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Given name of Caligula and Augustus / SUN 12-18-22 / Term for a male opera character played by a woman / Portmanteau for an extended autumn celebration / Sort of investment purchase with a spike in popularity through social media / Persian polymath Khayyam / Carter most recorded jazz bassist in history / 2017 chart-topping hit whose YouTube video was the first to reach 3 billion views / Basketball legend nicknamed the Point God
Sunday, December 18, 2022
Constructor: Ryan McCarty
Relative difficulty: Easy
Theme answers:
- no
Ronald Levin Carter (born May 4, 1937) is an American jazz double bassist. His appearances on 2,221 recording sessions make him the most-recorded jazz bassist in history. [Aargh, don't just lift your clues from the first paragraph of a wikipedia entry, come on!] He has won three Grammy awards, and is also a cellist who has recorded numerous times on that instrument.
Some of his studio albums as a leader include: Blues Farm (1973), All Blues (1973), Spanish Blue (1974), Anything Goes (1975), Yellow & Green (1976), Pastels(1976), Piccolo (1977), Third Plane (1977), Peg Leg(1978), A Song for You (1978), Etudes (1982), The Golden Striker (2003), Dear Miles (2006), and Ron Carter's Great Big Band (2011). (wikipedia) [emph. mine]
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Nonetheless, I will try to say something. Oddly, I was most excited by a very short answer, which is also today's Word of the Day: RON Carter. I first learned about him, like many many people of my generation, from A Tribe Called Quest's landmark 1991 album The Low End Theory, specifically the song "Verses from the Abstract," which namechecks Carter:
RON Carter's All Blues sits out near my stereo at all times. I never reshelve it because I know I'm just gonna wanna play it again soon, so why bother. It's a staple. Love that guy. There were other highlights for me, more obvious, longer-than-three-letters highlights. Like this term, what the hell!
I didn't know there was such a term. How often do women play men in opera (when cross-dressing is not an integral part of the plot)? Ah, I see, it's a vocal range issue, with women playing adolescents / young men. So cross-dressing is not part of the plot—everyone just accepts that the character is male even though it's being played by a woman. Gotcha. The more common term for this role appears to be "breeches role" (that's the main wikipedia entry, anyway). Anyway, PANTS ROLE! That's my new affirmation exclamation for any time I have to do something conventionally masculine (and therefore out of character). Like change a tire or barbecue. "You can do this you can do this ... 'pants role' on three, one two three PANTS ROLE!"
Really not enjoying the SW corner. Are ONE-SHOT DEALS actual "deals" or is "deals" being used loosely / metaphorically, like "Are you gonna shave your head again this summer!?" / "Nah, that was just a one-shot deal" (97A: Some limited-time offers)? ONE-TIME OFFER googles way Way better than "one-shot deal" if we're talking about actual deals. POLICE REPORTS ... I could use less police presence in my puzzles. And while I can tolerate EL GRECO, multiple EL GRECOS ... that's asking a lot. Plurals galore in that corner. And a non-musical BANGLES, what a waste.
You can tell me HALLOWEEKEND (2D: Portmanteau for an extended autumn celebration) is a thing but I'm 53 and have never heard it, and since Oct. 31 is frequently nowhere near a weekend, I call BALONEY. That and MEMESTOCK (28D: Sort of investment purchase with a spike in popularity through social media) were both ostentatiously trying to be fresh, but ... not my kind of freshness. Balked at the quaint "AH, BLISS" but kind of enjoyed the ecstatic echo of "THIS IS THE LIFE!" Had REST AREAS before REST STOPS, which is about as boring a mistake as you can make. Wanted KNEELINGS (!?!?!) before KNEE BENDS, which is a ridiculous mistake, if not a boring one. Were I the constructor / editor, I might've changed CARPS to something like CARNE in order to eliminate the double CARP up there (with "CARPENTER ANT"). Real close together, running in the same direction ... I found it oddly distracting. RAN AT / LASH AT / COMES AT / SIT AT was a little much, AT-wise. I'll give GO AT a pass :) See you tomorrow.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
P.S. That GLENN Close clue was very cute (82A: Close up on the screen?)
P.P.S. Peter Gordon is doing his annual Kickstarter for his Fireball Newsflash Crossword subscription and it ends *today* Sunday 12-18-22 at 10pm EST. These are very doable and fun puzzles with entries ripped right from recent headlines. They are a great way to keep up with names and events you may have missed, including things that might very well end up appearing soon in more mainstream (less timely) puzzles (like the one you solve every day!). They're a part of my regular solving rotation. I like them a lot. You might like them too.
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]
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115 comments:
Multi-Naticked by HALLOWEEvENt. Don’t know my NoLa songs, and can’t tell architectural columns from MS Excel columns.
I thought this was a fun solve. I worked on it while watching the late Buffalo-Miami game (triple saturday!), so it was a fun solve that I could do while distracted, and got a meandering 35:21 solve time. Maybe that’s why I enjoyed it a little more. I actually liked having a bunch of long non-theme entries; I thought the lovely grid construction avoided peppering us with weak fill, so all the varying gems got their moment to shine one at a time. Nice!
I do have to add that HALLOWEEKEND is definitely a thing (I’m in my 40s, and have heard it for a while). This very past Halloween was on a Sunday, which means (theoretically) Halloween parties on Friday, Saturday, Sunday…the platonic ideal of the HALLOWEEKEND!
Great grid, pleasant solve, and now free to finish last-minute Christmas errands tomorrow.
Oh Rex you are so wrong. This was the best Sunday in a long time for me, even though it was tough as there were so many answers I've never heard of (BETA WARDS, PANTS ROLE, MEME STOCK, EN FUEGO). And unfamiliar names: REECE, CHRIS PAUL, ORLEAN, ZADIE. But a nice change from the typical Sunday slog. And what a neat grid layout.
