Monday September 9, 2019 | (2023)

FROG14:10 (Jim Q.)

Lat5:43 (Nate)

NOW3:10 (Jenni)

WSJ4:02 (Jim P)

Crossword in The New York Times by Dan Schoenholz - Jenni's essay

That was a bit harder for me than an average Monday. Might have been the wine tasting weekend I just got back from. Or maybe not. I really liked the topic. Dan took words ending in "-ize" and rewrote them phonetically with appropriately literal but wacky clues.

• 17a [Very soft loaves of bread?].TENDER RYE(tender).
• 26a [ties with the letters A, B, C, D, etc.?] areALPHABET TIES(to alphabetize).
• 44a [Indigo, Henna etc.?] sindSTANDARD DYES(standardize).
• 57a ["You haven't aged a bit" and "I love that jacket you're wearing"?] areSOCIAL LIES(socialize). This is my favorite.

This is a fresh, fun, and absolutely Monday-accessible theme. Nicely done!

A few other things:

• I could have done without the cross-reference at 5d. 6d is [golf score of 5-down under par], which isBIRDS, so is 5dONE, which could have been guessed in many other ways. It made the NW turn uncomfortable for no good reason.
• 12d [TV series "___ line is it anyway?"] isWHOSE. Say it with me: "...and the points don't matter."
• 29d [stereotype material for a professor's jacket] isTWEED. My husband was a professor for ten years. He has never owned a jacket like this before. Maybe that's why the university wasn't for him in the end.
• How long until we seeGRETAreferred to as [climate change hero] rather than [Garbo of silent film]?
• 47d ["Oh shit!"] isAW, GE.

What I didn't know before I solved this riddle: thisMINKs are relatives of weasels.

I leave it to you with Dar Williams beautiful song about 15a.

Mike Macdonald's All-Inclusive Universal Crossword - Rebecca's Review

TOPIC: Topic answers are the end of sentences that start with "whole".

THEME ANSWERS:

• 20A [End of “complete” sentence] WAX BALL
  
• 28A [End of “complete” sentence] ENCHILADA
  
• 43A [End of “complete” sentence] NINE YARDS
  
• 51A [Like feel-good memes or the subject of this riddle?] HEALTHY
  

This puzzle is one that I enjoy the more I think about it. Solid answers that go together really well, but definitely weren't immediately satisfying to me. It was more the afterthought of the linguistic coincidence of all topic answers that fit symmetrically to the wordHEALTHYthis gave me the joy I wish I had experienced in solving. The only word I expected to be part of this topic that never came up was SHEBANG.

I also think the revealer would have worked better if he hadn't included memes in his answer, which felt a bit...

Totally enjoyed the symmetry ofLAUCHZWIEBELpancakesEGG ROLLS, and loved the note forEYELIDS[41D. aim for some shadows]. Was less familiar with the note fromFETISH[19A. Magical object] in a non-sexual way. Also feels like there are more relevant onesSTEINIGERs to be referenced as Cheech or Chong, but they certainly fit the answer.

3 stars from me

Freddie Cheng's Los Angeles Times crossword - Nate's essay

3D:RUSSIAN ROULETTE[Deadly "Game" in "The Deer Hunter"]
5D:RANCH HANDS[Those who help with the horses]
9D:ITALIAN STALLION[nickname of Stallone, with "the"]
31D:FRENCH CHICKENS[Trio after Lovebirds]
14D:ATTRACT[Heavy references and a reference to the beginnings of marked reference answers]

Each of the topic entries therefore has a kind of salad dressing that begins with its answerATTRACT. I'm torn about whether or not I like the plural version of the topic - what do you think? I had a bit of déjà vu solving this riddle and loved itthis recent clothing-themed jigsaw puzzle in the NYT. Different themes, reveals and structures, but I couldn't help but think of one in the context of the other. I appreciate how each Themer brings their puzzle to life based on the instructions in the revealer.

Other thoughts:
- I loved the hint for 6A!PTASmay have mothers, fathers and educators, but the mothers and fathers are not necessarily presentmutual. Subtle, but I noticed and smiled.
– 12A is a great example of where women could quite simply be involved more in puzzles. Why not replace "men" with "women" in the note?PLURAL? The same applies to the notice forHEALTHat 10 D. Why not replace "Henri" with a woman's name? Especially whenEvelynWow andCYNDILauper are the only women actually represented anywhere in the grid/clues in the puzzle.

Mike Shenk's Wall Street Journal Say It With Flowers Crossword - Jim P's review

A simple, airy floral trellis gets our week started here. Our theme is well-known phrases that contain a hidden floral part.

