Lock, Stock, and Barrel

Newsday x-word 4-30-14

Good afternoon on a cold, wet, and rainy day in NYC. I managed to finish all three puzzles before I got to work. Fred Piscop offers a nice crossword called "Key Club." The theme answers all have to do with different homonyms of "locks":

Loch Ness monster--Fact or Fiction?

20A: Ness, Lomond, etc. (SCOTTISH LOCHS). Also home to the legendary monster. Nessie supposedly made an appearance for the Scottish Referendum.

39A: Features of cars' rear doors (CHILDPROOF LOCKS). This is an absolute must! However, when my son was little, I knew many parents who went overboard with childproofing. Yes, I can understand protecting the child from glass and electricity, but the child needs to also explore things on his/her own.

Bagels and Lox

52A: Fish served on bagels (NOVA SCOTIA LOX). I think I have mentioned before that I must be the only Jew who doesn't like cream cheese and lox. My bagels have to be buttered or else. When my MIL was alive and we broke the fast on Yom Kippur, she had to make tuna fish and egg salad for me since I refused to eat lox.

The GEICO Gecko

Animal Farm:

8D: Closet pest (MOTH). Never put your wool sweaters in the closet. Always put them in acid-free boxes.
33D: Small lizard (GECKO). The GEICO Gecko is one of my all-time favorite mascots.
41D: Camel's Peruvian cousin (LLAMA)
56D: Meat in moussaka (LAMB). I don't think I've every tried moussaka, but it looks delicious!

Robert Heinlein

Our cryptoquote for today continues with their theme of brevity and simplicity in writing. This one is by Robert Heinlein (1907-1988):

The most important lesson in the writing trade is that any manuscript is improved if you put away the fat.

Robert Heinlein was often called "The Dean of Science Fiction Writers." He published 32 novels, 59 short stories, 16 anthology collections, four films, two television series, and several episodes for radio. His works included The Cat Who Walks Through Walls, Starship Troopers, Stranger in a Stranger Land, Farnham's Freehold, and The Door Into Summer. He was ahead in this time with attacking racism, writing about free love, belief in individualism, and exploring the purpose of metaphysics.

Today's JUMBLE is an even bigger groaner than yesterday's, if that's possible. A couple is looking at potential places to build a new home. The caption reads: "When they looked for a place to build their new home, they were ________."

Word list (an easy one today):

AGGUE = GAUGE
SEMYS = MESSY
SAHNIV = VANISH
THIRME = HERMIT

Scrambled solution: GEESNISEIT
Solution: "SITE"-SEEING

May I suggest the Staten Island landfill?

That's all for today. For those in along the I-95 corridor, stay dry! I hope May starts off on a better note.

Till tomorrow. . . .

Signing off,
The Puzzlechick

All Steamed Up

Newsday X-word 4-29-14

It's another chilly, rainy day in NYC. The temperature has barley hit 50. Now is the time to get cozy and warm with "Steamed," today's crossword by Billie Truitt. Here are the theme answers:

16A: Common cold symptom (SORE THROAT). I had many sore throats and cases of tonsillitis during my childhood. The tonsils almost came out. Allergy shots helped, too.

26A: Surprise win (UPSET VICTORY). ESPN has compiled a list of the biggest upsets in sports history. Not surprisingly, the 1969 Miracle Mets are on the list (Go Mets!).

43A: Drink served with Marshmallows (HOT CHOCOLATE). I've tried several of the "gourmet" hot chocolates in the city. City Bakery and Max Brenner are overrated. City Bakery's was so sweet it gave me a headache. Max Brenner is a tourist trap. IMO, Jacques Torres serves the best hot chocolate. Too bad it's no longer at Chelsea Market.

59A: Meet by chance (CROSS PATHS).

More food glorious food:

39A: Cabbage salad (SLAW)
52A: Heavy fruit of some palm trees (COCONUT). Not my favorite food.
11D: Pork or beef (MEAT)
53D: Gumbo vegetable (OKRA)

Devious behavior:

8D: Started the grill, say (LIT A FIRE)
9D: Abandon (DESERT)
28D: Eye rudely (OGLE)
56A: Blows one's top (GOES APE)

We have another cryptoquote by Cicero today:

Every word that's unnecessary only pours over the side of a brimming mind.

