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Constructor: Herre Schouwerwou
Relative difficulty: Medium
THEME: "PFFT" — Theme answers are two words, each beginning with the letters P_____F_____.
Theme answers:
- PINK FLOYD (3D: "The Wall" rock band)
- PARTY FAVORS (18A: Gifts for guests)
- PILLOW FIGHTS (27A: Friendly scuffles at sleepovers)
- PETIT FOUR (35D: Small frosted cake)
- POUND FOOLISH (48A: Not good with large sums of money, in a saying)
- POPPIN' FRESH (62A: Real name of the Pillsbury Doughboy)
Word of the Day: SADA (43A: Actress Thompson of TV's "Family") —
Renowned and highly respected actress Sada Thompson has earned critical acclaim both on stage and TV for her noble, strong-minded matrons, but her more challenging and compelling work has come when her characters have displayed darker, more neurotic tones.
Born in Des Moines, Iowa, she was the eldest of three children of magazine editor Hugh Woodruff Thompson and his wife Corlyss Gibson. After a family move to New Jersey, Sada developed an interest in acting, performing in school plays. She subsequently studied drama at the Carnegie Institute of Technology.
(IMDB)
• • •
What a fun puzzle to come back to! It had tons of the things I love to see in Monday puzzles: hints that the puzzler had something in particular on his mind (poker and poetry - ANTE and I FOLD for the former, EPOS and OCTET for the latter), good music (PINK FLOYD), even Down clues that were part of the theme so the Down-only solvers get to see the theme too. I always worry that they'll feel like they're not in on the fun on all those Mondays where there's no Down theme clues. I also worry about them all those Saturdays and Sundays where the theme makes it so some of the Down answers are nonsense words. I just think about Down-only solvers a lot. How are you guys doing? Everything okay? Do you want some cinnamon rolls?
Anyway, like I was saying, this was a good puzzle! Some of the clues were a little lackluster; I felt like ONUS is wasted if you're going to refer to it as ON US rather than a single word, and that analogy clue for EWE was kinda boring. (Also, there are better SETHs than MacFarlane, but that's a whole 'nother rant about how all his shows are identical unfunny Simpsons rip-offs and--oops, see, don't get me started OAR you'll have to read paragraphs and paragraphs of this.) It would also be cool if there was something that tied the theme together, but since it was such a casual theme, I think it's okay the way it is. And the fill was definitely good for a Monday.
Also, seriously, I keep thinking about POPPIN' FRESH. Who knew the Pillsbury Doughboy had a name? And what kind of a name is POPPIN' FRESH? How'd he get it? Does he have a nickname? Maybe he introduces himself like this: "Yeah, my name's Poppin', but my friends call me Pops or P-Fresh."
...Okay, maybe I shouldn't look that much into it.
Bullets:
- SNOOT (32A: Hoity-toity sort) — I couldn't stop giggling whenever I looked at this one, because it reminded me of "I'm gonna give you a boop on the snoot!"- AKA, I'm gonna poke you on the nose. It's really cute.
- PSIS (27D: Letters between chis and omegas) — OK, so the reason I immediately knew this one was not because of my immense knowledge of the Greek language, but because of how geeky I get about EarthBound. It's a pretty-well-known RPG for the SNES from the 90s, and it's really cute. Anyway, in the game you can use these PSI abilities, which are psychic or something, and here's a video of the cool sounds they make. (Warning for flashing lights!!)
- ICY (38A: Dangerous, as winter sidewalks) — Sigh...I wish it was ICY! We had a 70-degree Christmas here in Maryland, which means I totally have not gotten to go sledding or anything so far this year. Fingers crossed for tons of ice and snow once I get back to Boston.
- SPINAL (15A: Backbone-related) — The clue might as well have been ______ Tap, because that was all I could see once I looked at the puzzle.
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]
Welcome back!!
ReplyDeleteI just wanted to comment on how you have great taste in video games. Earthbound is my favorite of all time!
Also, great write-up, as always. See you next month!
Thanks Annabel.
ReplyDeleteHope finals went well.
This puz was very EZ with a bit of CrosswordEASE--APATOW and URDU.
Did like cluing for CURSES and POPPIN FRESH.
Thanks HS
Medium-tough for me. POUND FOOLISH required a bit of staring and I had CUsSES before CURSES.
