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1990s caught on tape series / SAT 1-7-16 / Synthetic dye compound / Subspecies of distinct geographical variety / Alternative to Food Lion Piggly Wiggly
Saturday, January 7, 2017
Constructor: Roland Huget
Relative difficulty: Medium
Word of the Day: "REAL TV" (31A: 1990s "caught on tape" series) —
Real TV (commonly known as America's Best Caught on Tape) is a reality television program that ran in syndication from September 9, 1996 to September 7, 2001. It aired footage of extraordinary events that were usually covered in mainstream news. It was often played on Spike TV and the Fox Reality Channel. It is currently airing on Decades.
• • •
A word about bygone pop culture. I have no problem with bygone, but bygone and utterly insignificant—there, I got problems. "REAL PEOPLE" was a big deal. "REAL TV" ... was not. Just reading the wikipedia description there makes me sad. It's the STALE Cinnabon of wikipedia entries. Like ... the show wasn't really good to start with, but *maybe*, in its day, you'd've eaten it just 'cause it was there ... but *now*? Nah. Pass. Don't remind me. Get that ISH up out of here. "REAL TV"? Come on, man.
I like SPACE-TIME a lot (21D: What a wormhole is a tunnel in). I like ARE WE GOOD? (35A: "No hard feelings?") though I usually hear it in its cropped form, "WE GOOD?" The ARE version is real enough, though, so no problem. WIFI ZONE feels odd to my ears. I think in terms of HOTSPOTS. I see that "zone" exists, but that answer didn't stick the landing. This is the result of trying to make gratuitous "Z"s happen, smh. All non-Morales EVOs are pretty bad, but the answer I want to add to the "Let's Not" list is our good old friend (that no one ever says except as a suffix) ADE(S). If I could ban, I would ban. Ooh, you can keep it if you clue it as [Nigerian musician King Sunny ___]. Otherwise, to the curb.
Bullets:
- 11D: Banquets (DINES) — what, you want me to believe "Banquets" is a verb? Don't be like that. That's just ridiculous.
- 42D: Old Scratch, with "the" (EVIL ONE) — Got held up because I confused Old Scratch with Old Sod and tried to make some form of IRELAND work. EVIL ONE is not a phrase any constructor would willingly use. It's a database suggestion with commonish letters, alternative vowel consonant. See also ANILINE, ugh.
- 39D: Ingredient in Pringles Light (OLESTRA) — this was a gateway answer, i.e. a long answer I was able to throw into an as-yet empty section that gave me all the traction I needed. See also IPAD APP in the NE (8A: Angry Birds starting in 2010, e.g.)
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106 comments:
Much easier for me than yesterday’s, but I still had a dnf because of “terabot/anilone.”
I loved ARE WE GOOD? and WHO WAS IT? And Rex - I had exactly the same thoughts in exactly the same order on the (ARE) WE GOOD deal.
I also really liked the “meat rub” clue crossing MASSEUR. Well, yeah. I hate massages. I’ve only had one, but I lay there the whole time thinking that the masseur probably just wanted to be somewhere else. In the same vein, I always marvel at a dog’s ability just to sit there and let you pat him forever. He’s never worried whether I’m bored or not, never worries that I’m judging his backfat or size of his thighs.
WHO WAS IT? I’ve been an incurable linguist since I was aware of speech. I remember sitting in my high chair, I swear this is true, while our maid, Norma, fed me lunch. I kept asking for “toes” meaning Fritos, and she kept grabbing my toes and saying, “Yes, here are your toes” and wiggling them. I remember totally understanding the deal – that she wasn’t understanding me, but I also remember not being all mad and pissed off at her. Just resigned. I just hadn’t mastered my labiodental-liquid clusters yet. Sigh. Anyway, back in the ‘70s, someone called for some reason, and when Mom hung up, I said WHO WAS IT. She said I don’t know; they didn’t give their name. And the realization that she had used they/their stunned me – not in a grammar nazi way but in a little budding linguist way.
In Lilburn, our main grocery store was Big Star. So there was a rumor that Dolly Parton had bought Big Star, Piggly Wiggly, and Harris Teeter and was gonna rename the chain Big Wiggly Teeters.
I liked the clue “unit in a superfast data transfer.” TEENAGE GIRL ON SOCIAL MEDIA DURING A BOYFRIEND FLAP didn’t fit.
@Jessica Evans from yesterday – welcome! When I was a lurker here, I didn’t improve much, but once I got the courage to join in, I got better and now can finish most themelesses. They’re still hard and all, but at least I can do’em.
You’re so smart to get a blue name and not be just “anonymous.” I agree that there are some anons who aren’t trolls, but it’ll be easier for you to become one of, ahem, The Gang if you have at least some kind of identity here. Once my school starts, I have so little time to keep up with the comments here that I usually just read those whose authors I recognize. I know that with @Z and with @Numinious, I’ll get some cool factoid or clarification, with @M&A something funny, with @Lewis something positive, with @Leapy some clever wordplay, with @AliasZ some music, with @NCA President some spot-on simile or metaphor, with @evil doug a Seinfeld scene or some pot-stirring, with @Gill, @Tita, @chefwen something interesting and humorous, with @mac and @jae something succinct and relevant, … I could go on and on.
So back to The Gang thing... I can see how people would describe this place as cliquish, but friendships form when you know each other, and, speaking for myself, when I have time to respond only to one or two people, it’s those friends whose comments I’ll read. If you include your email in your profile then you’ll develop some terrific relationships off blog. The first time someone attacked me here I was still really new to the place. Because my email was in my profile, I received a very kind, supportive email from THE EVIL ONE giving me some guidance as to what to do. And believe it or not, the advice was to take the high road and not escalate. I remember being so devastated when it happened; I felt alone and scared and dumb. And I remember being so unspeakably relieved and grateful when Evil contacted me.
Anyhoo….welcome to the fold, to our little LOVE SET here. Hah.
Roland – loved the clue for SEDATES.
Ah, the "tolerant" left. Alas, if only hypocrisy were a renewable energy source.
