Monday, May 7, 2012 David Steinberg

Theme: Monday, Monday - Yes, yes, six fun things to say.

19A. Capital of American Samoa : PAGO PAGO. Atlas image.

51A. South Pacific resort island : BORA BORA. Another Atlas image.

9D. Hawaiian food fish : MAHI MAHI. Image, the way I like to see it.

10D. "Va-va-voom!" : "HUBBA HUBBA!". An Americanism from WW II, a shout in appreciation of a pretty girl. Unknown origin.

27D. Washington city famous for sweet onions : WALLA WALLA. Map.

37D. Disease caused by vitamin B deficiency : BERIBERI. From Sinhalese, by reduplication from beri - weakness. Sinhalese - of or pertaining to Sri Lanka. The only one word entry.

ArgyleArgyle here. A good offering from our wunderkind constructor. Interview. Solid entries, with a few words that if you don't know already, how did you get this far. Emil Jannings, I'm looking at you.

Across:

1. Poi maker's need : TARO

5. Sudden twitch : SPASM

10. "Rumour __ It": Adele song : HAS

13. Muffin ingredient : BRAN

14. Knee-to-ankle bone : TIBIA

15. Free of contaminants : PURE

16. Email folder : SENT

17. Old Testament patriarch : ENOCH

18. New York City theater award : OBIE

21. Weather map air pressure line : ISOBAR

23. Green and Gore : ALs

24. Nebraska city : OMAHA

25. Lumberjacks, often : SAWERS

29. With 43-Across, shrinking Asian lake : ARAL

30. Oft-replaced joint : HIP

33. Disneyland shuttles : TRAMS

34. Train station posting : SCHEDULE

36. Wrinkly citrus fruit : UGLI

37. Persian faith that promotes spiritual unity : BAHÁ'Í

39. Kinda sorta : A BIT

40. Archer's target : BULL'S EYE. What's the consensus on "The Hunger Games".

42. Chance for a hit : AT BAT

43. See 29-Across : SEA

44. Greek god of war : ARES

45. "__ as she goes" : STEADY

46. Collaborative websites : WIKI's. The base word is from Hawaiian.

48. One may be SWAK : LTR. (letter)

49. Like the darkest maple syrups : GRADE B. Link. Darker = more flavor.

56. Pack of quarters, e.g. : ROLL

57. Virtuosic piano work : ETUDE. I would think there are some that aren't virtuosic; it's just we don't hear about them (and a good thing).

59. Say and mean : AVER

60. Competent : ABLE

61. Ruffles chip feature : RIDGE

62. Lightsaber wielder : JEDI

63. Arthur of "Maude" : BEA. Don't get her ruffled.

64. Magnified map detail : INSET

65. Yankee slugger, to fans : A-ROD

Down:

1. Cookbook abbr. : TBSP

2. Geometric calculation : AREA

3. Pushed the doorbell : RANG

4. Not snowed by : ONTO

5. Makes off with : STEALS

6. Worrisome engine sounds : PINGS. From using too low a grade of gas or the timing is off.

7. Peek ending : ABOO

8. Incite to pounce (on) : SIC. Oh, the [sic] is pronounced seek; I did not know that. This "sic" is pronounced sick even though it came from 'seek'.

11. Opera showstopper : ARIA

12. Futurist : SEER

15. Bear who loves "hunny" : POOH (Winnie)

20. Most golfers' goals : PARS

22. Red tag event : SALE

24. Black-and-white ocean predator : ORCA

25. Hard pencils to sharpen : STUBS

26. Debate : ARGUE

28. Oscar winner Jannings : EMIL. But what else do you know about him? Link.

29. Fire remnants : ASHES

31. Homer epic : ILIAD

32. Not worth the bother : PETTY

35. Go out with : DATE

38. Roll call replies : AYEs

41. Drink with sashimi : SAKE. Sashimi - raw fish cut into very thin slices.

42. Gillette razor : ATRA

45. Space between curbs : STREET

47. Just sitting there : IDLE

48. Ski resort building : LODGE

49. Snatch : GRAB

50. Judge Judy's garb : ROBE

51. Blossoms-to-be : BUDS

52. Cabo's peninsula : BAJA. Cabo San Lucas together with San José Del Cabo is known as Los Cabos. Capo means cape. Map

53. So last year, as a fad : OVER

54. Start again : REDO

55. Desertlike : ARID

58. __ Pan Alley : TIN

Answer grid.

