New York Times solution: Dec. 21, 2014

Below the fold is the solution to this week’s New York Times variety puzzle: a Puns and Anagrams by Mel Taub.  It happened to use the same grid as the August P&A, and like most of this genre, I think it’s a hit or miss puzzle.  You have to work through a lot of dreck to get to the really clever bits.

The happiest dump in the world (Sunday brunch: August 17, 2014)

Take It Or Leave It

Back in ‘Sconset for another short vacation. One of the activities last time we were here was helping to clean out my parents’ garage and haul some scrap wood, cardboard, leftover paint and other things to the dump. Sabers went along to assist, and I promised him his choice of three books in return for his help.

He gave me a puzzled look, and we drove off. He didn’t know about an island tradition called Take It Or Leave It: a shack next to the main trash and recycling trailers where all kinds of people drop off unwanted stuff and collect wanted stuff.  The tradition of Yankee thrift is so ingrained that people from all walks of life come to the dump and pick up someone else’s unwanted items.  They brag about their finds to nobody in particular and go on about how tastes have changed.

There are enough books there to stock a small library, jigsaw puzzles for rainy days, old clothes and various linens, unmatched linens, and much more.  I brought a couple of pair of very old cross-country skis and some touch-up paint for a Toyota, which were gone by the time we came out from hunting for books.  We didn’t take anything besides a few books, since we already had a carload of stuff to take back home with us from my parents’.  Furthermore, we already had stuff like martini glasses from the church rummage sale, which is just like Take It Or Leave It, except that we make a donation to some very good causes in exchange for the stuff others brought.

No junk here: just fine new puzzles.

The Wall Street Journal puzzle is a Seven Sages by Patrick Berry.  Aside from one mistake which I quickly noticed (but didn’t rectify as quickly), I found it easier than the last one of these he set, but it’s still a challenge which requires logic and adjoining answers in order to get a toehold.  Some may find these more frustrating than other variety crosswords, since you can lose momentum quickly even after you get the first few answers in.  You might also like the Friday straight crossword, which is on a Woodstock theme for the 45th anniversary of that concert.

The New York Times variety puzzle (behind the paywall) is a Puns and Anagrams by Mel Taub.  Carrying on with the recycling theme, it re-uses the same grid from the April P&A.  Deb gives it the staredown (and spoilers) at Wordplay.

The new Harper’s is out, with a Richard Maltby variety cryptic called One Upmanship.

Kevin Wald’s latest variety cryptic is his Lollapuzzoola puzzle called “Fearful Symmetry.”  Since it was set for in-person tournament solving, it’s not as intricate as some of his other cryptics, and will take less time to solve. Still just as good.

The Hex cryptic in the National Post (blogged by Falcon) has an interesting (but not very connected) grid.  The syndicated cryptic in the Globe and Mail is pretty hard.

BEQ has a wrap-up of Lollapuzzoola, and reminds us you can still purchase the puzzles (six of them, by top-flight constructors) at bemoresmarter.com.  And while we’re on the subject of BEQ, he’s sounding out interest in a possible subscription series (bi-weekly) of Marching Bands.  See here for a sample.  Like good variety crosswords?  Send him an e-mail of encouragement.

New York Times solution: August 17, 2014

Below the fold is the solution to this weekend’s New York Times variety puzzle, a Puns & Anagrams by Mel Taub.

Anyone else notice that this puzzle used the same grid as the April P&A?  More recycling this weekend in Sunday brunch!

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Daffodils (Sunday brunch: April 13, 2014)

Lots of them left even after I cut three dozen.
The daylillies in this bed multiply just as well as
the daffodils. 

With the late spring, it’s been a peculiar year in the garden.  We had crocuses and daffodils at the same time, and the forsythia bloomed only this week.  The compressed schedule means that the daffodils came in about a two week span rather than three or four.  It does make an impressive show in the back yard, but the main reason I divide and transplant bulbs every year is to have more flowers to cut and share.

