Word of the Day: "THE MOLDAU" (15A: Smetana composition inspired by a river) —
Má vlast (Czech pronunciation: [maː vlast], meaning "My homeland" in the Czech language) is a set of six symphonic poems composed between 1874 and 1879 by the Czech composer Bedřich Smetana. While it is often presented as a single work in six movements and – with the exception of Vltava – is almost always recorded that way, the six pieces were conceived as individual works. They had their own separate premieres between 1875 and 1880; the premiere of the complete set took place on 5 November 1882 in Žofín Palace, Prague, under Adolf Čech, who had also conducted two of the individual premieres. [...] Vltava, also known by its English name The Moldau, and in German Die Moldau, was composed between 20 November and 8 December 1874 and was premiered on 4 April 1875 under Adolf Čech. It is about 13 minutes long, and is in the key of E minor. (wikipedia)
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It's a solid grid but not nearly as entertaining as yesterday's. I just couldn't get that excited about obscurish proper nouns like "THE MOLDAU" (?) and SIR PURR (?). As for TURNERESQUE (which I got reasonably quickly), once you've seen ZOLAESQUE, all the [name]-ESQUEs are kinda [shrug]. The SE corner is pretty hot, but the rest of it was just OK for, and much of the cluing seemed off or obnoxious. What kind of clue is that for EDNA? (7D: Woman's name meaning "pleasure"). In what language? (the answer is Hebrew—why not give that, at least? Otherwise, it's both tough *and* uninformative). A HOT DATE is only a HOT DATE if you already *have* chemistry, [Chemistry test?] is a bad clue. Technical terms like PLANER and OCTILE always seem sterile and blah. Flu shots don't really "target" the flue—they help you produce antibodies etc. whatever, you know how it works. [Target of some shots] just doesn't seem a very FLU VIRUS-specific clue. I assume that [Gambler's spot] was intended to mislead; I had PI- and went with PIT, an answer I prefer infinitely to PIP. I do not understand why anyone would put a "P" there over a "T"—if only because the cluing possibilities for PIP are so much more limited. Also, PIP is a far stupider word. The ogley / cutesy STRIPPERS clue I could probably do without, too (1A: Pole stars?).
Wasn't sure if it was WWE RAW or WWF RAW, because again, as with the NFL, I could give a ****. Football, pro wrestling, strippers. This puzzle was for some dude who is not me—though I do like the symmetry (and taste!) of SUSHI and GYOZA, and I am a big fan of comic books (MAGNETO) and the ROMAN EMPIRE (as a historical thing, not as a model of governance so much). Twice I thought the clue was going for a specific thing when it was going for a general thing, so that was annoying. Thought the "rebel fighter" in 62A: Rebel fighter during the Mexican Revolution would be one guy, and the "Dog" in 44D: Dog depicted by Monopoly's dog token was gonna be one, like, famous dog. But it's just a breed (SCOTTIE). Mad at myself for blanking on LUNA Lovegood, especially as I am working my way through the Harry Potter books now, in French (I read them once before in English with my daughter a decade+ ago). I was like "L.... AURA Lovegood? LARA? LENA?" Such a gimme, so wasted on me. CLINE and ANN and REID and DALEYS were all proper nouns I could handle. "I'M ALIVE!" is more an ELO song than a plausible "cry" (4D: Survivor's cry). And what the heck is up with that TSK clue (58D: [Oh, no you didn't!]). First, those aren't equivalent in the least. They don't have the same tone or meaning. Also, I think you're trying to do this:
... which, as you can see, is spelled and punctuated differently, and really doesn't convey, on any level, in any way, the quaint rebuke of TSK.
Final thoughts:
54A: Reminder of a hit (WELT) — takes advantage of word ambiguity; classic cluing move
61A: What sharks take interest in (USURY) —ditto, 2 times
Medium-tough. Tried POPe ? before POPULISM, I MAde it before IM ALIVE, erased ABOVE and CREW at least once, StolI before SUSHI...much tougher than yesterday’s Wed. level puz. Nice to have some crunch, liked it a lot!
The LUNA/EDNA cross was my PPP holdup for this one, but altogether it was an easy Saturday. I liked the clues for 1Across and 55Across, and also for NENE goose. I know they can walk on lava and so have I, but at what temperature? BTW, was Adolf Hitler considered a populist?
Words like PLANER and OCTILE may seem "sterile and blah", but I happen to have a very good working vocabulary of words like that, and they are usually my only toehold to a Saturday puzzle. I would much rather work for words like that, than get hopelessly stuck because I don't know the name of Little Nell's third cousin, twice removed, crossed with the name of Natasha Rostova's chambermaid. Too many crosswords, imo, are written by and for Lit majors.
This wasn’t a “walk in the “park” puzzle like Fridays. I was going to shoot for a Google free week, but this one put the kibbosh sp? on that. WWERAW? TURNERESQUE? THE MOLDAU? MAGNETO?
WELT crossing WEPT was kind of a downer, sounds like abuse to me. On the upside, I do love GYOZAs, I make curried lamb GYOZA with a peanut dipping sauce. Pretty tasty!
This puzzle played about medium for me as well, once I got going, which took a while. The northwest was particularly challenging, with POLE STARS, THE MOLDAU and YOGA PANTS. Some clever clueing and some solid misdirects.
I thought Rex’s review was about right. The puzzle was solid and took a lot of thought (and time), for me, anyway. I enjoyed doing it, and I felt like I had overcome a challenge when I finally finished.
This was a fun puzzle but it was too easy for a Saturday. A Saturday should be brutal, and this wasn't. The clues are too easy.
I knew 1A was STRIPPERS right away (the clue just telegraphed it). That opened up the NE from the get-go and I was off and running. I was on this puzzle like a monkey on a banana. I've never understood strip clubs. Why should I give money to a woman just because she wags her ass on stage? I understand a whorehouse because I'd be getting a service for my money. I have friends who love strip clubs. In Canada the strippers expect $5 tips because that's the lowest denomination paper money; apparently you can't put Looneys under a garter and expect them to stay there. And my friend Ron was always the guy who went "I think she really likes me" because a stripper told him all about her kid. Ron is nice but he's such a hick. I always love Rex's indignation over various things, seriously I do, and Twitter girl up there was pretty good too. I could actually hear her voice saying that. Did either of you consider that 1A can also refer to male strippers? You didn't consider that, because you are both sexists.
Anyway, either this puzzle was pretty easy or I'm super smart. Wait I made that joke yesterday. Whatever.
Went way too quickly for a Saturday, but I liked it well enough. It put THE MOLDAU in my head, which is a lovely earworm. I don't have a problem with women who choose to be STRIPPERS and I additionally admire the physicality needed to achieve some of those moves -- it's closer to acrobatics than dancing -- so 1A was fine for me.
I pulled a lot out of a dim corner of my brain and employed reason to figure out several answers I hadn't heard of, so my brain's left side was happy, perfectly balancing yesterday's playground of a puzzle that titillated my brain's right side. And so my libra sensibility is fulfilled.
I keep seeing NEWS CREW as NEW SCREW. Also, I wouldn't want to live on the corner of OFFAL and LEES.
There were just enough gimmes to keep this solve alive in all areas for me, and scattering those gimmes is part of the difficult art of cluing a puzzle. Terrific job on that, Will and Will (and Will's co-workers), and props for a worthy and satisfying Saturday.
What's not to like? STRIPPER opening, WATTLE, TOQUE (although I don't get fancy restaurant connection to a knitted winter hat), ZAPATISTA, OFFAL, SIRPURR. Fave was SCOTTIE. Hadn't seen that little dog token in years and then it popped right into my mind's eye. Never thought about the breed but it was right there.
Lots of variety here. Something for everyone to love or hate.
@Rex, Please no more animated links. I think "Target of some shots/FLU VIRUS" is just fine.
What an odd puzzle. A strip club and yoga pants, cosplay and operettas. Magneto and Turneresque. Something for every taste. And the review Twitter, confusing prudishness with feminism. If a woman wants to take her clothes off for a living, that's her business isn't it? Would a true feminist be out there helping the strippers unionize? They've filed class action suits over wage issues and won.
I didn't find the thing to be easy but it was certainly entertaining.
