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Spanish discoverer of the Pacific 1513 / MON 3-28-11 / English pirate captain / Diplomat Annan / Food thrown to lions / Fawn's father
Monday, March 28, 2011
Constructor: Robyn Weintraub
Relative difficulty: Medium-Challenging
THEME: CHIPS (69A: Things that 18-, 27-, 46- and 60-Across may have)
Word of the Day: BALBOA (48A: Spanish discoverer of the Pacific, 1513) —
Vasco Núñez de Balboa (c. 1475 – January 15, 1519) was a Spanish explorer, governor, and conquistador. He is best known for having crossed the Isthmus of Panama to the Pacific Ocean in 1513, becoming the first European to lead an expedition to have seen or reached the Pacific from the New World. // He traveled to the New World in 1500 and, after some exploration, settled on the island of Hispaniola. He founded the settlement of Santa María la Antigua del Darién in present-day Colombia in 1510, which was the first permanent European settlement on the mainland of the Americas (a settlement by Alonso de Ojeda the previous year at San Sebastián de Urabá had already been abandoned). (wikipedia)
Solving on paper now, so I'm far less certain of how difficult puzzles are. Today's felt very easy from the NW straight through to the SE, but the NE and (esp.) SW corners really thwarted my speedy forward progress today.
At high speeds, it doesn't take much (for me) to get derailed. In the NE, I simply couldn't come up with DIVERGE (22A: Branch off), even with D-, then DI-, DIV-, and DIVE- in place; brain wanted only DIVERT. Bah. Crosses finally forced me to see the (now) obvious. Stutter-stepping so much cost me valuable seconds. But the real tripping took place in the SW, where neither BALBOA nor AT RANDOM (39D: Haphazardly) would come, and so I just couldn't sweep straight into that corner at all. Had to reboot—Always a dicey proposition, and a time thief. First few clues I looked at were too vague to be gimmes. Finally saw KOFI (64A: Diplomat Annan) and worked that corner from there. BALBOA just isn't in my first (Monday) tier of explorer names. No idea why ATR- didn't trigger AT RANDOM. It just didn't. Dangerously wrote in some answers without looking at clues. Worked fine for BRITISH PUBS and RED MEAT. Didn't work so fine at BRUIN (had BR-IN, wrote in BRAIN) (51D: Boston N.H.L.'er). Had SORT instead of SCAN (67A: Copiers do it). Wrote in SIRE (!?) instead of STAG (34A: Fawn's father). I have a Lot of work to do to become an effective speed solver on Easy puzzles. I'm just a mess.To recap: The puzzle was not hard by any means, but speeding caused much tripping.
The theme is fine. Don't like OLD DISHES as a theme answer (not a thing), but the variety of CHIPS is impressive.
Theme answers:
- 18A: Much-used dinnerware (OLD DISHES)
- 27A: Centers of casino action (POKER TABLES)
- 46A: Places to drink and play darts (BRITISH PUBS)
- 60A: They're shrugged (SHOULDERS)
29D: English pirate captain (KIDD) — along with BALBOA, another proper noun that just wouldn't jump out of my brain and onto the paper (brain wanted KIDD, actually, but then vetoed it when the only KIDD it could identify accurately was Jason KIDD)- 5D: Like living with Mom and Dad, perhaps (RENT-FREE) — like this answer. Can't recall having seen it before.
- 38A: Food thrown to lions (RED MEAT) — I'd have thought RAW, but ... yeah, probably also RED.
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59 comments:
Oh Rex. Who cares that you're not a speed solver on easy puzzles.
We love your writeups and this blog. Kepp 'em coming.
In my mind, Michael Sharp IS "sharp."
Agree that this puzzle had some "thorny" spots. Agree with your writeup. Raw meat came sooner than red, but it does make sense. I actually like my meat rare !
POKER TABLES was the hardest answer for me to get. Needed almost all the downs.
My OLDDISHES do not have any chips. And they ARE old.
Rather a fun start to the week.
