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THEME: INSTERTION — that is, creating a new phrase by adding [STER] to the middle or end of a well-known phrase or name
The term thegn (or thane or thayn in Shakespearean English), from OE þegn, ðegn "servant, attendant, retainer", is commonly used to describe either an aristocratic retainer of a king or nobleman in Anglo-Saxon England, or as a class term, the majority of the aristocracy below the ranks of ealdormen and high-reeves. It is also the term for an early medieval Scandinavian class of retainers. (wikipedia)
• • •
Hello there! =0
Marvin here, filling in for Rex while he's on the other side of the world, in New Zealand.
This puzzle didn't strike me as particularly hard for a Tuesday; I cruised right through without any stumpers or overwrites, and the most likely words to cause a logjam (i.e. the three-letter sports names ORR and RON) were adequately crossed.
Gimmes were legion, from ARLO (16A: Singer Guthrie) all the way down to DORA (55D: Animated "Explorer").
Theme answers:
- GO TEAM[STER] (17A: Cheer to an interstate trucker?)
- WEB[STER] BROWSER (28A: One who peruses the dictionary?)
- MINI[STER] COOPER (45A: Newsman Anderson with a theology degree?)
- YO-YO MA[STER] (59A: One who's very good at rocking the cradle?)
There isn't a whole lot of consistency in how the theme is applied (add letters in the middle? at the end? phrases into phrases? names into phrases? names into phrases with names?), and I suspect if Rex were here, he'd come out with guns blazing, but the answers themselves aren't bad and I find it hard to hate when the pun-tacular YO-YO MA[STER] is the final pun-chline.That said, today did feel a little flat with the cluing, with so many words clued in an 'obvious' way (cf. DOG (1D: Toto, for one), CART (41D: Golfer's vehicle)) that felt like missed opportunities, even by Monday standards. I had visions of Siem REAP (not far from LAOS) and Fort TRYON Park dancing in my dreams soon after finishing.
On a better note, the fill was surprisingly straightforward, with only ATRA (20A: Razor brand) and AFIRE (35D: Burning) meriting a raised eyebrow.
Bullets:
- 25A: "Sometimes you feel like ___" (A NUT) — "...sometimes you don't." From the Almond Joy/Mounds ads. A gimme if you remember the commercials, a possible head-scratcher if you don't.
- 27A: Word repeated in both James Bond and Justin Bieber film titles (NEVER) — My first thought was BABY but that didn't line up with Bond or the five-letter blank.
- 58A: Commotions (ADOS) — This, crossed with the Macbeth-clued THANE, lent a decidedly Shakespearean flavor to the SW corner.
- 6D: Jewel box contents (CDS) — Initially thought GEM, but I didn't trust it and the clue suggested a plural. Had to get it on crosses; I usually think of the CD holders as 'jewel cases', not boxes.
- 10D: Tureen accessories (LADLES) — Notable mainly for the five-dollar word in the clue; I only learned it a couple months ago from reading The Hunger Games, which, oddly enough, has a disturbing fascination with tureens.
- 29D: U-turn from NNE (SSW) — A departure from the usual geographical compass clues, but as noted above, one requiring much less brain power than usual.
- 36D: In medias ___ (RES) — One of those where you either know it or you don't (or you know enough Latin to BS your way through). I mostly remember it from Alan W. Pollack's musicological analysis of the Beatles' "Girl".
And there you have it! Mooching off Rex's fame for a day is a dream come true (see right). The parade of magical mystery bloggers continues tomorrow.See you soon, hopefully!
Signed, Marvin, THANE of CrossWorld
(because Governor General was taken)
More manga / anime pics!
ReplyDeleteNice job, Marvin. Thanks,
rp
This is only the second puzzle of this constructor and I think really nice and solid.
ReplyDeleteVery hard to add four letters to phrases and still make such good sense.
Usually it's coler if those letters are a word in itself, like STIR, like a reverse rebus, but this was great!
As Marvin said, YOYOMA+STER, how can you not love that!
And altho it seems willy nilly where the STER is placed, it is actually less all over upon closer inspection...two on the ends of phrases, two in the middle.