Too many names and not enough words for my taste. I knew yesterday was going to be a hard act to follow and it was. There were a few sparks of interest but mostly pretty blah. Besides having Edna clued so vaguely I also wondered why Ann was clued the way it was. Nenes walk on lava? Oh, the clue doesn't say hot lava. OK. I'm not clear why toque is the answer for 53A. Meh. No real fun today. I think I'll go back to bed.
This was really, really hard for me. Jeez Louise. After an heroic struggle, though, and after Finally seeing OPERETTA, I finished. That southeast was brutal since I didn’t know WWE RAW.
@Mark - totally agree on PIP.
Scar – dent – WELT. Off the R in scar, my monopoly dog was a terrier.
My husband loves Gibbon. There have been times that he’d be reading about Rome’s decline and fall, and I’d be reading People. I can’t help but feel ashamed, and once I considered opening one of his issues of The Economist and hiding my People inside that. But I didn’t. I yam what I yam.
“Creature that can walk across lava” – I’m pretty sure I have two of these in my first period.
Hard CIDER. Once in Chapel Hill, some friends threw a Christmas party and bought cider for the children. The hapless hosts I guess didn’t realize that there was also hard cider, and, yep, that’s what they bought and served to them. By about 7pm, all the kids were sound asleep, a couple of them had even fallen asleep on the wooden staircase. Oops.
I love SIR PURR. The Timber Rattlers could have Miss Hiss. Hah.
Some YOGA PANTS are audible, right, @Lewis?
The clue for ABIDING feels off to me. “Persistent” has a yeah it’s still here despite my efforts feel. Right? As in, I have this persistent rash on my wattle, and nothing I’ve done has helped. Actually, now that I think about it, just a persistent wattle is enough. I’ve tried all those mouth exercises to beat it back, the weirdest one being to stick your tongue out and down as far as you can and hold it there. You can feel the wattle muscles being worked. (And yes, of course anyone reading this now has their tongue out and down. I’ll wait.) . . . I started out doing this in the car, but when it was becoming a habit, and I caught myself doing it during down times in the classroom and on hall duty, I gave it up. I imagine seeing an adult performing such a contortion is a bit off-putting. Frightening even. So I have an ABIDING interest and concern for the well-being of animals. But I have a persistent interest and concern for Jennifer Garner’s well-being now that her divorce to Ben Affleck is final.
Brutal for me. Cosplay, Sir Purr, and Toque ( I get it now, chef's hat) were not in my wheelhouse. Magneto and WWE RAW are also new to me. That's the breaks some days. And I learned a lot.
Fourteen minutes for a Saturday (and I have no interest in speed records) just continued the waste of time this weeks puzzles have been. Is there some kind of dumbing-down strategy at work here ? Some interesting fill, I guess, but almost no moments requiring a real brain work-out. Thank God for the archives.
Rex, flu shots target the flu in the same way that the Salk vaccine targeted polio. Its the intent, not the process, IMO. Almost laughed out loud at your Harry Potter comment ! C'est magnifique !
asaHI before SUSHI = a bar order at a SUSHI bar. Guessing it would go well with @chefwen (1:29)'s curried lamb GYOZA.
EDNA makes me think of the woman in Grant Wood's "American Gothic." So tying it to "pleasure" was nice, as was its crossing the rest of that tawdry northwest corner. Sort of a chaperone to keep things from getting out of hand.
Well, DNF. And putting in "IMAdeit", instead of, IMALIVE, added to my problems.
@GregorySchmidt: Your comment about crossword puzzles being written by, and for, English Lit majors, was intriguing, and I do agree. It is, no doubt, a historical bias. Those who construct the puzzles are experts with words and so the puzzles attract the same.
I thought about STRIPPERS then did a little nah and confidentially wrote in REINDEERS. Nah. I had a feeling it was MOLDAU because I had the AU at the end so confidentially wrote in DIE MOLDAU. Nah. Strange how two little words like STY and THO can make you erase and start over again. Yes, @Rex...not as entertaining as yesterday's. I mean it's clean and all but it was a tad boring. About the only thing I liked was TURNERESQUE. I love ESQUE words. I bet @Loren could have a field day adding that to her romantic words.... When I finished, my mind wandered into the adult ARENA.. I saw STRIPPERS, HOT DATE, NEW SCREW (HI @Lewis) WOOERS, FIRES, WELT and a little PIP and I immediately thought of the Bachelorette. If any of you ever get to Spain and happen to go to the Basque Country or Asturias, you must visit some of their cider houses. Sociable, loud, chaotic, jolly musical interludes and, of course, the "sidra" served in the traditional way...popped out of a barrel, into your glass and settling in your belly with a loud thump. Burping and singing is encouraged. Gipuzkoa, Soain, rocks! (hi @pablo)
Good tough puzzle, with a fair number of things I didn't know but all came easily from crosses. Lots of nifty answers! I didn't expect LEES to be correct, but it was (and I'm not sure why).
My niece is an avid pole dancer and she's certainly not a stripper. She has one in her garage and uses it all th time. It's great exercise, I hear.
I have never ever heard anyone describe something as Zolaesque. The author of “Nana” (but not NENE) must be spinning in his grave. As for the puzzle, I found it medium challenging but finished in a faster time than most Saturdays. Throwing in NEWSTEAM s”crew”ed me up big time. Also at first I had TUNNEL something for the art clue. That took some undoing. Never read any of the Pottery books but seeing a character is named LUNA satisfied me that I am not missing anything. Better than EDNA I suppose. Although I would rather read the looniest of EDNA Buchanan’s oeuvre before tackling Rowling. Having spent very little time in establishments that feature pole dancing, I had a hard time getting STRIPPERS from that clue. But seriously folks, I hardly think anyone reduced to flaunting their WATTLE in a strip joint is a “Star.” No doubt some RAT will ACT UP and GOOSE them.
@Nancy, I enjoyed reading your note here to the NYT yesterday. It reminded me of a line I used many years ago when someone asked me “Do you write for the Times?” I replied, “No, I prefer to write TO the Times.”
I thought it was, at least, a nice mix of more current words (YOGAPANTS, LUNA, COSPLAY) with the more usual, older fare (MOLDAU [thx Music History], NENE, ZAPATISTA). But your criticisms make a lot of sense too. Easy for a Saturday which is always appreciated for an amateur like me. :)
Too easy once again (pleased to see Rex rated it medium). Unlike yesterday, we got at least a couple of challenges. GYOZA of course needed every cross, and crossing that with a WoE (ALT WEEKLY) and something likely to be a WoE for a lot of folks (COSPLAY) seems like a bad idea.
I went straight for PIP and never even thought of PIt.
Yep, @ Lewis and @Gill I - NEW SCREW would not resolve itself as anything else for a long time.
Overall, though, a nice puzzle. Filled with things I have never eaten (GYOZA), worn (TOQUE, YOGA PANTS), driven (GMCS), heard (THE MOLDAU) or said (IM ALIVE).
Filled today's puzzle in and was told I had errors. Didn't enjoy it enough to proofread it. Unlike yesterday's gem of a puzzle when I enjoyed having to proofread it.
WRT yesterday's comments:
Thank you for explaining why straws are a bigger problem than other things. Personally I would like to see everything that's "disposable" also deteriorate easily.
I appreciated the inclusion of the letters written by regular commentators. So many of the comments are not about the puzzle, the letters offer an insight into the writer on a subject that they care passionately about. Regular off-topic essays become tiresome but the occasional heartfelt letter is welcome.
Solid Saturday, although almost all the PPP is pretty foreign here.
Is it possible to be on both sides of the STRIPPERS issue? A male constructor and a male editing team make it more than a little “ogley.” Nevertheless, the risk of puritanism is real and just as oppressive. What consenting adults do is their business, and my version of feminism is more concerned with equitable pay and equitable opportunities and less concerned with the fact that people like sex. It reminds me of the entire plastic discussion yesterday. I don’t use plastic straws because the whole thing seems infantalizing to me. But if someone likes shakes and needs straws why would I care? How to keep plastic out of the ocean is a policy/administration issue, not an individual responsibility. And yet we see people post very puritanical comments, as if banning plastic straws will solve the ocean pollution issue. How about we insure our waste management practices are environmentally friendly and effective and stop worrying about banning plastic straws?
Funny that Rex thought 15 across was obscure. It was the first and only thing I knew for sure at first run through. My problem, though, was that I entered it as DAS Moldau. If you aren't familiar with it, I recommend listening to it on YouTube. Beautiful ending as the river that started as a small stream flows as a mighty river into the sea.
