Thursday, December 1, 2022 |

David P. Williams’s Wall Avenue Journal crossword, “Floating Upstream”—Jim P’s overview

The revealer is RISING TIDE (49a, [Reportedly, it lifts all boats, as evidenced by the starred answers]). The remainder of the themers are comprised of two entries: the principle Throughout entry, and a Down entry whose letters are used going upward as a part of the Throughout entry. The Down entries themselves are all sorts of boats.

• 19a. [*One liable to erupt] ACTIV(E VOL)CANO with 9d [Type of boat for sweethearts] LOVE.
• 24a. [*Endeavor that can lead to swimming with the fishes] (DEEP S)EA DIVING with 13d [Type of boat for smugglers] SPEED.
• 41a. [*Grounds keeper] COFFE(E FIL)TER with 33d [Type of boat for survivors] LIFE.

There’s lots occurring right here, so it took a while to type it out. And I’m unsure I’m on board (haha) with what’s occurring right here conceptually. Does studying the letters of a ship upwards imply the boat is “lifted”? Wouldn’t it make extra sense if the boat kind itself went upward (e.g. if 13d was DEEPS as an alternative of SPEED)?

One other of my issues is that I’m turned off by clues of the kind [Type of ___]. Is LIFE actually a sort of boat for survivors? “Hey, excuse me sir, what’s LOVE?” “Oh, it’s a sort of boat for sweethearts.” Bzzt! No, it simply doesn’t work. What’s incorrect with every boat being clued with a easy  [___ boat]?

These nits apart, I used to be in a position to look previous them, and I actually did get pleasure from sussing out this theme.

And there’s a lot to love within the fill as properly: TIE CLIPS, CRIMINAL, “HONESTLY…,” “I SAID SO,” INFIDELS, CAT TOY, SAMURAI, IRON AGE, and PALERMO. That SE nook with EXHIBIT, LIBRARY, and STOOGE is kind of good.

I additionally get pleasure from seeing IT ME [Recognition of oneself, modernly]. I can’t think about this phrase having long-lasting endurance, so let’s simply get pleasure from it whereas it’s right here. However, I may do with out pretentious SOLI [Divas’ pieces].

Clues of word:

• 17a. [Severely censures]. REVILES. As we speak I realized the that means of this phrase. I had thought it merely meant to hate or abhor.
• 21a. [Setting for NY Yankees double-headers]. EDT. Why double-headers, precisely? Are these solely performed within the summertime when there’s extra gentle?
• 1d. [Floats through town?]. PARADE. Good clue.
• 43d. [Foe of the Jedi]. EMPIRE. Hmm. I’d argue the foe of the Jedi are the Sith. The EMPIRE is the foe of the Rise up.

Good puzzle, although not with out subject. 3.5 stars.

Alex Eaton Salners’s Fireball Crossword, “Down-Shifting” – Jenni’s write-up

Nicely, that is what I get for complaining that the final Fireball was too straightforward. I struggled with this one for fairly some time even after I understood the theme – or not less than thought I did. I found out what I wanted to do to get the theme solutions. I opened the reply sheet Peter sends out as a result of I figured his grid could be simpler to see than mine. That’s after I realized I missed a complete dimension to the theme.

First the gimmick: every theme reply is lacking some letters. We now have to have a look at the row under to search out them.

Fireball puzzle, 11/30/2022, Alex Eaton-Salners, “Down-Shifting,” resolution grid

• 16a [It might be full of crap] is POOPER SCOOPER.
• 32a [Jeep alternatives] are RANGE ROVERS.
• 45a [About to be called, perhaps] is NEXT IN LINE.
• 58a [Hall of Fame pitcher with a record six consecutive shutouts] is DON DRYSDALE.
• 74a [Was dead to the world] is SLEPT LIKE A LOG.

I assumed that was fairly cool and I seen that the dropped letters have been all the identical in every entry and totally different from all the opposite entries. I didn’t discover that the dropped letters are P R N D L – the gears on a automobile. Park, Reverse, Impartial, Drive, Low. I appreciated the theme earlier than I knew that and I prefer it much more now. Very well executed.

The fill was difficult in a great way. [Solo player] for FORD (Harrison, enjoying Han). OBIE clued as a rap artist reasonably than a theater award. [Completely] for CLEAN. A worthy wrestle.

Just a few different issues:

• [Pitch] for TAR is a type of completely honest and difficult clues as a result of there are such a lot of potential definitions.
• 41a [Cultural icon?] is PETRI. I hadn’t utterly sussed the theme but and this one left me scratching my head till I considered the dish. Duh.
• 46a [Number on some faces] is I I I I. Because of Alex and Peter for not making me do Roman numeral math – which I suppose they couldn’t have anyway as a result of that’s not the best way Roman numerals write the quantity 4.
• 64a [Circular medium] is a DVD. My husband figured that one out. I used to be stumped.
• 57d [Performer noted for their gag reflex?] are STOOGES. I actually needed it to be SWORD SWALLOWERS which I suppose is sort of the alternative.

What I didn’t know earlier than I did this puzzle: oh, so many issues. By no means heard of RHEA Seehorn. Didn’t know that GAS–X has a competitor known as Wind-eze. I’ve definitely heard of DON DRYSDALE however didn’t know in regards to the shutout document. I’ve additionally heard about Chekhov’s writing recommendation, quoted as “One must not ever place a loaded rifle on the stage if it isn’t going to go off. It’s incorrect to make guarantees you don’t imply to maintain.” I didn’t know that his play IVANOV concludes with a gunshot (by no means heard of the play, to be trustworthy). And LEAL is totally new to me. Dictionary.com confirms that it means devoted and that it’s Scottish. Additionally archaic. The crossings have been eminently honest, for which I’m grateful.

Daniel Mauer’s New York Instances crossword — Zachary David Levy’s write-up

Problem: Difficult (12m30s)

Daniel Mauer’s New York Instances crossword puzzle, 11/30/22, 1130

As we speak’s theme: ANTICI / PATION 

• ALMOST THERE
• WAIT FOR IT
• NOT QUITE YET

Wasn’t positive what was occurring right here in the course of the resolve; I figured it was one thing jokey, given the primary few themers — it jogged my memory of John Ficarra and Patrick Merrell’s April Fools puzzle from 2020.  ANTICI initially seemed like gibberish to me, and I used to be positive I had made an error someplace within the first row of vertical solutions (between INGA and TRISTAN, perhaps).  After PATION fell into place, it clicked, though ANNA SUI was unknown to me and I questioned whether or not I had made an error in that nook as properly.  Total, the fill put up quite a lot of resistance.

Cracking: BRET — can’t see his title with out listening to Jermaine Clement announcing it “Brit”, within the deadpan Kiwi trend.  May have used a couple of extra seasons of that present!

Slacking: PYE — Given _YE, there are 25 different potentialities I might contemplate earlier than PYE.  Give me RYE, DYE, LYE, NYE, BYE, AYE, EYE.. oh, it’s PYE?  Okay, positive.

Sidetracking: CONCHS — considered one of my favourite little chapters within the historical past of obscure Americana came about on April twenty third 1982, when Key West seceded from the U.S., fashioned the Conch Republic, declared warfare on the mainland, after which instantly surrendered.  Conch Republic flags could be seen everywhere in the keys to at the present time, bearing the motto “WE SECEDED WHERE OTHERS FAILED”.