Betty Comden, not a he.
Zulema | 01.10.09 - 8:08 pm | #

Thanks, Zulema—I'll fix that. Guess it's obvious I didn't Google COMDEN to find out she's Betty. How many successful Broadway writers in the '40s and '50s were women? What percentage are today?
Orange | Homepage | 01.10.09 - 9:00 pm | #

I am not bragging, but it is nice to be in a Blue State. Hail to the Commander in Chief-to-be. Also, thanks to Mr. Kahn for an excellent concept and execution. Someone from a Red state could do a Loser Puzzle.

The V-TWO was an early form of terrorism. I hate to see it clued in a way that glosses over the depravity of the example set by random firings at civilians, but I don't object to the fill. I discovered the rebus pretty early in HAILTOTHECHIEF and thank Indiana for their change of heart.
PhillySolver | 01.10.09 - 9:19 pm | #

I don't know what percentage of Broadway writers were women, but right off the top of my head I can name Dorothy Fields as one the biggest in the '50s.

And I am in awe of these puzzle constructors. The best puzzles I ever came up with might -- MIGHT -- rate a Tuesday at best.

**shakes head as AMPED/MINOT finally falls for the 43:13 win**
Tuning Spork | Homepage | 01.10.09 - 10:50 pm | #

spork, i'm in awe of constructors like david kahn, too, but i'm not quite sure of the meaning of "might rate a tuesday at best." other than sundays, which are just plain tough to construct, i don't think that any particular day's puzzle is "better" than any other day.

this one was brilliant, no doubt. i think without the circles it would have not only been much tougher but actually unfair, as there are plenty of non-rebus state abbreviations in the grid.

i know about the V-2 mostly from reading gravity's rainbow. if i could remember every topic broached in that book, i'd know a lot, but the V-2 was pretty much the main point of the book (the title refers to the trajectory of the rocket), so i do remember that much.

is there a difference between POLLERS and POLLSTERS? POLLERS looks weird to me.

i emit a tee-hee at your CL[IN]T anecdote. a similarly scandalous thought flitted through my mind when i saw the [Drop a brick] clue.
joon | 01.11.09 - 12:00 am | #

V-2 should not be confused with the V-1, or buzz-bomb, which was truly an effective terrorist weapon. It was a bomb with a small jet engine propelling it. When it ran out of fuel over England, usually London, it fell as a bomb and did its dirtywork. Contemorary British writers described how it took such a huge toll on the public's morale.
The V-2, ot the other hand, was a rather large rocket with a large explosive warhead. Because the Germans didn't make too many of them, probably because they were running out of resources, it was not a major factor in the war. It was designed by Werner von Braun and formed the basis for the early American rocket program, once WVBraun was denazified.
larry | 01.11.09 - 1:58 am | #

i'm not quite sure of the meaning of "might rate a tuesday at best." other than sundays, which are just plain tough to construct, i don't think that any particular day's puzzle is "better" than any other day.

That's 'cuz you're an experienced constructor, joon.

I "wrote" a song a few years ago and described to my beloved co-worker how I could hear all of the parts (bass, lead, string accents) in my head. She said that she had no idea how I could seperate those parts in my head... but that she can cook!

And she can cook.

I said that cooking''s a lot like like composing in that she can imagine what certain tastes would taste like together without having tasted them together before.
"That's the talent," she said.

My lameness in creating crossword puzzles equals her wonderment of creating songs. Practice makes perfect, of course. But we practice only the talents that we discover ourselves to have.

And, joon, don't tell ye don't recognized the difference between a Monday puzzle and a Friday puzzle. Granted, their both 15x15. But are you asserting, as a talented contructor, that only the cluing is where the similarity ends?!
Tuning Spork | Homepage | 01.11.09 - 7:12 am | #

Missed the O of COMDEN, putting in an A instead, thinking the songwriter was named after the city. Left me with STANES...was thinking pits in terms of depressions and just thought that a word I hadn't seen before (reminded me of SWALES).

Also missed out on TOAST--I thought "IN HER" Majesty's Secret Service made more sense; again I chalked up TIAST to my lack of knowledge. Man, was I toast! ;)

Finally, SCOPE for Elbowroom was tough--I had to write out the 27 states I had before I figured out PA was the one I was missing. Once I had RE[PA]Y and PI[PA]GE, I finished that corner. Funny to have one of the "toss-up" states be the final one I entered today.
Evad | 01.11.09 - 7:15 am | #

spork, of course mondays and fridays are different. i just don't think one is better than the other. and there seems to be no consensus among constructors on which one is easier to construct, either. on mondays, every single answer has to be familiar, and theme has to be crystal-clear; but on fridays, the low word-count places additional constraints on the grid, and furthermore the fill has to sparkle, or the puzzle won't have much going for it.

it's actually quite likely that the "easiest" puzzles to construct are mid-week puzzles, where you can get away with some tough words, but you also don't need a low word count. but of course, those mid-week puzzles also tend to be where the most innovative themes are placed, so a garden-variety themed 15x15 with no objectionable fill isn't likely to catch the eye of will shortz for a wednesday or thursday.

the point of my long-winded ramble is that i believe quality and difficulty to be two orthogonal axes in "puzzle space." a good puzzle is a good puzzle, whether it's easy as pie or hard as MARACAIBO.
joon | 01.11.09 - 10:06 am | #

Dave (Evad),

I can't believe your post. That is precisely what I did. I didn't know what obvious state I was missing and was not sure who carried Louisiana.