...the NENE could walk on lava? ...the name EDNA means "pleasure"? ...the dog depicted on Monopoly's dog token is a SCOTTIE? ...that there's a football mascot named SIR PURR? (Pretty cute, actually.)
Such arcane knowledge required today -- and the above-mentioned was the fun part. The not-fun part was the mutant villain, the Harry Potter friend, the singer, and the TV show (what, exactly is WWE RAW???)
How I managed to finish this I'll never know. It took enormous stubbornness and resolve on my part. It also required my changing I MADE IT to I'M ALIVE (4D); EVOTE to EVITE (13D); and A SIDE to B SIDE (43A).
Take away the proper names and I might have really enjoyed the puzzle. It certainly was a challenge, at least for me. But as is always the case, the pop culture took the heart right out of me, and I almost gave up on several occasions. Glad I didn't, but still -- a lot less fun than it might have been.
Had my fastest time ever for a Saturday. Everything Rex had trouble with I got right off (a rare event). We all have a different knowledge base. Mine just aligned with this constructor’s on this puzzle.
Rex, flu shots actually do target specific flu viruses. Every year they try to predict how the antigens will mutate and target the vaccine to create antibodies against those specific antigens. Just saying.
A little Harry Potter knowledge helps a lot - I suspected 19A was LUNA but wasn't sure about her surname - the PLANER crossing cemented it and those were my entries into this puzzle. Though I am by no means a PotterISTA.
Speaking of 62A, that was my one problem area. I didn't know GYOZA or WWERAW. But with _AP_TISTA, I very confidently threw in bAP_TISTA and then wondered, RoW or RAW? I went with the latter but Zapata never even made an appearance in my peripheral vision, TSK,TSK. So this filled in under 20 minutes but not flawlessly.
I really liked the sharks taking interest in USURY and I thought the clue for HOT DATE was PIP on. Thanks, Will Nediger!
Regarding the straw issue and plastic in general. Take a little peek at some of the documented waste floating in our majestic oceans and streams. It should make you sick to your stomach. It's a huge issue especially coming from third world countries. We (America) should know better. There are tremendous efforts to try and keep plastic from ending up In our waters but it takes educating people. You say a little plastic straw won't hurt. Add millions more to our waterways and watch what it does to the little creatures that live in the sea. How difficult is it to switch to biodegradable products? Not. Maybe you don't have children, but I do and I pray the environment is a livable one for them and their children as they age. Think about it.
Having STRIPPERS and YOGAPANTS in the same quadrant was genius. Of course the feminist speech police was going to get their feathers ruffled. Bravo to Will for not caving to these puritans.
A note to all my California blog friends: I'm thinking of all of you and hoping that, along with all your family and friends, you will be safe and protected from the latest epidemic of raging fires, north and south. It's just horrifying to watch the reports on TV and I worry about everyone in that beautiful state -- the state that not that long ago had the most idyllic climate in the U.S. As I wrote @GILL off-blog yesterday, I have spent my entire life envious of Californians and the weather they enjoy year-round. And now I worry about them. Please be safe, everyone.
ABANDONED seems like a crappy clue for OBSOLETE. I might abandon [toss] something because it's obsolete, but that does not make it a definition of the word. Anyone have a good explanation? That was actually my only nit; this was a very nice puzzle in spite of some really obscure stuff.
Hey All ! In case you missed it (which I'm sure you did, as I posted it about 2 hours ago), I tacked on a little rant to YesterPuz's blog about Recycling. Throw your plastic whatevers into the Recycling! NOT the garbage. /rant
This puz was OK. Got through it about halfway until I got stuck, and started using Check Puzzle feature. Didn't Reveal anything today, so a step in the right direction.
Looking for the pangram, alas no J or X. Nice W conglomeration in SE, 5 of 'em. Always thought OFFAL was an appropriate name for those scraps.
STRIPPERS is funny if you open your mind some. :-) Two new words for me today, TOQUE and GYOZA. GYOZA looks like a mash-up of Gozer (Ghostbusters) and Gyro.
I find it interesting that @Rex finds STRIPPER offensive, but has no reaction to Luna LOVEGOOD. I'm sure we'd see a reaction if Pussy Galore turned up.
@Michiganman
Thanks for letting me know there's a different kind of TOQUE than a chef's TOQUE.
Credit where credit's due, @OffTheGrid was the fist to point out the NEW SCREW thingy. S/He posted this at 5:18 AM.
Just arrived back from the 'States on a 777 AIRLINER yesterday. Slept in, so off to slow start. After some stiff espressos, I'M ALIVE, at least.
Today's puzzle played both easy and difficult for me. In the end had to Google GYOZA and WWERAW, so DNF.
I did think of NENE pretty immediately at 28A, but did not like the cluing. My understanding (and Wikipedia's) is that lava is a term for molten volcanic rock. Once it cools, it turns into something else, like the very rough ʻaʻā or the smoother pāhoehoe. I love the Hawaiian word, ʻaʻā, as it aptly describes the sound you would make if you were to attempt to walk across it barefoot.
Also was not familiar with THE MOLDAU. My Deutsche Grammophon recording of Má vlast refers to diE MOLDAU, so I wasn't expecting THE THE.
Like @Lewis, it's hard for me not to see NEW SCREW there above WOOERS. 'COS PLAY they will. OR NOT.
Advice of the day: Don't drink the LEES at the bottom of a bottle of Duvel beer. It will give you a wicked hangover.
Thought of the day: Gut-busting jokes are just OFFAL.
THE MOLDAU started the NW corner off nicely (An important, not obscure, piece of classical music). COSPLAY and TOQUE and DALEYS pretty much took care of the SW, and good old Gibbons sparked the NE. Even though OPERETTAS was a gimme, the SE was a scene of erasure after erasure, since like Rex, I know nothing of the farce they call pro wrestling. I never heard of a GYOZA so 64A was the last answer in, since kept trying to think of the type fonts printers used for dire happenings.
Too many obscure proper names made this unpleasanr...however THEMOLDAU was a gimme and everyone *should* know it...not least because it’s a goregous piece of music.
I had POPULate, as in, “Go forth and multiply” as an appeal to the religious masses, so I was stuck and never got around to FLUVIRUS...I kept looking for FLaVoR-something.
Also had a brief moment where I had dEnt instead of WELT and once I realized it was BSIDE and not aSIDE, I was able to fix that quickly.
A better answer for Chemistry Test? Would be FIRSTDATE, but clearly not in this puzzle. Took a while to realize HOT was the required adjective, DATE was clear to start.
Another day when I had to resort to the check puzzle feature to make my way home. So wanted Emilio Zapata because I thought the clue called for the name of an individual. Never heard of cosplay or magneto and believe obsolete was wrongly clued.
Nice weeject stacks (NW & SE). M&A's first two entries were THO and then STY. At that point, had to abandon the NW for easier territory. As in a lotta themeless puppies, I headed for a well-shaded-with-black-squares area: in this case, the middle. First clue in there I happened to read was: 30-A. {Opposite of pobre}.
That 30-A clue kinda summed up much of the M&A experience with this SatPuz solvequest. It often just weren't talkin to m&e in a lingo that I could follow. Massive precious nanosecond losses ensued. Furniture was overturn-esqued. Cinnamon rolls had to be severely rationed.
Impressive hope-suckin intersection-string and long walk on lava of: OFFAL/OCTILE/TURNERESQUE/COSPLAY/GYOZA/ZAPATISTA/WWERAW.
On the B-SIDE, did enjoy: NEWSCREW [primo flexible cluin possibilities -- yo, @JC66]. ROMANEMPIRE & MAGNETO [which saved my solve's bacon]. WATTLE. FLUVIRUS. SCOTTIE [doggies are the best].
Felt so mighty fine, when this brute was finally filled-in-finished -- which went down in the ever-mysterious EDNA/LUNA/MOLDAU Triangle. Whew-E. Quite the challenge.
staff weeject pick: ATL. Only 10 weeject darlins to choose from, despite the NW/SE stacks. Better, more 15-A-appropriate clue for ATL = {Where THEURAL composition ends??}.
Thanx and day-um, Mr. Nediger. @RP: "Medium" ?!?!? [snort] M&A demands one of them there Florida-recounts.
