The central answer of today's Los Angeles Times crossword by C.C. Burnikel is SECRETADMIRER, for "Anonymous writer, maybe." The phrase is also "a hint to the devotee" hidden in the four long answers: ENDOFANERA, ROOFANTENNA, GOLFANALYST and HALFANHOUR each contains the word FAN. But ENDOFANERA was clued with "Presidency's last days, e.g." Can a term of four or eight years really be considered an "era"? If so, then I spent four eras in school.
C.C. Burnikel was born in Xi'An, China, moved to the United States in 2001 and began creating crossword puzzles in 2010. Today's Daily News crossword is by Zhouqin Burnikel. Same person---C.C. is a pseudonym. There are four brand names in today's puzzle but this time there is a good reason: They form a theme. "Royal topper" is CROWN, and a crown is part of the logos of ROLEX, BUDWEISER, HALLMARKCARDS and the LOSANGELESKINGS.
"Thieves" is the clue for STEALS. The Merriam-Webster dictionary says "thieve" is a verb meaning "steal, rob." Because the verb is not identified as "transitive" or "intransitive," I assume "thieve" can be used either way.....but if someone steals a valuable painting, can it also be said that he "thieves" it? When I saw the clue "Thieves," I naturally took it as a noun. I can't recall any examples of the word being used as a verb. Merriam-Webster says the verb dates from "before 12th century." Is "thieve" ever used as a verb in the 21st century?
Once again, the Universal crossword repeats a word in each of three phrases: GOLIKECLOCKWORK, WORKAGAINSTTIME and WORKSLIKEACHARM. The crossword also includes OBOE, a word that appears in two or three puzzles every week. Wouldn't it be a refreshing change to see XYLOPHONE, FLUGELHORN or GLOCKENSPIEL instead? That's an idea for a crossword creator to "play" around with.
