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Tragic clown in "Pagliacci" / MON 6-5-17 / Common Market letters / Casual calls / Brief brawl / Oil cartel
Monday, June 5, 2017
Hi guys!!! It's Annabel Monday!!! *funny trumpet noises*
Constructor: Paul Coulter (with, perhaps, some uncredited "inspiration" from Elizabeth C. Gorski)
Relative difficulty: Medium
THEME: BAD THING TO BLOW — Theme answers include two Os, contained within two circles, which look like tires, and TIRE is the answer to 67A. It...doesn't make much sense, but hey, it is what it is.
Theme answers:
- HOT OIL (19A: Deep-frying need)
- NO FOOL (35A: A sensible sort)
- TOE SHOE (49A: Ballet footwear)
- BONO (65A: U2's lead singer)
- TIRE (67A: Bad thing to blow ... or what each of the circled letters in this puzzle represents)
Word of the Day: CANIO (32D: Tragic clown in "Pagliacci") —
Pagliacci (Italian pronunciation: [paʎˈʎattʃi]; literal translation, Clowns)[note 1] is an Italian opera in a prologue and two acts, with music and libretto by Ruggero Leoncavallo. It is the only Leoncavallo opera that is still widely performed.[1] Opera companies have frequently staged Pagliacci with Cavalleria rusticana by Mascagni, a double bill known colloquially as 'Cav and Pag'. [Blogger's note: Cavio is the main character.]
• • •
(Wikipedia)
So I started this summer internship in DC (more details to come next month!!!). I love it so, so much, but I've been commuting from Annapolis and I am so, so tired. Add onto that the fact that I had dinner with family in Baltimore, and I am, right now, so, so, so, so tired. So tired, in fact, that I actually had to ask my mom for help with this puzzle. And then Rex. I usually try to do absolutely everything myself but I feel like I'm going to fall asleep before I finish this sen(Wikipedia)
....Anyways. WADES looks like HADES when it's right across from ARES, and WEE GEE reminds me of those weird Mario cartoons. (Why were those a thing, anyway? It works much better as a video game.) Honestly, a lot of the clues/answers felt like cop-outs in general; really, ESS, and SILENT I? Sigh. Oh well. I suppose it is kind of cool to think about the hissing ESS of HOT OIL in a pan.
I do not have anything to say about the theme other than rehashing how TIREd I am. Sigh.
Bullets:
- DAB (23A: Apply gently, as cream) — This is also a pretty popular dance move with the kids now, so I hear. It basically looks like a sneeze.
- TOE SHOE (49A: Ballet footwear) — What a doozy. When I think ballet footwear, I think "ballet shoes," or "flats". I was so annoyed when FLATS didn't fit! Was there anyone whose mind just went straight to TOE SHOE?
- AIDA (17D: Elton John/Tim Rice Broadway musical) — When I was a kid, I saw a CD containing the soundtrack to this show and for some reason got it confused with ABBA (similar amount of letters and they both start with A, I guess?). Imagine my surprise expecting to hear "Dancing Queen" and getting "Elaborate Lives" or something. It did end up being the first musical I ever saw onstage, though. :)
- COOT (55D: Geezer) — "It's not me, you old coot!"
Signed, Annabel Thompson, tired college student.
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]
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92 comments:
Hello, Annabel Monday! As your link to the Liz Gorski puzzle shows, part of the gimmick about calling those o's tires is that they are just underneath words that are the makes of cars: Ford, Dodge, Tesla, Lincoln. This did not increase the fun factor in solving, but at least it sort of explains what the constructor thought he was doing. I love your contributions to Rex's column!
Always great to hear from @Annabel, and a debut for @Paul Coulter ... congratulations for that. The elephant in the room is the three years ago @Liz Gorski Sunday puzzle with the same theme, so yesterday's fascinating discussion about plagiarism vs. convergent evolution can be further reprised.
Just to clarify, CANIO is the main character of "Pagliacci," and I doubt there are many people who are unfamiliar with his famous aria "Vesti la giubba". No relation to the "Cav" of "Cavalleria rusticana" -- his real name is Turridu (not Cavio) and here is a bonus clip of his exciting confrontation with the soprano lead, Santuzza.
Interesting that the AIDA clue referred not to Verdi's grand opera, but to a musical by @Elton John, with lyrics by @TIM RICE who we saw on Saturday in @Roland Huget's puzzle.
It's a gateway puzzle. Much nicer than Anabel gave it credit. Standard Monday fill throughout, and those dorky tires floating aimlessly in space. Hey wait a minute! Those tires are attached below the names of car brands. Side view, I assume. And A big PLUS, we have a spare TIRE in the trunk. That FORD must be an economy model and the LINCOLN must be a town car. Lots of TESLA vehicles behind the Orange Curtain, the County next to LA.
