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Relative difficulty: Medium? (guessing jokey quotes isn't the easiest, but on the whole, things seemed normal, difficulty-wise)
Theme answers:
- "... ANYTHING IS GOOD" (31A: "With enough butter, ___")
- "... REALLY JUST A MEETING" (38A: "A party without cake is ___")
- "... WHO'S GOING TO KNOW" (65A: "If you're alone in the kitchen and you drop the lamb, you can always just pick it up. ___?")
- "... EVEN PUT IT IN THE FOOD" (92A: "I enjoy cooking with wine. Sometimes I ___")
- "... THE STEAK TO COOK" (101A: "The only time to eat diet food is while you're waiting for ___")
The Kaaba (Arabic: ٱلْكَعْبَة, romanized: al-Kaʿbah, lit. 'The Cube', Arabic pronunciation: [kaʕ.bah]), also spelled Ka'bah or Kabah, sometimes referred to as al-Kaʿbah al-Musharrafah (Arabic: ٱلْكَعْبَة ٱلْمُشَرَّفَة, romanized: al-Kaʿbah al-Musharrafah, lit. 'Honored Ka'bah'), is a building at the center of Islam's most important mosque, the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is the most sacred site in Islam. It is considered by Muslims to be the Bayt Allah (Arabic: بَيْت ٱللَّٰه, lit. 'House of God') and is the qibla (Arabic: قِبْلَة, direction of prayer) for Muslims around the world when performing salah. (wikipedia) (my emph.)
• • •
Sorry, I just don't have anything nice to say about this puzzle. The theme is a giant nothing, and then the fill ... it's poor. The grid is designed so that most of what we get is 3, 4, 5-letter stuff, and it really really wears on you after a while. ECRU ANAT LEPEW HUHS all propped against each other. ADARN and ALOAD and ATPAR and CELLI and LACTI- (not TO-?). UNHIT FAIRE FTLEE ... OCTAD x/w EATNO. It's so so rough. It would be bearable if the theme were dazzling, maybe. But I think the only time I experienced even a flicker of joy today was when I saw how "ATLANTA" was clued (28A: Emmy-winning FX series created by Donald Glover). I miss that show. It's been three years since Season 2! Apparently Seasons 3 and 4 are both supposed to come out by the end of this year. Something to look forward to.
Oh, I also liked the clue on ELLIOT (17D: Page who became the first openly trans man to appear on the cover of Time magazine (2021)). His interview with Oprah on her ... whatever her Apple TV show is called (probably "Oprah"?) ... was really moving. Hardest part of the puzzle for me was the OTARU section, because I don't know what that is (even though I'm fairly certain I've been in this exact position before vis-a-vis OTARU). And the adjacent GROUP ... what kind of clue is that? (67D: Any set of elements in a column on the periodic table). Any set of anything is a GROUP!?!? That clue should've just stopped at [Any set], or just [Set]—bizarrely specific for such an overwhelmingly general answer. Head-shaking. Like nearly everything else going on here today. Also, I wanted the "joke" about eating diet food to be about "... waiting for THE STOCK TO COOK." Oof. Sorry not to have more enthusiasm to offer you today. This is a real low point.
Unlike Rex, I found this to be an unusually enjoyable Sunday puzzle. Julia Child is eminently quotable and these are just a few of her memorable quotes. Also, in addition to the themers, I counted 20 other food-related answers. And a couple more if you want to lawyer up. Now, what’s for dessert?
ReplyDeleteYeah, far closer to Rex than to @Joaquin. It’s not a theme. It’s not a quote puzzle, but it is most definitely just a bunch of stuff you find printed on tea towels. Or the signs they make fun of in the progressive ads, the “don’t turn into your parents” ads. Just not my cuppa. That I assumed “dig” would play some sort of role because of the title emphasizes the non-themeness of the quotes. Yeah, sure, they’re kind of cute, just kind of a nothingburger as themes go.
ReplyDelete@Nancy - I responded last night.
Will Shortz: I’m sick and tired of these Sunday Crossword critics complaining about PPP-chunking and naticks….I want to give them something to really cry about! Who’s got something to fit the bill?
ReplyDeleteJesse Goldberg: Well, I was going to submit this one to People Magazine, but….
Will Shortz (grabs the draft out of Jesse’s hand): Lemme see that!
After a few minutes of working the puzzle:
Will Shortz: What ARE you talking about, Jesse? I’ve finished the whole northwest corner, and there’s hardly any PPP anywhere!
Jesse Goldberg: Well see, that’s just the entree. You have to build them up with a sense of false hope so that you can crush them more completely later….now try that northeast corner.
Will Shortz: OK, well, the big one here is a sportscaster...these whiners aren’t the type to watch much spectator sports, so they’ll have to work around this, yes, I see that
Jesse Goldberg: Yes, and now look at the cross clues….
Will Shortz: Yes, let’s see...ok, we’ve got a British actor cum athlete….good, that will keep them guessing...a financial advisor, ok, good...a comedian with an exotic name...yes, yes this is really good...NASA spacewalk, who will ever make sense of a clue like that? (chuckles) The first openly trans man to appear on Time Magazine’s cover...oh man, you are really scraping the bottom of the obscurity trivia barrel here, Jesse. And finally, an obscure neighborhood in Los Angeles….Jesse, this is genius-level construction… The anti-PPP-ers will NEVER squirm out of this one. Here’s your paycheck...go home and make me a dozen more like this. We’ll show them!
Well said!!!
DeleteI didn't have the slightest idea what the theme was -- except it seemed to involve food? -- until the very end, when JULIA CHILD popped up. Yes @Z, a quote puzzle but not a quote puzzle.
ReplyDeleteHere in western Canada the heat dome has finally backed off a bit. It is only 9 pm and the temp is already down to 26 C (less than 80 F!). It was a nice sunny day but only a high of 32 C / 90 F. How refreshing!
As I am in the food business, I’d rather liked it. I rarely solve the S puzzle in less than 50 minutes and this time I slid in under 40. So it felt good— AND because I actually knew Julia! (as her “beer guy” when I helped run the Brooklyn brewery many many moons ago Part of me was hoping the letters AIWF would find their way into the puzzle. She founded the American Institute of Wine and Food with Robert Mondavi and I was the New York chair of that organization. Anyway, a personal record On a puzzle that had some personal meaning. Each to his own I suppose.
ReplyDeleteIs it the greatest crossword ever? No. Is it the best Sunday crossword ever? No. But is it a coherent, decently constructed crossword? Absolutely. If every puzzle were perfect, life might just get boring. I enjoyed sussing out the quotes and I had a feeling of satisfaction when I finished. Who wouldn’t like that?
