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Relative difficulty: on the easy side, I think
Theme answers:
- TWO TIMES (21A: Cheats on)
- FIFTEEN (23A: What comes after love)
- TRIPLED (40A: Didn't quite make it home, say)
- PLUS ONE (54A: Date for a party)
2 x 15 x 3 + 1 = 91
Mireille Enos (/mɪəˈreɪ ˈiːnəs/; born September 22, 1975) is an American actress. Drawn to acting from a young age, she graduated in performing arts from Brigham Young University, where she was awarded the Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship. Having made her acting debut in the 1994 television film Without Consent, she has since received nominations for a Tony Award, a Golden Globe Award, and an Emmy Award. [...] Enos' breakout role was on the AMC crime drama series The Killing; she played Sarah Linden, a Seattle-based police officer for the show's four seasons from 2011 to 2014. Her performance garnered her critical acclaim and earned her nominations for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series at the Primetime Emmy Award and the Golden Globe Award. (wikipedia)
• • •
I enjoyed this one for its long Downs. The rest of it, I enjoyed somewhat less. The first problem was a technical one, which is that my software doesn't do italics so it put all the theme clues in "quotation marks," which made them much harder to interpret somehow. "What comes after love" ... I thought this was some kind of adage, but then I just ended up with a tennis answer (from the scoring progression: love, fifteen, thirty, forty, ad in, game). The whole time I'm thinking that the quotation marks have some ... meaning. But they're just italics substitutes. Not a big wrench in the system, but a wrench nonetheless. And yet even if my clues had been formatted perfectly ... you're asking me to do math, which is like asking me to draw on my crossword when I'm done with it, which is to say: this Better Be Good. As far as I'm concerned, every crossword has a "solution," and it's just ... the finished grid. This extra math stuff had better lead somewhere! And where it leads is NINETY-ONE ... [cough] ... which *I think* supposed to make us think of NINE / ONE or 9/1 or September 1, which is today's date. The only reason I arrived at this logic is because of the clue on DAY (42A: The 2 in 1/2, e.g.). Otherwise I might still be wondering what NINETY-ONE has to do with anything.
Strugglewise, the very worst part came inside the "solution." That is, since there is no real clue on NINETY-ONE, I had NINET- and when NINETEEN wouldn't fit, I got some end letters and decided that the answer was NINE TO ONE. This felt so right that I never even saw that an actual number, NINETY-ONE, would fit there. Compounding this problem inordinately was the clue on GEYSER (5D: Jumbo jet?), a "?" I could not make sense of to save my life, esp. since I was staring at GEOSER. Made me doubt GIG (5A: Short-term employment), but I couldn't get around it. Made me doubt EDEN (13A: Land next to the Land of Nod), which I thought was maybe ADEN (!?!?!), but still, stuck. Even when I pulled the "O" and looked at GE-SER, I couldn't see how any English word went there. I knew the clue was a fakeout clue, so I thought that instead of an airplane, the "jet" in question was ... the color black. "Jet" is a common synonym for "black" in the literature I teach, so that was my go-to Other Jet. But no, we're dealing instead with a "jet" of ... water. Great. Again, if the "solution" had been magnificent, if there'd been real pay-off, then my stupid struggles would've been forgotten as I marveled at the concept and execution. But instead I'm left with a NINETY-ONE trying to sell me on the idea that it's 9/1. A less-than-ideal conclusion.
As I say, I enjoyed the long Downs, though NADA COLADA is a pretty corny name for a drink (31D: Mocktail with a rhyming name). I guess that's what they're calling Virgin Coladas now, since the whole "virgin" thing has begun to feel inappropriately sexual and (thus) maybe a little creepy? Anyway, the "rhyming" part sure helped. Speaking of creepy, not sure why you'd want to evoke a (presumably sexual / romantic) student-teacher "relationship" with your clue on RATIO (44A: Relationship with a statistics teacher?). I guess it's "a" statistics teacher, not necessarily "your" statistics teacher. Still, that's how the clue read to me. Obviously literally the relationship is merely a mathematical one, but the "?" on the end of the clue feels like it's winking unethically at me. Seems like WINE FRIDGE should've had an abbr. or shortening signal somewhere in the clue—the term WINE REFRIGERATOR is the one I know—but I really like the clue, so ... it's OK (3D: Vintage appliance?) (nice bending of the word "vintage" here). Someone might order cannabis "by OUNCE"? That clue doesn't quite work for me, for obvious "the"-lacking reasons (22D: Someone might order cannabis by this). My [Biz bigwig] was a CEO at first, of course, and I could not get to the MUST of MUST-READS from the clue, which says only "recommendations" (8D: Bibliophile's recommendations). A "recommendation" is not a "must-read." If I "recommend" a book to you, I am not saying YOU MUST READ THIS! We've just let hyperbole take over everything and sometimes it's a drag. Worst drag ever. See you tomorrow.
Man oh man, I *never* would have seen the correlation to today’s date. That’s why we read Rex’s write-up, people. Well – maybe a lot of you got there, too; I never would have.
ReplyDeleteRex – the lack of italics was an utter non-issue to me. Big old nothing-burger.
I got a real kick out of this and was happy to go back and DO THE MATH. A couple of things threw me, namely, I wish the whole set of instructions had been in order. TWO TIMES FIFTEEN TRIPLED [EQUATION] NINETY-ONE. . . and, I wish it had been “equals” instead of EQUATION.
I had never heard of a NADA COLADA. Hah. When I was a cocktail waitress, we joked that a virgin Bloody Mary was a Bloody Shame. I’ll suggest one – leave out the rum and call it a Lie Tai.
Big Mideast vibe today with UAE, URDU/BURKA, KASHMIR, SHIA, and if you’re willing to work with me here, EDEN.
MUST READS. Gentle suggestions are fine. But whenever someone gives me (physically) a book to read - just if you want, no pressure, really, there actually is a ton of pressure. I’m not assertive enough to say I’ll pass because I’m so overwhelmed right now I just don’t have time. Oh hell no. This person has just assigned me homework that, honestly, I have no choice but to read. After a few days they’re like, have you started it yet? So then I feel like a bad student and dutifully eschew my only relaxation escape, Bravo TV, and choke down the damn book. And get this– I have this occasional co-teacher, a former college football player, with 30 years’ experience in alternative schools who gave me a book (a book he wrote!) on classroom management. Here’s the problem – after just two days in one of my classes for about 20 minutes, he sat down and checked out. Said, I’m done. I just can’t. I’ve never seen anything like this in my life. I got nothing. Then he left me and went on to his next class. How can you put yourself out there as a classroom management expert with 30 years’ experience and then throw your hands up and leave? For once, I’ma pass on doing my reading homework.
I kept looking at PLUS ONE, a noun. It’s common for the major players in parts of speech to jump categories (table the discussion, a big ask, the rich and famous. . .) PLUS ONE is a prepositional phrase that has become a noun. How cool is that? Oh, and the preposition at has become both a noun (16d) and a verb: Don’t y’all be atting me now ‘cause I spoke out against Beyonce. I also have to remind everyone, even though no one seems to believe me, that the interjection cheers has become a very common verb, as in Let’s cheers Mr. Burch on his award or Hold on – who are we cheersing? Her? We cheersed her last week. I swear. Just watch some dumb tv, and you’ll hear it.
