New York Times, Nov. 28

Well, ho-ho-ho! The leftover turkey is still in the fridge but Will Shortz is already celebrating Christmas with a puzzle dedicated to THE TREE LIGHTING CEREMONY (148 Across, “Annual Manhattan event (represented symbolically in this puzzle).” The rest of the theme clues, all referring back to that one, spotlight the “shining moment” on THE WEDNESDAY AFTER THANKSGIVING (3- and 5 Down) when crowds gather around the NORWAY SPRUCE (17 Down) at ROCKEFELLER CENTER (15 Down) to watch someone throw the (ON) SWITCH (120 Down). Voila! ‘Tis the season in New York.

The red boxes contain the letters "ON" and form the shape of the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center.

This huge grid by constructor Jeremy Newton (23-by-23! 310 clues!) was fun and, I have to say, more puzzle-like because the hidden picture wasn’t hinted at by circled boxes or an editor’s note. The trick was fitting the letters ON into single boxes in answers like (ON) THE ICE (“Not benched, as in hockey,” 122 Down); (ON) BUDGET (“Not overspending,” 123 Down); and the ingenious T(ON)Y T(ON)I T(ON)E (“R&B funk trio with the 1990 hit ‘Feels Good,’” 121 Across). You can “light” a hidden tree in the grid by connecting all the ONs — easy as toggling an ON/off switch!

By the way, did anyone else notice that another “annual Manhattan event” — MACY’S THANKSGIVING PARADE — has the same number of letters as THE TREE LIGHTING CEREMONY? Luckily, a couple of crossing clues made me second-guess the parade answer; otherwise, my puzzle would have been a lot messier.

Literary Mystery Dept.: “Literary inits.” (63 Down) are usually either RLS (Robert Louis Stevenson) or TSE (T.S. Eliot); I have no idea who EAP is. Did I blow that answer? Anyone?

NYT Crossword Self-Promotion Dept.: “Movie co. behind ‘Wordplay’ and ‘My Big Fat Greek Wedding’” (48 Down) is IFC. One is a romantic comedy starring Nia Vardalos and one is a documentary about … ? Hey, wait a minute …

Random Philly Fact Dept.: We claim funnywoman Tina FEY (“Onetime ‘S.N.L.’ regular Tina,” 45 Across) as a native daughter, though she’s really from the next-door suburb of Upper Darby. But she frequently gives us mad props in “30 Rock,” where art is imitating life and Philly-based Kabletown (read: Comcast) is taking over NY-based NBC. Best line ever, from Alec Baldwin’s Jack Donaghy: “How could a company from Philadelphia buy a company from New York?”

Congratulations Are In Order Dept.: Finish today’s puzzle? Let out a “Cry of self-pride” — YAY ME! (116 Across).

Questions or comments? Tweet me @crosswordkathy or leave a comment on my new Facebook page.

New York Times, Nov. 21

There are aspirations, as in hopes and dreams, and then there are aspirations, as in the sound the letter H makes. You will not be surprised to learn that today’s crossword puzzle –”Having Aspirations” — does not offer any insight into achieving lifelong goals. It does, however, offer you six extra Hs that, when inserted into several common phrases, will give them new meanings entirely.

Perhaps the funniest: REAL MEN DON’T HEAT QUICHE (“Macho guys like their pie cold?” 26 Across), based on the 1982 best-seller that apparently now can be had for as little as 2 cents on Amazon.

Others: “Bad actor’s philosophy?” is I THINK THEREFORE I HAM (41 Across); “Concerns of middle-aged guys in lower Louisiana?” is DELTA HAIRLINES (63 Across); ”Lengthy military sign-up?” is a SEVEN-YEAR HITCH (73 Across); “Put the dentures aside while gardening?” is SET ONE’S TEETH ON HEDGE (92 Across); and “Starboard food fish?” is HERRING ON THE RIGHT SIDE (108 Across).

“Delta hairlines” was pretty cute; I wonder if there was some celebrity marriage that could have qualified as a clue for “seven-year hitch.” But those last two phrases (“teeth” and “herring”) seem to be a bit dated; the second one I’m not even sure I know. “Erring on the side of caution,” yes, but not “erring on the right side.” Anyone?

Eyebrow Raising Dept.: “Out of one’s mind, in a way, with ‘up’” is COKED (5 Down). I don’t think I’ve ever heard someone described as “coked up” unless they were, in fact, coked up. Surprised — but not passing judgment — that Will included this drug reference.

Stressing Out Dept.: Quite a bit of polite angst in this puzzle: DEAR ME (“‘Alas,’” 63 Down) and OH ME (“[sigh],” 123 Across).

Geographic Technicality Dept.: Is ST. PETER’S really a “Roman square” (88 Down)? Or is it a Vatican (City) Square?

Questions or comments? Tweet me @crosswordkathy.

New York Times variety puzzle, Nov. 14

This ingeniously constructed puzzle by Patrick Merrell was part acrostic, part crossword. Comments about it on the Wordplay blog seemed to universally commend him for the concept although many (including me) felt it was a bit too easy to solve. But somehow my copy of the acrostic part failed to put a space between the words NEW and NATION. Did anyone else notice that? Or was my magazine just faulty?

I drew a line between NEW and NATION to show where there should have been a space.

I also noticed that the commas seemed to be in weird places, but Merrell explains that in the blog entry, saying it was based on a copy written by Lincoln. He also mentions that it took him five years to get it up to snuff for Will Shortz. That’s humbling and encouraging to this novice constructor.

Questions or comments? Tweet me @crosswordkathy.

