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SATURDAY, Jun. 21, 2008 - Tyler Lewis Hinman (100 NANOJOULES)
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium
THEME: almost...
Kwik Kommentary today as I am oddly busy. This almost never happens on a Saturday, but today ... one of my readers is in town and he's buying me dinner! Actually, I think we're having dinner on a boat on a lake in N. Penn. If I don't return tomorrow, you all now know my last known whereabouts, OK?
I enjoyed the strange grid today, and was intrigued by the long fill, in that I was sure a theme was developing when I noticed that the two 15-word Acrosses were PRIMARY ELECTION (22A: One may have runners) and FIRST IMPRESSION (44A: Something given at a meeting). Then on the grid-spanning Downs, you've got LEADING ARTICLES (9D: Front-of-magazine pieces) and finally, to round it all off ... TWO-MINUTE DRILLS (3D: Fourth-quarter strategies)??? It's like some cruel and / or fabulous joke. "One of these things is not like the others?" ("Sesame Street" .... anyone? - by the way, watch this, and then you will see why, as a very small child, I loved "The Electric Company" and thought "Sesame Street" was for ... what's a non-offensive word for "kids who are not that bright?"). Anyway, the TWO in TWO-MINUTE DRILLS not only doesn't belong, it's like it's tweaking its nose at the other long answers: "Yeah, I got your ONE right here! Psych! I'm a TWO, ya @#$#ing sheep." TWO-MINUTE DRILLS is surly and only vaguely coherent.
Wife just pointed out that Tyler's initials are spelled out by the black squares. Vanity! And here I thought the puzzle credit, "Tyler LEWIS Hinman," was just Tyler's new, big-boy name...
Bullets!
- 1A: Midwest farmers work later on it: Abbr. (CDT) - EZ, though I thought DST.
- 8A: Group whose logo has a clock set at 11:00 (Elks) - Wow, that's ... Watchmen-esque. Do ELKS graze at 11? What gives?
- 12A: E. S. _____, game company that popularized Yahtzee and Scribbage (Lowe) - no idea, and I only just now realized that "Scribbage" was not "Cribbage." I'm guessing it's some hybrid abomination of God's gaming will.
- 16A: Like "Beowulf," in brief (Anon.) - trying to think ahead of the curve, or ahead of the trick, or whatever - trying to anticipate cleverness, I tried ANIM. (see the recent "Beowulf" movie, if you dare)
- 18A: Six-Day War battleground (Gaza) - knew it involved Israel somehow ... GAZA is a good way to work a "Z" into your puzzle.
- 21A: Its drops may be alarming, with "the" (Dow) - had trouble computing the clue at first, but when I got the answer, the clue seemed perfectly accurate.
- 27A: _____ Center, second-tallest building in Chicago (Aon) - I'm guessing many non-Chicagoans balk at this every time it shows up (maybe once a year). If it weren't for the certainty of CAR CRASH (23D: Ending of many a chase scene) (and the impossibility of CIR CRASH), I'd have guessed ION.
- 28A: Filler for a gun (caulk) - having the "UL" in place made this a lot easier than it might have been.
- 31A: Planet system in several "Star Trek" episodes (Rigel) - the site of my one real problem; I was sure this was RIGEL (I never watched "ST" much, but it sounded right), but if RIGEL was right, WTF was LAN (33D: Iberia : Spain :: _____ : Chile)??? A very clever deliberately misdirective clue that supposes two things. 1) you will think "Iberia" is a place, not an airline, and 2) you don't know any specifically Chilean airlines. You know that LAN stands for Local-Area Network, but that's all you'll know.
- 36A: Girl who's the "you" in the lyric "I'll see you in my dreams" (Irene) - "Goodnight, IRENE" (song starts at about the 4:30 mark). IRENE is one of the most popular female names in the crossword, despite no one's being named IRENE anymore.
- 42A: Cartoon character who fathered octuplets (Apu) - HA ha. It's true. Great clue for him. No "Kwik-E-Mart" to tip people off.
