiment)

• • •

A typically smooth and interesting Patrick Berry themeless puzzle. Would've skewed toward the Easy side were it not for the NE corner, which brought me to a complete if not screeching halt. Everything above the CRISIS in CRISIS MODE (20A: "The worst is upon us" mentality) was a blank. Neither the PAD in SCORE PAD nor the GAME in HOME GAME was helping me get the first parts of those phrases at first, and the missing crosses? A perfect storm of You Must Be Kidding. McGovern's 1972 running mate? 1936 Oscar-winning Disney short? Some Latin phrase I've never heard of? Yipes. I had that horrid, sickly feeling of Stuck. If I'd been able to spell AM*I*DALA (13D: Queen who becomes a senator in the "Star Wars" saga), I might have gotten myself out of this rut sooner, but no. I eventually got HOME GAME, and then completely guessed SHRIVER. Things came together from there. I probably lost only 30-45 seconds, but that's an Eternity in crossword time (for me). The rest of the puzzle never managed to halt my steady forward progress. I lucked out along the way—ALMOND JOY clue was Ridiculously easy, I know Dolly Parton's "JOLENE" and K.D. LANG's "Constant Craving" by heart, and LAVINIA and I are old friends. SW, like its symmetrical counterpart, was tough, but in a way I could fight through ... though I don't know what I'd have done without the EWOK (47D: Furry denizen of Endor), 'cause I had Nothing in that quadrant until that critter came along. "K" led to PASSKEYS led to HARLEY etc. etc. Long live the EWOK (I malign these creatures a lot, but I'll take a passel of EWOKs over a single queen AMIDALA any day).




An astonishing number of answers from Roman history today: its beginnings in LAVINIA (her marriage to Aeneas provides the mythical foundation for the civilization that would become Rome), its Golden Age glory in AGRIPPA (34D: Victorious fleet commander at Actium), and its 410 AD death knell in ALARIC (1A: Visigoth king who sacked Rome). Lots of music today too, with an especially interesting clue on MAMA CASS (36A: Pop singer born Ellen Naomi Cohen). Didn't know her given name. Also didn't know "CSI" forensic scientist Grissom (GIL). Not a fan of that franchise. I was a fan of "Twin Peaks," however, and Sherilyn FENN's name came back to me rather easily (48A: "Twin Peaks" actress Sherilyn). MAVEN does not sound Yiddish to my ears, so I was reluctant to put it in, even though it was the first word that came to mind (26A: Yiddish for "connoisseur"). The first word (or phrase, rather) that came to mind at 29D: Female impersonators use them was FAKE BOOBS. Later, when I had more of the crosses, I was almost convinced that the answer could be FALSE TITS. this made the actual (fine) answer something of a let-down.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

Controversial one-act play by Mamet / FRI 11-4-11 / 1994 sci-fi film about alien artifact / 1990s cartoon dog / R&B drinking song covered by Ray Charles

Constructor: Patrick Berry

Relative difficulty: Easy

THEME: none

Word of the Day: "EDMOND" (56A: Controversial one-act play by Mamet) —

Edmond is a one-act play written by David Mamet. It premiered at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago, on June 4, 1982. The first New York production was October 27 of the same year, at the Provincetown Playhouse. The play consists of twenty-three short scenes. In the original production, each of the actors took on multiple roles, save the two playing Edmond and his wife. Kenneth Branagh starred as Edmond in a production of the play in London in 2003. [...] Despite its critical praise, the racial content of the play, particularly the numerous slurs against African-Americans, has caused controversy at colleges and universities attempting to stage it. (wikipedia)

• • •

This was mostly delightful, and remarkably easy. Well, remarkably easy except (for me) in the SW corner, where I had serious name issues. Never heard of Hugh Lofting, so DOLITTLE didn't come quickly (32D: Doctor in Hugh Lofting tales). Never heard of *any* of the 6-letter Acrosses down there—not a one. Not TRIJET, not LESLIE, and not "EDMOND." Also never heard of "ONE MINT JULEP" (36A: R&B "drinking song" covered by Ray Charles). The MINT JULEP part was easy to pick up; the ONE part, less so. Because of this corner, I was going to rate this puzzle "Easy-Medium," but then I noticed that my peers at the NYT applet (the ones whose times normally compare with my own) crushed me—by several minutes in some cases. So I was slow. And I was still faster than normal. So, Easy.

