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Cousin of a carp / THU 10-20-22 / Dance move named after a Manhattan neighborhood / Accessory for Hello Kitty / Eponym for an annual prize for American humor / Italian auto with a bull in its logo / Hawaiian word meaning hors d'oeuvre / Familial outcast depicted three times in this puzzle
Thursday, October 20, 2022
Constructor: Rebecca Goldstein
Relative difficulty: Medium
Theme answers:
- ASH(RAM) / EXT(RA M)AYO (34A: Place for a spiritual retreat + 21D: Sandwich order specification)
- CHEES(E WE)DGE / "HAV(E WE) MET" (56A: Slice of brie, e.g. + 45D: "Don't I know you from somewhere?")
- MORA(L AMB)IGUITY / (LAMB)ORGHINI (15A: Ethical gray area + 19D: Italian auto with a bull in its logo)
Squalius cephalus is a European species of freshwater fish in the carp familyCyprinidae. It frequents both slow and moderate rivers, as well as canals and still waters of various kinds. This species is referred to as the common chub, European chub, or simply chub. // It is a stocky fish with a large rounded head. Its body is long and cylindrical in shape and is covered in large greenish-brown scales which are edged with narrow bands of black across the back, paling to golden on the flanks and even paler on the belly. The tail is dark brown or black, the dorsal fin is a greyish-green in colour and all the other fins are orange-red. The dorsal fin has 3 spines and 7-9 soft rays while the anal fin has 3 spines and 7-10 rays. The vertebrae count is 42-48. It can grow to 60 cm standard length but most fish are around 30 cm. // The chub is distributed throughout most of northern Eurasia [...] It is most abundant in small rivers and large streams in the "barbel zone" where there are riffles and pools. (wikipedia)
• • •
It's funny looking at the grid at this stage because you can see my solve just fall apart right where it runs up against the themers. Anyway, I was so happy to get RAM first because it left me to speculate: is RAM a verb? a brand of truck? is this puzzle gonna represent the whole damn zodiac!? So I *got* the gimmick but I still didn't *Get* it. Onward! And with almost my very next step, what should I encounter coming around the corner but a nice fluffy EWE!
And that got a big smile. I weirdly wasn't even thinking "sheep." I love when crosswordese (EWE!) gets upgraded to Special Element in a puzzle. I still had half the grid to go and I'd already had two "ahas." But again, I did not know the big picture: what's the revealer going to be? where are the other sheep hiding and what could they possibly be!? The answers to both questions came as genuine delights. I actually hit the revealer next, BLACK SHEEP, which, yeah, solid. That is, in fact, what is happening in this puzzle: SHEEP are in the BLACK. But then—again, by total happenstance—I end up finishing the puzzle up top (very uncommon), and this means that I—again, accidentally)—saved the best for last: the hidden LAMB! MORA(L AMB)IGUITY / (LAMB)ORGHINI is just a fantastic crossing on its own, but when you add the hidden "LAMB," I think it's really magical, and a fantastic place to have the entire puzzle come into view. Anyone else try to park a FERRARI in the Lambo's space at first? Pretty devilish that FERRARI fit perfectly (but FERRARI's logo is, of course, a horse ... of some kind). The theme gimmick itself (i.e. letters in the black squares) is fairly basic, but the concept here was clever, and it unfolded in just the right way for me.
The fill was pleasantly varied, and the only answers I truly balked at were SORORAL and HAHAS (the former for its rare adjectivity, the latter for its improbable plurality), but neither answer is bad. In fact, I'm not sure SORORAL isn't just fine—it's the counterpart to the very familiar "fraternal," and it's only because we have privileged brotherhood so much (in war, in fraternal orders) and generalized it to all humanity (in liberté égalité fraternité, "brotherhood of man," etc.) that it so outpaces SORORAL in its commonness. So it's a rare word, but a fine one. HAHAS really has no excuse, but the rest of the grid is so good, who cares? Loved AMY POEHLER. I remember when she debuted as a NYTXW answer, in a puzzle made by ... [checks notes] ... hey, me! Like the EWE, the WEE LADS made me smile. Possibly the WEE LADS are tending the EWE. And WEE is an anagram of EWE. It's all very Scottish, and I miss Scotland (I studied abroad there and later did research there, but haven't been back in over two decades). Love the HAIRBOW clue (29A: Accessory for Hello Kitty) because it reminds me that Shortz once rejected a puzzle by a friend of mine that had HELLO KITTY as an answer because he thought it was too obscure... Of course he then immediately encountered HELLO KITTY in the wild (in an airplane magazine, if I remember my friend's story correctly), and marveled aloud at what a weird coincidence that was (not weird—HELLO KITTY was already a worldwide phenomenon at that point). Stunned to see HARLEM SHAKE here! Hello, 2012! Is the HARLEM SHAKE really still a thing!? Wow, I thought it was just a meme. A now-olden meme. Apparently there is a real dance by that name, one that preceded the meme thing by decades. But, unsurprisingly, as wikipedia notes, "The dance that is done on the internet as a meme is not the Harlem Shake."
No real challenges today outside the theme. I had ERA for EON only to have ERAS show up later, so that was weird. No other weirdness though. Just a good Thursday time.
P.S. thanks for all the sympathetic comments yesterday re: the sudden death of my beloved wee cat, Olive. We learned in April that she had a severely enlarged heart and that the prognosis was bad, but medication gave her a completely normal and wonderful six months. And then she just went. Like that. It was awful. But also merciful. I loved her a whole, whole lot. I've had and loved (and lost) several pets in my life, but she was attached to me in a way I'd never experienced. It was a joy and privilege to have had her in my life these past two years. I don't know what else to say. Except, again, thanks for the kind words.
