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Bird whose Latin root means "dog" / FRI 2-10-23 / Who reinvented the wheel in 1893 / Jumble of speech / Beach acclaimed 1991 children's book set in Harlem / Alternative to pinot grigio / What's read in tasseomancy / Klaatu's vehicle in The Day the Earth Stood Still / Late-night talk show from 2010 to 2021
Friday, February 10, 2023
Constructor: Kavin Pawittranon and Nijah Morris
Relative difficulty: Medium
Word of the Day: Der SPIEGEL (58A: German newsmagazine Der ___) —
Der Spiegel (German pronunciation: [deːɐ̯ ˈʃpiːɡl̩], lit. "The Mirror") is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. With a weekly circulation of 695,100 copies, it was the largest such publication in Europe in 2011. It was founded in 1947 by John Seymour Chaloner, a British army officer, and Rudolf Augstein, a former Wehrmacht radio operator who was recognized in 2000 by the International Press Institute as one of the fifty World Press Freedom Heroes. Typically, the magazine has a content to advertising ratio of 2:1.Der Spiegel is known in German-speaking countries mostly for its investigative journalism. It has played a key role in uncovering many political scandals such as the Spiegel affair in 1962 and the Flick affair in the 1980s. According to The Economist, Der Spiegelis one of continental Europe's most influential magazines. The news website by the same name was launched in 1994 under the name Spiegel Online with an independent editorial staff. Today, the content is created by a shared editorial team and the website uses the same media brand as the printed magazine. (wikipedia)
• • •
Leaving the tea leaf crap aside now ... I really liked this puzzle. It's got a lot of that whoosh-and-zoom quality that I like to see in a Friday, with lots of lovely longer answers darting across the grid, creating a nice flow, a feeling of openness. I wasn't as whooshy or zoomy as I often am on Fridays, or ideal Fridays, anyway, but that's mostly because I couldn't make anything work at first. I came out of the NW with only EMAG in place (4D: Slate, e.g.). I tried to make the plural of "genus" work at 18A: Subdivisions of families (GENERA), but my Latin totally failed me and after GENUSES (as well as GENIUSES (?) and GENII (!?)) didn't fit, I had to bail out completely. I decided to have at the short stuff in the NE, and that was the right call: HAD ON / KNEE / CLICK / LAX / TOE ... that was the starter kit I needed and then finally, a whoosh, out of the NE and into the middle of the grid via CHEAP THRILL! Thrilling. Lots of excitement and energy in this one, with the thrills and the partying (at the PARTY SCHOOLS) and the dancing (with the SLAM DANCERS). FREUDIAN SLIP rounds out the Big Four answers in this one, and those four provide a great latticework to hang the rest of the grid on.
Didn't like FEELS OKAY both because it's kind of limp as a phrase and because the clue only added to that limpness—[Seems acceptable] is just (synonym for FEELS) + (synonym for OKAY). So you've made your long answer into two boring ones, basically. I also don't get how ILY is something in ASL, since ASL, as I understand it, does not involve (written) letters. I guess you sign the letters, one at a time? But I've seen the abbr. ILY outside ASL, for sure (it's the only way I could've inferred it), so the connection to ASL felt strange / forced to me. The use of "major" in the clue for REST AREA also felt a little forced (27A: Major turnoff, perhaps). I've stopped at lots of REST AREAs in NY and PA. If they're just REST AREAs (and not service plazas, with gas and lots of food vendors and stuff) then I'd hardly call them major. But if you would place service plazas under the very widespread banner of REST AREA, then I guess it makes sense. It's clear why you wanted "major" there—to heighten the misdirection on "turnoff." But when you do that (really push the fakeout meaning), I'll say it's a real ... turn-off ... when the fakeout feels forced.
I thought states had FLAGS, not FAIRS (21A: Most states have state ones), and that families had CELL PLANs, not DATA PLANs (23A: A family's might be unlimited), at first. I also thought that the days of "YAS, queen" were behind us, but apparently that era is still upon us, so that's ... good to know (3D: Praise for a queen). Lots of "S"-enders in this grid. If I draw a (very crooked) line from the "S" at the end of SLAM DANCERS / EDITS to the "S" at the end of PARTY SCHOOLS, I can pick up a total of nine (!) terminal "S"s along the way. Nothing wrong with "S"-ending words, obviously. Just something I've been dinged for as a constructor before, by crossword editors. They can be .... crutches, those terminal "S"s, and in great numbers, they stand out. But if your grid is great then I don't think anyone (but me) is likely to notice or care. And this grid is pretty great. So there. Good day.
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96 comments:
The thing with the pinky, pointer, and thumb up that people do to say "I love you" has ASL for I, L, and Y in it. (I've been told this isn't actually ASL, so I'm avoiding the word "sign", but now Google is telling me it is the sign for ASL, so now I don't know. Someone with actual familiarity with ASL/deaf culture please let me know.)
My phrase of choice for "Crazy amount" is sh*tload, which I write without a hyphen. If I don't want to say the "S word" I say boatload. I understand CRAPLOAD if someone says it but I never use it.
I was bothered a little by the singular TEA LEAF and the non-major REST AREA, but only a bit. The New Jersey Turnpike calls its service areas REST AREAs.
SLAM DANCERS was close to a WOE but I barely noticed it because I had most of the crosses before I read the clue.
I had a crap-load of fun doing this puzzle. Party school, crap-load, word salad and the pasta I could see in my pantry but could not spell.
I liked this for the most part. I would say that if the appearance of any rest area is half an hour after you're sure you're going to pee yourself, it's MAJOR! Agree with @Rex on C LOAD. Not really offensive, just in poor taste. OTOH the TEALEAF rant was a bit over the top. The SW corner was hard. 1. The very obscure SOAVE. 2. KEY always trips me(dumb brain). 3. ILY? No! Nobody learns ASL unless they need to. Speaking of EDITS, @Rex needs one in the 6th line of his write up, They're to Their. One more thing. Why the "?" in 29A-Places where majors are of minor concern? Constructor is trying to be too cute with the major/minor thing. That's why. Cheers, everyone. Enjoy a glass of SOAVE after work.