I took a year of German but I was baffled by STROM for river. I went to Google translate and in auto mode it actually thinks that word is English. If you tell it: German, then "river" is number 6 on the list, after current, power, stream, electricity, and flux! That was the lamest answer in the grid.
I'll see your LEG RAISE and "raise" it by a couple of KNEE BENDS. I'M SO DONE!
A Wednesday puzzle supersized for Sunday. Meh.
tc
I’m a bit surprised that no one (including Will Shortz, Jeff Chen, Rex and others) has noted that squinting at this grid gives you a giant, unambiguous swastika. I’m not saying that it was intentional, but it’s just so inescapable that it’s hard to think about anything else.
Is a smart ass like a WISE CRACK?
I agree with @Rex on this. It’s an awesome construction that’s actually a kind of bland and easy solving experience. I’d much rather solve a mediocre themed puzzle on Sunday. But it was a very good showing of what a themeless Sunday could be. Thanks, Ryan McCarty.
It’s BET Awards —RP
Mediumish. The center was the last to fall mostly because I have no idea who CRIS PAUL is or what a MEM STOCK is. A fun solve, liked it a bunch and Jeff gave it POW!
...so not with @Rex on this one.
HALLOWEEKEND often occurs when Halloween falls on a Monday (as it did this year), and everybody agrees to move trick-or-treating and/or partying to the weekend precedent, in addition to when it falls on a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday.
It was good to be a classical music person for this puzzle - some great Schubert songs like "Auf der Strom or the fine song from the Schwanengesang set, made the German river clue a snap. (Yes, I realize this isn't a "gimme" for everyone). It did take me a minute to get the woman singing a young man clue - (yes, fairly common in opera); i know this as a "trouser role") - maybe dating myself?; which didn't fit, but it didn't take long to figure it out. Refreshing after the usual run of obscure hip hop artists that i'm sure many other people know much better than me. Overall - relatively easy fun (though i always call them "rest stops") Thanks to Mr. McCarty.
Can't give thiz one five stars because it lacked a clever, original theme, but it was workable and had the promised fresh fill that wasn't overloaded with PPP. My favorite clues were "what used to be yours" and "joke that goes over the line?"with honorable mention to" joint accounts, " each a laugh and a half.
⭐⭐⭐⭐👍
AH, BLISS -- Greetings from a cozy room above the Bull restaurant in Wrotham (pr. "rootum"), in Kent. With my brother and nephew, I had eggs and salmon for breakfast here yesterday. Then walked up and out of the village, seven or so miles of snowy, icy, muddy footpaths up and down through wooded paths and lanes, pastures, shaggy cattle, plein-air with a snowy Hobbit vibe, vast views of the North Downs. IN TRANSIT to reach the snowy, icy sidewalks of Walling for a REST STOP at the Homeward Bound pub on High Street, where Mick the owner served us tea or beer according to taste. Walking warms you -- temperatures in the thirties are comfortable sweater weather. Another warmth comes from strong tea in a pub in the early afternoon, talking with Mick, petting his dog, and hearing how Walling has changed.
Then back on the sidewalk, then a downhill path to get to stairs that go back up to the bridge over the River Medway and another five miles or so to Aylresford. At one point, my PANTS' ROLE was that of COASTER when the steep trail through the hedge became sheer ice. I sat down in a controlled skid for about twenty feet, using buckthorn as handrails, then realized squatting was better and finished in style. As usual my brother ignored sage advice and bushwhacked through the buckthorn, the nephew gliding it snow-board style. I understand we have the video to prove it, including the repartee of sage advice ignored without consequence.
It was dark when we reached the Priory in Aylresford, an old Benedictine monastery about five miles from Walling. We booked rooms there for tonight, then with all sorts of local support arranged a TAXI to take us back to Wrotham, the Bull, a warm shower and an "ex-dairy" ribeye in front of the fire. After breakfast today, back in a TAXI, back to Priory, drop off the packs, and walk five miles or so to Rochester to see what's there.
My brother and nephew are a couple of weeks into what they style a walking "pilgrimage" from Winchester to Canterbury, and I was able to be with them for a few days. THIS IS THE LIFE.
Is a smart ass like a WISE CRACK?
Sure, if he's cheeky enough! 😏
Came here to echo @egsforbreakfast re: the swastika shape of the puzzle. Thought for sure Rex would mention it! Other than that, it was a perfectly fine Sunday solve, just nothing too exciting. Besides the swastika, which was disturbing...
Medium. All the central downs were WOEs: PANTS ROLE, CHRIS PAUL, the STAND part of FOOD STAND (wanted FOOD court) and MEME STOCK. ScooTS before SPLITS at 30D. Naticked at GAIUS x KLAUS (91A x 78D).
I IMMEDIATELY saw a gigantic swastika staring me in the face and it distracted me the entire time.
@egs. You're funny and I like your posts but I worry about you.
I love a Sunday themeless. Wordle 3 today. Pretty much as good as it gets. In 151 games I've had only four 2's and no 1's. Avg. under 4(barely)
Autobiography of a well-known Dublin shellfish seller:
I, MALONE
"It's a fine way to spend 10 minutes (or 20 or whatever it takes you)."
That sounds like a humble-brag.
This puzz took me forever, one of the slowest Sundays I have done this year. Like 25 minutes slower than last Sunday.
When I squint and look at the grid I see people hallucinating.
It's Chris Paul, he's a point guard in the NBA and head of the players'union. He is also on a lot of State Farm commercials.
Was working my way through the grid, noticed that it was playing easy (probably Wednesday-ish for me). I also noticed that there was no theme, read the title and thought there was going to be some gimmick that revealed itself at some point.