- 43A: Old N.Y.S.E. ticker symbol that's now just "T" (ATT) - why just "T"? Weird. NYSE is a common crossword abbr. in its own right.
- 52A: Pioneering agriculturalist Jethro (Tull) - "We need more flute!"
- 54A: La _____, capital of Buenos Aires province (Plata) - wow, this puzzle is really S. America happy. "ORO Y PLATA" is, of course, Montana's state motto, in case anyone asks.
- 57A: Psychologist Havelock (Ellis) - I know this why? He must have studied sex. Oh yeah! Important predecessor of Kinsey.
- 7D: Actress O'Connor of TV's "Xena" (Renee) - Someday I will list every Damned RENEE that has ever appeared in the puzzle. RENEE is up there with IRENE, in that they both get around, crossword-wise.
- 8D: 100 nanojoules (erg) - physics, three letters, ERG, move on...
- 10D: Buzz producer (kazoo) - wanted YENTA. I only wish I were kidding.
- 13D: Moles go behind them (enemy lines) - well you know right away you're dealing with a mobile kind of mole, so you can check face mole off your mole list. Animal moles go underground, not "behind" things, so you're left with spy moles ... after that, it's hop skip jump to ENEMY LINES.
- 20D: Portable shelter (pack tent) - never heard the phrase. PUP TENT, yes. I assume a PACK TENT is one you can carry ... in your pack.
- 37D: Title role for Greta Garbo (Camille) - Looking for NINOTCHKA ... not finding it.
- 38D: Swedish home of Scandinavia's oldest university (Uppsala) - weirdly easy. Not sure why. Had the "PS" and knew it instantly.
- 45D: Locked, as a lavatory (in use) - nice tie-in with TOILET SEAT (24D: Can opener?)
- 49D: Late 1940s event, in headlines (N-test) - well, they can't all be gems. This corner is redeemed by the clue for SOT (61A: Rummy). I didn't know "rummy" was anything but a card game until I saw "The Days of Wine and D'oh'ses" (a "Simpsons" episode). I have learned many olde-timey expressions from that show, primarily from Mr. Burns.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
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61 comments:
Liked this one alot. My only major misfill was guessing the end of elec as TRIC instead of TION, but that straightened itself out with the addition of DOW and KAZOO.
Also struggled with "I'll see you in my dreams" which is the title of another old standard, which doesn't have a girl's name.
Incidentally, the way Hudie Ledbetter sang "Good night, Irene" it wasn't "I'll see you..." but rather "I'll GET you..."
Old folkie speakin here.
Great puzzle -- It went so fast, my houseguest is still asleep! I was bemused at the AON building in Chicago -- should have known that, but had to get it with crosses.
I had some of the same false starts as Rex, notably "feature" articles, as well as "razor" for KAZOO, but they both cleared up easily. Why I knew TULL is a mystery, but I did. Also Ilked ELLIS clue, Havelock instead of reference to the Island. MISS THE CUT was neat, since I was thinking it was death or "kick the can" for not making it!
ARE WE having fun? Wow, SOME PEOPLE! -- yes, Tyler rocks...
∑;)
Too easy for a Saturday puzzle...some neat clues though. The "Its drops may be alarming.." clue and its answer are certainly timely!
HI all - back from Wine Country - Managed to save enough brain cells to nail this puzzle. A fun outing. The long clues were fresh and there was a minimum of old standbys.
Isn't Jethro Tull a band? I kept wanting to write in Tull but resisted. How many famous Jethros can you name. (I'm stuck at 3.) What is the connection to agriculture? And can someone explain the NYC/MSG clue? That escapes me.
Enjoyed catching up on the puzzles I missed. This weekend arc is really a fun ride, starting with all the Lies on Thursday, then a Nothnagel yesterday. What a pleasure to have something more fun than USA Today and the Delta magazine puzzle to solve!!
My fastest Saturday ever.
