Matt Jones’s Jonesin’ Crossword, “Eh-Oh!” – Erin’s write-up

Jonesin’ resolution 8/23/22

Hello lovelies! Quick writeup this week as I’m away on trip! This week’s theme is phrases and phrases that begin with the letters AO.

• 17a. [Current Maori-language name for New Zealand] AOTEAROA
• 19a. [North African curvy-horned wild sheep that was released in Texas in the 1950s] AOUDAD. They’re also called Barbary sheep.
• 29a. [Series of heart structures that lead to the head and neck arteries] AORTIC ARCHES. We begin out with six of those. The fourth one develops into the central a part of the aortic arch we’ve got at start.
• 38a. [New York Times film critic whose Twitter name is still “32 across” six years after his name appeared in the crossword] A.O. SCOTT. This is best defined with a photograph.
  

  Photo displaying A.O. Scott’s Twitter identify as 32 throughout

• 45a. [Tagline that distinguishes a concert or convention from a full-weekend affair] A ONE-DAY EVENT. I don’t love this entry because it begins with the article A, but it surely’s the one one.
• 59a. [Honshu city deemed one of the world’s snowiest major cities (averaging 26 feet per year)] AOMORI
• 62a. [Items containing free trial software, dubbed “history’s greatest junk mail” by a Vox article] AOL DISCS. I keep in mind getting these within the mail on a regular basis. I additionally keep in mind it took HOURS for America Online to put in on the household Windows 3.1 desktop.

I’m going to cease right here as a result of it’s time to drive to Maine. Until subsequent week!

Jeff Stillman’s Wall Street Journal crossword, “Swine Dining”—Jim P’s assessment

Theme: PORK WRAPS (57a, [Greek or Asian meat offerings, or a description of the circled answers]). The different theme solutions are acquainted phrases whose outer letters spell out a sort of swine. (When I consider Greek meals, I don’t consider pork, however perhaps that’s simply me.)

Wall St Journal crossword resolution · “Swine Dining” · Jeff Stillman · Tue., 8.23.22

• 17a. [Gets amped up at a bar?] PLAYS A GIG. Pig.
• 24a. [College student’s delight, often] HOME COOKING. Hog.
• 33a. [Shines brighter than a star?] STEALS THE SHOW. Sow.
• 49a. [Weekend adventurer’s need] BOAT TRAILER. Boar.

The theme is ok and it really works. It definitely helped me fill within the circled letters of 49a since I already knew what these could be. But I’ve questions.

Right off the bat, I see that three of the “hidden words” are three-letters lengthy, which suggests the theme is fairly unfastened; there are numerous phrases that conceal HO_G, for instance. But HOME COOKING is a superb entry. Not a lot PLAYS A GIG, although. Why not one thing much less roll-your-owny like PINKY RING?

Further, making an attempt to work with a central entry that’s not 7- or 15-letters lengthy is difficult. Since the theme is unfastened sufficient, why not decide an entry that’s a useful size like STEALING THE SHOW or SCHOOL BUS YELLOW or SHAMWOW?

That 13-letter central entry forces huge corners. The NW is good with ALPACAS, SILK HATS, and PLACEMAT. And the SE options WIDE OPEN and DEEP SEA, which is a superb pairing. But OBOE PART and APP CODE really feel too inexperienced painty, particularly for such lengthy entries.

The different two corners are strong with SEQUOIAS and ANT TRAPS and solely a pair abbreviations (CTN and ACC).

Clue of word: 5d. [Seduce]. LEAD ON. I don’t fairly equate these. To me, LEAD ON implies some component of deception whereas “seduce” doesn’t essentially. Anyway, this entry could be extra enjoyable clued because the colloquial phrase, maybe with the clue [“After you”].

The theme works, and there are some pretty bits of fill, however there are additionally important methods during which the grid might be improved. 3.25 stars.