ReplyDeleteSo, P____F huh? Liked the theme answers but the theme itself seems a tad meh.
Nice to see you back Annabel, delightful write up, and me too for SPINAL Tap.
All I can say about this puzzle's theme is "PFFT."
ReplyDeleteBy the way, in what sense is that exclamation a revealer? It starts with PF, true, but what does it reveal?
Theme aside, the puzzle was an okay quick solve.
So nice to hear from you, @Annabel ... I was thinking of you the other name when your name showed up in a grid, though not one from the New York Times. I was all prepared to comment about PFFT, but you got to the joke first, and better!
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year to all, including today's (January 4) non-David constructor, @Herre Schouwerwou. Our alien visitor is wondering how much longer into 2016 we'll have to wait until @David Hanson, @David Kahn, @David Kwong, @David Liben-Nowell, or @David Quarfoot join the ranks of @David Steinberg (January 1), @David Phillips (January 2), and @David Woolf (January 3).
@Annabel -- I think this was your best writeup ever, funny and insightful. Regarding snow and ice, be careful what you wish for! Regarding SPINAL Tap, you'll find a Boggle-style TAP right under SPINAL and another right above it and coming into it.
ReplyDeleteMondays theme with a reveal of sorts (PFFT), and some nice answers (APROPOS, POUND-FOOLISH, PETITFOUR), an ANTE and AUNT, and an edge-touching EDGE. I would have liked FARON on the upper edge so we could talk about the Faron-height, but alas. I think this is just as a Monday should be. Good one, Herre!
(And Herre, can you stop in and tell us how you pronounce your entire name?)(Or someone else, if you know?)
APATOW? SADA? FARON? Where have I been? I don't know these people.
ReplyDeleteLiked HOP TAMALE and your local, neighborhood UZI REP.
Welcome back! I missed you. Rx is not great with easy puzzles.
ReplyDeleteHAHA, Food and fun and a little music thrown in, what could be better? Of course you can also have fun with food as we did with our every Thanksgiving with food FIGHTS instead of PIlLOWS. Spoonfuls of peas were better because than mashed potatoes because they didn't stick to the walls like mashed potatoes where my AUNT or my mom could easily spot the reason for our hysterical laughter. It was only the next day when they had sobered up enough to clean up that they found the peas all over the floor, Not sure whether POPPIN FRESH dough would have stuck to the wall or bounce off the wall because we never thought to try it even though it was readily available, Opportunity lost, Unbaked pie CRUSTS might also have had similar potential. I did get my only C grade in high school because I got into a flour fight with my best friend in home economics.
ReplyDeleteMy son used to have officially sanctioned fun throwing cake at the instructors whenever one of them had a birthday PARTY. PETIT FOURS seem like they are the perfect size for small hands to throw. POUND cake seems like it might explode on impact,
@Lewis - I always just give up and go with Schrödinger. I wonder if Herre's cats are alive every time.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of cat's, I wonder if it is Herre's cats spitting at us at 59A. Lots of theme material, mostly clean fill (a little side-eye to the NW and SE corners), and a nice little near-revealer to make me smile. I liked this one. Came in at medium plus time-wise.
@Charles Flaster - APATOW is ese? He's a fairly famous current director and six letters. He doesn't fit my definition.
Did not think he was fairly well-known . I only know him from puzzles- hence the ease.
DeleteThanks
Hi Anabel! Glad that you're feeling better!
ReplyDeleteOn a less cheery note, wondering what your take would be on the trump spokeswoman who recently wore a necklace made of big silver bullets, lots of them too, right after the Tamir Rice decison. Read it on the Wash. Post this morning. Someone thought that was a HA HA moment. Not exactly the HEROICS of a "well-armed militia," huh?
Also- suggestion: might be a good idea not to amplify your wish for ice and snow in Boston around. Boston was buried under many feet of it until March last year. You'll be sure to get plenty, and the Boston specialty - Slush.
Thanx for the fun write up.
Nice write-up as always, but "Ted" one and two are great movies.
ReplyDeleteMy PF Flyers made me the fastest kid in my neighborhood...left those Keds kids in the dust. I was thus hoping for a clever revealer based on that.
ReplyDeleteAh well, no revealer did in fact make it a PFFT puzz.