I believe Primary, first, leading and two-minutes describes Tyler at the ACPT, making the theme "It's all about me".
@jannieb Google informs me that Tull invented the seed drill. As for NYC and M.S.G., that's Madison Square Garden, not monosodium glutamate, which would have been clued msg.
Parshutr, thanks for the M.S.G. explanation! I had the right answer because of the cross - although I never heard of a packtent either - but I couldn't see how it made sense. Other than that, I agree with coop that it was too easy for a Saturday puzzle.
Yes, Jethro Tull is a band and I remember looking up the name when they came out. I was reading Will Durant at the time and discovered he was famous for his interest in agriculture.
Had a lot of insight into this puzzle as many of my FIRSTIMPRESSIONS were correct. I had ENEMYLINES from just the Y. And I got all the downs in Texas bang bang bang and broke open the entire South and was able to move steadily northward sort of a reverse Sherman's March.
I enjoyed this puzzle alot and was impressed that he worked his initials in through the black squares.
In general a fairly easy puzzle, but I was thrown off by 6A, which I kept wanting to be the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists with their doomsday clock -- the Elks? C'mon!
I gave speeches to the ELKS when I was on the speaking circuit and got the inside scoop on 11:00 PM. The ever-drinking BPOE paused every evening at 1Eleven to remember their friends who could not be there. The concept started because the privately organized Elks were allowed to keep drinking after the usual 11:00 PM closing time. Which is very benevolent, I'd say.
I did not find the puzzle so easy and I guess by others comments, the wine and late hours conspired against me. I, too, thought the long fill were all theme answers relating to Tyler.
Great soccer game today.
I think Henry HOOK and Merl Reagel (REGEL is still referential) are favorite constructors. Not doing well on a puzzle is either a CRASH or being in the TOILET. TWO minutes to solve, Leading the ACPT tourney as a PRIMARY solver and coming in FIRST are biographical. His fears include to MISSTHECUT or have to DWELLON a hard clue. I am sure there is more to it.
/Mike
Rex, you read my mind on 33D. I took "Iberia" as the peninsula, not the airline. No wonder I scored so low on those analogy tests back in school. Other than that, a bit on the easy side for a Saturday, wasn't it?
Did not find this one easy, but it was enjoyable. Knew "Uppsala" from a wonderful year as a high school exchange in Sweden, and that opened the bottom third for me. And, just to be picky, I think "moles" are generally thought of as sleeper agents in times of peace/cold war rather than people who "go behind enemy lines," which has more of a connotation (to me at least) of active warfare, but it was close enough that it didn't really throw me off (for too long).
According to Imdb, Garbo's name In "Camille" was Marguerite Gautier. Just a curiousity at best as the other title roles for her do not remotely fit. Nice puzzle. Loved the MSG clue. And who doesn't have a fond spot in his or her heart for dear Apu. Tried for a while to figure out what Chileans call their country until a "duh" moment arrived and I thought airlines!
I guessed that the late 40's news event was "nohst", as in No HST, as in Dewey beats Truman. And I wasn't helped by having the n**st in place before anything else.
I still like my answer better...
I'd like to think that 24 down and 45 down are shout-outs to the "Sit and Solve" series.
Enough already with the black squares forming letters! Pretty easy Saturday, but some nice stuff at any rate. I love the armchair psychoanalyses of our friend Tyler - I hope he takes it well!
Thanks to Rex for the Jethro Tull video link - I am listening to a bunch of them in the background as I type. (In addition to Tull, I've only got Jethro Pugh, a DL on the Dallas Cowboys way back when, and Jethro Clampett from the Beverly Hillbillies, and he's not even a real person!)
LAN Chile is an abbreviation of LÃnea Aérea Nacional (de) Chile, or Chilean National Airlines. Similarly, Australia's QANTAS is an abbreviation of Queensland and Northwest Territories Air Service, which is why there is no "U" in it, making it good crosswordese.