Happy Monday all.
Shanti -
Bob/PurpleGuy
Oh My. "Kepp" ????
I meant keep. Sigh
The theme is clever but the solve was not so smooth. In the reveal clue for "CHIPS", I thought that "may have" is apt for SHOULDERS and may be OLD DISHES, but not for POKER TABLES in Casinos or BRITISH PUBS- They are sure to have CHIPS, no?
I love the word OCHRE, but never know if it should be OCHER or OCHRE...
Here in NOLA, you hear stories about FEMA, taking years and years to come through with any help for rebuilding. Apparently, FEMA finished settling requests for Hurricane Andrew not too long ago...
@foodie - I have the same trouble with OCHRE so I waited for some crosses before committing to ink.
Agree that this one had a little more bite than your usual Monday, but I really liked it.
Write overs were dolt before BOOB, stay before STOP and nest before MESH, I can live with that.
Oh! Bonus answers were ACME and (i)MAC, two of our favorite people.
Was sure this one would rate easy or easy-medium for Monday.I reckon that the solving experience for a Monday puzzle is so vastly different between Rex and I, that it is amazing he can predict my experience with the puzzle so accurately. I always pipe up when my rating would be much different, but that is pretty rare.
Five possible ratings per day means that any particular puzzle could have one of 35 levels of difficulty, and yet we all pretty much agree on most puzzles.
I was slow on this one, too, but mainly because my printer is running out of ink, I don't have a replacement cartridge, and I could barely read the numbers on the puzzle.
Initial wrong answers were buck before STAG and meld before MESH. I also blanked on Reagan's Surgeon General and when I had KO--, I put in KOch. Eventually got to KOOP. Otherwise not much trouble.
I guessed MALI right off although I had no idea if it was landlocked. I must improve my knowledge of African geography.
Lastly, I want to thank Rex, PuzzleGirl and all the others who described their experiences at ACPT. I hope to get there some day.
I agree that OLDDISHES is not technically a thing, but it's the only way to get this type of puzzle to work...it's very $20,000 Pyramid-y.
You can almost see Tony randall, hands gripping the seat of his chair, calmly but intensely listing,
"OLD DISHES...BRITSH PUBS, POKERTABLES...some SHOULDERS (he says with a snarl)
and the contestant shouting out,
"Things that have CHIPS????!!!!"
ding ding ding
At first I had the DISHES and TABLES and PUBS and was going for a dining experience or something.
You definitely had to think for more than two seconds...
ALAN/LADD crossing was cute
and I liked the VEIL clue... The couple is lucky it's the VEIL not the wedding presents!
And I don't know if the NCAA has anything to do with college basketball, but if so, timely!
(Oops, my head is now bleeding from trying to make a chummy sports reference!)
Wanted "guacamole" for "shoulders"
Not as an answer for "shrugged" but to be included in any puzzle with the Big Reveal "Chips."
I thought this one showed a remarkably low level of common crosswordese, and none of the really ugly fill. And my 13-year-old daughter is Robyn with a Y and she has recently been poking her nose over my shoulder and asking about interesting clues. Team solving someday? I can dream, can't I?
Yay Robyn with a "y" constructor and JaxinLA daughter Robyn with a "y"...I'm still Robin with an "I" but it's nice to run into some other Rob(i)(y)ns.
Zoomed through this puzzle until I got to the NE where I slowed to a standstill. Could not see BOOB and OCHRE was slow to come. I do love that word, OCHRE.
I think there is definitely something wrong with me in that I see the clue: "Food thrown to lions" and the first answer that pops into my head is CHRISTIANS. Anybody?
"Amoring"?? Ugh.
I zipped through this and admired the Monday easiness, which is hard to pull off, but, even with 69 Across "Things that 18-, 27-, 46- and 60 Across may have" I couldn't get the theme! Talk about feeling like a BOOB.
@PurpleGuy, your comment made me remember that I was behind a car the other day with the vanity plate reading, "IM SHARP." I was thinking that's the last line you'd ever see on our Rex's car. See, this blog goes with me everywhere!