When the MGM LION logo appears on the screen, wait until he roars and then quickly beckon LEO to do it again. If your timing is good, general hilarity ensues.
I have followed Baseball most of my life and believe that we are in a Golden Age of talented young pitchers, players and hitters. Any glossary of nicknames for unhittable pitches would be massive, but HIGH C's? Is that code for high curve ball? I hope not, because that usually ends up as a home run. Feel free to help here.
@Larry Gilstrap, so glad you asked about the HIGH C'S ... the pitches (in the clue) have nothing to do with baseball. Have a listen to this legendary video of @Luciano Pavarotti in an aria with nine high C's from Donizetti's "The Daughter of the Regiment" ... I was there at the Metropolitan Opera with my mother, as a very special and unforgettable birthday present!
@Larry - High - C, the musical note.
Haha! Love the misdirect. I was thinking note and forgot about pitch. I love music, but not much of a musician. In my defense, I'm certain with the right audience, those HIGH C's can be home runs.
Walk of shame part II. My apologies to our reviewer @Annabel for misprinting her name. A joy as always.
I forgive the inaccurate TOE SHOE (they are pointe shoes) because it "supports" the very clever auto rolling along upon its goofy TIRE. Lots of art to love in this one from Sir Elton John's AIDA and CANIO, to the HIGH C so beautifully hidden in the baseball misdirect! Reminded me of a dear friend at U of Illinois who sang the Queen of the Night in Mozart's Magic Flute as clearly and effortlessly as most of us would sing a bad "Take Me Out to the Ball game." Those flutelike repeated high Cs followed by the F a fourth higher, still gives me goose bumps. Marcia Toole, wherever you are, I sincerely hope your life has been as filled with joy as that you bestowed on us lowly "pit monsters" with your artistry and good humor!
I had a bit of trouble with the CANIO-MANGY cross because I thought it was CANnIO and then of course was struggling for another clown's name. So frustrating when I talk myself out of the correct answer because of poor spelling!
Fun Monday and thank you Annabel for your effort despite the fatigue. Best of luck on your internship and welcome to the working world!!
@Annabel - Talk to your doctor about a Vitamin B 12 shot, works wonders for tiredness and boosts energy levels.
This one offered a little resistance for Monday and a cute theme. Liked it.
Medium for me. Yeah right, Gorski! I thought this seemed familiar. I had the same misgivings as @Annabel about the fill.
The NIH says 'Advertisements often promote vitamin B12 supplements as a way to increase energy or endurance. Except in people with a vitamin B12 deficiency, no evidence shows that vitamin B12 supplements increase energy or improve athletic performance.' But what woild they know?
https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminB12-Consumer/
Hey Annabel, thanks to you I discovered Betty White can DAB. Scroll down to see how she does it better.
I noticed the EFFIGY drops throughHARRISON into LINCOLN's PENNY, but the NOOSE misses him and his penny. TESLA seems to be the odd man out.
@Annabel, Mermaid Man is one of my favorite Sponge Bob characters. He's such a cute old COOT. Thanks for the write up despite your fatigue. Get some rest.
Mini-theme of five double E's, and a lovely answer in ID_CHIP, which is a debut answer. Congratulations, Paul, on your NYT puzzle debut, and enjoy this day of glory. I love how the tires are one letter away from the ends of the cars; Kia or Geo couldn't have been used.
Since it was done three years ago, much as i love this theme, it needs, for a big chunk of time, to be re-tired.
Dumb, easily executable theme whether it's been done before or not.
Like JILT crossing I DO--kind of like that last second choice for those with wet feet...and NOOSE isn't far away, either.
MANGY, MOLT, INDIGOS, PILAF and EFFIGY are pretty nice for a Monday.
@Gillstrap. I thought baseball, too. I puzzled over HIGH CS, and finally decided it was short for "high cheese," a favorite expression of all-star pitcher and Red Sox color man Dennis Eckersley. (Confusingly, he also says that high cheese has hair on it.) The music parse eventually emerged. @Annabel, don't feel bad about missing the car names over the tires. I missed 'em, too, and I'm well rested this morning.
Having BOZO, EBOOK, HARRISONFORD, and ONAHOP in the puzzle but not be themers seems like a major flaw. Is it really that hard to build a puzzle without four extraneous double-o answers?
[Note: the answer may well be yes – I’m a critic, dammit not a constructor]
But the thing is, putting that aside – what a really cool idea!
Hey All !
As much as I like @Annabel Mondays, I was looking forward to Rex tearing this puz a new one. Just saying it was kinda MANGY. Don't remember the other TIRE puz, but seems like a thin theme. Maybe I'm just grumpy this morning.
Too many other O's in puz when O's are part of the theme. Like @evil Doug, got a Heh out of JILT crossing IDO. WELL NOW, More LEOs for all the haters from the other day! :-) NO FOOL.