The section with GAIUS, CARLA, KLAUS and GLENN Close sure jammed a lot of PPP into not much real estate; obviously I’m not a fan of MERCI crossing CEST BIEN - but that really isn’t unexpected from the Times.
Hard to criticize the puzzle, but it just wasn’t that much fun to solve. Too many of the ?-type clues (or maybe they just weren’t that interesting today). I appreciate the effort on this one and don’t miss the theme at all - it just seemed to fall short for me.
What? Are you kidding? OMG, what a thing of beauty!
Just look at that gorgeous, gorgeous swirling hypnotic grid! Since mid-2019, practically all of Ryan’s grid designs have looked stunning, to where I’ve been favorably disposed toward the puzzle – okay, in love – before filling in the first square. Elegance, thy name is Ryan McCarty.
Twenty – twenty! -- NYT answer debuts. Not just ho-hum debuts either – here’s a sampling: BET AWARDS, BLOOMING ONION, CARPENTER ANT, CHRIS PAUL, CRANK CALL, I’M SO DONE, PANTS ROLE, POUTINE, THIS IS THE LIFE. Top-tier additions to the oeuvre.
Junky answers? Hardly a SMIDGEN. And swaths of splendor, such as that stagger-stack in center stage, with its lovely answers, only to be crossed by TAG TEAMED, WISECRACK, PANTS ROLE, and CHRIS PAUL. I sit gobsmacked.
Non-debut-answer sweetness for more shine: SMIDGEN, FEINT, DESPACITO, BANGLES, PLEASE DO, C’EST BIEN, NEXT TO NOTHING, EN FUEGO, SHEESH. Sheesh! Entertaining clues, such as [One that might crawl out of the woodwork], and [Joke that goes over the line?].
After filling this grid out in a state of utter contentment, I’ve been taking post-puzzle REST STOPS to simply drink in the beauty and applaud the skill it took to pull this off. This is a crossword work of art. It should be hanging in the main room of Crosslandia’s Hall of Fame. A puzzle to remember; a shining jewel. Thank you for creating this, Ryan!
Oh, Rexie. I'm continually surprised (but not really) at what presences you imagine you "could use less" of. May you continue to live a life free of threat, of pain, of worry, of war, and of want, and from time to time consider those who are less fortunate than you and calculate what more you have actually done than them to deserve to live so luckily.
If I really wanted to do a Sunday sized themeless I’d look to the WaPo - but I don’t. We just had two wonderful unthemed puzzles why tarnish the good run? Agree with the big guy today - any real highlights get forgotten due to the sheer volume of fill. the flip side of Yakety Yak.
Handsome grid - leaves a lot of 5s and 6s that end up getting lost. Do like the cluing on CLOSE and love a good POUTINE. Bobby Hatfield.
The center is all set up for greatness - but fizzles. I guess CRANK CALL is decent but most of it is a snoozer. TRANSIT. The TAXES - TAXIS stack is ugly.
Where’s my Sunday puzzle?
Jerry and The BANGLES doing IKO IKO
@Another Joker: Good one!
@Birchbark: I can't find a thing in your comment related to the puzzle, but I enjoyed it anyway. Made me want to go back to England.
@Robert: "'It's a fine way to spend 10 minutes (or 20 or whatever it takes you).' That sounds like a humble-brag." Exactly! 10 minutes? Really, Rex? Are your fingers that nimble, never mind your brain?
3D: This was originally a "Bloomin' Onion" at the restaurant where it began; I didn't know the name had changed, but that was easy enough to fix. Naticked, however, at MEMESTOCK/DESPACITO. Outstanding clues/answers: POLICE REPORTS, CRANK CALL, NEXT TO NOTHING. BANGLES and GOGOS in the same puzzle? Nice! Overall, OK, nothing special, nothing terrible. Right down the middle.
A rare day with more unknowns among the non-PPP material (IKO, HALLOWEEKEND, PANTS ROLE, MEME STOCK, STROM, FIREPOT) than the PPP (RON Carter, Gabrielle REECE, CARLA Thomas, ZADIE Smith, Susan ORLEAN).
I do wish there had been one more PPP entry – as much as I like the GOGOS, I like the BANGLES even more.
I think for Ryan McCarty as a “Sydney or the bush” constructor; his puzzles tend to be terrific (like this one) or terrible, but never so-so.
I agree, Rex, this was mostly meh. I was prepared for a great solving experience because the grid by itself looked so beautiful, a great swirling pinwheel. But then I start filling in such blandness as CARPENTER ANT and THIS IS THE LIFE and the joy started dripping away. I practically stopped solving at 51D, “Thai cuisine quality”: SPICINESS. Really? That’s all I get? The most generic and routine descriptive possible for Thai cuisine.
To its credit, the puzzle has a number of audio daily doubles: RON Carter, GOGOS, DESPACITOS and PANTS ROLES.
That last one threw me, because when I got to 41D, “Term for a male opera character played by a woman,” I immediately thought TROUSER ROLE, but it didn't fit. I had to wait for the crosses to reveal that it can be called a PANTS ROLE too. Oh, duh. Makes sense. Funny thing is, I’ve heard and enjoyed many of these roles at the Met over the years. They can be delightful. I’m thinking of Cherubino in Mozart’s “Le Nozze di Figaro,” Orfeo in Gluck’s “Orfeo ed Eurydice,” Oscar in Verdi’s “Un Ballo in Maschera,” and Octavian in Strauss’s “Rosenkavalier.”
There are many other such roles in opera, but I can’t think of any I like as much as those four.
@Robert
You are right. Humble-bragging is a staple around here. People really want you to know how fast they are. I can just picture some of them doing the puzzle on the subway, tossing their heads proudly when they finish and hoping others have noticed.
