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Chen member of the girl group S.H.E. / FRI 4-29-22 / Victor Nobel winner for discovery of cosmic rays / Rhetorical question of self-deprecation / Where Oliver Hazard Perry said We have met the enemy and they are ours / Eerie-sounding instruments that are played without physical contact / An infant's mind according to John Locke
Friday, April 29, 2022
Constructor: Erica Hsiung Wojcik
Relative difficulty: Medium
Word of the Day: S.H.E. (44A: ___ Chen, member of the girl group S.H.E. => ELLA) —
S.H.E is a Taiwanese girl group whose members are Selina Jen, Hebe Tien, and Ella Chen. They formed in 2001 and are managed by HIM International Music but decided not to renew their contract in 2019 due to having their own management company.Since releasing their debut album Girls Dorm (2001), S.H.E has recorded 13 albums with sales totaling more than 10 million, and set ticketing records in each of their two concert tours. Widely regarded as the most successful and enduring Mandopop* group, S.H.E has also acted in seven drama series, hosted two variety shows, and contributed ten songs to six drama soundtracks.
*Mandopop or Mandapop refers to Mandarin popular music. The genre has its origin in the jazz-influenced popular music of 1930s Shanghai known as Shidaiqu; with later influences coming from Japanese enka, Hong Kong's Cantopop, Taiwan's Hokkien pop, and in particular the Campus Song folk movement of the 1970s. 'Mandopop' may be used as a general term to describe popular songs performed in Mandarin. Though Mandopop predates Cantopop, the English term was coined around 1980 after "Cantopop" became a popular term for describing popular songs in Cantonese. "Mandopop" was used to describe Mandarin-language popular songs of that time, some of which were versions of Cantopop songs sung by the same singers with different lyrics to suit the different rhyme and tonal patterns of Mandarin. (wikipedia)
• • •
[lyrics by Gerry Goffin, music by Carole King! first song by a Black girl
group to reach no. 1 in the U.S.!]
But SOLO PARENTING and especially "WHO AM I KIDDING?" are winners, and yes, very very good instinct to put "WHO AM I KIDDING?" dead center, as it is the best thing in the grid, so you may as well shine a spotlight on it! FLIRTATION / TEENAGERS is a cute pairing, but let's hope the FLIRTATION doesn't lead to an actual Romeo + Juliet situation. That would be, well, TRAGIC ... which both FLIRTATION and TEENAGERS cross! Nice (well, they cross TRAGICOMEDY, but let's just leave the -OMEDY out of this). Aside from the names, there wasn't too much difficulty today—I think this is another thing I didn't particularly love about the puzzle: difficulty coming from trivia and not (for the most part) from clever cluing. I gave Montreal a Côte Saint-LAC, which was dumb, if slightly comprehensible (had the "L" and the "C" and the clue seemed geographical, so I went with the lake and not the, uh, Saint). The THEREMINS clue has "Eerie" in it, which is fine, but ERIE is in the grid, and I definitely noticed the (aural) dupe. I learned the phrase "MAKIN' Whoopee" from "The Newlywed Game," though Bob Eubanks almost certain didn't drop the "g." Lastly, re: OHO!, I'll let this tweet speak for me ...
Dear crossword constructors:
— David Boring (@Koppa171) April 26, 2022
AHA is a thing, people say "aha!"
OHO is NOT a thing. Nobody anywhere says that shit. It's lazier fill than OREO or NNE or ERE or EER.
Save And Share :
128 comments:
After an easier-than-usual top half, the puzzle ended up being more challenging than a normal Friday for me. Not only did I not know any of the quintet of @Rex's "little names," I misspelled THERaMINS and -- worst of all -- had ScANDalOUS for the false and malicious 21D (puzzle was right, I was wrong). Needed Sergey and Larry to get me out of the mess I'd created.
way too many proper names.
What Rex said about the names. PPP comes in at 39%, so for the second day in a row we get a name heavy grid. Cluing ADEN with a baby product brand may be more inclusive than yet another Gulf clue, but it is still ese. And why, in an already name heavy grid, do we clue SAG as an acronym (Screen Actors Guild) rather than just as a word? Especially when crossing an aria at a vowel? I bet the number of people who finish with an O there will not be insignificant. Looking through the PPP, there are other places to lower the count, MESA, LAC, TEENAGERS, BIN, LAC, ALTO, HORN,… that’s the difference between a 39% and a 29% count. It doesn’t undo that ETNA/THOR/HESS corner, but it allows more wordplay and reduces the factoidism. Largest city in the U.S. that’s not a county seat? Really? I know some solvers love learning such trivia but give me word play, please.
Anywhoo… Not a difficult solve here. The ULCERS factoid clue got the arched eyebrow. The its said should have included “mistakenly.” It’s been a few decades since the bacterium that causes ULCERS was identified. PAIN RELIEVERS have also been implicated. Stress, not so much. Otherwise nothing slowed me down much. I’d say easy, but I fully expect to see much PPP-induced grumbling today.
And from out of the blue comes a new NYT constructor whose puzzle is so strong it feels as if it were made by one whose grids have appeared for a long time. This debut has no tyro vibe. It’s as though Erica has arrived fully formed.
Freshness from nine debut answers, including two of the three answers in that evocative center stack. Grid flavors from so many directions – Geography, popular culture, science, technology, philosophy, modern life, and more. Cluing with humor and wit. Obstacles to conquer, with enough cracks of light to reward the effort.
Freshness, flavor, and fairness. And most importantly, a tone, a personality, and a pleasing one at that. Most impressive, Erica, and I’m selfishly hoping there is more to come. Welcome, and thank you for this beauty!
A pleasant Friday solve with the Shirelles. What else could I ask for?
FYI "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow" was written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King. HERE'S CAROLE
There is an excellent recent episode of “A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs” about Leon Theremin consulting for The Beach Boys on Good Vibrations. He devised a simplified version of his original instrument that was easier to play on pitch.
When I read "Cher, but not Sonny" I immediately thought, "ALIVE?"
What..........too soon?
Unless I'm missing some kind of deeper Talmudic discussion or something, I'm pretty sure Torah is not spelled with an Aleph...
I’m with Lewis on this one. Fun, fresh, lots of personality, on the easy side (despite my knowing almost none of the PPP) but not insultingly so. A great Friday puzzle, my personal POW. More like these, please!