What no monarch wants to be.... Exile? I know a monarch can be AN exile, but exiled feels more natural here.
How about 16A: "What no monarch wants to be" EXILE. That's wrong! Right? Should be an "in" in the clue or answer!!
Was baffled by the clue for EXILE “What no monarch wants to be”. Is EXILE and adjective - like “He’s an EXILE person”. How does one “be EXILE” ?. I don’t know, seems weird to me (maybe someone will point out a butterfly angle that I am missing).
I agree with Rex about the vibe of this puzzle. A boatload (hi, @Conrad) of entries to admire here today: CHEAP THRILL, SLAM DANCERS, PARTY SCHOOLS, WORD SALAD, FERRIS wheel/state FAIRS. . .
And CRAPLOAD. I agree that CRAPLOAD isn’t as strong as my beloved crapton, but I’m taking this debut as NYT immunity for using both. Neither expression has made it into Merriam Webster yet, but I guarantee you at least one of them will soon. I monitor their site periodically to check what, ahem, [air quotes] abominations have gained dictionary status. For years I kept checking to see when they’d recognize that batshit is more than just a noun and was delighted when they finally succumbed to recognizing its adverbness. (It’s the second entry.) The one I’m waiting for now is cheers as a full-on regular verb.
(A scatalogical side-note. . .@pabloinnh, your Queen Elizabeth horse joke yesterday made me belly laugh.)
Rex – yeah, those pesky Latin plurals. I remember listening to a podcast where the guest used GENERA as casually as he would use, say, criteria, and I decided this guy was really smart. But I’d feel like a poser if I said anything other than genuses. Maybe being allowed to toss around fancy plurals and not sound like an $#@hole is one of the many bonera of having a PhD in some science.
I considered that the states had “seals” before FAIRS.
Fun to have IDITAROD sharing the grid with VET (avatar daughter Sage). Dad and I volunteered once at the IDITAROD, and it was a hoot. We did all kinds of stuff to help – erected a fence downtown Anchorage for the ceremonial start, took a dog-handler course so we could help a musher at the start, got to check the microchips on the dogs the morning of the race to make sure all they dogs were who they said they were. Our last job was to wait at the hotel headquarters for the small planes bringing back dogs who’d been disqualified by a VET for some injury, some reason it wasn’t healthy for them to continue. We’d stand out on this frozen lake (I think it was) and watch the planes materialize. As they got closer, we could see the little dog faces staring out the window, dejected. We’d get them off the plane, set them up on some straw with water and food, and then try to comfort them ‘cause every single one of them wanted to still be running with their buddies.
I rather liked the clue for REST AREA. Major turn-off. Hah. A few of mine:
-Grammar shamers
-Beets
-Hearing about someone’s thyroid medication
-John Cage
-Men bathed in cologne
-Chihuahuas
CHEAP THRILL – I gave this one a think. Like ok, it has to be cheap, and it has to be thrilling. A few for me:
-Sliding down a staircase banister on my fanny
-Spotting the local weatherman out in the wild
-Throwing up a helicopter leaf and watching its decent
-Petting a Newfoundland, any Newfoundland
-Pogo sticking
-Getting a student to bite on the old “henway” joke*
-Blowing every single white fluff thingy off the dandelion so my wish will come true
Kavin, Nijah – I would like to cheers you both on your auspicious NYT debut. Enjoy the day and revel in your success.
*Ms. Smith, what’s a vestibule?
Well, hmm. It’s a lot like a henway.
What’s a henway?
A little over 3 pounds.
[Pause] Ms. Smith, you cringey.
Making a simultaneous signs for I, L, and Y to mean “I love you” is indeed a thing from ASL that has leaked into the broader culture. It now has an emoji. I use it with one of my sons all the time. He is not deaf, but is non-speaking. I am not sure if it’s still widely used in the Deaf community.
Speaking of that clue… I originally had made a wrong guess that the answer to “Net hookup abbr” was DSS. That made the answer to 28-Down ASS. Ok, fine, but then when I went back to the clue for 49-Down, “Sign of affection, in 28-Down,” I was, er, surprised at the turn the puzzle had taken. All was cleared up soon enough.
At first pass-through, there were so many answers that were what-can-this-be or there-are-so-many-things-this-could-be. As a rule, I don’t like to just throw answers in, so I was staring at a sea of white.
“Okay,” I said. “Faith solve.” That is, the task ahead feels impossible, but, based on experience, if I chip away at it without help, if I keep the faith, this beast will reveal itself. And oh, there were two or three times where I was sorely tempted to reach for a lifeline, but dug in instead. And darned if that beast, to my paramount pleasure, didn’t finally throw in the towel.
Perhaps the most satisfying solves of all are faith solves, IMO.
Now, at a distance, I can see the art and skill in this construction, with its fresh and gorgeous feel, through non-tired and beautiful answers: WORD SALAD, GENERA, PARTY SCHOOLS, FREUDIAN SLIP, FARFALLE, CRAPLOAD, TERIYAKI, SLAMDANCERS, TEALEAF, RASCALS, CHEAP THRILL, PIEROGI, EVOKED, ITIDAROD. Look at all these! OMG!
And cluing that is mostly figure-me-out rather than pluck-from-memory, the former far more satisfying. Cluing in that perfect place between obvious and mean.
This is a NYT debut? This… heap of beauty, this make-me-so-proud-to-complete creation? Wow, and may I please request more from the two of you? MORE. LIKE. THIS. PLEASE. Thank you for this magnificent beast!
I thought ILY ASL was new text speak “ I Love You A Shit Load”!
I think CRAPLOAD is perfectly acceptable as an often-used term. I myself have never really heard CRAPton used.
