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Relative difficulty: Medium (easy, but a couple of those themer names ... yikes)
Theme answers:
- STEVE URKEL (17A: Neighbor on "Family Matters")
- KIMMY GIBBLER (28A: Neighbor on "Full House")
- WILSON WILSON (45A: Neighbor on "Home Improvement")
1: a body of practices of sympathetic magic traditional especially among African Americans in the southern U.S.2: a natural column of rock in western North America often in fantastic form3: something that brings bad luck (merriam-webster.com)
• • •
I was wary of this puzzle very early on when I had to endure the bizarre partial OUTIN. There is no good reason for a partial that bad to appear in a perfectly ordinary small corner of a Monday puzzle. There's nothing special going on up there, so tear it down and start over. HOODOO is also inexplicable when VOODOO works there so easily. Just change HATED to VOTED and there you go—and you're spared the awkward clue on HOODOO (3rd def.???).
The corners are tiny and highly segmented, esp. those NE and SW corners, which have no thematic content and no connection to the rest of the grid except through the narrowest of outlets. Just a waste of space. Nothing good can come of a highly isolated 4x4. Sigh. If the theme were solid, the useless and occasionally clunky short stuff really wouldn't matter. The grid just feels like it should be much better polished. But in the end, it's the drastic reach of the theme revealer that is the real let-down today. Also, maybe [Children's TV host...] instead of [Bygone...], which just feels rude. I mean, yes, he's dead, but that guy is a lot fresher and more relevant today than any of these so-called "neighbors." Have some respect. Good day.
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]
LSD (44D) two days in a row! And today it sits alongside LOADED (47D). I also liked that LSU (5D) and DSL (9D) share a majority of their DNA (43D) with Timothy Leary’s preferred dessert. What a sweet trip!
ReplyDeleteThe 13D column summarizes the hoped-for outcome of current Biden/NATO tactics: ENDS REDS ASSETS. BTW, please don’t point out that Putin is not a Red. I get it, but just trying to point out things I found amusing.
This was a first class debut. Thank you, Stephen Hiltner.
Tough. I did not know KIMMY and I typed in mr rogers which didn’t fit, so I did not zip through this one. A bit to down in the weeds for a Monday, plus pretty much what @Rex said.
ReplyDelete@bocamp - Croce’s Freestyle #691 is a return to typical tough Croce i.e. it took hours not minutes to finish. Good luck!
Where’s Mrs Kravitz when you need her? Probably hanging out with George Jefferson. Fred and Ethel should be here, too. And Howard Borden.
ReplyDeleteAnyhoo… What Rex said. Just an odd TV Guide theme with the three more or less iconic 90’s neighbors and then a cardigan. Weird. Being Monday the fill went by too quickly to upset too much. But even a well defined theme based around PPP is not going to be my cuppa. And then this particular group of neighbors really feels like an SNL skit waiting to happen.
Didn’t know any of the themers at all, and still had fastest Monday time ever. Agree with Rex on Mr. Rogers - he was an exceptional person.
ReplyDeleteI like to do downs only on Mondays (pretty much the only day I can do that) so the names just kind of filled in. Never watched Family Matters or Full House. Like Rex I knew WILSON, but didn’t know he was a double WILSON. FRED ROGERS was the only gimme, everybody knows Mr Rogers, even without ever watching the show.
ReplyDeleteEven the sublime euphoria engendered by yesterday's puzzle wasn't enough to mitigate the nauseating miasma surrounding today's.
ReplyDeleteBy time FRED ROGERS rolled around, I was too old to appreciate him. But he is iconic, nearly universally loved, and a treasure.
These other characters were in some of the worst "sitcoms" in television history. Of course, that is entirely subjective, but no it is not.
In general themes based on PPP are risky - if you have as your goal any shred of enjoyment for the solver. Using that as the starting point doesn't bode well and the nose-dive into odium didn't stop until crash-landing into the unfortunate Mr. ROGERS.
And there goes the neighborhood.
π§ .5
π
ReplyDeleteLike most early weeks, I tried to solve without reading the clues for the long acrosses. But I didn't know Ms. Gibbler, Mr. Wilson's last name nor the Super Mario dinosaur that crossed both of them. So when I had everything except _OSH_ I took a mental step back and decided that YOSHI was the only thing that made sense with the acrosses, tried it and it worked. End of story.
I loved seeing Mr. ROGERS in the puzzle. It's nice to be reminded of him and his TV show. The other shows I did not watch and didn't know the names. Luckily for me it wasn't a hindrance. Crosses did the work. I usually at least understand the views of @Rex but not today. Solid and fun Monday.
ReplyDeleteDitto @Paul Rippey. Fast but felt slow and draggy.
ReplyDeleteGoing to have to go with Rex on this one. 2 annoying kids and half of a face that used his last name what maybe once to honor Fred Rogers as the clean up hitter in this list of B-actors. Was pretty close to my Monday best time but Hoodoo is not a Monday answer.
ReplyDeleteThis puzzle would be a great ambassador for the “lose the theme requirement” movement - since it technically does have a theme, but probably less than one in a thousand people will care. The rest of it was just Monday fill-in-the-blanks easy - with the exception of the atrocious HOODOO which took OFL all of 15 seconds to fix - Don’t know why Shortz couldn’t be bothered on that one - maybe he just phones it in on Mondays.