Anyone remember that movie where the guy was selling LINCOLN PENNies for big money? He described them ad "Genuine Copper Engravings of Lincoln". Then his lawyer couldn't get to court, so he had a non-lawyer with an earpiece to the real lawyer... It was a comedy, pretty funny.
ONeHOP ON A HOP NO LESS
RooMonster
DarrinV
@George Barany - believe me, there are many, many of us unfamiliar with Canio's famous "Vesti la giubba". That is is probably to non-opera fans what the cardinality of the set of natural numbers is to non-math fans. CANIO was so un-Monday that I spent a lot of time wondering what I had wrong in ONAHOP.
Chefwen must be a Republican. Convinced she knows more than those dumb scientists.
@RooMonster
It was Trial and Error. Michael Richards was the "lawyer." Fun movie.
Fun puzzle. Don't remember Liz Gorski's puzzle. Noticed the cars right away over the tires.
Why trope??? and effigy???
Bought one of those big square copper pans the other day...dont think I'll use it for deep frying though!!!
I totally missed that the "tires" were underneath car brands. That's really clever! Especially for a Monday.
This was Tuesday hard for me. The western portion of the board was a serious struggle. For one, I never remember Roman numerals (who cares about outdated numbering? Never understood why this was taught in school). I know next to nothing about opera and singing in general, so CANIO was a total unknown, and the HIGH CS clue was totally baffling to me. And yeah, TOESHOE? No clue. I eked by, but it was a slog.
JILT is a damn fine word and I'll applaud its inclusion in any puzzle. I love that its meaning is so specific and dramatic.
There were some interesting non-Monday words
but all of those extra Os like ebook and yoohoos...
intentional distractions?
ID chip might be a debut because it's a microchip.
ID chip sounds awkward.
Thanks to all for the opera links.
Got in a bad mood early with the annoying fills of OREO and ELO popping up early. If ACNE had been in the NW i might have left it. Not as tired as Annabel, but on my first day of vacation after hectic spring so low tollerance level. Woke up a bit with YOOHOO and PLOP, and, after assuming the theme was something boring with oxygen, I did get an aha with the TIRES reveal and seeing the car brands above. So, thought then it was not so bad, but felt cheated a bit by the constructor for bad early fill making me tune out.
Also, continued my single-square dnf SETTO crossing TOR. Being an ESLer, I partly do the crosswords to improve my vocabulary, and "set to" was new to me. Guessed "see to" instead as taking care of something perhaps being used for brawls. Is "set to" commonly used by anyone and why does that point to a brawl?
On my iPad, the circled O's look like olives stuffed with pimentos.
@Lewis, I just got done counting all the Os (24), PLUS the double Os (6 pairs), but I missed the double E's.
@Larry Gilstrap, I assume the DODGE (that I missed seeing until I cleaned my glasses) must be a sedan. PLUS that BALL rolling in front of the DODGE suggests an alt-reality of this being a puzzle filled with 24 BALLs.
The TESLA better be careful since it doesn't have a spare TIRE.
Liked
ELMO and BOZO
FOOL and COOT
YOOHOOS
My Physical Therapist is now torturing me by making me HOP ON TOP of a Bosu BALL and then balance on one leg. I would have never made it as a ballet dancer. I try to time going to Planet Fitness when no one is there to watch my fails because I definitely look worse than this guy.
I wanted the ballet footwear answer to look like this:
E
O
H
S
E
O
T
Or alternatively standing on the pointe as @CDILLY52 suggests is the correct term (which just makes me think of torturous stilettos). What possessed women to allow their feet to be bound or elevated into such damaging positions? My preference is bare feet.
"No moooore RICE KRISPIES!" -- Who can forget that? Or am I just an old COOT? "Vesti la giubba..." is iconic.
Hopefully "no more TIM RICE musicals" too (at least in the NYT puzzle.) That's SIR Tim Rice to you.
Annabel, welcome back, and luckily before I piped in that you really must stop being so goshdarn TIRED all the time, I got the joke. It TICKLEd me.
I'm so slow that I first thought this was a President's Day puzzle. Ford, Lincoln, Dodge. (What??) Then I assumed it was cities in the midwest. I didn't see the O-rings until I got here.
As for people complaining about "toe shoe" that is common parlance for a ballet "pointe" shoe. There are scads of books that use that in their title including the recent "Tallulah's Toe Shoes" about an aspiring ballerina. Get O-ver it.
Personally I thought this was a fine Monday puzzle, and a great début.
My only moment of unease was discovering that pets have ID Chips. I hope they are just on the collar, right?
So the other day I complain about the lack of Liz Gorski puzzles and Will gives us her ghost. Thanks. I'm with @Lewis, the puzzle was fine - but it would have been good manners to have waited a little longer before re-tiring the idea.
@Quasimojo - Nope, the IDCHIPS are in the dog.
@George Barany - Great to have you back. I think AIDA will always be Elton John early in the week and Verdi on Friday and Saturday.
@Larry Gilstrap - You can claim victimhood today. A double misdirect with HIGHCS being crossed by the baseball clue ONAHOP, then the ultimate misdirect by Annabel misspelling her own name - you're certainly not to blame. Speaking of whom . . . . .
@Annabel - Tired out by commuting Annapolis to D.C.? Heck, it's a straight run along U.S. 50 - that drive's just a lark, or you can park in the 'burbs and take the always reliable Metro. What's your problem? I know, I know - we have family in Annapolis, one of whom made your commute for years. She finally chose working from home over divorce (her husband works at Anne Arundel hospital). Annapolis is flat out one of this country's most beautiful towns.
@QuasiMojo -- No, people have them implanted in the dog's body. No one asks the dogs. Anyway, we'll be next, so the authorities can keep track of us.
Like @kitshef and a couple others, I was bothered by the extra Os in BOZO, E-BOOK, ON A HOP, and HARRISON FORD. Actually, I hadn't noticed the cars until I came here, but I'm still bothered by it.
And ZESTS? Really?
Thanks, Annabel -- get some rest, even if you are only joking!
@Lars, yes, a "set to" is a (common) English phrase for two or more drunken jerks getting into it. It's important to remember, however, that a lot of young people don't know English any better than an ESL learner, however - and they're proud of it! I would link to "Rex Parker" but you're already there!
LEO again? And, btw, thanks to Quasi, Mohair, Hartley and Teedmn for yesterday's shout-outs.
One wonderfully un-Mondayish clue made this otherwise fairly boring puzzle come alive for me. Thanks to the LINCOLN PENNY, HIGH CS at 30D filled right in. But I haven't watched baseball in decades and was wondering if there was a new abbreviation I didn't know. Could HIGH CS stand for "high curves"? I imagined that a high curveball might be a hard pitch to hit. And then it came to me. Oh that kind of pitch! Very nice! Also TESLA COIL was a fairly crunchy answer. And I did have to change NEEDed to NEED BE at 47D. But the theme was dullsville and after-the-fact, and I completely ignored the tiny little circles as per usual. Happily, there weren't too many of them.
Do people put ID CHIPS on/in/into their pets???? Doesn't an ID TAG suffice?
Thank you!!!! @Patrick O'Connor (12:12). Non-visual me missed that entirely. This puzzle is much cleverer in construction than I realized. Apologies to Paul Coulter. On the other hand, my solve was still exactly the same experience as it was before I knew the cars were there.
@Quo Vadis
Thank you! If I hear one more person extol the virtues of vitamins, I'll scream. They're the same folks who say you have to drink 8 glasses of water a day.
High C's was terrific. Had me going. Thanks Mr. Coulter
`There has to be an efficient way to commute to Annapolis. I hope you find it.
You know, to blow one tire is unfortunate. To blow two is a disaster. Hence the clue.
I just saw the Liz Gorski puzzle with the same theme. Hers had more cars but the tires were placed in the same way. I probably did it when it came out a couple of years ago and it seems vaguely familiar. I think that the puzzle should have carried something like "With acknowledgements to Liz Gorski." Cryptics often do that.
Interesting that Mr. Coulter's NYT debut is a Monday. When I see his byline on a Fireball Crossword, it invariably induces shutters of dread because his puzzles are difficult.
Microchips are placed under the skin and can be scanned by the
vet or animal shelter to ID the pet and find the owner.
Collars can come off, chips stay put and can save your pet's life.
The chips are about the size of a grain of rice.
64A could have been the themer too: ALOES. Ha! But I had to come here to see that the TIRES were under the cars, very cute trick! I very much enjoyed the puzzle although got stuck at that pesky Roman numeral/opera lead cross. I need to take time and study my Roman numerals.
DODGEBALL brought back 7th grade PE class waaaaay back in the day. On Fridays, the boys and girls classes gathered in the small gym (the school was circa 1900, narrow oak flooring, pine bleachers, brick walls, the unforgettable smell of damp old wood...) to play dodge ball. Girls against boys. Sounds unfair, right? But Mr. Dumas, the formidable and undisputed badass Vice Principal - he lifted, he did martial arts, entire classrooms went dead silent when he walked in - played the girls' side. Every time he picked up the ball, the entire boys side immediately flattened, and the ball went TWACK! against the brick wall, echoing. Mr. Dumas always aimed for the troublemakers, and the girls' team always won. Yeah, this was back in the day...
I do love Annabel Mondays. Such cheerful happiness! And Thank You to the puzzle constructor for not only an enjoyable Monday, but also for bringing back memories. Happy week to all!
@Aketi (8:21): Is your Physical Therapist out of his everlovin'bleepin'idioticINANE mind? He wants you, perhaps, to have a broken neckhippelvisskull to go along with your slowly healing, post-surgical knee. And are you out of your everlovin'bleepin'idioticINANE mind to let him talk you into such a dangerous stunt?If any Physical Therapist put that stupid gizmo anywhere near me, I'd report him to, in no particular order, the AMA, the Better Business Bureau and the State Attorney General. Don't do it, Aketi! I know you're a terrific jock, but don't bloody do it!!!
I really can't add much new to the comments, but that doesn't mean I'll be a SILENT I. I had NEEDed for a bit and was curious about the HIGHCS, but that got cleared up here. I wasn't around for the Gorski puzzle but I do agree three years is probably not long enough to wait before recycling unless one uses different cars.
Chips are in the dog because unscrupulous people steal dogs for science labs or dog fight rings. They used to put them in the ear until said unscrupulous people decided the ear was expendable. They are injected into the dog, often when a puppy; takes but a minute and then done. Chips have numbers and those go to various registries. Most humane groups, animal control, rescue operations and vets have chip readers. I don't know how much this has impacted dog theft. But my dogs are chipped, you betcha.
Gonna have to try more opera.
For me this was harder than the average Monday. Usually I'm able to get through with just Downs, but not today. I don't think I've ever seen a SILENT+letter answer on a Monday. Also loved the misdirection for 30D, but that seemed more Wednesday-ish.
Until I read the xwordinfo review I wasn't aware of the circled Os being under the cars. On a tablet the circles disappear if you aren't looking right at them. The Os distract from the circles when you're looking at those spaces. I also never read the clue for TIRES as that corner went in as easily as the rest. When I went back and looked the circles did get me to notice that the letters aren't centered in their squares. They sit toward the bottom. Other than that CANIO was the only thing of interest.
It sincerely fascinates me that people can be in the know on the technical jargon of ballet shoes and opera and not be familiar with the concept of microchipping pets. I mean that in as non-snarky and non-condescending a way as possible. While I'm thoroughly familiar with the world of pet care, I couldn't even tell you that ballet dancers wore shoes, let alone name them.
We might be neighbors but our worlds can still be world's apart. Human beings are pretty fascinating.
Maybe I've been reading Rex for too long, but here are a couple of points I think he would have brought up:
(1) What's with the needless plurals? If you have ALOES crossing YOOHOOS and ETAS crossing INDIGOS at the terminal "S," why not just put a "cheater square" there? The symmetrically opposite spaces could be cleaned up pretty easily.
(2) I imagine he would also issue some demerits for the abundance of non-theme across answers with double O's -- BOZO, EBOOK, ONAHOP. Maybe even something about HARRISONFORD containing a spare wheel inside the car and another on a trailer hitch or something.
Also, those crosswordy corners -- all four of them -- would've made his eyeballs twitch.
Agh, I see the double-O point was made above. (Note to self: ctrl-F is my friend.)
Any Monday that has some Aha to it is OK by me.
@Mals, recovery going well I hope?
@BarbieBarbie. Recovery is slow, too slow in my opinion. But I'll get there. Thanks for asking.
This was a three sipper Monday. Had to wait until I got to TIRE to figure out the O's. Oh look! they're under the cars!...Kinda cute and I don't remember la Liz doing a similar one...
Thank you @George for my all-time favorite Vesti La Giubba. I would listen to Mario Lanza sing this aria over and over again and every time he'd get to ridi pagliaccio, I'd burst out crying with him. My favorite tenor was Mario Del Monaco. He was good to look at as well. RIP.
Liked BOZO/COOT, AIDA/CANIO, JILT/IDO (hi @evil) and CHASE/BALL. The misdirect of High C was clever as well. I wonder if Paul is a musician...
@Aketi...My gluts hurt just watching that video.
@Annabel...My son lives in Annapolis and he says compared to California, a commute to anywhere is a piece of torte. I use to commute from Glenside PA to NYC or Baltimore and it was always an adventure. The bar car was always full and you could count on meeting some interesting COOT types. Everyone drank Manhattans...
LEO again. I'm an Aquarius who would never consider buying a TESLA. Good lord, they are expensive. I'm waiting for one of those human flying drones to come out. I'd buy that.
Did it... but Annabel, shouldn't a puzzle make "some sort of sense?"
I thought this was a fine Monday puzzle. With TESLA, I thought "Cars...okay, I guess that's a Monday sort of theme," but then in the next row the TESLA got its TIRES. Very cute. That helped with the rest of the solve - getting the tires in place showed what length of car was NEEDed. Also enjoyed the echo(like) effects of WEE, GEE; WELL, DELL; COIL, OIL; MOLT, JILT; MANGY, WISPY; BOZO, BONO.
LINCOLN Center sub-theme with opera, ballet, and drama: CANIO, AIDA, HIGH CS, TOE SHOE, OSLO.
ALOES, Is it me you're looking for?
Maybe this puzzle was submitted before Liz's, and just published now. I've read many times of puzzles published years after they were submitted.