EXILE can be a noun - after Napoleon was EXILEd to Elba, he was an EXILE.
Sorry, Rex, but you can't complain about TEALEAF being singular and then a paragraph later complain about too many plurals.
Easy for me. WORDSALAD went in with no crosses and then it was whoosh-whoosh, counterclockwise around the grid, from there.
I applaud the use of PIEROGI as a plural.
Nice anatomical cluster in the NE, with KNEE, TOE and COLON (which goes well with the CRAPLOAD in the SW).
NW was by far the toughest section for me. 2D I think would have been easier without the “informally” qualifier. I know YAS queen solely from puzzles, and did not realize it was praiseful. Most states also have state birds, state taxes and state parks … all of which I tried. But wait! you say. Don't all states have state birds and state parks? But I also used the word 'state' as in 'sovereign state', which don't all have those.
Loved this. The NW was my biggest challenge because I put lObby right in instead of FOYER and stuck with it too long. That gave me bloG for the Slate clue, so I said, “this FEELS OKAY.” But it wasn’t! I felt like I should know the “reinvented the wheel” thing but I was thinking about a car. Finally getting FERRIS gave me an “of course, you dummy!” reaction. Chicago World’s Fair, I believe.
The NE, on the other hand, came pretty easily because I put in IDITAROD right away. I have always been fascinated by that race. I’ve heard that they might have to move it earlier because of climate change.
I had a technical DNF with SLyEST and PyEROGI but I am telling myself it wasn’t one because I think those are both valid alternate spellings.
Lots of bad-boy energy in the puzzle with RASCALS, SLAM DANCERS, PARTY SCHOOLS, CRAPLOAD, CHEAP THRILL and shooting pool with a ROPE. I first heard the latter from the opposite of an impotent George Burns - I heard it from a college friend after he spent the night in one amorous activity after another. I didn’t know it as a Burns quote. Kinda risqué for the NYT.
I live in mortal fear of FREUDIAN SLIPs. I am especially terrified that my slip will be about race or something and I will never recover from it. By its nature, a Freudian slip is something you cannot say you didn’t mean at all. It was there in your brain and it slipped out.
“OFF” for “Down!” — i have the most well-behaved dog you have ever met, but this is one command I cannot get her to follow. She is so excited to see me (or anyone she knows well) when I come in that she squeals and jumps on me with delight. It’s literally the same reaction whether I have been gone five minutes or five weeks. I actually like it, but others DETEST it and I can’t get her to stop.
Mistakes:
I read one of LMS' CHEAP THRILLs as "throwing up *on* a helicopter..." which obviously belongs in the Major turn-off list.
My first TOE-hold was WORD SALAD, but I fat-fingered and typed WORD SALSA. Decided that is basically the same thing as WORD SALAD but a lot spicier.
Re: EXILE, it can mean "a person who is in exile" (M-W, corroborated with other sources) but I agree the clue is kinda weak. I guess monarchs are statistically more likely to be EXILEs than the general population but I don't think the inclusion of "monarch" helps this clue at all.
Enjoyed the puzzle in about average Friday time.
@kitshef: I assume the singular is pierogus?
@lms: boneyard! Hah!
@anonymous 7:11: Good grief! Puzzles are fun, but you folks are even funner.
The standard sign for "I love you" (used both for romantic love and for close friends, just like in lots of spoken languages) is literally ILY. https://youtu.be/jzJjdvTF10A
It's a noun: "He is a political exile."
Minimalist grid today - I’m assuming it’s not easy to build a tight, ultra-low word count themeless puzzle. Didn’t like this as much as the big guy - although I’m all in on team shit LOAD. Liked SLAM DANCERS and CHEAP THRILL. COLONELS, TERIYAKI, FEELS OKAY and other longs fell flat.
Wanted serrated before CERAMIC. HAD ON, SLIEST were OFF. The ASL-ILY pair was forgettable. PARTY SCHOOLS sounds all cute and fratty until all of those loans are forgiven.
Hand the same plural overload as Rex - although not sure about his TEA LEAF slant. PIONEERS is a wonderful word. Total guess on SEPAL.
Enjoyable Friday solve.
I’m So Happy Now
Haha, even when you’re happy, you’re not happy! I thought this was pretty darn good, even with its minor flaws. But I’m no constructor!!
This started out as one of @Lewis’s faith-solves, but quickly turned into something a lot more doable. I got nowhere in the NW, either acrosses or downs. CONAN sat there alone for a long time and, as I never watch late-night TV, I was unsure if it was even right. But I then got on to the NE and CLICK, HAD ON, EXILE and TOE fell immediately, leading to all sorts of good things like IDITAROD and COLONELS. I completed three-quarters of the puzzle quite happily, but was ultimately forced to come back to the NW to finish it – definitely my most difficult AREA. I couldn’t see FOYER, CERAMIC or WORD SALAD to save my life, but the downs came to my rescue, and – yay, finished on my own in good time. Although, full disclosure, I did have to search for an error at the end. And it was this: I always want to spell SLIEST with a Y in third position (hi, @Wanderlust!). With an I, the word looks like it should rhyme with the first two syllables of “fiesta.” But, of course, PyEROGI looked dumb, so the mistake showed itself pretty readily.
As for the controversies of the day –
CRAPLOAD is definitely my preferred term. In fact, I use CRAP far too often in far too many contexts and far too many compounds. REST AREA went right in but, in fairness, I had AREA there already thanks to downs. I’d never heard the expression “service plaza” until I read Rex this morning. A single TEA LEAF – yeah, that’s not really it – it’s the pattern of leaves that one reads. (Love “tasseomancy”!) I’m always trying to sneak TEALEAF as one word into the Spelling Bee and they catch me every time. I was spared the FlagS/FAIRS dilemma by none other than my now-best friend, CONAN (see above). I kept him in place despite uncertainty for unknown reasons that were clearly prescient. Thumbs up for EXILE as a noun applied to a person. And ASL is a total mystery to me, but I did suss out what ILY must stand for, so bully for me.
