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Peppery orange-red condiment / FRI 12-30-22 / "September 1, 1939" poet / Metric unit equal to 100 square meters / Cuppa from China / World capital whose name means "elephant trunk" in Arabic
Friday, December 30, 2022
Constructor: Brendan Emmett Quigley
Relative difficulty: Medium (my time was a little slow for a Friday, but I wasn't really rushing).
THEME: NONE — Welcome to Friday
Word of the Day: ANNATTO (16A: Peppery orange-red condiment) —
Annatto (/əˈnætoʊ/ or /əˈnɑːtoʊ/) is an orange-red condiment and food coloring derived from the seeds of the achiote tree (Bixa orellana), native to tropical America.[1] It is often used to impart a yellow or orange color to foods, but sometimes also for its flavor and aroma. Its scent is described as "slightly peppery with a hint of nutmeg" and flavor as "slightly nutty, sweet and peppery". (wikipedia)
• • •
Happy Friday! It's Eli back again after a one day hiatus. I'm writing this on Thursday night, which means I'm sipping on a strong rum drink from a fancy carved mug. At the beginning of home isolation during the pandemic, my wife and I setup a weekly Thursday happy hour over Zoom with some friends who had moved to Maryland. Those friends have now moved back to Los Angeles, but the happy hour tradition has carried on. Tiki is the order of the evening this week, so I'm in an exceptionally good mood. Oh, right, the puzzle. Let's get into it!Today's puzzle is by the man, the myth, the legend: Brendan Emmett Quigley. BEQ was the first indie crossword blog I discovered, and it really opened up the puzzle world to me. I still solve his puzzles twice a week, and he's one of the first constructors I recommend if people ask me for NYT alternatives. This wasn't my favorite puzzle of his that I've solved, but I didn't really have many issues with it. Maybe it's the rum. I'm also blaming the rum for my slower than average solve time. The cocktail is called the Spirit of Aloha, and I guess I'm feeling that spirit tonight.
I like a themeless, and I felt like this played appropriately for a Friday. Starting off with SOFA LEG at 1A wasn't an auspicious beginning. It took me a long time to see and something about it just seems off to me. Don't know why. It's not quite Green Paint, and seems legit enough, it just feels a little arbitrary somehow. Maybe it's just me. DOG SHOW JUDGE has a similar vibe to me, though the clue is top notch (18A: Toy inspector?). A OR B (33A: Simplest choice) jumps out as less than ideal, and I've never liked having to figure out how a puzzle wants me to spell UEY (21A: Missed-the-turn manuever). Other than that, I'm not seeing anything to really carp on.
Overall, it was a pretty straight-forward themeless. The grid-spanning answers are fine and in the language but not the flashiest phrases. Maybe I'll just throw out a few of the things that crossed my mind while I solved.
Highlights:
- ELTON JOHN (6D: His "Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy" was the first album to debut at #1 on Billboard) — Fun trivia, but I mostly wanted to brag that I was on the field for his final concert at Dodger Stadium (the one that was streamed on Disney+). It was an amazing night. Here's a picture of the hoodie I bought there with my tiki drink setup for the evening:
- SCROOGE (54A: One who is mean as the Dickens?) — I liked the clue and the seasonality, but I've used weaker excuses to share Muppet Christmas Carol clips:
- JOE D (39A: M.L.B. great with a famous "unbreakable" streak, familiarly) — I knew this was Joe DiMaggio immediately, but I don't think I've ever heard him called Joe D. Joltin' Joe is the nickname I always think of.
- BAT (45A: Mexican free-tailed ___ (world's fastest horizontal flier) — BAT!
- ANNATTO (16A: Peppery orange-red condiment) — I cook a lot, but this is entirely new to me. I'll have to try it!
That's about all I've got for today. Wishing you all a happy end to the holiday season. Whether you're celebrating Kwanzaa (I believe tonight the focus is Nia or "Purpose," but I'm no expert; I just think it's nice) or looking forward to New Year Celebrations, stay safe and enjoy your festivities. Thanks to Rex for letting me crash here again, and enjoy the weekend ahead!
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101 comments:
Enjoyable.
I think that someone tried to pin "The Punisher" on Agassi but it didn't stick. I followed his career closely and have never heard it. I've heard "The Las Vegas Kid" a few times.
Agassi and Steffie Graf have a son named Jaden. He doesn't play tennis. He's a pitcher on the USC baseball team.
I liked this puzzle, but I tend to like all BEQ offerings. But once again I fell into a large number of traps, many of my own making:
1A: bedslat before SOFA LEG
16A: paprika before ANNATTO
20A: eli before SEN (my bad x 2 -- Harris never attended Yale, and "Eli" isn't an abbr.)
5D: drill before LATHE, confirming the incorrect paprika and eli
32A: Someday it'll sink in that Ms. Raisman's name is ALY, not ALi
43A: TYES was a WOE, but easily corrected from TiES thanks to RUNWAY
55D: teA before CHA
NEW TO ME was the "platza treatment". But I wouldn't be surprised if it showed up in some new scandal involving Rep-elect Santos.
My first entry was veterinarian for "Toy inspector?" I thought I was so smart. Well at least I wasn't fooled by "toy". I enjoyed the challenges in this puzzle.
Say, is imbibing a requirement for guest hosting? HAR!
Thanks, Brendan and Eli.
It is always amazing that one long answer can break open the whole area. When 8A DOGSHOWJUDGES went in I confirmed LATHE and GLOW, got AGASSI, SCAD CAGALL,and ELTONJOHN in just that one area
How was it not tobacco sauce! My NW was forever ruined. Also, SWM is not an abbreviation. Otherwise a nice puzzle
A fun Friday. The NW stumped me, so I got started in the NE, worked more or less clockwise, and ended up at CHAGALL, which was strangely hard to see. Thought ALY might be Eli for a moment, only to see Eli as guest blogger today. Hi, Eli! ANNETTO was NEW TO ME too.
Oof, this one beat me up, or I was EATEN up, THAT'S FOR SURE.
