Sunday's New York Times crossword puzzle solved: October 28, 2018

My time: 22:07.

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Erik Asgard mixes it up a bit with this Sunday, titled "Match Play."  On several Across answers, the clue is given as an apparently unrelated phrase in italics.  Through solving, one discovers that these clues are actually anagrams of the answers, which are split into two words plus the word AND.

For example: "Sou'wester" is SWEET AND SOUR, the words sweet and sour together being an anagram of the clue.  "Peace marches" can be anagrammed to PEACHES AND CREAM (minus the and, of course).  "Growth ring" becomes RIGHT AND WRONG.  And so on.

Thus, the theme suggests a game of... MIXED DOUBLES.

Actress TERI Polo appeared in this blog on September 22 as playing Ben Stiller's wife in the Fockers series.  But here she's clued as being on the TV show "The Fosters."

Never heard of it: the BACHATA is a social dance popular in the Dominican Republic.

There's a word for it: the APOLUNE is the farthest point in orbit around the moon.  It is a type of apsis.  Not to be confused with aphelion.

There's a word for this too: CUESTAS are hills with steep faces on one side and gentle slopes on the other.

ANDY Cohen is the host of a late night talk show, "Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen."  He is the first openly gay host of an American late-night talk show and the first live late-night host.

Dutch racecar driver and two-time Indy 500 winner ARIE Luyendyk is known as "the Flying Dutchman."

In other sports news, ACE is a term used in tennis (a point-winning serve), golf (a hole in one), and baseball (the best pitcher on a team).

Did you know CHE Guevara is interred in Santa Clara, Cuba?  Do you think the New York Times is right to call him a "hero?"  Please discuss.

More sports: "rhyming nickname in Cardinals history" is STAN THE MAN, which refers to Stan Musial, first baseman who spent 22 seasons with the Cards.

We've all heard of ESPN, but I didn't know they were based in Bristol, Connecticut.

We've all heard of SEGA, but I've never heard of the game Zaxxon.  It is a 1982 isometric shooter arcade game (whatever that means), developed and released by Sega, in which the player pilots a ship through heavily defended space fortresses.

DIANA Taurasi is a WNBA player with more records and awards than anyone could list in a day.  Her nickname? White Mamba, baby.

The Navajo Nation has its own capital: WINDOW ROCK, Arizona.  It's named for a local landmark, an arch which forms a rock with a hole, or window, through it.  Window Rock's population was 2,712 at the 2010 census, but is estimated to reach around 20,000 during weekdays when tribal offices are open.

I didn't understand the clue "relatively cool stellar phenomenon" for STARSPOT.  But it turns out Wikipedia says "Observed starspots have a temperature which is in general 500–2000 kelvins cooler than the stellar photosphere."

EERO SAARINEN was revealed to be the designer of Dulles on May 3.

I remembered DRU Hill from May 21.

Clever clues: "Do the wave?" is SURF.  "Not able to catch something" is IMMUNE.  "They might break out in hives" is BEES.  "Shed material" is FUR.  "Good throw?" is AFGHAN.

Well, that wasn't SEW difficult!  I liked the theme, and I appreciate learning a few new words.  Still, all this new stuff will TIRE a fellow out.  I'm DONE.  Time to EXIT.

Friday's New York Times puzzle solved: April 6, 2018

My time: 16:30, not too bad but not great.

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This themeless by David Steinberg has some spectacular wall-to-wall fill: HELICOPTER PARENT, A RUN FOR ONE'S MONEY, SONIC DEPTH FINDER (!!), THAT'S WHAT SHE SAD, "DO YOU WANT TO DANCE" (the Beach Boys and Ramones song, originally a 1958 hit by Bobby Freeman, also covered by Bette Midler and Cliff Richard, among others), and STANDING IN GOOD STEAD.

We also get WAR BABIES "deliveries of the 1940s"), LUNAR ROVER, and E-Z PASS LANE ("quick way through a toll plaza").

Now that's really strong constructing chops.  I doff my cap.  Doff!

For "stops streaming" I had *CLOGS but it's CLOTS.

The terrorist group referred to more commonly in America as ISIS is also called ISIL, which stands for Islamic State of Iraq and the LEVANT.

"Ex-Expo Rusty" had me scratching my head, thinking of expositions and fairs and such, but then the penny dropped.  It refers to the Montreal EXPOS, the Canadian baseball team established in 1969 and relocated in 2004 as the Washington Nationals.  And thus Rusty is the first name of a former player: Rusty STAUB, a right fielder and first baseman whose number the Expos retired.

A RONDEL is a 14-line poem which repeats the rhyme scheme throughout: ABAB, ABBA, etc, where the As and Bs are the same rhyme.

Cleverly, "thread holder" is not *SPOOL but SCREW.

I like seeing nods to Eugene DEBS and Medgar EVERS.

SÃO Jorge is a long thin island in the Azores archipelago of Portugal.

Itzamna is the spirit of early mists and showers (according to William S. Burroughs), a possible god of the sky in MAYA mythology.

California town Santa ROSA last appeared March 9.  Santa CLARA hasn't appeared in my notes yet as an answer, but it appeared in the December 17, 2017 puzzle as home to Levi's Stadium.

Clever clues: "They go to the dogs" is SCRAPS.  "French toast maker, maybe" is AMI.  "Result of an oil surplus" is ACNE, and "25 Down unit" is --- ugh --- ZIT.

