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Relative difficulty: Easy
THEME: SOMETHING WICKED (36A: Start of a Ray Bradbury title ... or a hint to the ends of 17-, 26-, 49- and 62-Across) — theme answers all end with synonyms of "wicked":
- QUEEN OF MEAN (17A: Leona Helmsley epithet)
- HEAR NO EVIL (26A: Words under a monkey with his hands over his ears)
- SID VICIOUS (49A: One of the Sex Pistols)
- DON'T BE CRUEL (62A: 1956 #1 Elvis hit)
Word of the Day: QUAI d'Orsay (58D: Paris's ___ d'Orsay) —
A wharf or quay (/ˈkiː/, US also /ˈkeɪ/ or /ˈkweɪ/)[1] is a structure on the shore of a harbor where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers.[2] Such a structure includes one or moreberths (mooring locations), and may also include piers, warehouses, or other facilities necessary for handling the ships. (wikipedia)
The Quai d'Orsay is a quai in the VIIe arrondissement of Paris, part of the left bank of the Seine, and the name of the street along it. The Quai becomes the Quai Anatole France east of the Palais Bourbon, and the Quai de Branly west of the Pont de l'Alma.
The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs is located on the Quai d'Orsay, and thus the ministry is often called the Quai d'Orsay by metonymy.The Quai (rue de Bac) has historically played an important role in French art as a location to which many artists came to paint along the banks of the river Seine.The building of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was developed between 1844 and 1855 by Lacornée. The statues of the facade were created by the sculptor Henri Triqueti (1870). (wikipedia)
• • •
Bullets:
- 1D: Queries on the Internet, for short (FAQS) — ironically (given that this blog has a FAQ; see link at top), I needed several stabs at this one before I realized what it was. It doesn't feel phrased right. It's true that FAQ stands for Frequently Asked Questions, so if "Queries" is essentially a synonym for "Questions," it's technically right, but it hardly gets at the essence of what a FAQ is or does. The fact that "Queries" is also a verb is a further annoyance.
- 23D: Johnson who said "Ver-r-r-ry interesting!" (ARTE) — he used to be the commonest of crosswordese, but I feel like he's mostly been retired in recent years. Same with ASTA. Or maybe they are just as common as they ever were and I just don't notice anymore. This answer is typical of this puzzle's generally bygone cultural center of gravity (LEW Alcindor, Elvis, a Charo reference with the KOO clue (I think), Yoko, A Funny Thing Happened, etc.)
- 2D: His: Fr. (A LUI) — not common in crosswords. You see AMOI and ATOI a lot more. Not great in a Monday puzzle. Not great in any puzzle, but esp. in a Monday.
The puzzle was a relief given the struggle on Sunday.
ReplyDeleteI think there is a future "pun" clue for ALTER NATIVE.
I thought the puzzle was fun. The revealer was a bit of a let-down since "this way comes" didn't make its way into the grid too, but the rest of the theme answers are solid. I'd actually argue that @acme put in an additional theme answer. I find that whenever my important stuff (my car, my computer) is in DISREPAIR, I think it's SOMETHING WICKED. EVIL, more like.
ReplyDeleteI'm a little confused by the clue for DIS. Run down? Insult, put down, slam, and others like that, would all be correct. But who says "run down" to mean DIS? I don't mean to run down you guys, but....
Oh, and while @Rex notes the string of partials sitting next to each other, I noticed that EROTIC is next to CUM. Yes, I know, it's the Latin "cum" in "Summa cum laude." But still.
And because I noticed EROTIC sitting next to CUM, I'm going to venture a guess that @acme was inspired to write this puzzle (and include those two answers) because of this funny, profane tribute to Ray Bradbury.
ReplyDeleteGod damn it @Evan I have been waiting since 4pm to post that f%#$@ing link. I had a whole thing worked up and everything.
