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Popular battle royale video game / WED 11-21-18 / Ninth month of Hebrew calendar / Stock for Wile E Coyote / Half of 1990s cartoon duo / Applesauce eponym / Save America popular downloadable political show / Role for Helen Mirren informally
Wednesday, November 21, 2018
Constructor: Brandon Koppy
Relative difficulty: Medium (3:58)
Theme answers:
- HEADBUTT (3D: *Half of a 1990s cartoon duo)
- TAKES OUT (36D: *Bloopers, typically)
- OVERPASS (25D: *Spring festival)
- GLASS EYE (22D: *Mr. Peanut accessory)
- HOUSE CAT (10D: (*Informal term for a brothel)
- HOME TOWN (40D: *Residence in a row)
- TRADE FAIR (17A: *Principle of international economic pacts)
- MAN CAVE (30A: *Neanderthal)
- PACK RAT (48A: *Noted Vegas entertainers of the 1960s)
Fortnite is an online video game first released in 2017 and developed by Epic Games. It is available as separate software packages having different game modes that otherwise share the same general gameplay and game engine. The game modes include Fortnite: Save the World, a cooperative shooter-survival game for up to four players to fight off zombie-like creatures and defend objects with fortifications they can build, and Fortnite Battle Royale, a free-to-play battle royale game where up to 100 players fight to be the last person standing. Both game modes were released in 2017 as early access titles; Save the World is available only for Windows, macOS, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, while Battle Royale has been released for those platforms in addition for Nintendo Switch, iOS and Android devices.While both games have been successful for Epic Games, Fortnite Battle Royale became a resounding success, drawing in more than 125 million players in less than a year, and earning hundreds of millions of dollars per month, and since has been a cultural phenomenon. (wikipedia)
• • •
I didn't think the revealer quite captured what was going on with the themers. I really, really wanted it to be a word that *also* flip-flopped, but FLOP FLIPS ... is not a thing, sadly. So the revealer was kind of a let-down. Not a let-down: some really fabulous current fill, like FORTNITE (!), APPLE PAY and ANTIFA, as well as some ultra-current cluing on POD (64D: "___ Save America" (popular downloadable political show)) ("downloadable," LOL, nice avoidance of "podcast"). This business about Mr. Peanut having a ... oh, fudge, I just realized my error. I was like, "Mr. Peanut has a monocle! Since when does he have a GLASS EYE!? How would we know!?" But of course that's a flip-flopped answer, so I guess he has an EYEGLASS (?). Is that another word for "monocle"? Yes. Yes it is. OK, I'm glad I cleared that up for myself. Safe travels if you're traveling. I'll see you back here on Thanksgiving Day.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]
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111 comments:
As soon as I saw the Fred Durst answer, I was hoping for a Limp Bizkit YouTube video to make it into the Rex blog. V disappointed. You should be edifying your readers with classic tunes like "Break Stuff" or "Nookie."
In other news, I thought the NE corner with its tricky vowels—surprise Y in SYD and I in SOLI instead of SOLO, which could have been a viable answer, all tied together with a Hebrew month I was not at all familiar with and that's completely uninferable—was pretty cruel. Agreed that putting SIEG in a puzzle is sailing close to the wind.
This took about 25% longer than the typical Wednesday for me.
Hand up for not even seeing KISLEV, I got it completely from crosses. DURST and Limp Bizkit have been around for 24 years so I’m familiar. But, yeah, I’m guessing more than a few will not have a deep knowledge of “rap-metal” bands. And while POD is inferable from the “download” in the clue, crossing it at the ESTO/ESTe/ESTa seems a little unfair, as well.
Otherwise a fine solve. Lots of fresh fill, but lots of stale stuff, too (looking at you Mel OTT eating MOTT’s while fixing his OGEE molding). I don’t think the fill totally unmade the fun themers, but only because we didn’t get any Olaf or Leo X or Eno eating oreos.
I liked this Wednesday puzzle. It is always nice to realize something is going on, and then figure it out before getting the Theme. FLIPFLOPS is a great revealer as far as I'm concerned.
Hated the NW quadrant, with RAHM OGEE and MEDEA. Also, I never hear FEET as dogs so that one thoroughly confused me until I was confident about everything else around it.
I like this one a lot. Unlike OFL, I'm a non-constructor so I thought this is a great feat of construction. Nine themers, all symmetrically placed, all make sense when flipped or flopped. Only problem is politicians these days don’t make sense, either flipped or flopped.
One question: I’ve never thought of Passover as a Spring festival?? Certainly a release from bondage is a cause for thanksgiving (no seasonal pun intended). Release meant fleeing, army in pursuit, Red Sea parting, doubts, uncertainty, a hard trip - not exactly a festival. A little help informing my ignorance?