Things that slowed me way down: "THe art" instead of THINGS ("state of things", pfft, lame-o), "EthylS"(?) instead of EASY A'S, idlE instead of FREE, "o NEG" instead of A NEG, ONE Buck instead of ONE BASE. NEW TO ME was "platza". That general NE and mid-east section was pretty rough going. For "quick refresher" I was thinking something ending with "uP", not "top uP" but something along those lines (it was CATNAP).
Elsewhere not as bad, but MOpES before MOUES. Wow, it's been a long time since my eyes laid on MOUES, and then there was MAN O'WAR from days of yore. Who was that anyway? [Looking it up], oh, a horse, right, I'd sort of heard of it. Rather before my time.
ANNATTO is not exactly at my fingertips, and I really want "SCADs" over SCAD (does anyone really say "scad"?). SOFA LEG, ouch, I tried SOFA bEd before that one. Does seem a little green paint-y. FANG for biter: well, that's all I came up with myself, but does it not seem that "biter" would normally denote, to the extent it ever denotes anything at all, the entire animal that houses the tooth? I'm not sure I ever heard of an isolated tooth described as a biter, although it makes some sort of childish sense I guess.
I SEE NOW but had a hard time seeing A OR B, because what is this word ending in B? I don't think I know ARE as a unit of area. Yeah, that one will come in real handy, yessireebob. KHARTOUM was a long time in seeing. JOE D, really? Yeah, I know, Dimaggio, but huh. ALi before ALY, sigh, yes my bad. Felt like I was suffering from same in not seeing MYOPIA for some time. Never heard of BAGEL for zero. I am seriously deprived in my knowledge of sports trivia and sports expressions.
Marc CHAGALL seems like an interesting chap. I'm looking forward to hearing what Barbara S. might say.
SB: I'm holding yesterday's open for a tad longer; I have 4 to go it seems. I have 2 to go for today's.
ANNATTO is brand new for me. Sounds good, based on Wikipedia.
Also did not know ELOISE. That sounds less good, again based on Wikipedia.
I've seen ELTON JOHN in concert a couple of times, which is a lot given I don't go to many concerts. He absolutely gave you your money's worth. Long sets, played all the favorites, lots of energy.
OMG...”secretly pass gas” had me doing a Danny Thomas spit take with my morning coffee. Bravo, BEQ!
Wonderful puzzle. I’m sure those corner 7s can be rough to fill but these are just solid. Another AUDEN sighting - and oddly interesting with the adjacent SCROOGE and crossing KHARTOUM. Add the great CHAGALL and MAN o’ WAR and we’re cooking.
Some ugly glue - AGA, UEY etc but limited. Smooth and quick - nothing that was NEW TO ME. I was done with ELTON by the time Captain Fantastic came out. Go to the Freakin Rican in Astoria for the pasteles and you’ll have an amazing ANNATTO experience.
Highly enjoyable Friday solve.
Weezer
For some strange reason I was surprised to learn that the UPS maintains a fleet of JUMBO JETS. It kind of makes sense with that much junk mail to be moved from point A to point B before we all have to deposit it in the recycling bin so that the whole process can be repeated.
Kind of a celebration of excellence today with Mr. CHAGALL, Babe Ruth, MANOWAR, JOE D, ELTON JOHN, Andre AGGASSI, and ALY Raisman. We even have a fictional set of bookends in ELOISE (nice) and SCROOGE (ooh - meanie). I don’t know anything about Mr. Whauden though - hopefully he wrote (writes?) good poems.
The state of “THINGS”??? What is that? I got hung up on how bad an answer that was. The state of the art, the state of the Union, but things really didn’t seem like a great answer to me.
I have found that BEQ is my crossword nemesis. I find it tough to ever finish one of his offerings, and I (try to) do them twice a week. So, no surprise here. Think that SOFALEG is a reach. Had no chance at knowing ANNATTO. Really wanted FARTED for 38D, but couldn't make it work. Bet a lot of you did the same. Glad to say that I did get a lot of the answers, probably an A+ grade.
Very enjoyable with little crosswordese. Held up a bit with BEY rather than AGA. Avid tennis player and fan here who has never heard of Agassi being called such. Anyone have an example?
First of all, re BEQ, for those who haven’t done it, I suggest you take a momentary side trip to see The Beard at xwordinfo.com. Whenever I see it, I feel like standing and applauding.
Even as he approaches NYT puzzle 200, BEQ’s puzzles remain fresh and engaging, IMO. That brain of his is always ticking.
You can see it in his cluing. Take his clue for TV SETS – [Objects thrown out hotel windows, in a rock ‘n’ roll cliché]. In the 100-ish times that answer (and TV SET) have appeared in the major crossword venues, it’s never been clued like this. Another example: [They’re chosen for their high-grade potential] for EASY A’S. It (and EASY A) have appeared around 200 times, never with a clue punning on “high-grade”.
And lovely asides appear, such as MANOWAR being named Athlete of the Year, and “platza treatment” (in my post-solve reading on this I learned delightfully that the Yiddish for sauna or steam-bath is “schvitz”).
It was a footholds-to-ahas-to-more-ahas outing for me, with never a sprint; I was always involved, just as I hope to be on Friday. Brendan, you are a treasure, and thank you for this sparkling treat.
Amy: hi Eli; couldn't agree with you more, right on down to how to spell UEY (UIE). The State of THINGS is not pleasant. Otherwise, fair Friday fare.
Good NYE Eve. The neighboring condo is getting furniture delivered. They started before 7:30 and are very enthusiastic. 🙄
I love a good themeless, and this was a good one, with only a couple of pebbles in the shoe. TYES. ANNATTO. "Platza treatment." CHA. These are All NEW TO ME. Tricky: SOFA LEG (makes sense now, but took a long time to get), and THINGS, which simply had to be "the art." Didn't it? Doesn't it? State of THINGS?... Not familiar at all. JOE D as a nickname for Joltin' Joe? Also NEW TO ME but easy to figure out.
The rest was doable and fun to do. Loved the clues for DOG SHOW JUDGE and ONE BASE, and it was nice to see ELOISE and W H AUDEN in the mix. Rushing off now to check Amazon and see if I can order some ANNATTO, because it does sound delicious.
Enjoyed your column, Eli. The rum was definitely in evidence, but in a good way.
Regarding ARE, you may be more familiar with the name for an area of 100 AREs, a 'hectare'.
