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World on Time courier / TUE 10-6-15 / Mexican once ranked as world's richest man / Soccer superstar Messi / Old West transport / Ooky family cousin
Tuesday, October 6, 2015
Constructor: Zhouqin Burnikel
Relative difficulty: Medium+ (normal Tuesday "plus" I just woke up)
THEME: SINKING FEELING (6D: With 44-Down, an "uh-oh" sensation ... or an apt title for this puzzle) — "feelings" are hidden (in circles) inside long theme answers that run Down, and are thus, visually, "sinking":
Theme answers:
- FRENCH OPEN (3D: Tennis tournament played on red clay)
- TENDER AGE (34D: What 15, say, would be for leaving home)
- DROOL OVER (9D: Find incredibly desirable)
- CARLO SSLIM (30D: Mexican once ranked as the world's richest man)
Carlos Slim Helú [...] (born January 28, 1940) is a Mexican business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. From 2010 to 2013, Slim was ranked as the richest person in the world. Known as the "Warren Buffett of Mexico"
Slim oversees a vast business empire that is influential in every sector of the Mexican economy and accounts for 40% of the listings on the Mexican Stock Exchange. He derived his fortune from his extensive holdings in a considerable number of Mexican companies through his conglomerate, Grupo Carso. The conglomerate comprises a diverse portfolio of businesses from a wide array of industries that include telecommunications, education, health care, industrial manufacturing, food and beverages, real estate, airlines, media, mining, oil, hospitality, entertainment, technology, retail, sports and financial services. Currently, Slim is the chairman and chief executive of telecommunications companies Telmex and América Móvil. América Móvil, which was Latin America's largest mobile-phone carrier in 2010, accounted for around $49 billion of Slim's wealth by the end of that year. As of August 2015 he is #4 on Forbes list of billionaires, and his net worth is estimated at $65.6 billion. His net worth is nearly equivalent to about 6 percent of Mexico’s gross domestic product. (wikiepdia)
• • •
You know where I got "stuck," oddly? BUXOM. And with the "X" in place. That is really ... surprising to me, somehow. I mean, you land the "X" (the only letter I had at first), and you figure, "that answer is Mine." And then I got to picture Rubenesque women, which was nice, but BUXOM ... not the thing that was coming to me. Full-bodied, yes. Is that the same thing. I think of BUXOM as more ... chest-related, specifically, so that word did not arrive until late. I also foundered a bit around CSIS, which remains a truly terrible answer, and one I swear I had never seen before last month and now have seen twice. At least this time it wasn't trying to pass itself off as multiple versions of a TV series. I also forgot CARLOS SLIM. I recognize the name, in retrospect. But Mexican + CARLOS and I had "the Jackal" and "Mencia" and that was pretty much it. Santana? Fuentes? SLIM feels like a parody of a rich guy's name. Like some guy who had a lot of money and watched a lot of westerns and thought "yeah ... that's it." So I had to get the SLIM part entirely from crosses, which likely slowed me down a little.
[I know you won't believe me, but I picked this song (which I love) for the "Feeling" part; the BUXOM connection only just dawned on me. Dolly rules! Dolly forever!]
Bullets:
- 26D: Desert bloomer (AGAVE) — Had just the "A." First thought was ASTER (perhaps because they're [Autumn bloomers] and it's currently autumn, perhaps because I just do a lot of crosswords). Anyway, always weird when you want an answer, it's the wrong answer, and then bam, there it is, in a different part of the grid (31D: Traditional flower for a 20th wedding anniversary).
- 19A: Comedian with the double-platinum album "Retaliation" (DANE COOK) — very popular (at one time). Also very divisive. The episode of "Louie" that featured Cook was fantastic:
- 14D: Number of times the Twins have won the World Series, appropriately (TWO) — little shout-out to Ms. Burnikel's home town here. Nothing wrong with that. The Twins won't be winning another World Series this year. But then, neither will my Tigers, who swept the Twins to open the season ... and then finished with the second-worst record in the AL. Sigh. I will enjoy the postseason, though. My friend Rob Ford is the radio play-by-play guy for the Houston Astros, so I'm psyched for tonight's one-game Wild Card playoff at Yankee Stadium. In the Wild Card games, I'm rooting for the Astros and (in the NL) the Cubs, so, if history is any indication, put all your money on the other guys.
