Collectible disk of the 1990s / THU 9-8-22 / U.S. tourist locale that inspired this puzzle / Typically tortilla-less meals / What to do when you're not strong in a 1972 hit / 2005 biopic in which Philip Seymour Hoffman plays the title role

Thursday, September 8, 2022

Constructor: Matthew Stock

Relative difficulty: Easy


THEME: FOUR CORNERS (34A: U.S. tourist locale that inspired this puzzle) — rebus puzzle with the "four" involved state abbrs. appearing in their respective "corners" of the grid:

Theme answers:
  • SHUT DOWN / CUTICLE (14A: Computer menu command / 3D: Manicure target)
  • ON RECORD / TACO BOWLS (17A: Officially noted / 11D: Typically tortilla-less meals)
  • LAZIEST / MALE GAZE (58A: Least likely to get up from the couch, say / 37D: Key concept in feminist theory) 
  • "LEAN ON ME" / IRON MAN (55A: What to do "when you're not strong," in a 1972 hit / 43D: Extreme racing event)
Word of the Day: FOUR CORNERS (34A) —
The 
Four Corners is a region of the Southwestern United States consisting of the southwestern corner of Coloradosoutheastern corner of Utah, northeastern corner of Arizona, and northwestern corner of New Mexico. The Four Corners area is named after the quadripoint at the intersection of approximately 37° north latitude with 109° 03' west longitude, where the boundaries of the four states meet, and are marked by the Four Corners Monument. It is the only location in the United States where four states meet. Most of the Four Corners region belongs to semi-autonomous Native American nations, the largest of which is the Navajo Nation, followed by HopiUte, and Zuni tribal reserves and nations. The Four Corners region is part of a larger region known as the Colorado Plateau and is mostly rural, rugged, and arid. In addition to the monument, commonly visited areas within Four Corners include Monument ValleyMesa Verde National ParkChaco CanyonCanyons of the Ancients National Monument and Canyon de Chelly National Monument. The most populous city in the Four Corners region is Farmington, New Mexico, followed by Durango, Colorado.
• • •

One of the easier rebuses I've ever done. In pretty short order, you know it's a rebus, you know how many rebus boxes there are going to be ("FOUR"), you know what's going to go in them (state abbrs.), and you know (roughly) where they're gonna be located in the grid ("CORNERS"). It's a very straightforward, workmanlike theme. Seems very much designed to warm rebus-haters and/or newish solvers up to the very idea of rebuses—to try to get them on board and make the whole concept seem, you know, doable. Even fun.  Can't say it was that much fun for me, despite the solid concept and overall sturdy construction. Just too much like a connect-the-dots puzzle, less like a proper (weird-ass) Thursday. But I do think as beginner's rebuses go, this one is good. I got that first square pretty easily and thought "a Utah rebus ... nah, that's impossible, who would do that? What, are you going to have the rebus squares ... form the shape ... of Utah ... OK maybe that would be cool ..." That *would* have been an almost literal connect-the-dots puzzle, but alas, not to be. Instead I hit the revealer very shortly thereafter, and I knew every thematic thing that was to follow. I didn't know the *precise* location of the rebus squares, it's true, but knowing that there was going to be one in each corner, and knowing what each square would contain, definitely helped skew this puzzle toward the Easy side. It's how I knew ON RECORD and MALE GAZE were right despite not seeming to fit. And there was never going to be any missing that "NM" square, since the answers in both directions are absolute gimmes that cannot be anything else. So, one two three four, there you go. If you've never heard of FOUR CORNERS, I imagine this would be much harder than I'm making it out to be. But my sister and mother both live in Colorado, and (as a result) I've been all over these states. Took a road trip through all four a few summers ago—Santa Fe and Flagstaff, both highly recommended.


Easy to get into this puzzle via ADA POG (4D: Programming language named after a pioneering programmer + 5D: Collectible disk of the 1990s). There were no significant areas of struggle today, besides remembering IOLANI Palace. That name used to appear a lot more in puzzles of old, for perhaps obvious, i.e. vowel-y, reasons. I definitely learned it from crosswords. But then apparently half-forgot it. But it came back, with crosses, as these things do. I have tried to studiously ignore the "Spider-Verse," but Spider-GWEN has stared down at me from enough comic store shelves that her name is quite familiar. I had trouble with the [Lager descriptor]; can't argue with the answer (PALE), though it's an adjective I associate much more readily with ALE. I had some trouble with 'TIS (40A: "Ah yes, yes indeed") since the clue seems *way* too long to substitute for such a short word, and there's nothing in the clue to indicate a contraction. I also hesitated to write in ACTIONS (32D: What many verbs indicate) since I would've said verbs indicate ACTION, in the singular, abstract sense. That's it for hold-ups; none of them took too long to UNRAVEL. Highlight of the puzzle was probably the clue on GARLIC (30D: Press material). Serious Thursday misdirection on that one. I like. Ooh, I also liked seeing the name of my friends' crossword podcast in the grid! That was surprising! (and cool, and very possibly intentional). "FILL ME IN!" is a long-running show is hosted by Brian Cimmet and Ryan Hecht (Brian runs the annual Lollapuzzoola crossword tournament and is my Central NY neighbor to the north, i.e. Syracuse; Ryan owns a comic book store in Cloverdale, California, for all your comics needs, Spider-GWEN and otherwise). I'm told next week's episode will be co-hosted by two more of my friends, Rachel Fabi and Neville Fogarty (with whom I solve cryptic crosswords on Twitch every week; yes, seriously!). So "FILL ME IN"—definite highlight. Otherwise, the puzzle was a bit plain, but undoubtedly solid.


Notes:
  • 50A: He's saved by his sister, in a story (HANSEL) — I just saw the corniest movie version of this fairy tale last month on the Criterion Channel, the sole highlight of which (!) was Cloris Leachman as the witch (!!). 
[Cannon Movie Tales: Hansel & Gretel (1987)]
  • 21A: Love of texting? (BAE) — what you might call your "love" in a text ... though I never really thought of "BAE" as textspeak.
  • 31A: Low power? (SQUARE) — so the power of "2" is "low" ... compared to the other powers to which you might raise a number ... I guess
  • 60A: Picks up (SENSES) / 61A: Puts down? (SADDENS) — I'm not much for sequential clue humor, especially with sequential Acrosses, since I rarely encounter Across clues in order, but these two offer a cute 1-2 conclusion to the puzzle, which I wanted to point out even though I only noticed it after I was done.
  • 57D: "The Simpsons" character in a green sweater (NED) — when he's not wearing skintight skiwear, sure ...

See you tomorrow.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]

103 comments:

Conrad 5:47 AM  


I'm one of the rebus-haters that @Rex spoke of (sorry @chefwen), but this was one of the more innocuous rebodes. Got the [UT] and then the [CO] and thought, "Maybe the rebus squares are going to spell something." Then I got the revealer. D'oh!

No non-typo overwrites but it took a bit to get SQUARE for "Low power."