@Southside Johnny 8:00 - I think maybe you're kidding, but just in case, it's W.H. Auden (Wystan Hugh Auden). See Tuesday's blog for more on him and the poem "Funeral Blues".
The NW was a barren wasteland for me, skipped around, wound up in the SE with the obvious AREWE and NEWTOME providing a solid foundation. and filled bottom-to-top with no major delays.
Hand up for state of THEART and IDLE before FREE. I wanted Cal Ripken for an unbreakable streak but JOED is fine, although an uncommon nickname. I guess The Yankee Clipper wouldn't quite fit.
Knew ELTONJOHN when I had most of his name filled in, can never remember HODA, and like Eli, am never sure which spelling of UEY to use.
Our cats are at an age when they do not so much NAP as hibernate, or estivate, depending on the season. Up for food and cat box breaks, plus the occasional treat begging, but otherwise nested together in an armchair.
Excellent Friday, per usual, BEQ. You're always Bringing Exceptional Quality to these things, and thanks for all the fun.
Proud to have finished this one without cheating. Didn't know ANNATTO, and spelled the gymnast's first name ALI instead of ALY. But knowing Will Shortz' use of misdirects, I figured out that "toy" referred to a dog, so DOGSHOWJUDGE followed naturally. And LOOKTHEOTHERWAY was fairly easy to get.
All in all, a very good Friday puzzle with just enough difficult word choices. I guessed right on the spelling of KHARTOUM.
Thing 1: Have you ever heard of that word for pout?
Thing 2: No, that’s MOUE TO ME.
I assume that many solvers figured that 15D (Pouts) must be MOpES, eventually leading to DOGSHOWJpDGE. At that point, I figured that this DOG was barkin’ up the wrong tree.
One could pick a SCAD of nits with how some of the clues didn’t precisely work with the answers. Like SIPHON for “Secretly pass gas” or SCROOGE for “Mean as the Dickens.” But I got a real kick out of them and others. Thanks, BEQ.
I'm used to seeing "hectare" as a metric measurement for land (instead of measuring in acres) but it never occurred to me until today that an ARE is what a hectare is a hundred of.
When I saw Brendan Emmett Quigley’s name, I went rigid with terror. I’m not as up on constructors as many people here are, but BEQ and Kameron Austin Collins almost always make puzzles that beat me up and spit me out. This turned out to be a pleasant surprise, though. Although my initial pass-through yielded few toeholds, I gradually got purchase and finished in amazingly good time.
At the start, I got nothing until SEN at 20A. I figured 21A was UEY (spelled one way or another), and happily wrote in “idle” for 22A [Not doing anything]. Not an auspicious start. I looked at the row underneath and filled in JAMS for [Some bands’ practice sessions], which was an immense help, because I then returned to the downs in the NW corner, and on the strength of that NJ in the middle of 6D was able to splatz in ELTON JOHN. I also got OHNO and LATHE, and those three down answers were enough to yield DOG SHOW JUDGE. (I’m now wise to the “toy”-meaning-small-dog trick after falling for it too many times.) With W as the last letter of the “angler” clue, I figured the answer had to be GLOW (I saw a documentary once), which gave me ALL as the end of the artist’s name at 14A. Aha! CHAGALL! And I was launched. SOFA LEG at 1A was filled in soon after, but I tend to agree with Eli about its seeming a bit off.
I always count on being able to pop in artists’ names with no crosses, but I was completely at sea with [“The Spoonful of Milk” painter, 1912]. I’d never heard of the work, and 1912 falls within a period of intense experimental activity among European artists, so there were too many choices – help! CHAGALL is an artist I don’t know much about, and I feel particularly unversed in the Jewish themes in his work. “The Spoonful of Milk” is early in his career, painted shortly after he arrived in Paris from Russia in 1910. Much of his work in the early teens has Parisian subjects, but this looks back to his roots, perhaps to his parents, devout Hasidic Jews. I don’t know if milk has any particular symbolism in the Jewish religious tradition. It’s a life-giving substance certainly, and one is tempted to see a parallel in the nourishment of the body with milk and the nourishment of the soul through the holy book. But if anyone actually knows something relevant about Judaism or about this work, I’d love to hear it.
@Beezer (last night)
Thanks for your further insights on audiobooks. I never thought of the “performance” of the text as adding to it, but I can see how a skilled narrator might be able to do that. And, of course, using audiobooks because of vision problems is a wonderful solution to an otherwise intractable problem. I looked up the Juliet Stevenson/Middlemarch audiobook and it is indeed unabridged – almost 36 hours in length, so I guess I was slightly off in guessing the reading would take 10 years!
[SB: yd, 0. Yesterday’s “word classes” discussion came to amazing life as these were my last 2 words.]
I'd forgotten about the Babe Ruth - Man o' War thing. Hilarious. We need those editors working on our puzzles these days. There'd be more comedy.
Sly cluing throughout. Lots of fun. Lovely longer words. Not too much junk. A great puzzle.
Looked up ANNATTO. Probably don't need to dedicate brain cells to it.
Uniclues:
1 Quote giving Ebenezer's ghosts satisfaction.
2 Counterpart of bird pants or fish bowling shirts.
3 Breakfast food wearing funny glasses ala Rocket Man and schmeared with schmaltz.
1 SCROOGE: "I SEE NOW."
2 MAMMAL DRESSES
3 ELTON JOHN BAGEL
Hey All !
Tough in all areas. Brain not wanting to work this morning.
Had peEl for SHED for quite a while, which begat Paris for SAUNA, thinking you'd get a platza treatment in Paris, France. Oui? Also had idlE for FREE until TO BE FAIR rattled out of said non-working brain. EsSAYS first for EASY A'S, funny those two are one letter off.
Got that whole section straight, but ended up with a cross of JhED/ThO for JOED/TOO. Figured JHED was just some baseballer I'd never heard of.
Other failed spot was the U of KHARTOUM/WHAUDEN, which I'm officially dubbing a Natick. Had to run the alphabet, then giving myself a head slap when I didn't heed @M&A's advice of, "When in doubt, throw in a U." Dang.
So a two-letter personal DNF for me. Not too bad for a tough FriPuz.