And cool bit of synchronicity about mini cooper, minister cooper and Anderson Cooper's coming out all on the same day...Will is prophetic!
(@Marvin, as I'm just coming in from my monthly Beatles singalong, I thank you for the wonderful link to "Girl"!!!
Tonight for me was a warbly "I only want to dance with You")
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteMINISTER COOPER will understandably get a lot of love and attention today with the CNN host's big announcement, but for some reason, it was WEBSTER BROWSER that made me laugh, though perhaps not in the way the constructor intended. That answer gave me the image of someone diligently researching the episodes of the TV knock-off of Diff'rent Strokes. There has to be at least one WEBSTER maniac out there, to say nothing of all the casual BROWSERS of that show.
ReplyDeleteThe E of FENDI/RES was the last letter in the grid for me. I suspect that it might have tripped a few people up.
To follow up with a comment I made yesterday about tough, Natick-like crossings, there's a rule of thumb I've learned to apply when faced with that situation: Try to plug in a letter that will give you at least one legit word that you've seen in puzzles before. It doesn't matter whether you know what it means. If you can form a word from the crossing that you've at least seen in a prior puzzle, then you can at least narrow down the possibilities, and if you can form two legit words that you recognize -- even if you don't know their definition nor understand -- you stand a decent chance of guessing correctly.
Here, the process of elimination was pretty simple. It had to be a vowel, and although FENDI was completely unknown to me, I know that I've seen RES in many, many Latin-related clues before. RAS, RIS, ROS, and RUS would probably have been clued differently (as abbreviations, partial phrases, or a name), so I figured that RES had to be right. And thus it was.
Martin thanks for the write up and the incredibly obscure reference for RES.
ReplyDeleteDarn good Tues. That's two in a row! Easy-medium for me with no erasures except for iPad typos (I believe it's referred to as fat finger syndrome). Not very zippy but a nice solid grid.
Like Marvin, Andrea, and others to follow, I really liked YOYOMASTER.
Easy Tuesday, but the theme was fun. Good phrases, especially since they all seemed like they could be real people or phrases. My husband works with a Teamster's local and I can imagine "Go Teamsters!" as a cheer.
ReplyDeleteI liked the cross of TAPESTRY and HERETIC, especially the latter as clued. The only reason FENDI was a gimme was because of "Sex and the City" episodes (also same for the designer/Hererra clue awhile back).
Cruised through this grid except for Wisconsin. Despite having GO TEAMSTER and IDEALIZE I had to piece together CLIP and DECO a letter at a time. ICED coffee is not something I drink (Hot, Dark, and Bitter is the only way I like my coffee) and LET IT BE took me awhile to remember. Briefly wondered what an fDS is.
ReplyDeleteMy only other issue was FENDI, but all the crosses were fair enough. In media RES is firmly in my crosswordese dictionary.
@Evan - I like your strategy for Natick resolution.
My first thought on reading the clue at 40D was, "how did Will get Cooper and TomKat in the puzzle?" Disappointed that it was only the mundane ITEM in the grid.
Nice, solid Tuesday, with a nice write-up to boot.
Macbeth > Act I, scene V
ReplyDeleteMACBETH: My dearest love,
Duncan comes here to-night.
LADY MACBETH: And when goes hence?
MACBETH: To-morrow, as he purposes.
LADY MACBETH: O, never
Shall sun that morrow see!
Your face, my thane, is as a book where men
May read strange matters. To beguile the time,
Look like the time; bear welcome in your eye,
Your hand, your tongue: look like the innocent flower,
But be the serpent under't. He that's coming
Must be provided for: and you shall put
This night's great business into my dispatch;
Which shall to all our nights and days to come
Give solely sovereign sway and masterdom.
MACBETH: We will speak further.
LADY MACBETH: Only look up clear;
To alter favour ever is to fear:
Leave all the rest to me.
Monday-easy with one small kink. I was actually thrown a little by MINISTERCOOPER, since my head was thinking the insert was IN added to MiSTER COOPER (as in Hanging' With, which I am way too old to have ever watched). Go figure.
ReplyDeleteSilly and likeable.
ReplyDelete@Evan --- Isn't that an approach that screwed up Dr. Fill at the ACPT? For example when the program chose "great apes" over the (correct) "great apex"?