These are yet more Plain English from the masters about writing well (be concise and simple). The word "unnnescssary" threw me for a second.


Finally, we have another groaner of a JUMBLE.The caption reads "the twins missed their flight because they were _______.

I'd freak if I missed my plane too. We almost did on my first return trip from Israel.

Word list:

AVEWE = WEAVE
LATVE = VALET
TURBET = BUTTER
FARDOF = AFFORD

Scrambled solution = WLTTEAO
Solution = "TWO" LATE

For the record, my best friends growing up were twins. I was so jealous and always dreamt that I had a twin sister and would have an instant best friend.  Watching my friends, I've come to a conclusion that there's nothing like a bond between twins.

Hope my fellow New Yorkers stay dry!

Till tomorrow. . . .

Signing off,
The Puzzlechick

Flagging Down the Double Es

Newsday Puzzle 4-28-14

Good morning! It just doesn't want to warm up here in NY. I am usually without a jacket by this time of the year.

We start off with Gail Grabowski's usual Monday puzzle called "Solved with Es." All the answers contain two words "ee." For a bit of nostalgia, Double E locomotives were once the largest trains on American railroads. Double E also refers to an extremely wide shoe size. I believe that it was also a line on the NYC subway. Many of the lines used to have double letters, but it was extremely confusing. The MTA has since narrowed them down to single letters. Here are the theme answers:

20A: St. Patrick's Day bar serving (GREEN BEER). Hmmm. Haven't had a chance to try this and probably never will.

Beech Tree

50A: Hardwood source (BEECH TREE)

10D: Sever cold snap (DEEP FREEZE): The winter of 2014. 'Nuff said.

27D: First Amendment right (FREE SPEECH)

Alphabet Soup: 

37A: Point opposite WNW (ESE)
38A: Numbered rd. (RTE)
53D: Suffix for kitchen or luncheon (ETTE)
55D: Sailor's help (SOS)

Yehuda Bauer

Today's cryptoquote is by the Czech-born historian and scholar Yehuda Bauer (b. 1926):

Thou shall not be a perpetrator, thou shall not be a victim, and thou shall never, but never be a bystander. 

Yehuda Bauer is the professor of Holocaust studies at the Avraham Harman Institute of Contemporary Jewry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His words are inscribed at the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C. This is probably the most intense place I have ever visited. You would think that current world leaders would learn from the Holocaust, but similar events are happening in the Ukraine, where Jews are required to register their religion and occupation. 

Enough about politics and onto the JUMBLE. The picture shows workmen installing a solar roof that a couple just purchased. The caption reads: "They installed solar panels on their house because it was a ______.

Word list: 


VINEG = GIVEN
CHUNB = BUNCH
RUYNIJ = INJURY
SAJDUT = ADJUST

Scrambled solution = GIEBHIRADT
Solution = BRIGHT IDEA

Tribeca Film Festival ended with a bang. The movie we saw on Saturday, "When the Garden Was Eden," was about the Knicks championship teams of the early '70s--Bill Bradley, Walt ("Clyde") Frazier, Phil Jackson, Dave DeBusschere, Earl ("The Pearl") Monroe, Cazzie Russell, Dick Barnett, and Willis Reed. What I didn't know was that back in the 1960s, many of the NBA players had real jobs. Basketball was their second income. Quite a contrast from today's overpaid, underutilized players who sit out on the bench for a splinter.

Yesterday, we saw four wonderful shorts: "My Depression," is an animated movie about Elizabeth Swados' struggle with this mental disorder. In "70 Hester Street," the filmmaker recalls the loft on the Lower East Side where he grew up. His parents bought it for $6,000; the selling price was $3 million! Once a synagogue, it will now become a cafe called Nibbles, along with a gallery upstairs. In "One Year Lease," a gay couple made a film around voice-mail messages left by their former landlord. It was hilarious and won the prize for best short. Finally, Chelsea Clinton was the executive producer for the film "Of Many," which chronicles the friendship between Rabbi Yehuda Sarna and Imam Khalid Latif, spiritual leaders at NYU.

