03.20.08

Portmanteaux

'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves

Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;

All mimsy were the borogoves,

And the mome raths outgrabe.

Humpty Dumpty, Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland

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Thursday, March 20, 2008

To go to the original post with illustrations, additional commentary, and the completed puzzle, or to leave a Comment, click on the TITLE at the beginning of today's or any day's commentary.

Puzzle by Stephen Edward Anderson, edited by Will Shortz

Folk tales from various European countries claim that only on the March equinox day, can one balance an egg on its point. However a soul can balance an egg on its point any day of the year if one has the patience -- and, further, on this first day of Spring, we have a perfectly balanced crossword puzzle!

Four place-name portmanteaux are the main entries in today’s crossword -- MEXICALIMEXICO (20A. South-of-the-border border town portmanteau); KANORADOKANSAS (25A. Plains border town portmanteau); DELMARDELAWARE (42A. Mid-Atlantic border town portmanteau); and TEXARKANATEXAS (47A. South-central border town portmanteau).

A portmanteau is actually a large suitcase with two compartments, albeit archaic and rare. The definition with which we are now familiar is the combination of parts of two or more words into one, which yields a new meaning. e.g. lunch and breakfast into brunch, or smoke and fog into smog.

In Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There, Humpty Dumpty and Alice discuss the poem, ‘Jabberwocky’. The egg explains the word "slithy”: “Well, ‘slithy‘ means ‘lithe and slimy.’ ‘Lithe’ is the same as ‘active.’You see it’s like a portmanteau - there are two meanings packed up into one word.” Both before and after Lewis Carroll, what is now called the portmanteau was a common way of coining new words.

For everyday portmanteaux, go HERE.Best entry today is XORO (52D. Tic-tac-toe choice). The entry XMAS is out of season on this, the first day of Spring! Tied together throughout the puzzle are pairings of NOVA & AVON, GOAT & GUAM, OAHU & OHNO, ORZO & EZRA. EATEN and TVDINNER share E's. Best short entry of the day -- always like seeing LEO, even when Roman numerals are included!

Longer entries also include DORMROOM, STREAKED, PEACENIK, POTION, and MAXOUT (all quite compatible, if you’ve been there). Sounds in the crossword include PLOP, TING, DRUM, DIRGE, SANG, and ALARMS.

However, the entries of Mexicali, Mexico; Kanorado, Kansas; Delmar, Delaware, and Texarkana, Texas are just out of this world!

Hey, if you’re traveling to any of those places, be sure to take your portmanteau!

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

03.19.08

JAM

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Puzzle by Gary Whitehead, edited by Will Shortz

Featured in today's crossword puzzle with JAM (56D. What 20-, 37- and 53-Across may do) are the inter-related entries of LASERPRINTER (20A. Desktop publisher’s need); RUSHHOURTRAFFIC (37A. Commuter’s woe); and HARDROCKBAND (53A. Def Leppard, for one). Three types of jam in which the printer can be kaput, traffic will eventually clear, and that hard rock band is on a roll!

Animals get a fair amount of play, including CHEETAH (14D. Spotted speedster); OCELOT (24A. Wild cat); OTTO (30D. “Beetle Bailey” dog); GOOSE (49D. The Cratchits’ Christmas dinner); AFLAC (32A. Company with a spokesduck); GOATEED (49A. Like Duchamp’s “Mona Lisa”); and ORTIZ (26D. Baseball’s Big Papi). Edibles include MAC and cheese (lunch dish) (1A.); EDAM (15A. Cheese town); SESAME (47A. Bagel choice); MOLDS (64A. Chocolatier’s gear); and, of course, that GOOSE -- but not JAM!

Other long entries include the seven-letter FLATBED (40D. Tow truck type) and ESTEEMS (23A. Regards highly); the six-letter HELPME (4D. “S.O.S.!”); SENECA (8D. Tutor of Nero); SOCCER (46D. Game with a team of 11); and SMARTS (45D. Common sense).

