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Relative difficulty: Medium
THEME: none
Between getting kid to school and taking puppy to vet, I am pressed for time, so today, a condensed write-up.
I loved this puzzle, and think that, with the exception of some terribly mysterious proper nouns in the NE and another in the SW, the puzzle was a model Friday citizen. How could you not feel elation at I'M FEELING LUCKY (5D: Phrase on a Google search button). My exhilaration was heightened by the fact that I got that answer with just a cross or two in place, so writing it in really felt like flying or spinning the wheel for the big money or something. NE and SW were the real thorns for me.
Never heard of either of the piles of earth in the NE: neither Ireland's Hill of TARA (10A), nor MT DANA (25A: Peak on the eastern edge of Yosemite Natl. Park), despite having grown up in relatively close proximity to Yosemite. [I used to be a medievalist, so I knew ROUEN (12D: Hundred Years' War siege site), but I can see how the TARA / ROUEN crossing might have made some solvers very unhappy]. Since neither DANA nor TARA is easily inferrable, I needed every one of those Down crosses in the NE. Luckily for me - all doable. The SW was also rough ... even with a new clue on TISCH, I still think it's pretty rough. Old clue was [Central Park's _____ Children's Zoo], which is probably great for New Yorkers, but not so great for the rest of us. I grumbled, but I'm sort of surprised the clue ultimately got changed, because 43D: Former CBS C.E.O. doesn't seem that much easier. Perhaps it's not a question of "easy," but of how big a swath of the population could reasonably be expected to know it. Staying in the SW, I had no idea there was such a field as ASTRO-biology (44D: Introduction to biology?), as I did not know there was BIO in the ASTRA to study. Further Who the bleep is LARA Fabian (45D: Singer Fabian and others)?! OK, she's some Euro-Canadian superstar who sounds creepily like Celine and (in my cursory and uninformed opinion) is largely popular because she is Super hot. Very camera-friendly. Makes Celine look like a horse. No offense.What more can I say? Plenty. But I have only fifteen minutes. . . [setting timer] - GO!
- 1A: Lewis with 12 Emmys (Shari) - damn, that's a lot of hardware for a lady with socks on her hands.
- 6A: Medium size in a lingerie shop (C cup) - ... isn't "C" ... a tad on the big side. Maybe not in the age of Fat and Enhancement, but still, "C" in my mind conjures up ... plenty.
- 14A: Result of tribesmen putting their heads together? (totem) - well, not "their" heads exactly, but you see what the clue's going for. Cute.
- 19A: "Nightswimming" band (R.E.M.) - o man "Automatic for the People" (the 1992 album that "Nightswimming" is from) is fantastic. All contemporary whiny emo bands should listen to it and despair.
- 23A: Adept at apery (mimetic) - I had a "conversation" with a cockatiel in Dunedin, NZ. It was weirdly mesmerizing / amazing.
- 27A: Parisian possessive (à moi) - could've been À TOI.
- 29A: 14th-century Russian ruler called "the Moneybag" (Ivan I) - I like all the I-ending words. SHARI, IVANI, CACTI (6D: Things with sticking points), and STIMULI (39D: Action preceders). If I left one out, you'll surely let me know.
- 30A: Butterfly with black-and-white eyespots (wood nymph) - no idea. Every time my eye glances over the grid, all I see here is Woody...
- 41A: One of seven in the film "Se7en" (Lust) - a movie wherein people actually read Dante. Cool. Also, this movie has one of the great titles of all times. Best use of number in title.
- 50A: AOL alternative (Gmail) - nice, newish answer. Notice the high number of unlikely letter sequences in this grid. That's what I like in a late-week themeless. Well, one of the things I like.
- 60A: Beagle in the funnies (Odie) - ODIE is a beagle!?!?
- 2D: One often seen at a family reunion (home movie) - nice clue; took me a while to realize "one" was not a person.
- 3D: Explosive time in history? (atomic age) - is that "age" over? Are we still in it? Or is it just that heady time when the bomb was new and we imagined that it would usher in an era of world peace with US as de facto rulers?
- 9D: Cacao plant feature (pod) - it's some seriously alien-looking @!##@$ that gives me my precious chocolate.
- 16D: Boring the pants off (putting to sleep) - sort of wish these were reversed as clues/answers
- 21D: Paris's _____-Chapelle church (Ste.) - there are really only a handful of three-letter French words that are apt to go into fill-in-the-blank clues like this. STE is perhaps most common. LES, AIX, AUX, DES ... they show up sometimes too.
