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Social media pic designed to attract sexual attention / SUN 6-20-21 / Yoga pose with an arched back / Telecom with pink logo / Macabre illustrator Edward / World's best-selling musical artists of 2020 / Pierce-Arrow competitor / Cardamom-spiced brew / Ballet-inspired fitness method
Sunday, June 20, 2021
Constructor: Michael Lieberman
Relative difficulty: Easy (8:31 w/ a strong drink in me)
Theme answers:
Jarring return to reality today. I feel bad for those of you who solve only the Sunday / read me only on Sunday. It must be a little grim. I seem to like maybe one Sunday a month, maybe. Maybe. And I had a solid handful of positive reviews this month, including a rave review yesterday about what is likely to be the best Saturday puzzle of the year. But if you just stop in here on Sundays, well, you see none of that. I have to tell you, if the Sunday is the only NYTXW you solve, you are Not seeing the Times' best work. Not by a longshot. It *should* be the best work. Sunday pays the most (by a longshot), and it has the biggest audience (my traffic goes up ~50-100% on Sundays). But so often it's just a dreary long haul, a march through some long, tired wordplay gimmick that might've seemed fresh three decades ago, but now feels old and sad. Such was the case today. I got the first themer and immediately got an overall feeling of deflation. I could almost hear the air leaking pitifully out of this thing. CON CON! FUSES FUSES! Oof, we're really doing this? For six more themers!? I can honestly say that I didn't look at another theme clue because I simply didn't have to. That led to one very awkward moment when I wrote in POO POO CURES CURES for that last themer (I thought ROE (113D: Little eggs) was OVA and, well, things escalated from there), but otherwise, I just figured out the themers by doubling the letters I already had in the grid. Double and infer, double and infer. Blew through the whole thing in a well below-average time, but with absolutely no sense of exhilaration because there was never a moment of excitement. Well, I was kinda excited to see CAMPARI (which I enjoy) and CEVICHE (which I enjoy), but otherwise, it's just corny wordplay and dated fill as far as the eye can see.
- CON CONFUSES FUSES (23A: Prisoner accidentally causes a power outage?)
- ELON ELONGATES GATES (37A: Southern university beefs up campus security?)
- MAN MANDATES DATES (54A: Fellow imposes a strict palm fruit regimen?)
- ANA ANAGRAMS GRAMS (78A: Actress de Armas writes "Mr. Gas" and "Ms. Rag")
- APP APPRAISES RAISES (94A: Smartphone advises on poker bets?)
- PRO PROCURES CURES (112A: Doctor acquires antibiotics?)
Ceviche, also cebiche, seviche, or sebiche (Spanish pronunciation: [seˈβitʃe]) is a South American seafood dish that originated in Peru, typically made from fresh raw fish cured in fresh citrus juices, most commonly lemon or lime, but historically it was made with the juice of bitter orange. It is also spiced with ají, chili peppers or other seasonings and chopped onions, salt, and coriander are also added.
Because the dish is eaten raw, and not cooked with heat, it must be prepared fresh and consumed immediately to minimize the risk of food poisoning. Ceviche is often eaten as an appetizer; if eaten as a main dish, it is usually accompanied by side dishes that complement its flavors, such as sweet potato, lettuce, maize, avocado, or cooking banana. (wikipedia)
• • •
[R.E.M REMEMBERS EMBERS?]
There were a few tricky moments. Needed almost every cross to get 1A: Home for The Devil (TAROT). Wanted TASMAN or SOME UNIVERSITY or something. I'm not a nerdy teen from the '60s so I don't know Morse Code, ergo ESS was hard for me (14D: What "..." may represent)—yet again, an annoying clue courtesy of whatever sense of humor it is that thinks Doubling Clues Is Awesome (see 57D: What "..." may represent). ESS is bad fill, why make people dwell on it!? This puzzle doubles a lot of things. UTES and ATV. ARYA and ARIA. AFLAC and AETNA. Notice that none of this is "2 x something great!" Man, NEBS is a truly terrible word (79D: Birds' bills). I can accept NIBS and NUBS, and NABS is welcome anytime, but NEBS, erk. My brain purposely forgot it was a real word. I briefly thought 32D: Work in the kitchen? was KNIFE because, I mean, if someone attacked you in the kitchen, you might stab them. You might! You wouldn't KNEAD them, I know that. Speaking of KNEAD, I KNEAD to stop writing about this puzzle now. Good day. And happy first day of summer!
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]
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121 comments:
Why do I feel like I just ran a category on Jeopardy!?
Mostly they came to me pretty easily, but I still had some fun figuring out the themers.
Although they did seem a little tortured at times, like doctor = PRO, and ANAANAGRAMS...GRAMS.
These just kind of clunked for me, but not enough to pan the puzz.
Overall, I liked it - one of the better of the Sundees lately, IMHO.
And any grid that has Edward GOREY in it is all right by me, too!
🧠🧠
🎉🎉🎉
From yesterday (in case it was missed): @Roo, @pabloinnh, @GILL, @Z
Oh! You guuuuuys! Thank you for all the kind words and wishes and accompanying laughs! I'm touched - and not in the usual way. 😘❤️
Concur with Rex’ assessment of the fill. Aside from a dreadful double natick in the northwest (RAE/BARRA/ESS), once again the PPP naticks were all chunked in a single quadrant, the southwest, where I encountered too many to list – six (6). I made When I ran into this localized PPP-fest I thought I would take a break and get some nutritional support, so I actually made some guacamole and put the recommended CUMIN into it, but , sad to report, came back uninspired by my little experimental repast. I made educated guesses on the naticks, but had to grade myself a D when I saw the answers…
I thought today’s theme was interesting enough, but not as well executed as it might have been. I was particularly put off by the last entry, where “PRO” is used as a synonym for “doctor.” Now I fully recognize that they don’t work for charity (anymore), so like every other paid skilled worker a doctor can be said to be “professional,” but I daresay I’ve encountered no small number of them who barely qualify as amateurs. Seems to me that, as this was 113-across, use might have been made of 113-down (PGA) and clued something like “Member of 113-down picks up some antibiotics.” Oh well, criticism is easy and crossword puzzle construction is difficult, but not so difficult, IMHO, that constructors who feel they MUST resort to PPP clues might have the decency to spread them around the puzzle, instead of chunking them into a single corner. Geeesh! AIFLAC? Never hoid of ‘em. Two questions about insurance companies here – can’t help wondering if Mr. Lieberman isn’t in the insurance business…. I did get a kick out of his two meta-clues: “MISSPELLED and ANAGRAMSGRAMS...”
