New York Times, Dec. 27

Sorry again for the late post, but I have a really good excuse — and it even fits the theme of this puzzle: I’m getting married on New Year’s Eve.

So, on the one hand, it was perfectly awesome to see this puzzle and its unwitting nod to my upcoming nuptials. On the other hand, I had not enough time nor energy to both solve it and post to my blog yesterday.

The grid was kind of shaped more like a martini glass than a champagne flute, but that’s a quibble. If you couldn’t put that shape together with the title (“Toasting the New Year”), the circled squares spelled it out for you in pictogram fashion: CHAMPAGNE BUBBLES. (I will take issue with the AGN answer — 61 Across, “Once more: Abbr.” — that’s part of CHAMPAGNE: Who abbreviates “again” as AGN? Who abbreviates “again,” period?)

But what I really loved about this puzzle was the “Who knew?” moment when I learned that DOM PIERRE PERIGNON (100 Across) was a BENEDICTINE MONK (34 Down) who discovered champagne. His “Purported cry” (25 Across) upon its discovery is pure poetry: I AM DRINKING THE STARS.

I’ve drunk Dom Perignon. I’ve even sold Dom Perignon, way back in my glamorous college days as a cashier at a liquor/wine store in Boston. And all this time, I never knew he had a first name, nor that he was a monk, nor that he discovered champagne.

Well, BOTTOMS UP (75 Across) and CHEERS (1 Across) to you, Dom Perignon. I, too, will be drinking the stars on New Year’s Eve.

Questions or comments? Twitter me @crosswordkathy

New York Times, Dec. 20

First off, congratulations to everyone who braved the aftermath of the storm to go out and buy a Times this morning. I think we got about a foot here in Philadelphia.

Today’s puzzle was all about the knowledge economy or, looked at another way, something the SEC frowns on. The theme answers all contained inside INFO — literally that string of letters somewhere in the answer. So “Average Joes” (25 Across) are PLAIN FOLKS; “Republicans in 2008″ (35 Across) are MCCAIN FOLLOWERS (well, maybe not all of them); a “Rafael Nadal specialty” (96 Across) is a TOPSPIN FOREHAND; and a “Busboy’s assignment” (55 Across) is NAPKIN FOLDING; to “Unite” (114 Across) is to JOIN FORCES; and to “Stop a trip?” is to REGAIN FOOTING, to name a few.

A couple other clues caught my attention. Turns out that the “Boy’s name that means ‘the king’” (85 Across) isn’t Elvis, but ELROY. Did George Jetson know that? I think he’s the only Elroy I’ve ever heard of. But “el roy” certainly makes sense. And OKEY DOKEY was more interesting than the average answer (74 Across, “You bet”).

Stay warm.

Questions or comments? Twitter me @crosswordkathy

New York Times, Dec. 13

This is one of those puzzles where some of the non-theme clues and answers were more impressive than the overall theme itself.

The theme, as expressed in a note to puzzlers, is a quote from Linus Pauling “hidden” in the shaded squares of the grid. Usually there’s a reason for choosing the given quotee, i.e. the 100th anniversary of his birth, or death, or something in between. But as far as I can tell, there was no real basis for choosing Linus Pauling, who I was vaguely prepared to identify as a physicist but Googled just to make sure … OK, he’s a chemist. I was close.

Anyway, the quote is: “THE BEST WAY TO HAVE A GOOD IDEA IS TO HAVE A LOT OF IDEAS.” Brilliant in its simplicity, I suppose, and really one I should take to heart more often. I tend to obsess about single ideas way too much when I could be brainstorming so many other things.

Back to the puzzle. The words of the quote are hidden among some really cool answers, including LAPIS LAZULI (76 Across, “Rich blue stone”); GOO GOO DOLLS (59 Across, “Band with the 1998 #1 hit ‘Iris’”); FLATBUSH AVENUE (53 Across, “It borders the Brooklyn Botanic Garden”); and BOLO TIES (111 Across, “Western accessories”). Also fun was 95 Down, “Like that’ll ever happen!” — AS IF.

That’s about for this week. Sorry last week’s post was so late.

Questions or comments? Twitter me @crosswordkathy

New York Times, Dec. 6

Wow, I apologize for this belated post. I couldn’t get into my blog for a couple of days.

This week was a visual and aural theme: Common two-word phrases tweaked for new meaning by doubling the final letter of the first word.

So, to nitpick (32 Across) is to ASSAULT TRIFLES; things heard after thumbs are hit with hammers (81 Across) are CARPENTER RANTS; young scientists who are impossible to work with (67 Across) are LAB BRATS; a holder of pet electrons, protons and neutrons (93 Across) is an ATOMIC CAGE; a memento of an old athletic injury (25 Across) is a SPORTS SCAR; reductions in rank that aren’t entirely bad (100 Across) are MIXED DEMOTIONS; begging soldiers (60 Across) are TROOP PLEADERS; and double or nothing, say (52 Across) is a NEW WAGER.

Even after all that, I have to admit I’ve got a few blank squares in this puzzle. But a shout-out to constructor Patrick Berry for WHELPED (73 Across, “Gave birth to a litter”) and RAHAB (91 Across, “Prostitute who protected Israelite spies, in Joshua”), words I can’t remember coming across in a grid. (RAHAB seems a bit forced but WHELPED gets kudos.)

And 17 Across (“1930s heavyweight champ know as the Ambling Alp”) had me puzzled until I got several cross words to reveal CARNERA. I think I have actually seen plaster casts of Primo Carnera’s hands, maybe at the International Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota, N.Y. His hands were MASSIVE. Like the size of my entire head. I had never heard the “Ambling Alp” reference but, if memory serves, the implication of Carnera being a walking mountain seems pretty appropriate.

Questions or comments? Twitter me @crosswordkathy