"[The] EVIL ONE" is an old term for the devil, at about the same time period as Old Scratch. A NOMINEE is someone on a ticket, not "something." This pushes the Saturday misdirection pretty hard, but the rest of the puzzle first-rate. I got NOMINEE from crosses.
Worked this from the middle out. Was excited to get jukebox and scale but then ground to a halt in the SE corner. Sedates? Up top, big problem with IPadapp, although had app.
The thing was worth sticking with though.
@LMS, fantastic. Day after day. How can anybody sparkle like that so early in the morning!
Like Rex, hate "Banquets" for DINES. Stepping over the line to make the solving harder. Also "Something on a ticket" for NOMINEE and "All-weather convertible for SOFABED.
It was very hard because of the four virtually-disconnected puzzles in the corners.
I do the puzzle for the satisfaction of still being able to do something hard, to learn something (primarily about the culture of young people), and to have some mental fun. It passed the first test with flying colors but the things I learned (like REALTV) were forgettable and it was more grim than fun.
But still a B plus.
A bit tough for me, with NW corner being last to fill. I too loved SPACETIME and it was actually my first fill; is it wrong to be disappointed that "continuum" wasn't included? Puzzle shape was also pleasing, looking rather like a flying saucer. This blog is teaching me to appreciate things like that...
EYRE was also a gimme. My mother gave me a copy for my 14th birthday, and the flyleaf reads "I hope you enjoy this book as much as I did at your age." Enjoy? I believe I've read that book cover-to-cover at least 20 times. Jane's strength and passion, and her unflinchingly clear thinking, gets me every time.
But back to the puzzle...why is "gives a number" SEDATES? Like, gives a number of ccs of sedative? TIA.
Nice puzzle, nice write-up by Rex. Good way to start the weekend.
Now I have this image of baby Muse musing on her labiodental-liquid cluster. Thanks for that.
Opened the puzzle, cocked my head to the right and thought "Mike Myers." (slasher flick, not funny guy)
This puzzle has me arguing with myself, focus on the good bits (which are many) or the ugh bits (equal in number). So maybe a few questions instead. Why go with the Our Gang guy instead of the fictional computer or Halliburton stock symbol... or really Saturday with something Hindustan Aeronautics Limited related? Did you really have to put ANILINE and ARIL in the same corner? I swear a few brain cells died right there. Did EYRE shop at the IGA? And why do both appear in my minds eye in black and white? Where does one find an IGA these days? MEAT RUB? Is that like getting a happy ending at the MASSEUR? Because spice or dry is what I hear.
Over all I did like this, but unlike Rex, some of the esey answers and dated choices weighed it down.
This was a tough one but I got it. 98 minutes split between last night and this morning. Wow.
I thought there were some great answers when I finally figured them out with only a few iffy ones. Hardest part was the NW.
Can anyone tell me how a SOFABED is "all-weather"? I can't even find a pun there.
too tough for me but a yummy puzzle none the less - pringles, IGA,ades , meat rub, pam
Making stew today because we can't go out...suppose to have black ice!!! Brrr
@zeke: The way I interpreted the clue was that the misdirection was the word "convertible" which of course immediately suggests an automobile. The "all weather" part of the clue directed us to the fact that the answer was not car-related, and a sofa bed can be used in any weather. At least that's the way I interpreted it.
Can't edit - I meant to add "a sofa bed, aka a convertible sofa".
(Link to Diary of a Crossword Fiend needs attention.)
Finished quickly (for me).Can't remember the last time a Sat puzzle did not have any "Wow that's clever!" OR "Gee that's a neat misdirect"! Just straight forward definitions and stuff.
EYRE,TULLE, LEPER, IGA, nothing, nothing, STEER, ADES, OLESTRA, bang, SW done. The rest filled in slowly after that. I was ultimately successful if you don't count the little fleur-de-lis looking entry in the TERABIT/ANILINE cross, where the I could have been a Y, maybe? I stuck with I but was steeling myself for the DNF when I came here. Glad I guessed correctly.
I was convinced SEDATES was wrong but I had tired of trying to parse the "number" clue. How many more times will I miss the "number" as anesthetic clue? The mind goes numb wondering.
SPACE TIME is what I wanted to plop in with no crosses at 21D. However, the EVIL ONE planted a BELIEF in my brain that the clue was a misdirection and that the answer was going to be FRESH LOAM or some such earthier answer. SPACE TIME when revealed was thus almost STALE :-(.
Nice Saturday puzzle, Roland Huget.
And @Jessica Evans, welcome. And @malsdemare, kudos for taking action.
"Coat." Why don't I ever remember that the sneaky clue on Friday and Saturday are in #1 position? Pretty good though, despite "aril" and a few others Rex mentioned. Plenty of fun and good insomnia therapy.
Cass - "gives a number" means render numb; Zeke - I too am clueless why a sofabed is "all-weather". Same fine solving experience as yesterday -- pretty much blank at first, then traction in the South and worked my way North without having to Google anything. Maybe Rex is so curmudgeonly because he plays against the clock? Just saying...
Needed to be told that 4D {Veil material} LISLE and 11D {Banquets} FETES were wrong. Also that 3D {Features of many doctor's office waiting rooms} did not end in an S and 1D {One pressing the flesh} did not end in ER. That was enough for me to finish. Details are here.
@Cassieopia
A number is something that numbs. Also a flower is something that flows.
MEAT RUB=green paint.
WHO WAS IT?
WHAT IFS.
ARE WE GOOD?
Not bad, I guess, but break them into their individual pieces and they're boring, non-vivid words. So SPARE ME.
Good clue for NOMINEE. I was thinking rain check, gate, aisle....
Doesn't SPACE-TIME require a continuum?
ACELA claims to be an "express", but I hear of lots of problems fulfilling that promise....
Muse: I met Dolly in a little motel bar during an Austin layover. She entered, looked at me sitting alone, smiled, and said "Heighdy!" She was in town filming Best Little Whorehouse In Texas, and slummed to the joint to talk technical stuff with the crew. She and Burt were staying in much more dignified quarters. Also: thank you....
Someone please tell the stock markets that Obama leaving is a bad thing. The days of leading from behind are mercifully over.