He's baaaaaaack! But even with a "strong drink" he cannot maintain his positive attitude from yesterday.
I've been doing the NYTXW since before Rex was born and I didn't find this one all that "corny and dated" as he did. In fact, I found it less of a slog than many recent Sundays. I hope you enjoyed it, too.
As always, your mileage may vary.
Medium. Mostly entirely agree with @Rex on this one. Not a sterling Sunday.
Just want to point out that the print edition's clue for 70d is in error, since it has FUCHSIA and TURQUOISE very much spelled correctly. Whereas XWord Info has them misspelled —correctly incorrect, as it were— in the clue. So I assume the online puzzle is fine. The later print editions may fix it.
GOREY x ARYA = fail. Shortz should be fired just for that one alone.
Mom always said “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all”. G’nite all. Oh, I do have something to say. OOF!
A painful slog for me. EIDERS? I'm a bird buff but have never heard of it. Still don't understand the clue.
Very nice how the theme helped with the solve. Very nice how this puzzle exercised my solving chops. Sweet to see the joining of ESSAY and ASSAY. Sweet to hear from the constructor (in his notes) about his excitement at figuring out the theme and the “brute force” it took to come up with a theme set, two things I think most constructors can relate to. Marvelous to hear that, independent of Michael’s “discovery” of this theme, it was actually done almost 40 years ago (as Jeff Chen points out) – there’s something beautiful in that, a worthy story. Thank you for this puzzle, Michael!
Regarding Father’s Day, bolstering the dad joke clue for LAME, we see PA in the puzzle twice, in CAMPARI and APPAPP... Wishing all dads out there a special one, and the same goes for everyone else!
Well, congrats to Michael on his first Sunday! - Even though he's catching some flack for his theme and fill. I found this a pleasant solve, and enjoyed the theme. I do have to agree about the PPP at 116A/107D (GOREY and ARYA, a big no-no: My one DNF). I was also puzzled by MISSPELLED for fuchsia and turquoise, and interpreted the clue as 'often misspelled' until I read Joe Dipinto's comment.
Rex, I'm a ham radio operator who knows -- --- .-. ... . but I'm NOT a nerd from the 60's! (OK, I'm a nerd from the 70's, but who's counting?)
@Unknown, 5:31: An eider is a kind of duck, whose feathers (down) are used to make pillows (down pillows), etc.
Going to visit my father-in-law (also a radio ham, a nerd from the 40's) and call my father today. Happy Father's Day to all dads!
I mean wouldn’t it be more fun/enjoyable to try to figure out the themers from the clues even if it slowed down the time ? Seems unfair to criticize a theme when you just blew it off to speed solve.
Liked this more than Rex - but it did grind to a halt halfway thru. The gimmick is more complex than it appears - problem is that the themers are not overly interesting or humorous. Liked ELON ELONGATES GATES - boy that ELON Musk is a genius huh…
ELEANOR and HAVANAN were solid entries as is CYCLOPS dead center. Don’t care for the MISSPELLED clue. Side eye to the ASSAY x ESSAY cross.
Not the worst Sunday slog we’ve seen.
Going surfing with my sons - no alcopops but maybe a few good old fashioned beers. Cheers to all the fathers.
Q. How do you get down off an elephant? A. You don’t. You get down off a duck.
Glad to read the comment about the misspellings. In my print edition they were correct and when I got "misspelled" from the crosses, I didn't understand what was going on.
As usual, I find Rex too harsh.
Even people like myself who don't know Morse Code have picked up the factoid from clicking telegraphs in movies or other sources that the ship distress call SOS is ...---...
With that said, I started confidently with ETC and had no idea why ESS was correct until Rex explained it to me.
One of the few times I heartily endorse Rex's appraisal of a puzzle. It was awful. And I naticked at Gorey/Arya.
My Natick as well
Puzzle was fine. Liked the clue on ano. No ñ in Portuguese so keeps the whiners away.
I'm with OFL in taking forever to come up with TAROT, the only thing that made any sense to me was HADES, which was no help at all. Would have helped if I had read "dream interrupter" instead of "dream interpreter". How to complicate a clue.
Today I learned THIRSTTRAP. I'm either out of the loop on current slang (likely) or out of the loop on social media (definitely), but in this case I don't feel like I'm missing much. Also learned the names of two FERNS, filling another gap in the knowledge base.
The ANAGRAMS answer would have been much easier if I knew Ms. deArma's first name, which I didn't but do now, at least for this morning. That was the trickiest one, except for the Dr.=PRO construction, because it doesn't.
LAME Dad jokes always make be think of my Dad, who delighted in relating them, even when he knew they were awful. Do I do the same thing with my sons? Well of course. Hope you all had fathers who thought laughter was a good thing.
Nice enough, ML. Mostly Laudable (with a few exceptions). Thanks for the fun.
1) Former spouse demystifies prairies.
2) SEAL Team mission fights affectation.
I may be in a minority today, but I thought this was a clever theme. Granted the themers are all completely nuts, but this theme demands wacky. I thought the most elegant of the lot and therefore the most successful was the first one, CON CONFUSES FUSES.
I'm familiar with GoT, so problem around ARYA. I had a spot of bother at the NEBS/BYU cross. I never know the names of college sports teams (hi, @okanaganer), had the YU and merrily put in N, giving me NENs for birds’ beaks. That seemed wrong and somehow I dredged up NEBS from deep brain storage. I also briefly thought “Water clover and adder’s-tongue” were hERbS, which caused a little flurry in the SE. Thanks to Rex for illuminating 14D ESS for “What ‘…’ may represent.”
