Wednesday, April 10

Constructor: Julian Lim

Relative difficulty: Easy if you're a movie buff, challenging if not.


THEME: Memorable movie lines— 6 quotes from AFI (11a: Movie org. that created a top-100 list from which all of this puzzle's quotes come)



Word of the Day: DAVIT (38a: Shipboard crane) —

a crane that project over the side of a ship or hatchway and is used especially for boats, anchors, or cargo (Merriam-Webster online dictionary)

Hello again! Welcome to 20 Under 30 Does the New York Times Crossword Puzzle, Part III. Alex Blum and Caleb Madison, just a couple of SEX (66a: Kinsey topic) CUTIEs (67a: Adorable one) coming atcha once again from Yale U. What a puzzle! 15x16 with a stack of double 15s in the center (check out that L-square in the mideast!) Julian Lim reels off a smattering of movie quotes... and there's the theme.

Theme answers:

• 17a: Memorable movie line spoken by... Jack Nicholson (HERE'S JOHNNY)
• 22a: ...Haley Joel Osment (I SEE DEAD PEOPLE)
• 37a:...Renée Zellweger (YOU HAD ME AT HELLO)

• 40a:...Marlon Brando (STELLA, HEY, STELLA) - we usually think of this as just "STELLA!" but AFI confirms this is the exact quote.
• 46a:...Greta Garbo (I WANT TO BE ALONE) - this is the only quote we were both unfamiliar with... but it's a thing. 
• 58a:...Debra Winger (heard but not seen) (E.T. PHONE HOME) - our favorite of the bunch. It looks weird in the grid (ETPH) and we had no idea that she voiced ET!

We like the quotation density and the theme-stacking architectural feat, but the theme itself is a little straightforward. Themes like this, which reveal themselves completely in the first theme answer, run the risk of feeling like an inventory, which is both incomplete and arbitrarily-chosen (or chosen based solely on how they fit into a grid). Still, it was a generally fun solve with some splashy fill in what must have been a tricky construction job.

We also appreciated the bonus movie-related fill: ALI(63a: 2001 Will Smith biopic), ELF(57a: Snap, Crackle or Pop), WALL-E(47d: 2008 Pixar robot), OSHEA(54d: Milo of "The Verdict"), LOEWS(53d: Bygone theater chain), HE-MEN (43a: Many Sylvester Stallone Characters), and AHN (52d: Philip of "Kung Fu").


Bullets:

• 18d: President Bartlett of "The West Wing" (JED)— you had Blum at "The West Wing"
• 10d: "Gangnam Style" rapper (PSY)— We thought this was a first! Turns out the Korean dance sensation made his debut in another puzzle by Mr. Lim a few months ago. Still fun to see in the puzzle.

• 49d: Baked, so to speak (ON POT) — hm... not sure how in the language this is. Most Google hits of this phrase use "on" to mean "concerning" or "about" rather than "under the influence of." Unrelatedly, see EIGHTH (25d: Pizza slice, often), REEK (32d: Stink), ALLMAN (34d: Rocker Gregg who married Cher)... and later probably NACHOS (56a: Cheesy treat). 
• 11d: There was always a point to what he wrote (AESOP) — We mean, hopefully true for all writers. Originally, we were expecting something like PENNER... or something to do with a nib... Anyway, we think there's a difference between a moral and a point.

• 41a: Digital communication, for short? (ASL) - great clue.
• 62d: The ___ [fittingly] (END)

Signed, Caleb Madison and Alex Blum, IDIOTS of CrossWorld