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120 comments:
A rebus puzzle is not my favorite but this puzzle would have been much improved if done as a straightforward rebus. Putting words in black squares, and having nonsense entries are not worth the too cute payoff.
Magical. Fantastic. Clever, what high praise from OFL! And I entirely agree. 😁
@Rex: So sorry about the loss of Olive. I know your pain all too well.
My last Thursday DNF was a "Black Squares Stand for Words or Letters," so I'm not a big fan of the genre, but this one was more enjoyable, ie, I was able to figure it out and solve successfully.
Similar experience, different order. In fact I got the BLACKSHEEP first, then forgot all about it while I wondered why all the hidden letters were turning out to be sheep (“is it Easter already?”…) So, for me, extra-gradual Aha too, which I agree is the best kind. Especially when paired with very little frustration in the rest of the puzzle.
If Weintraub did Thursdays, they might be like this one. More please!
So sad to learn about Olive.
But they’re BLACK SHEEP so they had to go in the black squares.
I loved this as much as Rex did. I first encountered the EWE hiding in CHEESE WEDGE, then got the revealer. So I was pretty sure there’d be a RAM somewhere, and since I knew there were three, I thought, “could there be a LAMB?” That will be harder.” And like Rex, I was delighted when I found it.
I had spa first for the retreat locale, then inn with nOHO as the Manhattan neighborhood. AMY POEHLER got me the H and led me to finding the RAM meditating in India. Has AMY POEHLER won the Mark TWAIN Prize yet? I’m pretty sure her SORORAL pal Tina Fey has.
I’m not sure I know the HARLEM SHAKE. I was thinking HARLEM Shuffle from the Stones song. (It’s also a book by one of my favorite current writers, Colson Whitehead - it’s on the list to read.)
And WEE LADS was definitely my favorite answer.
Have to confess I needed to get tot BLACKSHEEP before it clicked in what the trick was. After that was able to loop back and finish where I was stuck. I love a nice PUPU platter in a restaraunt and in the puzzle. Also enjoyed a HARLEMSHAKE and SORORAL.
Loved this theme as well. Got lamb early thanks to crosses below and had fun all the way through -
So sorry about Olive- from a SUNY-B 82 alum - oh sorry Binghamton Univ., still like SUNY-B better!
Rex – I couldn’t have described my solving experience better. Beautiful write-up. And I’m so, so sorry about Olive.
I. Loved. This. It took a while to figure out the Thursdayery. When I Finally realized there was indeed no Italian car called ORGHINI, I could fill in that black LAMB, thereby revealing MORAL AMBIGUITY, and I whooped. So cool that the rebus works both ways *and* that there are three different BLACK SHEEP.
Early on, I was convinced that it was the HARLEM “shuffle,” (Hi, @ Wanderlust), so I wasted some effort trying to rebusify that area. Turns out there is a Harlem Shuffle dance, too, so I was mollified.
Liked OUZO crossing BLUR. Man. This one time in Innsbruck. . .
I’ve never considered those things on a starfish as ARMs, but I guess they are. I just watched a couple of chilling YouTube clips of starfish capturing and eating stuff. What with GUY under ARM, I kept seeing ARMY GUY. We could argue that starfish and octopodes are ARMY GUYs, amirite?
If I had been aware of omphaloskepsis, I had forgotten, so GAZE was tough. I know a couple of omphaloskeptics, and they’re exhausting. But I guess I’m guilty of that, too. A lot.
Question: when we were sniffing around looking to borrow a word for appetizer, why’d we decide to go with French hors-d’oeuvre and its brutal spelling when we could have just adopted PUPU and moved on? (When I was an event planner at a country club, I got an email asking for a list of our house devours, and she wasn’t being funny. Her version actually made sense, and I liked it.)
Rebecca – thanks. This is my kind of Thursday, and I really enjoyed the solve!
Really sad, Rex. I recall her showing up in your posts when she was hardly more than a kitten, and quickly she became a curious cat exploring what's in this brown paper bag. And lately this is a warm radiator for a nap. I miss her already.
Rex, I am so sorry about Olive, its heartbreaking to lose them so young. As a veterinarian I am convinced that the cardiomyopathy gene is next to the nice gene because they all seem to be exceptionally sweet creatures. I always feel like their hearts are too big to be in this world for long but they fill the hearts of those they knew.
Huge Virtual Hugs
Rex, we are so sorry to hear about the loss of your very special Olive. May her memory be a blessing. Hugs from a couple of long time readers.
I can no lower keep track of which NYTXW weekday are expected to be the theme, and which otherwise.
But if this was theme puzzle, it was one of the best of the best of many recent weeks.
Also, Olive was an exceptionally good kitty. I've expressed my love/appreciation to Rex via Twitter. But.. so sad.
Forgot to add my sympathy for Olive. She sounds like the sweetest girl.
@BarbieBarbie: I also thought about Robyn Weintraub as this puzzle unfolded. "Rebecca Goldstein" rang a bell; Chen says that her debut NYT puzzle was just last year. Looked it up and remembered another terrific Thursday. So now I have two constructor names that really perk me up.
I opened up the Rex blog with a bit of trepidation because I loved this puzzle and wasn't up for seeing it trashed. O me of little faith! Rex loved it as much as I did, and for all the same reasons. Terrific description of how the puzzle opened up in such a pleasant way. I got to 15A, had MORA filled in, and knew it had to be MORAL AMBIGUITY. So there began the teasing out of the satisfying theme.