Loren Muse Smith 6:04 AM  

Ok. So I’ve stood on that thingy at the FOUR CORNERS, and my life has been the better for it. I enjoyed figuring out where the rebus states would be since they’re asymmetrical – nice, gentle Thursdayery. As Rex points out, each state is in its proper geographic corner. Cool.

But the big whoop comes at the FOUR CORNERS/HEELS cross. Hah! Phil Ford, anyone?

Whenever I say POT in class, they cringe. It’s “weed” period. I tell them I can’t bring myself to say “weed” ‘cause it feels like I’m a wannabe poser who’s trying too hard to fit in. Which actually is exactly what I am.

“Cad” before CUR. And speaking of MALE GAZE – I guess I’ve heard this phrase before, but it still took a minute to get it.

The word POESY intimidates me. Heck, poetry intimidates me and makes me feel like a philistine not in on the little secret. Call it POESY, and I’m outta there, man. I checked on the pronunciation. It’s not as in

Is Poe easy to spot in a crowd?

but rather

Poe, is he gonna get that TOOTH looked at or what?

FLOTUS - There are flotodes, and then there are flotodes.

TRIAGED – I’m quite the whiny baby teacher and have been using this word a ton lately. We’re dealing with overcrowded classrooms, not enough staff, and safety issues, but we’re having ridiculous meetings about filling out Data Driven Instruction forms. It’s like we’re medics on the battlefield discussing elective eyelid lifts for soldiers when there are others who are bleeding out.

Anonymous 6:30 AM  

Best literary use of Four Corners? Thomas Pynchon in "Against the Day," though be warned, it's a sex scene.

mooretep 6:39 AM  

Rex, Great choice of XTC, produced by another favorite artist of mine, Todd Rundgren.

@LMS, We are also being hammered by "data driven instruction" at my school.
Just ONE MORE THING to deal with on top of the SEL, connections and post Covid deficiencies in learning.
Complex computer interfaces with pretty colors and a myriad of sorting capabilities that I simply do not have enough time to parse.

As teachers, we riff on getting to know our students through personal interactions and reviewing assessment results with them.
It's difficult to metricize this skill, but if our overlords could, they would as this is how they can justify their higher pay conferred through administration certification.

@Conrad, agree as this was a great Thursday rebus puzzle that shouldn't have solvers saying "What in the Hell?"

Lobster11 7:04 AM  

I've gotta disagree with Rex's comment that this was "too much like a connect-the-dots puzzle." I don't mind rebus puzzles because finding and figuring out the rebus squares is an integral part of the solve -- and can even help with the solve once you suss out the trick -- but I hate connect-the-dots puzzles precisely because you can't see the "trick" until the grid is complete.

kitshef 7:08 AM  

Add IOLANI to the list of words that have gone from ‘never heard of it’ to ‘seen it before but would not have remembered it’ to ‘not this again’.

I think I have finally figured out how to get the NYT to accept one of my puzzles – I need to include ASTER/S.

The Yankees got ripped off in the PINE TAR game, by the way.

Lewis 7:38 AM  

Ah, a states-of-the-union-address puzzle! Some random observations:
• Sweet theme echo, those four Utah-shaped black square clusters.
• Nice that the [Puts down?] answer is on the bottom, and that END UP ended up up.
• Lovely PuzzPair© of SIDE ONE and OPENERS.
• ASTERS has now shown up four times in two weeks.
• There’s a Boggle-style IDA (starting with the I in TRIAGED), as in Ida McKinley, to go with FLOTUS
• Clue that made SMILE the most: [What have we here?] for THESE. Runner up: [Press material] for GARLIC.

Simple concept expertly presented, and, for me, a most enjoyable puzzle to uncover, including that always-special moment that only crossworders know – when the rebus radar gets activated. Thank you so much for making this, Matthew!

KateA 8:12 AM  

I was pleased to see Bill Withers in the puzzle. Love LEAN ON ME and Grandma’s Hands.

Bass 8:13 AM  

Gotta put say "OVO" stacked on top of "GWEN" (spider who? what?) gets a thumbs down from me, especially since the Googler says taco "BALLS" are a thing... DNF due to that odd NE.

However, anything event on this planet that leads to Damn Sexy Flanders is all good by me ;-)

Anonymous 8:14 AM  

I like any Thursday puzzle that. Can blastright through.

Agree, Rex. The solver quickly gets what’s going to be in the rebus squares, etc.- kudos to the constructor for geographic accuracy.

NYDenizen 8:26 AM  

Wordle 446 2/6*

⬜🟨⬜🟩⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Sheer. Unadulterated, Blind, Stone cold LUCK!

pabloinnh 8:29 AM  

I found this to be following the "it gets harder as the week goes on" rule in terms of cluing. Had to stop and think more than I have been this week.

UT showed up right away and then I ran into the FOURCORNERS revealer and hey presto, there's a big clue. Just remained to be seen if the states would be more or less where they should be, and they more or less were.

Finished in the NE which fought back. Two clues referencing texting and tweeting, and as soon as I see either term I look for some other way to attack the answer. Also Spider GWEN may be obvious to OFL but for me was a complete WTF. Went with Spider GLEN, because why not? which led to TACOBELLS, which may or may not use actual tortillas. Who knows?

IOLANI appeared eventually, shame on me for thinking of the wrong kind of batter, and I always like seeing UNRAVEL which means the same thing as ravel.

Nice Thursday, MS. Mostly Sidestepped my wheelhouse but a satisfying solve indeed. Thanks for all the fun.

PS @Zed-nice shout out to the hometown, verdad?

Anonymous 8:43 AM  

AMY: Had TACOrolls (sounds like a thing) as I am ignorant about comics, so Spider Glen seemed possible. Kept staring at Rae and trying to tie it to love of texting until BAE appeared. Pshew. Very much enjoyed this.

Son Volt 8:45 AM  

I liked the elegance of this one with the location of the bidirectional themers and those connecting arms. Agree with the big guy on the difficulty level - but a pleasant time. Like the clue for ALICIA. I’ve never been a fan of the FLOTUS, POTUS, SCOTUS etc usage. No idea on MALE GAZE or POG.

Love POT ROAST - but not the plural. Assumed Rex’s XTC link was going to be SENSES. Not sure I’m in on EDENIC or not.

Since we have REM and FINEST today

Enjoyable Thursday solve.

SouthsideJohnny 9:01 AM  

Cute enough theme - just enough to throw the Rebus-lovers some raw meat. Constructors may want to contemplate a different clue for Ms. ALICIA keys.

It seems like ASTERS may be a trendy floral counterpart of OREO for a while (similar to URDU linguistically). The clue for PINE TAR seems off, probably because it is clued in the present tense. I'll bet the baseball purists chime in about that one today.

I have no clue what a MALE GAZE is from a feminist theoretical perspective, but I'm guessing it is not a positive characterization. I'm sure that I have been guilty of whatever it is from time to time - please be assured that I meant no ill-will or disrespect.

