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Safecrackers in old-fashioned slang / SUN 4-17-22 / Cartomancy medium / Broadway musical centered around two girls in love / Expecting in slang / Kicked the ball between the legs of in soccer slang / Chrysler offering of the 1980s / Orchestral prelude to an opera / Plumbing pipe known as a trap / Title Disney character from Hawaii / Othello character who quips they are all but stomachs and we all but food
Sunday, April 17, 2022
Constructor: Emet Ozar
Relative difficulty: Easy
Theme answers:
- REGGAE BAND / PEGGED (39A: Bob Marley and the Wailers, for one / 35D: Identified)
- BOOTLEGGER / NUTMEGGED (32A: Rumrunner, e.g. / 10D: Kicked the ball between the legs of, in soccer slang)
- VEGGES OUT / YEGGS (42A: Chills / 38D: Safecrackers, in old-fashioned slang)
- LEGGO MY EGGO / ARPEGGIO / PREGGERS (64A: Breakfast brand tagline / 48D: Chord whose notes are played in succession / 54D: Expecting, in slang)
- BEGGED THE QUESTION / KEGGERS (96A: Engaged in some circular reasoning / 91D: Beer parties)
- REGGIE / WINNIPEGGER (106A: Name that rhymes with "edgy" / 73D: Resident of the capital of Manitoba)
A pencil moustache is a thin moustache found adjacent to, or a little above the lip. The style is neatly clipped, so that the moustache takes the form of a thin line, as if it had been drawn using a pencil. A large gap is left between the nose and the moustache. The line of facial hair either breaks across the philtrum, or continues unbroken. In some versions, the line of hair extends vertically along the outside of the philtrum before stopping just below the nose, leaving the philtrum unbridged. (wikipedia)
• • •
The EGG business needs more of a sense of purpose. "Hunting" a random number of EGGs does not seem like a substantial enough premise for a damn NYTXW Sunday puzzle. The puzzle needs something more. It's just an EGG rebus. Sincerely, who cares? Nothing clever is going on here At All, unless you count the very, um, creative "EGG" words that pop up here in there. I know what nutmeg is, but not NUTMEGGED (despite my ignorance, I think this is easily the best answer in the grid). I know Winnipeg, but WINNIPEGGER (currently red-underlined by my software, unsurprisingly) is new to me. Seems like a reasonable thing to call yourself if that's where you're from, I guess. Something shorter, like a WINNIE, would've made more sense, and would've avoided the potential sexual connotation of "PEGGER," but who am I to dictate nomenclature to Canadians? VEGGES OUT looks abominable and felt abominable as I was writing in. I can accept VEG out, but somehow when you go to two "G"s it all goes to hell. Not sure how else you'd spell it, but it looks atrocious. I do like PREGGERS and BOOTLEGGER and especially ARPEGGIO. "LEGGO MY EGGO" is supposed to be the marquee answer, but it's basically product placement, so I don't Love it. Anyway, the EGG answers are the only source of interest in the puzzle. PENCIL MOUSTACHE is a great answer, though a. I thought MUSTACHE was spelled without the "O" (my software is definitely agreeing with me—angry red for MOUSTACHE), and b. PENCIL MOUSTACHE looks super dumb hanging out there in a long theme answer position with no EGG in it. Its counterpart, BEGGED THE QUESTION, has EGG. But no EGG in the m(o)ustache. Oh well. The concept feels extremely thin, and the execution wonky. Not sure what else to say.
I had no trouble solving this one, that's for sure. The EGG dropped (!) real early. Right ... here:
After you figure out that it's a rebus, there's not a lot left to figure out. I didn't struggle or get surprised by a single EGG answer. Usually, even if you know the rebus, those as yet unfound squares can cause at least a little havoc, but today: none. Zero. My mistakes were routine. LOTS OF before ATONOF (8D: Many, many). Actually, that might be my only true mistake. Nope, wait, I had one other mistake, and it was probably my favorite moment of the solve today. When faced with 60A: Bea Arthur was one before her acting career, having the "MA-" and "-E" in place, I plunked down MADAME, thinking "Wow, really!? Damn, that woman had a *life*!" Soooo disappointed to find out she was merely a MARINE. I guess the brothel-running kind of MADAM generally has no "E" at the end. I was ready to accept it as a classy variant. And then there's LON (and then there's LON!). An apt name for a landscaper because LON / "lawn" ... you get the picture.
- 69A: It's spineless (EBOOK) — I don't love EBOOK as an answer, just as I don't love most E-answers as answers, but this is still a great clue. Cute misdirection.
- 67A: Covered in long, soft hair (PILOSE) — just like the Speaker of the House
- 76A: Orchestral prelude to an opera (SINFONIA) — haha I thought this was just a foreign (Italian?) word for "symphony." Try as I might, I'll never be "cultured." It just won't take.
- 113A: Cartomancy medium (TAROT) — the movie "Cléo from 5 to 7" (d. Agnès Varda, 1962) opens with an overhead shot of a TAROT reading, in color (the only part of the movie that's in color). I'm telling you this because I just saw the movie today, for the first time, and every frame is a miracle and I'd rather watch "Cléo" again 1,000 times before I ever saw "Breathless" again.
I am slowly becoming a Varda apostle. Has she even been in the grid before??? No!?
Stunning ... only not that stunning, considering OZU has never appeared either *somehow* (what in the world are you waiting for, constructors!?)