Let out an OH NO when sub-blogger started with saying he was imbibing. But, he turns out to be a jovial drinker. Good on him. No more drunk @Christopher Adams. Why his diatribe still bugs me is a mystery to me. I think, like I said the day after "#CurseBlog", is because when you come here, you expect civilized discussion of the puz, no some frat-boy spewing.
Anyway, nice one BEQ, got me to stir up some sedimentary brain cells. I imagine it looks like a snow globe up there now. Har.
Three F's
RooMonster
DarrinV
I had many of the same write-overs as @Conrad, but managed to put in PAPRIKA *and* TABASCO before getting to ANNATTO, which we actually do use somewhat regularly to cook with but I don’t consider “peppery” to be one of its main notes. It’s often responsible for the color in “Spanish” rice in Caribbean Latine food, and can be used in lieu of saffron if you don’t have any on hand or just don’t want to pay $75/oz for the stuff. (A trivia item that I’m sure many of you know is that saffron comes from a species of crocus, and each flower must be harvested by hand and only yields three tiny threads, hence the price.)
As for PLATZA, in the pre-pandemic era, I used to love going to the Russian & Turkish baths on E. 10th Street in Manhattan. High-end day SPA it is not, but where else can you get thrashed by oak branches, overhear sketchy business dealings and awkward first dates, and then eat a blintz? It’s definitely an experience worth having if you live in NYC or visit and want to do something off (or on?) the beaten path.
I appreciated the new-to-me BAT trivia and how long I got stumped by the intersection of MOUE (crosswordese I’ll now be committing to memory, it’s not the first time I forgot it) and MAN O WAR because I didn’t think it could be a non-human athlete and then found myself wondering how a deadly siphonophore could have been an athlete of the year…
A fun puzzle, solidly in my average solve time for a Friday, which means it was more challenging than usual for me, because typically solve times have been getting shorter each week. I’m going to seek out more BEQ puzzles as a workout, thanks for the recs on that!
Kind of challenging but the most enjoyable puzzle in recent memory. Very refreshing!
I agree. Weak.
Thx, Brendan; perfect Fri. puz! :)
Hi Eli; thx for your fine write-up. Hands up for 'Joltin' Joe'.
Med. (bang-on avg time)
Neither a SCAD nor A TON of unknowns/hazies today, but enuf to make it somewhat challenging. Fair crosses came to the rescue, with the final cell aptly falling at the cross of EEOC / THE CLOSER.
Fun solve! :)
___
Peace 🕊 🇺🇦 ~ Compassion ~ Tolerance ~ Kindness to all 🙏
@Barbara S.: "Milk and honey" is a phrase from Exodus (Exodus 3:8) referring to the Promised Land of Judaism as "a land flowing with milk and honey".
Between falling for the Toy trick (again!) and the what? answer for Sleeper support? the NW was a challenge. Not that the rest was a piece of cake, but at least every other section had one sure foothold - CATNAP, RUNWAY, AREWE, SCROOGE and SALSAS.
I was delighted to figure out I'd been had on DOGSHOWJUDGE, and MANOWAR was amusing trivia. I liked the clues for AAS, RUNWAY, EASYAS and TVSETS too. Although I generally prefer a theme puzzle with a bit of cornball, this puzzle hit the spot.
Never heard of PLATZA before, but I would love to try it!
Challenging and engrossing -- and accomplished with hardly any trivia included at all. I really enjoyed this puzzle a lot.
With the exception of ANNATTO -- which I've never heard of but it came in readily enough -- all my problems were in the East. I started off 10D's "Admittedly..." with TruE instead of TO BE FAIR and that got me in a heap of early trouble. I wanted IDLE instead of FREE for "not doing anything" though I didn't write it in. I was fooled in other ways too.
Doesn't UPS have big vans rather than JUMBO JETS? Are we thinking of the same company?
I was looking for a person to share the award with Babe Ruth that year. Weren't you? I had MAN???R and couldn't come up with anyone. Finally TO BE FAIR got me MANOWAR. Quelle surprise! Great clue.
I do think that Joe Dimaggio's nickname was DIMAG and not JOE D -- but let's not quibble.
We don't see nearly enough of BEQ in the NYT. More, please.
And, speaking of "please", the delightful and unforgettable ELOISE of the 27D quote (Love this clue, BEQ!) would have followed up that quote with "Thank you very much and charge it please." If you don't know ELOISE from your past literary perusals, now is the time to correct that. She's an absolute hoot.
@SouthsideJohnny - I think you’re confusing UPS (United Parcel Service) with the USPS. UPS and FedEx have SCADs of JUMBO JETS.
I enjoyed this one A TON. Seeing the constructor's name, I had high hopes, along with a twinge of trepidation (hi, @Barbara S). The twinge intensified as I confronted an impenetrable NW (hi, @pabloinnh), but I was able to get a start at CATNAP x TO BE sure, gain traction, and pick up speed. Loved the clever clues, the chatty phrases, and the opportunity to write in KHARTOUM. I thought this puzzle was everything a Friday should be, with the right combination of toughness and wit.
Help from previous puzzles: NWA. Do-overs: besides the misplaced SURE, me, too, for MOpE and THe art; came close to "brown vans" for the UPS fleet, but UEY stayed my hand. Huh: ANNATTO is not only a seed used for food coloring.
@Weezie - I'm too old and too far away to get to those baths, but I loved having a vicarious visit through your description.
Easy but this was definitely in my wheelhouse. I had the poster from the Captain Fantastic album on my office wall for decades. No erasures and ANNATTO was my only WOE. Fun solve with some amusing clues, liked it.
AORB is one of the strangest crossword answers I’ve seen in a while, but liked the puzzle overall, especially LOOK THE OTHER WAY, THAT’S FOR SURE, and TO BE FAIR. Also liked learning about the Mexican free-tailed BAT.
In 2022, after years of disliking and dismissing ELTON JOHN, I’ve become a fan. The station I listen to while working out often plays his music and I began paying attention to his lyrics and melodies. Wow. There’s more there than meets the ear.
I echo @TTrimble in saying this puzzle beat me up but maybe I have some masochistic tendencies because I thought it was brilliant and enjoyable. @OfftheGrid, hand up for feeling oh so smart when plugging in veterinarian as the toy inspector! So many things to admire about the puzzle!