@Preferred Customer: Thank you for explaining why straws are a bigger problem than other things.
unlikely as it might seem, some folks really do need straws. those of use with fillings in upper incisors. turns out the material has vastly different coefficient of expansion from teeth. doesn't take much to pop one loose. after the second or third replacement, my dentist finally warned me. it's either that or stop using ice cubes.
At just under 24 minutes to a clean grid this was an easy Saturday. Changing OCTIVE to OCTILE, which allowed me to see POPULISM, caused a good portion of that time. THEMOLDAU was an unknown. GYOZA and WWERAW were unknowns too but easier to work around.
Getting over twenty minutes of puzzling is currently my base time for what I expect from a themeless puzzle. Today was much better than yesterday's Tuesday level snoozefest.
This was a fine two days. Yesterday's puzzle was as most commented spectacular and this was also to me a fair, clever and suitable Saturday challenge. Maybe just lucky that I knew COSPLAY, NENE, WWE RAW, TOQUE but was infrequently frustrated either day. I hope Sunday is as good.
Maybe someone mentioned it last week but I did not see it. Last Sunday's PB1 puzzle was his first in the NYT in seven months. Most years he has in excess of ten. I hope he and the paper return to that schedule.
"Pip" is a perfectly fine word for the spots on playing cards. I also first came across it when reading a Sherlock Holmes story, "The Five Orange Pips." In the latter case it was a British term for "seeds." Had a lot bigger problem with Anglicizing "Vitava." Not a bad Saturday, all in all.
My rating: just tough enough. As with @Tuba Don, THE MOLDAU was my way into the grid (I was torn between it and Patsy CLINE for the hoped-for blog link). But despite STY, THO, REG, I'M ALIVE, EDNA, RAT, and SUSHI, I couldn't see STRIPPERS; I thought "mass appeal" would be something like "ora pro nobis" and had no idea that what I call a "plane" is a PLANER.
Moving on, I thought the landscape style would be "atmospheric" and that some shots might target an entity called FLUVioUS, perhaps a MAGNETO-like villain from a movie series set in the ROMAN EMPIRE. Also had to erase "loans" for USURY. Eventually, all became clear.
I liked learning that boxing can be an entry-level job for Congress. Also SCOTTIE, TOQUE, and the PIP clue.
"cosplay |ˈkäzˌplā| noun the practice of dressing up as a character from a movie, book, or video game, esp. one from the Japanese genres of manga and anime."
I'm surprised that in a week with yet another American tragedy in a public setting, no one objected to the multiple clues with “shoots”, “shot”, “hit”, “barrel” and the appallingly “survivor's cry”. I totally expected you to berate the NYT for their insensitivity, Rex.
As dooks go, NEW SCREW is today's clear winner. Nominees for runner-up: FLUVIRUS, (the quarantined ROMAN EMPIRE senator), and meth freak AL TWEEKLY. Hey, @Lewis started it!
Missed your comment from earlier, @Quasi. Funny riposte. And thanks for the compliment. I also love your observation about STRIPPERS "flaunting their WATTLE."
Thanks, also, @GHarris, for your nice comment from yesterday. There was enough info in your NYT letter, btw, that I was able to Google you. Attention, everyone: we have quite a distinguished and accomplished person in two different fields on this blog. But alas, no photo. Two different fields, including a literary one, and no photo. Was it shameful of me to look for one?
Just think, Ogden Nash might have written: Candy is dandy But OFFAL is awful.
@Nancy. Thank you for your kind concerns.... Unfortunately I had to go out into a blanket of smoke this morning. The smell is pretty bad; people wearing masks and my car covered in a thin layer of soot. Pray for rain - we haven't had any. California burns!
Appreciate comment from @Z on the "straw" controversy...perhaps we could take a straw poll?
Disliked this puzzle even before I discovered that I had an error. Never heard of Gyoza, (never eat Japanese food..) and although I know of Zapata, _APATISTA did not suggest it to me. I had "La Patista" Didn't look right, but perhaps a female baker joined the rebels? (Had I gone though the entire alphabet, I'm sure I'd have avoided the error).
Happy to see two of my favorite operettas, and the Smetana, (which is but a part of his "Ma Vlast" ("My homeland" ) But Comic book villains, Harry Potter references, Parks and Recreation characters, "Fall to pieces" singer, WWE RAW, GMCS, fall in to the category of "I don't know, and I don't care..." Too many of those diminish one's enjoyment. Not a criticism of the puzzle, one man's tripe is another man's pleasure. (I was playing on one man's meat...and so did not pan-genderize it to "one person's trip" no sexism should be inferred!)
The famous opening tune of 15A:THE_MOLDAU is similar enough to Israel's national anthem "Ha-Tikva" that, when the British Mandate government briefly banned the public singing and performance of Ha-Tikva in what was to become Israel, musicians would often program Moldau so that Ha-Tikva could be played and heard under a cloak of plausible deniability. (It's also similar to Mozart's minor-mode variation on "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" from K.265; here's the first Google hit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BTvoqVK420&t=253)
@banana d: My intent was not to criticize. I recognize that straws may be necessary, I also feel like a lot of what we get worked up about is minimal vs other issues and while I knew about the Pacific trash patch I didn't realize that straws had a particular target in the ocean.
That being said, there are materials now that degrade easily and act well for the time you need them. Compostable straws, cups ,etc. don't break down well in landfills, but will break down at sea, unlike traditional plastics.
While individual actions feel pointless our collective actions add up. My aha moment was in the plastic bag aisle at A Costco warehouse store in a relatively small community. That so few people could actually make that floor to ceiling aisle of brand new, one time use plastic profitable was horrifying. I imagined the entire aisle going straight to the landfill.
Thought you all would say what a great puzz this was! There were hardly any answers that I think of as fill; I had to search some recesses of my brain for some arcane info; a lot of clever/misleading clueing. Sometimes I think how smart you must all be to think what I consider challenging as easy. Sometimes I marvel at what you, including Rex, don’t know. The most surprising today was how so many of you have never had gyoza! When you do, fried are tough, so go for steamed.
Was born and raised in California, and a frequent visitor now. All the hell there breaks my heart. We in WA state have had problems too. Last summer we had weeks of smoke filled air, some of which was from Canada and Siberian fires. I miss the rain and cold! Is it too late to do something? We get all worked up about the finer points of red v blue, but this is existential for god’s sake!
First of all, the syndilinker is asleep at the switch YET AGAIN: we are still on Thursday. WAKE UP{, there!
To the puz. I filled it in, guessing in several places, and was surprised to see my solution intact with no errors. I mean, GYOZA? Thank heavens I dimly recalled a sound bite: "Viva ZAPATA!" from somewhere in my brain. For OFL's info: McMahon's erstwhile WWF (World Wrestling Federation) was forced to change by the World Wildlife Fund, who claimed precedence (and IMO, a better focus). Now it's WWE, for Entertainment, which more accurately captures the spirit of the thing. "Sport" it is NOT.
Had a laugh at @anon 9:51's reading of NEWSCREW. While on the subject, my HOTDATE for DOD is Tara REID. And to tweeter Allison: oh come on. how thin-skinned can you get? (I thought STRIPPERS right off, but hesitated because it seemed too straightforward for a Saturday.}
Tons of unknowns, including, by my Scrabble dictionary, a non-word (OCTILE). Not a fan of BSIDE or EVITE, but the rest of the fill was fine. Triumph points apply, so: birdie.
I'd SAY SCOTTIE DALEY'S got a HOTDATE, THO he's OFFAL TIMID to pitch WOO, but EDNA WARES those YOGAPANTS as bait, and that STRIPPER'S gonna be his NEWSCREW.
What @spacey said re: tweeter Allison. And I am now convinced OFL suffers from low T. As to the puz: I had the URGE to at first put in raGE and WAddLE. What really got me going THO were gimmes GMCS and PIP in the east; I spread like the FLUVIRUS from there.
Gotta love Paul McCartney and Wings "MAGNETO and Titanium Man": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTBukDar6vE
God bless the inventor of YOGAPANTS.
During filming of Grumpy Old Men I rubbed elbows with ANN-Margaret. Yeah baby.
Late to the party. This one was tricky. Especially the SW corner and the TURNERESQUE biggy. I had loans and then cards before I finally solved USURY. Very crunchy. Every inch was a battle. But I got 'er done. Fun!