I too am waiting for the head-slap moments on SOFABED and SEDATES.
And what is the puzzle law re: turning any noun into a verb? Was it more SaturdayISH to do that then to simply clue it as a plural noun?
There are IGAs in my neck of the woods. I pronounce it as a word... " Do you know where the igg-uh is at?" Response is always "The eye-gee-ay is just past the Agway."
A friend's son is a licensed massage therapist. He says to never call him a MASSEUR. That's a therapist of a different color.
Love Rex's confession on fabric. Having grown up in the business, I've worked with them all, and have both toile drapes and TULLE ballerina skirts. In fact, TULLE was first thing in the grid.
I liked the grid shape, and liked the puzzle. Only complaint is that it was too well aligned with my wheelhouse, so it was easy-for-a-Saturday. Way easier than yesterday's train wreck.
@lms...great stories. I think I should make a resolution to be succinct - a trait I admire, (I'm adding @imsDave and @John V but rarely embrace.
Brutal for me to get a toehold but once I did Each section was doable. Just very difficult to get each segment started and my time was super slow. I will now never be able to go past our one remaining IGA without thinking of Dolly Parton thanks to the resident "Muse" but got a belly laugh from her comment. This is such a great place to learn all sorts of interesting things!
Ah, NUMBer! Thank you @ralph and @gruffed. I was blind on that one and it was really bugging me.
Terrific Saturday puzzle. Played challenging for us, and we dnf'd at the Mitsubishi sports car only because we never ever heard of the devil referred to as Old Scratch. Oh my.
Bet nearly everyone had toile before TULLE. We wanted to squeeze in Eeyore before Jane EYRE - same self deprecation, don't you think?
We got ACQUIRE and then decided the soccer powerhouse had to be Brazil or maybe Argentina and lost just a ton of time up there. Uruguay has a fine national soccer team, but Brazil and Argentina are the Latin American powerhouses - check World Cup finishes for the last 50 years.
But I'm picking a nit - - fun puzzle, great misdirects, almost 'eseless, very clever cluing. Thank you Roland Huget - No hard feelings.
Is a pangram no longer worthy of comment?
It's been said already, but just highlighting for people:
Nummer not numbrrr.
Convertibles are for sunny days, so a SOFABED is a "all-weather convertible" by contrast (I agree, "ugh" but it's all I got. Still hoping that I missed something)
RickA: No.
I really enjoyed almost all of this, which was right at the edge of my ability/knowledge without quite crossing the line.... until I got to the SE, where I was finally done in by the combination of EVO, ANILINE, and SEDATES (as clued) crossing UNE, ACELA, and EVILONE (as clued).
@Loren...What a sweet post and your BIG WIGGLY TEETERS still has my belly flapping up and down. Toes?
I found this a tad easier than yesterday's puzzle. It really was like 5 little individuals. The NW was the fastest for me and I sure did smile at the MASSEUR giving the MEAT RUB. The NE was my biggest hangup. IPADAPP did not want to show his head. The center was my favorite. LOVE SET SOFA BED CAPRICES ARE WE GOOD REPOSED TIMID....Hmmmm could be something found in an old JUKEBOX. Speaking of. Any DINEr that still has one gets my fanny in the booth pronto. The last one I saw was in Flagstaff and the place was packed. Everyone ordering hamburgers fries and malts with all their quarters stacked in a pile.
Like the HAD A NIP TASTE ADES corner and the ZEN NINJAS.....
ROLEXES are plain ugly. I'll take a Ferragamo thank you very much.
Nice, crunchy Sat puzzle to enjoy while finally watching the snow fall here in Charlotte! Sure did want jukebox to be rolodex! Thanks, Mr. Huget!
I'm surprised no one has brought up the stealth allusion to that Communist dictator of Cuba, "Castro" as in "Castro Convertibles." This blog has been overtaken by overly sensitive political screechers. Let's cool it with the politics for a while, at least until the king of "Real TV" is inaugurated.
I looked at the grid and trembled in my boots -- but somehow my mind was in the groove on this one. Almost everything I thought of turned out to be right: IPAD APP, NOMINEE, DEEERE, SOULFUL, MASSEUR, JUKEBOX. Music would normally say a TEMPO, but since that wouldn't fit I left the first two letters blank and waited for crosses.
@RickA Normally I would comment on a pangram, but I was having so much fun with this one that I didn't notice it.
Alternate clues for CAPRICES:
"What you pay on the West coast"
"What you find in your hat after a wedding"
One quibble: I'm no aeronautical engineer, but is there really a part of plane wings called a SLAT? I didn't put in the obvious flap because of crosses, but still. @Evil Doug?
Aw...I'm one of the gang! And yes, I always add some kind of smilies with my posts...@LMS, you did mean "smilies," right?
So today, you'll get some "smilies" and maybe a metaphor (or two). First, I liked the puzzle. It was challenging, yet fun. It took a couple of cups of coffee and a bowl of oatmeal, but it was worth the effort.
The isolation of the 4 quadrants was definitely the challenging part...and I guess that is why it's a Saturday puzzle...divide and conquer. Could one of you constructor corroborate this thought...but I wonder if this kind of "iso" puzzle is more suited to a Saturday (or Friday) since the very solve is complicated by the layout? What's interesting to me is that yesterday's puzzle had a bunch of words that I legit didn't know. This one, just looking over the puzzle quickly, had really only one, ANILINE, and yet it was every bit as challenging as yesterday's puzzle.
One small nit, and that was the musical clue for 56A "Up to speed, musically." If you call or text your favorite musician friend and ask them what that clue means to them, if they read music, they will say "a tempo," 99.999% of the time. By saying "up to speed," you are implying that you weren't at speed, like you're recovering from a ritardando, and to get "up to speed," you simply write "a tempo."
The phrase "INTEMPO" is not really a musical phrase, per se, but is almost always used to say that while you were previously playing things all loosey goosey ("rubato" is the Italian word for "loosey goosey"), now you are going to go into actual meter, IN TEMPO...that is, "in time."