- 32D: Noted shopper scolder (Mr. Whipple) - oh yeah! Watch this old dude huff the toilet paper. Priceless.
- 33D: Pitch sources (pine trees) - great ambiguous use of "pitch"
- 48D: Applesauce-topped treat (latke) - I guess my food-people readers have license today to go nuts ...
- 52D: Super 88, of the 1950s and '60s (Olds) - this took me a good long while, esp. given that the answer is a common four-letter car make.
- 56D: "MTV generation" member (X'er) - ... whereas this one I got instantly. Shocking.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
Wow - lots of really good, new clues and fill today. Very enjoyable outing. Got 1A and 5D instantly - the rest took some time. Wanted "the dog ate it" but it wouldn't fit in 47A (Hey ACME - nice idea for a theme here - what happened to your homework????)
ReplyDeleteI should have known the Hill of Tara (I live in Tara Hills with all Irish street names - doh!!!) but still needed all the downs.
I think of Isaac as a "famous son" rather than a patriarch, so that held me up in the SW. And I prefer sugar on my latkes (never beets!)
Really a fun, satisfying solve for a Friday. Nice job, Kevin.
Terrific puzzle, except I LOST IT in the SW. wanted scroll or vellum for TALMUD, lemon or ochre for MAIZE, and never did understand STRIKE OUT for [whiff]. Is it a near-miss at bat?
ReplyDeleteLots of fun fill -- I'M OFF!
∑;)
Kevin, loved this one. Started it last night and slept on it. Someone was doing CRAZYTALK in my dreams.
ReplyDeleteHad MICRO instead of ASTRO for too long.
Rex, I don't think Celine took offense.
@joon, those of us who cut our teeth on Commodore 64s have long appreciated the potential of the Internet beyond a source for bumper stickers and sports statistics. Freeing us from the universities that, more and more, "traffic" in primary sources and educational bills of lading is its primary contribution to the revolution. This blog is another.
Couldn't wait to get here today to heap praise on this puzzle. Loved it, loved it, loved it! Kevin seems to be making his way into the zone. Hope Nothnagel doesn't mind some company.
ReplyDeleteAwesome to see MR. WHIPPLE in the puzzle. The two long downs were great. I just used the phrase CRAZY TALK yesterday (but initially entered POPPYCOCK off the Y). TALMUD, TOTEM, I'M OFF, CREDULOUS, I LOST IT -- terrific fill! And fantastic clues for LUST, LOCALE, and STRIKEOUT. I could go on and on. This puzzle was a lot of fun. Well done, Kevin!
@artlvr
ReplyDeleteYup, a whiff is a swing and a miss in baseball.
Think as a sound, apposed to the *crack* of the bat when you hit the ball.
.../Glitch
fun puzzle, but I must echo Rex: ODIE is a beagle?
ReplyDeleteAnd, I might add, In What Universe?!
Another beauty by der Kluge. I did it very early in the morning, nice and quiet in the house, and I enjoyed every minute. A perfect Friday. Of course I had a few speedbumps, like macro/micro instead of astro, poppycock, begin to instead of dig into, and I was trying to come up with a person for the home movie as well.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful words like credulous, autopilot (just heard it used by Lester Holt), mimetic, wood numph, atomic age and strike-out (learned another baseball term).
Not much to say about applesauce, only really eat it with red cabbage in the middle of the winter. Are latkes potato pancakes? Love anything potato.
I was helped on TISCH by the fact that I went to school with the TISCH kids.
ReplyDeleteMy earlier post had definitely disappeared--I previewed AND published b/c I checked--has this happened to someone before?
ReplyDeleteWell, I did not have anything significant to contribute anyway except to add my congratulations to Kevin der Kluge for a great effort--some really beautiful fill for the longer words.
I thought B cups were average and so was befuddled by sticking bacti. Clever puzzle except for bra quibble.
ReplyDeleteBut did Anonymous go to the TISCH school with the Tisch kids? I remember discussing that here once.
ReplyDeleteWe also discussed C-CUP here while Rex was out of town--if I recall, Jane Doh agreed with him, I was wavering.
Agree about the NE, where the ROUEN/TARA cross was a complete guess. Did know all the crosses for LARAS in the SW. And I spent a long time staring at xxCALE and xxANI out W.