For a Patrick Berry puzzle, this one didn't have too many "wow" moments. I think I exclaimed something adulatory with WEASELS OUT OF, and I know I did with CHUMP CHANGE (my favorite answer) (25D: Amount scarcely worth arguing over). There's a bit of overreliance on obscure names here. I'd include MORTIMER and STU Redman and "ODELAY" in that category (despite the fact that I actually knew "ODELAY"), along with the aforementioned LESLIE and EDMOND. Puzzle remains pleasurable, however, because the names all have ultimately fair crosses, and the general quality of the fill is (unsurprisingly) stellar. FER is about as rickety as it gets, and that's not very rickety (Odd sidenote: I somehow got FER-de-Lance confused with pot-au-FEU ...).

["Hey! EYES LEFT!"]

Started out with 1D: Bach's "Mass in ___" (B MINOR), and despite not remembering the key off the top of my head, I knew it was something MAJOR or something MINOR, and so I put in the "M" and "R." Tested the "N" and got NEATEN, and tore through that section from there. Beyond the struggles in the SW, I can't think of much that went wrong. Prudishly wanted DARN instead of DAMN at 27D: Confounded. Thought FEMINISM was so obvious for 34D: Doctrine associated with Betty Friedan that I refused to believe it was right at first. Pulled ERIS out of my crosswordese bag of tricks (30D: Ninth-largest body known to orbit the sun). Cheated by looking down at my keyboard at 24D: Symbol above the comma on a keyboard (LESS THAN), and still screwed it up because I confused the comma with the apostrophe (?).  Otherwise, a smooth, enjoyable, problem-free journey. 

Bullets:

• 20A: African migrators (GNUS) — off the "G" in FRAGILE. No sweat. 

• 49A: Foul ball's landing spot, often (STANDS) — Have you ever read The Natural? There's some amazing foul ball action in that book, including a foul ball that Roy Hobbs tries to hit at a dwarf in the STANDS named Otto Zipp, but that then caroms off the dwarf and hits Roy's former lover Iris Lemon, who has come to the game (unbeknownst to Roy) to tell him that she is pregnant with his child, and that he has to win the game rather than throw it (as he's being paid to do). I just read it. Can you tell? It's an amazing piece of writing. You know that famous shot from the movie, where Robert Redford (as Roy Hobbs) hits that triumphant homerun, the one that smashes the ballpark lights? Not in the book. Not even close. To understand what the movie did to the book, imagine a movie version of "King Lear" where Lear is restored to the throne and he and Cordelia go on to usher in a new era of benevolent monarchy. Or a "Marley & Me" where Marley lives to a ripe old age. Or a "Midnight Cowboy" where they actually make it to Florida and open a surf shop. You get the picture.
• 55A: 1994 sci-fi film about an alien artifact ("STARGATE") — I tried to watch the TV series. I got part of one episode in.
• 11D: 1990s cartoon dog (REN) — This is what I mean by "Easy." Anyone who does puzzle regularly is going to get this instantly. [Cartoon Chihuahua] is the most common "cartoon"-containing clue in the cruciverb.com database, by a mile.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

Campaign election analyst Silver / 10-22-11 / Strip since 1961 that's printed in black white / Narrative set in Bronze Age / Role for Young

Constructor: Patrick Berry

Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium

THEME: The solution of the week-long metapuzzle 

Word of the Day: GUYS (40A: Insults playfully) —

tr.v., guyed, guy·ing, guys.
To hold up to ridicule; mock.

Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/guy-1#ixzz1bTWq51FL

• • •

"CROSS" WORDS CONTEST week! All the puzzles this week, from Monday to Saturday, have been created by one person, Patrick Berry. Have your solutions handy, because the Saturday puzzle conceals a meta-challenge involving the solution grids of all six. When you have the answer to the meta-challenge, mail it to: crossword@nytimes.com. Please do not post your answers here on the blog and please do not mail them to me! Only answers e-mailed to the above address will be considered. Twenty-five correct solvers, chosen at random, whose entries are received by 6:00 p.m. E.T. Sunday, Oct. 23, will receive copies of “Will Shortz Picks His Favorite Puzzles: 101 of the Top Crosswords From The New York Times.” Only one entry per person, please. The answer and winners’ names will appear on Friday, Oct. 28, at http://www.nytimes.com/wordplay.

• • •

Hard to evaluate a puzzle like this, which is essentially a decoder ring. Never did like instructions in my answer grid, but at least today there's a reasonable-sized payoff.

In the interest of ... I don't know what ... the integrity of the contest? Whatever the reason, I think I won't reveal the solution to the metapuzzle. I will, however, reveal the instructions provided in this puzzle, as they are the only thing that could pass for a "theme" today:

Theme answers:

• 23A: Find contest's meta-answer by reading THE FIRST LETTERS of these clues.
• 42A: Solvers must FILL EVERY CIRCLE in the grids to determine the grids' proper order.

If you are really trying to avoid spoilers, I would suggest you stay away from the comments section today. But then, if you were avoiding spoilers, you probably wouldn't be reading this sentence right now. At any rate, I'll reveal the meta-answer on Monday, after the contest entry window has closed.

About the grid: Biggest surprise was finding out that NATE Silver is crossworthy (13A: Campaign/election analyst ___ Silver). Good for him. I follow him on Twitter and find his statistical analyses of politics fascinating. I was surprised to find that A-ROD has only been A-ROD since '99 (16A: Nickname since 1999), even though he broke into the league (first full season) in '96. Slapped my head when I *finally* figured out what 12D: Second or sixth in a series was (ADAMS). I was thinking "ALEPH ... is first in a series ... so ... what?" Toughest part for me by far was everything around GUYS (new meaning of the word, for me) and esp. "SPY VS. SPY" (35D: Strip since 1961 that's printed in black and white) which looks *insane* in the grid. I worked and reworked that area a bunch because I was convinced that the letter sequences I was getting for that answer must be wrong. Just now noticing that that elusive [Kite part] was a BEAK. So, you know, *that* kind of "kite." I had TAIL there, at first, of course ... hmm, *that* kind of "kite" also has a tail. Couldn't process what was meant by [Astronomical appearance]—so much so that the "P" in PHASE ended up being the very last thing I put in the grid. Seven PINES???? (29A: Seven ___ (Civil War battle site)) Could've been VINES or TINES or MINES, as far as I was concerned.




Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

Poisonous gilled mushrooms / FRI 10-21-11 / What Surgeon's Photo supposedly depicts / Prelapsarian home / 1976 Broadway musical based on Henry VIII's life

Warning—If you get your puzzle online, make sure you download the .pdf format (directly from the NYT's "Crosswords & Games" page). The *real* Friday puzzle (by Patrick Berry) is available online *exclusively* as a .pdf file. The AcrossLite and applet files are a different puzzle entirely.

Constructor: Patrick Berry

Relative difficulty: Medium

THEME: Crossing over —some Down and Across answers wrap around, or "cross over" to the other side of the grid; three grid-spanning answers have two clues each—one for the strange phrases that start on the far left of the grid, and another for familiar phrases that start somewhere in the middle of the grid and make sense only if you read them as wrapping around, or "crossing over"

Word of the Day: "REX" (37D: 1976 Broadway musical based on Henry VIII's life) —

Rex is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick and libretto by Sherman Yellen, based on the life of King Henry VIII. [...] Following tryout engagements in Delaware, Washington and Boston, it opened on Broadway at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on April 25, 1976 and closed June 5, 1976, after 14 previews and 49 regular performances. (wikipedia)

• • •

I've done a wrap-around puzzle before (I think Tyler Hinman had one in a Lollapuzzoola tournament a couple years back) and earlier this evening I did Patrick Berry's mind-blowing Fireball puzzle for this week, so this wasn't nearly as strange to me as it might have been. I saw the gimmick right away, though the puzzle still had enough bite to make it a solid Friday affair. Weirdly, I never saw the second "crossing over" clues on the long answers. Instead, when I finished, I noticed the author LESLIE CHARTERIS's name inside CHARTER ISLES LIE. Then I went and found DESTROYING ANGEL and WINCHESTER RIFLE. Only then did I notice that these phrases were clued via Across numbers that were positioned mid-answer. If I didn't know this was part of a week-long meta puzzle, I'd say that I didn't care for this one much. Seems slightly pointless, and since the gimmick wasn't new to me, the whole thing was more chore than joy. But it's still an impressive construction—not as impressive as that damned Fireball puzzle (you really should see that thing), but impressive nonetheless.