Speaking of language changes, there’s one I love, but I know I’m in the minority. . . When it comes to dealing with phrases showing compound possessives, it gets all confusing:
Ruth’s and Eric’s cars are in the garage. (two cars)
Ruth and Eric’s car is in the garage. ( They fight over the one.)
Things get really ugly when my is one of the words. How do you deal something like
My friend’s and my party (one party)
My friend’s and my parties (separate?)
What a mess. I love, love, love the inventive My friend and I’s party.
I’ll just see myself out.
Now it’s Eric Ripert. You’re an interesting person.
Delete
ReplyDeleteWith the addition (somehow) of parentheses, this could work tomorrow as well, since TWO TIMES (FIFTEEN PLUS ONE) is NINETY two.
@Conrad 6:03 AM Can't figure out how to get to 92, but 120 could work.
Delete2x15x3+1=91
2x15x(3+1)=120
2x(15x3)+1=91
(2x15)x(3+1)=120
He accidentally forgot the tripled part:
Delete2 x (15 x 3 + 1) = 92
@LMS- sometime just before my son’s cohort arrived on the planet, the word “versus” got heard/visualized as “verses” enough so that “to verse” is now an accepted term for “to go up against.” So, “Jones vs. Brown” is now “Jones fights Brown,” more than “Jones against Brown.” Cool also, huh? Although a sad commentary.
ReplyDeleteNot a Thursday in my book. More of a stiff Wednesday. The theme was straightforward. OK puzzle, wrong day.
It’s NOOB, not NEWB
ReplyDeleteAgree completely. I had the math answer as ninety-two for awhile, which cost me some time.
DeleteSAME
DeleteI think both have fallen out of favor with younger gamers. We used NEWB preferentially over NOOB as it was short for NEWBIE. NOOB was often spelled N00B (with zeros) for fun, but NEWB is correct.
DeleteYep me too
DeleteI’m guessing this will bE a polarizing puzzle. Count me in the LOVED it group. Great theme and a Rutles reference with ERIC IDLE symmetrically placed,
ReplyDeleteMUST READS. I’ve been working through the “best books of the 21st century" on GoodReads. Surprisingly, most of the ones I’ve read have been excellent. The only real bust so far has been The Da Vinci Code.
Fell for misdirects, started with Noob, thought Kashmir started with a C, thought Schnozzola wanted some 1940s slang that I didn't know, didn't connect @ to Symbols For Tagging.
ReplyDeleteGreat cluing, loved it.
In case no one told you, ([2 x 15]*3)+1 = 91. "Two times fifteen tripled plus one." That took me FOREVER though. I don't think it has anything to do with 9/1, though that's a cool coincidence maybe intended at the editing desk and not by the constructor.
ReplyDeleteAnd I if there's going to be a relationship with a *statistics* professor specifically, not any old math professor, and it starts with r, it had BETTER be "rsquare" or "rsquared" or "rscore" not "ratio". Something to acknowledge Pearson's r or any other statistic to pay off that it's a stats prof.
And that northeast was ROUGH to me. We're so STEM-heavy in the puzzle that the "meat" of the nut didn't occur to me as a thing, I was looking for something like GERM or HUSK or HULL or maybe SEED for 4 letters. And a schnozzola is a human nose, a big one, which has little to do with an animal SNOUT in my brain so that took forever to parse as well.
GAH.
Had NINACOLADA as a rhyme for PINACOLADA. Could not believe it was wrong. Cost me the jingle,
ReplyDeleteIt was tough getting started but momentum increased as I solved. Lots of clever clueing and I liked some of the folksy phrases like TWOTIMES and MYEYE. I think trying to tie NINETYONE to today's date is very forced and weak. There were no constructor notes at Xword info or Wordplay. Jeff Chen and Deb Amlen made no mention of that "idea". No calendar date is ever referred to that way. How did you celebrate seventy four? fireworks? Good puzzle. I always appreciate a Thursday that doesn't want multiple letters in squares or letters in black squares or running off the grid.
ReplyDeleteNEWB bothered me too – it's NOOB. But I didn't understand NINETYONE until I came here this morning. I got DAY on crosses so totally missed that reference – not that it would have helped me much. Just a weird puzzle today.
ReplyDelete@LMS. EQUATION is a "bonus" theme answer, not meant to replace "equals".
ReplyDeleteApparently no one in the commentariat solves in print? Paper version of the puzzle neglected to use italics. WTF. Well, in the long run it didn't matter, but it definitely soured me on the experience.
ReplyDeleteI solve in print, also! I panicked for a moment with no italics, but as you said, they were not needed 😉
DeleteExactly.
DeleteMy paper NYTIMES had the italics.
DeleteTo clarify, I solve on the print-out of the NYTXW! (No italics...) My hub brings me a cup of tea and the XWP print-out every morning ☕📝💚 Great way to start my day!
DeleteThe comment above at 1:19 PM was by CAK 😉
DeleteWordle 439 2/6*
ReplyDelete🟧🟦🟧⬜⬜
🟧🟧🟧🟧🟧
Bingo!
Not only some lovely Thursday rub, but a theme that aided in assuaging that rub by helping me fill in the grid, and a novel theme at that to give the solve a fresh feel. This on top of a squeaky-clean answer set. Three elements that I especially loved:
ReplyDelete1. Every part of the math problem is given a clue that has nothing to do with the math. Excellent clues too. Look at those clues for TWOTIMES, FIFTEEN, TRIPLED, and PLUS ONE.
2. Those luscious long down answers. Three of the four (all but STREET ART) are NYT debut answers, by the way. Very impressive.
3. That sweet Easter egg, as @Rex alluded to. We have [The 2 in 1/2, e.g.] for DAY, planting the seed of the x/y method of giving a date. Then having this puzzle appear on 9/1, with the answer to its math problem being 91. Wow.
John has now made four NYT puzzles, a M, W, Th, and F. He still has a shot at hitting the cycle (a puzzle for every day of the week) in his first seven puzzles, as Andrew Reis has done (and I believe he’s the only to have done this). Go for it, John – you’ve shown you’ve got the range and skill!
And John, I loved today’s puzzle, with all the above, plus its fun and clever cluing, and yes, its confluence of math and crossword cracking. This was, for me, one of the special ones. Thank you so much!
It would be hard to overstate how much I hated this puzzle. For one thing: math; if I wanted to do a math puzzle, I'd do sudoku. For another thing: no Tuesday clever-fun. And also too: On a completely different wavelength from this constructor. 'Way over my Thursday average, and the only fun I had getting there was GEYSER. NADA COLADA? Really?...
ReplyDeleteBeen a while since we had a good, classic Thursday, Shortz. How about next week?
