Bygone Korean automaker / TUE 5-5-15 / Small house in Latin America / Shoes named for antelope / Vera of haute couture / Vivacious wits /

Tuesday, May 5, 2015

Constructor: Michael Blake and Andrea Carla Michaels

Relative difficulty: Medium-Challenging (**for a Tuesday**) (time: 4:08)



THEME: ADDIE (69A: Girl's name that's a two-part hint to 1/20-, 27-, 45- and 53-Across) — put -IE on the ends of familiar phrases. You get wacky phrases.

Theme answers:
  • SWEET / GEORGIA BROWNIE (1A: With 20-Across, chocolaty Atlanta treat?)
  • BAR STOOLIE (27A: One ratting out a group of lawyers?)
  • RARE BIRDIE (45A: What the duffer shot on a hole, surprisingly?)
  • SHOCKING PINKIE (53A: Little finger that makes you go "Oh my God!"?) [What? Even with ample wackiness leeway, that clue makes no sense.]
Word of the Day: DAEWOO (10D: Bygone Korean automaker) —
Daewoo Motors was a South Korean automotive company established in 1982, part of the Daewoo Group. It sold most of its assets in 2001 to General Motors, after running into financial trouble, becoming a subsidiary of the American company and being renamed GM Daewoo. In 2011, it was replaced by GM Korea. (wikipedia)
• • •

Don't know a single person named ADDIE, real or fictional, so puzzle feels massively contrived. Actually, I think I might know of one. Hang on (… goes to wikipedia…); yes, the basis for the movie Paper Moon was a novel entitled ADDIE Pray by Joe David Brown. My friend Shelah taught me this 20+ years ago (she loved the novel, as I recall). Why I remember this factoid 20+ years later, I don't know … maybe because No One Else In The Universe Is Named ADDIE. So anyway, the theme is odd. The theme *type* is super-basic. The add-a-sound / letter thing is older than God, and here, the wackiness results are just so-so. I don't know what "shocking pink" is. Is it a kind of pink? A shade of pink? I know of "hot pink," but not "shocking pink," so SHOCKING PINKIE is strange to me. All in all, this is a placeholder puzzle. Fill is stale but serviceable, and concept is stale but adequately executed. There are cheater squares* in the E and W (black squares below EARL and above WEAR, respectively), lord only knows why. Tiny sections like that are not hard to fill. Cheaters also follow WATER and precede VIRAL. Theme does not seem so demanding that you have to black-square it to death like this. Whole puzzle feels tired and slapdash. And, most importantly, ADDIE? Shouldn't a name you base an entire puzzle on be a name someone actually has (my apologies if that's your name—the only ADDIE I know is a guy, and he doesn't spell it that way).


Because of the multiple cross-referenced clues, and the very narrow connecting passages between N and S parts of the grid, and some odd, yucky, initially inscrutable fill like ECCLES (?), my time was way slower than normal. I had to recall DAEWOO, which was odd / unpleasant. I also had to go up against the Law Offices of ILO ESSE ESTO ESAI ERI and OLE (they're not good, but they'll bury you in paperwork). Honestly, this puzzle feels just plain lazy. The puzzle equivalent of a shrug. Not enough thought or care went into making this an entertaining, fresh, 21st-century puzzle. It'll do, but it won't do well. Where are SHARPIE? JUNKIE? MOUNTIE? ARCHIE? This could've Easily been a Sunday (and if the theme answers were a lot funnier, it could even have been a tolerable Sunday).

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

*cheater squares = black squares that do not change the word count (added only to make filling the grid easier)

[Follow Rex Parker on Facebook and Twitter]

148 comments:

Anonymous 12:06 AM  

I knew an Addie.

dreisands 12:09 AM  

Addie Bundren was the dead matriarch in "As I Lay Dying". Still doesn't help to excuse this puzzle. Ugh. Its design just looked ugly and disjointed on the page/phone.

Steve J 12:23 AM  

I've also never known or heard of anyone named Addie, and Google didn't come up with anyone to give me an "Oh yeah, I totally forgot about her" moment, so I found the theme odd.

As far as the rest of the puzzle? Unremarkable. Pretty drab Tuesday, even by Tuesday's normal drab standards.

Unknown 12:27 AM  

Isn't it Queen Elizabeth's pet name for Sir Edmund Blackadder?

Unknown 1:24 AM  

I know a seven-year-old named Addie - short for Adelaide

chefwen 1:28 AM  

I am shocked, I found this puzzle to be delightful. It took me a while to catch on, as I've said before, I' m a little slow on the uptake, but when I finally grasped the situation, I loved it.

Our last name is Czech and translates to Son of Adam. Many of Jon's collegues call him ADDIE.

I could go for a SWEET GEORGIA BROWNIE right about now.

WillGH 2:07 AM  

Surprisingly hard! had me questioning what day of the week was today.

One of my sons school friends has a new baby sister Adeline, or Addie for short. So at least that corner was obvious.

jae 2:52 AM  

Tough Tues. for me too. Partly because I had tOn before GOB and garb before WEAR, and partly because I didn't see the abbr. on the Turn Turn Turn clue, and partly because I miswrote ESAI.  

We go months with out seeing an Andrea puzzle and suddenly she co-authors  the Mon. LAT (which was about right at medium for me) and the Tues. NYT.   Please keep them coming. 

Of the two I liked this one better...more amusing with a bit of crunch...but the Mon. LAT was just fine.  Definitely liked this one more than Rex did.

MDMA 4:03 AM  

Took a long time for a Tuesday, even before I got stuck on the west middle part for about five minutes. But all's well that ends well.

AliasZ 4:34 AM  


Look, two puzzles for the price of one. It reminds me of the Civil War: the North vs. the South. Only the Pass of PUB ROUND cuts through the mighty mountain range dissecting the landscape. I couldn't care less about the theme or the fill, because I couldn't believe such poor grid design has made it into the NYT.

I consider isolating the two halves of the puzzle, except for that narrow isthmus, cheating. It violates the spirit of the Law of Crosswords. Sorry ACME and Michael, I thought this one was a failure. You have done better than this.

GILL I. 4:48 AM  

SWEET ADDIE...Now who might that be, Andrea?
Good gravy, @Rex....I'm seriously wondering if anything other than mint juleps please you. We've been inundated with ho hum Tuesday puzzles and then we get this fun gem. How can you not like WANG SMUT and BAR STOOLIE? Do you have no imagination?
Michael and Andrea...I do hope you collaborate on a Sunday. You both have a wonderful sense of humor. Thanks for making the usual dull Tuesday puzzle into a bit harder than usual but enjoyable romp!