My one little nit to pick: in my book there is, and will always be, only one singer named Ella. Still, glad to learn about S.H.E. Now I’ll go check out some Mandopop. Or are they Cantopop?
I think the influence of PPP is not absolute. It depends on the "wheelhouse" effect for example. For me, it also depends on how interesting it is. MESA, as clued today, is interesting. Rapper names or "songs" are never interesting. And I actually prefer PPP to the alternate universe clues that result in "Ok, if you say so" instead of "OHO, that's a good one".
The presence of THEREMINS and TABULARASA in the grid is a pretty good indication that I am not in the target demographic for this one. Still don’t understand the NYT team’s fetish for “county seats”. It seems has though we have a geography question related to county seats at least once a week. How many times does your (or anybody’s) “county seat” come up for discussion at the dinner table - once a year, once a decade ?
Is ERIE the OREO of lakes ? The cosmic ray dude crossing the name of a website is an unfortunate side effect of cramming so much PPP into your grid that they start stepping all over each other. Maybe up the word play and lighten up on Nobel prizes and niche websites a bit.
@Anon7:16AM - But the clue isn’t about the spelling of the word “Torah.” The “a” of Torah? is better understood as “what is the equivalent of the letter ‘A’ in the Torah. In other words, what is the Hebrew equivalent of ‘A’?”
Both “of” and “?” are doing a lot of work in this clue. And, I think, the trap is set to intentionally misdirect the sort of person who knows there is no ALEPH in the Hebrew spelling of “Torah.” In fact, like you, that was my first reading of the clue and if you hadn’t commented I might never have realized how clever the clue was being.
I can appreciate your justification but I still feel like that clue is just straight up wrong. They should have picked a different word that actually does have an Aleph in it.
Thx Erica, for a challenging Fri. puz! :)
Med-hard.
Started poorly with RAFTS, but couldn't make sense of the cross, so came back at the end, ran the alpha, and finally came up the the 'W' to make WASH.
Ended with a dnf at THEREpINS / pIA. Initially, wanted MIA, but the 'p' sounded better for the instrument. :(
The three long center crosses made for tough sledding.
Nevertheless, a worthy battle; time well spent. :)
@okanaganer 👍 for 7 straight! :)
___
yd's 0 (lucky guess for final word) / WH: 2 / Phrazle 2 (thot I might get it in one) / Duo: 33
Peace 🙏 🇺🇦 ~ Compassion ~ Tolerance ~ Kindness to all 🕊
This puzzle was hard for me. I started it Thursday evening late when I was about to tire out. After about an hour, Left 3/4 of a puzzle unsolved. Finished this morning in 20 minutes; The final solve wafted my way when I realized that a raft floats but is not a float, because a rash just isn’t clean.
Very enjoyable. Very inventive clues, and everything I hadn’t heard of was crossed by something rock solid.
I was a little put off by the clue for NOSE RING. They are for everyone. Add “stereotypically” to the clue and I’m fine.
I’ve only been in a GENIUS BAR once, when we were thinking about getting a Apple tablet. A very unpleasant experience and one that absolutely convinced us to go Android. The attitude seemed to be “if you don’t already know how to use this, you’re not cool enough to own one”.
Apparently, I was not alone. With the SHIRELLES crossing ELLA Chen, it made me wonder how many solvers know both. I'm old so I know the SHIRELLES but never heard of either S.H.E. or ELLA Chen.
@Anonymous 7:16 AM - OHO! I was waiting for that comment. I fell into that trap, too. Then I realized...the question mark...why the question mark in the clue? Because it's not the "a" in the word "Torah"; it's the (sort of) equivalent of "a" *in* the Torah. Which of course is not really linguistically accurate—aleph is the glottal stop, not a vowel. But also of course, the letter name "aleph" is related to the Greek "alpha" which is indeed "a" in the familiar sense. And if I'm not mistaken, aleph is used to represent "a" in Yiddish orthography (although that is sort of neither here nor there).
@Zed 7:36 AM - Egg zackly! Shoulda known you'd respond to this one before me, you early bird you.
As some of you know, I'm still sort of a crossword sophomore, and I found this puzzle very enjoyable and, in the context of my own sluggish timing, probably easy-medium, especially for a Friday. The very terse clues like "clean," "brims," and "dalliance" scared me at first glance...but upon taking a deep breath or two, I actually got them pretty quickly. I think I may be getting the hang of this. But then again, WHO AM I KIDDING?
This kicked my behind and apparently I’m the only one who found it a joyless slog? Too many proper names and I thought the long answers were groaners.
@MiBS - Especially early this morning because the chihuahua decided vomiting on the bedspread was a thing she would do. Good Morning! I was running the washer before Rex posted. As for your comment on yesterday’s thread - Yep. Also, since @beezer started shortening your nom de blog to MiBS I’ve decided to be lazy and do the same.
Agreed
Again this week - some decent stuff here but unnecessarily glommed up by too much trivia. Like Rex - thought the FLIRTATION, TEENAGERS was cool - I’ll add WHO AM I KIDDING to the list also. ELLA, ADEN, RAMOS? Felt like ERIE is missing Lake.
Embroidered all her stories with SLANDEROUS claims
Enjoyable enough - but not a top notch Friday.
"The theremin (/ˈθɛrəmɪn/; originally known as the ætherphone/etherphone, thereminophone[2] or termenvox/thereminvox) is an electronic musical instrument controlled without physical contact by the thereminist (performer). It is named after its inventor, Leon Theremin, who patented the device in 1928.
The instrument's controlling section usually consists of two metal antennas which sense the relative position of the thereminist's hands and control oscillators for frequency with one hand, and amplitude (volume) with the other. The electric signals from the theremin are amplified and sent to a loudspeaker." (Wikipedia)
___
td pg (over 30) 😔 at least there's this: Wordle 314 2/6* 😊
🟨⬛🟩🟨⬛
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
Peace 🙏 🇺🇦 ~ Compassion ~ Tolerance ~ Kindness to all 🕊
I DARE YOU TO CALL THIS NOSE RING WEARER A PUNK!
Fun, fresh Friday. Today I realized TABULA RASA has an equal number of letters as BLANK SLATE, so had some erasing to do. Caused me to think SOLO PARENTING was ARK COMPANIONS. More erasing!
Who am I kidding, thinking I can solve Xwords? But it finally all played out well.