[SB: yd, -3. I think the mere sight of I, N and G among the letters of the day puts my brain into panic mode, doubting that it will be able to come up with all the permutations demanded. And, indeed, I overlooked two, plus another word that there’s also no excuse for missing. Sigh. Today’s another day (thank gof). (Hi @Z, wherever you are.)]
Funnily enough, I had trouble at CANARY/PARTYSCHOOLS. Before I had the across, I put in CANARD, as in a duck. That led me to eventually getting PARTDSCHOOLS. and my reaction was “cool, I guess there’s some obscure law or statute in which ‘part D’ provides for schools that don’t focus on a major” (like trade schools or something). Oh well. Now I feel dumb.
The days of YAS, Queen may be behind us but they missed me completely (and vice-versa). I’ve never seen or heard it before and couldn’t imagine how it could possibly be correct, but there were no other options, so YAS it was. I just looked it up and feel enlightened.
Really enjoyed the puzzle!
Doing it fast, started with SOUVLAKI and BULGOGI instead of TERIYAKI and PIEROGI.
I think “slyest” would be preferable over “sliest “
I think "major turnoff" doesn't just heighten the misdirection. "Turnoff, perhaps" would be a harder clue, in my opinion. Furthermore, I do think of rest areas as "major" turnoffs!
If you think of "turnoffs" as having two fundamental categories:
A. the kind where you can get another road (or, equally commonly, get gas / food and then get back on again) -- exit ramps, etc
B. The kind that where you can't, where you exit from and then re-enter the same highway -- chain-up areas, scenic overlooks, truck scales, and.... REST AREAS!!
Rest areas are some of the biggest and baddest type-Bs around!!! lol
Also, two points on farfalle:
1. I enjoyed seeing "butterfly" elsewhere in the grid. I think you know these as either bowtie pasta or butterfly pasta, and basically it depends on which one you heard first. Anyone in the commentariat that used to call farfalle one of these, and now calls it the other? Please share your story.
2. I think of butterflies, bowties, and farfalle not as things that are "pinched" in the middle, but things that are "fanned out" at the sides. Just something I didn't realize until farfalle were described to me as pinched pasta. Of course, the way you make a farfalle must certainly involve a pincher, rather than a tanner-outer, to use the technical term!
Have a nice morning everyone.
Really, really happy to have solved this one--almost nothing filled in in the top half except "Go eye to eye," which was wrong (TOE to TOE).
Just had to correct PyEROGI to PIEROGI (I had originally put a ridiculous rYeROll instead of PIEROGI, and didn't catch the Y until after the Happy Music wouldn't play).
Agree with Rex on REST AREA--I dropped in exiT ramp as my first significant answer in the East, which is a much better answer ("Major turn-off), I think.
Also hand up for flags over FAIRS and the funny thought of reading a single TEALEAF--perhaps that would be a short story!
CRAPLOAD is mainstream to me--might be regional.
And a slight defense for FEELS OKAY--the clue also works with "looks OKAY," which can cause an additional slow-down. Trust me.
Alternate clue: "Handheld device for Juno costar":
CERA MIC
I'll show myself out.
It's funny what a night's sleep can do. Gave up late last night in the SW, frustrated that I'd done so well through a Friday and then gotten stuck, but woke up and it all clicked before getting a cup of coffee. Couple of missteps with RAcoons, and yes EXILE and reading a single TEALEAF felt 'off' but for the most part this was classic Friday for me, a gratifying solve as answers slowly materialize with a letter here and a letter there.
Uniclues:
1. The satisfying sound of door-lock release after your friend has failed 5 times to let you into the condo lobby.
2. Possible answer to the question: “Which white wine will set the right mood at the reception?”
3. Major frustration for a castaway on a tiny cay surrounded by thousands of square miles of empty ocean.
4. Japanese dish served aboard the London Eye.
5. What might say: “I’m absolutely enraged that people think 'reading' me and my kind will tell them anything about the future – what blithering idiots!”
6. What might be disclosed by the following speech: “Oh, NO – cheep! – You can’t mean it – Cheep, cheep! – I thought the whole bird-in-a-coalmine thing was just an expression – cheep, cheep, cheep! – I’m scared to go down there where it’s dark, damp and airless – cheep, cheep, CHEEP!”
1. FOYER CLICK
2. SOAVE FEELS OKAY
3. WIFI OFF ISLE
4. FERRIS TERIYAKI
5. RILED TEA LEAF
6. CANARY NERVES
Some weird fill. What on earth is ILY, for one thing? YAS is "praise" for a queen? What does it mean? It sounds like it means "yes", and "yes" isn't praise, it's acquiescence. Someone can be "an" EXILE or "in" EXILE, but he can't just be EXILE. Also I can't imagine a CERAMIC cutting edge cutting very well. I'll take steel, thank you.
FARFELLE is "pinched"? Who knew?
Then there's the CRAPLOAD of trouble I made for myself by putting TROUSER instead of TRAILER for "one who gets hitched." Idiotic, Nancy. How can you hitch up a [singular] trouser?
Saw the George Burns quote and guessed ROPE without looking at the grid. Good one, George!
I had to run the alphabet to get state FAIRS. I was looking for a bird or a tree.
Some very nice fill, like PARTY SCHOOLS and FREUDIAN SLIP. But other things that did not FEEL OKAY and could have used some judicious EDITS.
It's ironic that CLICK is this puzzles' second answer because initially nothing CLICKed for me. Until I got to the bottom The only down I could come up with to support FOYER was RILED. In the NE all I could get was TOE and that wasn't even a TOE hold. Until I got to the bottom everything was white. I can't remember the last time that happened even with a Saturday.
The tide turned when SLIT and SEA went in. From that point on I back filled the entire puzzle like the fun Friday that it actually was.