ReplyDeleteThanks for an enjoyable Sunday, Jesse Goldberg.
it was different for sure. when I got a few of the theme answers I wondered, “Where’s the wit? Where’s the twist? Something’s amiss...” But then I got to the revealer JULIACHILD and it all made sense. And it was nice to hear Tom Petty’s voice in my head telling me about living in RESEDA. Rex, I think you are overreacting. It wasn’t that bad. In fact, it wasn’t bad at all. I liked it
ReplyDeleteWell it is probably not that great of a puzzle but I enjoyed it because it was easy, solved quickly while watching basketball, had very few places that PPP crossings caused any serious trouble, and the general implications of the theme clues were easy enough to guess, but the actual wording was fun to come up with. Also liked the clue for WRING.
ReplyDeleteOne thing I did not like was the butter quote. I've been saying that about dairy products for at least 40 years thinking it was original. How deflating is that? I think I even said it here.
I absolutely loved it. Julia is my hero and this one was right up my alley. Of course my favorite was 92A EVEN PUT IN IN THE FOOD, I can relate to that.
ReplyDeleteYears ago my mother stood in line for an hour just to get a signed copy of The Way To Cook, one of my prized possessions. I refer to it often.
Oh, and I firmly agree with 31A With enough butter, ANYTHING IS GOOD.
Fun Sunday!
Yesterday, I made a comment on this blog that disparaged several ethnicities, genders, sexual preferences, and domestic animals.
ReplyDeleteI’m not proud of that comment. I’m a kind and decent man with a good heart, and I wish to apologize and assure all of you that I did not mean much of what I said.
Today is Sunday, which is the Sabbath in normal religions. If you’ll allow me to atone for my sins, I’d like to share something with you. This is a short sermon that is an inspiration to me. I hope it can help you as well.
The Story of the Farm House
Normal religions???? I thought you were trying to apologize….
DeleteNormal religions? How does the moderator allow this?
DeleteAnd the story of the farmhouse is a joke... again, where is the moderator?
DeleteI don't know about the Farm House but someone hacked this link to a YouTube clip of Kelly's Heroes! Ha!
DeleteDefinitely on the easy side (PR territory, I think), but how can you not love JULIA CHILDisms?
ReplyDeleteAs far as deep meaning and chewy goodness goes, not so much of that. Rex's point about how bizarre some phrases look in the grid is valid. Here's hoping THESTEAKTOCOOK becomes a classic. 🤣
Put me in the middle, but leaning more toward @Joaquin on the enjoyment scale.
🧠
🎉🎉🎉
Medium. Top half was easier than the bottom. Liked it slightly more than @Z and slightly less than @Joaquin. I mean JULIA CHILD....kinda iconic?
ReplyDeleteIt’s late and I’m pleasantly unsober. Finished fine but can’t grok how BOO is misheard at a Springsteen concert. Do people yell “Bru!” and it’s misheard as booing? Please help. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteP.S. Unsober + jazz + mood lighting makes any Sunday solve more enjoyable. Although I liked this one simply because I like JULIA CHILD.
Have never disagreed more with Rex than today! While it was a fairly quick solve and I usually like to linger over the Sunday puzzle, the theme was cute and thoroughly enjoyable. But, I am an avid cook and a massive JC fan, so perhaps I'm a bit biased. Nice start to the day!
ReplyDeleteAnd to add to the mood, here are some more quotes from Julia Child:
ReplyDelete“If you’re afraid of butter, use cream.”
“How can a nation be called great if its bread tastes like Kleenex?”
“The best way to execute French cooking is to get good and loaded and whack the hell out of a chicken. Bon appetit!”
“In France, cooking is a serious art form and a national sport.”
So, there were several answers out of my wheelhouse, but I had a secret weapon: WWJS, that is, “What would Julia say?” Knowing of her joie de vivre and that wink in her eye, those theme answers came with few letters filled in, which is always a kick, and on top of that, they also made me laugh, making this solve a feel-good feast of fun.
ReplyDeleteWhat a gift! Thank you, Jesse Goldberg!
Now that we have the wonderful animated movie Coco, there is zero excuse to keep using the Nazi as a definition. Can we PLEASE stop putting Nazis in the crossword? Like, wtf, Will Shortz???
ReplyDeletePretty much with @Rex. I worked this pretty much top to bottom. About halfway down I rapidly began losing interest. The JULIA CHILD quote gimmick was very clear but yawn. Instead of just stopping I revealed the last 3 theme entries and finished off the fill. Some of it was enjoyable.
ReplyDeleteThere's an upcoming documentary about Julia Child by the people who did RBG, so not totally random timing. She is eminently quotable. I liked this more than Rex did, who first said there wasn't anything at all to like about it then liked the ELLIOT Page clue...
ReplyDeleteRex, can't a puzzle simply be lighthearted without being pelted with vitriolic snipes? Sometimes I am baffled by what you actually want and expect from a constructor.
ReplyDeleteIn any case, this one was fun, if not very difficult. Sunday morning should be about chilling out and enjoying the experience rather than getting so riled up about what you deem to be inferior fill. Not every grid will be a knockout like yesterday’s.
It felt like pretty much nothing came easily, and I finished about 50% over recent times. I never tuned into Julia Child and never knew her wit, but she seems like fun. But oof on the puzzle. Lots of wrong guesses. Glare before SCOWL. Toon before TRIO. The odious BEER o'clock (I can't even begin to describe how much that one sucks an EGG); I first tried fouR (I mean how many four-letter numbers ending in R are there?). ResizE before ROTATE.
ReplyDeleteLots of stuff I didn't know. TERRAforming. EVA. AL MICHAELS. RESEDA (I am not a big Tom Petty fan, ever since I attended one of his concerts). ELLIOT was in the news recently, but couldn't cough up the name without crosses. Had trouble remembering RESNIK. Never heard of OTARU.
PEP PILL: what year is it again? BUB? Julia Child quotes similarly feel like they're from a different era and were filled in painfully slowly.
But wow, was that a dis from Rex or what? A spleen-venting 'twas. The bile was VILE. Sure hope Jesse G. knew to avert his eyes.
Looking forward to the Acrostic a little later.
I was doing a quick clue scan when I ran into 118A and the "chef quoted" caught my eye, so when I saw BONAPPETIT early on I knew we were in Julia Child territory, which to me at least is a fun place full of a lot of memories, including at least one of a famous SNL skit. I think JC herself found that one hilarious, which just increases my admiration for her.
ReplyDeleteI thought all of the quotes were not from greeting cards or tea towels but things she actually said. @Lewis seems to reinforce this with "more quotes". I liked those too.
Very easy for a Sunday with only a couple of complete unknowns, including ATLANTA, which of course was OFL's favorite. Chacun a son gout, as JC might say.
Thanks for a nice Sundecito, JG. Jolly Good. Grumpy primates may disagree, but anything involving Ms. Child invariably makes me smile.