But it's really not in the service of inclusivity for Rex to be throwing out 10 minutes as about average for a puzzle of this size, and 20 minutes as an imagined time for the rest of you lot, whoever you syndicated solvers in flyover country are (is that how the formulation went the other day?).
(If it's any consolation, I also turned in a much-over-average time. There was an awful lot of PPP that was outside my wheelhouse. I don't rate it "easy".)
If today's XW was conspicuously unthemed, today's Acrostic was themed up the wazoo. I am certain I set a PR today. Well, 'tis the season!
Am I the only person who found this hard? Looking back over the grid, I find it difficult to say why now, perhaps it was a wavelength, as opposed to a wheelhouse, issue. By which I mean that if you’re not on the constructor’s wavelength, you find it hard to fathom any cluing that’s not completely straightforward and you fall headfirst into all the misdirections. Whereas if you’re not in the constructor’s or the puzzle’s wheelhouse, you don’t know any of the PPP references. I bopped all over the grid, getting beachheads here and there but had trouble filling in any larger areas. And like @Robert (7:18), I found the whole enterprise took longer than usual.
At first I wondered if “I’m in heaven!” was the theme due to the clue repetition at 1A and 22A, but then I read the title and realized it was theme-nyet. Perhaps not surprisingly, I didn’t get 1A on my first pass but managed to fill in the NW corner early in the solve after getting CLOWNED, SLOWED, ABCS and SEED, which provided a good framework for the rest. Never heard of HALLOWEEKEND or BLOOMING ONION (but thought both were inferable with a few crosses). Thought BLOOMING ONION was something a frazzled Cockney cook might say (“Where in ‘ell did I put that BLOOMING ONION?”). I ended up with a natick, though, right in the middle – the CHRIS PAUL/DESPACITO cross. Didn’t know either one, ran the alphabet in my head and decided that P was the most likely choice. Whew!
For this art historian, the pluralization of EL GRECOS seemed as natural as breathing. And thank you, DORIC columns. At that length, the only other choice was iOnIC which shares 3 letters – I suppose that’s a kealoa of sorts. But I have a good mental picture of the Brandenburg Gate (despite the whole vicinity being completely torn up with construction when I was there). I laughed at myself over PANTS ROLE: I had PAN_______, and was sure it was going to be some flowery Italian word, you know, like “pantoflio” or something. Sometimes reality is so banal. I’m grateful to ZADIE Smith for getting me started in the middle section. Her Z gave me PHOENIX, AZ, which was a helpful toehold. Enjoyed seeing LEG RAISE which, in its side variation, is a mainstay of my workout regimen. It’s a great osteoporosis fighter! (I don’t do squatting KNEE BENDS, though – ouch, ouch! too hard on the joints. And I know this whole discussion is TMI.) Loved seeing “kvell” in the clue for 70A. It’s such a great word, which I learned from Spelling Bee. Bit of Canadian content with POUTINE. But, beware, your arteries start to harden if you even look at a bowlful.
[SB: I haven’t posted for days, so I’ll give you my week, Monday through Saturday: -1, -2, 0, 0, -2, -1. I mostly missed should’ves with the possible exception of these two. The AL-word I thought was missing a syllable, and the other word I got a shorter version of and never thought to add that final suffix. Sigh. I guess that’s why those of us who are hooked keep endlessly striving for SB perfection.]
TROUSER ROLE is the usual term in my experience. I never heard PANTS ROLE but I guess it's sometimes used as well.
I only did about a quarter of this puzzle, I got so bored with it. I couldn't care less how many debut words it added to the database.
I also could see nothing else at first besides the swastika…
PULEEZ ... Second Sunday in several weeks without a theme.
Such a disappointment with my coffee early Sat ...
A PANTS ROLE is absolutely a thing. Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier is a famous example, among many others. I've never heard the term "breeches role," but it sounds like a more British usage.
Continue to enjoy your Kiwi adventure! The South Island is breathtakingly beautiful. Alas, I only know it from a NZ friend's magnificent slides.
A note: In addition to our puzzle that's coming this Wednesday (12/21) in the NYT, Will Nediger and I have the Monday puzzle (12/19) in Universal tomorrow.
The closeness of the pub dates is quite a coincidence. The NYT took its usual "forever" to first accept and then publish. David Steinberg at Universal is publishing within a month of receiving our submission, -- having notified us of his acceptance the day after he received it. So even though the two puzzles are quite similar in type, they were actually created about a year apart.
I've been lucky in the past with no puzzles ever published at times when people are likely to be very, very busy or away. Both of these come out Christmas week -- so I hope you'll all have a chance to work on them. Or at the very least on the NYT puzzle. I"ll give you another heads-up on that puzzle on Wednesday.
As a mezzosoprano PANTSROLE was a gimme for me. Definitely had CARPENTERbee, RESTareaS and deEpBENDS throwing me for a while. To me, a rest stop is the activity you undertake at the location of a rest area.
I had some fun misparsing answers I’d already written in correctly when I went back to see what was holding up my solve. Saw LeGraises and Beta Wards, and of course, stepson.
This was a pleasant solve, but I prefer themed puzzles. Just a personal preference. Adds a layer of fun and complexity. Must say, every time I run across a "portmanteau," I have no idea what that means. A few PPP crosses detracted from this puzzle some (CHRISPAUL and DESPACITO chief among them).
We were first introduced to POUTINE many years ago, during the first of many visits to Montreal. I do not like cheese but love gravy, so always asked for "Poutine, s'il vous plait, mais sans le fromage" and then would get funny looks.