Medium-tough. Clever and fun, but @Rex is right about the fill, liked it.
A little trickery on a Wednesday! I figured out the trick in the SW with TAKESOUT. I enjoyed the themers, so no problem for me dealing with some crosswordese as the price. DNF on DURST crossing KISLEV. I put every possible vowel where the S was then gave up.
Different is good.
A puzzle replete with themers comes with consequences. I know it's an over-simplification, but three letter answers lead to tedium. Maybe it's just me, but this solve was characterized by fits and starts.
That being said, the themers seemed in the language with the possible exception of TRADE FAIR, which might be a thing that hasn't come across my desk. Help me here! OFL noted that the revealer only goes one way, so there's that, as well.
I have always tried to stay abreast of popular music, so SYD, DURST, and NEKO fell in to place with no problem. KISLEV was all from crosses,and I'm certain I'm not alone there.
We're served SALSA and guacamole with no chips? Guess why folks eat at a Mexican restaurant and get stuffed even before the entree arrives.
When I was a lad, summer time came and we wore FLIP FLOPS, or whatever we called them, I can't remember. I heard folks use the term zories or even go-aheads, but I think we just may have called them sandals. Anyway, we just wore them for everything: biking, walking, wiffle-ball in the street; it's a miracle I still have a full complement of toes. We wore real shoes to church, though.
I remember a trip to Puerta Vallarta during a Christmas vacation trip years ago; the sewer system had broken and the beach was littered with dying SEA SNAKEs. We were warned that all species are venomous. Enjoy your breakfast!
That was fun. Got it at HOUSE CAT and we were off to the races. I kinda liked all the theme answers, didn’t seem jam packed to me.
I also didn’t mind Sieg at 21A, my grandfather was interred at Dachau, those times should never be forgotten so that they never happen again. Let’s not sweep words under the rug because we don’t want to remember evil times.
Glad to see NEKO Case again so soon. Hope the solvers who followed up on her are entertained with her music. She is a treasure.
I live in Gmermany so SIEG has no Nazi meaning to me any more so I didnt even bat an eye.
I thought the puzzle was an odd mix of enjoyable clues with good answers (especially the themes), a sprinkling of crosswordese, and several damn near impossible crosses. DURST and SOLI crossing KISLEV was too much for this tired old brain, and I had my first DNF in quite some time.
I’ll pay more attention when I see Brandon Koppy as the constructor from now on (run my five miles, eat my oats, practice some memorizing, do my 200 situps — NAH! I’ll pour some bourbon in my coffee as usual, try a few clues, curse loudly when I get stymied, and go back to sleep). Phew. Just writing all that stuff wears me out.
I liked Rex’s review. It was constructively critical without going over the top (although I might feel differently if it were my puzzle). I pretty much agreed with everything he said. All in all, a fine and notable first puzzle. Congratulations, Mr. Koppy.
LOVED this theme and got it pretty quickly after seeing FLIP FLOPS. Also liked the super on-trend FORTNITE & ANTIFA clues (altho, ANTIFA's cluing couldve been more creative). 7D was a real pickle. Is QEII ever used like that? Oh well.
My worst Wednesday time of the year, by far. KISLEV crossing DURST should never have been allowed. Didn't know either of those, so just had to run the alphabet until the tune played.
@Monty Boy - The meaning I think we are both thinking of is listed third at Merriam-Webster. PASSOVER definitely fits definition 1.
@Larry Gilstrap - A gathering where people working in the same industry interact, get brought up to date on innovations, maybe market their wares and network with suppliers is what I think of when I see TRADE FAIR.
@Z and @Larry, it’s more usually called a trade show. In American, anyway. But close enough for a puzzle.
This one was almost double my average, but it was hard in the crunchy sense, not the impossible sense. Lots of fun. Same reaction as OFL to SIEG, but had that same reaction to ANTIFA as well.
I liked that the puzzle was tricksy on a Wednesday; made the Aha more fun. Very satisfying. Thanks and more please!
I'm Jewish but I also love language and I thought it was interesting that SIEG means "victory." Somehow I never learned that detail. Also, what @chefwen said. We should be educating people like me about World War II, not erasing details from memory.
That said I would be glad if I never saw a Hebrew month in a puzzle ever again. My Hebrew extends to the Shema, the Hanukkah prayer, and a wine blessing. (My Yiddish, a bit further. I can say my family's unofficial motto, which is "Do a pig a favor and all you get is a grunt.")
Really enjoyed seeing FORTNITE and ANTIFA as well, @newgirl. Yes, I like a dreary Maleska now and then. But I also like when a puzzle pops with newness. I'm willing to endure weak fill if the result is worth it, and in this case it surely was.
