Columnist Hentoff / WED 2-1-12 / Queen Wheat City of Oklahoma / Prefix with mom in 2009 news / Olympic skating champion Lysacek / Ranch in Giant / Soda brand since 1905 / Brand of movable collectibles / Tommie of Miracle Mets

Constructor: Elizabeth C. Gorski

Relative difficulty: Easy

THEME: "WAR AND PEACE" (39A: Classic novel of 1,000+ pages ... or a hint to the word ladder formed by the answers to the starred clues) — word ladder goes from HAWK to DOVE. There's also a note: "When this puzzle is completed, the 10 circled letters, reazd from top to bottom, will spell a name associated with 39-Across"—that name: LEO TOLSTOY

Word of the Day: EVAN Lysacek (30D: Olympic skating champion Lysacek) —

Evan Frank Lysacek (... born June 4, 1985) is an American figure skater. He is the 2010 Olympic champion, the 2009 World champion, the 2005 & 2007 Four Continents champion, the 2007 & 2008 U.S. national champion, and the 2009/2010 Grand Prix Final champion. (wikipedia)

• • •

One of the most interesting and clever word ladder puzzles I've ever done. Has a real sense of purpose, illustrates the central answer perfectly. The circles are ridiculous and unnecessary, but that does nothing to alter the basic integrity of the puzzle.  Here is a 78-worder that actually has lots of interesting fill throughout. This is likely because there are no lengthy theme answers (besides the one), and though the word ladder is certainly a restriction, there is still the freedom to make the longer answers anything at all. Though there's still a lot of short stuff, there's *not* a lot of tired, dreadful short stuff. The longer answers are bouncy and the shorter stuff is solid. The only drawback (and that word may be too strong) was that the puzzle was so easy that I didn't even notice the word ladder existed. I read [Classic novel...] and, based on existing letters, knew exactly what I was dealing with. Had the whole thing done in roughly 3 and a half minutes with absolutely no idea of how WAR AND PEACE related to the circles (which I assumed were integral). Turns out it was the asterisked clues that were the important thing, and the circles a superficial afterthought (not very hard to find LEO TOLSTOY in your grid; you can find those letters, in order, top to bottom, in yesterday's puzzle, for instance). The note also seems entirely unnecessary, in that I don't need the circles to finish the puzzle, and while I'm no Encyclopedia Brown, I can sleuth hard enough to figure out that the circles, when taken in order, contain a name. And what's with the note's description of LEO TOLSTOY? "A name associated with ['War and Peace']"?! That implies the connection is much more tenuous than it actually is. "It's funny, I always associate LEO TOLSTOY with 'WAR AND PEACE'." "Huh. Interesting. Maybe that's because HE WROTE IT." What harm could there possibly be in just saying he's the "author of 39-Across"?

Ladder:

• HAWK / HARK / HARE (22A: *Storied also-ran) / CARE / CORE / COVE / LOVE / DOVE

You can, of course, get to DOVE at least two steps faster—HAWK / HARK / HARE / DARE / DAVE / DOVE. Or can you not use names? Well, at any rate, LOVE is patently unnecessary (which was, coincidentally, the title of the Beatles' darker, never-released follow-up to "All You Need Is LOVE").

Bullets:

• 5A: Prefix with "mom" in 2009 news (OCTO-) — easy, though wife was visibly stunned that this "story" was already this old. 

• 14A: Tommie of the Miracle Mets (AGEE) — needed every cross. Just couldn't remember his name. Much harder AGEE than that author guy (whom I don't really know except by crossword reflex).
• 37A: Article in rap titles (THA) — wanted "DA" but that's absurd, obviously. I love that THA is now totally normal crossword fill.
• 42A: Columnist Hentoff (NAT) — I know the name very well, but not as a "columnist." The weird thing is, even looking at his wikipedia page, I have no idea *how* I know his name so well. I must've had to read some of his writing in college or grad school, but I don't know what.
• 52A: Brown in the funnies (CHARLIE) — mentioned him in my Comics class yesterday (first day of classes) while discussing the fact that the Sunday funnies are essentially a graveyard. When most of your comics are *at least* three decades old, and the author of your front-page, above-the-fold, lead comic has been dead for over a decade, you know you've got a nostalgia problem. [For a genuinely funny contemporary comic that should be in newspapers but isn't, see Kate Beaton's "Hark a Vagrant" (now in book form) which at least 66% of you will Love. Brontë soul with a punk attitude—specially designed for liberal arts grads and anyone who likes awesome]
• 59A: "Give me an example!" ("NAME ONE!") — I love this.
• 4D: New Zealand parrots (KEAS) — very close to my heart. Here's my nephew Rob (age 6, 2003) with a kea, in the Southern Alps. 