Another JC quote: "Never be afraid of your food!".
ReplyDeletePuzzle was easy after that beating I took yesterday.
ReplyDeleteHere Rex, let me help you out with that confusion. This is a fun puzzle about a brilliant, witty American icon who elicits 346,000,000 hits on Google, whose books still sell, whose three TV shows can still be streamed, and who even after her death makes a positive impact in the world.
Her foundation "… is a non-profit which makes grants to support research in culinary history, scholarships for professional culinary training and internships in food writing, as well as professional development and food literacy programs. Over the last decade, the Foundation has made more than $2 million in grants to other non-profits. In 2015, the Foundation created the Julia Child Award, presented in association with the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. "
Bon Appetit!
Thx, Jesse; enjoyed your Sun. offering! :)
ReplyDeleteMed. unsolve; dnfed at VOCa / aNT
Smooth sailing and lots of good SEA AIR along the way. Just the aforementioned gaffe.
What a contrast to yesterday's puz. Love the variety of the NYT xword.
@TTrimble (6:11 PM yd) 👍 / pabloinnh (7:12 PM yd) 👍 / Barbara S. (7:41 PM yd) 👍 for QBs.
@TTrimble: good to see your previously axed comment from a few days ago make it to print. :)
@BEE-ER (7:05 PM yd)
Good points! :)
___
yd 0
Peace ~ Empathy ~ Tolerance ~ Health ~ Kindness to all 🕊
@Rex - I'm sure BONAPPETIT is part of the theme, especially with its placement with respect to that of JULIA CHILD.
ReplyDeleteWhat’s “beer” o’clock? Jim
ReplyDeleteFiguring out each Julia Child quote (not difficult!) was for me quite pleasant. Her Zinfandel of beef and French bread recipes are among my favorites and most-used.
ReplyDelete"Hearing" her say these quotes recalls Dan Akroyd's hilarious spoof:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSxv6IGBgFQ
Bon Appetit!
I'm mostly with Rex today, especially in regard to the grid shape and surfeit of 3- 4- and 5- letter answers, but @Ken Freeland wins the internet today for his "explanation" of the PPPfest in the NE.
ReplyDeleteI know that Virginia Woolf is a novelist who wrote the essay A Room of One's Own but it seems to me if you’re going to clue her as a novelist you might want to use one of her novels as an example.
ReplyDeleteIt's chilly, quiet, and raining on a lazy Sunday morning - thought this puzzle was a fine way to start the day. Even made me want to cook up something. And thought all the food related fill was fun. Still thinking about how "dry with a twist" could've been drink related instead of WRING, but hey, at least the clue was theme related. Thought IRONSON and PEPPILL were rough. BONAPPETIT/POKEYS took forever because I kept trying BONA something and thinking of picnic coolers. If it doesn't stop raining, cooking and watching Miracle On Ice again could be a fine way to spend the day, tho might just get some SEAAIR anyway.
ReplyDeleteWhat seems to me to be an enormous amount of PPP and a number of quotes that bought a smile to my face, the saving grace of the puzzle. As for the write-up, hilariously clueless concerning the humor. Humor is a personal thing, so for those who did not find the quotes humorous I would opine that the problem is one's sense of humor, not the puzzle's attempt at humor.
ReplyDeleteI guess if one states there is nothing to say about the puzzle, why read further?
I wonder if there is a tie-in between today's crossword and acrostic puzzles?
I had REALLYJUSTAfEEdING,which sounded a bit weird to me, but the crosses were so obscure I had no idea what else could it be.
ReplyDeleteVillager
What a likeable soul was JULIA CHILD. She was accomplished, forthright, and unpretentious in a field seemingly built on pretension. She was large and loud and quick to laugh. Most of the quotations were familiar and all raised a smile. There may be merit in some of the points Rex makes, but I was a contented solver from the beginning to the end of this puzzle.
ReplyDeleteI liked RHODE beside IRAN, transforming R.I. into a state with an unexpected name. OCTAD beside TRIO was also good. Enjoyed the clues for GRAPH (“Boardroom plot?”), SALON (“Locks-up shop?”) and WRING (“Dry with a twist”). The ARI Cardinals popped back to say hi. (A) Viva VOCE is a terrific-sounding expression: wish I more cause to use it in daily life. PEP PILL sounds sooo 1960s, and BEER o’clock, well hmm, I guess it’s timeless. Nice to be reminded of the AUTEUR theory of film and all those French film theorists of the 1950s(?) -- takes me back to a long-ago Film Studies class. And what’s the deal with BOO being mistakenly heard at a Springsteen concert? (Hi, @ZenMonkey.) Anyone know the story?
I thought the clue for WOOLF was odd: “’A Room of One’s Own’ novelist.” OK, she was a novelist and she did write A Room of One’s Own, but it’s an essay not a novel. Why not just say “author”? Strange.
Here is I, TOO by Langston Hughes.
@TTrimble - Personally, unless another spelling bee enthusiast were to call attention to a spoiler, I ignore the SB comments and just approve them. I do not recall not approving or deleting a comment by you, so I do not have an answer to your question.
ReplyDeleteToday excerpt comes from HUNTER S. THOMPSON, born July 18, 1937.
ReplyDelete“Like most others, I was a seeker, a mover, a malcontent, and at times a stupid hell-raiser. I was never idle long enough to do much thinking, but I felt somehow that some of us were making real progress, that we had taken an honest road, and that the best of us would inevitably make it over the top. At the same time, I shared a dark suspicion that the life we were leading was a lost cause, that we were all actors, kidding ourselves along on a senseless odyssey. It was the tension between these two poles - a restless idealism on one hand and a sense of impending doom on the other - that kept me going.”
(From The Rum Diary)
Agree with Rex. — the puzzle was pretty meh. That said, I enjoyed solving it.
ReplyDeleteEarly on I was hoping the theme would be cake related. The grid seemed to have tiers to it, as a layer cake. Would have justified the little blocks of three letter words which are always such a bummer. Alas.
ReplyDeleteI loved this puzzle because it is the first time I have correctly finished one without looking something up. Maybe it was too easy but I loved the food theme and Julia Child quotes. I agree about butter except after the second lobster. By then it's too much of a good thing.
ReplyDeleteSo I guess I was the only who got to the reveal with the answer blank or only the initial J and thought "Hmmm... James Beard or Julia Child"?
ReplyDeleteNot a starred clue, but 23A BON APPETIT are the final words of Childs’s final book.
ReplyDelete@Colin, thanks for digging out the SNL link.
I thought Pepe Le Pew was canceled. I know he won't be appearing in Space Jam. If that storied enterprise rejects him, perhaps the NYT should rethink his inclusion in a crossword puzzle.
