CRUCIVERB.COM

User

Welcome, Guest.
Please login or register.
 
 
 
Forgot your password?

Navigate

Resources

Donations


You can help support this site by making a small donation using either a PayPal account:

or with a major credit card such as:

 

 

Click here for details.

Author Topic: LAT Sun. 9/16 - Tue. 9/25  (Read 3677 times)

magus

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2579
LAT Sun. 9/16 - Tue. 9/25
« on: September 26, 2012, 09:22:08 AM »
Sun. 9/16    Title: “Prix Fixe Menu” is pronounced /pre-fix/ which theme entries contain.
Theme: first letters of phrases are common prefixes, which if removed yield a different phrase.
Good Ones:
Precinct high jinks?   MISCHIEFOFPOLICE [removing the prefix yields “chief of police”]
Overpromotion of Meyer’s novel series?   TWILIGHTPOLUTION
Draft picks   ALES
Turning point?   KNOB
What a gal has that a gent doesn’t?   HARDG
An article may be written on it   SPEC
Little bit of Greek?   IOTA
Hill workers   ANTS [oldie but goodie]
By the Way:
Can’t miss   NOLOSE [the idiom is “can’t lose” but since we have “no win” I can see its obverse]
Sweedish imports   SAABS [didn’t they go bankrupt?]
MWAH seems a bit poetic but I was able to guess “mwaa” at first.
Are MALLO Cups the same as Mallo Mars or is it Mallo Bars?
Who knew?:
YURT   [Next time I’m in Central Asia and need a tent I’ll know what to ask for.]
Some Nits to Pick:
Marte, por ejemplo   DIA [todo en espanol, pero no es mas bueno]
Pamplona parlor   SALA [alliterative, but not very good]
Yank or Jay   ALER [this word does not exist in the real world and should be banned from crossword puzzles under the penalty of having to return serves from an “acer.”]

Mon. 9/17    Title: Take a Break by Grabowski & Venzke
Theme: phrases beginning with words related to “vacation”
Good Ones:
Break suggested by {theme}   VACATION
Outback automaker   SUBARU
By the Way:
Why, I wonder, does it take two constructors to produce this offering?  Perhaps both were required to include three J’s in this 15x15 grid, the odds of which must be 1,000 to 1.

Tue. 9/18     Title: Hidden Keyboard Denizens by Julian Lim
Theme: the last word of a phrase is the name of a special key
Good Ones:
Prepare to shine in a bodybuilding contest?   OILUP
Some Nits to Pick:
Rectified, with “for”   ATONED [rectified = made right; atoned = made amends; amends = compensation.  Compensation seldom rectifies a transgression; mostly it makes the transgression easier to abide.]

Wed. 9/19      Title: Toon Time   Wed.   Gareth Bain
Theme: first names of famous people are also the first names of The Jetsons characters
Good Ones:
TV series of 1962 {theme}   THEJETSONS
Like ice or dice   CUBED
Spotty condition?   MEASLES [spotty=less than ideal]
Flower for one’s honey   REDROSE
By the Way:
I admit to never having seen The Jetsons, but I wonder why Gareth chose a silly (but popular) cartoon from 50 years ago to feature in his work.  There are so many other shows from which to choose.  And, of course, the editor agreed that it is a worthy offering, so what do I know?
Who knew?:
ELROY HIRSH was known as “Crazylegs”?  I did, but I’m old enough to remember him before football became so popular as to usurp baseball as the national pastime.
Some Nits to Pick:
Place for a sala   CASA [fill is okay; it’s the clue that is weak]

Thu. 9/20     Title: /crooz/  by Steven J. St. John
Theme: last word of phrase is a homophone of /crooz/
Good Ones:
It’s a wrap   SARAN
72 for 18, often   PAR
Some Nits to Pick:
NLER [While editors seem okay with this non-word, I don’t believe such constructs have a place.  There is something wrong with a word that is used only in crosswords.]
ETES [The same goes for foreign words we don’t use in our language, regardless how many times it appears in crosswords or how useful they are as fill.]
… so am I an iconoclast or a reactionary?

Fri. 9/21:    Title: Hidden Vermin       by Neville L. Fogarty
Theme: the letters RAT appear in random phrases, which have different meanings with RAT removed
Good Ones:
Mistakes in Dickens, say?   VICTORIANERRATA [Victorian era]
“Something’s fishy” {and theme}   ISMELLARAT
By the Way:
Aside from the clever theme, there were no other particularly clever or interesting entries.
By oneself   ALLALONE [never realized until today that this is a redundancy --- there’s a good song with this title --- maybe from the ‘20’s or ‘30’s]

Sat. 9/22   Title: Tag Team Toughie
Good Ones:
Castle on Broadway   IRENE
Poll closure?   STER [pollster]
Short time?   MIN
By the Way:
What made this a toughie were unusual definitions like: PILE for profit; WAVER for “have doubts”; CLOT for “small tight group;” LOGY for “lacking pep.” And there were several unusual names and terms like: TRIXRABBIT, STOLTS, “Spin Doctors” hit TWOPRINCES, HAWSES, ROSIEPERES, CARO nome, AXISSALLY.
I like the diversity of CARO nome and Spin Doctor’s

Sun. 9/23    Title: Sun. 9/23 Alan Arbesfeld
Good Ones:
Help found in {theme}   SOS
Fowl poles   ROOSTS
You can skip the flat ones   STONES
Short missions?   OPS
It may be used in a pinch   SALT
Slaughter on the field   ENOS
NCAA member?   ASSN
By the Way:
Five baseball entries today (6 if you count “fowl poles”).  And about as many for other sports.
Is there such a phrase as ONHIRE [for hire]
To clue AJAX as a detergent and not as a major mythological warrior says the LAT favors pop culture over classical culture.  This puzzle is filled with pop culture, so balance is not the issue.
Some Nits to Pick:
ENERO, SES, TOI

Mon. 9/24     Title: Real Men Eschewal   by Adam Prince
Theme: types of salad named in ordinary phrases
Good Ones:
Entrée go-with {and theme}   SIDESALAD

Tue. 9/25    Title: She-Devils  by Kurt Mueller
Theme: Fictional women who may be described as evil [perhaps not MRSROBINSON]
Good Ones:
With 42-Across, a 1975 hit for 41-Across {theme}  EVIL WOMAN
It may have strings attached   APRON
Movie roll   REEL
By the Way:
Cruella DeVil is the best name in children’s lit.
Nits to Pick:
MES

 


Powered by EzPortal