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]
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58 comments:
I had LOSS in place when I saw FEELING and guessed SINKING. Cool. Too bad the four feelings couldn’t have been ones that really sink, you know? That are all not good feelings.
Does the LOSS/LOST pair not matter because LOSS isn’t really a “word” in the grid? Heck, it may not matter at all anyway.
And ever on the lookout for Dad, a Monday/Tuesday solver, I wonder why CC didn’t go with “Tesla” or “Tessa” instead of KESHA. Without the clue reminding me of what her name looks like, that would have been a big woe. But it’s fairly crossed, so he’ll probably get it.
LIONEL crossing OLES – yep. I also appreciated VASE/ASTER and GINSU over EDGY.
Rex -I’ve never heard of CARLO SLIM, so I kept seeing CARL OSSLIM until it clicked. Sheesh.
And I agree with BUXOM. I picture his gals as more zaftig. Buttsome.
DEFT is just a heck of a word.
Liked STEAL A KISS crossing TENDER AGE. Sigh. Memories of a summer kick-the-can game, hiding in a cardboard refrigerator box with Jeff J.
@John Child – excellent rebuttal on which/that. I had that coming.
Great theme, great long non-themers, my favorite being DROOL OVER (crossing DOGS).
My only slowdown was that of the eight names in the puzzle (not including STAN), I didn't know half of them. But the rest of the puzzle was so easy to solve (with Mondayish clues) that these filled in quickly. I only had one writeover (autocorrect had "wiretapper" here!) , tiEd for EVEN. ZB's puzzles, IMO, are always solid and clean, but not particularly memorable, and this was no exception. I also know that it will be a solve I enjoy doing, as this was.
Usually ZB's clues are direct, but there were a couple of feints today that I liked, those for CSIS and ANTE. And some answers I liked a lot, LETMESEE and STEALAKISS. I like that DROOLOVER is directly over KESHA, and that BUXOM crosses LETMESEE, and that there's a STRUT onSTAGE and a left-leaning OPED. I think the puzzle would have been more theme-consistent if all the circled emotions were downers, as SINKINGFEELING implies, instead of having two uplifting feelings (LOVE, HOPE). But my general outlook in life is toward the uplifting, so what the heck.
Pretty smooth and solid. A fair amount of fun, fresh stuff and very few gluey bits. Even CSIS doesn't bother me much: I'm okay with the plural, and only object because it's just become too common in recent puzzles. Came out of the gates stumbling because I didn't know either PARR or DANECOOK, but solved the rest more or less clockwise and finished back in the NW.
LOL @Loren... Our GN hasn't been around so I filled in. I'm NOT an N tho.
Speaking of the World Series, there's a great little baseball puzzle here http://tinyurl.com/fastballpuz from one of the regulars. Enjoy.
I enjoyed everything about this puzzle. I'm not a fan of either Dane Cook or Kesha (no one is a fan of Kesha) but liked seeing them both in a puzzle.
Also thought that the emotions did sink - you start with LOVE but you sink into LOSS. You start with HOPE and you sink into RAGE. Maybe I'm reading into it, but it felt like a nice touch.
Hey All !
CC on a Tuesday! Usually only get her on Monday. Refreshing to see a puz sans ALO today. A non-word two days in a row. Ugh.
Have never not liked a CC puz. Today no exception. Breezy and fun, with just a bit of resistance. Liked the symmetrical STEAL A KISS and WENT TOO FAR! Apropos in some settings.
As you read on Sunday, didn't like that puz, and didn't particularly care for the MonPuz either. This one was good, and liked! As if the constructors care what I think... (or Shortz, for that matter.)
EDGY GINSU
RooMonster
DarrinV
I am not sure about today's theme. CC's puzzles, and the logic of their themes, are usually well thought out and virtually flawless. This one I thought missed the mark.
LOVE and HOPE are not SINKING FEELINGs. I know, I know, they are spelled in a top-to-bottom direction, but it would have been nice to carry that sinking sensation to the meaning of the words, and the effect of those feelings on one's spirit rather than just the direction in which their letters are spelled. RAGE and LOSS do fit, as would despair, hatred, grief, despondence, anger, etc. HOPE and LOVE are uplifting, not sinking feelings, as are glee, inspiration, joy, fun, pride, fulfillment, arousal, etc.. These are better fit for a "rising spirits" theme.