This was ALOT easier than Friday's for me; at least I didn't put in any wrong answers. Ono, Dwell On and SSN opened up primary election and enemy lines and two minute drlls. I had first PROcession initially but Camille opened the bottom up for me. The saturday puzzles with long answers that are pretty easily figured out end up being fairly easy puzzles.
A monogrammed grid!?! Nice interlocking of the 15s. This one was lots of fun. I'll bet it was solved by SOME PEOPLE sitting on the TOILET SEAT, and that the lavatory door was locked so no one would BURST IN while it was IN USE.
Especially great clues for CDT, NYC, DONOR, KAZOO, TOILET SEAT, and LAN. Didn't much like the clue for PRIMARY ELECTION. Candidates as runners is too awkward. Liked "Crash pad" for FUTON but was bugged by later finding CRASH in the answers.
Did you know that CAMILLE is pronounced KAH MEE in French? A lovely name.
Never got the airline, only the peninsula. However, it all worked out in the fill without a google or a mistake. So that's cool.
Rex....THANK YOU for the clip to TULL. Wow! BTW, had originally had Tull in there due to a vague remembrance of where the band's name came from. Removed it. Put it back in. Realy hokey pokey.
For some reason, I didn't think this one was all that easy. Only got going after getter FUTON and TULL in the SW, but it was still fairly slow.
I believe Rex actually suggested the octuplets idea for cluing APU a few months ago in this very blog. Now constructors will have to think of something new for Saturdays.
A minor cartoon theme: "Are we having fun yet?" originated in Zippy the Pinhead.
I also thought this was pretty easy for a Sat. Definitely easier than yesterday's. My only problem was hanging on to DST too long and then changing the D to C but forgetting to change the S to D. Had the same experience as others with LAN. A PPG revealed the airline.
@bill d: I think the Beverly Hillbillies Jethro was Bodine not Clampett. He was Jed's nephew. (I have way to much crap in my head!)
Oh, and philly thanks for the ELKS explanation!
There was a classic Rummy in "To Have and Have Not." See how the bad guys got him to sing. Check it out, if only for Lauren Bacall's debut.
Jethro Bodine was the correct surname -- Ellie May Clampett was his cousin, I believe. Loved the episode where Jethro wants to be a BMOC, so he enrolls at a secretarial college, and fulfills his ambition.
From one of the Tull albums I owned at 14 (with just a tad of embarrassment today), I learned of the agronomy connection. Like embarrassment, I have problems with words like UPPSALA in crossword puzzles. I know there's a double letter (or two), but can never remember where it goes. So only can fill in the first and last letter.
Manjool needs to make a puzzle appearance. Maybe Tyler could be the first to feature her?
Well, it must have been easy for this crowd, because I actually solved it. I'm embarrassed to admit the hardest part for me was the CUB/DEN connection, because I insisted on reading DEN as either Denver or Denmark and C-B as some sort of monogram. Really liked CRASH PAD for FUTON and SOMEPEOPLE (though it took me a while to work back from my first thought, "HOWDAREYOU."
I've really got to pay more attention to the black squares as even after yesterday, I missed the signature in today's. Still, it's done and it's still daylight on a Saturday, so I'm primarily floating on air.
A fairly easy puzzle for me today- finished it in less than half an hour so either it wasn't that hard or Tyler and I think alike.
Another vanity puzzle- earlier it was the guy who worked his first and last names into the puzzle and now this. I, too, wondered why Tyler suddenly had 3 names but then I recognized the black squares for what they were and that was that. Initially, I only thought it was the H but then the other letters became apparent.
Speaking of Jethro Tull, I first learned who he was in 11th grade history class when the teacher announced that "Jethro Tull invented the plow share." The whole class just oohed and ahhed as they realized a) that there was a real Jethro Tull and b) why the group had that medieval sound.
As for caulk, there's a very risque SNL skit involving the word and another possible interpretation of its pronouncement. I'll leave it at that.
Fave clue/answer: 59A. Love_____ = NEST
Very apropos as my partner and I got married yesterday!
