NYT Crossword 06/30/17 (Friday)

Cruciverbalist: Damon Gulczynski
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: 44:22

Puzzle uniqueness: 0

Words I hadn't known until now:

FOMO - "Feeling that everyone's having fun without you, in modern lingo"

Trivia I didn't know:

ANNASUI - "Designer behind the Dolly Girl perfume"
OLDNAVY - "H&M competitor" (Never heard of H&M)
HANOI - "Tower of _____ (classic math puzzle)" (Have no clue what this is)
SEACALF - "Harbor seal"
DEI - "___ gratia"
NADIA - "Tennis's Petrova"
ILO - "1969 Peace Prize agcy."
TUMMIES - "Food processors, informally"
ESME - "Titular Salinger girl"
NYSE - "Where Molson Coors is TAP"

Junk Answers:

NON - "Only word spoken in Mel Brook's 'Silent Movie'"

Clever clues:

HAYMAKER - "Strong connection?"
FLUSH - "One may be straight"
MENDS - "Tapes, maybe"
CSPAN - "House shower"
BIKINIS - "Providers of limited coverage?"
FRO - "Back again"
SLIVER - "Dieter's piece of cake?"
ZOOKEEPER - "One involved in monkey business?"

Obscure (i.e., really reaching) words:

ANNASUI - (See above)
TUMMIES - (See above)

NYT Crossword 06/29/17 (Thursday)

Cruciverbalist: Rich Proulx
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: 14:26

Puzzle uniqueness:

Puns using names of countries. (Example: KENYAGIVEMEAHAND)

Words I hadn't known until now: 0

Trivia I didn't know:

LEEDS - "'Traffic Crossing _____ Bridge' (Pioneering 1888 moving picture)" (WTF!?!)
ALEX - "Three-time N.H.L. M.V.P. Ovechkin"
AEGIS - "Shield of Athena"
ALMAY - "Cosmetics brand owned by Revlon"
GIGI - "Supermodel Hadid" 

Junk Answers:

EXEC - "Suit"
ITE - "Resident's suffix"
IRR - "Sale tag abbr."
SSA - "It has its benefits: Abbr."
IMO - "'I think,' in texts"
EPS - "Short albums, for short"

Clever clues: 0

Obscure (i.e., really reaching) words: 0

NYT Crossword 06/28/17 (Wednesday)

Cruciverbalist: David Kwong
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: DNF

Puzzle uniqueness:

Trick puzzle, this time a quote running through the puzzle. I absolutely hate those. Here is the punny quote: "How I wish Natalie Portman dated Jacques Cousteau so I could call them Portmanteau."

Words I hadn't known until now:

DUOMO - "Cathedral of Florence"

Trivia I didn't know:

ALDO - "Gucci of fashion"

ALAIN - "De Botton who wrote 'The Architecture of Happiness'"

DEWAR - "_____ flask (thermos)"
IVAN - "Nobelist Pavlov"

Junk Answers:

ASTI - "Piedmont wine center"
LYS - "River of France and Belgium"
ARP - "Dadaist Jean"
SSN - "Target of ID theft: Abbr."
GPA - "Bluto's was 0.0 in 'Animal House'"
UNE - "Article in Le Monde"
MTGS - "Boardroom events: Abbr."
IQS - "Mensa members' assets"
SCHED - "Amtrak posting: Abbr."

Clever clues: 0

Obscure (i.e., really reaching) words:

Duomo - (See above)

NYT Crossword 06/27/17 (Tuesday)

Cruciverbalist: John Guzzetta
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: 7:15

Puzzle uniqueness:

GODOWNSWINGING answer refers to three other multi-word answers with a synonym for "swing" as a baseball term within the phrase.

Words I hadn't known until now: 0

Trivia I didn't know: 0

Junk Answers:

CPAS - "I.R.S. experts"
ETAL - "And others, for short"
EMO - "Broody rock genre"
RBIS - "Hitters' stats"
WBA - "Org. for which Mike Tyson twice held the heavyweight title"
NOLE - "Florida State athlete, slangily"
AMICI - "_____ curiae (friends of the court)"
GYRE - "Circular or spiral motion"

Clever clues:  0

Obscure (i.e., really reaching) words:

AMICI - (See above)

NYT Crossword 06/26/17 (Monday)

Cruciverbalist: Brian Greer
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: 5:41

Puzzle uniqueness:

Tribute to the 20th anniversary of Harry Potter books.