Oh, yes, this was a feat. When I finished, I thought, "Did you see what I just saw?" Ten theme answers, eighty -- eighty! -- theme related squares, six theme answer crosses. Not to mention coming up with nine cool phrases that have different cogent meanings when flip-flopped, and that fit the grid.
But, IMO, the main thing is how the experience goes for the solver. For me, this had lovely grit, coming from vague clues, figuring out the theme, and five answers not in my wheelhouse. Until I figured out the theme, it was certainly hard Koppy, and I reveled in the tussle. I also liked the mini theme of double E's (6) and the theme echo entry -- SWAP (as in swapping the words of the theme phrases) -- butting right up to the actual reveal.
An impressive constructing feat and an engaging and pleasurable solve made me easily forgiving of the crosswordese and even that gulp in my throat that I felt at SIEG (Hi, @Rex!). I thought Will and company made the right choices here (kudos on the Koppy editing), and Brandon, I'm eagerly looking for more from you!
Feet, Thai and ApplePay fit me started. I cursed at the Syd, Durst Kislev crossing but still was able to get it.
I hate the way eponymous and eponym are used in crosswords. After getting Mott I looked up eponym:
An eponym is a person, place, or thing after whom or after which something is named, or believed to be named.
Mott just doesn't pass the test nor have most similar crossword clues thus far encountered.
Please pass the Eponymous tissues.
💻
I keep telling myself to learn the Hebrew months, but I never get around to it. Loved the theme and the way it played out. Too much trivia by far.
Two horrific Natick possibilities.
EST_/P_D. As no one has heard of the “popular” downloadable political show, it’s a guess between A and O. Went with O purely for the rhyme with god.
Then there is KI_LEV/DUR_T. I happened to know Fred DURST, but billions won’t.
Theme was fun enough, and this was a rare Wednesday that felt like a Wednesday – neither too easy nor to hard (ignoring those two crosses).
Unlike your Norway rat or black rat, pack rats are actually quite cute. I think it’s the furry tail.
Delightful but for the "sieg." Warily circled around that hoping it was something else, even though I was fairly sure of the downs. Got so stuck in the NE I had to Google (not a Pink Floyd nor Limp Bizkit fan, and not up my Hebrew months). Rather fitting for the season; used to live in Massachusetts and spent many hours on Thanksgiving eve in traffic getting to Philadelphia. Happily Not travelling today except for back and forth to work.
Sieg means victory so no problem there. No problem with Antifa being clued as a protest group rather than a terrorist group either. Both clues are accurate.
@Monty Boy - I thought the same thing, but some quick Googling reveals that it is referred to as a festival all over the place, including Wikipedia and some dictionaries.
And on another note, I just wanna say that I'm glad I do the mini as a warmup each morning, or I never would've known SYD Barrett. Lucky for me the two puzzles overlapped today!
Easy start, rough finish. I got theme early with TRADEFAIR and that really helped. South center was a mess for me, partly because my brain refused to think of DEED. It was locked into name or some other sense of "title".
There were two weak entries. As pointed out already Guacamole/SALSA. Yeah, they "go-with" like mustard goes with ketchup. I mean you really need the tortilla chips and the hamburger. The other was HOMETOWN. Nobody has ever said Townhome for Townhouse (spellcheck rejects townhome BTW.) Otherwise good Wednesday. Oh, regarding SIEG. I agree with those who commented previously. Also it is a real word and totally suitable for puzzle. Besides, POTUS evokes thoughts of Nazism on a daily basis. This should be our concern, not whether a German word is appropriate in a Xword puzz.
Hand .up for never liking the este/esta/esto choice. although this one finally became obvious.
Big hiccup when writing in ANNA without thinking about it very much and then trying to imagine the connection between a digital wallet and an APPLEPAN. Shows you where I am in the world of modern technology.
Caught the theme early, which made the rest of the puzzle lots of fun. Impressive density is OK with me.
Yep, DUR_T/KI_LEV was a complete and utter Natick for me. (I guessed A but it might as well have been Q). But the rest was quite pleasant.
There seems to be some confusion about what Rex wrote about SIEG so here’s the condensed version:
There is no way you can include that word in an American crossword puzzle and not evoke Nazis. ... So, if you don't want solvers think[ing] of Hitler while solving your puzzle (and you probably don't), never put SIEG in your puzzle. Or HEIL, for that matter.
To restate that in crosswordblog slang, Evoking Hitler still doesn’t pass the breakfast test. Personally, it didn’t bother me. But you can see already that some (many?) people don’t want Hitler with their breakfast.
@BarbieBarbie - In my head a TRADE show is put on for outsiders while a TRADE FAIR is put on for insiders. But I might be making that up.
