New York Times crossword Jan. 22 / Constructed by Adam Fromm

Thank you, Will Shortz and puzzle creator Adam Fromm, for giving me an awful earworm today: “Heigh ho, heigh ho, it’s off to work we go …”

Those are the only lyrics I remember from the entirety of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” the Disney fairy tale that serves as the crossword’s theme. In the movie, the beauty’s septet of little people toils in a diamond mine; today’s puzzle indicates that perhaps those jobs are to keep keep them away from less appropriate work.

The uniform theme clues (“Bad occupation for …..”) suggest ill-fitting employment for each dwarf: NIGHT WATCHMAN (Sleepy, 24 Across); GOTH MUSICIAN (Happy, 29 Across); FLORAL ARRANGER (Sneezy, 57 Across); MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKER (Grumpy, 63 Across); ALGEBRA TEACHER (Dopey, 73 Across); VILLAGE IDIOT (Doc, 98 Across); and TV PERSONALITY (Bashful, 110 Across).

Hate to complain, but this was pretty lame. It won’t be on my list of favorite puzzle for 2012.

Philly Shout-Out Dept.: “Hallmark of the Philadelphia sound” is HORNS (96 Down). Philly is the home of Gamble & Huff, the songwriting duo responsible for hits like “Love Train” by The O’Jays and “If You Don’t Know Me By Now” by Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes (later redone by Simply Red). Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, along with Thom Bell, were the force behind Philadelphia International Records and the lush acoustics that became known as TSOP — “The Sound of Philadelphia.” Unfortunately, the downtown recording studio was ruined by fire in a bizarre incident a couple of years ago. It remains boarded up, although a TSOP souvenir shop was undamaged and remains open.

Speaking of Music Dept.: Until today, the only song I knew called “All the Things She Said” was performed by Simple Minds. Now I know there’s another song done by TATU (“Duo with the 2003 hit ‘All the Things She Said,’” 64 Down). The latter video has more than 21 million views, which is what happens when things GO VIRAL (“Become a YouTube sensation,” 56 Down).

Watch Your Language Dept.: “‘Shoot!’” is DANG (101 Down). “Gives a darn?” is SEWS (89 Across).

Things I Never Knew Dept.: “Relating to the palm of the hand” is VOLAR (98 Down). “Cave ___” is CANEM (4 Down), which I looked up after solving. It means “Beware the dog.” I’ll be sure to teach that to my cat.

Questions or comments? Leave them here, visit my Facebook page or tweet me @crosswordkathy.

New York Times crossword Jan. 15 / Constructed by Finn Vigeland

A weather report? I gotcher weather report right here: I was 60 degrees warmer at this time yesterday. Yes, it was 85 glorious degrees in sunny Aruba, not the 25 degrees it is now in Philadelphia. So what more hurt could a weather-related puzzle inflict?

Well, it could add a little rain. Or a lot of rain. Which is what clever constructor Finn Vigeland did in this fun puzzle, where IT’S RAINING CATS AND DOGS (“Weather comment represented visually by this puzzle’s circled letters,” 66 Across). You’ll find all kinds of furry, four-legged breeds hidden in the theme answers: CALICO, BEAGLE, MANX, PERSIAN, POODLE and BOXER.

Here’s how they break out (I’ve underlined and bolded the circled letters, since I can’t circle them here): CABLE SITCOMS (“Shows that can be racier than their network counterparts,” 39 Down); BREAKING THE RULES (“Cheating,” 41 Down); MASON-DIXON LINE (“It’s north of the South,” 31 Down); ANTI-PERSPIRANT (“You probably raise your arm for this,” 29 Down); PHONOGRAPH NEEDLE (“It’s lowered to hear music,” 13 Down); and BRONX BOMBERS (“Big Apple team,” 34 Down).

Other Long Answers Dept.: The grid was filled with lots of creative, non-theme answers as well. “Dream setting” (22 Across) is a CASTLE IN SPAIN — a reference to daydreaming — while an “Artificial plot device” (114 Across) is a DEUS EX MACHINA (hand of God). Also: COLD CASE (“DNA testing might reopen one,” 1 Across), DRY ERASE (“Like some boards,” 123 Across), FATIGUES (“Battle wear,” 85 Down) and PHALANX (“Troop group,” 21 Across).

You Sweet Thing Dept.: “Dolls” are HONEYS (121 Across) and a “Doll” is a PET (103 Down).

Life In The Fast Lane Dept.: “Nascar Hall of Fame architect” is PEI (11 Down), the firm named for I.M. Pei, whose other structures include the glass pyramids at the Louvre.

In the News Dept.: Susan Orlean, author of fascinating book “The Orchid Thief” (which became the movie “Adaptation”), is out with a new biography about the dog RIN Tin Tin (“___ Tin Tin,” 113 Down). The Denver Broncos and their prayerful “QB Tebow” (TIM, 27 Across) are out of the Super Bowl hunt after a thrashing by the Patriots last night.