Fun fact I just found out: OZU once sported (... drum roll ...) a PENCIL MOUSTACHE!
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112 comments:
Lots of fun this puzzle was, though I was hoping to find an "afikomen" hidden somewhere, too. Oh well ...
What is "True Bloods"? And Anna Paquin was in it in addition to True Blood? That's a coincidence. I assumed it was a misdirect.
I 'd have been ok with the themer if this puzzle didn't end up in a natick SLOG. WSJ/JETE... OK, the pun got past me on that one, my bad, maybe, but LILO/PROM? My guess was LILi/PRiM, wbich still seems pretty reasonable to me. Then PAQUIN/VANS... had guessed that but then talked myself out of it and went with PAQUIl/VAlS... stay with your first hunch, I guess, but I grow tired of this kind of gursswork around all this PPP...
I had MOE instead of LON and I still like it better.
Welcome to the wonderful world of Agnes Varda!
Medium. Fun Sunday. Reasonably smooth grid, seasonally apt, a bit of crunch, liked it. Nice debut!
Very easy Sunday puzzle. Got the EGG thing right away with R egg AEBAND, followed by BOOTL eggER. The rest was just sniffing out the other eggs.
Only hang up was at 61D Chinese qipao, no idea, and 76A SINFONIA (not an opera buff) Lucky guess with the DRESS.
Puzzle partner gave me WINNIPEG egg EN, helped a lot down there.
Fun puzzle.
Wasn't it Winnipegger?
Lame! and I don't mean the fabric.
@rex has valid complaints in his review. What he didn't point out is that three of the 14 "EGG" words are not EGG but EDGE; REGGIE(with edgy in clue), ARPEGGIO, and VEGGES. One more weakness in this theme.
Found this puzzle joyless & somewhat inaccurate. Sticky notes (20D) are SMALL & are for SHORT messages - addresses, phone numbers, contents of boxes, etc. If you can fit your whole brainstorming idea on a sticky note, it was more of a brain sprinkle! Ridiculous answer!
Also, veggesOUT (42A) paired with OUTie (43D)??? Lastly, if you’re from the NY metro area, as well as other parts of the country, LON (82A) sounds nothing like lawn.
With its weak, insubstantial theme, this puzzle was no omelet - more like rotten eggs!
Interesting that Rex likes PREGGERS as an answer.
From his 4/17/19 review: "Winced at PREGGO (that and "preggers" just... no)... cutesy euphemisms for normal bodily things make me cringe"
My prediction is if Varda ever makes a puzzle we won’t get Agnes but rather this.
I was not expecting Pooh Kink in my Easter puzzle. But I guess it’s kind of apt for an ode to spring fertility rites and traditions…
36 EMILIA appearances. A couple EMILIA Clarke/GOT clues, a couple region in Italy clues, almost all the rest are Othello clues except for this GEM from 1948: Peregrine Pickle's lady-love. Somehow I missed those Adventures.
That ¥ symbol was hard to read. Briefly mistook it for a ☧.
Not bad for a debut.
@Marcy - Sitting in a group of 3 or 4. Throwing out ideas no matter how ridiculous. Jotting down all the ideas on Sticky Notes. Posting the notes for all the groups to see. Having the larger group sort through and discuss the ideas, maybe even drawing connections and new ideas from the BRAIN STORMed ideas. I’ve been a part of this little tableau numerous times. I’ve inflicted this tableau on others. It is probably in a textbook somewhere on how to run an effective BRAIN STORMing session.
@rex -- PILOSE, Speaker of the House ... Hah!
Is it Emet or Ernet?
A most lovely cap to a most lovely week of puzzles. This was fun, playful, and kept me guessing at answers all the way through.
I liked the PuzzPairs© of PREGGERS / KEGGERS and ODD / STRANGE. I zapped right back to that Jimmy Buffet song at PENCIL MOUSTACHE, and to Danny Kaye in “The Court Jester” at PESTLE. I loved BOYO, which I’ve never heard before. The Libra in me smiled when SOBER balanced out KEGGERS, and (beer) MILE.
But mostly, I was impressed with the cluing, a charming mix of definitional, vague, wordplay, and visual clues, which, at turns, stymied me, made me smile, and, when needed, provided footholds. The cluing was fresh and inventive. For instance, we’ve never seen a clue like [People in a long line, perhaps] for RULERS, or [Gross sounding plant?] for YUCCA.
It’s audacious enough to debut in the NYT with a Sunday puzzle, Emet, and salute-worthy when you mightily deliver. Congratulations, and thank you for this GEM!
As an astronomy enthusiast, when I had _E_EB for “Big star”, I was soooooo hopeful for DENEB.
PELOSI isn't PILOSE. Cousin Itt, now HE was pilose.
What bothers me is that the EGG was not missing, only the double G was missing. Does anyone else see this? Liked the idea, though.
@Lewis plagiarized Joe Dipinto. (Yesterday's blog 10:30 P.M.)
As an opera singer and producer for 40 years, SINFONIA has nothing to do with Opera - at all. I cannot think of one opera I have sung or produced that was introduced by a sinfonia. It is an Overture which has the same amount of letters. This constructor needs to be more careful.
I'm constantly amazed how something that really gripes my rump doesn't even get mentioned. Today, it's BASSTUBA, which has NEVER been uttered by anyone. Ever heard of a sopranopiccolo? Me either.
Why do NYT constructors get to just make shit up??
