Sunday, June 4, 2023 | (2024)

LATuntimed (Jack)


NYT12:45 (Nate)


USA Today3:51(Darby)


Universal (Sunday)11:49 (Jim)


Universal4:35 (norah)


WaPountimed (Matthew)

Rafael Musa’s New York Times crossword, “Flying Colors” — Nate’s write-up

Sunday, June 4, 2023 | (1)

06.04.2023 Sunday New York Times Crossword

17A (entry shaded red): ON AND OFF [Intermittently]
18A: RED STATES [They’re right on an election map … or a description of 17-Across?]

37A (entry shaded orange): STEROIDS [Olympics no-nos]
33A: ORANGE JUICE [Screwdriver components … or a description of 37-Across?]

48A (entry shaded yellow): DARK ROOM [Negative space?]
51A: YELLOW LAB [Marley in “Marley & Me,” e.g. … or a description of 48-Across?]

76A (entry shaded green): CASSETTE [Device with a pair of spools]
73A: GREEN TAPE [Bureaucracy surrounding environmental regulations … or a description of 76-Across?]

93A (entry shaded blue): PEA COATS [Double-breasted outerwear]
95A: BLUE JACKETS [N.H.L. team from Ohio … or a description of 93-Across?]

111A (entry shaded violet): BRADBURY [“The Martian Chronicles” author]
108A: VIOLET RAY [Bygone medical device used in electrotherapy … or a description of 111-Across?]

57A / 58A: PRIDE / FLAG [With 58-Across, what’s represented by this puzzle’s colored “stripes”]

As soon as I saw the byline and the colorful grid, I knew we were in for a treat! Each color-shaded entry is described playfully using a colorful phrase next door – kind of like having six different mini-revealers in the same puzzle, all to create a gorgeous PRIDE / FLAG puzzle.

Even though parts of the grid (especially the top third!) felt tough to fill in at times, I finished this puzzle more quickly than most Sunday puzzles. Some of the trickier fill was almost certainly a result of having essentially six full rows of theme-related entries, with most down entries crossing one or more of those rows – wow at those constraints. That said, 1A DUNBAR crossing 1D DRAY was one of the only squares in the grid I wasn’t 100% sure about, but thankfully I guessed correctly. A tough way to start off the puzzle, but a satisfying guess to finish it off.

Bravo to Rafa for a gorgeous design, fun idea, and wonderful execution! And Happy Pride – especially as things have gotten quite scary for those of us in the LGBTQ+ community lately, it is more important than ever to be proud of who we are. I hope you’re all having a wonderful June and, if relevant, a gorgeous Pride!

Gary Larson & Amy Ensz’s LA Times crossword, “Shh!” — Jack’s write-up

Theme entries are common phrases with an “s” sound turned into an “sh” sound to make new wacky phrases with wacky clues.

June 4th, 2023 LA Times crossword solution — “Shh!” by Gary Larson and Amy Ensz

  • 23A. [Startling revelation for a couch potato?] = TUBE SHOCK (Tube sock)
  • 25A. [Menu of family-sized KFC options?] = BUCKET SHEET (Bucket seat — a car seat that contours to the body)
  • 36D. [Food Network production featuring a chef’s work surface?] = COUNTER SHOOT (Countersuit, as in lawsuit)
  • 41D. [Sweeping segment of a prop comic’s act?] = BROOM SCHTICK (Broomstick)
  • 50A. [Full-time employee at a corn processing plant?] = ALL DAY SHUCKER (All day sucker — a Stevie Wonder song and also a type of lollipop)
  • 82A. [Did too much heavy lifting?] = OVER-SCHLEPPED (Overslept)
  • 107A. [Really, really cheap liquor?] = DOLLAR SHINE (Dollar sign)
  • 111A. [Ruse for crashing family reunions?] = UNCLE SHAM (Uncle Sam)

I appreciate the consistency in this theme. All of the “s” -> “sh” changes occur at the start of the second half of the base phrases. I like that it’s focused on the sound rather than the spelling. This leeway allows for my favorite themers BROOM SCHTICK and OVER-SCHLEPPED (I have a soft spot for Yiddishisms).