DrBB 9:27 AM  

Raise your hand if you breezed all the way through until getting all jammed up in the NE because Spider GWEN not GIRL. Gimme a break. Had to Google it in the end and I hate that.

beverly c 9:30 AM  

I had a hard time getting going with this, after putting ESTATE in 2D. Should have waited another 30 minutes to solve, and woken up a bit more! But no. I guessed maybe DOS was an early programmer because ADA didn’t spring to mind this morning. I guessed spider girl, not GWEN. 8A wasn’t obvious since I'm not a user. I could only recall the ANI of IOLANI at first. TACOBOWLS are usually served in edible tortilla bowls where I see them, so that didn’t occur to me. I ended up working from the bottom up.

After solving I looked up POG - which I had never heard of. They're colorful aren’t they?
MALEGAZE is a concept? Another thing to learn.

I enjoyed the clues today, and seeing Gretel get recognition. The Seven Swans was a favorite fairytale of mine, in which the sister restores her seven brothers through silence and industriousness. Seven years of silence. Gee, today that sounds oppressive. It's weird. If I wasn't just thinking about feminist theory, it might have seemed even more heroic than Gretel killing the witch. Ugh. Being eligible for crone-hood now, I'm thinking the murder of the witch wasn’t so admirable after all. It’s not easy being human and thinking so much.

Anonymous 9:36 AM  
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G. Weissman 9:38 AM  

I’d bet that the focus of an annual festival in Holland, Michigan, is tulips, and not a single TULIP.

jberg 9:43 AM  

The rebus was fine, and you more or less have to put the revealer in the middle, but man, did that make it easy!

I have to confess: I had POTs au feu before POT ROASTS. I don't even think it's good French, but it took TASSEL to straighten me out.

And btw, what's with putting some POT at 52 A and then roasting it? Does that make it stronger?

Puzzle (at least as printed in the NYT):

11-D: Typically tortilla-less meals = TACO BOWLS

Wikipedia: The salad is served with a fried flour tortilla shell stuffed with shredded iceberg lettuce and topped with diced tomatoes, shredded Cheddar cheese, sour cream, guacamole, and salsa. The salad is topped with taco meat (ground beef), seasoned shredded chicken or beans and/or Spanish rice for vegetarians.

What's up with that? Does the NYT not realize that tacos are made from tortillas?

"Paul" of fame is nice -- no need to specify what kind of fame. And of course, the picks up/puts down pairing.

Taco Salad (redirected from TACO BOWL): ...

Tom P 9:48 AM  

I remain a rebus hater.

RooMonster 9:50 AM  

Hey All !
Knew 3Down had to be CUTICLE, but was one letter short. After getting AOC, I knew there'd be a Rebus in there somewhere. I always look for a Rebus in a ThursPuz, because, Thursday.
I also solve the puz "wrong" way, according to Rex. I go through all the Across clues, then all the Down clues, then go back, hopping around the grid until I get some toeholds and it starts filling in. All that to say, I had already read the Revealer clue, so once I had C__CLE, I pondered what the Rebus square would be, UT or TI? Saw the UT, remembered (amazingly enough 😁) the Revealer clue, and instantly knew it would be UT, and FOUR CORNERS. Proud of myself for that one!

Complete rotational symmetry today. Which means any way you turn the puz, the Blockers stay the same. Neat. Also this grid allows for nice open corners.

With the exception of MALE GAZE, which just sounds kind of odd to me, all the Rebus words are real things. That's nice, also.

So a cool Rebus ThursPuz. I know it raises @AnoaBobs ire to call this a Rebus, but hey, it is what it is. 😁

Happy First Day of NFL!

Two F's
RooMonster
DarrinV

Sir Hillary 9:52 AM  

This really felt like a starter Thursday puzzle to me; I wish it had been a little tougher. Also, given the lovely four-way grid symmetry, the geometric precision of the FOURCORNERS and even the non-theme inclusion of SQUARE, it really felt like the rebus answers should be in the same relative position in all quadrants. Of course, that would have made the puzzle even easier, so I'm talking o[UT] both sides of my mo[UT]h.

On the plus side, all FOURCORNERS of the puzzle are Saturday-worthy, with multiple triple stacks of 6s/7s/8s -- very nice work. SIDEONE, MALEG[AZ]E, PINETAR, ESCAPEE, LEANO[NM]E, FILLMEIN -- all great entries.

This is the only HANSEL and Gretel story I ever cared about. God bless Chuck Jones, Mel Blanc and June Foray (uncredited!).

Anonymous 9:55 AM  
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Nancy 9:58 AM  

So I got this without having any idea what the FOUR CORNERS were. After applauding myself for this accomplishment, I thought to myself: Maybe I should have known what the FOUR CORNERS are.

But shouldn't the rebuses have been in the four corners of the puzzle?

Anyway, the UT rebus was obvious from CUTICLE even before I confirmed it with SHUT DOWN. So I was pretty sure that the rebus answers would all be states and the only question was which states and in which square would the rebus go?

For example: I knew 17A was ON RECORD (which didn't fit.) So would it be a CO rebus in the 5th square or an OR rebus in the 6th square?This was my hardest theme answer, btw. Whereas if I'd known my FOUR CORNERS...

I never met a rebus I didn't like, and I liked this one a lot too, natch. Fun.

schmuzz 9:59 AM  

Wordle 446 2/6

🟩⬜🟩⬜🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

for NYDenizen- yes to absolute luck

CDilly52 10:05 AM  

I think @Rex got this right - except the part in which he decided it wasn’t enjoyable. I’m a fan of puzzles that may lure a newer solver to dig a little deeper into the week and decide to go all in a become a “regular.” I especially liked this following after yesterday’s solver-related theme.

Personally, I got the rebus need immediately, but since I was nowhere near our constructor’s wavelength for a solid ten minutes this morning, my first rebus place was in the LEAN ON ME - IRON MAN cross where I thought the rebus was the word “on” and quickly discovered my error as I got the stack of ALICIA, SCARS, POT and saw that NM solved my problem. “Oh it’s states”, says Self. “Hmmmm, bet it’s FOUR CORNERS.” Sure enough.

Well, feeling well and truly chuffed to be one of the four “corners” done and dusted, I wandered rather aimlessly for another few grasping at straws and begging for some good old crosswordese, but none came! Which leads me to why I liked this one lots. Crunchy, clever clues for fairly common words (well, I have no idea who Spider-GWEN is but I have eaten a few TACO BOWLS in my life.

So, back to my newish solver thinking of shelling out for a subscription. With answers in the average solvers lexicon clued cleverly and with plenty of misdirection (much of which I fell fore - hard) and an easy, tightly themed rebus to signal Thursday, this one has all the earmarks of: a. a great introduction to Thursday trickery; b. clever clues with lots of misdirection and c. no answers in the “who the heck knows that!” arena. I enjoyed it. Lots.