ReplyDeletebesides Charo was Kootchy-koo-a whole 'nother thing.I thought it was pretty fun for a monday-if flawed I did WINCE at "III" but I don't mean to be Cruel!
ReplyDeleteEasy with a zippy theme. Liked it.
ReplyDeleteI hope Acme stops by and graces us with her usual wit and charm and tells us why she went with this grid design.
ReplyDeleteI was thrown off by those two double stacked 11's at 13/17 & 62/67 Across, trying to fit all of them into the theme scheme, thinking that a 36-38 black square design would have worked nicely, so going with a 42 black square option must have had a special purpose.
Couldn't uncover it. In fact, it seemed to bring on more than the usual Monday level of partials, abbreviations, and foreign words.
I'm sure no one has ever referred to today's constructor as QUEEN OF MEAN.
@Tobias:
ReplyDeleteSorry about that, but them's the breaks of a blog's comment section: Someone could steal your thunder if they post before you. So you know what to do: Steal someone else's.
Aarrgh! I knew it was going to happen sooner than later. The better? half finally beat me time wise. I'm going to blame it on the fact that his nibs asked me to refill the wine glasses (politely) thus gaining several extra minutes. Beaten by 30 seconds. If he beats me on a Wednesday, I might have to hang up my Cross pen. Sigh!!!
ReplyDelete@Evan - Getting a little kinky since you got married?
Whoa. Is RP a fan of The Weeknd?
ReplyDeleteElvis song about monogamy. Fancy that.
ReplyDeleteI don't feel the same way about this puzzle as I did yesterday's. I liked it. But I still feel the same way about the captchas.
ReplyDelete@Rex - Don't be cruel....
JFC
This Ode to Evil gets an A++ in my book. ALITO and OBAMA, so both political persuasions get a devil incarnate, ANO with the tilde, The LONELY AFGHAN GNOME still managing ends up needing a MEDIC because of his grid partners. And for those of us innocents who may be solving, there is the ALTERNATIVE, EDEN, to return to.
ReplyDeleteI liked it, refreshing after a run of puzzles that made my brain tired (but hopefully smarter).
ReplyDeletePaused at 49A, to check if it would be Johnny Rotton or SID VISCIOUS. As it turns out, maybe both could have been included in this theme!
I've been to the Musée d'Orsay, but not the QUAI.
My great-grandfather had a figurine next to his easy chair of the See/HEAR/Speak NO EVIL monkeys, that used to amuse my brother and I.
I can forgive the awkward clung of FAQS. I can forgive 15 partials. But who is being quoted at 10A? Someone who never saw the movie? Maybe I was a little sensitive because I'd already been through the FAQS and several partials, but that just killed my MORALE.
ReplyDeleteA welcome break after the past few tough puzzles. I have to agree with Rex about the two long non-theme answers. Other than that, the puzzle was some light fun and the partials didn't bother me.
ReplyDeleteThe BAD: long non-theme entries, the silly words already mentioned, and the abundance of partials (when I see lots of partials, my first thought is: "great! the constructor used all of these partials in order to achieve some really juicy fill elsewhere!" Not really the case here.
ReplyDeleteThe GOOD: as easy as any Monday, maybe easier. Finished in good time with no mistakes. So something must have been right.
I agree, I'd like to hear from Acme regarding the decisions that went into this puzzle. Would be interesting to read.
*cluing
ReplyDeleteAlso, in retrospect, I begrudgingly accept the misquote as a movie title. I guess I just wonder what website ACME may be saving her good stuff for these days.
I had to chuckle when I realized the one who is anything but THEQUEENOFMEAN had come up with a "MEAN" theme!
ReplyDeleteLoved SIDVICIOUS and the clue for HEARNOEVIL.
It is nice to see the Queen of Mondays back where she belongs!
Fun start to the week, thank you, Andrea!
@treedweller - maybe if clue included "famous mis-quote" it would make it better. Unfortunately, the mis-quote is what's famous.