@Preferred Customer - Eponym annoyingly FLIP FLOPs. It can be either the person for whom something is named or that thing which is named for someone. So MOTT is the eponym for MOTT’s Apple Sauce and MOTT’s Apple Sauce is an eponym. Definitely annoying but Shortz et alii use it correctly.
I agree that SIEG is unacceptable in the crossword, but I think the same holds true for ANTIFA. They are quite the thuggish ruffians themselves, and they evoke no pleasant imagery. Keep the out of my puzzle.
I agree with chefwen that we should never forget the past and how easy it has been for humans to fall into traps. But I also agree with Rex, that when you put SIEG in your puzzle, you think Nazi Germany. And to the anon above who lives in Germany, sure. If that is a word you use then yeah, it isn't going to be a big deal. But to the average American, who usually speaks only one language and only knows another language through selected means, that particular word will forever be associated with videos of thousands of people shouting SIEG heil.
That said, I did like ANTIFA in the puzzle. My dad and my uncle were ANTIFA. The "greatest generation" was ANTIFA and a lot of them died as a result. My mom, who graduated HS in 1941 lost all of her male classmates to the war against fascism.
Indeed we should never forget. We should fight fascism now, nip it in the bud, before it literally explodes into something that takes drastic means to eradicate.
Also, in other news, I did not know DURST or KISLEV. KIeLEV or KIaLEV seemed equally plausible.
Hate to be a stickler but the term is TOWNHOUSE not TOWNHOME also there is an H in St BARTHS.
Why is it that the most politically correct people so often champion censorship? I think we can accept words here no matter what their historical significance. How else can we avoid the mistakes of the past? Shall we ban the word “Mein” from crosswords too because it was half of the title of Hitler’s book? Ignoring things that don’t pass the breakfast test is the height of middle class complacency and hypocrisy. We’re stronger than that, Rex.
In the Hebrew calendar, Kislev is the third month, not the ninth. The ninth month is Sivan. Look it up.
Haven't seen it noted anywhere, but today is the 25th anniversary of Will Shortz' NY Times debut
I didn't know POD SAVE AMERICA. So I put ESTA and DEEM (which certainly means "title" as a verb), which gave me PAM SAVE AMERICA, which seemed plausible - if a little demanding.
Chag ha'aviv (literally, holiday of spring time) is one of the descriptive, secondary named of Passover. It has other names as well, including chag ha'matzot, the holiday of unleavened bread, and zman cheruteinu, the time of our freedom.
Such a clever theme! And so ruined by the plethora of (often crossing) pop culture trivia -- mostly singers and mostly unknown to me. Loved all the theme answers. Hated almost everything else.
I ask myself why this happens so often? Is it because a clever theme, especially when it's as dense as this one is, simply can't be accomplished without a lot of names? Or is it because younger constructors think that pop culture is just the niftiest, most important thing in the entire world? And that those of us who love puzzle-solving should be obliged to learn every pop singer who's ever sung -- or else find another hobby.
It's too bad, because this is really a fresh and beautifully executed concept as far as the reversible theme answers are concerned.
Those are civil months, Anon. The reference is to Biblical months. Look it up.
It's quite unlikely your dad and uncle were ANTIFA, Horticurx. Antifa are avowed anarchists whose desire is to tear down "the system". They are certainly not a "protest group". Nor are they terrorists; they're mostly just misinformed and angry, not to mention selfish.
I didn't get triggered by Sieg, but I did think it an odd choice.
As a city dweller I go with Townhouse. Never heard of Townhome. Apparently neither did this blog's autocorrect, as it suggest a correction to Townhouse.
Found this Wednesday to be quite choppy and didn't much enjoy it, but got the theme at Cathouse/Housecat.
Larry Gilstrap: I was also growing up in Covina when you were a lad, and we called those FLIPFLOPS “cloppies”. Did we just make that up?
Probably someone was thinking “clipclops” and chopped it.
For those of you who’ve already had breakfast go look up Limp Bizkit in the Urban Dictionary.
Relevancy points to the constructor: We’re now in KISLEV (the month of Hanukkah).
@Anon 9:03 a.m.: Yes and no. In our standard Hebrew calendar, KISLEV is the 3rd month. However, if you use the Biblical calendar (see Leviticus 23), what we call KISLEV would be the 9th month. There are 4 different new year’s days in Judaism.
Hey, folks, Sieg means victory in German, Heil means hail or health or wellness. Objecting to either of these words because of the use of them in a Nazi salute is exactly the same as saying
Make
and
America
and
Great
and
Again
should never appear in a puzzle, in speech, or in thought.
It would be idiotic and a horrible concession when words, having been abused by abusive people, become "verboten."
