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Relative difficulty: Medium (3:02)
Theme answers:
- STICK A FORK IN IT (20A: Declare something completely finished)
- GAG ME WITH A SPOON (33A: Expression of disgust in Valley Girl-speak)
- GO UNDER THE KNIFE (42A: Have surgery)
Opel (Opel, pronounced [ˈoːpl̩]) is a German automobile manufacturer, subsidiary of Frenchautomaker Groupe PSA since August 2017. From 1929 until 2017, Opel was owned by American automaker General Motors. Opel vehicles are sold in the United Kingdom under the Vauxhall brand.Opel traces its roots to a sewing machine manufacturer founded by Adam Opel in 1862 in Rüsselsheim am Main. The company began manufacturing bicycles in 1886 and produced its first automobile in 1899. After listing on the stock market in 1929, General Motors took a majority stake in Opel and then full control in 1931, establishing the American reign over the German automaker for nearly 90 years.In March 2017, Groupe PSA agreed to acquire Opel from General Motors for €2.2 billion, making the French automaker the second biggest in Europe, after Volkswagen.Opel is headquartered in Rüsselsheim am Main, Hesse, Germany. The company designs, engineers, manufactures and distributes Opel-branded passenger vehicles, light commercial vehicles, and vehicle parts and together with its British sister brand Vauxhall they are present in over 50 countries around the world. (wikipedia)
• • •
But then there a number of problems. First, this isn't the tightest theme; spoon fork knife, OK, but ... two are at end of their themers, one isn't; two are things you would actually put in your mouth, one *decidedly* isn't. I mean, not that we put knives in our mouths as a rule, but we definitely don't put *surgical* knives in our mouths. And look, surgeons, if I'm wrong about that, please don't tell me. Also, the revealer is pretty weak, in that it doesn't really evoke silverware specfiically. COME TO THE TABLE? Lots of things are on a table, lots of things are involved in a place setting. Maybe do something with SILVER ...? I dunno, but this revealer just lies there. Then there's the very serious problems with the fill. The grid is choked with crosswordese, some of it of a stunningly archaic variety. IGLU!? You can see what happened—the fill is weakest along the length of the central two themers. They are treacherously close, and the grid just groans with hypercommon or just plain bad short fill as a result. If you position your themers such that you give yourself -G-U as a starting point, you really are dooming yourself to IGLU. Gotta make better choices, or build a more forgiving grid, or let your themers breathe more, or something. Real problem is those 14s—14s are very hard to work with. Very unwieldy, and you can't put them on the third / thirteenth rows because of black square issues, so they're crowding the middle of the puzzle. Much of the grid is under strain because of the lack of breathing room between the very long themers. So we get SOT ERGS ETON ALOU ATPAR ELAN RAJAS ACERB ENOLA OBIS AAA ETATS SOU (ugh) IGLU (2x) OPEL HOER (?) UHURA. It's a crosswordese barrage. And it's pretty brutal.
FIVE THINGS:
- 53A: Org. with the longtime leader Wayne LaPierre (NRA) — f*** that guy and this answer and this clue and all of it. I know it's a useful answer, but this is pretty much a white terrorist org. now, so maybe delete it from your wordlist. Please. EURO could've been changed to ESSO and the whole horrid gun-fetishizing scene could've been avoided.
- 39A: Give the glad eye (OGLE) — again, jeez, read the room (i.e. country). This old-timey euphemism for a creepy predatory gaze is somehow much worse than just a straightforward clue.
- 1D: Moo goo gai pan pan (WOK) — indeed, a funny clue, but one that had my speed-solving brain totally flummoxed, as I thought ... I just couldn't figure out what I was reading. It was like I was seeing double and I couldn't parse it to save my life, so I actually had to go to crosses, ugh. My bad.
- 43D: "You wouldn't believe it if I told you" ("DON'T ASK!") — more good colloquial stuff, though I couldn't get the part after DON'T, and since I couldn't get the part before -TO THE TABLE, I was in this weird position of being almost done but locked out of that SW corner. Had to jump into it and solve my way back out.
- 48A: One-named singer with the 1985 hit "Smooth Operator" (SADE) — this puzzle has me wishing SADE and REBA did a duet together, if only for the complete and utter unexpectedness of it
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]
Medium. Colorful theme answers, liked it. Nice debut!
ReplyDeleteSolid theme with some big old grid spanners, and it's only Monday. Kudos to the constructor. When I sloppily eat with chopsticks, I soldier through and double my time of consumption. Sashimi with a FORK? No way, Jose!
ReplyDeleteOFL, quibbled with the abundance of crosswordese, as did I. LIEU, ERGS (plural), and SOT are exhibit A, among others. Checks that old calendar on the wall, and it screams Monday.
I was grew up in LA, so all the abuse about girls that talk funny and the fact we have been catching on fire lately matters little. We can take care of ourselves. I'm proud of Moon Unit, and Dweezel, and papa Frank.