Though I did learn that, in fact, the brand still exists, it was started by BF Goodrich, got sold to Converse, but then had to be spun off because that constituted a shoe monopoly...I am not making this up...!
Now who doesn't love the word discombobulated...? Though I don't equate it with FAZE.
Anyhow, nice puzzle, HS, and welcome back, Anabel.
Welcome back Annabel and Happy new year...Fun puzzle and great write-up. Yummy puzzle as well - tamale, choc, petifour and of course poppin fresh. I use to have a rubbery pillsbury dough boy in my kitchen. You could squeeze his tummy and it would pop right back. Gave it to a grand daughter who loved it and loved to cook
ReplyDeleteWhile the P___F___ theme may be OK, I say PFFT! I’ll up the ANTE, my IDEO being that it should be, “It’s PARTY time!” To wit (BER-ET and grin it):
ReplyDeleteIt was a short TRIP and a HOP to the EDGE of town. Fortunately we didn’t have to REVERSE our course. I said a few CURSES about having to park AFAR near the SILO.
Seems the PARTY had two things going for it, food and entertainment, but then again, what ROARin’ PARTY DOTH not have those? At the OUTSET, SETH, URDU (with her in an AFRO), and dog FIDO greeted us at the door as did the ODORS of all the food laid out in their two DENS. My favorites were a TAMALE with a TSP of MOLE sauce and a POPPIN FRESH AUNT Jemima PETITFOUR (who knew she did cakes?) sweetly MIREd in syrup. I did AGREE that the CHOC-covered LAYS were SAD As well as too ICY. My wife’s comment was, “ EWE!,” Coincidently, this was the main dish: EWE stew. It always TEES us off that, when we arrive, nothing is left of the OCTETS of pizza slices but CRUSTS. (We always BADGER them about this.) After a PILLOW FIGHT OAR two without any HEROICS or GRIEF, listening to PINK FLOYD and FARON Young, the PARTY SOON FAZEd out. We’re not SNOOTs, so the PARTY FAVORS were ON US, not being POUND FOOLISH about their cost.
Without an and OAR A BUT, I FOLD and RESTS my “theme-case.” HA HA
Cheers
Well, I'm betting the scoffers sound tied it together. HOP on POP and ANI not clued as a cuckoo bird! Maybe on a Saturday we'll see some small frosted cake mignardises.
ReplyDeleteThis, and Annabel, were POPPIN FRESH. Well, the puzzle may have had a EWE or two. What with a ROAR and the ICY SNOOT who CURSES the UZI REP MOLE who REARMS the ARSON HUN with MIRE, GRIEF and ODOR.
Hey, at least we had TAMALE ELF and a super, fun write-up for a Monday...!
Hello again, Annabel! Welcome back! It's a treat to hear from you again and I agree with everything you've said except the bit about ice and snow. On the off chance you're OMNIpotent, please take it back and go to Vermont on the weekends.
ReplyDeleteI did not know EPOS or POPPINFRESH, so that made this a more enjoyable Monday, and there was a complete lack of dreck. SADA was easy for me, but I suspect younger solvers won't be familiar with "Family" because I've never seen it in reruns. That might be tough. Of course, a little tough is good on a Monday, so thanks, HS!
Pfirst Monday, and I'd pforgotten to expect Annabel! What a pfleasant surprise!!
ReplyDeleteAnyone that didn't like the PFFT theme/reveal, don't say Meh, say Pfui.
Odd that OUTSET and OnSET mean roughly the same thing. I spose the outus is upout us to work it out, onwardly at least. Oute of these days soout, I might be able to spoon it, though I anticipate ARSout will give me trouble.
Why POUND FOOLISH? I don't get it; next thing, someone's going to want to (shhh) SLAP HAPPY.
@Herre S, thanks pfor AUNT Jemima to keep UNCLE BEN company, pretty funny! And please do answer @Lewis' question.
@Annabel, I totally AGREE with your assessment of SETH MacFarlane. And you can add Judd APATOW to that list. Puerile humor does not elicit a HAHA from me.
ReplyDeleteWhat @Lewis said about being careful what you wish for re Boston weather. Remember last Winter?! They still had snowbanks of stuff that was plowed away in June! BTW, my godson recently relocated to Boston from MD for his job. I could play Cupid if you're interested. He's a catch. Just saying...