Not the tricky Thursday I normally look for - but a neat theme nonetheless. I like the DO THE MATH revealer placement. I typically don't listen to any book recommendations. FIFTEEN x WINE FRIDGE is interesting although like Rex thought the clue should have accounted for the informal. Interesting discussion by @LMS regarding the transition of PLUS ONE. I had no idea until the invitation discussion earlier this year for my son’s wedding.
ReplyDeleteI think you’re crazy - your TWO TIMing ways they don’t bother me none
Enjoyable Thursday solve.
I usually print and solve on paper. No italics. I went to my phone. No italics. I went to my computer. No italics. WTH?
ReplyDelete@Anonymous 8:05, I too always print and solve on paper. When I choose Print, I see a bunch of options, including "newspaper" version. I select that. It provided italics.
DeleteWhen you select Print, check the box next to "newspaper view." That's what I did, and it printed a version with italics.
DeleteI also had Nina Colada at first. Nada Coloda sounds made up. It would have been funny if the answer was Gina Kolata.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Rex about MUSTREADS. A far better answer would be BESTREADS. What comes after love---FIFTEEN. If one doesn't play tennis, that's an impossible answer to reach.
ReplyDeleteI also had trouble with NINETYONE, thinking it had to be NINETOONE. Overall, though, I thought it was a nice puzzle.
Nice puzzle. Have never seen this kind of crossword before. Agree with those who don't agree with Rex on the NINETYONE being 9/1. It's not.
ReplyDeleteToday was a rare Thursday when I chose to print the puzzle and solve on paper (which I ordinarily do only Friday-Sunday). Sometimes this turns out to be helpful on a Thursday when there's trickery afoot, but not today because the "italicized clues" were not italicized in the printable pdf version -- nor were they in quotes or in any other way distinguishable from the others. So, the theme made no sense to us paper solvers, which in my case was fine because I wouldn't have bothered to try to figure it out anyway. As Rex intimated, when I'm done filling in the answers I'm done with the puzzle; I have no use for after-the-fact themes.
ReplyDelete💯
DeleteFound top right too hard. ATS? Pfft.
ReplyDeleteRex was somewhat critical today without being snarky. Is he friends with the constructor?
ReplyDeleteIs URDU becoming the linguistic OREO? Seems like it shows up pretty regularly lately.
Well it's a good thing I found this one pretty easy, because I'm in the solve-on-paper-no-italics crowd. Not helpful. I actually solved NW straight down due E and had DOTHEMATH and could find no math to be done. Scratched my head and carried on.
ReplyDeleteGOODREADS before MUSTREADS, and while the G gave me GERM, it clearly didn't work. Finished up with NINETYONE, since a number was clearly called for, but had no idea why it would be that number. See "no italics" above.
For those of you complaining about NADACOLADA, the clue does say "rhyming name", which helped me, at least, since I had COLADA.
Had never heard of Ms. ENOS or "Good Omens". I have this double "don't know" reaction frequently with pop culture stuff. OTOH, any puzzle with ERIC IDLE is OK with me.
Nice enough Thursday, JW. Just Wish I had been in on the math part of the trickery. Thanks for some Wednesday level fun.
@Pablo 8:50
DeleteOoh, check out Good Omens! The book and the TV series.
Ugh. Just way too choppy. Felt like a scaled down version of a Sunday puzzle. Lots of grind without much in the way of payoff.
ReplyDeleteHey All !
ReplyDeleteNice puz. I'm backing Rex on the 9/1 date thing. Why not?
I submitted a puz a while back with a Math EQUATION theme. Got rejected. Granted, this one is better. I can't even remember my Themers! (That shouldn't be a surprise.)
Four cheater squares, but I don't get angry about that, as sometimes nothing will fit if you try to not put a Blocker there. If it leads to clean fill, then it's fine.
The Long Downs were nice. Another Seven Themer/Revealer puz. Remember when three Themers was the max for a while? As I'm sure you know, I like lots of theme. So long as it doesn't make the fill all wacky.
Anyway, I don't recognize the constructor name, is this a debut by chance? Nice one, John.
Two F's
RooMonster
DarrinV
Fun enough, but nothing too special. Some good misdirection in the clues. But any puzzle with ERIC IDLE is a winner in my book. I could conjure up zillions of IDLE memories, and today it's "Buying a Mattress":
ReplyDeleteHusband (Terry Jones): Hello, my wife and I would like to buy a bed, please.
Mr. Lambert (Graham Chapman): Certainly sir, I'll get someone to help you. Mr Verity!
Mr. Verity (ERIC IDLE): Can I help you, sir?
Husband: Yes, we'd like a bed, a double bed, and I wondered if you'd got one for about fifty pounds.
Verity: Oh no, I'm afraid not, sir. Our cheapest bed is eight hundred pounds.
Husband and Wife (Carol Cleveland): Eight hundred pounds?!?
Lambert: Excuse me, sir, I ought to have told you that Mr. Verity does tend to exaggerate. Every figure he gives you will be ten times too high. Otherwise he's perfectly all right.
Husband: I see. Er... your cheapest double bed then is eighty pounds?
Verity: Eight hundred pounds, yes, sir.
Husband: I see. And how wide is it?
Verity: It's sixty feet wide.
Wife: (whispers) Sixty feet?
Husband: (whispers) Six foot wide.
Husband: ...and the length?
Verity: The length is... er... just a moment. Mr. Lambert, what is the length of the Comfydown Majorette?
Lambert: Ah. Two foot long.
Husband: Two foot long?!?
Verity: Yes, remembering of course that you have to multiply everything Mr. Lambert says by three. It's nothing he can help, you understand. Otherwise he's perfectly all right. But it does mean that when he says a bed is two foot long, it is in fact sixty foot long.
(Much more after that, but that line always gets the big laugh.)
DNF because of sloop/COO versus sloep/CEO. Sloep is the Dutch spelling, and is where I assume the English came from. Maybe not unfair, but certainly tricky for those of us who speak Dutch!
ReplyDeleteRex, be a man and buy the newspaper. It's the classic way to do the puzzle...fold, write.
ReplyDeleteIsn't it "Burqa"?
ReplyDeleteRex is out in left field a out 9/1. At best a bit of a Shortz amusement. Not meaningful in the puzzle at all.
ReplyDeleteFigured out the fifteen by working the math backwards. 91-1=90. 90÷3=30. 30÷2=15.
I had NINEToONE after ONE TWO showed up in the grid, but abandoned it when I found there were not nine answers in italics and just did the MATH EQUATION. FIFTEEN in honor of the US Open. Shotz again. Did the same during Wimbledon if I remember.
I have no complaint about the two ONEs. Although some will I assume.
MYEYE-DAY I just couldn't see. Too lazy to run the alphabet all the way through.
Hit him right in the schnozzola, hit him right in the snout. Perfect slang equivalency.
TOSCA ACRE FRIDGE were tough as clued for me. MEAT was a breeze. NADACOLADA was sheer joy to puzzle out. Needed to rhyme folks.
Disliked the puzzle while solving at times but loved it by the end.
GEYSER was tough but makes perfect sense as clued. Old Faithful.