Get over it! Claim words and symbols for humanity. The Repubs stole the flag in 1980 when they elected Uncle Ronnie. It's up to us whether we have the freedom to fly it, knowing it has a deeper, broader significance than their lapel pins can ever approach.
Hey All !
Wow! What a puz! I'm a big fan of lots-of-themers-crammed-in your puz. This home hit the Homer! 10 of them, and only minor dreck that you'll find in any puz. Had 17 threes, but the fill is amazingly clean to have to work around so many themers. Plus open corners. Very impressive construction.
There was even some Tricksy cluing going on. More than normal for a WedsPuz. And was still on the easier side. Had my ARGH moment when I completed puz, all happy with myself that I figured everything out, to get the "Almost There" screen. Noooooooo! Turns out, ESTa for ESTO. And I looked at that when I filled it, and said I'd revisit it later. Never did. 😣
Got what was happening at the first themer, TRADE FAIR. Said, "Hey, what is that? It's FAIR TRADE. Ooh, they're switched around. So that helped immensely with the rest of them. Still took a bit to get FLIP FLOPS.
Did I mention there are 10 themers in here? Holy EFF!
Speaking of F's, 6 of 'em. Nice. 😎
STREAM AFOUL
RooMonster
DarrinV
Violent suppression of peaceful activism is never an acceptable solution, no matter the causes in question. If Rex can lambaste fill like "nra" (even referring to them as a terrorist group) or anything related to the president, he should be equally outraged by "ANTIFA", an unapologetically violent group. Instead, he celebrates the fill as "fabulous". Hypocrite.
Antifa is a protest group?
Then I guess the Navy SEALS are a swim club.
Cat House was fun! It inches us closer to Suck _____, mentioned earlier this week (or last week).
Really people, I'm the woman who's never offended by all the other things that women here seem to find offensive. But Cat House is just so low in so many ways, why go there? It's not mention of the trade that offends me, it's women-as-animals. That's regressive and brutally ugly.
Is there an adult in charge at the NYT or is this puzzle in the hands of a 15-year-old?
More diversity in puzzles is a good thing, right? Like when Erik's recent puzzle had a healthy dose of African American pop culture, or when women constructors put stuff in that Old Guys might not immediately know. (It's sad that I can't think of a recent specific example.)
So is it possible that Jewish people know the names of the Hebrew months? And that we should be cool with not knowing it the same way we might have to look up, say, the name of a cast member from Black-ish? (I'm not Jewish, and actually I have no idea if Rex is, so this is a non-rhetorical question.)
My hardest spot was the second E in OGEE. I had to guess a vowel and got it on my second try.
Word
I DNFed at the DURST/KISLEV cross but I also had a typo down in Baja that I missed so I really failed. Why anyone still hires me as an editor, someone who has to have an eagle eye for the most miniscule errors, is anyone's guess.
@Quasi, I agree totally. The blog does seem to devolve into quibbles about words, unhappy with small inaccuracies, offensiveness, "green paint." I think getting upset because of the connotation of a word is legitimate but not necessarily a good reason to ban it from crosswords. In my mind, the clueing is the critical piece. Let's try not to glorify cruelty, insult minorities, or take political positions in the clues.
May everyone have a lovely Thanksgiving. We are driving to Philadelphia tomorrow and will celebrate a day late with family. My hope is everyone will be eating by the time we hit I476.
Mr. Peanut wears a monocle, hence eyeglass/glass eye.
I got the theme at HEAD BUTT, which made the rest of them relatively easy; I did have to go with plausibility for DURST/KISLEV, but it seemed unlikely he'd be Durnt or Durat. I thought HOME TOWN and TRADE FAIR were a little off, though; realtors do like to call houses "homes," so I suppose that is sometimes said -- but the principle behind international economic negotiations is free TRADE; FAIR TRADE is an activist movement to get a better deal for small farmers in the developing world.
@Keyspel, St. Barth's is French -- in English it's St. Barts, no H. (none in St. Kitt's either).
I didn't mind SEIG, it was balanced by ANTIFA, after all.
As for the same entry, with the same clue, in both the mini and the main puzzle, I used to think it was a bug, but am beginning to suspect that it's a feature. If so, that's unfortunate. (@Joe R., it would be good to be less specific, so as not to spoil the mini for those who do it after coming here.)
Wrong. Kislev is the third month.
Nisan, iyar, sivan, tamuz, av, elul, kheshvan, KISLEV, teves, shvat, adar.
Here in South Texas we called flip flops thongs. But an old friend (long gone) who was a veritable Mrs. Malaprop called them throngs. One time, after a deep sea fishing trip on a rather rough day on the gulf, when she got off the boat she said, "It's so good to get my feet back on terra cotta".
