Monday, May 20, 2024 | (2024)

BEQtk (Matthew)

LATtk (Stella)

NYT3:09 (Sophia)

WSJ4:29 (Jim)

Jack Scherban’s New York Times crossword — Sophia’s write-up

Happy Monday all, and happy New York Times debut to Jack! Today’s puzzle has the names of three fictional military men:

• 20a [Beatles album character who apparently is an infantry leader] – SERGEANT PEPPER
• 31a [Hotels.com mascot who must be a commanding officer] – CAPTAIN OBVIOUS
• 38a [Fast food icon who surely heads a brigade] – COLONEL SANDERS

And then the punchline:

• 49a [Unfazed response to a threat from 20-, 31-, or 38-Across?] – YOU AND WHAT ARMY

The final line refers to how none of these guys actually lead any portion of the military… so you’re probably pretty safe if they’re attacking you. I liked the combination of the three men chosen for the ranks as they all come from different areas of culture. That being said, CAPTAIN OBVIOUS feels more like an idiom than a mascot – I could not have told you he was connected to Hotels.com at all.

I don’t know enough about military ranks for the second half of the clues to help me out much – I basically just used the cultural references in the first part. The other main thing that confused me was the emphasis in the clues – while solving I felt like it had to have something to do with the answers themselves? But looking at it now I guess it’s just to add sarcasm.

The overall fill of the puzzle is top notch. SNAKE EYES, RAKES IT IN, ISLAND HOP, VIDEOTAPE, GRAPE SODA are all standout. EBT is a newer initialism but one I expect will start showing up more in crosswords. I also loved the TV content of BPLOT, PAM from “The Office”,and Martha RAYE, a classic comic actress. And the puzzle really starts off with a bang with 1a: [It’s working!] for LABOR.

David Alfred Bywaters’s Wall Street Journal crossword, “Making Fun”—Jim’s review

Theme answers are familiar phrases punnily applied to a fun-loving lifestyle.

• 16a. [Rule for maintaining a reasonable weekly social calendar?] TWO-PARTY SYSTEM.
• 23a. [Hungry, hungry hippos, monkeys in the middle, tailless donkeys, etc.?] GAME ANIMALS.
• 35a. [Queue for liquid refreshment?] PUNCHLINE.
• 49a. [Moment for gift-giving?] PRESENT TIME.
• 57a. [Birthday celebration fee?] BALLOON PAYMENT.

I found this to be enjoyable. Nothing groundbreaking or too unexpected, but I liked the celebratory thread maintained by the theme answers.

The 9-letter central theme entry paired with the 14-letter outer theme entries makes for an uncommon grid design and a lack of long non-theme fill. But all the stacked 7s in the corners are solid and the fill is mostly smooth. Highlights: NO WISER (though I needed every crossing to parse it correctly), CAMELOT, ACROBAT, SEATTLE. I didn’t see it until just now, but SMA [Wee, as a bairn] seems out of place on a Monday.

Clue of note: 39d. [Expert in work/life balance]. ACROBAT. Good clue, but I’m thinking a question mark is called for here.

3.5 stars.

Dylan Schiff’s Universal crossword, “Disconnected” — pannonica’s write-up

As per usual, because the .puz version already has circles, I’ll be skipping the parts of the clues explaining about the relevant squares.

• 56aR [Cancel cable … and a hint to this puzzle’s theme] CUT THE CORD.
• 17a. [Fastener for drying laundry] CLOTHESPIN.
  19a. [Pub pints] ALES.
  spinal
• 24a. [“Well done!”] BRAVO.
  26a. [Trumpet-shaped flower] CALLA LILY.
  vocal
• 34a. [Put back in office] REELECT.
  36a. [“Die Hard” actor Alan] RICKMAN.
  electric
• 48a. [Roll for a lobster roll] HOT DOG BUN.
  50a. [Like many characters in “The Big Bang Theory”] GEEKY.
  bungee

A snap!

• 37d [Sauteed mixture of diced veggies used as base for soups] MIREPOIX. Apparently an eponym, as I was surprised to learn.
• 58d [Marbled loaf] RYE. Only sometimes!
• 41a [Cozy eatery] CAFÉ. In fact I have dined at an establishment called Cozy Café, though I wouldn’t characterize it that way. (42a [“I’d say …”] IMO.)

Erik Agard’s New Yorker crossword–Amy’s recap

Tough one for me today! Add this Mon TNY solving time to my unexpectedly quick Sat NYT and average them together, and you get the challenge level I expected from both. Erik excels at tough (but never unfair) clues, and my brain got a workout today. I did struggle with the top and bottom right quadrants, but eventually they came together.

Fave fill: “DON’T STOP,” SWELTERED (the season is nigh), PIEROGI, the CITY PROPER, SUPER-COOL (which is also a scientific verb), SISTER SONG (which I first learned about from an early These Puzzles Fund Abortion crossword), gaming CHEAT CODE, and COLOGNE with the impossible-then-helpful clue [City where the perfumer Johann Maria Farina resided].

Three more things:

• 20a. [Nuts with cupules], ACORNS. I began hopping through the Across clues and there was nothing I could fill in until this one came along. The little cap is a cupule.
• 38a. [Donner pulls its donner], SANTA SUIT. I didn’t understand this clue till just now. Donner the reindeer pulls the sleigh bearing Santa, who dons the Santa suit.
• 6d. [Kwame who said, “In order for nonviolence to work, your opponent must have a conscience”], TURE. Ah, there’s the rub. Ture was previously called Stokely Carmichael. He’s portrayed by Corey Hawkins in the excellent Spike Lee film BlacKkKlansman, which you should see if you haven’t. That movie turned me from not liking Adam Driver to being wowed.

Four stars from me.