Interesting that Rex wrote about speed solving today, as this is the kind of puzzle that sometimes makes me think about timing myself. I barely started it and then I was done (I know, it's a Monday...). But when I find myself zipping through something in this way, I also realize that -- for me -- going for speed takes much of the pleasure out of it. Going fast, I barely see half the answers. (Never even saw the CHIPS theme while I was solving.) This confirms -- again, for me -- that I prefer to take my time, look around and appreciate the scenery, smell the roses, and savor it (which, strangely enough, is NOT the way I navigate through life!).
But this was a very nice puzzle with, as JaxInL.A. said, almost no common crosswordese. (But I wonder... does *any* constructor innocently put in ACME these days??)
@william e emba: You comment last night at 9:37 pm was almost the same as the one I'd posted 13 hours earlier! Cosmic!
I came dangerously close to a fatal error at 10A, where I entered BOOr, which gave me rESET, at 13D, which is a perfectly good word. I am a bit surprised I cross-checked the clue. I think you ACPT people are getting to me! In any case, that was the only writeover in what was otherwise a find Monday outing. Thanks, Robyn!
Fogedre! (olde Englishe spellinge for one who forgets a lot) -- jesser
I echo @mmorgan on this one - flashed through it for a change.
When I was done and looked at the grid, I saw POKERTABLES and read it, initially, as a word rhyming with "convertables."
Thought I'd be googling all day!
"benst" - the Biblical form of "bent"
@Anon 7:57
aDoring is a much better word, and an answer to boot.
Very easy Monday. Had am not for 66A at first so was hard to figure out the SE. but then it all came together'
I love my old dishes. They are from Deruta, Italy and some have a few chips.
Have a daughter Robin.
Terrific debut puzzle!
It was so good that Acme and Lynn Lempel might have to find space for Robyn Weintraub in their exclusive "Queens of the Monday Constructors" club if Robyn can show she isn't just a one-shot wonder.
The Road Not Taken
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
Robert Frost
Since I always have those hiccups, this went smoothly for me. (On a Monday, that's anything < 4.)
Smooth debut, nice Monday.
Thanks, Anonymous, for the Frost. One of my favorites.
Good solid Monday with some fresh answers. I just discarded some OLD DISHES last week. But I have more, much, much more.
Also saw my first robin yesterday.
Off to bake our daily bread. This week honey cracked wheat.
Very nice Monday puzzle.
I appreciated the four different kinds of chips.
I was on the road Saturday and did that very fun puzzle in the car.
I don't google anymore but last week someone mentioned doing their paper-and-pen puzzle out of reach of a computer to avoid temptation. For those who wish to step up their game I think it is a good idea. With no chance to cheat I think your solving skills might improve.
This one started off almost too easy (with 'leaning TOWER) but quickly upped the ante with engaging fill and a theme I couldn't see coming. Congrats on the debut!
@Rex. All I can do is sympathize. Your time will pick up, no doubt. After all, you are 31! Had BALBOA thanks to rote learning in grade school courtesy of The School Sisters of Notre Dme.
@mmmorgan: agree, when I go too fast I miss some of the clues and some of the chuckles. @Greene: how about martyrs?
DNF Sunday. Got to puzzle very late. Last week, Times stopped being delivered in Miami but went to NYC instead. Husband kindly drove to supermarket to buy the Times. Across Lite doesn't work. Finally straightened out today.
I am really, really glad it was such a nice clean Monday puzzle.
Very nice Monday, and a debut to boot!
I got the chips early on (thank you, Ashish), so the theme was clear. Had English pubs first, sounds more common to me. And not every pub in GB has chips, but they all have crisps.
Thank you for the Robert Frost, and also, thank you, Bard, for your contribution. I'm always looking for it when there is a Shakespeare related clue. Just as I look for @Joho's post to see if the puzzle is a pangram!
Last week I had a yard full of robins, now it's so cold they are hiding in the trees.
