Joseph Knecht

  Someone's in the Kitchen With Dinah! Today's offering by Amanda Cook and Kelly Richardson reminds me of a puzzle by David Alfred Bywaters that I reviewed a few years back, all about things found in a Victorian kitchen .  In this case the constructors treat us to 5 punny clues loosely describing kitchen utensils (no stars, circles, or reveal) ... 18A. Reporters who cover the multiple-recalls beat?: LEMON PRESS .  Reporters ( PRESS ) specializing in faulty cars ( LEMONS ).  Here's an unpunned LEMON PRESS ... 23A. Championship match for competitive waitstaff?: SERVING BOWL .  The competitive waitstaff make their living SERVING and the BOWL doubles as either the final game in a series or the coveted award to the winner.  Here's a real bowl we use for serving salads ... 35A. Party where sparks really fly?: ELECTRIC MIXER .  A party thrown by the Mean Girls ? 51A. Zero-star review that goes fully scorched earth?: ROASTING PAN .  I viewed a ...

Feathered Follies Tweety Today's constructors-cum-ornithologists feather our nest with fill from 5 classic movies, which they have morphed into punny birds with just a single letter change .  Kelly Richardson is a fledgling in these parts and Katie Hale has soared through our skies many times as a constructor and assistant editor. Here is each new hatchling, followed by the original still in its shell ... 16A. Film about a seabird who will stop at nothing for a sandwich?: RAGING GULL .  RAGING BULL is a 1980 American biographical sports drama film directed by Martin Scorsese and based Jake LaMotta 's 1970 memoir Raging Bull: My Story . It stars Robert De Niro as Jake LaMotta.   22A. Film about a bird who is constantly mistaken for a common pigeon?: DOVE ACTUALLY .  LOVE ACTUALLY is a 2003 Christmas romantic comedy film written and directed by Richard Curtis . It features an ensemble cast, composed predominantly of British actors, many of whom had worked w...