Pretty great to have three different BLACK SHEEP, instead of just "lamb" or "ram" or "ewe" all the way through. Clever, spicy, and so much fun! My only serious misstep was 37D, where this dog lover confidently entered "Westies." Loved SORORAL.
18A: I wish the grid had been huge, so that Rebecca could have made I'VE GOT A cunning PLAN, the cry of the hapless Baldrick in "Black Adder." Even as I entered the correct answer, my brain was inserting "cunning."
Brava, Rebecca! More more more, please!
Rex, I remember when you got Olive, and I'm just so sorry.
@Wanderlust: The Colson HARLEM SHUFFLE is terrific! Read it earlier this year.
Had heard of the Harlem Shuffle and the song. But not shake. when I got Lamborghini the rest was eady
@Rex -- Oh so sorry to hear about Olive. I know this pain, and my heart is with you.
Enjoyed the sheep once I finally got it. Rex, sorry that you lost a much beloved pet.
I did an inner jump for joy when I saw Rebecca’s name on top of the empty grid, because she’s so inventive. Remember her SALT SHAKER puzzle, where jumbled NACLs were rebused? Or her ROCK / PAPER / SCISSORS puzzle? Or even her fun Tuesday (made with Rachel Fabi) with the triple repeat words like CANCANCAN, clued [Glutes developed while dancing at the Moulin Rouge?]?
Today her fertile mind took a relatively new theme genre – single words imagined in black squares – and took it a step farther (in NYT puzzles, at least) than it’s been taken before, best as I can tell. In 2017 we had a BLACK JACK puzzle where JACK went in all the black theme squares, and also a BLACK ICE puzzle (co-authored by our Loren!), that did the same with ICE. But today Rebecca had different words in the black theme squares, to stretch that envelope.
It was fun to uncover – as after I got RAM and LAMB, my antennae were up for EWE, so there was a big “Hah!” when that showed itself, followed by a seismic “Hah!” when BLACK SHEEP appeared. Meanwhile, I liked seeing that backward ABLE crossing UNABLE, and the lovely PuzzPair© of AGES and EON. And all the long answers shined.
Rebecca, you are a fount of creativity, and you add such delightful dash to Crosslandia. Thank you for making puzzles, and for making today’s beauty!
Rex, it truly is a beautiful write-up. Glad I decided to pop in and get your take.
Agree, Rex. This one was kinda fun. I had to locate and solve the revealer to make it fall into place. I like it when a revealer actually reveals something.
I’m a cat owner and would be devastated if died (God forbid), so my heart goes out to Rex.
I really liked this puzzle. Ingenious theme, done very well. My first clue was when I got [EWE] and I said to myself, "Myself, what an odd place for a female sheep rebus." Then I hunted for the reveal. When I found 31D, everything unfolded from there and I cut 40% off of my average Thursday time!
@Rex, so very sorry to hear about Olive. Heartbreaking.
Puzzle: very easy for Thursday, got the trick at MORA LAMB IGUITY probably because I was solving across and HAPPEN helped with all those downs, so IGUITY was kind staring at me... and I'm like, huh, a LAMB in the black squares, and soon thereafter got to BLACKSHEEP and just rolled from there.
I liked that the BLACKSHEEP worked both ways.
Also that Rex liked it!
I have a friend who has twin daughters. When he's asked "do you have fraternal twins" he always answers, "no, sorororal" Fine puzzle, though it took me a while for me to figure out the black square bit.
I didn't like the inconsistency in the structure of the black squares where the sheep went [two down; one of chink of five; a solitary square], but it was otherwise an entertaining enough puzzle, although a lamb is a symbol of innocence, and I wonder how the poor thing strayed far enough from the fold to be a black sheep -- which is itself arguably a racist term in origin. I'm conflicted about this one.
I know its a bit nit-picky, especially with such a good puzzle, but It would have been more elegant (though probably much harder to execute) if all three rebuses would have been in isolated lone black squares as “ewe” was and “ram” and “lamb” weren’t. An excellent puzzle as it stands though.
Great puzzle, lots of fun. My solving experience was very similar to Rex’s, except I got LAMB first and then promptly looked for more such LAMBs around the grid. Finally found the EWE and the RAM and was hoping Little Bo Peep would make an appearance looking for her lost sheep!
If you take Laughs as a noun, then HAHAS doesn’t seem so forced — “they did it just for laughs/HAHAS.”
So sorry about Olive. Losing pets is… just awful.
While often reading comments, I seldom write any. I also have lost a couple of cats and know the bond that grows quickly over time. Sorrow for the loss of a pet can be as profound as any.
As for the puzzle, I also almost never look at the constructor's name since I don't approach the puzzles with the same anticipation as the regulars here. That being said, I found today's puzzle unaccountably easy for a Thursday with many clues no harder than those encountered at the beginning of the week. I started in the lower right, got the revealer immediately and made the jump to what was probably going to happen in the rest of the puzzle. I agree it was cleverly done but having raced through it in almost no time, I was startled to see Rex's "Medium" assessment. So to summarize: (Sondheim comes to mind) SORRY it went by so quickly. GRATEFUL it was so nicely structured.
Condolences on the loss of Olive. She was a proper sweetie. I gave our own furry friend an extra bit of salmon and lots of extra chin skritches in tribute to Olive.
Also, that was a fun puzzle. I got the sheep theme far faster than I usually get themes, because we had (for some reason that escapes me at the moment) just been discussing sheep-infested jungles, so I had matters ovine already at the forefront.
Fun enough - but not as enamored as Rex. The black squares leave me flat - just seems like cheating. No matter the person - I never want to see a full name take up so much real estate. Really nice revealer and liked WEE LADS and BASALT.