By "nit," I truly mean "nit," because you can make an argument either way...but the clue and the answer are slightly off...like Rex mentioned about "WIFIZONE," 56A just didn't quite stick the landing. Which brings me to the metaphor(s)...
The puzzle is like that Olympic gymnast that does a triple gevalt with a twist and a tuck and lands pretty danged good. We all watch and think, wow...that's definitely a 9 or maybe an 8.5! But the judges only give it a 7. The crowd reacts and the gymnast buries his/her head in their hands. But somehow, to the finicky judges (especially the soviet judge), it just wasn't quite right.
Or, it's also a little like those plays in football where it looks like the receiver made some fantastic grab, but upon further review...the ball did indeed touch the turf: incomplete pass. Nice effort, tough break.
I think WIFIZONE, INTEMPO, REALTV, IGA (they sitll exist?), the tortured-ISH clue on SOFABED, and AQUARIA (seriously?)...all are good and right and in the ballpark...but juuuuuuust outside the mark. So I give the puzzle a 7.5...nice form, excellent execution, but just a slight bobble at the end...it didn't stick the landing...or, if you prefer, the ball hit the turf.
@LMS: genuine LOL at Big Wiggly Teeters"
jberg,
I was a little surprised to see SLATS, too. Everybody knows flaps, and probably ailerons, but slats? Nah.
They're the wing leading edge equivalent of flaps on the trailing edge. When we extend the flaps for takeoff or landing, the slats also extend. The streamlined wing thus becomes much more curved to provide more lift at slower speeds.
Underwhelming for a Saturday. It didn't put up much of a fight. WIFIZONE is not a thing anyone says. And then all the stuff like AREWEGOOD, HADANIP, WHOWASIT. C'mon. Find some actual vocabulary.
@Loren Muse Smith Just loved your comments and wanted to let you know. Loved the stories as well as your remarks about establishing an identity within the group. Well said, and thoroughly entertaining!
@Z, Sadly I can only answer one of your burning questions. Londonderry, Vermont sports an IGA and you can get some lovely cheese right down the road at Taylor Farm while you're there. win-win.
@Z, Curtsy ... I beg to differ on Hal. Halliburton would be a Monday clue and oh spare me the oft used computer clue. Plus I'm old and knew the Our Gang guy from Saturday morning TV.
@Zeke, The Illiterate Mountain Man Turned Big City Lawyer, I just wanted to type your name because it's hilarious. By any chance, is your late night commercial claim, "I'll settle your tax problems for pennies on the dollar!" or "If you've been the victim in a motorcycle accident, call me now!"?
@Rex, kudos for the Buzzcocks' video.
@jberg - another beloved Gang member (and friend off-blog) whose posts I always read - Hah! Love the CA PRICES or CAP RICES clues.
My first thought was all the company cars Dad had when he worked for Chevrolet. Your parsing is better.
I'm with Rex and @mathgent and anyone else who's mentioned it -- DINES for "banquets" is unforgivable, nay outrageous. I don't know who put it in first -- RH or WS? But I really need to know -- WHO WAS IT?
So, ARE WE GOOD? Not really. I had ARE WE COOL, which gave me ---HEBAC at 8D and screwed up the entire NE for me. I also had IDYLLIC instead of ANGELIC at 12D, screwing things up even more. I had no idea what Angry Birds was or were -- so I came here to look up the solution to the entire NE. But I saw IPAD APP at 8A, without seeing anything else, so I closed my laptop, went back to the puzzle, and finished it easily at that point. That's when I first saw DINES and almost threw the puzzle across the room.
Still, I did like this puzzle anyway. Not quite as much as yesterday's, though I can't possibly tell you why. It's equally challenging and has some terrific cluing and interesting answers. I was delighted to see that the "hot spot" wasn't some sort of war ZONE but was instead a WIFI ZONE. Another good brain workout -- that's two in a row -- but this one I DNF.
This puzzle took ll minutes less than yesterday's which was a bit of a disappointment. @Z hit it on the head there's just too much common material mixed in for this puzzle to stand out. The most glaring examples are ARIL and ACELA in the SE. That was the easiest corner on that alone. The NW was the most successful section. PEERAGE and PESETAS brought down the NE. The simple word phrases in the SW fell flat compared to AREWEGOOD.
I appreciate the shout out at 60A. Coincidentally we caught a fire last night just before I was going to solve on the tablet. I had to do this thing after midnight. The review didn't come out till this morning. It's better to comment before the first rush. Very distracting. Happy New Year to all you "gang" members.
I really enjoyed this one. I often start out Saturdays, bouncing around the grid, hoping for a finger hold, thinking, "maybe this is the beginning of the great decline." Then, small purchase, a corner, some connectors and before you know it (or about an hour later, OLESTRA. Lot's of contemporary longer answers: SPARE ME, WHATIFS, WHOWASIT, AREWEGOOD
This was probably my fastest time ever but it didn't start that way. I had EYRE AND TULLE, and then squat in NW. Moved to the NE, looked at 8A and thought "IPADAPP." I glanced at 9D, said "POW" and filled them both in. I'm getting braver about just following my gut and this time it worked; I filled in the entire NE in no time. In like fashion, I worked through the SE, the flyover states, the SW and then bumped to a halt in the NW. MEATRUB looked good but I didn't trust myself, second-guessed on EYRE, took it out. If I'd been doing this on paper, there'd have been a big hole up there. Finally, I reinserted MEATRUB, saw BELIEF, made a wild-ass guess at UR?, saw ACQUIRE. From there it was steady as she goes.
Angry Birds was 7 years ago? I adored that game and being the compulsive, single-minded geek that I am, spent days ignoring everything -- dirty dishes, friends, food, baths -- while I played. I did the same thing with Monument Valley, Myst, Cut the Rope, ZvN, and Temple Run. I could have written 'War and Peace' in the time I spent doing nothing useful but having fun playing those games. As @lms would say, sheesh! Don't recommend any games, folks. At my advanced age I need to be squeezing every possible great thing out of my days, like reading this blog, checking Facebook, playing with the dogs, napping . . .
I really liked the puzzle.