ReplyDeleteLove Julia so no issue with the theme - just didn’t care for most of the fill. The oversized grid is choppy so we get all this 4 and 5 letter junk which grounds things to a halt halfway thru. So much trivia. Liked BON APPETIT on top of OVER POWER. FORTUNATE is good as is SEA AIR. Backed into a lot of the names.
ReplyDeleteTheme would have worked better mid week without all the excess fill.
@TTrimble
ReplyDeleteThought the same as you about BEER time while solving. Even delayed putting ODE in for a while cause five or maybe four. Ended up liking it for the accuracy.
BUB is ancient just like Rex said Whoa Nellie was the other day. Guess what, BUB? heard Whoa Nellie on a trailer for a new HBO show set in modern times.
@John X - I didn’t see your original comment, but I am going to take you at your word that you are posting this comment in the spirit of atonement. To that end, I would ask you to think about your choice of words and how they will impact other people. Your use of the descriptor “normal religions” to describe Christianity is dismissive of and disrespectful to billions of people. Judaism is a normal religion, and for Jews, Sabbath is on Saturday. Buddhism and Hinduism and Sikhism and many, many others are normal religions, and they have no Sabbath day. Atheism is a normal belief, and there is no such thing as a holy day for atheists. What is normal to you is not normal to the majority of people - in the future, perhaps you could think about it as “in my religion” rather than “in normal religions”.
ReplyDeleteI got a great chuckle out of this puzzle, even teared up once or twice, and finished in less than 45 minutes. So for me, that's a FUN and SuCCESSFUL sunday. I can just here her unique voice saying each of these quotes! Plus I learned that Pokeys are coolers/prison... Thanks, Jesse Goldberg!
ReplyDeleteThis puzzle made me realize how much I’ve learned from reading this blog. I found myself really thinking about the structure of the puzzle, and how much worse this puzzle was because of it. Several times, I had to jump to a new section and start over, because the only connector I had was a long quote I hadn’t filled in yet. So many small, isolated bubbles. It was very annoying, and definitely detracted from my enjoyment of the puzzle. I think I might’ve enjoyed the Childish theme if the rest of the puzzle hadn’t been so bad.
ReplyDeleteThis was charming and fun to solve. Not all Sundays need to be challenging.
ReplyDeleteAnd Julia Child is an icon! Glad to see her here and be reminded of her wit and comicality.
The first one or two quotes sounded like Julia! So I immediately filled her name in. The quotes were fun and funny; I thoroughly enjoyed this one. The only difficult part centered around 'Otaru' in the mid-section. A puzzle with quotes or verses is my cuppa. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteBOO as almost in BRUUUUUCE.
ReplyDeleteMy guess. I still remember MOOOOOOSE in Yankee stadium.
I didn’t enjoy this … until I got to the Julia Child reveal which tied it together. And then I liked it. Before that, it was like you say, a bunch of food jokes that had me thinking “Rex is going to skewer this over an open flame!”
ReplyDeleteSaying Virginia Woolf is “A Room of One’s Own” novelist is like saying Fred Astaire is “The Way You Look Tonight” dancer.
ReplyDeleteMy sister used to teach cooking classes at a place in town there one day Julia Child came in to do an appearance and teach a class. At one point they couldn't find her and it turned out she was in the bathroom fixing the toilet because the chain was too long, causing the water to run continuously. Not surprising for a class-act like her.
ReplyDeleteJuaquin said it all. Julia Child was just naturally funny and so are the quotes. The theme sparkled for me. C'mon Rex, this was great for a Sunday. Only part that gave me trouble was the little cube on the West coast: Boo, Undo, Beer. Just could not see any of it, especially the Boo, but eventually struggled through. In the meantime, buy some butter, Rex. You'll be surprised how much it helps the food.
ReplyDeleteYeah, this one was a slog. I keep wondering if I was missing a set of puns or something. No fun.
ReplyDeleteRex missed the point on GROUP, which is an actual scientific term (in this usage) and not simply a generic term for things that go together. They call it a GROUP and not, for example, a set or a batch or whatever. If he doesn’t like this particular way of toughening up the clue, fine, but it’s not like the equivalent of saying “any set of chairs.”
Rex liked the clue on ELLIOT. He is very woke and he wants you to know that.
ReplyDelete@Joe R. If you are taking @John X "at his word", you are missing the point. Oh, and lighten up.
ReplyDeleteThe puzzle ? For a Sunday, I'll take it. Kind of annoying but kind of amusing. Boo on "boo".
Jesse, pay Rex no mind. This was a fine NYT Sunday with a very entertaining theme and some out of the box cluing. It’s Rex’s review that is the real low point. With all of his vitriol, Rex didn’t even mention the PPP trivia, which was the main problem. Yes, some crosswordese was present, but often with unusual clues. And as he indicated, some of that can be forgiven for a good theme. It helped that I happened to see the chef clue early, so with every themer I had JULIA’s voice in my head. Well worth the short stuff.
ReplyDeleteWhat’s wrong with OCTAD, especially with its “pair of quads” clue? More imaginative clues for WRING, MAMMA, SEA AIR and SALON.
Speaking of SALON, pianist/singer/composer Pauline Viardot, born July 18, 1821, used her popular salons to champion early works of composers such as Saint-Saëns and Gounod.
Worst trivia corner for me was the STATHAM/ALMICHAELS/HASAN/RESEDA pileup. Put on my @Lewis HAT and waited for the gremlins to emerge from the shadows, and sure enough, they obliged.
Most entertaining mistake: I had ScoldS before SHAMES, and so my Linclon artifact was -O-. Oh, no, they wouldn’t keep one of his toes, would they? Surely not. The diet/steak themer pulled me out of that hole.
Best crosses:
EGG/NOG
GROUP/TOUR
BUB/BEER (as in, “hey Bubba, hold my beer and watch this”
Most interesting place: OTARU, famous for its canal and historical buildings. Also known as the town of hills, it’s Mt Tengu is a poplar ski resort. OWLET TRIO on the Snow Light Path in OTARU
Two more QB’s - Fri/Sat. Oughta stop now.
I only came to say, as a chemistry teacher, GROUP is a very specific term in chemistry that refers to elements all found in the same vertical column in the periodic table that have similar reactivities due to similar outer shell electron arrangements. Otherwise, I found this a slightly challenging but overall ok puzzle.
ReplyDeleteUnlike Rex, I enjoyed this puzzle and was happily surprised that I actually knew the chef being quoted. I was also impressed that the editors could actually manage to find yet another way to clue OREOS. I wonder what the very last possible OREO clue will be one day and who will discover it.
ReplyDeleteThe answer that was hardest to figure out ended up being one of my favorites: BEER o’clock.
Hey All !