Words I hadn't known until now: 0

Trivia I didn't know: 0

Junk Answers:

GHIJK - "Alphabet chunk after D-E-F" (Answer needed to get "JK" for J.K. Rowling)
AHOT - "'Cat on ___ Tin Roof'"
IER - "Comparative suffix"
IDNO - "Nine-digit fig. on a Social Security card" (Sorry, that would be SSN)
ETH - "Biblical verb ending"
COED - "Like volleyball that's played jointly by men and women"
EFFS - "Letters before gees"

Clever clues:

ALASKAN - "Person in a detached state?"

Obscure (i.e., really reaching) words: 0

NYT Crossword 06/25/17 (Sunday)

Cruciverbalist: Jacob Stulberg
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: 52:19

Puzzle uniqueness: "Cropped"

A rebus puzzle: Putting two or more letters in a single square. The clue is the answer VEGETABLESHORTENING. Six vegetables in which their letters are in squares by two thus shortening the number of squares used for the vegetables. (Example: COSMOKRAMER, where OK and RA are in two adjoining squares instead of the normal four.

Words I hadn't known until now:

SYMPTOMATOLOGY - "MCAT subject"
ISOPRENE - "Petroleum byproduct used to make synthetic rubber"

Trivia I didn't know:

ILYA - "Three-time N.H.L. All-Star Kovalchuk"
NALA - "Lion in 'The Lion King'"
HAAS - "Tennis great Tommy"
TREKKIE - "Many a character on 'The Big Bang Theory'" (Never seen the show)
LOON - "Minnesota's state bird"
OSAKA - "Where Sanyo and Panasonic are headquartered"
RENE - "Former Haitian president Preval"
BRANDON - "Brenda's twin on 'Beverly Hills 90210'" (Never seen the show)
ACHT - "German digit"
CRETE - "Island south of the Cyclades"
ELK - "Animal on Michigan's flag"

Junk Answers:

SRS - "Yearbook sect."
PCS - "Some notebooks, in brief"
TSA - "Gatekeeping org.?"
STS - "GPS display: Abbr."
ALC - "Vodka or gin: Abbr."
BIO - "Science class, informally"
ACHT - (See above)

Clever clues:

TERM - "Life is bad one"
IDO - "Personal commitment?"

Obscure (i.e., really reaching) words:

SYMPTOMATOLOGY - (See above)

ISOPRENE - (See above)

"Fargo" blew it

I just have to say that I hated the ending of Fargo. Totally disappointing.

(Spoiler alert)

I absolutely abhor iffy endings where the audience member has to provide their own ending. It reminds me of the Choose Your Own Adventure books.

I watch a TV show or movie to appreciate the creator's take on a particular subject. Hopefully, he has a great story to tell. I want to see what he has to say about the ending. I will then assess whether I agree with it or not. For example, I disagreed with the ending of La La Land. It's a great movie, and I don't back off my appreciation of the film just because I disagree with the creator's concept of how it should end.

In the case of Fargo, either ending would have worked for me. It would be his take on how the story ends. Since he chose not to, I can't say whether or not I would have agreed or not. It would depend on how he handled either ending. We'll never know.

What I don't like is the creator "telling" me it's for me to decide how the story ends. I compare this to going to a singer's concert, and the singer having the audience participate in a song. I paid for the singer, not to listen to the audience. Yeesh!

Ken Levine is right on about this.

I know it’s currently chic to embrace ambiguity and complexity and existentialism – hour dramas are so DEEP with so many LAYERS.  “Oh, the real world is messy. There are no neat conclusions.” But fuck that. Someone gives you ten hours; give them a fucking ending. The open-ended finale is not even original or fresh. THE SOPRANOS did it so much better.  And at least they were groundbreaking.   Plus, it was the end of the series.  David Chase did not ask the audience to continue taking the ride with him.   I wonder how many FARGO viewers feel like me.  

Count me in, Ken!

NYT Crossword 06/24/17 (Saturday)

Cruciverbalist: Stu Ockman
Editor: Will Smith

Solving time: 26:31

Puzzle uniqueness: 0

Words I hadn't known until now:

ODILE - "Von Rothbart's daughter, in ballet"
ESALEN - "New Age retreat in Big Sur"
ODELAY - "Beck album with the alternative hit 'Where It's At'"
LAALAA - "One of the Teletubbies"

Trivia I didn't know:

PSY - "One-named singer with the 2013 top 5 hit 'Gentleman'"
FORTY - "Card count in ombre" (What the heck is "ombre"?)
ATOY - "'Love is not ____' ('Tears on My Pillow' lyric)"
OVETT - "Running gold medalist Steve"
ERNEST - "Cline who wrote the 2011 best seller 'Ready Player One'" (Great book, just didn't remember the author)

Junk Answers:

IBAR - "Flanged support"
MEGA - "Big intro?"
STER - "End with speed"
OKS - "Sanctions"
ATOY - (See above)
LALA - "Karaoke stand-in?"