I look forward to an extra element in Tricky Thursday puzzles. I like math. I liked this puzzle. Kinda moved around the grid in counter-clockwise fashion so I had NINETY in place, then stalled on the TOE GENT section because they just didn’t feel right at first try so I waited to fill that in until later. Therefore, I actually hit the revealer early, then came back to FIFTEEN and TWOTIMES, which were easy at that point knowing that I had a simple math problem on my hands. In high school P.E. we had to learn the basic of all major sports, so, though I’m not a tennis player (have no coordination), I know the scoring progression. Just as I know, among other sports basics, the positions and player rotation in volleyball, basics of types of shots and terms in golf (putt, chip-shot, drive, hook, slice, etc.) and the basic rules of basketball (a sport that is utterly designed to make me look like a dorky fool that will get shoved into a locker back in the changing room and have her towel stolen. Back then it wasn’t called bullying. It was called ‘building character’ to walk around the next period in soaking wet clothes).
ReplyDeleteSo what I’m really saying is that I, too, appreciated that the answers were clued in a non-math sense. And that we had the bonus EQUATION and RATIO in there as well. Nice touch, that. @ Anon 7:54, sudoku is NOT math. KenKen is math, or more properly probably, arithmetic, with logic. Sudoku is just logic.
Was surprised at the term ACRE-foot at 27A. Never heard of it until I googled it after the puzzle. Was surprised to learn that it refers to water volume. Well whadda you know? Bet we will be hearing more about that as aqueducts and reservoirs dry up, or valleys and coastlines get flooded with the climate change that we are seeing so much of.
Tried NolAColada at first, thinking the rhyme was in the first syllable of COLADA. And as for MUSTREADs, I agree that a book recommended by a friend is not necessarily a MUSTREAD. I think of that latter category as more of a Billboard Magazine Top Ten status. Or something Oprah recommended. The books my friends recommend are much more often, sadly, like @LMS mentioned: homework assignments. My Book Club is also turning into a similar slog. If I have to read one more book about a poor female soul that goes through trials and tribulations in a bygone era and perseveres through her new-found strength that she didn’t know she had, and the help of friends with whom she makes deep bonds… I will scream. No amount of Chardonnay can wash another one of those ‘poignant’ stories down
@LMS regarding your language problem. How about simply turning it around?
My friend’s and my parties = The party my friend and I threw.
My friend’s and my parties = The party that I threw, as well as the party my friend threw.
Sure it looks a little bit longer, but I go by the maxim “I hate to use long words when diminutive ones will do”. (Substitute ‘sentence’ or ‘phrase’ for ‘word’).
Once again Rex reinforces his credentials for inclusion in the “Nit-picking” Hall of Fame
ReplyDeleteSurprised that he didn’t complain that there are more interesting Opera characters than Tosca.
Looks like we’ve covered the full range of opinions on this one. Immediately after Lewis has again discovered the best puzzle ever created, the next poster finds it “hard to overstate how much I hated this puzzle”.
ReplyDeleteOpinions are like (you know) , everyone has one.
Side eye @ BURKA. Love Good Omens! Never heard of NADACOLADA but rhyme made it obvious. beSTREADS before MUSTREADS. I'm with @LMS on books people push on you. Last year I struggled with one for about 60 pages (it was horribly dated, reco from a 90 yo, must have been cutting edge amazing in 1996, but um, no, too much has happened since) before abandoning it. Yep, that's an actual term we used in elementary ed to let kiddos know that they did *not* have to finish a book. I still find it difficult!
ReplyDeleteSo Roids is short for steroids, and juicers those who use them. Who knew?
ReplyDeleteVirgin and virginity is creepy? I guess maybe if you're a satyr.
ReplyDeleteSMH at the triumph of concupiscence over virtue. Truly demonic.
The creepiness comes in when the state of being a virgin is fetishized. Your post is an apt example.
DeleteHi Rex, speaking to your real life persona Michael the English Prof, I’m an engineering prof, and the occasional math oriented puzzle is such a pleasure for our crowd, helping to compensate for things like intersecting pop culture clues that are unsolvable to us. Anyway your columns are a complete joy, thanks.
ReplyDeleteEasy....except that my NooB had my first theme answer ending in ONO and me wondering how in the world she'd fit in. It took the reveal to get me to take a second look and see NINETY-ONE. A nice surprise, and with MATH that even I can do in my head - and a great clue for PLUS ONE. Like @Rex, though, I thought the starring role went to the Downs, from GEYSER to NADA COLADA. And thanks to him for the 9/1.
ReplyDeleteHelp from previous puzzles: NEONS as clued. Do over: BURqA. Interesting juxtaposition with BADER.
I can see that one of the reasons this might be easier for some (like me) is the app. Tap the reveal, all the themers get highlighted, clue might as well've said 'do the math and write the answer to 17A.'.
ReplyDeleteStill blundered through several places like copED before FARED, easTEr before STATEN, alongside my own made up drink the colACOLADA, and goodREADS. But all eventually sorted and, in the end, a fine Thursday for me. Plus, yes, ERIC IDLE alone makes it so.
This didn't tickle my fancy because I didn't feel like doing the MATH. I seemed to utter more huh's and meh's than aha's and oho's.My first big huh was wondering why juicers have ROIDS. Is that another word for people who have piles? I'm lost on that one.
ReplyDeleteI flipped at EL NINO because LA might've been in that slot. I stared at MUST READS and wondered if I've ever said that to anybody. Nope. My husband and I have similar tastes in books. I always give him one for his birthday and at Christmas. When he finishes them he'll hand them to me and say "that was bloody good." I'm currently re-reading My Life in France Julia Child. You absolutely MUST READS it...
I guess my favorite long answer was NADA COLADA. Holy bunions that sounds awful.
So I managed to get all the numbers in there and I actually thought the cluing was a little cute. NINETYONE means absolutely zero to me. I just typed it in and went about my way not caring....@Rex will figure it out and tell me no lies. The only thing I care about today and the rest of this week, is how I will stay cool when it's going to be about 110 degrees.
No I didn’t DO THE MATH but I still enjoyed figuring out this neat Thursday package. Different and really fun, altogether quite appealing. There were no italics or quotes or asterisks or anything indicating themers on my printed hardcopy from the NYT website but I didn’t really need them. My thanks to Mr. Wrenholt for the fine effort.
ReplyDeleteI don’t really buy into the theory that NINETY ONE is necessarily symbolic of the date but I’d be interested in knowing whether that was really the intention. Absolutely loved NADA COLADA. I hate those sickening sweet drinks but that is a fantastic grid entry. Also STREET ART and WINE FRIDGE were stellar but I always thought ERIC spelled it IDOL.
I am an avid bibliophile and if you tell me a book is a MUST READ, then I most definitely will take that as a recommendation. How could it be construed as anything else? My first response to the clue was GOOD BOOKS and speaking of … does anyone have ONE to recommend? Seems like they’ve been few and far between this summer.
I agree. I thought that this was a delightful puzzle. I'm enjoying "The Last White Man" by Mohsin Hamid. His "Exit West" was superb.