New York Times, Nov. 14

As I listen to the Giants-Cowboys game in the background, I can’t help but think … how many days until pitchers and catchers report? And it’s not because of Dallas’ dismal record.

The title of today’s puzzle — “Doubleheaders” — has put me in the mood for baseball. Not that the theme has anything to do with sports. The crossword by constructor Patrick Berry is about common phrases tweaked by the double-insertion of another word: “Factors to consider while trying to sleep on a campout?” are BEDROCK AND BED ROLL (23 Across).

Others: “What the marshal declared the moonshiner’s shed to be?” is FIREWATER FIRE HAZARD (30 Across); “Ohio State athlete who forgot his uniform?” is a BUCK NAKED BUCKEYE (48 Across);  ”C.E.O.’s tricycle?” is the BIG WHEEL OF BIG CHEESE (63 Across); “Wild Bill Hickok holding his aces and eights?” is DEADWOOD DEAD DUCK (81 Across); “Garbage receptacle that you and I insult?” is TRASH CAN WE TRASH TALK (97 Across); and “‘That high lonesome sound,’ as played by Atlantic crustaceans?” is BLUE CRAB BLUEGRASS (108 Across).

Glad for the reminder that the phrase is “buck naked” as opposed to the increasingly used “butt naked” — but I have to say I’m still not sure what the “buck” refers to. (All bucks are naked, I guess, but so are stags and does, right?) And though I got the Deadwood, S.D., reference in 81 Across, I wasn’t familiar with the “dead duck” part of the answer. Turns out “aces and eights” is the “Dead Man’s hand,” which I will be careful to avoid from now on. (My incurable solitaire habit makes that easy.)

But It Tastes Awful Dept.: “Fragrant cake” is a BAR OF SOAP (43 Down).

Am I The Only One Who Didn’t Know This? Dept.: “City where TV’s ‘Glee’ is set” is LIMA (35 Down), as in Ohio, although I had to fill in all the crossing words to get that.

Star Gazing Dept.: “Picture that shows you what’s up?” is a SKYSCAPE (88 Across), which I’ve never heard of but I guess makes sense.

Merry Olde England Dept.: “One who puts U in disfavor?” is a BRIT (62 Across).

Double-Entendres Dept.: “Round container” is a GUN (44 Down) while “Former union members?” are EXES (80 Down).

Alpha Dog Dept.: “Buggy versions, maybe” are BETAS (1 Across). Which reminds me that the Facebook Scrabble app I’ve been using for the past two years (since the dear departed Scrabulous was scrapped) is STILL labeled “beta.” How long can something be a beta version before it just … is?

Coming Full Circle Dept.: I know what mushroom spores are, but not so much the verb “to spoor” — which apparently means to track or trail wild game . Thus “Followed the game” is SPOORED (5 Down). “Game” had me thinking of sports — particularly the Giants-Cowboys matchup, which was sort of hard to “follow” at times because the power kept going out.

Questions or comments? Tweet me @crosswordkathy.

New York Times, Nov. 7

It’s another week of double entendres in the NYT crossword. Today’s puzzle by constructor Will Nediger takes common two-word phrases and turns them into three-word phrases by separating out the “leading article” — the letter “A.”

Thus “Trying to stay awake?” is RESISTING A REST (22 Across); “Pinned down?” is UNDER A TACK (36 Across); “Really enjoy going to carnivals?” is LOVE A FAIR (72 Across); “Straddling one’s opponent?” is UPON (or UP ON) A RIVAL (106 Across); “Frisking Dracula?” is CHECKING A COUNT (123 Across); “Mechanic’s task?” is EVENING A TIRE (16 Down); and “What the dissatisfied female giftee might do after Christmas?” is RETURN A DRESS (64 Down). The central down entry that crossed with LOVE A FAIR looked like it was going to be part of the theme, but alas was just a tease: GOOD AS NEW (“Handyman’s exclamation,” 45 Down).

I have to say I’m not crazy about this puzzle’s title. At work, we might say something was the “lead article” (or “lede article,” if you want to get technical) when talking about a front-page newspaper story. But “leading article”? Not so much. Maybe Will Shortz should have done something with the fact that each theme entry also happened to drop a doubled letter … maybe “Drop Drill”? Or would only people from California get that one? (That was what the earthquake drills were called at school when I was growing up in L.A.)

Strange But True Dept.: “Unpopular baby name” is ADOLF (108 Down). My colleagues in New Jersey have been following the saga of one boy who indeed was named Adolf … Adolf Hitler Campbell.

Myth of Mythology Dept.: I love Greek mythology — just love it. Devoured it in junior high school English class. But I have yet to hear anyone in casual conversation call a handsome guy as an ADONIS (“Good-looker,” 48 Down). That’s the real myth — that people still use that reference.

Kojak Dept.: “Oscar-nominated actor with the given name Aristotelis” is SAVALAS (1 Across), as in “Kojak” star Telly Savalas. Though I knew Savalas must have had work before “Kojak,” I never knew he received an Academy Award nomination for supporting actor in 1962′s “Birdman of Alcatraz.” He lost to Ed Begley for “Sweet Bird of Youth.”

How Many Reeves Are There In Show Biz? Dept.: I knew about the bizarre name connection between “Superman” stars George Reeves and Christopher Reeve, but who knew there was another hero-actor in the club? “Steve who played the title role of Hercules in a 1959 film” is also REEVES (21 Across). And he was the highest paid actor in Europe at one point, if you believe Wikipedia. He also has his own fan club.

Questions or comments? Tweet me @crosswordkathy.