The trick fell with LAMBO - early and made things pretty easy for a Thursday.
Martin Sexton
Cute Thursday solve.
Amy: condolences on Olive, Rex. How's Alfie? My two are 10 and 9. You can try and prepare yourself but I know I'm going to be devastated.
Enjoyable puzzle…hit ‘lamb’ early and the rest of the puzzle whooshed by! So sorry about little Olive. Anyone who follows your blog knows how you loved her.
I can only second the praise already posted, just loved this one. Had IGUITY and made a rebus MOR(ALAMB), figuring I'd deal with whatever S(ALAMB)GA was going to be then got to the Italian auto and was off to the races. The other black sheep weren't hard to find and the reveal was perfect. Add lots of well clued fill, fond memories of NYC, and this was just a joy to complete, and got a big smile at the end.
Sorry about Olive, Rex. Losing anything we love always hurts.
I was going to leave a comment on the puzzle, then I read about the passing of Olive and I had to stop. She looks very sweet.
Rex, I’m so sorry for the loss of Olive. I know the pain you and your family is going through, and it is something we never truly get over. May Olive Rest In Peace, and may you all find some.
Saw something was going on and I'm glad I finally recognize what those -'s after a number mean. I knew there was something "to be continued" and then I ran into the BLACKSHEEP revealer and all became clear.
Anyone else think of Nancy's "Black Hat" puzzle? It occurred to me immediately.
Seems like we've had the SORORAL discussion fairly recently. Was familiar to me then and still is
Always good to see Mr. TWAIN in a puzzle, and one of my mottoes has always bee "We live for HAHA!", so more HAHAS is just fine.
Really Great concept and execution, RG. Please accept the Thursdazo! prize, and thanks for all the fun.
I'm bummed that I filled everything in correctly before I realized what was going on with the gimmick. I noticed the LAMB missing for the Italian car, but didn't pause to figure out the point.
It was a good puzzle and I wish I had been aware enough to appreciate it while I was solving.
Hey All !
Neat puz. I get a kick out of tricksy puzs like this. Not exactly a Rebus, but would be if you took out the Blockers and then put the letters in. But then, you lose the Revealer. Is WHITE SHEEP something? Doubtful. I mean, sheep are white... Nevermind.
Funky Blocker pattern in the middle. High Blocker count, 44, but you have to factor in the SHEEP black squares, so the count goes down slightly. Like the double-Blocker after ASH(RAM) to indicate the word doesn't pass through, like on the others.
I'm sure you're sick of hearing this, and could probably not care any less, but... I submitted a Sunday puz with the Themers going through black squares once. Natch rejected. I'd have to go through the files to find out what the whole theme/premise was, as with such a wonderful memory, I can't seem to recall the theme. 🤔
Anyway, last Across here is POW. Was Rebecca trying to send Jeff Chen a subliminal message? Har
Four Double E's, , three Double L's, @Lewis may have already mentioned, I'm commenting before reading y'all.
And yes, put Ferrari in, even though I didn't think the Bull was their symbol. Also, sOdA for COLA, 95% of the time that happens. If it's COLA, you put in SODA. If it's SODA, you put in COLA. 59-50 change my eye. Kealoa for aMIR/EMIR
HAV you MET the new actress MORA IGUITY? She was an EXT in that movie "ORGHINI, The CHEES DGE AYO" It's a French film. I heard it extended BOX SET is available...
No F'S (CRUMBy!)
RooMonster
DarrinV
As an outlier (and resident BLACK SHEEP) who doesn’t care for gimmick puzzles, I was able to enjoy parts of this one because the rest of the cluing pretty much shined (yes, a little like Robyn in that regard as well). I basically ignored the “-“ clues and tried to parse together as much as I could - I finally realized that it was one of those “break up the words” jobs but never made the connection to the animal names. In retrospect, the gimmick holds up pretty well - just not my style though.
Wow, is this ever wonderful!!!
So I'm sitting solving this at the breakfast table (after finishing breakfast, of course) and I'm cold and I need to throw on my robe and my robe is less than six inches away but I don't get up to get it because I'm much too focused and enrapt, so I just sit there and continue to be cold until I've finished.
Everything I most love in a trick puzzle. A rebus! A rebus that's different in each incarnation!!!!! Black squares!!!!!!!!! A perfect revealer -- but one that doesn't give away the whole shebang!
I really struggled at first. Even after I had BLACK SHEEP, I couldn't make SHEEP work with MORA. When I saw LAMB and then figured out MORAL AMBIGUITY, I nearly leaped off my chair. (But not far enough to get my robe.) The "Aha Moment" was h-u-u-u-ge. And there were more to come with EWE and RAM.
Challenging as hell. And I ended up feeling really, really smart. What more can you want from any puzzle?
Disconnect here: BLACKSHEEP refers to metaphorical misfits. So in what way are RAM, EWE and LAMB correct - unless these particular ovines have been rejected by their peers?
It took me an EON to complete, but here we are. Those black sheep were tough for me. Otherwise a lovely puzzle. We needed a strong one in Olive's honor.
My first ever musical I wrote was originally titled Moral Ambiguity before it morphed into School Girls vs. Aliens. You can maybe guess why it never left my computer. I learned you can write five good songs and fifty iffy ones and still consider it a success.