I thought "Gives a number?" (63A) was a brilliant clue. Getting it was one of those AH-HA moments that reminds me why I do crosswords. ("Barbecue chef's coat" at 1A was pretty cool, too!)
I enjoyed this one very much, except the five, five, five puzzles in one -- a major drawback of such grid designs.
SPACE-TIME came easily, as did ARE WE GOOD.We had HERBARIA not that long ago (Dec. 31, Jeff Chen), so AQUARIA was fun to see today. At that time I even inflicted upon y'all a painful doggerel about them, for which I belatedly apologize.
-- Loved the "pressing the flesh" / MEAT RUB / MASSEUR cluster in the NW.
-- For "Assured" I had ON THE RAG instead of IN THE BAG at first. I can't explain why.
-- Thank God REPOSED wasn't clued as "Sat for a new shot."
-- I kept reading OLESTRA as "old straw".
-- Consider me the guy who LOVES ET.
-- The plural of Rolex is Rolices (index/indices). If it isn't, it should be.
-- MASSEUR is massagenistic. I prefer a masseuse.
I liked the musical sub-theme: the 24 ANGELIC CAPRICES for solo STRAD by Niccolò Paganini, often called the violinist of the EVIL ONE. Too bad these are never heard from a JUKEBOX. Here is perhaps his most popular one, No. 24 in A minor, played here by Jascha Heifetz on a STRAD, node out. To paraphrase Carly Simon: Nobody does it better, makes me feel sad for the rest; nobody does it half as good as he, baby, he's the best.
@LMS, lovely and thoughtful comment today. Your posts are always a pleasure to read.
@ Z Maybe IGAs are small town phenoms; we have one here and shoppers there actually have their groceries carried to the car! Thanks NCA Pres for the metaphors. I guess I'm the American judge here; I thought the landing was pretty good, just an itty-bitty wobble but a really great routine. And thank you all for finally making me see that dang "number." I could sorta see, if I squinted and angled the light just right, the SOFA BED, but that sedated clue escaped me entirely. I just filled in the downs and shrugged.
The image of @lms sitting on her labiodental-liquid clusters will haunt me all day. So @Z, you can take a bow for that one.
The puzzle has a couple of nice lines: SOULFUL TWINGES and WHO WAS IT, SISTER? (a phone call to the convent). I also noticed HAL DEFINED EVO; glad somebody know what it meant. There's also the IN TEMPO JUKEBOX.
The three-letter words were my salvation for this puzzle: UPI, ISH, IGA, HAL, ZEN, plus the four-letter ARIL, each being enough to suggest one of the longer crosses. Still, I had to do multiple laps of the grid to get it done. Nice challenge.
Do-overs: MusTard x ToiLe, TERAgIg (hesitantly written in with a "It can't be right, but maybe it is"). Favorite entry: CAPRICES.
Mostly a smooth solve. Had everything but RUB in the NW, everything in the SW except had "sip" for NIP. "anil" before ARIL in the SE, and like OFL, finished in the NE. Where I confidently wrote in "idyllic" , saw the impossible two P's at the end of 8A, and realized it had to be APP, therefore ANGELIC.
Thanks, @LMS, for your wonderful stories. And thanks, folks, for the explanation for SEDATED. It's true, musicians use "a tempo" for a return to the regular time that the conductor has set for, say, an allegro movement. But where someone has a solo, and can set his time at will, he may very well say to himself when the rest of the players join in, "Ah, back IN TEMPO again."
BTW, did no one notice this is a pangram -- that Q, the X and J in JUKEBOX, and the Z in ZEN made this a puzzle that used every letter of the alphabet.
Oh, I see Rick picked it up.
So, snowed in here in NC, able to laze as I solved, which freed my brain up. I almost cheated several times but fell back on my faith that it would all eventually come, and it did, giving me exactly, truly exactly, what I want from a Saturday puzzle.
There is so much to like. The clues (MEATRUB, NOMINEE, TIMID, SCALE, JUKEBOX, SEDATES). The answers (AREWEGOOD, SPAREME, WHATIFS, TWINGES, ANGELIC, INTHEBAG, PEERAGE). The fact that "repel" is the perfect palindrome word for LEPER. Then there was the backward LIRA as a cousin to PESETAS. And another backward rendering that only crossworders would appreciate "ENO LIVE". And, I'm reminded of the NOMINEE, the ANGELIC one, who must still be filled with WHAT IFS.
Started with "how the heck am I going to fill this in" and ended with "how the heck did I do that?". These are the ones I especially remember. Thank you very much, Roland!
I like the number (or flower) misdirect as something that numbs (or flows), but to give someone a number in this sense is to anesthetize them rather than SEDATE(S) (63A) them.
Agree with Rex that King Sunny ___ would be a better clue for ADE than as a drink found mostly (only?) in crossword puzzles. Wouldn't work today because of the plural version, but it will definitely appear in the singular again soon in a grid near you. He's been around since the early 70s and is still performing these days. Here's a clip from 1983.
Z, good explanation of sofabed.
Surprises seemed the answer to vagaries even though I felt confident about space time and that slowed me down in the NE. Needed Google to get UPI and that opened up the NW.
A sofabed is a convertible piece of furniture that, because it is presumably indoors, can be used in any kind of weather. That's how I understood it anyway.
DNF because of the cross of HAD A NIP and IN TEMPO, and I don't care what anyone says, neither of those is a real phrase.
HAD A SIP (which I had) is just as good an answer to "imbibe modestly"
And I've heard A TEMPO or AT TEMPO, but not IN TEMPO.
Annoying because I enjoyed the rest of the puzzle.
I don't get it, it doesn't make sense
Lovely Saturday puzzle, easier to me than yesterday's. Lots of colloquialisms, one of which I don't know: Talk to the hand. Still don't get it. ?
Great post, Loren!
Bernie Sanders on NPR this morning. "Democrats are out of touch. You can't go around raising money in rich people's houses and expect to win elections."
That was rougher than a cob! Maybe, it's a result of all the things I didn't know. The NE again had me staring at empty SPACE. I'm usually sloppy about indefinite pronouns, but shouldn't NOMINEE have been "someone" not "something"? I'm hoping LEPER clued thus is figurative. Ever been to Molokai?