Not bad for a Monday. Thanks, HS and WS.
Dead wrong on Seth MacFarlane. He may not have been at forefront of the Simpsons/South Park TV animation renaissance, but he has left an indelible mark on the genre, on entertainment, and on culture. He is extremely talented and a trailblazer.
ReplyDeleteP.S. I know someone who likes to REVERSE poetry from HUNgarian into English, over and over again. FAR Out!! More power to him and the horse ERODE inon, he's A PRO, POSitively A PRO atit
ReplyDeleteHello, Annabel!
ReplyDeleteI thought we might have a slightly more intricate theme going, with the first three across themers being PArty FAvors, PIllow FIghts, and POund FOolish, but then, PFFT!
Good Monday anyway.
Super easy for me. Happy New Year, Annabel.
ReplyDeleteWelcome back, Annabel. Glad you're recovered from what was ailing you -- just in time to beat me to the punch. I was about to say: Who knew that POPPIN FRESH was the doughboy's NAME????? I thought it was just a description. But you said it first.
ReplyDeleteA nice enough Monday, with a smooth theme and no junk. I especially liked POUND FOOLISH. Wish the cluing had been harder, but it is Monday. Have a great second semester, Annabel.
Nice, breezy Monday, and great write-up, Annabel! Happy 2016.
ReplyDeleteI always wonder if Herre Schouwerwou still pronouces his name the Dutch way.
It is hard to make an easy puzzle interesting. This one does nice job of it IMHOP. The pf is a decent enough theme but, I am always wishing for a puzzle that either does not have 'standard' short crossword answers or unique ways of cluing those short answers. But, I understand that can be tough to do. All in all, a good Monday and I think that Annabel may be having a little too much fun doing these write-ups. Ah, the enthusiasm of youth!;
ReplyDeleteExcellent write up. I hung up on PFFT, had it as PFTT and TAZE, took me 10 minutes to sort that out.
ReplyDeleteLovely writeup, Annabel!
ReplyDeleteI think EWE stew would be pretty awful, BTW. EWEs are little lamb (and wool) factories, and in many places milk providers as well (Roquefort comes from EWEs). They can live 10 or 12 years. So they'd be pretty tough when the time came for them to go to that great stewpot in the sky.
(Being a fan of all things Northumbrian, I pronounce EWE as "yo", like they do in the North of England, and also call a ram a "tup". The ram's job is to tup the yos, and you don't need that many to replenish the flock, so a lot of boy-lambs become lamb chops or lamb stew.)
Despite a few roadblocks, I was able to do the puzzle on paper in 7 minutes, so I'm calling it Easy. And entertaining, too.
here he is
ReplyDeletehttp://www.ebay.com/itm/like/252237201318?item=252237201318&lgeo=1&vectorid=229466&rmvSB=true
Happy New Year, Annabel! Thanks for the fun!
ReplyDeleteHey All !
ReplyDeleteVery nice job today, Herr Herre. Six themers and very minimal dreck! Hard to do. And that's not REVERSE APROPOS!
Nicely Monday. One writeover for emmA-SADA. Liked the P-F phrases. And the pseudo revealer PFFT. Good U count for M&A, and an offered cinnamon roll! He must be in Heaven!
ICY SNOOT
RooMonster
DarrinV
I do Monday's and occasionally Tuesday's with just the Down clues, and the fun (and key) to that is figuring out the theme, and the revealer. But I never noticed that the theme carried over to the Downs. And I was disappointed to not find a revealer
ReplyDelete
ReplyDelete@Annabel, it's a joy seeing you back and reading your review.
I would call this a prima facie pianoforte puzzle. It is refreshing to see two arbitrary letters as an excuse for a theme. I am sure Peter Falk and Peter Finch would have enjoyed it too, not to mention the poker-faced peregrine falcon in the picture frame, or any public figure on the playing field with the initials PF.
Loved the puzzle despite PSIS, NEGS and the REAR MS.
Just for that, some PF music provided for you by three Pierres: Pierre Fontaine (c.1380–c.1450), Pierre Février (1696–1760) and cellist Pierre Fournier (1906-1986).
Happy first workday of the year!
@old timer (11:01 am) -- Is "tup" the forerunner of "shtup"? Or do they perhaps have a common linguistic ancestor? Never mind. I didn't say it, didn't even THINK it.