8 themers is a lot, even on a Sunday and the grid is quite clean considering. I noticed a pileup of unusual answers. Not bad answers. Not necessarily great ones. But unusual in a way that made me perk up a few times during the solve. Things like ONE EYE, LEONINE, GO UP, GOOIER, DIE CUTS, PRIORY, HBCU (historically black college or university), WORMED, MUSHER, JPOP. Again, these aren’t sparkling entries, but they’re not unreasonably obscure, and they’re definitely not your everyday fill either. I wouldn’t want all of my puzzles to lean on fill like this, but it worked for me today.

I liked the cluing throughout the puzzle. The clues put up resistance without feeling like a chore. I also felt like I could hear the constructor’s voices. As a small example, 80A. HAD is about as uninteresting a word as words get. Yet pairing it with the clue [Hornswoggled] suddenly brings it to life. Now, the boring HAD gives an image of a con job. Not to mention that hornswoggled is about as fun of a word as words get.

A few other thoughts:

  • 15D. [Ball-shaped] = SPHERIC. I only ever use the word “spherical.” Some dictionaries suggest that this variant is archaic. I wonder if that should have been signified in the clue somehow.
  • 40D. [Buzz] = RUMOR. Good, tough clue.
  • 68A. [Pride sound] = ROAR. Another toughie. I was thinking pride as in ego or as in pride parade before a pride of lions snapped into focus.
  • 79D. [Research on a political rival, briefly] = OPPO. This shorthand is new to me.
  • 39A. [Rowan Atkinson character] = MR. BEAN. My favorite entry in the grid.

Sam Koperwas & Jeff Chen’s Universal Sunday crossword, “Wrongful Terminations”—Jim’s review

Theme answers are idioms that are normally good things, but when taken literally in certain work-related scenarios might lead to getting canned.

Universal Sunday crossword solution · “Wrongful Terminations” · Sam Koperwas and Jeff Chen · 6.4.23

  • 22a. [“It’s so unfair! I lost my job making boomerangs, even after I ___!”] STRAIGHTENED THINGS OUT.
  • 29a. [“I got fired as a Zamboni driver, even after I ___!”] TRIED TO BREAK THE ICE.
  • 49a. [“I got canned as a taxi driver, even after I ___!”] WENT THE EXTRA MILE.
  • 70a. [“I lost my job roping cattle with the ranch crew, even after I ___!”] KEPT EVERYONE IN THE LOOP.
  • 88a. [“I got fired from making hedge mazes, even after I ___!”] GOT LOST IN THE WORK.
  • 106a. [“I was terminated at Nissan’s electric car factory, even after I ___!”] TURNED OVER A NEW LEAF.
  • 118a. [“I got fired from making keyboards, even after I ___!”] PUT IN ADDITIONAL SHIFTS.

I like a good imaginative theme, and these were quite nice. Each entry is solidly colloquial (well, in the last entry, I think people would say “extra shifts,” not “additional shifts,” but it’s close enough), and the clues are humorous without being forceful. I think I liked the hedge maze and car factory entries most of all.

The Sea of AZOV

Lots to like in the fill as well. I think my favorite entry is the [Polite dismissal] “PLEASE GO.” But other goodies include ZEROED OUT, WIND SPEED, IXNAY, HOTWIRE, and WON TON. I needed all the crossings for [Russian sea] AZOV after plunking in ARAL too quickly. Turns out the Sea of AZOV is what separates Russia from Ukraine, so we should all probably know that one.

There are a lot of 3-letter words in this grid, even for a 21x. 35 in fact (plus an additional 42 4-letter words). The reason for that lies in the fact that we have seven long theme answers, all of which are 16-letters long or longer. When there’s that much theme material, constructors need to separate them in order to manageably fill the grid. The good news is that I hardly noticed during the solve since the short fill is quite clean for the most part.

FRITO pies

Clues of note:

  • 10d. [“Far out, man!”]. “RAD!” Hey, now. “Far out” was in the 60s/70s. “RAD” was in the 80s. You’d never hear a Valley Girl say “far out.”
  • I like when unrelated successive entries are connected by their clues. One example in this grid is 21d’s [Steve Martin’s scheming sergeant in 1996] for BILKO and 23d’s [Jim Carrey’s scheming meanie in 2000] for GRINCH.
  • 51d. [“Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth” speaker]. TYSON. Never heard that quote, but it’s a good one.
  • 57d. [Gov. position turned down by Daniel Webster, allegedly saying, “I do not propose to be buried until I am really dead and in my coffin”]. VEEP. Interesting bit of trivia, but it doesn’t really work for me since VEEP is a modern abbreviation of the job.
  • 61d. [Neo, to Trinity]. THE ONE. I’ve seen all the Matrix films, but even so, I didn’t connect this clue to the movies at first glance.
  • 100d. [State where the fuzz is in plain sight?]. MOLDY. Hmm. MOLDY is an adjective. The clue sounds like it wants a noun, no?
  • 110d. [___ pie (“walking” chili treat served in a bag)]. FRITO. I’ve heard of “Frito pie,” but never have I ever imagined that it was served in a FRITO bag. Yikes.

