11.16.08

Who? (The Simpsons!)

Orson Welles, Citizen Kane, 1941

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Sunday, November 16, 2008

SOUNDS LIKE SOMEBODY I KNOW, Puzzle by Merl Reagle, edited by Will Shortz

It’s Punday on Sunday again -- crosswords from The Times seem to gravitate to paronomasia! Here we are treated to eight grueling entries of homophonic equivoque upon the names of personages past and passé, clued with a justifying query.

However, this puzzle is much more complex -- a day-long activity culminating in a television program in the evening on the Fox network, resulting in the first time I ever watched a full episode of The Simpsons... it's true!

See notes at the end of this commentary.

17. MARISA PTOMAINE, “Loverboy” actress who made the cast sick?;

21. RAYMOND CHANNELER, Séance-loving crime writer?;

40. ARNOLD POLYMER, Hall of Fame golfer who invented the all-plastic club?;

53. RONA PARROT, All-telling gossip queen who repeats everything she hears?;

72. ERIK SETTEE, Avant-garde composer who sat around a lot?;

82. MONICA ZEALOUS, Passionate tennis star?;

105. NIKITA CRUISECHEF, Moscow V.I.P. who liked to cook on a ship?;

111. LINDSAY LOWHAND, “I have no face cards” actress?

Torturous and tedious as those entries and their clues may be, the remainder of the crossword is equally joyless and plodding in esoterica and minutiae -- that‘s just fine, puzzles should puzzle!

In addition to the across and down entries, the puzzle features one diagonal: 1. DUMB DAD SORRY FOR HIS BET -- for the clue, go HERE.

The cul-de-sac for this writer was MONICAZEALOUS with her crossings, especially ROSESLUG (which will now always come to mind when I do my imitation of Orson Welles’ death scene in Citizen Kane) -- this is one of those crosswords that just wasn’t my cup of TAZO!

Roseslug!

(This crossword puzzle is involved in the episode of “Homer and Lisa Exchange Cross Words” on The Simpsons, Fox, 8:00 pm, Sunday, November 16, 2008, today -- Lisa becomes an expert at solving crossword puzzles and enters a tournament, where Homer gets involved with an underground betting ring. Voices include crossword editor Will Shortz and crossword creator Merl Reagle as themselves. Read more HERE.)

NOTE: The first letter of the clues spell out DEAR LISAYOU MAKE ME SO HAPPY REALLY REALLY REALLY HAPPY SORRY HE TOLD ME I NEEDED A HUNDRED FORTY FOUR LETTERS WHAT WAS MY POINT AGAIN OH RIGHT BOUVIER OR SIMPSON I CHERISH YOU, the last line in the episode for which the crossword puzzle was constructed.

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For today’s cartoons, go to The Crossword Puzzle Illustrated.

For the complete post, go HERE.