Joseph Knecht

  Questionable Clues?     Today C.C. clues her puzzle themers with 5 one-word punny questions (3 across and 2 down), each ending with "words?" and then fills them with an idiomatic or in the language phrase ... 17A. Keywords?:  OPEN SESAME .   This phrase entered the Western world from an Arabic folk tale   Ali Baba and the 40 thieves , about a poor woodcutter who discovers the secret treasure of a thieves' den, overhears them, and enters with the magic phrase "open sesame", the key to opening the cave.  Here's a cartoon summary of the story ... 39A. Crosswords?:  I SAID NO .  A phrase often said by cross parents when talking to a disappointed child. 62A. Safewords?:  JUST IN CASE .  A phrase indicating that you're not taking any chances. 11D. Catchwords?:  ROGER THAT .  A phrase used in military, CB radio, and airline communications to acknowledge successful receipt of a message -- do ...

  Pros minding their Ps and Qs Veteran Pravan Chakravarthy last appeared here with co-constructor Matthew Stock with a themeless puzzle, reviewed by Husker Gary .  Pravan is a double major in linguistics and physics at the University of Chicago and a crossword editor himself . Today he solos with a theme that seems to have some similarities to last Thursday's puzzle, which was all about long vowel sounds.  Scanning the theme clues below you'll see long  Ē  and  Ū sounds in the words/phrases peas , cues , p 's and q 's, and keys and pews , and I thought there might be a rhyming pattern there.  I wasn't sure so I reached out to Pravan via email and he assured me that he wasn't consciously trying to rhyme, but the theme could be interpreted that way. Here are the theme clues which all start with "Professional who minds their ..." ... 17A. Professional who minds their peas:  VEGETABLE FARMER .  We've planted a vegetable garden for year...