Good puzzle. Four stars.

Evan Birnholz’ Washington Post crossword, “Rapid Rise” — Matthew’s write-up

Sunday, June 4, 2023 | (6)

Evan Birnholz’ Washington Post crossword solution, “Rapid Rise,” 6/4/23

Now that I see it in a puzzle, the 19-letter phrase THAT ESCALATED QUICKLY has been calling out to anchor down (heh) a revealer spot in a puzzle for a while now. In this puzzle, six across entries need more space than the grid provides to match the clues, and they find that space in diagonal stretches of circles extending upwards, as an escalator does. Better yet, each string of circled letters is a synonym for “Quick.” Lovely work.

House packing for my coming move is later this week, so I’m very out of sorts and forced to be a bit quick-hitter today:

I’m often find mirror symmetry jarring, but I quite like the effect here, with no need to find a partner entry to the revealer. I also quite like that some of the diagonal stretches cross clusters of black squares — see TOM SWIFTIES and REFASTEN.

Clue highlights: misdirection of “Senators” to get to O CANADA (The Senators are Ottawa’s NHL team); “card payment” referring to ANTE; the alliteration in [Fussily fashionable fellow] for FOP

Today I learned: there are TEN ink blots in the Rorschach test.

If you say so: PEA SALAD [Legume-based dish] is apparently A Thing.

Universal, “Themeless Sunday 36” by Craig Stowe — norah’s write-up

THEME: None

FAVORITE ENTRIES:

Sunday, June 4, 2023 | (7)

univ-stowe-2023-06-04

  • SWEARJAR 1A [Fine way to discourage cursing?]
  • ENCHANTE 34A [Nice “Nice to meet you”?]
  • BURSTS 57A [Reacts to hyperinflation?]
  • HOTMINUTE 31D [Brief moment or a long time]
  • POMELOS 36A [Grapefruits’ kin]

OTHER NOTES:

A fun puzzle to kick off my run of Sunday solves. One of my favorite things about doing these reviews is finding entries that are missing or underscored on my own lists. Today, that’s HOTMINUTE, JOINEDIN, and SLAMDUNKS. great stuff. What a strong opener with SWEARJAR, leading to a fun and smooth solve. Good amount of scrabbly crunch provided by PUREJOY and PIANOBAR, as well crossings like STEW/WINE and SPURT / PANG / ANGST.

Thanks Craig and the Universal team!

Erik Agard’s USA Today crossword, “Eye on the Ball” — Darby’s write-up

Editor:Erik Agard

Theme: Each theme answer had an eye “I” on the ball “O” in a Down answer.

Theme Answers

Erik Agard’s USA Today crossword, “Eye on the Ball” solution for 6/4/2023

  • 4d “Vitamin C or E, for example”] ANTIOXIDANT
  • 5d [“Spicy condiment”] CHILI OIL
  • 15d [“Home to Skyline Chili”] CINCINNATI, OHIO
  • 31d [“Organization in ‘Star Wars’”] JEDI ORDER

I mean, a puzzle that has a Star Wars themer and an OHIO themer?? I could only be happier if it was a Cleveland reference (though at least 38d [“Brewers hat”] BALL CAP gave me another baseball nod). I thought this was a pretty cute theme; it was very straightforward and easy to parse out, right from when I filled in CINCINNATI, OHIO, which was one of the first Down answers I hit upon.

This puzzle was asymmetric, and its shape lent itself to a lot of opportunities for fill, like 33a [“Cuisine with hummus and sfouf”] LEBANESE, 53a [“Unable to stop watching”] ENTRANCED, and 60a [“Singapore or the Vatican”] CITY STATE. I also particularly appreciated the nod to NATALIE Diaz in 40a [“‘Postcolonial Love Poem’ author Diaz”].

Altogether, I cruised through this, coming in under four minutes, but it was a fun ride with great references throughout.

Sunday, June 4, 2023 | (2024)

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