ReplyDeleteThree wonderfully quirky names and the fourth that still kindles my heart – there’s a theme I can embrace. Add to that a learning moment, and I liked the puzzle even more. Today’s was STAYS. The puzzle provided a lovely mini-lesson there. I recalled that STAYS were some sort of undergarment, and reading up on them a little, I learned that they were LACED and often included LINEN (and how sweet that STAYS and LACED abut, with LINEN in the neighborhood).
ReplyDeleteThen there were little grid bonuses – KIMMY / YOGI / DELI / YOSHI, for one. LSD and DSL in the same row, for another. And I did notice that as opposed to one of yesterday’s answers, 19A is not small-minded.
So you provided grab bag of goodIES in your debut, Stephen. Thank you for that and congratulations on puzzle number one!
Felt like a challenge was accepted to make the easiest puzzle possible. Don’t think it quite succeeded (WILSON WILSON was not one I knew), but it came close.
ReplyDeleteI don't get the groundswell of HATE against HOODOO. It's real, it fits the clue, it's easy, with the H from HATES in case you "wanted" vOODOO at first glance. The "fix" changes BRAWN to the boring BRoWN, hardly an improvement.
ReplyDeleteFrom the web:
HOODOO,
A religion practiced in parts of the Caribbean and the southern US and characterized by sorcery and spirit possession; voodoo.
The supply chain problem is so bad, that the TV Guide puzzle from 1994 just arrived.
ReplyDeleteEven though I never watched any of these shows and I am too old for Mr. Rogers, I breezed through the puzzle without any write overs.
@frantic,
ReplyDeleteI didn't like the puzzle either, but calling it a "nauseating miasma" goes way too far. Words matter, use them more wisely if you can.
Favorite TV neighbors: 1. Newman. 2. Ed Norton 3. Ned Flanders
ReplyDeleteMy five favorite clues from last week
ReplyDelete(in order of appearance):
1. Short johns? (4)
2. Waiters at busy restaurants might be handed them (6)
3. Hearing disorder remedy? (4)
4. Ecosystem that comes and goes (8)
5. It rarely includes chains (4)(6)
LAVS
PAGERS
OYEZ
TIDE POOL
FINE DINING
YOSHI crossing KIMMY GIBBLER and WILSON WILSON?
ReplyDeleteI rest my case.
It's just interesting what's in everyone's wheelhouse. KIMMY GIBBLER was an immediate fill, and one that I even called in my 8yo to help me with the puzzle to get that answer as I knew she would know it. Then again, we've watched every....single.....episode of "Fuller House" on Netflix, so, um, yeah....
ReplyDeleteAgree 100% on the "why these neighbors" comment. So many other good ones.
Never watched any of the shows so they all went in with crosses. Always thought Mr. Rogers was weird. Typical Monday level fill - liked HOPE and ENTICE. IES, UTERI and others were unfortunate.
ReplyDeleteUnlike Rex I thought HOODOO was the best part of the puzzle
I’ll take a pass on this one.
Thx Stephen, for a challenging Mon. puz! :)
ReplyDeleteMed++ (would have been a Tues. pour moi)
I was out in left field for this one; just not on the right wavelength at all.
Easy time in the NW, but the rest was hit and miss.
Had STEVE, but URKEL came with the crosses.
Didn't know KIMMY GIBBLER or WILSON WILSON. Even FRED ROGERS was hard bc I put in mR. to start.
Toughest area was HOODOO, BRAWN, LOWER.
Nothing wrong with a tough Mon. on occasion; enjoyed the struggle, and had a happy ending. :)
@jae
Thx, looking forward to a good Croce battle this PM. :)
___
yd pg: 11:25 / W: 3*
Peace π πΊπ¦ ~ Compassion ~ Tolerance ~ Kindness to all π
I actually liked KIMMY GIBBLER, kind of a nifty character. Where’s Eddie Haskell when you need him? (Maybe be wasn’t exactly a neighbor.)
ReplyDeleteI thought it was cute but I grew up watching all these shows so maybe it’s just the nostalgia. <3
ReplyDeleteDidn’t know any of the neighbors names, though “Urkel" I knew. I have not seen one episode of any of the three shows. FREDROGERS was a gimme, no matter what age you are. 19A brings to mind yesterday’s nit by many.
ReplyDeleteI bet this was a fun puzzle for fans of 90's TV sitcoms, a group that does not include me. Hand up for not having seen any of these characters except for the estimable FREDROGERS, may he rest in peace. OFL is right in thinking he wouldn't mind sharing a grid with these lesser beings.
ReplyDeleteI liked HOODOO, always makes me think of Paul Simon's "Loves Me Like A Rock" and HOODOO, HOODOO you think you're foolin'? (Disclaimer, I do know the actual lyrics.) Also liked seeing YOGI and YOSHI in the same puzzle. The odds on that are pretty slim.
I was having a discussion about CYNICS with my Good Old Best Friend one time and I said, what if the CYNICS are right? and he said, wow, that's really cynical.
Didn't count, but it seemed like an inordinate number of moo-cows wandering through this one.
Congrats on your debut, SH. Not a theme I was fond of and next time am hoping for something Slightly Harder. Thanks for some fun.
On HOODOO: Great song, "You Do Something to Me," (think Frank) with the line 'Do do that Hoodoo that you do so well.'
ReplyDeleteOn Puzzle: very easy but for names. Felt lost at the party until bumping into JOyce Carol Oates, an old friend, and then the wonderful Mr. Rogers. Pshew.
The clue for 4D way overstates the nature of DOVEs. We have several that frequent our birdfeeder, and there's one who is a ferocious beast. Woe betide any Blue Jay, Wood Pecker or even Crow that thinks they are entitled to a spot at the table, this one will peck your eyes out. The peaceable little guys, sparrows, juncos, and titmice are welcome to share but no bullies allowed.
ReplyDeleteI love that particular DOVE, who truly is a hawk when it comes to defending the meek.
*Very* bad Natick at KIMMY GIBBLER and YOSHI, neither of which I've ever heard of. No discernible editing went into this mess. So what else is new?
ReplyDeleteWhen misterROGERS didn’t fit, I was stunned. He had a first name? I’m the wrong generation and my children were all about Sesame Street. Once the downs gave me FRED, I moved onto the other theme names. Since I despise most sit-coms, none came to mind. Rescued once again by the downs, I found a vague familiarity with URKEL, although not the show. I was busy elsewhere in the 90s. So while outside my area of interest, this was a perfectly legitimate Monday puzzle for most and it was solvable by the downs alone if necessary. I’m content to be the uninformed here, and happy to congratulate the constructor for his debut.
ReplyDeleteHey All !
ReplyDeleteBe kind to your neighbors!
Har.
Not a terrible puz. The Rexfamous "why these neighbors?" Any list of neighbors would get the same question. Sure, neighbors from different decades would've been a bit better, but hey, MonPuz.
My HOPE to find F's was almost lost, but thankfully they appeared towards the bottom. I know, my observation/obsession is ODD.
DELI near RYE. Neat. Decent fill. Nice debut. So says I. π
yd -4, should'ves 3
Two F's
RooMonster
DarrinV
I thought this one was really easy! Probably my fastest time for a Monday. I knew all the tv characters though. I forgot Kimmy's last name but once I filled in the GI I remembered, Gibbler. And I didn't know Wilson was a Wilson Wilson but that quickly became obvious from the downs. I think Mr. Rogers works with the theme, because he was the audience's neighbor. I didn't think hoodoo was weird, because that's also a word. I didn't like "outin".
ReplyDeleteI agree. This makes a mockery of the venerable Fred Rogers. Poor company.
ReplyDeleteI can remember the Fourth of July
ReplyDeleteRunnin' through the backwood bay
And I can still hear my old hound dog barkin'
Chasin' down a hoodoo there
Chasin' down a hoodoo there
@CCR 9:40
DeleteThat's "bare" not bay
Rhymes with there
I'm so glad I solve on paper and therefore have no pressure to finish to get a timing or the 'happy music'. I did not bother filling in the last few letters, which I imagine I could have guessed, but they were people I really profoundly did not care about. We got a TV set in January 1961 to watch the Kennedy inauguration on, but it was only tuned to PBS, or should I say 'educational TV', for years. I guess when my dad was around we could watch things if we could talk him into watching them with us -- this worked mostly for baseball games and Tarzan movies.
ReplyDeleteTwo things I remember from the days of Educational TV: we watched a show they called 'News, Weather, Sports every day at 6 PM. They knew that weather and sports were not news back then. And my favorite kiddie show? Sesame Street had not been invented yet. There was a 15 minute show by a mime I watched every day and loved.
Anyhow, this puzzle did not do much for me.
Greetings from the AREA within spitting distance of ROUTE 66 where the hours were only recently CST.
ReplyDeleteAn easy breezy Monday and yet a tiny challenge for me because I had no idea on KIMMY and had to guess on WILSON. My avatar and I were delighted to see 40A turn out to be COWGIRLS, an unexpected ASSET to this very fine debut Monday.
This puzzle is chock full of Wordle words. UTERI. There’s a starter if I ever saw one.
Have not read @Rex or you all yet.
ReplyDeleteJust wanted to say that I solved this puzzle easily, but did *not* like it. Neighbors from 3 TV shows I've never seen? And the host of another show never seen (my family was the last in the USA to purchase a TV), but world famous as "Mr." Or perhaps "Mister". Finally did get his first name through crosses.
I have heard of URKEL somehow, but no idea how to spell it or first name. Luckily all the crosses were super ridiculously easy.
Finished in exactly average time. But no joy here. Ugh.
Another solver here who only knew Mr. Rogers. Recognized Fred but he was Mr. Rogers to me. Didn't know the rest, but it went fast anyway. Not what I look for in a puzzle, but expected on Monday.
ReplyDeleteThe constructor says he never watched any of these shows. But he was a kid when these shows were on and I bet he learned all the names by cultural osmosis.
ReplyDeleteYOSHI is PPP, which always means a certain percentage of solvers won’t know it, but YOSHI is definitely Monday easy.
In defense of this theme, it is pretty tight. 1990’s TV neighbors. As these things go, it coheres pretty well. And the set is 20 years fresher than my set. Still, PPP so not going to get a lot of love from me. If you accept that a PPP based theme is NYTX acceptable (Shortz obviously does despite my protestations to the contrary) then this is a fine example of the genre.
Another post lost in the Blogger twilight zone early this AM. Bottom line: thx to Stephen for a fun puz! :)
ReplyDelete@jae
Thx, looking forward to Croce's mind-bender later td. :)
___
td pg: 8:57 / W: 4*
Peace π πΊπ¦ ~ Compassion ~ Tolerance ~ Kindness to all π
I liked BRAWN. I agree the theme felt flat, although Wilson Wilson was kind of fun.
ReplyDeleteI hope OGLE and RYE are given some time off. They're in every other puzzle these days.
@Off the Grid: I agree completely that HooDoo/Brawn>VooDoo/Brown. Anything that can make me remember a trip to Bryce Canyon is great for my Monday.
ReplyDeleteI think URKEL taught us that African-Americans could be nerds on TV, and led to representations in all kinds of fields besides the usual 70s TV stereotypes. How many sci-fi movies now feature a black lead scientist?
I think Lewis gave us the answer to today's non-written "Why these neighbors?". They are wonderfully quirky. Perhaps this should be in TV Guide (hi, WA, just saw what you did there) - everything else was "oh really, now" easy.
Despite playing Mario Brothers, I didn't know YOSHI, although I do now remember it from the last 2 times it appeared here.
@anon 7:31, I like your list, but wasn't Newman a friend of neighbor Kramer rather than an actual neighbor?
I can't read WILSONWILSON without thinking of Tom Hanks in Cast Away.
LOL. Rex decides to use Alison Moyet as the hoodoo exemplar. Hel'' she isn't even 50th on the list of worth citations. I'm guessing its to keep his blue check bona fides in tact.
ReplyDeleteI saw someone above post the lyric which has a lot more cultural significance than Ms. Moyet's song.
But if you want the best usage e of hoodoo in American culture, check out the Bachelor and The Bobby-Soxxer. The I-met-a-man-with-the-power-of hoodoo bit is used most charmingly. As superb a running gag as has ever been used in American film. Bonus: Cary Grant and Myrna Loy run the lines from Sidney Sheldon's Oscar-winning script.
I did know both YOSHI and KIMMY GIBBLER but Blue Stater does have a point. If I knew neither, I'm sure I would have gone with Kim McGibbler and Coshi. First appearance by either of them on a Monday.
ReplyDeleteThese Monday new constructors are not yet ready for primetime.
ReplyDeleteWhat an awful 'theme' today
@burtonkd - I would call Newman a neighbor. Same floor of the same building, but not directly next door nor directly across from Jerry. So, not a "next-door neighbor", but a neighbor all the same.
ReplyDeleteSomeone is watching too many damn sitcoms -- and it's not me.
ReplyDeleteThe WILSON WILSON neighbor though -- is that really going to be his name I wondered as the answer filled in? -- reminded me of an anecdote that I read decades ago in a book, then a manuscript, at the Literary Guild called "Memo From David O Selznick":
One Hollywood mogul introduces another Hollywood mogul to someone at a party. "That's Stanley Stanley. Hs name used to be Mucklefuss, but he changed it."
"So what was his name before?" asks the second mogul. "Mucklefuss Mucklefuss?"
This was presented in the memoir as a completely true story, btw.
Wonder how it would have turned out if the constructor went big - and used only iconic TV neighbors. Someone already mentioned Norton, could add Fred and Ethel to the list of candidates, along with Rhoda (or Phyllis), Weezie and Lionel, the big hair dude from Seinfeld, Will and Grace, Mr. Wilson (perhaps the granddaddy of them all), Barney Rubble, Ned, that weird sounding British dude from the Jeffersons, Eddie Haskell, Lucy from Peanuts . . . .
ReplyDeleteI’m sure I would detest it, lol. But hey, you never know - stranger things have happened.
This puzzle went down very quickly for me since my children were of the age to watch both Urkel and Kimmy G. I knew Kimmy’s last name was odd so waited for crosses and avoided putting in GILBERT. I only sporadically watched Home Improvement but I’m pretty sure my daughter had a preteen crush on Jonathan Taylor Thomas. I would disagree with @Rex that WILSONWILSON didn’t merit being in Mr. Roger’s neighborhood and, in fact, I think the WILSON character was a very clever device for that show. As I recall he was the character that gave Tim very sage advice that allowed him to get to important life lessons. So I guess I totally agree with @Z’s second post…this puzzle wasn’t everyone’s cuppa, but I thought it was well done given it requires a lot of PPP.
ReplyDeleteOnward to Tuesday and Happy Pi Day! Btw @ Nancy, Thanks for the link yesterday. I got the date, looked it up in my app’s puzzle archive, cleared it, and reworked it yesterday. Excellent puzzle indeed!
Thankfully the downs were easy enough. I've long since learned that Mario's dinosaur shares a name with my sister-in-law. I didn't watch any of these shows, but at least recognized the URKEL surname.
ReplyDeleteI know I'm not supposed to say this, but I was never much of a fan of Mister or Mr. ROGERS. (Totally forgot his first name was FRED.) My kids watched Sesame Street, Sonic and Pokemon. I thought Mr. R's puppets were creepy and the whole tone of the show too saccharine. Set my teeth on edge.
Lots of folks bragging about the shows they NEVER watch and the people they wouldn't deign to know ... ho hum,another day in crossword-puzzle land.
ReplyDeleteI do Mondays just so I can read the comments here. So far today, I've enjoyed seeing the names of some of my favorite TV neighbors like Kramer, Norton, Rhoda, and Newman. Their names were too short to get into the grid, I suppose.
ReplyDeleteWho are these people who are reporting that the Monday puzzle was easy?
Somehow I had MREDROGERS and thought “gee, I didn’t know his name was Ed”. Hilarious brain fart.
ReplyDeleteI'm with the group who had no idea about the three neighbors. I see @Lewis's point about their names being quirky, but then why three quirky names + FRED ROGERS. I dunno. Help from previous puzzles: YOSHI.
ReplyDeleteSo now Rex is offended by sitcom characters?
ReplyDeleteThe theme for this puzzle is so far out of my wheelhouse that I would need binoculars to see it. Sitcoms from the 90s are bad enough, but secondary characters on sitcoms? Where are Fred and Ethel Mertz when you need them?
Fortunately this is a Monday and the totally unfamiliar (to me) names filled themselves in thanks to the crosses, except for YOSHI (but I guess he’s someone’s neighbor, too.)
I know that in the deep South, revealing that someone is gay is referred to as OUTIN’ them, but it sure is an ODD way to be greeted by the puzzle on a Monday morning.
I can’t abide dumb sitcoms, so I never watched any of those three shows. I think I’ve seen Urkel’s name, but had no idea what the first name was. I knew FREDROGERS of course. Watched it with my daughter when she was a toddler. But there are a lot more iconic TV neighbors than these. How about the Rubbles, the Mertzes, and Eddie Haskell?
ReplyDeleteSeveral things:
ReplyDeleteVisit Bryce Canyon National Park and then tell me that HOODOO is a bad fill. Naturally, the 2nd definition would have been preferred.
I don't watch TV, so know none of the 3 neighbors, but the puzzle was so easy that I solved it in my head. Saved a sheet of paper. A better theme phrase would be "Welcome to the neighborhood."
What I don't like about Mr. Rogers is that he taught a whole generation to trust what they see on TV.
For classic neighbors, how about ED NORTON?
ReplyDeletesince I do paper version, wrote in VOODOO and didn't look back!
ReplyDeleteAnd what am I supposed to infer when I come to the end of the block of oldie moldy neighbors? I will tell you...Nothing.
ReplyDeleteMy EYE SIGHT and THIN MIND passed on a fandango tango Monday. This was the B SIDE of a badly danced cha cha cha.
But did you like something? you ask. I did:
HOODOO.... however, in my neck of the woods, we call it Voodoo. In Cuba the practice is Santeria. They are all similar but...they are not. Case in point (if you care to be eerily educated)...
Santeria has its roots from Spanish Catholicism. HOODOO/Voodoo comes from the French. It is still practiced in the Caribbean countries and in some of our southern states. We had a maid/caretaker/cook who originally came from Haiti and she was a big believer in the power of healing by some sort of god worship. There was lots of dancing involved and animals being sacrificed. She thought that by rubbing about 500 limes on my face every night, my freckles would disappear. They didn't. She also made a little doll and shoved some pins in it every now and then, because she was in love with my dad but my dad was married. The doll was supposed to look like my mom...she even put lipstick on it.
I grew up with some interesting people and just look at me now...
.
@Greater Fall River...:
ReplyDeleteah, yes "Sunrise Semester".
A new low. Stupid TV shows I've never seen and have no interest in. The dumbing down of the nyt xword is now complete.
ReplyDeleteAccording to one local story, a cartographer accidentally switched the names for Hoodoo Butte and the nearby tuya Hayrick Butte. The word "hoodoo" refers to rock buttresses like those observed at the nearby Hayrick Butte, while "hayrick" is a synonym for haystack, a more fitting name for Hoodoo Butte, which has a profile that resembles a haystack shape. Whether or not this error actually occurred remains unclear, but the names remain to present day.
ReplyDeleteWikipedia - from the entry for Hoodoo Butte in central Oregon
@Uke Xensen:
ReplyDeletemay haps the Editors think they're in competition with the TV Guide puzzle?? or just admitting that the Red States have finally taken over??
@Beezer (10:35)-- You're very welcome. So it's possible to "clear" an old puzzle and turn it into a virgin puzzle if you have an app, an online subscription and access to the archives? One of the few really good arguments for solving puzzles on gadgets, I'd say.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that I remembered that puzzle means it must have been exceptional. The only puzzles I remember -- other than that one and the CLINTON/DOLE puzzle -- are my own puzzles.*
*And not nearly as much of them as you might think :)
@kitshef - Newman counts as a neighbor in my book then, living on the same floor, apparently I misremembered that particular detail...
ReplyDeleteWhenever there is a 'list of things' theme, we all have alternates that we would like better. So what? Instead of "Why these 3(4,5...)?", ask "Why not?"
ReplyDelete@daveyhead - MR ED ROGERS would be a horse of a theme entry if you ask me.
ReplyDeleteI have to post THIS.
ReplyDeleteNames of neighbors … different. Like different -- but didn't know most of these themers. Makes M&A wonder what the hoodoo he was watchin on TV, back in the 90s. But mosta what I watched on TV didn't stick, I reckon.
ReplyDeletestaff weeject pick: IES. Almost the ultimate in desperation. Primo example of the genre.
fave moo-cow eazy-E MonPuz clue: { ___ 66 (classic highway)} = ROUTE. Classic TV show, which I occasionally watched after Rawhide. Further back than the 90s, tho.
Had a bit of solvequest doubt in the KIMMY/YOSHI area. But guessed the Y ok. Otherwise, fairly smooth solvequest, with a lot of neighbor avoidance thrown into the mix. Sure liked seein a friendly Mr. ROGERS, down there near the ground floor, that I could say yo to, by name.
@RP: Some if-U-don't-like-the-fill fixers:
1. OUTIN. Could make it PUTIN, instead. The good news would be that his head would then be used in a TP AD.
2. HOODOO. No need to hassle BRAWN with VOTED. Just go with DOODOO. That epic debut word HOPE-fully awaits. Might match up good with TP AD, in a cross-reference clue dealie, too boot.
3. I thought U were goin on vacation. Did U miss yer flight? Or the gas got too expensive?
Thanx for the fun, Mr. Hiltner dude. And congratz on yer debut.
Masked & Anonymo5Us
in the biter neighborhood:
**gruntz**
@WA 7:23 -- my first belly laugh of the day. Thank you!
ReplyDelete@Nancy…yes. The archives is one of the very best reasons for installing the NYT app even if you prefer to work the puzzle on paper on a daily basis. If you already sign in “online” to do Spelling Bee, ALL different types of puzzles are archived there also…including Acrostics which I know you like to do. The daily crossword archive goes back at least into the 1990s and I’ve been doing the old Acrostics (right now I’m in 2012). In conclusion…@Z can probably ‘splain all this better than me but bottom line is that your NYT subscription entitles you to create a log-in to access the old puzzles.
ReplyDeleteI lived in Mr Rogers neighborhood. True.
ReplyDeleteImagine being a little kid - so excited to go to Mr Rogers house on Halloween for the first time!
I was finally old enough to walk to his house.
It’s time to get some candy!
But Mr Rogers was not there. Lights out. No answer at the door. No trick or treat.
Won’t you be my neighbor?
Screw you, little kid….
I lived in Mr Rogers neighborhood. True.
ReplyDeleteImagine being a little kid - so excited to go to Mr Rogers house on Halloween for the first time!
I was finally old enough to walk to his house.
It’s time to get some candy!
But Mr Rogers was not there. Lights out. No answer at the door. No trick or treat.
Won’t you be my neighbor?
Screw you, little kid….
That's the catch, isn't it.
ReplyDeleteHave some brains will ya! . . . It's a "NEIGHBORS" theme puzzle. . That's all it is. . . Stop trying to conform everything to your warped opinions. . . Get over yourself. . . Good Day.
ReplyDeleteNewman lived on the same floor as Jerry and Cosmo.
ReplyDeleteThink about how Ed Norton moved, entered a room, used hs arms and his strange use of logic. Now think of Kramer. Yes? No?
Eddie Haskell was a neighbor of note too. I guess he is more a teenage Newman. Cosmo as a first name would fit nicely in todays puzzle.
The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer is on TCM tomorrow at noon.
I did not know to spell E(U)RKEL or know his first name. Or know WILSON's first name or immediately remember is last name. Middle name WILSON too? Echoes of Catch 22? But none of this was a slowdown. When I finished the rest and circled back I had not filled in the K M or Y in KIMMY. The K and M were easy enough but the Y. Yes I have had 2 DNFs from not knowing that first letter. This time it came to me with the help of the double M I got it.
I laughed when someone suggested Shortz was pushing LSD. Not so sure he isn't now. If he wants to drop some off here it would be welcome. Maybe a tank of laughing gas too?
hang my head in forgetfulness!! it comes up every decade or three, and I always mis-remember "Sunrise Semester" as an Ed. TV product. nope. CBS, of all things. may be I'll remember in 2032?
ReplyDeleteThe puzzle was ok, but I enjoyed reading @Rex more.
ReplyDeleteHand up for liking HOODOO. Also liked the DELI and RYE neighbors in the southside.
Didn’t see Mr. ROGERS until I was about 8 or 9 and was never a fan. He struck me as kind of creepy. Guess I was a young CYNIC.
Cynic, from etymonline.com:
1550s, "one of the ancient sect of philosophy founded by Antisthenes," from Latinized form of Greek kynikos "a follower of Antisthenes," literally "dog-like," from kyΕn (genitive kynos) "dog" (from PIE root *kwon- "dog").
Supposedly the name is a reference to the coarseness of life and sneering surliness of the philosophers, and the popular association even in ancient times was "dog-like" (Lucian has kyniskos "a little cynic," literally "puppy").
But more likely it is from Kynosarge "The Gray Dog," the name of the gymnasium outside ancient Athens (for the use of those who were not pure Athenians) where Antisthenes (a pupil of Socrates), taught. Diogenes was the most famous. Meaning "sneering sarcastic person" is from 1590s. As an adjective from 1630s.
[Diogenes] studied philosophy under Antisthenes, a crusty type who hated students, emphasized self-knowledge, discipline, and restraint, and held forth at a gymnasium named The Silver Hound in the old garden district outside the city. It was open to foreigners and the lower classes, and thus to Diogenes. Wits of the time made a joke of its name, calling its members stray dogs, hence cynic (doglike), a label that Diogenes made into literal fact, living with a pack of stray dogs, homeless except for a tub in which he slept. He was the Athenian Thoreau. [Guy Davenport, "Seven Greeks"]
From Greece’s neighbor, Turkey, comes today’s birthday composer, Ulvi Cemal Erkin, (1906-1972), one of "The Turkish Five" which I had no IDEA existed. During the early days of the Turkish Republic, AtatΓΌrk sent five musicians abroad with the goal of establishing a new music by blending Western styles and forms with the uneven rhythms and traditional modes of Turkish folk music and dances. Erkin’s KΓΆΓ§ekΓ§e is a great example.
@Karl Grouch 724am Since words do indeed matter, you might notice that I didn't call the puzzle a "nauseating miasma", but said it was surrounded by one. Regardless, compared to many of the opinions voiced here, please don't tell me that my description of my experience was beyond the pale. I'll make a deal with you: I'll try to "use [words] more wisely if [ I ] can", if you'll check your condescending tone. Thank you and have a good day. π
ReplyDeleteNot only was it boring as hell, it didn't prompt any good comments (including mine).
ReplyDelete@Z:
ReplyDelete@daveyhead - MR ED ROGERS would be a horse of a theme entry if you ask me.
Z!! you can do better than that. here:
MR ED ROGERS would be a horse of a different theme entry if you ask me.
Be careful, commenters. We don't want Frantic to leave us again.
ReplyDeleteAnon 12:50,
ReplyDeletePlease, tell me the magic word or words that will prompt Frantic's departure. Ya know, so I know what not to say.
Some actually liked this “themed” Monday? I would have been embarrassed to send this anywhere, much less the Times. With over 200 submissions a week (says Shortz), choosing this must have been deliberate. I wonder about the dynamics of his group. Does each get one vote, is it an autocracy, will we see a tell-all in the future, will votes be revealed? Some in the group I would think would like to dissociate themselves from such drivel.
ReplyDelete@Anon 12:46 - I don’t know that I can do better but you did. ππ½ππ½ππ½
ReplyDelete@Froth - Illegitimi non carborundum*
*If you know enough to complain about the “Latin” then you should also know enough not to complain
First thing that caught my eye was the NE/SW 4X4 mini-puzzle layout with only one letter leading into or out of each one. Not much fun to be had there.
ReplyDeleteI gave the side eye to 19A MIND being clued as simply "Brain". Not sure those are equivalent. Brain action being the cause and MIND action being the effect, okay, but that doesn't mean that cause and effect are the same things.
My first thought when I saw 34A "Ones with negative views on humanity" was MISANTHROPISTS. Since I am one I guess CYNICS works also. And yes I did notice it was part of a two-for-one plural of convenience (POC).
@pabloinnh and @Joe Dipinto, thank you for your sympathies the other day. Very much appreciated. That little imp of a cat did leave me with many fine memories, Pablo - best wishes for your older pair. Joe, Curtains is a great name for a cat -what a mental image! Nice Piazzolla - I hadn’t heard that one.
ReplyDelete@Nancy, thanks for your recommendation of the 3/8/15 puzzle. Timely, because it’s a Pi Day puzzle! Apparently I solved it online, so I hit Reset and I’m re-solving it today. Next will be @kitschef’s ‘best Sunday’ from 6/19/16.
@albatross shell, I wanted it to be WILSON T. WILSON. Didn’t know why, until I remembered Howard T. Howard. Former Principal horn with the MET, he started in 1960 and played there for 46 years. He also played with the Newport Music Festival, Lark Woodwind Quintet, Symphony of the Air, the Little Orchestra Society of New York, and the American Symphony Orchestra. Recorded for Nonesuch, Columbia, RCA, Sony, and Deutsche Grammophon. He taught that you have to be confident to be a successful horn player. With a name like Howard Howard, he surely had to be!
@Frantic, what @Z said!
The first show I ever saw of Mr. Rogers I tuned into a segment where he was explaining how frogs reproduced. I was 22. He used films and other props. It ended with a promise of moving on to chickens and other creatures in future shows.
ReplyDeleteWith his slow paced monotone delivery and wondering how graphic the films and diagrams would be higher up the animal line this did make for a creepy first impression. And brilliant nevertheless.
@Nancy....My absolute favorite all time puzzle was a Liz Gorsgi Sunday. It was her Guggenheim from Oct 18, 2009. I've yet to find a Sunday that has wowed as much as that puzzle did. Except all of yours, of course.
ReplyDeleteGive it a try.