Uniclues:
1 Trust but verify.
2 Gal: You don't know what you're doing.
3 Choosing after rush.
4 Charcuterie party humor.
5 At Goodwill.
6 Oust the old farts.
7 The privileged.
8 Give antibiotics to the runts.
1 ARM MORAL AMBIGUITY
2 GUY: I'VE GOT A PLAN
3 SORORAL RISK
4 CHEESE WEDGE HAHAS
5 AMIDST RESELL
6 ELECT WEE LADS
7 LAMBORGHINI TEAMS
8 PILL BLACK SHEEP
for some reason TAMEST as a description of a ski slope really took me out of this puzzle
In this wonderful puzzle there is one thing that perplexes me:
Why in the world would you want a BLUR in a portrait (39A)? A BLUR is what you get when a truly UNABLE photographer like me is asked by a stranger in Central Park (no one who knows me would be dumb enough to ask) "Can you take a photo of me/us with the Reservoir in the background?" And eager to please -- even though I know from bitter experience that I won't please at all -- I rush to press the button before their lovely smile(s) become frozen, only my hands jerk up (or down) and what I get is a BLUR.
Surely no one would do this deliberately -- would they?
Yes, yes, yes! Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful!
Rex, so sorry about the loss of your Olive.
totally did not see LAMBORGHINI and thought ORGHINI was just a car name I hadn’t heard of. Sorry about Olive, Rex.
My first theme answer was the unclued IGUITY, so it was pretty obvious something was going on. Then I tried to figure out 15A -- it looked like it was going to be "MORe" whcih didn't really fit the clue, but then I got SAGA, looked at it for a moment, and saw the black LAMB hiding out there. For some reason I didn't think to check the down crossing, maybe because it was hanging rather than crossing -- but I was already pretty sure we were dealing with sheep, and the two-way RAM was more obvious. I got EWE, but nad no idea what the revealer would be, until I actually got it. Wow!
@NYDenizen -- the best revealers involve taking a meaningful phrase, e.e. BLACK SHEEP, then changing its meaning. Here it means that the three black squares in question are different sheep. That's better than keeping the original meaning of the phrase.
I can never see something like WEE LADS without thinking of this wonderful song by Jean Redpath. I couldn't find an audio version (though you can play this one if you subscribe to Apple Music), but the lyrics are great in themselves.
Yes, yes, yes! Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful!
Glad you enjoyed the puzzle too, Rex. An excellent distraction for a very sad day. So sorry about Olive. And I love her name.
Petrol head so Lamborghini a total gimme. Didn't take long to see Black Sheep & suss out the other two.
Thx, Rebecca; enjoyed the challenge. Cute theme! :)
Got the NW right off, but stumbled along the rest of the way.
Finally caught on to the theme after coming back up to the top and finding the BLACK LAMB.
Got the RAM & EWE, and all was good.
Fun romp with the SHEEP in the lea.
___
Peace 🕊 🇺🇦 ~ Compassion ~ Tolerance ~ Kindness to all 🙏
After wandering around so slowly filling in letters I found the revealer at BLACK SHEEP and knew they’d be hiding in black squares. And each a specific kind because accommodating just one word must be nearly if not impossible for three gymnastic double-themers.
Finally got it at HAVE WE MET/CHEESE WEDGE and was able to struggle a bit more to suss out MORAL AMBIGUITY/LAMBORGHINI.
But that third one?
Had such a jumble of letters in the NE I despaired of knowing the comedian until I swept away every square I wasn’t sure of. Out came “bub” and “bed set” and “bread” (so much more than a “morsel”) and “refed” (inaccurate in the sport and the spelling), leaving a scary amount of white space. When I saw UMPED (after considering billiards and bingo before baseball) I saw AMY POEHLER! Which gave me the final ASHRAM/EXTRA MAYO (yes to both, please) themer for the wonderful finish.
Another great Thursday workout (even without a rebus). Thank you, Rebecca!
The background is blurred, in order to highlight the in-focus subject.
Loved the theme. Hated the SW corner. CHUB and HANA crossing BASALT felt like a slap in the face from an otherwise lovely puzzle.
My sympathies, Rex, on the loss of Olive.
Easy-medium. I saw RAM pretty quickly so I had an inkling about what was going on. EWE confirmed it and LAMB solved my MORA problem. Fun and amusing, liked it a bunch.
@Rex - so sorry about Olive.
@Nancy 9:31 am – yes, of course, EWE, RAM, and LAMB, even untyped in one hidden square, are rebuses!
I’m new to NYT weekday CW. My solve time today was 41:35. How does that stack up to veterans’ solve times for 10/20/22? Good? Bad? Be honest 😊
@wanderlust, I did all the same things you did! Great minds?? ;)
@Nancy, guessing phone cam “portrait mode” has an option to blur the background around the subject…?
Same experience as 🦖 with puzzle 🧩 and with cat 🐈⬛. (So sorry, Rex, about the latter. Heartbreaking.)
Yes, 🧩 unfolded into something so clever and interesting. Enjoyed the aha!
🤗🦖🦖🦖🦖🦖🤗
What @Rex and pretty much everybody else said! Thanks to Olive and Rebecca for such a harmonious Thursday blog from this normally (wonderfully) contentious crew.
As I glanced at the finished grid, I was struck by how weird IVEGOTAPLAN looked, and saw that the first 8 letters alternate between consonants and vowels. Maybe a string of that length is totally common, but it made me smile today.
Condolences, Rex.
No need to be sheepish. You’re a beautiful puzzle.
A delightful Thursday. I saw that some trickery was afoot at EXT-, but then wrongly tried to fill that column's 7 remaining white squares with RA ????? Fortunately, the crossing ASHRAM soon straightened me out. I happened to get the reveal before finding the EWE, and, like others, enjoyed the special treat of the LAMB appearing last. I also liked the involvement of the EWE in making CHEESE, though admittedly not Brie. Outstanding rebus crosses, I thought.
Somehow my condolences to Rex yesterday failed to appear, so I offer them again today. We lost our 19-year-old male ginger recently and it was an absolute heartbreaker. But, blessedly, we have the memories.
Loved, loved, loved this puzzle and echo all kudos thus far. Kind of got the trick with the hidden LAMB and the puzzle just continued to delight. Like many others I had only heard of the HARLEMSHuffleE but SHAKE was totally inferable not to mention the fair crosses.
I liked seeing GHEE because I actually know what it is and I’m NOT known for my food knowledge but my daughter is a no-dairy person due to skin breakouts. She WILL use butter in restaurants but uses ghee at home because it doesn’t have the dairy protein.
What a delight this was! My favorite, a rebus and a hidden one at that. Took me a while to figure out the trick but oh what a sweet aha moment when I did. I knew as soon as I saw MORA at 15A that something was happening with a linked BLACK square but still spent a long time wondering what kind of Italian car starts with an O. Great job Rebecca! Really enjoyed this fun Thursday.
While working this, I couldn’t help remembering @Nancy’s wonderful Black Hat puzzle from March 14, 2019, still one of my all-time favorites.
I also couldn’t help but recall the story about President Obama and VP Dick Cheney being distant cousins and Obama’s response: “Every family has a BLACK SHEEP.”
Wondering if a definition of the English garden design "ha-ha" in the plural might be a better clue for that word? I have seen it without the hyphen.
An almost perfect puzzle! A bit challenging and clever…no “silly” answers. Got to RAM last (knew it had to be there). Delighted to figure out MORA[lamb]IGUITY. That was some creative crosswordese! Loved it!
This couldn't have worked better. I like how the BLACK SHEEP clue points out the familial component of the metaphor, and the black squares represent a little sheep family: mom, dad, and child.
Have(n't) we met?
My condolences, Rex. Beautiful little sweetie, may she rest.
I loved this puzzle. My breakthrough came at the brilliant ORGHINI after rejecting Ferrari. Joining that to MORA IGUITY is an act of real construction genius, IMO. Well done, Rebecca! Great answers throughout, reasonable clues, and, as Rex pointed out, loads of moments that took one closer and closer to the aha that put a smile on that one’s face. A joy!
I learned today that AMY POEHLER and AMY SCHUMER have the same number of letters and both end in -ER. Other than that mistake (and the challenging theme), the puzzle was a breeze and a lot of fun.
I approach my Thursday with tip toeing trepidation. The upstairs cobwebs sometimes need some dusting and so...I arm myself with renewed brain cells and hope that I just may do a HARLEM SHAKE. I did. The boogie and the woogie were all there.
LAMB...you were my first. It took me a while, but I saw you hiding with MORA IGUITY and slipping into your ORGHINI. Was it good? And so the TWAIN shall meet, I sang.
I'm having fun but I'm also looking for other lambs. Oh wait....the reveal isn't STEP SISTER... it's BLACK SHEEP hiding in dark little squares. I went about finding the rest of the crew. What fun.
I had just a few side steps. AMY and I don't see eye to eye on spelling last names. I finally got the correct spelling for POEHLER thanks to ETTA gracing me with a song. I needed that E. I also had trouble with CHUB. A fish, I assume, is served with PUPU. The rest of the flock came into view and I clapped.
When a puzzle isn't all agony with a head scratching mess, I'll remember it.
This was fun and I have happy feet to prove it.
Oh, f- me, Wanderlust, I didn't get that at all until I saw your comment. I had so much trouble with this puzzle today and now that it's explained, it's so obvious.
P.S. to Rex: So sorry about your kitty. A soul pet like that is such a tough loss. My heart is with you.
@RP: Real sorry about sweet little Olive. Losing such a loyal pet is mighty hard, I know.
Any puz that uses a hidden rebus to cross MORALAMBIGUITY and LAMBORGHINI can't be all baaad.
staff weeject pick: EWE.
Puz played somewhat easy, after peekin at that revealer clue [after seein them telltale "-" clues for intersectin answers]. Then EXT- grew that -RA I was thinkin it really needed. I did already have the A on the other side, but figured EXT[R]A YO wasn't a familiar sandwich spec.
Merge of neighborin answers. check. Stuff hidin in black squares. check. Rebus stuff, at that. check. day-um. Triple theme mcguffins. har. ARE[WETHER]EYET?
Thanx for the fun, Ms. Goldstein darlin. Nice job.
Masked & Anonymo6[EWE]s
**gruntz**
Thanks to @pabloinnh and @Whatsername for remembering BLACK HAT.
Early on I was thinking, What the Flock? I’ll neer-do-well on this puzzle. But I knew I cud get it, and I did.
Seems like 13D NYNY was a spillover from yesterdays ISIS and NENE rumble.
LAMBORGHINI got me to thinking about a Maserati I once owned (my only sporty car ever). It was a sort of cross between a family sedan and a Formula 1 car. They called it the Bi-Turbo. It was a pleasure to drive when it ran, but that was seldom. Ended up trading it to an artist/friend for a painting of his entitled “Gates of Hell”.
The stage before announcing IVEGOTAPLAN would be IVEGOTtAPLAN.
I’m with @Rex and the majority here. Fantastic puzzle. Thanks Rebecca Goldstein.
In honor of Olive, this puzzle was purrfect.
A nice puzzle, after a rocky start.
And Rex, sincere and heartfelt (and lump-in-throat) condolences. We lost a nine year old Lab to a fast moving cancer about a year ago. We connected more than any other pet and his passing still is tough to absorb. But - our six month old pup sure helps.