Danp 4:51 AM  

I liked the puzzle. It never occured to me that Addie would be controversial, though I have never known one. I'm guessing it was Andie when first submitted - sort of an author's cameo.

Unknown 5:02 AM  

The only (human) Addie that I know is short for Addison. I also know two pet dogs named Addie.

This was a hard puzzle for me. I don't play for speed, but I'm not generally super slow, and this puzzle was 50% slower than my normal Tuesday time.

I'm having trouble coming up with anything that I could add to this theme as a constructor. The only thing I can think of would be BIG WHOOPIE, but with a puzzle that already has WANG, I'm not sure the NYT would allow for such a thing!

Charles Flaster 5:09 AM  

Enjoyed this easy puzzle. I have known at least 3 Addies.. Maybe that is what made me like this creative endeavor -- but that is nonsense.
The first themer was my favorite -- GEORGIA BROWNIE. The fill was Tuesday appropriate.
Thanks MB and ACM.

Thomaso808 5:15 AM  

I know and work with an ADDIE. I assume her full name is Adeline or Adelaine. The "I Love Lucy" bit comes to mind. Because of that one TV piece there's probably thousands of barbershop quartets out there called the Sweet Adelines.

I thought the theme was great. The fill was good and this was a very enjoyable Tuesday. My only criticism is the severe barrier between N and S. Very unusual and really unnecessary.

The clue for PUB? That's the best you can do for the puzzle's critical N-S intersection? I seriously doubt if any self-respecting pub in the world is a "Trivia night site". Community centers, yes. Summer camps, yes. Old folks homes, yes. But pubs? Am I missing some subtle reference or humor here, or is that a very flawed clue? I actually play guitar in a regular gig in an Irish pub in Waikiki and believe me, there's usually no one there in any condition to play trivia.

Matt 6:26 AM  

Trivia nights in bars and pubs are hugely popular, at least around cities in the NE, where I live. Seems like every bar around here has one, and They usually have them on slow nights like Tuesdays or Wednesdays to generate business.

Loren Muse Smith 6:38 AM  
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Loren Muse Smith 6:43 AM  
This comment has been removed by the author.
optionsgeek 6:53 AM  

If you don't know what color SHOCKING PINK(IE) is, just visit the aisle for girls' toy at any Target. SHOCKING PINK and lilac as far as the eye can see.

Addie Pray 7:01 AM  

It is only a paper moon
Sailing over a cardboard sea,
But it wouldn't be make believe
If you believed in me.

It is only a canvas sky
Hanging over a muslin tree,
But it wouldn't be make believe
If you believed in me.

Without your love,
It's a honky-tonk parade.
Without your love,
It's a melody played in a penny arcade.

It's a Barnum and Bailey world,
Just as phony as it can be,
But it wouldn't be make believe
If you believed in me.


Name that tune 7:03 AM  

Today I will insult everyone. I will insult the constructor of the puzzle for having a theme involving a name of nobody I know. Sure, it's a name, but if I don't happen to know anyone by that name then it must be an obscure and ridiculous name that nobody should ever use in a puzzle.
Furthermore, I will insult my readers by adding that stupid, condescending "** for a Tuesday**," because even though I've said many times that I rate puzzles relative to their day of the week, I feel the need to just keep saying it. Over and over.
Lastly, I will insult myself by showing how intellectually lazy I am. Rather than do a simple search for the phrase "shocking pink," which would show me that yes, it is a real color and would be well known to artists and designers, I will act, again, as if it isn't a thing because I haven't heard of it and I'm too cocky to admit that a thing might exist of which I haven't heard. I will pretend this is a fault of the puzzle, when really it is a fault with me.

AnnieD 7:09 AM  

My old school bus driver was named Addie and a young gal I know is named Addie, short for Addison.

Shocking pink is definitely a color. Very popular in the psychedelic days of the 70s along with lime green and purple.

Anonymous 7:12 AM  

@Thomaso808,
Seriously?! You really need to get out more. Or, rather than make a fool of yourself, at least have the ability to enter "pub trivia nights" in the google to find out that pretty much every city in the world has dozens of pubs that have trivia nights every week.

Anonymous 7:14 AM  

@Thomaso808's comment that "pubs" and "trivia" have nothing to do with each other is almost as good as the guy yesterday who was certain that "ram" had nothing to do with "Dodge."

Z 7:15 AM  

I guess I have to take a stand:

Don't know an ADDIE, but didn't blink an eye at it. Seems a perfectly reasonable diminutive to me.

The Woodbridge PUB does trivia nights. Very big with the hipster and anti-hipster crowd (there is a certain currency around these parts in not being a hipster - they all look the same to me).

Criticizing an "add-a-letter" puzzle for being an "add-a-letter" puzzle is like critisizing a Pilsner for not being an IPA. Sure, all the cool kids are drinking hopped up IPAs these days, but a well-brewed Pilsner can quench the thirst better on a hot summer afternoon. Not only is this a fine example of the type, it's gone an extra step by being an "add-2-letters" puzzle, sort of an IPP (that's India Pale Pilsner for those of you who don't follow trends in craft brewing).

Finally, SHOCKING PINKIE! If the clue doesn't take you right to a Divinyls frame of mind I just can't help you.

Anonymous 7:17 AM  

All 53A evokes for me is "Everybody's Rockin" by Neil Young and the Shocking Pinks.

Leapfinger 7:23 AM  

Hi, Rex! I have a 4-year old ADDIE living next door to me. She is a consummate chatterbox, but at least her conversations have advanced from an endless series of 'why's. Perhaps ADDIE is more common South of the Mason-Dixon.

The idea of ADD IE is SWEET, but still in its infancy; with some more time and inspiration, it could grow into a whole ADDIE line, a SWEET ADDIE line.

What's not to like? Well, there's that odd divided grid like a lopsided hourglass. If we had to have it, the OUST to EDEN connector should have been good, and I agree with @Thomas808 that PUB is an odd entry and clue.

What's to like? Can't argue with a SWEET GEORGIA BROWNIE, and SHOCKING PINKIE made me think of kids shuffling their feet on the carpet in winter, to make a spark jump from finger to finger.
The cross of ALI with STAIR has that ACMEesque snap and sparkle, it Sims to me. Not to mention INDIA crossing INK.
Yesterday's EERIE is cutdown to today's ERIE and ERI, probably due to some ER-ASE enzyme action.
We get WANG and GNAW, SMUT but no TUMS. I looked for more word reversals, but SWAPMEET/STEEMPAWS put me off my feed.