ReplyDeleteTip of the cap to Will Shortz for keeping up his string of Monday puzzles accessible to new solvers and yet pleasing to veterans. Not an easy task.
ReplyDeleteVery nice write-up Annabel. Welcome back. Neat that your generation knows SPINAL Tap, someday they'll be real! Interesting comment on SETH MacFarlane too. We were huge "Family Guy" fans for years but we've faded, probably because of the 'identical' tag you mentioned - don't enjoy his other shows because, yeah, they're all the same. Don't know about the Simpson's rip-off thing however - the well-read, chain-smoking, martini-tippling family pet thing was pretty original.
Whenever I see "12 p.m." (64D) I always have to count on my fingers to figure out which they mean, morning or afternoon.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone know the nationality of
ReplyDeleteHerre Schouwerweu and what, if anything, it means?
Down only solvers? I'm an across only on Mondays. Petit four, one of those rare down themers, allowed me to successfully finish. One for one in 2016! Only six successfull tries in 2015, but it's sure more fun than stampeding through an always easy Monday puzzle.
ReplyDeleteHey all, here in General Mills Land (now owner of Pillsbury) POPPIN FRESH is a household word. And I have a friend who works for Gen Mills. On a recent ride, she was wearing her MS150 cycling jersey that sported a picture of POPPIN FRESH and the phrase "That's how we roll".
ReplyDeleteI liked seeing Penny wise and POUND FOOLISH in the grid, and I adore PETIT FOURs. I'll take any that @Aketi's son doesn't smash against the wall! I thought this was a fun theme and I hope someone helps @Leapfinger with a fire extinguisher on that ARSout.
Thanks, Herre Schouwerwou and Annabel
@Blu'bel: yo! Do we want some cinnamon rolls? "$&#@" and "%*&!", girl. We thought you'd never ask. Great writeup, with nice bullets, btw. Come back with more c-rolls and bullets, any old time.
ReplyDeletePFFT could be a sound alike for PF-ed, maybe? If so, cool groaner non-revealer reveal.
M&A
**nongruntz gruntz**
Easy, amusing Monday, and, @Annabel, what a treat to have you back. I liked the joke of "PFFT" as a comment on the theme. Moment of triumph: writing in POUND FOOLISH with no crosses. Moments of denseness: struggling with POPPINFRESH, wondering if his name was FRank.
ReplyDeleteBlast from the past: "Counsel is BADGERing the witness!" (Heard a zillion times on Perry Mason.)
In the "me, too" category:
@Tita, I also thought immediately of PF Flyers - nifty looking tennies! Loved those shoes.
@Leapfinger, same here on the "Huh, onset and OUTSET" - never noticed that before.
I really, really enjoyed the PFFT added in with all other themers. And I got a kick out of the clue for AN I. Friday is the only day that has one. Cool.
ReplyDelete@Tita – I can just picture you in your PF Flyers. Bet you jumped around with them on in the shoe store, declaring that you could already jump better. (And I AGREE with you on FAZE/discombobulated.)
Is it just me, or are PILLOW FIGHTS and PARTY FAVORS over-rated? Come to think of it, PETIT FOURS usually don’t deliver what they seem to promise, sitting there all fancy and sexy-looking.
Anyway… I agree with @Mohair Sam that it’s nice to see an easy puzzle with an accessible theme for greener solvers.
Nice to hear from you, Annabel! I seem to want to listen to some David Cassidy now. Bet you don’t even know who the Partridge Family is, do you? (Though I was a Bobby Sherman gal myself.)
@ Annabel, I should have noticed that it was your review by the upbeat tone. Love your reviews. I hope you get the right amount of snow for sledding, but not so much that Boston becomes another maze of ice tunnels this year. It's not ICY in NYC yet but it was finally cold enough that I should have worn gloves.
ReplyDelete@ Nancy, no you merely wrote it. That leaves open the possibility that you could later claim that it was merely the type of typo once I once committed on the iPad when I was typing the word typing but manager to miss the y key and hit the u key.
Since the theme of the puzzle today was PFFT, the following is only slightly off topic - Can someone please confirm that in last nights season premier of Downton Abbey they leapfrogged to early September, 1940 and that the estate was destroyed in the Blitz? That the remainder of the season will have all the Crawleys foraging for food and shelter amidst the ruins? If so, did anyone DVR it and can I have a copy?