Loved “Dead giveaway” = ESTATE. Honorable mention to “Put away some groceries” = ATE, “One seeing things with a critical eye?” = CYCLOPS, and “Ones making you duck down” = EIDERS. There were FLEAS looking for the DOGMAS, and a RAT with a CASE on a MOPED. Thank heavens for Clare and her abiding (if inexplicable) love for BTS. It’s been a DOOKY week – alternate clue for IMO PEN: “What someone might reply when asked what is the best writing implement?” There were several pairs of twins separated at birth: AREA, ARYA, NET, NEBS, ETC, EXT, and triplets REO, ROE and RAE. I was glad to see ESTES again so soon; I had trouble with it recently but got it right off today. I liked the ASSAY/ESSAY cross in the far SE (hi, @Lewis and @Son Volt with differing views). And in the far NW, TAROT/TACOS had some merit, sound-wise.
1) EX EXPLAINS PLAINS.
2) OP OPPOSES POSES.
Back to poetry today – here’s the voice of VIKRAM SETH, born June 20, 1952.
EVENING SCENE FROM MY TABLE
Evening is here, and I am here
At my baize table with a glass,
Now sipping my unfizzy beer,
Now looking out where on the grass
Two striped and crested hoopoes glean
Delicious insects one by one.
A barbet flies into the scene
Across the smoky city sun.
My friends have left, and I can see
No one, and no one will appear.
This must be happiness, to be
Sitting alone with birds and beer.
In a brief while the sun will go,
And grand unnerving bats will fly
Westward in clumped formations, slow
And dark across a darkened sky.
Since a Sunday is a double sized weekday puzzle the theme seems apt. I’m with the seeming majority, liked it more than Rex but I see his points.
GOREY has been dead 21 years? Okay, I guess not knowing about him is understandable. But lots of his work is still sitting on the shelf of your local bookstore waiting to be purchased by you.
And, yes, I agree, ARYA/GOREY is a suboptimal crossing, even if she does seem a little like a character he might have drawn. The whole mask thing just seems right up his alley. Still, if you don’t know either of these two that Y could be a whole lot of letters. Proper Names - Blrrgh.
Going crosswordese College instead of much publicized billionaire seems an ODDS choice to me. And with the second half being cluable as another well-known billionaire it seemed like a real opportunity missed. Once again, wacky needs to be wackier and maybe a little daring.
CUMIN in your guacamole? What kind of uncouth gourmand are you? Onion, tomato, a few serranos, some fresh squeezed lime juice, some cilantro. That’s it. Why would anyone mar perfection by adding a spice?
What a grouch. Glad I’m not a hater. Happy Father’s Day.
Yes!! Thank you!!
The best “got ya” clue of the year so far was the (electronic) one for MISSPELLED (there may have been some mix-up with the hard copy version). A couple of the answers today had double-a combinations (AA) which was unusual, and a little disconcerting for some reason.
I enjoyed a brief aha moment when I finally discerned the clue for NETS (there is no apostrophe in Lets) which was pretty cool. I agree with OFL that the theme required too much effort and returned too little of any interest or entertainment value (perhaps the most egregious example is the actress with the anagrams - geez, what a snoozer !). That seems to be the case just a little too frequently - would love to see them just not try so hard to force a theme (or theme entry) where it doesn’t add any enjoyment value (or maybe it does for some). Even though it’s a small sample size, we can look at the extremes - I’m a beginner and I thought the theme was a boring slog, and Rex is a competitive speed-solver and he hated it, so hopefully the middle ground is expansive and well-populated.
Ok, this is how far behind the times I am - I had never heard of “THIRST TRAP” before, and apparently it became passé about 10 years ago. On the other hand . . . ELEANOR Roosevelt dropped right in without hesitation, lol.
Regarding Doctor = PRO - If you’re a doctor, whether it be a Ph.D. or Ed.D or D.M.A. or Th.D or any other doctorate, you are most likely a PROfessional. It is possible to be a PROfessional without a doctorate, but clues don’t have to be true in all cases. The clue works for medical doctors as well, but assuming the doctor is your G.P. makes the clue bland. I prefer to imagine a different sort of doctor getting the drugs.
I'm with you, @pabloinnh (7:55). Was hung up for the longest time because I read 19A as "Dream interpreter" instead of "Dream interrupter".
“But so often it's just a dreary long haul, a march through some long, tired wordplay gimmick that might've seemed fresh three decades ago, but now feels old and sad.“. Sounds like an apt descriptor of much of Rex’s blogging these days. Wasn’t a huge fan of the puzzle myself either but way to shred someone’s first Sunday creation. I assume your ‘ratemyprofessor’ reviews are equally trite.
Had the E. Saw the clue “Roosevelt who…” Never saw the rest of the clue, Missed the quote, Speed solving takes part of the enjoyment out of doing the puzzle but I can’t help myself. 💁
Don’t agree with you this time Rex. Yes, very easy, but fun! Especially for us old fart Dads on Father’s Day!!
I led a walk about FERNs yesterday morning. 101D may have been the easiest clue ever for me.
Really clever clue for NET … but the “!” spoils it. Without the !, it's a brilliant. With it, it's inaccurate and unfair.
Clever theme and all the themers work for me.
My take on PRO: specifically when it comes to cures, a doctor is a pro.
Eiders are a duck and eider down goes into comforters, vests, jackets etc. Eider down comforters are a fairly common thing, if an expensive one!
Thx Michael for a fun Sun. puz! :)
Easy-med unsolve.
Dnfed at CUMIN / COBRA; had TUMIN / TOBRA. Not knowing my spices and yoga. Shoulda/coulda done a whack-a-letter there. :(
Somewhat educated guess on BARRE / RAE / ESS. Was seeing (…) as an ellipsis rather than 3 dits. I did originally like ETC for ESS, and as it turned up later, I guess that would qualify as a half-malapop since I didn't actually enter it. Took ballet in CC, so knew BARRE, but didn't know it was the name of a fitness method. Finally, saw that ESS was in Morse Code, so intuited the 'R' for RAE and Bob was my uncle. Looks like RAE SREMMURD is a semordnilap for ear drummers.
Nevertheless, a very enjoyable experience. :)
Maybe my all-time fave ARIA: O Mio Babbino Caro ~ Amira Willighagen w/ André Rieu. Went with the 10 yr old Amira this time, rather than the veteran Maria Callas.
Woof, woof to all dogs! ALPO or not. 🐶
___
yd 0
Peace ~ Empathy ~ Health ~ Kindness to all ~ Woof 🕊
@Z 8:16a - I agree. In NY doctors - along with engineers and others are required to establish PROfessional corporations in order to do business.
I like the concept of the theme. Certainly more difficult than it seems it should be, especially if you add symmetry constraints. But for the most part, I did not find it very funny, which brought it down in my estimation a few notches. So a thumbs up concerning the theme and a shrug concerning the humor from me.
I had to laugh at Joe Dipinto's comment from yesterday about the error in the cluing. I think I remember one essay by William Safire in which he complained about the correction of an "error" that had to be included in the essay copy that over-eager copy editors had corrected. I have to laugh at the fact when, years ago, I first started commenting here, I wrote almost the exact same comment, not thinking it was a spoiler in any way. (Turns out I was wrong, but that's another story.) Mr. Sharp took exception to my comment in what I would categorize as a rant-filled response bitterly complaining that I should have not composed a Saturday spoiler for a Sunday puzzle (the gist, not an exact quote). Wonder if that exchange is still part of the blog.
Going to try some cumin in the guacamole sitting in the fridge. Gorey fan here; he's worth revisiting. Enjoyed this. Of course, retiring next month so pretty pleased with most everything at present. Happy Dad's Day, Rex and all the fathers!
How can we not love a puzzle that calls out Edward Gorey? Author of The Abandoned Sock, The Gashlycrumb Tinies, and The Gilded Bat? "E is for Edward who choked on a peach. F is for Fanny, sucked dry by a leech...J is for James who drank Lye(s) by mistake." Just reading his bibliography is a treat.
And look at the words we have here today. Two of Transyvania's most famous law firms, Tarot, Ogre, & Fleas, and Cyclops, Cumin & Dogma. They fought out a case years ago involving a 1-eyed pet and some Mexican food liability. I like a puzzle that makes recipe suggestions. Doesn't everyone?
And here @Z, we see that Orel Hershiser is back. Did you know he was born in Turgenev, NY? Crazy right? Btw, Gorey lives on in his work and will for a long time. My Gorey themed calendar made me laugh every day a couple years ago.
Yay for this puzzle. All that wonderful stuff and not a scintilla of controversy. Blue skies, nothin' but blue skies.
@Dear Frantic, was waiting for your return today to send many happy returns. Hope it was magical! (I was touched but not in the usual way 😂) And, I should've guessed, yer a Gorey fan.
*Horrible*. Can't we have decent puzzles on Sunday, at least?
This puzzle wasted 50 letters in basic repetition. How can this pass the editorial inspection?
The best CEVICHE I ever tasted was fresh-caught octopus, at a little hut on a beach not far from Manta, Ecuador in 2011. So bright. Octopus is really finicky, but done right it takes you places.
@Barbara S (8:01) -- Nice poem this morning. The goodness of sitting alone in the changing light with a cold one, paying attention to birds after the guests have left. I also really liked the Venerable Bede passage earlier in the week. And "The Overstory." It's been a good week for quotes.
Got as far as "manmandates..." and decided I had enough. I don't remember quitting on a puzzle this quickly before.
Happy Fathers Day to all the dads, including me.
@JD - I did notice that Hershiser is back, but eschewed commenting for fear of a spoiler. Turgenev is just NE of Rye off I-95, isn’t it?
Exactly! That's a very bad error to make!!
Same re ESS!
I thought the theme was clever, though agree Dr. Does not equal PRO.
Don't understand Rex's "dated" comment: Arya, thirsttrap, BTS, and Rae Sremmurd???? Loved to see Roxane Gay, but as current as today's very paper (She writes the Work Friend column).
I need an explanation for 96D, ["There's no one on me!] - IMOPEN. I don't get it. What am I missing?
No drink necessary here to solve this one. I loved the theme and tolerated the rest. Pretty good morning so far with a 5K sweatfest run followed by a swim, QB, and this puzzle. LAT to come.
Hey All !
Corny. That's my take. Seems like a theme Will would normally reject. Better clue for 37A - Musk puts Bill in a Torture Rack? Macabre, but better. 😁
Appreciate the effort of this puz, I know SunPuzs aren't easy to fill. But just didn't push the pleasure buttons for me. Weird clue for ANON, maybe change it to "Like who wrote 'Roses are Red'...". And 32D doesn't really need a question mark, does it? KNEAD would do fine as an answer without it. Too cutesy.
On a positive note (dang, Rex-Grouch Syndrome seems to be catchy), the fill wasn't terrible. Haven't heard of the ROSS SEA, so many SEAs out there. The doubling thing hit at SOANDDO. Had to Goog for Jose Marti, as that was my last corner, and ®Puz-antsiness crept in, as nothing was coming into the ole brain up there. After the cheat, 100% correct! Taking it as a win!
RESEAT and RESEAL, positive, or not? Discuss. MOOG is a fun word. Can one have more than one BFF? Maybe a BFf, and a SBFF (Second BFF)? Asking for a friend. 😂
Five F's
RooMonster
DarrinV
@chefwen 3:17 - Cheeseheads agree: OOF was my word of the day, too. But...speaking of ALOHA, after spending March in Wisconsin for two pandemic years, we're looking forward to being back in the Islands in 2022.
At least as much as any constructor whose puzzle I've ever done -- and perhaps even more so -- Michael Lieberman inhabits a completely different world than the one I live in. Actually, let me qualify that. A different universe. A different solar system.
I picture him with his nose never -- no, not even once, not even when he eats -- out of his smartphone. And his ears never out of his ear buds (or whatever those white things are called) that are pumping the latest pop "music" into his ears 24/7.
This is a nightmare of Naticky pop culture trivia criss-crossing clues combined with a nightmare of Naticky criss-crossing computer-based trivia. Even those things that were alive and well prior to 2012 are mostly proper names too.
I refer the constructor to @sf27shirley's eloquent 7:16 comment from last night's blog. It anticipates today's puzzle by hours and delineates everything that's wrong with such a puzzle.
I worry that other young constructors will see today's puzzle and think: "Oh, I see. That's what I should be doing, too!"
No, other young constructors, that's NOT what you should be doing!! Please don't.
How many different RAEs are we up to now?
I liked the clues for CYCLOPS and EIDERS. Mostly it was pretty blah though.
If you don't know Edward Gorey, here is one of his heartwarming creations.