Plunked down overture before SINFONIA and refused to accept that it was wrong. That slowed things down quite a bit.
@Greg 6:09 — I have long suspected Rex of being a hypocritical blowhard. Thanks for doing the research.
Liked it, but agree the theme was a bit weak. Was looking to see if the EGGs were outlining something. In hindsight, though, I suppose it wouldn’t be much of a hunt if they did.
“I am the egg man
They are the egg men…”
@Zed - thanks for letting me know. Having never participated in a brainstorming session like that, I wasn’t aware.
@anon 7:37 -- Hah! Just a happy coincidence. I never saw Joe's post, but am honored to be residing in the same wavelength!
Thx Emit; wonderful Easter egg hunt creation! :)
Med.
Smooth Sun. puz; always surprised when I finish with no errors (so many ways to make careless mistakes).
Good start in the NW and rest of the top; moved steadily down to finish at TRIES (which was my only ??). I didn't know 'essays' could mean TRIES. Had the clue been 'assays', I'd've had no concern. So, I learned something there.
Otherwise, pretty much on the right wavelength for this one.
A light and enjoyable Sun. xword; loved it! :)
___
yd pg -5 (pretty tough) / yd Phrazle: 3 (thx @Joe; these are fun!)
Peace 🙏 🇺🇦 ~ Compassion ~ Tolerance ~ Kindness to all 🕊
===
“Our goal is never revenge, just restoration. / Not dominance, just dignity. / Not fear, just freedom. / Just justice.” (Amanda Gorman from “Fury and Faith”)
I agree about the no egg awkwardness of "pencil moustache." There's egg on that answer's face.
Well, easier than normal Friday, impossible for me Saturday, and now this. I enjoyed the puzzle maybe because I understood the rebus theme early on (from bootlegger). I prefer when the rebus entries are not symmetrically hidden, so I liked this puzzle a lot.
Yes, Zed, it is in a textbook. When Bush the First was POTUS, he signed an order requiring WIN-WIN negotiations in the federal government. We were required to learn how to brainstorm. I forget which textbook we used when taking the class on brainstorming, and we used something different to tape all the suggestions on the wall. Mixed result, especially since some supervisors fought the process tooth and nail. And the edict was undone by W on his first day as POTUS. If nothing else, our labor contract was better written during that time frame.
And for those who observe Easter/Passover, I hope your holydays are fruitful (if that's the appropriate way to put it). One thing I do miss is being the organist during the three Triduum services and the Easter service.
Happy Easter! Thought it was very sweet how cute little decorated Easter eggs popped up. Not a dozen. Don't all sound like 'egg'. Not arranged in a shape. All true. But NITs. What's not to like about just a sweet little old Easter egg hunt? Found Reggae's first and Vegges last. Learned some new words (PILOSE among them), wondered how many here wont have used a MODEM, and now get to enjoy some meal prep, and will surely dust off the mortar and PESTLE. Fun puzzle, gorgeous day, lots to celebrate.
@Marcy 8:29 - Quit bragging. 😉🤣😂
I kid. Of all the various meetings I’ve suffered those were far from the worst. There were actually a couple that I would call surprisingly productive. And then there was the occasional facilitator who thought they already had all the answers. There’s nothing worse than being asked for your ideas and realizing the asking is purely performative. You don’t have to care what I think, but if you don’t care don’t waste my time asking. Those guys (and only occasionally gals) are the worst. Although… it does open up the later “I told you so” option.
Nobody has mentioned that the app showed actual Easter eggs in place of the rebus EGGs after the solve. Somehow made the puzzle only more lame…
The consensus thus far is that this one was pretty easy - there sure is a lot that is new to me, like BOYO, YEGGS, MOON (for “dream”), TRIES (for “Essays”), NUTMEGGED, BREA, PILOSE, ARPEGGIO, SINFONIA, . . . and even the EUBIE and ROSCOE duo. That was definitely not easy for me - it felt like I was wandering around on a Friday or Saturday hoping to find a new toehold but kept bumping into the PILOSEy stuff (like one of those recurring bad dreams where I didn’t study for the test).
@Jammon - don’t get your hopes up regarding the made-up stuff spontaneously disappearing, at least not with the current editorial regime.
If I lived in kiowa I might have a front LON, but I live in New York, so I have a LAWN.
Otherwise good puzzle. I am always happy when a YEGG shows up.What a great word.
Leisurely solve while watching tennis with my wife. Yes, this puzzle is "just" a rebus. No, it's not in any special shape, but then, Easter eggs are just randomly scattered around when hidden, no? My wife couldn't believe Bea Arthur was a Marine (why not?). Like others, I also thought of MOE before LON (82A), but MOE wouldn't fit. I had YAPS instead of RAPS for "Shoots the breeze" for a while.
The eastern part of the grid was the last for us to finish. Here in the NYC area, there's a radio commercial for a life insurance firm whose catch phrase is, "Big Lou's like you... He's ONMEDS too!"
Not crazy about EELS ("Dragon-roll ingredients")... Just because one makes it a plural doesn't mean it works well. Enjoyed EBOOK ("It's spineless"). I've been looking for our mortar and PESTLE - missing that kitchen TAGTEAM.
Maybe next year, we can hide the matzoh?
Hoping the confluence of three major religious observances brings the world some degree of grace.
Best to you all, observing or not.