I have never sat foot in an IGA store, or purchased a quart of EDY'S ice cream for that matter. Obviously a regional thing.
"Talk to the hand" is SPARE ME in what sitcom I haven't seen. I don't think I'll be trying that one around the house, any time soon.
Things I do know from the crossword attic: ARIL and ANILINE.
Finally, the etymology of CAPRICES is from the Latin "caput" meaning "head." So when WHAT IFS develop in the brain and become an action, the result is that delightful circumstance. Better than a Chevrolet, probably assembled in Mexico. Speaking of whimsical notions, I'm going to scrape together all my available testosterone and try to muster some SOULFUL TWINGES later. It is Saturday night after all.
I liked the wormhole through the SPACE TIME continuum. Hopefully the LEPER on the SOFA BED is not exiting the worm hole into the type of exile that was once imposed on people before we understood the disease better and figured out how things cure it. My son who isn't around to explain what he's learning about worm holes, black holes and white holes in his modern physics class, At parent teacher conference night, I met his physics teacher who enthusiastically started trying to explain some of the newest discoveries in physics, but I must admit that I found it a little like reading about chaos theor., I sort of feel like I can almost grasp it but it Is always remains a hairs breadth out of reach.
@Malsdemere, maybe I'll bump into you in DC.
This was 15 minutes easier than yesterday and I didn't need any spousal support.. I found WHOWASIT and AREWEGOOD the way in, although I tried "okay" before GOOD.
The misdirection made this a fun solve and I too didn't ken "number" for SEDATES until I got here. They're not the same thing to me because I need that number injection before the dentist starts to poke at my tooth, but there's not a single moment when I'm SEDATEd as long as I'm in that chair. If they would only pass a bowl of Valium in the waiting room, I'm sure I would have a much better time, even if I had to call Uber to get home.
@Gill I:
Had to laugh at your comment about Rolexes. Actually, the truly sophisticated wouldn't be caught dead in a Rolex or a Ferragamo. Way too Nouveau riche! Real money wears a Patek Philippe. Simple, elegant and understated, Patek timepieces are valued for their workmanship and movement. In 1999, a Patek pocket watch made for once prominent banker Henry Graves, Jr. was auctioned at Sotheby's. A Qatari sheikh bought it for 11 million. In 2014 the same watch fetched 24 million at auction.
Rolexes always remind me of this joke.
A newly minted Silicon Valley type was speeding down the Pacific Coast Highway in the fog. Failing to negotiate a sharp curve, he crashed through the guardrail and plummeted 300 feet to the beach below. Eight hours later, he was discovered by a beachcomber and airlifted to the hospital.
When he awoke in intensive care, he was NUMB. He asked the doctor standing over him what had happened:
Doctor: "you've had a terrible accident, but I think you're going to live."
Rich Guy: "Oh No! Where's my new Porsche?"
Doctor: "You'll have to check with the police, but the EMT's said the car was demolished."
Rich Guy: "Oh Shit, I hope they took my new set of TaylorMade gold clubs out of the truck. I paid three grand for them!"
Doctor: "You don't seem to grasp how lucky you are just to be here son. Fortunately you only lost your right arm in the crash, and not your life!"
Rich Guy: "OH FUCK, MY ROLEX!"
Did the puzzle last night but no Rex Parker yet. Now I see my experience was identical to OFL's.
DNF as I googled UPI to check on the date of the merger.
Outstanding clues for NOMINEE and SEDATES.
I looked for more than MEAT RUB, it seemed kind of green paint.
It took me a while to accept reposed as a verb. I usually see it as a noun, as in Wallace Stegner's great novel "Angle of Repose." The title BTW is an engineering term dealing with how high granular material can be piled without slumping.
I'd opt for more from Roland Huget at any time.
TALK TO THE HAND: Imagine you're telling the tale of your most recent trip to wherever to see the biggest ball of twine; your victim raises her hand to stop you: "Talk to the hand 'cause the ears ain't listening." I know it from its dog derivative (of course, being me): Talk to the PAW 'cause . . . Got it on a t-shirt, because, again, I'm me!
@aketi -- that'd be awesome. Short old white lady in a blue squall coat with fake fur trimmed hood, matching LLBean boots. I'll probably be in line for the porta-potties :) Hi @Nancy!
@Larry Gilstrap -- TMI! But good luck anyway.
Gives a numb-er that makes you numb. Took quite a while for me to get it.
@Malsdemare -- I was thinking more about dancing.
"The dews grew quivering and chill,
For only gossamer my gown,
My tippet only TULLE."
Primo SatPuz:
* Superb long fillins, such as: AREWEGOOD. JUKEBOX. ACQUIRE. URU. TWINGES. SPACETIME [ whoosh …..
… Thanx, Mr. Huget. Luved bouncin around in the space-time grid continuum with U.
Masked & Anonymo6Us
p.s.
ADE has [multiple!] Patrick Berry Usage Immunity (PB1 UI). ADES does not.
**gruntz**
whoosh ……] SPACETIME. SPAREME. DEFINED. URU. LOVESET. SOFABED. URU. INTHEBAG. WIFIZONE. URU. WHOWASIT? … URU.
* Six U's, includin the luvly URU.
* Pangram (yo, @RickA, @old timer); SE corner got luvingly desperate, as still needed yer J and X, as Roland rolled into it.
* Crowd-pleasin desperation touches: EVO/ANILINE/UNE/ARIL. AQUARIA. Please please m&e, oh yeah ...
* Fabulous write-up, inspire of the pangram in the room. Exquisite bullets.
* Sneaky-clean clues. SOFABED clue of course, but it has already been well-documented here. SEDATES also. NOMINEE clue also noteworthy.
staff weeject pick: URU. This lil darlin is tryin, just about as hard as it can.
fave yo-er: @muse. Wish my dna allowed e-mailin to her. thUmbsUp, darlin. Glad @evil does so; he's a sweetie, under all that meatrub and space-time [whoosh …..