ReplyDeleteHad StUFFS for SNUFFS until I just couldn't get anything to make sense of what I deemed a Natick at the U of TAU/EUtUCHS. What in tarhooties is a EUtUCH, I thought. Finally "looked around" the answer (that's what I call it when I let my gaze try to filter out letters I'm pretty sure of, but that can be changed, it's hard to explain, but you might know what I mean) and then realized it might be EUNUCHS, so reread 108A clue, and said, Aha, SNUFFS will work! Proud of myself, I waited for the Happy Music, but, nothing. Drat. One-letter DNF at VOCa/aNT. Son of a gun.
Puz wasn't the most bestest of all time, but also wasn't the most worsetest either. It was a tribute/quote puz to a noted celebrity chef. Who cares if the answers aren't stand alone phrases? Sometimes Rex makes me chuckle.
Had struggles in pretty much every section, but ferreted it all out. five for BEER held me up for a bit. Wanted either ditto or metoo for ASDOI (always seem to forget about that option), POKEYS a fun word, although not a fun place, OTARU was a Holy Moly, Who Knows That Unless You Frequent Japan type answer.
And who knew (well, lots of y'all, I'm sure) IRAN exports tons of Saffron? Too bad RHODE was clued as something like, "America's smallest Island?" That would've been fun. 😁
Six F's
RooMonster
DarrinV
She was so, so funny! No wonder (even though I don't cook at all) I loved her so, so much! But of all her wonderful bon mots, the only one 1) knew and 2) remembered was hers was WHO'S GOING TO KNOW? (She made a really big thing out of dropping the lamb and putting it back on the plate surreptitiously in one of her episodes.)
ReplyDeleteBut her best one-liner is "sometimes I EVEN PUT IT IN THE FOOD".
This is absolutely the most delightful tribute puzzle I've ever done. I'm in much too good a mood to mention that I had two DNFs: one where I had BRO, not BUB and REDO not UNDO and therefore couldn't fill in o?ER o'clock (87A)or ?e? (72D). The other was the S?ATHAM/?ERRA cross. But who cares? This was so...delicious.
For those of you too young to have ever watched the irrepressible JULIA, go to YouTube and binge. You are indeed FORTUNATE to be discovering her for the first time. There is no one in the history of either television or cooking who was anything like her.
@Z (from late yesterday) -- Aha!!! Frisbee!!!
ReplyDeleteI was very slow on the uptake...well, actually I wasn't on the uptake at all, because it wasn't until the reveal that I understood the JULIA CHILD connection. In retrospect, as @pabloinnh 7:37 pointed out, the hearty opening BON APPETIT! should have alerted me - I know I'd have enjoyed solving the puzzle a lot more than I did if I'd understood who was talking. So, kind of a chore to solve, like it a lot now that I get it.
ReplyDeleteOf course a puzzle I enjoyed more than any Sunday puzzle I’ve done in awhile was panned by our Communist blogger who of course emphasized the one part of the puzzle that would appeal to him (shay, she, they?)…the trans angle. So predictable.
ReplyDeleteDouble DNF today with dEER O'Clock and @bocamp's VOCa, both worthy of forehead slaps.
ReplyDeleteLooking back at the puzzle, I do see that the fill isn't all that, and the quote partials do look funny standing alone in the grid but I still enjoyed the solving and that's all that matters to me. Boardroom plot? = GRAPH was my favorite non-theme clue/answer pair.
Thanks, Jesse Goldberg.
Julia's comment, "WHO'S GOING TO KNOW?" reminds me of my mother's advice. She said if you ever drop the main course in front of the guests you simply pick it up and say, "Excuse me while I get the other one from the kitchen." Then, of course, you "fluff" the dropped food and bring it back out.
ReplyDeleteHow in the world does anyone not recognize all the Julia Child quotes?
ReplyDeleteI had fun with it. No opinion on the fill, some of it was very rough but I was faster than average on this one.
JoeR@9:22
ReplyDeletePerhaps you have missed John X and his previous contributions to this blog. By his own description, he is familiar with mind altering substances, has spent time behind bars, is familiar with the ways of the flesh and works as a test pilot. I submit that his words are deliberate and calculated. "normal religion" would be a fine example. A worm with a hook. I am sure John X took your observations and suggestions to heart.
If BON APPETIT Magazine had a crossword, I could see its readers working up some mild enthusiasm for this one. Maybe they rejected it as too tedious. If the themers had included both the “first part of the quote _” “_ last part of the quote,” at least it would have warranted a bit more admiration for its construction. But as it stands, it’s a bit of a MUTT. Actually, no. I like mutts.
ReplyDeleteI don't get why 23a isn't clued as "TV signoff of 119 Across" or something akin. Clearly it's part of the theme, so why act like it isn't?
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I thought this was a lot of fun. It reminded me of a Sunday puzzle from some time back that featured Yogi Berra quotes. I managed to track it down – it was by David J. Kahn and ran January 10, 1999.
Today's acrostic makes an appropriate companion piece to Julia, in a way.
Honestly, reading Rex's comments today made me think I'll probably just stop reading him. No, those aren't just sayings that are printed on tea towels, Rex; they're things Julia said in her delightful, entertaining cooking show, The French Chef, which always wrapped up with her declaring "Bon appetit!" If you haven't watched it, Rex, well, you're not as worldly and knowledgable as I thought you were, and too bad for you. I'm tired of your constant, pointless complaints and criticism, some of which are off the mark, as with your complaint about the correctly used term "group." Lighten up, Rex. Allow some joy into your life. You've become a real drag.
ReplyDeleteOn the whole butter and cream and red meat discussion. Julia died two days shy of her 92nd birthday. She died of kidney failure, but evidently didn't develop it until her final year, when she also had a stroke. (I've been able to ascertain this from the very few publications that don't put up a firewall.) Evidently she was extremely active all through her 80s -- traveling and continuing to work on TV.
ReplyDeleteYes, of course she may have had better genes than you and me, but still -- all that butter and cream and red meat didn't kill her either. It's something to think about as we're pushing that dreadful KALE, (uneaten and for good reason!), around the plate.
@Joseph Michael re OREO-I'm pretty sure the day is coming when we see four blank spaces and the clue is "Common crossword answer".
ReplyDeleteBeer O'clock people, I always thought it started with Norm on Cheers, but researching this critical topic I this about novelist Stephen King, "Every day at 9 a.m., except for his birthday, the Fourth of July and Christmas, a 6-ft. 4-in., 198-lb. creature climbs into a T shirt and jeans, swallows a vitamin pill, drinks a glass of Maine tap water and ... he will type until what he calls “beer o’clock.” The horror.
ReplyDelete@nyc, I think you'll find more than mild enthusiasm here today.
@Hunter S, You forgot the thing about the nuclear sub.