@zed 8:40 - been watching too much of the Depp/Heard trial; your chihuahua vomit on bedspread made me think of the GRUMPY (Depp term) for the FECAL DELIVERY (another term coined by Johnny - and possibly the worst name imaginable for an overnight express service) allegedly left on his bed by an Angry Bird named Amber.
What an OHO! moment for the poor housekeeper!
Another "aural" dupe that Rex missed. ERR-ERE. Don't yell at me. I'm well aware that ERR(AIR) can be UR is in ER... ER....UM.....
I’m not a fan of the new method of commenting on the phone app. I haven’t complained because I wanted to give it a fair try but yesterday my comment vanished in a black hole. Not nice.
This puzzle though was surprisingly nice considering how much fill was a mystery to me when I started. I ended with only one error, the G in GASOL. ELLA, HESS, RAMOS and ALLEN, who are these people? They are worthy, I’m sure, but a bit obscure in my personal universe, however the long answers were marvelous and gave the puzzle the punch I was hoping I’d see.
Agreed! And, to me, OHO denotes an element of surprise, while AHA leans toward discovery. Thank you, Erica!
A few sparkles I noticed: Abutting palindromes OHO and ERE, the backward BATS next to TBALL, the gorgeous WAFTS, and ALPO-ALTO, which, by moving the P, becomes a California city.
This one was full of Good Vibrations for me (har). Looked at 1A. thought "clean" = WASH? Is it that easy, well yes it was but due to some interruptions by a four-year old I actually started with the GASOL boys and worked up form there.
Am quite familiar with Montreal, so knew LUC right away, and nice to see more of Canada with PEI in there too.
No idea about ELLA as clued but, and not to brag, but, (drum roll please:)
Our doo-wop group The Charades, actually opened, on stage, for The Shirelles, which was probably the highlight of our twenty plus years together. There was a nice after party where we got to mingle and they were all gracious and charming. I still have the autographed poster from the event.
OK, so bragging.
So congratulations on a very nice debut, EHW. Clearly the start of an Extra Happy Weekend for me, and thanks for opening up the old box o' memories for me. Good times.
Waddyano, milord: N a.nnames,names!
I really enjoyed this puzzle - a great meld of solid and lively. A couple of the longer answers I knew right off, but most I had to work for and was rewarded not only with the usual feeling of accomplishment for figuring an answer out but with one smile after another, as in SOLO PARENTING followed by WHO AM I KIDDING. Speaking of which:. What's on the MUSIC STAND in the THEREMINS section? (Probably not the SHIRELLES or "O patria MIA.")
Do-over: WARMED up. Never saw: ELLA (good, as I didn't know). DNF: MLS x LASOL.
Of course I am one to complain about the amount of PPP. I am consistent I think regardless of whether it is in my wheelhouse. I agree with Z: crosswords should be more about wordplay than PPP trivia. So add my voice to those who disliked the amount of PPP today. Too bad, because the rest of the puzzle was enticing. I guess I would call it a schizoid puzzle, half constructed by someone like Berry and half constructed by an inexperienced constructor who has to cram as much PPP as possible into the grid.
As Z points out, many of the PPP entries could have been clued as non-PPP entries. Who to blame, the constructor or the editors? Wish I knew who to blame.
And wish I sounded less grumpy. I'm not as picky as I think I sometimes sound.
Hey All !
Toughie here. Stalled out with 3/4 done. Had to look up Jazz Whoopee, which in hindsight should've been easy. But that let me see the rest, and finished, albeit with a DNF. Had dIA for MIA, RoSA for RASA, and MmS for MGS. Oof. The name mASOL was unfamiliar, but with names, you never know. I've heard of GASOL. Drat. Also have never heard of that ESP-played instrument. Har.
Guess that's it. 😁
yd -1 (argh!), should'ves 1 (easy 4, and I'm a Steeler fan!) / Duo 36/37 (missed 1-3-10-(and a stupid miss, thinking I had already used a letter, and didn't see it yellow-highlighted in the grid) 18. But, first three guesses had an R then an O then an O in second spot of each word, giving me 32 ROOs! Good stuff.
One F
RooMonster
DarrinV
On Fridays, I unapologetically look up all the people names. Otherwise there would be a lot of boos for the puzzle. There's no chance I will know the Friday names, the crosses may or may not help, and afterward it would be nice to know why (and mostly why not) this cavalcade of anonym-oti appears in my day. Nice to learn about ALLEN, RAMOS, HESS, ELLA, SHIRELLES, and the GASOLs.
Yay:
FLIRTATION (I was once good at that)
TEENAGERS (a word laden with cultural presuppositions)
ULCERS (looks cool in the grid... didn't know they aren't caused by stress)
SOLO PARENTING (brave)
WHO AM I KIDDING (great!)
I'M EASY (heh... probably not)
GENIUS BAR (hilarious in so many ways)
MUSIC STAND (finding one that isn't broken is the purpose of my days)
WAFTS (sounds like what it is)
TABULA RASA (it's nice to know something smart you just write in once in a while)
TRAGICOMEDY (greatest play ever if you don't count Shakespeare)
THEREMINS (useless fun)
Boo:
The clue for USED VEHICLE says "On the road again. They're on the road STILL.
What could have been an outstanding Friday brought down considerably by obscure Propers and trivia. I suspected debut constructor based on that alone. THEREMIN, TABULARASA and a Taiwanese girl group. What? Are they TEENAGERS? I’m no GENIUS I guess because this was definitely in the neighborhood of slog for me.
I vaguely recall what a FLIRTATION is. Started with AN OPEN BOOK for a toddler’s mind and the RONDELLES for the oldie MUSIC group. IM EASY and try to live and let live but occasionally a NOSE RING is just TMI. Yes it’s your choice but I really don’t want to see it, and there’s no way I can even BLUR it when it’s sticking right out there in front of your face.
What’s on schedule for the weekend? TBA
Pain Relievers is a much better answer than Pain Medicines yet I hung on. And Tragicomedy and Existential both have eleven letters but boy did I feel smart remembering something from Lit 101.
Hoisted on the petard of my own ego. Had to do a check or I'd have been at the thing for hours. Liked it though.
Lots of guesses this morning on some of the ridiculous PPP futzing up this puzzle and I came here to find out if I had guessed correctly:
On the HESS/THEREMINS (What on earth?)/ARS__Technica thing, I guessed right.
On the mASOL/MmS thing I guessed wrong.
So I guess I'm not standing at the "GENIUS BAR" today -- whatever the heck that is.
I suffered a great deal during the solving of this TRAGICOMEDY of a puzzle -- and not in a good way. All the names were enough to give me ULCERS, but I found the cluing difficult too -- either very vague or very peculiar. Feelings of hurting from physical pain do not really equal "hurt feelings." I don't think the pun works. How long was that USED VEHICLE actually off the road? I mean they don't sit IDLE in the used car lot forever. And the clue for SOLO PARENTING is extremely cute, but also completely misleading as far as the part of speech is concerned.
I did get a challenge today, but mostly the wrong kind.
"I learned the phrase 'Makin Whoopie' from The Newlywed Game". Good Christ !
The bottom and top thirds were mostly easy, the middle was tougher. Having rEno before MESA didn’t help and erasing MAKIN to put in rEno just made things worse. Smooth and solid with an interesting center, liked it. Nice debut.
Googled HESS. Surprised at MESA... I had the M and 3 blanks and could not think of a USA city that would fit other than Moab and MESA but thought, no those are too small. Liked the GENIUSBAR clue. I had Pack before PILE, and going across was _AINREcEIVERS. So that took a bit to unwind. Nice puzzle, I enjoyed it
This one was h-a-a-a-rd!!! Right, Joe?
Phrazle 26: 2/6
🟩🟨⬜⬜🟨🟪🟩🟪🟩🟪⬜ 🟪🟪⬜⬜🟪🟩 ⬜⬜⬜⬜🟨🟨🟨⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
Well said, @Zed!
Man, oh man, this one was TOUGH for me. I walked away from it twice with excellent results but still managed a DNF at GASOL because I had MLS which I thought at the time wasn’t “tiny” but the ole brain just didn’t think of grams. Still, I was delighted to suss out SOLOPARENTING and WHOAMIKIDDING. Hey. I was happy that I figured out what I did today without a cheat!
@kitshef, some may call me an apple vender since I have a MacBook, iPhone, and IPad. I’m really not but I have NEVER visited the Genius Bar. I think when the store opened near me I walked in, thought…are these people crazy…and walked out. I got the info I needed online and from knowledgeable coworker Milennials and ordered online. You hit a “bad Apple” (pun intended) because I have never felt I was the subject of an eye roll when I’ve CALLED the support line.
@Mike in Bed-Stuy…(MiBS)…only if you want the abbreviation! Btw…you made me laugh because my text friends and I started doing 🥚Zactly, to just 🥚.
A wonderful substitute teacher I had in high school taught us a trick for who/whom. You read the part of the sentence following the who/whom and if it’s natural to add “him,” you use whom. If it’s natural to add “he,” you use who. “I don’t know who/whom is bringing the cake.” You would say “He is bringing the cake,” so here it’s “who.” “I don’t know who/whom I should blame for this.” You would say, “I would blame him for this,” so here it’s “whom.” Thus, 33A should be WHOM AM I KIDDING?
But, as Reb Hillel often said, "Lighten up. It's just a crossword puzzle. It's not the Torah."
@Mike in Bed-Stuy
Without a doubt, of the myriad things I enjoy about my daily coffee klatch here in Rexville, my absolute favorite is learning from the denizens. This is a formidable neighborhood of folks with such varied and fascinating experience. I truly enjoy all of the tidbits of knowledge that come my way. As a believer in the adage that nothing learned is ever wasted, I shall, spongelike continue to absorb. Your comments on ALEPH are a case in point.
A 22 minute Friday and I didnt even know half the stuff I wrote in. Alpo makes kibble ? Thor had a job ? O Patria is MIA ? What the hell is a "genius bar" Seiously. "Err Aden Ere" "OHO, how cool is that line? Hey look ! Esso crosses gasol(ine) !
If you're going to clue a singer named "Ella", always go with a Taiwanese girl band. And S.H.E. used to be managed by HIM.
Happy Friday. That's all folks.
Enjoyed clever clueing and fun answers.
No way could I know all the PPs
Hooray for the Shirelles!
❤️ Will you still love me tomorrow… now there’s an ear worm. ❤️
🤗🦖🦖🦖🦖🦖🤗
So much heartbreak in this wrenching puzzle. Not just any pair of “flirtatious teens:” it’s Romeo and Juliet. Juliet never actually said “I’m easy,” (38A) as Romeo may have hoped, but the pair was teeming (5A) with ardor (43D), till they met their tragic crossing, as Rex noted. Finally the dreadful “stab” at 47D.
And the classic lines from The Shirelles and Carole King:
Tonight with words unspoken
You say that I'm the only one
But will my heart be broken
When the night meets the morning sun?
What a boring and uninspiring puzzle. Except for Theremins a total yawn.
Should I MOSH? I had my moments...I suppose getting ALPO, RAMOS and THOR in my attic counts for something. But I did ask several times: Who in ALEPH BANTU are these people? Why is BIN sitting up there as a TSA item at checkpoint? Why isn't it a gun? Is that an open secret?
Did anyone else fill in WHO AM I FOOLING? Just KIDDING.
I enjoyed this...then I didn't. I liked it...then I didn't. This felt like it was trying awfully hard to scare the pants off of me. It did in places such as that poor baby's mind being afflicted with TABULA RASA. I've never heard the word THEREMINS. GASOL? Who dat? Yikes...parts were very hard.
I didn't like all the names but I did like some of the longs. I even managed to get them all and so I did do some OHOing here and there. Smiles.
I did like the TRAGIC COMEDY oxymoron. They are seriously funny.
@kitshef: Sorry about the nasties being flung your way at the APPLE store. I've had nothing but good service while waiting at the BAR. Drinky-poos anyone?
This was a two pot puzzle. My daily solve always begins as soon as a fresh pot from my little 4 cup (6 oz cups seem such a silly “official” measurement) percolator is ready. Early in the week, I have leftovers; today two whole pots. The PPP nearly got me and I freely confess to some WAGs in order to finish.
As usual though, my biggest problem was myself. Somehow, I misread or simply failed to read 1A and ended up with rASH across and rAFT down both of which seemed to “look” just fine, particularly against the jumble of blank spaces throughout the remainder of the grid as I stumbled around trying to find a way to finish. After filling all the other squares, it took me a good long while to change my errant ‘r’ to the correct ‘W’ and earn my happy music.