Bottom line, I'll say I DIG IT AL(L), even if it doesn't altogether please the COG GNAW SEN TEAS*. NO MO', @Rex, NO MO'!

I'll now have my coffee in the Breakfast Nook.



*In a more perfect world, that might be COGNAC SHUN TEA, but Hey, be gratefulno shaggy dog was attached.

Mohair Sam 7:29 AM  

Delightful, refreshing puzzle - a real treat on a Tuesday. I'll join @chefwen, @gil, and @LMS in giving this one a big thumbs up. Played tough here, but that ADDIEd to the fun.

How can @Rex not heard of SHOCKINGPINK? And Mrs. Sam knows an ADDIE, so there's that. What the heck is Rex's problem?

Worked with a guy who had the same annoying trait as Rex - if he didn't know something it made him angry at the person who mentioned it, and at the object itself. Any psychiatrists here that can explain that?

Great puzzle Michael and Andrea, thank you.

steveo 7:36 AM  

Leopold Bloom lived on ECCLES Street, in Dublin. I guess that was more obscure than a Bible book, though.

My wife works with an Addie.

OMG I finally finished Sunday and read the write-up. Why were so many of us 14 when Bhopal happened?

(Not)CrossMama 7:41 AM  

The use of "sweet" and "Addie" is clever because... Sweet Adelines -- worldwide organization of women's barbershop.

Addie is my favorite aunt, 92 years young and one of this planet's most delightful citizens. Full name: Adelaide

Having filled in estE, Mob, and aiwO, I was thrown for a while on "Georgia". Could NOT imagine what a Geermio brownie could be. Doh! Then saw "bar stoolie" and had my aha moment. Liked the themers; the fill was a snooze.

Nancy Klein 7:43 AM  

I had a dog named Addie. She was named for the Adirondack Mountains.

joho 7:45 AM  

My first puzzle published in the NYT was an add an O collaboration with Andrea -- remember FULLSPEEDOAHEAD? -- and @Rex didn't like that one, either. Remember, if it's wacky he won't like it. Regardless it was an educational, fantastic and fun experience I'll never forget.

I thought that SWEET/ADDIE was a reference to the song and thus made the name work.

It's been mentioned but I loved the BARSTOOL/PUB/ROUND party in the middle including OUST which the bouncer just might have to do.

I considered painting SHOCKING PINK on my PINKIEs just yesterday but opted for a softer shade.

I'm with @Loren and find this kind of a theme entertaining and this puzzle, too. Thank you, Michael and Blake!

Loren Muse Smith 7:46 AM  

Well heck. To add to the ever-growing list of “I know an ADDIE” stories - I have an ADDIE in my first period honors English class. So not even a blink at the name.

Great to learn a new word, "dipsomania." It feels almost silly and made up. Maybe because seems like it could be "tipsomania?" Anyway – liked SOT over BAR/ROUND/PUB, and I guess OUST, once your charming ESPRIT WEARs thin. Hey, Olga – want a shock? Pull my pinkie…

"Flat" before FLAB. Dumb. And they coulda clued FLAB like they clued MILLSTONE – "unwanted weight." I also liked SHOCKING PINKIE crossing DIGITAL. I’m reminded of a terrific puzzle Andrea did as a guest constructor on BEQ’s site: I couldn’t seem to embed it. Sorry.

http://www.brendanemmettquigley.com/2012/03/-guest-crossword-by-andrea-carla-michaels.html

WANG is GNAW backwards. Your day is now complete.

Adding IE to anything just makes it sound funny for me. Rex – here's your SHARPIE and JUNKIE- I've always remembered that puzzle because those answers were fun, too. (Again – sorry I can’t embed it.)

http://rexwordpuzzle.blogspot.com/2012/05/kardashian-matriarch-tue-5-1-12-child.html

I’m with @chefwen and @Gil on this – I liked it. I never tire of seeing stuff added to words to make new phrases. Maybe I just haven’t been solving long enough to tire of this conceit. (Reminds me of one Andrea and I kicked around for a while: GROUND CHUCKLE, PICKLE OF THE LITTER…) Keep’em coming you two!

Lewis 7:47 AM  

It feels like Rex is turning... returning to the snark tank. It feels like he came into this puzzle with the attitude that he wasn't going to like it.

Yes, I've heard of ADDIE, but I think the puzzle could have stood on its own without the reveal, even though it balances out that SWEET in the opposite corner.

The theme was cute, and as someone said recently, if I want to laugh out loud, I'll listen to a comedian (this is a paraphrase), I don't expect to laugh out loud from a crossword puzzle. This one gave me a couple of smiles. I thought there was some zip, a fairly clean grid. I was thinking the puzzle was easy for a Tuesday (the cluing seemed Mondayish), but many of you felt differently.

Will, okay, okay, I know ILO now.

@lms -- great catches on WANG/GNAW and PINKIE/DIGITAL. You have such a good eye for these things!

I came into this one from the other direction as Rex -- knowing who the constructor was, I figured I'd like it. And I did.

Dorothy Biggs 7:54 AM  

I worked as a jingle writer for a number of years and won several Addys. Does that count?

I read the xword/Chen review of this puzzle before I read Rex's assessment, and was surprised Rex didn't jump on the SWEET/GEORGIABROWNIE split themer right off the bat. I agree with JC, btw, in that the SWEET up there was confusing...I kept wanting to add it to the beginning of the rest of the themers. Gradually I figured out that didn't work.

And Andrea mentioned at xword that the SWEET goes with ADDIE somehow that she sort of assumes is known. But google doesn't know about it if it's true. There are Sweet Addies, but they are children of people with kids named Addie who post pictures of Addie on the internets and who thinks she's, um...sweet.

I'm also with Rex on SHOCKINGPINKIE...although, I seem to recall it somewhere as a synonym to hot pink...so hot it's shocking, I guess.

One last thing, Rex seems to think this theme is tired and yet Michael Blake mentions that there is only one similar (non-NYT) puzzle in the database like this one. Hmmm...

Lewis 7:57 AM  

Factoid: More than 25% of bottled WATER comes from a municipal water supply, the same place that tap water comes from.

Quotoid: "The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not 'Eureka!' but 'That's funny...'" -- ISAAC Asimov

Glimmerglass 8:00 AM  

My mother was named Adelne. She didn't care for "Addie," but some of her friends called her that. One of her great-granddaughters goes by Addie.

Benko 8:01 AM  

I know we all love Acme. I know a couple of ADDIEs. I play a lot of PUB trivia (have a regular game tonight, in fact).
But I pretty much agree with Rex on this one. I didn't think ADDIE was a worthwhile revealer and the theme entries didn't do much for me. Not much about the puzzle made me happy.

mac 8:16 AM  

I thought this was a fun Tuesday, light and quick. No problem with Addie and shocking pink. Before really reading the clue, I almost filled in Mojitos! Liked that molotov!

One oddity: yesterday we had the same two pretty distinctive answers, Isaac and ILO.

smalltowndoc 8:19 AM  

ADDIE Joss, Hall of Fame pitcher who had a perfect game and one of the lowest career ERAs in history. That should have been the clue, but, then, it would have been too easy.

chefbea 8:21 AM  

What a great puzzle!!! I have a very good friend who is from Erie and she has a grand daughter named Addison. We of course call her Addie

Thanks Michael and Acme for a fun puzzle

Unknown 8:27 AM  

My name is Addie. This puzzle made my day. I was named after my grandmother.

Qualified Statements 8:34 AM  

Anony 0712

'every city in the world...dozens of pubs... every week...'??

I believe you are mistaken in your enthusiasm for sweeping generalizations, Pilgrim. Vladivostok and Murmansk, for iinstance, only manage a scant handful of trivia night weekly (4 and 6 respectively, to be precise) and even those are totally dispensed with in the months of the Midnight Sun.

Of course, some people's lives seem to be a never-ending trivia night.

Dansah 8:38 AM  

This was a nice Tuesday puzzle.

Hartley70 8:46 AM  

Most little girls in America of a certain age (mine is 30 now) "knew" an "Addie" American Girl Doll, and her books, clothes, and various bits and pieces. I also know a gorgeous 4 year old Addie, short for Adeline.

This did not seem difficult but I see it took me much longer than usual. My only write over was sib for SIS, so I must have been pondering a bit, which is the idea after all. This was a very nice Tuesday.

Ludyjynn 8:53 AM  

My initial reaction while solving was Rex-like, but upon further reflection, after completion, I liked this one. Despite a lot of crosswordese, the theme was nicely executed and ADDIE more common than I first thought, making the whole concept work for me.

Thanks, MB, ACME and WS.

For some reason, my comments on yesterday's puzz. didn't take and I was too busy to re-enter. Unlike then NYT arts critic, Walter Kerr, 'Me Leica' the whole thing.

Nancy 8:58 AM  

I Naticked on MSN/MARLA/NES. Didn't even think of MARLA, only DARLA and CARLA. So I had DSL for "AOL alternative." But, then again, MSN and NES are computerish terms and I don't expect myself to know them. Wanna make something of it?

I was going to tell you all about ADDIE PRAY, young heroine of PAPER MOON and played by Tatum O'Neal, but "@Addie Pray" beat me to it earlier, complete with lyrics from the song that inspired the title.

Even though this was a Tuesday, the puzzle was hard enough to provide my "puzzle fix" for the day. I agree with all who called it a nice, enjoyable treat. And for me, SHOCKING PINKIE was worth the price of admission! Adorable.

Anonymous 9:09 AM  

ADDIE is short for ADDISON, which is a top 20 girls name.

Mohair Sam 9:13 AM  

@Nancy. Puns, they must be personal. We totally disagreed yesterday, and yet total agree today (loved shockingpinkie) - there's no knowing why some strike us as funny and some fall flat. Strange stuff.

@Rex - I know you like to count google numbers to justify whether or not something is crossworthy. Shocking Pink has 27,000,000. Is 28 mill your cutoff for colors? If so we lose chartreuse and steel grey, but keep steel gray and midnight blue. Let us know.

Anonymous 9:13 AM  

I have a testicle named ADDIE.

RnRGhost57 9:13 AM  

Fun puzzle. MB and ACM, ignore the grumpy buffoon.

Z 9:14 AM  

I was all set to accuse the commentariat of over-interpreting Rex until I got back to, "Honestly, this puzzle feels just plain lazy." First, that's not about the puzzle, that's about the constructors. Second, I am hard put to find any support for this. Disagree with the choices, but the work involved is pretty obvious. The subtle SWEET Adeline's reference, the hidden pairings noted above (anyone familiar with ACME has to believe those were planted intentionally), attention to the fill while maintaining the word play. "Not my cuppa," "Not my wheelhouse," "I've seen the add-a-letter thing too much," are all fair. "Lazy" is not.

ArtO 9:14 AM  

Tougher than most Tuesdays but not deserving of the scathing criticism - much of which simply derived by Rex's lack of familiarity with something like SHOCKINGPINK which I would estimate is familiar to no less than 90% of those who come here. And, yes, I do know an Addie!

Anonymous 9:15 AM  

Funny--my left breast is named ADDIE. Maybe it's KISMET?

Leapfinger 9:18 AM  

@mac, me too for thinking of Mojitos first. Not that I've ever had one.

Dang, @Lewis, I think Chopped Liver is trying to call you. Gnaw, that must have been someone else. Happy any time I share a thought with @lms.

DID YOU KNOW:
Cary Grant was born in Bristol, England. After being expelled from grammar school (1918), he joined the "Bob Pender Stage Troup", performing as a stilt walker. He came to the USA with the group in 1920 at age 16 for a two-year tour of the country.

When the troupe returned to Britain, he decided to stay here and became a part of the vaudeville world with a touring group known as "Parker, Rand, and Leach", as he was still using his birth name. In 1932, he performed on the stage at The Muny in St. Louis, Missouri, in many shows including Irene, Nina Rosa, Rio Rita, Street Singer, The Three Musketeers, and Wonderful Night.

As noted, at that time he was still going the name Archibald Leach, and was therefore known to appreciative theatre-goers as the St. Louis Archie.

You can look this up in Wiki.

riddle me this 9:20 AM  

There is a beer maker in New York called "Sko Brew Company."

Can anyone guess what shoes they should wear when drinking Sko beer?

Nancy 9:26 AM  

@Mohair -- So glad you also loved SHOCKING PINKIE. For that, you will always be nEAR TO MY HEART.

Name that tune 9:35 AM  

Last week I had to have a rectal exam. Now THAT was a SHOCKINGPINKIE!

Cough for me 9:35 AM  

Anony 9:13
Don't tell me. The other one is SWEET?

That's nuts.

mathguy 9:41 AM  

I thought that it was fun. One of the commenters reminded me that one of the American Girl dolls was named Addie. My daughter had a couple of them.

Bob Kerfuffle 9:48 AM  

Good Tuesday puzz for me, although I might be slightly influenced by having met ACME. I'm sure personal feelings would never taint Rex's review.

Maybe you just had to have the right number of letters in place, but am I the only one who contemplated (but didn't try to enter) TICKLED PINKIE at 53 A?

