Diamond
Sunday, July 1, 2007
"DIAMOND JUBILEE" -- Puzzle by Nancy Salomon and Bill Zais, edited by Will Shortz
Puzzle in a puzzle -- squares with a circle form a baseball diamond looking from behind home plate -- In addition to the regular down and across clues, there are four clues under the heading "DIAMOND" (starting at*) (noted in electronic version as "starting at third square of 109-Across"):
NE - "Now I've seen everything!" -- THATSA 1st
NW - Swipes a base -- STEALS 2nd
SW - Show -- FINISH 3rd
NE - Didn't go out -- STAYED Home
The NE, NW, SW and SE (always absurd puzzle location directions) are placed oddly as though one would be standing at "third base" facing north, instead of home plate where the asterisk is situated -- a more clear directive would be LR, UR, UL and LL, which allows one to use C, CR, CL, UC, DC, DCR, DCL, etc. In any event, one gets the idea, even though the "ballfield" is askew. Oh, and perhaps someone can enlighten me as to why "Jubilee" is part of the puzzle's title. I suppose there's a reason, right?
Other baseball-related entries are the puns FIELDTRIPS (22A Cause of some baseball errors?); PARKRANGER (23A Texas ballplayer?); GRASSSKIRT (116A Diamond border?); and GROUNDBEEF (121A Complaint about a baseball playing area?) -- one could also add ELIMINATED (20A Knocked out) off in left field (UR). Keeping an eye on the field near home plate is KUHN (114D Former baseball commissioner Bowie), maybe expecting a GRENADE (107A Pin holder) to be thrown from foul territory down left to get the last out. To the right of the pitcher's mound -- WHOSON1st (69A Classic Abbott and Costello bit) provides distraction, and over at third -- BAT3rd (49D Precede the cleanup spot) is waiting to GOHome (112A "Get out of here!"). Baseball terminology is everywhere in the language of the USAUSA (15D Scream for the Dream Team)!
Just the kind of puzzle one needs around the All-Star game and the 4th of July -- nothing esoteric or intellectual or with any aspirations of being so -- just a good old-fashioned "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" crossword -- well, maybe there were a few off-base entries, such as OPERASERIA (21A Many an Allessandro Scarlatti work), not exactly a tail-gate entry. PIEDATERRE (3A Temporary residence), SILHOUETTE (126A It can be a relief) and NGAIO (32D Mystery writer Marsh) are also from left field.
Sick clue for ANKARA (38D Turkey heads can be found here)!
Illustration: SILHOUETTE (126A It can be a relief) -- from Ingmar Bergman's "The Seventh Seal"
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For today's 100-year old cartoon, go to The Crossword Puzzle Illustrated.
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