@Doc John,
That's awesome. Congratulations.
rp
PS your gowns are lovely
Thanks. :)
Hey, I wanted to wear a suit but it was 90 degrees outside!
Thanks to Jane Doh for pointing out the monogram in the black squares (D'oh!) -- which also explains why Tyler's middle name appears in the byline.
@JannieB: is the original Jethro (a.k.a. Yitro) -- the one in the Bible -- famous enough?
31A: Rigel is a real star; its name is the Arabic word for "foot", as in the "left foot" of Orion. There's a hebrew cognate in Regel, as in Regalim (the pilgrimage festivals of Pesach, Shavuot, and Sukkot), Meraglim (the scouts or spies sent by Caleb -- cf. 13D:ENEMYLINES), and Ragli (foot soldier, or pawn in chess). While I'm digressing, the Wikipedia page for Rigel reports that the star's name in Chinese astronomy translates as "the 7th of the three stars" -- which seems even worse than a 4th book of a trilogy...
24D:TOILETSEAT -- yes, a clever clue, though I wonder if this passes the breakfast-table test...
NDE
Doc John,
That is fabulous news and I am so glad CA came through finally. Have you recruited your partner into this sport?
Go Orange!
@Noam,
I explained the monogram in my write-up. Do you even read me anymore...?
:)
RP
@Philly,
Unfortunately, he seems to show no interest in crosswords. He did see "Wordplay", though!
@Doc John
Congratulations! The look is just right for a California summer wedding... One of you looks like your avatar : )
This was not incredibly easy, but definitely more doable than yesterday. In the northeast, I put "RAZOR" at one point, for "buzz producer", then changed it to "RAZOO" because of ELECTIONS, and discovered that there is an actual meaning to "Razoo", along with a website, entitled "a platform for social good"... Seems like a good thing to know for crosswordese.
@parshutr - thanks for the MSG explanation.
@Noam - your biblical reference trumps all of my Jethros - two of whom are fictional - the aforementioned Bodine and Mark Harmon's character on NCIS. Guess we should also add Bill D's baseball player and we have a quintet. Who woulda guessed?
@Doc John - congratulations to you both!
@Doc John - Add my congrats to the pile; lots of happiness and long life!
@jae - I had Jethro Bodine floating around my brain but I thought I must have gotten confused with Matthew Modine!
@jannieb - My guy was actually a football player. In the famous 1967 "Ice Bowl" NFL title game in Green Bay, Jethro Pugh was the Cowboy's All-Star tackle whom GB guard Jerry Kramer put the block on to let Packers QB Bart Starr "sneak" across the goal line for the winning TD. It's one of the most famous plays in NFL history. Since I know Rex hates non-Red Sox sports talk, I'll leave it there.
Easy puzzle by an amazingly good solver. I think this puzzle was more about the grid than the clues, but that's ok because I am awed by what constructors can do.
I'm away from the NYT puzzles (and the NYT) for two weeks except for Orange's book; always good to take a break from the news (but not the puzzle).
@ Fergie
I think you meant Manjula
yes, the biblical jethro is famous enough at least as a clue, and arguably as an answer. he's the father of zipporah and hence the father-in-law of moses.
doc john--awesome. congratulations!
Yeah, I guess I heard her name wrong. My guesses about the most frequently occurring Simpsons characters are APU, MOE and LISA. Depends on whether it's in the Clue or Answer, maybe?
Weird thunderstorms in coastal California frazzling electrical things today. The clouds are fascinating, but I fear for roller coaster riders and surfers.
I just noticed. If you flip the puzzle upside down, it also spells TLH. Kinda hard to do in across lite unless you turn your monitor, but if you squinch your eyes up, you can see it.
Jean
@docjohn, congratulations. Great that open minds finally prevailed. Why is the person who looks like they are performing the ceremony holding that massive syringe?
Because they had to sedate Howard!
But seriously, what appears to be a syringe is just the book that the cleric was reading from.