The bulk of the puzzle is in its log jam of five-letter entries: AFIRE, AHEAD, APEAK, ARABS, AREAS, ATEAT, COAST, DDAYS, EATON, EFILE, ENTRE, FUGUE, INRED, JIVER, LOOFA, LSATS, MILLE, NIXON, ODORS, OILER, PLAZA, REICH, SAPPY, TOSCA, TOWER. Four-letter entries: ANTE, AUDI, DENY, DORY, EDAM, EEOC, ETTA, HOST, IDEO, IOWA, IROC, LEAH, LORE , IDEO, NOSE, REOS, SARI, SLID, TMEN, and YSER. Three-letter: AGA, BUT, ITO, NES, ORO, OTS, PIX, PLO, SEA, TIE, VEL, YEN…

…and JAM!

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To go to the original post with illustrations and the completed puzzle, or to leave a Comment, click on the TITLE at the beginning of today's or any day's commentary.

03.18.08

ˈsĕn(t)s

“The way you hear it, is the way you sing it” by Jan Steen (1626-1679)
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Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Puzzle by David Pringle, edited by Will Shortz

HEAVENSENT, NOTONEREDCENT, HOTONTHESCENT and MAKES SENSE are the inter-related entries of this tepid Tuesday crossword; or is it all those words starting with A -- ABE, ABLE, ACHE, ACTS, ANDIE, ALAW, ALLNEW, ANKH, ANKLE, ASIA, ASP, ASSETS, ASTONISH.

Coddled EGGS were in a puzzle last week -- of course, most of this puzzle was in a puzzle last week, if that makes sense. LEOI and LEVI cross each other, as do ANKH and ANKLE, OBE and OBOE. REST and RETIRE share an R, reminding one of this Sunday’s crossword “Getting a Little R and R”. Some of the clues are a bit skewed, e.g.: SIX (49A. One of two in “boxcars”); LOIS (52A. Cohort of Clark); REELED (22A. Walked like a tosspot), ETCETERA (10D. “Yadda, yadda, yadda“).

SNOWMAN (42D. One with a carrot nose, maybe) may be making his last appearance of the winter with spring starting this Thursday. Right now he’s no more out of place in this puzzle than 50 Cent, if that makes sense!

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

To go to the original post with illustrations and the completed puzzle, or to leave a Comment, click on the TITLE at the beginning of today's or any day's commentary.

03.17.08

Luck and Begorra!

St. Patrick, Belmont Abbey
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Monday, March 17, 2008

Puzzle by C. W. Stewart, edited by Will Shortz

Luck and a CRY (15A. “I won! I won!,“ e.g.) along with seven winning entries are the main feature of today’s back-to-work St. Patrick’s Day crossword puzzle -- BYGEORGE (17A. What President Washington said upon winning the lottery?); HEAVENSTO BETSY (23A. What flag maker Ross said …?); GOODGOLLY (33A. What Miss Molly said …?); OHMYSTARS (42A. What Galileo said …?); WELLBLOWMEDOWN (47A. What the Big Bad Wolf said…?); OHMYWORD (62A. What Noah Webster said …?); and WHOOP (53D. Lottery winner’s yell).

Ah, the luck of the Irish! ATLAST (8A. Finally) something to get GIDDY (44D. Lightheaded) over -- but not all’s well in EDEN (58D. Biblical place of innocence), as voices reverberate throughout today’s maze. The conversation continues -- “I can’t GETNO satisfaction” (Rolling Stones lyric) (44D.); “You’re ONETO talk!” (35D.); “I saw ESAU sawing wood …” (old tongue twister) (1A.); “I’ve got a mule, her name is SAL” SAYAH (2D. Request at a medical exam); (20A.); OLE (29A. Cheer to a matador); NEMO (41A. Captain who said “Eat your pudding, Mr. Land”); OYVEY (18D. Hand-wringer’s words); BEG (27D. Command to Rover); “BOO-hoo!” (38D.); “IAM shocked …SHOCKED!“, along with a TREMOR (64A. Aftershock) -- ending up with 63A. “Sez WHO?"