Now to today's puzzle. I completed it yesterday, leaving nothing to do on it today -- and that always means that I enjoyed it. "You can't eat just one" as Lay's Potato Chips say. But remembering it -- that's entirely different. I didn't find anything especially memorable about it. Looking at my smudges, I see that I had TWO-TEAMED before TAG-TEAMED and SCOOTS before SPLITS. I also remember that I found PHOENIXAZ very DOOK-y. And I learned PANTS ROLE -- not that I'll remember it.
BTW, anyone working on the Mega Puzzle? I started yesterday and am working my way through it. About a Monday level of difficulty, just very large!
This was difficult for me! Cf: Okanager's comments. However, it was a very different set of clues from the usual suspects and lots of clues that were longer phrases, e.g., 62A, 41A, and 28D. I enjoyed the challenge.
Glad to see I wasn't the only one bothered by the swastika in the grid.
Some great clues, a phrase I never knew, but guessed (aha, pants roll...), And just a lot more puzzle than a week day. Struggling to see what's wrong with that. Good puzzle.
Good morning,
I haven’t done the puzz yet but want to comment on the odd BBL from yesterday.
Long ago, in the early ‘40s, I asked my Vancouver longshoreman dad about this. He told me it was to differentiate between
BALE (BL) and BARREL (BBL). @bocamp also mentioned this possibility.
I tried last night to post a link of an 1821 ship manifest but was unable. Here it is:
https://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee150/woad_yurt/BBL1821.jpeg
Now on to today's puzzle.
Alice
It's usually called a "trouser role," not a "pants role." The composer in Ariadne auf Naxos, Cherubino in Marriage of Figaro, and Octavian in Rosenkavelier are three better-known ones from regularly performed operas. Some also may call it a "breeches role." But that was the least of my problems; the whole middle of the puzzle was inscrutable and I had to text my friend my lousy (and losing) puzzle time and wordle score today. At least we tied on "weaver."
I, too, saw the swastika right away. Didn’t hate the puzzle itself—but the experience was jaded with the grid pattern.
Well, I for one love me a big ol’ themeless Sunday, especially when the fill is fresh and the clueing is clever, and this puzzle delivered to my complete satisfaction. Finished by dropping the E into I’M SO DONE.
I had never heard of HALLOWEEKEND until this year, when I was in Miami for a wedding and my Air B&B was next door to the loudest, longest party ever. No sleep for me that night, as anyone can tell from the wedding pictures the next day. Not a fan.
This puzzle, in comparison? AH, BLISS.
FH.
Seven out of ten people who say "Pants role!" don't know how to change a tire. You can look it up.
Swastika pattern? Gimme a break.
When I squinted at this puzzle, I saw the Shroud of Turin......
Hey All !
Saw puz title, first thought was that puz would have incomplete Themers, like shortened phrases or somesuch. Then hit the two "I'm in heaven!" clues, thinking I'd see more of them sprinkled about. Got to the end of the Acrosses, let out a "Hmm", reread title, and say "Ah, a Themeless Sunday."
Did get stuck in a few places, but came in at a respectable 38 minutes and change. Filled in last letter ... Almost There! Argh! Really? Searched for my error for about 6 seconds, said "Aw, screw it", and hit Check Puzzle. It crossed out the wrong N I had at HALLOWEEnEND/InO. I did think HALLOWEEnEND sounded odd, but whatevs. Dang. HALLOW-WEEKEND. Of course.
Out here in Las Vegas, on The Strip at least, it's more like HALLOWEEK. Depending on what day Halloween falls on, these tourists usually make a whole week out of it. And the early twenty-somethings women wear the shortest skirts imaginable. What exactly their costume is supposed to be is beyond me.
Gonna guess @Anoa rates this as POC-marked. Lots of plurals today.
Apparently DESPACITO is popular, but this middle aged guy never heard of it. DESPERADO by the Eagles, though...
Two Frenchies crossing each other in North-Center.
ONESHOTDEALS, wanted one day sales, one time only, once in a lifetime...
POLICE REPORTS has a fun clue. I had PORTS and was thinking of a double USB port. Could've clued 47D, NEXT TO NOTHING as 1. That's a diabolical SatPuz clue.
TAXES and TAXIS next to each other.
IKO IKO!
Five F's
RooMonster
DarrinV
Has there ever been a puzzle with more 6+ letter answers? Given the beautiful construction, the clueing was a little mediocre. But still a fun puzzle.
Did anyone mention that the grid looks exactly like the "Springtime For Hitler" number in "The Producers"? Mel Brooks should sue.
Great puzzle! Best Sunday in a long time. Rex, you're being an ass again.
The Sunday New York Times crossword should always have a theme. A good one.
I see Times Square from above.
“Pants role” was annoying. My brain was stuck on “travesti” but it didn’t fit
Uncredited grid design by Kanye West.
Thx, Ryan, for this challenging Sun offering! :)
Med++
Pretty tough slog; far removed from my wavelength, but well worth the effort!
@alicat (9:10 AM)
Must have been fascinating for you to TELEPORT back to the '40s to revisit your conversation with your dad! :)
Thx for your BBL efforts, but alas, no luck with the URL. I logged in to my photobucket acct., but can't see a way to view others' pics. :( Via a Google search, did find this, tho, related to sharing images. :)
___
Off to the Acrostic (hi @TTrimble).🤞
___
Peace 🕊 🇺🇦 ~ Compassion ~ Tolerance ~ Kindness to all 🙏
DESPACITO.....That was me. Wow...I could tell you a story; I'll leave it to @Birchbark and his wonderful tale from "rootum."
This was a very pleasant "difficult" Sunday morning watching the fog roll in. I only wish I knew half the names. I knew one: GLENN. Loved the clue so maybe that's why.
BLOOMING ONION is how I felt. I've never eaten one of those. My menu is in the zucchini, squash and even yucca category. PANTS ROLE? I couldn't get contralto out of my head...I even thought castratti.
Moving along....
Did anyone else have Good GRAVY instead of some GRIEF? A bush load of do-overs.
As my head scratcher was put to good use, I didn't frown much. I was actually liking the fact that I could remember so many things on a Sunday that I don't normally do. I liked the work out and now I know what a PANTS ROLE is flying right down through FEMINISTS.
Thanks, Rex. With you on all counts. HALLOWEEKEND???
Yeah, and on the first day of Hanukkah no less. Incredibly glaring oversight.
Long story short Trouser & Breeches role were neck and neck up to 1970, when Trouser took a commanding lead, only to lose it 2009l then rallied until 2014, where now they remain in a statistical dead heat. PANTSROLE? - a distant third, less than 1/20th of either.
I'm siding with Breeches probably being a Britishism so, unlike in English where pants are trousers, there is no substituting pants for breeches - just isn't done.
If, like me, you don't follow basketball or opera, don't know German, think a food stand is 100 times more likely to be a concession than to give one, etc, you will find yourself mega-Naticked in the middle.
Between the swastika and the Brandenburg Gate clue, this felt like some sort of alt-right coded message. Unpleasant, even without all the clunky AT fill.
The TAXES/TAXIS stack actually messed me up for a minute or two because I got back to that section and went "Wait, I thought I'd already put TAXIS in." But of course that was the TAXES spot, and now I had a misplaced I.
I've only ever heard "trouser ROLE," which obviously doesn't fit, so I was baffled by that clue until I realized that they were looking for a synonym.
HALLOWEEEKEND is 100% a thing, at least among us Elder Millennials. Halloween is basically Millennial Christmas. Not sure why, but many people around my age are way more into the fall holiday than the winter one. (I know why it's true for me, but I can't speak for the rest of the '80s and '90s kids out there.)
I can barely see the swastika when squinting, even after the idea has been put in my head, so I'm not surprised no one raised a flag about it before the puzzle went live.
I’ve been an inveterate opera-goer for over 50 years and I’m quite familiar with TROUSER or PANTS roles but not BREECHES. So much for OFL’s sourcing.
Obviously SIZE MATTERS to many commenters here, but a large, themeless puzzle with good wordplay is fine with me. Most of the Sunday themes are cringe-y anyway! This constructor paraded plenty of new, crunchy stuff (see @LEWIS) and I completely enjoyed it.
We’re on “vacation” in Manhattan until 2023 (lived here for over 30 years) and it feels like the Big Apple is ripening: lotsa people, jam-packed restaurants, music events galore etc. we’ll see. . .
I have a major nit to pick with 49D. “River” auf Deutsch is “fluss.” Der STROM refers to current, most often electricity but occasionally or poetically the flow of water as in a stream, but very rarely the “river” itself. “River’s flow” would have been a much better clue to seek STROM as the answer. Being absolutely certain about this left that little place messed up until the very end. I call foul here. When constructors employ foreign words, they should be more commonly in the English gestalt. This one wasn’t, but could have easily been tweaked.
As for you non opera fans, another German word, hosenrolle, literally “breeches role” refers to the fact that these mezzo soprano roles were most often written for operas in which the men (in all of these roles young men) would have been wearing knee breeches. One of the (if not THE) most famous American hosenrolle divas is Frederica von Stade. I have been fortunate to see her three times, all of them thrilling, mesmerizing, exquisite and as it relates to her Cherubino, enchanting and sassy. She was still singing occasionally in 1998 at age 51. At 77, her bio says she is “semi-retired.” Flicka (as von Stade was well known) should have occupied joint word of the day spot with the absolutely great RON Carter. I’m such a fan of his music, too. Just saying.
I really liked seeing and saying GOGOS and NOGO in sequence. Their placement in the same line was fun. Also the “neighbors” TAXES and TAXIS sure gave my (always struggling on Sunday) eyes a jolt. I didn’t have trouble with these answers but filled them in far enough removed in time that I didn’t notice them until I was looking for typos to get my dang happy music and at first I thought I’d entered TAXES twice. Fortunately not, and that little constructor’s trick was pretty cute.
I always like nods to EL GRECO, a favorite of mine. The Spanish artists’ use of color speaks to me. I adore the architect/artist, Gaudi. OK, Gaudi is really Catalan which is important. Barcelona, of all the places I’ve been is my favorite city. Seeing all the architecture and the colors makes me happy.
So, as fat and themeless as this was, it evoked such rich memories that I can’t complain (beyond the complaint lodged). However, constructors, if you’re going to try a grid this gigantic for a Sunday, pleeeeeeease make the puzzle themed.
Didn't see the swastika, and I tend to have an eye out for those kind of things. I'm giving the benefit of the doubt that the creator didn't see it, and saw it as more of a pinwheel, though I can imagine it would be jarring to have that jump out at the puzzler!
Echoing appreciation for the GLENN cluing, and nice to see that helpful ZADIE as well. For some reason I skipped over "BLOOMING ONION" which would have been a great anchor in the northwest corner, and saved me *mumblemumble* minutes of slogging through had I gone through thoroughly enough on my first pass.
@Colin, having gone to college in Montreal, I giggled to imagine the responses at a "poutine sans fromage." I totally respect the personal preference, but I imagine to a Quebecois.e, it's like asking for a plain bagel with nothing on it, when we New Yorkers know it's a schmear delivery device and plain is only somewhat better than horrors like blueberry bagels.
Congrats on two puzzles in one week, @Nancy!
har. Well, the puztitle kinda says it all, for m&e.
