LATuntimed (pannonica)
NYTuntimed (Amy)
Universal3:53 (Jim)
USA Todaytk (Darby)
Alice Liang & Christina Iverson’s New York Times crossword—Amy’s recap
NY Times crossword solution, 6/7/24 – no. 0607
Solved this one while chatting on the phone, so we ignore the timer.
Fave fill: SOAPBOX PREACHER (Chicago has had a street preacher who’d set up shop in the Loop with a boxy loudspeaker; does he count?), BIAS CUT, SURFEIT, “OH, HELL NO,” IN A GOOD WAY, CRUMBS, ALBUM ART, ROBIN HOOD, TRIPLE SEC, ACT OF LOVE, AUDRE Lorde, DEEP DISH pizza, and OMELETTE with the fun clue, [Litmus test of a chef’s basic culinary skills]. I watch Top Chef and that has come up a few times.
Three more things:
- 6d. [God father?], PADRE. As in a priest, a godly dude people address as Father?
- 21d. [Actor McLaughlin of “Stranger Things”], CALEB. Had to look him up. Here’s his Wiki bio.
- 24d. [They might be pint-size], BEERS. In a pint glass, literally! 16 ounces of beer is hardly pint-size in the idiomatic sense.
Four stars from me.
David Levinson Wilk’s Los Angeles Times crossword — pannonica’s write-up
LAT • 6/7/24 • Fri • Wilk • solution • 20240607
We’ve got a 16×15 grid today.
- 59aR [Impatient person’s comment, or an apt title for this puzzle?] I HAVEN’T GOT ALL DAY.
- 18a. [“Whew! I was so worried the Kahlo was counterfeit!”] THANK GOD IT’S FRIDA (Friday).
- 30a. [NFL document intended to protect the secrets of the Big Game?] SUPERBOWL NDA (Sunday).
- 45a. [Retro-chic style that originated with the family of a movie charioteer?] THROWBACK HUR (Thursday).
The removed letters—positions, quantities, etc.—don’t follow any pattern, nor do the remaining letters, aside from their sequentiality. But they are recognizable once the theme is apprehended, in part because the original phrases are strong.
- 3d [ __ moss] PEAT. I need to get some to change the pH of some soil to be more acidic. Probably later this morning, in fact.
- 13d [No-frills grocery chain] ALDI. I wish I liked their products better.
- 28d [Moor] HEATH. Needed some crossings to determine weather this was nautical or rural.
- 41d [“Get serious”] BE REAL.
- 43d [Sked placeholder] TBD, ‘to be determined’.Sked is schedule. In our headers we use tk, which indicatesto come. Such abbreviations and initialisms have intentionally odd spellings to hopefully ensure that they aren’t mistaken for actual copy.
- 56d [College basketball coach Barnes] ADIA. Historically we’ve seen this entry as the Sarah McLachlan song. She’s recently been in the news with a comeback of sorts.
- 21a [Re-tiring workers?] PIT CREWS. Between the question mark and the hyphen, this was a snap.
- 35a [Competition with pros?] DEBATE. This one wasn’t as transparent.
- 48a [Oxford Word of the Year for 2021] VAX. In the midst of the first waves of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Paul Coulter’s Universal crossword, “Letter Openers”—Jim’s review
Let’s start by looking at the theme clues. Each one is a familiar two-word phrase that starts with a word that is a hom*ophone of a letter. The second words hint at the theme answers which start with the alluded-to letter. Got it?
Universal crossword solution · “Letter Openers” · Paul Coulter · Fri., 6.7.24
- 17a. [Em dash?] MAKE TRACKS is a rough synonym of “dash” and starts with M.
- 27a. [Tee shirt?] TURTLENECK is a shirt that starts with T.
- 43a. [Bee lines?] BLANK VERSE are lines that start with B.
- 58a. [Gee whiz?] GIRL WONDER is a whiz that starts with G.
Nice theme. I didn’t slow down enough to fully understand it during the solve, but enjoyed the aha moment afterwards (as well as the title). My only hiccup was with GIRL WONDER which I thought might be a nickname for Batgirl, but it looks like it’s just a generic term for a girl with mad skillz.
SHAN YU from “Mulan”
Fill highlights: SNOW BANKS, CALL CENTER, ICE WINE, AUDIENCE, SPOON REST, and YUKS IT UP. I also enjoyed putting in SHAN YU [Villain in 1998’s “Mulan”], one of my favorite Disney-animated films. I have to give a meh to IN HI-DEF and maybe even to GOOD AS HELL. Does anybody ever say that?
Clue of note: 25a. [“Long ___ …”]. AGO. Since we’re already talking about animated entertainment with an Asian background, I must note that I can’t read the phrase “long ago…” without hearing it in the voice of the villainous Aku at the beginning of Samurai Jack, as performed by Oscar-nominated Japanese actor Mako.
Good puzzle. 3.75 stars.