ReplyDeleteBTW - fro my earlier post, that would be VICIOUS, not viscious, which may mean evil and thick.
What a fun easy puzzle. Thanks Andrea.
ReplyDeleteZipped right through it. Knew all the answers. Sooo much better than yesterday.
@Z – loved your post!
ReplyDelete@joho – my thoughts exactly.
I’m not a science fiction buff, so I’m shamefully unfamiliar with a lot of Ray Bradbury work. I vaguely know SOMETHING EVIL This Way Comes, but not enough that the partial revealer bothered me.
SAFARI next to ANIMALS with APES and EMU nearby – nice. CAIN crossing EDEN - nice. And pre-convert LEW with post-convert ALI!
For some reason, partials and stuff like III never bother me. Of Pannonica’s (at Fiend) coined CAP – crosswordese, abbreviations, partials – the only ones I don’t like too much are abbreviations.
I always like foreign words in puzzles, and when I look at today’s finished grid, I see two more: ARTE and ANO.
With my “Ruth Buzzi” mistake from the other day, I’ve had Laugh-In on my mind. My very first metal box lunch box complete with thermos was a Laugh-In lunchbox. First grade. Of course I dropped it early on and broke the glass liner of the thermos. BUMmer.
Thanks, Andrea! A boost to my INDISREPAIR MORALE from yesterday's toughie.
Anoa Bob: I suspect from their past sniping at each other that Evil Doug might quite erroneously refer to ACME as the Queen of Mean.
ReplyDeleteThis was certainly one of the easiest puzzles ever. Goes to show you that it isn't the difficulty level that makes the puzzles fun to solve.
Were I to construct puzzles, one of my goals would be to try to do things a little differently from the norm. Stacking long words on a Monday is something I would try to do. Congratulations to Andrea for doing something unconventional. And Boo Hiss to the Crossword Puzzle Police who seemingly can't adjust to creative construction. (not meant as a harsh indictment but just a gentle tsk tsk).
Acme is back, with one of her trademark, top of the line Monday puzzles but, surprise, surprise, our bubbly, cheerful constructress is channeling Cruella de Vil with a tribute to those living on the darker side of life, the MEAN, EVIL, VICIOUS and CRUEL, collectively themed as the WICKED.
ReplyDeleteWhile Acme spotted some interesting non-theme entries around the puzzle like FARCE, WINCE, VANED and LONELY, she was also quietly inserting some subtle quasi-theme references for evildoers of the first order, augmenting the themed baddies, like:
EVA, was no doubt intended to ID EVA Braun, the vile Hitler’s dastardly main squeeze.
CAIN, the unfortunate Abel’s fratricidal brother certainly qualifies, (the Genesis CAIN, not, the Herman CAIN).
EARL, he of Dixie Chicks fame in their hit song “Goodbye EARL”, was a notorious wife beater and the baddest dude on highway 109, who got his just desserts from wife Wanda and her friend Mary Ann when they did him in with poisoned black-eyed peas.
Some might suggest that the way he mistreated his young daughter qualifies ALEC Baldwin for this group and others might think an AFGHAN, who has a generic bad rep these days or a GNOME, who some people see as a nefarious type, should also be included, but there’s already enough IN DISREPAIR in the puzzle and none of the three can truly rival the main players listed.
Let’s hope all this mingling with the meanies is a one-off and our Acme is back in her world of sugar and spice and everything nice again for her next puzzle
@treedweller wants to remind us that Bogie fans know that "Play it again, Sam" is NOT a line from Casablanca. However since it is the title of a Woody Allen film (obviously inspired by the famous misquote) it is a fully acceptable clue.
ReplyDeleteGerry
I liked it. Don't mind the partials. Some Mondays I need the partials before brain/coffee kicks in. Not being a modern music fan I was pleased to put in SID VICIOUS without hesitation.
ReplyDeleteOn to BEQ and house cleaning.