Hi Rex, I’m so sorry to read about Olive. While not a pet owner myself, I’ve had two dogs in my life(via friend and family) and when they died I was really upset and only imagine what it’s like for owners. When you’re up for it, there’s a new documentary out called “Cat Daddies” and I thought of you. It’s really good. Take care
So sorry about your cat. I totally agree with you about today’s puzzle! Most enjoyable one, in my opinion, in a long time. Honored to share the first name with today’s puzzle builder. (Rebecca) I hope to see more of her puzzles soon. Thank you for your articles. They help me find my mistakes and I usually agree with your assessments! I’m still a novice puzzle solver, but I’m getting better, and your critiques are helping me understand puzzle solving/building.
OMG so sorry to hear of the passing of your sweet girl Olive.
What the -- How the hell do you "solve" a HYPHEN??!
Self-indulgent, obscurantist-for-its-own-sake bullsh*t.
I'm so sorry to hear you lost your cat, Rex! This is my first time posting here though I have been reading and enjoying your commentary for oh five or so years now, at least. Take good care of yourself!
I solved it in the opposite order as Rex. I didn't know what tagliatelle was, so I went east and it wasn't too hard to get the "lamb" rebus. I didn't like it on a black square, but when I went down the east coast I saw the "black sheep" revealer, and then I proceeded clockwise to finish the puzzle fairly easily.
It was everything a Thursday should be. Harder than Wednesday, easier than Friday, with a good well-executed twist that made it a satisfying solve.
Sorry about the death of Olive. I've always considered myself more of a dog person, but two brother cats found us last year and it's hard to imagine life without them.
@FedUpWithNonsense - Before I accuse you of spreading more nonsense, may I ask what the hell you're talking about?
I’ve enjoyed this blog for several years, and have always suspected that one reason was that OFL and I have some common sensibilities. That was confirmed today with the Housemartins “It’s Sheep We’re Up Against” link. Great band, great song. Great puzzle, too, btw.
So sad and sorry to hear of your cat's passing, Rex.
Easy there, tenderfoot. The hyphen as clue is pretty common. It indicates that you need to figure out the puzzle’s trick. Not obscure at all, especially for a Thursday.
Let's not PUPU the French...
As for BLUR and anyone who was a bit confused by that (as I was). In the advent of Teams and Zoom meetings I always thought of the background BLUR as a filter…ya know, someone is in a meeting from home and doesn’t want people to see that their work desk is in their bedroom and the bed is unmade. Now I see you can take a pic of someone (or yourself) and actually BLUR the background of the portrait pic.
hours later ps — even after I got MORA (LAMB) IGUITY (which I loved getting), I didn’t realize LAMB continued down and for a while I just thought that ORGHINI was some Italian car I’d never heard of. I’m sure there are many!
Nice for me to see BLUR as it is in the same category of lovely sounding words , like murmur. Also, reminds me of what a great feature it is to get those sharply focused portraits.
Nice puzzle all way round.
So sorry for your loss. Just brought my 16 year old dog with me to lunch because it will be so hard not to have him. Love the idea of wee lads minding the sheep!!
Ah, Thursday, and another horrid gimmick grid. Where’s the bathroom?
I’m so sorry to hear about your cat, @rex.
I'd say this puzzle out-ran itself by trying to be too clever. It seems very self-indulgent on the part of the constructor.
My reaction to this puzzle, which places multiple rebuses within black squares, is the same as what the guys on the "Car Talk" radio show used to say: "BOGUS!"
I actually agree with Rex. This was truly delightful! Started slowly picking up on it around MORAL LAMB, then the revealer made me start gleefully hunting around the puzzle just to find the others. Then I almost got stuck at 45D, but was again delighted to see that the BLACK SHEEP work in both directions. Fun! Seems a little obvious in hindsight, but it wasn’t required. Rebecca’s extra construction efforts here made it even more fun. And I was so distracted by looking for the — around the puzzle, that my dim self didn’t get ORGHINI until near the end! (Literally sat there trying to figure out what else a LAMBORGHINI might be called, then fully facepalmed.) Great puzzle that actually had me smiling while solving.
Rex, genuinely sorry to hear about your loss of poor Olive. We don’t know each other, and your posts often drive me nuts, but I say that only so you know this internet stranger is being genuine here in my anonymous condolences. Your pics of Olive always at least gave me pause, as I don’t usually disagree so often with someone who loves cats, so she gave you a lot of social capital. :) But truly, losing a pet is so hard. I lost a young cat, too, a few years back. And we also got to prolong his short little life with some medication and therapy, but it was just devastating when it was time to put him down. I’m glad you were there for Olive, to keep her happy and comfortable until she could pass away peacefully. That’s the best thing a person can do for an animal when their time is limited. Be well.
I have never heard of BLACK SHEEP being racist. As far as sheep are concerned, the gene to make black wool is recessive, so one can appear unexpectedly during lambing season in a flock of all white sheep. They definitely stand out. And their wool sells for less, since it can’t be dyed as many colors, so they are somewhat less desirable. As for the puzzle, I thought the inconsistent placements and word lengths made it more fun to hunt around, and the fact they work both across and down is just really good!
For some reason I solved the theme (at HAV(EWE)MET) and the puzzle itself relatively quickly, so that I didn't feel the same intensity of 'aha!' that many of you did. This isn't to PUPU the puzzle; I liked it fine. I just wasn't bowled over the same way. Except for MORA(LAMB)IGUITY, which is indeed pretty inspired.