And here's my nephew Ben—who is going to be an extra in "The Hobbit"—sitting smack in the middle of Hobbit country (age 8) (2003)

• 24D: Item in a thole (OAR) — I only ever see THOLE in the grid itself and part of me always thought it was really T-HOLE. Don't laugh. Are you laughing at me? Man, you're such a T-HOLE.
• 45D: Brand of movable collectibles (PEZ) — they do ... move ... I guess!
• 46D: Soda brand since 1905 (RC COLA) — that double-C is always an adventure. Makes me think soda will be Irish.
• 53D: Ranch in "Giant" (REATA) — do puzzles long enough, and you'll learn more about RI(E)ATAs than you ever wanted to know.
• 61D: Queen Wheat City of Oklahoma (ENID) — I have been singing "Queen Wheat City" to the tune of "Detroit Rock City" ever since I laid eyes on this clue.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

Tunisian seaport / SUN 12-25-11 / Journalist Joseph / Japanese stringed instrument / Video game island / Eponymic town of Cambridgeshire / Honey in Horn trumpeter

Constructor: Elizabeth C. Gorski

Relative difficulty: Medium

  
THEME: "Ain't He Sweet" — circles form a GINGERBREAD MAN (91A: With 100-Across, image revealed by connecting the circle letters alphabetically); assorted other answers relate to the theme

Word of the Day: Max REGER (67D: Composer Max) —

Johann Baptist Joseph Maximilian Reger (19 March 1873 – 11 May 1916) was a German composer, conductor, pianist, organist, and academic teacher. [...] Reger produced an enormous output over little more than 25 years, nearly always in abstract forms. Few of his compositions are well known in the 21st century. (wikipedia)

• • •

An impressive construction that left me a little cold, mostly because of how much the quality of the fill was strained. Also, the theme answers weren't very coherent. All over the map. ELIZABETH? Random. "SHREK" has no symmetrical counterpart. Look, the A to Z thing is very cool, no doubt. But once you get the revealer then the whole thing is ... uh ... revealed. Theme itself is pretty thin, so there's nothing more to do but deal with the fill, and That was the problem. SFAX (102D: Tunisian seaport)!? REGER (67D: Composer Max)!? SIXTE (44A: Fencing position)!? I ended up with an error and it took Forever to find, first because the grid is enormous (oversized 23x23) and second because I had So many places to look (i.e. lots and lots of words I'd never heard of before that I thought could be wrong). Of course the error was in the last place I looked: at the intersection of the nonword AGAZE (8A: Staring intently) and the never-seen-before "mineral" ZINCITE (11D: Mineral in healing crystals). What the hell is a "healing crystal?" I had AGAPE (a word). PINCITE is, of course, ridiculous, but not much more ridiculous than AGAZE. And who the hell is GRIMSBY? (9D: "The Little Mermaid" fellow) I've heard of drinking *warm* milk, but HOT MILK (117D: Relaxer for Santa)!? Ouch / gross. I had the front end and thought "HOT ... MAMA? That *would* be relaxing, but ..."


Theme answers:

• 76A: Decoration on a 91-/100-Across (ICING)
• 102A: 2001 film in which 91-/100-Across is a character ("SHREK")
• 4D: 91-/100-Across, often (TREE ORNAMENT)  
• 16D: Aid for making a 91-/100-Across (COOKIE CUTTER)
• 105D: 16th-century monarch credited with presenting 91-/100-Acrosses to guests (ELIZABETH)
• 110D: "The 91-/100-Across," for one (FAIRY TALE) — I thought for sure this was going to refer to that movie I never saw ... based on a Grisham novel, maybe ... hang on ... oh, I'm sorry: "based on a discarded John Grisham manuscript" (!).

Bullets:

• 33A: Japanese stringed instrument (KOTO) — another relatively obscure answer, though this one I remembered from crosswords gone by.
• 112A: "Honey in the Horn" trumpeter (HIRT) — Al HIRT. Here's something of his I didn't know existed:

• 136A: Fictional planet in "Flash Gordon" (MONGO) — no idea why I know this. Is that Ming the Merciless's planet? Hey, it is. My memory is strangely accurate today. 
• 141A: Crudités platter centerpiece (CHEESE DIP) — I went with the more traditional CHEESE LOG (not sure what "tradition" I'm referring to, but ...).
• 154A: Eponymic town of Cambridgeshire (STILTON) — this was oddly easy. My first thought was "how should I know?" Then I took one look at the answer, with a couple crosses in place, and I knew: cheese!
• 13D: Video game island (MYST) — a very big game from a time right when I was starting to not pay attention to video games any more.
• 41D: Mao contemporary (CHIANG) — as in Kai-Shek. This took some thought.
• 47D: Bulbous plant part (CORM) — one of those supremely ugly words I "know" only from crosswords.

Merry Merry,

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

Ratchet bar / SUN 11-6-11 / Brightly colored lizards / Odyssey temptress / PJ-clad mansion owner / Musician who won 2011 Presidential Medal of Freedom

Constructor: Elizabeth C. Gorski

Relative difficulty: Challenging

THEME: "Baker's Dozen" — 12 different theme answers are kinds of cakes. They are clued in non-cake fashion, and are in the grid upside-down (Down answers that run upward) — hence the theme-revealing answer (the 13th theme answer in the "Baker's Dozen"): UPSIDEDOWN CAKES (47D: Pastry chef creations ... and a hint to 12 other answers in this puzzle)

Word of the Day: PAWL (75A: Ratchet bar) —

n.
A hinged or pivoted device adapted to fit into a notch of a ratchet wheel to impart forward motion or prevent backward motion.

[Probably from Dutch pal, from Latin pālus, stake.]

Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/pawl#ixzz1csbEnoqp

• • •

I am on record (multiple times) proclaiming the genius of Liz Gorski. Easily one of my five favorite constructors. This may explain why I found this puzzle to be a crushing disappointment. The concept is brilliant, of course—this is what Liz does better than anyone else: dream up elaborate, creative, and mind-bending Sunday theme concepts. What I found distressing—and what, in the end, left me with one and nearly two errors—was an overwhelming amount of arcanity and fustiness in the fill. An avalanche of crosswordese, and not just the harmless stuff like ANS and INE. Nobody minds an AGHA here or a LAILA there. That's just the glue that holds otherwise fine creations together. It's just that this time someone got crazy with the glue gun and made a terrible mess. Here's the short list (in addition to the aforementioned tetrad of answers): TRE MMV ARNEL LTR LLDS NOI ERST BONA MOL SAR ENNE ETALII APRS INCOG ANIS STOA FUM ORRIS AGAMAS (?) NEVA LYSIN STR AYEN ALAR INRE ENE ESSO SSS. In the end, though, it's the EWA / PAWL and the ONEGA / GAGE crosses that take the bad fill fest from mere annoyance to full-scale train wreck. EWA and ONEGA (while I'm sure I've seen them in puzzles before, somewhere...) are obscure geographical answers (very Maleska-era stuff) and thus Require rock solid, common words in Every cross. Now, I'm going to fault myself for not knowing GAGE. I *guessed* GAGE, and was correct, so I lucked out. And yes, I'm sure I should know All the damn generals in every war. It's probably reasonable trivia. It's just ... it intersects *$#@ing ONEGA.





As solvers, we all compensate for our ignorance by relying on crosses. Some people, for instance, will not have known LARA Logan, but all her crosses are gettable, so ... who cares? You don't have to fret or complain about not knowing her. But GAGE / ONEGA is a dangerous cross. Definite Natick territory for some. Not for me, but for some. Where *I* got Naticked was EWA / PAWL. EWA is something I "know" Only because I have a reader from EWA Beach (it's not famous—if you haven't been to Hawaii and haven't solved a ton of crosswords, you don't know it ... it's not MAUI or OAHU or NENE, is what I'm saying). Sadly, I remembered it as EWO, and never ever having heard of a PAWL, there was No way I was getting out of that mistake. If I thought I was alone or in a tiny minority in muffing these crosses (well, one of them), I would just slap myself and move on. But there will be others who have the same experience (which I know, from experience). The times at the NYT site are terrible, which I'm betting is due not to the challenging quality of the theme (once you pick it up, it's not that tough), but to the same problem with short obscurities that I had. My particular problem areas were part of an overall over-reliance on short, odd, ugly, and/or obscure fill, which ended up overshadowing the loveliness of the theme.

Theme answers:

• 1D: Not having quite enough money (TROHS) — short cake!
• 110D: Bed cover (TEESH) —sheet cake!
• 12D: The "mode" of "a la mode" (MAERC ECI) — ice cream cake!
• 87D: Cause for bringing out candles (YADHTRIB) — birthday cake!
• 3D: Schokolade (ETALOCOHCNAMREG) — German chocolate cake!
• 15D: Canine shelter (DNUOP) — pound cake!
• 103D: Coat of paint (REYAL) — layer cake!
• 5D: Manna, according to the Bible (DOOFLEGNA) — angel food cake!
• 84D: Girl's holiday party dress  fabric (TEVLEVDER) — red velvet cake!
• 40D: Wooded area near the Rhine Valley (TSEROFKCALB) — Black Forest cake!
• 50D: Squishy dish cleaner (EGNOPS) — sponge cake!
• 61D: Word before republic or seat (ANANAB) — banana cake!       

The puzzle's theme is great because of the title — nice use of a baking phrase that also ties to the number of theme answers — and because of the amazing symmetry of the theme answers. Also, it's just dang clever. Took me a looong time to cop the theme, mostly because I was sure that TROHS (1D: Not having quite enough money) was a representation of "[Coming up] SHORT." See, it's the word SHORT, and instead of going Down, like it's supposed to, it's coming up. I didn't get to the theme revealer until something like half the grid was already filled in. I could see answers were running upwards, but I had No idea why. After I hit the revealer, things got a lot easier. But not easy enough, apparently.

Bullets:

• 19A: Invader of 1066 (NORMAN) — the NORMAN Invasion comes up every time I teach Brit Lit I and I *still* balked at this clue the first time around. "Some random invader!? How should I know!?" Smooth.
• 37A: "Odyssey" temptress (CIRCE) — This one I knew. Sometimes I actually recall the things I teach. We call those "good days."
• 81A: PJ-clad mansion owner (HEF) — I like this clue. Shortened "PJ" cuing shortened "HEF."
• 87A: Musician who won a 2011 Presidential Medal of Freedom (YO-YO MA) — he has this new album with a few other guys called "The Goat Rodeo Sessions"; it's pretty great:

• 97A: Peak leaf-peeping time in Pennsylvania (MID-OCTOBER) — I really like this answer. Inventive, and seasonal!
• 42D: Area known to the Chinese as Dongbei (MANCHURIA) — this reminds me: just received the latest edition (18th) of Oxford UP's stunning "Atlas of the World"; we were looking at the topographical maps of western China today. Dramatic rise to the Himalayas signified visually by a vivid and abrupt florescence of purple.
• 76D: "___ loves believes the impossible": Elizabeth Barrett Browning ("WHOSO") — Argh. I had HE WHO. If the clue had been ["___ list to hunt, I know where is an hind": Wyatt], I'd have nailed it.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

