But first, some xwordinfo errata:
I received three emails in a row today with corrections for the xwordinfo database. Two came from shiftless joon who discovered a couple of missing late-week rebus puzzles. He found them the same way I usually do, by noticing odd answers in Quick Clues. The first is a Frances Hansen puzzle from Friday, December 8, 1995. The second is a Michael Shteyman construction from Saturday, September 16, 2006. If you're keeping score, there are now 169 rebus crosswords in the Shortz era. I'm no doubt still missing some.
A different kind of error has now made it a little bit easier for every other constructor to catch up to Manny Nosowsky's record. The March 9, 2000 puzzle had been erroneously attributed to Mr. Nosowsky but the real author is Myles Callum. The still-outrageous Nosowsky total now dips to 240. The big news here is that with this proper attribution, Mr. Callum now has a Thursday puzzle and joins the elite Hitting for the Cycle club.
Puns and Anagrams
I'm often asked about cryptic puzzles and today's Puns and Anagrams second puzzle is a good entry into this world. It's not as hard as a typical cryptic but it starts you in the right direction. I don't include these crosswords in my database but I thought I'd do an analysis of the upper-left corner to give newbies a head start on these wacky inventions. I put words to be re-sorted into an anagram inside [square brackets].
1 A: The [press at] meals. REPASTS
13 A: [Giant G, I] see. Replace "see" with "c" and then GIGANTIC is an anagram.
16 A: What drink does [Tina love]? OVALTINE
17 A: More brimming with [fuel] left and right. FULLER combines fuel, L, and R.
22 A: The Spanish is for some Ivy Leaguers. The is EL in Spanish, with IS makes ELIS.
25 A: "Ouch" preceder. RET + ouch makes the word retouch.
1 D: Brook in ['54? True!] 54 is LIV, plus TRUE gives RIVULET meaning brook.
2 D: With [it, "Eagle"] is a cry of the French Revolution. EGALITIE
3 D: Tires out everyone in postscript. ALL in PS gives PALLS.
4 D: Vigil's end is ANTE. Yes, ante means "before" in Latin but vigilante is a word.
5 D: Ado in Belfast, Ireland. STIR is in the words.
6 D: Material in some plating. TIN is inside plating.
7 D: In which writers see [sense]. Again replace "see" with "c" for SCENES.
Get the idea? Go tackle the rest on your own.