THE MOLDAU, one of my favorite musical pieces. STRIPPERS popped to mind, too. After those, it was tougher going, especially in the SW, with SIR PURR and TURNERESQUE
A long time ago, I was solving this puzzle and got stuck at an unguessable (to me) crossing: N. C. WYETH crossing NATICK at the "N"—I knew WYETH but forgot his initials, and NATICK ... is a suburb of Boston that I had no hope of knowing. It was clued as someplace the Boston Marathon runs through (???). Anyway, NATICK— the more obscure name in that crossing—became shorthand for an unguessable cross, esp. where the cross involves two proper nouns, neither of which is exceedingly well known. NATICK took hold as crossword slang, and the term can now be both noun ("I had a NATICK in the SW corner...") or verb ("I got NATICKED by 50A / 34D!")
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80 comments:
Medium-tough. Tried POPe ? before POPULISM, I MAde it before IM ALIVE, erased ABOVE and CREW at least once, StolI before SUSHI...much tougher than yesterday’s Wed. level puz. Nice to have some crunch, liked it a lot!
The LUNA/EDNA cross was my PPP holdup for this one, but altogether it was an easy Saturday. I liked the clues for 1Across and 55Across, and also for NENE goose. I know they can walk on lava and so have I, but at what temperature? BTW, was Adolf Hitler considered a populist?
I liked PIP a lot. Sneaky but fair.
Words like PLANER and OCTILE may seem "sterile and blah", but I happen to have a very good working vocabulary of words like that, and they are usually my only toehold to a Saturday puzzle. I would much rather work for words like that, than get hopelessly stuck because I don't know the name of Little Nell's third cousin, twice removed, crossed with the name of Natasha Rostova's chambermaid. Too many crosswords, imo, are written by and for Lit majors.
This wasn’t a “walk in the “park” puzzle like Fridays. I was going to shoot for a Google free week, but this one put the kibbosh sp? on that.
WWERAW? TURNERESQUE? THE MOLDAU? MAGNETO?
WELT crossing WEPT was kind of a downer, sounds like abuse to me. On the upside, I do love GYOZAs, I make curried lamb GYOZA with a peanut dipping sauce. Pretty tasty!
On to the Sunday extravaganza.
This puzzle played about medium for me as well, once I got going, which took a while. The northwest was particularly challenging, with POLE STARS, THE MOLDAU and YOGA PANTS. Some clever clueing and some solid misdirects.
I thought Rex’s review was about right. The puzzle was solid and took a lot of thought (and time), for me, anyway. I enjoyed doing it, and I felt like I had overcome a challenge when I finally finished.
This was a fun puzzle but it was too easy for a Saturday. A Saturday should be brutal, and this wasn't. The clues are too easy.
I knew 1A was STRIPPERS right away (the clue just telegraphed it). That opened up the NE from the get-go and I was off and running. I was on this puzzle like a monkey on a banana. I've never understood strip clubs. Why should I give money to a woman just because she wags her ass on stage? I understand a whorehouse because I'd be getting a service for my money. I have friends who love strip clubs. In Canada the strippers expect $5 tips because that's the lowest denomination paper money; apparently you can't put Looneys under a garter and expect them to stay there. And my friend Ron was always the guy who went "I think she really likes me" because a stripper told him all about her kid. Ron is nice but he's such a hick. I always love Rex's indignation over various things, seriously I do, and Twitter girl up there was pretty good too. I could actually hear her voice saying that. Did either of you consider that 1A can also refer to male strippers? You didn't consider that, because you are both sexists.
Anyway, either this puzzle was pretty easy or I'm super smart. Wait I made that joke yesterday. Whatever.
Went way too quickly for a Saturday, but I liked it well enough. It put THE MOLDAU in my head, which is a lovely earworm. I don't have a problem with women who choose to be STRIPPERS and I additionally admire the physicality needed to achieve some of those moves -- it's closer to acrobatics than dancing -- so 1A was fine for me.
47A alternate clue:
Prison hire
I pulled a lot out of a dim corner of my brain and employed reason to figure out several answers I hadn't heard of, so my brain's left side was happy, perfectly balancing yesterday's playground of a puzzle that titillated my brain's right side. And so my libra sensibility is fulfilled.
I keep seeing NEWS CREW as NEW SCREW. Also, I wouldn't want to live on the corner of OFFAL and LEES.
There were just enough gimmes to keep this solve alive in all areas for me, and scattering those gimmes is part of the difficult art of cluing a puzzle. Terrific job on that, Will and Will (and Will's co-workers), and props for a worthy and satisfying Saturday.
DNF on COSPLAY, missing the ‘P’ and the ‘Y’.
What's not to like? STRIPPER opening, WATTLE, TOQUE (although I don't get fancy restaurant connection to a knitted winter hat), ZAPATISTA, OFFAL, SIRPURR. Fave was SCOTTIE. Hadn't seen that little dog token in years and then it popped right into my mind's eye. Never thought about the breed but it was right there.
Lots of variety here. Something for everyone to love or hate.
@Rex, Please no more animated links. I think "Target of some shots/FLU VIRUS" is just fine.
What an odd puzzle. A strip club and yoga pants, cosplay and operettas. Magneto and Turneresque. Something for every taste. And the review Twitter, confusing prudishness with feminism. If a woman wants to take her clothes off for a living, that's her business isn't it? Would a true feminist be out there helping the strippers unionize? They've filed class action suits over wage issues and won.
I didn't find the thing to be easy but it was certainly entertaining.
Too many names and not enough words for my taste. I knew yesterday was going to be a hard act to follow and it was. There were a few sparks of interest but mostly pretty blah. Besides having Edna clued so vaguely I also wondered why Ann was clued the way it was.
Nenes walk on lava? Oh, the clue doesn't say hot lava. OK.
I'm not clear why toque is the answer for 53A.
Meh. No real fun today. I think I'll go back to bed.
This was really, really hard for me. Jeez Louise. After an heroic struggle, though, and after Finally seeing OPERETTA, I finished. That southeast was brutal since I didn’t know WWE RAW.
@Mark - totally agree on PIP.
Scar – dent – WELT. Off the R in scar, my monopoly dog was a terrier.
My husband loves Gibbon. There have been times that he’d be reading about Rome’s decline and fall, and I’d be reading People. I can’t help but feel ashamed, and once I considered opening one of his issues of The Economist and hiding my People inside that. But I didn’t. I yam what I yam.
“Creature that can walk across lava” – I’m pretty sure I have two of these in my first period.
Hard CIDER. Once in Chapel Hill, some friends threw a Christmas party and bought cider for the children. The hapless hosts I guess didn’t realize that there was also hard cider, and, yep, that’s what they bought and served to them. By about 7pm, all the kids were sound asleep, a couple of them had even fallen asleep on the wooden staircase. Oops.
I love SIR PURR. The Timber Rattlers could have Miss Hiss. Hah.
Some YOGA PANTS are audible, right, @Lewis?
The clue for ABIDING feels off to me. “Persistent” has a yeah it’s still here despite my efforts feel. Right? As in, I have this persistent rash on my wattle, and nothing I’ve done has helped. Actually, now that I think about it, just a persistent wattle is enough. I’ve tried all those mouth exercises to beat it back, the weirdest one being to stick your tongue out and down as far as you can and hold it there. You can feel the wattle muscles being worked. (And yes, of course anyone reading this now has their tongue out and down. I’ll wait.) . . . I started out doing this in the car, but when it was becoming a habit, and I caught myself doing it during down times in the classroom and on hall duty, I gave it up. I imagine seeing an adult performing such a contortion is a bit off-putting. Frightening even.
So I have an ABIDING interest and concern for the well-being of animals. But I have a persistent interest and concern for Jennifer Garner’s well-being now that her divorce to Ben Affleck is final.
TIL that a toque is also "a tall white hat with a full pouched crown, worn by chefs." Go figure.
Brutal for me. Cosplay, Sir Purr, and Toque ( I get it now, chef's hat) were not in my wheelhouse. Magneto and WWE RAW are also new to me. That's the breaks some days. And I learned a lot.
Fourteen minutes for a Saturday (and I have no interest in speed records) just continued the waste of time this weeks puzzles have been. Is there some kind of dumbing-down strategy at work here ? Some interesting fill, I guess, but almost no moments requiring a real brain work-out. Thank God for the archives.