Would never have gotten 33 down without the accrosses, but once I did, I learned something and thought it was pretty clever...beware long clues :-)
Regarding Kislev being the 9th month versus being the 3rd month....I learned in Hebrew school that Rosh Hashana (the New Year which falls on the 1st day of Tishrei--falling somewhere from September to October) recalls when the world was created. It's when God decides who will live and who will die, which land will suffer from drought and which land will flourish..etc. However, Nissan is the first month in the history of the Jews as a people--it is when we escaped bondage in Egypt. Nissan has the same root as the word for miracle ("Nes") and it was surely a miracle when the Red Sea parted and manna was sent from heaven.
In Hebrew School, we sang a little song to memorize the months and it started with Nissan. So Kislev is the 9th month.
Nissan, Iyar, Sivan, Tammuz, Av, Elul, Tishrei, Cheshvan, Kislev, Tevet, Shevat, Adar.
There are times when you will see the month spelled differently in a puzzle, because you are translating Hebrew letters. So I've seen Tishrei and Tishri, for example.
I swore I would stay out of the "Sieg" debate, but I can't. No. Don't use it. It's that simple.
Best wishes to everyone for a Happy Thanksgiving and a year filled with contentment.
What SUCK are you referring to?
We called flip flops schlepalongs.
I can’t believe none of you know the term “townhome.” Realtors use it all the time. Supposedly, it sounds classier than “townhouse.”
It's complicated...
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/09/the-rise-of-the-violent-left/534192/
This kept me going longer than usual for Wednesday.
Didn't know Neko or Antifa so I had to cheat, but enjoyable all the same.
Theme density wins out today. Yeah, there's a price to pay, but only KISLEV bugged me.
Happy Thanksgiving to all who are celebrating.
@oldactor (11:18) -- Oh, happiness -- a chance to talk about malapropisms instead of SEIG. Your late friend sounds (inadvertently) hilarious. I love "terra cotta".
I've had a couple of my own inadvertent malapropisms. I once said: "It was playing at the Roxy. No, wait, not the Roxy, but one of those other splush theaters." (plush/splash). I also once said: "They were alone on a rudderless sea." I'm sure there have been more, but those are the ones I remember.
Couldn't agree more. Excellent puzzle!
Of course ANTIFA are terrorists. The US Code of Federal Regulations defines Terrorism as “the unlawful use of force and violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives.” Kind of describes these guys to a T. I have no problem including them in the puzzle even as a “protest group” because they are that too, albeit a violent one. I just find it funny that Rex described the answer as “fabulous.” I guess he only objects to terrorists he doesn’t like.
They're interchangeable.
So disgusted, but not a bit surprised to see all the false equivalence on here regarding Antifa and Nazi’s. From the comments it is clear folks have very little clue about Antifa, and just lazily, reflexively engage in ‘bothsides-ism’. Nazi’s are about genocide, Antifa is about stopping genocide. Antifa is not new, is not ‘explicitly anarchist’ (all Anarchist are anti-fascist, not at Antifa are anarchist), does not shoot up places of worship or aim to put people in gas chambers.
I drive a Nissan. Great car but won't start on Saturday (now I know why). Ha!
I guess Nissan can be Nisan. I don't know. Anyone?
Can we all just calm down a bit over words we don't like appearing in the crossword? Words are just that; words. They don't connote emotions, politics or anything else without context. I thought this was a fun puzzle and really enjoyed the theme. Best of all? Not a rebus in the grid, my bete noir.
Strategery
Should have had a “challenging” rating.
@Anon 12:06 - that definition describes the U.S. military to a T. TOAT as we say in xword land.
My remembering DURST from other puzzles saved me from trouble in the NE. I checked on xwordinfo and it has been in the NYT only five times - the last in 2014 so I must have seen it elsewhere to have it remembered as "one letter away from Kristen DUnST". In only one of the five times it has occurred did the constructor DURST to clue it other than "Fred from Limp Bizkit".
I thank my co-worker, a POD Save America devotee, for me knowing 64D. It sounds like a very interesting show but I devote my time to reading rather than listening.
I came close to leaving dORTNITE in at 38D. REEdS as a water hazard seemed fine but the EFF finally came to me. Sorry, @Roo, didn't mean to try to lower your EFF count!
I loved this theme - got it at HEADBUTT. Great debut, Brandon Koppy.
One of the reasons I wound up here in Tex-Mex Land (at about 26° N lat.) is that I can wear FLIP FLOPS pretty much year round. Got some on right now.
If a politician reverses a position on an issue, it's a FLIP FLOP. When the media finds out, it becomes a FLIP FLOP flap.