Became familiar with my local orthopaedic doctors and support staff who urged me to GO UNDER THE KNIFE. Challenging process, but a conscientious physical therapy program is the key. And time, lots of time.
If AAA ever lost sight of its mission: giving tows, maps, and insurance to motorists, and began spewing political propaganda,then I might revoke my membership. Looking at you,53A.
Tuesday nights, I have access to a private chef at a generally mundane restaurant, lucky me! I am a populist, but when ever special treatment is available, I'm all over it. Oddly, some of the seafood items are terrific. Last week, I ordered a scallop pasta thing and I was offered a RUNNY egg on top. Well, alright!
Why did I struggle with EMOJI when RAJAS were so obvious?
I found this puzzle to be on the easy side. I wasn’t bothered by the crosswordese as much as Rex was, and I agree that the long answers were clever and original.
ReplyDeleteDidn’t much care for IGLU as a variant of the actual word. The only places I’ve ever seen IGLU are in crosswords.
All in all, an easy Monday. For me.
I thought (from the perspective of a newbie) that this puzzle rated a difficult for its day of the week. Last to fall for me was the N.E. Had oHURu, then UHURo, giving me PoSTS for "histories", so did not find my error and had to click on "check puzzle", thus DNF. On a Monday.
ReplyDeleteSome good but not-so-common words (CANTS, SOU, NYET), several not so good (ACERB, REBA, HOER, IGLU). ACERB is not a common word at all. I have never come across it anywhere except in x-words.
Chuckled at 32D. My dentist never has to tell me "OPEN, please". More often my mouth is too agape and he has to ask me to close it a WEE bit.
I'll bet that @M & A will pick WEE as his staff weeject today.
For what it's worth, CHAI may have been popularized in the ETATS Unis by stores such as Starbucks as a word for a particular type of spiced-up tea, but in much of the rest of the world it is simply a variant spelling of various Asian words for plain old tea: Hindi-Urdu (cāy) or (ćāy), Turkish (çay, and cognates), Sinitic (chá). When people in The Netherlands order tea, plain hot tea, they often ask for chai.
Can anybody explain to me why 8-D was clued as "==>or"? Why is the "or" there?
Speaking of "or", @Rex's commentary provides a good example of why I detest the slash (/) as a universal punctuation mark and conjunction substitute. He writes: "Very unwieldy, and you can't put them on the third / thirteenth rows because of black square issues." Sooooo, is that slash standing in for "or" or for "and"? Some of you may be convinced that you know the answer, but I would argue it is ambiguous.
Not sure what the protocol is for joining the club as a new solver, but I solved this one last night - and for the first time came in under 10 minutes and no mistakes and just couldn't wait to come and share :) I know, I know, quite slow compared to everyone's under 5 minute game. But I'm still new to all this so it's quite the milestone.
ReplyDeleteThe phrases were awesome and I could get them fairly easily even as a non native speaker. The only one that was a bit tough was "GAG ME WITH A SPOON" which I'd never heard of before (despite being an avid follower of @overheardLA and a self proclaimed basic). 66A I found particularly cute too. Overall super enjoyable!
Welcome. I've been doing this for a while and I was 11 minutes, which is fast for me, even on Monday.
DeleteWelcome! I learn so much, laugh a lot and mostly “lurk” because my prowess doesn’t deserve mention compared to the pros here in this community. Hope this adds to your enjoyment of crosswords as much as it does mine!
DeleteGo under the knife is not a pleasant theme entry. The others are fine though.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations Ms Bloomer! WHO KNEW, KEELS OVER, DON’T ASK, and PUT ON AIRS are great, and the theme is very nice. How a out a Tuesday next time...
ReplyDeleteI had forgotten the valleyspeak of GAG ME WITH A SPOON. Hah. I guess it would cause less damage to the soft palate than the fork. Or a skewer. Or a long pointy fingernail that seems to be all the rage right now.
ReplyDeleteNice, straightforward theme. Rex – I seriously have to disagree on your theme-tightness issue. Sure. Lots of things come to a table, but these three are definitely a Thing. And now that I’ve thought about it, I bet this is the absolute best set of themers available. 1) Again, the three of’em go together. (FORK, SPOON, PLATE, and NAPKIN wouldn’t feel like such a cohesive team imo) and 2) each themer is a full-on imperative independent clause – nary a FASHION PLATE or JACKKNIFE among them.
But, you Really lost me when you pointed out that only two go in the mouth. (Does over-think have a hyphen, or is it just one word? Maybe two words?) Tell me you were just yanking our chain.
I kinda like that the utensil-ness of the themers isn’t disguised. Like, not a FORK IN THE ROAD or a REESE WITHERSPOON; these guys are what they are, and they’re ready to get down to business of eating.
Good cross – BEEF/FORK.
I also noticed PUT ON AIRS is right there under the reveal. Nothing can evoke images of “hoity-toity” better than a formal place setting. (Not knowing which fork to use I guess betrays a lack of sophistication, but calling someone out for using the wrong fork betrays a lack of class. Just so’s you know.)