BTW, the song "Sweet Adeline" dates to 1903. That may have been even before I Love Lucy!

h_lina_k 9:49 AM  

This is the only reason why I have ever heard of Shocking Pink and its a good reason.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQ1vaXgPvH4

wreck 9:49 AM  

For some reason, Tuesday puzzles seem to bring out the wrath of Rex! This took me slightly shorter than my normal time and I found it somewhat enjoyable. Business as usual for me.

quilter1 9:57 AM  

Addie is a name. Shocking pink is a color. Pubs have trivia nights. All fair. Really enjoyed this puzzle. Thanks MB and Acme.

Leapfinger 9:57 AM  

@Mr Mohair: 'Addied to the fun'?!? Go to your room.

@riddle me: Oy for looking at the south end of some north-bound REEBOKS.

Forgot to say, @Lewis, that's my favourite Asimov quote, and I think he's right on that.

AliasZ 10:04 AM  


Oh @Leapy,

I thought that little Archie story will turn into another walled-in pawned. Speaking of Archie Leach brings us to this clip from "His Girl Friday".

Indypuzzler 10:15 AM  

I very seldom comment here because, well, I usually don't have time and I'm not a blogger but I enjoy reading the comments. I have to say I felt compelled today to comment because of the snarky review. I found the puzzle delightful. Addie is a nickname through the ages...in Faulkner's As I Lay Dying, in Paper Moon, and recent kid lit The Misfits. Oh, and yes the American Girl Doll. This puzzle had clean and interesting fill. And who hasn't heard of Shocking Pink? C'mon.

Two can play... 10:20 AM  

@Anonymous 9:13

Does it belong to you or to your husband?

blinker474 10:24 AM  

I liked the puzzle, which took me about twice as long as most Tuesdays. Seems to me that Rex's grouchiness, testiness and crankiness are an essential part of his shtick. Without those traits his column would be dull and unread. I say to Rex: "keep it up".

GAC

PuzzleMom 10:24 AM  

Paper Moon has long been the Senior Puzzle family's favorite movie -- so much so that we named our home in Costa Rica Luna de Papel and PuzzleSister has long been "Addie Loggins" on internet sites where naming one's avatar is required. That one was easy for me but the middle-left was hard. And, after I got Georgia Brownie and Shocking Pinkie I certainly expected that the Bar Stoolie entry would have a color involved so was hung up there for a while.

Billy C 10:27 AM  


@Lewis --

re: your factoid that 25% of bottled water comes from a municipal water supply.

That's not necessarily bad if it's a good MWS. I regularly drink tap water with no bad effects in my northern house, but I do have a filter in my FL condo.

I remember going out to the beach at a Jamaican resort hotel (nice place, but behind a razor- wire-topped fence in a sketchy area) years ago. Right out in the open, a hotel worker was refilling a bunch of their in-room water bottles (labeled from a mountain spa) from a hose. I drank only juice after that.

Arlene 10:28 AM  

This was a fast solve for me - faster than yesterday. Shocking pink, Addie - my goodness, those are common words - certainly more so than some arcane sports trivia.
Yay for shocking pink nail polish and American Girl dolls, and common nicknames for Adeline. A bit of female bias? No - just common knowledge of our culture.

Carola 10:35 AM  

I enjoyed this toughish Tuesday, finding its theme answers cute (the BROWNIE), clever (the STOOLIE and BIRDIE), and funny (the PINKIE - wanting to get in on the SHOCK value that the middle finger usually claims).

I thought the reveal was delightful on its own, and now even more so after commenters pointed out its connection back to SWEET. Thanks to those above who pointed out other grid felicities - lots to like today.

Anonymous 10:39 AM  

What is a shame about Rex is that his interesting insights into crosswords (like today's comments on cheater squares) get mostly lost in the sea of negativity and complete bullshit (like today's "Don't know a single person named ADDIE" and calling the puzzle "lazy") that comprise the bulk of his comments. He just comes across as childish and petty.

Steve J 10:40 AM  

@Mohair Sam: SHOCKING PINK has 753k results, not 27MM. You have to search for the exact phrase, by putting it in quotes. Otherwise, you get any page where both "shocking" and "pink" appear, even if they're paragraphs apart. Regardless, it's a color that's definitely out there. It's even a Crayola color (which is probably where I recall it from; it was introduced in 1972, which means it would have been in my big Crayola box when I was a kid).

I'm a little surprised that ADDIE turns out to be as common as it apparently is. Most of the references I've seen either predate me or reflect a resurgence in the last decade or two. I wonder if it's a generational thing that Rex and I have never encountered someone with that name (he and I are the same age, and since names come in and out of fashion, it's entirely possible ADDIE passed Gen X by).

@smalltowndoc: Thanks for the reminder on ADDIE Joss. His name wasn't coming up when I googled ADDIE last night, but I do recall him from baseball history. And I knew there had to be someone semi-famous out there with the name.

Anonymous 10:41 AM  

I was just kidding--my breasts are actually named "Betty" and "Veronica." "Sweet" and "ADDIE" would be most excellent, however.

BigSteve46 10:52 AM  

Anyone else get hung up at the intersection of MARLA, MSN and NES? A very Natick-y confluence, to me at least.

Anonymous 10:56 AM  

Hey @BigSteve46--
Why not read the previous comments before making an ass of yourself? See @Nancy @8:58.

Mohair Sam 10:56 AM  

@steve j - OK chop buster - But I'm still right about SHOCKINGPINK ("lavender blue" gets less than 600,000 so that's out) - I'll get you back one day, just wait. You'll yearn for the grammar nazi when I'm done.

@nancy - thanks for the chuckle.

Indypuzzler 11:03 AM  

There is nothing generational about knowledge of the name Addie. I have never personally known anyone named Archie, Gertie, Mattie or Ernie. I do know that the nicknames exist. I get tired of hearing the "generation" card pulled out. It's called "hmmm....I guess I learned something today that somehow escaped me before" moment. We all have them.

chefbea 11:06 AM  

@Leapfinger - Have been to the Muny many times and also saw the Arch being built...good story

Ellen S 11:07 AM  

Yup, I liked it, too. Good job, Michael & Michaels. And thanks for not having any EELs -- now it seems ILO is everywhere.

It is interesting how outraged Rex seems to get when there's something he hasn't heard of in a puzzle, or how he assumes if he hasn't heard of it, it doesn't exist. I'm not surprised when a chemist (or more likely a chem major, while in school) or an engineering major doesn't have much knowledge of mass culture -- people's names or fashion colors or the existence of PUB trivia nights (or sometimes literature). Those folks don't have time for much non-technical reading. But an English professor?