In the HUE (57A. Clamor) are plenty of puzzle people, BEN (28A. Colonial Franklin, familiarly); ART (8D. Picasso output); LANGE (Actress Jessica); TIM (32D. Actor Robbins); HERMAN (46D. Novelist Melville); HBO’s “Real Time with Bill MAHER (52D.); a NURSE (54D. Convalescent home employee), a STEADY (67A. High-school honey); a ROADIE (16A. Amp toter); a SIB (43D. Sis or bro); along with George Washington and Betsy Ross, Molly, Galileo Galilei, Captain Nemo, Noah Webster, a matador, a professor, a monk, shepherds and witches. What a parade!

The remaining across: 5. Lawn base; 14. Outlaw; 19. Professor’s goal; 21. Once around the sun; 22. Hidden valley; 28. Colonial Franklin, familiarly; 29. Cheer to a matador; 30. Just watched; 39. End in ATIE (draw); 40. In a huff; 46. Collide; 55. Figure skater’s jump; 56. Rocklike; 59 Overhaul; 65. Shepherd’s locale; 66. Nylons; 68. Directional suffix; 69. Ready for business.

Down: 1. Flows out; 3. Viewpoint; 4. Put to good USE; 5. Porch protector; 6. “Rock of Ages” accompaniment; 7. Hair colorers; 8. Picasso output; 9. Little piggy; 11. Rated NC-17, e.g.; 12. Fathers; 13. Wee; 24. Monk’s home; 25. Traffic noises; 26. Merrie OLDE England; 30. SAO Miguel, largest island of the Azores; 31. Part of N.C.A.A.: Abbr.; 33. Commercial prefix with phone; 34. Row; 36. Rent out; 37. Trio after K; 40. Slanted type: Abbr.; 44. Lightheaded; 47. Witches’ blemishes; 48. Put forth, as effort; 49. Flood stopper; 50. Transporter across the Andes; 51. Not cut up; 60. Hip, in the ‘60s; and 61. Delve (into) -- plenty to sing about!

May your pockets be heavy and your heart be light, may good luck pursue you each morning and night!

For more of the same, go HERE.

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

To go to the original post with illustrations and the completed puzzle, or to leave a Comment, click on the TITLE at the beginning of today's or any day's commentary.

03.16.08

R & R

Detail of Illuminated page from the Textus Roffensis. The Textus Roffensis was begun in the early 12th. century in the episcopate of Ernulf; it is the most precious document in the archives of Rochester Cathedral. This page (folio 119 recto) marks the beginning of the cartulary of Rochester Priory.

The illumination comprises the illuminated letter R of Regnante formed out of an angel and winged dragon coloured green, lake and vermilion and introduces the charter of King Aethelbert (or Ethelbert) of Kent to bishop Justus granting land near Rochester for the foundation of St. Andrew's Cathedral Priory in 604. Latin. By kind permission of the Dean and Chapter of Rochester.
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Sunday, March 16, 2008

GETTING A LITTLE R AND R

Puzzle by Elizabeth C. Gorski, edited by Will Shortz

Featured in this Sunday crossword are nine inter-related entries of standard phrases that have the addition of two letter Rs in each entry to make a new and unfamiliar sometimes comical phrase, defined with loosely appropriate clues -- PORKERFARCES (23A. Broad comedies involving hogs?); PRETTYCRASHACCOUNT (34A. Beautifully illustrated report of a computer failure?); TORTEBRAG (51A. Cake maker’s boast?); IGAVEITMYBRESTSHORT (61A. French director’s comment about his submission to a film festival?); CROWCHIRP (74A. Bird call on a farm?); HOMERAWAYFROMHOMER (89A. A Simpson without access to his volume of the “Odyssey”?); FRISTFRIGHTS (106A. Former Tennessee senator’s Halloween costumes?); DRIPINTRO (15D. Opening remarks at a coffee makers’ convention?); and MORONPIER (71D. Where a dope unloads a ship?).