Thought the Eggo entry was clever, even though it is an advert. Did not know about the echo at Abbey Road. Agree that the nutmeg answer is amusing and again, new to me. Love cooking with it, use a whole one and grate it. And Connecticut!
LEGGO MY EGGO???? Really??? I guess I have only myself to blame for muting all commercials since the mute button was first invented. The last ad tagline I probably saw was either "I can't believe I ate the whole thing!" [Alka Seltzer] or "Take it off, take it off, take it ALL off!!!" [Noxema Medicated Comfort Shave].
Oh, well. I guessed LPGA because what other 4-letter PGA group is there and so LEGGO MY EGGO came in just fine.
Finally, someone who uses BEGGED THE QUESTION properly. Thank you.
But, grammar-wise: "Lay down, in a way" for VEGGES OUT is doubly impossible. It's "lie" and it's a plural. "Lies down, in a way" is the correct clue. How did this evade/elude the editors?
The puzzle was engaging enough, but I'm still feeling miffed. Will Nediger and I submitted a similar (but I would claim more interesting) rebus puzzle that was turned down by the NYT a while back. Actually, it was a puzzle with two rebus answers. It had a "which came first, the chicken or the egg?" theme and the two rebuses were EGG and HEN -- alternated so that on some across rows the EGG came first and in others the HEN did.
Will sent it to me on a PDF back then and I managed to track it down in my email file (never a slam-dunk) -- then tried to copy it and paste it here. No such luck. I guess a PDF can't be copied? Anyway, just know that that's what we constructed a few years ago.
Knew something was amiss when NUTMEGGED would not fit, but it took until PEGGED to figure out exactly what.
Utterly unnecessary and distracting ‘?’ on that 15D clue.
A WORK O’ FART is intricately detailed and impressive? If you say so.
Ye gods, I hated those brainstorming meetings.
BASS TUBA is not a made-up word (except in the sense that all words are made up); it is two very common words that are sometimes paired.
It is, however, niche knowledge. NYTXW has a fondness for music niche knowledge (e.g ARPEGGIO, SINFONIA). Generally this means "wait on the crosses" for me.
@Colin - check the cupboard above the toaster oven.
A slog - but maybe Sundays have to be. Now in my twilight years, I do these puzzles alone. Way back in the day when I tended to socialize more on weekends, doing the NYT Sunday puzzle was a group effort and infinitely more enjoyable. Well, I wear the bottom of my trousers rolled ...
@Nancy, 9:15 AM: VEGGESOUT was the answer to "Chills," while "Lay down, in a way" went to ASSERTS.
I would love to see your chicken and egg puzzle!
I had no problem with EMET / ERNET (hi @Joe & @Lewis), since I had EMiT (my apologies Emet!). I did have to squint (altho apparently not good enuf, since I had an 'i' instead of 'E"), and definitely recalled the recent 'm' / 'rn' puz. lol
___
td pg: 15:08 / W: 5* (toughie)
Peace 🙏 🇺🇦 ~ Compassion ~ Tolerance ~ Kindness to all 🕊
My brain short-circuited and absorbed Saskatchewan where the clue said Manitoba. This left me trying to figure out a word for resident of Regina that had an egg in it.
Villager
I guess you never sang any Verdi or Rossini operas, then.
I’m with JOHN H , I love the word “yegg”
Want to second @RP’s comment about Agnes Varda and Cleo de 5 a 7, which I also watched for the first time recently. A deceptively simple film that is as profound, moving, and beautiful as any I have ever seen. I just bought the newly released Criterion Blu-ray set Complete Films of Agnes Varda, which looks like it will provide many hours of fantastic viewing.
Also last week saw John Waters’ schlock masterpiece Pink Flamingos for the first time since college, and was blown away by its sheer awfulness. Followed up with re-viewing his original Hairspray, also starring Divine, which was a marvel of sweetness.
Puzzle was quite OK.
Oops. I see that I mis-read 52A for 42A. The clue for VEGGES OUT is correct after all. Apologies to Emet and to the NYT puzzle dept.
I'm having some recent vision issues and it may be cataracts (to go along with other vision issues I've had for a while). I'm seeing a highly recommended eye doctor in early June -- because I'm a new patient, I couldn't get in earlier. Anyway I'm finding the puzzle clues a lot harder to read than I did last year -- even after getting stronger reading glasses.
got as far as the Bob Marley clue, said screw this and hit reveal word, and Man, am I glad I did. Everyone have a good time, I'm off to do something, anything, else. Happy Easter.
"Oh. Yeah. Ubend."
@Lewis – Like minds...I didn't expect anyone to see my yesterpost anyway, so all the better.
Don't have much to say about this puzzle, I wasn't majorly blown away by anything about it. It's just kind of...there.
The Egg.
@Zed, 6:16 AM:
Actually, you've got something there but not in that way...
Winnie the Pooh's name was indeed inspired by Winnipeg aka Winnie, a black bear from Canada who was donated to the London Zoo during WW1 and who was the inspiration for A.A. Milne's bear. So the original Winnie was a Winnipegger!
https://mojotraveler.com/the-real-story-of-winnie-the-pooh/
The vast majority of the teachers I had were women. I don’t remember any of them having a pencil m(o)ustache, but maybe I just didn’t look closely enough.
Hey All !
I know YEGG as safecracker from doing XW's. It stuck in the ole brain (amazingly) because it's a cool sounding word. When I got to that clue, I said, "wait a tic, is there another shorter name for a safecracker?" Left the clue, continued on until finding the hidden EGGs, and went back to see that indeed YEGGS was correct, and I've not completely lost it.