Argyle

Interview with David Steinberg

David Steinberg made his NY Times debut last June when he was only 14 years old, making him the second youngest constructor of the Will Shortz era, according to Jim Horne's wonderful Xword Info. He looks so sweet!

Today is only our second puzzle by David. But with his "picky" attitude, I'm sure we'll be entertained and challenged by many quality puzzles from him in the future.

First of all, thanks for putting HARMON (46D) in the grid. I'm curious, is "Long time Tiger Woods coach Butch __" your original clue? Harmon Killebrew is my all-time favorite.

You're welcome--in fact, I wasn't sure whether HARMON was famous enough when I originally decided to use it as an entry in my puzzle, since CRUCIVERB.com showed that it had only appeared three times in previous crosswords. So I asked my dad, who's a big sports fan and avid TV watcher, and he assured me that both Harmon Killebrew and Mark Harmon were very well-known. So, to answer your question, my original clue was "'NCIS' star Mark," because it seemed more contemporary. But I think Rich Norris made the clue better, more original, and a bit more Tuesday-ish.

How did this ABC embed idea come to you? What were the other theme entries you also considered?

I don't remember exactly how the idea came to me--I often think of crossword ideas at random times (at the dinner table, on the way home from school, etc.). The original version of this puzzle had the entry STAB CAESAR in it. Rich Norris initially rejected the puzzle--he liked the theme but thought STAB CAESAR was too contrived. So I wrote him back and suggested a few replacements, including CAB COMPANY, TAB CONTROL, TAB COLLARS, and DRAB COLORS. He liked CAB COMPANY and said he'd be interested in seeing a revision. I had to redo the whole grid because I couldn't come up with a good entry for ??Y?B. And that's how this puzzle came to be!

You're only 15 years old and already had 5 puzzles published by the NY Times and 2 by the LA Times. What prompted you to make your first puzzle?

I decided to try my hand at constructing crosswords after watching Merl Reagle make the process seem so amazingly simple in the documentary Wordplay. I figured that if Merl Reagle could make a puzzle so quickly, I might be able to make one too (though obviously a lot more slowly!). I made my first 10 crosswords by hand on graph paper when I was 12 and 13 because I thought using computer software was cheating. I then transferred them into grids I'd made in Microsoft Excel. It was a really complicated system, especially when I had to make changes. And putting the numbers in the Excel squares was really hard. Eventually I realized that most other constructors used computer software and that that wasn't cheating, so I bought Crossword Compiler. Looking back on my hand-constructed puzzles, I now realize they had a lot of flaws, which Will Shortz helpfully pointed out. After I switched to Crossword Compiler, I found the whole construction process a lot easier and more accessible. The hand construction did help me learn how to build my own grids, though, which I think is very valuable. All of this is how I eventually ended up where I am now!

Which part do you normally spend the most time on in the construction process: theme brainstorming, gridding or cluing?

I definitely spend the most time filling the grids--I'm very picky about what I put into my fills. I've gotten a lot pickier over time as I've seen more puzzles and read the critiques on the blogs, which make pretty clear what solvers like and what they don't. Because I am so picky, filling can take me several hours. But I think it's worth it--entries like TOM THUMB and SNOBBERY are more interesting than ones like ESNE and ANOA. As for cluing, I spend a lot of time trying to make my clues as original and clever as possible while sticking to the day of the week I'm aiming for.

What puzzles do you solve every day and which constructors constantly inspire you?

I solve the New York Times crossword every day, often the minute it's up online; the Los Angeles Times crossword in the newspaper, which we get every day (and the Sunday Los Angeles Times puzzle online or printed out); Merl Reagle's puzzle every Sunday; and the Newsday crossword in a local paper we get here. In addition, I recently subscribed to Fireball and try to solve those puzzles (often unsuccessfully--they're really hard!) every week. One constructor who constantly inspires me is Merl Reagle--it amazes me how he puts out a top-quality Sunday crossword every week! I also really admire the themeless puzzles by Barry Silk, Joe Krozel, and David Quarfoot. Kevin Der's rebuses are amazing, and Andrea Carla Michaels's early-week puzzles are always fun too.