H. Traxler 10:07 AM  

If you want the unvarnished TRUTH about Hansel and Gretel, here it is....

https://omny.fm/shows/cautionary-tales-with-tim-harford/the-truth-about-hansel-and-gretel

Anonymous 10:18 AM  
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EdFromHackensack 10:21 AM  

Spider GWEN??? what the heck. I had Girl. Seemed reasonable . What is OVO? I agree with Bass, NE was brutal. Horrible puzzle though I liked the theme and liked that it was geographically correct.

Carola 10:22 AM  

While for some of you the central reveal made the puzzle (too) easy, for me it moved it to "doable." I'd been at sea in the top corners (e.g., I wondered about a computer command having something to do with SHaDOWs). So FOUR CORNERS told me what I needed to know about UTah. I really enjoyed the hunt for the other states, and thought some of the theme entries were superb, especially MALE GAZE. I got a kick out of its placement next to FILLM, since the term was coined by filmmaker Laura Mulvey.

@AMY 8:43 - I wrote in TACO rOlLs, too, but was doubtful enough to erase the r and l for an alphabet run; remembering BAE from earlier puzzles helped.

Robert Lockwood Mills 10:26 AM  

iFigured out the theme fairly quickly. Had everything right, except I had TACOBELLS instead of TACOBOWLS.

Nancy 10:29 AM  

Another hand way up for finding the TACO BOWLS clue as peculiar as did @jberg, @beverly c and others. You want some "typically tortilla-less meals"? There are tens of thousands of them. POT ROAST, for one. Corned Beef and Cabbage. Coq Au Vin. Veal Scallopini. Broiled Lobster. Why the list is endless. Whereas I've never been able to differentiate all that well between tacos and tortillas unless the tortillas are made with flour and not corn. A very odd clue, indeed.

I did forget to mention in my praise for this enjoyable puzzle that the clue/answer for TIS (40A) is truly awful.

TJS 10:36 AM  

That roaring start that Rex got off to with "ADA and POG was just the opposite for me. No idea, so triaged just didn't occur. Otherwise, a decent Thursday, IMO.

Anon.9:36. I try not to respond to Anon. idiocies but... nah, your not worth it.

bocamp 10:36 AM  

Thx, Matthew; I 'cracked' a big SMILE on this one. Well done! :)

Easy-med-hard.

Very much on MS's wave-length re: the general fill (except for the dnf area), and notwithstanding the theme and rebus issues.

Had a very hazy idea of the concept, starting with CUTICLE, but didn't click until way down at LEANO'NM'E. The lightbulb came on at FOUR CORNERS; then it was easy to fill in the other 3 rebuses.

Embarrassing dnf involving TACO BalLS. Had to go over the whole puz before getting BOWLS, GWEN & OVO right.

After all these puzzling yrs, still haven't cultivated my SPIDEy-sense, e.g., with the aforementioned gaffes. Knew something wasn't quite right there, but failed to come back to it before filling in the final cell at the MALE GAZE, SENSES cross.

Will keep SPIDEy-sense in mind today, and try to be a better problem solver with any mysteries that should appear in the course of the day.

Wasn't SADDENed too much by my TACO debacle; ended up with a chuckle SMILE. 🤭

Fun adventure, enjoyed challenge! :)
___
Peace 🕊 🇺🇦 ~ Compassion ~ Tolerance ~ Kindness to all 🙏

TTrimble 10:43 AM  

Adding to what @Anon 9:55 said (and with which I fully agree): I have a hunch that the triage implementation has little to nothing to do with unions. I'd guess that it's a concept coming from schools of education, or theories of classroom management, and that the directive to fill out data forms is coming from whoever is overseeing curricula in the district. Glad I don't teach K-12 -- and the people who do and do it honestly are more and more embattled and need our support.

Now: who here wouldn't want to be a fly on the wall in @LMS's classrooms? She sounds amazing.

Know who else is amazing? ALICIA Keys. @Southside, as a namesake of a musician (or are you the Southside Johnny?), I hope you know or take note of this. It's a fine Thursday clue IMO.

Back to @LMS: I've weaned myself off of referring to POT and now say "weed", or actually "cannabis", which covers a wider range. "Reefer" would be even more hilarious. Another from a bygone era is "tea".

Straightforward puzzle. One clue that I found tricky though is for PINE TAR -- is that some sort of baseball reference? One type of clue I don't like: imperatives like "Step on it!" But at least I'm ready for them.

Z 10:44 AM  

@pabloinnh - Yep.

@Southside Johnny and others unfamiliar - Not the same as ogling.

My first reaction at the theme revealer is that it doesn’t work. The FOUR CORNERS is where these four states meet and the rebopodes (sorry, it just wrong to use the correct fake plural) don’t meet. Yeah yeah, the states just inspired, but it didn’t take my breath away. Of course, having them meet is probably impossible. C’est la crosswords.

Michael Scott 10:47 AM  

FILLMEIN..........That's what she said!

Robert Lockwood Mills 10:47 AM  

The Yankees absolutely DID NOT get ripped off in the pine-tar game. Lee McPhail overturned the umpire for the wrong reason, but the umpires were dead wrong in their ruling against George Brett and the Royals.

Why? Because according to the rule book, the penalty for using an illegal bat is REMOVAL OF THE BAT FROM THE GAME. Nothing else. Nothing about disallowing a home run. Nothing about ruling the batter out. Just REMOVE THE BAT FROM THE GAME. Period.

mathgent 10:50 AM  

When I met someone and they learned that I taught mathematics, they would often proudly say, "I hated math!" I could never figure out what they were proud of. It's like all the people today who are saying "I hate rebuses!"

Anonymous 10:52 AM  

Hey AMY,
Please get a Blue name or sign your posts at the end.
Thanks!

A Moderator 10:54 AM  

One, even two, mildly trolly comments were okay. But I did a preemptive delete when it got to 4 comments in a half hour. If you want to argue unions go to reddit.

Z 10:59 AM  

@mathgent - I was always gobsmacked when otherwise well educated successful parents would pooh pooh their child’s poor math grades with “we don’t do math” or “nobody in our family is good at math.” Never once heard “we don’t do reading” and I would gently explain that mathematics is as fundamental as reading. TBF - Math teachers were often just as bad about feeding that mythos.

OffTheGrid 11:04 AM  

Except maybe for finding the rebus square the theme was Monday easy. @Nancy pointed out that the "states" weren't in the corners. @Zed pointed out they weren't connected. What in hell! They weren't even symmetrically positioned. Pretty unimpressive, really.

jae 11:05 AM  

Mediumish. Put in, took out, and put back POESY. Cad before CUR. Me too for finishing up in the NE with GWEN as a WOE and IOLANI slow to surface.

Pretty good Thursday, liked it.

Anonymous 11:06 AM  

@Sonvolt said, "I’ve never been a fan of the FLOTUS, POTUS, SCOTUS". I agree. They sound like they could be dirty words.

Whatsername 11:09 AM  

If you love a Thursday rebus as I do, it doesn’t get much better than this. The way the revealer leaves you with the unmistakable hints to the FOUR theme answers in the CORNERS also makes it an excellent example to introduce new solvers to the concept. Still I had to work at it what with being no big fan of cartoon films or Star Wars.

