New York Times, March 7

Order in the court! Or, rather, order in the grid!

That’s the command for this week’s puzzle, in which common phrases are tweaked by anagramming one word — and the letters in the anagram are in alphabetical order, from A TO Z (120 Down, “The works … or how each set of circled letters in this puzzle is arranged”).

So “Alex Trebek?” (69 Across) is THE HINT MAN, instead of “The Thin Man,” although surely he is the latter as well; a “Slogan encouraging binge drinking?” (26 Across) is HOPS TIL YOU DROP, sted SHOP; “What spectators high up in Ashe Stadium see?” (42 Across) is TENNIS BELOW, sted ELBOW; a “Tutorial on becoming a resident manager?” (45 Across) is SUPER DEMO, sted DOME; “Eco-friendly computers from Taiwan?” (73 Across) are GREEN ACERS, sted ACRES; “Nashville neurosis?” (98 Across) is OPRY MANIA, sted PYRO; a “Teakettle’s sound?” (101 Across) is a FLOW WHISTLE, sted WOLF; and a “Clueless emcee?” (117 Across) is A HOST IN THE DARK, sted SHOT.

Clues of note: After the devastation in Haiti and Chile, it took me way too long to figure out that 5 Down, “Like some plates,” had nothing to do with dinnerware but everything to do with earthquakes — TECTONIC; and Will Shortz & Co. continue an impressive string of 21st-century hints by using a modern TV show to clue 125 Across (“Daniel’s mother on ‘Lost‘”) instead of a particularly bratty (but terribly dated) resident of The Plaza — ELOISE.

Questions or comments? Twitter me @crosswordkathy

New York Times, Feb. 28

Blame Canada!

Hard to focus on crosswords after that hockey game, but I’ll give it a shot.

Today’s title was pretty much a giveaway, implying that the theme answers would be common phrases with an extra “E” in them. It ended up being a slight twist on that — instead of adding an E, they substituted it: A “Buck’s candid conversation opener?” is FRANKLY MY DEER (15 Down); a “Bit of advice when packing anglers’ lunches?” is REEL MEN DON’T EAT QUICHE (103 Down); a “Dating service in a northern German city?” is HAMBURGER MEET; to “Summer next door to the nudist camp?” is — ewww! — PEEK SEASON (55 Across); “The point when Fido’s master starts walking?” is A TIME TO HEEL (90 Across); “What a pursued perp might do?” is FLEE COLLAR (71 Across); and, in what I thought a rather weak one, an “Item at a golf boutique” is an AROMATIC TEE (36 Across).

Lastly, I just got back from a honeymoon two months ago and yet that clue — 22 Across, “Inappropriate on a honeymoon?” — stumped me the longest. Not for the faint of heart? Meek of heart? Oh, geez. NOT FOR THE WEEK OF HEART. (I was even gone a week, too!)

Of note: 96 Across, “City near Bethlehem” — EASTON — is a Pennsylvania reference, not a Biblical one. Easton, a couple hours north of Philadelphia on the Delaware River, is the home of champion boxer Larry Holmes (and the site of major flooding a few summers ago, which I was sent to cover). CAMELEERS (87 Across “Desert drivers”) is not a word I’ve ever come across, while SCALERS (56 Down, “Dental hygienists, at times”) is not something I’ve ever associated with dental hygienists. Is it because I’ve never had a cavity?

A few more: 100 Down, “Prefix with mom” — OCTO — gets major points for currency. I’ve never thought of a “Scoundrel” as a SO AND SO (44 Down), but I guess in mixed company that would work. And rare is the day that it’s Pia’s last name, not her first, that makes a grid — ZADORA (61 Across, “‘Butterfly’ actress, 1981″)

Finally, what a great quote: “Imitation is the sincerest form of television” (40 Across). The speaker? FRED ALLEN.

Questions or comments? Twitter me @crosswordkathy

New York Times, Feb. 21

Hear ye, hear ye! This week’s puzzle is an audible salute to U.S. presidents, ostensibly because tomorrow is someone’s birthday … Washington? Lincoln? Not really sure. All I know is that the holiday was last Monday, and that last Sunday’s grid was dedicated to Valentine’s Day — love apparently trumps politics in puzzledom.

The key this week was to solve a string of four or five clues within a clue, and then say the combined answer out loud until you can hear the name of a UNITED STATES PRESIDENT (9 Down, “What you’ll get if you read aloud 23-, 44-, 67-, 86- or 113-Across).

So 23 Across,”Anatomical pouch / Run on TV / Consume / Feel sick / Oral history,” is Zachary Taylor (SAC AIR EAT AIL LORE); 44 Across, “Christmas season / Greet a villain / Speak aloud / Query / Monthly payment,” is Ulysses S. Grant (YULE HISS SAY ASK RENT); 67 Across, “Least smart / Kitchen worker / Towel word / ___ Fein,” is Thomas Jefferson (DUMBEST CHEF HERS SINN); 86 Across, “Trash / Victories / “Get it?” / Do some math / Runs smoothly,” is John Quincy Adams (JUNK WINS SEE ADD HUMS); and 113 Across, “Most shaggy / Hotel offering / Actress Goldie,” is Harry S. Truman (HAIRIEST ROOM HAWN).

I’m not sure how Jefferson would feel about DUMBEST as a homonym for “Thomas”; in that same answer, I’m pretty sure the SINN — which is ostensibly the “son” sound in Jefferson — is actually pronounced “shin” in Ireland. But Jefferson has been immortalized in so many other ways — he’s already got his face on the NICKEL (30 Down) — I don’t think he’d quibble.