Remaining Across: 1. Place for bluegrass; 7. #1 on the charts; 12. Blast; 20. Kia sedan; 21. Café con LECHE; 22. Certify; 25. Like traditional Catholic Masses; 26. N.H.L.’s Tikkanen; 27. Entertainment center at many a sports bar; 28. Where bluejackets go; 30. Movement that inspired ‘60s fashion; 31. Good viewing spot for a canyon; 32. Bickering; 33. Bookcase lineup; 39. Clark’s partner; 40. It’s put on some houses; 41. “It’ll COST you”; 42. Stockholm-bound carrier; 45. First year J.D. student; 46. Makes eyes at; 49. All-time top-selling Atari video game; 53. Short-legged, thick-set horse; 55. Not badgering, say; 56 Flood survivor; 57. Nursery rhyme call sung to an old French melody; 60. Short breaks; 67. Wide-headed fastener; 68. Smears; 69. Ang Thong resident; 70. How some kids spend the summer; 73. “Peer Gynt” mother; 79. They’re developed by a muscleman; 82. Lip cover; 83. Nebraska county with an Indian name; 84. Super Bowl XLII M.V.P. Manning; 85. Gen. Lee, in brief; 86. Loyal; 88. Lobster claw; 94. Rocker Morissette; 96. Till compartment; 97. Succulents that soothe; 98. Easy wins; 99. Starter starter?; 100. Sign that’s often lit; 101. Film editor’s job; 104. Most heterogeneous; 109. Prestigious; 110. Curt; 111. Name on some euros; 112. Sources of a cosmetics oil; 113. King in 1 B.C.; 114. Body-sculpting undergarment.

Down: 1. Be down; 2. Narrative writing; 3. Razor brand; 4. Cartoonist Browne; 5. Breakfast menu heading; 6. Brave words?; 7. Mason of a sort; 8. Griffin who loved game shows; 9. Virginia is in it: Abbr.; 10. Cover; 11. Redcoat’s ally; 12. Do for a V.I.P.?; 13. South American tuber; 14. Creatures with three hearts; 16. Paying guest; 17. “Do IDARE?”; 18. Baseball catchers; 19. Time on la Cote d’Azur; 24. Banking initialism; 29. “… to name just a few”: Abbr.; 31. Not straight; 32. Seller’s terms; 33. Symbol of blackness; 34. Coup start; 35. Clinton’s attorney general; 36. Pitcher; 37. Give ALEG up; 38. Also addresses, as with an e-mail; 42. Long-necked instrument; 43. Opposite of reject; 44. Payroll dept. ID’s; 46. Light wind?; 47. Sacred cup; 48. Christine of “Running on Empty”; 49. French cleric; 50. OFNO consequence; 52. Check holder: Abbr.; 53. Monthly charge; 54. Couple in a rowboat; 57. Tournament passes; 58. ASTRO Boy, classic figure in Japanese anime; 59. One of Dumas’s Musketeers; 61. “INTEL Inside” (slogan); 62. Louis Vuitton competitor; 63. Rat-ATAT; 64. Some Wharton alums; 65. Tooth holders; 66. Hawaiian Punch rival; 67. Sticky stuff; 72. Words on a deathbed, maybe; 74. Bass CLEF; 75. Popular snack cakes; 76. Talked-about twosome; 77. Part; 78. Tree in bloom in a Van Gogh painting; 80. Five-dollar bills, slangily; 81. Photocopier option: Abbr.; 82. Fraternity members; 86. Highest grade; 87. Was not cooped up; 88. Love; 89. Whence the line “To sleep: perchance to dream”; 90. Stopped fasting; 91. Vented; 92. Minnesota’s St. OLAF College; 93. Fabrics that shimmer; 94. Stood; 95. Led Zeppelin’s “Whole LOTTA Love”; 99. Norms: Abbr.; 100. OSSO buco; 101. Bloke; 102. UTNE Reader; 103. Bygone autocrat; 104. Touched; 105. “Didn’t I tell you?”; 107. Clearance rack abbr.; 108. Valedictorian’s pride, for short.

For a thoughtful appreciation of today's puzzle and author -- HERE.

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For today's cartoon, go to The Crossword Puzzle Illustrated.

03.16.08 -- the Acrostic

Solitaire

Sunday, March 16, 2008

ACROSTIC -- Puzzle by Emily Cox & Henry Rathvon, edited by Will Shortz

In Catherine Crawford‘s “If You Really Want to Hear About It: Writers on J. D. Salinger and His Work”, Michiko Kakutani writes of “The Catcher in the Rye”:

“From first page to last, The Catcher in the Rye is an exercise in button-pushing, and the biggest button it pushes is the adolescent’s uncertainty and insecurity as he or she perches precariously between childhood, which is remembered fondly and wistfully, and adulthood, which is the great phony unknown. Indeed a case can be made that The Catcher in the Rye created adolescence as we now know it, a condition that barely existed until Salinger defined it. He established whining rebellion as essential to adolescence and it has remained such ever since. It was a short leap indeed from The Catcher in the Rye to The Blackboard Jungle to Rebel Without a Cause to Valley Girls to the multibillion-dollar industry that adolescent angst is today.

“The cheap sentimentality with which the novel is suffused reaches a climax of sorts when Holden’s literary side comes to the fore. He flunks all his courses except English. “I’m quite illiterate,” he says early in the book, “but I read a lot,” which establishes the mixture of self-deprecation and self-congratulation that seems to appeal to so many readers In one of the novel’s more widely quoted passages he then says:

“’What really knocks me out is a book that, when you’re all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it. That doesn’t happen much, though. I wouldn’t mind calling this Isak Dinesen up. And Ring Lardner, except that D.B. told me he’s dead.’

“The Catcher in the Rye is a maladroit, mawkish novel, but there can be no question about its popularity or influence. My own hunch is that the reason is the utter, innocent sincerity with which it was written. It may be manipulative, but it’s not phony. A better, more cynical writer than Salinger easily could write a book about a troubled yet appealing teenager, but its artifice and insobriety would be self-evident and readers would reject it as false. Whatever its shortcomings, The Catcher in the Rye is from the heart -- not Holden Caulfield’s heart but Jerome David Salinger’s. He said everything he had to say in it, which may well be why he has said nothing else.”



The defined words: A. SPANISH, Like the words in un diccionario; B. AUTOHARP, Descendant of a Volkszither; C. LAUGHER, One-sided game, in baseball slang; D. INLUCK, Graced by serendipity (2 wds.); E. NOSHOW, Creator of an empty seat (hyph.); F. GRINCH, Pollyanna’s opposite; G. EYELIDS, Palpebrae; H. RELIC, Piece of the past; I. TWOFER, Package deal, of a sort; J. HOTAIR, Overblown rhetoric (2 wds.); K. EMPLOYER, Mr. Burns, to Homer Simpson; L. CAULFIELD, Surname of this quote’s fictional narrator; M. ATTITUDE, Hostile state of mind; N. TOMHANKS, Actor with the line “Houston, we have a problem” (2 wds.); O. CHOWDOWN, Fill the old breadbasket (2 wds.); P. HAIKU, Insight in three lines; Q. ENTITY, Something that is; R. RAINBOW, Variety of sherbet; S. ITSELF, What a tapeworm may fertilize to reproduce; T. NUDITY, Cause for a PG-13 rating; U. TUTTUT, “You ought to be ashamed” (hyph.); V. HANNAH, Palindromic moniker from the Disney Channel; W. EDWOOD, Director of “Plan 9 From Outer Space” (2 wds.); X. ROOKIE, What Willie Mays was in 1951; Y. YOUMANS, “Tea for Two” composer; Z. EDISON, Entrepreneur associated with bright ideas.