Looks sorta like a ginormous pinwheel puzgrid design, I'd grant. And I guess U can find a swastika inside part of that, if you've a mind to.
staff weeject pick: IKO. Mainly cuz I [like @Roo and others] had INO for my (correct enough) solution.
Lotsa marvelous fillins. Not a very marvelous SunPuz theme, unfortunately. De busta gut, I reckon.
Masked & Anonymo4Us
emergency (runt-sized) theme fix for today:
**gruntz**
🎶Sunday🎶 Sunday🎶not good to me 🎶
Some interesting phrases that have probably been noted 🎶
But nevertheless ‘twas a Sunday with little sparkle but I finished ✅ it so - to me, it was just above average.
Glad to see 🦖’s name on crit 😅. Tempests in teapots brewed and cooled by now. 🤗😜🌪⚡️🌪😜🤗
🤨🦖🦖🦖🦖🤨
@TaylorSlow (7:43) -- Thanks for the kind words -- I used the capitalized words and phrases from today's puzzle answers to salt and pepper the tale. I suppose for a crossword blog, words suffice as tie-in. I like your name --
This commentariat has become insufferable. I'm gonna go find ZED and see if he wants to get high.
@Nancy -- Glad to join in the fun. I have a LA Times / Washington Post puzzle 12/23.
I'm always disappointed when there's no theme in the Sunday puzzle. And for me, this one had no zing or zest at all. I take issue with the answer for 92A, harshly criticize: Since when does anyone say "lash at" onsyead of "lash out at"? The clue for Glenn Close was ute, but that's about the only thing in this puzzle that was at all fun for me.
Thanks so much for this post, @Birch srk! Reminds me of being in that neck of the world one Christmas holiday when the barristers and courts of the UK slowed down and I was “stuck” (ha! Put me in that briar patch any old time!) in London for a week between long boring depositions and needed to stay to prepare for the weeks ahead with colleagues rather than be home with my family. Ugh. I took a four day hiatus all by myself and went through Wroth and over to Canterbury and wandered down to Dover and back to London. Too cold that year to rent a bike, but I did a fair amount if walking, a lot of chatting in pubs. It was wonderful.
Huge cluing miss after having “Gogos” to not clue Bangles as another 80’s girl group. What a weird deep cut video with Leonard Nimoy randomly present. Thanks…it was fun to watch!
A swastika, on the angle, on the first night of Hanukkah….and “no one caught it”
I cannot see the swastika.
Unfilled I saw an unusually attractive grid pattern. Filled it still looks good.
Squint as I may I cannot see what a few of you see.
If I did, I would think it might have been part of the campaign by some native Americans and others to reclaim the swastika design which was important with positive meanings in their cultures centuries before the nazis took it on.
some clue/answers I noted got smiles from me:
24A What used to be yours, 67A Joke that got over the line, 82A "Close"...61 D Apple product (I tried for so long to think of an Apple company product that fit) 66D Gets there in no time.
Will we have a Christmas themed puzzle next week? Would be fun
As an American opera singer, pants role or trousers role are interchangeable to me. I’d probably say pants role more often. I’ve never heard or seen the term breeches role.
@Trouser, Breeches or Pants? 11:37am - unfortunately, in your Ngram search, you put in 'pants roll [sic]' instead of 'pants role'. It doesn't change the overall story, but 'pants role' does a lot better than 'pants roll'.
@CDilly - Perhaps your problem with river / STROM you're being too restrictive in your definition of river. River can mean simply a flow, as in "A river of people came pouring out of the arena after the last song".
I usually don’t see grid art. Even after it’s pointed out by Chen or Rex or a commenter, I don’t see an old telephone or pixelated smiley face.
But when I saw the puzzle today, the swastika on the German flag angle popped out. Yikes!
I’m sure it was unintentional but how this made it through editing process is beyond me. And for those who can’t see it now - that awful squarish S on an angle - look again. Compare it to a Nazi armband. Don’t even need to turn the puzzle on an angle to see the similarity.
Yeah. Swastika on Hanukkah. Messed up.
Amen, @CDilly52 (1:34) --
Nothing is by accident. Wake up
Pretty boring puzzle. Grid looks like a swastika. Yikes. Also, TECHY as an adjective (as opposed to the noun techie, which is actually a word) and KNEEBENDS are bad answers.
It is new to me that veteran crossword solvers pay attention to the black space. I can watch TV or scroll through a website and never hear or see an ad. My mind just pays no attention to the irrelevant stuff. I didn't even realize that crossword puzzles had symmetry until coming here. That's a requirement?! I am regularly amazed at the skill of making one of these games and don't understand the obsession with shapes, black spaces and occasional repetition of common clauses, prepositions, etc. Yikes, folks. Relax and enjoy or find something else to do that doesn't annoy you.
OMG - there is no theme because it is a swastika for the first day of Hanukkah. I am not Jewish so this connection did not jump out at first. That is really sick.
Whelp, seems like the only thing I care about any more: 400 puzzles in a row and no twinge of guilt at looking up the hordes of actors, athletes, writers, and Asian cooking ingredients.
This puzzle had its moments. Themeless Sundays are almost always a mix of fun and dreariness. This was that.
I went to Marist College for one semester and back then it was known for nothing.
Yays:
BALONEY spelled the way you'd spell it if you're not psychotic.
CLOWNED is the best. Love it.
GOGOS and NO GO.
PANTS ROLE is funny and musically interesting. Take that tenors.
Uniclues:
1 "That tree was dying before I ever moved in."
2 Overheard at a charcuterie event, "I do 'em every morning."
3 "Cause of death: Too much yum."