Rex, flu shots target the flu in the same way that the Salk vaccine targeted polio. Its the intent, not the process, IMO. Almost laughed out loud at your Harry Potter comment ! C'est magnifique !
Fancy restaurants employ chefs. Chefs traditionally wear toques. I think that is the reference anyway.
Why “Dog depicted by Monopoly's dog token” and not simply “Dog depicted by a Monopoly token?”
Three clues: Shots, Shoots, and Shoots.
Maybe it's because we've had a shooting yet again, but ugh. It's everywhere.
asaHI before SUSHI = a bar order at a SUSHI bar. Guessing it would go well with @chefwen (1:29)'s curried lamb GYOZA.
EDNA makes me think of the woman in Grant Wood's "American Gothic." So tying it to "pleasure" was nice, as was its crossing the rest of that tawdry northwest corner. Sort of a chaperone to keep things from getting out of hand.
"Zapatista" shows up in the Spanish version of La Cucaracha, and that's the only place I've seen it outside of reading about Mexican history.
Some obscure PPP but pretty easy overall. Fun fast Saturday.
Well, DNF. And putting in "IMAdeit", instead of, IMALIVE, added to my problems.
@GregorySchmidt: Your comment about crossword puzzles being written by, and for, English Lit majors, was intriguing, and I do agree. It is, no doubt, a historical bias. Those who construct the puzzles are experts with words and so the puzzles attract the same.
I thought about STRIPPERS then did a little nah and confidentially wrote in REINDEERS. Nah.
I had a feeling it was MOLDAU because I had the AU at the end so confidentially wrote in DIE MOLDAU. Nah.
Strange how two little words like STY and THO can make you erase and start over again.
Yes, @Rex...not as entertaining as yesterday's. I mean it's clean and all but it was a tad boring. About the only thing I liked was TURNERESQUE. I love ESQUE words. I bet @Loren could have a field day adding that to her romantic words....
When I finished, my mind wandered into the adult ARENA.. I saw STRIPPERS, HOT DATE, NEW SCREW (HI @Lewis) WOOERS, FIRES, WELT and a little PIP and I immediately thought of the Bachelorette.
If any of you ever get to Spain and happen to go to the Basque Country or Asturias, you must visit some of their cider houses. Sociable, loud, chaotic, jolly musical interludes and, of course, the "sidra" served in the traditional way...popped out of a barrel, into your glass and settling in your belly with a loud thump. Burping and singing is encouraged.
Gipuzkoa, Soain, rocks! (hi @pablo)
Good tough puzzle, with a fair number of things I didn't know but all came easily from crosses. Lots of nifty answers! I didn't expect LEES to be correct, but it was (and I'm not sure why).
My niece is an avid pole dancer and she's certainly not a stripper. She has one in her garage and uses it all th time. It's great exercise, I hear.
I have never ever heard anyone describe something as Zolaesque. The author of “Nana” (but not NENE) must be spinning in his grave. As for the puzzle, I found it medium challenging but finished in a faster time than most Saturdays. Throwing in NEWSTEAM s”crew”ed me up big time. Also at first I had TUNNEL something for the art clue. That took some undoing. Never read any of the Pottery books but seeing a character is named LUNA satisfied me that I am not missing anything. Better than EDNA I suppose. Although I would rather read the looniest of EDNA Buchanan’s oeuvre before tackling Rowling. Having spent very little time in establishments that feature pole dancing, I had a hard time getting STRIPPERS from that clue. But seriously folks, I hardly think anyone reduced to flaunting their WATTLE in a strip joint is a “Star.” No doubt some RAT will ACT UP and GOOSE them.
@Nancy, I enjoyed reading your note here to the NYT yesterday. It reminded me of a line I used many years ago when someone asked me “Do you write for the Times?” I replied, “No, I prefer to write TO the Times.”
One of the most famous, most played, and most recorded works by one of the most famous Czech composers is hardly obscure Rex.
I thought it was, at least, a nice mix of more current words (YOGAPANTS, LUNA, COSPLAY) with the more usual, older fare (MOLDAU [thx Music History], NENE, ZAPATISTA). But your criticisms make a lot of sense too. Easy for a Saturday which is always appreciated for an amateur like me. :)
Too easy once again (pleased to see Rex rated it medium). Unlike yesterday, we got at least a couple of challenges. GYOZA of course needed every cross, and crossing that with a WoE (ALT WEEKLY) and something likely to be a WoE for a lot of folks (COSPLAY) seems like a bad idea.
I went straight for PIP and never even thought of PIt.
Yep, @ Lewis and @Gill I - NEW SCREW would not resolve itself as anything else for a long time.
Overall, though, a nice puzzle. Filled with things I have never eaten (GYOZA), worn (TOQUE, YOGA PANTS), driven (GMCS), heard (THE MOLDAU) or said (IM ALIVE).
Filled today's puzzle in and was told I had errors. Didn't enjoy it enough to proofread it. Unlike yesterday's gem of a puzzle when I enjoyed having to proofread it.
WRT yesterday's comments:
Thank you for explaining why straws are a bigger problem than other things. Personally I would like to see everything that's "disposable" also deteriorate easily.
I appreciated the inclusion of the letters written by regular commentators. So many of the comments are not about the puzzle, the letters offer an insight into the writer on a subject that they care passionately about. Regular off-topic essays become tiresome but the occasional heartfelt letter is welcome.
Thanks, PC
Solid Saturday, although almost all the PPP is pretty foreign here.
Is it possible to be on both sides of the STRIPPERS issue? A male constructor and a male editing team make it more than a little “ogley.” Nevertheless, the risk of puritanism is real and just as oppressive. What consenting adults do is their business, and my version of feminism is more concerned with equitable pay and equitable opportunities and less concerned with the fact that people like sex. It reminds me of the entire plastic discussion yesterday. I don’t use plastic straws because the whole thing seems infantalizing to me. But if someone likes shakes and needs straws why would I care? How to keep plastic out of the ocean is a policy/administration issue, not an individual responsibility. And yet we see people post very puritanical comments, as if banning plastic straws will solve the ocean pollution issue. How about we insure our waste management practices are environmentally friendly and effective and stop worrying about banning plastic straws?
Funny that Rex thought 15 across was obscure. It was the first and only thing I knew for sure at first run through. My problem, though, was that I entered it as DAS Moldau. If you aren't familiar with it, I recommend listening to it on YouTube. Beautiful ending as the river that started as a small stream flows as a mighty river into the sea.
Who knew that...
...the NENE could walk on lava?
...the name EDNA means "pleasure"?
...the dog depicted on Monopoly's dog token is a SCOTTIE?
...that there's a football mascot named SIR PURR? (Pretty cute, actually.)
Such arcane knowledge required today -- and the above-mentioned was the fun part. The not-fun part was the mutant villain, the Harry Potter friend, the singer, and the TV show (what, exactly is WWE RAW???)
How I managed to finish this I'll never know. It took enormous stubbornness and resolve on my part. It also required my changing I MADE IT to I'M ALIVE (4D); EVOTE to EVITE (13D); and A SIDE to B SIDE (43A).
Take away the proper names and I might have really enjoyed the puzzle. It certainly was a challenge, at least for me. But as is always the case, the pop culture took the heart right out of me, and I almost gave up on several occasions. Glad I didn't, but still -- a lot less fun than it might have been.
Had my fastest time ever for a Saturday. Everything Rex had trouble with I got right off (a rare event). We all have a different knowledge base. Mine just aligned with this constructor’s on this puzzle.
Rex, flu shots actually do target specific flu viruses. Every year they try to predict how the antigens will mutate and target the vaccine to create antibodies against those specific antigens. Just saying.
A little Harry Potter knowledge helps a lot - I suspected 19A was LUNA but wasn't sure about her surname - the PLANER crossing cemented it and those were my entries into this puzzle. Though I am by no means a PotterISTA.
Speaking of 62A, that was my one problem area. I didn't know GYOZA or WWERAW. But with _AP_TISTA, I very confidently threw in bAP_TISTA and then wondered, RoW or RAW? I went with the latter but Zapata never even made an appearance in my peripheral vision, TSK,TSK. So this filled in under 20 minutes but not flawlessly.
I really liked the sharks taking interest in USURY and I thought the clue for HOT DATE was PIP on. Thanks, Will Nediger!
Die MOLDAU...Listen to it, it will make you smile. Turn up the volume...