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To go to the original post with illustrations and the completed puzzle, or to leave a Comment, click on the TITLE at the beginning of today's or any day's commentary.

03.15.08

Et tu, Anonymous?!

The Death of Caesar (1867) by Jean-Léon Gérôme
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Saturday, March 15, 2008

Puzzle by David Quarfoot, edited by Will Shortz

Soothsayer: "Beware the ides of March." -- Julius Caesar, I ii, Wm. Shakespeare

Et tu, Anonymous? This ides of March crossword puzzle is filled with quaint entries and esoteric clues, all just ducky for a soggy day -- well, it’s raining here, anyway! Oh, what’s with the Anonymous -- well, just want to be topical -- it appears there’s a little conflict going on this ides, why I have no idea -- maybe this will help -- Anonymous vs. Church of Scientology - The Ides of March.

As for today‘s crossword, et tu, Quarfoot! This puzzle is murder -- XSANDOS (18A. Football coaching figures); SILENTA (40D. Bit of cocoa?); PEDXING (26D. Warning about people moving from side to side?); GAYICON (1A. Judy Garland or Liza Minnelli); SKIHAT (42A. Top of a slope?); SODAPOP (20A. Slice, say); STNICK (31A. Dancer’s guider, for short); ACROBAT (44D. Flipper); SNAKE (30. Wind). The clues for these tortured entries might as well read “horse feathers”!

Wounds-a-wonder more in this coup -- so, beware!

Across: 8. Sushi covering; 15. It began in 1968, for tennis; 16. Targetable; 17. “Family Ties” family; 19. Combustion product; 22. An end to peace?; 23. Behind; 26. Bashkir’s close cousin; 26. Station; 27. Weapon for Wonder Woman; 29. TV shopper’s option; 30. Undertake; 33. Shallow; 35. Big name in notebooks; 37. Chips-in-a-can brand from Lay’s; 38. Silicon Valley city; 46. Hill of law; 47. Milieu for Katarina Witt; 49. Old Testament patriarch; 50. Romance, e.g.; 51. Female demon; 53. People’s 1999 Sexiest Man Alive; 54. City ESE of Utrecht; 55. Botched salon job; 57. OB, e.g.; 58 Lagged; 60. 1970 western named for a fictional Texas city; 62. Virtuoso; 63. Ethnic conflict; 64. Jacket option; 65. Bandera’s “The Mambo Kings” co-star, 1992.

Down: 1. Some four-wheelers; 2. Popular costume party costume; 3. “Groovy”; 4. Undesirable result of making a pass?: Abbr.; 5. High-ranking suits; 6. “… then again, maybe I’m wrong”; 7. Market for Microsoft; 8. Bodybuilders’ prides; 9. “Scandalized Masks” painter, 1883; 10. “But hark! ARAP comes gently to the door”: Robert Burns; 11. Weak; 12. What a superscript in a text might refer one to; 13. Chanel fragrance for men; 14. Place for a trash can; 21. Some four-wheelers, for short; 24. Episcopal leader; 28. Speedy express; 32. Piece of a candy bar?; 34. “ITS O.K.”; 36. Rodgers and Hammerstein refrain starter; 38. Side; 39. One way to do something stupid; 41. Fool; 43. 55-Down with fiddles; 45. 2003 sci-fi disaster film featuring a subterranean team of “terranauts”; 48. Bimonthly magazine for environmentalists; 51. Stimulating order; 52. Met’s lineup?; 55. Blowout; 56. Casual footwear, briefly; 59. Bombed; 61. Setting for an idyll.

I’m sure Anonymous and the Church of Scientology will cut their differences -- if not, one shudders at the prospect of Tom Cruise as Julius Caesar -- scribbled to death with that old saw, "the pen is mightier than the sword!"

Et tu, Anonymous?!

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

To go to the original post with illustrations and the completed puzzle, or to leave a Comment, click on the TITLE at the beginning of today's or any day's commentary.