.png)
Bob of Full House / TUE 11-20-18 / Basic monetary unit of Egypt Sudan Syria / Honshu city that hosted 1998 winter olympics
Tuesday, November 20, 2018
Constructor: Zhouqin Burnikel
Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium (3:18)
[Turkey's place] answers:
- POULTRY FARM
- RAZZIE AWARDS
- BOWLING ALLEY
- WESTERN ASIA
The Golden Raspberry Awards (also known in short terms as Razzies and Razzie Awards) is a mock award in recognition of the worst in film. Co-founded by UCLA film graduates and film industry veterans John J. B. Wilson and Mo Murphy, the annual Razzie Awards ceremony in Los Angeles precedes the corresponding Academy Awards ceremony by one day. The term raspberry in the name is used in its irreverent sense, as in "blowing a raspberry". The awards themselves are in the form of a "golf ball-sized raspberry" atop a Super 8 mm film reel, all spray painted gold.The first Golden Raspberry Awards ceremony was held on March 31, 1981, at John J. B. Wilson's living-room alcove in Los Angeles, to honor the worst in film of the 1980 film season. The 38th ceremony was held on March 3, 2018. (wikipedia)
• • •
Oh, I forgot the RAZORS clue (18D: Shadow removers). Holy cow I would never associate "shadow" with facial hair unless it has "5 o'clock" in front of it. That answer took some hacking. Backing into BOWLING ALLEY wasn't easy either, as I have no real idea what a "turkey" is in bowling. Is it three strikes at the end? Oh, I see it's just any three-strike streak. So I was close. Still, if I had to list a dozen bowling terms, I don't think "turkey" would be among them. I totally slipped and fell on the ABEL clue, as I wrote in ABEL (based on crosses I had), but then took it out when I saw the clue was asking for one of three biblical brothers. Me: "Cain, Abel ... oh crap, who else? Seth? Amos? &^$%%!" I immediately wondered if it wasn't one of Noah's sons (Ham, Japheth, Shem), but ... nope, I was right the (very) first time. I was also right about Seth being the "third" brother. Last and most important trouble spot: DROOL (68A: Baby wipe target). I ... just ... has the person who wrote this clue ever had a baby, or shopped, or seen a "baby wipe"? DROOL? Baby wipes ... aren't for that end of your baby. Yes, I can see how you're going to try to lawyer this one, claiming that the clue is merely asking for the target of a wiping action, and not necessarily the moistened towelette typically used for wiping babies' bottoms. But no. Overruled. This clue is ridiculous. Also ridiculous: that OBESE clue (52D: Busting the scales). I get that that word isn't exactly easy to clue in a way that doesn't seem like you're pointing and saying "fatso!" but still. The clue here is definitely laughing at fatty. Not a great look.
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]
Save And Share :
66 comments:
This one was a breeze for me. Finished it well under my average Monday time, but just a few seconds shy of my Tuesday record. Darn it. Had the same issue with the DROOL clue. Maybe some people use baby wipes for drool, I dunno, but we never did with either of our kids. Just regular tissue or some dry cloth for that. Baby wipes for the butt, and maybe for cleaning up caked on crud on the face (or wiping off hands.) So it's not an answer that came immediately to me. Theme was enjoyable, but kind of a mindless fill for me. RAZZIEAWARDS took a moment to figure out, but I had heard of them before. Good thing, too, as I'm not entirely sure I would have gotten RAZOR without getting the Z (as I don't know who this MEARA person is, so would have stood staring at R--OR for awhile. I'm sure eventually it would have come, but minutes later, I'm sure.) I do like that clue, though, even though it lacks the five o'-clock.
For some odd reason, I decided to speed solve this puzzle. Switching my Casio to chronometer, I was off to the races. Dumb idea!
I enjoy cooking and I'm pretty good at it, or so I'm told. Part of that is going to grocery stores, which I do on a regular basis. If OFL thinks Thanksgiving is confined to one day, then he should have been at Albertson's this afternoon. If you haven't got that bird in the fridge by now, you are in trouble. And if you buy a frozen bird, you're dead. Also, this is not a Thursday puzzle; holiday seasons involve multiple days.
