Debbie Ellerin's
Los Angeles Times crossword includes SACREDCOW, TRAPDOOR, TVDINNER and OLDSCHOOL ("Traditional"). The central answer, "Day ender on Wall Street," is CLOSINGBELL. "Bell" can be added to the last word of each theme answer. "Ginger cookie" is SNAP. And of course that reminded me of a joke: A little girl told her friend, "I have a dog named Ginger." The friend asked, "Does Ginger bite?" The girl replied, "No, Ginger snaps." (Ouch!) With Christmas near, some of you may want to bake some ginger snaps. Here is a recipe from whatscookingamerica.net:
http://whatscookingamerica.net/Cookie/GingersnapCookies.htmToday's
Daily News crossword by Loren Smith and Andres Carla included PADDEDCELL, MIRACLEWORKER and PUSHUPDAISIES ("Be dead and buried, in slang"). The expression, referring to flowers planted atop a gravesite, is "pushing up daisies." I have never heard the phrase "push up daisies" but the puzzle creators had to alter the expression in order to fit the theme. ""Dangers for the unwary" is BOOBYTRAPS, which is also a slang term for brassieres. The first word of each theme answer can be followed by BRA.
"Round Table VIP: Abbr." is KNT. A few dictionaries list "knt" as an abbreviation of "knight" but I have never seen it used. Norman poet Robert Wace first described King Arthur's Round Table in 1155. Knights would sit at the table and brag about their deeds and plan new adventures. Because the table was round and thus had no head, no one could complain that he had a worse seat than anyone else.
http://www.kingarthursknights.com/structures/roundtable.aspThe Universal crossword includes TAKEMYWORDFORIT, TAKENOPRISONERS and TAKECENTERSTAGE. The majority of puzzle editors do not like any crossword which repeats a word. The Universal editors obviously are not part of that majority. At least that is my take on the situation. (Ouch!)