Never heard of Julia Child here in uk so theme was just random sentences. Group has a specific meaning in chemistry re the periodic table however so that clue was fine. Fill was pretty rough in places, but finished it ok overall
ReplyDeleteI think this puzzle was far more enjoyable for the foodies. And who doesn't skip to the bottom to figure out what the theme is about? All I had was the I and the D and I could tell it was Julia Child. But I do agree with Rex about the fill. If this constructor used his computer program to generate it, all I can say is "beta testing."
ReplyDeletePost #3 by Ken Freeland was a lot more entertaining than this poor excuse for a puzzle.
ReplyDeleteMethinks @JoeR didn't view the "sermon" JOHN X referred to.
ReplyDelete@Joe R 9:22 AM
ReplyDeleteI'd like to thank you for your thoughtful words. If I'm ever wrong I'd like to think that I'm man enough to admit to it.
When I was getting my doctorate at Yale Divinity School, my graduate thesis was on "normalis religionum" and I got an A in that class. However, now you're making me wonder if all that shit was wrong.
God bless you.
@ZenMonkey 4:22 am - The crowd typically yells Bruuuuuuuuuce add a Springsteen concert. It could sound like boo.
ReplyDelete@Hunter S - I have not encountered John X before, so if he's a troll, he got me. I don't come to the comments section every day, maybe once a week or so. I recognize quite a few of the regulars, but this one was new to me.
ReplyDeleteAs someone who early in my adulthood worked on the studio crew taping several of her shows and later found myself to be neighbor of her and Paul in Cambridge, I can tell you that what you saw was genuine Julia - fun, warm, generous, professional, and, most of all, very very gracious. Not an ounce of pretension or self-promotion or "celebrity" about her. Along with producer Russ Morash in studio A at WGBH, with stoves on loan from Boston Gas, she created from scratch a genre that is now a multi-billion dollar industry.
ReplyDeleteI'd say that's worth a tribute puzzle.
@Nancy, I don't like to comment more than once a day (if at all) so I just want to say don't feel bad about yesterday's puzzle. Last Sunday I put in MRMOTORISIN for the anagram of that rocker's name. I should have my boomer card revoked for that. We all have good and bad days.
ReplyDeleteToday I had only a VOCA dnf so I mostly survived the crosswordese gauntlet.
I've only recently memorized that there is no Y in mohel. How long until I learn that there's no Y in AXL is anyone's guess. That, like so much else today, had to be forced on me. More write overs than I could list.
@Teedmn (11:06 AM)
ReplyDeleteYup, a Viva VOCE d'oh here, too! Every time I see that clue I think, 'vocAl'. I usually catch it, but this time I didn't, and the ANT looked fine separated from 'exist'. It just went marching on down in search of YETIS. I'm guessing that neither of us makes that gaffe again. LOL
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Peace ~ Empathy ~ Tolerance ~ Health ~ Kindness to all 🕊
Hay, chihuahua, Rex....This was amusing and fun to do.
ReplyDeleteI smelled the odors from the kitchen at WHOS NOT GOING TO KNOW....Hah! smarty pants me.
Like my pal, @chefwen and most of everyone here, I loved/love JULIA. My sisters and I would have fun in the kitchen imitating her. Gi had her voice down pat and would yell out "People who love to eat are always the best people" and then she'd whack the chicken on its fanny.
My first cook book was "Mastering the Art of French Cooking." I still have that dog-eared book and I still go to it for a fancy schmancy meal. The first thing I tried was a quiche. tI was a disaster. The dough fell apart and the eggs weren't fully cooked. I almost gave up...but I didn't. Next recipe was her beef bourguignon. It was deeeeeliciousness and I became a fan for life.
@nyc-lo....BON APPETITE does have a crossword. At least the last magazine I got did. It was a foodie one by Paolo Pascal.
In oder to understand where John X is coming from you need to know that he did not post anything yesterday. He did, however, make you look.
ReplyDelete@Hunter S., nicely done!
ReplyDeleteThe "Who's going to know?" quote has been discussed as a problem with the open-kitchen plans that have been favored for quite some time.
@Joe R - remember that you are allowed to have your own opinion and experience and Rex's words, while knowledgeable, are not the end-all. For instance, you may find joy in working out small sections, then have it all come together magically at the end if your goal is not to speed-solve.
I had fun remembering the JCisms - an easy Sunday romp.
What a wonderful, delightful, talented personality... Julia Child...
ReplyDeleteThe world could use more Julia Child.
As I was filling in BON APPETIT, I could hear Julia's voice. It was her standard sign-off. She said this about food:
ReplyDelete"This is my invariable advice to people: Learn how to cook—try new recipes, learn from your mistakes, be fearless and above all have fun."
One could say something similar about crosswords:
"This is my invariable advice to people: Learn how to solve crosswords—try new ones, learn from your mistakes, be fearless and above all have fun." And I did have fun with today's puzzle - much more than with the usual Sunday.
Sorry, those of you who hate crosswords without rap star and current teen expression clues. I'm sure you'll be rewarded plenty this week after Shortz leaves the dining table.
That worked up an appetite. Off to the kitchen!
@Joe R. "Normal Religion" is a fantastic oxymoron. No religion is normal. They're all nonsense and most are quite dangerous to the world.
ReplyDeleteDNF due to PPP in the Northeast. I had to look up Minaj's first name. I liked the Julia Child theme, though!
ReplyDelete@bocamp--Totally agree that the Acrostic was a fun one. Finding the theme was sure a big help.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteNevermind @nyc_lo
DeleteI got what you meant and why.
John X is an agent provacateur. (A la Hunter Thompson, mentioned above.)
ReplyDeleteVillager
What Juliet really said in the balcony scene?*
ReplyDeleteO OREO OREO
*Oreo clue to end all Oreo clues.
I enjoyed this puzzle, I love Julia Child, and those theme answers were all things she actually said. Al Michael’s had me a little puzzled, but over all, nothing made me groan. Definitely did not find it to be one of the worst Sundays ever.
ReplyDelete@Lewis, thanks for the bonus quotes - the “whack the hell out of a chicken” reminds me of a write over I had today: “Give” A DAmN. Funny I never noticed all you have to do is change one letter for DARN. Must be that dam silent “n.”
ReplyDeleteFound a couple of appropriate JC quotes.
”Well, all I know is this—nothing you ever learn is really wasted, and will sometime be used."
@TTrimble, reminds me of the “trivia” education yesterday. You got me curious so I checked etymonline - much the same info but with an added dimension: “trivium, from Medieval Latin trivium "grammar, rhetoric, and logic," the first three of the seven liberal arts, considered initiatory and foundational to the other four (arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and music). From Latin trivium, in classical Latin "place where three roads meet; a frequented place; public street, highway," from tri- "three" (see three) + via "road"
“I think every woman should have a blowtorch.”
