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Kathy Lowden’s New York Occasions puzzle– Sophia’s write-up

New York Occasions, 08 08 2022, By Kathy Lowden

• 17a [Pale pink vineyard offerings] – BLUSH WINES
• 25a [Practice punches with an imaginary opponent] – SHADOW BOX
• 52a [Barrel of explosive stuff, or a situation that’s ready to blow] – POWDER KEG
• 61a [Writings on an album sleeve or jewel case insert] – LINER NOTES
• 50d [Reconcile after a quarrel … or a hint to the starts of 17-, 25-, 52- and 61-Across] – MAKEUP

Effectively, I didn’t get the theme till after I had solved the puzzle and truly took the time to completely perceive the revealer. It’s a cute concept! These are all quite common kinds of make-up so even people who aren’t too acquainted with it ought to nonetheless get the idea. My one qualm with the theme is the vagueness of LINER NOTES – there are such a lot of several types of make-up liners that not specifying “eye” or “lip”, and so forth., made it really feel a bit unsatisfying. I form of had the identical drawback with SHADOW BOX. That being stated, I favored each of these solutions themselves lots (regardless of dropping in “observe lists” for 61a and not using a second thought).

There’s loads of lengthy fill within the puzzle, so I used to be stunned after I noticed that the puzzle was a full 78 phrases. There are loads of three letter solutions however they’re fairly unfold out (properly, moreover the NE and SW corners), so it didn’t really feel like massive chunks of the puzzle have been swaths of boring fill. SAILBOAT and SNOWSUIT have been my two favourite non-theme solutions. The draw back is that there are loads of much less nice solutions, significantly within the A SEC/ART I space.

Different ideas:

• Heyyyy NYT, when Wikipedia (amongst many different sources) calls LAPP “a dated and controversial time period for the Sámi folks”, perhaps don’t use it?? Change the cross to “larp/rho” or rework the nook? It appears… very straightforward to not use this phrase.
• I consider [“___ It Romantic?” (Rodgers and Hart classic)] for ISN’T as that film starring Insurgent Wilson from a couple of years in the past the place her life turns into a rom-com. It was fairly nice, I like to recommend!
• If we have now to have OPIE in a puzzle, I benefit from the RON Howard cross-reference.
• I nonetheless do not know what 61d [Biblical fellow with a salty wife?] for LOT is referring to. Enlighten me?

Stella Zawistowski & Joanne Sullivan’s Wall Road Journal crossword, “Strike a Pose”—Jim P’s evaluate

Theme solutions are acquainted phrases whose last phrases are additionally yoga poses. Entries are clued wackily based mostly on the primary phrase within the phrase.

Wall St Journal crossword resolution · “Strike a Pose” · Stella Zawistowski & Joanne Sullivan · Mon., 8.8.22

• 17a. [Yoga pose practiced by royals?] KING COBRA.
• 28a. [Yoga pose practiced on Saturdays and Sundays?] WEEKEND WARRIOR.
• 46a. [Yoga pose practiced in New York’s most populous borough?] BROOKLYN BRIDGE.
• 61a. [Yoga pose practiced on FaceTime?] PHONE TREE.

Enjoyable theme even for somebody who has solely achieved a minimal quantity of yoga. I just like the consistency, the energetic phrases, and the usage of simply-named, frequent poses that many individuals would know.

Elsewhere, ROTUNDA and STAGNANT are enjoyable phrases, and I like seeing DIWALI, not least of all as a result of it’s enjoyable to say.

Clues of notice:

• 13d. [Lugers ride them]. SLEDS. “Lugers” as in those that journey luges, not the European pistols.
• 60d. [“Stand” band]. REM. Notable solely as a result of I want a second bullet for my listing and simply so as to add a musical interlude right here, not that I’m significantly enamored of the tune or video.

Pleasant theme and a clear grid to begin your week. 3.75 stars.