Questions or comments? Leave them here, visit my Facebook page or tweet me @crosswordkathy.

New York Times crossword Jan. 8 / Constructed by Tony Orbach

Sorry for the late post! I was in Aruba last week and had to “do without” — as today’s title serendipitously puts it — the NYT crossword puzzle. I know, poor me.

The title also hints at a pretty easy theme: Take common phrases and remove the word “with,” creating an amusing new phrase. Like DON’T PLAY MATCHES (“‘Just do drills for now’?” 24 Across) and KEEP UP THE JONESES (“Disturb one’s neighbors at night?” 30 Across).

Others: GREEN ENVY (“Duffer’s feeling toward a putting pro?” 52 Across); DATE DESTINY (“Meeting one’s soul mate, perhaps?” 54 Across); GET THE PROGRAM (“Successfully perform a download?” 67 Across); SEALED A KISS (“Applied foil at the Hershey’s factory?” 87 Across); I’M THE BAND (“One man’s declaration to an upset party planner?” 91 Across); PASS FLYING COLORS (“Drive by the United Nations?” 105 Across); and I ONLY WANNA BE YOU (“Impostor’s excuse?” 117 Across).

Reading (Almost) Double Dept.: “Went into la-la land, with ‘out’” (127 Across) is ZONED, while “Go into la-la land, with ‘out’” (27 Down) is SPACE.

Geography 101 Dept.: “Glen Canyon reservoir” is LAKE POWELL (4 Down), which is in UTAH (“4-Down locale,” 78 Down). And “New York’s Tappan ___ Bridge” is ZEE (62 Down), which we use frequently to avoid taking the George Washington Bridge through the city.

Cinema 101 Dept.: “Hannibal’s foil in ‘The Silence of the Lambs’” is CLARICE (6 Across). “‘Me, Myself & ___’” is IRENE (124 Across). And “Actor Colin” is FIRTH (11 Down).

Philly Shout-Out Dept.: “What Oliver asked for more of” is GRUEL (109 Down), a reference to Dickens’ “Oliver Twist.” The Philadelphia public library, which has an extensive collection of Dickens’ correspondence and manuscripts, is celebrating a “Year of Dickens” to mark the novelist’s 200th birthday on Feb 7. The Philly library also has Dickens’ pet raven, Grip, stuffed and preserved. More on that in a future post.

Questions or comments? Leave them here, visit my Facebook page or tweet me @crosswordkathy.

Jan. 8

Deepest apologies, but I’m on vacation at a place that does not carry the NYT. There are, however, a lot of lizards. Crossword clue might be: “Island where Papiamento is spoken” (5 letters).

See you next week, when I’ll post on both the Jan. 8 and Jan, 15 puzzles. Happy solving!

New York Times crossword Jan. 1 / Constructed by Patrick Berry

Happy New Year!

Hmmmmmm. I suspect today’s fairly easy puzzle was designed for solvers with wicked hangovers. Each theme answer took a common phrase but added a phonetic “um” syllable to the end _ a literal interpretation of the “add-end-um” title.

So a “Pool ball’s ‘Watch this!’ comment?” is SEE IF I CAROM (18 Across), and a “High-mounted window you can’t stop looking at?” is a HYPNOTIC TRANSOM (23 Across).

Others: STEM TO STERNUM (“Part of a watch touching the breastbone?” 32 Across); OFFICE MAXIM (“‘You don’t have to be busy to look bust,’ e.g.?” 46 Across); SILICON VALIUM (“Pill that relieves computer related anxiety?” 59 Across); BRUTE FOURSOME (“Inhuman group of golfers?” 71 Across); HEAD OF HAREM (“Sultan’s wife, perhaps?” 81 Across); THE LION’S DENIM (“Jungle king’s jeans and overalls?” 99 Across); PARTICLE BOREDOM (“Ennui among quantum physicists?” 110 Across); and PIE A LA MODEM (“Dessert delivered over the Internet?” 116 Across).

Need more Ms? How about 17 Down, “Candy eaten in handfuls”? Answer: M AND M’S.

Mummers Parade, New Year's Day 2012, Philadelphia

Common Answer, Uncommon Clue Dept.: “Best-selling author who wrote ‘I did not write it. God wrote it. I merely did his dictation’” is Harriet Beecher STOWE (29 Down), who penned “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.”

Auld Lang Syne Dept.: Hope you indulged in a sip of MUMM (“Big name in Champagne,” 83 Down) to ring in the New Year! Or maybe you caught Justin Bieber covering the Beatles (oy vey!) on “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve” to see if the ball was “About ready to drop” (BEAT, 94 Down). Hope you had a “Great time” (EON, 113 Down) and not a “Bad experience” (BUMMER, 94 Across) on New Year’s Eve.

Questions or comments? Leave them here, visit my Facebook page or tweet me @crosswordkathy.