YAS still looked strange to me when I'd finished but with a little thought I pronounced it YAZZ and then I remembered it. Another bit of crosswordese to commit to memory. NES is the console, NAS is the rapper and YAS is the "queen" thing. Now I can throw in ILY too.
This is why I've cut back to just Fri- Sun. I'm trying to keep the brain damage to a minimum.
Klaatu's vehicle in "The Day the Earth Stood Still" landed in plain sight in the middle of Washington, DC. So how does that qualify as a UFO? Seems like its an Identified Flying Object.
Hey All !
Toughie for me today. Especially NW. 1D and 2D clues had the ole brain flummoxed for some time. 11A, also. Finally figured out WORD SALAD off the ending AD (#humblebrag) and was able to finish with the Happy Music!
Thanks to all in YesterComments about SHIFTED. My silly brain in full (non) use. My daily driver is a 5 speed, and I'm stuck in traffic all the time after work, constantly going from gear to gear. Hate when my mind betrays me.
Pretty nice FriPuz. Got a chuckle out of CRAPLOAD. Was thinking bajillion or somesuch until I had the C of OCT.
Hard to believe CONAN went all the way to 2021. Too old to stay up to watch late night TV. I'm falling asleep on the couch at 8:30!
Six F's (nice! Plus center letter in SB today)
RooMonster
DarrinV
My first two answers this AM were FOYER and FERRIS and after reading some other comments I'm feeling pretty smart, until I remember that after having read the clue a little while before and getting OKAY at the end of the phrase I plopped in SEEMSOKAY for the clue "seems acceptable", and was left wondering what a SMIT might be. Oops.
I commend this puzzle for its dearth of proper names. I see MAE and CONAN and I'm not counting FERRIS and FREUD(IAN) as they've both become more or less generic.
Lots of whoosh in this one and a very well done Friday that knows how to Friday. Nice work KP and NM. Kept Purring all the time I was doing this one. Now More please, and thanks for all the fun.
@LMS-Nice to see someone else likes silly too. Praise from the praiseworthy is high praise indeed. Also, I have been using the henway joke forever and it's still funny.
SB-Got to G yesterday which is where I usually stop, but could not see the PG. Grrr.
So close to going into my Chen Cheat mode (just read a couple answers, then resume puzzle) but didn’t.
From one toehold, a puzzle appears! (Confucius, I believe).
EXILE was badly clued - beyond that, great mental challenge with fun answers - congrats to Kavin and Nijah for such a impressive debut!
@Barbara S -- I chuckled with delight over numbers 5 and 6. I thought before checking back with you that #3 might have been WORDSALAD EXILE.
You've taken most of the good stuff off the table. But here are a couple:
Uniclues:
1. Verizon offers blondes a much better deal
2. "Whaddya mean there's only one bathroom here?! And that it's a porta-potty??!! And that it's unisex???!!!"
1. FAIRS DATAPLAN
2. INSULT RESTAREA
ILY is the ASL "I love you" sign. It's those 3 letters signed simultaneously--pinky and index finger up, thumb out. 🤟
I agree with everyone complaining about EXILE. I resisted filling it in for as long as I could because I kept thinking I must have really screwed up that corner for that to seem like the answer.
The one that I really wish they'd stop using, though, is EMAG. I have been extremely online since being online was a thing and I have never actually seen anyone use that term outside of the NYT crossword. Stop trying to make EMAG happen!
I had a friend with a Jungians mind and a FREUDIANSLIP.
It’s funny how different it is to have a CRAPLOAD of NERVE vs. a CRAPLOAD of NERVES. AND A CRAPLOAD of butterflies is something else again.
CANARY Row: The story of a dog fight.
I loved this puzzle. Congrats on the debut, Kavin and Nuah.
Solidly solid. Beat my Friday average by 6 minutes, but still fun, with lots of great fill. Many long clues went in with only a letter or two. Buttery smooth.
I originally wanted StAge divERS for 22D ("Moshers in a mosh pit"), but when I realized INSULT had to go in at 25A, SLAM DANCERS fell just as easily.
CRAPLOAD flows smoothly enough from this solver's mouth.
GENERA is cool. I wish there were more non-S plurals in crosswords.
"Shit" was one of the seven words George Carlin said couldn't be said on TV. That was before "The Sopranos."
I used to hear "shitload" often but not recently. I've never heard CRAPLOAD. i
I understood “major” to be referring to the road. As in, you’re driving down a major interstate and turn off into a rest area. So it tracks for me.
I was a bit surprised by Rex’s opposition to GENERA. The “-_ra” Latin is fairly common, as opERA lovers know, and gives us derivatives like corpoRAtion, GENERAtion, GENERAl, (that’s an L, not an i) and as @pabloinnh at 9:26 hints (perhaps unknowingly?) GENERic.
Challenging for me, Despite my grand start with the cross of FOYER + FERRIS (hi, @pabloinnh), I could do absolutely nothing with it, nor with the next..and next..and...next clues. So I headed for the basement and, yay!, found the SPIEGEL and groped my way upward from there. I know end-of-week puzzles are going to have ambiguous and maybe misleading clues, and that's one of the reasons I enjoy grappling with them, but I thought this one went over the line between engaging and annoying. However, PARTY SCHOOLS and WORD SALAD made up for a lot.
Medium. Solid Friday with more than a wee bit of sparkle.
CHEAP THRILLS is an amazing album. We saw Janis at the Yale Bowl during a thunderstorm in the summer of 1969, this is something you remember vividly 50+ years later.
Liked the puzzle. Nice debut folks!
Thanks for your "tea leaf" rant. As a practitioner of tasseomancy this jumped out at me right away. What is being read are tea leaves chopped into tiny pieces so perhaps the editor did mental gymnastics to imagine that all of the pieces might come from just one leaf? That being highly improbable I will continue to be irked by it. Otherwise I did like the puzzle.
Better clue for 16a:
Rock band that no human being wants to listen to
(Joking. Sort of.)
FREUDIAN SLIP was an unfair Phrazle answer recently (they never use phrases with proper nouns).
Would have liked a little more resistance from this puzzle, but no real complaints. The grid itself is fine, if not super-exciting. No stupid-ass cluage, for once. (It'll be months before we're so lucky again.)
Everything by the Rascals sounded like it was recorded inside a garbage can. But I still loved them. (I even saw them once at Gaelic Park in the Bronx.)
Started this late east night and I thought about what @Anoa B might say to me if he knew that the POCS were the only letters I had.
Ay, Dios mío. This was a hard Friday. Nothing...and I mean nothing, would CLICK with me..Until... some food!
I did tip TOE, though with PIEROGI, FARFALLE and TERIYAKI. Finished up with a glass of SOAVE. My spelling is atrocious.
I do not understand what a DATA PLAN is...why slate is EMAG...Why a CERAMIC is a cutting edge or why subdivisions of any families is this GENERA thing. I really was tempted to just quit; I got tired of calling Mr. know-it-all. 4 cheats in a matter of seconds. I was on a CRAP roll and losing big time.
I did know CANARY and TEA LEAF. I figured out CHEAP THRILL...YAS, I did.
I had to take several breaks. I wanted to be able to do this. I kept thinking this should be a Saturday. I was getting frustrated...and then I didn't. It took time, but I managed.
This was just one of those puzzles that left me somewhere in LAX wondering where my next flight might be taking OFF to. Not my best effort.
One last thing. What the hell does a ROPE have to with trying to shoot pool? ROPE? Really? Was that a FREUDIAN SLIP? Don't get me started with SLAM DANCERS in a mosh pit.
Adios.
To me, a CHEAPTHRILL is not a "simple pleasure." Cheap thrill has a seediness about it, I think, and a simple pleasure is just...nice.
Great clue for EXILE. Crossword answers usually dropped the articles. How would clue otherwise read if you wanted to refer to the person rather than the state of being? Clue is great because great majority of solvers would initially eliminate EXILE as the answer.
Enjoyed this one a lot. Great fill throughout, especially CHEAP THRILL, WORD SALAD, and PARTY SCHOOLS.
Speaking of cheap thrills, however, I question the need to dredge up the old rumor that a certain famed male psychoanalyst occasionally wore women’s underwear.
@Nancy from yesterday. Another Crossword Secret: If it’s a three-letter rapper, it’s probably NAS.
I just noticed the mini-lepidopteral theme:
• "Monarch" in the 16a clue
• "Butterflies" in the 39d clue
• FARFALLE (Italian for "butterflies") at 41d
@Nancy (9:38)
I'm glad you liked my overly emotional TEA LEAF and CANARY. Hey, that was a neat idea of tying in my #3 with WORD SALAD EXILE. Your INSULT REST AREA was great! I tried wrangling that one but it descended so far into the gross and the scatological that I flushed it!
Thx, Kavin & Nijah; a fine WORD SALAD, indeed. Lots to chew on! :)
Med. (bang on avg time).
FOYER / FERRIS went right in (hi @pablo & Carola), but still had to come back to the NW to finish up.
Correct guess at the PIEROGI / SLIEST cross.
Thank goodness for fair crosses at FARFALLE.
Congrats to the LAKER's James, and to Abdul-Jabbar for being there to join in the celebration. Hope the two of them can continue to improve their relationship.
Fun Fri. solve; loved it! :)
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@Language Lab doers: having lots of fun trying to solve this cryptic puz. Will plug away on it a little each day. 🤞
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The last of the Duo posts (unless I get a 'perfect' on the 'Daily Duo'). I'd previously used ROATE as my seed word – which was never going to be included in the boards – then switched over to ORATE – which, so far hasn't been included either. Nevertheless, both words do provide excellent jumping off points for the remaining 31 boards. The new practice option, 'Perfect Duotrigordle Challenge' does, however, accept either of these words as starters.
Perfect Duotrigordle Challenge
Guesses: 32/32
0️⃣1️⃣ 0️⃣6️⃣ 3️⃣2️⃣ 0️⃣8️⃣
0️⃣9️⃣ 1️⃣1️⃣ 0️⃣2️⃣ 1️⃣0️⃣
2️⃣2️⃣ 2️⃣7️⃣ 2️⃣1️⃣ 1️⃣2️⃣
2️⃣3️⃣ 2️⃣8️⃣ 1️⃣9️⃣ 0️⃣5️⃣
1️⃣3️⃣ 2️⃣0️⃣ 1️⃣4️⃣ 2️⃣9️⃣
3️⃣0️⃣ 0️⃣4️⃣ 1️⃣5️⃣ 0️⃣7️⃣
1️⃣6️⃣ 3️⃣1️⃣ 2️⃣4️⃣ 1️⃣7️⃣
0️⃣3️⃣ 1️⃣8️⃣ 2️⃣5️⃣ 2️⃣6️⃣
https://duotrigordle.com/
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Peace 🕊 🇺🇦 ~ Compassion ~ Tolerance ~ Kindness to all 🙏
This guy's wife dies and he's depressed, so a friend suggests he get a pet for companionship. He goes to a pet store and explains his situation to the store-owner. The owner says, "Sure, take a look around, I'm sure you'll find something. And check out the dog in the backyard. He's very unusual - he can talk."
So the guy looks around the store and finds a couple of possibilities, and then he glances out the window and sees the dog in the yard. So he goes up to him and says, "I feel funny about this, but the owner said you can talk. Is this true?"
And the dog says, "Yes, I can talk. When I was born I was a regular dog like my brothers and sisters, but around my first birthday I suddenly became able to talk. When word got out, the CIA took me on for special projects. For example, I'd slip into meetings and listen to what was said and report back to my handlers. But after a few years they started worrying I'd be caught, so I got transferred to the State Dept. I'd go on goodwill trips, you know, if a head of state was a dog lover, they'd bring me along and introduce me. I did that for a few years, but now I'm perfectly happy just relaxing out here in the yard."