But for the middle stack, I doubt I would have made it through. I did love the clever clue, “Music stand?” particularly there almost at the end after a real bare knuckle throwdown with this challenging Friday. I agree with @Lewis; fir a NYT debut, this one’s a de-beaut!
OHO, @ bocamp 7:51
I could. not. find. my. typo.
Rafts... early on I thought, hmm, rash for clean, is that some neoligism? And forgot all about it.
Silly me.
Is it just that I'm across the pond or does Blogger look different to you all as well???
I agree with David Doring - how would one even pronounce OHO - O-HO or OH-O? My pet peeve for the day os bad clue editing. Kibble is by definition dry food while Alpo makes canned dog food. They are not the same things as any pet owner knows!
@The Joker:
what??? Sonny was never alive, just a Satan's Zombie from Hell.
@Zed:
so, for the goyim in the audience, what is the transliteration of 'Torah'?
but, @7:47, what Hebrew word, transliterated or properly translated, would we goyim know has Aleph?
as often as not, I slap the mat on Friday and Saturday. I got through this one with only a few write overs: edges for TEEMS in particular. puzzle was still legible when I finished.
yeah, but, most people say 'further' always because they think it sounds smarter than saying 'farther' always. same motivation as 'eeeeether' or 'iiiiither'. and so on. YMMV.
I agree that there are too many names but thought this was an excellent debut. Especially liked the clues for SOLO PARENTING, MOOS, and MUSIC STAND.
Had to look up THEREMINS after the solve and discovered that one who plays such an instrument is a THEREMINIST. So I suppose that one who drives a previously owned car would be a USEDVEHICLIST?
Convincing myself that a SOLO VALENTINE was a thing did not help…
We once spent a night on a boat in Halong Bay in Vietnam. Among the sites we toured was a floating village which has a variety of houses and other buildings. I noticed that many houses had TV antennas. I asked what the villagers watched on TV, and was surprised to hear (in heavily accented English), “Mostly Carole King.” I was delighted to hear this, since I know Carole King personally, but it seemed very unlikely. After asking the guide to repeat it several times, we realized that he was saying “Mostly karaoke” with the accent on the final syllable. The next time I saw Carole I told her this story, thinking she would be amused. She looked at me blankly and said, “I guess I’m not very popular in Vietnam.”
Liked the puzzle, PPP and all. S.H.E. was new to me, but crosses were fine. Thanks for a nice debut, Erica Hsiung Wojcik.
I will defend OHO as being part of a memorable exchange in a Bugs Bunny cartoon:
Bugs, in stereotypical Irish cop voice: "All right, where's Rocky, where's he hidin'?"
Bugs, as himself: "He's not in this stove!"
Bugs, as Irish cop: "OHO, he's hidin' in that stove, eh?"
Bugs, as himself: "Now look, would I turn on this gas if my friend Rocky was in there?"
Bugs, as Irish cop: "You might, rabbit, you might."
I had Tramicomedy for Godot for a hot minute.
cue spooky intro
I like a number of answers in this puzzle, but the cluing... that MESA clue is right out of Wikipedia, and the clue for ADEN – okay we see from your picture that you're a parent, but you have two other long clue/answers related to the subject, so stop already.
I also thought it was maybe a little too easy for a Friday. I can see now that it does contain an excessive amount of proper names but that didn't really bother me when I was solving it.
From the 1960's British variety show Sequins And Stonehenge, here's yet another girl group.*
Oho! Well, well, well...what have we here?
Phrazle 26: 2/6
🟪🟪🟪🟪🟨🟨⬜⬜🟨🟨🟨 🟨⬜🟨🟪⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜🟩🟨⬜🟪
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
*They couldn't always film at Stonehenge due to the Thamesmen having an extended residency there, so sometimes they used other sites with ruins and stuff.
I've seen the word "ohoho" used in a text when paraphrasing someone else's condescension. It was very effective, I knew exactly what they meant.
Oh no they can't take that away from me!
I have no idea why this word popped into my head as a starter, but Holy Cow!!!
Wordle 314 1/6*
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
A fun fast Friday. It's hard for me to know exactly how easy it was because my brother called me last night as I was about to finish and I lost track of my time.
ALLEN, RAMOS, HESS and ELLA we're all unknowns but they are common easily recognized names and well spaced. ADEN not quite so common but the crosses were all fair.
Why I'm familiar with LUC and GASOL I have no idea.
USED VEHICLE has a whiff of Martian speak about it. I picture a New Yorker cartoon of an E.T. walking into a car dealership and saying " Take me to your USED VEHICLE."
THEREMINS paired with SHIRELLES was the highlight of the puzzle for me. @bocamp I think THEREpINS sounded correct to you because of the word terrapins
I liked PAINRELIEVERS and MUSICSTAND. THEREMINS and SHIRELLES are ok with me. I thought a small dose was in mcgs so it was a guess for GASOL. All the little names were guesses but they worked out.
I don’t hear OHO in real life but I associate it with English mysteries. Emphasis on the Ho!
FH
David Boring is simply wrong. 'Aha!' is the comment made when one is surprised, as in, "Here's the trick: you just twist it like this to open it". "Aha! Thanks." as in "Aha! I get it now."
'Oho!' is what one says (infrequently) when someone lets you in on an obscure and potentially illicit fact. "He got that job because he offered to get the boss's daughter into USC". "Oho! Now I see." as in "Well, that explains it!"
And there's no need to use foul language to make a point, especially an incorrect one.
@Nancy – well we both got the Phrazle in 2, so I guess it wasn't that hard? I feel like I'm on its wavelength.
@Hartley70 and other phone posters - At the bottom of the post is a link to the web version. You can then click on the post a comment link and get the same comment box as you would on a computer. I do this (when traveling) because I cannot log into my account from the mobile version. But it may be helpful if whatever “improvements” have happened continue to cause you problems.
@Anon 11:34 - I’m not the best one to ask but Wikipedia provides תּוֹרָה
@pmdm - Rex has said a couple of times that if it is the grid blame the constructor, if it is the cluing blame the editors. At least in part this is because the editors have final say over the clues. So that NE corner is on Wojcik, but all those PPP clues that didn’t have to be are on Shortz et al.
@Anon 11:24 - Googling before commenting saves embarrassment.
@andrew - I’ve seen on Twitter that lots of people are following that trial. Just not my cuppa. If anything, I’ll wait for the Rashomon style docudrama to come out. I assume there’s a deal in place…🤣😂🤣 - I know, probably too cynical of me.
Horace Slughorn uses the phrase "oho" in the Harry Potter movies.
In objecting to clues and/or answers, this column often repeats a complaint like, ‘No one anywhere says…’ or ‘Literally nobody in the world says…’. It’s hardly worth bringing this up to defend an answer like “OHO”, although I have heard that word used from time to time. In many other cases, the complaint seems to be a result of the author speaking from the standpoint of his own particular culture , when in fact the word may be a regionalism or other culturally specific term of which the author is unaware. It is easy to accept obscure words that are common in one’s own experience or culture, and then object to language that comes from the experiences of others, or from a region of the country that one doesn’t know well.
I suggest listening to the podcast, A Way With Words”, which has a great way of encouraging people to accept language that may sound “wrong”, but in fact is correct usage given the culture of the speaker.
I definitely consider the MGS/GASOL vs MLS/lasol cross to be a textbook Natick.
I guessed correctly only because GASOL seemed more correct.
Screw Boring--I say OHO!
@Zed:
@Anon 11:34 - I’m not the best one to ask but Wikipedia provides
OK, so html/javascript/whatever won't let a carriage-return work after Hebrew, so look down yonder. whom knew that?? but you beg the question, which was, what English translation/transliteration of what Hebrew word yields a glyph that an English literate person (presumably an 'A') would recognize an respond "in Hebrew, that thing is Aleph". we goyim have no idea what that thing down yonder is. not even how many distinct glyphs it constitutes. we have been told that Torah contains no Aleph in Hebrew. how can the mono-lingual English speaker know that? or is it the case that Aleph is neither a glyph nor a phoneme in iiiiiiither language corresponding to 'A' in English?
תּוֹרָה
@egs – Oho! Nice.
OHO! Our Dear Leader again makes me wonder how he ever got that PhD in English. OHO! is the only short word that conveys, "What do I see here?" Aha! is the word we solvers often use to mean, among other things, "Oh. I never knew that." Or, when you find your lost glasses, "Oh! That's where I put them!" If you have raised TEENAGERS, and catch them canoodling with their boyfriends, you are having an OHO! moment. Best left unsaid, I suppose. The difference may be subtle but it is quite real.
DNF for me because I misspelled THEREMIN and was wondering what ULCaRS might be. THEREMINS were pretty common in the golden age of Acid Rock. OTOH I did take Philosophy 101, so TABULA RASA went right in. Loved Locke, and Plato of course, but hated most of the other featured authors, and switched my intended major to History.
@egsforbreakfast (12:06 PM) 👍 for your ace! :)
@puzzlehoarder (12:15 PM)
Yes, I didn't know that at the time, but upon later review, came to the same conclusion, although 'pin' seemed like a plausible instrumental thing, as well. 🤔
@Anonymous (12:38 PM)
Very well put!
@Nancy & @Joe 👍 for Phreagles! :)
___
Finally nailed one!:
Phrazle 26: 1/6
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
Peace 🙏 🇺🇦 ~ Compassion ~ Tolerance ~ Kindness to all 🕊
Woohoo, @egs and now @bocamp!
There must be Good Vibrations in the air because I guessed the Mystery Country in Globle on my first attempt, which is nuts:
🌎 Apr 29, 2022 🌍
Avg. Guesses: 8.19
🟩 = 1
#globle
GENIUS BAR was among the many entries that got an aHa/OHO here in the city by the lake. Spent many happy times in the Spokane Apple store not from any iProblems, but because both grandsons enjoyed playing with the kids apps stations thoughtfully placed in proximity. Never a cringe from iPersonnel either. Always nice to see new names as constructors and blog respondents and today’s grid provided both. Hand up to join those perplexed by PPP, but equally happy to join the many who found the clueing a consistent plus … but do 49a & 48d really need the question mark crutch? Come on it’s Friday.
@Nancy 10:41. I don't do the Phrazle but I'm guessing there are a lot of "a"s in it today.
@Anon1:00 put ALEPH in the old google machine and it will take you to א.
Note that א cannot be seen in תּוֹרָה
Now, if you are feeling especially brave, type in “Hebrew Alphabet” into the Google Machine and you can probably figure out exactly which letters תּוֹרָה are.
Very fast solve... 12 minutes. No type-overs that I can recall!
I loved those long answers, and also the clues on SOLO PARENTING and USED VEHICLE. Wanted TEEN ----S... I dunno what exactly, just something less generic for R & J.
[Spelling Bee: yd 1:40 to pg (new record!), but took ages to get the same last word as bocamp. QB 8 days straight!
By the way, dbyd OFFENCE was rejected... note according to Google Ngram it is used 10,000 times more often than that last word from yd. 10,000!! Sam, Sam, Sam.]
As others have pointed out, the "aleph" answer for "The "a" of Torah" is a gross error, even with a question mark. Torah is spelled tav, vav, resh, hay, as the many Hebrew-literate solvers of the NYTime XWord know. There are other common Hebrew words that could have been correctly used, starting with "Amen".
Re Wordle:
always fun
@Joe ty :)
globle is fun! :)
___
🌎 Apr 29, 2022 🌍
🔥 1 | Avg. Guesses: 4
🟥🟥🟥🟩 = 4
#globle
Peace 🙏 🇺🇦 ~ Compassion ~ Tolerance ~ Kindness to all 🕊
@Joe Dipinto (1:53 PM) 👍 for globle ace! :)
___
Peace ~ Compassion ~ Tolerance ~ Kindness to all 🕊
This puzzle’s self-descriptive entry at 38A, I’M EASY, was true except for the MGS/GASOL cross. First thought was ccs, then milliliters - never considered the gram variety. Gasol/Lasol are on equal footing chez A.
Two great entries, TABULA RASA and THEREMIN, plopped themselves down without any effort on my part and set the tone. Tried class- ISt before ISM, but MOSH seemed more likely than tOSH.
Keep your mitts off OHO, @Rex and your twitter dude! I protesteth, verily - OHO is welcome at any puzzle faire in my shire.
Wouldn’t have said I knew either girl band, but somehow The SHIRELLES WAFTed through the ether with just the H in place. Maybe I do know them - guess I’ll have a listen.
So Sonny couldn’t sing ALTO?
Liked this one a lot, except for the unnecessary PPPing of a few words. Especially HORN - show some respect for the most dangerous instrument to play. Fun fact, HORN and its western neighbor SPIEL combine to form the German noun for horn playing: HORNSPIEL. There is proper respect.
I imagine by the time I post there’ll be several THEREMIN videos, so here’s some very calming ALTOHORNSPIEL. This is actually written for ALTO HORN but rarely played on one.
I'm no scholar, but I think the problem some people are having is that in Hebrew, vowels as letters are not written out, but sometimes are indicated under the appropriate consonant(s)
Why the hell would anyone argue over a transliteration? The universe can't decide whether it's ALEF or ALEPH, or whether it's silent or not. Anyone here think they can solve that issue? Seriously, people can't decide if it's silent or pronounced as an A.
@Kitshef - I think your second paragraph was mangled by auto correct. I'm assuming you said "Nose rings/studs/bolts/etc are an abomination. Unless you're a bull, there's no excuse for them."
My big girl got put on hospice care today. Luckily for dogs, hospice care is all the steak/ice cream you can eat. And no PAINRELEIVERS, we're going for PAINKILLERS instead. And that study that just came out, about how genetics don't matter in dogs personality? Bullshit. No way could I have been a part of creating such a friendly, loving, fun-filled dog. At best, she was born that way & I just didn't screw it up.
@Bonnie Buratti:
the many Hebrew-literate solvers of the NYTime XWord know
the United States has the second-largest Hebrew-speaking population, with approximately 220,000 fluent speakers (see Israeli Americans and Jewish Americans).
the wiki
even if every last one of them worked the NYTimes Xword, that would still be a so unfairly advantaged minority of the NYT readership: 5,496,000 (the wiki) Make America Goyim Again!!! (for those who don't get the gag)
Agreed. And especially coming from someone who says some fill is lazy. What’s lazier than profanity?
I'd give Ms. Hsiung Wojcik a pass on using an obscure Taiwanese girl group, especially as someone who supports cultural inclusion ism. Especially cuz her hame is generically female. And short. I'm not a great end of week solver but I got that obe.
Some good stuff, in this FriPuz:
* The Jaws of Themelessness. Landmark markins.
* There were 15 longball answers of 8 letters or longer. 9 of em were NYTXword debuts!
* THEREMINS. Primo schlock flick concert soloists.
* Intriguin ISM clue: {End of class?}. Immediately sucks U into splatzin ESS in as yer answer.
* MAKIN. An M&A fave entry, along with: THEREMINS. NOSERING. WHOAMIKIDDING. GENIUSBAR.
* Funny {Stock exchanges?} = MOOS clue. Ditto for {Intro to America's pastime} = TBALL, without a ?-marker warnin.
staff weeject picks: ERR & ERE. And ERIE, too boot. Just an EERIE entry away from the puz quadrafecta.
no-knows: RAMOS. ADEN. GASOL. ALLEN. Nuthin the solvequest nanosecond pool couldn't handle, tho.
Thanx for the slightly IM-notso-EASY fun, and the PAINRELIEVERS, Ms. Wojcik darlin. And congratz on yer outstandin debut.
Masked & Anonymo5Us
moo-cow easy:
**gruntz**
I was trying to think (for Wordle 1): what word did @egs plunk in at the outset to end up with a hole-in-one? I failed miserably at reading his mind and ended up with a par. I have no idea what made you choose that word, @egs, but hearty congrats for your 1. (FWIW, I've never had a Wordle hole-in-one.)
Even more impressive, at least to me: @bocamp had a 1 (hole-in-one) on Phrazle!!!! Having played both games, I think that Phrazle comes a lot closer to eliminating the luck element and rewarding pure skill. Big (and envious) congrats to you, @bocamp!!!
It shows me that, as successful as I've so far been, there are much bigger Phrazle hills still to be climbed! :)
Liked the puzz. Found it to be a smooth solve, on pace for a Friday. Favourite moment was eventually remembering TABULA RASA. That part of my brain wasn't quite wiped clean it appears. Enjoyed the old-timiness of OHO, and as Gary Jugert noted, it hasn't disappeared. I have used it on occasion in a jocular way with the lads, and I am mid-30s. Pedantary on words not being fresh and hip, or out of usage in your particular dialect of English, are tiresome to me. DNF on MGS/GASOL.
I recommend this website: Hebrew spelling.whocares
I have three Apple devices, but have only been to a Genius Bar. The nearest Apple store is 110 miles away and there is only one in the state (Iowa). Somehow I manage.
My first entry was Gasol....We all know different stuff.
Hmm....posted over 45 mins ago and nothing yet, so I'll test with a congrats to @Joe, @Nancy and especially @bocamp on today's Phrazle results. Here's mine:
⬜⬜🟪⬜🟨🟩⬜🟪🟩⬜⬜ 🟪🟪🟪🟩🟨🟩 ⬜🟪🟪⬜🟨⬜🟨🟪
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
OHO, what do we have here? A brand new clue for a very old grid fill staple, SNL (22A), making its 217th appearance during the Shortz era.
Yes, thanks for asking, I did notice that 8D MOO & 20A TEENAGER plus 11D THEREMIN & 34A PAINRELIEVER all came up one letter short of their designated slots. Each pair only needed a shared S tacked on at their ends to easily and conveniently overcome that problem. Two for one POC to the rescue!
I don't think stress would give me an ULCER but having to listen to a THEREMIN for more than a few seconds at a time surely would, probably multiple ULCERS.
I wonder if that USED VEHICLE (24D) would benefit from a coat of GREEN PAINT.
When I was growing up in rural Tennessee long ago in the previous century (long ago enough that I immediately got 30D SHIRELLES) the only NOSE RING I ever saw was in a farm animal. It made them easier to lead around and control. Can't unthink that when I see a human with a NOSE RING.
Maybe it didn't reach the level of ARDOR but I definitely WARMED TO this puzzle when I got TABULA RASA and TRAGICOMEDY dropping down next to each other. Had there been a lower number of black squares---36 is a lot for a themeless---there might have been more room for delightful fill like those two.
