New York Times, Nov. 29

Who knew there were so many words with Q in them?

I kind of figured there’d be a lot after seeing the “Cued Up” (read: “Q’d Up”) title. And I was right, starting with the clever QUAINT MISBEHAVIN’ (113 Across, “Carryin’ on, in olden times?”). Taking a cue — rather, a “Q” — from that clue, you can figure that all the theme answers will be common phrases tweaked with a “QU.”

So there’s SQUEAL OF APPROVAL (22 Across, “Delighted exclamation?”); QUEASY RIDER (68 Across, “Carsick passenger?”); QUALMS GIVING (94 Across, “Causing uneasiness?”); SHEPHERD’S PIQUE (4 Down, “Anger at losing one’s flock?”) and VANQUISHING ART (50 Down, “Subjugation?”).

Hats off for the remarkably complex WILDE BEQUEST (36 Across, “Part of an Irish playwright’s will?”), which completely subverts “wildebeest” into an Oscar Wilde reference.

I also love that BEAVIS (56 Across, “TV character often seen in a Metallica T-shirt”) made it into the puzzle. (Random trivia: What shirt does Butt-head wear? And their neighbor Stewart? Answers: AC/DC and Winger.) I was also pleased that the clue for OMAR (110 Down) was not a tired reference to actor Sharif but a more modern nod to “Baseball G.M. Minaya.” Although, being a Phillies fan, I should probably prefer the former.

Questions or comments? Twitter me @crosswordkathy

New York Times, Nov. 22

Sorry for the late post. I’m on the West Coast, which should give me a three-hour grace period, but I’ve gone way beyond that. So without further ado, I’ll just say that Sunday’s puzzle was a little Merl Reaglish, with faintly amusing wordplay but no heavy lifting.

The “career day” theme used plays-on-words to put a twist on occupations: a meter maid is a TICKET AGENT (23 Across); a golf pro is a DRIVING INSTRUCTOR (38 Across); a manicurist is a FILE CLERK (70 Across), among many others.

I have to say the tea server — SOCIAL WORKER (28 Across) — happened to hit home this weekend, as I attended a bridal shower tea on Sunday. (Um … OK, it was my bridal shower.) “Social worker,” while accurate, doesn’t quite do justice to the gracious hostesses.

Two other clues struck me — one for its (unnecessary) length and one for its “Really?” factor. The six-line clue for 98 Across (“____ Chao, only cabinet member to serve through George W. Bush’s entire administration”) contained some trivia I didn’t know but certainly was not essential to figuring out the answer. (Six lines?!) And 64 Down (“San _____, Lone Star State city”) sent me to Google after I figured out through crossing letters that the answer is ANTONE. I had to find out: Is San Antone a real place, separate from San Antonio? My searching is leading me to believe no, they are one and the same. Which makes me think the clue should have included to a reference to a “nickname” for the Lone Star State city.

Hope to be back on schedule next week.

Questions or comments? Twitter me @crosswordkathy

New York Times, Nov. 15

Wow, another birthday puzzle this week.  A couple of weeks ago it was the Guggenheim. Today, it’s songwriter JOHNNY MERCER (115 Across, “Lyricist born 11/18/09 who wrote the words to the 10 songs with asterisked clues”).

Connecting the circled letters in alphabetical order yields a G clef, in celebration of the upcoming 100th anniversary of Johnny Mercer's birth.

I’m giving away my age here (or at least my generation — Generation X and proud of, thank you very much!) but I think the first time I heard of Johnny Mercer was while reading “Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil” back in the mid-1990s. The book, nominally about a murder trial in Savannah, Ga., is really a fascinating study of the city and its most eccentric residents — mostly Jim Williams, proprietor of the grand and historical Mercer House. Legend has it that Johnny Mercer grew up there, but that’s not exactly true; he did grow up in Savannah, and references to him and his music are woven throughout the book.