A great Friday.
I am able to do most Fridays in a reasonable time, but I Could Not get going on this one. Started with putting in ELO instead of REM and got worse from there. Had DARTS instead of CACTI (leading to an inCREDULOUS look on my face with DCUP), IFORGOT instead of ILOSTIT, POPPYCOCK instead of CRAZYTALK, which lead to PROD instead of GOAD, ATOMIC ERA instead of ATOMIC AGE. I mean, what a mess. I had to come here to figure out where I went wrong so I could cross this crossword off my list for the day. Sheesh.
ReplyDeletefikink, i also cut my teeth on the C64. (almost literally, as i'm sure i was using one before i lost my first baby tooth.) but when i was in high school, the internet was for collections of dumb jokes and a page with the names of people who memorized more than 100 digits of pi. i was too naive back then to know about things like fantasy baseball, crossword blogs, or fanfic.
ReplyDeleteoh right, the puzzle. great effort. IMFEELINGLUCKY is a terrific answer even if the clue was a dead giveaway. and i really like the clues for AUTOPILOT and HOMEMOVIE. i've never heard of MRWHIPPLE, but i'll take everybody else's word for it that he's great fun. and IVAN I moneybags! one of the best royal monikers ever.
i think ODIE is a beagle, yes. i mean, he really doesn't look that different from snoopy. also, i'm compelled to link to the live-action garfield videos.
Kevin, I echo the praises of those that have come before me. Der-if-ic puzzle.
ReplyDeleteI am with Rex on TARA. I guessed R as my knowledge of the 100 years war is light ROUEN escaped me.
MIMETIC seemed odd.
Speaking of 7 deadly sins: My only issue with this puzzle is Rex's opinion that Lara Fabian is hot. She looks like Lamb Chop, maybe even Eeyore. That pouty look is lost on me.
Favorite is SEEAGHOST.
Ireland's Hill of ______ & Hundred Years War Siege siege site violated my personal Natick Preinciple as I opted for "Mouen" & "Tama" which sounded alright to me.
ReplyDelete- deion
Ireland's Hill of ______ & Hundred Years War Siege siege site violated my personal Natick Preinciple as I opted for "Mouen" & "Tama" which sounded alright to me.
ReplyDelete- deion
Add me to the lovers of this one! It went pretty smoothly for me except for (like most others) NE. I also guessed TARA but reasoned that Scarlett O'hara was Irish and likely had a plantation named after something Irish so TARA made sense. I also had CCUP and ATOMICERA briefly, but TISCH was gimme so SE went pretty fast.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of EMO I'd never seen it prior to the Sun. puzzle a couple of weeks ago and then it showed up again with exactly the same clue in Henry Hook's BG puzzle last Sun. Coincidence Andrea? I think not!
Great puzzle, but I am not sure about 53A. In baseball (or other sports), to whiff means only to swing and miss. Maybe the word has been extended to more general usage, where "whiff" and "strike out" may be closer in meaning. Perhaps something like, "I really whiffed with that proposal." But it seems a little questionable.
ReplyDeleteI'll echo everyone's comment on the enjoyment quotient of this puzzle. Just hard enough for a Friday with some really fun fill. I was going to complain about all the French that's making its way into the puzzle but I did get them all correct this time so I guess my argument is moot. (Steve Martin- Those French! They have a different word for everything!) I knew ROUEN because when I was a kid I was a UFO buff and there seemed to be a lot of photos taken in Rouen (maybe aliens like it there).
ReplyDeleteDo I detect a Jewish sub-theme to today's puzzle? NOSHES, LATKE, TALMUD, ISAAC
I totally echo Rex's comment about REM, too. Amazing talent and range, always willing to try something new.
One of the meanings of "whiff" is definitely STRIKEOUT, both as noun and as verb. See here, among other places.
ReplyDeleterp
I was so proud to get POPPYCOCK. Oops.
ReplyDeleteYay MR WHIPPLE
Loved this one.
Whiffle Ball may be a help on STRIKEOUT
ReplyDeleteAs an alumna of U. of Michigan, I have to object to the characterization of "maize" as "pale yellow." It's actually a deeply saturated gold color, almost orange.
