07.22.07 -- Casanova

Giacomo Girolamo Casanova (1725-1798) Ölgemälde von Pietro Longhi (1702-1785).

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Sunday, July 22, 2007

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WORST PICKUP LINES

Puzzle by David Levinson Wilk, edited by Will Shortz

23A "Pardon me, are you from the Caribbean? Because..." -- JAMAICANMECRAZY

30A "I know it's not my business, but if you were a laser..." -- YOUDBESETONSTUNNING

48A "Say, is it hot in here...?" -- ORISITJUSTYOU

66A " Sorry to bother you, but do you work for NASA? Because..." -- YOUREOUTOFTHISWORLD

85A "Excuse me, I seem to have lost my phone number -- ...?" -- CANIHAVEYOURS

102A "I don't mean to pry, but are you from Nashville? Because..." -- YOURETHEONLYTENISEE

114A "Even though we've never met, I'm sure your last name is Campbell. That's because..." -- YOUREMMMMMMGOOD

I'm no Casanova, but I can't agree that these are the worst pickup lines -- they've always worked for me! Just kidding! -- and so is this Sunday crossword puzzle with its humorous septet of Lotharioisms -- except perhaps for one "Excuse me, I seem to have lost my phone number; can I have yours!" That's the gold standard of pickup lines -- and it's not the worst by any standard! What would I know, I never had to speak -- I was chased! Uh, chaste! The image of the drooling male has always been a rather unattractive sight, and I never thought it wise to add that liability to my repertoire -- enough, this is about today's crossword! Outside of two entries in the upper left of the grid -- ALADY (2D Henry James's "The Portrait of ____") and ROMEO (3D Amorist) -- this puzzle quickly gets on to other matters.

Surely a coincidence, there are two repeats from Saturday’s puzzle -- one of them being the ROMEO clue “Amorist” (an entry clued as “Love lover” in yesterday’s puzzle), and the other MOESHA (98A Title teen in a 1990s sitcom) -- this gave me trouble even though I’d seen it yesterday -- why? There is also a “Mae Shi” and I was unfamiliar with the cross, NAAN (86D Indian bread), needless to say!

Plenty of baseball in the puzzle, including 50D One OCAT (kids’ game), RBI (82A Suicide squeeze result, for short), BERRA (25A Catcher in the World Series’ only perfect game), MLB (92A Orioles’ org.), and OTTS (90D Slugger Mel et al).

COLORADO (72A Dinosaur National Monument site) may please Linda G of Madness…Crossword and Otherwise. The electronic clue for ICETEA (96A Lemonade + _____ = Arnold Palmer) is stated differently in the NYT Magazine (96A Lemonade -- _____ -- Arnold Palmer) -- there may be more differences, but I’m not going to proofread the whole damn puzzle! Most everyone SHRUGSOFF (17D Doesn’t get bothered by) these discrepancies -- well, better read Michael of Rex Parker Does the NYT Crossword Puzzle to be sure. Oh, and incidentally, ORANGE (Amy of Diary of a Crossword Fiend) will have a thing or two to say about love!

Romeo and Juliet -- Ford Madox Brown

This crossword won’t STUMP (101A Baffle) anyone, though it’s not quite a SNAP (108D Go postal) -- stay cool this July weekend -- have a POPSICLE (122A It gets a licking) while you work this easy-going and humorous Sunday diversion, all at the expense of male testosterone!

...and you know, a lot of those pickup lines work like a charm!

"The Kiss" -- Toulouse Lautrec, 1892

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