First off, welcome back Jeffrey Wechsler. My semi-laziness kept me from searching when a Jeffrey Wechsler puzzle last appeared in a Crossword Corner blog. Maybe right before Rich retired? Regardless, his puzzles were missed by many of us, myself included. When I saw that Wechsler was the constructor, I immediately emailed Lemonade714 to ask if he wanted to briefly come out of retirement and provide today's comments. Lemony/Jason graciously said "no", so we'll see if I am up to the task ...
The first thing that caught my eye was the unique pattern of black squares (blocks). I also noticed - before solving the first word - that there were two 14-letter entries (Rows 3 and 13), and an 11-letter entry in the center row (row 8). Typical themed puzzles are required - by the editor - to have a minimum of 40 letters in the total of the entries. 14 + 14 + 11 = 39, so I knew that more were there; just didn't know where
I also noticed a plethora (24) of 3-letter words. That is usually too high for a 15x15 puzzle on any day, let alone on a Friday. But knowing that Wechsler was the creator, I was not nonplussed ... (BTW, is "plussed" the antonym of nonplussed??!)
So off I went, starting at 1-across, looking for any "low hanging fruit". 1-across was not immediately known. (6-across. South Dakota region:) BADLANDS was easily solved, as was (14-across. __ All: car care brand:) ARMOR. The corresponding down clues (1. Cul-de-__:) SAC, (2. Letters for Kate Middleton:) HRH, and (3. Punk subgenre:) EMO, helped me get a foot hold in the NW Corner. (1-across. Stock holder?:) SHELF then quickly fell (brilliant clue, BTW), as did (5-down. Orchardist's concern:) FROST. (18-across. Application:) USE was next; then (22-across. Connecticut home of ESPN studios:) BRISTOL, and I thought, "Oh boy! This will be a cinch!" (which is not to be confused with the word "CONCH", [the answer to 33-across. Caribbean gastropod:])
So right now I am guessing that a few of you are saying, "Ok, Moe, slow down ... what sort of blog are you writing today?" "Are you going to explain HOW you solved the puzzle - each and every word - or are you going to 'get to the point'?!!"
OK. Here's the deal: I am writing this blog on Tuesday (Jan 24), and am in a bit of a hurry. Tomorrow (the 25th) begins a day of hell (for me), as the 26th I am scheduled for a colonoscopy ...
TMI? Perhaps
But for anyone who has gone through this procedure, the preparation day is a day from hell. I am looking forward to resting afterwards on Thursday, so getting the blog done today is my top priority, so please bear with me!! ;^)
15-across (Collection of Buddhist sculpture, Chinese jades, etc.:) ASIAN ART, only partially filled (I got the "ASIAN" part). So now comes the first theme entry: 16-across. Specialized work at a confectionary?: CHOCOLATE LABOR. The 3 and 4-letter clues running down from the word "BADLANDS" made this entry fill in easily: (6-down. "Hey, ewe!":) BAA; (7-down. Italian wine region:) ASTI; (8-down. Ran out of juice:) DIED; (9-down. "Deck the Halls" chorus fragment:) LA LA; (10-down. Political commentator Navarro:) ANA; and (11-down. Catches:) NABS. The "O" and "R" were gimmies, based on the clue. So now I knew what to look for in the remainder of the clues that had a "play-on-words"!
Jeffrey Wechsler incorporated the letters "OR" into the ends of two proper names (KING TUT and AQUAMAN), two descriptive nouns (CHOCOLATE LAB and THE BIG TEN), and one gerund (SPEEDING PAST). All of which provided us with a playful challenge!
Here are the "themed entries":
36-across. Instructor for a monarch?: KING TUTOR
38-across. Nickname for Luciano Pavarotti?: THE BIG TENOR
40-across. Estate that went all-out with turquoise paint?: AQUA MANOR
59-across. Vicar who puts the pedal to the metal?: SPEEDING PASTOR.
Honestly, I'm not sure which of these five I liked the best. They were all brilliant! And when you notice that three of the five are in rows 7, 8, and 9, it makes this one of the best, most creative puzzles I've ever solved
Were there a few words that could be construed as odd or perhaps disturbing? Maybe. (26-across. Nail polish brand with an Always Bare for You collection:) OPI is one; (32-down. Subatomic particle:) MUON is another ... and I am sure that some of you will take umbrage with other words, too ...