My goal is to open my Etsy shop--called Gold Star Puzzles--by June 1st. I will be offering custom, printable puzzles for all occasions from word searches to matching games to crosswords. There will probably be some changes to this blog as well. Stay tuned!

Till tomorrow. . . .

Signing off,
The Puzzlechick

Life According to Homer Simpson

TGIF! We are ending the work week with some great puzzles. First up is Stanley Newman's crossword for today called "Homeric Wit," where the solver has to reveal words of wisdom by that great cartoon icon, Homer Simpson:

18A: Start of a Homer Simpson quote (FACTS ARE)

22A: Part 2 of the quote (MEANINGLESS)

36A: Part 3 of the quote (THEY CAN BE)

54A: Part 4 of the quote (USED TO PROVE)

59A: End of quote (ANYTHING)

I love Homer. Yes, he's overweight, slow-witted, lazy, quick-tempered, and borderline drunk. He is ruled by his impulses. For example, he would gladly sell his soul to the devil for a doughnut, lol. At times, he also seems to neglect his family However, Homer is also a very complex person and I think he truly cares about Marge and the kids. His buffoonish charm is what has kept this show running for over 20 years. 

Word of the day: 15A: Glasses without temples (PINCE-NEZ). I think these were popular in the 19th and early 20th century. Thank G-d glasses are more comfortable these days.

Alphabet soup:

1D: Interest meas. (PCT)

7D: UV-Blocking stat (SPF)

8D: World Factbook producer (CIA)

9A: Small-business mag (INC)

34A: Schedule placeholder (TBA)

52A: Big wheel, briefly (CEO)

65D: Night-school subj. (ESL)

The name game:

1A: Lisa on Friends (PHOEBE)

22D: Voice of Bugs and Daffy (MEL)

27D: 007 before Roger (SEAN)

I'll drink to that:

4D: Resort on Lake Geneva (AVIAN)

41D: Circles around moons (CORONAS)

66D: Edible grass (RYE)

Our writing theme continues in the daily cryptoquote. Today's quote is by Terry Pratchett (b. 1948):

There's no such thing as writer's block. That was invented by people in California who couldn't write.

Discworld

Ouch! Is that a little dig on our screenwriters? Anyway, I had to look up Terry Pratchett to see who he is. He is an author of mainly fantasy novels, and I'm not a big fan of that genre. Pratchett is best known for the Discworld comic novel series, which often parodies the styles of writers such as Tolkien, Shakespeare, Lovecraft. In Discworld, Pratchett also satirizes social, cultural, political, and scientific issues. 

Today's JUMBLE was a tough one. The caption shows two zookeepers with a pachyderm. The caption reads "Whether or not the zoo's new pachyderm was from Africa or Asia was _____.

Word list:

UDELL = ELUDE

REMHY = RHYME

FENTIC = INFECT

PLURBA = BURLAP

I had trouble with the last two words.

Scrambled solution: ELERHINTRAP

Solution: IRRELEPHANT

Not a bad pun for today. My favorite ima ge of a pachyderm was the elephant vacuum cleaner used on "The Flintstones."

Wilma Flintstone

That's all for today. Tribeca FF continues tomorrow with a movie about the Knicks' golden years of the '70s, along with a series of shorts on Sunday.

Till tomorrow. . . .

Signing off,

The Puzzlechick

The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades

Good morning . . . this is my 170th post!

Today's Newsday Crossword by David W. Cromer is called "Bright Idea." To correspond with today's theme,  I've dug through the You Tube archives to pull up the video "The Future's So Bright" by the group Timbuk 3. This group was a one-hit wonder, but this was such a mid-1980s anthem. It was a symbol of prosperity and good times of the decade.

