Constructor: Melanie Miller
Relative difficulty: Easyish
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THEME:"Help Wanted"— Familiar phrases (following the structure "[VERB] the [NOUN]") are re-imagined as goals of various "Help Wanted" ads, with the familiar phrases punning on the occupations mentioned in the theme clues (all of which are written as "Help Wanted ads, following the structure "Need [OCCUPATION] to ..." . Thus:
Theme answers:
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Hi there. Still in NYC, still totally off my normal blogging schedule (which is See Puzzle, Get Puzzle, Do Puzzle, Blog Puzzle, right as it comes out). I had a long, amazing day of crossword tournamenting at Lollapuzzoola 8, and then walked 40+ blocks back to the hotel because I really needed it, and then somehow managed to do the puzzle, and then promptly collapsed, and my phone alarm was set for 6am, and I know it went off, but I also know that the next thing I remember was my wife saying "It's 8:20" and me mumbling some kind of expletive. It is currently 8:43. I will write about the tournament and post pictures and such some time in the coming week. But briefly—it was the biggest crossword tournament I've been to outside the ACPT (200+ competitors!) but still small enough to have a relaxed, fun, intimate feel that only a smaller, independent tournament can have. Lollapuzzoola is designed with the entertainment of All contestants in mind. Puzzles are top-notch, but mostly doable in the time allotted, and you can use "Google tickets" after a certain amount of time has passed, which means you can hand in a little ticket in exchange for one non-theme answer. This means that there is no reason for anyone to be permanently stuck on the harder puzzles. The vibe of the tournament is really relaxed, even though the puzzles are as good as those you'll find anywhere on the planet (Anna Shechtman's and Joon Pahk's were particularly brilliant) and the solving talent in that room, dear lord: first-rate. Congrats to Francis Heaney, by the way, for pulling out a genuinely thrilling, genuinely last-second victory over Trip Payne and Erik Agard in the finals. Again, more later. Just try to keep the first Saturday in August (or thereabouts) free next year if you have Any interest in trying out a tournament. Lots of people came up to me and said this was their first tournament and they were so glad they came. That could be you!
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This puzzle! Was a Sunday puzzle! That I did! On a Saturday in August! It is fine—kind of a throwback puzzle in the straightforwardness of the theme and the wordplay involved. The phrases didn't always work for me. FILL THE GAP refers to the specific retail establishment The Gap? That specificity is odd, especially compared to the other, much much more general answers. Also, cocktail waitresses take orders for shots. Nurses and basketball announcers are more people who CALL THE SHOTS. TAKE THE CAKE is way way too vague to be something a "bakery assistant" does. Take it where? And why would a dealer HIT THE DECK. What did the deck ever do to her? I did love (love!) the clue for ROCK THE BOAT. Image of the cruise ship band jamming away was spot-on and vivid.
Fill is probably on the wrong side of average, but not too far on that side. ABRA should be deleted from all word lists and all people's memories. It is simply not an acceptable answer, no matter how many times it keeps showing up. Most of the rest of the fill is inoffensive but often bland and overly familiar, or just mildly icky. ETAPE, you know? You know? Yeah. OK, it's almost 9am, so I'm gonna let you have at it. See you all tomorrow. I'm off to Yankee Stadium today to see Tanaka pitch against the ragtag, ad hoc, makeshift, and probably now very very good Toronto Blue Jays today. Should be fun.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]
Relative difficulty: Easyish
THEME:"Help Wanted"— Familiar phrases (following the structure "[VERB] the [NOUN]") are re-imagined as goals of various "Help Wanted" ads, with the familiar phrases punning on the occupations mentioned in the theme clues (all of which are written as "Help Wanted ads, following the structure "Need [OCCUPATION] to ..." . Thus:
Theme answers:
- 23A: Need rural real estate investor to ... (BUY THE FARM)
- 25A: Need retail marketer to ... (FILL THE GAP)
- 45A: Need cocktail waitress to ... (CALL THE SHOTS)
- 17D: Need stunt pilot to ... (FLIP THE BIRD)
- 41D: Need control tower operator to ... (CLEAR THE AIR)
- 56A: Need bakery assistant to ... (TAKE THE CAKE)
- 80A: Need cruise ship band to ... (ROCK THE BOAT)
- 89A: Need orchestra conductor to ... (FACE THE MUSIC)
- 114A: Need blackjack dealer to ... (HIT THE DECK)
- 116A: Need magician to ... (DO THE TRICK)
verbverb: blat; 3rd person present: blats; past tense: blatted; past participle: blatted; gerund or present participle: blatting
• • •
[Adesina Koiki, working it out. If you come to Lollapuzzoola, you will look like this ... and LOVE it!]
This puzzle! Was a Sunday puzzle! That I did! On a Saturday in August! It is fine—kind of a throwback puzzle in the straightforwardness of the theme and the wordplay involved. The phrases didn't always work for me. FILL THE GAP refers to the specific retail establishment The Gap? That specificity is odd, especially compared to the other, much much more general answers. Also, cocktail waitresses take orders for shots. Nurses and basketball announcers are more people who CALL THE SHOTS. TAKE THE CAKE is way way too vague to be something a "bakery assistant" does. Take it where? And why would a dealer HIT THE DECK. What did the deck ever do to her? I did love (love!) the clue for ROCK THE BOAT. Image of the cruise ship band jamming away was spot-on and vivid.
Fill is probably on the wrong side of average, but not too far on that side. ABRA should be deleted from all word lists and all people's memories. It is simply not an acceptable answer, no matter how many times it keeps showing up. Most of the rest of the fill is inoffensive but often bland and overly familiar, or just mildly icky. ETAPE, you know? You know? Yeah. OK, it's almost 9am, so I'm gonna let you have at it. See you all tomorrow. I'm off to Yankee Stadium today to see Tanaka pitch against the ragtag, ad hoc, makeshift, and probably now very very good Toronto Blue Jays today. Should be fun.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]