This puzzle has 59 themed letters!! For anyone who's ever attempted to create a crossword puzzle - by hand or from a computer program - this is insanely difficult. Jeffrey earned every penny today. It was well worth the wait. I hope you all enjoyed it - please comment below ... By the way, my procedure will be done as an out-patient, but technically, in the OR!! How fitting ...
Here is the grid, followed by the other clues:
Across:
19. Investigative journalist __ B. Wells: IDA.
20. Tiff: SPAT.
27. Prefix with gender: CIS.
28. Body care brand: NIVEA.
32. Tone down: MUTE.
42. Grind together: GNASH.
45. Baking measures: CUPS. Glad to see that this wasn't an abbreviation (TSPS, e.g.)
46. Fantasy brutes: OGRES.
48. Loose __: TEA. I actually WAG'd at this, but it fits better than a loose END
49. Subdivision unit: LOT.
50. Plead: ENTREAT. Which crossed a totally different, yet similar word (due to its spelling) ... 30-down. Item on a menu: ENTREE
53. Deep-dish chain, familiarly: UNOS. This one took me a few perps to fill - Chicago-based pizza chain
55. "And what have we here?": OHO.
58. Investment option, briefly: IRA.
65. Telemarketer's accessory: EARPIECE. This was a bit of a stretch, clue-wise
66. Hard section of a textbook, perhaps: SPINE.
67. Compact cars?: TRAIN SET. Cute clue
68. Made a big deal of: HYPED. I hope this isn't what I did with today's puzzle!! ;^)
Down:
4. Place: LOCUS. [from one of the many on-line dictionaries] "a particular position, point, or place." As used in a sentence: "It is impossible to specify the exact LOCUS in the brain of these neural events"
12. Worrisome educational statistic: DROPOUT RATE. First time this entry/word has been used in a crossword puzzle. Ditto for (24-down. Disappoints:) ISN'T UP TO PAR. Having one new word/phrase in a puzzle is cool; having two is amazing. And both are terms/phrases that are colloquial
13. Attach, in a way: STRAP TO. Glad that Jeffrey used "STRAP TO" rather than STRAP ON
17. Boxer Spinks: LEON. [wikipedia dot com says] "In only his eighth professional fight, he (LEON Spinks) won the undisputed heavyweight championship in 1978 after defeating Muhammad Ali in a split decision, in what is considered one of the biggest upsets in boxing history"
21. Level: TIER.
22. Email on the q.t.: BCC. [grammarist dot com says] "On the q.t. means doing something secretly. The q.t. in the phrase on the q.t. is an abbreviation of the word quiet. The term originated in the mid-1800s. There is some debate on whether the phrase on the q.t. is of American or English origin"
23. 2016 Olympics city: RIO.
25. Preference: LIKING.
29. Energy: VIGOR.
31. Medical chart datum: AGE.
34. Cartoonist Addams, familiarly: CHAS.
35. Adjustable border: HEM.
37. "Star Trek" spinoff before "DS9": TNG.
39. Steamed bun: BAO. Perps to the rescue; JW had no choice in this one
40. Org. concerned with privacy laws: ACLU.
41. __ hut: QUONSET. PIZZA didn't fit; besides, the word "hut" wasn't capitalized
43. "My bounty is as boundless as the __": Juliet: SEA. A staple in most every Jeffrey Wechsler puzzle is a clue which contains a reference to Wm. Shakespeare
44. Panama, for one: HAT.
47. Cut a bit: SNIP.
51. Wreck: TRASH.
52. Hoarse: RASPY.
54. Spanish : noche :: Italian : __: SERA. In Spanish, SERA is the verb form "will be". As in Que sera, sera. Of course, this leads me to the following Moe-ku:
What Doris Day sang
When nacho cheese not melted?
"Queso raw, so raw ..."
55. God who gave up an eye to gain wisdom: ODIN. Perps/Friday clue
56. Shakes a leg, quaintly: HIES.
57. Second word of many limericks: ONCE. What my friend Wilbur Charles calls a "Moe-L'ick"
There ONCE was a young girl from France
Who figured, she'd just "take a chance"!
She let herself go
For an hour, or so
And now all her sisters are aunts
60. Prefix with gram or graph: EPI. TELE was too big
61. Comprehend: GET.
62. Bit of advice: TIP.
63. Early afternoon hour: ONE.
64. Rare color?: RED. As in a steak, perhaps?
Thanks for coming along for the ride! Hope you liked the blog despite it being bereft of pictures and videos. Maybe next time ... I hope to stop by later today and check-in. Feel free to add a comment