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Weird Al wrote today's cheese-pun-filled 'New York Times' Crossword

“Weird Al” Yankovic has written today’s edition of The New York Times Crossword Puzzle (4/4). As you might expect the theme is cheese puns. That’s a picture of it above and, as Al notes, “If you’re REALLY good, you don’t NEED the clues!” Specifically it is cheese puns on movies (“A Few Gouda Men,” “Feta Attraction’). He worked with NY Times puzzle constructor Eric Berlin who talked a little about how it came about:

Back in early December I got it into my head that Al would make an ideal addition to the celebrity/constructor pairings that The New York Times has been featuring on its crossword page. I pitched this to Will Shortz. He turned around and pitched it to Al. (And thanks to my old friend and occasional Times contributor, Gavin Edwards, who has a knack for knowing how to get in touch with famous people.) Al, to my delight, leapt at the idea, and all of a sudden I found myself in a weeklong many-e-mails-a-day correspondence with one of my childhood — and heck, adult — idols.

We batted around a few theme ideas, some of which seemed worth developing but none of which made it to the finish line. I suggested “The ____ Film Festival,” with that blank to be filled in with whatever struck Al’s fancy. He replied with a long list of cheese/movie puns, and I had no doubt that we had a winner. My very first attempt at the grid included one of my favorites from his list, QUESOBLANCA. I was under the misapprehension that queso is not just the Spanish word for cheese but also a specific kind of cheese. Whoops, not quite. (This was entirely on me, I should note — Al, not knowing during his brainstorming that the end result would be restricted to specific cheeses, had several cheese-adjacent puns in his list, including FONDUE THE RIGHT THING and CHEESY RIDER.)

Read more about it here, and pick up a copy of today’s paper (or subscribe to their puzzles) to play.

Weird Al’s “Ill-Advised Vanity Tour,” where he’s eschewing his parodies in favor of the many original songs over the years, is underway, and hit NYC in March for two nights at The Apollo. Remaining tour dates are listed below.

“Weird Al” Yankovic – 2018 Tour Dates
APR 4 PANTAGES THEATRE Minneapolis, MN
APR 6 VIC THEATRE Chicago, IL
APR 7 VIC THEATRE Chicago, IL
APR 10 PABST THEATER Milwaukee, WI
APR 12 HONEYWELL CENTER Wabash, IN
APR 13 WALKER THEATER Chattanooga, TN
APR 14 MILLER THEATER Augusta, GA
APR 15 TABERNACLE Atlanta, GA
APR 17 NASHVILLE COMEDY FEST – WAR MEMORIAL Nashville, TN
APR 19 GILLIOZ THEATRE Springfield, MO
APR 20 LETOURNEAU UNIVERSITY BELCHER CENTER Longview, TX
APR 21 MOONTOWER COMEDY FESTIVAL – PARAMOUNT THEATRE Austin, TX
APR 22 WAGNER NOEL PERFORMING ARTS CENTER Midland, TX
APR 24 STAFFORD PERFORMING ARTS CENTER Stafford, TX
APR 26 TOBIN CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS San Antonio, TX
APR 27 THE MAJESTIC THEATRE Dallas , TX
APR 28 ORPHEUM THEATER Wichita, KS
APR 29 FOLLY THEATER Kansas City, MO
MAY 1 PARAMOUNT THEATRE Denver, CO
MAY 3 AVALON THEATRE Grand Junction, CO
MAY 4 TUACAHN AMPHITHEATRE AT TUACAHN CENTER FOR THE ARTS Ivins, UT
MAY 5 FOX TUCSON THEATRE Tucson, AZ
MAY 6 LENSIC PERFORMING ARTS CENTER Santa Fe, NM
MAY 8 MESA ARTS CENTER – IKEDA THEATRE Mesa, AZ
MAY 9 MCCALLUM THEATRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS Palm Desert, CA
MAY 10 2ND DATE ADDED!
THE THEATRE AT ACE HOTEL Los Angeles, CA
MAY 11 THE THEATRE AT ACE HOTEL Los Angeles, CA
MAY 12 HUMPHREY’S CONCERTS BY THE BAY San Diego, CA
MAY 15 CREST THEATRE Sacramento, CA
MAY 17 GOLDEN STATE THEATRE Monterey, CA
MAY 18 TURLOCK COMMUNITY THEATRE Turlock, CA
MAY 19 FOX THEATRE Oakland, CA
MAY 20 UPTOWN THEATRE Napa, CA
MAY 22 CASCADE THEATRE Redding, CA
MAY 24 MCDONALD THEATRE Eugene, OR
MAY 25 REVOLUTION HALL Portland, OR
MAY 26 REVOLUTION HALL Portland, OR
MAY 27 MARTIN WOLDSON THEATER AT THE FOX Spokane, WA
MAY 29 MOORE THEATRE Seattle, WA
MAY 31 GREY EAGLE RESORT & CASINO – GREY EAGLE EVENT CENTRE Calgary, AB
JUN 1 CASINO REGINA – SHOW LOUNGE Regina, SK
JUN 2 RIVER CREE RESORT AND CASINO – ENTERTAINMENT CENTRE Enoch, AB
JUN 3 ESPLANADE THEATRE Medicine Hat, AB
JUN 5 BURTON CUMMINGS THEATRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS Winnipeg, MB
JUN 6 FARGO THEATRE Fargo, ND
JUN 8 JESSE AUDITORIUM Columbia, MO
JUN 9 SURF BALLROOM Clear Lake, IA
JUN 10 MEYER THEATRE Green Bay, WI