I can't see ASH(RAM) without thinking of my early 20's in Baltimore, when I was passionate about Kundalini Yoga and did a certain amount of hanging out with that crowd of American ex-hippies who had found their religion in Yogi Bhajan's organization. They had an ashram I think in Randallstown MD, were enjoined by YB to observe a strict lifestyle, getting up at 4:30AM to do their yoga and chanting and meditation, followed by their 9-5 jobs running a vegetarian restaurant. Visiting the ashram once, I somehow I don't know how spied a bottle of vodka stashed in a linen closet, and in my head-shaking delusion that this just couldn't be what any sane person would conclude, thought maybe they used the alcohol for some cleaning purpose. What became of so many outfits based on Eastern religions, trying to take root in America, is really pretty sad, but all too human. Potentially a lot of great things, gone to pot (sometimes literally).
SORORAL is a fine word, and I'm glad Rex talked that one out.
@FedUpWithNonsense
New to Thursday puzzles? It looks that way. The hyphen is a subtle hint that the clue is a case where the Thursday gimmick is afoot and it's up to you to puzzle it out. If you do the Thursdays regularly, you will see all this "obscurantist bullshit" frequently, but maybe next time you'll know that the hyphen is a heads-up to put that old noggin to work!
Sorry, about your cat. It’s so tough losing a pet. I loved this puzzle.
Strangely enough my biggest problem -- and the last answer that went in -- was THEY. It took me forever to realize it's THE Y even though after I did I immediately remembered seeing this answer a lot. Go figure...
Hey, I never comment but I read you often and I always appreciate your take, even when your experience of the puzzle is different than mine (and you are *far* more experienced than I am at this). But I was moved to comment to offer condolences about Olive. Two years or twenty years, it doesn’t matter: when they touch you, they touch you, and the mark is indelible. Warm wishes.
I often skip the Thursday puzzles because they are so contrived and strained. I got most of this one but would have been just as happy to skip it.
It's late and I'm studying for a certification exam, but I just want to get in under the wire and say 1) sorry about your cat and 2) this puzzle was excellent—favorite one in weeks
I’m so sorry for the loss of your beloved kitty, Mr. Rex.
I got all the words filled in without ever figuring out the theme.
Most enjoyable puzzle in a long time. I'm a sports car nut so Lambo was easy. Sorry for the loss of Olive. We lost our Sunny at age 15.
Cats&dogs guaranteed to break your heart. RIP Olivre
Superb puzzle. This is what the NYT ought to be.
Was expecting a Mary or Bo Peep revealer, but the one we got was better.
Probably the most disappointing puz I've ever done. Putting letters into black squares ? Beyond ridiculous. As suggested by a previous comment: Don't be cute and just make it a rebus. Black squares mean mean no letter or letters allowed to go there.
So you might wonder how in the world I could miss the crossing of RISK and SEA. Well...it was my old nemesis - the R in the unknown name.
But I certainly do give thanks for the rest of this wonderful rebusy-without-the-rebus puzzle on a Thursday.
Now, for the clam chowder!
Diana, Lady-in-Waiting for Dinner!
It's been 11 years, and I still think of my favorite cat, who called me by name, as my family can attest. She passed away right after Thanksgiving. Best wishes to you and your family today.
It took me forever to decypher the gimmick. But it was a big Aha! moment once I did. This is a really well-crafted puzzle from a new constructor. So hats off to Rebecca Goldstein.
Leave it to me to solve bass ackwards. I started, wouldja believe, with STOW/POW way down there in the SE corner! Thus I pretty quickly had a -EEP ending, and when I saw the clue...there it was, the revealer. Obviously the answer had to be BLACKSHEEP, and so being Thursday, I immediately inferred that names of sheep should go in black spaces (this idea reinforced by the presence of hyphen clues). So I'm afraid the aha moment wasn't as big for me as it was for most, but I still appreciate the whole shtick.
Now ORGHINI made sense, and so did IGUITY and EXT--although I had EXT[RAM]EAT before -MAYO. Gimme more meat and take it easy on the mayo, please. I'm a carnivore.
I liked this one; the whole dang ovine family was there. Call Bo Peep: we found them! Birdie.
I take OFF to task as often as anybody, but my heartfelt sympathy goes out to him upon the loss of Olive. We had a German Shepherd female, Kohle, and a tiger cat male, Kelly. The former was the runt of an overbred litter. She had such weak hindquarters that she could barely struggle to her feet, let alone walk more than a few steps in constant pain. We finally had to take her on a one-way trip to the vet; when we came back we couldn't find the cat anywhere. For three days. Then I had to go down to the cellar for something, and there he was, curled up by the furnace. That cat knew. He KNEW! We coaxed him out of there, but he didn't live much longer. He missed his friend.
seems my comment was eaten by the internet
so...y'all eating din din yet?
I liked this non-rebus rebussy puzzle. Only one unknown name gave me a 2-letter dnf.
Lady Di
EGO ACTS
"HAVEWEMET?", asked that RISKy GUY.
"I'MHERE to SULLY A man",
HANA said, "WEELADS, THEY just cry,
AGES BLUR, now I'VEGOTAPLAN."
--- AMY TWAIN
@Lady Di, don't know if din din was an intended bilingual Thanksgiving pun on your part but it's really appropriate as dinde is turkey in French! So, félicitations as they say up in this neck of the woods...
Great puz. Figured it out early as BLACKSHEEP was one of my first solves but still DNF due to not knowing GHEE and as a result didn't come up with CHEESEWEDGE. GHEEZ!!
And best wishes for a Happy Thanksgiving to all US sydiland-solvers! (However, that said, I'm still cheering for England tomorrow at the World Cup - sorry!)
Din din at 7 or so. Vikes will be on before it's done. I woulda clued TWAIN as Shania, yeah baby.
Wordle eagle!!! by starting with the least.
Happy Thanksgiving to all.
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