@chefwen: thank you, what a nice thing to say! I believe a lot of constructors put Acme in on purpose.
Breaking news: an ASP escaped from the Bronx Zoo!
I think I know why Rex hit a speed bump in the SW:
---------------------------------
Much have I travell'd in the realms of gold,
And many goodly states and kingdoms seen;
Round many western islands have I been
Which bards in fealty to Apollo hold.
Oft of one wide expanse had I been told
That deep-browed Homer ruled as his demesne;
Yet did I never breathe its pure serene
Till I heard Chapman speak out loud and bold:
Then felt I like some watcher of the skies
When a new planet swims into his ken;
Or like stout CORTEZ when with eagle eyes
He star'd at the Pacific — and all his men
Look'd at each other with a wild surmise —
Silent, upon a peak in Darien.
---------------------------------
Oops.
A Monday with a bit of bite - most enjoyable. I second Jesser's BOOR/RESET writeover ("Reset? How does that mean 'Assail?'"), and liked the lack of garbage fill. Never heard of dippity-do GEL, but easily gettable from crosses. Not so much a fan of the ALAN/LADD crossing: in my book, early puzzles shouldn't have internal crossing references, particularly on proper names, but I can forgive. Solid theme + strong fill = a harder-than-usual Monday for me, but an enjoyable one.
Brava, Ms. Weintraub!
South Pacific explorer brings to mind Da Gama not Balboa - he didn't get to my part of the South Pacific!
Hands up for martyr/Christians/Gladiators not meat!
@jesser: I made the exact same 10A/13D mistake, and then couldn't understand why no happy pencil? Duh.
Thought Rex would rate this one Easy - go figure.
Just guessed at BALBOA, had BAKES before BASKS, BUCK before STAG.
Very fine start to another week of puzzling. This grid was almost "ick" free. (RCA)
Notice: this paragraph may be skipped with no risk.
I have three sets of dishes: a fairly new cheap daily set, which is gaining chips by the month (probably due to allowing the dog to lick them clean.) Next, my mother's china, with only one chip out of the entire set; I use it very rarely and treasure it. And the stoneware from my wedding 30 years ago, all boxed up, on shelves in the garage. Tried to sell it when I moved, but no takers, despite the absence of chips. My post-collegiate son is using the set we used when he was growing up - it is nearly indestructable.
thanks for the Frost poem - I teared up YET again.
@mmorgan. There was a key difference. You started out wrong and didn't figure it out. That makes you Dumb. I actually started out right--and doing so even helped me solve as I mentioned--then I switched to wrong, and didn't figure it out. That makes me Dumberer.
In this batrachomyomachia of ours, you win!
Good one - keep me guessing until the very last fill as to what the theme was.
@mac - just this morning I looked out my kitchen window and saw two bright patches of red - a male cardinal and a robin perched 18 inches apart on the same branch! (Nothing unusual about either separately, but don't think I ever saw the two together!)
Apropos of Robert Frost: Sometime in the last two or three days was his birthday, and I read the capsule bio in Garrison Keillor's The Writer's Almanac. So much grief in Frost's life, no wonder his poetry can have such an edge!
Gotta call out Rex for showing Jason Kidd in a Nets uniform when he is now a Dallas Maverick. He scored the last 8 points in the Mavericks - Suns game for a 91-83 win ;ast night. Not bad for a 38 year old.
Who cares what the theme is/was? Some interesting fill, not too much crosswordese, and a solid Monday offering. Never even saw CHIPS (69A), so I only learned about the theme when I came here.
ALAN LADD helped a lot - particularly since it was a gimme. Saw it in its first run (1953). Lots of other gimmes too. Made a pretty good time (for me - not for a speed solver).
Had the obligatory writeover @ 10A - DOLT, DODO, DOPE, FOOL, etc. before BOOB. All have the O to start 11D so I made the obligatory mistake, spelling it OCHER. In fact when it got to Mr. Happy Pencil time and he didn't appear, I quickly went to that spot, fixed the spelling to what the grid demanded (either spelling is correct), and he appeared. But he didn't see his shadow, at least here in N. Texas......