There were several other presidential clues: 6 Down, “‘I cannot tell a ___’” — LIE; 54 Across, “‘___ and Prosperity’ (Eisenhower slogan) — PEACE; 120 Across, “‘My ___’ (Clinton autobiography)” — LIFE; 86 Down, “Birth mo. for Coolidge, Ford and G.W. Bush” — JUL; and 103 Down, “The ‘A’ of James A. Garfield” — ABRAM.

Questions or comments? Twitter me @crosswordkathy

New York Times, Feb. 14

Sorry for the late post; I’m on CST today. That’s actually relevant to the love-themed puzzle since, well, I’m visiting my husband at our lovely Midwest pied-a-terre. He is teaching this semester at the University of Missouri, and let me tell you there is no place like Columbia in February. That’s amore for you.

At least it has less snow than Philadelphia.

Anyway … I guess the crossword theme is to be expected, seeing as how it’s Valentine’s Day: WHAT IS LOVE? (23 Across, “1993 dance hit, and a question answered seven times in this puzzle.”)

Though I deduced the answer almost immediately, with the help of some crossing words, I’m embarrassed to say that I couldn’t hear the song in my head. I know the bopping Howard Jones song “What Is Love?” circa 1984-ish, but had to look up the 1993 version … and found a YouTube video by Haddaway. Huh? Haddaway? Never. Heard. Of. Him. Then I hit “play” on the video and instantly recognized the opening verse — wasn’t that the song Chris Kattan and Kevin Nealon mocked on SNL and in “A Night at the Roxbury”? My only excuse, I guess, is that 1993 was in the middle of my alternative radio days (WFNX in Boston). But still — Haddaway? Really? Wow. Did anyone else know who sang that? Or is he the one-hit wonder question that stumps everyone?

So what is love? The answers are BLIND (10 Across, Shakespeare); FRIENDSHIP SET TO MUSIC (32 Across, Joseph Campbell); THE BEAUTY OF THE SOUL (52 Across, St. Augustine); SHARING YOUR POPCORN (78 Across, Charles Schulz); A MANY-SPLENDORED THING (102 Across, Frank Sinatra); ALL YOU NEED (114 Across, the Beatles); and A ROSE (123 Across, Neil Young). I solved them all, but had to look up a bio on Joseph Campbell — apparently he was an American mythologist. The Charles Schulz reference made me smile; Snoopy making popcorn for Charlie Brown’s Thanksgiving is one of those priceless “Peanuts” moments that is nothing short of poignant.

As for the layout, I’m a little surprised the black squares aren’t in the shape of a heart or something similarly Cupidesque. Even the central words in the grid have nothing to do with the love-y theme: 68 Across, “Lynn Fontanne and her husband,” is LUNTS, while 55 Down, “Kind of sax,” is TENOR.

Other clues that caught my eye: 5 Down, “Hall of ‘Coming to America’” — if this is how ARSENIO is best known, well, geez; 15 Down, “Assignations, slangily” — now I know a fancy word for HOOKUPS; and, just as I was stunned by the “Avatar” reference in a puzzle a couple of weeks ago, I’m again surprised at the uber-current reference to another Oscar-nominated movie in 106 Down, “Carl’s lifelong companion in ‘Up’ — ELLIE. Maybe I should see it.

Questions or comments? Twitter me @crosswordkathy

New York Times, Feb. 7

What better prep for tonight’s Saints-Colts championship than a pigskin-themed themed crossword?

This puzzle kicks off (one of the few terms NOT found in the grid) with a FIRST DOWN in the upper left quadrant (23 Across, “The football fan is fingering the buttons of the remote … he pushes the _____ and the game is on!”) and finishes with a TOUCH DOWN in the lower right (141 Across, “His posterior goes all the way back into the chair — ______!”)

In between, this fictional fan makes a SUPER BOWL of snack food (28 Across, “He’s prepared a _____ of popcorn for himself …”), orders a pizza with money he found IN THE POCKET (48 Across, “Now he remembers setting $10 aside for pizza — he searches his jacket and finds it ____”) and then has to find a SUBSTITUTION for one of his toppings (73 Across, “The pizzeria’s out of mushrooms, though, so he’ll need to make a _____”). He’ll be enjoying it with some DRAFT PICKS (31 Across, “… and he’s got Budweiser and Michelob on tap — excellent _____!”)

He tries to watch TV despite his wife’s BLOCKING the view (96 Across, “He’s looking for an opening, but she’s doing a tremendous job of ____.”) And, at long last, the pizza arrives; I do hope the poor delivery guy got a tip, because that’s not what 115 Across implies: “The pizza is $9.75 … he hands the $10 off to the boy and waits for the ______” — QUARTER BACK.

Other terms include LATE CALL (50 Across), COVERAGE (67 Across), SCREEN PASSES (89 Across), YARD LINE (113 Across), ONSIDE KICK (132 Across) and RECEPTION (137 Across).

And while Colts quarterback Peyton Manning will get all the air time tonight, it’s his brother ELI (54 Across, “N.F.L.’er Manning) who gets the nod in this grid(iron).

Kudos to constructor Patrick Berry for a massive puzzle — nearly 300 clues! I’ll end this (goal)post with one non-football entry that gives a shout-out to us beleaguered Eagles fans: 4 Across, “World capital once called Philadelphia” — AMMAN. Huh. Wonder if Billy Penn knew that.

Questions or comments? Twitter me @crosswordkathy