• 17a[Reaction to dog dander, shall we say]PET ALLERGY
• 26a[protector of freedom of speech]FIRST AMENdementia
• 44a[Crusaders whose white cloaks wore red crosses]RITTERSTENGELPLA
• 58a[Accidentally with an unfortunate result]RTO THE RISK

Seems like this one was great in the spring, but I'm not complaining. The topic is just right for a Monday - accessible and clear - and it's a great starting grid for a newer solver.

The filling isn't very sparkling, but I like itHey Jude,STILETT,GALAHAD, andKOALAS. Not being a huge basketball watcher, I'm not all that familiar with the termSET THE SHOT, but it was conclusive enough.

For the most part, the clues are dead straight. In fact, there isn't a single clue with a question mark, which I don't think I've seen before. I think that's why I was able to set such a fast time (for me).

And that's all I have. This is a no-nonsense but clean theme with hidden words that's just right for a newbie. 3.7 stars.

Patrick Berry's New York Crossword - Rachel's Essay

As it won't surprise anyone, this Patrick Berry puzzle is as clean as it gets. Not a single filler is out of place or questionable and the NE and SW quad stacks are things of beauty. The lattice is gorgeous too - this neat staircase of black squares through the middle, with two sets of squares staggered on either side, is so aesthetically pleasing and simple!

I've had a harder time with it than most other New Yorkers I've done lately, but it was a fight I appreciated (as much as a fight before coffee can be appreciated - check out these 15+ minute time on!) . Much of the clue was the hard and clever combo that leads to those satisfying aha moments (colors on nails? forROST; How orders of magnitude? PerOVERSIZE).

A few miscellaneous notes:

• I didn't understand the hintAGENT(ten percent), but Google tells me that talent agents receive 10% of their stars' earnings and are therefore sometimes referred to as "10 percenters." ?‍♀️
• At the last letter of I paced back and forthANTIPASTI; I knew the I was correct because it's plural, but couldn't think of a word ending in -IPTS (until I got the actual answer,receipts, which was also cleverly hinted at)
• LEE MARVINis new to me (I'm an uncultured brute unworthy of the New Yorker) so the NE stack was last to fall
• Also new (and old):SCHINOLA. Having this mark in the same grid as the clue mentioned aboveROSTwas tricky!
• The only hint I really didn't like was the one forWINS("What dies with the most toys does, according to a bumper sticker"). I saw that bumper sticker exactly once, and then I rolled my eyes, and I roll my eyes at that clue. It's consumerist and gross and bro-y.

Overall: nice clean puzzle that was harder when I was prepared at 7am before coffee!

Website crosswords by Brendan Emmett Quigley, Themeless Monday #533 – Jim Q's review

A lively, themed day from BEQ, full of fun stuff and a few new, derivable entries.

FAVORITE HINTS/ANSWERS:

• 17A [Swank, z. B.] OSCAR-GEWINNER.Had a feeling this was a reference to Hilary Swank, but didn't quite appreciate the clue until I spotted herOSKAR PROFITMain role as BrandonTEENA(see 53-Across). Excellent hint, was more fun without the cross reference.
• 21A [place where residents roll] RV PARK.ThatRVPin the beginning can lead to a confident response or a confident obliteration.
• 10A [Disney Cheese] IGER. I really wish the CEO was namedEXECUTION.
• 14D [lower leg problems] CANKLES.I liked this hint and got it from the K. I solved it with a friend and she didn't like it at all and claimed it wasn't a "problem".
• 41A [„Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind“-Star] WINSLET. I only had to glance at the poster hanging on my classroom wall for a split second after realizing CARREY wouldn't fit.

NEW FOR ME:

• 1A [Meme demonstrating insanity posing as genius] GALAXY BRAIN.You can always count on a BEQ for something fresh that you might not be hip to yet... I suppose it is for me.
• 15A [Tree with bumpy fruit] OSAGE ORANGE.Derivable.
• 39A [fencer code] DUELLO.Never heard of it. Needed all crosses.
• 53D [Twitter-Follower, informell] TWEEP.Sweet.

DID NOT WANT:

• 36D and 48D. TRASHMEN/ENDMEN.ThatMENDupe questioned meENDMEN, which I wasn't sure about at all.
• 36A [Exactly, after "on"] THE POINT.6 letters partially. yuck

Overall good times! Luckily I knew all the names, even if I wanted to spell themEILISHas ELLISH andRIANals Ryan.

4 Sterne.