Agree that the clue for WOK was inspired. I wish I could think of some more like this. Hey Mom – I have the stuffing serving dish and the cranberry sauce dish, but we still need a horseradish dish dish. Dishwasher’s empty, by the way.
I think I would have preferred the reveal “bring” TO THE TABLE, but then you’d have to make 20A be “sticks” A FORK IN IT, and, well, our @Anoa Bob would have a conniption fit!
@newgirl – welcome to the club. You’ve made the perfect start by not posting anonymously. As you continue to participate here, you’ll really hone your solving skills.
Kathy Bloomer – congrats on a fine dining debut.
Never heard of GAGMEWITHASPOON but inferable from the downs. Glad to see Neko Case getting a lot of love from people here. She's amazing and should be known by more people.
ReplyDeletePeople not recognizing GAG ME WITH A SPOON makes me feel, like, totally ancient.
ReplyDelete@M&A -- 6 U's!
ReplyDeleteLively, lovely debut!
What especially struck my fancy:
* No putting on airs here; a Rabelaisian vibe, with the gagging, fork-sticking, surgical body piercing, and keeling over. The raw down-to-earthness, the starkness, brought me to life, and that liveliness for some reason made me feel so good that I didn't even find IGLU uglu.
* I usually complete Mondays in a splash, but today there were a couple of pleasing hiccups.
* AGOG/ACERB/ALOU. Say them together real fast so it sounds like one word. I want to use this word with a straight face, but I can't think of the right situation. Any suggestions?
While on safari, we saw a gogacerbalou bound across the Serengeti
DeleteFWIW, IGLU Is the Romanized spelling of the actual Inuktitut word for “house,” so it isn’t so much a variant as the original word. Not sure if that makes you like it or hate it more. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Igloo
ReplyDeleteVery nice Monday. I’m still licking my wounds from last week’s slump, so this was refreshing way to enjoy my morning oatmeal.
ReplyDeleteThis was a pretty good Monday, I thought. The theme was fun, and of course it was mostly easy but that's what Mondays are for. Let's see what we have:
ReplyDeleteARTIE Shaw was married 8 times (including Lana Tuner and Ava Gardner), was a math genius, and an expert fly fisherman. They said he was a difficult man. Also a world-class shot.
ENOLA Gay: Bonus theme because it was a SILVERPLATE B-29, built in Omaha, Nebraska. B-29s were dangerous planes to fly in the Pacific War because they had engines that were prone to catch fire and burn through the wing, which was not a good thing.
AAA: In California this is called The Auto Club. Interstate highways here are also always prefaced with "the." Go figure.
CHAI: I first learned this word for tea from the novel "A Clockwork Orange" many years ago. There's even a dictionary in the back of the book for the "Nadsat" slang that Anthony Burgess invented, borrowing a lot of Russian. The novel was published in 1962.
OGLE: You can ogle a car, you know. You can LUST after a car as well. It's more fun to ogle and lust after a dame though. Just my opinion and Artie Shaw's too, and he was a genius.
@Loren Muse Smith and @OffTheGrid thank you both for the warm welcomes. I'm already looking forward to tomorrow's puzzle. :)
ReplyDeleteMy first car was a 1974 OPEL Manta, so I stand by OPEL as decent fill. A few weeks ago, renting a car in Germany, I was disappointed to get a Ford S-Max (now, that would be crappy fill) instead of an OPEL. Also loved the hoity-toity clue for PUTTINGONAIRS. And, after getting to the knife, I was wondering what comes next--CHOPSTICKS?
ReplyDeleteI found this to be very easy...and a yummy puzzle. We just needed more food at the table!!
ReplyDelete@Newgirl...Welcome!!!
I thought it was easy and liked it way more than OFL. Agree that there was a lot of crosswordese (SOU, etc.), but Avery enjoyable puzzle with great long answers both theme and non-theme. Thumbs up!
ReplyDeleteLoren Muse Smith, the spoon wouldn’t touch the soft palate. That’s the back of the roof of the mouth. The spoon used in gagging is pressed against the back end of the tongue, inducing vomiting.
ReplyDeleteI’ve never held a gun in my hands much less owned one but NRA is a famous organization and an apt Monday answer. Kudos to Will for standing up to the bullies. I’d say the same if he included NARAL, who many compare to a terrorist organization.
ReplyDeleteThe fix isn't hard.
ReplyDeleteYou could get rid of 53 across and 47 across by changing Euro to Eddo. maybe eddo isn't considered a "Monday" word but is sou? And having "sod" and "NDA" in 47 and 53 across would have been a big improvement, and if reasonably clued, you wouldn't need to know eddo because you could get it on the crosses.
@Valley Gurl 8:27 AM-
ReplyDeleteTMI
If folks on the right can deal with CHE in their daily crossword puzzle, then Rex and his ilk can deal with NRA.
ReplyDeleteI’m especially taken with the amusing nickname given to New York’s newest congresswoman, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Many now refer to her as SHE GUEVERA. She’ll be fun to watch.