Some for the dining room table, some for the office, some for The Other Doctor Mitchell’s birthday (they’re her favorite flower), and even bunches to hand out to the winners of the fencing tournament today.

Finish these puzzles and earn yourself a virtual bouquet.

It was kind of a weird weekend.  I had a particularly tough time with the National Post puzzle by Hex, which usually is a breeze.  Falcon agreed, and gave us a breakdown of his solving effort on his blog.   Meanwhile, I got a lot more of Fraser Simpson’s Globe and Mail puzzle (Java, printable) than usual.

The New York Times variety puzzle was a Puns and Anagrams by Mel Taub (paywall).  That was hard too, and there are still a few clues I can’t parse.  However, I think I’m learning enough to get better at the genre, and also learning enough to understand why I don’t like them as much as proper cryptics: terseness of cluing is valued over elegance.  But I solved it, and the solution is posted elsewhere on the blog.  Deb Amlen solved it too, and blogs the puzzle (spoilers) at Wordplay.

Patrick Berry fans are happy: he has a Beginnings and Ends in the weekend’s Wall Street Journal.  Solution and hints are also posted elsewhere on the blog (please welcome our guests).

On the right is a drift of double daffodils, the genetics of which are described here (no, I’m not a flower geek, just a backyard gardener).

LizR has a new Brit cryptic up, which she says goes well with coffee.  Some delightful clues there, worth a go even if you won’t finish the puzzle.

The new Harper’s is out this week.  The Richard Maltby variety cryptic is that old The Listener favorite: Theme and Variations.  Erica (who survived the battle with the bedbugs) blogs this puzzle, though on a month’s delay because it’s a prize puzzle.

Flowers doing their intended job.
The women’s saber winners were Helen, Shelby, and Vanessa.

New York Times solution (April 13, 2014)

Below the fold is the solution to today’s New York Times variety puzzle, a Puns and Anagrams by Mel Taub.

More puzzles today and every week at Sunday brunch.  Join us, won’t you?

New York Times solution (December 8, 2013)

Below the fold is the solution to this week’s New York Times variety puzzle: a Puns and Anagrams by Mel Taub.

I found a couple of iffy parts here, but most of them had such definite intersecting letters that I was comfortable with the solution.

Done with this?  Why not try a cryptic crossword?  The anagram clues will be pretty familiar, with the added advantage of the clue telling you that you should be looking for an anagram.  I find that the National Post puzzles by Hex are the easiest introduction to cryptics.  We link them here every weekend at Sunday brunch, and Falcon will post the puzzle and annotated solution every Saturday.  Give it a try, ask for help in the comments if you need, and come back every weekend!

Hyannis (Sunday brunch: December 8, 2013)

Not as much time to cook up a fancy brunch this weekend: I had to take an unplanned trip to Cape Cod and back Monday and Tuesday, and I’ve also been spending time on that alphabetical jigsaw I commended to you Thursday.

In the New York Times (behind the paywall) is a Puns and Anagrams by Mel Taub.  I’ll have the solution for you this afternoon.  Blogging at Wordplay, Deb Amlen explains how Puns and Anagrams have grown on her.  I agree that they’re easy for us hard-core puzzle fans, but that makes them a good gateway to the cryptic world.  As I’ve said before, we need to have all the rungs on the ladder: you can’t expect even good straight crossword solvers to jump right into a alphabetical jigsaw or one of Kevin Wald’s brain-busters.  Plus the P&A format lets constructors play with fun anagrams that wouldn’t work so well in a proper Ximenean cluing with definition, wordplay, and nothing else.

Meanwhile, Deb reports that the regular crossword by Patrick Berry has what she calls a “layered theme.”  Just about anything by Berry is worth a go at, so look for the puzzle in the Times this weekend or in syndication next weekend.

The Wall Street Journal weekend puzzle is a Snowflake by Mike Shenk.  A hint is posted if you need it.  Speaking of Mike Shenk, here’s a nice profile from one of the local papers.  Quite a collection of puzzling talent around there: Hex (Emily Cox and Henry Rathvon) also live in the Lancaster-Harrisburg area.

Hex have their regular weekly cryptic in the National Post.  I thought it was more challenging than usual, and there are a pair of 15s in the grid crossed by two 11s.  Falcon guides you through it as he does each week.

For fans of the British style, Liz has a new and possibly fiendish opus posted, including a PDF for those of you who solve on paper.

Bach Sunday (Sunday brunch: May 12, 2013)

This weekend, TODM and the church choir sing Bach's Cantata #37: Wer da gläubet und getauft wird (He that believeth and is baptized...shall become blessed).  It's an Ascension Day cantata.  To get the full effect of Bach, I think one should be open to the spiritual as well as the architectural constructions. Much of his work was composed to illumine the church year or riff on the hymn of the day, and if you're aware of that influence, things make even more sense.  Kind of like recognizing the nods Hot and Trazom make to the political preferences of most The Nation readers.

From the sacred to the profane?  Not quite.  Patrick Berry has another of his Seven Sages puzzles: this one with a quote from George Carlin.  I tried the obvious quote, but it fell (appropriately) four letters short.  Next time they publish one of these, I do it in pencil.  By the time I finished, my grid was about as messy as Bangle's room, thanks to the two or three times I put answers in the wrong locations.  Just sloppy solving: when I had the common letters for 21 and 22, I would put them in the 20/21 spaces.

Nathan Curtis offers a Snake Charmer this week.  I thought it was a breeze.  The first few letters of most of the answers were enough to clear up anything I was unsure about.

Behind the NYT paywall is a Mel Taub Puns and Anagrams puzzle.  I might have said this before, but Puns and Anagrams is good batting practice for cryptic solvers.  The key difference is that indicators are left out of many clues.  If at first you can't parse the clue, assume it's an anagram.  Anyone want to solve it for time?  Post your times in the comments.

UPDATE: The solution is below the fold.  Once you're done with that one, why not browse the rest of our Sunday brunch and pick out a few more puzzles to solve?  The Hex puzzle immediately below is a good intermediate-level cryptic that Puns and Anagrams solvers should be able to get through, while the Tom Toce variety puzzles I featured in a couple of recent posts are an easy introduction to variety cryptics.   

And of course there's the Hex cryptic in the National Post.  Of course it's themed.  Solve it and then call your mother.

Mark Halpin's Sondheim-inspired puzzle is a really polished work.  I don't know if he edits his own work or has someone else do it, but the grids are tight and symmetric, and the clues are well-written.  Halpin also manages to find the "difficult but not impossible" sweet spot a lot of constructors try for.  You think you'll never get the meta, but soon there's a toehold, and a couple more pieces, and then the "aha" moment where the whole theme comes together.  Like a Bach fugue.

And speaking of music, happy birthday to Raydoc, who's not a musician himself but has a good ear and particularly enjoys the work of Soviet era and post-Communist composers like Arvo Pärt and Henryk Górecki.

JS Bach: Cantata #37

New York Times Puns and Anagrams solution for May 12, 2013 is below the fold: keep scrolling!

New York Times "Puns and Anagrams" solution 1/6/13

Welcome NYT solvers!  Come back every week for Sunday brunch and try some of the other great cryptic crosswords out there.  We have hard ones like the variety cryptics, easy ones like the weekly cryptic at the National Post, and of course Hot and Trazom's puzzles from The Nation.

This one seemed a little harder than usual, but it takes me a while to switch gears for solving Puns and Anagrams.  You can feel like a dope when the answer (or the anagram) is in plain sight, as many of them are here.  If you need a hint, or want an explanation of how a clue is supposed to be parsed, or if you have a correction (I did this from a fuzzy copy), post in the comments below.

Epiphany Vespers (Sunday brunch: January 6, 2013)

Today is Epiphany on the calendar of most Christians: commemorating the revelation of Christ to the nations, who were first represented by the Three Kings (Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar: who also would make a nice set of theme puzzle entries).

