Today’s Saturday Stumper

“Paul, do you have anything yet on today’s Newsday Saturday Stumper?”

“Just one lead so far, Perry: OUZO.”

“Ooze-o?”

“No, O-U-Z-O. It’s some kind of liquor, and for some reason it shows up in crosswords, all caps. But here’s the thing: it’s shown up in the Stumper three times now this year. First in mid-July, in a puzzle by a Greg Johnson. And then — the very next week — in a puzzle by one Brad Wilber. I suspect there’s a connection. And now again, in today’s puzzle. Right here: 34-Down, four letters, ‘Sambuca cousin.’ OUZO. My guess: find Johnson or Wilber and you find the guy who made today’s puzzle.”

“Paul, you just gave away an answer. But there’s another more important answer that’s already been given away. Look, right here on the page, next to the puzzle: ‘By Greg Johnson.’”

“Hey, whaddaya know? Next time I’ll remember my reading glasses.”

Yes, today’s puzzle is by Greg Johnson. And I have no other answers to give away. But some wonderful clue-and-answer pairs: 3-D, fifteen letters, “Assembly manual phrase.” 16-A, eight letters, “One related to others.” 26-D, seven letters, “Ingredient in an authentic burrito.” 42-D, seven letters, “Large revolvers.” And the weird and wacky 12-D, fifteen letters, “They’re at Royal Caribbean’s Bionic Bars.” OUZOSOUZOSOUZOS? Nah.

I started today’s puzzle with a giveaway: 17-A, six letters, “Inaugural singer for Jimmy, Bill and Barack.” Some better days there. Thanks for the memories, Mr. Johnson.

No spoilers: the answers are in the comments.

[“Hey, whaddaya know?”: borrorwed from the Perry Mason episode “The Case of the Dodging Domino.”]

Domestic comedy

[At the kitchen table, reading a wine label.]

“Does it say anything about lamb?”

“No, it just says to express your soul.”

Related reading
All OCA domestic comedy posts (Pinboard)

[The wine in question: 2017 Caracter Malbec, from Argentina. It’s inexpensive and delicious. We have several bottles. And yes, it goes well with lamb.]

New Yorker commas

Turning the pages of a January New Yorker, I noticed this tag at the end of a story: “Translated, from the Japanese, by Philip Gabriel.” Only The New Yorker, said I, would use commas there.

Garner’s Modern English Usage explains two ways of using commas:

The “close” style of punctuation results in fairly heavy uses of commas; the “open” style results in fairly light uses of commas. In the 20th century, the movement was very much toward the open style. The byword was, “When in doubt, leave it out.” Indeed, some writers and editors went too far in omitting commas that would aid clarity.

And indeed, some writers and editors go too far in including commas that do not aid clarity.

Here’s Mary Norris’s in-house defense of New Yorker commas: “In Defense of ‘Nutty’ Commas.” It predates the New Yorker possessive “Donald Trump, Jr.,’s.”

Related reading
All OCA punctuation posts (Pinboard)

Ben Leddy hosts The Rewind

Here’s the latest installment of WGBH’s The Rewind, “The Time WGBH Burnt Down,” hosted by our son Ben. You can find all episodes of The Rewind at YouTube.

Oh, Nancy

[Nancy, October 17, 2019.]

As she announced earlier this week, Nancy is now “an inspirational lifestyle blogger.” And I’m thinking of the painfulness of that movie Eighth Grade (dir. Bo Burnham, 2018).

Related reading
All OCA Nancy posts (Pinboard)

The Great Chicago Fire and type

Daughter Number Three asked in a comment if I knew about the role of the Great Chicago Fire in standardizing type sizes. Not me. She then provided a brief history in another comment. Thank you, DN3.

Between comments, I found this page about type at Sizes: The Online Quantinary. The page covers the development of type sizes, with a nod to the Great Chicago Fire and what looks like an exhaustive list of British and American sizes, from the wee Minikin, or Excelsior, on up.

Excelsior: a type size, the wood shavings used as packing material, the New York State motto, and Jean Shepherd’s rallying cry to his radio audience all those years ago.

Elijah Cummings (1951–2019)

Elijah Cummings, member of Congress (D, Maryland-7), has died at the age of sixty-eight. The Washington Post has an obituary.

From Cummings’s closing words to Michael Cohen at a hearing of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, February 27, 2019:

“When we’re dancing with the angels, the question will be asked: in 2019, what did we do to make sure we kept our democracy intact? Did we stand on the sidelines and say nothing?”

Elijah Cummings didn’t stand on the sidelines.

Current events

The surprise sprung on the Dunn family . . . “plenty of sand” . . . “no angels” . . . “We can fight our own battles on our own territories” . . . “There are Communists involved, and you guys might like that.” All I can say, with Rahsaan Roland Kirk, is

Clickety clack, clickety clack,
Somebody’s mind done got off the goddam track.

That’s from Kirk’s recitation “Clickety Clack,” recorded live at the Keystone Korner, San Francisco, June 1973. From the album Bright Moments (Atlantic, 1973).

Off the goddam track, and for a very long time now.

*

And now there’s this letter. (It’s real.)

Speeding up the Mac dictionary

Also because it’s National Dictionary Day: How to make your Mac’s dictionary popup way, way faster (Cult of Mac).

Me, I don’t notice a difference, but any tip that gets rid of Siri suggestions is all right by me. Oh, wait: I already have Siri turned off on my Mac.

Egg-cream dispute

Also because it’s National Dictionary Day: “The Disputed Origins of the ‘Egg Cream’” (Merriam-Webster).