I really enjoyed this one.  It wasn't a walk in the park by any means --- those long entries were hard to get a first hold on.  But once the first fell, the rest started coming, and I love the unusual fill.  I met its challenge with GUSTO.

Thursday's New York Times crossword puzzle solved: January 21, 2021

My time: 12:07, two and half minutes faster than average, despite this one's tricky theme!  YAY ME!

That theme is the TURN SIGNAL.  At each circled square in the puzzle, the answer going through it must make a 90 degree turn to the right or left.  The remainder of the answer in the fill, going straight across or down as one normally would, is irrelevant to the clue and can be disregarded.

For example, in the northwest corner, the Across clue "not radical" gives us the answer MODERNISTS.  This is not the right answer.  Instead, at the circled square (in this case the R, for right), you must take a right turn (as I have indicated by the green line) and read it as MODER/A/T/E.  And that means "not radical."  The intersecting clue is "feeling on a lo-o-ong car trip," and the grid shows BORATE when filled.  Again, not the right answer.  Instead, take a right turn at the R, and reading backwards down the Across row (along the purple line I drew), we get BOR/E/D/O/M.  Which works!  (By the way, BORATE is a salt of boric acid.)

"Cry from a survivor" may not clue you in to this trick, as the given answer comes out to I'M ALONE, which also fits.  But if you turn left at the L (L for left!), you get the more correct I'M AL/I/V/E.  The intersecting clue?  Turn left at the L and you see "Satan" is the EVIL /O/N/E, not EVIL EYE.

And now let's turn our attention to the fill.  Ha!  I'm so witty.

So, HABIB is an Arabic name, but also an honorific, with the meaning "beloved" or "most loved."

I haven't heard of AMARO, an Italian herbal liqueur.  There are several types of amari, made with grappa, or herbs, or really anything that gives it its hallmark bitter taste.

The Egyptian Temple of Dendur is a structure from 10 BC, currently located in the MET.

CLARA Barton, well known founder of the Red Cross, is in the National Women's Hall of Fame.  It's located in Seneca Falls, New York.

"Many celebrity golf events" are PRO-AMS, which turns out to just mean pro and amateur mixed invitationals.

AUG is one of the months with federal holidays.  Also, March, April, and June. 

STAD means "city" in Swedish and Dutch.  For example, Karlstad, Sweden.

Speaking of cities in the frozen north, SITKA served as the U.S. Government Capital of the Department of Alaska (1867–1884) and District of Alaska (1884–1906). 

I got tricked by "soccer star on a 1999 Wheaties box."  I put *PELE like the Old Person I am, when the year more clearly indicates Mia HAMM. 

The fill contains both the CDC and Dr. Anthony FAUCI.  Did you know the CDC is based in Atlanta?  I shall endeavor to remember that. 

"Classic figure killed off in a 2019 Super Bowl ad campaign" is MR. PEANUT.  First, what?  Why would they kill poor Mr. Peanut?  And second, "classic" figure?  That's weasel wording.  He's a mascot or an advertising figure.  I think they've brought him back as a baby nut, like a sort of Groot thing?

The NYT crossword only ever lists NAS as a rapper.

Clever clue: "Like taxis and Julius Caesar, once" is HAILED.  "Big Apple?" is IMAC.

This was a terrific puzzle!  I loved the extremely clever theme that took a bit to DECODE.  And the fill is fairly impressive to boot: YES OR NO, BIG IFS, FEEDBACK, PURE CHANCE, FAUCI, BAD TAKES.

Thursday, December 7, 2017

My time: 15:53.

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Dan Shoenholz created today's puzzle.  It has five themed answers that include three-letter words that are homophones of letters: JOHN JAY, CHINA SEA, BUSY BEE, TEXAS TEA, and UP TO YOU (why did he break the pattern like that?)  Well, I'll be.  I mean, gee.  But then, why?

The clue "1, for 45°" puzzled me.  It's TANGENT.  That means the opposite side length divided by the adjacent side length in a right triangle.  For 35° it's 0.7.  To remember how to calculate sine, cosine, and tangent, please use this humorously unhelpful mnemonic.

In the never heard of him department, IVO Andrić was a novelist who won the Nobel Prize in 1961.  The 1945 historical novel The Bridge on the Drina is his most famous work.

Johnny MATHIS sang with Deniece Williams on the duet "Too Much, Too Little, Too Late."

Hello, stage APRON.  We have not seen you since October 18.

I was very puzzled by "bluejacket" until the crossfill revealed TAR, which of course is a sailor.  I was stuck in the Civil War.

The K STATE whose mascot is the Wildcats is Kansas.

For "sci-fi weapon" I wanted *ZAP gun but it's the much less retro ION gun.  Ion guns are apparently real?

"Cougar prey" is ELK, whew.  I was hoping/fearing it might be *LAD.

GIL Hodges was a first baseman and manager for the Mets.  It will come as no surprise that I have never heard of him.

LEVIS Stadium is in Santa Clara, California, and home to the San Francisco 49ers.  Yet another of those American ballparks named after faceless corporate behemoths that strip the game of all character.

New Jersey city FT. LEE (a.k.a. the less popular Fort Lee), is --- a genuine surprise to me --- the birthplace of the American film industry.

The YEN was adopted as currency after Japan's Meiji restoration, which put actual power in the hands of the Emperor after a centuries-long Shogunate.

Well, that was pretty good.  I FEEL OK about it.  But I KEN do better!