I vow to never forget THEREMINS. lol
Friend Genia appropriately visited the GENIUS BAR at the Pacific Center Mall Apple Store in Vanc. recently. Looking forward to hearing what she learned.
@okanaganer (2:13 PM yd) 👍 for new pg record and for 8 in-a-row! :)
Yes, 'offence' would be a logical investment for Sam, esp since 's' never gets used.
@Nancy (3:50 PM) ty 😊
Thot I might have aced it a couple of days ago with 'king of the jungle' (not); gave me some good letters for a phreagle, tho. :)
@A (5:19 PM) ty; 👍 for your Phreagle! :)
___
td pg -10 / sedecordle: 18/21 (find these tougher than duotrigordle) / duo: 34/37
Peace 🙏 🇺🇦 ~ Compassion ~ Tolerance ~ Kindness to all 🕊
Could have been worse. Could have been Korean script.
I’ve only once been to a genius bar. michaell
First run through didn't net much so I thought it was going to be a long day, then the long clues added up and I was on my way home, but I didn't know TABULARASA, so the unknown crosses of LAC, ADEN, and ELLA left this a DNF.
Another sticker was, and I didn't read the comments enough to see if anyone else commented on this, but it's TEEBALL, not TBALL. You hit he ball off of a TEE, as in golf.
@Pete 2:46p - I’m sorry to hear about your girl - I hope she’s comfortable.
I was surprised by MESA ... both its size (over 500,000) and the county seat trivia. Since they're not technically parts of a county, Washington DC (nation's capital) and Baltimore (independent city), I guess they aren't considered to be cities that are larger than Mesa that aren't county seats?
@Pete 2:46:
Ay Dios Mio. Let me let out a big WAAAAAAA. Without a doubt, genetics and the dog fairies put the friendly, loving fun-filled happy face in our pets. They ask for so little and those that love them, give them all the love the want. Call me if you need a shoulder.......
WHO AM I KIDDING? Me finish? Well I got WHO AM I KIDDING and started looking up most of the names I didn't know and eventually finished if that counts.
Was I the only one who put in blank slate? Or maybe clean slate. When the crosses didn't fit I remembered TABULA and a couple crosses did the RASA recall.
Loved the TBALL and MOOS clues.
The sparkle Rex was missing was the sparkle of the whole puzzle or that is the puzzle as a whole . Clues and clues, answers and clues, answers and answers. Maybe if I knew more I'd throw grid in there as well. In any case the whole is greater than the some of the parts. That's why he liked it so much without the sparkle of the long answers. He kept finding things he liked while he was trying to find stuff to dislike.
I read the Torah clue and decided ALEPH the A in the book Torah and not the word Torah. It seemed logical enough to me.
Returned to this mess (reflects my solve effort, not the grid) one last time before the stroke of midnight to again scan it to find my error. Turns out I was fixated on filling the clue "FLOATS" as rAFTS (v. WAFTS).
Took me all day to sort out the problem with rASH as the fill for "CLEAN". ;(
Re ALEPH: Properly the 'A' ia a 'kamatz' which is the name of the vowel that shows up as the 'a' sound in the hebrew word Torah. this clue displays an appalling ignorance
Well, no one seems to have mentioned it, so here's a clip of Jimmy Page using the theremin, in "Whole Lotta Love" from Led Zep's "The Song Remains the Same."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPhXm-UPfEU
OHO! (nope, not OHO) I forgot - I'm old, but even I know they're just edibles, not POTBROWNIES. Driving around yesterday I saw a 80yo Hippie with the hugest pot-belly ever wearing a Pink Floyd hoodie doing the old man shuffle down the side walk, and wondered who should be embarrassed - the Hippie or Pink Floyd. Even that hippie knew they're edibles, not POTBROWNIES, and the dispensary is only a short drive away.
Since when is MESA (AZ) the largest city in the country that isn't a county seat? What county is New York City the seat of? It's made up of five counties (boroughs), so it can't be the seat of all of them, can it?
@Robert Lockwood Mills ... NYC is a special case. Each of the five boroughs is a separate coextensive county and each of them are considered to be a county seat.
I live in Cote Saint-luc. It is a small suburb off Montreal. Even people in Montreal don't know about it. this is hysterical
Even in Yiddish, there is no aleph in Torah - it's still spelled תּורה, without an aleph. This clue is just unambiguously wrong. Which happens.
@sanfranman59 - I'm pretty sure that this is a flat-out error. Washington is the correct answer to the clue.
As someone with zero interest in the NBA, crossing _ASOL with M_S (tiny dosage units) was brutal. Coulda been any letter for me (certainly an L or M seemed justifiable). I acknowledge these players might be household names to sports fans, but it was a mystery for me.
Hard. And not much fun. TABULARASA killed me. I’ve been stung by it before. Never again. Clean slate. Also ALLEN Klein was a complete unnknown. The SW corner was a blot fest. ELLA Chen? Really? Why - when there is the Queen of Jazz? Not enough OHO moments. Time for a couple of PAINKILLERS.
PS - The 49D-49A crossing was a bit of a guess on my part. But I guessed right. Went with the G in MGS and GASOL. This puzzle has a touch too many of these proper-name Naticks for my taste.
Good Friday puzzle, chock full of interesting words. The cluing could have benefited from some more experience--yet I loved "Stock exchange?" for MOOS. Can a group be DOD? Why not? Congrats, SHIRELLES. If no, then give it to Carole King. Even long before she performed WYSLMT in her latest concert, I knew it was hers. It's just so Carole-King-y.
The girls were my first entry, but I stalled in the SW and worked from GASOL, the other gimme. This was another learning opportunity: THEREMINS. Amazing. Glad all THOSE crosses were fair. Birdie.
Another disappointing par, as this time the birdie putt stopped on the very edge of the hole:
YBGBB
BBGBG
YGGYG !
GGGGG
Clearly LUC was a gift (merci beaucoup) as was MAKIN but my lack of NBA smarts gave me MASOL (and almost ULCERS) at 51A. Otherwise SAGged only at the 29A/25D crossroads.
In the HESS lottery, glad that VICTOR was the victor rather than the far more notorious Rudolf.
Even with this name-fest of a puzzle I only needed about 6 letters to help me finish it. And no, GASOL was absolutely not a gimme for me. But I got the "MOOS" joke right away. And the good old SHIRELLES. So fine.
Diana, Lady-in-Waiting for Crosswords
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