Besides crosswords, what are your other interests?

Crosswords take up most of my life outside of school! But I'm also interested in computer science and table tennis. When I'm not working on crosswords for submission or doing homework for school, I run a custom crossword business www.customcrossword.com. I've also donated custom crosswords to help good causes.

Tuesday, April 10, 2012 David Steinberg

Theme: Jackson Five hit song(1970) Clip (3:31) - ABC spans each theme answer.

17A. It arranges pickups : CAB COMPANY

25A. Emir : ARAB CHIEF

36A. Simple ... or a hint to the hidden puzzle theme in 17-, 25-, 50- and 59-Across : AS EASY AS ABC

50A. Maryland seafood fare : CRAB CAKES

59A. Sit-up relatives : AB CRUNCHES

Argyle One here. David provided us with a test of general knowledge today with entries gleaned from all over the place and all ages.

Across:

1. Dark, to a poet : EBON

5. Tony who played a sitcom 17-Across employee : DANZA. He was in "Taxi".

10. Sitters' charges : TOTS

14. Lee with frozen desserts : SARA

15. Barkley who served under 41-Across : ALBEN. Served as Vice-President to 41A. FDR's successor : HST. Harry Truman. We've had him before but you can be forgiven if you don't remember him.

16. "... thunder, lightning, __ rain?": "Macbeth" : OR IN. Act 1, Scene 1 "When shall we three meet again? In ..." "When the hurly-burly’s done, When the battle’s lost and won."

19. Modest dress : MIDI

20. Like a crowd in awe : HUSHED

21. End-of-week exclamation : "TGIF!"

22. Vagrants : HOBOs

28. Mocedades hit whose title means "you are" : "ERES TU"

30. Golf units : ROUNDS

31. Slippery swimmer : EEL

32. How Dennis Eckersley pitched : SIDEARM. No, he didn't pitch wearing a side arm.

40. Desexes : NEUTERS

44. Outbursts that provoke blessings : ACHOOs

47. Harley alternative : YAMAHA

54. The Lusitania, e.g. : LINER. On May 7, 1915, the Lusitania, the British passenger ship, was sunk by a German U-boat off the Irish coast.

55. Sidewalk border : CURB

56. Guitarist, slangily : AXEMAN

58. Carlisle's wife in "Twilight" : ESME. Portrayed by Elizabeth Reaser. The loving couple.

63. It may be barred or bolted : DOOR. It may be barred by Katy.

64. Songs for two : DUETS

65. English aristocrat : EARL

66. __, meeny ... : EENY

67. Muslim god : ALLAH

68. June 6, 1944 : D-DAY

Down:

1. Key to the left of F1 : ESC

2. Sheepish reply? : "BAA". Shout out to WH? Or would that be a "bleat out"?

3. Heavenly body : ORB

4. Cheese-topped snacks : NACHOS

5. Electricity generators : DAMS. Oh please, the dams don't do anything except hold back water. It's like saying dams sawed wood or ground grain.

6. ___-Bits: cereal : ALPHA. Cereal for cruciverbalists.

7. Pro hoopster : NBAer

8. "The Prisoner of __" : ZENDA. An adventure novel by Anthony Hope, published in 1894.

