Note: Fireball is on vacation till September.

David Tuffs’ New York Times crossword—Ben’s evaluation

NYT #0811 – 08/11/2022

Today’s NYT is a reasonably neat set of phrases, even when the puzzle that incorporates them is simply okay:

• 17A: Faultless, biblically [Spanish] — WITHOUT SIN
• 24A: Substitute on TV [Czech] — GUEST HOST
• 37A/40A: With 40-Across, what’s fatefully “cast” in a quote attributed to Julius Caesar — THE / DIE
• 38A: Bakery container [Spanish] — BREAD PAN
• 50A: Outspoken agitator [Dutch] — FIRE BRAND
• 62A: Like the second phrase in 17-, 24-, 37-/40-, 38-, and 50-Across vis-à-vis the primary phrase — TRANSLATED

The second phrase of every of those phrases is a translation of the primary – “sin” in Spanish means “without” in English, “host” in Czech means “guest”, and so forth.  I like the idea of “false friends” – phrases in a language which have the identical spelling as an English phrase, however a totally totally different which means.  These have the identical which means – possibly they’re true buddies?  I might have cherished for all of those to be totally different languages quite than repeating Spanish.

61A: The Ingalls household’s little home on the prairie, e.g. — CABIN

Happy Thursday!

Mike Shenk’s Wall Street Journal crossword, “Order in the Court”—Jim P’s evaluation

Theme: ALL RISE (40a, [Order in the court, and a hint to six answers in this puzzle]). Theme solutions are acquainted phrases that function the letters ALL which flip vertically earlier than the entries end within the Across path.

Wall St Journal crossword resolution · “Order in the Court” · Mike Shenk · Thu., 8.11.22

• 17a. [Core workout aid] MEDICINE B(ALL).
• 21a. [Start of an audition dismissal] DON’T C(ALL) US.
• 27a. [Like potatoes cooked in cream] ESC(ALL)OPED. We all wished SCALLOPED for this one, huh?
• 49a. [Forerunners of discos] DANCE H(ALL)S.
• 54a. [Piece of sporting equipment with a shaft made of cane] POLO M(ALL)ET.
• 63a. [Purchase before a cookout, perhaps] MARSHM(ALL)OWS. Like an fool, I noticed MARSH_ and thought the reply was going to be MARSHALL LAW. D’oh!

Not unhealthy, eh? I knew the primary one can be MEDICINE BALL however the tough half was checking out if we had been coping with a rebus or what. By the second theme reply, I had it discovered, and with a look on the title, the jig was up. The relaxation flowed fairly robotically.

What’s exceptional right here is that we’re coping with seven sizable theme solutions, most of which have letters within the Down path as properly. That’s a number of theme materials and a number of constraints on the grid.

But the grid doesn’t undergo an excessive amount of. I had problem with the fitting aspect on the confluence of SARIN / ISIAH / YALE (clued with trivia [Battell Chapel setting]), however past that, every part was manageable, if not precisely scintillating. I did take pleasure in VISCERA at 9d.

Clues of observe:

• 39a. [Juvenile music]. RAP. I’m assuming that’s Juvenile the rapper and never an adjective.
• 57d. [Cream, e.g.]. TRIO. Consisting of Clapton and…two different dudes.

Once you determine the gimmick of the theme, the remainder of the grid is fairly easy. Due to all of the theme, there’s not a number of sparkly fill. 3.25 stars.