@TTrimble I almost spit out my coffee laughing at your comment that MANOWAR was before your time! A baby born that year would be 102 so I guess so! 🤣
@Southside, methinks you have UPS mixed up with the USPS that delivers our junk mail but I figure they both have fleets of JUMBOJETS.
One nit which I know is justified but I got stuck on was the “uncommon” blood type. I spent WAY too much time on trying to make AB neg or pos fit in. I guess “uncommon” compared to O, but not “rare.” I am AB positive…the universal recipient. The first time I donated blood I was about 20. The folks at the Bloodmobile dutifully took my blood. After my orange juice a nurse said to me…”you know, we really appreciate your donation but honestly you probably needn’t bother in the future because you are AB positive. Only another AB + can take your blood, and you and they can take ANYBODYS blood.”
@Barbara S…you are welcome! I hope you try an audiobook out some day!
Re: BEQ puzzles: Always quail, always have to google, always learn something, always have an ‘oh wow’ moment, and always feel great to have finished. Even his lesser efforts are superior. Thank you, BEQ!
Good writeup. Though admittedly I'm a sucker for any reference to WWDITS.
Agree on SOFALEG and JOED, but I thought DOGSHOWJUDGE was good. I was able to get SCROOGE easily enough, but the clue on that one felt a bit jiggly to me. (Can it be "like" Dickens if it's "by" Dickens?) Otherwise a fun puzzle.
I sat next to BEQ at a Lollapuzzoola some years ago, on folding chairs in that church basement in NYC. He finished the puzzle before I had barely picked up my pencil. Then he was up and out of his seat, a Guy With Things To Do. It was intimidating.
@Barbara S (9:34) -- I clicked on your "Spoonful of Milk" link and the painting made me laugh out loud -- even though I sort of think that maybe I'm not supposed to. I haven't seen such a look of pure horror on a husband's face while sitting at a dining table since the deathless New Yorker cartoon of many years ago in which...
A waiter is setting down a plate in front of the husband while the wife looks on placidly. The guy's hair is standing straight up and he has a look of pure horror on his face. "OMG", he says. "Naked vegetables!!!"
I don't know about the role of milk in the Jewish religion, @Barbara, but from this painting it sure looks like CHAGALL didn't want any part of it. And, btw, was he known as a satiric artist?
MOUES here like so many commentariat when FANGed by that damn veterinarian’s “toy.” BEQ was the first constructor I became aware of as a distinct byline to be reckoned with and he remains a favorite after many passing seasons. He is always fresh with new insight blended with expected classics…a bit like ELTON JOHN or NWA. Today’s grid highlights MAN O WAR and KHARTOUM, both of which I will certainly see differently. I’m thinking that once the tabAscO is used up, ANNATTO may be ENGAGEd in our culinary rotation. Thanks Eli.
"scad" took me way to long to get, even after I ended up with it as the only option. I was stuck on the idea of sale/steal. And, just a little nit, I only envision it as a plural.
I had SOFA bEd for a long time; only when it wouldn't work with LATHE did I realize that another name for a sofa bed is "sleeper," and the SOFA LEG supports the sleeper. I'd have got it sooner, but was thinking that angler fish could 'stun' with its dangly projection. So I needed DOG SHOW JUDGE to break into the NW.
The puzzle raises one of the great philosophical questions of our age: is a spice a condiment? My original guess was paprika, but I told myself that was a spice; a condiment is something like SALSAS, or pickle relish, or ketchup -- a prepared seasoning. At least that's how I'd use the term. I actually have a large jar of ANNATTO on my spice shelf though, so I got it with a few crosses.
Like almost everyone, I had MOpES; when I saw the U it seemed wrong at first, as normally pout is a verb, and MOUE is a noun. But I guess you can say "she's had a pout on her face all day," so that's valid misdirection, what one expects from BEQ.
@nancy I wanted one of those brown vans too, but UPS does have JUMBO JETS (also painted brown) to carry those packages across the country.
Any sailors here? I thought a nautical rope was a line; I don't remember anything about TYES from my sailing lessons on Lake Mendota back in 1964.
Finally, I just saw a big spread about ELOISE somewhere -- I thought it was on the front page of the Times Arts section, wherein the puzzle is contained, but it's not there. Anyway, some museum is having a big retrospective of the artist who created her. She also designed the costumes, or the set, or maybe both for Auntie Mame, apparently. Anyway, that made that one easy. I read all about her in maybe my tween years; then fifteen years later found I couldn't quite remember which little girl was ELOISE and which was Madeline. Odd, since they are not very much alike, and it would be hard to make Eloise rhyme with 'two straight lines.'
United Parcel Service rather than USPS
What's an "Asian Fusion"??!!!
Always get a kick outta the BEQ puzs. And U always get to learn about some rock star/group trivia. Along with a few other extra choice no-knows, such as: ANNATTO & WHAUDEN.
Spunky long balls are a hi-lite of his puzs, and here we check them boxes with LOOKTHEOTHERWAY and THATSFORSURE and JUMBOJETS and ELTONJOHN, among others. DOGSHOWJUDGE seemed like a slight outlier, altho it came with a superb clue. Maybe BEQ originally had some other cooler JUDGE entry, and it just wouldn't play good with others? Anyhoo, lotsa cool J-stuff. Kinda a BJE puz.
staff weeject pick: ELI. Well, actually he was our blog sub. Great to have one who can hold his liquor. Happy New Year, ELI. In the puz, the staff will go with: UEY. And kudos to the NE & SW weeject stacks, of course.
Thanx, BEQ dude. That beard is lookin mighty raised-by-wolves-fine. Keep up the good work, and may all yer sofalegs stay solid.
Masked & Anonymo5Us
**gruntz**
Was it BEQ that constructed each puzzle one week ending with meta something puzzle on Friday or Saturday? I don't remember anything else about it, except that I really enjoyed it.
@mbr (10:25)
Thanks for the “milk and honey” reference. Since I posted, it’s occurred to me that the presentation of milk on a spoon to a devotee studying the Torah(?) looks like a kind of sacrament. But I’m from the Christian side of the Judeo-Christian spectrum so I may well be ascribing to Judaism something that isn’t there.