Legendary siren of Rhine / WED 8-10-11 / Coach Ewbank who led Jets to Super Bowl / Certain fraternity man informally / Surrender of * Diego Velazquez

Constructor: Elizabeth C. Gorski



Relative difficulty: Medium





THEME: FIVE IRONS (59A: Fairway clubs ... or a hint to the starts of the answers to 17-, 24- and 45-Across and 10- and 37-Down) — first words of all five theme answers can precede "IRON" in a common phrase



Word of the Day: MINGO (16A: Iroquoian people) —

The Mingo are an Iroquoian group of Native Americans made up of peoples who migrated west to the Ohio Country in the mid-eighteenth century. Anglo-Americans called these migrants mingos, a corruption of mingwe, an Eastern Algonquian name for Iroquoian-language groups in general. Mingos have also been called "Ohio Iroquois" and "Ohio Seneca". Most migrated to Kansas and later Oklahoma under Indian Removal programs. The federally recognized descendants of today reorganized in 1937 as the Seneca-Cayuga Tribe of Oklahoma. (wikipedia)

• • •

Got to meet Liz Gorski in person this past weekend for the first time. I can't say enough nice things. She has been incredibly supportive of me and I really just love her to pieces. But enough gushing.



Weird puzzle. On the one hand, a straight-over-the-plate "first words can precede X"-type puzzle, with an interesting reveal. On the other hand, BREDA (60A: "The Surrender of ___" (Diego Velázquez painting)). Also MINGO. Also WEEB (though I've definitely seen WEEB before in puzzles) (1A: Coach Ewbank who led the Jets to a Super Bowl championship). Also SIG (43A: Certain fraternity man, informally). Just a lot of really odd stuff that wouldn't come even with crosses (well, I mean, obviously it came, but I had to drag it). BREDA is pure outer-space material. It's a place name? A place in ... hmmm, Iowa ... but I'm guessing this BREDA is in The Netherlands. I've never seen or heard of this place. That "R" was a complete and utter and out-and-out guess (BURL seeming like a vaguely familiar word, albeit one I'd never use) (51D: Small knot). The fact that MINGO and BREDA are symmetrical makes me think I'm being taunted. My reaction to MINGO was "that sounds like the name of some wacky sidekick-type character, like BALKY on "Perfect Strangers" or something." Turns out, I was right—he's the "half-Cherokee" character on the "Daniel Boone" TV series of the 1960s. MINGO was played by ED AMES (of crossword grid fame). Anyway, I had no idea MINGO had any legitimate Native American validity. And now I do. At least I remembered how to spell LORELEI correctly this time (35D: Legendary siren of the Rhine).







Not much to say about the theme. It's fine. I like SOMBRERO (20A: A Mexican might sleep under it), LOVERBOY (53A: Beau), and MRS. PEEL better than I like any of the theme answers, though. Got thrown by singular SCRAP PAPER as answer to plural [Sheets...] and, as usual, by compound answer TVAD (didn't have "V," wanted one word, of course) (29A: 30- or 60-second spot). This town isn't big enough for both ADEE and AROO. ASE is among the worst three-letter fill in existence (22A: "Peer Gynt" mother).





Theme answers:

• 17A: Place for a sweater? (STEAM ROOM)
  
  
• 24A: Sheets for scribbling (SCRAP PAPER)
  
  
• 45A: Ice cream holder (WAFFLE CONE)
  
  
• 10D: Playground lingo (PIG LATIN) — whereas [Mingo lingo] would be ... what? Iroquoian?
  
  
• 37D: Fizzless drink (FLAT SODA)
  
  

BEST OF is a very interesting answer, with a very interesting clue. I was lukewarm on it when I was solving (as one often is when one struggles to understand what the hell's going on), but the more I think about it, the more I like it. I also like that the HE-MAN has a BUXOM companion down there in the SW (a BUXOM companion who really wants to be named BREnDA ... but can't seem to find the requisite "N").



Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

Soprano Nixon / WED 6-1-11 / Warren Buffet's sobriquet / 1981 Chrysler debut / Undergrads Greek leadership society / Target many New Yorker cartoon

Constructor: Elizabeth C. Gorski

Relative difficulty: Medium-Challenging

THEME: OOO (32D: Tic-tac-toe line ... and a hint to this puzzle's theme) — three-word phrases where all three words start with "O" (and middle word in every case is "OF")


Word of the Day: MARNI Nixon (1A: Soprano Nixon) —

Marni Nixon (born February 22, 1930) is an American soprano renowned for being a playback singer for featured actresses in well known movie musicals. This has earned her the sobriquet "The Ghostess with the Mostess", and "The Voice of Hollywood". She has also spent much of her career performing in concerts with major symphony orchestras around the world and in operas and musicals throughout the United States. (wikipedia)

• • •

This one was nowhere near my sweet spot, and on top of that it was teeming with less-than-wonderful fill, so not much joy for me today. ORACLE OF OMAHA is a nice answer to build a puzzle around, but "ONE OF OURS" is not exactly marquee Cather (Pulitzer notwithstanding), and I've simply never heard of ORDER OF OMEGA. I've also never (or barely) heard of MARNI Nixon or "The Makropulos Affair" or OKEMO (except in some forgotten crossword, I'm sure) (37D: Vermont ski resort), and I didn't know W.A.S.P. was still a thing or that "The New Yorker" still cared (49A: Target of many a New Yorker cartoon). In short, my response was mainly "what year is it?" and "maybe if I were a patrician W.A.S.P. opera-goer from the northeast, this puzzle would be more likeable."