@Creativity Fan
ReplyDeleteI wonder if her spat with Evil Doug caused ACME to come up with this theme.
My first guess for 17A was "womaN OF MEAN," leading me to think the theme would be "drop an s to get something wacky" - so it was a bit of a downer to learn I was wrong. Still a fun puzzle; even the partials were kind of witty - I mean what's NOT TO like here?
ReplyDeleteWell, one thing. IMO, an AFGHAN is a blanket; the natives of Kabul are Afghanis. Minor flaw, though.
Smiles here at the wicked theme - a fun Monday. The motley collection of theme answers/personages really struck me funny. I was happy to know the Ray Bradbury title - from a student attempting to translate a chapter into German, of all things.
ReplyDeleteInteresting placement of ALITO. I'm going to parse it as "HEAR NO EVIL, ALITO!" I don't think I've agreed with one thing he's said or written, but I can't go as far as ALITO: SOMETHING WICKED.
With all the cruelty afoot, I liked the nod to romance with EROTIC as mentioned and also the Romance languages with A LUI, TRES, ACTE, QUAI and ARTE (which I see go together nicely from Rex's Word of the Day), plus TRES, ANO, and SENOR.
@loren - CAIN also crosses his Old Testament companion NAOMI (who might also fit with the "cruel" thread: Ruth 1:20: "And she said unto them, Call me not Naomi, call me Mara: for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me.")
@acme - Thanks for the fun start to the day!
Nice one Andrea.
ReplyDeleteLike @Milford, I had a nice memory of that monkey trio from my grandparents' house.
To me erotic gets one X at the most. XXX usually goes too far.
Seeing AMOI and ATOI more in puzzles doesn't necessarily mean that they are better than a word used less, like ALUI. And in this case, I don't think they are better; seems like a level playing field.
ReplyDeleteI do like the sequence: AFGHAN, LONELY, EROTIC, CUM, MEDIC, ONO. I also like ATME PIES, and SENOR BUM.
And is ATME a callout to Acme?
The long non-theme answers didn't bother me. I'm thinking the only reason it would bother anyone is because we're not used to it...
Easy and fun (partly fun because it was easy!).
@Gerry/anon 9:14
ReplyDeleteYou got that right! The SAM clue was my shout out to Woody Allen! Considering "Casablanca" is my favorite film (as evidenced by my long post to Evan just days ago) I'm the last person to misquote the film!
VERY proud of this puzzle and ain't nobody gonna rain on my parade today, (i.e. @treedweller, this is my good stuff!) but since I dish it out, I should address some of the criticisms.
So without being too defensive, but I hope explanatory, here goes:
@anoa bob, et al
You"re right, the partials are unfortunate.
i was so excited about getting five long theme answers in
(took me many many rewrites in order to keep it a "Monday", as I conceived it as a Tuesday..)
And dealing with the Qs and Vs and the "nonnegotiables" didn't even realize how many were forced.
(We all have blind spots...Just as some who sped thru the puzzle in competition Saturday at the BAC Fill told me they didn't even notice there was a theme!!!! Very disheartening!)
I personally don't like having long nontheme horizontal answers that I think detract from the theme and I'm all about theme theme theme...
(but that's what happened when trying to make a
10 11 15 11 10 theme fit into the 15 x 15 grid.)
In my original submission, ALTERNATIVE/INDISREPAIR were two five-letter words, but I had too many black squares as a result. Will thought it'd be more elegant- looking with longer nontheme entries...it's a taste thing, so I tried.
This is my first attempt ever to stack two words of more than six or seven letters and couldn't believe there were eleven letter words/phrases that fit next to the shorter theme entries that were, again, "Monday" level!
But in the end I don't like those two horizontal 11-letter entries distracting from the theme.
QUAI and ALUI are non- Monday friendly. (Mini-French lesson for mes amis @seth et @dk!).
ALUI was a last resort as my original ALUM wouldn't fly because it made SMS (where SIS now sits) which was deemed unacceptable...but the foreign words, i hope, are easily gettable from the downs, so, c'est la vie!