When one solves the puzzle by rapidly filling in the dozens of simple clues, it is completed before a theme answer even rears its head. The result in this instance is to have no funning from the punning and such as YOYOMASTER falls flat in the cold, bald first comparison of answer and clue, (neither having been dealt with while solving).
ReplyDeleteGOTEAMSTER seems to hold up best in this acrid test while MINISTERCOOPER as a theme entry gains luster mainly from Anderson’s unsurprising announcement to an already knowing populace that he is gay. WEBSTERBROWSER, sadly, had nothing going for it and the best comment about it might be it is technically correct as a theme clue in this puzzle. Huzzah!
The fill is Tuesday light with the standouts being what, IDEALIZE, HERETIC? Maybe ALTARBOY or SPYWARE? Bottom line, when the puzzle’s most difficult answer is FENDI we should face up to the realization that we have once again been fed a disappointing Tuesday puzzle and the solving world should be wondering why.
I was slower on the pickup about the theme being -STER, but once I caught it, everything made sense. Nice puzzle, nice writeup.
ReplyDeleteLouis Jordan recorded a super song for 13D, "What's the use of getting SOBER". A Broadway show a few years ago featured songs by Jordan. One of those revivals.
Margaret Whiting recorded 45D "A tree in the MEADOW".
Thought it was a great puzzle!! Easy and loved all the theme answers.
ReplyDeleteUse to have a Fendi..bought in Italy.
Thanks Marvin for a great write-up
I don't know who that is on the floor of a bathroom with his pig, or how it ties into the puzzle, but that thing attached to the wall directly above his head (the man, not the pig) is very disturbing. I get the need for them, maybe, but to have one permanently attached to your bathroom wall? Really?
ReplyDeleteReally liked this, though it felt more like Monday then Monday was.
ReplyDeleteTwo clues made me love this puzzle.
Word before liftoff - as a little kid, was mesmerized by the space program. Used to draw rockets blasting off, with the countdown numbers written along the side.
And the other is the MINI[STER]COOPER clue, a shout-out to my ride - a chili red ragtop. Makes me smile evry time I drive it.
Thanks for a quick solve that brought lots of smiles (and cravings for Mounds bars too...)
Many people learn tureen from a somewhat older book for young adults:
ReplyDeleteBeautiful Soup, so rich and green,
Waiting in a hot TUREEN!
Who for such dainties would not stoop?
Soup of the evening, beautiful Soup!
Soup of the evening, beautiful Soup!
Beau - ootiful Soo - oop!
Beau - ootiful Soo - oop!
Soo - oop of the e - e - evening,
Beautiful, beautiful Soup!
Beautiful Soup! Who cares for fish,
Game, or any other dish?
Who would not give all else for two pennyworth only of beautiful Soup?
Pennyworth only of beautiful Soup?
Beau - ootiful Soo - oop!
Beau - ootiful Soo - oop!
Soo - oop of the e - e - evening,
Beautiful, beautiful Soup!
- Lewis Carroll (The Mock Turtle's song from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland)
Hit it right on the sweet spot today, though I think due more to the grid constructions, which forewent the dreaded early-week-staircased-down entries, minimizing the need for cursor manipulation and probably hacking at least 30 seconds off my times.
ReplyDeleteAs for the content, it seems the OILERs are making a strong comeback recently; if not on the ice, at least in our grids.
Otherwise, my crosswordese failed only once today, mistakenly putting in EtO for EDO. E-D'oh!
Earl of Swine here.
ReplyDeleteRegarding the picture. Not sure if that is a pig. Perhaps a nutria - more rodent than porcine. The device on the wall may be for a fold up sink: Common in Mini-tells and Euro mass transport.
We must be nearing end of days with the numerous ARARAT cluing. I know here in the St. Croix River Valley we are mighty damp and hot (97 today - but it is a wet heat).
I side with Marvin on this one. Cluing is a little stale but fun, like flat Ginger Ale.
🎷🎷 (two TENOR Sax) Not baaad, Robyn hope to see ewe again. Perhaps you could be the saviour of Tuesdays.