I also thought it was a bit overdone with the proper names: LIONEL, ROBERTA, CAPE COD, SAUL, CARLOS Danger, EARP, ITT, DANE COOK, PARR, KESHA, STAN, HEF, SOCAL, then the brand names: IPOD, NAPA, FEDEX, GINSU. These add up to more than all three-letter words in the grid. Four or five of them would have been plenty for a 15x15.
But it still was a pleasant puzzle. I liked the long fill, especially being reminded of one occasion when I LOST my mind for a second, WENT TOO FAR and dared to STEAL A KISS from someone who appreciated it a little too much. It happened in CAPE COD on EASTER Monday, and her name was (no, not LIONEL) ROBERTA. But that was a long time ago.
My favorite entries were, LET ME SEE: I GOT IT! The DRESSY, BUXOM CREOLE CYNIC with the viva VOCE.
Let me leave you with a little ROBERTA. I HOPE this song will raise your spirits and help you dispel any sinking feeling that may attempt to sneak into your day.
I agree with @Rex, C.C.s puzzles are getting better and better and this is my favorite at the NYT thus far. Not only is the theme perfectly revealed with the centrally placed and vertical SINKING FEELING, but all theme answers are also beautifully executed with a perfect use of circles.
Favorite answers: STEALAKISS, DROOLOVER, IGOTIT, LETMESEE and WENTTOOFAR. Favorite words: EDGY, DEFT, BUXOM and PANG.
Mucho OLES, Zhouqin!!!
I really liked this puzzle, and these four fills yielded additional pleasure either from their clueing or because I have rarely encountered them in puzzles: buxom, deft, cynic, and (my favorite next to "cynic"), stealakiss. The clue to that just ticked my funny bone. Really nice Tuesday puzzle.
Nice Across/Down integration to be found here:
HOPE _ LET ME SEE
LOVE - STEAL A KISS
RAGE - WENT TOO FAR
LOSS - CRY 'I LOST'
Once again, I found there is no "I" in SOCAL; I first wrote SOUTH, then I GOT IT
If TWO agree on something, do they CO-OK? There's lots more potential for accented vowels around the grid.
Have to admit I haven't heard of this Danish COOK/ Comedian, and that I ended up dnfing: I usually make that knife a GINzU, today I over-corrected to GINSa. Boy, that cuts.
In general, I'm not one to STAN at SPA TENT SHUN, but thought this one of the sprightliest Burnikeis I've seen.
BUXOM is a lovely word, related to yet so different from ZAFTIG. Odd, @Rex, that you had problems with both BUXOM and SLIM ... Perhaps you prefer to strike a Happy Medium? Either way, a kudo to you for trouncing the SIN_KING, the way you moderate and TEND E-RAGE.
HOPE looms with some brief dry spells, but I sure have a BRRrrr under my satellite!!
Really nice puzzle with some great different words/phrases. Lots of fun. Liked that LOVE was buried in the "Find incredibly desirable" clue, although DROOL OVER is a somewhat inelegant descriptor of unrequited affection. Liked the puzzle a lot. Both Monday and Tuesday in my view were on the hard side for the day which is a good thing.
Here's how fast technology moves, IPOD seems dated to me. I wonder how long it will be until Apple develops an e-cig app?
DROOL OVER hiding LOVE seems more apt than TENDER AGE hiding RAGE.
@LMS - Ask not for who the bell tolls. Similar cases can be made for many "correct" usages. The question should always be, 'does it matters for understanding?' If it makes the listener/reader wince and think more about you than what you're saying, change it. And, unless the speaker/writer is your student or child, never ever correct them.
Zaftig has the juice running down your chin; BUXOM is more oileaceous. Good lard.
Make that CARLOS $ LIM, expanding into the Chinese market.
I had Vicente Fox for CARLOS SLIM, and I felt like a baboso when DROO LOVER finally clicked. And tough as it might be for a Texan from the Cowboy Capital of the World, I rejected Beefy for BUXOM.
When EDGY DANECOOK WENTTOOFAR ILOSTIT.