I'm pretty ignorant myself, but I try not to set it up as a standard of excellence.

(I had a parakeet named ADDIE. It was short for Admiral Bird. Seemed reasonable at the time.)

Benko 11:14 AM  

I agree that Rex's "lazy" and "slapdash" comments were over the line.
I also now remember, thanks to @stevej, that I also know "SHOCKING PINK" from my childhood Crayola 64 box.
To @lewis's point, here in Florida we have the city of Zephyr Hills, and they get the same water for free (almost) that other people around the country have paid for.

arthur fonzarelli 11:17 AM  

Now Roz Kelly was a SHOCKINGPINKIE in "Happy Days." Just ask Mrs. C. ("Ok, Pinky." But still.)

Anonymous 11:19 AM  

Addie Swartz is a serial entrepreneur in Boston and a great friend! She founded a company, reacHIRE, to help professional women get back into the corporate world after a gap.

old timer 11:24 AM  

Super-tough for a Tuesday. And as it turns out, a DNF for me. I wrote in "Andie" for the revealer and decided "Kid'n" could be a hip-hop kind of name.

What made it very tough for me were all the proper names I've never heard of. Plus I had to guess MSN -- not a service I've ever used, though I've heard of it. I can barely remember AOL now. It featured mail, didn't it, and was a kind of precursor to social media like Facebook. AOL was at best a backup to my regular e-mail address, one that was easier to use than my old e-mail downloader. But I soon found that Apple's Mail program was even easier.

So I disliked the puzzle as much as Rex did, though not for the Inside Crosswords reasons he gives. I look forward to Tuesdays as being the only day other than Monday where I can time myself and be proud of the time. When a puzzle is full of NOMOs, it is hideous.

Speaking of which, the SF Giants have a pretty good player from Japan, Nori Aoki. He has become a fan favorite, and the front office will be under some pressure to sign him for another year.

Anonymous 11:30 AM  

Addie Joss. Baseball player.

Anonymous 11:31 AM  

Addie "Micki" Harris McPherson, singer with American girl group The Shirelles
Addie Lucia Ballou, American poet
Ireland "Addie" Baldwin, daughter of American actors AlecBaldwin and Kim Basinger
Addie Land, American actress
Addie Walsh, American soap opera writer
Addie McPhail, American actress and wife of Fatty Arbuckle Addie Mae Collins, American child victim of the 1963 Birmingham church bombing

Addie Singer, main character on TV's "Unfabulous"
Addie Mills, character in movie "The House without a Christmas Tree"
Addison "Addie" Carle, character in The Misfits series by James Howe
Addie, character in The Hybrid Chronicles by Kat Zhang
Addie Walker, American Girl doll
Addie Pray, character in movie "Paper Moon"played by Tatum O'Neal
Agatha "Addie" Cramer, character on TV soap "One Life to Live"
Addie Horton, character on TV soap "Days of Our Lives"

demit 11:35 AM  

I was entertained to read through the comments and see that ADDIE is a name that very many someones actually have. Once again (twice when you count SHOCKING PINK), Rex has been confounded by the existence of something other people easily know. You'd think by now he'd be a little more rueful about it. Maybe even come to accept that that happens from time to time to all of us?

Ellen S 11:51 AM  

@demit -- or at least just consider the possibility that his not knowing it doesn't mean nobody knows it or that it doesn't exist.

Maybe that's just his shtick, and we should chuckle when he goes off on some common piece of cultural trivia like that.

jerry k 11:55 AM  

Not New York Times worthie.

Anonymous 12:00 PM  

Some of the things Rex has never heard of shock me. I've known an Addie, and I've definitely heard of shocking pink.

DigitalDan 12:01 PM  

On a Tuesday, it can be as much fun to derive the revealer from the theme answers as to use it to get them. That's what I did today, and it was a neat little moment.

Anonymous 12:03 PM  

Am I really to believe that no one has heard of the "shocker?" I have to believe that this was the inspiration for this clue, although I do find THAT shocking!

Benko 12:15 PM  

@anonymous1131: To be fair, I didn't know any of the ADDIEs you listed (though I know the Shirelles and the fictional paper moon character).

Also, to be fair, @rex never said he didn't know that PUB trivia was a thing. That was an earlier poster.
3 and out, have a good day!

Leapfinger 12:20 PM  

Anony 10:56, how rude!

@BigSteve46, I did too; ran the Carla/Darla route just like @Nancy, and now think maybe ACMe was sorta kinda playing with signing her work, the way Addie is a bit like Andie (hi @whoever noticed this). Don't see any Mikes or Blake lookalikes however.

The others MSN-NES were just vaguely familiar after the fact, but no way could I have substantiated them. Some days, you get the b'ar.

@chefbea, pretty cool, huh? I thought of St Louis Arch ...Archie ... Archie Leach ...and looked up Cary Grant, just in case. Thought it pretty trippy when it turned out there was that connection. Plus I learned some interesting things about that old smoothie.

I'd say we've now been all Addie'd up, asof 11:31.

Thank you, all

(@SteveJ, crayons in '72? You're still a Baby!!)

Zeke 12:41 PM  

I've never met an ADDIE nor could I think of one off the top of my head, though I do recognize that as name. However, I don't think that's the point. Rather, I think the point is is that a good revealer or an acceptable revealer?. My reaction was acceptable, not good. I would hope that for an early week puzzle, the revealer would pop, not just sit there, lonely and sad at the very end, there as this one did.

Brian B 12:49 PM  

Turns out several of my fave follows on Twitter follow Addie Wagenknecht, who's an artist doing what appear to be interesting things.

Anonymous 1:05 PM  

I'm going to say this as nicely as I can, but I know many will take exception. If you remember ADDIE from Paper Moon, but don't remember what you did yesterday, perhaps it's neither a good sign for you, nor is it a good reveal.

Andrea 1:20 PM  

I don't know an Addie but the name sounds like a pretty reasonable, common diminutive. I might not have seen 'shocking pink' written down, but that also seems like a pretty logical name for some pinks one encounters in life. In fact, being that English is not my first language, more often than not I find countless instances of strange, weird or just plain new words or phrases (Georgia Brown is right there, today). But my point is, I don't have to know everything to enjoy a NYT puzzle; in fact, I have been enjoying them for over 15 years now! And each time, I am happy to tell you, I learn something new.
And that's why I do puzzles.

Anonymous 1:29 PM  

So you never read Faulkner? Addie Bundren.