@JD, I hope Rex sees your post.
@Brookyn Roasting, “beer guy for Julia Child” sounds impressive! Also a phrase I never expected to hear. Cool to know about the AIWF.
@JOHN X, enjoyed the Sunday sermon - thanks for another sincere, humble post!
@JoeR, satire? If so, well done.
This is the last straw. This puzzle is great. The answers are the part of the quote that -- wait for it, Rex -- make them funny! Maybe you disagree, but these are quotes that Julia Child is well-known for. And she became famous in part because of them.
ReplyDeleteThere's nothing left.
Rex doesn't like "wacky" changes in words to make them fit themes. He doesn't like quotes. And he even whines when two non-theme answers are connected in a clever way. (See Jim Morrison and Mr. Mojo Risin from last week.) Why?? Here is a serious question: What kind of puzzle, exactly, would Rex like?
(I agree about the fill, though. Not very good! Too much junk.)
A Room of One’s Own is not a novel! Woolf is indeed a novelist but this book is a work of nonfiction.
ReplyDelete@pabloinnh (1:39 PM)
ReplyDeleteAgreed! getting the theme was definitely the turning point. Seeing who the author is was also a nice surprise.
@A (10:35 AM) wrote:
"Two more QB’s - Fri/Sat. Oughta stop now."
Well done! I'm guessing you're hooked. 🪝
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Peace ~ Empathy ~ Tolerance ~ Health ~ Kindness to all 🕊
I liked it medium well
ReplyDeleteAn enjoyable Acrostic. Slightly marring the experience is that for some unfathomable reason, the software was not accepting a W in a particular square, so that even though I had completed the puzzle in reality, the clock just running and no congrats! So I had to close and then reopen and then (re)solve in what will forever be my fastest time. @Joe Dipinto is right, the puzzle pairs nicely with the xword.
ReplyDeleteAnd in SB, 0 for the third day in a row. I think that's a record for me.
A propos of another comment (I won't look up the time). "Communist." (smh)
@Other Mod
Thanks for getting back to me. Maybe there are more mods? I had tried asking what the problem was back on the 13th, but had gotten no response. Anyway, I'm glad I was able to post a belated something.
It’s rare that you find a medium puzzle that is so well done.
ReplyDeleteDitto, Rex
ReplyDeleteSince Sunday is 'supposed' to be a bigger Wednesday, one should expect a few side-eyed clue/answer. Thus BEER and GROUP; there are more obvious clues for either, but the point is to a few not-so-obvious. Got GROUP (chem was my undergraduate major for a while); never got BEER (never, ever heard that phrase) and exited the puzzle no longer interested at that intersection.
ReplyDeleteI'm one of those people who heard Julia say all those things in their original broadcasts, which means that 1) I loved the puzzle, and 2) I am not of the generation that is in what Rex calls his "wheelhouse," and 3) though I keep reading him, I am mightily tired of his crotchitiness. Lighten up, Rex.
ReplyDeleteOh, and BTW, OFL is quite wrong. In Maths, a GROUP isn't just a SET. check the wiki if you don't believe me.
ReplyDelete@A (10:35)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the Pauline Viardot link. Really enjoyed learning who she was (wow -- talk about accomplished) and listening to the angelic tones of Isabel Bayrakdarian. She must have one of the most beautiful voices in opera at the moment. I'm transported!
SB 0
@TTrimble - that's 3 in a row for me, too. Let's keep it going!
Okay, so apparently GROUP has a specific meaning in chemistry! It also has many other meanings, all of which are almost identical to the one clued here for chemistry, so to all you chemists out there ... it's not an 'in' thing.
ReplyDeleteAt least GROUP made sense, even if it was superfluously clued as a chemistry answer. The word BOO has many meanings, 100% of which would've been better clues than the one provided here. Open the dictionary, turn to the word BOO, and throw a dart at that page; you've just hit a better clue for BOO than the one in this puzzle. BOOZE, maybe. That sounds more like BRUCE and would've fit very well into the Julia Child theme.
@TTrimble (4:08 PM) & @Barbara S. (5:35 PM) 👍 👍 👍 for 3 QBs in a row! :)
ReplyDeleteI think @A is going for her 3rd today, maybe 4th. 🤞
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Peace ~ Empathy ~ Tolerance ~ Health ~ Kindness to all 🕊
Knew Rex would hate this because he doesn't appreciate anything that's not in his ballpark. This was a delightful, lighthearted trip down memory lane with Julia Chikd. The phrases do not stand in isolation but complete her humorous and off-beat sayings that, besides her cooking of course, are her signature. And for those of us who are not professional solvers, it was quite doable.
ReplyDeleteOkay, I get NATICK, you explain it every day. But please, please, please... What the heck is PPP and what is Green Paint?????
ReplyDeleteI scanned here and it seems nobody has mentioned the wonderful Dan Ackroyd spoof of JULIA on SNL. I've forgotten how to link - but Google "Dan Ackroyd Julia Child" and it'll pop right up.
ReplyDeletealso hven't seen a mention of the 2009 Amy Adams/Meryl Streep flick "Julie and Julia" - an absolute delight with Streep as Julia Child.
Fun puzz, fun quotes - good Sunday.
As noted by Anonymous @ 2:59, the clue for WOOLF incorrectly implies that A Room of Ones Own is a novel. Didn’t Rex major in English?
ReplyDeleteI love ❤️ the quotes.
ReplyDeleteAnd have always loved 🥰 and always will love Julia Child and everything about her - except that (imho awful) movie “Julie and Julia.”
Enjoyed this one 100%. Easy , fast, and fun.
Also I think despite my personal affection for Julia Child, there are strong counter arguments to Rex’s crit today, which neverthelessis appreciated. 🤗
🤩🧩⭐️🧩🤩
I am a food nerd, a crossword nerd, a law nerd, oh hell, . . . you get it. I am familiar with all these quotes so could slap them in right away, and I find them funny. However, I do not believe that they are all original to my chef-idol, JULIA CHILD (whom I watched every single week on black and white public television in the days when we had to have a funny little box on top of the big console tv and you flipped a switch to receive that single station on the UHF/VHF bands), For example, I have the SOMETIMES I PUT IT KN THE FOOD” quote (which is certainly true in my kitchen) displayed on a shelf above my stove. The attribution is to W C. Fields. No matter, this was a fun Sunday theme for me and just made me think of all the hours I spent as a mite learning the basics. Of course with my Gran at the helm.
ReplyDeleteMy Gran was my kitchen mentor every day from the time I could stand on a stool and tie a dish towel around my scrawny waist. I have memories of learning how to wash veggies, peel potatoes, and clean up. “Cooking every day means hard work and not all of it is fun,” said Gran so many times. “But if you always put love and care in your food, the fun happens when you feed people - every single time.”