For a long time I was getting no traction in the Acrostic but then suddenly I grokked the entire first phrase of the quote all at once, and it moved along quickly after that.
Here's 9d if it were 70d.
I somehow went through APNEA, SNORE and STORM for 19A before figuring out it had to be ALARM
I rarely so completely and strongly disagree with Rex. This was the most fun I've has solving a Sunday puzzle in a *long* time. I loved the corny, clever, jaunty vibes of so many of these clues. I felt like I was on the same wavelength almost the whole time. "Dead giveaway?" made me laugh out loud and "Good spice to add to guacamole (try it!)" was refreshingly conversational. I learned how to spell fuchsia! It had Roxane Gay! What more could I ask for.
Thanks, @Joe D. I knew that neither "fuchsia" nor "turquoise" was the least bit MISSPELLED and resisted writing it in for the longest time. When I finally did write it in, I gritted my teeth. Terrible mistake by the NYT editors.
I liked the puzzle! Happy Father's Day to Rex and all bloggers that are dads in any way, shape, or form to some living thing!
@Barbara S. Your posts are gems! Thank you for your daily contributions!
It's time for me to say "bye" so I can stop my overuse of exclamation points!
Yes, the GOREY/ARYA natick! Not inferable on any level. I guessed GOREN/ARNA, which seemed more likely to me.
Otherwise, I don’t mind a cute, corny little theme when I’m working the Sunday puzzle in my jammies, but some of these just didn’t work.
@pmdm. I remember the first time I had a spoiler on the blog. It was about the previous day's puzzle, rather than the following day's. I was newish to the blog and had not clued in yet. Someone replied with a reasonable, gentle explanation of why comments on recent and future puzzles are a bad idea, and I felt terrible. I suspect if instead that person had replied with a full-on rant, I would have gotten defensive and angry and ignored them.
I think a lot of the rancor in the political world results from our quickness to attack. If we spent more time explaining our points of view and less time calling each other racists or snowflakes or morons, we might make a lot more impact.
I liked the puzzle better after I decided the theme was actually Dad Jokes.
Excellent! Best Sunday puzzle in a long time. The only nit I have to pick is 57D (ESS) - “…” is the letter S in Morse code. *groan*
Alternate clue for 14D: End of the lion?
I did the Sunday Puz. for many years when it was in my local paper a week delayed. I never saw the weekday versions until I E-subscribed a few yrs. ago. Anyway, this just seems like a typical Sunday with long silly answers. Some are more fun than others. I'm not a big fan of themed puzzles and 3 per week would be plenty.
Re: Today's. ELON................. doesn't really work. And PRO is such a huge tent the equivalence to a doctor is slim. I doubt that many ever refer to a doctor as a PRO.
I had a free trial on HBO and I watched Season 1 of Game of Thrones, but it was not for me. I keep counting my blessings that 1 season is all you need to know the basic Game Of Thrones crosswordese.
AYRA- the daughter
NED and STARK - Ned Stark the father
LENA Headley- actress who played Cersei Lannister
Those are the main ones. Learn them. I think I also saw JON SNOW too.
There is also a similar Simpsons list that I am learning it is MOE or NED. Ned is the neighbor, Moe is the bartender and also the name of the bar.
Personally I loved this puzzle! Probably because I have a LAME sense of humor (count on me for a dad joke anytime, though I happily have no children and, at my age, likely never will).
My fiancée and I both disliked RESEAT and RESEAL appearing in such quick succession, as well as ESSAY and ASSAY crossing at the Y. Personally I disliked AFLAC and AETNA showing up so close to one another, and also share our fearless leader’s aversion to ESS.
We also noted that Fuchsia and Turquoise were, in fact, correctly spelled in the cluing (we solved in print). I just checked the NYTXW app and they are correctly misspelled there. I can only imagine Will Shortz kicking himself because he forgot to write “stet,” and now I’m wishing “STET” were an answer in today’s puzzle. The fates missed a prime opportunity for chance irony today.
Otherwise I must disagree with Rex: this was a delightful romp for Father’s Day and the first day of summer!
Now time to call a grandfather (the last grandparent still kicking, alive and well at 96) and my father. Then we we make a quiche to bring to dinner with my fiancée’s father this evening.
Happy Dad Day to all you dads out there!
Nice Sunday puzzle. The double-phrases were fun to get, although I still wonder how 112 Across ("Doctor acquires antibiotics?") ended up with PRO as a synonym for doctor. There are plenty of pros in the world, a few of which are medical PROfessionals. Also, 88 Across ("The Cougars of the N.C.A.A") seems to imply there's only one school with that mascot. Living in the Pacific NW, I immediately wrote in WSU as my answer (instead of BYU). Sticking with the Utah theme, the answer for 52 Down (clued as "sporty trucks, in brief") could have been much better clued as "PAC-12 team near the Wasatch Range" and the answer, UTES, would have been much more palatable, especially since the puzzle could've used two Utah schools in a single puzzle. Nobody, and I mean nobody, refers to SUVs as "utes." I'm guessing the constructor is referring to Sport Utility Vehicles here? SUVs are not trucks, much the same way station wagons aren't sedans. To be honest, the term SUV really stands for Shitty Urban Vehicles. 😬😬
Finally, the answer - NETS -for 56 Down ("Let's hit it!") is still a mystery to me. How is "nets" relatable in any way to the term Let's Hit It? Unless the constructor was referring to the team from Brooklyn, as they are all making their vacation plans now ;-)
I’m of two (2) minds about MichaelMichael (grid & analysis) today ��
EIDER you love em or you blame that damn flat on your wheelhouse? Thought the gimmick was great (but it made half the theme squares fill on autopilot); hated the short crosswordese (but it prevented Natick intersections in most cases). — … —
I’m so like that felon at 23 across!
I was fine with the gimmick and entries, and there were some clever clues, but just too easy a puzzle. Seemed like a long Tuesday.
@Joaquin (10:11 AM)
Bball 🏀
@Hungry Mother (10:19 AM) 👍 for the QB
Still working on the final word. 🤞
@kitshef (11:09 AM) wrote:
"I think a lot of the rancor in the political world results from our quickness to attack. If we spent more time explaining our points of view and less time calling each other racists or snowflakes or morons, we might make a lot more impact."
