NYT Sunday Puzzle – August 10, 2014

Title: Number-One Friends

The theme is found in 62-Across: What the answer to each of the six starred clues starts with. Answer: White House dog. The answers are common phrases beginning with the dog’s name. To determine the correct name related to the clue, the name of the relevant White House occupants is provided in brackets.

24A. *What to call a female ambassador [the Johnsons] = Her Excellency
116A. *Pairing up for safety [the Clintons] = Buddy system
3D. *Cleaning supply [the Bushes 43] = Spot remover
15D. *”My Fair Lady” co-star [the Reagans] = Rex Harrison
67D. *Singer with the 1964 #2 hit “My Boy Lollipop” [the Bushes 41] = Millie Small
70D. *Egg order [the Obamas] = Sunny side up

I knew the names of the dogs belonging to the Johnsons (their other dog was named Him), the Clintons (who also had a cat named Socks), and the Bushes 41 (Barbara wrote a book called Millie’s Book) but never heard of the singer Millie Small. Even though I had no idea what the other dogs’ names were, the clues made it pretty easy. The Reagans’ dog was the easiest. Who hasn’t heard of Rex Harrison as Professor Higgins? With regard to the Bushes 43 dog, my elementary school first reader Fun with Dick and Jane had a dog named Spot in it: “See Spot. See Spot run. Run Spot! Run! Run! Run!”

Reading the comments on Rex Parker’s site, I discovered something which totally escaped me: the blackened squares in the center represent a dog’s face.

Some interesting answers:

11-Across. “Coffee Cantata” composer. Answer: Bach. Keens Chop House has a delicious dessert called the “Coffee Cantata.”

46-Across. _____prosequi (“proceed no further” court entry). Answer: Nolle

68-Across. Max Peel, for example: Abbr. Answer: Anag. I had no idea what “Anag” was until I read the comments on Rex Parker’s site explaining that “Max Peel” was an anagram for the word “example.”

89-Across. Modern know-it-all? Answer: Siri. The voice on the iPad.

121-Across. Earthy deposit. Answer: Marl

79-Down. Actress nominated for a Golden Globe for “Rhoda.” Answer: Anne Meara. I enjoyed that comedy series.

52-Down. Last song Rodgers and Hammerstein did together (1959). Answer: Edelweiss. In The Sound of Music.

NYT Thursday Puzzle – August 7, 2014

Theme: A Wordplay-Related Quip. What makes this type of puzzle difficult – at least, for me — is that since there are no clues, you have to fill in the surrounding answers to figure out the quip. This quip is split on the grid in 4 parts:

20A. Part 1 of a wordplay-related quip = Is it
21A. Quip, part 2 = just me or
35A. Quip, part 3 = are there other
52A. Quip, part 4 = anagrams
55A. End of quip = of em.

So, a play on words: Is it just me or are there other anagrams of em? Cute!

A few other interesting answers:

15A. Figure on a Utah license plate. Answer: Arch.

56A. Bag lady? Answer: Kate Spade.

60A. Site of one of the world’s most famous onion domes. Answer: Agra. Atop the Taj Mahal.

9D. Radiohead frontman Yorke. Answer: Thom.

21D. _____ Löw, coach of Germany’s 2014 World-cup winning team. Answer: Joachim

45D. Wordsmith who wrote “Last but not least, avoid clichés like the plague.” Answer: Safire (William)

NYT Sunday Puzzle – August 3, 2014

Title: Chee Whiz*

Theme: The sound “chee” is at the end of one of the words in the theme answers thereby making familiar phrases silly.

24A. German philosopher with an injury? = Wounded Nietzshe
30A. Guy who’s covered in mud? = Filthy Ritchie
51A. African-American martial art? = Black Tai Chi
64A. Only form that carbohydrates take? = The Lone Starchy State
80A. Unsure answer to “Where were the 2014 Winter Olympics held?”? = I guess Sochi
97A. Actor Stanley’s dinner reservation? = Table for Tucci
107A. Film reviewed by Jughead’s friend? = Archie Rated Movie

*I somehow managed not to notice that my printed hard copy had no title. I only realized it was missing when I checked my finished puzzle with Rex Parker. Based on his comments section, it was only missing in printed hard copies.

I’m giving myself a little proverbial pat on the back for figuring out the theme without knowing the title. Not that it was terribly difficult to figure out. The first theme answer I filled in was 97-Across (Tucci), shortly followed by 107-Across (Archie).

A few other interesting answers:

69A. “Absalom and Achitophel” poet. Answer: Dryden. While I’m familiar with some of Dryden’s works, I don’t know this one.

118A. “Less Than Zero” author. Answer: Ellis (Brett Easton). I’ve heard of him but am not familiar with this novel which (via Wiki) was made into a movie.

47D. Loser to Pierce in 1852. Answer: Scott (Winfield). Scott was the Republican candidate against President Franklin Piece (Democrat) running for a second term.

NYT Thursday Puzzle – July 31, 2014

The theme is found at 55-Across: Visual representation of this puzzle’s theme. Answer: Space Bar. A rebus as you have to fill those squares with the word “SPACE” in order to get the correct crossing answers. There are also two other answers in the puzzle related to the “space bar” theme — one straightforward, the other cute.

41D. Areas that may be protected by military jets = Air(spaces)s
36D. You might need a lot of it for your files = Disk (space)
56D. Hit 1996 live-action/animated film = (Space) Jam
57D. We’re living in it = (Space) Age
58D. Name for 55-Across = (Space) bar
37D. It’s far out = Deep (space)
43D. Regions within regions = Sub (space)s

20A. 55-Across, e.g. = Computer key
28A. 55-Across, e.g.? = Star Wars Cantina