ReplyDeleteThis puzzle gave a perfect start to my January-term course on the NYT crossword. Not too hard, clear theme, old and new in the fill. And of course FARON Young is a mainstay of classic country music.
ReplyDelete@archaeoprof - nice to see you back!! Since my dream is to be an archaeologist when I grow up, I've wondered whatever happened to you.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDelete@Anon B12:49 --
I'm thinking that the name @Herre Schouwerwou is Swiss-German, or if not that, then of some other Germanic stock.
What a pleasant, uplifting review for a pleasant Monpuz with a little more bite than usual. Always known Poppin' Fresh was doughboy's name, but am I the only one who thinks saying 'real name' for a fictional being isn't right? Also my cough syrup calls for TbSPs, not TSPs.
ReplyDelete@Wm C, not Swiss or German; the name is quite certainly from The Netherlands.
ReplyDelete@kitshef, 7:38 PM: For some reason, your question about Poppin' Fresh's "real name" reminds me of an old question from long ago: Is s it possible to see Lassie (the dog) "in person"?
ReplyDeleteAny Annabel editorial is better than "any" puzzle she comments on. Truly. Why not an Annabel a week? Perhaps, then, the NYT may truly "wake-up" and actually acknowledge their editorial shortcomings.
ReplyDeletemy first time posting here -- but can't let AUNT Jemima pass without comment -- amazed that no one calls this clue out, what a heavy-duty racist figure she is, the happy dark Mammy cooking in the kitchen... there are so many other ways to clue "Aunt", right?
ReplyDeleteThanks @Anonymo 10:12pm. In accord with my New Year's resolution for more social responsibility, I tried to subtly point to this issue with my closing comment of 9:01am, and am only sorry you didn't think UNCLE BEN as egregious a pfaux pfas as AUNT Jemima. In the same crusading spirit, we oughtn't overlook the implicit sexism in MRS Butterworth, or the undeniable attack on FATNESS associated with POPPIN FRESH.
ReplyDeleteWhile we're at it, we shpuld demonstrate to have loaded pfrases like POUND FOOLISH removed from the grid. If there's anything crosswords need, it's a pFight pFor pFairness in pFoods.
The pFlog Is On!!
Welcome back. We missed you and your lively comments. This was your best write up !
ReplyDelete@Elephant's Child--
ReplyDeleteRe: Herre Schwouwerwou Dutch --
I did say "or some other Germanic stock." Holland's genealogy is derived from the Germanic tribes, no?
Yes, @William C, I saw your 'fudge factor'.
ReplyDeleteMine was simply a point of clarification, stimulated in part by the fact that historically, there have been times that the Dutch strenuously distinguished themselves as distinct from the Germanic
Posting Sunday evening during SB time out.
ReplyDeleteIs it me, or have I noticed some more Syndies posting here? What say the long-timers? Whoo Rah!
Just realized yesterday that Tuesday, the 9th, is not only our Burma Shave celebration, but Fat Tuesday as well. Laissez les bon temps rouler!
Chillin' the asti and writin' the verse. All morning my neighbor's pet reminded me of one of my fave Billy Collins' poems:
Another Reason I Don't Keep a Gun in the House (that's the title)
The neighbors' dog will not stop barking.
He is barking the same high, rhythmic bark
that he barks every time they leave the house.
They must switch him on on their way out.
The neighbors' dog will not stop barking.
I close all the windows in the house
and put on a Beethoven symphony full blast
but I can still hear him muffled under the music,
barking, barking, barking,
and now I can see him sitting in the orchestra,
his head raised confidently as if Beethoven
had included a part for barking dog.
When the record finally ends he is still barking,
sitting there in the oboe section barking,
his eyes fixed on the conductor who is
entreating him with his baton
while the other musicians listen in respectful
silence to the famous barking dog solo,
that endless coda that first established
Beethoven as an innovative genius.
Par Tee Tuesday, some folks might arrive early on Monday. (today, as it were, tho I post in Sundayland for Syndieland)
10 4
Diana, Lady-in-Waiting for Crosswords
Burning Question #1 (@Diana LIW): How come dogs never get laryngitis?
ReplyDeleteB.Q. #2 (after reading a Dr. Oz column): How come squirrels don't live forever?