ReplyDelete"Mimetic" for "adept at apery" is also a huge stretch. It has a certain logic, but does anyone ever use it this way? Representational arts or performances can be mimetic (though whether they're *adept* at reproducing reality is a whole separate issue). But "apery" suggests a human agent, and to call a person or animal "mimetic" because they copy someone or something else seems strange.
Otherwise, nice puzzle!
I too loved this puzzle. Surprising to find "applesauce" and "treat" in the same phrase IMO. As a bra-wearer (hence with some minor expertise), yes, I agree C is average.
ReplyDeleteLara Fabian's eyes are too close together. Just my opinion.
ReplyDeleteI just loved this puzzle, though I had to do it online, courtesy of Ephraim, as my NYT was not delivered today. Last time this happened, not long ago BTW, the carrier had abruptly quit. I don't know what the story is this time, but I'm bugged.
ISAAC is a patriarch (Abraham, ISAAC and Jacob.
So IVANI was "Moneybags"? Other tsars had interesting soubriquets; e. g., "The Terrible". I'll Google this some time when I'm not so busy. The only one that comes to mind now is Yuri Dolgoruki (Yuri the Long-Armed) so called because, though his principal sphere of influence was the north (Novgorod) he also had his eye on the Kievan region to the south. This is a little fuzzy - I'm no historian.
Happy, happy, joy, joy! A Friday that I could finish. Me so happy.
ReplyDelete1A, 19A, 5D, 41A, 43D -- all gimme's. Usually I struggle to get a foothold on Friday.
Loved when MRWHIPPLE showed up. CRAZYTALK, HOMEMOVIE and SEEAGHOST are excellent fills. Quite the fun puzzle.
Kudos (again) to Mr. Der.
Oh, boy; bra talk.
ReplyDeleteDon't know much, but I think both cup and size must be considered as a unit to draw a sensible conclusion on small, medium, large, immense, extraordinary, gargantuan....
I mean, a flat-chested ("Bro"? "Man-zier"? ugh, hope not) man typically is measured as a 42 or 44 or whatever (I think I'm a 46 nowadays), which in a woman of normal scale would conjure up some remarkable (yes, possibly pleasantly sexist) images. And a 34-C (I love you, honey) is certainly likely to be dramatically different than a 38-C on a woman of equal proportion.
Kind of reminds me of our Senta Berger talk a couple weeks back....
Evil
Twin Peaks, OH
@miriam b, kinda ferret like eyes dontcha think.
ReplyDelete@evil doug, I want to join in the bra talk but am afraid @orange will smite me :)
@chefbea1, the Whiffleball factory used to be in Trumbull or Shelton CT and I think we chatted about this before so
3 whiffs and I'm out.
What with the implant explosion these days, C has become the new B.
ReplyDeleteI join the praising crowd here today, great Friday puzzle ... fresh, new and fun.
Thanks, Kevin Der!
Fun puzzle. My Friday's have improved greatly -- Thanks Rex. Had finished the puzzle sans Googling (not sans Google as this puzzle was filled with Google clues and answers). When I looked it over, however, I had second thoughts re 20 across and 7 down as I thought "estas" might be wrong as I recalled that "estos" meant "those" and estas meant "these." It crossed with Curacao, so I Googled Curacao for spelling and put back the "a."
ReplyDeleteProfphil
ESTOS and ESTAS are both wrong for "Those along the Ebro" because they both mean THESE, not THOSE (ESTOS is masculine and ESTAS is feminine). Words meaning THOSE in Spanish are ESOS/ESAS for objects relatively nearby and AQEUELLOS/AQUELLAS for those things that are in the distance.
ReplyDeleteI thought this was a fun, but very easy Friday puzzle: one of only a handful I have ever solved. IMFEELINGLUCKY was a fun answer, but also one that anyone who has ever spent ten minutes on the internet could answer easily. There are only two buttons on Google! I suppose you really can't Google the answer though!
ReplyDeleteBTW, do a lot of people actually use that button?
I had a pretty easy time with this one, thanks to IM FEELING LUCKY and PUTTING TO SLEEP. Lots of fun clues. I also got X'ER instantly.
ReplyDeletesteve, i used to use that button all the time. now i never actually go to google.com to google anything; i just type it into the firefox search bar. which, sadly, does not have an IMFEELINGLUCKY button. although now that i mention it, there is presumably a plugin somewhere that adds one. might be worth looking into.
ReplyDeleteI knew Mr. Whipple right away but couldnt remember his name so wrote Whiffle.Guess I was thinking of the whiffle ball story in Greenwich.