Junk: IOS, OLIOS, CCIX, ABO, POTRO (DEL POTRO would've been just fine), SEG, ORIEL, DFCS, as well as the clues on FEY and FEST. Not junk: the FLIP and FLOP answers (FLIP A COIN and MEGAFLOP) (18A: Make heads or tails of something? and 38D: Big bust). Putting sportsy SHAUN White next to sportsy Juan Martin del POTRO seems slightly cruel to the notoriously sportsphobic, but with all the damn "New Yorker" / opera / FARRAR, Straus and Giroux snootiness everywhere else in the puzzle, I guess it's only fair.


Theme answers:

• 14A: "Love the skin you're in" sloganeer, once (OIL OF OLAY)
  
• 19A: Undergrads' Greek leadership society (ORDER OF OMEGA)
  
• 35A: Warren Buffet's sobriquet (ORACLE OF OMAHA)
  
• 54A: You need to raise your hand to receive this (OATH OF OFFICE)
  
• 60A: Pulitzer-winning novel by Willa Cather ("ONE OF OURS")
  

IN ARABIC seemed like cheating to me (5D: How a fatwa might be issued). I guess any "IN [insert language here]" phrase will do now. MADOFF is pretty close to a universal gimme as clued (1D: Financial scammer Bernie). BACH was also a gimme, if only because he's a composer in 4 letters (ARNE and ORFF be damned) (23D: Composer with 20 children). Never driven a K-CAR (30D: 1981 Chrysler debut), but I can tell you that BOCA Burgers are pretty tasty (9D: ___ Burger (veggie patty)). We like to use the ground stuff in pasta sauces, though tonight we had wild-caught Alaskan sockeye salmon that was so gorgeously unimaginably pink that it put the pathetic, wan, farm-raised stuff to shame. Probably cost an arm and a leg, but I didn't really look 'cause when it comes to that kind of stuff I don't want to know. I just want to eat.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Tumblr]

Bygone Acura / WED 4-13-11 / 1987 duet Eric Clapton Tina Turner / Humanoid race in Avatar / McSorley's order / Cultural phenomenon 60s

Constructor: Elizabeth C. Gorski

Relative difficulty: Medium-Challenging

THEME: INTEGRA (36A: Bygone Acura that's involved in a crackup at 17-, 23-, 45- and 55-Across) — phrases containing anagrams of INTEGRA

• RED GRANITE (17A: Wisconsin's state rock)
  
• TANGIER, MOROCCO (23A: City on the Strait of Gibraltar) [uh ... STRAIT is in the grid (5D) ... unusual oversight]
  
• TEARING US APART (45A: 1987 duet by Eric Clapton and Tina Turner)
  
• "YOU INGRATE!" (55A: Rebuke to a thankless wretch)
  

Word of the Day: P.W. BOTHA (22D: 1980s South African president) —

Pieter Willem Botha (12 January 1916 – 31 October 2006), commonly known as "P. W." and Die Groot Krokodil (Afrikaans for "The Big Crocodile"), was the prime minister of South Africa from 1978 to 1984 and the first executive state president from 1984 to 1989. // Botha was a long-time leader of South Africa's National Party and an advocate of the apartheid system although, while in power, he did make concessions towards human rights. He was also a staunch opponent of Communism. // Early in 1998, when Botha refused to testify at the Mandela government's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, he was supported by the right-wing Conservative Party in his refusal but was fined and given a suspended jail sentence later that year. (wikipedia)

• • •

Whoa, this one slapped me around quite badly. First, every single theme answer was either strange or unknown to me. All of them. I'm not sure I knew TANGIER was in MOROCCO. I've certainly never heard of RED GRANITE or this alleged Tina Turner / Eric Clapton duet, "TEARING US APART" ("The song did not crack the US Hot 100"—wikipedia). And I don't think I've heard anyone say "YOU INGRATE!" ... well, ever. Maybe in a 19th century novel. But they all seem like valid answers and they certainly fulfill the theme, which is clever. Long Downs in NW and SE were surprisingly hard to come up with—again, as with theme answers, this was true for All of them. In fact, there was a brief period of time where I wasn't sure I was going to be able to get the NW at all. COHOS plural? (1A: Pacific salmon) Not clear from clue. OPART? (14A: Cultural phenomenon of the '60s) Again, not at All clear from clue. STRAIT? (5D: Naval route) I thought SEAWAY. COROT? (1D: "Woman With a Pearl" painter) He painted that? DODO could've been DOLT (28A: Nitwit), GOO is not a word I'd use to describe melted ice cream (not even close), ORG could've been COM, EDU, etc. (4D: Modern address ending) Seriously, very rough for me. Other parts I breezed through, but that corner, and to a lesser extent the SE corner (PRIORATES?? PEA SALADS??) (33D: Monastic offices + 32D: Vegan side dishes) made this one a tough Wednesday for me. Sassy and skillful enough for me to find it ultimately enjoyable, once I got over my annoyance at the significant slow-down.



