crossword 4:08
meta 0:10 

whats up and welcome to episode #757 of matt gaffney’s weekly crossword contest, every week 1 puzzle referred to as “A League of Their Own”. i solved the puzzle with out the directions, and it wasn’t terribly tough. what’s the theme? for the second week in a row, now we have a 13×13 grid with no notably lengthy solutions. extra unusually, now we have what seem like—however are usually not—two-letter solutions within the grid at 4-across and 6-across. what we do have is a rebus puzzle, with ten squares getting PIN squeezed in:

• {Gives a reminder to} [PIN]GS. this crosses {Kashmiri chai, so named for its coloration} [PIN]Ok TEA. i didn’t know the chai and had a tricky time with this nook.
• {Bar order} [PIN]T crossing {Fastest of Columbus’s ships} [PIN]TA.
• {Start your flip, in Twister} S[PIN] crossing {Oft-mocked Ford of the Seventies} [PIN]TO.
• {Words a hitchhiker likes to listen to} HO[P IN] crossing {“Animals” at birthday events} [PIN]ATAS.
• {Like yodelers, historically} AL[PIN]E crossing {Choose to not set an alarm} SLEE[P IN].
• {Tell folks what you assume} O[PIN]E crossing {“Magic to Do” musical} PIP[PIN]. i really like this present.
• {Book elements} S[PIN]ES crossing {Holder of locks} HAIR[PIN].
• {Use for getting ready, as 1-Down} STEE[P IN], a fairly doubtful phrase, crossing {Mourning} WEE[PIN]G FOR, a considerably doubtful phrase itself.
• {Wish you may be with} [PIN]E FOR crossing {“Don’t forget…”} KEE[P IN] MIND.
• {Felt discontented, poetically} RE[PIN]ED crossing {“___ my hopes to quiet processes and small circles”: Rufus Jones} I [PIN]. by no means heard of this quote or, for that matter, rufus jones. i assume it’s this rufus jones and never one of many others, however that is frightfully obscure. no relation, apparently, to {Ageless singer of “It’s Not Unusual”} TOM JONES regardless of his agelessness.

these ten PINs are organized in an inverted triangle, as in tenpin bowling, which should be the meta reply. that could be very tidy and chic, and as a meta, it’s simple sufficient for every week 1. the crossword itself was a lot more durable to interrupt into than a typical week 1, since you’re not likely anticipating a rebus and likewise as a result of the rebus squares are concentrated on the prime of the grid because of the geometric structure of the PINs. TOM JONES was truly the primary entry i put into the grid, because it’s one of many only a few entries close to the highest of the grid that doesn’t comprise a rebus sq..

different bits:

• {___ Nidre (Jewish vacation)} KOL. is that this proper? i assumed the KOL nidre was the prayer mentioned on the primary evening of yom kippur.
• {___ out (exert most effort)} GO ALL. within the grid, this seems a lot like a spanish-speaking soccer announcer shouting “goal” in an elongated trend. however possibly i simply have soccer mind as a result of world cup overload.
• {Spielberg title phrase} ARK. when i learn this clue, my first thought was: “wait, the book was called schindler’s ark but the spielberg movie adapted from it did not contain that word in the title.” which is true, however the clue refers to raiders of the misplaced ARK.

that’s all for me. how’d you want this one?