IGOTIT. EVEN HEF can STEALAKISS on EASTER
@Z said, "The question should always be, 'does it matters for understanding?' If it makes the listener/reader wince and think more about you than what you're saying, change it. And, unless the speaker/writer is your student or child, never ever correct them."
I wish this blog had a 'like' button, but since it doesn't - Amen, brother!
Seems to me that a LOSS of LOVE or HOPE is definitely a SINKING FEELING.
very tough for a Tuesday. Lots of names I did not know..DNF
Finally the rain has stopped!!!
@AliasZ asked for more SINKING FEELINGS:
CARLOS_DANGER, or (to make it a word-spanner) the rarely seen JORDAN_GERBIL
NUDE'S_PAIR
Early days for three and out.
Plenty of DEFT cluing, esp. for a Tuesday. I particularly liked "pot grower?" for ANTE and the CYNIC clue, as well as "print collectors" for CSIS.
Rex, with the proliferation of tv shows entitled CSI (Las Vegas, Miami, NY and Cyber) or NCIS (Washington, DC, LA or New Orleans) for so many years, CSIS is a legitimate crossword clue or answer, IMO.
@Rhino, I like Kesha. With or without the dollar sign.
Nice how PANG (across) highlighted the other emotions (downs). Well done and thanks, CCB and WS.
Even though I did not know DANE, KESHA, or CARLOS I knew all the other proper names and got those three from crosses. Good puzzle, just a little resistance joyfully overcome.
I've done a lot of CC's crosswords - especially the LATimes and never seemed to be in sync with her way of constructing. This one, however, I loved...Perfect Tuesday with only two unknowns (DANE COOK and LIONEL)
Got CARLOS SLIM lickety split. I've met him twice in Mexico when I worked for Mexicana Airlines. He spoke at one of our conventions and then hosted a wonderful dinner. He is charismatic as hell, speaks better English than I do; his philanthropic endeavors are well known and he's a lot better looking than Trump! He OWNS practically all of MEXICO! If you been to Mexico City, I bet you've eaten at Sanborn's and tried a pepito...Well, he owns that restaurant as well. I think El Chapo though is richer than he is! @Rex - HAH! except The Jackal is Venezuelan.
Now that I really see it, I agree with @AliasZ about how HOPE/LOVE should not be sinking feelings. Even so, STEAL A KISS at a TENDER AGE more than makes up for it.....
Good job Zhouquin....
Hey ROBERTA is pretty BUXOM!
What @Rex said about the constructor's work getting stronger.
I didn't seem to know any of the names, so solving took a bit longer. I would have preferred something more cheerful than a SINKING FEELING this morning, but HOPE springs eternal.
As Carlos Slim might punningly say, "Si, si, that's a nice Tuesday puzzle!"
How can anyone do a NYT crossword puzzle in 4 minutes (or less!!)I assume that this is only possible on line. I still do the puzzle with a pen/pencil and every now and then I try to see how fast I can do one. I'll take a Monday and even pre-scan it to make sure I know everything in advance and then even writing as fast as I can it still takes me more than 4 minutes.
While I consider myself a basically honest person, over my now almost 70 years on the planet, I have told a few whoppers to my time. But of all the things I might be tempted to lie about, how fast I could do a x-word puzzle would be pretty far down on the list. I am curious: how fast can a person with a pen/pencil actually do a NYT puzzle?
Super Tuesday
Mostly what @AliasZ said for me too.
Nice x-refs, @Leapy & @lms...
Also, ILOST vs IGOTIT...
When you meet my mom for the first time, at some point, she will ask you to tell her what CURLERS are. I'll let you in on a secret...do NOT use your hands...! She believes that it is much less civilized to gesticulate while speaking. And she's not above setting you up to CRY "ILOST" as you raise your hands to your head to helpfully answer her question.
I guess my only write-over was BUsty for BUXOM.
Nice work, Ms. Burnikel.
Reading Rex's commentary this morning, I had to think: how does anyone do any NYT x-word puzzle in 4 minutes? I assume this can only be on-line. Every now and then I will take a Monday puzzle, pre-lookup a couple of tougher clues and then try to fill it in as quickly as possible (with a pen on paper.) I can never get it done in 4 minutes. And Rex usually refers to a couple of things that he had at least a little trouble with. How can this be?