Impressive debut, Ms. Weintraub. Thanks.
Also, Larry Wilcox is no longer a member of the California Highway Patrol. And Adrian's dead.
Loved this puzzle!!
Floored that Rex rated this medium-challenging!
I am not a wiz by any means, but his was Easy for me, and enjoyable.
@Coffeelvr: my wedding stoneware is also boxed up, in the attic. Wedding china boxed up in the cedar chest. Everyday set long gone. Why did we think we needed so many dishes?
I did not quite break the 10 minute barrier for a Monday puzzle but I was close. So this puzzle qualifies as easy for me. I have no problem with the entries. But the clues may have been too easy.
I am just surprised that Rex rated this one as challenging.
@william e emba
Attribution, sir, attribution!
As you surely know as a long-time contributor to this blog, not everyone is an expert in every era of English literature!
Here (http://englishhistory.net/keats/poetry/chapmanshomer.html) is some background regarding On First Looking into Chapman's Homer. Be sure to read down at least as far as this line: “On an historical note, Vasco Núñez de Balboa discovered the Pacific Ocean, not Cortez. Hey, Keats wasn't perfect. :-)”
Midday report of relative difficulty (see my 7/30/2009 post for an explanation of my method):
All solvers (median solve time, average for day of week, ratio, percentile, rating)
Mon 6:52, 6:55, 0.99, 50%, Medium
Top 100 solvers
Mon 3:44, 3:41, 1.01, 57%, Medium
My experience today was almost verbatim to that of @Rex. I struggled more with the NE than SW but they were the only two sections that caused me issues.
I've never heard BOOB to mean numbskull before. Possibly I'm too young? I'm also not sure how OMEGA is the opposite of alpha but I figured it out just based on the other letters.
Overall I definitely say kudos to Robyn on this for a fun Monday puzzle. Exactly what I'd expect early in the week.
Any puzzle with ACME in it is jake in my book.
Count me in with the RAWMEATers.
My inner 14 year old enjoyed the crossing of BOOB and BASES. I of course though of getting to second base with.... never mind.
Robyn, next time just clue FEMA as disaster org (snickered Tom slyly).
*** (3 Stars) Nice work
Really fun, quick Monday puzzle. My biggest foul up was having LADD at 15A and ALAN at 8D. That didn't last long. Also tried Halt before STOP and Meld before MESH. That was my second Meld screw-up of the day. BRUIN should have been in the LAT puzzle today instead of that other little atrocity.
I have my grandmother's china with nary a CHIP. Cute theme!
Well, Keats, sometimes I think some people like a bit of sophistication in their humor. The conceit in my post was that I was implying that Rex blanked on the name BALBOA because--haha--he couldn't help but think it was Cortez because--haha--he knows this sonnet too well. (That knowledge includes the backstory, but knowing it was somebody not named Cortez whose name doesn't scan isn't--haha--very useful.)
You did see the "oops" at the end?
And regarding attribution, does it matter if you know the Geico cat/dog car chase commercial is taken from Shadows in an Empty Room aka Blazing Magnum or not?
@ Kendall = BOOB, used as clued, is pretty common. I don't think my geezerhood is any particular advantage in figuring that one out.
OMEGA ends the Greek alphabet, which ALPHA starts, and is thus the opposite of ALPHA in a sense. Not a terrific clue IMO either.
Wow, this blog is always so educational. I thought of "Chapman's Homer" also, but for some reason thought it was written by Pope - silly, it's way above his level. Fortunately, as a young boy I had a book about explorers, so Balboa was imprinted in my brain.
Kendall, it depends on how young you are - if you are young enough, numbskull ought to be the ONLY meaning you know for 'boob.'
I too had meld for mesh - otherwise, it was pretty easy, but I never time it. Normally, but not today, I do it on the subway, so I just notice which station I get to before it's done.