Regarding the straw issue and plastic in general. Take a little peek at some of the documented waste floating in our majestic oceans and streams. It should make you sick to your stomach. It's a huge issue especially coming from third world countries. We (America) should know better.
There are tremendous efforts to try and keep plastic from ending up In our waters but it takes educating people. You say a little plastic straw won't hurt. Add millions more to our waterways and watch what it does to the little creatures that live in the sea.
How difficult is it to switch to biodegradable products? Not. Maybe you don't have children, but I do and I pray the environment is a livable one for them and their children as they age.
Think about it.
Having STRIPPERS and YOGAPANTS in the same quadrant was genius. Of course the feminist speech police was going to get their feathers ruffled. Bravo to Will for not caving to these puritans.
A note to all my California blog friends: I'm thinking of all of you and hoping that, along with all your family and friends, you will be safe and protected from the latest epidemic of raging fires, north and south. It's just horrifying to watch the reports on TV and I worry about everyone in that beautiful state -- the state that not that long ago had the most idyllic climate in the U.S. As I wrote @GILL off-blog yesterday, I have spent my entire life envious of Californians and the weather they enjoy year-round. And now I worry about them. Please be safe, everyone.
ABANDONED seems like a crappy clue for OBSOLETE. I might abandon [toss] something because it's obsolete, but that does not make it a definition of the word. Anyone have a good explanation? That was actually my only nit; this was a very nice puzzle in spite of some really obscure stuff.
Hey All !
In case you missed it (which I'm sure you did, as I posted it about 2 hours ago), I tacked on a little rant to YesterPuz's blog about Recycling. Throw your plastic whatevers into the Recycling! NOT the garbage.
/rant
This puz was OK. Got through it about halfway until I got stuck, and started using Check Puzzle feature. Didn't Reveal anything today, so a step in the right direction.
Looking for the pangram, alas no J or X. Nice W conglomeration in SE, 5 of 'em. Always thought OFFAL was an appropriate name for those scraps.
STRIPPERS is funny if you open your mind some. :-) Two new words for me today, TOQUE and GYOZA. GYOZA looks like a mash-up of Gozer (Ghostbusters) and Gyro.
Gotta WATTLE, for my OBSOLETE HOT DATE. :-) Har.
ASININE TSK
RooMonster
DarrinV
I find it interesting that @Rex finds STRIPPER offensive, but has no reaction to Luna LOVEGOOD. I'm sure we'd see a reaction if Pussy Galore turned up.
@Michiganman
Thanks for letting me know there's a different kind of TOQUE than a chef's TOQUE.
Credit where credit's due, @OffTheGrid was the fist to point out the NEW SCREW thingy. S/He posted this at 5:18 AM.
47A alternate clue:
Prison hire
Just arrived back from the 'States on a 777 AIRLINER yesterday. Slept in, so off to slow start. After some stiff espressos, I'M ALIVE, at least.
Today's puzzle played both easy and difficult for me. In the end had to Google GYOZA and WWERAW, so DNF.
I did think of NENE pretty immediately at 28A, but did not like the cluing. My understanding (and Wikipedia's) is that lava is a term for molten volcanic rock. Once it cools, it turns into something else, like the very rough ʻaʻā or the smoother pāhoehoe. I love the Hawaiian word, ʻaʻā, as it aptly describes the sound you would make if you were to attempt to walk across it barefoot.
Also was not familiar with THE MOLDAU. My Deutsche Grammophon recording of Má vlast refers to diE MOLDAU, so I wasn't expecting THE THE.
Like @Lewis, it's hard for me not to see NEW SCREW there above WOOERS. 'COS PLAY they will. OR NOT.
Advice of the day: Don't drink the LEES at the bottom of a bottle of Duvel beer. It will give you a wicked hangover.
Thought of the day: Gut-busting jokes are just OFFAL.
THE MOLDAU started the NW corner off nicely (An important, not obscure, piece of classical music). COSPLAY and TOQUE and DALEYS pretty much took care of the SW, and good old Gibbons sparked the NE. Even though OPERETTAS was a gimme, the SE was a scene of erasure after erasure, since like Rex, I know nothing of the farce they call pro wrestling. I never heard of a GYOZA so 64A was the last answer in, since kept trying to think of the type fonts printers used for dire happenings.
Too many obscure proper names made this unpleasanr...however THEMOLDAU was a gimme and everyone *should* know it...not least because it’s a goregous piece of music.
I had POPULate, as in, “Go forth and multiply” as an appeal to the religious masses, so I was stuck and never got around to FLUVIRUS...I kept looking for FLaVoR-something.
Also had a brief moment where I had dEnt instead of WELT and once I realized it was BSIDE and not aSIDE, I was able to fix that quickly.
A better answer for Chemistry Test? Would be FIRSTDATE, but clearly not in this puzzle. Took a while to realize HOT was the required adjective, DATE was clear to start.
Faster than a usual Saturday but not enjoyable.
Another day when I had to resort to the check puzzle feature to make my way home. So wanted Emilio Zapata because I thought the clue called for the name of an individual. Never heard of cosplay or magneto and believe obsolete was wrongly clued.
Double natick with PaPaLISM. Should have considered the question mark, doh...
Nice weeject stacks (NW & SE). M&A's first two entries were THO and then STY. At that point, had to abandon the NW for easier territory. As in a lotta themeless puppies, I headed for a well-shaded-with-black-squares area: in this case, the middle. First clue in there I happened to read was:
30-A. {Opposite of pobre}.
That 30-A clue kinda summed up much of the M&A experience with this SatPuz solvequest. It often just weren't talkin to m&e in a lingo that I could follow. Massive precious nanosecond losses ensued. Furniture was overturn-esqued. Cinnamon rolls had to be severely rationed.
Impressive hope-suckin intersection-string and long walk on lava of: OFFAL/OCTILE/TURNERESQUE/COSPLAY/GYOZA/ZAPATISTA/WWERAW.
On the B-SIDE, did enjoy: NEWSCREW [primo flexible cluin possibilities -- yo, @JC66]. ROMANEMPIRE & MAGNETO [which saved my solve's bacon]. WATTLE. FLUVIRUS. SCOTTIE [doggies are the best].
Felt so mighty fine, when this brute was finally filled-in-finished -- which went down in the ever-mysterious EDNA/LUNA/MOLDAU Triangle. Whew-E. Quite the challenge.
staff weeject pick: ATL. Only 10 weeject darlins to choose from, despite the NW/SE stacks. Better, more 15-A-appropriate clue for ATL = {Where THEURAL composition ends??}.
Thanx and day-um, Mr. Nediger.
@RP: "Medium" ?!?!? [snort] M&A demands one of them there Florida-recounts.
Masked & Anonym007Us
I'll show U medium …
**gruntz**
@Preferred Customer:
Thank you for explaining why straws are a bigger problem than other things.
unlikely as it might seem, some folks really do need straws. those of use with fillings in upper incisors. turns out the material has vastly different coefficient of expansion from teeth. doesn't take much to pop one loose. after the second or third replacement, my dentist finally warned me. it's either that or stop using ice cubes.
@M&A
Nice shoutout to @Z in today's Runt Puz.
@John xxx Excuse me, but do male strippers work on poles?
At just under 24 minutes to a clean grid this was an easy Saturday. Changing OCTIVE to OCTILE, which allowed me to see POPULISM, caused a good portion of that time. THEMOLDAU was an unknown. GYOZA and WWERAW were unknowns too but easier to work around.
Getting over twenty minutes of puzzling is currently my base time for what I expect from a themeless puzzle. Today was much better than yesterday's Tuesday level snoozefest.
A toque is a chef’s hat
How could I, a classical music fan, not like a puzzle that has the entry of "the moldau"? Perhaps a lot of PPP, but nothing objectionable to me.
So tomorrow we get a contest puzzle, which means Mr. Sharp will have to postpone saying much about the puzzle. Ah well.
This was a fine two days. Yesterday's puzzle was as most commented spectacular and this was also to me a fair, clever and suitable Saturday challenge. Maybe just lucky that I knew COSPLAY, NENE, WWE RAW, TOQUE but was infrequently frustrated either day. I hope Sunday is as good.
Maybe someone mentioned it last week but I did not see it. Last Sunday's PB1 puzzle was his first in the NYT in seven months. Most years he has in excess of ten. I hope he and the paper return to that schedule.
What is cosplay?