Had MAXIM for AXIOM (7D: Truism) and MAY BE for ARE SO (43A: You ___ right!"). Otherwise, everything besides NW/SE corners went down without much of a fight. Really liked the clue on DEAR SANTA (39A: Line that goes to the North Pole?). In fact, besides REPR. (25D: Second ed.), I really liked most of the fill in this puzzle, even the short stuff. Very bouncy stuff (BOING!) even in the tight corners.



Bullets:

• 35A: McSorley's order (ALE) — got this right away, but don't really know what McSorley's is (I'm assuming it's a pub...). McSorley's Old Ale House is, apparently, "the oldest 'Irish' tavern in New York City [...] it was one of the last of the 'Men Only' pubs, only admitting women after legally being forced to do so in 1970" (wikipedia)
• 57A: Ink-colored, in Shakespeare (EBON) — "Rouse up revenge from EBON den with fell Alecto's snake" (Henry IV 2, V.v)
• 37D: Humanoid race in "Avatar" (NAVI) — never seen the movie, but NAVI will always remind me of Angela (aka Puzzle Girl)'s son, who wore his NAVI costume to the National Mall for the "Rally to Restore Sanity" this past October. He was not the most absurd-looking person there. Hell, he's not even the most absurd-looking person in this picture.

• 10D: 1984 best-selling business autobiography ("IACOCCA") — now *that* would be a good name for a city in MOROCCO. IACOCCA, MOROCCO! Just saying it makes me want to go to there.
  
• 45D: Formerly much-ballyhooed fitness program (TAE BO) — that's a mouthful of weird syllables for a simple TAE BO clue. "Formerly much-ballyhooed" is not a descriptor you see every day.

Whoops, I finished with an error. I assume that the actual quote is not "Unto us A SIN is given"...
Oh well. I'll get 'em next week.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter]

Jails British slang / SUN 2-20-11 / Astrologer to rich famous / Band 1998 song One Week / Three-stringed instruments / Spartan walkway

Constructor: Elizabeth C. Gorski

Relative difficulty: Medium

THEME: "Wunderbar!" — Each rectangular "bar" formed by three contiguous black squares represents the letter string "BAR" and thus forms part of the answer adjacent to and in line with it, e.g. [three black squares]ELY = [BAR]ELY


Word of the Day: QUODs (39D: Jails, in British slang) —

noun, dated

1: Prison; often in phr. in quod, in prison. (1700 —) .
Listener Now, one of this chap's maternal uncles...has got to pay a 50 quid debt or go to quod (1968). verb trans.

2: To put in prison. (1812 — 1930).

[Of unknown origin.] (answers.com)

• • •

A lovely, clever, original puzzle. Unusual theme, interesting execution — just cool all around. Even outside the theme material, the puzzle was exciting — several big, open spaces filled (mostly) beautifully, esp. in the N and NE (OCTOMOM SASHIMI is on the menu in hell, I believe) (21A: Noted parent in tabloids + 25A: Food often dipped in soy sauce). MAKE HAY, DOG HANDLER, OH DEAR ME, and BALALAIKAS (100A: Three-stringed instruments) all really liven up the joint, as does SADISTIC (which is how some might describe the highly ambiguous clue, 12D: Really mean). Once I picked up the theme, I found the rest of the theme answers very easy to get (spot me three consecutive letters to any answer, and I'm pretty confident I'll take it down fast). But the non-theme stuff was varied and tricky enough to keep the puzzle right at a typical Sunday difficulty level for me. I picked up the theme fairly early on with ***ENAKED LADIES and had no trouble with any of the theme answers that followed. There are some slightly rough patches—the center, perhaps because of the theme density in that region, has some unlovely stuff like NGOR and QUODS and EBEN and GOL, but it was all short and gettable (though QUODS / QTY gave me a bit of a fright). Not a huge fan of RESOLDER and (esp.) ISOLATORS, but these are minor infelicities in an otherwise delightful grid. Grade: A.

Theme answers:

• 26A: Band whose 1998 song "One Week" was #1 for one week (***ENAKED LADIES) — To understand how I feel about the ***ENAKED LADIES, please watch this highly informative video from a recent episode of "Community" (Jeff Winger says it all):

• 46A: Pear variety (***TLETT)
  
• 48A: Milky Way, for one (CHOCOLATE ***)
  
• 66A: Onetime head of the Medellin drug cartel (PABLO ESCO***)
  
• 69A: Mattel announced their breakup in 2004 (***BIE AND KEN)
  
• 84A: Classic western slugfest (***ROOM BRAWL)
  
• 87A: It's just below a B (SPACE***)
  
• 109A: Plan on ordering a drink, say (BELLY UP TO THE ***)
  
• 27D: Sharply reprimanded (***KED AT)
  
• 28D: Just (***ELY)
  
• 99D: Cravat holder (TIE ***)
  