Show me ON the DOWN SIDE of the vote for EDENIC. Brilliant clues for ALICIA, SMILE and HEELS but the one for GARLIC was pure evil. And the couch potato answer has the same number of letters of my name. Just saying.

CDilly52 11:14 AM  

One more comment re yesterday’s crossword solver’s theme. I loved all the “when I quit using google” posts. My crutch was Gran’s ancient, taped together, well-thumbed, tea stained curly-covered paperback “Crossword Dictionary.” When I inherited it, in 1960, she had been solving as long as I could remember and my mother said Gran (her mom) had solved as long as she could remember because they got the NYT by mail until it became available downtown at the news stand and Granddad picked it up on the way home from the Capitol M-F. I used to tell Gran that her book must have been the first one ever published. I used it for years but had quit by high school. Since we solved together, Gran was my “google.” The ancient book fell apart for the last time when I was a freshman in high school. Never used google. But I have plenty of DNFs.

Beezer 11:14 AM  

got the rebus concept with UT as many others but didn’t get FOURCORNERS until after I struggled in the NE since I had filled in SPIDER-girl which left me doubting ALL my across fill except IOLANI Palace. Once I got FOURCORNERS I was able to get LAZIEST but I am embarrassed to say I had never heard of MALEGAZE in feminist theory so it took me a while to UNRAVEL the SW as well. Bottom line for me is I DID finish the puzzle (without a Google) but did NOT find it easy! Maybe it is because I have at least four people in my house prepping and painting our entire downstairs plus the fact my doggo is overexcited/stressed in spite of me putting on her Thundershirt TM. Anyway, the puzzle experience for me today was fun and crunchy.

@jberg, thank you for the info with respect to TACO salad v BOWL. I’ve had the salad in the deep-fried taco shell, but I’ve also seen it served on plates with taco chips. Anyway, BOWL didn’t occur to me at first.

MetroGnome 11:23 AM  

. . . and I still don't know what the hell a "POG" is.

mathgent 11:24 AM  

Like TTrimble (10:43), I don't like clues like "Step on it!" for INSOLE. It seems to violate the rules for cluing. I've made this complaint before with little support. In fact, I think that Nancy, the cluing whiz, likes them.

egsforbreakfast 11:30 AM  

Where are you nitpickers and editor critics today? Look at all the state abbreviations that the shiftless, lazy, no good varmints that pass themselves off as editors let slip through while they were no-doubt sleeping off their harlot-enhanced 6 martini lunches? There’s ND (7D), IN (8D), MA (37D), CA (42D), AS (44D), NE (57D) ……….. you get the idea. If you have a theme, make it unique! Don’t splatter it all over the grid in haphazard fashion!

I’ve had TACO BOWeLS many times. Kinda excruciating, but I’ve survived to date. I’d probably AGELESS if I laid off the habañeros.

This was a really enjoyable breeze of a Thursday puzzle. Thanks, Matthew Stock.


Joe Dipinto 11:40 AM  

If I were going to build a FOUR CORNERS themed puzzle around that as the central across answer, I know I would want the central down answer to be POTROASTS. I mean, it's a no-brainer.

Diego 11:47 AM  

I don’t favor rebus-puzzles and this one failed to enchant. Cute idea but agree with @Zed that it lacked real sizzle since the corners didn’t connect. (Impossible, maybe?). Tough Thurs for me but the R genre always frustrates.
One other thing: The concept of the MALE GAZE has been circulating in the visual arts for some 50 years. John Berger, the eminent English art critic, is credited with introducing (popularizing?) the term in his iconic TV series Ways Of Seeing from the 1970s. It’s a term widely used today in many mediums.

Masked and Anonymous 11:54 AM  

Nice UTAH-blocks of black squares in the puzgrid.
Kinda also latched onto the STATES in ESTATES, once the E- had ESCAPEEd.
Cute, tho admittedly easier than snot, rebus theme. Like.

70-worder, tho … so that added some feistiness to the solvequest. NW area was of course hardest, cuz hadn't grokked onto the lurkin rebus SQUARE yet.

staff weeject pick: BAE. Stands for "Before Anyone Else", in textspeak, I reckon. Learned somethin new there, which I can maybe use, if I ever happen to send out my first text msg.

Thanx for the fun, Mr. Stock dude. Great fillins, btw. Especially primo POT/CAPOTE echo effect.

Masked & Anonymo5Us


**gruntz**

Anonymous 11:58 AM  

Male gaze? Pfft.
want the definitive word on gazes look no further than MY last Duchess.

She had a heart--how shall I say?--too soon made glad. Too easily impressed; she like whate'er she looked on, and her looks went everywhere.

Anyway by the end of the poem, you'll understand that even triage won't help the lady.

Liveprof 12:09 PM  

beverly c (9:30) reminded me of this one. (Please blame her.)

A young monk seeks to join a monastery. The Abbot explains they are committed to a life devoid of physical comfort and they take a vow of silence, under which they are permitted to speak only once every seven years. The young monk agrees to those conditions and begins his service.

After seven years, the Abbot tells him he may speak, and the young monk says: “I am having trouble sleeping because my bed is hard.” The Abbot reminds the young monk of the vow to eschew physical comfort but says they will let him have a better mattress.

Another seven years pass and the monk is again advised that he may speak. This time he says his room is a little cold at night. Again, the Abbot reminds him about physical comfort but says they will provide him with a better blanket.

Seven more years pass. This time, when the Abbot tells the monk he may speak, the monk says: “I have decided to leave the monastery.” And the Abbot says, “I’m not surprised. You’ve done nothing but complain from the moment you got here.”

Nancy 12:15 PM  

@mathgent -- I don't especially like clues like "Step on it!" -- but now that I know how to interpret them in a NYTXW context, they don't bother me all that much either. I thought the TIS clue/answer was much, much worse.

Liveprof 12:16 PM  

Why is the person who escapes an "escapee," and not an "escaper?" There are a bunch of these. The person who goes to an event is an "attendee." But why is he or she not an "attender?"

Nancy 12:17 PM  

Anon 11:58 -- You seem quite literate and interesting. Why not give yourself a nom de blog so we'll know who you are?

R Browning 12:35 PM  

@Anon 11:58 - You know the narrator was a obsessive/possesive husband who misinterpreted his wife's being nice to someone as flirting, don't you? The wife was an innocent, killed by a maniacal husband.

albatross shell 12:40 PM  

I can't believe nobody has picked up on @LMS's catch of the day. Dean Smith's FOURCORNERS offense run by Phil Ford for the N.C. tarHEELS.. One of the most effective basketball strategies ever devised. Also simultaneously making basketball boring and intensifying the pressure of every possession to incredible heights. Not bad basketball but bad for basketball, eventually bringing the shot clock to college basketball as a corrective measure. I believe one Duke-NC game was 3-2 with 3 minutes left in the first half (btw SIDEONE of what? A record?)

Speaking of sports how were the Yankees ripped off? Served justice sez I and Brett.

Thanks @Zed for the MALEGAZE info. I thought that was a weird answer as clued. Feel better now.

Speaking of ogling thanks to all who gave me feedback on my late post last night but I thought the catch of the post was the non-Google-able clue Search for bare bosoms. The anwer being GO OGLE. But I guess Dugan's cleftnotic back might be connected.

Whatsername 12:40 PM  

@CDIlly: Agree with you that this was a perfect Thursday to familiarize a newbie with the concept of a rebus. I was first introduced to the Times crosswords by a new coworker about 20 years ago. I’ve never forgotten my first rebus encounter and my frustration in trying to solve it. How was I supposed to know you could put more than one letter in a SQUARE?? I remember her laughing while she explained how Thursdays almost always have a hidden trick. We have long since both retired but it was her mentoring that really advanced my skills.

Also I enjoyed your puzzle book memory and all your “grand” stories for that matter. Wish I could have known her. My own grandmother did crosswords and initially triggered my interest but we never made the kind of memories you two did. My dad also was a solver and when he passed on in 1987, he still had the NYT Crossword Puzzle Dictionary I had given him years before. It was dog-eared and well worn which pleased me immensely. I continued to use it for years after that until the miracle of Google came along.

Anonymous 12:45 PM  

@LiveProf - Tense. An escaper is someone in the process of escaping, and escapee has escaped.

Wordler 12:46 PM  

@NYDenizen and @schmuzz. I'm running behind schedule today and haven't gotten to Wordle yet.
Wow, I feel a lot of pressure in light of your eagles. Gonna go do that now.

GILL I. 12:54 PM  

I confess...I wasn't sure what the UTCOAZNM corners were. I also confess that while I knew we were entering rebus maze territory, I wasn't sure where, when or how. ADA and POG didn't help. I had to stare for a nano and saw my first State at SH[UT]DOWN and C[UT]down. Dagnation...we are going to have a rebus about UTAH. It is one of the prettiest States around here and I've been there many times....So, because I am what I am, I started mentally listing all of the things they were noted for: Nine Mile Canyon...Joe's Valley Festival....Funeral Potatoes...Barely Buzzed Cheese.... Oh, boy, this might be fun. CO took the fun buzz to a pffft and I moved onto bigger territory.
AHA...the reveal said FOURCORNERS. I got two and I needed two more. I came to 36 A "one might be cracked) and I did a R[ID]dle. So now its Idaho. It threw some shade on potatoes, trout and precious stones.... tossed out...I needed more mental floss. SMILE finally came to me and so with a big l[AZ]iest grin I was competing the corners. LEAN O[NM}E, indeed.
I had several "wasn't sure" moments. I hesitated at TRIAGE because I didn't know ADAPOG. I wondered about the TACO BOWL because they are sometimes made with taco shells. But the clue did say typically.
Did not know MALEGAZE. After finishing I looked it up and it says "characterized by a tendency to objectify or sexualize women." Yikes... At least we were spared bun, butt and tits.
Didn't understand SQUARE either...
I enjoyed my rebus maze and my eyeball didn't pop out like they usually do on Thursday...so my TASSE HANSEL ADAPOG were able to do the fandango tango with me. The SADDENS were saved for another day of POESY.

Anonymous 1:02 PM  

R. Browning,
Yep. I know. I'm guessing I know more about Browning, Hopkins and Eliot than you. Been working on the mother of all palindromes. It hinges on T. Eliot and toilet. Maybe you can help. Post your deets and I'll drop you a line. We can discuss British poetry at length. And in person. I'd very much like that.

Nancy,
I'm not only literate and interesting, but generous and sometimes trending on twitter. Or at least my work is. but so what?
The reason I don't have a name de blog is simple. I don't want one.

Teedmn 1:08 PM  

I found two of the rebuses before hitting the revealer, and while I noted that they were state abbreviations, I didn't connect them map-wise until the FOUR CORNERS appeared.

The NE held me up due to a Spider-Girl assumption and a texted LUV. I have not reached @kitshef's stage 3 on IOLANI so a lot of black ink passed under the bridge before I was successful up there.

In my head, I see ALICIA's name as Key[e]s so 41A was a head-scratcher 'til the very end.

As well as the clue for GARLIC, I enjoyed 59A, 36A and 31A. For a long time, with SQ___E in place, I wondered if a SQUiRE was a low power, thinking British titles. SQUARE was a much better answer.


Matthew Stock, thanks for the puzzle!

mathgent 1:20 PM  

Liveprof (12:09). That's one of my favorite jokes. In my version, the rule is three words, once a year. After the first year, the monk meets with the abbot and says, "Bed too hard." After the second year, he says "Food too salty." After the third year, he says "I quit." "It's just as well," says the abbot. "Ever since you've been here, it's been nothing but bitch, bitch, bitch."

sharonak 1:24 PM  

I found this very difficult and not much fun. I could not think of "shut down". In fact, once I saw the answer I had to click on five icons on my computer to find that command. Still don't believe there is such a thing as" Spider Gwen". Never heard of POG. Never heard of "male gaze" and cannot imagine what it has to do with feminist theory. " Flotus"??
Eventually cheated to get "Lean on me". which then clued me in as to the kind of rebus I was looking for, and with the third one I thought of "four corners". I'd heard that a lot but not as a tourist destination.
Did get a smile from a few clues: 40D They need glasses, 36A One might be cracked 31A Low power, and maybe a couple of others.

Did not like 27A answer - dislike the sound of"edenic", and can't believe anyone ever said it
Hate "bae".

okanaganer 1:33 PM  

I have a huge stack of Spider-Man and other comics from the mid 1970s that are worth a few dollars, but I haven't kept reading since then. So I had Spider TWIN instead of GWEN. I remember the issue where she died. Traumatic!

A bit of difficulty in the lower right, with LUKE (not LEIA), ADD (not AND), and APU (not NED) giving me the baffling PKDPTAR for the batter goo for quite a while.

IRON MAN and SPIDER MAN walk into a bar...

[Spelling Bee: yd 0, but it took a while! My last word was a 4.]

other David 1:36 PM  

I guess if you think a taco bowl is Mexican food you don't understand a taco is a tortilla?

Native New Yorker here, I learned about the 4 corners in 8th grade when we had to write all the state names in blank maps of the USA.

Wordler 2:11 PM  

@NYDenizen, @Schmuzz. I got a hole in one! Sadly, I had a glitch on the Wordle app and can't post my results. But you believe me, right?**



















**Wordle 446 4/6

🟨⬜⬜🟨⬜
🟨🟨🟨🟩⬜
⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Gary Jugert 2:21 PM  

All right, guys, it was funny at first, but it's getting weird now. What in hell is going on with the New York Times crossword puzzle and asters? Seriously, did their parent company buy some kind of flower farm in upstate? Do they know something we don't? What are they up to?

Posting late without reading everybody else yet. Probably lots of redundancy here.