Managed to get puz 100% correct! Although a caveat, I did Goog for qipao, as my Chinese word knowledge is non-existent. (Well, maybe YEN.) SINFONIA is a WOE for unsophisticat me. EUBIE was a who? also. I'm sure some of y'all got those as gimmies.
Liked the dyed EGGs that popped in after completing the solve. Didn't like the non-plural pluralization of EELS. What's next, FISHES? TUNAE?
Overall a FunSunPuz. A debut, good on you Emet. (Har, auto-correct tried to change that to meet)
Happy Easter to all, regardless if you celebrate or not! I don't celebrate, say, Tom Kippur, but wouldn't be upset if someone wished me a Happy Tom Kippur. (If that's even a thing, but you know what I'm trying to say.)(Whatyoutalkinbout Roo?)
yd a banner brain freeze day, with -20 (Holy Bees!), should'ves a bunch
Three F's
RooMonster
DarrinV
Disregarding the incorrect spelling of VEGGES, was it so hard for the constructor and/or the editor to fix the clue on 87-Down ("Actress Anna of True Bloods"). Another error in the singular/plural category that isn't even up for debate (like pedants will do with Vegges); the show is titled True Blood. Singular.
Speaking of True Blood, my mother-in-law is friends with the author of the book series (Charlaine Harris). Harris put her house up for sale as soon as HBO gave her that huge check and my brother-in-law, who's a real estate agent in Harris's home town, was able to let us in to see where the magic happened. Wow! It looked like Charlaine literally dropped everything as soon as the tv deal was signed: there were clothes in the washing machine and dishes in the sink. And in the fridge was a bottle of True Blood, obviously a prop from the show, which I came very close to taking home with me...
I play the tuba and BASSTUBA is surely a real thing. I have one. It's smaller than the more common contrabass tuba (which most people know as just a tuba), pitched usually in F or EB. There are many variations like this with musical instruments.
Oh and I was so very happy to see it. Could not believe it at first since it was my first thought
It's been many a decade since the Easter Bunny came to our house to hide nests of colored EGGS, so I was surprised and delighted to be treated to this crossword version of an EGG hunt. I solved in the mag and put each EGG properly in a oval, wishing I also had my colored markers handy, one for every color of the rainbow. Plenty of fine long non-theme answers, too. Thank you, Emet Ozar - lots of smiles for this one.
Loved the Afikomen suggestion above.
And LOVED LEGGOMYEGGO in a puzzle. Aimed at my generation. Thanks.
When I saw today's title, I thought maybe we'd be on an Easter EGG hunt. Somehow, getting drawn into my random solving washed that idea right out of my head. Even seeing that the obvious YEGGS didn't fit in the grid didn't jog my memory. Only when I got BOOTLEGGERS did I say, "Oh yeah, there's the egg." It got a lot easier after that.
The grid is super interesting looking though I can't see any image that it represents. I laughed at Emet's comment at xwordinfo about her original grid art looking like the Donnie Darko rabbit - I would have enjoyed seeing that because I loved that movie.
Hah, I just got 38A, the symbol for a YEN. Lots of wine, beer and Lime-a-RITA in the grid. Also some Shakespeare and the wonderful Shelley quote. A fun fact about Bea Arthur that I didn't know. The lovely ARPEGGIO. The unknown SINFONIA and a really STRANGE clue for BRAINSTORMS.
Emet Ozar, this is a great debut puzzle and so timely also. Congrats and thanks!
I only know BOYO from a song on the London Calling album. Interesting to learn that it’s a Welsh expression.
Big Natick energy in that EUBIE/SINFONIA/Qipao region, but otherwise quite easy.
I don’t care that the puzzle was a simple rebus thing, I had fun this! Btw, if it hasn’t been mentioned the NYT app turned all my EGGS into little decorated Easter eggs…cute!
While I know a mortar and PESTLE is probably a must for really good cooks (I’m only fair) I tend to think of it as used by compounding pharmacists and as a flying vehicle for Baba Yaga. At any rate, I managed to get the answer with a few crosses.
Like @Zed and @Kitshef, I too have been subjected to the “facilitated” group brainstorming with sticky notes. At the time ours were called LEAN events. @Marcy, usually the sticky note had a “necessary” process on it…the notes could be moved around depending on whether the task should be done at an earlier or later stage. Most people hated them but you always get the folks in them that actually think they will radically change the organization.
I was familiar with VANS shoes but did not know they originated as skateboarding shoes. Likewise, I didn’t know their was a BASSTUBA but not too surprised.
@Nancy, next thing is you’re gonna tell us is you don’t know the Geico Gecko, LIMU the emu (and Doug), or Mayhem in the Allstate Commercials! 🤣 Anyway, The big insurance productions always make me think I could pay a lot less on my insurance if they scaled it down a bit on ad costs!
It seems like “Easter Eggs” is a term of art in crossword, meaning hidden gems that don’t matter to the basic solve. These Easter EGGs certainly matter.
The grid, by the way, looks like it could be a very large rabbit flexing his muscles and taking a poop.
In a recent New Yorker magazine, there was an article about Latitude Margaritaville, brought to mind by both 33A RITA (Lime-A-____) and 27A PENCILMOUSTACHE, which is responsible for the ear worm probably playing in the ears of many a Parrot Head out there right now. I’m referring, of course, to Jimmy Buffet’s song “PENCIL thin MUSTACHE (spelled without the “O”). Anyway, Latitude Margaritaville is the name of a number of relatively affordable senior-oriented developments whose residents are devoted to a very social, laidback lifestyle, fueled partially by alcohol. Buffet is the co-developer of these places, and they come across, in the article, as pretty appealing.
Congratulations on a fun debut on Easter Sunday (redundant phrase?), Emet Omar.
@Beezer: Along with an overabundance of insurance ads, I also wonder the same thing about pharmaceutical companies and their excessive TV and print ads.
DKW, et.al.: “(in the 17th and 18th centuries) an orchestral piece used as an introduction, interlude, or postlude to an opera, oratorio, cantata, or suite.”- Oxford dictionary. Took one second on google…
For all these years I've never noticed the parallel of the Easter egg hunt with searching for the afikomen at the Passover Seder. Duh! The best hiding place for the latter, I recall from my youth, was back in the matzoh box -- nefarious!
On another topic, Reggie, for me, will always be Reggie Jackson who brought me the greatest (baseball) joy by vanquishing the Dodgers in '77 and '78.
I do enjoy a rebus grid, but surprised myself when I got to BOOTLEGGERS, just sighed and clicked over to Ross Trudeau’s The Final Countdown for my Easter treat. I may be infected with Rex’s cynicism, but I really wanted more hunt today rather than the Sunday slog I sensed coming. I’m taking a hike and will give it a second shot later given the positive responses from several of the commentariat above.
@DKW: Sinfonia and Overture both can refer to music before a vocal performance of some sort. In today's common usage, the word sinfonia usually is used with music of the Baroque or earlier, commonly preceding an oratorio or a Baroque opera (Handel, for example). It evolved into the symphony as we know it, and does not necessarily contain music from the opera or oratorio. The word overture is usually used with later operas, and commonly includes tunes from the opera. The clue was a bit clueless.
@Auto-Corrupt
Holy cow. It's Yom Kippur. Yom, you stupid supposed-to-be-smarter-than-me-computer.
AHEM. That aside, I'm a Chuck Taylor guy, not a VANS guy.
Never saw the puz title! Odd, as I always look for it. Probably wouldn't have helped in the solve.
Maybe I'll be a YEGG later today. 😁
RooMonster Probably Not, I'm Too Lazy Guy
@Beezer (11:27)-- Well, yes and no.
I don't listen to a word the Geiko Gecko says, but because he's on "Jeopardy", he's therefore been forced down my throat (though he is kinda cute, I must admit) and I know he has something to do with car insurance. Though exactly why a gecko should have anything to do with car insurance I'm sure I can't explain).
As for "LIMU the emu", "Doug", and "Mayhem": I wouldn't know any of them if I fell over them.
Ha! Thanks @Nancy for pointing out the difference between lie/lay. Just covered this last week in my h.s. English classes.
Totally agree about the “?”. The clue is “Greek letter”, and the answer is a Greek letter. It looked like it was gonna be ALPHA, but I refused to write it in. Had to get all the crosses.
@pmdm (8:36) I was around when Bush’s edict came down and remember the horror of those brainstorming sessions. Much to my dismay, I was volunteered by my boss to be a Meeting Facilitator and yes I did have a textbook - a GSA special white three-ring binder filled with list after bulleted list of instructions. Then - in true government fashion as only the feds can - I was sent to KC for a two-day classroom training session where each bulleted list was projected on a pulldown screen and read to us line by line. Ever so helpful a learning tool.
We had a supply of flip charts and special markers so ideas could be color coded as we taped them to the wall. I think when I retired there were still a few of those flip charts sitting around gathering dust somewhere. But of all the pet political projects I witnessed over a forty-year career, that was one of the most “memorable.”
I was never so glad to see a program in that one.
I enjoyed solving this one. But I have a few 70Ds to pick. Like Rex, I thought it could have used a snappy reveal or some additional element to bring it to another level. Alas, it was not to be. Also, that SW corner bit me in the @ss. Had BLue not BLUE. Not fair in my opinion especially with the Spanish and acronym being the crosses. Still, not too shabby for a debut NYTXW. So Bravo to Emet Oxar. As for the editor, maybe he should reserve Sundays for more seasoned constructors and save the Monday and Tuesday slots for newer constructors I enjoyed solving this one. But I have a few 70Ds to pick. Like Rex, I thought it could have used a snappy reveal or some additional element to bring it to another level. Alas, it was not to be. Also, that SW corner bit me in the @ss. Had BLue not BLED. Not fair in my opinion especially with the Spanish and acronym being the crosses. Furthermore, an eSD is a real thing. Some kind of crypto currency I think, so that sunk me deeper into the trap. Still, not too shabby for a debut NYTXW. So Bravo to Emet Oxar. As for the editor, maybe he should reserve Sundays for more seasoned constructors and save the Monday and Tuesday slots for newer constructors
@Anonymous (11:51) You are sure right about the big pharma ads. And they will turn around and pass those excessive costs on to Medicare and the insurance companies who will be forced to pay their inflated prices. Quite a racket.
Not only are Manitobans not afraid of the connotation of having "pegger" *inside* "Winnipegger", the term is routinely shortened to just 'Pegger. To go along with the city's nickname of "the 'Peg", of course.
Happy at least to see BEGGED THE QUESTION correctly defined - I'm piqued every time I hear someone use it to mean "raised the question." It really refers to someone using the thing to be proved as one of the premises of their argument.
PS - How come nobody - not even Rex - pointed out it’s blue cheese and not BLEU for 96D. The clue should have been fromage ______ instead of _____ cheese…. Yes. I pick NITs.
The clue is " A Greek letter?" and the A refers to ALPHA in the Greek alphabet, therefor the ?
Having lived there, I can say it is Winnipegger. Or Winterpegger, depending on the month you're labelling yourself.
Always impresses m&e, when somebody can debut with a SunPuz. That's a giant hunk of constructioneerin work, for a relative beginner. U wonder what exactly egged Emet on, to persevere.
fave stuff: BEGGEDTHEQUESTION. SINFONIA. YUCCA. UBEND [debut U-word].
staff weeject pick: USD. Brave lil weeject … usually there ain't many U's splatzed onto the bottom puzgrid row. Emet really wanted that 8th U. Commendable. Possible better clue: {3/4 used??} = USD.
WINNIPEGGER. har. Probably a perfectly valid answer, but … har. Begs the question of: MONTREALLER or VANCOUVERER.
Thanx for the fun hunt, Ms. Ozar darlin. Primo egg plantin debut.
Masked & Anonym8Us
p.s. Happy Easter, to all my Comment Gallery bunnies out there.
**gruntz**
Well I understood OFL's frustration with a random number of EGGS perfectly. When I asked my granddaughter how many EGGS she found at her preschool's Easter egg hunt she said six, and I immediately said six? Why six? Why that number and not some other? She had no good answer either.
Actually I thought this was fun. Caught the rebus early and went on the EGG hunt like everyone else, when I was done I took some colored pencils and filled in all the different egg shapes I had put in the rebus squares, making a very jolly looking Easter crossword. OK, I didn't, but reading about what happens with the app almost made me do that.
Hey @egs-nice to see someone else refer to a "pencil THIN moustache", which is the only way I've ever heard that. A PENCILMOUSTACHE sounds to me like a hairy upper lip on a pencil, which is just silly. I know from moustaches too, since mine just turned fifty four.
Congrats on the debut, EO. An Exuberantly Ovate Easter, and thanks for the fun.
True Blood v True Blood was mentioned earlier. I looked up,Anna Paquin and she happens to be a Winnepegger!
I submitted a puzzle once with OZU as an answer. The word was rejected as an invalid answer.
Hello, Ms Ozar, and welcome to Charlotte! Thanks for a very nice debut puzzle! I can’t even begin to imagine finding
time to compose crosswords with three little ones underfoot!
@Marcy. You might try writing and submitting a Sunday puzzle before lambasting someone who has hd hers
accepted by the NYT.
@12:59
It really refers to someone using the thing to be proved as one of the premises of their argument.
Can we just admit that we should now just call it TrumpSpeak?? Or DeMentedSpeak?? Or LadyLindseySpeak??
As to UBEND, only if your a Limey. On this side of the pond it's a 'p trap'; named for the shape, not the stuff that morons put down the sink. From a L&O episode (more or less)
Stone: What's the difference between Lacy Curtain Irish and Black Irish?
Someone: No idea
Stone: The Lace Curtain Irish move the dishes before they piss in the sink
First, and likely, only time I've heard that.
Found the original, for your enjoyment.
A.D.A. Abbie Carmichael:
Why is everyone afraid of this woman?
D.A. Adam Schiff:
Regina's favorite joke. The difference between lace curtain Irish and shanty Irish...
Jack McCoy:
Lace curtain Irish move the dishes before they piss in the kitchen sink.
D.A. Adam Schiff:
Yeah. She's shanty Irish and proud of it.
Jack McCoy:
And so am I.
Let me tell you, leggo my eggo blew my f*ing mind. Had a lot of fun with this one.
@Lewis Love your routine positive spin on the puz and your kind words for the constructors. Even when I am disappointed or frustrated by a puz, you cheer me up. The counterpoint of you and Rex is like sweet and sour. Very pleasant.
Big Beatle fan here... can someone please explain the Beatle clue? Yes, the Beatles used an echo-chamber at Abbey Road for some songs (most notably the submarine banter in Yellow Submarine) but I wouldn't call that "famously". Seems like there are a million better ways to clue "ECHOED".
@JC66…what you said about ALPHA is how I sussed it with the ?. I was actually kind of proud I figured it out early but maybe you are suggesting it was spoon-feeding…if so, I probably needed to be spoon-fed. 😀
@Nancy…yeah, commercials are geared to the target audience and Eggo waffles and assorted breakfast cereals were usually in the children’s tv slots so the kids could bug their parents for Eggo waffles (of course with syrup or another sweet topping) and Trix (if for kids, silly rabbit)…At any rate, I don’t tend to record much on the “commercial” channels so I tend to either “zone out” or, slog through the commercials.
@Anonymous on the pharmaceutical industry and others who agreed. I have very mixed feelings on those although I do not like watching the ads. Some have to do with, um, rare or maybe overlooked maladies OR “biologics” that some doctors may be reluctant to prescribe. I’d be curious to know what a currently (or recently) practicing physician would say. One might say it opens up a conversation between patient and dr about the quality of life with a discussion about potential BAD side effects (which many seem to have). Not disagreeing with you…just don’t feel sure I have the same feelings (other than “this doesn’t apply to me and I can’t wait until it’s done”) thing.