Clever clues:

ALAN - "Bean in a pod?"
MOWEER - "Diamond cutter?"
CAD - "Dreadful date, maybe"
DYES - "Producers of highlights"
DEMOLITIONDERBY - "Activity requiring a crash course?"
TAPDANCERS - "Company with striking footwear"

Obscure (i.e., really reaching) words:

ODILE - (See above)

ESALEN - (See above)

ODELAY - (See above)

DIADEMS - "Jeweled headware"

CORSELET - "Combination undergarment"

LAALAA - (See above)

NYT Crossword 06/23/17 (Friday)

Cruciverbalists: James Mulhern and Ashton Anderson
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: 30:16

Puzzle uniqueness: 0

Words I hadn't known until now:

PEPITA - "Edible seed of a pumpkin or squash"

Trivia I didn't know:

APO - "Part of an embassy address, for short"
ANTIPOPE - "Benedict X,  but not IX or XI"
THEROOTS - "'Tonight Show' house band"
EWELAMB - "Baby animal in a parable in II Samuel"
CAAN - "Co-star of Ferrell in 2003's 'Elf'"
ATTILA - "Verdi opera in the fifth century"

Junk Answers:

APO - (See above)
GRE - "Kaplan book subj."
ALA - "Like"

Clever clues:

AMMO - "They may make the rounds"
CANADA - "'O' follower"
STEVE - "Jobs in tech"
COVE - "Arm that's tucked away"
SHOE - "One going everywhere on foot?"

Obscure (i.e., really reaching) words:

PEPITA - (See above)
EWELAMB - (See above)
SKYATLAS - "Book of celestial maps"

NYT Crossword 06/22/17 (Thursday)

Cruciverbalist: Ruth Bloomfield Margolin
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: 16:50

Puzzle uniqueness:

Verb modified by a body part in this format: _____ (Body part) to (body part) (Example: SMILE EAR TO EAR)

Words I hadn't known until now:

EILAT- "Israeli resort city"
TIDAL - "Like some colossal bores" (Never heard of a tidal bore)

Trivia I didn't know:

SHOGI - "Japanese chess"
OBADIAH - "Book of the Bible after Amos"
OWEN - "John Irving's 'A Prayer for ____ Meany'"

Junk Answers:

NAE - "Typical Scottish Brexit vote"
SYD - "Children's author Hoff"

Clever clues:

HAZES- "Initiates badly?"
SIGH - "Heaved 'ho'?"

Obscure (i.e., really reaching) words:

OUTDOORSY - "Fond of hiking, camping, etc."

EILAT - (See Above)

OBADIAH - (See above)

NYT Crossword 06/21/17 (Wednesday)

Cruciverbalist: Bruce Haight
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: 10:08

Puzzle uniqueness:

BUTTERFLY is the center answer which has to be appended to the four corner answers "to make sense." (Example: SOCIAL)

Words I hadn't known until now:

IBOS - "Some native Nigerians"

Trivia I didn't know:

GREG - "Eldest of the Brady Boys" (Never seen it)

Junk Answers:

ITGUY - "PC problem solver"
CDS - "Wares on a band's merch table"
IBOS - (See above)
MBAS - "Degrees for C.F.O.s"
UHS - "Sounds of hesitation"
SIMI - "____ Valley (Reagan Library locale)
CDT - "OK summer hrs."

Clever clues:

TOYS - "Pole workers' creations"

Obscure (i.e., really reaching) words:

IHAVEIT - "'Here's the solution!'" (I think "I've got it" is more common)

ATONEGO - "In a single attempt"

ENDWAYS - "Lengthwise"

NYT Crossword 06/20/17 (Tuesday)

Cruciverbalist: Jason Flinn
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: 11:00

Puzzle uniqueness:

Taking a two-word phrase with airlines as the second word, then having the last answer be AIRLINETERMINALS. (Example: MANCHESTERUNITED)

Words I hadn't known until now:

CUESTA - "Hill that's steep on one side and gentle on the other"

Trivia I didn't know:

DEBI - "Actress Mazar of 'Entourage'"
MONICA - "One of the friends on 'Friends'" (Never watched the show)

Junk Answers: Lots. Here are a few.