DeleteThx, John, for this very crunchy Thurs. MATH stumper. Loved it! :)
ReplyDeleteHard. (over avg Sat. time)
Still trying to fully grok the theme. 🤔 [update: got it! yay]
Recognizing italics is a chore for me.
Had beST READS before MUST READS. Caused major probs in the NE, which was a tough area per se.
Praying for peace in the KASHMIR 'region'! 🙏 🕊
Invigorating early morn solve; enjoyed the battle! :)
___
Peace 🙏 🇺🇦 ~ Compassion ~ Tolerance ~ Kindness to all 🕊
I rarely have any kudos to toss toward the Wall St. Journal crossword, but for those of you seeking a truly clever Thursday puzzle, give that one a shot today.
ReplyDelete1A PAWS reminded me that just a few days ago someone posted on Next Door that they had just moved to our small town with their dog, Ozzie PAWSbourne, Prince of Barkness.
ReplyDeleteWhat phrase did the dyslexic lawyer use in his contracts? REIN (I’m hoping to get opinions from 40 or 50 retired lawyers on whether INRE ever appears in contracts).
Rex is somehow unaware of how MUSTREAD is used in TRW. A MUSTREAD simply denotes that someone found the book to be very good and therefore recommends it. Rex seems to think that the recommender pulls a gun and aims it at you while saying “Read it. Now!”
I liked the crossing of BURN and OUNCE. Fits nicely with the anagram for pot at 70A.
I loved this puzzle. Math + fun clues = nice Thursday. Thanks, John Wrenholt.
@thfenn
ReplyDeleteThank you.I could not remember what my first mocktail guess was. colACOLADA. I thought the rhyme was dubious and got the correct answer after a bit.
I always use to think NEWB before NooB but have adjusted. Back before gaming I used newbie and always assumed NooB was a shortening of NEWBIE when I heard it. So was quite happy with today's spelling. Speaking from my experience only.
I didn’t DO THE MATH but I still enjoyed figuring out this excellent Thursday package. There were no italics or quotes or anything else on my printed hard copy from the NYT website, but I didn’t really need them anyway. Overall it was just a lot of fun and something different which I always appreciate. Thank you for this fine effort Mr. Wrenholt.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely loved NADA COLADA. I hate those sickening sweet drinks but that is a great grid entry. STREET ART and WINE FRIDGE were also stellar answers. And I learned that ERIC doesn’t spell his last name IDOL as I always thought.
I am an avid bibliophile and if someone tells me a book is a MUST READ, I most definitely would take that as a recommendation. How else could it be construed? My first response to the clue was GOOD BOOKS and speaking of . . . does anyone have ONE to recommend? Seems like they have been few and far between in my stacks this summer.
As a word-nerd lit-crit person, I came to the blog today knowing that the math crowd would enjoy this one, but wanting to shout that I did too! I love when numbers are spelled out hahaha
ReplyDeleteI didn't DO THE MATH because this puzzle's engrossing but somewhat sadistic cluing left me too drained. I'll take your word for it.
ReplyDeleteWhat in the world are ROIDS? I've only (once in a very great while) heard the slang applied either to steroids or to hemorrhoids and I don't want either one of them in my juice, thank you very much!
Oh, wait -- THAT kind of juicer!!! I see now! But I didn't until this very minute.
I've heard of a WINE COOLER and a WINE CELLAR and a WINE OPENER, but I've never heard of a WINE FRIDGE. I suppose if you're a white wine drinker and you buy by the case and you live in a hot climate...Oh, wait -- all climates are hot now for close to four months of the year.
ATOM for "high school model, maybe"??? Now really. If you can't see it, how can it be a model? I thought this clue was quite unfair.
NADA COLADA. I've never heard it. I assume there's no rum? If so, it's the best coinage of its kind since the Virgin Mary.
A tough, deviously clued puzzle that did quite a number on me -- especially in the Midwest. But I finished it and I enjoyed it -- in a masochistic kind of way.
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ReplyDeleteThis one passed the (math) test for me, eliciting an “Ah!” rather than a groan at the end. True, it was a little on the DUSTy side, with MYEYE, TOSCA, EDEN, DAHL, etc. But, hey, us old-timers need our crosswords, too. Nice one. And respect for using the proper spelling of NEWB.
ReplyDelete@Smith, 9:44-Are you saying that's a MUSTREAD?
ReplyDeleteHmmmm......
KASHMIR
ReplyDeleteMy paper copy of the NYT had italics -- no problem There. But . . . what the hell are ATS??!!
ReplyDelete@Mertonome1101am
DeleteDidn't notice if anyone answered your question about ATS. My first typed symbol is an AT. Here are 2 more ATS. @@.
Medium. Me too for NooB before NEWB which made the NW a tad tough. Plus I needed to solve this from the bottom up to make sense of it. Fun solve, liked it .
ReplyDelete@Whatsername (10:25)-- My enthusiastically recommended book is "Shy" -- the late Mary Rodgers's fabulously well-written, tell-all memoir written with the wonderful NYT writer Jesse Green. These days, I'm far more of a non-fiction than fiction reader, I adore memoir when it's well-done and I have a long-standing passion for musical theater. I'm absolutely devouring it right now -- although I've had to put it aside for the duration of the U.S. Open: don't want to be reading and then have to put it down when I'm absorbed. This, btw, is the advantage of non-fiction over fiction: you can put it down for a while and not lose the thread.
ReplyDeleteHowever, if you don't share my passion either for non-fiction or for musical theater, the best novel I've read in years is Amor Towles "A Gentleman in Moscow." So well written and absolutely riveting. A
MUST READ, definitely.
Here's the NYT review of the Mary Rodgers memoir.
Like you, Rex, I had NINEtoONE and could not see GEYSER for the life of me. Great clue for it though! I eventually googled the actress but that didn’t even help. And I'm with you on 42A - otherwise, why?
ReplyDeleteOnce I saw the solution I liked doing the math.
Re WINEFRIDGE - who else thought of wringer washers and wrangles? Who else got their arm caught in a wringer? Another excellent clue.
How touching that my friend John Wrenholt dedicated this puzzle to me. 62A and 7D.
ReplyDeleteEven though I'm a big tennis fan, I had to solve the equation to get FIFTEEN at 23A.
Besides being flattered by the dedication, I'm in awe of the puzzle itself. Embedding an equation using non-mathematical terms written in order. It takes my breath away.
Loved loved loved this puzzle. I could go on and on and on about so many of the great words and refreshingly hilarious clues, but my post would aggravate those with arthritic thumbs, and I'm back in school, so I actually can't spend all day on the blog for a while -- and that makes me weep (and others celebrate). But...
ReplyDeleteMY EYE is one of the funniest and weirdest phrases I think I've ever heard. What it stands for using those words is completely nonsensical. I wonder who thought it up and how it caught on. Imagine the notebook entry an English learner must make upon encountering that colloquialism.
I've never heard of a NADA COLADA but I'd love to meet the person who thought it up first. They're my kind of people.