@jackj
Thanks for the lovely, thorough post and catching all the bonus theme answers! Tho you missed one... ELO's big hit was "Evil Woman"!
And if you squint your eyes, draw circles and hold this puzzle up to a light, TRES QUAI CUM transforms into THIS WAY COMES!
Enjoyed the SOMETHING WICKED theme, and altho Rex is correct that the answers are synonyms- I found them refreshing for a Monday!
ReplyDeleteIt was fresh and snappy and mischievous- did not even WINCE much at ONO!
Another SOMETHING WICKED- RobotCapchas...
The QUEEN OF MONDAYS gives us the QUEEN OF MEAN. Nice.
ReplyDeleteThanks, @Acme, for the informative response.
I think QUAI d'Orsay is a very legit inclusion, since the art museum in the former Gare d'Orsay is a major spot on the tourist's itinerary (and has been for >25 years). Yes, not everybody has been to Paris, but I always figure that if non-worldly little ol' me (who doesn't speak French) has heard of it, then surely most everybody else has. Fun puzzle! I too was a little thrown by the non-theme long answers above and below but some things can't be helped.
ReplyDeleteNice puzzle. Snappy theme answers. Liked some of the fill, SAFARI next to ANIMAL, DONT BE CRUEL. All in all, a good Monday.
ReplyDelete@ACME - would you please elaborate on what you considered "nonnegotiables" for this puzzle and why? Are you simply talking about the theme answers or something else?
Your commentary on the non-theme long acrosses is interesting. So, why didn't you go the more traditional route and, say, open up 3 or 4 down (and corresponding 39 or 40 down)? Was it simply a matter of crossing 3 theme answers and not having enough interesting entries to choose from?
Also, not to be too crude, but EROTIC and CUM crossing GNOME???... on second thought, maybe we don't want to know.
Nice puzzle, Andrea, and thanks for the explanations! I thought it might be a Medium, actually. The NW didn't give immediately.
ReplyDeleteWow, sports clues/answers: Ali, Lew, QBs and maybe mile?
Nice Monday puzzle from our very own Andrea Carla Michaels. Well done. Maybe there were a few too many partials, but maybe they were a mini-theme. Nothing to slow me down and no nits to pick.
ReplyDeleteI grinned at the LONELY EROTIC AFGHAN corner next to 48D. Refreshing to see SIC VICIOUS in the puzzle – and the Sex Pistols were recently in the news. Hard to believe it’s been 35 years since God Save the Queen first hit the airwaves.
IS 26A a shout-out to one of our colorful citizens?
What a relief. I was beginning to think I was slipping down the slope. Thanks Andrea.
ReplyDeleteI noticed the fill-ins but they don't bother me that much. ARTE Johnson in yesterday's Merl Reagle, a nice puzzle for people who like six vowels.
Week off to a good start.
Just popping in a) not having done the puzzle yet since there were no papers at LGA in time for my plane and b) not read @Rex and comments; but just to say congrats to Andrea! Permit me to add my two cents tomorrow, as I won't get to the puzzle until dinner.
ReplyDeleteZippy Monday. Morale booster after yesterday's disaster. thanks to the constructor!!
ReplyDeleteMidday 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)
Mon 5:39, 6:48, 0.83, 1%, Easy
Top 100 solvers
Mon 3:29, 3:41, 0.95, 27%, Easy-Medium
Whew! Thanks, @acme, I needed that. The last 3 days was the roughest streak of NYT puzzles I remember. After all the struggling, I thought I'd lost the rest of my marbles and needed to cancel my puzzle subscription and check in to one of those memory places. So surprised to see all of the LONG words. Everything was so gettable, even ALUI from crosses. A great MEAN theme. Thanks for stopping by and explaining.
ReplyDelete@bird, 35 years ago? Ulp. I spent some time in London in late 1977, didn't hear the Sex Pistols, but did see some of their contemporaries in big mosh pits.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete@chefwen:
ReplyDeleteWhat do you mean "getting" kinky? I'd been kinky before marriage and I plan to stay that way!
Congrats, Afghan! That was a fun one. Maybe the one we made will get printed before I pay off my mortgage!
ReplyDeleteMacbeth > Act IV, scene I
ReplyDeleteALL: Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn and cauldron bubble.
Second Witch: Cool it with a baboon's blood,
Then the charm is firm and good.
[Enter HECATE to the other three Witches]
HECATE: O well done! I commend your pains;
And every one shall share i' the gains;
And now about the cauldron sing,
Live elves and fairies in a ring,
Enchanting all that you put in.
[Music and a song: 'Black spirits,' &c]
[HECATE retires]
Second Witch: By the pricking of my thumbs,
Something wicked this way comes.
Open, locks,
Whoever knocks!
[Enter MACBETH]
MACBETH: How now, you secret, black, and midnight hags!
What is't you do?
ALL: A deed without a name.
Sid Vicious(real name Sidney Raymond "Sid" Eudy) was also the name of a Wrestler. His other names were:
ReplyDeleteLord Humongous (CWF, CWA), Vicious Warrior (NJPW), Sycho Sid (ECW, WWF), Sid Justice (WWF)
I just got back from teaching. A few stayed after to look at today’s puzzle – Melvin couldn’t believe that “gerund” ending was in there, since we had just talked about gerunds and participles! ING – bINGo!
ReplyDeleteMelvin and Jack would like to add their two cents worth – Melvin (totally new to crosswords and foreign language) says III and TRES are “wack” and I’m to spell that without the h. Jack (Mr. Epee) never minds Roman numerals but wants to say that he always feels they’re a bit lazy.
They both liked LEW and ALI.
The first thing they ask when I get to class is, “Do you have a puzzle?”!! Cool.
@Loren
ReplyDeleteGood day all around, but you cannot imagine how that pleases me...
I hope you didn't have to explain what a partial was!
(Made this two years ago before we were all so partial conscious!)
SO happy the bard chimed in and now I understand the pricked thumb references people kept making!
;)
Wait till the guys see OUR puzzle!!!!
(Altho they might be out by then...)
This 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 5:39, 6:48, 0.83, 1%, Easy (2nd lowest median solve time of 166 Mondays)
Top 100 solvers
Mon 3:23, 3:41, 0.92, 16%, Easy
A Halloweeny Monday, hand up for the boffo theme answers. But oh, what sacrifice by the fill! ING, smack in the middle, close by III? CNOTE right under CEE? KOO, girl, you are better than this. I know it. Still, the 6's in the corners kinda mesh: Does ANIMAL MORALE sink when a SAFARI comes through? And here's the LONELY lady crocheting her AFGHAN while having EROTIC dreams. Now don't throw PIES ATME!
ReplyDeleteSince I'm more familiar with Shakespeare than Bradbury, I'll say, "By the pricking of my thumbs, this was a fun puzzle, a happy way to start the week". A good ego booster after the, for me, last set of stumpers. My only semi-pause was not being sure if Mr. Viscious was SyD or SID, , but the crosses solved that. Now to try to solve the almost illegible Captcha!
ReplyDeleteSmoothe sailing is what I hope for on Mondays and our resident queen delivered big time. Only write-over was oafS becoming APES but, oh horror of horrors, when I came here I discovered I finished with an error as I had spelt (it's an acceptable variation, deal with it) Mr. Johnson's name ARTy and never went back to correct it - but I think the resulting cross, SOMyTHINGWICKED reveals an interesting Freudian slip.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Andrea.
@jberg: Actually, a Kabul native is indeed an AFGHAN. The Constitution of Afghanistan says, "The word Afghan applies to every citizen of Afghanistan." (Ch. 1, art. 4.)
ReplyDelete