Indypuzzler 1:34 PM  

I am interested to know how many who blog here actually construct puzzles that would be considered for publication in the NYT? The blogging quite often sounds like tutorials and proclamations of what is, ie a revealer that pops. On and on. It reminds me of my book club. Late twentieth / twenty first century literature, Franzen, Doig, Kundera, etc. and the folks, who mind you, probably could not write a formulaic Grafton talk about all the negatives. I guess this IS the point. Or is it?

COIXT RECORDS 1:49 PM  

I'm starting to come here more and more just for the satirical Rex Porker reviews. Spot on hilarious!

wreck 1:50 PM  

@Indypuzzler
Are you saying you have to be a published author to review a book??

Indypuzzler 2:31 PM  

@wreck, I guess you make a fair point. A new author usually will be loved or hated by a professional book critic, but the fact that certain books even get reviewed by the critic usually means the book has tread, just not for all. Same here. I guess my personality is just not the type to critically review work that I find so artful and creative. But I am curious as to approximately many constructors weigh in on this blog.

Zeke 3:01 PM  

@Andrea Ojeda - Sweet Georgia Brown is an American Classic. Or a Gypsy classic.

MattG 3:07 PM  

@Anonymous 12:03 - Yes, I actually laughed out loud in disbelief at SHOCKING PINKIE. The reference that immediately comes to mind is one-half of the infamous hand symbol(/maneuver?). Especially crossed with SMUT!

jberg 3:18 PM  

No time to read past the first 50 comments right now, so I'll just say that a) I know an ADDIE (well, knew, she died young), and have been at pub trivia nights (called
"pub quizzes" in the UK), and 3) liked this puzzle--especially the 19-letter theme answer.

I'm on campus in the middle of grading season for a friend's retirement party, so have to run to that.

Also, thanks for reinforcing the knowledge that the ILO won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1969. That answer is neck and neck with EROICA for appearances this week -- can't wait to see what the future brings!

Zeke 3:20 PM  

@MattG - I've had women signaling one another by making a fist, then wiggling their pinky, clearly in reference to me. What does that mean?

MDMA 3:20 PM  

@Qualified Statements,

Vladivostok is roughly the same latitude as Milwaukee. No midnight sun there.

MattG 3:48 PM  

@Zeke - Not sure, how do you drink your tea?

MattG 3:51 PM  

Sorry, I assumed your comment was a joke. If it's a genuine question, look up "the shocker" on urban dictionary.

Zeke 4:20 PM  

@MattG - You were right in your assumption - I was just trying to give my own personal troll a highpoint for his day.

Wood 4:22 PM  

Pleeeeease tell us the clue you wrote for FULLSPEEDOAHEAD! That is hilarious.

Qualified... 4:56 PM  

@MDMA,

Maybe I should have qualified that statement. I made it all up, every bit. I jusr like the names Vladivostok and Murmansk.

FULLSPEEDOAHEAD certainly does hold promise. @Joho,the floor is yours.

Z 5:07 PM  

From the constructors' comments over at xwordinfo.com, "When MB came up with the solution of matching first word SWEET with the last word's reveal of ADDIE, we were good to go! Lots of back and forth over whether we could use BREAKFASTNOOKIE and GODSWILLIE ... we toyed with the idea of making this X-rated!" No mention of the PINKIE clue, though, which would have been more XXX than X-rated.

Samuel L. Jackson 5:41 PM  

117 mother-fucking comments on a mother-fucking Tuesday. Must be some kind of record!

Anonymous 6:06 PM  

Don't know about you, but I am going to place my bets with the good bookie.

Anonymous 6:10 PM  

I need to borrow a town in Pennsylvania. Lend me your Erie?

Anonymous 6:18 PM  

My dog once once ran across the country. She was a long distance collie. (And a Bonnie Lassie!)

Anonymous 6:20 PM  

My dog once once ran across the country. She was a long distance collie. (And a Bonnie Lassie!)

Anonymous 6:24 PM  

A groubdhog decided to join the local baseball team. He became Punxsutawney Phillie.

Alexander 7:05 PM  

I was stuck for a while thinking it was SWEARINGPINKIE, nice reversal of pinkie swearing...

Anonymous 7:30 PM  

I didn't love the puzzle, but Addie isn't THAT ibscure a name.

And shocking pink is a shade of bright pink made famous in the sixties by Elsa Schiaparelli

Which I actually knew without googling.

Sometimes Rex forgets that many crossworders have cultural references he does not.

Anonymous 7:36 PM  

When the Count plays well, the producer always Pays Basie.

Teedmn 7:45 PM  

Tougher than your average Tuesday for me - most of my time was spent in that middle left like many others but figuring out RARE finally got it done. That said, like @oldtimer, for me AOL and MSN are over. Never used either of them and now never will! Doesn't mean they aren't crossword-worthy but it wasn't at the top of my brain either.

@AliasZ, I was holding my breath (you could have heard a pun drop :-) ) and sort of holding my hand near my eyes in case @Leapfinger's story got too groany but aah, sigh of relief.

I first ran into Pub Trivia night in Val d'Isere, France. The guy running the game was British and if your group didn't give a correct answer, he would yell "wrong", but it rhymed with 'rung' the way he said it. My husband and I still imitate him! That was back in 1998.

Thanks, Mr. Blake and Ms. Michaels, a cute puzzle and nice Tuesday challenge.

And finally, now that no one will be around to answer my question, I was wondering if it would be acceptable to clue 1A without referencing 20A but when cluing 20A, start it with "with the answer to 1A"? That way, the puzzle wouldn't be using a split clue right off the bat. But it might be confusing, so not done?

Anonymous 7:51 PM  

What Jessica Lange said to Dustin Hoffman in a 1982 movie: "See ya later, Tootsie."

Anonymous 7:55 PM  

I can't believe you're running for president! Jesus Christie!

Anonymous 8:08 PM  

Ok I'll end there. That was gold.

Unknown 9:16 PM  

"Addie Loggins" used to post to this blog (she borrowed the name from Paper Moon) which means Rex doesn't really read his comments. ;-)

Seriously, though I stopped reading the blog because of the increasing snarkiness.

Figured I'd check in to see if he was still arbitrarily ripping ACME to shreds. Check. Hehe

Surprised no-one's really mentioned that, though. Guessing -- since they used to be friends -- Andrea said something he didn't take to, so has been using his blog to brutalize her ever since.

I'll be back when the next MAS puzzle comes through!