I'm surprised at all the anti-TOWN HOME comments. Perhaps the constructor is from MN, but around here, TOWNHOME is as ubiquitous as the structures it describes. TOWN House is a thing also.
Here FLIP FLOPS are Rubbah Slippahs.
Anarchists are mostly civil and keep to themselves theses days. The idea that anarchists are violent is old news, pal.
Maybe a better example would be the French resistance. Covert, anti fascists who were fighting to take their country back.
The fact you would even try to minimize the work of anti fascists in this country is to show your ignorance and acceptance of fascism.
Your parents would be so proud.
I’m sure the German fascists would call those pesky French all kinds of names. Fascists are bad. It’s that simple. Fighting fascism is a good thing.
In NYC they're TOWNHOUSES.
I guess this wasn't bad for a debut if you simply look at the grid without the clues. Some of them didn't work for me. But unless the constructor chimes in we don't know who gets the credit or blame.
Lots of things I didn't know but the crosses must have been fair.
I have to confess that when they were new I did get a kick out of Beavis and Butthead and then the spin-off King of the Hill.
Tube travelers was kinda funny.
Mott as an eponym of applesauce? Scotch tape and BandAid yes. Let me know if anyone says "Pass me the Motts" tomorrow.
I really enjoy the food traditions of holidays esp. Thanksgiving.
Hopefully Will won't be serving a turkey of a puzzle.
Maybe using German translation of Nike would have been better and less traumatic to the over-sensitive types.
Any film reports I have seen of the Antifa in action looks very fascist to me. Free speech should be free for everyone.
Town home sounds pretentious.
The king of malapropisms has retired from selling BBQ in North Georgia. A couple of quickies:
"He's a fine feller when he's sober, but give him a bottle and he's a regular Dr. Pepper and Mr, Hyde."
****
"Hell, I'm afraid to open a letter ... all that Amtrak powder being sent through the mail.
***
"I sold a lot ... but the law brought that to a squeakin' hawk!"
Liked it.
I live in a townhouse in New York and I agree with the earlier commenter who deemed it realtor speak. The same way they describe houses as homes in their ads they describe townhouses as townhomes.
@oldactor @Nancy @Joe Bleaux - my favorite malapropism comes from a former co-worker on his way out of the office : "I bid you a fondue".
@Chefwen, I laughed when I saw your comment. I remember some restaurants in Kauai with the dress code warning: No Rubbah Slippah!
I see that the 3rd vs. 9th issue for Kislev has been addressed already. (We have the same issue with NOVember being the 11th month, not 9th, etc.) I enjoyed this puzzle; the theme was familiar -- I knew what was up on the first one, 17A:TRADE_FAIR, so it was nice to see it with a surfeit of examples, some new. Fortunately 21A:SIEG calls to mind also "Hölle, wo ist dein Sieg?" ("Hell, where is thy victory?", following "Death, where is thy sting?") from the Brahms Requiem. Dare I suggest that DURST should have had a Shakespeare quote rather than a YAWN clue? Yes, I just durst.
NDE
Loved it - one of those themes where I got it...and then sort of forgot it...and had to get it all over again. It was fun to go back over the flipped answers (and, like @Rex, finally see the EYE GLASS). Overall, I found the puzzle challenging, what with my patchy grasp of the theme, not knowing DURST, FORTNITE, POD, and not having YOU IN and I ATE spring to mind immediately. Last in THE FED - a treat after my trying very hard to parse the letters as one word.
@Brandon Koppy - I loved your work as an ALTERER. Terrific puzzle.
Never heard of the saying “ my dogs are barking” when one’s feet are sore from hard work?
I totally agree with @Nancy 9:44. I could never construct a puzzle, but the PPP trivia is a total turnoff, even though I can wade through it most of the time. I will not subscribe to People Magazine just to figure out who is hot at this particular moment. Puzzles should be timeless.
@Nancy - Today’s PPP comes in at 23/76, ~30%. So this is below my “unfair PPP” line of 33%, although I will note that several of the PPP are longish so it plays as if it hits the 33% mark. You know my stance, PPP is not word play, too much diminishes a puzzle. Especially problematic are PPP crosses like SYD/DURST. SY- points to a non-standard spelling and could easily be an uncommon name. All we know about DURST is that it is a last name, so that D could be any consonant and maybe A, so you have a 1 in 22 chance of guessing right. A band named Limp Bizkit could easily have a member named Fred wURST (Frank Wurst would work, wouldn’t it?). I like that the PPP is fresher than Jack Webb and Mr. Ed, but keeping even fresh PPP under 25% improves every puzzle.
BTW - ANTIFA is estimated to be at least 200 separate groups with the single common trait to all of them being that they oppose fascism. Making a statement about them much beyond that is about as accurate as, say, making a statement about Baptists.
Finally, still confused about TOWNHOME and Townhouse? This Nationwide blog post is sure to clear it up.
I love applesauce but would’ve preferred “Mott” as band “_the Hoople,” a great 70s band led by Ian Hunter known for “All the Young Dudes” (written by David Bowie) but have a bunch of great other songs too, available on Spotify and Apple Music. And yes, ANTIFA are terrorists.
My favorite malapropism was the reply I received when I asked a neighbor about his wife's health, post major surgery: "Well, she's coming along, but she's not out of the woodwork yet.
@Z
Liked the Condo/Townhouse/TOWN HOME thing. Also, the Baptist thing, Har. Reminds me of MPFC's Life Of Brian, with the People's Front of Judea, and the Judean People's Front.
RooMonster
Another ‘yes’ vote for TOWNHOME, the term real estate people I know mostly use. Also glad to see NEKO Case here again.
Choppy puzzle for me, but no major complaints with the possible exception of needing to know Hebrew months.
I’m not triggered at all by “heil”and “Antifa” by themselves, but to present them opposite “Passover”and “Kishlev” creates an unfortunate undertone. I hope it was accidental.
Gee, I guess my comment on sieg struck a nerve with the blogger and thus was struck by the blogger. I thought my comment was as civil as the others. Censorship betrays intellectual insecurity.
Syndication land here. I wonder what word the anti-Nazi German speakers used when the Nazis were defeated.
BART’S DEED
That BUTTHEAD AGREESTO PASSOVER his HOMETOWN spouse,
and TAKESOUT that sleeze who’s ONLEASH OVA at the CATHOUSE.
--- ANYA DURST
Happy Boxing Day Syndies!
Nice puzzle. Lots and lots of theme - about 25% of the ENTIRE grid is occupied by theme, ANYA don't see that too often. I was doing fine but ran AFOUL in the dense EFF OGEE in the SW corner. I had kitTs before BARTS, but after that the DEED was done. I also had to guess (for the S) at the DURST-KISLEV crossing. BTW, I hate entries that aren't in the OED. Anyhoo, bravo to Brandon Koppy for a fine NYT debut puzzle.
OGEE, OFL’s comments about the fil vis-a-vis the theme density were so predictable, yet accurate. But worth it, I think, for so many themers that can FLIPFLOP and SWAP back and forth. Musicians SYD Barrett, Fred DURST and yeah baby NEKO Case were all gimmes.
In my world RLS is more commonly a Registered Land Survey rather than the author.
Never did finish law school to become one of those ESQS. Have subscribed to the mag, though.
I am among those who liked this puz, are YOUIN?
I did a quick count. The themer occupies about 40% of the available squares on the grid. I don't care what Rex says. That's not too shabby!
I got the trick, I got the trick. (repeat as needed) It's like Thursday on Wednesday. What will Thursday bring? Nothng to PASS OVER I hope.
Lady Di
Tons of Boxing Day fun! I have to admit that I was somewhat flummoxed until I hit OVERPASS, and then the game was afoot.
Slowdowns occurred in the NE and SW, but once I got the theme idea, no prob. The last word was P_D where I had to OPT for one of three possibilities. Got the correct one only because it rhymed with God.
High marks for theme density and lack of cack.
Belated Christmas wishes to all Syndies (I had no paper yesterday) and best wishes for a great 2019.
I wouldn't consider ASP crosswordese. It's not a foreign language term, not an abbreviation (by contrast, SRA is both of those), not slang, not a proper name. It's a standard dictionary word. I suspect that many non-crossword solvers would have no trouble defining an ASP as a kind of snake.
Neat theme, good revealer; saw them coming at RATPACK/PACKRAT clue.
Potential mini-Naticks: SYD-DURST, NEKO-OED, ESTO-POD, ANYA-APPLEPAY.
Slowed down in the SE corner.
TERSELY is a good word.
Honestly, I am always so glad when Xmas is over. Bring on 2019...
I see finally that the syndilinker woke up. This morning it was still on Sunday, and I was NOT about to bother doing all that work to reach a comment page just so I could rant about how bad it was. I tell ya, if you don't happen to be Jewish or know names of individual band members (and after about 1990 I don't even know the BAND names!), you're gonna have a tough time today. QEII and ESQS is NOT my idea of a smooth inclusion of a rare letter. Yeah, I got the trick, but so what? The fill was so painful--and for me, ungettable--that I just threw it in about halfway through.
Mr. Koppy? Um, don't quit your day job.
@thefogman -- POD help us in 2019.
Sieg ! I finished.
Omg crossing ITSY with MPS is impossible unless you know MPS (Brit pol) ITTY is just as viable and and MPT looks just as good as MPS if you don’t know the acronym.
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