Like, totally awesome. This bimbette loved GAG ME WITH A SPOON. I watch Judge Melian often and she uses STICK A FORK IN me, I'm done. If you want to gauge the doneness of your steak, use your fingers.
ReplyDeleteIs this a debut? SWEEEET. I did notice a lot of crosswordese but, like, I didn't care.
Have you noticed that "like" has now been replaced by "so." I listen to a lot of NPR and when Beth Ruryack (sp?) asks her guest what they think about our state of affairs, the speaker ALWAYS starts with SO.....
Don't quite understand 52D >Or = EMOJI? @'american: 8D has an ARROW pointing to and from "or"
Never understood why SUCKERS are chumps.
Nice Monday. It reminds me of a T-shirt I once saw:
Once upon a time
Fuck you
The end
But in a nice way..... and @newgirl. Let me add a warm welcome. The blog always needs new, good blood.
Question: I haven’t commented for a while here, and see that comments are now “moderated.” Did things get crazy here in the run up to the election? Something else happen?
ReplyDeleteThe ENOLA GAY was named after the pilot’s (Col. Paul Tibbets, Jr.) mother.
ReplyDelete“Valley Girl” was released in 1983. It’s officially middle-aged. I hate to think what that means in terms of my age! (I graduated law school in 1982). GAG ME WITH A SPOON.
Yeah, pretty much what Rex said. Great themers.
ReplyDelete@newgirl - Welcome. I hope you are here long enough for us to tease you about being @newgirl.
@‘mericans - Since Rex is referring to theoretical symmetrical placement of theme answers I am confident that the / represents and/either.
@LMS - How does it feel to be well-actuallied by a valley girl?
@zenmonkey - But we will always have Nic Cage.
@Lewis - And 4 W’s, which makes it 14 U’s.
@WW - Moderation has been on for much longer than the run up to the election. As I understand it, Rex was getting complaints. It was mostly trolling anonymice (not to be conflated with anonymous posters) getting uglu.
An enjoyable Monday, with a colorful, lively theme and no junk. The revealer took me by surprise, though. I'm wondering if the FORK, SPOON and KNIFE walked to THE TABLE together as good allies should, or if each one came alone, carrying an umbrella? Don't think that the cutlery would "come" to the table. They'd be "brought" there or "placed" there. Yes?
ReplyDeleteActually I was expecting a different revealer -- one that I would have clued obliquely:
"A horseshoe from the Lone Ranger's horse, and a hint to..."
But I'm just having fun with you, Kathy B. Your puzzle was quite enjoyable, if fairly easy.
@Z Thanks for the explanation.
ReplyDeleteBTW: thanks for your fun puzzle, Kathy!
And, of course, we still have those amazing BRUCE HAIGHT puzzles to look forward to (and see Rex bash). Bruce has been cranking out a lot of ‘em in the past year!
Could someone tell me how INT is a QB’s mistake?
ReplyDeleteIt's short for interception.
DeleteSince we are still on our Neko Case spree, how about a little Neko singing in Spanish on a British TV show with a band from the SW.. And I can’t post a link to a Calexico song without posting a link to them performing Alone again, or... Oh, and a little more Spectacle, and Jesse Winchester making Neko cry.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for introducing me to that Jesse Winchester video that I will surely watch 1000+ times for the rest of my life.
DeleteI don’t think even Felipe ALOU’s mom would argue that he’s one same level as ALI and PELE, so he seemed a little out of place today. It did make me wonder if we should be using Moises for our ALOU clues now?
ReplyDeleteHis (Felipe's) nickname was El Panqué, which seems to translate as pancake, sweet bread or sponge cake. I love the idea of a ballplayer being nicknamed “the sponge cake”.
@chefbea , @GILL I. and @Z thank you to you too! :) haha I realized the nickname might not age well, but hey I'm here for it :D
ReplyDelete@newgirl:
ReplyDelete1) Welcome
2) Many people do not solve in times resembling what Rex posts. For many, solving methodically is part of the enjoyment.
3) Did you mean 64A? 66A seems awfully prosaic.
@Unknown 9:37 - an INTerception thrown by a QuarterBack is most often the result of a mistake made by said QB.
@kitshef thank you as well! I'm enjoying taking my time with the puzzles as well, but it's still fun to see some progress. And you are right - oopsie! - I actually meant 64A. Typos like these are what keep me over 10 mins haha
ReplyDeleteI say 71 across is a bigger problem than NRA or the theme.
ReplyDeleteSexual appetite may or not be sinful. Lust is always so.
@newgirl -- You solved in under ten minutes and you're a non-native English speaker? To use a Valley-Girlish phrase, that's, like, awesome!!!!!! Soon you'll be kicking ass at the ACPT, I bet. I join everyone else in saying welcome to the blog.
ReplyDelete@Whirred Whacks: I've missed you! I'm so glad to see you again! To quote that wonderful last line from "Brief Encounter"*: "You've been a long way away. Thank you for coming back to [us]." Hang around for a while, will you, @Whirred?