ReplyDelete@mac Latkes are potato pancakes served at chanuka with applesauce.
Did anyone else notice that just yesterday Rex wrote, "44A: Locale for four World Series (Shea) - I believe that "locale" can be found in crossword clues more often than just about anywhere else in the world." and today "locale" showed up as an answer (26A), in only its 10th appearance since 11/93 according to JimH's statistics? Just a coincidence?
ReplyDelete@steve 1: I appreciate your Spanish lesson.
ReplyDeleteAs to the google button, I'm flabbergasted: I've been googling for years and never consciously noticed the button--I guess working on the web, with an abundance of garbage on display, trains one to focus sharply and narrowly only on those (ESAS, ESOS?) features that matter at the moment; I actually don't see ads anymore.
@anonymous 1:30
ReplyDeleteWouldn't "site" be a more accurate clue for Shea Stadium? I think of "locale" as more of a setting/ambiance than a specific stadium...or am I "picking the fly sh*t out of the pepper," as my colorful father would say?
I guessed L instead of R for the TARA/ROUEN cross... bummer. (I did correctly guess the N on the other end of ROUEN.) Isn't TARA usually clued in reference to Gone with the Wind somehow? I would have appreciated that. Also, I would have gotten ROUEN if it had been clued as "Former Seahawks punter Tom", or as "Type of wild duck," but I'm probably in the minority on that.
ReplyDeleteLOVED the puzzle...
ReplyDeleteLike the sobriquet Der-rific!
TWO google refs (IMFEELINGLUCKY and GMAIL) perhaps Kevin's little shout out to his bosses? I think he works at Google, or maybe that's just Tyler.
(I tried to put in ARE YOU FEELING LUCKY...(Punk)
Guess I've seen too many dirty Harry movies).
Got off to a slow start bec even tho I loved Shari Lewis and Lambchop (there is NO way Kevin could have grown up with her, so I liked that he had the full range from SHARI to XER) I had JERRY thinking he won for the Telethons.
(Category? um, best Labor Day Telethon host. Which I guess would have been mysterious for all the years he didn't win!)
Loved Rex's write up, esp pointing out all the thinks that end in i and that scary picture, I don't know that I'll ever eat Chocolate again! Thank you for that!
ANyway, bravo, Kevin!
@ jannieb
ReplyDeleteI thought POPPYCOCK and CRAZYTALK would make for the start of a fun theme, tho a bit short letterwise.
But I think your homework idea is excellent! Let's collaborate!
Feel free to reach me off line:
acmenaming@earthlink.net
@DK
Between CCUP, LUST, and MRWHIPPLE squeezing toilet paper, you are being awfully restrained today!
I originally put in ENVY, even tho I recently made up a mnemonic to remember the se7en deadly sins:
WRIGGLES
WR: WRath
RI: pRIde/RIghteousness
G (near the r): GReed
G (near the l): GLuttony
L: Lust
E: Envy
I have a friend who recently went bra shopping. She went to (big name lingerie store), looking to get some of the exact same bras she had gotten a while ago. Just to be sure they fit right, though, the saleswoman measured her (coming up with the same number as my friend was expecting), then looked at her and said "and a D cup, right?". My friend burst out laughing, because one of the great disappointments in her life is that she does not have more cleavage -- she has never worn anything bigger than a B cup. She thought the saleslady was kidding, but in fact she came back with bras labeled as D's, that fit perfectly. When taken home and compared with the exact same style B cups from some months before, they were exactly the same size. So C is not as big as it used to be, at least at one big chain. (And I shudder to think what my size would come out to in that store, since ... I have never suffered from the same disappointment as my friend.)
ReplyDelete@Steve I,
ReplyDeleteThank you, thank you for saving me the trouble of pointing those inconsistencies out, with the continuous miscluing (if there's such a word) for ESOS/AS and ESTOS/AS.
Not only it's irritating not being able to distinguish if they want the feminine or masculine form, but in this case the use is totally wrong, as you very well pointed out.
THOSE kind of mistakes don't belong in THESE puzzles.
mellocat
ReplyDeleteCareful. The Z-bra is already in use by another animal.
I am one who uses the IMFEELINGLUCKY button, but I'm an XER. It is often funny.
