Joseph Knecht

  Unpuzzle? Today's constructor, veteran Jesse Goldberg invites us solvers to "unpuzzle" four themers each consisting of pairs of inflectional morphemes , the first word of each pair being prefixed by " Un " ... 17A. Unprincipled principles: DOUBLE STANDARDS .  Compartmentalization is something which most of us do to one degree or another. 27A. Unforced force: VOLUNTEER ARMY .  Some thoughts on the evolution of an all volunteer army, circa 2006 . 44A. Unfinished finish: CLIFF HANGER .  A cliffhanger or cliffhanger ending is a plot device in fiction which features a main character in a precarious or difficult dilemma or confronted with a shocking revelation at the end of an episode.  One of the earliest films to use this device was the 1914 silent melodrama The Perils of Pauline , about an ambitious young heiress with an independent nature and a desire for adventure.  Here's episode 6 where her nemeses, who are trying to get her inheritance, conspire...

 A Place for Everything As this is the Thursday of the Octave of Christmas , I thought The Place Where I Belong by singer/songwriter Leroy Sanchez would be a good place to start ... Today's constructor, veteran Adam Vincent , reminds us that there is a place for everything , or as he puts it, an "Apt spot to ...?".  He does this with 4 multi-level themers (2 Across and 2 Down ) ... 46A. Apt spot to do the running man?: POLITICAL PARTY .  It could be a man running for election, or the title song from the 1987 dystopian film The Running Man , performed here by Ghost Town DJ ... 55. Apt spot to breakdance?: WRECKING BALL .  A contemporary torch song by Miley Cyrus ... 4D. Apt spot to swing dance?: GOLF CLUB .  If a ballet on the links doesn't get you in the mood, maybe this will ... 11D. Apt spot to do the moonwalk?: SPACE BAR .  Not just the long key on the keyboard that I just pressed 8 times, but a dive on the desert...

  No movie, no popcorn, today -- the trailer for the first themer from today's constructors, Lisa Senzel and Will Nediger , should wake you up ... 20A. Review that says, "Hitchcock serves up a twist that you won't see coming"?: PSYCHO ANALYSIS . 31A. Review that says, "Bit of a downer, but Soderbergh delivers"?: TRAFFIC REPORT . Whoa, that was more than a "bit" of a downer.  Before proceeding we need to change lanes  to a different Steve to lift our spirits a bit .... 37A. Review that says, "Idina Menzel shines as Elsa"?: FROZEN ACCOUNT .   Just Let it Go ... Here's the reveal ... 51A. In-depth news story, or any of the reviews mentioned in this puzzle?: FEATURE ARTICLE The ARTICLES were an ANALYSIS , a REPORT , and an ACCOUNT of 3 different FEATURE films - PSYCHO , TRAFFIC , and FROZEN .  TRAFFIC ' S Feelin' Alright was an AD-LIB by Steve Winwood . Here's the grid ... ...

  Tall Tales Tall tales are often based on real people and real events, but those who tell them reveal a tendency to ... 62A. Embellish the truth, and what the sets of circled letters do?: SPIN A TALE .   Yes, this puzzle has CIRCLES !  I know that some of you are not big fans of circles (and you know who you are 😁), but try to imagine how you would have described this puzzle's theme without them.  You may  recall today's constructor Catherine Cetta's last puzzle in which she used the phrase CHANGE AGENT to reveal what was obvious to all (but regrettably not to this reviewer 🙁), that the word AGENT had been scrambled into each of the theme fills.  In today's puzzle she has packaged the word TALE in 4 pairs of 2x2 boxes across 2 consecutive fill lines and then SPUN it by a single letter for each successive pair.  IMHO that arrangement wasn't easy to construct. Please post any suggestions in the comments as to how this theme co...