I was born in Covina because there was no hospital in Glendora. Trust me on this one, calling it SO CAL is bad enough, but to link it with the Rams is almost mystifying. So many other institutions and festivals associated with the area that didn't come from Cleveland, saunter off to St. Louis, then come crawling back. On a related topic, Football is flawed in so many ways and as popular as ever. Discuss!
Ever hear this phrase: "Turkey with all the fixin's"? Drives me crazy. And, folks call it Turkey Day. I'm steeped in Mexican culture and they refer to the holiday as El Dia del Guajolote, but it's just a day off from work, if you're lucky, or don't work in a restaurant. Not sure how fixin's translates.
Babies DROOL, and I too was thinking why use a Baby Wipe when a tissue would do. Capitalization matters.
Elegant construction as is usual from Ms. Burnikel. Needed RAZZIES to get EAR TAG to get SAGET, whose name I can never remember even though he lived in our co-op. Do not mind that puzzle is two days before the holiday. Need that much time to pick out your turkey anyway. Totally forgot about NAGANO but easily getable from crosses. All in all a fun solve.
I wanted heated oven somewhere in the puzzle.
Lime WEDGES are more commonly found in a Vodka Tonic, but LEMON, Ok why not, works for me.
Have to agree with Rex about the baby wipe target, wrong end.
CLEAR AS MUD brought back fond memories, that was on of Mom’s favorite expressions.
Fun puzzle C.C.
Easy. Tried to put in peel before WEDGE and that was it for erasures. Clever and pretty smooth, liked it.
Trivia for today. ZOOEY played Zaphrod Beeblebrox’s girl friend Trillian in Hitchhikers Guide.
I too hesitated at 68A, but my four babies had there DROOL wiped with a washcloth, since that was before they started selling the brand named “Baby Wipes” I used on my grandkids. So it fell pretty quickly.
Today my wife asked me to get the “Boogie Wipes” for my granddaughter’s runny nose.
(I hope they’re not going to come out with another brand name for a wipe that’s specific for the other end.)
Once again flabbergasted that Rex could have so many problems and still finish so quickly while I breezed though yet spent umpteenth times longer (until I had to run the alphabet to get the t in Saget). Jeesh!
I kept wanting to put in "stool" for 68 across but knew (or at least hoped) that wasn't correct...
Getting a turkey in the tenth frame in bowling is called “striking out.”
Your speed amazes me Rex. I thought Poultry Farm was a bit flat. Most people would say Turkey Farm.
I celebrated Thanksgiving once in France. We ordered a dindon or turkey. It was farm fresh, kind of scrawny, and much more meaty than our variety. Tasted divine though.
It was a sprint between "OH HI, puzzle!" and VAMOOSE, not that I didn't notice spark in CLEAR AS MUD, GAGA, VAMOOSE, DO TELL, and RAZZIE AWARDS, with the SCAB and DROOL pushed to the edges, the mini-theme of double O's (5), and the GUN sitting atop the WESTERN. All in all, a quality puzzle to keep the chops well oiled and to motivate new solvers to continue our glorious hobby.
Struggled with the BOWLING ALLEY answer also but do you think it could be BOWL IN GALLEY??
I also. I HATE that word and much prefer the simple, if not elegant, "Turd".
Sign me up for the next turkey bowling competition: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkey_bowling
Happy Thanksgiving!!
Faster than usual, but with some crunch. Early celebration of this week’s bird.
It's a good thing I have heard of the Razzie Awards because the actress and her TV show or movie were new to me.
The bowling clue was out of my league.
Yes, Baby Wipes seem like overkill for drool.
I don't understand the appeal of Vegemite. I've tried it and was so repulsed that I had to spit it out. Funny though, some of the Aussies I know feel the same way about peanut butter.
The association of msg with chinese restaurants is actually racist. There's just as much glutamate in Italian food as Chinese. That feels like an unfortunate clueing that should be improved.
Check out the URL from Kieran and then google "turkey bowling videos". It seems a little demented but very funny.
I take some issue with the clue for ABEL. While it is technically true that Cain, Abel, and Seth were three brothers, it's really more that Cain and Abel were brothers, Cain murdered Abel and then was banished, and then Seth was born later. There's never any interaction between the three of them, and they were never even all alive at the same time. Not really a trio of brothers in any common sense. So my mind immediately went to Ham, Shem, and Japheth when I read the clue. Fortunately, I already had the 'L' from the down, so I knew Shem was wrong, and figured it had to be Abel. But that one could have been clued much better!