I got the theme immediately, but still found several pockets to be quite tough, notthing tougher than the aforementioned SW corner. This would have been an incredible monster if the states had not been circled.

Was DC anywhere?

Steve
Steve Manion | 01.11.09 - 10:37 am | #

Dave,

That was my last letter and my last circle also and I had to force it in there and try to figure out what word it was; PIPAGE, because I had TOE instead of TEE. Different kind of kicking.
Zulema | 01.11.09 - 10:40 am | #

Some might take issue with "Hip-Hop" being clued as "Rap"; and reference to their being synonymous. I've always understood "Hip Hop" to be a lifestyle; "Rap" is the music of the Hip Hop generation. Something like "Beat" and "Jazz", perhaps.
David Halbstein | 01.11.09 - 11:57 am | #

Thanks for explaining IMDB... I suppose using it might have given me the T in TMEN rather than a G for the "Pulp Fiction" actor TARANTINO, and the last letter G in LEOG Carroll. Ah well... At least I wasn't in as much pain as with NYT's Klahn of yesterday!
ArtLvr | 01.11.09 - 12:06 pm | #

David, this dictionary definition (I think it's from the American Heritage Dictionary) says the noun hip-hop is:

1. A popular urban youth culture, closely associated with rap music and with the style and fashions of African-American inner-city residents.
2. Rap music.

Wikipedia's community also backs up the equivalency between hip-hop music and rap.
Orange | Homepage | 01.11.09 - 12:14 pm | #

Spork, if the following is mere hipponecrophilia, just ignore it.

The point is that the Monday and Tuesday puzzles are high-quality puzzles just as Friday and Saturday are. They're easier because they're designed that way. You've implied that a "bad" puzzle (however you're defining it) could be published early in the week, which is just not the case.

Jim
Jim Finder | 01.11.09 - 1:52 pm | #

COMDEN could have been changed to Camden but I'm glad Betty made it into the puzzle. She may not be very well-known today, but she deserves not to be forgotten. She had quite a career.

A few of the big stage/screen writers from long ago: Anita Loos, Dorothy Parker (best known for other things), and going way back, Alice Guy in France.
JJF | 01.11.09 - 4:16 pm | #

Jim,

I didn't mean to imply that a "bad puzzle" might get published early in the week. I meant that I, personally, have not mastered constructing to the point where I can create late week caliber puzzles. And by "caliber" I mean things like gimmicks, rebuses, low word count, stacked long entries and, of course, clever cluing.

Perhaps an experienced constructor doesn't find a Thursday more challenging to create than a Monday, but I certainly do.
Tuning Spork | Homepage | 01.11.09 - 8:36 pm | #

Beats me, I'm no constructor at all... What Joon said.
Jim
Jim Finder | 01.11.09 - 11:12 pm | #

Female writers on Broadway? Betty COMDEN is surely the most famous... She and Adolph Green wrote lyrics and libretto for many classic musicals. Sadly, very few other women have been that successful, either in the Golden Age (of Broadway) or today. Percentage-wise? Maybe 5-10%. Which is still more than the number of female B'way composers...
Dan | 01.11.09 - 11:25 pm | #

ooh, forgot: my subway solving recently has been S&S Mega Book crosswords, torn out from the Mega Book itself and stapled. So tonight I did a 21x21 by Nancy Nicholson Joline - CASH CACHE, #217 in book 2 - yep, identical theme to today's LAT. Great minds, etc.

Spoilers!
Joline's also has nine themers, but the bottom one says to find EIGHTOTHERATMS. Only duplicates between the two: LOWFATMILK and xxxFLATMINOR.
Dan | 01.11.09 - 11:37 pm | #

The discussion of rap vs hip-hop was a lively one in my house this week; I concede that both the dictionary definition and Wikipedia agree with the puzzle clue; our discussion was mostly about how little in common the wikipedia, crossword and dictionary cultures have with the hip-hop cultures. While it has always been my belief that "hip-hop" was the culture and "rap" was the music, those involved in both see a clear distinction. Hip-hop music is about celebration, it is positive, joyful, and is specifically not about drugs or violence. Rap is angry, and specifically IS about drugs, violence and culture wars.

I no longer take issue with the clue, but am fascinated by the nuances of the definitions, and the development of the shades of meaning based on popular usage, understanding and misconception.

My bet is that the "Rap" definition will soon become archaic.
David Halbstein | 01.13.09 - 7:08 am | #