I don’t know where she got her energy, but she took care of my family. She fed us all every day (both my parents worked - not something that was very prevalent in my young universe) and kept our house and our clothes clean. And she doled out the chores so the three of us learned the value and rewards of taking responsibility.
Gran also was the “Head Chef” at our church - both food pantry/kitchen and pot-luck organizer. Wow, those church suppers were epic. I helped in the pantry/kitchen. The free meals were mostly served during the winter as that was what was economically possible in my neighborhood, or so I figured out. Gran started early to let everyone know that she was “stocking for winter.” Folks would bring canned goods and staple items like beans and rice. As summer waned and fall arrived, Gran would put in the Sunday announcements for the minister to read what she still needed more of to “share from our hearts” as she used to say. I will forever remember her reading me the book “Stone Soup,” and the way she reminded folks each week that winter was coming and we all could be hungry at some time in our lives. It made a huge impression on me.
Our church was part of a group that took one weekday each to have a “community meal.” They didn’t call it a soup kitchen and anyone was welcome. There were some signs asking for donations of food, labor or money, but everybody was welcome.
I helped - naturally and not always by choice - and learned so very much. Not about cooking but about community. Gran got to know the name of everyone who came frequently and as I grew, I realized how much folks truly appreciated the kindness of someone just recognizing them by name.
One winter when I was 12 or 13, we had a terribly long winter, and really got to the “stone soup” stage, but the kitchen always survived. I remember one particular week when the cupboards were really bare and an elderly man came into the kitchen with two friends. They were bundled up and had a bag. Turned out they were some of the “regulars” had hunted, trapped, killed and dressed some rabbits just so there would be food on the community table that day. Turns out rabbit stew is damn good.
After we cleaned up and got everything put away, as Gran and I were bundling up to go meet my mom with the car, she gave me a hug and said, “See, that was fun!” It was more than that to me. So much more. It was pure love.
@thefogman 4:31
ReplyDeleteIf no one else says so, very clever!
And SBers:
I'm at I believe -1 for the day, which is closest I've been in a while. My SB skills seen to be declining every day,which is quite bizarre. I miss more and more, either easy words, or words I had got before. I never go to NYT.bee, so I don't know ahead of time how many words I need, nor how many pangrams there are. I think that adds to the fun. But, to each their own. I get my number by when I get the Genius, I divide the points by .7, it's gets close to the total amount of points needed. I'm at 146 today, my math after G was 150.
And I can't find it. Argh!
RooMonster In A Spell Guy
Ladies and gentlemen,
ReplyDeleteRex has delivered a a critique which is the perfect definition of a scold.
If you don’t smile at the quips which make up the theme, yes Michael, it’s a theme, your3 dead inside.
In any event, viva Julia, Will and… choose your third hero (heroine).
Literally tea towels. And I mean “literally” literally, not figuratively.
ReplyDelete@Bernie Williams, et alia - It implies no such thing. It says WOOLF is a novelist. It says A Room of One’s Own is by her. You are supplying the false implication. While I don’t think the intent here was a misdirection, that sort of clue writing is very much to be expected on Friday and Saturday. And Rex doesn’t write the clues so I don’t know why you’re asking about his degree.
@jbird - PPP is Pop Culture, Product Names and other Proper Nouns. Too much (33%) results in some solvers finding a puzzle especially easy while others find it especially hard. Hence the terms “wheelhouse” and “outhouse” puzzles.
Green Paint (not coined by Rex) references adjective noun pairs that aren’t really much of a thing. You don’t go to a paint store and buy “green paint,” you’d by olive green or kelly green or forest green. What is and isn’t a drab answer (green paint) is very subjective.
@Anon5:28 - Well golly I did check Wikipedia. In mathematics, a group is a set…
@Joe Dipinto - so why act like it isn't? I can think of two possible reasons. In part to have it be a bit of an easter egg. People like those. Second, not wanting to give away the theme so early. I tend to agree with you, but it doesn’t seem to have bothered me as much as you.
@CDilly52 7:36pm: I'm glad I hit refresh this late in the day; your story was a pleasure.
ReplyDeleteZ,
ReplyDeleteKudos on 13th place!
@RooMonster (7:44 PM)
ReplyDelete🤞 for the last one. :)
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Peace ~ Empathy ~ Tolerance ~ Health ~ Kindness to all 🕊
I knew Rex would loathe this one.
ReplyDelete@Anon9:04 - Thanks. But if you think I post too much already, do not get me started on tournament recaps. 🤣😂🤣😂
ReplyDeleteI was (mistakenly) convinced Michael would like this puzzle - loved the Julia quotes -- thought the whole thing was a lot of fun.
ReplyDeleteI first put ALTMAN for 60A "Filmmaker with a distinctive style" -- and had METOO and then SODOI for 96A "Same here".
@CDilly52 (7:36 PM)
ReplyDeleteAnother warm fuzzy from you! 😊
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Peace ~ Empathy ~ Tolerance ~ Health ~ Kindness to all 🕊
@9:04 - BTW - 14th. We lost to our friends from Texas this morning. It was actually my best game of the weekend and we trade blowouts with those guys, but as a team we were out of gas. Six games in three days in July in Colorado hurt us more than it hurt them. But we had fun.
ReplyDeleteCDilly52, please write a book titled "Gran At the Helm."
ReplyDelete@Z
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you had fun. The most basic element of the sport.
I normally don’t love quote puzzles but these were legit funny, and I love Julia.
ReplyDeleteTotally agree. I really disliked this puzzle.
ReplyDeleteOnly one wrong letter - which I consider complete success, since it is a misheard letter anyway.
ReplyDeleteAnd...I had heard most of the Child quotes, unlike OFL. Sugar, cream, butter - the magic trio.
Diana, Lady-in-Waiting for some birthday cake - 7 decades old!
POKEYS ISGOOD
ReplyDeleteAS it's REALLYJUSTAMEETING, heck, so EVENPUTITIN slow,
VITAL after we've STARTED to NECK, and WHO'SGOINGTOKNOW?
--- JULIA RESNIK
Hard to believe CHILD came up with that one-liner about wine. That sounds ancient to me. It's funny, but I doubt if she originated it. The rest of them? Meh. I fall short of a Rex pan, but have to say this wasn't top shelf. The fill is another souffle that fell.
ReplyDeleteHit a bit of a snag when I thought we were waiting for the steak to COme, a la Door Dash, instead of COOK. With George Foreman to help, there isn't much waiting for the steak to cook at our house. Three minutes, four if it's a thick filet, and BONAPPETIT. Also slipped with soDOI instead of ASDOI. Neither is scintillating fill. Guess JULIACHILD has to be DOD; they kinda forced her on us. Most honorable mention to MAMMA Cass ELLIOT. Bogey.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDelete