John Kugelman’s New York Instances crossword, “Only for Enjoyable” — Nate’s write-up
12.08.2024 Sunday New York Instances Crossword
23A: COMPLIMENTS FOR FISHING [“What a beautiful tackle box!,” “Nice casting!” and such?] – Fishing for compliments
35A: A LOOP FOR THROWING [Lasso?] – Throwing for a loop
53A: POSITION FOR JOCKEYS [Leaning forward and holding the reins?] – Jockeys for place
73A: DISASTER FOR A RECIPE [Accidentally using salt instead of sugar, say?] – A recipe for catastrophe
92A: ONES MONEY FOR A RUN [Marathon fee or campaign donation?] – A run for one’s cash
106A: PUNISHMENT FOR A GLUTTON [Not being allowed to lick the spatula clean?] – A glutton for punishment
On this week’s theme, X for Y phrases have their X and Y swapped, with clue match to explain the remodeled phrase. I loved many of the themers, and my favorites had been in all probability those who had been three-word phrases with out the additional A or ONES coming alongside for the switcheroo. ONES MONEY FOR A RUN felt a bit awkward, however the remaining felt strong and enjoyable! (I don’t get how the title connects to the theme, other than it being an X for Y phrase, because it’s not swapped and wouldn’t make sense if it had been…?)
Principally, this felt like a fast and simple solves other than just a few robust correct noun crossings. MADAME / ARRAKIS was laborious for me (I had MADAME at first) as had been ANNIKA / TKO (as clued) and STAN / NILS towards the underside. PARD was a wtf type of entry with out the ‘ner to complete it, as was SPOOR usually (which I wished to be SCENT so dangerous!). I may think about that ARRAKIS / ST OLAF / LOCS / LOCHTE / ESTER shall be a tricky area for some, so it’ll be fascinating to see how this grid performs for everybody. General, although, a clean and simple theme with a largely clear grid made for a fast and gratifying clear up.
What did you consider the puzzle? Tell us within the feedback part – and have an excellent weekend!
Evan Birnholz’ Washington Put up crossword, “Shade Contained in the Strains” — Matt’s write-up
Evan Birnholz’ Washington Put up crossword, “Shade Contained in the Strains” answer, 12/7/2024
This week’s puzzle from Evan, “Shade Contained in the Strains” performs with coloration and rebuses. Phrases that finish with a plural coloration see these colours used within the crossing clues:
- 31a [Is down, emotionally] SINGS THE [blue][blue][blue]. “Sings the blues,” crossing TRUE BLUE, BLUE RIBBON, and BLUE ICE
- 68a [Rose family, once?] CINCINNATI [red][red][red]. “Cincinnati Reds” (as within the former group of Pete Rose), crossing SEE RED, RED PEN, RED ANT
- 30d [Fried side] HASH [brown][brown][brown]. “Hashbrowns,” crossing BROWN COW, BROWN ALE, BROWNIES
- 76d [Non-deciduous plants] EVER[green][green][green]. “Evergreens,” crossing GREENEST, THE GREEN PARTY, BIG GREEN
A revealer performs on the widespread use of “packing containers” in rebus revealers:
- 110a [Some containers for kids’ art supplies, and an alternate title for this puzzle] CRAYON BOXES
It’s solely 4 lengthy entries, however contemplating every additionally entails three crossings, it’s a good quantity of theme content material. It does drive some chunky sections, significantly within the center, however there are some winners within the longer downs: HUMAN TORCH, IM NO EXPERT, and the image-rich clue for SALSA BAND for just a few.
Different highlights: A novel clue for ABE [His veeps were Hannibal and Andrew] // A reminder that Bobby ORR was a very nice hockey participant, and never only a pleasant set of letters [Scorer of the “flying goal” that won the 1970 Stanley Cup] // A disguised title in [Holder of Justice Department records] for ERIC // [Too bad?] for ABYSMAL, which received amusing out of me