/miguel
Couldn't finish 25% of it--Mental blocks as well a diversion to go see the Backstreet Boys in Vancouver. What can I say? I got free tickets to a box and escorted a few teens.
ReplyDeleteCHERI/SHERI/SHARI got me off track at the beginning as well as MRWHIFF(PP)LE and then I just needed a couple of breakthroughts that didn't materialize.
Very nice fill nonetheless other than a few eye openers like MIMETIC, ASTRO, ETO, TEHEE.
@Andrea: Shouldn't it end with sloth? But clearly, this is not part of your universe--how many puzzles do you do per day?
ReplyDeleteI for one always thought vanity was one of them.
@Mexicangirl--Any Mexican girl or boy would know that (ESO)!
ReplyDeleteLOVED this puzzle, especially its quirky unpredicatability. Never really knew what "tawny" meant; somehow it always sounded kinda sexy to me...
ReplyDelete@uhlric
ReplyDeleteShe obviously was just too lazy to add sloth to the list.
ISAAC and HAYS are both in the puzzle. I get something for noticing that, right?
ReplyDelete"Nightswimming" is one of about four songs I can play on the piano well enough that people would recognize it. I mean, they'd hear it and actually say, "Oh! 'Nightswimming'!" There's quite a few songs I can play that they can't quite recognize and then when I tell them what it is they say, "Oh, right. 'Let it Be.'" And then there's a whole bunch I play and they just stand frowning, and when I they can't tell what it is and I say, "Rocket Man!" they just stand with their heads cocked and keep frowning.
Sorry Wade nothing for seeing ISAAC HAYS. You've been SHAFTED.
ReplyDeleteI had BEGIN TO instead of DIG INTO for the longest time.
ReplyDelete@archeoprof: I'm afraid tawny has more do with their color, I'm afraid.
ReplyDeleteI had a potato pancake with spinach and a fried egg for lunch.Too slothful to make Hollandaise sauce, though.
I'm not that afraid.
ReplyDeleteThe "Shaft" man is Isaac HayEs. HAYS still works phonetically, though.
ReplyDeleteI can dig it.
ReplyDelete@crosscan
ReplyDeleteCan you dig it?!!!you rock! TEHEE!!!!
@Wade
you totally should get something for noticing ISAAC HAY(E)S!!!
Esp bec he just died!!!!!
(BTW, Where do Scientologist's go?)
This is no coincidence!!!!!!!!!!
@Rex
That was pretty cool all those people in LARA/TARA's video dancing on the ceiling...
but I still prefer those wild basement chicks in yesterday's Sean Paul's video.
Idea: you should have your own show on VH1, go thru the puzzle and show the clips!!!!!!!!!!
(And yes, I'd like a producer's credit)
@Ulrich
yes, yes, yes
I left off the final S in WRIGGLES (should be S-SLOTH)
I AM a lazy bitch and one of these days I'll proofread!
Sending you my stand up routine/story on samesaid subject.
After a painful journey through the world of Garfield and his fans, I return to report Odie was called a beagle in his Wiki article. But, it goes on to say he was a dachshund in the live-action movie and that one strip suggested his breed was unknown. After viewing the original art, I can see where he looked vaguely beaglish, but (as a former beagle owner) I still dispute the idea that he is a beagle.
ReplyDeleteACM -- What is Lust doing in that list of evil-doings?
ReplyDeleteI loved this puzzle. I didn't get to start it till 7PM, while I was watching Gunga Din. It took about 45 minutes and, except for the SE, which I got right away because of Mr. Whipple, I found this to be challenging.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I got Shari right away, I worked from the SE to SW to NW to NE and it was thought provoking. The clues were clever and creative.
Everything was solvable either by thinking beyond the lines or just contextural analysis - but it took me longer than a friday puzzle ordinarily would.
Now, IM OFF because I'M FEELING LUCKY and my wife wants me to get off the computer and pay attention to her!!!!
I zipped through the NW in amazingly short order and thought - "Is this going to be easy!"
ReplyDeleteA half-hour later, I had some of the South, a little of the Midlands and that was all. I finally saw MRWHIPPLE and left the Middle East for the OPEC member NIGERIA and got a foothold into the NE and SE with a good guess PUTTINGTOSLEEP which got me all of the SE. I associated the Hundred Years War with Jean d'Arc and had ROUEN and made a Scarelett O'Hara guess to get the TARA/ATSEA cross which helped me with AUTOPILOT.