Aw, GEEz, I totally missed the car today. No DNF, but my 1A/3D is an inky mess. I started with 2D's OREOS, splatzed in "rinds" at 3d so 1A became dOrk. ARES had me changing 3D to "pEels" (yes, I know, it's the clue) so I just have a HOT mESS in that corner.
DECLAim at 5D made _AiR in 30A and I was wondering what other star was in "Raiders of the Lost Ark" for a while.
And in the far SW, I filled it in with downs only so I missed the revealer clue and instead connected the "dots" on the grid, wondering if it was supposed to look like a car? (It doesn't).
So NO FOOL doesn't apply to me today. Congrats, Paul Coulter, on the NYT debut.
Tthis Monday's WSJ by Daniel Hamm has 5 d as "How some ground balls are fielded" and an "On A Hop" answer.
Coincidence?? Hmm.
@Gill I. - Glenside to New York or Baltimore? That had to be one nasty commute. Just getting from Glenside to Philly by SEPTA or car can be a nightmare.
Love this blog and have been doing these puzzles for years, old coot that I am. I always appreciate the work that goes into their construction and am sometimes amazed at what Rex, Annabel and the knowledgeable folk here find easy.
Given that one of my daughter's is a trained soprano,like others here, I should not have missed that hard-to-hit high Curve. Still,I could think of nothing but baseball after stopping that grounder on one hop and thought the misdirection was well done.
My thanks to all for pointing out the tires beneath the brands. Given the "o" within the "O", all I saw after filling in the theme was a tire mounted on an axle or the insignia on a wheel insert. Vroom, vroom.
@Z-- Missing your insight...
Count me as one of many who don't know Canio or his aria. I've seen quite a few Mozart operas, Carmen, the Ring Cycle, and a handful of other operas. I am not a fan. I didn't notice the car names on top of the tires, even though I remember the Gorski puzzle that did it first.
Get some sleep Annabel!
Hello friends. I’d like to offer a thankful shout-out to Rex (Michael), Annabel, Jeff and the friends who linked to my original puzzle. I’m sure that William Safire never dreamed of being lumped in with us puzzlemakers! But yes -- giving credit to the original source is the right thing to do. I believe in creating original puzzles; to that end, I devote countless hours – as much time as it takes – researching the databases to ensure, as best as I can, that my ideas are original. Recently, some of you asked about my puzzles – or lack of NYT puzzles – as of late. A few years ago, I quietly stopped submitting puzzles to the New York Times. I’m still very much in the game – serving, volleying and charging the net in other puzzle markets. My aim is, and has always been, to provide our customers with new and interesting crosswords. I hope I’ve succeed in some small measure. For folks who are interested in my current newspaper work, you’ll find my puzzles in The Wall Street Journal. (Mike published one of my puzzles on Saturday). Some of you have been solver-friends for 23 years. Thank you for connecting the dots and enduring my corny puns. The best is yet to come! Warmly, Elizabeth C. Gorski
Yep, @Annabel -- the puzzle needed the old "Place to go in London" clue. We could have had Mario's brother LOO WEE GEE. Good catch!
@ La Liz,
I am a fan of yours and always smile when I see your name because I know I am sure to find quality work. I do see your puzzles elsewhere. Your relationship with the NYT is none of my concern. I only subscribe to the puzzle. I'm glad you are still making puzzles.
Thank you for coming by the blog.
@LaLiz...thanks for stopping by...love your puzzles
Haaah...@Mohair....such memories!
I was offered a job at Beaver college in Glenside (Didn't know what that meant until I took the job). I think it was in the early 70's when I went to work as the assistant admissions counselor. Lordy, it bored me to tears. I know I was the youngest staff member by maybe 40 years and Glenside in those days was a very small and very boring town. I mean I had to borrow someone's car to go about 20 miles to one of those State run liquor stores just to buy some wine and Cutty Sark. Every weekend, I'd escape.
I didn't own a car but I bicycled everywhere in my yellow 10 speed Schwinn. Easy ride to the small train station. Hop on a chug-a-lug train into Philly. I can't remember what stop it was but it was in a pretty mean part of town. I'd ride my bike to Penn Station then take the train to Grand Central Station. The train ride was about 2 hours ( I think) but I loved it. I'd then get on several subways to my brothers place on Riverside Drive on the upper West side.
Penn Station was my best friend for the year that I lasted in Philadelphia. I loved that State but my heart just wasn't in it...but boy do I love trains!
So many fascinating contributions today. I reckon Annabel inspires us not only to be amusing and fair but polite. @laLiz, welcome to the blog. I did your Saturday WSJ puzzle and enjoyed it very much. As for pets and their IDs, I had no idea people stole pets or used them in experiments. Well, not now. I guess it makes sense. To answer the question how someone can know all about opera but not cats and dogs, it simply stems from not ever having had a pet. I've never been to a vet. No cause. But I have been to the Met! Perhaps too often, if judging by my bank account. :)
To those who claim unfamiliarity with "Vesti La Giubba" or opera in general, you've almost certainly heard the end of the aria ("Ridi, pagliaccio..." -- "laugh, clown...") -- one of the most famous and parodied of tenor opera arias ever. (That said, there's no reason for anyone on a Monday to know that the character who sings it is named Canio.)
Annabel Monday. . . LA Liz drops in . . . NUDE DODGEBALL, what could be better?
LA Liz,
So much for quiet. Why not explain why you stopped contributing puzzles to The Times? As for Mike? Who's he? Does he really publish things? Wow! If only I'd known about his house.
I get it. You're in a club. Bully for you. But unless you have something to say about today's puzzle, you're just an interloper.
@La Liz - Thanks for dropping by. Have missed your puzzles here, we'll hunt you down.
@Gill I - 40 years? 20 miles? Just a touch of hyperbole in your delightful story? 10 speed bikes and trains and big cities, ah youth. Beaver College is now Acadia University, btw. We're proud here in Pennsylvania that as of two years ago beer and wine can now be purchased in specified supermarkets - still gotta haul out to state stores for the hard stuff though.
And yes, for those not in the know, for over a century Beaver College was an all girl school. In 2000 school administrators changed the name of the now coed institution and were not at all surprised when applications skyrocketed.
Laura made a big deal about a newsprint ceiling last week and Liz comes here to say she made the decision to stop submitting puzzlws and no one has a thing to say?!!!
Huzzah. Well done Mike sharp and his feminist friends.
@Mohair....Well, I might have exaggerated the miles to the liquor store, but everything else is true!
So they finally changed the name? EVERY SINGLE faculty meeting back in the early 70's pleaded for a name change! I couldn't understand why until my only friend (a 50's something professor of math) told me what it really meant and why no female worth her virginity would ever attend!
5:49 - which is near record time for me, and I felt like I fumbled around. Very easy.
I finished, saw the car brands and the déjà vu feeling came over me. Apparently Annabel being indirect didn't raise the furor that Rex's directness on Sunday did, even though this was a more blatant example. As @La Liz subtly suggests, what Shortz, Coulter, and McCoy are all fairly accused of is a sin of omission, of failing to make sure that what they are publishing with a tacit implication of originality is in fact original. Shortz has stated that he thinks, given sufficient time, replicating a theme is okay. If the number of themes were finite I might agree. If I were a constructor, I would read what Ms. Gorski wrote here today and follow her example.
And just in case it wasn't clear from my post yesterday, I appreciate @Tom McCoy apologizing. Stuff happens. Taking responsibility and making amends is behavior I respect.
@Z Newspaper puzzle spec sheets ask for "original" and "fresh" work. I don't know who said what in this case . . . but if an editor (in any market) encourages the lifting of proprietary themes after "sufficient" time, with or without attribution -- then constructors should run the other way. Editors are supposed to encourage originality; to cultivate a-lists of top constructors skilled at writing fresh puzzles for EVERY day of the year. Sunday puzzles needn't be boring; they should be literate, humorous high-quality works of art, made by the best constructors in the business. But treating constructors with respect is key; otherwise, they leave for better opportunities. Thanks for writing in.
.EDU
WELLNOW, BONO is no BOZO,
I DECLARE he is NOFOOL at all,
the DEAN said, “HIGHCS, you know,
and I’DCHIP in an APLUS in DODGEBALL.”
--- ELMO “ELI” CANIO
Annabelle
Forget the advise about vitamin B12 unless you have pernicious anemia.
Ugly start in the 1 and 3 holes – 4 letter doofus has to be DO__ right? Like DOLT or DOPE or DODO. So the OREOS and OSLO are there, it must be dOdO. Nope, BOZO. Messy start but that was it in the write-over department.
If this thing has been done before, I don’t recall it. Some folks may care about that, just not this folk. Though IDO own a DODGE and a FORD, both with TIREs.
When I was a kid the popular Twin Cities radio station was AM 1130, WDGY – pronounced WEE-GEE by one and all – where we got all the top 40 hits and the Adventures of Chicken Man (he’s everywhere, he’s everywhere). And of course BOZO on TV, long before Sesame Street was brought to you by ESS, TEE, and GEE, and some HIGHCS, a SILENTI and an APLUS. Enough alphabet to make soup.
Nary a yeah baby to be concerned with, perhaps the random NUDE.
For anyone who cares, one of the people who finished higher than me in the MN Xword Puz Tourney will be on Jeopardy today: http://www.twincities.com/2017/07/08/st-paul-crossword-puzzle-champ-to-compete-on-jeopardy/
OK puz, no APLUS.
Okay, @Annabel, we get it: you're TIREd. We're all tired. In fact, we're tired of hearing that YOU'RE tired! You're young; you shouldn't be so doggone tired all the time. So get to a doctor and find out what's wrong. Maybe it's just attitude; either way, please quitcherbitchin!
Now on to the puzzle. I was all set to tell our constructor not to quit his day job, what with the RRN and the curious SILENT...I!?? Is it just me, or is the silent letter in "business" really U? I hear an I sound--"BIZ"--but I do not hear a U. I have to get to my business without a bus. Anyway, the old thumbs were turned firmly down when I noticed the cars. Further, the TIREs were perfectly centered under them--even to the stretch limo which is usually a, wait for it, LINCOLN! About that time I was momentarily delayed by a nice misdirecting clue: "Hard-to-hit pitches." Hand up for thoughts of baseball--and what was this clue doing hanging around Monday? I began to suspect that this was not a first rodeo--and I see in the blog that I was, partially, right.
On a side note, I read with interest and dismay Ms. Gorski's post. I can guess why she's ditched the Times: it's been mentioned numerous times by OFL. They don't pay enough. WELLNOW, that's what happens when you don't pay enough...you wind up like a bad baseball team. Ask this Phillie fan how I know.
At any rate, I DECLARE this puzzle to have a good theme brilliantly executed, and fill that suffers to a mild degree for it. Sadly, there is no yeah baby today in the grid, so I would like to take this opportunity to install Liz Gorski as DOD. Birdie.
For the first time in ages I needed to ask for a answer to a Monday puzzle. MOLT? Did not know it. Plus there was Tipe instead of Tire. Three letters off. The MO for MOLT and the R in TIRE.
A bit ashamed.
Mark
Sweet dreams, Annabel.
MANGY dog: negligent owner.
NOOSE: discord.
EPEE: really a "blade"?
That is all.
Easy Monday with a few different entries to make up for OREOS and ELO, and a nice theme well-executed, even if I did miss the fact that cars were placed above the TIREs.
I tried downs-only, hence avoided any problems in the NW, but I'm so addled that I forget what I'm doing and start looking at acrosses. This bothers me.
W/o's with ONeHOP and with NEEDed. Small potatoes.
Even if some plagiarism was involved, I liked this puzzle, and I also enjoyed seeing La Liz pop in with some wise words and a PSA for her work in other areas. If it's only money keeping her away, get on the ball, Shortz.
@leftcoastTAM - I don't get NOOSE:discord, unless you are referring to fake NOOSE.
Forgot it was Annabel Monday - was waiting to hear @Rex tear this one apart.
Have heard/read several recent studies indicating that older teens/young adults need more sleep. But instead we make their lives busier. So @A is in good company, and lots of it.
Fairly easy Monday with the exception of the usual suspects.
If you google toe shoes, the first page is filled with those funny looking "toed" sneakers. But I've also heard pointe shoes referred to as toe shoes. In my (not so tired) college days I took ballet classes at a school in Carnegie Hall. Now and then, a real dancer would take a beginning class along with us - a good foundation and all that. Seeing them dance the little routines we did was like watching another species - beautiful. Like hearing those high Cs, which I did get btw.
Interesting comments today, including Ms. Gorski.
Diana, Lady-in-Waiting for Crosswords
This puzzle's west side annoyed me to. Not sure if anybody has seen this yet, but....
The plot of Pagliacci involves a lot of elements that are represented by answers in the puzzle. CANIO is a clown, aka a BOZO. Clowns could be a part of a troop (close to TROPE)there are DECLAR(E)-ations of love and commitment (IDO's) that people end up breaking/(JILT). This results in CHASEs, stabbing with blades (hence the WEE-EPEE, tiny blade is a knife...). The whole thing is INANE and NOFOOL are kind of cool. SETTO is both a fight and "SET TO", like a play. HOTOIL could be broken to show "TOIL", if one is blue or INDIGO(S), then they are sad (i.e. A tragedy).
I'm sure there are more connections, but if you saw that without looking up the plot like I did then you deserve an APLUS.
SILENTI could also be that when you watch with your "eyes" you are supposed to be SILENT.
Also one hell of a stretch, but Pavarotti playing CANIO looks like a MANGY LION with his beard...
I liked the puzzle and particularly liked trying to figure out why some O's were circled, and others, even when there were two in a word, were not. That bit of fun didn't last all that long, but no circles on BOZO and circles on BONO had me curious and amused for a while.
@rain forest:
cord: hangman's rope. discord: strife, conflict, contention.
When Annabel pans a puzzle, you know it must be bad.
I admit I completely missed the car brands. I was just wondering why some random O's were circled, and when I got to the revealer, I was like, "They're TIREs? Why??" So, noticing the cars may have made the theme slightly less lame to me, I suppose. However, when we're treated to tired, old, and just plain bad fill like EPEE, CII, DNA, IDO, ETAS, TSK, ESS, and ESAU, nobody is going to have a good time.
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