@Nancy (11:22)
Oh, @Nancy, I’m wiping away a tear. Your response made me guffaw aloud, and I loved it because it was a breath of fresh air through the musty corridors of art history. But in all honesty, I don’t see the look of horror that you do. I see a man engaged in serious contemplation, even prayer -- the downcast eyes suggest engagement with inner life rather than the world around him, but then you have that spoonful of milk whose significance I wish I knew. All his life CHAGALL carried with him his childhood village and his religion and the folklore he learned as a boy, not as a millstone around his neck (as far as I know), but as endless sources of artistic inspiration.
I looked for that New Yorker cartoon without success -- damn. But given the circumstances, I offer this one.
@Joseph Michael
If you have only two choices, it's either A OR B.
@MetroGnome
ASIAN Fusion is a type of cuisine.
@M&A
As explained above, it's W. H. AUDEN.
I suppose I’m getting old. When I was a boy growing up in the NY area we called him Dimag or JoeD.
Jolten’ Joe was a song
This one took a while, to be sure, thanks to that NW that I simply couldn't figure out for the longest time. I got DOGSHOWJUDGE quickly and eventually had AGASSI & LATHE & ELTONJOHN. I had tried both OHNO and FANG and taken both out. Just couldn't see SOAFLEG and had no idea about ANNATTO or the GLOWing fish. But SOFALEG finally fell this morning after sleeping on it overnight (actually slept on a bed, not a sofa leg), and I got the Happy Music with no help along the way.
Never in my life until today have I encountered the word MOUES. It pretty much had to be correct based on crosses, but I suspect I spent 3 to 5 wasted minutes staring at it and trying to figure out what was wrong. Sigh.
My first entry of the puzzle was LOOKTHEOTHERWAY, which was very useful in getting started in the lower half.
A fun challenging solve!
Loved the mini baseball theme: Babe Ruth, JOED, ONEBASE.
Looking for a NEW TOME to read in the NEW year.
Junk mail is processed by USPS. Have never heard of junk mail arriving via UPS, which handles parcels and parcel envelopes.
Average Friday. The NW brought on the late week resistance. LATHE and GLOW opened it up but the unknown ANNATTO made me work for the rest. After that it was smooth sailing for an average time.
talk about your kea/loas with MOpES/MOUES. Geez... took me a bit to convince me MOpES was incorrect. Eli - I watched that Dodger Stadium show as it streamed. Just awesome. Elton has given us so much joy the past 50+ years. Talented beyond compare. I play the piano and his stuff is just fascinating to wrap your arms around. I’ve seen him 5 times in concert including the Central Park show where he was dressed as a duck. lol. Great Friday puzzle. thanks BEQ, Eli, and ELTON haha
@jberg, thank you for saying what I had been thinking about the spice/condiment distinction! After quibbling all week on one clue or another, I decided I wouldn’t air that particular definitional gripe. But I tend to agree - I think of a dry, single ingredient like ANNATTO as a spice, and to me a condiment always has at least two ingredients, one wet (like an oil, a vinegar, or water) and one dry (usually a spice or produce of some kind). I’m curious if others don’t?
I think it refers to single white male? But how many decades ago did personal ads become obsolete? Two?
@anon 12:16 -- It was Patrick Berry, the week of October 17-22, 2011. I will never forget it as one of the greatest and enjoyable crossword feats of all time. You can re-experience it here: https://www.xwordinfo.com/Contest .
p.s.
Thanx, @JC66. AUDEN sounds at least slightly more familiar, from somewheres.
First M&A msg typo: I meant BJQ puz, not BJE puz. Didn't intend to drop the Quigley.
M&Also
Anyone requirin additional solvequest sufferin -- check this BIG puppy out:
**gruntz**
From "Mrs. Robinson" by S & G.
Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio?
Our nation turns its lonely eyes to you
Woo, woo, woo
What's that you say, Mrs. Robinson?
Joltin' Joe has left and gone away
Hey, hey, hey
Hey, hey, hey
A fundamental tenet of Judaism is the forcing of food onto someone who could probably do without it. Chagall employs milk in this painting, but it could just as well be some lox or a blintz.
Challenging! Thought I might not finish! Simply unfamiliar with ANNATTO, SCAD, HODA, MANOWAR, AGA, TYES. Needed a lot of crosses, and those were frequently clued in difficult ways.
I'm so majorly flattered to be in the NYTimes puzzle but I've never been involved with the Matter Lives Black movement, so I don't really understand my clue.
Not a particularly hard puzzle. Also went first with paprika, which after all is made from peppers so it should be peppery, but ANNATTO is familiar so no problem there. Once again they trampled on their own attempt at cleverness by capitalizing dickens. They don't seem to grasp how double entendres work.
This song has uno chord.
I have a couple of LATHEs, one for metal and one for wood, so that got me started and then it was a good, steady workout for the rest of the puzzle. I've been doing a lot of archive puzzles---one of the perks of subscribing to the online NYTXW---and Friday is my favorite day. This one didn't disappoint.
There wasn't a SCAD or A TON of crosswordese but I did notice more than some of yous seemed to have. ARE (30D) has appeared 460 times in the Shortz era but xwordinfo.com tells me that the last time it got a metric type clue was in June of 2007 ("100 square meters"). I guess today's esoteric clue was needed to avoid duplication with ARE WE for 47D "___ there yet?".
In the crosswordese extraordinaire category we get 43A TYES for "Nautical ropes". I've been a sailor since the 60's and I conduct ropework classes for our local sailing club. The only place I have ever seen TYE for nautical rope is in a crossword grid. I have several books on nautical ropework including the definitive The Complete Rigger's Apprentice by the late master rigger Brion Toss and TYE doesn't appear anywhere in the 380+ pages of that venerable tome.
Several plurals of convenience (POC) took a little shine off of this one for me. Of special note were three of the two for one variety where a Down and an Across both get a letter count, grid filling boost by sharing a single terminal S. This begins when 15D MOUE and 29A JAM aren't up to the task of filling their slots. Then 25D EASY A and the aforementioned 43A TYE need some help doing their job. And then an S pops up in the most often seen location for a two fer, the lower, rightmost corner, to help 53D EWE and 61A DRESS get it done. DRESS gets a extra boost from -ES.