Right on!
___
pg -1
Peace ~ Empathy ~ Health ~ Kindness to all 🕊
@Photomatte 11:54 - in tennis, a let is a shot that hits the net then continues on and lands in play. So, lets physically hit the NET. Note the absence of an apostrophe in "lets". [Unless in some version of the puzzle that was also wrongly corrected.]
I can't believe the review. Sundays are indeed often awful, and usually a boring slog, but I was delighted with today's romp. I was looking forward to each themer as it came along. And the crosses were just difficult enough to make it a bit of a challenge to get them. When I got to PRO PROCURES CURES, I was full of admiration for the constructor.
I have seen ROSSSEA before. All those lovely S's are irresistable I suppose. But I never knew about the Marine Reserve there. ARYA has been in the puzz before. GOREY, not so much, but it was good to be reminded of his sick, yet fascinating sense of humor.
Fun puzzle. It was a thrill to figure out the theme and use it to get the others. Habana undid me. I should have run the alphabet all the way to the end to get vice, lesson learned.
@Frantic Sloth
A belated happy birthday!
Today's puzzle was pretty easy IMO.
I think one, maybe two solvers might have misinterpreted ELON ELONGATES GATES. This has nothing to do with ELON Musk. It's the name of a university in North Carolina, whose distinction has been on the rise in recent years.
Today's acrostic was fun -- I admit to being a fan of the author. Some pretty good crunch in the answers.
SB stuff: ugh. I keep getting within 1 of QB. I'm not giving up yet on yesterday's or today's, though. A (usual!) round of congrats to @bocamp. I did like the longest of yesterday's, which came to me while I was driving.
Hope all you dads out there have a nice day!
Thanks, @bocamp. Like an alley-oop, it went over my head.
@JD 901am Thank you, my friend. And I'm shocked shocked to find that Goreying was going on in your head...not at all. 😘
You and @Z are killing me here. 🤣
@J-Dip 1048am I was hoping someone would link that particular E.G. - thanks!
@Z 802am I agree with all your quacamole ingredients, but I like to toss in an avocado on occasion, too. 816am Nobody is disputing a doctor is a PROfessional, but I'm more of the same mind as @OffTheGrid 1136am - it's just a weak choice. I would have preferred something closer to @Ken Freeland's 1222am suggestion about a tie-in with PGA. But that's me.
@Roo I'm of two minds when it comes to "close-but-no-cigar" answers like RESEAT/RESEAL. If done cleverly, thumbs up. If it's just lazy (or gives me the impression of such), boo. Unfortunately, it is most often the latter. The same goes for duplicate clues. It can work, but too often does not. Not a fan of either in today's puzz, e.g. There. I discussed it - what do I win, Johnny? 😆
@Joaquin (and@bocamp)--
Football too. Receivers always come back to the huddle claiming IMOPEN.
Oye Joaquin-glad you misread that clue too. Now I do not feel so all alone.
@JoeD, Thanks for the link! I was wrong. It was Ernest not Edward who choked on a peach. If Edward had choked on a peach he couldn't have written that sentence.
@Joaquin, What @Bo said. My bball hero Larry Bird, "DJ, pass me the ball, there's no one on me" as he was being double teamed.
Happy Fathers Day to you crossword Dads! Enjoy your day.
Kitshef: I agree with your take. Unfortunately, in the case of a person who lives in an alternate (false) reality and who becomes an obstructionist, some kind of response seems required. And I'm not sure there is an effective one that will not result in anything positive. And the apt desire not to be walked on all over tends to promote bad conditions.
I think communication of disagreements should not result in grandiose wars. Which is why many of the complaints about Shortz expressed on this site may not influence as intended. Yes, what you say is applicable to the crossword world.
Surely someone could have done better puzzles for Mother’s Day and Father’s Day this year. Ugh and ugh.
@Z: A Mexican friend of mine made the best Guacamole I've ever tasted. His secret ingredient? BUTTER!
I enjoyed this one and, yes, this type of theme made it easier than most, but that didn’t make it less enjoyable. Funny, as I solved it, I was guessing at just how much you were going to dislike it.
@TTrimble (12:39 PM)
Having a rough time with the acrostic (which is not unusual). LOL
Thx for the 'round'. @Michiganman inspired me yd with his non-acceptable pangram. I don't know why, but it somehow twigged me and voila, I got that long pgram; it was second to last, making the final word easy to suss out. That's the reason I always put in stuff that I know won't be accepted, just to get a different view of the letters, without having to reshuffle.
@Joaquin (12:48 PM) yw 😊
@pabloinnh (1:07 PM)
Good 'catch'; got that a number of times in the huddle. LOL
@JD (1:19 PM) 😂
___
0
Peace ~ Empathy ~ Health ~ Kindness to all 🕊
I just couldn't figure it out. Thanks.
A slog by any other name…
There’s an initial “So that’s the theme!” followed by “So that’s the theme?” Getting the first was fun but then slog fest with some awfulness. Docs are pros? So is Federer.
Shortz’s group claims they get over 200 submissions a week but how many are Sundays? Not many, I’m guessing. Maybe they’re harder to construct than we know.
And of course nobody forces us to try and solve them. Maybe this is Rex’s problem - he has to, every day, day after day, and including Sundays. It’s enough to make anybody grouchy. Why does he do it? No room here for psychoanalysis.
Yes. Fixed in online version.
GOREY...You're always on the run now....
Are the voices in your head calling....GOORREEY.
You give me a Sunday with The Gashlycrumb tinies: A is for Amy who fell down the stairs....and I will eat TACOS with any bloody CUMIN you want.
I want to dance the HAVANAN MAN MAN DATES DATES with SO AND SO LOLA.
Fun puzzle...even though I've been put off by the usual ho hum GRUB.
@JD 9:01 gets the comment of the month award.....
I find speedsolving the Sundays fun. I'm still nowhere near as fast as Rex, probably due to needing extra time for EIDER and NEBS.
Clue/answer I never even read: 14D ESS
Clues I misread (and therefore haste made waste) 19A was Dream *interpreter* instead of interrupter and 87D was low *brow* instead of bow. Not that the latter would have helped as I don't know that usage of SALAAM.