4 Worst sin a 20-something might admit.
5 Spare tire around the waists of all Americans.
6 Apt description of my brother-in-law.
7 First thought on seeing the police at your front door.
1 CARPENTER ANT BOLONEY (~)
2 TELL ALL KNEE BENDS FIB (~)
3 POUTINE POLICE REPORT (~)
4 I'M ALONE HALLOWEEKEND (~)
5 BLOOMING ONION BANGLES
6 PAID FOR NEXT TO NOTHING
7 SHEESH -- TEEN STEP SON (~)
@CDilly, thanks
@JoeB, for a river of people you'd probably use "fluss," not "strom," though Google may. German is a very specific language, which is why my brother, who did wonderful translations of German literature, would never have translated German poetry or, even, musical instructions from English to German. He'd give them to other specialists.
I must've misread the 41D key because I was thinking of roles (e.g., Fidelio) rather than something like the actual answer; I've never heard "pants role" or "trouser role" or "breeches roll" uttered in opera houses; maybe because I work with living composers only. It seems they're a real thing. I also have to squint and turn my head and cut out large corners of the puzzle in order to see a swastika.
Liked the puzzle pretty much. Liked Bangles in with Gogos, really don't care how they're clued if I make the connection. A smidgen too much PPP for me, but overall a fine, fun Sunday themeless.
Do people really only do a single leg raise?
Bad case of cruciverbus interruptus here as after a nice start, time was called to watch the World Cup, which was terrific, and further delayed to take a ride and see how much damage the last big storm had done to our summer camp (none, whew). Then a long time to read all the comments, so late to the party.
I read the title of this and suspected we were in for a themeless, confirmed by completing the NW corner. I like me a themeless and I liked this one. Lots and lots of "Ha. Good ones." Slowed by the RESTAREA thing, which was hiding Chris Paul, but otherwise pretty zippy.
Reading enough comments had me thinking
I grow old...I grow old...
I shall wear the bottoms of my trouserrole...
Well, at least I missed seeing the swastika.
Nice solid Sunday, RMC. Rex May Carp, but I liked it a lot, and thanks for all the fun.
The conspiracy theories in the comments section reminds me of Pizzagate. C’mon people.
Found this to be a real slog and quite difficult - not easy in the least - loads of very long really fuzzy clues.... could not get a foothold nor did I try that hard. Busy watching Eagles and Bears.A lot of awful clues in my opinion.
I don’t think it was intentional. I think it was a bizarre and extremely clumsy oversight, though.
Anyone else notice what looks to be a swastica in the grid pattern. Weird.
I haven’t finished this puzzle yet, but I have to stare at it really hard to see the semblance of a swastika. Of course social media is blowing up about it as if The NY Times is pro-Nazi. What silliness.
Oh my goodness! CRANKCALL! Not cringesomethingorother. I reeeally needed to get that, since I didn't know DESPACITO or CHRISPAUL or MEMESTOCK or OLSEN etc. That center area was a a bit slow to come, but mainly because I kept getting interrupted to re-watch and hear Andres Cantor announce Argentina's victory. Wonderful every time.
I'm in the pinwheel group.
I enjoy reading Rex’s take on and rants about the puzzle and I get he is politically liberal (as am I according to a recent NYT quiz) but why a gratuitous barb about the police? Certainly there are things within police departments that can be fixed, and there are concerns about structural racism, but on the whole these are men and women who provide a vital service to society and while we can bash them, I assume most of us would call them if the situation warranted.
Maybe a humble brag but people really do these puzzles that fast. Over the years, bloggers here have linked to a clip of a record holder doing the daily puzzle in something like under 2 minutes.
- don't remember exactly. Never underestimate what people can do trying for records!
For @LMS and @Lewis, but anyone else can feel free to click.
@Z -- Hah! Thanks for sending that! I didn't know it and now I'm glad I do.
Don't you see that this grid is a swastika? On the first night of Hanukkah?
I just wondered why he was absent from here after being such a regular .
Hi Z. Glad to see you back
This grid is the shape of a swastika on the first night of Hannukah. Now, I know that you're quick to point out things that offend you so I'm wondering if you didn't notice or didn't care.
FYI: out here in the Pacific NW, the Sunday NYT did NOT include either the Magazine OR the Annual Puzzle Mania section. Instead, we got a note saying, “Due to weather related shipping delays, the Sunday December 18th issue of The Times in your area may not include The New York Times Magazine and the Annual Puzzle Mania section.” Does that mean we get extra time for solving the puzzles? I will just MOVE ON….and hope for a better week…year…;)
See, it wasn't a themeless puzzle at all! The theme was "Let's see if we can sneak a swastika into The Times on Chanukah! "
No, I actually don't believe that at all. Imparting ugly motives to what are likely just careless slips is TDS. Times derangement syndrome??
Another wonderful "pants role" is Prince Orlovsky in Fledermaus. Chacon a son gout....
Feels like frequent puzzle solvers didn't see the swastika because that pattern is really pretty common in crossword puzzles. Has caused a stir on social media but I can see why it never occurred to editors.
My favorite Bangles song. Nice.
I liked the Bangles clue not being musical in relation to Gogo. Made me smile.
Anyone that can delude themselves into thinking that the swastika pattern was unintentional/ accidental is as guilty as those that stand there and watch while hate crimes are being committed and do nothing. NOTHING about creating a crossword puzzle is unintentional and the pattern absolutely is considered by the editors. I love the NYT puzzle and the paper itself but this is pretty upsetting to me.
@Jamye Are you even listening to yourself? You've just likened people to hate crime bystanders because they solved a crossword puzzle! Based on the available evidence, the only reasonable conclusion is that this was an unfortunate mistake. Malice should only be attributed if there is any actual evidence of antisemitism from one of the people involved in the making of the puzzle.
Hated it ..Merry Christmas
In syndie land we got a puzzle from March 2020 called "What's Shaking?" by Laura Taylor Kinnel.
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