I started with LATHE today, confirmed by SEN, then ELTON JOHN and GLOW. So I had ____HOW______ in place and wondered who was inspecting a toy cHOW. AGASSI gave me the rest of the NW and I was able to celebrate that at least I had interpreted "toy" correctly!
My last sector filled was the East Central. THI___ didn't help much with 34A nor did SA___ scream SAUNA (even though I presumed platza had something spa-like going for it). Finally, our old friend AGA helped out and cleared things up there. As the Ottoman authority, he/she directs the placement of the footstools, very important. Tripping hazard, doncha know.
Not seeing the byline today helped me stay relaxed - if I see BEQ's, KAC's or AES' name as the constructor, I get nervous. Is it a coincidence they all go by three names?
Thanks, Brendan, nice, smooth Friday!
Quite a few delights today. Clues! I guessed SCAD right off because of the unusual singular and its BEQ and its Saturday. But it was not quite enough to get me to SOFALEG even though I had sofa leg break thru a riser 2 days ago and the world went awobble.
Did get CHAGALL off of SCAD. LOOKTHEOTHERWAY and THATSFORSURE came early. ANNETTO and MOUES no idea.
Fun: MANOWAR JOED SAUNA BAGEL RAM EASYAS DOGSHOW JUDGE SEAR ELOISE RUNWAY AORB. Probably missing some.
Not a sailor but my uncle was and son is. TYE info: tye (plural tyes) Obsolete form of tie. quotations ▼ (nautical) A chain or rope, one end of which passes through the mast, and is made fast to the center of a yard; the other end is attached to a tackle, by means of which the yard is hoisted or lowered.
@anon 703am
All initialisms and acronyms are considered abbreviations in today's world.
@Barbara S (again yesterday)
The Robert Galbraith I mentioned is a 30 hour audio book. Audible has a Middlemarch that is 32 hours long and judging from the sample has a reader that would be a delight to listen too for that long. There is also a 35 hour reading called version 2. Maybe the book as released as opposed to the serial magazine edition??.
Ali=DNF for me. I’ll remember now
@Beezer and @Barbara S, re audiobooks yesterday: the greatest book reader I've ever heard was William Hurt (the actor). He did one of Stephen King's books -- can't remember which -- and it was exquisite. Most King books I've heard were read by the author and he was not very good (as a reader).
[SB: @Barbara S, I swear I'm not making this up: my last 2 words were the same, but in the opposite order!]
Endless rewrites for me. Had SOFALEG as FOAMTOP, ANNATTO as TOBASCO, SCAD then became FETE, SEN was GOV and MOUES was SULKS before quickly becoming MOPES. What a disaster.
ANNATTO is not something I regard as a "condiment". I know it mostly as a food dye -- it's what gives cheddar that distinct orange yellow tone. They don't taste like much so I wouldn't put it high on recommendations.
MOUES and SCAD are both words that I've only seen in crosswords but not frequently enough to remember that they exist. If I had SCA- I would certainly have thrown SCAM before anything else.
Marquis answers were nice, at least. South side of this puzzle lent itself much better to me than the North.
“Do some branding” is painful animal abuse. Not amused.
Forgot to include this interesting tidbit on the 'Mexican free-tailed BAT':
"The Mexican free-tailed bat or Brazilian free-tailed bat (Tadarida brasiliensis) is a medium-sized bat native to the Americas, so named because its tail can be almost half its total length and is not attached to its uropatagium. It has been claimed to have the fastest horizontal speed of any animal, reaching top ground speeds over 101 mph (162 km/h).[2] It also flies the highest among bats, at altitudes around 3,300 m (10,800 ft).[3]"
"It is regarded as one of the most abundant mammals in North America." (Wikipedia)
@Barbara S.
I'm an avid reader (both ebooks & audiobooks). I usually keep 3 or 4 ebooks going at a time, but the audiobook is with me whenever I'm wandering about. Currently listening to 'The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich', by Shirer (57 hrs long). Fwiw, my current reading is: 'Nobody's Girl' (sometimes known as 'The Adventures of Perrine'), one of my childhood faves and one of the sweetest books ever, by Hector Malot; Stephen King's 'Fairy Tale'; Uris's Exodus, and Sister Carrie, by Theodore Dreiser. Btw, I always listen to audiobooks at a rate of between 2x-3x speed; currently set at 2.3x.
___
Peace 🕊 🇺🇦 ~ Compassion ~ Tolerance ~ Kindness to all 🙏
Anyone have CAYENNE for Annatto? Also, who says "scad"? It should be SCADS.
someone explain SOFALEG pls
@Liveprof (1:00 PM)
I assume you're talking Jewish Mothers. Well, the woman in the painting may be CHAGALL's mother, so if the headscarf fits...
@albatross shell (1:33 PM), @okanaganer (1:59 PM) and @bocamp (2:50 PM)
Thanks for further input re audiobooks. I think I'm going to have to get over myself and try them.
And @okanaganer...
I'm hearing that Twilight Zone theme again.
Maybe you have to be a Yankee fan for this, but, yeah, JoeD is how I've always known Dimaggio (though his playing time preceded me by decades), and it was my first impulse as the answer for that clue. I just waited for the confirmation on the "J" before filling it in.
Well put, Barbara S. Yes, the mom is the chief administrator of that policy. If I recall correctly, there's a scene in Portnoy's Complaint in which the mom is chasing after him with a knife to get him to eat something.
For the legions of audiobook folks who might not have tried this: There Eyes Were Watching God…Zora Neale Hurston, narrated by Ruby Dee (RIP). And. I know Hurston was lambasted by some people back then. Still. It is masterful.
@Barry Evans: re: SOFALEG...
Sleeper can mean "a sofa or chair that converts into a bed". And each leg would, of course, help support that sofa/chair.
M&A Help Desk
JOED is common in the NYY circle. SOFALEG - the sleeper is a pullout couch
Only a coincidence, perhaps. Marc Chagall's painting "The Violinist" was reportedly the inspiration for the title of the musical play "Fiddler on the Roof." The lead character, Tevya, was a milkman. Hmmm..,
Also, Hilary Knight who drew the character "Eloise" is a man. Still going strong in his 90s.
