Wednesday, 6-20--07

SPOILER WARNING: Don't read any further until you've done today's New York Sun Crossword Puzzle. New York Sun puzzles are every bit as fun and challenging as the more well-known New York Times and they're indisputably better in one way -- they're free. If you'd like to read about an unbiased head-to-head competition between the Sun and the Times check this out. Or if you'd rather decide for yourself you can download this puzzle and join in on the fun here.

In "Setting Things Straight" by Peter A. Collins, all the themed words -- which happen to be the four compass directions, West, North, South and East -- (which also happen to have to figured heavily into Tuesday's New York Times puzzle; nobody can say that crossword puzzles have lost their sense of direction) -- are diagonal. It's not hard to figure out how to set them straight once you know they're there, but help is at 39A: With 30-Down, counterclockwise manuever required to rectify the diagonal words in this puzzle's corners (FORTY-FIVE DEGREE PIVOT) if you need it..

Interesting puzzle. I'd like to see crosswords do more with the diagonal aspect.

Other entries of interest:

26A: Tenzing Norgay, for one (SHERPA) Serendipity is a wonderful thing. Ordinarily this would leave me scratching my head and it probably will the next time I see it. But I knew it today because I happen to be reading a magnificent book called "The History of Love" by Allison Krauss, and I had just been reading the part where this young girl mentions that she has an anorak tested by Tenzing Norgay, the Sherpa who climbed Mount Everest with Sir Edmund Hillary. If only more constructors would challenge me with entries concerning stuff I read in the last hour I might be almost as fast as Orange.

And I think if my last name was Norgay, I'd have to name my child Neitherstraight.

Speaking of cold mountains, I had a tough time with 34A: St. Bernard's mount (ALP) because I wasn't mentally flexible enough to see "mount" as anything other than a horse or something you ride on. I even seriously wondered for a second if Saint Bernards ever used skis.

19A: River near the Leaning Tower (ARNO) If you've got a choice between one of the greatest American gag cartoonists and some river in Italy, why go with the river?

I reallly enjoyed for no particular reason two entries in the Texas portion of the puzzle: 67A: They ususally hit in the middle of the batting order (RBI MEN) and 70A: Certain scrubber (SOS PAD)

1A: Left fielder in the "Who's on First" routine (WHY). It's no secret that my sense of humor is pretty old-fashioned -- all right, corny. But I love Abbott and Costello and I love this routine. I've seen it a hundred times and I laughed again when I went and watched it again a couple minutes ago. Let me set the defense for you -- Who is on first, What is playing second and I Don't Know is at the hot corner and at short it's I Don't Care. Your battery is Today pitching to Tomorrow and out in the outfield we have Why in

left, Because in Center. And I don't know about right field. (And no, I don't mean I Don't Know is playing third base and right field, I mean Abbott and Costello never told us who was in right -- of course, they didn't, because Who's on first.)