Anonymous 10:28 PM  

After I figured this one out (the SE corner was a killer, especially the theme reveal), I also tried to think of a girl character or woman or girl in real life named "Addie," which is the basis for the legitimacy of the puzzle theme. Couldn't think of a one. Then I remembered the novel and movie "The Summer of '42," thinking it was the name of the the teenage girl character the narrator tries to lose his virginity to. Wrong. Her name was "Aggie," not "Addie." My conclusion: stupid, contrived puzzle, especially for a Tuesday.

Anonymous 11:05 PM  

Thank goodness. Glad to see I'm not the only one who knows what a "shocker" is!!

For the uninitiated: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shocker_(hand_gesture)

Crossed with "SMUT" and it's a great Tuesday puzzle. Now just wonder who Addie is.

kitshef 11:31 PM  

Came home from trivia night at a local pub (honestly!), did the puzzle, and came here to see what everybody thought.

Somewhat hard for a Tuesday, but otherwise a happy little puzzle.

Not sure how it is possible to reach (whatever @Rex's age is) without knowing shocking pink.

ILO/DAEWOO seems like an unfair cross for a Tuesday (or even a Wednesday or Thursday).

With Addison being among the top 30 names for girls for 11 years running, and top 10 in several of those years, I bet we're all going to know quite a few Addie's soon.

MattG 12:04 AM  

I didn't know Andrea didn't comment here anymore, that's too bad

Unknown 12:44 AM  

@MattG yeah, it was pretty sad and ugly.

But, hey, maybe pangrams, and the people who create them, ARE the stupidest things going in crosswords today, what do I know? ;-)

Unknown 12:47 AM  

Oh wait. No, quadstacks are more stupid. I forgot. And the people who create them are database-driven maroons.

Anonymous 3:09 PM  

Grain of salt with comment: I was sexting with a cute guy while doing the crossword ... but this puzzle seemed HORNY to me! And pretty gay, too. First, SMUT -- not all porn is smut, btw! -- is crossed with URGE. TEAS are where the gays go to meet and dance on Fire Island. And finally, what a duffer surprisingly shoots on your hole!?

Burma Shave 11:53 AM  

NOMO SMUT

After a ROUND in the PUB, the SOT felt IDEAL,
he DIDSO in order to make a SWEET deal.
He’d STAIR at miss MARLA, imagining EDEN,
in his BARSTOOLIE brain, nothing would IMPEDE him
from saying, “MARLA you TEAS, this might be a sin to ya,
but I’ve got a GNAWing URGE to get my WANG INDIA.”

--- OSCAR ECCLES

spacecraft 12:02 PM  

Once again, @Rex Porker hits the mark. No wonder @ACME stopped blogging here: OFL obviously doesn't like her. Yes, O Ignorant One, ADDIE IS a real name, and SHOCKINGPINK a real color. And oh yeah, cheater squares. They didn't bother you when your faves used them, so why do they bother you today? For a guy who runs a blogsite your comments are very subjective.

That said, I will agree that there are some weak spots in the fill. AMAD is about as awkward a partial as you can get, and we have yet another RPR (random playground retort). Plus the tired ERI and ESAI.

The BARSTOOLIE IDED MOLOTOV,
So I wouldn't serve him a drinkie.
He raised a SHOCKING finger to me;
I can tell you it wasn't his PINKIE.

This puzzle was kinda cute, and to me no more than easy-medium--even "for a Tuesday." I give it a B-, mostly due to fill defects.

rondo 12:51 PM  

Agree that @rex porker was spot on. OFL just can’t get over something. Chill.

Can’t slam any puz with my wife’s name it.

I guess I must be a duffer, I do get that RAREBIRDIE.

In my one attempt at “glamour” photography my model’s name was MARLA – talk about yeah baby! My then girlfriend came across the photos and negatives, this was before DIGITAL, and somehow everything went up in smoke. Actually. But I will never forget you MARLA.

Yes there were fill issues, but this puz was better than a lot of Tuesday stuff.

DMG 2:37 PM  

Thought the IE thing was cute, and it helped me get ...BIRDIE where I has been shooting for some kind of "hole in one". Still finished with a couple of bad squares. Took,a stab at MSd for the AOL alternative, and my girl was named AnDIE. It seemed to fit what was happening. Probavly should have been alerted by the resulting KIDn, but rapper and sports names are a real weak spot here.

I have trouble with all the people who carp about Rex's comments. It's his party, and he is nice enough to invite us. Disagreeing with what he says is your privilege, Calling him names for offering his opinion is just poor manners. If you don,t enjoy the party, go,elsewhere. I find I enjoy it more when I read the blogs that offer something of interest that is somehow hooked to the puzzle, which is to say I happily skip what seems to be some kind of teen-age bickering session among the Anons of this world. Maybe some of you should just skip Rex's comments?

rain forest 2:39 PM  

I think I've said more than once that I'm no longer going to comment on @Rex's reviews, and more than once I've forgotten I said that. I think most of us realize that he isn't going to change; he has his favourites, and there are a few constructors whose work he really doesn't like. Most of the time I disagree with him, but I understand it is pointless to say so, especially here in syndiland. So, I'll try again to refrain from commenting about his commenting.

The puzzle was fun, and very ACME, whom I miss primarily because of her upbeat and supportive comments. I think she was key to having the constructor's names published with the puzzle, and was a factor in having their stipend raised. Somehow, it works better when you are unfailingly positive as opposed to unfailingly negative. That's my comment (**for a Tuesday**).

Z 3:19 PM  

@rain forest - "pointless?" Sure, if your goal is to change Rex. But I didn't make my "lazy" observation (for example) to change Rex. I find people's reaction to the puzzle and the review fascinating. I still get the email follow-ups just so i can see how you react five weeks later. I do miss @diri (last I checked he is blogging Luongo's Sunday puzzle which I don't get), but I find the rest of your observations well worth the read.

Anonymous 7:10 PM  

You are an annoying twit!
Pork off!

Anonymous 7:20 PM  

I got Addie in physics. /:> (

sdcheezhd 10:04 PM  

My daughter is an 18 year old Adeline, which as noted by you all is very rare. It is now more popular than it was from 1900-1920, when it fell off the table for some reason - probably the association with Puritan aunts - and back then people treated us like we were committing child abuse giving her the name. I remember one of my clients saying "well, you can call her Addie; I guess that would be cute." Now, much different. She's Addy (not Addie) only when she plays basketball. Anyway I came here all excited to see the Addie love and got . . . something else from Rex.

I've also been to a pub trivia night but now we're just piling on.

Mellisa Thomas 9:38 PM  

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sdcheezhd 1:10 AM  

According to the SSA Adeline was the 63d most popular name for baby girls in the US in 2016. Robert was 62d for boys.

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