Exactly the same mistake with veterinarian. Fortunately 1 down took care of that possibility, but I didn't want to give it up
Good puzzle. I had the same complaints as Eli though.
It was in fact a common abbreviation and meant most definitely single white male. Those alternative weeklies maybe charged by how many letters.
They used birch branches when I was in a sauna at my host family's dacha in Kazan, Russia (1998). After the birch beating and covered with sweat, we jumped in pool of ice cold water! Did not care to repeat the experience ever again! 😥❄😨
I agree with you! A spice is dry. A condiment has some liquid in it!
Loved so many of the answers in this engaging and enjoyable puzzle! To wit:
MANOWAR – Smiled when I remembered the horse! Was trying to fit Lou Gehrig in there.
But we do get JOED for Joe Dimaggio!
DOGSHOWJUDGE – Didn’t think that J was right for the longest time as I was stuck on those brown trucks for 19D.
BAT – Just because they’re cool, and people sometimes look like them and ring doorbells to ask for CANDY.
WHAUDEN – Another reminder of the power of the poem “Funeral Blues,” discussed several days (or weeks?) ago. Don’t think anyone posted a link to the actor who read it at his character’s (essentially, unknown to his mates) husband’s funeral in the movie Four Weddings and a Funeral. John Hannah's heartbreaking rendition.
MOUES – Fun to say because who would think to pronounce it as a cow would, moo. Now am wondering about its origin...Googled...MW says it’s one of two English words for a pout or grimace, from the Anglo-French mouwe. The other word, mow, is actually pronounced to rhyme with “cow”! (TO BE FAIR, MW says you could also rhyme it with “no.”)
And CHAGALL – Always think of the two huge murals Chagall created for the Met, which I saw on attending a performance of, I think, The Magic Flute. My first introduction to the Met and its operas, and its amazing crystal chandeliers – ascending and darkening to cue performance start and then descending at opera’s end to light the way out.
Thanks, Brendan Emmett Quigley, for such fun!
Spent almost fifteen minutes starting at the east until EASYAS came, which was less than we spent on the rest of the entire puzzle. Very cranky and irritated.
@Okanaganer…Will Patton has also done some Stephen King books, ie Mr. Mercedes trilogy…very good! I’ll look into the one by William Hurt (RIP)
Echo your comments on almost all fronts. The MOUES and MANOWAR cross had me stumped.
I believe for CANINE the reference is to the canine tooth, which has an overall bite-y look to it? That was my guess.
Happy new year!
What a great blog today. I was out all day in the park -- finally -- so I'm catching up with the comments now. I don't think I'll ever get to watching "Jeopardy".
@Barbara S -- Thanks for that other milk cartoon. It's very funny too. But isn't it annoying that classic New Yorker cartoons from way back in the day are never findable? Drives me crazy in this age of the computer. Recently, I was trying to find this one -- probably my favorite New Yorker cartoon ever -- but I couldn't. I'll describe it:
We're in a huge executive corner office at night. The executive, his back to us, is looking plaintively out the window. A cleaning woman, mop and pail in hand, is on her knees on the floor behind him. She's speaking. She says: "I understand, Sir, truly I do, but it's also lonely at the bottom."
@Jberg: Re ELOISE -- I found out only very recently and many, many decades after reading the book that author Kay Thompson was a good friend of Judy Garland and quite well acquainted with Liza Minelli, then a child. It's believed that Thompson based the character of ELOISE on Liza. From what I've seen of Lisa Minelli, it makes perfect sense.
Yankee Clipper, Joltin’ Joe, but yeah, Joe D rings true to this Yankee fan who is old enough to have seen the Mick in person,
I was going to defend the state of THINGS being a thing. I discovered it is a title of a Wim Wenders movie I have not see and quite possibly a very good film. In reading about it I came across this quote: "Life is in color but black and white is more realistic.".
I am wondering if I heard this 40 or 50 years and have forgotten it. I find it difficult to believe I have not overused it at many a dinner party.
Thought I was so smart when I entered *banya* (a Russian sauna) for 31A - a Russian-sounding sauna treatment. NOT.
Great puzzle overall. Excepting 34A - State of THINGS. Huh???
WHAUDEN crossing CHA (Chinese word?), KHARTOUM (foreign city?), HODA (bizarre name?)
If one doesn't recognize W. H. AUDEN, aren't these Naticks?
This is BEQ’s 192nd NYT crossword. Another great from puzzledom’s hall-of-fame. He should probably hit 200 sometime next year. Excellent puzzle. Nice and crunchy with terrific, clever cluing. A few things that were NEWTOME like WHAUDEN which was a WOE until I parsed it out: W. H.. Auden - OK, ISEENOW…. AORB and JOED made me scratch my head a bit as did TYES, but TOBEFAIR it was basically junk-FREE. A perfect accompaniment with my morning CHA. Also, Brendan Emmett Quigley has to be one of the best names ever - at least for a cruciverbalist, THATSFORSIRE !
EDIT - THATSFORSURE not THATSFORSIRE…
I don't think it's so all-fired great. UEY (or UIE) is just plain horrible. State of__ = TH-? Why, THE ART, of course. Don't tell me you didn't ink that in, because you did. THINGS??? Really now. Nor am I a fan of TVSETYS--or TV-anything.
It's a workable Friday, with attandant toughness, but not scintillating. And the fill sucks. Bogey.
Wordle par.
NEW THINGS
NOW, AREWE FREE TO JUDGE what's gone?
SEE, THAT'SFORSURE what some ONE gets,
TO LOOK an OTHERWAY at ELTONJOHN,
and FIND "Benny and THE JUMBOJETS".
--- SEN. ELOISE AUDEN
I liked this puz well enough. Maybe I'm jaded a bit because I've met BEQ; he's got relatives quite near to my house. ALY Raisman, yeah baby.
Wordle eagle!! It's easy to make yeast tasty.
This was one of those "impossible at first" puzzles that slowly, bit by bit, gave way until it was all filled in. My favorite kind!
Diana, LIW
Never heard of Whauden and, these days, a personal ad abbr. can be just about anything!
Actually, W. H. Auden. One of the top British-American poets of the 20th century. If you've seen Four Weddings and a Funeral, you heard his "Funeral Blues" ("Stop all the clocks") read aloud in the film.
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