And B. Q. #3: How come I keep doing Monday's and Tuesday's puzzles?
Take two (or three) random letters and come up with familiar names/phrases with those initials. How exciting. Now intersperse with a virtual list of crosswordese. Whoopee. We need to add another item to the "random whatever" category, to join the RRNs and the RCDs (Roman numerals and compass directions, for the uninitiated): the RGL--random Greek letter. It's bad enough to stick random English letters (ANI, as clued) in your grid; now we have to deal with alpha to omega. Worse, they usually are clued by their position in the alphabet!
Sorry, Anabel, but if you're longing for "tons and tons of snow" we are already not on the same page; in fact, not even the same volume. Wait a few decades, till your constant "tiredness" extends to your back, and see if you still love snow. I have to say I didn't like this one. He gets points for the quasi-theme entry PFFT, and for a super-great band, but all in all, it's just another brick in the wall. D+.
REVERSE HEROICS
ReplyDeleteWhen a PARTYFAVORS PILLOWFIGHTS
and eating POPPINFRESH PETITFOURS all night,
if EWE favor LAYS
it’s APOPROS these days
to turn on PINKFLOYD then SOON kill the lights.
--- AUNT SADA APATOW
and so concludes 365 consecutive days of verse featuring NYTXword answers
Sorry Annabel, we had ice and snow overnight and I am soooo tired of it and can’t AGREE with that sentiment. Other than that a rather cheery write-up. But I was hoping for a PF Flyers reveal, like “Red Ball Jets competitor”.
ReplyDeleteFARON Young takes the wayback machine to the 1950s or 1960s. Long time since I’ve heard that name.
Sorry also to SADA re: the yeah baby thing. Maybe ANI if it was clued DeFranco.
Bucky BADGER says another missed opportunity to clue HAHA as Packer Clinton-Dix.
Headline in the north section: ANTE LAYS ELF.
PINKFLOYD is the highlight today. Seven or eight years ago during a lunar eclipse at about this time of year I put Dark Side of the Moon in the Walkman, headphones on, and in insulated coveralls made snow angels while watching the eclipse. I know what you’re thinking, and you’re right.
@D,LIW and others, I will bring my BS limerick tomorrow. Wrote it down so as not to forget.
A rather Mondayne puz that finally went PFFT.
Late night (Super Bowl, Colbert, and all that), late morning.
ReplyDeletePF, PF, PF, PF, PF, PF, and PFFT!
Okay by me.
Nice to see EWE (not YEW) again, Anabel!
ReplyDeleteThis is a very APROPOS Monday puzzle.
Panthers Fail! PARTYFAVORS all around.
There were Plentyof Fumbles yesterday. As someone noted, I thought Grease Live was last week.
coldPlay's First song was OK but then they went PFFT. PINKFLOYD would have been a better Half Time choice.
Hope this wasn't Peyton's Farewell performance. He's a MANSMAN.
Peyton, singing to the Nationwide tune, "Super Bowls taste Pretty Fine".
@Burma Shave - 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 {clapping hands if your browser doesn't display emojis properly}
ReplyDeleteHAHA. Seems most people missed the real theme of the puzzle -
ReplyDeleteParty For Burma Shave!
Just got back from the store, which was wiped out by Super B fans. So I hired Blondie to cater the event - Dagwood is making a special menu. TAMALES, CHOC MOLE, PARTYFAVORS, more ICY CHOC, POPPINFRESH CRUSTS, LAYS chips, more CHOC, and PETITFOURS. Then we'll go to the DEN to watch SPINAL Tap and listen to PINK FLOYD.
Yeah, it was Monday easy. But compared to the two puzzles in the Monterey Herald, pretty clean.
@Spacey - Q #1 - Lithium batteries. Q #2 Why do you think he's called Oz? Q #3 - Beats a sharp stick in the eye? Or the Mont. Her. puzzles?
Just checked the weather. 83 and not a cloud in the sky. Gotta go to the butterfly grove and watch them get ready to fly away home.
Do. Not. Miss. Snow. Icy roads, Frozen sno* in my nose.
Diana, Lady-in-Waiting for Crosswords
@Burma Shave:
ReplyDeleteBravo!!
@Rondo - Mondayne - HAHA - A case of the Mondays
ReplyDeleteD,LIW