2) Second, last week I mentioned that I fit in Sam Seder’s full name as an answer in my Jan. 15 crossword. As a fan of “The Majority Report,” imagine my thrill when I learned that Sam and Emma Vigeland spent a few minutes talking about it on their Jan. 17 episode earlier this week! You can watch the clip here. Thanks a million to Sam and Emma and the Majority Report crew for the shout-out.
Captain Obvious got some passes to the art museum this weekend, so here he is misinterpreting art-related idioms literally:
- 23A: [“___? Then it wasn’t photographed”] is OUT OF THE PICTURE.
- 37A: [“___? That’s when an artist is facing away from a drafting table”] is BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD.
- 56A: [“___? A celebrity painter must have used it”] is BRUSH WITH FAME.
- 68A: [“___? That’s what holds a painting in your imagination”] is FRAME OF MIND.
- 78A: [“___? That’s where scoundrels can view works of art”] is ROGUES’ GALLERY.
- 96A: [“___? Then you’d be setting fire to that painting at 12 a.m.”] is BURNING THE MIDNIGHT OIL.
- 116A: [“___? Then we won’t find any wall-mounted sculptures here”] is NO RELIEF IN SIGHT.
I keep wondering if there’s a story arc in these phrases. Maybe the Captain noticed a famous artist’s subject didn’t get photographed the way they wanted, but now this subpar picture is on display at the museum for everyone to see … and the artist got so upset they set fire to some painting at midnight at the Rogues’ Gallery. Who knows? His superpower is taking expressions literally, not saving the day from evildoers and rogues.
Some other answers and clues:
- 21A: [Mann who wrote the theme song to the podcast “I Said No Gifts!”] is AIMEE Mann. My wife listens to the “I Said No Gifts!” podcast all the time. It’s got a funny premise — Bridger Winegar invites on friends and notable people for a freewheeling conversation, and though he tells them not to bring any gifts, they always do, and the chat then turns to whatever the gift is for and what it does.
- 47A: [Hades, for one] is GREEK GOD. It’s not exactly a reference to the video game “Hades” this time but of course I couldn’t help but think of it while writing the clue.
- 83A: [J.R.R. Tolkien characters?] is PERIODS, as in the periods separating his initials.
- 95A: [Subject of Botticelli’s map referenced in Dan Brown’s book “Inferno”] is HELL. The map apparently also appeared in one of the original editions of “The Divine Comedy.”
- 14D: [11-time NBA all-star who was part of the Miami Heat’s Big Three with LeBron James and Dwyane Wade] is CHRIS BOSH. One of my pet peeves is that whenever BOSH shows up as an answer in other puzzles, editors almost always clue it as a quaint exclamation like “Poppycock!” and “Fiddlesticks!” It’s not like Chris Bosh didn’t make an impact in the NBA. He’s a Hall of Famer. Anyhow, I was happy I got to fit in his full name in the grid.
- 72D: [Guest-directed film featuring folk bands] is “A MIGHTY WIND.” The “Guest” in the clue refers to the director Christopher Guest.
- 84D: [Common crossword cookie] is OREO and right next to it at 85D: [Place providing pastrami] is DELI. Some unexpected triple alliteration for both of them.
- 89D: [Kitten Bowl names like Catrick Meowhomes and Joe Montuna, e.g.] is PUNS. I didn’t just make those names up. Here’s Catrick Meowhomes and here’s Joe Montuna. Just look at those cute little monsters.