@Have we no decency - The guy on the floor is YoYo Ma, but doesn't look like a pig to me...I really would like to know the context of said picture.
ReplyDelete@havewenodecency, I believe that's Yoyo Ma on the floor with the pig!
ReplyDeleteNo, no, YoYo Ma does not and never has looked like a pig to my knowledge!
ReplyDeleteThe other mammal does not look like a pig, I mean.
I'm sorry, but the thing on the wall is clearly a built-in vibrator. And if DK is advising against a lewd interpretation of things, he' right about this being the end of days.
ReplyDeleteIt's a wombat.
ReplyDeletehttp://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/yo-yo-ma-met-wombat-bathroom-floor-183011706.html
Quick and easy. Doesn't feel like I got my puzzle fix today, but I still have some left from vacation. I liked it.
ReplyDeleteWhat pig?
How standards have fallen! In my day, a BLAZER was ultra-casual. "Semi-formal" meant a dark business suit (although at one time I think it meant black tie rather than white tie). These are sad times.
ReplyDeleteBut the puzzle itself is happy enough, with or without YO YO MA the hamster MASTER - I think that's what it is. Isn't a nutria just a giant hamster, called that because it provides a lot of nutrition when you cook it up?
Other than that, it's URGENT that we REHIRE that HERETIC who knew how to block SPYWARE for us - that's the secret message in the center of this fun puzzle. @jackj, IMO if you're going to do solve for speed, you shouldn't complain if the theme doesn't pop out - the point of a theme is to have something to savor, right? Either approach is fine, but we need to realize that either gets in the way of the other.
Tuesdays have been looking up lately. I liked this one just fine. Since I have become a student in the school of Rex I had to check for symmetry in the theme entries. Yep.
ReplyDeleteEasy but fun.
I agree that the critter looks like a wombat. If it's a hamster that's some PhotoShopping.
Thanks for sitting in Marvin.
I wonder if we'll seen Wade during the break.
Easy, enjoyable Tuesday. Thought the fill, overall, was fine, and particularly enjoyed ANUT, LADLES, and ADOS (as did others, it seems).
ReplyDeleteMy only real complaint is in the cluing of 2D. It was easy enough to cross, but RIO is home to Carnaval. The only connection it might have to Carnival is when a Carnival Cruise stops there.
Isn't the Jewel box contents a reference to the singing group Jewel? just thought of that. Clever theme answers today and ESP loved the Anderson Cooper reference after his (hey everybody who already knew) "I'm coming out."
ReplyDeleteMy first laugh of the day was at 10:03 which says that thing on the wallis a vibrator and 10:05 quickly says it is a wombat. Seriously, somebody has to explain that picture. And I don't care if I am too literal.
ReplyDeleteMuch easier than yesterday.
ReplyDeleteHey Anderson Cooper: everyone knew already.
@Tita: I thought of your MINI COOPER also.
Thought the puzzle was cute.
@Martin: is that you in the first video clip? And which one are you?
It looks like a ginormous wombat to me.
ReplyDeleteI loved this puzzle! It played easier than yesterday, though, so maybe they should have been switched.
All the theme answers felt fun and fresh, I especially liked MINISTERCOOPER and YOYOMASTER ... super clever!
@Tita, I love my Mini, too!
Thank you, Robyn Weintraub for a terrific Tuesday!
Anne - were you literal, you might follow the link at 10:05.
ReplyDeleteI'm taking the theme as a playful jab at the Times's frequent reporting about various New York or California "hipsters" and "scenesters" that makes this MidweSTERner feel DRAB.
ReplyDeleteFENDI has made a handbag out of NUTRIA.
Count me in for loving YOYO MASTER. Also fun to write in HERETIC, TAPESTRY, HACIENDA and MEADOW.
I thought the theme was a lot more fun than the rest of the puzzle today, but I enjoyed doing the whole thing. One write-over: comb for clip, otherwise easy.
ReplyDeleteI read Anderson's email and thought it very well written.
Thanks, Marvin!
Sometimes constructors feel like a U, sometimes they don't.
ReplyDeleteA Jewel box is a generic term for a storage case for a CD. The singer Jewel AFAIK has nothing to do with it.