I had VELLUM for a while until TISCH popped into my mind. It took a while but TALMUD finally occurred to this nice Jewish boy. TALMUD led to MAIZE which led to HOSE but I was still stuck in the SW.
I pretty much had most of the puzzle except for the SE and Pennsylvania/North Carolina section. I had ODIE but was stumped at 39D with the ending I. I couldn't get away from the idea of "Lights, Camera, etc" for that answer so this became an overnighter.
Sleeping on it helped as I got GOAD/GMAIL almost at once and was looking at ST*MU*I when I finally got it as CRAZYTALK followed, LATKE was next and ILOSTIT led to the final fall.
I had such a hard time with this after such a promising start as I was nowhere near Kevin Der's wavelength. Christ, I thought IVANI was somehow Donald Trump related - that's how far apart we were
Truly great puzzle. Had poppycock and catatonia for autopilot (very proud of myself on that one and resisted correcting it for a while), but otherwise smooth sailing.
ReplyDeleteFor a while back when the war was getting underway, if you put "weapons of mass destruction" into the search field on Google and then hit "I'm Feeling Lucky," you got sent to an error page. Very cute.
Just a good Friday puzzle, which I was able to solve without much trouble while listening to the Phillies beat the Mets. My favorite clue-answer combo was hogwash -- crazy talk.
ReplyDeleteoops, just noticed a mistake. I had go at and otie (I was wondering about this). For some reason I confused the dog in Garfield with Opie (Ron Howard a long time ago) and then saw that goap/opie wouldn't do it. So I tried go at.
Just commenting now. Liked the puzzle a lot; had to google a few times.
ReplyDeleteLatkes are potato pancakes, fried with butter in a frying pan--and they sizzle; that's how my mother made them. Either nothing was put on top or else apple sauce or else jam (the universal topping for everything in our house). This was true of blintzes also.
Have not had latkes since then but they are good.
Good fill, but I object to CURACAO being an ingredient in a Long Island Iced Tea. It's certainly not a standard ingredient - the alcohol in most Long Island Iced Teas involves just the clear spirits (vodka, rum, tequila, and gin).
ReplyDeleteDidn't get to Friday's till today (Saturday) but I can't let this go by. As has been noted, ESTAS is wrong. No two ways about and no possible excuse. It's WRONG!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteThis is the first time I've ever seen a genuine unambiguous mistake in the NY Times crossword. Someone is asleep on the job.
Jeez, stuff your scolding. What pomposity. Even WS makes errors. In about 0.01% of the clues. I doubt you're batting average is that good in whatever it is that you do.
ReplyDeleterp
Sorry for the schadenfreude at catching a genuine error (I thought the capitals and exclamation marks would be a hint). Normally I say nothing because so much is a matter of interpretation or uncommon usage. One scratches one's head but decides to fill in the answer and press on. This is different, and it got past several layers of checking. Oh well, errare umanhum est ...
ReplyDeleteActually, either ESTOS or ESTAS is correct (those men or those women).
ReplyDeleteGood puzzle today. Got stalled in NE cuz I couldn't let go of ON IMPULSE instead of AUTOPILOT.
Same in SW although I let go of POPPYCOCK for CRAZYTALK a lot sooner.
MR WHIPPLE was a gimme so it made me feel old. Agree with you Rex, HOME MOVIE was nicely clued.
Had a bit of a problem with GMAIL as an AOL alternative, Yahoo alternative would've been more appropriate as GMAIL isn't an ISP, but I shouldn't complain since I got the clue rather easily.
I watched the video of Lara Fabian. No wonder I never heard of her.
Keep up the good work Rex!
I was quite pleased; 8 minutes, and only came a-cropper once: I confidently put in TOURS when I saw the _OU__, then had to retreat to ROUEN. (Perhaps others had to do the same, all those years ago?) Yay for Mr. Whipple!
ReplyDeleteFive weeks later - I must be the only one who couldn't decide whether counters referred to kitchen counters or something for counting. I then waffled between tiles/tiled. Since I didn't know Mt. Dana the cross was no help.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with @daryl on the long island ingredients. I tended bar for years and never dreamed of putting any kind of curacao in my delicious iced teas. Maybe this is a regional thing? Does anybody have a recipe for this? I'd hate to be missing out on a tasty cocktail. FYI: A long BEACH iced tea is even better than a long island.
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