So no one wants to admit to having gobbled up this puzzle?
Fun theme, but too easy – should have been flipped with yesterday’s. Great clue for PARLOR. Not a single overwrite.
I backed into 68 across and had "ool." I've had two babies, so I know all about baby wipes. I was steeling myself for "stool," as any rational parent would.
Good puzzle, even though I missed the RAZZIES/RAZORS cross.
@Quasi, how do you mean your turkey both scrawny (a word I adore) and meaty?
Re. Baby Wipe target, upon solve I thought, "You don't use a baby wipe for that!" But now I'm thinking "baby wipe" is some kind of a gerund, although "baby wiping" would be closer. In any case, we'll accept that.
Yummy puzzle. @Chefwen I wanted thanksgiving table!!!
I'm a fan of this constructor although to me this one was not among her best. It was cute using turkey in all those ways (I never heard the bowling usage, but there are probably lots of bowling terms I don't know). Lots of great comments here today (so far!), y'all!
What a grouch.
As an Italian I am totally offended by Johns racist comment about msg. For over 70 years never once has msg found its way into any Italian dish I have eaten. Have we gone too far when even Chinese restaurants advertise no msg and we equate the food not the race with an ingredient to make an uber liberal comment!
Gearing up for Thanksgiving. I thought this was a clever little Tuesday.
As a POULTRY, it's one of those birds that I only love when I get up at 3:00 AM, sneak into the fridge and look for that breast I secretly saved; find the white bread I snuck in the pantry and pile it on with tons of Best Food mayonnaise.
The RAZZIES go to those well meaning family members who buy those frozen pumpkin pies. Anyone bringing pre-bought frozen dessert on Thanksgiving is a SLOTH in disguise.
BOWLING is what I probably need to do after I've piled my plate sky high with everything in sight and only take one bite of each little thing.
WESTERN is most likely a John Wayne flick that my Dad and I would watch while everyone else cleans up.
Speaking of DROOL, I use baby wipes for everything. It's also good for gravy stains.
@Quasi... My first scrawny, delicious turkey was enjoyed in Madrid back in the late 60's. No brining necessary. A bunch of us from the American School scavenged up a several turkeys from a local butcher. It was fun explaining the Thanksgiving tradition to him. We managed to find some corn that wasn't used exclusively for the swine and the cranberry sauce was bought from the PX from Torrejon. The bird was cooked in those special ovens they use for roasting pig. I thought for sure we would be eating shoe leather. It was delicious. Crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. I'll never forget the taste. No Best Foods needed.
We're off to breath some clean air. Auburn beckons for a week of family, friends and lots of food.
Happy Thanksgiving to all of you.
One of my favorite constructors (especially early in the week) strikes again. No muss, no fuss, just four solid themers and a clean grid (okay, OUTA aside). I don't time myself, but it certainly felt like a fast solve.
Not sure it was intentional, but I found it interesting that the puzzle only implicitly evokes turkey as something that's eaten. Plenty of people have no interest in eating turkey or any other animal, so I wonder if something like FAMILYTABLE (same letter count as POULTRYFARM) was deliberately avoided.
Yeah, baby wipes to the chin -- not so much. My daughters'...um...nooks and crannies? Yup.
@Joe R: 7:18 AM : My parents have seven children and I have six siblings, including my sister who passed away before I was born.
Not a bowler so that was a surprise.
Sorry anon but John is right. MSG is used in many, many restaurants. Lowry's Seasoned Salt? Accent Seasoning? I've seen both in many restaurant kitchens, including Italian ones. Nothing "liberal" about pointing that out.
Rex, look up one of Randy Newman's best songs for the third son:
Cain slew Abel, Seth knew not why
For if the children of Israel were to multiply
Why must any of the children die?
So he asked the Lord
And the Lord said:
Man means nothing, he means less to me
Than the lowliest cactus flower
Or the humblest Yucca tree
He chases round this desert
'Cause he thinks that's where I'll be
That's why I love mankind
I almost made the same OOL mistake. And while it wouldn't have passed my breakfast test -- not that DROOL is all that appetizing either -- this clue/answer was probably the most interesting thing in the puzzle.