*I'll fess up. "Brief Encounter" was on TV last week and I was looking for a puzzle link so that I have an excuse to talk about it here. There hasn't been any such link, so I just invented my own excuse. There was a time when everyone, absolutely everyone would have already seen it. But new generations get born, and more and more movie product gets churned out, and you can't see everything, right? But, if you haven't seen it, this you have to see! Casablanca, Schmasablanca -- I think that "Brief Encounter" is the greatest romantic movie ever made. Ever. Times have changed, customs have changed, morality has changed, what happens in this movie would be most unlikely to happen today. And it doesn't matter at all. I can't watch this movie without crying at the end. And, while women will probably be more affected than men, men have been known to cry, too. Please see it. Then we'll talk.
Ah Rex, you’re overly technical critique seems strained and the dissertation on a knife and a mouth borders on the ridiculous, unless you’re just putting us on (which I would like to believe you are). Found the puzzle easy and enjoyable. Felipe Alou May not have attained the celebrity of Ali or Pele but, in terms of his long career and accomplishments he certainly belongs in the same puzzle.
ReplyDeleteJOHN X (7:07) : here in Northern California (or at least in Bay Area) we don’t use the “the” in front of Hwy numbers. I take 280 or 92 or 380 to 101 (so many ways to get to 101). I think the “the” is residual from the original names used for freeways in SoCal: The Long Beach, The Santa Monica, etc.; case in point: up here we do still call 880 “The Nimitz”.
ReplyDeleteI had trouble with 55A INT crossing 46D KENAN - football & comedy? Couldn't get the N.
ReplyDelete@newgirl
ReplyDeleteWelcome. Live long and prosper (in case you're a Trekkie).
I never time my puzzles because I enjoy doing them too much to make them stressful. I do them while I'm eating breakfast, though, so I know roughly how long they should take me. Mondays and Tuesdays I can do the crossword and both the hard and the easy KenKen before taking my last sip of coffee. On Thursdays and good Wednesdays, I finish my breakfast before I get to the second KenKen. I don't have time for either KenKen on Thursdays or Fridays. Saturdays and Sundays--no KenKen; probably a second cup of coffee. That's my timing method, and I'm sticking with it.
ReplyDeleteRe NRA and ogle--it's tantrums like this that make me sort of understand why conservatives think we liberals are ridiculous. The NRA is a thing, and so is Wayne LaPierre. Ogle is a perfectly valuable word. That you fill in those words in a crossword makes you neither an ogler or a gun nut. Let's save our ire for more important things.
My five favorite clues from last week:
ReplyDelete1. Group that's well financed? (4)
2. High-occupancy vehicles? (9)
3. Gambler"s spot (3)
4. What sharks take interest in (5)
5. Getting to the point? (8)
OPEC
CLOWN CARS
PIP
USURY
TAPERING
I'm 62 years old and this puzzle felt to me like it was written for old folks, not me. Back in the day, the OPEL GT was a favorite car in America for conversion into an electric vehicle (using a jet engine starter motor). I ogled them on the highways from my Bug and lusted after one, either gas or electric. I had a NY Cosmos tee shirt with Pele on it too.
ReplyDelete@newgirl, welcome.
Rex, make room in your reading for "Let It Bang: A Young Black Man's Reluctant Odyssey into Guns", by RJ Young. It's pretty interesting but burdened with Tom Clancyesque digressions of descriptions -- you can skip those.
NARAL a "terrorist" group? Only on the internet. It is to laugh. As for the NRA, they're not a white terrorist org, but the NRA-ILA *is* a group of insane, fear-mongering gun fetishists who represent approximately 0.0185% of American gun owners (because even most of the NRA's tiny membership don't agree with the ILA) and approximately 100% of gun manufacturers. So, again, not a terror org, just a very effective propaganda machine we'd (gun owners and others) do well to ignore. I dropped my membership years ago and feel much cleaner. I miss the discounts and such, but that's a small price to pay for distancing one's self from them. I wish Congress would do likewise.
Hey All !
ReplyDeleteJust when I wasn't feeling my age, along come some of y'all who say you've never heard GAG ME WITH A SPOON. Really? That was like, totally 80's. The best years to grow up in. (Har. I used to be on a site years ago that had the 70's/80's Greatest Time Debate.) Remember the Big Hair? Guys and girls. The band Poison, who wore more makeup than alot of women? Good stuff.
Anyway, the puz was OK. I do agree there was a touch too much
-ese, but still a nice MinPuz romp. And nice for a debut. Way to go!
LEGO my IGLU!
RooMonster
DarrinV
@GILL I.: My point is that "or" is not needed in the clue. Just "==>" would have been enough to clue ARROW, no?
ReplyDelete@Z: "and/either" doesn't make any sense at all. The usual form is "either" [noun] "or". And either "or" or "and" could fit where @Rex put that slash, depending on what idea he was trying to convey.
Any MonPuz that includes RUNT+LUST is A-ok by M&A.