I found this one fun, but not very easy. I live in Colorado and figured out the theme pretty quickly, but I wish they had been lined up properly.

Used Uncle G on several items, and after yesterday's discussion about the use of Google, I wondered if somebody would show up at my door and punch me in the face. I have found if I sit with a puzzle all day long I can usually grok many of the things I would have GO-OGLE-D, but most of the time I want to finish the puzzle and move on to more interesting things. The names of TV stars for shows I will never watch aren't worth the effort most of the time. I also learn a lot by using Google rather than getting lucky with crosses. Before the internet, I would just go look at the answer key and write it in.

I suppose those who are adamant against using outside resources will get a gold star in heaven, or have a guy stop by your house in one of those little delivery vans and give you a blue ribbon, or morality trophy, or the key to the city.

@Nancy's musings yesterday about an un-Go-ogle-able puzzle are fascinating and thought-provoking, unfortunately if you type in the clue and add "nyt," a dozen sites give you the answer. I'm not sure how those sites get the answers up so quickly after the publication of each puzzle, so I am half suspecting the NYTXW is providing answer lists to them.

I had USELESS as the answer to the Hollywood heartthrob clue. "So judgmental!" I thought. It took forever to replace it with AGELESS.

I read a good bit on the the MALE GAZE. I don't pretend to understand the nuance behind the theory, but it appears that people in a position of authority see others around them as objects to be manipulated. I think if there was a female gaze it would be characterized as disgust and haughty derision, because honestly just look at the people they've been dealing with their whole lives.

Uniclues:

1 The future Melania when she realizes she's way too pretty for that place.
2 The graduate's glow.
3 All those notebooks your dad kept detailing his expenditures since 1937.
4 Pet name for poet on Tuesdays.
5 Pick her up and put her in an ambulance.

1 ESCAPEE FLOTUS
2 TASSEL SMILE (~)
3 ESTATE SPIRALS
4 TACO BOWLS CAPOTE
5 UNRAVEL IRONMAN

R Browning 2:55 PM  

@Anon 1:02 - Then why, blessed with that insight, would you post (without context) a snippet from the poem about how she made the MALE GAZE worthy of a pfft? You say that you know she wasn't ogling every man that she met, yet you present her an an exemplar of one who did. It doesn't seem rational. Nor does your assertion that you know more about Browning that I. It may be true, it may not be true, but why on earth would you just flat out make that assertion? I certainly wouldn't make such an assertion, yet I know enough to point out the ridiculousness of your original post.

Anonymous 3:26 PM  

So, Bob No meet up? Pity. As I said I'd love to meet irl.
Why make the assertion? An educated guess. It's possible you have more experience with 19th Century British poetry, but given mine, it would be remarkable. Truly.

Liveprof 3:37 PM  

Thanks mathgent! Very good! I heard my version just a few years ago from a tour guide in Israel as we drove by a monastery.

R Browning 3:43 PM  

@Anon - Have you ever answered a question (with an answer other than because I'm smarter than you)? I posed a serious question about your actions. You came up with you're sure your smarter than I, and nothing about your actions, which were quixotic at bes. Why am I even having a discussion with such a person. Bye

Z 4:03 PM  

@MetroGnome 11:23 - I know what a POG is and think you’re probably better off. It was a weird 90’s fad thing that is probably only remembered in xwords because those letters are useful. All you need to know is that the clue is some version of “90’s fad” POG might be the answer.

TTrimble 5:09 PM  

On the apparently controversial, seemingly embarrassing question: I'd say "rebuses".

"Rebi" would be either a joke or what they call a hypercorrection, based on the idea that Latin words ending in -us should be pluralized using -i (but cf. genus, genera). That would be a shallow idea of how things work in Latin. Not that my Latin is in sparkling condition, but I think "rebus" is an ablative or dative plural form whose nominative singular is "res", so you budroes who say "rebi": trust me, you're way off. Similarly, people who smugly think "agenda" pluralizes to "agendae": I'm sorry, but you don't get the bag of chips award either. Just say "agendas". I'm too tired to explain.

(Great word I just learned: a hypercorrection is sometimes called a "snobbative".)

Ah, but here's another: the plural of "syllabus". Every semester, the members of the department where I teach are enjoined to submit their course syllabi on time. Syllabuses, please! Yes, I know, it's sillybus to think people will ever learn that one, but you might be interested to learn the history of the word, which is a bit bizarre. More on this from the incomparable Language Log, here.

Anoa Bob 5:16 PM  

This is weird. Yesterday we had KOHLS in the grid. I got it with help from crosses because I've never been to a KOHLS store, never ordered anything online from them and, in fact, filling it in the grid was the first time I've ever typed the name. Today I got an email from them in my Spam folder. Wow! Did that happen to anyone else out there in Commentaristan?

49A REM isn't a "Kind of cycle", as clued, rather it's part or stage of a cycle, in this case an infradian (as opposed to a circadian) cycle that lasts about 90 minutes. REM (rapid eye movement) or dream sleep typically occurs once each 90 minute cycle.

I knew this was a litteris puzzle---with or by way of multiple letters in a single grid square--- right away but I needed crossing help to remember the four corner states.

I'm not ired in the least (hi @Roo) by the misuse of the Latin word rebus--with or by way of things---for a litteris puzzle. I just think it's wrong. I have always felt that way but have only spoken up about it after seeing the PBS NOVA program "A To Z: The First Alphabet" in 2020 where "The Rebus Principle' is used to describe how writing developed from hieroglyphics and pictographs into alphabets with abstract letters.

It's an excellent quality program (Aren't all NOVAs?) and it looks like it is being rerun on some PBS stations. I'd say give it a look even if you could care less about Latin in general and rebus in particular. Or you can watch it here online. More about this at Rebusgate.

beverly c 5:18 PM  

@Liveprof - Thanks - I'll happily take the blame!
This time.

Smith 5:29 PM  

@LMS 6:04

OH, boy do I remember those forms and those meetings. You're doing wonderful work, the kiddos are lucky to have you, just grin and get through the meetings. Loved your story about the "racecar" student. Gotta live for moments like that.

Pete 5:30 PM  

@Anoa Bob - I saw that Nova, and the phrase "Rebus principal" made me want to barf, just as renaming the commutative principle the "turn-around principle" in the new math made me want to barf. Why the infantalizing of everthing? The one I saw last night however was profoundly interesting - the likelihood that Arabic speaking peoples were held back for centuries because their script wasn't conducive to moveable type, and so no books for them, while all of Europe had readily available, relative cheap books. No books, no education.

Israel Padilla 5:48 PM  

Confirming my newbie status, I just discovered what a rebus is. My first impression is that it looks weird. It kinda breaks the general aesthetic, which I was about to praise - I liked the windmill looking grid a lot.

The Spider-verse is great! Don’t resist it. Maybe it’s like the Pink Elephant Paradox. I’m looking forward to an Emma Stone Spider-Gwen film.

Ps. My spanish (Mexican) speaking brain chuckles when I see people asking the definition of the word OVO.

