My local rag, The Plano Star Courier, runs the NEA crossword puzzle. I've been working them for the past few months and have noticed that certain words come up again and again. The repetition doesn't really bother me but some of the words they choose to repeat do kind of grate, and they did so the first time they showed up.
One repeated word, actually two related words, are "MEL" and "OTT", as in "Mel Ott", the baseball player. I have nothing against Mr. Ott — he is a hall of famer, after all — but he hasn't played in almost 60 years and the clue is usually something like "baseball slugger." Gee, who pops to the top of your mind when you hear the phrase "baseball slugger"? Maybe a current player like Sammy Sosa or Barry Bonds (he's in the news a lot). Maybe Ted Williams, whose season home run record was smashed a few years ago by Androstenedione and other pharmaceuticals, or Hank Aaron or Babe Ruth? But Mel Ott? Give me a break!
Then there is one of my real favorites: "MOMA Artist". If you don't already know it, MOMA is New York's Museum Of Modern Art. Gee, how many artists have work on display there right now? Maybe a permanent collection? Go ahead and look at the web site and see if you can figure out who they mean.
The answer is KLEE. You found that name straight away, didn't you? Me, too.
Not in the realm of repeats, but certainly in the "you gotta be kidding" arena: MHO. Yes, MHO. The clue was "electrical unit". If you randomly asked me what a mho was I could actually have told you (the inverse of ohms) because I was an electrical engineering major for a couple of years in college, but what the hell are mhos doing in a syndicated crossword puzzle? The only way most people will get that is by getting all the crossing words (actually, that's how I got it). You can't even make the excuse that you're expanding someone's vocabulary (literary or cultural) because mhos will never come up in casual conversation.
I'll close with a few of my other favorite repeats: "ELS" (urban commuter trains), "ESS" (curve in the road), "CEE" (average grade).
3 comments:
It's been awhile (not to be confused with Benefiber) since I habitually did crossword puzzles, but noticed the same thing you did. Which is, the Guy Who Crafts These Things gets lazy after a week or so, and reruns the clues until after a few months the puzzle can be done in your sleep.
A unit of type: em. As if.
I think there must be a shortage of 3 letter words available to the constructors. I am old enough to remember Mel Ott. What would the constructors do without UTA/UMA/ALE/PUB(S). Most taverns serve beer not ale, but you would never know it. Also don't forget Bobby Orr. I keep working the puzzles and happy the Abilene rag includes them.
The constructor in today's puzzle doesn't mind using "crossword mumbo jumbo" ie: amebas for amoebas)39d)
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