ReplyDeleteHoly moly -- 58 letters of theme stuff, and still had enough lust left over in the tank to crank out great long-balls like: PUTONAIRS. KEELSOVER. SUCKERS. WHOKNEW. DONTASK.
staff weeject pick: WEE [yo, @mericans]. Honrable de-mention to NRA, since it got @RP so fired up.
sUperb debUt pUz, Kathy Bloomer darlin. Don't ever get too concerned about folks who complain about them typical crossword entries [a la SOT ERGS] showin up in yer crossword -- just keep crankin out primo puzs like this.
Thanx for the fun and UHURA.
Masked & Anonymo8Us
[yo, @Lewis: SIX?! … this is why sometimes they ask for re-counts!]
lusty runt w. meta contest [no day-um spoilers, @RP!]:
**gruntz**
@John X:
ReplyDeleteARTIE Shaw was married 8 times (including Lana Tuner and Ava Gardner), was a math genius
yes, but... he was a clarinetist, the "ill wind nobody blows good" : https://www.chronicle.com/blogs/linguafranca/2016/10/24/an-ill-wind-that-no-one-blows-good/
.. and almost always voiced as 'eye-en-tee'
Here is another clue we could do without: The ENOLA GAY was the plane that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima!
ReplyDeleteI like the fact that Rex complained about the crosswordese but then went on to explain why the constructor had to do that. Gave me some insight into constructing puzzles.
ReplyDelete@LMS. I added your quote about formal place settings to my list of quotes from you that I say to the grammar nazi at our summer campgrounds
I set up an actual account to control for trolls. Gosh I love the internet <3 @Nancy thank you so much for the kind words! really means a lot :) and @ everyone else thanks for the kind welcome. You're all awesome and I look forward to learning from you all!
ReplyDelete@Banana D
ReplyDeleteIsn't it the OBOE that's an ill wind...?
@Whirred Whacks - As @Nancy said, stick around for a while - "SHE GUEVERA"! Hilarious! When has blatant racism never been funny?
ReplyDeleteWell, first of all, 1A made me think of this song, so I was going to love this puzzle no matter what. I had a moment of thinking it was going to be about sailboats with 17A, but that didn't last long, and it all came right together.
ReplyDeleteBut what's all this talk about silver (@Rex, @Nancy)? You folks must be a lot fancier than I -- my cutlery is stainless steel.
@George, go back and look at @Loren's avatar -- always worth doing. She beat you to it (and one of your best, Loren!)
@newgirl -- Welcome! In the next week or so you will get a large envelope in the mail with your membership card and explanations of the secret handshake.
@Gill -- in the paper, the or at 52D was preceded and followed by an actual EMOJI -- the smiley face with hears for eyes, and the thumbs-up sign. Maybe they didn't come through online?
@m&a -- [red in face]... seven.
ReplyDelete@JC66:
ReplyDeleteIsn't it the OBOE that's an ill wind...?
initially, perhaps, but I recall reading it specific to the clarinet. the article also mentions the clarinet.
" I have seen it confidently applied to the French horn, clarinet, flute, bagpipes, saxophone, and oboe."
[my emphasis]
@jberg (11:44) -- Not understanding your shoutout to @George, I went back to look at @Loren's avatar. It was all a blur to me, and I had no idea what it was, exactly. So I clicked on her profile to enlarge it. And what I saw were a bunch of musical notes. So then I looked at George's post and it mentioned Chopsticks. Do those musical notes, when played, produce "Chopsticks" by any chance? If they don't, then I don't get your comment at all. And if they do -- how on earth did you know that, just by looking at them? Are you a pianist?
ReplyDelete@Nancy
ReplyDeleteI always try to remember to check out @LMS' avatar, and today I went through the exact same process as you. Hope someone confirms its chopsticks.
DEET is the active ingredient in many brands. It is not a brand itself.
ReplyDeleteI think it's no coincidence that IGLU anagrams to UGLI, har. But by the time I finished this easy puzzle, I had already forgotten about that one icky answer. The rest of the crosswordese pointed out by Rex seems fine for a Monday.
ReplyDeleteOf course, I had to start filling in 20A as STICK it with a fork, which wasn't going to fit, as I found out halfway through, but I was glad the basic phrase turned out to be right. And GOUNDER in 42A keeps ogling me in that DOOK-ish fashion; knowing what it actually is isn't helping my eyes to unsee it. (GOUNDER, as opposed to Mack THE KNIFE, nah).
What a great debut, Kathy Bloomer!
8 U's.
ReplyDelete@M&A, do you do your U count by looking at the puz analysis over at xword.com? Just curious. I do my F count (and I must confess, U count also) the old fashioned way, by physically going line by line with the puz and counting. I leave the abacus on the shelf. :-)
@newgirl, welcome. I don't remember such fanfare when I first started blogging here. Jealous? Not me. :-) Don't want to be a downer, or critical even, but there is an unwritten rule (actually it was Rex's rule years ago) that one limit their posts to three. Now, some of us (I've done it before myself) go over that, but just wanted to give you a heads up in case you get some blowback.