For those of you of a more literary than liturgical bent, this is where Twelfth Night came from.  In Shakespeare's time, Epiphany was more of a feast of revelry than a holy day.

Epiphany is also the setting for one of the most interesting pieces of music I've ever heard: Kile Smith's Vespers (iTunes link).  Originally titled Epiphany Vespers, Kile started with seasonal psalms and chorales that wouldn't be out of place in a 16th century Lutheran worship service, and then added sections to showcase the talents of Piffaro, Philadelphia's Renaissance band, and The Crossing, a small virtuoso choir specializing in new music.  Talking with Kile after the premiere, I made note of the sixteen(!)-part harmonization in "Herr Christ, der einig Gotts Sohn," and he said that if he'd known the choir had twenty voices, he would have written it in twenty parts!  Take a listen while you solve.  Another video about the recording is at the bottom of the post, below the fold.

"Herr Christ, der einig Gotts Sohn," performed by the Virginia Chorale

"Epiphany" is an apt word for us solvers to use, especially when we discover the gimmick in a variety cryptic or work out a particularly challenging wordplay.  There should be several of them for you in this weekend's cryptics.

The New York Times (behind the paywall) has a Puns and Anagrams this week.  I'll post the solution here Sunday.

Wall Street Journal puzzle editor Mike Shenk takes up the pencil himself this week to offer us another of his Spell Weaving crosswords.  Clue 1 is quite fitting.  I find these puzzles pretty easy: would anyone like to try it on a grid with the numbers blanked out?  Look below the fold for a blank grid

Ucaoimhu (Kevin Wald) is overdue for a mention in this blog: he creates variety cryptics that are hard enough for the National Puzzlers' League.  His latest creation is called The Little Marathon Thing.  It's got altered clues, a clue that you need to solve the rest of the puzzle to complete, and a reward for you at the end.  Use the comments below if you want any hints.

The weekly cryptic by Hex is in the National Post.  Falcon has the puzzle and solution for you at his blog: natpostcryptic.blogspot.com.

Below the fold: 

• Interview with Donald Nally about Kile Smith's Vespers
• Numberless grid for Spell Weaving crossword!
• Comments and hint requests

Individual Medley (Sunday brunch: September 2, 2012)

If you count the puzzle from The Nation, we have an individual medley for puzzlers this week.

The first leg, butterfly, is Hot and Trazom's puzzle (see link in "Comprehension exam" below).  Like the swimming stroke, it's a challenge to do well, but if you're good at it, you'll find the results are elegant.

Second: backstroke.  The Puns and Anagrams puzzle in the NYT (a Mel Taub creation) fills this slot. This isn't quite a regular cryptic either: closer to the British rules in terms of cluing with lots of anagrams and some double definitions.  If you don't see an indicator for the type of wordplay, start by assuming it's an anagram.  Deb Amlen will have comment at http://wordplay.blogs.nytimes.com/http://wordplay.blogs.nytimes.com/.

Next up?  Breaststroke.  It's the most different stroke, with arms staying in the water the whole time, which also slows you down.  You'll need different solving skills from the cryptics  (most importantly a broad selection of words to sift through in your head) to get through Patrick Berry's "Section Eight" in the Wall Street Journal.

If you've made it through the first three, turn for home and solve the National Post cryptic by Hex (link to Falcon's forum).  You should be able to get through it without coming up for air more than two or three times.

I should have kept a stopwatch on my The Nation solution this week: it'd be fun to see if my predictions pan out as far as which leg will be fastest.

NYT puns and anagrams solution for September 2

Welcome, New York Times solvers!  Come have some brunch with us or just take a look around the rest of the blog.  We have links, solutions, and comments on the cryptic crosswords published in The Nation, a weekend brunch featuring other cryptic and variety puzzles you might like to try, plus other features and observations from the cryptic crossword world.

The solution for the Puns and Anagrams by Mel Taub published September 2 is below the fold.