The guy goes back into the store, and the owner says, "Did you find anything?" And he says, "Yes, a few, but let me ask you -- Is that dog out back for sale?" The owner says, "That dog in the back? -- Yeah, you can have him for $10." The guy says, "Just $10 for that amazing dog?" And the owner says - "Aw, he's full of crap -- he didn't do any of those things.
@Joe D - never could quite figure out the whole dynamic of the band but I still love the Groovin’ album - the odd look of all of them on the cover and the songs.
Funny you mention Gaelic Park - it’s famous with Yes fans for the bass work on their cover of It’s Love
I ended up being a Jasper and drinking far too much beer watching the hurling games at Gaelic.
If the answer to 16A is "exile," then the clue should be,"What no monarch wants to be IN."
SLYEST.
And GENERA was so bad, I thought there must be a rhebus or some other reason other than a crap answer.
After skimming comments, I can see I’m in the minority today but this one never did CLICK with me. Between the clues that made no sense (EXILE, IN RE, CERAMIC, GENERA, OFF, ILY) and the ones I flat didn’t know (too numerous to list) I found this one an unpleasant slog. Like @GILL, I grew frustrated and tempted to just quit.
At least there was not a great deal of proper trivia but CRAPLOAD? What? BOATLOAD wouldn’t fit? I’m looking to forward to Saturday which should be a cakewalk in comparison.
Finished it, which felt like an accomplishment. I don't think SLIEST is a legitimate alternate spelling for SLYEST. And I've never heard of YAS in connection to royalty. Does it pertain to another kind of queen?
I agree that the clue for EXILE is poorly worded. The clue suggests EXILED.
*most* states have state flags. LOL
very nice friday.
@Son Volt – that's cool about the Yes tape.
The concert I saw was on August 13, 1969 (just two days before Woodstock!), part of a Manhattan College Summer Concert Series. I don't really remember much about it, I assume they played all their hits. I do remember the Drifters opening for them.
Wow what a great puzzle. Really tough, but got it clean in the end.
I actually started to enter TIRAMISU at 33 down but suddenly realized "soy sauce"?
Once cutting my lawn I smelled peppermint, and realized I had some growing in the middle of my lawn. The next time I cut the leaves, let them dry out for a day, crumbled them up, and poured boiling water. The leaves instantly rehydrated and I had a cup full of bright green leaves! Tasted great, though.
[Spelling Bee: yd -1, I missed Barbara S's 7er.]
Today I have to comment.
I had a retired sled dog named “Click” who ran the Iditarod three times!!
It warmed my heart to no end to see them crossed. 🥰
Used to teach a graduate class in Abnormal Psychology so 14A WORD SALAD was bowling in my lanes. It's a confused, nonsensical jumble of WORDs that is often a symptom of schizophrenia or other serious mental disorder.
That boost to my solve buzz was quickly dampened by the appearance of 37A FREUDIAN SLIP. The FREUDIAN mythos has never received any scientific validation and has been jettisoned by mainstream psychiatry and psychology since long ago in the last century. To see the impact of his poisonous ideas, I recommend psychiatrist E. Fuller Torrey's "Freudian Fraud: The Malignant Effect of Freud's Theory on American Thought and Culture". It's chilling.
And, yes, I did notice that quite a few entries needed some plural of convenience (POC) help to fill their slots. Here are some that were not up to the task: COLONEL, FAIR, DETEST, RASCAL, PARTY SCHOOL, SLAM DANCER, PIONEER, NERVE, CRAVE, SEEP, EDIT and FREUDIAN LIP. Okay, just being a smart ass on that last one.
Wow. The NW was *really* bad. BadBadBadBad. Mistakes, marginal clue-answer pairs, obscurity. No business in a NYTXW. Or, I guess, a pre-WS NYTXW....
I don't know if it's a regional thing, or perhaps generational, but as a resident of the MSP area nearing retirement age, I've never heard the terms crap-ton or shit-ton, but CRAPLOAD and shitload are common.
On another note, Rex's REST AREA discussion reminded me of where I saw "major turnoffs" in Germany, at an Autobahnkreuz, or an Autbahndreieck. In typical German fashion, they are compounds of three and four words, respectively.
HAAAA!
Swoosh swooshed through a lot of this and really enjoyed it. But the SW corner tied me up - my tastes run to macaroni and beer, not FARFALLE and SOAVE,
so needed every cross on those two. Then for some goofy reason I had ILu instead of ILY - I guess I was thinking textspeak rather than ASL, but that doesn’t make any sense either. Once I corrected that I could see TERIYAKI and finish the dang puzzle.
Nice, CRAPpy themeless 66-worder puz. Had fun figurin it all out.
Lotsa good stuffins, includin: WORDSALAD. RESTAREA clue. DATAPLAN clue. PARTYSCHOOLS clue. FREUDIANSLIP. Lotsa snacks & sign language. CHEAPTHRILL. Jaws of Themelessness.
staff weeject pick: ILY. Ah, …of course: I Luv Y'all, spelt out. Easier than M&A made it, during the solvequest.
Thanx for gangin up on us, Kavin & Nijah folks. And congratz on yer primo double-debut. ILI.
Masked & AnonymoUUs
**gruntz**
Well, for a Friday, this was a blast. Tough to get started, but it caved slowly but Shirley from the bottom up.
I like WORD SALAD, PARTY SCHOOLS, SLAM DANCERS (hello 1987).
I love the convoluted ASL/ILY bit. Once the dots connected I went from WTF to OMG to LOL to ❤️.
I did not know knives can be CERAMIC. I read once FREUDIAN SLIPS aren't slips, but rather the unvarnished truth about you.
LNETH: {Sigh} CRAPLOAD ... nice.
Uniclues:
1 Crossworder who dropped his phone in the toilet.
2 {Sniff} roadside.
3 ... but heroin is way more effective, according to addicts.