Definitely corny theme. Definitely would like to see better from NYT. Let's call it a C Tier puzzle.
ps - apologize if this is a dupe, got a weird error when I clicked publish
@TTrimble 1239pm Thank you, buddy. It's never too late to celebrate!😊
@GILL 249pm That song gives me the willies! 🤣 Totally agree with you on @JD's 901am comment. (But don't tell her I said so)
@Frantic Sloth - toss in an avocado on occasion, too. It’s our new avocado free diet guacamole… 🧐
@oldactor - Butter? Butter? Butter?
Been so so busy closing out my practice and clearing out my office and handing off clients and on and on and on as I transition to - yikes - retirement, that I haven’t posted much. Truth to tell it is all I can do to solve every day but I am still able to get that done. And of course, to read what you all have to say every day which gives me so much happiness! So, thanks everyone.
No real idea what I am going to do with myself besides spend time in NorCal with my kids and hopefully soon to be adopted granddaughter. I’ll also be volunteering with a national grass roots political GOTV organization located in Cali on some ideas to get citizenship/government education back in school curriculums K-12.
Don’t know about where you all live, but here, I am beyond appalled and have moved to outspokenly outraged that high school graduates have virtually no civics education here! They have no idea about local government and very, very little about state or national government, and of course they don’t vote.
And of course I am certain I will get involved in local politics again, not as an office holder, but as consultant on local political campaigns. And I then there’s my reading list! So, I guess I’ll be busy but it is going to be an adjustment. Any advice from those of you out there who are enjoying retirement is welcome!
So until yesterday, this week’s puzzles were quite easy. Yesterday, I could not get started until about a third of the way down and I absolutely killed from there to the end and went back up top only to make like the kids in the “Cat in the Hat.” All I could do was just sit, sit, sit, sit, and I did not like it, not one little bit! Finally gave up until late last night when I started this one and almost completely forgot I failed to finish Saturday! Yikes! Anyway, struggled through just before the stroke of midnight and went on to Sunday.
This one was greased lightening! I got to the first theme entry, read it and just filled it in. Whole puzzle went the same way. Little to live, nothing to dislike, no total weirdness but some tougher name issues with themes if you didn’t know, but today I knew them all (for a change). Go me (she said, totally laughing at Self).
Sorry to bore any of you with my retirement saga, but my cats don’t seem to think it’s anything other than what should have been happening around here since “Foundlings Day” in 2014 when we signed on as staff. They seemed to think I had regained my senses after the luxurious year of the pandemic when I suddenly quit leaving and returning at “dark time” - rarely home for long term snuggles and favorite games - and had all the “don’t touch the work” piles at home instead of wherever “work” lives. Headed out now to see my favorite neighbor kids play baseball (as opposed to finishing up all the things I need to have ready for “Monday.” This could be habit forming! I may even get to where I can post earlier in the day.
Thanks to everyone for being such an important and pleasant part of every day! Peace out.
Rex did the puzzle in 8:31. The puzzle has 65 across words and 75 down words. Read the clue, think of the answer, write it down, 140 times in 511 seconds, even with the hiccup described in the column. That works out to 3.6 seconds per word. Wow.
@Gill, Dammit! Humbled and honored to receive this award!
@CDilly52, I enjoyed your story. Congratulations on your retirement! Now you start the real job of doing the things you love.
Anyone ever hear the term Healthcare PROvider?
👍
@CDilly52. I was busier after I retired than when I worked. Went to a local college and took a course in Plant Science. Went to Adult Education at our local high school and took a course in pottery, bought a wheel, made a ton of pots with one of my buddies. Every weekend we would set up shop at different arts and crafts fairs. Met so many interesting people, we had a ball and made money for supplies. I even got into sculpting. I don’t think you’ll have any problem filling your days. Congratulations and enjoy!
@Frantic
*Game show announcer voice*
Thaaaat's right Frantic. For your participation today, you win...
A New Car!
The Brand New Tesla Model X, all electric, PS, PB, cones with a 5 yewr warranty. MSRP of $56,000.
*End of announcer voice*
Congrats! You can pick it up at @Z's Placebo and Tentacle Pub, with a complimentary KALE smoothie.
RooMonster Prize Patrol Guy
Pretty much EXCITED if I can finish a Sunday Puzzle at all, so this was a GREAT Puzzle! Thank you Michael! I enjoyed the themers, it was fun but not too hard to puzzle them out. Enjoyed Ceviche and Thinking of what New York had 28 of (avenues???? NO ... electors! ). --Rick
This was a natick-infested slog. Ya got a problem with that?!
@Joe 12:45
Thank you! It became obvious that MISSPELLED was the answer, so I thought the clue was missing an "often".
@bocamp
Oh, thank heaven: td 0. The last word is perhaps something my brain *wanted* to shut out, as the referent is not something agreeable to my taste. (Wonder if you can guess!)
Equally as good or better would have been "convo".
On the verge of giving up on yd's (-1).
I’m just glad that the guac answer wasn’t peas.
In my West Coast edition of the NYTimes Magazine, “fuchsia” and “turquoise”were spelled correctly. What happened?
Happy Belated, @Frantic! You share it with both Lionel Richie and Elaine “Spanky” McFarland of “Spanky and Our Gang” and “The New Mamas and the Papas” fame, born in 1942. She’s good, she’s sweet, she’s kind
Wonder if the strong drink Rex had in him was a mint julep? Bourbon can make you ornery. Surprised he didn’t call the puzzle on the carpet for MOCKing stutterers.
So the puz was a little dad jokey but I wouldn’t call it LAME. And with the oversized grid I didn’t mind a little boost from the repetition accelerating the solve.
Edward GOREY was familiar enough to suggest the Y in ANYA, who was also lurking in the dark shadows of subconsciousness. I looked him up and recognized his work immediately, but I didn’t know he had done this Masterpiece. I used to tune in just for the opening.
Some non-theme quasi-repeaters:
TAROT inside out RAT ROT
ATON ANON ANO
RESEAL RESEAT
Not just AREA ARIA but ARYA. And IRA.
Soothing clue for AHS.
No egos to balance the IDS?
ATON of ESSes, necessitated by the themers’ present tenses. LYES, ISLES, UTES, DOGMAS and EIDERS, OH my! Plus the whole MISSPELLED ROSSSEA mishmash.