Theme answers:

• 6A: Country singer Gibbs glided a short distance? (TERRI FLEW INCHES) / 9A: Old West gun, crossing over? (WINCHESTER RIFLE)
• 35A: Cowboy Rogers as part of a posse afger some younger namesakes joined up? (ELDEST ROY IN GANG) / 36A: Poisonous gilled mushrooms, crossing over? (DESTROYING ANGEL) — why is clue plural and answer singular?
• 60A: Leasable tropical locales aren't truthful? (CHARTER ISLES LIE) / 64A: Simon Templar's creator, crossing over? (LESLIE CHARTERIS)

I had no idea there were Billboard charts in 1914. I also had no idea that a song named "The ABA Daba Honeymoon" existed (14D: "The ___ Daba Honeymoon" (1914 #1 song)). I suppose I can be forgiven that ignorance, as well as my ignorance of the extremely short-lived 1976 musical "REX!" (if it doesn't have an exclamation point in the title, it should). Took me far, far too long to get CAMBODIAN (15D: Language in which "yes" and "no" are "baat" and "te," respectively), partially because "te" is Maori, and partially because I was half-expecting an invented language like KLINGON. Never heard of the "Surgeon's Photo" (29D: What the "Surgeon's Photo" supposedly depicts => NESSIE) and can't picture or place MEL Allen at all, though somehow his name came to me fairly readily (22D: "The Week in Baseball" host Allen). Had no idea Natalie Portman's birthplace was ISRAEL. I kept wanting something "Star Wars"-y like NABOO. I love the word "pre- (and post-) lapsarian" (mmmm, Miltonesque), so EDEN was a cinch (45A: Prelapsarian home). Lastly, I made a huge crossword nerd error when I wrote in IN STIR for 11A: Doing time (INSIDE). "In stir" survives only (so far as I can tell) in crossword clues and answers. I was so bummed to be wrong.

See you tomorrow for the grand meta-finale.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

1980s Rowan Atkinson sitcom series / THU 10-20-11 / Insincere flatter in slang / Defender in bridge column / Sarcophagus lid

Constructor: Patrick Berry

Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium

THEME: Black and White — Eight symmetrical (!) rebus squares contain the word "WHITE" when read in one direction and "BLACK" when read in the other

Word of the Day: KAREN BLACK (43A: Best Supporting Actress nominee for "Five Easy Pieces") —

Karen Black (born July 1, 1939) is an American actress, screenwriter, singer, and songwriter. She is noted for appearing in such films as Easy Rider, Five Easy Pieces, The Great Gatsby, Rhinoceros, The Day of the Locust, Nashville, Airport 1975, and Alfred Hitchcock's final film, Family Plot. Over the course of her career, she won two Golden Globe Awards (out of three nominations), and an Academy Award nomination in 1970 for Best Supporting Actress, among numerous other honors. [She also starred in Return of the Roller Blade Seven and Decoupage 2000: Return of the Goddess] (wikipedia)

• • •

"CROSS" WORDS CONTEST week! All the puzzles this week, from Monday to Saturday, have been created by one person, Patrick Berry. Have your solutions handy, because the Saturday puzzle conceals a meta-challenge involving the solution grids of all six. When you have the answer to the meta-challenge, mail it to: crossword@nytimes.com. Please do not post your answers here on the blog and please do not mail them to me! Only answers e-mailed to the above address will be considered. Twenty-five correct solvers, chosen at random, whose entries are received by 6:00 p.m. E.T. Sunday, Oct. 23, will receive copies of “Will Shortz Picks His Favorite Puzzles: 101 of the Top Crosswords From The New York Times.” Only one entry per person, please. The answer and winners’ names will appear on Friday, Oct. 28, at http://www.nytimes.com/wordplay. 