"Pip" is a perfectly fine word for the spots on playing cards. I also first came across it when reading a Sherlock Holmes story, "The Five Orange Pips." In the latter case it was a British term for "seeds." Had a lot bigger problem with Anglicizing "Vitava." Not a bad Saturday, all in all.
My rating: just tough enough. As with @Tuba Don, THE MOLDAU was my way into the grid (I was torn between it and Patsy CLINE for the hoped-for blog link). But despite STY, THO, REG, I'M ALIVE, EDNA, RAT, and SUSHI, I couldn't see STRIPPERS; I thought "mass appeal" would be something like "ora pro nobis" and had no idea that what I call a "plane" is a PLANER.
Moving on, I thought the landscape style would be "atmospheric" and that some shots might target an entity called FLUVioUS, perhaps a MAGNETO-like villain from a movie series set in the ROMAN EMPIRE. Also had to erase "loans" for USURY. Eventually, all became clear.
I liked learning that boxing can be an entry-level job for Congress. Also SCOTTIE, TOQUE, and the PIP clue.
@emily darlin:
From the M&A Help Desk Official Dictionary …
"cosplay |ˈkäzˌplā|
noun
the practice of dressing up as a character from a movie, book, or video game, esp. one from the Japanese genres of manga and anime."
M&A Help Desk
I'm surprised that in a week with yet another American tragedy in a public setting, no one objected to the multiple clues with “shoots”, “shot”, “hit”, “barrel” and the appallingly “survivor's cry”. I totally expected you to berate the NYT for their insensitivity, Rex.
@beadola...oh the myriad “fill in your own punchline” responses I can dream up to “Do male strippers work on poles?”
@ Beadola 11:54, Considering the obvious phallic symbolism of the pole I would say no in regards to male strippers unless it is a gay venue.
As dooks go, NEW SCREW is today's clear winner. Nominees for runner-up: FLUVIRUS, (the quarantined ROMAN EMPIRE senator), and meth freak AL TWEEKLY.
Hey, @Lewis started it!
The NYT displayed NO insensitivity. Of your 5 examples only one (SHOOTS/FIRES) is gun related. The others are in other or unspecified contexts.
EDNA should be drowned in THE MOLDAU.
Missed your comment from earlier, @Quasi. Funny riposte. And thanks for the compliment. I also love your observation about STRIPPERS "flaunting their WATTLE."
Thanks, also, @GHarris, for your nice comment from yesterday. There was enough info in your NYT letter, btw, that I was able to Google you. Attention, everyone: we have quite a distinguished and accomplished person in two different fields on this blog. But alas, no photo. Two different fields, including a literary one, and no photo. Was it shameful of me to look for one?
Just think, Ogden Nash might have written:
Candy is dandy
But OFFAL is awful.
@Nancy. Thank you for your kind concerns....
Unfortunately I had to go out into a blanket of smoke this morning. The smell is pretty bad; people wearing masks and my car covered in a thin layer of soot. Pray for rain - we haven't had any.
California burns!
Appreciate comment from @Z on the "straw" controversy...perhaps we could take a straw poll?
Disliked this puzzle even before I discovered that I had an error. Never heard of Gyoza, (never eat Japanese food..) and although I know of Zapata, _APATISTA did not suggest it to me. I had "La Patista" Didn't look right, but perhaps a female baker joined the rebels? (Had I gone though the entire alphabet, I'm sure I'd have avoided the error).
Happy to see two of my favorite operettas, and the Smetana, (which is but a part of his "Ma Vlast" ("My homeland" ) But Comic book villains, Harry Potter references, Parks and Recreation characters, "Fall to pieces" singer, WWE RAW, GMCS, fall in to the category of "I don't know, and I don't care..." Too many of those diminish one's enjoyment. Not a criticism of the puzzle, one man's tripe is another man's pleasure. (I was playing on one man's meat...and so did not pan-genderize it to "one person's trip" no sexism should be inferred!)
@emily costume play. dressing up like comic book characters and such.
Can NEWSCREW also be read as an answer to "Chemistry test?" Symmetry indeed.
The famous opening tune of 15A:THE_MOLDAU is similar enough to Israel's national anthem "Ha-Tikva" that, when the British Mandate government briefly banned the public singing and performance of Ha-Tikva in what was to become Israel, musicians would often program Moldau so that Ha-Tikva could be played and heard under a cloak of plausible deniability. (It's also similar to Mozart's minor-mode variation on "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" from K.265; here's the first Google hit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BTvoqVK420&t=253)
NDE
@banana d: My intent was not to criticize. I recognize that straws may be necessary, I also feel like a lot of what we get worked up about is minimal vs other issues and while I knew about the Pacific trash patch I didn't realize that straws had a particular target in the ocean.
That being said, there are materials now that degrade easily and act well for the time you need them. Compostable straws, cups ,etc. don't break down well in landfills, but will break down at sea, unlike traditional plastics.
While individual actions feel pointless our collective actions add up. My aha moment was in the plastic bag aisle at A Costco warehouse store in a relatively small community. That so few people could actually make that floor to ceiling aisle of brand new, one time use plastic profitable was horrifying. I imagined the entire aisle going straight to the landfill.
Solemnly yours on this Veterans Day,
PC
Thought you all would say what a great puzz this was! There were hardly any answers that I think of as fill; I had to search some recesses of my brain for some arcane info; a lot of clever/misleading clueing. Sometimes I think how smart you must all be to think what I consider challenging as easy. Sometimes I marvel at what you, including Rex, don’t know. The most surprising today was how so many of you have never had gyoza! When you do, fried are tough, so go for steamed.
Was born and raised in California, and a frequent visitor now. All the hell there breaks my heart. We in WA state have had problems too. Last summer we had weeks of smoke filled air, some of which was from Canada and Siberian fires. I miss the rain and cold! Is it too late to do something? We get all worked up about the finer points of red v blue, but this is existential for god’s sake!
Alternate clue for 47-a: having sex with someone for the first time.
First of all, the syndilinker is asleep at the switch YET AGAIN: we are still on Thursday. WAKE UP{, there!
To the puz. I filled it in, guessing in several places, and was surprised to see my solution intact with no errors. I mean, GYOZA? Thank heavens I dimly recalled a sound bite: "Viva ZAPATA!" from somewhere in my brain. For OFL's info: McMahon's erstwhile WWF (World Wrestling Federation) was forced to change by the World Wildlife Fund, who claimed precedence (and IMO, a better focus). Now it's WWE, for Entertainment, which more accurately captures the spirit of the thing. "Sport" it is NOT.
Had a laugh at @anon 9:51's reading of NEWSCREW. While on the subject, my HOTDATE for DOD is Tara REID. And to tweeter Allison: oh come on. how thin-skinned can you get? (I thought STRIPPERS right off, but hesitated because it seemed too straightforward for a Saturday.}
Tons of unknowns, including, by my Scrabble dictionary, a non-word (OCTILE). Not a fan of BSIDE or EVITE, but the rest of the fill was fine. Triumph points apply, so: birdie.
ABIDING URGE
I'd SAY SCOTTIE DALEY'S got a HOTDATE,
THO he's OFFAL TIMID to pitch WOO,
but EDNA WARES those YOGAPANTS as bait,
and that STRIPPER'S gonna be his NEWSCREW.
--- ANN CLINE
What @spacey said re: tweeter Allison.
And I am now convinced OFL suffers from low T.
As to the puz: I had the URGE to at first put in raGE and WAddLE. What really got me going THO were gimmes GMCS and PIP in the east; I spread like the FLUVIRUS from there.
Gotta love Paul McCartney and Wings "MAGNETO and Titanium Man": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTBukDar6vE
God bless the inventor of YOGAPANTS.
During filming of Grumpy Old Men I rubbed elbows with ANN-Margaret. Yeah baby.
Just right for a Sat-puz, I'd SAY.
Late to the party. This one was tricky. Especially the SW corner and the TURNERESQUE biggy. I had loans and then cards before I finally solved USURY. Very crunchy. Every inch was a battle. But I got 'er done. Fun!
THE MOLDAU, one of my favorite musical pieces. STRIPPERS popped to mind, too. After those, it was tougher going, especially in the SW, with SIR PURR and TURNERESQUE
HOT DATE was fun.
RICO MAGNETO left us to tend our own FIRES.
ABOVE my solve level, TSK.
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