9. Vague quantity : ANY

10. Tiny fairy tale hero : TOM THUMB. OK, give us another Tom Thumb but not one that's already been given. I'll start.

11. Starting point : ORIGIN

12. Cleaned (up) : TIDIED

13. Searches like a detection dog : SNIFFS

18. Give the boot : OUST

22. Donkey syllable : HEE - haw.

23. Cinnabar or magnetite : ORE

24. Lugosi of "Dracula" : BELA

26. Having a lot of nerve : BRASSY

27. Chef Cat __ : CORA. She is featured as an "Iron Chef" on the Food Network.

29. Patriotic Olympics chant : "USA!, USA!"

33. Believer's suffix : IST

34. Gray hair disguiser : DYE

35. Place for a ring : EAR

37. Elitism : SNOBBERY

38. Fed. anti-discrimination org. : EEOC. (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission)

39. Biggers's detective : CHAN. Earl Derr Biggers (1884 – 1933)

42. 54-Across pronoun : SHE

43. Pit goo : TAR. Most famous are the Rancho La Brea Tar Pits in the heart of Los Angeles.

44. Acquiesce : ACCEDE

45. Defoe title surname : CRUSOE. (Robinson)

46. Longtime Tiger Woods coach Butch __ : HARMON. Master's tie-in?

48. Astronaut Shepard : ALAN

49. Chopped, as garlic : MINCED

51. Afghan capital : KABUL. Today's geography lesson. Map.

52. Stand out in a field : EXCEL

53. Mattress giant : SERTA

57. Sled dog command : MUSH

59. Drillers' org. : ADA. (American Dental Association)

60. "I've been __!" : HAD

61. Important time : ERA

62. Surreptitious : SLY

Answer grid.

Argyle

Friday, February 3, 2012, David Steinberg

Theme: IN RE FRIDAY. The letters RE are placed In front of the second word of phrases in the language, creating a new and scintillating expression. This puzzle appears to be the LAT debut of the NYT wunderkid DAVID STEIN-BERG who while in middle school at 14, had his first NYT puzzle published. I am so impressed by this and his other work, considering his age and varied knowledge. The theme is simple, but he packed lots of letter 2 11's, 2 13's and the grid-spanning middle. Two of the theme fill are very witty and the puzzle is not filled with teenage trivia, like rappers or JWOW. Let's get to work.

17A. Communications problem?: PHONE RECALL. Like some iPhones.

20A. Summary of a shrinking mass? POLAR ICE RECAP. The Polar Ice Cap revisited.

36A. Title for the longest bridge?: EXTENSION RECORD. I hope you all plugged into the theme by this point.

50A. Construction site order?: RAISE THE REBAR. We all remember the use of rebar to reinforce.

57A. Hardly the award for Chernobyl?: BEST REACTOR. Sick nuclear disaster humor; I like this kid.

So now we examine the rest of his effort.

Across:

1. Pre-Columbian Indians: INCAS. Were all up and down the west coast of South America, if you want to know more, read this LINK.

6. Went headfirst, maybe: SLID. Pete Rose comes to mind.

10. Persian, for one: CAT. Pretty but they shed and destroy those with dander allergies.

13. Wild weather: STORM. My favorite LINK.(2:14)

14. Heavy reading: TOMES. The other half of pithy from earlier this week.

16. Suffix with Seattle: ITE. Our constructor is from Washington State.

19. Sleep acronym: REM. Rapid Eye Movement. What happens when you dream.

22. Capital of Colorado?: CEE. The letter which is capitalized. Not capital.

24. T designation: LGE. T shirt size.

25. Marlin's son, in a 2003 film: NEMO. Marlin, voiced by Albert Brooks, is Nemo's father and Coral is Nemo's mother. Both are clownfish.

26. Caused an insurrection: UPROSE. Hence uprising.

28. Court maneuver: PIVOT. Basketball court.

32. Jungle noise: ROAR. She is woman.

33. Characterize : DESCRIBE. A literal clue and fill.

40. Two-part answer: YES AND NO. Do you love this puzzle?

41. Vet: EX-GI. Great letter combo with fair clue.

42. Bangkok natives: THAIS. You heard of the ones who liked using string. The Thais that bind.

43. Pennsylvania home of Lafayette College: EASTON. More famous to me for the ASSASSIN.

45. Control: TAME. You can slow him down, but you cannot keep him down.

48. Well-chosen: APT. The In Re theme was well chosen for me.

49. Colorado native: UTE.

56. Signs of press conference uncertainty: UMS. Gee, ahh, you know...

60. Type of screen, briefly: LCD. Liquid Crystal Display. Not to be confused with LSD.(see 37D).

61. Put down: WRITE. C'mon put down your thoughts on paper and give them to me. But don't put me down when you do. Put me down for two tickets.

62. Prey catcher: TALON. Eagles Falcons, and not from the NFL.

63. "__-hoo! : YOO. The drink?

64. Marine: Abbr.: NAUT.ical.

65. City south of Florence: SIENA. Part of TUSCANY. Also San Gimigiano from Martha Grimes and Melrose Plant. With 4D. Florence's river ARNO. LINK

Down:

1. Co. for surfers: ISP. Internet Service Provider. web not water surfers.

2. Degree in math?: NTH. Soundth right to me.

3. Work together: COOPERATE. We Corner denizens try.

5. Is suspicious: SMELLS. Something smells rotten in Denmark. Our Will reference of the day.

6. Firewood measure: STERE. The old metric name for a cubic meter. In the US we do our cut wood in cords.

7. Activity centers : LOCI. Just Latin for Place..

8. Apple's G5, e.g.: iMAC. Any of you own one?

9. Take out: DELE. Before you get all nit and picky, this is a WORD, not an abbreviation.

10. Enchantress who lived on the island Aeaea: CIRCE. Which relates to 21D. Draws in: ENTICES. Do you all remember the SIRENS link with ELLE?

11. Starters: A-TEAM. When I had the ATE, I was confused trying to recall a two letter appetizer.

12. Presto, for one: TEMPO. JzB, can you teach all our choices?

15. 35mm camera initials: SLR.. single-lens reflex. The name derives from the reflection of the image.

18. Continue violently: RAGE. A dangerous thing.

22. Medicine, one would hope: CURE. Seldom the case, more likely to find something for you to take for the rest of your days.

23. Modeling aid: EPOXY. A strong glue, but Dennis and his hobby store can tell you more.

27. Agamemnon's avenger: ORESTES. My sons FIL and a great piece of MYTHOLOGY.

28. Lowly workers: PEONS. It is not true this word comes from describing the poor serfs who were outside the wall when the Lords and Ladies had to relieve themselves.

29. "This __ joke!": IS NO. I know nut I am trying hard to get there.

30. Taper?: VCR. You, the machine which tapes.

31. Its processing produces slag: ORE. Isn't slag a great word, and a new way to clue a cw staple.

33. Actress Conn: DIDI. A semi call out to our own FRENCHIE, Conn's character in GREASE.

34. Critter in a domed shell: BOX TURTLE.A North American species which like man, eats pretty much everything it can catch.

35. Cereal killer: ERGOT. Really fun clue to describe this disease that attacks plants, especially grains like Rye. It is the root of LSD, and may have created the Salem witch hysteria. If you want to know more you can go to this LINK, or maybe you want to try some LSD? 37D. "Forget it!": NAH.

38. "'Twas white then as the new-fa'en __": Alexander Anderson: SNA. Snow in the highlands. I miss CA and her poems, anyway AA wrote the classic CUDDLE DOON.

39. Thing to do in style: DINE. Bill G. has recounted many a fine meal here.

43. Foil alternative: EPEE. With the saber, the three fencing swords.

44. Diamond turns: AT BATS. Baseball diamond.

45. For real: TRULY.

46. Transmission repair franchise: AAMCO. Luckily for you all I could not find the double A M C O jingle.

47. Screw up: MIS DO. In Game of Thrones, people mislike, not dislike.

48. Stop on the Métro?: ARRET. Our French lesson of the day, the word just mean stop, but the accent aigu tells you it is French.

51. "Charlotte's Web" monogram: EBW. Elwyn Brooks White, who also wrote of Stuart Little and Elements of Style.

52. Beach flier: TERN. Relatives of the Gulls, but not this SONG (4:02).

53. Yu the Great's dynasty: HSIA. I defer to you C.C., as I thought his was the XIA dynasty. (From C.C.: Xia (Mandarin) and Hsia (Cantonese) are the same. Xia means "summer". Xia, Shang, Zhou, Qin, Han, Tang... order of Chinese dynasties. Hence my Mandarin name Zhou Qin, two of the consecutive dynasties whose capital was in Xi'An, where I grew up.)

54. Famous last words: ET TU. Brutus.

55. Berry used as a dietary supplement: ACAI. The miracle drug of the internet; if I were paid for every unwanted ad I received on this very blue berry...

58. Bass ending: OON. Our musical clue; not to be confused with the OBOE.

59. Protein-building polymer: RNA. Polymer is from the Greek POLY meaning many, MER parts; it is now associated with large molecules with repeating structure. Beyond that, ask our scientists.

Answer grid.

Well another Lemonade special in the books, it was fun, but a 15 year old? Why was I not doing this then? More winter in PA and early spring in WI? Have a great week all and welcome David; I know it must be past your bedtime, but we will talk in the morning.