I believe the show is “True Blood” not “True Bloods” which had me confused for a bit.
@Beezer
No, I was replying to @kitchef 9:16 & @Paul Rippey 12:45, who obviously weren't spoon fed. 😂
@wrollinson:
I'd be inclined to one or more of:
- what drives bats crazy in caves
- how Covid spread so fast from bats to humans
- what kind of chamber is Faux News
- what footsteps sound like in a mausoleum
- what kids to in answering their SATs
- what Qanon zealots say about PizzaGate - not much
Where I'm from (Michigan), LAWN and LON are not homophones, but I know from watching reality TV that Californians pronounce those two words identically.
Sheez. I thought the theme was missing EG (you know like e.g.). I was totally done with the puzzle before I realized it was an EGG rebus. That and lotsa Googling prove I still have a further journey into enlightenment.
WILT and OSCAR for 1a and 5a....I thought this would be an NBA theme
Moe is the only possible answer. This is the New York (Yawk) Times. In no part of the 5 boros are lawn and LON pronounced the same way. This is just wrong . Stop .
@wrollinson, late response and maybe not satisfying but apparently the Studio 2 echo chamber was “legendary.” I didn’t know this and luckily had enough crosses to get the answer. Good point that this was a “niche” knowledge clue. I have to admit, I personally “read” it as maybe the sound from the studio “echoed” into the street and I don’t think that was the gist of it.
“Merely a Marine” C’mon, Rex, you can do better. You probably didn’t mean to diss.
During World War II, Frankel enlisted as one of the first members of the United States Marine Corps Women's Reserve in 1943. After basic training, she served as a typist at Marine headquarters in Washington, D.C. In June 1943, the Marine Corps accepted her transfer request to the Motor Transport School at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Frankel then worked as a truck driver and dispatcher in Cherry Point, North Carolina, between 1944 and 1945. She was honorably discharged at the rank of staff sergeant in September 1945.[7]
Service, RESPECT
I doubt anyone is checking this late, but the very first rebus I ever remember doing was an EGGcelent puzzle dating back to 1977 or 1978 done with my boyfriend (now husband) and his roommate. It was Easter Sunday, New York Times. I was enchanted.
@tea73 – Jeff Chen posted a link to your 1977 puzzle in his comments about today's puzzle at XWord Info.
@BRAINSTORM troopers - 🤣😂🤣 - Nothing funnier than people taking a perfectly useful tool for one thing and deciding to mandate it for something for which it’s not an appropriate application. Like using a hammer to sand some wood. Brainstorming is a method design teams use to generate ideas to solve clearly defined design problems. (found on the web - sounds about right)
@Adam12 - Didja maybe consider that after his MAdamE mistake Rex was being funny with “merely a MARINE.”?
Re:The Grate LON doesn’t sound like lawn Controversy- Close enough for a pun.
beg the question - If you have ever thought that anyone has used the phrase incorrectly you should read the link.
True Blood is singular. How did that get past the editors?
I had real trouble in that spot, thinking it was a different Anna, and a different show altogether, so didn’t want to put in Paquin.
As a Canadian, I can assure you the demonym "Winnipegger" existed far before the term "pegger" did. All is well.
As they do 'caught' and 'cot'
I live in Winnipeg and we're referred to as Winnipeggers.
It's a terrible city - worst city on the continent. If you ever have the chance to come here, don't.
Re: “Leggo my Eggo.”
I remember from college that the Greek phrase for “I am speaking on my own behalf” is λέγομαι εγώ.
Still cracks me up. Oops— another EGG reference.
Saddens me a little that you think Bea Arthur being a MADAME would have been more interesting than her as a MARINE. Signing up as one of the first members of the Marine Corps Women's Reserve (in 1943!) Is far more incredible to me. Just saying.
Just got home from a trip and completed the Easter Egg puzzle. Brought a huge smile to my face because it was a similar rebus about 25 years ago that hooked me on the Sunday magazine puzzle. What a treat! Pamela.
100% agree
LATEST STRANGE POETRY
TAKEHEED about THE REGGAEBAND:
OPHELIA played THE ORGANS fast,
she would LEND an ELBOW and AHAND,
but they BEGGED for OPHELIA SASS.
--- DEACON ROSCOE TYSON
@thefogman - there is a BS2 to be found in yesterday's comments
Oh goody, eggs. We really stretched to create some of those entries, eh? Why not Winnipegian? The fill, too: BASSTUBA? You mean there's a tenor tuba? Or are we talking about Lance's personal instrument?
Bea Arthur was a MARINE? You go, DOD girl! Semper fi! OOH-rah!
Sorta fun, in a kids' way, finding those EGGs, even if the puzzle seems a little edgy, REGGIE. I'll give it a par.
Kicked off the back nine with a birdie, using a new keyword.* We'll see which is better.
YBBBG
BBGBG
GGGGG
*RATIO
I knew it was a blankity blank rebus puzzle. These are NOT crosswords - they are something else created for those who can't fit words into the allotted spots.
Ugh!!!!!
Diana, Lady-in-Waiting for Crosswords
"Winnipegger" is a thing. People say it. I've never heard anyone say Edmontoner, but Winnipegger, yes.
Forgive me, Bea, for conjuring up scantily-clad dancers. I had the
- - R I N E and thought there was an alternate spelling of CHORINE.
Yes, I'll do 20 pushups. (But only a couple at a time.)
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