How fast you can do a crossword puzzle would seem to be a pathetic thing to lie about - but Rex seems to have a lot of his ego and self-esteem tied up in these puzzles. But is this 4-minute business possible? If so, is there a pencil/pen record time?
Who the heck is "CC"??
For a Tuesday, this was a little challenging. The progress was steady at first. From the NW I sank down to the SW, easily did top center, and was at a LOSS in the NE. "IGOTIT!" I said to myself, "I'll STRUT on over to the SE Corner!" I did remember Ke$ha, so completed that section and headed North. By that time, I knew the theme, so VASE was all I needed for LOVE. But what tricked me at first was that I thought LOVE was going to be a word in the 9D phrase. Finally I figured out Lady and the Tramp referred not to the movie, but to the DOGS in the movie and was done.
My last word was OAFS. I have always thought it should be "oaves", haven't you?
I'm asking the same question, who is CC?
@LMS triggered a 50 year-old memory when she mentioned TENDER AGE and STEAL A KISS. I was sitting on a log on a beach, it was softly raining . A 14-year old girl (my age) walked up and we had a brief conversation. She was lovely, yet not rubenesque. We were of a tender age but no kisses were stolen, yet something awakened in me in that moment.
Thanks for the memory.
I don't know, @old timer. I'm a lover, not a loaver.
C.C. Burnikel has been and is one of my fave constructioneers. Brilliant theme, as usual, in that she "sinks" all the (3) U's to the bottom half of the grid.
Got BUXOM [dictionary def: plump, esp. with large breasts] right away, altho I, too, associate Rubens gals more with:
* lotsa meat on their bones
* sorta bowling pin shaped
* evidently caught while trying to get near-full-body tans
fave symmetric weeject pair: TWO and TSU. And, as a Twins fan, I approve of any clue that tries to relive their glory days.
fave compound abbr: SOCAL
fave long French phrase: FRENCHOPEN. More of this type, please.
M&A
"Hope Sinks Eternal, but Sh**t Always Comes Up"
**bUmper rUntz II**
Solid Tuesday - thank you ZB! I didn't know the names, but got them by the crosses - and that's part of the fun! More consistent difficulty level than yesterday, and I liked how the feelings sink!
@Anon 10:50 CC is Zhouqin Burnikel, the constructor - she normally goes by CC Burnikel.
Liked the puzzle. Found it very easy in most parts, but medium to difficult around the edges.
Didn't understand the SINKING part of FEELING until I came here. I prefer Rhino's interpretation to the constructor's.
Some interesting recurring sub-themes (NO END, BUXOM, I GO TIT) ("Mogul with a bunny", "Celebration with a bunny"). And, as several have noted, STEAL A (FRENCH OPEN?) KISS crosses TENDER AGE (just a KID), but then it graduates to FEELING, which itself interlocks with LET ME SEE IT.
A far CRY from a boring Tuesday puzzle.
EARP! Pardon me: just finished dinner.
Would someone please explain ANTE as Pot grower?
I'm totally stuck.
@BigSteve46 - Rex is a major league solver, but not an all-star. Here's a faster solver. A little more googling and you can find attempts to break the one minute barrier. My personal goal is to break 6 minutes. I'm thinking that makes me a Double A solver.
"CC" is the byline for Ms. Burnikel that you will find everywhere else.
@The Rhino - You're welcome. I must confess to a certain guilty pleasure imagining grammar nazis stomping their boots in anger.
Oh, I get it now. "Pot," as in a poker game.
A little birdie told me C.C. had an NYT today so I chased one down (the puzzle, not the bird). I, for one, LOVEd it. 61a was my fav c/a w/ 67a a close second. I think the theme was well executed.
No clue on 23a - all perps.
BigSteve - I donno how they do it either. I don't think I can read all the clues in <4min (and my eyes are 25 years younger!)
Anon @ 10:50 - C.C. is what Ms. Burnikel goes by in the rest of the world (NYT does't allow pseudonyms).
Cheers, -T
I enjoyed this but question the cluing for 69 across. Speakers are stacked at a concert. Amps generate too much heat and need lots of ventilation.