INA - "___ moment (shortly)"
IROC - "Classic Camaro"
SSN - "Phishing target: Abbr."
TWPS - "County divs."
TRA - "___-la"
SYS - "___ admin (IT pro)"

Clever clues:  0

Obscure (i.e., really reaching) words:

CUESTA - (See above)
TEMAS - "Melodic subjects in music"

NYT Crossword 06/19/17 (Monday)

Cruciverbalist: Susan Gelfand
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: 6:08

Puzzle uniqueness:

Singers' last names form two-word phrases (Example: ROTTENAPPLE - Johnny and Fiona)

Words I hadn't known until now: 0

Trivia I didn't know: 0

Junk Answers:

ETE - "French summer"
RTE - "GPS option: Abbr."
AYLA - "Heroine of Jean Auel's 'The Clan of the Cave Bear'"
INS - "Opposite of outs"

Clever clues: 0

Obscure (i.e., really reaching) words: 0

NYT Crossword 0618/17 (Sunday)

Cruciverbalist: Sam Trabuco
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: 35:26

Puzzle uniqueness: "Silent Treatment"

Phrases which have a word with a silent letter, "funny" clues to phrase as if letter wasn't there. (Example: GIVESADAMN - "Donates shelter to some beavers?")

Words I hadn't known until now:

LOQUAT - "Asian plumlike fruit"

Trivia I didn't know:

ANTI - "Rihanna's 2016 ____ World Tour"
ALGREN - "Nelson who wrote 'The Man With the Golden Arm'"
ADU - "Freddy once hailed as 'the next Pele'"
SEGAR - "Popeye creator E. C. _____" (I just can't seem to remember his name...every time)
ARIE - "Singer India.____" (Another one I can never remember)
TYGA - "Popular rapper with a feline-sounding name"
IVANIV - ""'The Terrible' czar" (Never can remember the number)

Junk Answers:

IMOK - ""'Don't worry about me'"
TGEL - "Neutrogena dandruff shampoo"
IDNO - "Social Security fig."
DTS - "Sot's woes"
YSL - "Big fashion inits."
ARG - "S. Amer. land"
UNODOS - "Start of a Spanish count" (Really?)
BLEH - "'Ugh!'"
GOTAC - "Did so-so at school"
EMAILME - "Shoot over your response"
ECASH - "Digital currency"

Clever clues:

DOWN - "Up (for), paradoxically"
NEST - "Flight destination?"
NOONE - "Who has ever won a debate over the internet?"
GOBALD - "Clear one's head?"
AIDE - "One might represent a representative"

Obscure (i.e., really reaching) words:

LOQUAT - (See above)
AQUACAR - "Amphibious auto"
GUINEAN - "Native of Conakry"

NYT Crossword 06/17/17 (Saturday)

Cruciverbalist: Ryan McCarty
Editor: Will Smith

Solving time: DNF (Too many answers I'd never heard of crossing each other)

Puzzle uniqueness: 0

Words I hadn't known until now:

TILERS- "Ones putting down quadrels" (I've never heard of "quadrels")
SEMIBREVE - "Whole note, to a Brit"
OTARU - "Port on Ishikari Bay" (I had "Osaka" for the longest time, really hung me up)
SCHUYLERSISTERS - "Sibling trio in 'Hamilton'" (Haven't seen it yet)
QUINTE - "Fifth of eight parrying positions in fencing"
PASTIS - "French anise-flavored liqueur"
SUM - "Kakuro calculation" (I've never heard of "Kakuro")
TETRAHEDRA - "Some pyramids, though not the ones at Giza"

Trivia I didn't know:

ANTOINE - "Fats Domino's real first name"
IRAN - "Shiraz setting"
EDERLE - "Channel swimmer Gertrude"
HOMO - "____ floresiensis (extinct 'hobbit')"
DANES - "Builders of the original Legoland"
SILVERARROW - "Early Mercedes-Benz racing car"

Junk Answers:

DRS - "Practice composition: Abbr.?"
IQS - "They're high at M.I.T. and Stanford"
ENE - "Memphis-to-Nashville dir."