-Israel
Crossword Humor

Rgrant50 5:50 PM  

Not easy for me since I never heard of Gwen, pog, bae or ada.
The rebuses were easy though so I got that it.

Z 6:38 PM  

@TTrimble - “snobbative”!! I love it.
However, give me “syllabi” not because it is correcter but only because “syllabuses” sounds like parseltongue.

@Pete - What we’re you watching and please don’t take anything they say as accurate. Based on your brief recap it sounds like it was an exercise in oversimplification. The Ottoman Empire was in many ways more advanced and more civilized than most or all of Europe even up to its dissolution. The same can probably be said of the Mughal Empire.

Pete 7:37 PM  

@Zed - You think I'm not a sceptic? Yes, it was reductive and pushed a point probably past its valid terminus, and course I took it with a ton of salt. Yet it was an interesting premise: due solely to the differing alphabets, moveable type was or was not possible, and that Arabic could not be accurately represented with the moveable type. In the 1400s the west and middle east had parity in most ways, with probably a slight edge to the middle east. By 1700, the west had made advances that the middle east hadn't, and that difference might be attributable in part to the presence or lack of mass produced books. It certainly wasn't because the west was intrinsically better than the east.

albatross shell 8:07 PM  

I was amused that LES clued as Paul of fame crosses SENSES clued as Pick(s) up. Not quite perfect. Not quite up to the development of writing or 19th century English poetry, but I was entertained.

Anonymous 8:53 PM  

Why are people posting their Wordle results here? Wrong blog. Can we keep it about crosswords?

Can't say I loved this puzzle. UNRAVEL isn't really getting to the bottom of. That's a mixed metaphor if I've ever seen one. Love Honolulu so Iolani was a gimme. Can't say the same about Spider GWEN. I have no idea what a POG disk is. Nor did I know ADA. Just got the fill. Unsatisfying.

Anonymous 10:24 PM  

@Pete:
By 1700, the west had made advances that the middle east hadn't, and that difference might be attributable in part to the presence or lack of mass produced books.

It's been pretty obvious for centuries that The West progressed beyond the Middle East for two reasons:
- The West had vastly more and useful natural resources
- The West had, eventually, a far more equitable approach to society; i.e. mostly, religion

One of my undergraduate econ profs put it this way: "if you can pick your dinner off trees, you're not motivated to invent". He was speaking (circa, 1970) in a more racist way, of course, being geared toward lush tropical places, but the Middle East is sub-tropical and nearly fits the bill. Not all of it is desert. Until petro was found in the Middle East, The West didn't give a rat's ass about the place. Or about equity of its society. Not that the Powers That Be here in The West really do care much these days.

Z 10:31 PM  

@Anon 8:53 - Now you’ve done. Complain about Wordle Posts and people have to post their Wordle scores. Thems the laws.

Wordle 446 4/6*

⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛
⬛🟩⬛⬛⬛
🟩🟩🟩🟩⬛
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
Thinking of you @LMS

@albatross shell - Nice catch.

@Pete - Your post made me curious so I did a little research and it seems the Ottomans banned printed books out of fear that the Quran would be altered - which is amusing because I think it is pretty well documented that exactly that happened with the bible. Anyway,…

JC66 11:17 PM  
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
albatross shell 12:02 AM  

I recently was forced to sign into Wordle with a NYT account or another of certain types. Then a bit after that I noticed the Wordlebot was there but do not really know when it (I think that is the bot's preferred pronoun) first appeared. It originally had
a list of Wordle's 2500 words but it was expanded to over 4000 so it was on a more equal solving situation with us. It has apparently learned that plurals and past tenses are not currently likely answers.

Recently it claimed there was only one choice left and my answer was not it. It complmented me on my large vocabulary because I entered PHONO, a word not on its list. PHOTO is on its list as is two different spellings of the same word: LEERY and LEARY. I do not think it has put PHONO on its answer list but I'm just guessing. Some of its analysis is quite fun to read and it has a list of all available answers, post-solve only for the current solved wordle depending on possible guesses. And what other people have tried. Not exactly but I Am not explaing it very well. Explore and you will see or maybe I am the last to look at it.

Wordle 446 3/6*

🟦⬛⬛⬛⬛
🟧🟧🟧🟧⬛
🟧🟧🟧🟧🟧

spacecraft 11:25 AM  

My eyes just happened to land on the "When you're not strong" clue, and a gimme SMILE came on my face. I had LEANON all neatly written in before I noticed there was only one SQUARE left. OH, crap, I thought, either it's a rebus or we're going outside the box.

A little more work, and it became apparent what was going on. As rebi--okay, rebodes--go, this one was pretty tame. But yes,'TIS indeed an excellent beginner puzzle for the genre.

And boy, are those FOURCORNERS ever open! This is what grids should look like. Also a lovely touch with the UTAH-shaped blocks. AND: the AGELESS HALLE Berry for DOD! Faults? Perhaps the clue for HANSEL should carry a spoiler alert! Eagle.

BBYBG
BYBGG
GGGGG

I can't do the pretty colored SQUAREs, but I can still score.

Burma Shave 11:57 AM  

ENDUP SHUTDOWN

'TIS HALLE now who SENSES
how the AGELESS MALEGAZE feels;
SMILEs AND ACTIONS HELP defenses
while IN TASSELs AND IN HEELS.

--- HANSEL CAPOTE

rondo 1:14 PM  

Still not a rebus fan but this one was quite harmless, easy to UNRAVEL (or RAVEL). HALLE and ALICIA, yeah BAE BAE.
Slipped to a wordle bogey. Dumb on my part.

Diana, LIW 1:21 PM  

Ask any European tourist what they want to see in the USA and you can forget Times Square, the Statue of Liberty, Hollywood, Mt. Rushmore, or Independence Hall. "Four Corners, I can't wait to see that!" Said no one ever. Tourist spot - inspiring indeed.

I do not like the rebusing of a puzzle, but like @Spacey, I knew we had to "LEAN ON ME." So...I finished it up. Now I'm gonna go book a flight to you-know-where - gotta see it.

Diana, Lady-in-Waiting for Crosswords

Anonymous 2:00 PM  

Not an easy puzzle, rebus angle aside. No fun in this one at all.

thefogman 3:11 PM  

Nice and neat. A fine Thursday offering.

Anonymous 4:56 PM  

@Anonymous 8:53pm :
At first read I thought you were saying you were from Hawaii, and was wondering how you didn't know that the pog fad began in Hawaii. It was started as a game for kids by a schoolteacher there. Then, I realized you were just saying that you love Honolulu.

Anonymous 2:28 AM  

Am I the only one that answered Lager Descriptor with “Palate” and Step On It with “I’m So Late”?

Not being familiar with Edenic, Edemic made more sense!

Anonymous 2:48 AM  

I thought it was relatively easy until I realized I answered Step On It with “I’m So Late” and Lager Descriptor with “Palate”.

My new made up word “Edemic” made more sense!

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