• 88D: Lounge in a many a hotel (PIANO ***) — a few point off here for essentially replicating the "BAR" meaning from 109-Across
  

I know of Fibber McGee and Molly (20A: Hometown of old radio's Fibber McGee and Molly=>PEORIA) only from the sitcom "Newsradio," where Andy Dick's character gets a set of Fibber McGee and Molly audio tapes as a gift from his boss, while the rest of the staff gets new sports cars. I can't embed the clip, so I'll just embed a different clip from that show featuring the late, more-than-great Phil Hartman:


I have no idea how I know Sidney OMARR (30A: Astrologer to the rich and famous)—possibly because I own some old paperback by him. "My Bed Has Eyes" ... is that right? No, here it is: "My Bed Has Echoes." Even better. Talk about obscure (the book, not the astrologer himself). I have a BETTIE Page mug on my desk, right here (40A: 1950s pinup queen ___ Page). If you put a hot beverage in it, her bikini top disappears. In huge letters on the bottom of the mug it reads: "NOT MICROWAVE OR DISHWASHER SAFE," so I don't drink out of it. It's more a paperweight / decorative item. Yesterday, people wanted STOA instead of ODEA. Now, here's STOA (42A: Spartan walkway). Yesterday, people wanted OMNI instead of EVER. Today, here's OMNI (49D: Present opener?). Weird. Haven't seen Tea LEONI in a long time (in crosswords or otherwise) (80A: Sandler's "Spanglish" co-star). I thought the "Simpsons" had invented Dolores DEL RIO (114A: Actress Dolores of the silent era) as a fictional costar of Troy McClure (voiced by the aforementioned more-than-great Phil Hartman) who appeared in such films as "Calling All Quakers" and "Preacher With a Shovel." But that was Dolores Montenegro, it turns out. Took me a while to fully read the second half of the clue at 18D: Civil war locale beginning in 1991, so SOMALIA stayed hidden for a bit as my mind scoured mid-19th-century America. Speaking of, apparently "Fourscore" is one word. I did not know that, which caused me to wonder why the answer to 32D: Fifth word of the Gettysburg Address (AGO) wasn't YEARS. Of course I also tried to solve 83D: Part of the next-to-last line of the Lord's Prayer (DELIVER US) by reciting what turned out to be not the Lord's Prayer but whatever you call the prayer that starts "Now I lay me down to sleep..."

Bullets:

• 6D: "Star Wars" guru (YODA) — I have a wee YODA figurine on the shelf in my bedroom. I think I found it in the gutter one day. Or else I got it for nothing at some garage sale.
  
• 14D: Pioneer in quadraphonic records (RCA) — got an angry email from someone who insisted the correct answer was CBS. Refrained from yelling at said someone for talking about the puzzle before I'd even solved it. (Please don't write me about the Sunday puzzle until after 7pm Saturday evening, thanks).
  
• 100D: Recurring Matt Damon title role (BOURNE) — not RIPLEY. He should do another RIPLEY, though. I'd like that. Malkovich did a great RIPLEY in "Ripley's Game," btw.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter]

Berry touted as superfood / MON 1-17-11 / Fully extended ballerina / Westernmost of Aleutians / Traveling show of 1970s 2000s originated in Cairo

Constructor: Elizabeth C. Gorski

Relative difficulty: Medium-Challenging

THEME: MARTIN LUTHER KING DAY — the first words of the theme answers are, respectively, MARTIN, LUTHER, KING and DAY


Word of the Day: LATH (1A: Plaster backing) —

Lath and plaster is a building process used mainly for interior walls in Canada and the United States until the late 1950s. After the 1950s, drywall began to replace the lath and plaster process in the United States. In the United Kingdom, lath and plaster was used for some interior partition walls, but was mostly used in the construction of ceilings. In the UK, plasterboard became a more common ceiling construction from 1945 onwards. (wikipedia)

• • •

This one definitely played tough. I had perhaps my most disastrous Monday opening ever, starting with not knowing LATH (the word still looks strange to me), and then throwing down FLASKS instead of FIFTHS (14D: Bottles of liquor). North was worse, in that I couldn't come up with ON TOE (15A: Fully extended, as a ballerina) or INHD (an ugly answer, 6D: How many TV shows are now shown)—I think I had TIVO, which I knew was Wrong on many levels. Just stared at 5A: Bigger than big. Could come up with only LARGE and ENORM (yes, really). GIANT is an appropriate answer, of course, but with ON TOE and INHD not coming, I wasn't getting much help. Wanted GO BAD, not GO SOUR (5D: Spoil, as milk), never heard of the "VALSE Triste" (28D: Sibelius's "___ Triste"), wrote in ROMP for ROUT (which I do routinely, btw) (35D: Easy win), and still have very little clue how [Embodied] is a good clue for SUBSUMED. That's quite a literal understanding of [Embodied], I think. I managed to get my bearings after the horrible start, and ended with something like a normal Tuesday time. Seems like a fine, simple tribute puzzle. Fill seems about average, though probably somewhat below Ms. Gorski's normally exacting standards. ATTU, Liz? :) (23A: Westernmost of the Aleutians). Favorite answer of the day: UNIONCARDS (27D: Things in the wallets of many laborers).