Beth Rubin’s Los Angeles Occasions crossword — Stella’s write-up

Los Angeles Occasions 8/8/22 by Beth Rubin

A lot for CARPE DIEM–this puzzle is in regards to the extra trendy expression of that concept, YOLO. YOLO is the revealer at 73A, clued as [“Carpe diem” acronym spelled out by the starts of the answers to the starred clues], because the first phrase of every theme reply is a phrase within the initialism:

• 20A: We get the YOU from [“I can’t capture how amazing that was!”], or YOU HAD TO BE THERE.
• 35A: We get the ONLY from [Fallible in very ordinary ways], or ONLY HUMAN. I dearly want that The Human League had titled one of many best ’80s songs “Solely Human” as a substitute of “Human,” so the phrase might’ve been clued with that reference.
• 46A: The LIVE comes from [Spend extravagantly], or LIVE LARGE.
• 57A: ONCE comes from [Very rarely], or ONCE IN A BLUE MOON.

Cute theme, although it requires me to put aside my distaste for the underlying phrase. It’s been stated that the free-spirited grammarian’s model is YLOO, or “you reside solely as soon as,” since “solely” ought to come instantly earlier than the phrase it modifies. YUP!

Jon Pennington’s Common crossword, “5-TimeRs Membership” — pannonica’s write-up

Common • 8/8/22 • Mon • Pennington • “5 TimeRs Membership” • resolution • 20220808

Title’s a bit strained, however the theme concept is strong sufficient. Every of the longest throughout solutions comprises 5 situations of the letter R distributed throughout two-word phrases.

• 17a. [Type of naval ship in “Top Gun”] AIRCRAFT CARRIER.
• 26a. [What a paper jam may cause] PRINTER ERROR.
• 46a. [Bram Stoker or Stephen King, e.g.] HORROR WRITER.
• 60a. [Railroad container for perishables] REFRIGERATOR CAR.

Three of those have *RR*R phrases with the opposite phrase possessing two further Rs. The fourth is outstanding, having 4 Rs—none of them doubled—in a single phrase and only a single R within the complementary phrase.

One other factor I’d have favored to have seen could be the absence of Rs elsewhere within the grid, however there are lots. Little question it might have entailed too many compromises within the fill for an easy-pitch crossword.

• 5d [Red wine that lost market share after “Sideways”] MERLOT. Haha, good occasions.
• 10d [Surname of studio co-founders Harry, Albert, Sam and Jack] WARNER. By no means knew these names.
• 35d [Bulbous-bottomed fruit] PEAR. You’d suppose there’d be a technical or Latin- or Greek-derived phrase to explain this form, however I can’t appear to seek out one. I did, nonetheless, be taught {that a} secondary sense of pear-shaped is “[of a vocal tone] free from harshness, thinness, or nasality”, in order that’s fascinating. (m-w)
• 55d [Snakebite __ (hiker’s safety set)] KIT. I get pleasure from seeing clues that appear to mirror the constructor’s character or expertise.
• 22a [Quarterback’s shout before a long pass] GO DEEP. 52d [Succeed at a high level] GO FAR.
• 68a [Vehicle with treads] TANK. Additionally referred to as steady observe or caterpillar observe. And I discovered a number of weeks in the past that the etymology for caterpillar is “Center English catyrpel, from Anglo-French catepelose, actually, bushy cat” (m-w, once more)

Brendan Emmett Quigley’s Themeless Monday puzzle– Matthew’s write-up

Brendan Emmett Quigley’s Themeless Monday crossword resolution, 8/8/2022

Good problem from BEQ as we speak; even after I was shifting shortly, I felt I used to be getting fortunate — SUNNY SIDE UP as we speak after showing within the New Yorker Friday, for instance, and I’ve no clue the place Mal de SIECLE was residing in my mind.

