F R I D A Y October 22, 2010 Clive Probert

Theme: Art Puns!— Puns on the names of famous artists.


Theme answers:

• 20A: Baroque painter's study of a snack? (RUBENS SANDWICH).
• 36A: Surrealist's portrait of a president? (DALI MADISON).
• 42A: Synthetist's picture of a French author? (GAUGUIN ZOLA).
• 57A: Impressionist's study of a washerwoman? (MONET LAUNDERER).

Pretty decent puns, I think, as far as puns go. I'm glad I didn't get the RUBENS and GAUGUIN answers first because I probably would have been looking for more food-related answers, which I wouldn't have found. But I'm just not going to waste my time whining about something that might have happened but didn't. Instead, I'll tell you that the first time I saw this constructor's name (which I'm pretty sure was not that long ago and it was his debut puzzle in the New York Times), I thought for sure it was a pseudonym. I mean, Clive Probert? That name is too awesome to be real. Then I saw a tweet from his daughter-in-law expressing how excited she was about his puzzle and I realized it was, indeed, his actual name. Congratulations to your parents, sir! They did an excellent job naming you!

I liked the two answer pairs: First HEAR HEAR paired with YADA YADA YADA (64A: When repeated, "I agree" / 7D: When repeated twice, "and so on"). And then YURI Gagarin paired with NEIL Armstrong (10D: First first name in space / 59D: First first name on the moon). I actually tried ALAN for YURI before I remembered that the Russians beat us! And then I found 26D: Country singer ALAN Jackson elsewhere in the grid.

Bullets:

• 5A: __ ed (PHYS). My first thought? CRAZY. Because I once knew a guy called "Crazy Ed."
• 18A: Karachi language (URDU). The PuzzleKids had a Pakistani babysitter for several years when they were little and knew how to count to ten in URDU.
• 28A: Employees with a lot of keys (VALETS). Hmmm. Will VALETS help you with your VALISES? (That's a reference to yesterday's puzzle.)
• 38A: Spanish pronoun (ELLA). It means she.

• 41A: Org. co-founded by Babe Zaharias (LPGA). I did a lot of writing in, erasing, and re-writing in this section. My first thought here was LPGA but then I wanted SWEE' pea instead of 32D: SNAP pea and TEA instead of NAP for 47A: Afternoon break. It was a mess for a while.
• 48A: Radiances (SHEENS). Not a fan of the random pluralization.
• 49A: Mars candy bar (TWIX). On the other hand, I'm a huge fan of TWIX.
• 50A: Pol. platform-promoting org. (DNC). Democratic National Committee.
• 63A: Sheryl Crow's "__ Wanna Do" (ALL I). If you like Sheryl Crow and have never seen her live, I strongly suggest that you see her as soon as you can. I've always kind of liked her, but I found her to be much more impressive in person. See? I also provide concert-going tips. It's just another service I offer.

• 66A: Land of 10,000 Lakes: Abbr. (MINN.). Or, as it's sometimes known, Land of 10,000 Rehab Centers.
• 30D: "NBA on __" (ESPN). I can't get used to "NBA on ESPN." How many years has it been since the NBA was on CBS? "... When you watch the NBA on C-B-EEEESSS (C-BEE-ESS) ...." That was me singing. My point is that I still have that stupid song in my head however many years later.
• 45D: Representing in drawing (LIMNING). Very strange word.
• 56D: Oversight (ERROR). I kept thinking I was looking for a synonym of "monitoring" or "supervising" here.

Crosswordese 101: In early-week puzzles a clue for RIAL will, like today's 25A: Muscat money, have the word money right in it. Other choices for the modifier include Iranian, Middle Eastern, or Omani. Later in the week, you're likely to see the word capital in the clue instead of money because it's trickier. You see "Yemeni capital" and you try to remember the name of the capital city in Yemen, right? Also be on the lookout for the word bread. The clue "Iranian bread" is trying to trick you into thinking about Middle East cuisine when you need to be remembering that the word bread can be slang for money.

Other crosswordese in the puzzle that we've already covered:

• 14A: Hyalite, e.g. (OPAL).
• 33D: Noodle tests? (EEGS).
• 61D: Humerus neighbor ULNA).

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Everything Else — 1A: Bulletin board material (CORK); 9A: Human-powered Eastern cab (CYCLO); 15A: Realize (REAP); 16A: Arcadian (RURAL); 17A: Actress Andersson (BIBI); 19A: Popped up (AROSE); 23A: 1986 movie title trio (AMIGOS); 24A: Rib (KID); 33A: Go back (EBB); 40A: Suffix with polymer (-ASE); 52A: Après-dinner confection (MENTHE); 62A: Intense excitement (FEVER); 65A: Newmark with an online list (CRAIG); 67A: Delinquent's fear (REPO); 68A: Ma's forte (CELLO); 69A: Pre-wedding party (STAG); 70A: Pres. Reagan's "evil empire" (USSR); 1D: G.I. Joe foe (COBRA); 2D: Subject of Great Britain/China wars (OPIUM); 3D: Religious teacher (RABBI); 4D: Filmmaker's __ light (KLIEG); 5D: Berlin was its last capital (PRUSSIA); 6D: Bathrobe word (HERS); 8D: Mettle (SPUNK); 9D: Freshwater crustacean (CRAWDAD); 11D: Popular foam shoe (CROC); 12D: Mascara target (LASH); 13D: Shout of support (OLÉ); 21D: Gare du __: Paris railway station (NORD); 22D: Aria singer, often (DIVA); 27D: Symphonic poem pioneer (LISZT); 29D: Word in many a rap name (LIL); 31D: Frat party wear (TOGA); 34D: Yawn-inducing (BLAH); 35D: Sad (BLUE); 37D: "Please open a can for me"? (MEOW); 39D: Improve, perhaps (AGE); 43D: Have, as an operation (UNDERGO); 44D: Stevie Wonder's "__ She Lovely" (ISN'T); 46D: Let go (AXED); 51D: Quahogs (CLAMS); 53D: Type of jacket the Beatles helped make fashionable (NEHRU); 54D: Windbreak, often (TREES); 55D: Lots (HEAPS); 57D: Like mortals? (MERE); 58D: Track (OVAL); 60D: Landed (ALIT); 62D: Govt. broadband regulator (FCC).