Theme answers:

• 17A: "S.N.L." alum who co-starred in "Three Amigos!" (MARTIN SHORT) — ugh, the MARTIN just reminded me of Steve Martin (also in "Three Amigos!"), which only blocked MARTIN SHORT's name further...
  
• 26A: His "Dance With My Father" won the 2003 Grammy for Song of the Year (LUTHER VANDROSS)
  
• 41A: Traveling show of the 1970s and 2000s that originated in Cairo (KING TUT EXHIBIT) — the Steve Martin subtheme continues...

• 54A: They're in la-la land (DAY DREAMERS)
  

This will sound nitpicky, and I freely admit that it is, but I miss the "JR." in this puzzle's theme. Wendy's has as JR. CHEESEBURGER. That's 14, to go with LUTHER. Now just get an odd-numbered KING entry for your center and bam, theme complete (warning: side effects may include Terrible puzzle).

Bullets:

• 34A: Social reformer Jacob (RIIS) — I feel as if his crossword star is rising. This is likely complete coincidence, i.e. I've probably just seen him a few times this week (I do a lot of puzzles).
  
• 61A: Names hidden in Hirschfeld sketches (NINAS) — I remember learning about this hidden NINA thing in a puzzle a few years back, and it baffled me because I had no idea who "Hirschfeld" was, let alone what hidden NINAs were.
  
• 2D: Berry touted as a superfood (AÇAI) — I don't know. I'm always skeptical about stuff like this, though I confess that I do enjoy this AÇAI Berry Granola cereal I have every morning with my oatmeal (to give it crunch). You can't really taste the berries.
  

Enjoy your holiday if you've got one. See you tomorrow.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter]

Spouse in 2009 headlines —THU 1-13-11— 1944 mystery play by Agatha Christie / Pegasus appeared in company's logo / Nickname Schumann's Symphony No. 3

Constructor: Elizabeth C. Gorski

Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium

THEME: NILE and its anagrams — five theme answers end or begin (in alternating fashion) with a word made out of the letters N, I, L, and E


Word of the Day: "OLEO" (30A: Miles Davis jazz number) —

Bags' Groove is a jazz album recorded by Miles Davis in 1954 for Prestige Records. Both takes of the title track come from a session on December 24, 1954 ("Bags" was vibraphonist Milt Jackson's nickname). The rest of the album was recorded earlier in the year, on 29 June. (The other tracks from the December session are found on the album Miles Davis and the Modern Jazz Giants. All of the tracks from the December session are on Disc 3 of the Thelonious Monk Complete Prestige Recordings CD box set.) // The title composition and the three compositions on the album by the young Sonny Rollins all went on to become jazz standards. // The track "Oleo" was the first time that Davis used the Harmon mute on a studio recording. It would become an important part of his trumpet sound for the rest of his career. (wikipedia)

• • •

[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)]

This did not seem like a Thursday puzzle. Yesterday was the rebus, and today, a (relatively) straightforward anagram puzzle. That said, this one was slightly tougher, and I liked it quite a bit more, despite the surprising simplicity of the theme concept. I suspected yet another rebus of some sort with the first theme answer, as the first three words (MURDER ON THE) had me wanting ORIENT EXPRESS on the end—this despite having had to clue NILE very recently, and thus having seen and considered (and ultimately rejected) the Christie book as a possibility. No, wait ... her *book* was "Death on the Nile." This *play* (!?) was based on that book. Hmm. Strange.

Had a biggish hold-up with ELIN NORDEGREN, first because I had EL--NOR and I figured the woman's name would be ELEANOR, and second because I could not remember Anything about her last name except that it was Swedish. Or is it Norwegian? No, I was right the first time. Sweden. Needed almost all the crosses to get NORDEGREN. Only problems in the bottom half were "OLEO" (never seen that clue, that I can recall), and LUNK—a four-letter word that could easily have been DOLT or DODO (31D: Blockhead). I didn't know TWO IRONS hit "long shots." Do irons hit longer shots than woods? Use of "long" here seems really loose. More partials and short gunk than I'm used to seeing from Gorski, but enough lively stuff to be well worth the effort (especially like TAX LIEN, FREE REIN, and, oddly, RHENISH—27A: Nickname of Schumann's Symphony #3). First answer, aptly, was GIMME (1D: "I want it, and I want it now!").



Theme answers:

• 17A: 1944 mystery play by Agatha Christie ("MURDER ON THE NILE")
  
• 21A: Spouse in 2009 headlines (ELIN NORDEGREN)
  
• 37A: Something that may be on a house (TAX LIEN)
  
• 50A: Who said "I put up my thumb and it blotted out the planet Earth" (NEIL ARMSTRONG) —I was expecting some comic book mad scientist...
  
• 57A: Takes things a bit too far (GOES OVER THE LINE)
  

Bullets:

• 20A: Fashion designer Tahari (ELIE) — your Wiesel alternative
  
• 3D: 1938 Physics Nobelist (FERMI) — helped me change ELEANOR to ELIN NOR-
  
• 25D: Weeper of Thebes (NIOBE) — a handy classical lady to know: 60% vowels, unusual "B" placement.
  
• 59D: Bygone Spanish queen (ENA) — I know of her existence *only* because of crosswords. She has the same name as Bambi's aunt ... which I also know *only* because of crosswords.
  

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter]