Themeless Saturday by Jeffrey Wechsler
 |
| Jeffrey is second from the left in this picture |
Gary,
It’s very nice to hear from you.
Puzzle editors have a free hand in rewriting clues, and sometimes might change up to half of them in a puzzle. I see the changes as not only a matter of trying to improve clarity and accuracy, and a way to modify the overall difficulty of a puzzle, but also an occasion for puzzle editors to exercise their own creativity. Sometimes I appreciate the changes, sometimes not. In this puzzle, several clue changes can demonstrate the range of alterations.
6-Down is an interesting place to start. Husker Gary wrote to me that it took a long time for him to figure it out. My clue was certainly “meta (Husker - self-referential)”, but remarkably, Rich substituted [Number before Number], a different “meta” clue! Mine was [Number to the left], meaning that SIX was to the left of the clue. Both clues are fine, in my opinion. Elsewhere, Rich left in one “meta” clue, and removed another. Rich used 62-Across: [With “fix”, it describes itself] for PRE. He changed the clue at 1-Across, which was [Its symbol is described by 2-Down’s answer]. 2-Down is ONE K, and a single letter K is the chemical symbol for POTASSIUM. Perhaps that was too much “meta” for one puzzle, especially at 1-Across.
Clue changes can make answers easier or harder to discover. Changing the clue at 41-Across to [Pram occupant’s diaper], from the original [Apparel for a pram occupant], made NAPPY much more obvious. On the other hand, I think that 61-Across’s [1963 Johnny Thunder hit] is much harder than the original [Example of aerial derring-do] for LOOP DE LOOP.
It’s always gratifying when a clue that one considers rather clever is maintained, such as [Request before reaching 21?] for HIT ME AGAIN at 11-Down. Alternatively, an editor may consider a clue too cutesy, which I think happened at 49-Across, when Rich used a straightforward clue defining TITANIA, when I had offered [One whose emotions hit Bottom?]. In “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, Titania is affected by a love potion, causing her to fall in love with the character Nick Bottom. Now, I like this clue very much, but I can understand that Rich might have thought “Enough!”. As many LA Times regular solvers might have noticed, I try to insert a Shakespeare quote (usually as a fill-in-the-blank) or reference into each puzzle I submit. Sometimes they are used, sometimes they are not. In this puzzle, I received a double whammy. Besides the loss of the Bottom clue, I had a Shakespeare quote clue at 18-Down: [The air bites shrewdly; __ very cold”: Hamlet], for IT IS. Rich changed that to the suffix ITIS.
Sincerely,
Jeffrey
14. Lacking taste, say: UNARTISTIC - I had to replace INARTISTIC
16. Yul's "Solomon and Sheba" co-star: GINA - Rotten Tomatoes indicated it lacked 19. Ability: SKILL and 30. Skills: COMPETENCE.
17. Where fajitas may be seen: TEX-MEX MENU.
18. Senior suffix: ITIS - Prospective graduates last spring did not get to experience SENIORITIS in person
20. Breaks down: SOBS.
22. Big extinct bird: MOA.
23. "Frozen" snowman: OLAF.
26. Chem lab substance: REAGENT.
28. Casino option: BACCARAT - James Bond playing BACCARAT against Emilio Largo in Thunderball. The dealer holds a card on the palette.
32. Exercise apparel: SWEATS - My standard outfit these days
33. Out of control: AMOK.
34. Increase: GROW.
36. Fungal rye disease: ERGOT.
38. Attack, as with questions: BOMBARD.
40. Org. monitoring gas prices: AAA.
41. Pram occupant's diaper: NAPPY.
43. __ lily: Utah state flower: SEGO.
44. W.E.B. Du Bois' Tennessee alma mater: FISK.
45. Looks of contempt: SNEERS.
47. Maker of Contadina products: DEL MONTE - DEL MONTE acquired the brand in 1997
49. Shakespeare's fairy queen: TITANIA - From A Midsumer Night's Dream53. Wings with rooms: ELLS - My old school is building one on the last piece of ground they can use
55. __ fog: DENSE.
59. Outer layer: RIND.
61. 1963 Johnny Thunder hit: LOOP DE LOOP - Ah, a classic of my misspent yute! YouTube if you must.
65. "Where's everyone else?": YOU'RE ALONE
66. Originate: STEM - We are all trying to STEM the tide of the Corona virus
67. Like some eggs: FREE RANGE - Free at last!
Down:
1. With 31-Down, finalizes, in publishing: PUTS and 31. See 1-Down: TO BED.
2. Short race: ONE-K - .67 mile
3. Approach the gate, perhaps: TAXI.
4. Wrestling maneuver: ARM LOCK.
5. Blanche's sister, in a Williams play: STELLA
6. Number before Number?: SIX - 6. Number before Number?: SIX - SIX is the Number before the word Number in this "meta" clue. Wow, getting the fill here was pretty easy but making the connection took me a while!
7. Belief suffix: ISM.
8. Pickup cousins, briefly: UTES - A UTE being loaded into a pickup
11. Request before reaching 21?: HIT ME AGAIN - This chart tells you
12. Savory baked bread: ONION TOAST.
13. Hung in the balance: WAS AT STAKE - The game WAS AT STAKE when this smallest guy on the team walked onto the field
15. Dice, e.g.: CUBES.
21. Shortened a log: SAWED.
24. Ship that encountered Sirens: ARGO - Here the Sirens are calling to Jason
25. Rural spreads: FARMS - Here are some here in Dodge County Nebraska from the air
27. Switz. neighbor: GER - On our German tour, a cousin of mine met us in Kißlegg, GERmany and drove us to his (and my grandfather's) hometown of Heiden, Switzerland at 125 mph in a European Ford Escort
28. Campaigns rurally: BARNSTORMS - Before he landed in Paris in 1927, Charles Lindberg did this kind of BARNSTORMING
29. "That was so stupid of me!": AM I AN IDIOT.
38. Talking Heads lead singer David: BYRNE - Why he left the group
39. Cone-like candy: ROLO.
42. Little veggie: PEA.
44. Patti Austin album dedicated to a legendary jazz vocalist: FOR ELLA - Her musical 52. Dedicatory lines: ODE to Ella
46. Frivolous: SILLY.
48. Piercing locale, perhaps: MIDEAR.
50. Disinterested: ALOOF.
54. Whiskey __: SOUR.
56. Palindromic time: NOON - You movie buffs will know this is the time Will Kane had to meet Frank Miller and his gang. Frankie Laine's fabulous theme song
57. Grammy honoree: SONG - The High Noon theme song was a 1952 Oscar awardee. The Grammy's started in 1958
58. Duel tool: EPEE.
60. Mil. decoration: DSM - Eddie Rickenbacker won 8 Distinguished Service Medals
62. With "fix," it describes itself: PRE - Another fun clue. PRE is a PREFIX for the word PREFIX
63. Land's end?: DEE - The end of the word LAND not terra incognita
Comments?