I'm a bit slow on the uptake today - was looking for a tie-in between the four feelings. Saw "falling" in love but couldn't come up with any other phrases where the feeling could be coupled with a sinking word. It never occurred to me that the fact that they were going down on the grid made them 'sinking'. I guess I WENT TOO FAR in looking for this theme. But it was nicely done, so thank you, Ms. Burnikel, and as @Rex mentions, for the Twins shout out, even though they missed their chance at the wild card.
For a moment, Henry's sixth wife was an ancestor of Jack PAaR, and there is NO END to the times I have put 'on END' in first, giving me a _YoIC at 20D, always a head scratcher.
While I have spent many EVES in a state of nervous anticipation, the clue seems EDGY to me. And I was where @Rex was on BUXOM. I looked at the lone center letter and said to myself, "Could it be 'seXed'? OH HELL NO." So I just worked around that one til it came.
Loved DROOL OVER and was mixing up Bunny hills with Moguls so HEF was cute there. An average Tuesday for me, and very enjoyable.
Medium for me and a very fine Tues. Zippy theme answers and some nice long across entries. Liked it!
@Anonymous 10:50. Ms Burnikel is identified with the by line. "C.C. Burnikel" when her puzzles appear in the LA Times where she is a frequent constructor. Will uses "Zhouquin".
@Victor - Stacked AMPS googles pretty well.
Z - You call that a a Stack of Marshall AMPS? :-) Cheers, -T
Liked the speed-solver clip. Not my cup of tea, though. In fact, I like a cup of tea when I'm solving. Hard to sip when you have a time to beat.
Cheering for the cubastros.
More like medium-challenging for me. Maybe I'm living under a rock, but the collection of WOEs, for a Tuesday, was immense: DANECOOK, CARLOSSLIM, LIONEL Messi and WhiteHouse GOV????? That last one doesn't even make any sense. I've never heard of any of these--and certainly don't know the 20th anniversary flower. As for Ke$HA, how strange to see the phrase "used to be" for someone I consider to be of the post-music era. Definitely not my cuppa.
As for the theme, I'm truly puzzled by OFL's idea that LOSS is the one that doesn't fit. For me, that's the entry that MOST fits! HOPE is not a "SINKING FEELING," unless maybe you call it HOPE against HOPE, as in "I HOPE somebody beats the Patriots." RAGE isn't either, and LOVE...well, that's ALL the feelings mixed together, so that's a wash. But LOSS: yeah. That'll do it.
I did not enjoy this one. Did it, but didn't enjoy. C.
LETMESEE, IGOTIT TWO
That BUXOM gal at her TENDERAGE was sly, and maybe WENTTOFAR by hopin’
to STEALAKISS and DROOLOVER that guy, I’ve a FEELING it was a FRENCHOPEN.
--- GOV. STAN GINSU-AGAVE
So the FEELINGs are in down answers and thus “SINKING”? Not exactly EDGY, but OK for a Tues-puz, I s’pose.
Appreciate the mention of the Twins TWO Series wins. I remember both, but it’s starting to seem like ancient history.
@spacey – maybe you missed the “dot” after Whitehouse? Internet address.
ROBERTA Flack, yeah baby she could sing. KE$HA, yeah baby she could look good.
Got multiple OLES, but not a Sven to be seen.
Slightly better than PARR for a Tuesday, but nothing to DROOLOVER.
The clue is a website address. (Www).whitehouse.GOV
@Spacey - there is a dot/period after WhiteHouse, indicating a URL, so WhiteHouse.GOV.
I enjoyed this puzzle. This constructor (if one knows her well, do you just call her "C"?), always produces puzzles that have a different, fresh 'feel' to them that I like.
How can I not know the name of maybe the richest guy on the planet? I always thought it was the Sultan of Brunei. That name probably cost me 23 seconds of lost time, pushing this to a medium rating. Dang.
I think SLIM women can be quite BUXOM without being all fleshy. Ask HEF.
IGOTIT.
A heart-rending day. We're told a sad story, a bit TRITE, but sad. The poor guy tried to STEALAKISS, WENTTOFAR, and LOST.
Much more material for @Burma Shave here.
i got delayed packages, erring rider/s (one person charged more than the standard rate. delivery
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