ReplyDelete"YO-YO MA on the floor with a wombat" sounds like it belongs in some surreal version of Clue.
Liked the puzzle. Slower than it should have been since I was doing it in dull moments of a conference call.
FENDI is new to me. Same thought about Diff'rent Strokes appeared to me.
Monday easy, with some pep. Perhaps the theme should be STER CRAZY?
ReplyDeleteJohnV from Warren,VT. Fun! Really liked the theme, esp as solved overlooking the Green Mountains. First break in 3 yrs.
ReplyDelete@Lindsay:
ReplyDeleteTrue, but I never said my strategy was intended to help robots. Nothing I do is intended to help robots. Have you seen how frustrating the captcha are?
I meant "captchas" with an S -- but I like the plural better without an S. Makes it seem like a race of intelligent super-cyborgs.
ReplyDelete@31-TUI: How's the weather down under? Ain't it Christmastime there? U have good taste in substitute blogmeisters. But miss yer special snarkosity.
ReplyDeleteR?S/F?NDI was kinda nasty. Re: theme: If just goin' for sound-alikes, SERMONSTER would be a pretty cool fifth wheel.
actually the CAPTHAS are Very forgiving these days!I think it's a pipe 90ing out of the wall-YOYOMASTER made everything worthwhile-just beautiful!very clean very tuesday puzzle.thank you thane Marvin
ReplyDeleteactually the CAPTHAS are Very forgiving these days!I think it's a pipe 90ing out of the wall-YOYOMASTER made everything worthwhile-just beautiful!very clean very tuesday puzzle.thank you thane Marvin-well they HAD BEEN forgiving :<no doubt 3's the charm
ReplyDeleteAnother day, another 7.0 earthquake.
ReplyDeleteWe're fine.
RP in NZ
@Rex - First Derecho, now earthquakes. Who did you p#$$ off?
ReplyDelete@Tita 12:13 a.m. yesterday - "Inane?" I resemble that remark. That's what I love most about the 3 and out rule - it time limits the inanity.
Midday report of relative difficulty (see my 8/1/2009 post for an explanation of my method):
ReplyDeleteAll solvers (median solve time, average for day of week, ratio, percentile, rating)
Tue 7:27, 8:57, 0.83, 8%, Easy
Top 100 solvers
Tue 4:17, 4:38, 0.93, 30%, Easy-Medium
Love the ME2/ME3 reference to Thane, that's the first thing I thought of too when I got the answer! At first I was surprised Rex made that association,
ReplyDeletethen I realized it wasn't him.
ReplyDelete@ret_chem
ReplyDelete"YO-YO MA on the floor with a wombat" sounds like it belongs in some surreal version of Clue.
Ha! Thanks for that, I'm going to smile the rest of the day now!
(Just saw my first wombat in Australia at the Melbourne zoo, he was in a cave, burrowing and it was all dark, so I guess they are nocturnal, which must be very upsetting for this one to be in a lit urinal.)
@retired_chemist...
ReplyDeleteOne of the all-time best comments ever!
Thank you for that! I am most definitely LOLing.
@Z...;) I really did mean "inane" in its most endearing form...
My favorite thing about those discussions is how 100% dead serious they always are.
Great job, oh Thanester!
ReplyDeleteI guess I'm having Rex withdrawal, tho, so I went to the blog archive and went back to the oldest write-up I could find - posted 9/27/06 about the Monday 9/25 Lynn Lempel puzzle. Then I got the puzzle from the NYT archive (still free for a few more days) and worked the puzzle. Then back to the write-up.
Such a sweet and gentle one it was! No mention of the theme or theme answers (shades of purple - grape, plum, lilac, and, er, purple.)
No relative difficulty rating, either - Rex just posted his own solving time (5:20), which would probably put it in the challenging-for-a-Monday category today. (Not that the puzzle was hard, Rex has just gotten lots faster.)
No comments, either, except for a couple put in years later.
Today's puzzle - just fine for a Tuesday. And come on, Marvin, you have to tell us how you found that bizarre pic!
@Z- "I resemble that remark."
ReplyDeleteWell, I don't like your altitude.
But you're right on coffee - I forgot exactly what you said (and it's so hard doing all this from a Blackberry) but it's best hot, black, and bitter. French roast.