My father worked for Zenith for 21 years. Some colleagues would occasionally defect to RCA.
The King (as he likes to be called) was an engineer in the lab.
And he would bring home the newest test TVs.
We would get them for a year or so, then have to write a report on them.
We had the first remote controls. (Remember the corded remote--someone always tripped over it)
The first wireless remote used a single tone, so we could jingle keys and get the channel to change.
Also, good kid prank. While someone was watching TV, we would sneak in through the other door and change the channel.
Anyone recall the phone in the TV, or the zoom button. Also, we had VCRs 3-4 years before they were introduced here in the US.
Also, he's met ACMe and enjoyed her company.
Also, after college, I lived with my parents for a while, right after brother and sister left for college ... but it was not RENT-FREE!!
I was working at the time.
El Rey said I had to contribute -- what did I think was fair. I said $75/month. Best bargain ever.
So he wasn't too MEAN. (and he gave me my GENEs).
Someone please explain why Frost and the road untaken suddenly appeared in this blog. Is it simply because of 22A DIVERGE, or is there something else that I missed?
Thx
@william e emba -
Dear Sir,
You have apparently taken great offense where none was intended.
I did indeed spot your "oops" and fully appreciated the intended meaning. Indeed, funny, haha. I merely wished to say that a simple "- John Keats" following the sonnet would have been appropriate.
You are apparently a person of truly encyclopedic knowledge, as your obscure movie reference demonstrates. But would it cost extra to refer to Alberto De Martino's Shadows in an Empty Room, not that I can fathom its relevance?
And yes, @Bewildered, Frost is quoted for the use of a single word, as often Shakespeare is quoted for the appearance of a word or phrase.
Almost as easy as the LA. Scarcely noticed the 3 sports clues. And this was a debut? Pretty good.
I had OLD sIlvEr before OLD DISHES. I have an obsession against chipped dishes because my mother always glued them back.
Shared EDEN and BRITISH with the LA.
@Acme, Robin - good ideas.
@Big Steve -your parents were tough!
You have some pretty good product memories. We also had fun with tvs taken apart all over the house during the tube days, since my dad fixed them on the side. We kept his resistors sorted.
@Quilter - isn't it funny? I just gave away 2 sets of china and will be selling another set. Nowadays all you need is a plate, a bowl and a mug. And who needs to match?
Love those Spanish explorer's names.
@big steveSF I can really relate to your comment about your dad. In the mid 1970s to the early 1980's, CC husband was an electronics buyer for JC Penney (when they still sold electronics). We used to get all the test stuff including TVs, stereo equipment, the really early VCRs and the earliest camcorder. Remember that huge camera with the shoulder pack? He spent a lot of time in Japan back then.
I liked this one, and found that it all eventually fell into place. Although, ashamed to say that I could'nt see "Tams" (43 ac) for ages given that I'm Scottish- hoots mon!
I think there is a religious connection for the ALPHA-OMEGA use. Jesus or someone said "I am the ALPHA and the OMEGA of ----"---something. Meaning, more or less, I am the beginning and the end.
Since I logged in to comment on how BAD Tuesday is, this was a really good Monday.
Syndi-puzzer.
Enjoyed the pretty smooth solve.
Next to each other: TUTU ARAB: take it however, they got Bin Laden last night.
Then there was the Rosie the Riveter type who worked at the Tickle Me ELMO factory sewing onto each ELMO a small sack containing a couple of marbles, thinking that this was fulfilling her job description to give each doll two test tickles (two doors down from [28D Yoked pair]).
Some day they'll put a road through the Darien and then it'll be possible to drive from Tierra del Fuego to Nome. Or at least from Minnesota to Buenos Aires. Can ya dig it?
captcha: "cishisho":
____ in the sea shell by the sea shore for two sea shells
Some of the prime-time commenters seem a little testy (maybe they'll see @NarB's contribution and be tickled back to good humor) - I'm surprised nobody pointed out to @Rex that he posted a picture of the wrong BALBOA!
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