The theme answers are below:

18A: Sun's sudden energy release (SOLAR FLARE)
27A: Camera accessory (DIGITAL FLASH)
43A: It's carried every two years (OLYMPIC TORCH). I didn't watch one minute of the Sochi Olympics because of Russia's stance on gay rights. It's a shame, because I usually love watching the opening ceremonies and seeing the lighting of the torch.
55A: Go-ahead (GREEN LIGHT). Remember the childhood game called "Statutes?" The person who's it would shout "Red Light, Green Light, 1-2-3" the others would run toward that person. If the person who's it yells "Red Light," the others must freeze. If they move, then they are out.

The Name Game:

23D: Mystery writer's award (EDGAR)
44D: Stalin Foe Trotsky (LEON)
50A: South Park kid (IKE) (my favorite!)
52D: Designer Ricci (NINA)
54D: Ascended (ROSE)

Alphabet soup (not too much today):

25A: Air-quality monitor (EPA)
37A: Elevations, for short (HTS)
41D: Gov. Cuomo's purview (NYS)

My favorite clue was 10D: Belly-flop byproduct (SPLASH)

Today's cryptoquote by William Zinsser (b. 1922) continues with the "keep it short" theme.

Your basic premises of writing: clarity, brevity, simplicity, and humanity.

Zinsser is best known for the book On Writing Well, the classic guide to nonfiction writing. At age 92, he still runs an column on writing, arts, music, and politics in the periodical The American Scholar. He can no longer see, so he coaches aspiring writers by listening to their works.

The Boston Marathon was on Monday, and it went off without any incident this year. In today's JUMBLE, we have a picture of marathon runners. The caption reads: "After his heart surgery, the marathon runner was happy to once again be a _____."

Word list:

CIRPE = PRICE
KILYM = MILKY
WARIYA = AIRWAY
REELVC = CLEVER

Scrambled solution: PCEMKAAER
Solution: PACE-MAKER

This is one where I got the answer before I unscrambled the words.

I've learned that another movie theater in my neighborhood is closing to make way for medical offices. So sad.

I have been working on more puzzles for my Etsy shop and will begin listing them very soon.

Till tomorrow. . . .

Signing off,
The Puzzlechick

Swift and Sure

Please forgive me for not posting anything the last several days. I was on vacation and took a break from all work and blogging. I am back today with a puzzle by Charles Slack called "Not Too Swift." The theme answers--which all contain synonyms for "swift"--are below:


17A: Computer's password request (LOG-IN PROMPT). This is something that we should change every three months to avoid spammers and hackers.
54A: Unalterable, as rules (HARD AND FAST)
11D: Admiral's warships (NAVAL FLEET). I'm happy to say that after a year hiatus, Fleet Week returns to NYC.
26D: Very deeply, as a cut (TO THE QUICK). I didn't quite get this one.

I've added the Road Runner here for a little decoration.

Alphabet soup:

1A: Profs.' typical degrees (PHDs)
2D: Health care groups (HMOs)
50A: Website help section (FAQs)
57A: SNL network (NBC)

Huh?

5D: Mountaineer's descent (RAPPEL)

Thomas Jefferson is the author of today's cryptoquote:

The most valuable of all talents is that of never using two words when one will do.

In other words, Jefferson is saying to keep things short but sweet. If you don't get to the point, you may say something you'll regret later.

Today's JUMBLE shows a wealthy man making a trade, and two landscapers talking. The caption reads ("He was able to afford his new landscaping after making so much money in his _____."

Word list:

ADDEF = FADED
NARGD = GRAND
SELUUF = USEFUL
MELTHE = HELMET

Scrambled solution: DDGNUFHEE
Solution: HEDGE FUND

That definitely seems the way to get wealthy these days. It seems to me that Wall Street has recovered quickly despite the government buy-outs of 2008. Main Street continues to struggle. :-(

We saw three great films at Tribeca Film Festival over the weekend: "DIOR and I," about the venerable fashion house; "The Search for General TSO," which explores the history of this Chinese-restaurant staple; and "Famous Nathan," about the man and the family behind the iconic hot dog stand. The latter film was directed by Nathan's grandson and is a touching tribute to his family. Notice the use of crosswordese in this paragraph.

I feel energized after taking a much needed break. Till tomorrow. . . .

Signing off,
The Puzzlechick