Re: YMCA (43A) -- Why "family rec center?" Plenty of Dads and Moms as well as single people work out there sans children.
I hate SO CAL for the Rams. They are not the SO CAL Rams. They are the Los Angeles Rams or the LA Rams. Should have been clued differently.
With the exception of CLEAR AS MUD, a pretty lifeless puzzle. The constructor invites a bad review by including POOR and RAZZIE AWARDS in the fill. But I'll refrain and not throw any tomatoes. Well maybe a LEMON WEDGE or two.
Second day in a row that I DNF. Zoomed through most of it, and was doing much better than my usual time for a Tuesday, but then returned to the Wyoming area and just couldn't fill those last squares at the crossing of MEAR_, R_ _ ORS, and RA_ _ IE AW_RDS. Didn't help that I had NoGANO and hence ... WORDS. Sounds as if @Peter P would have suffered my fate had he not been familiar with RAZZIE AWARDS.
Otherwise, I liked the puzzle. I was expecting one of the theme answers to be ASIA Minor, but I'll settle for WESTERN ASIA. Clue to 56A could have been, "Instrument for hunting wild turkeys". I like the thought that the AFLAC duck(s) may have been recruited from a POULTRY FARM.
The only comment I'll make on MSG (the sodium salt of glutamic acid) debate is that it is found naturally in many foods, including tomatoes, grapes, cheese, and mushrooms -- all ingredients common in Italian cuisine. But is MSG actually added to prepared Italian dishes, like PENNE? I've never heard that it is. But what do I know.
Mucho GUSTO. I'm OUTA here.
For the baby wipe clue, I almost put in STOOL before it became apparent that the answer was DROOL lol
I failed at the SAGET TCM cross. Never heard of either, and Sagel seemed a likelier surname. Otherwise, I liked it.
Many people in Turkey maintain that they are in Europe, I've heard, but this was OK for crosswords.
>>@Bobby McFerrin said...
What a grouch.
Don't worry, be happy!
I see @Larry Gilstrap beat me by 8 hours on the Baby Wipe™️ and “baby wipe” clarification for Rex. Just in case someone is still puzzled, shortening “the target of wiping a baby” to “Baby wipe target.” is legit, Shortz and company are having a little word play fun with us.
@jae - Since I have a bit of a DROOL issue when it comes to ZOOEY Deschanel, that’s hardly trivia. Are you familiar with She and Him? Or the mini-series Tin Man?
How old is CC? Anne MEARA, Bob SAGET, LOU Costello..., this puzzle started as if it was written for NANA. LOL and WMD brought the puzzle into the 21st century initially, and ZOOEY is current, but I was waiting for Jack Webb and Mr. Ed to make their appearances. Otherwise this was a decent enough Tuesday. I’d go further and say “Best Tuesday Ever” but we all know that is more of a xword RAZZIE, so I will stick with solid.
I found this to be a typical Tuesday time, but it was far more interesting because I hadn’t heard of the RAZZIEAWARDS and I had no idea that “turkey” was a BOWLING term.
I think Marmite and Vegemite are vile foodstuffs, but I have witnessed little children gobble them down on bread with gusto. It’s a British thing.
I had no idea MSG was in Lawry’s Seasoned Salt. It’s time for a spice rack purge. My scalloped potatoes may never recover. Maybe that’s why we are always hungry for more a few hours later!
Hey All !
Turkey AFFAIRS puz. Nice. I'm sure we'll get Thanksgiving-y puzs tomorrow and Thursday. DO TELL.
Liked this CC offering. Haven't seen her in a few weeks. I picture her at her computer, making puz after puz with GUSTO. Maybe a little DROOL... 😀
Cool to find four Turkey meanings. Knew the bowling one, as bowling when younger, they had those automatic screens where a Turkey would pop up if you had three strikes in a row.
Light dreck, typical for CC. Hold up for me was having EARTA_, and kept reading it as one word, saying "What in tarhooties is that blasted aid?" Finally said OH HI to GAGA, then the ole brain saw EAR TAG.
ROOM(onster), Har.
MEANT TO VAMOOSE
RooMonster
DarrinV
Just because a misguided association involves a race, it is not therefore a racist association.