Thank you, Evil Doug, for that clear and concise explanation of how slats and flaps work together on a jet airliner. As an aside, the standard training plane in the Royal Air Force in the ‘30s and ‘40s was a delightful little biplane called the Tiger Moth. It didn’t have trailing edge flaps, but it did have leading edge slats that opened automatically to keep the plane more controllable if it approached a stall. In an early episode of “The Crown”, Prince Philip takes flying lessons from Group Captain Peter Townsend in a Tiger Moth. The flying scenes are exquisite.
Brand names, car names - IGA, EVO, meaningless to me, but IGA has been in the puzzle before. Emme? That was my last entry, delayed because I couldn't get "Spare me" from "talk to the hand." ( Explained earlier today). Company logos (Deere) are not my thing either, and I eat Wise, Lays, Herr's, UTZ, but never Pringles. Olestra? I didn't know that Angry Birds was an IPADAPP either. Saturday difficulty, and I finished for a clean week, but not much for me to learn or smile about.
Thanks for explanation on numb-er. When the answer looked like sedates, I thought it made sense as I remember the anesthesiologist asking me to count backward as I was given the gas. The real explanation is more clever. I agree that Brazil and Argentina would be the soccer powerhouses even though I don't follow soccer that closely. I am glad that LMS can now get her own fritos without having to worry about being misunderstood!
Oh @Anon 1:47, I'm not ashamed of my love. I inherited two Rolexes from a beautiful woman and on weekends when I'm too lazy to shower or wash my hair and my ego still craves a little respect, I slap one on when I leave the house.
I'm sure someone is thinking, "poor thing, old and still noveau," or more likely not noticing at all. Just like when my mother couldn't leave the house without lipstick when I was a crabby teenager. I'd think, "HA! As if THAT's gonna a difference."
And btw, the geek in Silicon Valley would be wearing Apple's Hermes.
@many of you, yep, much easier than yesterday's. Only two erasures: @Rex trite before STALE and IsTEMPO before IN (sIP worked until I checked the across clue).
I suspect using "Community" to clue SPACETIME...e.g. "Abed and Troy's favorite show Inspector __________."...would be a tad obscure.
I kinda liked the crosswordese nostalgia in the SE.
Lots of good stuff in the center, not much dreck, and a not too annoying pangram, liked it.
Succinct or just lazy (hi @lms), I'm never really sure?
For "Hot spot" I had WIFE ZONE. I knew it didn't sound quite right.
@r.alphbunker: Had the clue been "Dr.'s," waiting room, cuing an abbr in the answer, I'd have popped in OLD MAGS in a heartbeat 😏.
Hey All !
Bummed I didn't make @LMS's list! It's fascinating to think she one was afraid to post here! Now hers are the highlight of quite a few of "Our Gang." Maybe I'm too bland, or obtuse, or I wronged her in some way, so she doesn't read my comments. *Sniff* :-)
I was apprehensive myself when first blogging, but when no one outright said, "You're terrible, stay away!" I just kept posting. Now Ok see it's because everyone skips me! (Har)
Liked puz. My experience was like most here. Actually didn't notice pangram. Shame on me as I usually look for them.
One nit, too many partials. But, gave the ole brain a workout, and just a few writeovers.
SKID AMID
RooMonster
DarrinV
@Anony 1:47...OoHoo...OK so I did think of the Patek except too many of them look ROLEXish...not so the Verragamo. When I win the lottery I would buy a gold Piaget with a lapis lazuli face surrounded by a million diamonds. Now THAT is a beautiful ladies watch.
It might cost me an ARM though!
There is an IGA in Fairmount, Georgia that I used to drive past on the way to Atlanta from Chatsworth on U.S. 411. That's the largest town among a group that includes Oakman, Ranger, Rydal and White.
I managed this interesting little exercise a few minutes faster than yesterday's. I had the same problem most everyone else had with SEDATE because I was just not remembering that the Chatahoochie and Ocmulgee Rivers are flowers. I'd never heard of a wing SLAT (thank you @Evil Doug). The best I could come up with was the bits of wood inside a wing when they were covered with cloth which was painted with dope to give it rigidity. Speaking of CAPRICES, since completing this puzzle i spent a couple hours talking with our roommate talking music and guitar playing. As part of this he played the first movement of Beethovan's Moonlight Sonata and paraphrased the third. He also played a bit of Mozart's Turkish Rondo and Paganini's 5th CAPRICE.
These days, I prefer Tostitos to 'toes @LMS. Just leave my feet alone, they're not all that metric.
There are a number of MASSEUSE's out there AMID the population who have been known to apply much kneaded MEATRUB's, or so I hear tell? Please SPAREME, if I somehow EYRE'd in submitting this?
@I am not a robot:
Ooh! Touchy touchy. Did I dis you're Rolex?
You are familiar with the term "Tongue In Cheek", no? ;-)
As for the Silicon Valley guy wearing an Apple Hermes, of course he would. That's why he's a geek! He'd wow people in certain circles, but I doubt the Monte Carlo crowd would be duly impressed.
Remember, that the paradigm of real style and the admiration that ensues from having it, occurs when the man or woman draws attention to the accessories and not the other way around!
Take good care of those Rolexes, they'll only increase in value.
Drat, never got the whole NW corner
(Stuck on something RiB for BBQ answer, poor little Nell for Eyre, misspelling TUiLE like everyone else, etc)
HAD I ONLY REALIZED IT WAS A PANGRAM!!!! Variations of Diplomas might have given way to AQUARIA!
I am rusty!
@lms I guess I'll just have to enjoy your memoir one paragraph at a time, in Dickensian installments! (now to look up labiodental liquid clusters which sounds like a lesbian sex toy)
Messed up the SE, by putting SINGLE for "Many a maid of honor" (If they are married they are Matrons of Honor), then got GIGABIT data transfer clue. Gigs are just not super fast enough. Who remembers squeaking and hissing dial-up modems working at megabit speeds? That was super fast back in the day.
@jae not obscure for me, Remedial Chaos Theory being probably one of the best television sitcom episodes ever. Thanks for the memories.
@okanaganer - Wifezone! This should definitely be A Thing!