So I can’t sing the lyrics (or even hum the tunes) to the songs in this puzzle, including ONE FOR MY BABY (21 Across), TANGERINE (26 Across), GREAT GUNS (108 Across) and HAYRIDE (11 Down). I think I might know a couple of bars of MOON RIVER (67 Across) and JEEPERS CREEPERS (3 Down) but I wouldn’t bet my paycheck on it.

The second part of this puzzle was the connect-the-letters image at the end, where by drawing a line between the circled letters (as explained in a note with the grid) you get a G clef.

Speaking of music, I was a little surprised at the specificity of 11 Across, “‘___ Nagila’ (song title that means ‘Let us rejoice’).” Really? You need the translation to figure out that the answer is HAVA? I guess it’s interesting, since I actually didn’t know what “Hava Nagila” meant, but it’s hardly essential to solving the clue.

Questions or comments? Twitter me @crosswordkathy

New York Times, Nov. 8

“Colonization” is kind of a loaded word, and I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from this puzzle. Colonies? Aliens? Ants? Alien Ant Farm?

Turns out it was ANTs. Lots of them. Take a common phrase, insert the word “ANT” and — voila! — a cute theme answer. So a ”Resident of a military installation?” (25 Across) is a BASE TENANT; an “Online beauty contest?” (108 Across) is a WEB PAGEANT; a “Tropical fruit seller?” (40 Across) is a PLANTAIN DEALER; and “What overuse of a credit card might result in?” (67 Across) is a GIANT BILL.

My favorite, 84 Across (“Gentleman’s intransigent reply?”), is a play on the palindrome “Madam, I’m Adam” — MADAM I’M ADAMANT. I think a hipper clue would have been “New Wave rocker’s reply?” yielding MADAM I’M ADAM ANT. Then again, when you’re using LENA (54 Across, “Singer Horne”) and CARLY (39 ACROSS, “Singer Simon”) in your grid, I’m guessing Adam Ant isn’t in your iTunes library.

I’m grateful that the AL-ER (1 Across, short for “American Leaguer”) was clued as an Oriole and not a dreaded Yankee. As we all know, the Bronx Bombers dethroned my world-champion Phillies earlier this week. But Philly did get a shout-out with 53 Across (“Philadelphia’s Historic Gloria ___ Church”): DEI. Learn more about the church, known as Old Swedes’, by clicking here.

Finally, speaking of ants, there was a bonus critter hidden in 100 Down (“Fidgety”): ANTSY.

Questions or comments? Twitter me @crosswordkathy

New York Times, Nov. 1

Gotta make this fast because there’s a very important baseball game to watch. And if you have to ask who I’m rooting for, you haven’t been paying attention.

Today’s puzzle isn’t so much about compound fractures as it is about overlapping stitches. Each theme answer is a two-word phrase with shared letters. Thus a “Vegetable that gives you an emotional release?” (44 Down) is a CATHARTICHOKE — a combination of CATHARTIC and ARTICHOKE — while a “Rare mushroom?” (43 Across) is a PSYCHEDELICACY — a PSYCHEDELIC DELICACY.

“Eyewear providing hindsight?” (22 Across) is RETROSPECTACLES; “Give up smuggled goods?” is CONTRABANDON; and, in a true homage, “Noble Les Paul?” (81 Across) is a GUITARISTOCRAT. Others include: ELEPHANTOM (29 Across, “Peanut-loving ghost?”); FOREVERIES (101 Across, “Dreams that don’t die?”); ROULETTERMAN (71 Across, “High-school athletic star at a casino?”) and CENTIPEDESTRIAN (108 Across, “Bug that never takes a ride?”).

Nothing else really of note, though it so happened I was actually sitting at a gate at STL (97 Across, “Old TWA hug: Abbr.”) when I began solving this puzzle. I’m now home in PHL (after flying over the stadium!) and watching our beloved Phils in a quest for a rePeat. Capitalization intended.

Questions or comments? Twitter me @crosswordkathy