Sun., 11/16 Merl Reagle

[Thomps2525]

You won't hear me complain about Mister magus taking a break today. He deserves a day of rest once in a while. I'll start the thread today. Exactly six years ago today, on November 16, 2008, puzzle creators Merl Reagle and Will Shortz appeared (in cartoon form) in an episode of The Simpsons titled "Homer & Lisa Exchange Cross Words." Lisa entered a crossword tournament and was angry when she discovered that Homer had bet against her.

Reagle's puzzle today is titled "Ode to Homer Simpson" and the 16 theme answers include FAT or BALD. Examples: GARIBALDI, IFATFIRST, FATHERLESS, HERBALDIET and ALECBALDWIN.

I'm glad that Reagle didn't include D'OH among the answers. Any true Laurel & Hardy fan knows that the expression "D'oh" originated not with Homer Simpson but with James Finlayson, who appeared in 33 Laurel & Hardy comedies.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Finlayson_(actor)

[Thomps2525]

Well, Mister magus did not take a break on Sunday. He was just later than usual in making his post. It's okay, though---we each discussed a different crossword. I wonder if anyone knows how many different Sunday crosswords are syndicated. When my wife and I travel to other states, I like to buy newspapers and it seems that there is a very small number of puzzle makers whose crosswords appear in the Sunday papers. The same puzzles---and the same comics---appear in almost every major newspaper.