@Cassieopia:
Actually, the wife zone is A THING! you're just unfamiliar with it.
Trigger Warning: Not for Uber PC type viewing!
The funnest thing about this blog is guessing the rating, since I solve virtually all of theseach. CMon, they're not terribly tough. Hoping we get a 75th anniversary retrospective this year. Btw I figured today's was an easy-medium.
These. Damned autocorrect...
"When politics is your religion and a politician is your savior, losing an election causes existential despair." - Sean Davis
@Anon (7:19) Great quote.
Good luck on tomorrow's puzzle!!! can't for the life of me figure it out!!!
@Anon 7:19, dude, get a life. Seriously. You been at it all day.
@Roo - I steadfastly avoid commenting on favorite commentariat members because I'm certain I'll forget someone.
Went looking for an early SNL clip but couldn't find the original Not Ready for Prime Time Players declaiming, "We're not a gang. We're a club."
@okanaganer - Har!
Speaking of MEATRUBs, I've mentioned before my deep respect for the anonymous bureaucrat or highway designer who worked it out that Exit 69 on I-75 is Big Beaver Road. Today I discovered that Big Beaver Road in Troy, MI is also home to a Hooters. I can only presume the new grocery store across the street will be Parton's first Big Wiggly Teeters.
@OFL, @Z and others, IGA is Independent Grocers Association. You might find a local or regional store, such as Caputo's in the Chicago area, and see a small IGA logo on the sign. Those grocers without a specific name just use the IGA logo and name. You may have IGA members in your neighborhood who use their own name.
The grocery store closest to the house grew up in was an IGA. If it had any other name, I never heard what it was.
I was one of those who worked this puzzle off of getting SPACETIME right out of the gate. Got the center and south pretty quickly. Got hung up in the north, partly from trying TRITE rather than STALE and FETES rather than DINES. Only on coming back to the puzzle after a break was able to finish off the NE quickly and then work out the NW after filling in ACQUIRE.
Count me amongst those who thought MEATRUB was made up just for the puzzle.
Hey, I would have thought that @Rex would have known by now that, even for fabrics, you have to know the TULLEs of the trade.
Even at this late hour, I had some things to say about MEATRUBS (not in the land of Bone Suckin' Sauce) and ROLodEXES and LEPERS on convertible SOFABEDs up on blocks in the front yard... But then I read some bits about snowflakes and 'leading from behind' and what the stock market is doing and about post-election existential despair.
After which all I want to say is that I will miss the thoughtful, intelligent and well-spoken leader who considers his words, his options and his actions. It seems we're trading in that entire mindset for simply preaching to ACQUIRE.
WHAT IF the something that's IN THE BAG turns out to be a pig in a poke?
With the help of a man called Dr.Addo I was able to get pregnant though his root and herbs. I'm 47years of age, it was really difficult for me to pregnant though my husband loves me but it was really hurting me not having my own child but after many years I came across Dr.Addo whose email address is ( addosolution@gmail.com ) he gave me Root and herbs and I was pregnant a week after i his help. I'm 7months pregnant now and also I will like to advice everyone looking for help to get pregnant to contact this very man via his email address: ( addosolution@gmail.com )
from CANADA
LOVESET MASSEUR DEFINED
Your DEERE TIMID SISTER PAM HADANIP at the SKID row pub,
then we were all INTHEBAG, REPOSED in the SOFABED having fun.
So WHOWASIT that could SPAREME such a SOULFUL MEATRUB
with CAPRICES INTEMPO not so ANGELIC, more like the EVILONE?
--- HAL PESETAS
27 minutes and this puz was INTHEBAG. Even with ThrustS before TWINGES and in the SW I HADAfew instead of a NIP. If I can do a Sat-puz in less than a half hour my BELIEF is that it is a real success.
For BBQing I actually prefer to marinate rather than doing a MEATRUB. My BELIEF is that it gives more TASTE and helps keep things from drying out, which is easy to do on a grill, especially ribs.
Back in the day I drove a number of Plymouth Furies, but no Chevy CAPRICES.
I remember when a number on a JUKEBOX cost a nickel. The modern JUKEBOX seems to be a buck or two for each SOULFUL tune and most folks seem to play the JUKEBOX from their DROIDs or iphones. Too lazy to walk that far?
Sorry EMME, not tipping the SCALE today. PAM Anderson? Nope, too scary, she’s an EVILONE. PAM Grier? Yeah baby; you go SOULFUL SISTER.
I enjoyed this puz. SPAREME any complaints. Except ADES.
IGA got things started today. Then I just seemed to be "in tune" with the constructor; phrases filled themselves in quickly. Even when I doubted my initial response, I turned out to be correct. No hiccups, no bumps. Each little puzzle opened up and quickly fell. And it was fun. Good Saturday.
I used to work with a group of anesthesiologists, so I always get those numbing clues.
The puz asks, "ARE WE GOOD?" I reply "yes," with a ZEN ISH, if not ANGELIC countenance.
Diana, Lady-in-Waiting for Crosswords
Nice puzzle, nice grid shape, nice pangram (with no griping).
I found it easier than yesterday's effort, but it did offer resistance at a few places. I had w/o's at oNTEMPO, fLAp, and ARE WE okay/cOOl, but those were relatively easily fixed. Contemplated "black hole" before SPACE TIME until I realized that "hole" was in the clue. Btw, can there exist a wormhole in a black hole? One wonders.
I wonder what the motive is behind that Anonymous's comments. I think he just can't get over the fact that the 10-year old won.
Good one, @BS!
Very late to today's party; was having the puter worked on all morning. Not easy getting in. Did so via one of the human HALs. Then right over it--oh no! The dreaded ADES! And not clued as a suffix! TSK!! Shortly after came the mistake (GMTA, @rondo) of HADAfew. So, getting under way, not the best, but it got easier from there. I'd say, for a Saturday, medium. OK then, I'll take PAM Anderson for DOD. I ain't a-skeert. If I die I'll be a smiling corpse. Par.
Still dont get it
Thank you!!!!!!
Sometimes crossword creators are to clever for their own good
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