Wish I knew how to send her blank puzzle but I'm betting you can find it.
@GILL I, I will check out that puzzle! @Nancy…’nuff said…if you get an online log-in you can solve AND because you haven’t solved it on computer before…you will get a BLANK puzzle! Problem solved @GILL I!
ReplyDelete@Beezer 4:11. Thanks! Also I'm pretty sure that you, too will love it.Let me know!
ReplyDeleteWhat would make this puzzle work would be using FRED ROGERS more clearly as the revealer, with a clue like:
ReplyDelete"Person who would like to be neighbors would 17A, 28A, 45A, and you." Just cluing it as another theme entry falls flat. So the puzzle was OK, but not great.
Anybody else start with jOey for 1A, little hopper?
You want to see some amazing HOODOOs? I highly recommend Goblin Valley State Park in Utah as a side trip from all the other spectacular scenery in and near Utah's 5 national parks.
ReplyDeleteVillager
Hahaha The *only* reason why I came onto rex's blog today - - and I mean, seriously, the ONLY reason -- was because I thought he said he was taking this week off and going on a long-needed vacation, and I was curious to see what his guest blogger might have thought of today's puzzle, and if their experience echoed mine.
ReplyDeleteAnd I start reading, and I'm like, "Wait, this is someone new? This sounds just like the rex I was hoping to avoid." And so I scroll down to the bottom and yeah, there he was. Did something change, or did I misread an earlier post?
In any event, since I didn't know any of the TV characters apart from FREDROGERS, and tried to spell DOH as DUH (never really got into The Simpsons, but it seemed an easy guess), this was an extraordinarily easy Monday with some real toughness inserted since I didn't have the cultural references down.
More importantly:
Wordle 268 4/6*
⬜⬜π©⬜π©
π©⬜π©⬜π©
π©π¨π©⬜π©
π©π©π©π©π©
I didn't love the puzzle but had no strong objections, despite not knowing two of the neighbors at all (KIMMY and WILSON) and only getting STEVE URKEL after a bunch of letters were already in place. FRED ROGERS was a peach but he does seem to be odd person out.
ReplyDeleteI really stopped by to say two things. First, COWGIRLS instantly brought back the title of a novel from the 1970s, which I absolutely loved at the time but can remember very little about now: Even COWGIRLS Get the Blues by Tom Robbins. I seem to recall it was a wild romp. With heart.
Second, in the very first crossword puzzle (called "Word-Cross Puzzle") constructed by Arthur Wynne and published in the New York World on December 21, 1913, DOH was one of the answers and it was clued as "The fibre of the gomuti palm." Maybe that will cheer up the non-fans of today's puzzle! I got that tidbit from Thinking Inside the Box: Adventures with Crosswords and the Puzzling People Who Can't Live Without Them by Adrienne Raphel, a fun read.
@Barbara S. DOH!, my gomuti palm!!! Have no idea what it means, but I love that you dug it up. I also remember “Even COWGIRLS get the Blues” very fondly. I don’t remember much about it, but I think the main character had huge thumbs and used them to hitchhike.
ReplyDeleteThanks for always finding the odd and amusingly related tidbit.
Great Lakes facts from the web
ReplyDeleteElevation (L to H)
O E H-M-tie S
Depth (Shallowest to Deepest)
E H O M S
Avg Depth (Shallowest to deepest)
E H M O S
WaterVolume (L to M)
E O M H S
Surface Area (L to M)
O E M H S
Lake Superior has an ear-shaped formation 500 feet down that has not been explored.
Lake Superior may also has an underground lake beneathe it. At one time the separation between them might have been punctured and repaired. Or maybe it's an underground river to Lake Ontario which is lower than Lake Superior because of the elevation of the two lakes.
Also if you have not visited Lake Michigan in 20 years it has been turning blue because of those pesty invasive zebra mussels. All info internet validated or misread.
"Even cowgirls" was made into a movie if you want a quick reminder.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteCYNICS RAVE, "IDO LOWERS!"
ReplyDeleteI HOPE COWGIRLS are THIN,
BSIDE, HOODOO them bloated?
But it's ODD IN the LINEN,
the ASSET should be LOADED.
--- BOB OATES
I didn’t know any of the neighbors besides FREDROGERS, so my solving experience was nothing to CROW about. Other than that, I didn’t MIND it. Bravo on your debut SH. HOPE you have many more.
ReplyDeleteGarbage. This puzzle should have been published in People Magazine, where sitcom pop culture is king.
ReplyDeleteNo, I take it back. It shouldn't have been published ANYWHERE. Too much three-letter junk fill. Too constricted, too choppy. And frankly, the insult to Mr. Rogers is beyond the pale. Mr. H: hold onto that day job. Puzzle construction is NOT your cuppa.
I agree with @jberg re theme. Since Fred Rogers is the only real person, it was about who might have been contemporary neighbors. Also why older characters not included, I think.
ReplyDeleteA tad late to the posting party. I almost had a one-letter dnf - on a Monday. Oh my. And I could not believe WILSON WILSON was correct. But twas. Otherwise, this was fine. Can't believe all the gripers!
ReplyDeleteDiana, Lady-in-Waiting for Crosswords