Delighted to be reminded of Who’s on First, never tire of it. Never heard of turkey in bowling parlance, probably because never had three strikes in a row.
Regarding MSG, you could start at Wikipedia, maybe check out some of the citations and links, or even just ask Uncle Google if you want to see all the unverified, even disproven, sides of the question. So @John is correct about MSG being in Italian food. I’m not sure about the “just as much” part.
Easier than the usual ZB puzzle.
What a buncha turkeys!
But … enough about the current administration.
Nice, smooth, zooey TuesPuz by one of M&A's fave C.C.onstructioneers. Nice Turkey Day eve eve theme.
fave fillins: Pecans, pumpkin, apples. But, I digress.
staff weeject pick: EUR. Better clue: {Rue, back to the beginning??}.
Always welcome a long LEMONWEDGE with my turkey feast. Could do without that there MSG, tho.
Thanx for the fun, C.C.
Masked & Anonymo5Us
dessert:
**gruntz**
They actually sell (or sold, haven't looked for it in a while) MSG in powdered form in the Spice Aisle. Right there next to the salt and pepper.
Fun game: look for it the next time you're in the grocery store. But don't buy it and use it on your Spam.
RooMonster
Lawry's Seasoned Salt actually does not contain MSG, nor any of the usual products that hide MSG (yeast extract, hydrolized soy protein, etc.) Other than processed and canned foods, the most common place to find it in your pantry is if you use any kind of bouillon cubes/powder or Better Than Bouillon product. That said, I personally use MSG fairly regularly in my cooking, just the straight-up white powder. Not that overpriced Accent crap, but the 99 cent jar simply labeled "MSG" in big letters on the front. But for those who avoid MSG, always check the labels of any sort of seasoning blend and familiarize yourselves with the various names MSG goes by.
Another sneaky one is this" uncured" trend for cured meats. They are (almost always) cured. Just with celery powder or juice, which can contain as much or sometimes even more nitrites/nitrates than traditionally cured products. (Usually you'll find it asterisked with a note that says "other than those which naturally occur in celery powder.") So if you're avoiding nitrites, be aware of that as well.
@Turk No Wit Ski, 8:06 am, i think I meant to say gamy. Like a pheasant. @Gill, you made my mouth water with your description of that delicious feast.
As for drool being a target, it seems more likely to me that the target of a baby’s drool is the unwitting recipient she spits up on! Then one might indeed need a Baby Wipe.
Anon @8:56, As an Italian, I'm offended by another Italian being offended by something like a comment on MSG while restaurants like Olive Garden dump cream sauce on everything and call themselves Italian. Get over it. We have bigger fish to fry, preferably smelt on Christmas eve.
@Quasi (11:13) -- I skimmed right past your post when you described the "scrawny" chicken, but I began to DROOL when you switched your adjective to "gamy". I've been told by people who've spent time and dined extensively in both Europe and Scandinavia that a great chicken -- one not farm raised and reduced to its most tasteless by, say, Perdue -- can be as tasty (read gamy) as a pheasant. Would that it were true in the US because 1) there are almost no restaurants that serve game meats anymore, 2) the ones that do are pretty unaffordable, and 3) the game season is extremely short anyway. But reading @GILL's many cooking posts, I bet she could transform even the most ordinary Perdue chicken into a feast.
I inherit my huge love of game meats from my father. Not long ago, "umami" was added to the language as a "fifth flavor". I'd lobby to have "gamy" added to the language as a sixth. I hope that all of you get to enjoy really good POULTRY over the holiday -- preferably not from a POULTRY FARM.
Surprised that Rex wasn't triggered (😂) by 56A.
The bowling turkey was a gimme, very popular in Upstate NY (way upstate) and something that was a Sunday ritual in my family. The three X's in a row are supposed to look like turkey tracks. Spoiler alert--they don't.
@GILL I.--We were both in Madrid in the late 60's, and for Thanksgiving the faculty member in charge of our college group of a dozen or so took us all to El Botin in Old Madrid where we all had the roast suckling pig from one of those wood-fired ovens. Wow. Not turkey, but unforgettable. After dinner one of the local tunas (Spanish college singing groups) showed up and serenaded us and when they asked for someone to join them I jumped right in. What did we sing? "Strangers in the Night". Good times.
Having LOOS before LAVS slowed solving the crosses.
