This is the crossword puzzle thread

Xan Vongsathorn is my new favorite constructor.

I just printed out 10 Fireball xwords to do on the plane to Sydney next week.

They might have to put you in the hospital after you get off that plane!

You should also print out 10 Washington Post Puzzlers for the return trip.

(I wonder how many of those puzzles John has done so far)

Last Fireball of the year.

Ha John, did you do today's Times?

(I wonder how many of those puzzles John has done so far)

Ha. I started all of them but gave up on a few.

Ha John, did you do today's Times?

No, I let my subscription lapse, hoping that I'd get a new one for Christmas. :)

Should I check it out?

last sunday's was nice

Yes, John I think you have to do it.

Sunday's gimmick was nice but made solving it pretty hard

i felt so proud of myself for catching on to the rebus, those usually mess me up

Yes, John I think you have to do it.

Wanna e-mail me the .puz file (assuming you're able to)?

Don't think... Oh wait

Never knew that was Shaw!

So wonder when the first John Barry related DRNO clue will appear?

You coming in March, jaymc?

I'm not, alas. Decided to go to the EMP Conference instead. (Not that they're at the same time, but I just can't feasibly do both.)

Sure I get it. BBB is coming, no doubt.

Indeed.

When will I learn that "surfing" in a crossword clue never has to do with The Beach Boys?

One month to go

OK, Thursday's puzzle had not one, but two clues that seemed to be just plain wrong.

Which ones?

While I'm here, the NYT had a puzzle last weekend, I think, with stray squares in it (i.e. not crossed with anything)... what was the idea there? Can't remember ever seeing that before.

If it's the puzzle I'm thinking of, the theme of it was "V-2," and there were two V-shaped groups of black squares in the grid, so that left two uncrossed square, each of which was also filled with the letter V.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-P9jAtFM-RI8/TWmv6bQSZEI/AAAAAAAAI_M/uXRkBTiUynA/s400/Feb27.jpg

Slick.

That Sunday puzzle was pretty nice.

The clues in question on Thursday:
46A Santo Domingo greeting.
60A Gilbert ___, author of "A Void," a 290-page novel without the letter E

Do they speak Haitian Creole in Santo Domingo? Seems like the wrong country on the wrong side of the island. Maybe some do but it seems misleading.

Is it correct to refer to a translator of a work as its author? Maybe in this case he had to do so much he should be considered an author.

No, it is not correct! Possibly co-author for something as complex as A Void, but in this case I would have stuck to 'translator'. Or cited a book he had actually written.

Just noticed in that Sunday puzzle...

HUMVEES
MTV
RSVPS
VIETNAMVETS
CHIVIED
VIS
SOV

...all with the VEE sound. I should take notice of the title of the puzzle more often.

Don't remember SOV being in there. Let me study the handy image upthread

Oh yeah, of course

Another interesting thing is that the unchecked last letter of OLAV could have been F if not for the theme

I urge all of you to try today's most excellent Post Puzzler by Karen M. Tracey which can be easily downloaded using this webpage, which I also recommend: http://www.fleetingimage.com/wij/xyzzy/11-wp.html

Advance notice: The Penguin Classics Crossword Puzzles -- which features at least one puzzle by me -- comes out August 30.

awesome!

(btw i'm finishing up a track that incorporates some of b3n taus1g's field recordings. gonna go after that coveted crossword nerd/dubstep crossover audience.)

Will that book have any puzzles in it by Alan Arbesfeld, jaymc?

No idea who else is in it. (Or rather, I think Ben told me last year but I forgot.)

L.A. Times on Saturday had interesting gimmick. Still didn't enjoy solving it though

LA Times appears to have returned to some earlier level of difficulty. Today's puzzle was quite fun. NY Times was impossible.

Loved this in the LA Times:
1a Candy vehicle (4)

Will Shortz (@Will_Shortz)
7/27/11 9:47 PM
An innocent NYT crossword clue I wrote for ROCK CANDY: Something hard to suck on? Test-solver Frank caught it before it ran. [Whew!]

Test-solver Frank should have warned him about the answer FULL SPEEDO AHEAD

From I believe an LAT crossword a couple weeks ago, apropos of ILX:
Name-dropper: S___

Thursday's puzzle was awesome, although there is a spoiler on this thread, but I had forgotten about it. Today's was tough but fun.

Btw, I think "Test-solver Frank" is LONGO.

Makes sense.

Crossed paths with Will yesterday but didn't get a chance to discuss this with him.

Just wondering what people's best times are for a weekday puzzle? I think I can average ~12 minutes for early-week puzzles. /strict amateur

Online, I can usually do a Monday puzzle in about 4:00. Probably longer on paper, though.

I can usually do the Monday in about 4 minutes too. The really top solvers can do it in 3 or even sometimes 2 minutes.