@jberg
My package must've gotten lost in the mail! Har. 😀😎
RooMonster
@nancy and @JC66 -- It IS Chopsticks.
ReplyDelete@m&a -- [face even redder] ... eight.
p.s.
ReplyDeleteWell re-re-done, @Lewis.
Almost forgot …
fave moo-cow eazy-E MonPuz clue: {Sis's sibling} = BRO. Moo now, BRO cow.
honrable mention to:
{Moo goo gai pan pan} = WOK. On account of it bein a de-facto "moo" clue.
M&Also
@Charley - I thought the same, but deet.com suggests the ingredient is a brand onto itself.
ReplyDelete@‘mericans - In both Rex’s use and my use that slash could be replaced with “either.” Rex’s slash cannot be “or” because symmetry while my slash can’t mean “and” because I clearly (?) want only one option, but ”either” is wishy-washy enough to work in both cases. So, maybe, just mentally substitute “either” every time you see a “/“ and revel in the ambiguity.
p.p.s.s.
ReplyDelete@Roo -- yep. I count manually, then verify with xwordinfo.chen, before goin to press.
Same with weeject pick -- Select manually, but verify that somethin runty awesome wasn't overlooked.
Just have to wing it, on moo-cow MonPuz clues.
Happy Vet's Day, to all those folks without the bone-spurs who served us so valiantly.
Happy Comment Gallery debut day, to @newgirl darlin.
Nice avatar, @Muse -- M&A ain't very musical, so my ahar moment was spurred by other better-educated comments.
M&A III
Thanks to those who pointed out that this is a debut. What a terrific start, with those three lively theme phrases...that follow the rules of crossword symmetry. And with the bonus of DON'T ASK, KEELS OVER, and PUT ON AIRS, this was a Monday with a lot of smiles.
ReplyDeleteI knew Rex would be triggered by NRA. His breezy denunciation of millions of the NRA’s law abiding members is a textbook example of hoity toity effete coastal elitism
ReplyDeleteThose law abiding members share the responsibility when someone does break the law (shootings) because the NRA is why we don't have reasonable gun control laws.
DeleteBTW, it's absolutely fine with me if "NRA" is in a puzzle.
@Z: So, you are saying that I should interpret @Rex's sentence as "Very unwieldy, and you can't put them on the third either thirteenth rows because of black square issues."
ReplyDeleteThat makes no sense.
What would make more sense is "Very unwieldy, and you can't put them on either the third or the thirteenth rows because of black square issues."
But both of these would make sense, and both meanings are seen frequently when a slash is used:
"Very unwieldy, and you can't put them on the third or thirteenth rows because of black square issues."
"Very unwieldy, and you can't put them on the third and thirteenth rows because of black square issues."
"Or" allows one or the other or both to be valid; "and" means both are (or have to be) valid. They are not equivalent conjunctions. The slash shifts the burden of understanding from the writer to the reader, who then must guess, and has a 50% chance of being wrong.
At least it wasn't clued - "plus un SOU"
ReplyDelete@M&A - any further explanation on 14A in the runtpuz would be appreciated. Read your writeup, even Googled it, but am still in the dark.
ReplyDeletePretty cute puzzle today esp. the theme answer with the spoon.
ReplyDeleteI've always heard, usually in exasperation after a failure, Stick a fork in Me, I'm done.
Go under the knife is rather gruesome giving me thoughts of the Civil War or maybe a guillotine.
Things I learned today -
DEET is a brand name (thought it was an ingredient).
Artie Shaw did lots more than play the clarinet.
Brief Encounter needed to be added to my Netflix queue.
Some baseball guy is nicknamed Spongecake.
Rex got "triggered" but no Star Wars clues. Just a lot of uglu stuff that seemed to be needed on a debut puzzle.
Whew! That's a lot for a Monday.
@Betty Danger --
ReplyDelete"Tantrums"? Now you sound just like the conservatives with whom you so charmingly commiserate.
I would never dream of inflicting the removal of OGLE, leer, etc. on crossword constructors. My objection and Rex's, if you cared to read them with eyes unrolled, was to the way the word was *clued* in this specific puzzle.
Congrats to you if you've lived a life free of sexual harassment of any kind and/or it matters to you so little that these things don't give you pause.
Brava to the nth power. This one is a masterpiece.
ReplyDeleteBest,
john
@Nancy there"s an old joke about a bartender and a magic lamp. I won"t go through the whole thing but the punch line is "Do you think I wished for twelve inch pianist ?"
ReplyDelete@kitshef: I tried expandin the explanation of 14-A in the runtpuz write-up. Maybe that'll help?
ReplyDeleteM&A Outlaw Help Desk
I don’t like the NRA,FDA,FAA,CIA,FBI,AAA,SPUC (Society for Protection of Unborn Children) HSBC, etc. None should be banned. We need puzzles to be more inclusive. Can’t we just get along?
ReplyDelete@M&A
ReplyDeleteI can't find the runtpuz write-up. Can you please provide a link?