• • •

One of my fastest Thursdays ever, but I see (by the times at the NYT site) that my experience was not quite the norm (if I'd solved on the applet, I'd be third on the board right now, as I finished in 5 flat). Rebus made things easier, not harder, and despite not knowing the phrases BANANA OIL (18A: Insincere flattery, in slang) or BEAN TREE (49A: Pod-bearing plant) (the latter of which caused me serious pain in the SE), I still sailed through this one with a well-below-average time. The crosswordy themes continue this week, what with yesterday's "Cross words" theme, and now today's B&W. The oddest thing about the grid is the poor interconnectivity; those NW and SE corners are connected to the middle patch only by a very narrow (one square) strip of land. I worked my way down into the western portion of the grid and realized I couldn't get out. Had to go back up. This slowed me down in the SE—didn't know BEAN TREE, as I say, and hadn't realized that the theme squares were symmetrical, so I felt trapped there for a bit when I couldn't make anything move. But once I put EMTS beside RONA, I was able to get moving again, and once VANNA came into view, the puzzle was pretty quickly done from there.

Theme answers:

• LAMP B / W SALES
• B ADDER (25A: 1980s Rowan Atkinson sitcom series set in various historical periods) / W WASH
• B BART (8D: Famously polite Old West stagecoach robber) / W NER (this is the one answer that just looks weird, due to the non-self-standingness of "NER")
• BACK IN B (15D: Iconic AC/DC album with the song "You Shook Me All Night Long") / B and W / W MATTER
• KAREN B / LILY W (31D: Untainted by corruption)
• EGG W / JACK B (44D: Star of 2010's "Gulliver's Travels")
• VANNA W (40D: Woman of letters?) / B ANTS (58A: Nest-building pests)

That VANNA clue was brutal, in that I thought there was going to be a play on the word "letters"—or ... more of a play, I guess. I thought it might be some word for "landlady." I don't know anything about bridge, except that directions are somehow involved, which was all I needed to know today. I was looking for some technical Greek word for [Sarcophagus lid]. A bit surprised by the humble SLAB. Wanted VINNY for 40A: Title role for Joe Pesci but took it out because of the odd placement of the Y in the fourth position of a five-letter word (or, an apparently five-letter word which ended up being a nine-letter phrase). Medievalist training made BEDE a gimme (16A: The Venerable ___ (old English historian)). "Hunger enhancer" is the kind of phrase you see only in crossword clues (AROMA). I don't remember the word "organic" being in the clue for TAR (21D: Organic sealant). "Sealant" was enough. I think BRAD is a word I learned a long, long time ago from crosswords (pre-Shortzian crosswords) (6D: Fastener in a punched hole). Lastly, KIA Sorento (43D: Sorento manufacturer) was more of a gimme than in might normally have been because I've been doing a lot of car research. Mine died. Or, rather, mine is sick and I have decided to put it down. The whole process is making me not want to drive ever again. I just want a car to magically appear in my driveway. I'm not a fan of spending big chunks of money, but I'm especially not a fan of details, paperwork, haggling, and overall hassle. If any of you all want to make a car magically appear in my driveway, feel free. Just ... not a Sorento, OK?

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

Whimsical 2001 film set in Paris / WED 10-19-11 / Muslim palace divisions / Mast attachment / Cross aromatherapy patient

Constructor: Patrick Berry

Relative difficulty: Medium

THEME: Cross words — idioms meaning "cross" (as in "angry" or "miffed") are given jokey ("?"-style), literal clues