Cute themers, cute revealer, and an actual EQUATION to complete. A joy.
Back in college I worked the late-night sports desk at a major newspaper here in Denver that's now gone out of business. Mostly we filled in the box scores from high school games. I worked with a young woman who was a bodybuilder. She was really funny and had an amazing body. One time the subject of ROIDS came up in conversation, and she went crazy at a level I've only seen since in Republicans when you talk about guns. Always made me wonder if all bodybuilders are so sensitive about the subject.
I didn't like the clue for "The 2 in 1/2" as DAY. I know it's there to look like another math thing, but in Europe they do it the other way. So I thought it was confusing.
ERIC IDLE wrote a good number of the Monty Python songs and he's a super nice and funny person to this day. One of my heroes.
Uniclues:
1 Noam's hubby gets extra nookie.
2 Response to the question, "Wonder what religion she is."
3 Writer found work after covid.
4 All the boys at the nightclub.
5 Podiatric alternative to giant paintings celebrating la familia?
1 ENOS TWO TIMES
2 "BURKA, DO THE MATH."
3 PEN FARED EBB
4 SCENTED DRAKES
5 TOE STREET ART
@kitshef (7:17) Thanks for the TIP on the Goodreads list. And I agree with you on The da Vinci Code, too creepy for me. I couldn’t get through the film either, despite Tom Hanks’ best efforts.
ReplyDelete@B Right There (9:43) I hear you on the “poor wronged female” genre. Even when it’s fact based in memoirs and historical fiction, I find it unappealing. BTW, I enjoyed your TV DINNER reminiscing from your post last night.
@GILL (10:20) If you liked My Life In France enough to give it a second go, then I absolutely MUST READ it and have put in a request for it at the library. I hope you saw the film version, Julie and Julia, which I also found very entertaining. But of course we’re talking Meryl Streep and Amy Adams, two of my favorites.
@egs (10:33) Good eye catching that anagram. And your “read it now” imagery made me laugh.
Count me as one of the folks that enjoyed the puzzle BUT didn’t really grok out the ultimate theme due to errors plus my general laziness and disinterest in post-solve grokking..(hi @ Lobster 11). My DNF downfall was at the intersection of NINETYONE and GEYSER because 1) I first put in GEospa (sounds like a “thing) 2) changed to GEoSER (which did not sound like a “thing” but was convinced that NINETOONE was correct as a theme clue evidencing mathematical odds or a count-down or whatnot.
ReplyDeleteI LOVED “what comes after love.”
I had more difficulty with the juicer clue than I should have because my husband has been juicing celery for the last 6 months. I should probably get on the celery juice train also because he swears it has reduced his general “old age” muscle achiness but I just can’t seem to wrap my brain around drinking 8 Oz of celery juice on an empty stomach THEN wait a half hour before I have my beloved coffee and breakfast. I’m doomed for minor achiness!
@Nancy, speaking of juicing you cracked me up with the thought of hemorrhoids!
Also, hand up for cringing if someone I know (usually my daughter) says something is a MUSTREAD. I’m actually in the midst of one of a MUSTREAD that I almost actively hate and I suggested by (my daughter) that I finally told her I likely will not finish. Perhaps this is payback but I don’t think I ever said she MUSTREAD my beloved Oz books as a child…
Oh! And can someone please tell me who the @lms avatar is today? A chef?
ReplyDeleteAnon@10:28, That IS a great puzzle at the WSJ!
ReplyDelete@Nancy, Wine fridges have temp setting specifically for wine.
@Brainpan, Yes on the nose thing.
@Brainpan and Whatsername, Agree on the date thing. Plus everyone knows that, "the smallest positive integer expressible as a sum of two cubes in two different ways if negative roots are allowed (alternatively the sum of two cubes and the difference of two cubes): 91 = 63 + (−5)3 = 43 + 33. (See 1729 for more details). This implies that 91 is the second cabtaxi number."
(I don't understand a single word of that, just googed 91).
Did exactly the same as Rex - had nine-to-one at first, knew it couldn't have been right, took a while for the aha moment. Neat puzzle, I liked the theme.
ReplyDeleteICON. Another perfectly good word destroyed by rampant misuse and overuse, a victim of celebrity culture.
ReplyDeleteThe clever misdirect on "Vintage appliance?" and being stuck (stupidly) on PAdS for Mitts (thinking oven mitts) undid me.
ReplyDeleteBut I think it's a terrific puzzle. Getting the theme revealer (DOTHEMATH) helped me in a couple of places where I had been stuck. The first themer I got was, unfortunately, FIFTEEN (It comes after love), which convinced me that all the themers would be tennis related in honor of the U. S. Open. Sigh ...
Cool theme. Different. Like.
ReplyDeleteHad NOOB at first, which kinda threw m&e off the scent, on havin an early theme ahar moment.
staff weeject pick: PEN. Luved its weird ink/oink clue.
fave extras: KASHMIR. GEYSER. RADII. URDU.
no-knows: WINEFRIDGE [har]. ENOS. NADACOLADA.
Thanx for the math test, Mr. Wrenholt dude. Happy 9/Ono.
Masked & Anonym007Us
**gruntz**
roids crossing fridge, ugh
ReplyDeleteI've seen "newbie" and I've seen "noob," I've never seen "newb." I guess I need a crossword constructor's dictionary with all of the made up short words and abbreviations you find nowhere else.
Other than that, I liked this puzzle quite a bit. I never pay attention to the schticks, I just like to solve. Always come here to find out what the trick of the day is.
My favorite clue was for Tosca.
I guess a nada colada is an empty glass? Or maybe just a coaster on the bar? That's wicked conceptual, man.
And O.M.G., Staten Island in a NYTimes xword? The forgotten borough? The one most New Yorkers think is in New Jersey? The one telemarketers pronounce "Stay-tin"? It's a red letter day over here!
Another problem with the NINETYONE date thing is that 91 is not equivalent to 9/1. The slash speaks volumes.
ReplyDeleteAlso, the 2 of 1/2 is the DAte not the DAY. Close enough for crossword puzzle but further muddies things.
Another hand up for GOOD READS. "recommendations" doesn't mean MUST by any means.
ReplyDelete@Whatsername. I gave up on da Vinci Code movie because of Tom Hank's hair.
ReplyDeleteThe correct spelling of NOOB/NEWB is the one the clue writer wants.
ReplyDeleteAs a math major who was raised by a physicist, I have long tired of hearing "DO THE MATH", when actually what is meant is "Do the Arithmetic." It's not that arithmetic isn't math, which of course it is. But most mathematics has little or nothing to do with arithmetic. There's logic, combinatorics, calculus, graph theory, and more. Most students never encounter any of these, and so think that math just consists of adding, subtracting, dividing and multiplying.
ReplyDeleteStill, I enjoyed today's puzzle more than I do most Thursdays.
I solve in the newspaper, which did have italics -- but the type is so small that it's hard to spot them without close scrutiny. So after filling in the grid, I had 15 X 3 + 1, and had to go through the grid looking for number-related answers in order to turn up TWO-TIMES.