Hoity Toidy,
ReplyDeletePlease explain how members of a lawful group bear responsibility for illicit acts.
Thank you,
Part of the hoi polloi
@JC66: Best way I know to see that write-up:
ReplyDelete1. Mash the **gruntz** link.
2. Mash the Down Home option.
3. Mash the Show Solvers button.
4. Under the "Summaries" box's "More details" column, mash "link" in the "Masked and Anonymous" solver row.
This all kinda takes some gettin-used-to.
M&A Outlaw Help Desk
@M&A
ReplyDeleteThank U.
@zen monkey 4pm. Oh no, you used the blasted slash What does it mean in this context?
ReplyDeleteWhat are the new little momentary bubble bursts in the nyt app?!?! They are so brief I cannot read what they say.
ReplyDelete@shari 8:48
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, they're kind of a distraction/waste. (Oh, no! The SLAG!) :-)
They let you know your progress through the puz. There are three, first on says "1/4 Done!" Then "1/2 Done!" then "3/4 Done!" If memory serves. Of course, counting on my memory is like counting on the tide stopping.
Roo
Yes. Distracting. Thanks, Roo.
ReplyDelete@The Slasher
ReplyDeleteIt means "and/or".
As does that one.
It's a fractal slash.
:-)
SCRAP BRO’SCRAP
ReplyDeleteDON’T PUTONAIRS when you COMETOTHETABLE,
DON’TASK about SUCKERS born each minute.
WHOKNEW the SCOPE of that LIAR’s fable?
Just EDITOUT THE fibs and STICKAFORKINIT.
--- WADE ELLIS
Easy, but DNF because of one square. I got stung at the OPEL/DEET crossing. I had OPaL and maybe I would have changed it to OPEL if the clue for 3D said ingredient instead of brand - maybe not. You can GAGMEWITHASPOON for the 53A clue. Giving LaPierre celebrity status in the NYT puzzle is disgusting. Anyways, who am I to PUTONAIRS? I have a DNF for a Monday. YES, I must learn to LEGO of this one and EDITOUT all future mistakes. HAHA!
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised that the @BS entry didn't mention HOER (!), OGLE or LUST. Hmm. Well, while on the subject, let's award the DOD sash. It's a close one between Nichelle Nichols as UHURA and SADE. N.N. got there first, so she gets it.
ReplyDeleteI stand foursquare against the NRA, but I DONTASK why it's in a grid. It's a crossword puzzle, not a manifesto. It's fill. LEGO of it.
Theme density, especially those two gridspanners separated by a single row, makes for a few gulps in the fill, like resorting to a variant with IGLU. Also I would not call CHAI a Monday-level entry. Those aside, the puzzle was fine and fun to do. All that flatware got me hungry, so I'll have some breakfast now. Birdie.
P.S. Hon. mention for DOD: Reese WITHASPOON. HAHA.
@spacey – Reese WITHASPOON. Hilarious!
ReplyDeleteCompleted this puz in about 2.5 Rexes; 7:30 is about as fast as I have ever solved any puz, even in a contest. Maybe a few times under 7:00.
Former Packer HAHA Clinton-Dix makes another appearance. Without being clued.
@D,LIW’s NOVA is clued as Scotia instead of lox.
SADE’s “Best of” CD is magic. Yeah baby.
Perhaps not AAA rated, but good enough Mon-puz.
Damn fine Monday puzzle, and a debut to boot. Where does "to boot" meaning "as well" come from? Curious.
ReplyDeleteWhether they are breathing or not, the themers were perfect.
Really liked the longer colloquial answers. @Rondo, I noticed the missed opportunity to clue 35D as "Washington safety Clinton-Dix".
If you are so enraged by certain egregious organizations, you might as well disallow Republican Party.
I have no problem with NRA appearing in the grid. But it could have been clued differently so as not to give "longtime leader" LaPierre the honour of being mentioned in a NYT puzzle. Clue 53A as Pro-gun lobby group instead. Factual, without giving any credit to the head of an organization that refuses to recognize that gun violence is out of control and needs to stop.
ReplyDeleteNRA? Never heard of it.
ReplyDeleteSeriously, this is a helluva good Monday puzzle. Chock full of good stuff beyond the solid theme, whose honorary members could include BEEF, SCRAP, ATE, and WOK.
Some nice pairings, too: WEE/RUNT, LAGO/LEGO, and a special mention for WHOKNEW/DONTASK.
Maybe a Puzzle of the Week? At least a Monday of the Month.
BTW, I forgot to mention that the 4 corner letters of yesterday's syndi-puz spell B-O-N-D, James BOND.
ReplyDeleteAn absolute joy. I'm still noticing little bits of word play like WOK and WADE.
ReplyDeleteUh oh - finished, but forgot to comment. Still wrangling with my cold from hades.
ReplyDeleteAs ever, bagels get no respect. Puts me in the mind for some NOVA.
Lady Di
Burma-
ReplyDeleteWade? As in Nutcracker Buck?
— Robert