I’m going proper to notes, as a result of it’s what I need to do as we speak:

• 16a [Chile’s longest river] LOA. I can’t maintain Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea straight, so I don’t thoughts discovering one other angle, however this appears a little bit of a deep lower for me. Ben Stiller’s TOWER HEIST is probably a useful crossing for some solvers, however not for my film-starved mind.
• 26a [405, in some dates] CDV. I’m not a lot a fan of Roman numerals in puzzles, however I’m advised they permit for the thoughts to journey right into a deeper considered calculation. And whereas BEQ doesn’t do it right here, some people even get pleasure from that they permit calculations to be inserted into clues.
• 29a [24/7] DAY AND NIGHT. Sure, that’s a significantly better reply than “day out and in,” which I blithely tried, ignoring that I used to be going for “day in and day trip.”
• 35a [1847 novel that starts on the island of Nuku Hiva] OMOO. I’m all the time right here for Melville content material, as maybe you recognize by now.
• 36a [Purple poodle friend of Clifford the Big Red Dog] CLEO. I don’t keep in mind this character within the books–is it attainable she first appeared within the TV collection? My childhood canine (not a poodle) was named CLEO, so this was good. I’m additionally grateful that BEQ’s daughter Tabitha doesn’t seem to observe Caillou sufficient for that kids’s present to make it into his grids!
• 40a [Like writers of hard puzzles] EVIL. Arduous disagree.
• 41a [State whose official rock song is “Hang on Sloopy”] OHIO. The McCoys, who first performed the tune, have been from Ohio, however as is true of most issues in Columbus, this has an Ohio State connection, because the Ohio State Marching Band added it to their repertoire, and the remainder is historical past.
• 1d [Retired fleet] SSTS. I’m a easy man; I see “retired fleet,” I bash my hand in opposition to the S and T keys for a second, and transfer on.
• 7d [Vegetarian diet preferred by Rastafarians] ITAL. That is new to me! I a lot favor it to an abbreviation of “italics.”
• 27d [“Your order’s at the next window”] DRIVE AHEAD. I like this entry a complete bunch.
• 45d [She beat Margaret once, and Billie Jean and Chris twice each, for her five Wimbledon championships] EVONNE. That is the good tennis star EVONNE Goolagong Cawley, an indigenous Australian who gained 14 Grand Slams: 7 in singles, 6 in doubles, and 1 in combined doubles, and gained 81% of her profession singles matches. The opposite girls referenced within the clue are equally tennis superstars: Billie Jean King, Chris Evert, and the odious and hateful Margaret Court docket.
• 60d [L for the Angels?] LOS. That is in reference to the Los Angeles Angels baseball group, abbreviated “LAA”

Wyna Liu’s New Yorker crossword—Amy’s write-up

New Yorker crossword resolution, 8/8/22 – Wyna Liu

The Monday New Yorker puzzles often land within the 6- to 8-minute vary for me, suitably powerful and akin to a troublesome Saturday NYT. A 4:18 end right here locations this on the simpler finish of the Friday NYT spectrum, so not as exhausting as I anticipated. Might be a wheelhouse factor. Was it simpler than normal for you?

Fave fill: INNER CIRCLE, PINTEREST (which mystifies me, not up my alley), “LAH-DI-DAH,” GIFT SETS, LIFETIME channel, IKEA CATALOG, CARPOOL LANE, HEAVY FLOW (nice clue: [Periodic intensity?], and sure, that is about menstruation), KURDISH, THEME PARTY, KOALA.

New to me:

• 14a. [Wasted part of a weekend, maybe?], BOOZY BRUNCH. I do know the idea, not essentially the phrase. There was a time when folks have been making an attempt to make drunch occur.
• 24d. [Longtime adult-fiction site with a portmanteau name], LITEROTICA. Good things?
• 11d. [Challenge for a pickup artist?], CRANE GAME. That is the factor the little aliens have been in, shrieking “The claw!!,” in Toy Story. I do know the factor, didn’t know the generic title is crane sport. Is smart, although.

Three extra issues:

• 35a. [Instrument that shares its name with a figure from Zulu folklore], MARIMBA. Not that I’m acquainted with the folklore determine. Please do click on by means of to examine Queen Marimba for those who’re additionally unfamiliar.
• 5d. [Flat in London, perhaps?], TYRE. As in a flat tire. I just like the clue. I’d have stated “Cute clue!” however some folks detest that utilization.
• 32d. [Hashtag for weekly reminiscences], TBT. That’s Throwback Thursday.

4 stars from me.

Neville Fogarty’s USA In the present day puzzle, “Within the Loop”– malaika’s write-up