@doc john - congratulations. Had I known i would have supplied the food for the festivities.
@RP: Oops, you did indeed mention the TLH monogram yourself, sorry. Somehow I skipped past the one short paragraph that mentioned the monogram (and admitted that you didn't notice it either). Unfortunately I didn't have the time today to actually solve this puzzle, being in transit between England and Seattle; so I read quickly through your blog entry instead -- too quickly, it seems. NDE
@Doc John: Just wanted to say congratulations. I'm so glad you were able to get married.
Noam -- I thought it was understood that you solve the puzzle first, or say TIO, before checking in here.
That said, a transition from England to Seattle can't be half bad, except for the transit, of course.
@doc john-
Congrats to both of you. It's about time somebody somewhere has come to their senses.
@fergus: "I thought it was understood that you solve the puzzle first, or say TIO, before checking in here."
Fine, then consider me to have said TIO before the opening bell, knowing that a Saturday puzzle might take me more time than I have during my current travels.
(And anyway we all know here that "Spanish uncle" is not TIO but NOMAS -- not to be confused with NOAMS.)
--NDE
@doc john: congratulations! I'm proud to be from the country that made this possible first!
Talking about that country, I didn't see the soccer match, I was on a plane from Rome to NY, but I am very unhappy about the result, although I have to say I like the Russian team very much and hope they will go far. Ulrich must be beside himself, probably prolonging his stay in Germany.
I didn't do well on this puzzle because I didn't really do it; I was so tired and jetlagged that I went to Rex for advice instead. I do, of course, have some comments.
@doug e: I thought of How dare you! too, and I thought heymister had a funny solve in NoHST. I was proud to actually remember a Simpson name (from Rex):Apu! , and also Uppsala came up a couple of weeks ago in this blog, I think. I also had razor for a bit before kazoo, and can you believe these
Elks? First I thougt AARP. but that would have been too maudlin for them.
I thought the toilet seat was a riot, and, @crosscan, you are right about the theme. Anyway, Tyler did a great job.
P.S. I miss Andrea Carla and her late night comments!
Haven't figured out arroyos for washes, but this is my last comment and I'm fading fast......
I wasn't being an asshole about TIO.
The uncle connection came up too ripe.
An alluvian fan is the best geographical presentation of how
sediments set upon the shore.
Thanks to everyone for their nice comments and support! :)
I consider 37 &41 across as non clues and should't be used. You have to get one or the other solely thru crosses as there is no clue.
Idiot that I am, I *had* to find out why NYC was the answer to M.S.G. Thanks for the explanation! Also had DST for 1A and when I woke up to correct, forgot to change the S to D. WTH was a sonor? In the words of Apu's friend--D'oh!
It was Jethro Bodine who inspired me to become a double-naught spy (though I've not been as successful as my younger brother).
Yeh, this all flowed, making it as enjoyable as it was challenging. I think this was because it lacked the strained cluing and/or esoteric fill that usually typifies (plagues?) week-ending puzzles.
Still it did have some minor irritations, like the 37A/41A situation noted earlier; PACKTENT and LEADINGARTICLES seemed forced, though eminently solvable. Having known only Upsala College from my NJ upbringing, I hesitated at 38D - would an institution of higher learning actually misspell what I assume was its nominal inspiration?!?
Rex -
You clearly haven't wasted enough time watching NFL football. Every team has a two minute drill, to be used in the last two minutes (after the "two minute warning" by the referees) of the second and fourth quarters. Wha? You some kinda commie?
I can see why I am a six week after type. I struggled mightily with this one and still couldn't bring myself to go with AON for a building, LAN for the relationship. That, of course messed up the RIGEL that I really wanted. I also couldn't accept PACK TENT and couldn't come up with any logical substitute for monosodium glutamate so I missed the NYC. I could go on with a number of other things that I am totally unfamiliar with, but all told, this on was a pretty typical Saturday, i.e. need google, etc and other helps.
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