Clever clues:

PESTLE - "Meal maker?"
DRS - (See above)

Obscure (i.e., really reaching) words: 0

NYT Crossword 06/16/17 (Friday)

Cruciverbalist: Zhouqin Burnikel
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: 27:53

Puzzle uniqueness: 0

Words I hadn't known until now:

OPI - "Popular nail polish brand"

Trivia I didn't know:

MRRED - "Old baseball mascot with a 'C' on his cap"
OPI - (See above)
PHI - "21st in a series of 24" (I defy anyone to rattle off the Greek alphabet in numerical order!)
MALLORCA - "Neighbor de Ibiza"
DONAHUE - "Onetime host with 11 daytime Emmys" (I know him, just not the Emmy part)
SOREL - "French philosopher who wrote 'Reflections on Violence'"
DRPEPPER - "'Always one of a kind' sloganeer"
SASHIMI - "Dish often garnished with white radish"
CHINET - "Big name in disposable tableware" (Couldn't pull it)

Junk Answers:

BATTED - "Went for a run" (Not the answer, but the clue - really weak, IMO)
CTR - "Part of many arena names: Abbr."
OPI - (See above)
SCI - "Discovery magazine subj."
LGA - "Big Apple airport code"

Clever clues:

BOOTCAMP - "Drill setting"
CIA - "Spooky group?"
FIRST - "Who's there" (A reference to the "Who's on first" routine by Abbot and Costello)

Obscure (i.e., really reaching) words: 0

NYT Crossword 06/15/17 (Thursday)

Cruciverbalist: Richard F. Mausser
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: 11:15 (New record for a Thursday)

Puzzle uniqueness:

Tribute to 50th anniversary of THEDIRTYDOZEN movie release by having twelve one-word answers which require the word "dirty" to complete the phrase. (Example: HARRY - as in "Dirty Harry")

Words I hadn't known until now:

SZELL - "Former Cleveland Orchestra conductor George"

Trivia I didn't know:

SZELL - (See above)

Junk Answers:

RIRE - "To laugh, in Lyon"
STRO - "Minute Maid Park player, for short"
OPP - "Versus: Abbr."
HEHE - "Giggle" (Usually "Heehee")
RRS - "B&O and others,: Abbr."

Clever clues: 0

Obscure (i.e., really reaching) words:

SZELL - (See above)
RIRE - (See above)

NYT Crossword 06/14/07 (Wednesday)

Cruciverbalist: Andrew Zhou
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: 14:47

Puzzle uniqueness:

BYGEORGE answer relates to answers of works whose originators' first names are George.

Words I hadn't known until now:

Chabad - "Jewish organization known for its outreach work."

Trivia I didn't know:

TAU - "Symbol for torque"
DECISIONPOINTS - "2010 Bush autobiography"
UTNE - "Magazine founder Eric"

Junk Answers:

SHA - "Syllable in oldies song"
NES - "Early platform for The Legend of Zelda, for short"
MRS - "Wifey, with 'the'"
YOO - "'___-hoo!'"

Clever clues:

SEANCE - "Raising of spirts?"

Obscure (i.e., really reaching) words:

UPCAST - "Looking skyward"

BOOYA - "Celebratory cry"

"It Comes At Night" weighs in on our humanity

This film was not anything that I expected. I was looking for another undead movie with a family being threatened in their out-of-the-way home.

For what it is I give it a pass, though not a rave. There were some fun, tense moments, I have to admit. It's basically a survivalist movie. A family is trying to escape the awful disease that is obliterating mankind by living out in the wilderness. Another family intrudes, thus setting up the conflict.

It is an interesting take on exactly how much humanity one is willing to sacrifice to insure the safety of the family.

The only actor I knew about was Joel Edgerton, but the rest of the cast performed very ably.

I didn't like the way the film ended, but that's just a personal choice. I'm sure there are others who will appreciate it. I prefer a more definitive conclusion.

NYT Crossword 06/13/17 (Tuesday)

Cruciverbalist: Lynn Lempel
Editor: Will Shortz

Solving time: 7:08

Puzzle uniqueness:

Taking a phrase beginning with a single letter sound and converting the single letter to multiple letters with the same sound. (Example: GEESTRINGS)

Words I hadn't known until now: 0

Trivia I didn't know:

GENOA - "Kind of salami"

Junk Answers:

AMTS - "Rx dosages, e.g.: Abbr."
JRS - "Many SAT takers"
DES - "___ Plaines, Ill."
SSS - "Worrisome org. for a daft dodger"

Clever clues:

EGO - "Maniacal leader?"

Obscure (i.e., really reaching) words: 0