ReplyDeleteLand of Nod in the clues, NODS in the grid -- is that no longer considered a demerit?
To my ear, the slanginess of schnozzola suggested SNOoT before SNOUT, reminiscent of the famous declaration of Big Bill Thompson (head of the carpenters' union at the time) that if King George came to Chicago he would "punch him in the snoot." And I had somehow decided that the recommendations were beST READS and the edible part of the nut was the bEAn. So I was doubting ATOM, and not even thinking of TRUE. Somehow it all fell nto place, though.
Let me join in the chorus recommending Good Omens. It's a parody version of Armageddon, which should be all you need to know to dash out and buy a copy.
And while you're out there, take a look at the wheels of your (or anyone's) bicycle. The spokes are not RADII.
I liked the puzzle even before understanding how 14A relates to today's date. So I am happy Sharp mentioned it. But not so happy with his rant. Oh well. you can't have everything.
ReplyDeleteEven Jeff Chen missed the 9/1 connection.
I very much enjoy some of the sly humor slipped into the puzzle. Would like to see more of it and to hell with those who rant against such "humor".
A selection of songs that ranked #91 for the year on WABC radio in NYC ≈
ReplyDelete1965
1966
1969
1972
1974
1978
1979
I must be the only person who confidently threw in BAHAMA MAMA for the "Mocktail". Since most of the "A"s were correct it took a while to realize it had to go.
ReplyDeleteSimilarly my juicer used RINDS (plausible) and my Vintage appliance was briefly a WIFI FRIDGE (not plausible). Also hands up for NOOB. Several fun clues, and a sorta fun theme today.
[Spelling Bee: Wed 0, Tues pg-1 missing this 5er which was a new one to me.]
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ReplyDelete@metrognome…I just “tagged you” with the “at” sign before metrognome.
ReplyDeleteI just gave up today. Got everything but that NE corner. READS showed up, but MUST never even came to mind. Nor do I think a SNOUT is any kind of human nose. When I think schnozz (ola) I think Jimmy Durante. Whom I hated but I suppose he amused my parents. He had a big beak, but beak did not fit. Now if I had thought of EL NINO or even ATS I would have been OK. But I didn't. I thought of "tagging" as the vile practice of putting your gang's symbol everywhere. Which seems to have died down a bit recently. Probably the gangbangers' parents can no longer afford to live in my town, so the gangs have become smaller. Or aged out. Tons of former gangbangers are now in their 30's or 40's, have good jobs, and may even be voting Republican.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the 1000th time to our dear Muse. I laughed and laughed. And you know, a lot of her students are going to end up just fine, much like the former gang kids I just mentioned.
I might add that while a Shirley Temple was the wholly innocent drink of my youngest days, those Virgin Marys and NADA COLADAS are essentially training wheels for teenagers who will end up regular (and sometimes excessive) drinkers.
ReplyDelete@anon 10:36. What fetishization? I only said virginity is not creepy. In fact it is a virtue.
ReplyDeleteRex's comment is divorced from reality. Read it. "... since the whole 'virgin' thing has begun to feel inappropriately sexual..."
Virginity is inherently related to sex. You can have inappropriate sex, inappropriate sexual references and all manner of inappropriate things regarding sex. But virginity is not inappropriate. And the long and worthy tradition of calling things which are either pure, unadulterated virgin is proper precisely because virginity is virtuous.
Thx to @Rex for pointing out that 91 also represents today's date, ergo, I wasn't full value for grokking the theme. :(
ReplyDeleteAnother N00B before NEWB here.
Watched Eric IDLE in 'The Meaning of Life' earlier this week.
@Anonymous (10:28 AM)
Agreed! the WSJ Thurs. by Michael Schlossberg was quite the 'in' thing. Thx for the rec. 😊
___
Peace 🙏 🇺🇦 ~ Compassion ~ Tolerance ~ Kindness to all 🕊
BESTREADS for a long time. That corner hard. All I was sure of was ELNINO.
ReplyDeleteWhatsername 11:42.
ReplyDeleteI love everything and anything Julia Child. My first (and most difficult but interesting) book was "Mastering the Art of French Cooking." I spent hours trying to perfect her French Onion Soup. It was, and still is, the most delicious thing I could eat.
I'm pretty sure I've seen all the TV series. "Julie & Julia" with the wonderful Meryl. There's a series on HBO called "Julia" (2022 Series) starring Sara Lancashire as Julia, and David Pierce as her husband. Both are incredible.
If you like "My Life in France" you might also like "French Chef in America....."
Happy MUST READ day to you....
@Nancy (11:04) Thank you for both of those recommendations. I do enjoy an occasional memoir or biography and historical fiction has recently become my favorite genre. FYI according to the review page on Amazon, A Gentleman In Moscow will soon become a television series aired on both the Showtime and the Paramount channels. No word on a release date however.
ReplyDeleteIf you haven’t read it, you might like Strangers On A Bridge, the fact based account of the exchange of American/Russian prisoners during the early 1960s Cold War. An absolutely riveting true story authored by James Donovan, the American attorney who masterminded the operation. Subsequently was made into a film starring Tom Hanks, also excellent.
@JD (11:54) Alrighty then. Glad you clarified that because it sailed a couple of miles right over my head.
@Joker (12:27) “Hanks Hair” 😂 I almost said that very thing.
@GILL (1:51) And to you! 😘
With no italics to be found in my paper copy, and having just settled down to work the puzzle, I decided to just plow ahead. I got NINETY-ONE right away, and just worked all the other clues ignoring the theme, which wasn't necessary to solve anything. Made for the lamest Thursday ever! DO THE MATH was just funny, because I hadn't.
ReplyDelete@NYDenizen. Anyone who's done today's can see what your 2 oranges are in the first guess. You probably had a few options for the 2nd try but not many. Kudos on your eagle.
ReplyDeleteWordle 439 3/6
⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜
⬜🟨🟩⬜⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
A number of very clever clues
ReplyDeleteA mathematical theme that added up (haha)
No dusty filler
That "aha" moment when you grok what is going on . . . . .
If this puz didn't merit kudos from rex, if only from a technical standpoint (I get that he doesn't like math and it's not his thing), then I don't know what will.
This was sheer joy.
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ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDelete@anon
ReplyDeleteI think you completely misunderstood what Rex thought was creepy. It was in the context of giving little to young girls drinks called Virgin Mary or Virgin Colada. Is that what they call it now? Maybe the reason for the change was the creepiness of serving liquor-like drinks to little girls dressed up and looking like they are adult and labeling them through their drinks virgins. Just a hint of grooming maybe? My feeling it was created for bars to make money and for children to play at being adults. But I suspect that some may enjoy the scenery a little too much.
And speaking of adults, virgins are not necessarily virtuous or noble and sexually active is not necessarily sinful or ignoble.
Unless there's a meta for the solution to DO THE MATH then the whole shebang seems arbitrary. The possible TWO TIMES, TRIPLED and PLUS ONE EQUATIONs would have no END. So I agree that the NINETYONE is supposed to be the meta that refers to today's 9/1 date. I also agree with those that think 9/1 and 91 are not the same. Overall, then, this theme was a bit wide of the mark for me.