Puzzle was good. The picture failed the breakfast test. I am glad about that.
ReplyDelete@lots
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome! =0
@pk 6:17
I'm a big Wait Wait fan, so when Peter Segal first posted that on Twitter, I was all over it. And once you see something like that, you never forget it.
@anon 5:09/5:10
And I'm glad you caught it! I was starting to worry no one would notice the other THANE hiding in plain sight.
@JenCT 11:20
The first video clip is a performance by Flight of the Conchords, who are from New Zealand (note the 'NZ' design on the second guy's shirt).
Agreed...rather easy for a Tuesday...like the Beatles clues in todays and recent puzzles...
ReplyDelete@Marvin: I do believe I called you Martin before - oops! Sorry about that. Thanks for clarifying the video clip.
ReplyDelete@LMS - "Well, I don't like your altitude."
ReplyDeleteWant a flight?
French Roast brewed in a French Press. How's that for altitude?
So you had no problem with the French authors yesterday but thought ORR was tough?! Aced my Tuesday. First one in a long time. I hope this constructor keeps doing puzzles.
ReplyDelete@Marc H 10:44
ReplyDeleteKeep in mind that the blogger behind the wheel changes almost every day while Rex is out of town. Seeing the solver's weak spots and sweet spots shift from day to day is part of the fun.
@Z - STOP! I haven't had a real (read
ReplyDeleteold fresh, arabica beans,) since Friday 7:20, when our power went off.
A real cup of coffee I meant to say.
ReplyDeleteThis week's relative difficulty ratings. See my 8/1/2009 post for an explanation. In a nutshell, the higher the ratio, the higher this week's median solve time is relative to the average for the corresponding day of the week.
ReplyDeleteAll solvers (this week's median solve time, average for day of week, ratio, percentile, rating)
Mon 6:56, 6:50, 1.01, 62%, Medium-Challenging
Tue 7:18, 8:57, 0.82, 5%, Easy (8th lowest median solve time of 158 Tuesdays)
Top 100 solvers
Mon 4:27, 3:41, 1.21, 97%, Challenging (5th highest median solve time of 157 Mondays)
Tue 4:06, 4:38, 0.89, 15%, Easy
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteARLO ORR EDO DECO OPS EGO ADOS EWES and SSW... a lot of common crossword fill that was balanced with HACIENDA ARARAT ANWAR HERETIC TAPESTRY and THANE.
ReplyDeleteCaught on to the STER theme right away and was chuckling at the cluing and the answers. Nice job, Robyn.
YOYOMA's recording of Bach's Cello Suites is sublime.
My Jewel box contained a DVD for a while but that was my only writeover. FENDI/RES cross was a total guess, but it seemed likely. For some reason, "Shall we", LETS tickles me, and so did the puzzle.
ReplyDeleteMacbeth's wife, Polly, upon dispatching her spouse, was informed by the local barrister that she had just inherited his lands and title. "Really?" she asked.
ReplyDelete"Yes. Polly, you're a THANE."
But enough of that. FENDI was no issue for me, since it's printed on the Flamingo-Road side of Bellagio, right where I can see it while waiting for the bus. Along with many others, I loved YOYOMA-STER. This might have made a truly great late-week entry with some clue-tweaking, though I don't know when I've seen so many nice, normal WORDS (remember those?)! See, folks, you CAN do it!
Monday easy for me (as opposed to yesterday's puzzle).
ReplyDeleteThanks blog admin for finally deleting those annoying Aussie ergo baby carrier (are they marsupial pouches?) spam posts. I kept wondering how those got through. Are the robots down under smarter than ours?
Was a little surprised how many people had an issue with FENDI - I know about as much about fashion as I do about nuclear fusion, but still got it pretty easily with just a couple of crosses. Toughest clues for me were, as usual, the NY-centric ones - SoHo patroller and Princeton Review whatever.
@Anonymous with the comments about the Yo Yo Ma picture - I have no idea what that thing is, but if you do, I don't want to know what you with your free time.
@ Spacecraft - are you suggesting that is the origin of the word "urethane"?
derp ...
ReplyDelete"what you do with your free time."