Yes, th' April 3rd crosswords. As I began filling in the grid of today's
Los Angeles Times crossword by Gail Grabowski, it took me a while to figure out the theme. The puzzle's title, "This Is In," doesn't make any sense. The theme answers are familiar phrases which are missing a "th":
Bud who's been fired? CANNEDBRO (canned broth)
Search online about auditory issues? GOOGLEEAR (Google Earth)
GEICO gecko's financial counterpart? CREDITCARDEFT (credit card theft)
Editor's marks in the margin? LATERALINKING (lateral thinking)
Streams stocked with elongated fish? GARBROOKS (Garth Brooks)
Part of a project to recycle golf accessories? TEEGRINDING (teeth grinding)
One fastidious about table manners? EATERCRITIC (theater critic)
Consequence of a heist injury? ROBBINGPAIN (throbbing pain)
Displeased reaction to election turnout? VOTINGBOO (voting booth)
"This Is In"? Sorry, I still don't understand the title. "Th Is Out" would have been a dumb title but at least it would have been logical.
"Twistable snack" is OREO. That word seems to appear in almost
every Sunday crossword. I'm sure Nabisco appreciates all the free advertising.
"___ polloi" is HOI. "Hoi polloi" comes from the Greek
οἱ πολλοί, which means "the many" or "the majority." In English, the term has taken on a negative connotation and is usually used as a derogatory reference to the working class or the so-called "common people." Since "hoi polloi" means "the many," the phrase "
the hoi polloi" is redundant. Yes, just like "ATM machine" and "PIN number".....or "free gift."
Today's
New York Times crossword is by Natan Last, who interned under
Times puzzle editor Will Shortz while attending Brown University. Titled "Jumping To Conclusions," this crossword was very challenging.....and very confusing. "Heard but disregarded" is the two-part answer INONEEARAND/OUTTHEOTHER. The completed grid includes EAR in each of six spaces containing a circle. EAR is part of six vertical words such as FEARED and CLEARING. The six theme answers are horizontal. Among them are WHEREAREMYKEYS ("Common query from one about to leave the house") and IHAVEARIGHTTOKNOW ("Indignant reply when someone withholds information").
Now, you may think this crossword doesn't sound all that challenging. But wait -- there's more! Each theme answer occupies portions of two lines. For example, the two abovementioned phrases appear in the grid as:
WHER/EAR/IGHTOKNOW
IHAVE/EAR/EMYKEYS
I used slashes to designate the single squares containing EAR. So the phrase WHEREAREMYKEYS literally goes in one "ear" and out the other, as does the phrase IHAVEARIGHTTOKNOW. Each phrase, as the puzzle's title suggests, jumps to its conclusion. Whew! This puzzle was much too confusing for my taste. Perhaps it can be appreciated only by members of Mensa International.
"___ rima, meter of Dante's
Divine Comedy" is TERZA. Terza rima ("third rhyme") is a stanza form created by 13th-century poet Dante Alighieri. Each stanza of a terza rima poem contains three lines of 11 syllables each. In the first stanza, the first and third lines rhyme. The first and third lines of the
second stanza rhyme with the middle line of the
first stanza, and so on, so the rhyme scheme is ABA, BCB, CDC, DED, et cetera.
https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/text/terza-rimaThe terza rima stanza form is much more easy to understand than today's confusing "in one ear and out the other" puzzle answers. I wonder if Dante ever created any crossword puzzles.