ReplyDeleteI taught undergrad research statistics for several years and RATIO is not something I associate with that TOPIC. Misusing the preposition "with" in the clue "Relationship with a statistic teacher" instead of the grammatically correct "for" strikes me as a stretch too far in order to get the "Snicker, snicker, the student and teacher are having sex" misdirect. Ugh. Maybe clueing RATIO as the 2:1 relationship between diameters and RADII (the former being TWO TIMES the length of the latter) would have worked better.
Speaking of which, jberg @12:45 beat me to it but I also balked at clueing RADII as "Bicycle spokes, e.g.". RADII are straight lines from the perimeter to the center of a circle. Bicycle spokes are typically offset away from the center to give the wheel more strength an stability. Even the rare specialty wheels with spokes pointing directly toward the center don't go all the way there. They connect with the outside edge of the hub, short of the wheel's center. The clue seemed at odds with the puzzle's MATH and sciencey vibe.
Neil Gaiman’s “Good Omens” on Amazon Prime is definitely worth a look. Any series in which Francis Mcdormand plays God gets my vote.
ReplyDelete...and speaking of Amazon, Mireille ENOS also stars in “Hanna” which is a very good action drama.
Late to the party again. Don’t know why my “retirement life” has gotten me in the habit of catching up with my crosswords so dang late in the day. Y’all have made every observation I have on my list. Felt really dim after seeing the connection to today’s date in @Rex’s comments. Even after “doing the math” and verifying that the “answer” was in fact NINETY-ONE
ReplyDelete@JC. You obviously never studied algebra.
ReplyDelete@Whatsername, thanks for the comments. TV dinners. What a memory. And thanks for the sympathy on the book club selections. They've actually tried to jig things up a bit after a request from some of the members and that got me into delightful 'summer reads' (light, entertaining stuff). And the gals in the club are delightful. A sisterhood of compassion and support. (Kind of like those books they keep recommending. lol)
ReplyDelete@Anonymous 4:36 PM
ReplyDeleteYes, the paper edition of the Times had the italics.
The copy I printed did not. And I was too lazy to get up to print the newspaper version.
Which spared me the elementary arithmetic.
Almost took a pass on today’s grid, but sure glad I didn’t!
ReplyDeleteAs is often the case, @Lewis nailed my reactions to Mr. Wrenholt’s nefarious clueing. And the range of responses from commentariat affirm the puzzle’s excellence….something which it seems OFL overlooked or has become too jaded to appreciate.
My only regret for the end of the day is that John didn’t provide a constructor note at xwordinfo as he has done since his 1/16/2017 debut! I’m adding a second to the suggestion for him to complete the cycle as @Lewis noted. Also to defend the puzzle’s 8d clue, I’d note that a BIBLIOPHILE isn’t going to suggest Harlequin offerings. In that vein I want to add a shout out to Salman Rushdie whose Midnight ‘s Children is worth the effort; I’m not a Bibliophile though I have played one on various Chautauqua stages.
wow!! just wow. this whole 'virgin' thing has gotten so MAGA. virginity ain't virtuous. ain't evil, either. twas a time when 13 year old girls were sold into marriage to syphilitic old men. what's so virtuous to ignoring the needs God gave us?? seems that the current state of silliness is thanks to that succession of old men with the beanies. millennia of hypocrisy wrt to the condition: girls must have it, but boys are lame if they do.
ReplyDeleteThe puz was RACY, but NO TIT. Complaint often heard on the playground.
ReplyDeleteDear Constructor and Editor.
ReplyDelete“I do” is a sentence, not a phrase.
And as kind as I’m logged in, “tied to a dock” (docked) is not now and never has been “moored”, which, as any boater can tell you, is tied to one or more mooring balls.
@Nancy 11:04--"A Gentleman in Moscow" is one of my all-time favorite novels too. I'm on the list at my library for the Mary Rodgers memoir and am looking forward to it.
ReplyDeleteThere is no ambiguity about the order in which you are meant to calculate the answer. Read the puzzle:
ReplyDeleteTWOTIMES
FIFTEEN (30)
TRIPLED (90)
PLUS ONE (NINETYONE)
The voice of the puzzle makes it clear and provides the correct mathematical puncutation.
I’d always heard it called a piñada.
ReplyDeleteI know it's late and no one will see it, but I had to come back to post this:
ReplyDeletePhrazle 273: 1/6
🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩
#phrazle
It's been a long time since I had a one-guesser.
@Joe
ReplyDeleteBah humbug and congrats.
I literally quit this one. Too much PPP to be enjoyable.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteThis one’s ULTRA fine. Puzzle of the week maybe even month.
ReplyDeleteRACY RATIO
ReplyDeleteHEY, she's TRIPLED TWOTIMES,
PLUS it's TRUE she MUST go hit,
IDO THEMATH and I'm
NOT ONE to say she's NOTIT.
--- ERIC DAHL
I guess I need to tune up the folks at the St. Paul Pioneer Press - nothing was italicized. The Mpls. fish wrap got it right. So I was put off a bit. Not the puzzles fault. Still got 'er done.
ReplyDeleteWordle birdie.
You can see a WINEFRIDGE ($800) if you watch "The Price is Right" for less than a week, guaranteed. Every bad marketing idea winds up on shows like this. How about a popcorn machine ($1500) or a hammock--a simple hammock, fergodsakes--at over $1K? Yikes, what're you lying on, gold lame?? Paddleboards, $1100; I can't go on. No wonder they give this stuff away: they sure as hell can't SELL it!
ReplyDeleteAnyway, on to (much) better things, namely this puzzle. Extra long clues grab MYEYE, so I read about italicized clues. Looked for 'em. Uh, no. I thought, well, this'll be good. I'm behind already, and it's Thursday. But I had at it, and was aided by sussing out the "What comes after love" clue: yeah, I'll just bet it's FIFTEEN. Hello Thursday.
As I solved, I noted the EQUATION forming; he could've just said THIRTEEN TIMES SEVEN, but it would've been far less fun. When I got to the SE, I didn't see the punchline right away. I thought, well, all you have to do is DOTHEMATH--et voila! There it was!
I enjoyed this immensely. Sprinkled liberally with "?" clues, it was no pushover--though perhaps on the easyish side for the DAY. More like this please. Eagle.
Still slamming my head at Wordle: why oh why didn't I stick with my starter word from the other day? It woulda been another hole-in-one! Instead I went with the best word from the puzzle--ADIEU--and got blanked! Lucky to salvage a bogey out of it.
Cola Colada.
ReplyDeleteOne letter dnf - lookin' at you ROIDS. They are a pain in the b**t if you ask me.
ReplyDeleteDiana, LIW
Although, I do agree that the Shirley Temple was a cocktail specifically made for children to drink, so they could look like they were having what mommie and daddy were drinking. I believe that most mock cocktails of today are made for adults who like the taste of mixed drinks, but do not imbibe in alcohol.
ReplyDelete