As a non-Italian, I am offended by.....Oh, never mind.
With my eyebrows raised to the roof over the clue for 68A and looking at ___OL in my grid, I was ready to haul ass away from this puzzle, so the much more benign DROOL gave me a chuckle.
I circled the clue for RAZORS - I thought "Shadow removers" for 18D was pretty clever.
We had several opportunities to learn how to bowl in middle school PhyEd and how to score, which is an interesting exercise in arithmetic. A turkey as the triple strike term was on the written test; I figured we'd find ourselves at a BOWLING ALLEY somewhere, after I got the first two themers.
Thanks, CC, for a nice Thanksgiving lead-in. A totally average solve for me, time-wise, with the one hold-up of POULTRY bARn.
There is a tide in the AFFAIRS of men...
Hope my turkey isn't as tough as this puzzle. CLEAR AS MUD would be apt for 23A: I'd never heard of the RAZZIE AWARDS, and with all letters in but the W, I had to do an alphabet run. Hadn't heard of the BOWLING term, either, so that slowed me down, as did "get lost" before VAMOOSE and not believing anyone would use a baby wipe on DROOL. Liked SLOTH v. YMCA.
CC, a Tuesday, predictable results. @Nancy's "lifeless" gets no argument from me.
@Nancy,
Pheasant season runs from mid October to the end of February in Pennsylvania. Grouse from mid October to the end of November. Both plenty long to bag plenty of birds. An out-of-state license is a relative bargain--you could get a 1 week small game for around $28. ( I'll concede the new stamp required for taking pheasants up the cots, but still cheaper than a restaurant)
Rex already provided your Daily Elvis, but how about a little She & Him covering an Elvis tune (even though it is mostly M. Ward and not ZOOEY singing)(and it’s not actually an EC song, he did a cover of it for a movie).
I too expected to find an NRA rant in the comments, either pro or con.
@Nancy - gamy = umami. They're one and the same. If you like the flavor, go to Czech (Prague) or Hungary (Budapest), where you can find restaurants that serve a full meal, for a very reasonable price, of a variety of game meats including boar, fowl, rabbit, and more. Very tasty. Worth the trip.
The trick, I learned on an extended surf trip to Fiji with a pack of Aussies, is to spread the vegemite in a THIN, almost porous, layer on a slice of toast. When lathered on like peanut butter it even makes Aussies gag. I grew to appreciate it and even now make the odd purchase to recall my time in the South Pacific.
@Z - She & Him yes, Tin Man no, so I just added it to my Prime Video Watch List
Merry Christmas, everybody! And now, O Operator of the Syndie Link: WAKE UP!! You've been stuck on Sunday for two days now! Yes, you can open your eyes; Santa's been here and gone. MOVE IT!!!
I was kinda surprised, after breezing through this, to see the byline. I didn't expect to see that name under a grid so chock full of PPPs--and that horrid thing that has SOMEHOW become a staple in crosswords: I'm talking about OHHI. I could scarcely believe it appeared ONCE; this is now the fourth (!) time I've seen it. To OHHI I say VAMOOSE!
DOD is a real tossup this time, with ZOOEY Deschanel and Lady GAGA fighting for the sash. Let's make them co-winners.
ZB is usually more careful. There is some nice stuff here, and the theme works OK, but it's a cut below what I've come to expect from her. The usual birdie ain't happening; par.
I'm with @Spacey - Synders UNTIE! sic)
Lady Di
BOWLINGALLEY (PARLOR ESTER) POLOS?
I'd SAY The RAZZIEAWARDS
ARE not MEANTTO be SLOTHful AFFAIRS,
but SEE, it's CLEARASMUD
ASTO what Lady GAGA will WARE.
--- ZOOEY OPAL EARP
Seemed like a lot more PPP than usual from CC but that's OK. Unsure, but this may have been a personal best, if I was timing.
It's been a long time since I've been in a BOWLINGALLEY in WESTERNASIA, or eastern Europe, for that matter. Long stories involving past AFFAIRS.
Since @spacey took the obvious, I'd SAY Diana ROSS. Yeah baby.
This puz was no turkey.
Straightforward theme with a some good head scratchers around RAZZIEAWARDS. Nicely done, fun to do.
Merry Christmas from and to syndiland.
Post a Comment