I was in this MOOG but now I’m more in this MOOG.
Happy Paternal Solstice!
I hope someone's still around--obviously, I'm the only one that doesn't get the clue for CYCLOPS. Everyone else who commented on it thought it was terrific. I know Cyclops had only one eye and watched the sheep as they departed with the Greeks hidden under them--but that doesn't seem to work with the clue. How is CYCLOPS the answer for "one seeing things with a critical eye"? And, by the way, why is it so wonderful, as one commenter said, that it's in the middle of the puzzle? Anyway, if anyone is still around on this solstice evening, I'd love to get an explanation!
Hello, Mods? 6 hours, no new posts
That yoga pose! It's the old convex/concave problem. The only pose I do with my back ARCHed is Cat. The pose in this puzzle has my back dipped, not what I'd call ARCHed at all, at all.
Football .... "I'm open!," meaning "throw the ball to me, nobody's guarding me!"
@CDilly52 -- @chefwen says that she has found herself busier in retirement and I know some people for whom that's definitely true. You can be as busy as you want to be -- but as JD says, you'll be busy doing only those things you really enjoy doing.
Let me also put in an enthusiastic word for the unabashed joy of controlling one's own time. Surely it's one of life's great privileges. At least savor it for a while before seeing how many new obligations you can stuff into your calendar. And if you end up advocating for civics education in K through 12, you'll be doing an enormous service to the country. So much of America's ghastly recent political history can be traced to the fact that no one seems to know much of anything about government anymore. I don't remember the percentages, but I do remember reading that a dispiriting proportion of current high school and many college students can't name the three branches of government and don't know what century the Civil War was fought in. There's LOTS to do there, @CDilly52. Why it could eat up every hour of every week for the foreseeable future!
Whatever you do, or don't do, enjoy it!
@600 (9:11) -- In answer to your question: When you have only one eye, that eye is absolutely critical.
Brings back memories from November 18, 1984
Happy Father's Day, Dad!
Boyfriend gives orders re trysts : MAN MANDATES DATES
Baseball's Bando greets Indians : SAL SALUTES UTES
The sun gives comfort to top pilots : SOL SOLACES ACES
Russian blue-pencils a script : RED REDACTS ACTS
Hackman causes fixed fees : GENE GENERATES RATES
Landers reveals her weight to the nth degree : ANN ANNOUNCES OUNCES
Ex-chess champ records fibs : TAL TALLIES LIES
Well-mannered bishop dined : PRIM PRIMATE ATE
Little devil gets crumbs from overseas : IMP IMPORTS ORTS
Nicklaus takes interest in photography : PRO PROPOSES POSES
@600 - I think what people are saying is that the repurposing of the idea of “a critical eye” from the metaphorical to the literal (well, literal in a mythological way) was fun word play. Also, since a CYCLOP’s eye is often pictured in the middle of the face it’s a nice parallel to have it in the middle of the grid. At least, that is how I interpreted those comments.
@CDilly52
Congratulations on your retirement. Enjoy it all. I do. Sounds as if you will have no trouble being busy. I have no idea why it should be a trouble if one is not busy. But yknow some people...
@600
My take is eye because he only has one and critical because he only has one and without it he is at the mercy of those snot-nosed Greeks. It's of critical importance.
I loved the simple and respectful clue for NATIONS. It was somewhat dimmed by turning UTEs into sporty trucks. But such is the way of the White Men.
I thought the known repititions made it very much not a slog and it was fun trying to get the answers early. Strangely the first one was the easiest and I did not even know the nature of the theme until I got it. Weird.
Gorey and Nash. Where was Belloc?
Sound play spelling play or word play. I enjoyed it.
I think naming naticks has made naticks seem worse than they actually are. They are everyone's number one excuse for a whinefest. Sometimes you just need to know stuff. This does not mean they are good. But is it worse than two obscure non-PPP words crossing?
@sloth
Happy unbirthday and summer solstice which happens at 1132 pm. 2 minutes from now. Hope the mods are fast.
Thank you, @Nancy, @Z, and @albatross shell. I get it now and feel just a little bit silly for not having seen that. Nonetheless, thank you.
What is natick?
how does"net" = "not hit it" for an answer. Huge mystery to me.
Natick is a town in Massachusetts that was once a NYTXW answer. It crossed another obscure proper noun, which Rex rightly thought was unfair, because you only have a 1 in 26 chance of guessing the letter where they cross. So he coined “natick ” to refer to any two obscure proper nouns that cross one another, and we can only hope that keeps constructors honest.
Natick is a town in Massachusetts that was once a NYTXW answer. It crossed another obscure proper noun, which Rex rightly thought was unfair, because you only have a 1 in 26 chance of guessing the letter where they cross. So he coined “natick ” to refer to any two obscure proper nouns that cross one another, and we can only hope that keeps constructors honest.
Thank you for the explanation! I know capital-N Natick well.
Have to agree with OFC today. The theme is a bunch of nonsense with little to no payoff, plus they were all gimmes as soon as you got the pattern. But it was the fill that turned this into an out-and-out slog. CEVICHE?? CAMPARI??? GOREY????? Bleah.
The only saving grace is DOD EVAMARIE Saint. Not enough. Double-bogey.
In the print version I was puzzled by MISSPELLED, however I enjoyed the puzzle. I'm in awe if what it must take to construct a Sunday puzzle and then put it out there for people to critique. You can't please everyone.
Thank you Joe DiP! I’m in the print version and like others, see the obvious answer fill and could not understand why! I presume some spell check correction that an editor should have but didn’t catch. Hate spell check anyway!
OHBABY BABY
BEATSME why you CONFUSE ELEANOR
as a SOANDSO at the GATES.
She's ASSORT the REST wait for,
pity the MAN that MANDATESDATES.
--- EVAMARIE LOGAN
Probably not as long as you are alive. I don't know if I ever have seen you say, you liked a puzzle, but then again, maybe you only post when you don't like a puzzle. Are you, by chance, Rex's dad or uncle, or other blood relative? Or maybe, like Rex, being unhappy makes you happy, because that is how many of Rex's "critiques" come across to me.
Anyway, happy Father's day.
Oh well...here comes a new week.
Happy Fourth to All SyndieCats.
Lady Di
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