4 What the NYTXW team is currently unable to do apparently.
5 Destination for the data-plan deprived.
6 Bueller's Asian flavor.
7 Call Roswell animal expert for ET care.
8 The Grim, per Sybill Trelawney.
9 Frazzled system of coal mine resident.
10 The bathtub.
11 Sat on a sled and yelled at the dog.
1 WORD SALAD EXILE
2 REST AREA INSULT (~)
3 SOAVE FEELS OKAY
4 STAID EDITS (~)
5 WIFI OFF ISLE
6 FERRIS' TERIYAKI
7 ORDER UP UFO VET
8 RILED TEA LEAF
9 CANARY NERVES
10 CHEAP THRILL SEA
11 IDITAROD EVOKED
Just noticed - FARFALLE at 41A, which is pasta shaped like bowties or butterflies, is crossed by NERVES at 39D, clued with "Butterflies." Nice!
For me, the double major was a minor turnoff. 🙃
First solve of a Friday puzzle with no help that Rex gave a rating harder than easy! 🎉
I see why we don't see your comments more often. I remember that you have been here a long time.
Always like your comments.
Rex and others mentioned that this isabout a drag queen.
What made the "ASL/I love you" clue difficult for me was that the hand position for "I love you" becomes "fly" when you move it (since it looks like an airplane in flight, I suppose). I had the L and the Y, but couldn't see how the "F" could work with the down word. "ILY" never occurred to me since "I love you" in ASL is a single hand position, not "I", "L", and "Y" separately spelled out. Now I realize that hand position is a superposition of those three letters.
I’ve been on vacay at Longboat Key with perfect weather (we were lucky!) and going back to 37 degree weather tomorrow (I know…boo hoo for many). Anyway, I solved in segments today…beach walking, pickleball, beach bikes…etc…leading to Jeop. Anyhoo, liked the puz. I could say LOVED but I’m too relaxed to figure out whether it rises to love.
Most states have TAXES, but not all . . . . so yeah, that slowed me down for a bit.
But yeah, what a gem!
And the plural "s"s that bothered rex. . . . didn't even notice them!
Since when is “Oct” indigenous peoples mo.?
I found this one exceptionally easy. One of top ten fastest Friday solves since I started keeping track 5-6 years ago. About 25 seconds off my fastest Friday ever. So many answers slid into place with just one cross to give you hook to hang onto.
A good friend of mine regularly uses the word CRAPLOAD when referring to a large amount. Myself, I prefer the international unit "metric shit-ton".
Rest areas in WA state are barren. At most there is a coffee window operated by volunteer organizations.
I’m deeply offended anyone might think a Mr Goodbar is any sort of alternative or replacement for a Snickers bar. The two are oceans apart!
My sister’s husband and two adopted daughters are deaf. The combined I, L, and Y is definitely an ASL sign that means “I love you.” 😊❤️
Get the YAS out!
uhh that DSL clue had me raising my eyebrows. There's another kind of net hookup where that acronym could mean something else entirely. I actually had to ask my partner to explain that clue because I was like, there's no way..
Hey quick question, I do these the old fashioned way with the physical copy and a pen (alas) is that the norm? Or are most of you all using an app? If so, any recommendations? Thanks!
MOD:
The 8:57 comment (5th from the end) gives away an answer to "tomorrow's" puzzle (Feb. 11). It ruined my solving experience in that corner!
Please delete so as not to spoil it for others who will be doing these syndicated puzzles across the country in mid-March.
@Trevor: I am old school too, determined not to let apps take over my life. I do mine in the paper, always in ink. You are not alone.
To the puzz. I misremembered the eagle-wearing rank (a FREUDIANSLIP, perhaps?), so had some NE trouble before demoting my generaLS to COLONELS. Outside of that, things went fairly smoothly. I too wondered about the single TEALEAF, but that issue's been well covered.
Pretty good one for a debut, with a nice open grid to swim around in. CANARY was my way in; we all know about the ISLEs. Canis familiaris. For some odd reason, I always misspell IDITAROD, switching the A & T. Can't seem to get that straight. Bit of an ink mess there in the NE. Congrats to today's PIONEERS. Birdie.
Wordle birdie.
Perhaps AN exile.
NERVES SLIP
Our FAIR MAE went to a PARTYSCHOOL
where RASCALS RILED adults,
and it FEELSOKAY to DETEST all rules,
and CHEAPTHRILLs EVOKE INSULTs.
--- COLONEL CONAN FERRIS
Don't understand why "YAS" is correct, but I got the puzzle finished correctly.
And I would never, EVER, use anything but paper and pencil to complete my beloved puzzles. Nae nae on the apps.
Diana, Lady-in-Waiting for Crosswords, and lover of the printing press
The word “yass” — which can also be spelled “yas,” “yaas” or with any number of A’s and S’s for emphasis — has been circulating in L.G.B.T.Q. vernacular for more than a decade. The word was further popularized by a 2013 video of a fan admiring Lady Gaga. The Comedy Central show “Broad City,” in which Ilana Glazer’s character frequently deploys the phrase “yas queen,” also helped to bring the word into wider use.
In short, "yas queen" is an emphatic term of endearment, encouragement, celebration, love, and/or show of support.
The Urban Dictionary definition of yas queen, pronounced YAAA-SSS-SSS kwEEn, is “a phrase used to express enthusiastic support, excitement, or congratulations for someone you love.”
But it's not just a slang internet term. Even the Oxford Dictionary has recognized the phrase's pervasiveness! In 2017, the dictionary added "yas" to its collection of definitions, defining it as an exclamation "Expressing great pleasure or excitement."
Further, yas queen is described as a phrase used to denote “anything applause-worthy [and/or] fierce,” and earned the distinction of being called the “phrase to use when ‘you go girl’ seems insufficient.”
Now I know as much about YAS as you do, and vice versa.
Wordle par.
Thanks, @Rondo.
I knew the Rolling Stones got their ya yas out, but...
Lady Di
A better use of YAS
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