Word of the Day:  Guinea-BISSAU (49D: Guinea-___ (West African nation)) —

The Republic of Guinea-Bissau ⁱ/ˈɡɪni bɪˈsaʊ/ (Portuguese: República da Guiné-Bissau [...]) is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Senegal to the north, and Guinea to the south and east, with the Atlantic Ocean to its west. // It covers 36,125 km² (nearly 14,000 sq mi) with an estimated population of 1,600,000. // Guinea-Bissau was once part of the kingdom of Gabu, as well as part of the Mali Empire. Parts of this kingdom persisted until the 18th century, while a few others were part of the Portuguese Empire since the 16th century. It then became the Portuguese colony of Portuguese Guinea in the 19th century. Upon independence, declared in 1973 and recognised in 1974, the name of its capital, Bissau, was added to the country's name to prevent confusion with the Republic of Guinea. (wikipedia)

• • •

"CROSS" WORDS CONTEST week! All the puzzles this week, from Monday to Saturday, have been created by one person, Patrick Berry. Have your solutions handy, because the Saturday puzzle conceals a meta-challenge involving the solution grids of all six. When you have the answer to the meta-challenge, mail it to: crossword@nytimes.com. Please do not post your answers here on the blog and please do not mail them to me! Only answers e-mailed to the above address will be considered. Twenty-five correct solvers, chosen at random, whose entries are received by 6:00 p.m. E.T. Sunday, Oct. 23, will receive copies of “Will Shortz Picks His Favorite Puzzles: 101 of the Top Crosswords From The New York Times.” Only one entry per person, please. The answer and winners’ names will appear on Friday, Oct. 28, at http://www.nytimes.com/wordplay.

• • •

Cute use of idioms today. This one played slightly harder than a normal Wednesday for me, but only slightly, and some of that slowness was my own damn stuck-brain fault. I mean, blanking on the stupid Swiss canton? Who does that? (1A: Swiss canton=>URI) I wanted ARI or ULM ... bah. Never heard of Guinea-BISSAU, so that really hurt me toward the end. So did having LETS / LINUX instead of VETS / VISTA (57D: Ones out of service? / 57A: Windows operating system released in 2007). I don't know what I was thinking with LINUX, as it doesn't fit the clue at all). Other moments of slowness came not from the obscurity of the answers, but from the (to my ear) strangeness of the clue. [Homeboys] and PALS don't really hang out in the same neighborhood, language-wise. I had BROS. I don't think of an ICICLE as a point (3D: Freezing point?). It *has* a point. I have never wanted a student to say "AHA" (35D: What a teacher likes to hear from a pupil). In fact, I have never, ever, ever heard a student say such a thing. "I SEE," maybe. "I GET IT," even more likely. "I DON'T DESERVE THIS GRADE. I'M AN 'A' STUDENT," all the time.

Theme answers:

• 17A: The cross baby was ... (UP IN ARMS)
• 24A: The cross motorist stuck at a stoplight was ... (SEEING RED)
• 37A: The cross man who'd been cloned was ... (BESIDE HIMSELF)
• 52A: The cross woman taking her bubble bath was ... (IN A LATHER)
• 62A: The cross aromatherapy patient was ... (INCENSED)
  

I slowed myself down by botching a few things here and there. SPAR for SAIL (15A: Mast attachment). SAUL (?) for PAUL (36A: Author of several New Testament epistles). Something about the word "divisions" made it hard for me to come up with HAREMS (67A: Muslim palace divisions). Couldn't tell what was being divided and whether there were multiple divisions in one palace or whether clue was just asking for a plural of a single division (or area) within a palace. Never had any desire to see "I AM SAM" (45D: 2001 drama whose title is taken from "Green Eggs and Ham"), though the soundtrack (all Beatles covers) is quite good. Also never had any desire to see "AMÉLIE" (8D: Whimsical 2001 film set in Paris), despite the enthusiastic ravings of so many filmies. Wait, did I say "despite?" I meant "because of."





Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

Malevolent Hindu goddess / TUE 10-18-11 / Swinger who loved Jane / Les Nessman's station 1978-82 sitcom / 1998 animated film based on Brave New World

Constructor: Patrick Berry

Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium

THEME: Hybrids — Clues are common words followed by a colon and "a cross between ___" — answers are common phrases following a ___ AND ___ pattern where first letters of first word and last letters of last word make up the clue word

Word of the Day: Charles DARNAY (28D: Charles ___, hero of "A Tale of Two Cities") —

Charles Darnay, or Charles St. Evrémonde, is a fictional character in A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. // A French aristocrat by birth, Darnay chooses to live in England because he cannot bear to be associated with the cruel injustices of the French social system. Darnay displays great virtue in his rejection of the snobbish and cruel values of his uncle, the Marquis Evrémonde. He exhibits an admirable honesty in his decision to reveal to Dr. Alexandre Manette his true identity as a member of the infamous Evrémonde family. So, too, does he prove his courage in his decision to return to Paris at great personal risk to save the imprisoned Gabelle. When the revolutionaries are trying to find and kill the Marquis, Darnay realizes that his uncle has been murdered, making him the new Marquis. // Darnay is put on trial for treason against the Kingdom of Great Britain, but he is acquitted on a point noticed by Sydney Carton. Carton also falls in love with Darnay's wife Lucie during the trial. At the end of the final book, Darnay is supposed to be executed, but Carton nobly chooses to take Darnay's place. (wikipedia)

• • •

"CROSS" WORDS CONTEST week! All the puzzles this week, from Monday to Saturday, have been created by one person, Patrick Berry. Have your solutions handy, because the Saturday puzzle conceals a meta-challenge involving the solution grids of all six. When you have the answer to the meta-challenge, mail it to: crossword@nytimes.com. Please do not post your answers here on the blog and please do not mail them to me! Only answers e-mailed to the above address will be considered. Twenty-five correct solvers, chosen at random, whose entries are received by 6:00 p.m. E.T. Sunday, Oct. 23, will receive copies of “Will Shortz Picks His Favorite Puzzles: 101 of the Top Crosswords From The New York Times.” Only one entry per person, please. The answer and winners’ names will appear on Friday, Oct. 28, at http://www.nytimes.com/wordplay.

• • •

This one is much less lovable than yesterday's, but still solid. It's hard to evaluate these because some part of me is thinking about the week-long meta puzzle (which will be revealed on Saturday) and wondering what part of the puzzle is involved in the meta. Today, I think it's the letters dropped when the words are crossed to make a new word, e.g. the "UREANDS" part of PURE AND SIMPLE (the non-pimple part). But I could be, and probably am, wrong. Today, I think I saw one theme clue. After that, I just figured out phrases from crosses and didn't even bother to look at the theme clues. Worked just fine. Get one word and you can pretty well work out the ___AND or the AND___ part. Only real problem today was spelling Sammy CAHN's name right (I didn't) (13D: "Come Fly With Me" lyricist), and then getting DARNAY at all. I have no recollection of that name. Needed every cross.  Not much else that's interesting about this solve.

[Come Fly with KANYE — 42A: "Love Lockdown" singer West]

Theme answers:

• 17A: Starch: a cross between ___? (STARSKY AND HUTCH)
• 25A: Pimple: a cross between ___? (PURE AND SIMPLE)
• 44A: Hisses: a cross between ___? (HUGS AND KISSES)
• 57A: Beetles: a cross between ___? (BEER AND SKITTLES)

Some clever and enjoyable clues today, including 22A: Swinger who loves Jane (TARZAN). Also several pop culture trivia clues that made me smile, including 53D: Les Nessman's station in a 1978-82 sitcom (WKRP), 47A: Word before "Boy," "Love" and "Come Back" in titles to #1 songs (BABY), and 11D: 1998 animated film loosely based on "Brave New World" ("ANTZ"). I never noticed the "Brave New World" connection when I saw the film 12+ years ago. I loved "WKRP" when I was a kid. And I've been listening to a lot of late '70s pop music lately. A lot. Hence the smile for "BABY Come Back"



I forgot about KALI and tried KALA at first (46D: Malevolent Hindu goddess). I watched "Star Wars" this weekend with my daughter, and kept shouting "added!" every time some CGI nonsense popped up on the screen. JABBA was among such nonsense (1A: ___ the Hutt ("Return of the Jedi" villain)). Eventually I shut up and let my daughter just enjoy the movie. I got the "Star Wars" trilogy on Blu-Ray, even though they've been annoyingly tampered with, because she needs access to the classics. She knows that if she wants to see Episodes I-III, she's on her own.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld