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Leaf-wrapped Turkish dish / 7-30-23 / Bit of Old Norse / Publicly makes fun of, slangily, with "on" / Social movement that Teddy Roosevelt proclaimed "the most American thing in America" / Sliced into thin strips as carrots / Verb for a biblical cup / Leaf-wrapped Mexican dish / Choctaw word for "people," as seen in a U.S. state name / Periwinkle by another name
Sunday, July 30, 2023
Constructor: John Kugelman
Relative difficulty: Easy
Theme answers:
- MISTER BUNNY MAGS (23A: "Hugh Hefner was quite the media mogul. They called him ...")
- WEARABLE THING TO TASTE (38A: "I know they've had them on all day, but let the kids eat their candy. After all, a Ring Pop is a ...")
- GEEKS BEARING GRIFTS (56A: "Do you really trust these Bitcoiners? Beware ...")
- WHEN IT PAINS IT ROARS (78A: "That poor lion has a mighty toothache. Boy, ...")
- THREE MARE SQUEALS A DAY (94A: "Enjoy your stay on our horse farm. Hope it's not too noisy. You can expect ...")
- THRONE'S STOWAWAY (114A: "Can you believe I sneaked into Buckingham Palace in a trunk and saw the king? I was a ...")
Chautauqua (/ʃəˈtɔːkwə/ shə-TAW-kwə) is an adult education and social movement in the United States that peaked in popularity in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Chautauqua assemblies expanded and spread throughout rural America until the mid-1920s. The Chautauqua brought entertainment and culture for the whole community, with speakers, teachers, musicians, showmen, preachers, and specialists of the day. U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt said that Chautauqua is "the most American thing in America". [...] Lectures were the mainstay of the Chautauqua. Until 1917, they dominated the circuit Chautauqua programs. The reform speech and the inspirational talk were the two main types of lecture until 1913. Later topics included current events, travel, and stories, often with a comedic twist. [...]
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The most prolific speaker (often booked in the same venues with three-time presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan) was Russell Conwell, who delivered his famous "Acres of Diamonds" speech 5,000 times to audiences on the Chautauqua and Lyceum circuits, which had this theme:
***
Trouble spots, there were very few. I couldn't spell CHAUTAUQUA and also I only knew CHAUTAUQUA as a place (specifically, a county, lake, and resort in western New York). The social movement ... if I knew about that, I definitely forgot. I also definitely botched TERRE Haute, despite having been to an academic conference there once. I spelled it Latinly, like the TERRA in "terra incognita" or "terra cotta" or "terra firma" wow there are a lot of Terras. I wrote in NAYAD at first at 124A: Forest nymph, which I knew was a bad spelling as I was typing it, but did it stop me, no. Anyway, naiads (the correct spelling) are water nymphs, not forest nymphs (which are DRYADs). Wrote in OKIE before OKLA (80D: Choctaw word for "people," as seen in a U.S. state name). Wanted the [Leaf-wrapped Turkish dish] to be DALMAs, which I now realize is because Raymond Chandler's pre-Marlowe detective was named John DALMAS. Incredibly bizarre, extremely unlikely conflation, but there it is.
No idea about ANIL, which is just old-school crosswordese term for a kind of blue (source of indigo dye). I've probably seen the name many times before, just hasn't stuck. I would say the "Slumdog Millionaire" clue is fresh, but that movie is now fifteen (!) years old. Wanted JUMPS AT, not JUMPS ON, but I suppose the latter is justifiable (92D: Eagerly accepts). Always wanna spell DRIEST just like that, not like DRYEST (77D: Least sweet, maybe). I know MYRTLE as an old lady's name (as in, the name is old ... fashioned ... and most likely to belong (today) to someone old) [UPDATE: apparently MYRTLE is not a color—periwinkle is a *plant* (related to MYRTLE), and I continue to be ignorant of oh so many things…]. Had no idea it was a kind of blue. Cool thing to learn.
Bullet points:
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]
- 40D: Restrain, as breath (BATE) — this is not a word that anyone uses in this way. "Bated breath" is def. a thing (if a cliché thing), but BATE as a standalone verb feels bad, however dictionary-defensible it might be.
- 72D: Didn't pick up what someone was putting down (MISSED A CUE) — This week's "ATE A SANDWICH" award goes to ... this answer.
- 33D: Kind of whale with two blowholes (BALEEN) — had the B-L and how in the world was this not Baby BELUGA in the deep blue sea, swim so wild and swim so free?!?!!?
- 49D: Kind of cat with short, curly fur (REX) — sounds adorable, handsome, wise
- 69D: Big name in chicken (PERDUE) — always spell it like the university (PURDUE)
- 109A: Kvass grain (RYE) — this reminded me of this wonderful tweet I saw yesterday (yes, some things about The Company Formerly Known As Twitter are still wonderful):
saw a job posting for a bakery and I genuinely can’t tell if the typo is on purpose pic.twitter.com/CDnktaTufq
— no great matter (@BringDaNoyz) July 29, 2023
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]
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180 comments:
Rex, you didn’t know myrtle is a color because it’s not. It’s a shrub, also called a periwinkle.
Had TIC / TAC at 76D and 84A. Feels unfair!
Easy breezy. Common sayings as Spoonerisms work for me, liked it. A fine debut!
It's definitely an easy one when I can get them all in one sitting! The only major bit of trouble I had was the TI_/TA_ paired clues. I had TIc/TAc and only figured out the error when I had filled in every square and got the message that I hadn't properly solved it.
CHAUTAUQUA was a wild clue, brand new word for me, but the crosses were easy enough. I did have to spent some time double-checking because it seemed so wrong, though!
I did liked the them! It's not a basic sort of linguistic mixup, sure, but they can't all be outstandingly unique. Very much agree with Rex about liking then DUNK(S) on Bitcoin, although I think you're overthinking the animal suffering!
38A — The worst clue and answer in NYT History. I thought Rex would be all over it. Rhyming WEARABLE and TERRIBLE? And what’s a Ring Pop? Oh something you wear and eat?
@Sho... exactly! I didn't get the Happy Pencil and couldn't find the error; chose Reveal Incorrect Letters, saw TIC / TAC was wrong, and started to run the alphabet; got to P and thought TIP / TAP? surely not. At T, I thought TIT / TAT, no that's not it... wait, TIT for TAT? Got the not so Happy Pencil... just yuccch.
My favorite themer was THRONE STOWAWAY. I mean, silly, but fun! Whereas THREE MARE SQUEALS A DAY... groan.
[Spelling Bee: Sat. being difficult, -3, missing a 5, 6, and 7er!]
Alzo had TIc/TAc and it is indeed unfair as there is no crossing of that shared final letter by any other answer that might confirm which pair of opposites is saught by the constructor. But this was not the worst of this puzzle's woes... the PPP chunk of DKNY (whatever that is) generated two naticks at ANIL and PERDUE. I eat as much chicken as anyone, but if this is such a "big name" how come I've never heard of it? Sheesh!
I assumed that the meanings of myrtle and lavender were flowering shrubs/trees, not colors.
I had tic tac too. It should have been acceptable.
It’s talking about the plant myrtle/periwinkle, not a colour. As a non-American, rose parade crossing quiero was impossible to parse, so couldn’t get a couple that corner. Everything else trivial and boring. Broke the streak after that chore yesterday.
Agree with Sho — tic/tac should be an alternative acceptable answer for 76/84
Came here to say this. Equally correct!
One of the easiest Sundays ever.
yd -0
came here to say this! is the theme supposed to be enough context to warrant TIT / TAT?
TIC/TAC (or even TIM/TAM) certainly fit the clues for 76D/84A
Me too! Went through the puzzle twice and couldn’t find the “error.” First time I’ve had to use the answer key.
Agree! Bad bad bad!!
Whoa, back up before you embarrass yourself in some future paint store conversation. Myrtle isn't a "kind of blue". Myrtle and periwinkle are the same plant. Periwinkle is the name for the flower's particular blue color. Myrtle as a color name is used for a shade of dark green.
Wasn't crazy about this. Since "wearable" and "terrible" do not rhyme, that theme entry clanked. (But it did make me remember Dan Quayle's remark "What a taste it is to lose one's wind.")
And then there's the ludicrous natick of TIT/TIC vs. TAT/TAC. I did the puzzle in print and it never occurred to me that TIC TAC could be wrong.
Also, I contest that the END OF AN ERA prompts nostalgia. The term closes the door on a period defined by a particular someone or something, but you can't have "nostalgia" for a time that only just ended. There has to be some distance before a feeling of nostalgia can set in, during which interim you experience other things.
Bummer
Me too, Sho. The clues were "Counterpart of [other clue], and TIC/TAC definitely falls within that clue. I am counting that as a win, and I think any crossword tournament judge would have to agree.
I also had TIC/TAC . I finally had to "reveal" the correct answer. Imagine my rage at not getting 'credit' for solving the entire puzzle just because of this! GAH!
@Sho: Agreed. That Natick was totally unfair.
Other than that, I agree with OFL: a very easy Sunday. I had a hard time seeing PROGRAM (91D, "Play thing") because I wanted it to be something about a PROp even though ADRAp made no sense at 103A. Also DRiAD before DRYAD at 124A.
Me, too! Caused me to get a DNF because for the life of me, I could NOT find my "error." Could've easily been clued differently to avoid this grave injustice.
Here, here!
Liked the "punny" theme. Went through the puzzle fairly quickly, but had to cheat twice...for the DUNKS/INDUS cross and the DRYAD/ARR cross.
I usually do the Sunday puzzle in pen, but woke up so early that the paper wasn't here yet.
Me tooing to the max.
Me three! No excuse not to clue properly to avoid that.
Solid alignment with OFL today; I think this puzzle represents the line where I stop loving dad jokes. They’re just too contrived to work for me.
That said, I enjoyed some of the longer fill, even if I wish the puzzle in general put up way more resistance. I completed it in half my average Sunday time. And yeah, that TIC-TAC/TIT-TAT cross is wild - I’d be curious to hear how often *genuinely* interchangeable answers like this have made it into the NYT, if any of you have a sense of that?
Re @JoeDipinto and MYRTLE being the same plant as periwinkle, huh, I’ve never heard anyone use MYRTLE for anything other than the tree/shrub. I googled and saw that some folks do refer to periwinkle as myrtle or creeping myrtle, so that’s today’s “today I learned…”, I’ll take it! I suppose this is why botanists use Latin names (periwinkle is the Vinca genus, true myrtle is Myrtus).
Off to cross one and maybe two of the Catskill 3500 off my list today - Camel’s Hump (funnily enough given yesterday) and Thomas Cole mountains. Have lovely Sundays, folks.
The chautauqua meaning in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance - Robert M. Pirsig uses the word to describe his inquiry into the notion of quality and the best way to visualize the world.
“What is in mind is a sort of Chautauqua...that's the only name I can think of for it...like the traveling tent-show Chautauquas that used to move across America, this America, the one that we are now in, an old-time series of popular talks intended to edify and entertain, improve the mind and bring culture and enlightenment to the ears and thoughts of the hearer. The Chautauquas were pushed aside by faster-paced radio, movies and TV, and it seems to me the change was not entirely an improvement. Perhaps because of these changes the stream of national consciousness moves faster now, and is broader, but it seems to run less deep. The old channels cannot contain it and in its search for new ones there seems to be growing havoc and destruction along its banks. In this Chautauqua I would like not to cut any new channels of consciousness but simply dig deeper into old ones that have become silted in with the debris of thoughts grown stale and platitudes too often repeated. "What's new?" is an interesting and broadening eternal question, but one which, if pursued exclusively, results only in an endless parade of trivia and fashion, the silt of tomorrow. I would like, instead, to be concerned with the question "What is best?," a question which cuts deeply rather than broadly, a question whose answers tend to move the silt downstream. There are eras of human history in which the channels of thought have been too deeply cut and no change was possible, and nothing new ever happened, and "best" was a matter of dogma, but that is not the situation now. Now the stream of our common consciousness seems to be obliterating its own banks, losing its central direction and purpose, flooding the lowlands, disconnecting and isolating the highlands and to no particular purpose other than the wasteful fulfillment of its own internal momentum. Some channel deepening seems called for.”
Yes, also got tripped up on the TIT/TAT cross, had TIC/TAC as in tic/tac/toe. A kealoa?
Same!
I’ve never tried to create a crossword puzzle but shouldn’t a first time creator aim for a Monday? Just make it simple, easy, and fun!
Same! Annoying.
Same here.
big dislike: TIC/TAC or TIT/TAT. Ugh.
Same! Annoying!
The big guy nailed this one - the corn abounds but for the most part well filled and smooth. I liked THREE MARE the best. Some decent non theme stuff - EVIL LAUGH, JULIENNED. If you’ve read Pirsig’s Zen - you’d know CHAUTAUQUA.
MISSED A CUE was odd and still trying to understand the HATE READ or watch dynamic. I was wondering whether you can eat a TAMALE with you hands or not?
@Weezie - do them together. Pleasant, comfortable morning. I think North Dome and especially Lone are my favorites.
Pleasant enough Sunday solve.
Katrina and the Waves
Longtime reader, first-time poster ... HAD to express my appreciation for this critique:
"This week's "ATE A SANDWICH" award goes to ..."
I will be laughing at this all day. Thank you!
Ditto
As typed in the C I thought to myself "this seems unfair", then had a DNF because I promptly forgot about it.
While spoonerisms are an oft-used crossword motif, I don’t think the NYT team could pass on these. Are you kidding? THREE MARE SQUEALS A DAY? MISTER BUNNYMAGS? WERABLE THING TO TASTE? THRONES STOWAWAY? These are long and, IMO, luscious. Smart. Funny. Full of play. Only one – WHEN IT PAINS, IT ROARS – has ever appeared in a crossword in any major venue – and that showed up in the Times puzzle 49 years ago! So, add “original” to the list.
Bravo on these, and on a NYT puzzle debut, yet!
Other lovely puzzle elements… The answers CHAUTAUQUA, DOLMA, JULIENNED, BALEEN. A trio of three-letter palindromes (TAT, ANA, EVE). Sweet rhyme of GRANTEE and AUNTIE.
I am amazed to see that WEEKDAY is appearing in the NYT puzzle for the first time in its 80 years. Familiar common WEEKDAY! Also, there are a couple of spoonerism-lites among the answers: MAXTEN [Diving score limit], and GOPRAM [Racing vehicle at a London amusement park for babies].
One more thing. My brain loved the challenge of trying to guess these theme answers with as few crosses as possible. It was tough this time around, and just the kind of exercise my brain craves.
Any quibbles I noticed got lost in this joyride. Thank you, John (and your dad), for making this, and WTG on your debut!
Thanks!
TIC/TAC and TIT/TAT...both acceptable solutions for this puzzle. Annoying.
"always spell it like the university (PURDUE)"
Interning in New England in the 1980's while attending Purdue, I would be asked: "where do you go to school?"
I would answer: Purdue, to which people would respond: "like the chickens?"
Now, I also have to deal with taint of Purdue Pharma.
I love spoonerisms and these were fun, so I guess I also like dad jokes. Whatevs. The fact that it was so easy added to my fun. But — Tic/Tac here as well, boo boo. Also wanted Beluga, of course.
Sigh. Pet peeve: Singular of "tamales" is "tamal". I know, petty, and language is not a static thing, but still irks me every time. Not as bad as using "ano" (which is... anatomical) when you mean "año (year), but up there on the petty peeves list.
Can't remember the last time I blew through a sunday this fast, literally no resistance. Except! Hand up for TIc TAc.
Agree with Sho et al regarding the TIC/TAC confusion. A useful clue for either entry would have been better than "counterpart of..."
Count me as another who Naticked on TIC/TAC... TIT/TAT. This was poor editing, allowing two completely acceptable answers.
Pretty much agreed with Rex on this one, this time. Easy-peasy, some groaners for the themers, was breezing through mostly. MYRTLE shows up as a color choice in some catalogs, Rex. We know Terre Haute because our son went to college there, and we laugh whenever it comes up in Law & Order (Episode: I.D.): "My sister's life, Mr. McCoy? My sister lived in Terre Haute, Indiana. She stapled papers in an insurance office. My sister didn't have a life."
I had tic tac as well. Spent 5 minutes going over every single answer trying to find the error and never for a second paused on that one.
It may be just @Lewis and me today but I thought this was a hoot. Caught on with the PAINS/ROARS themer, which occurred to me just after reading the clue. The BUNNYMAGS moneybags took a while to sink in and even though I have been to the CHAUTAUQUA site mentioned by OFL, it took almost every letter to make that odd-looking thing into a word.
BELUGA first, of course, and the TI_ TI_ conundrum didn't really bother me, as I don't get happy music and therefore don't miss it. When it's a cross like that, I just think-could be a couple of things. Don't know, don't care.
There's TAMALE as a singular again. I give up. At least we had QUIERO, which can also mean "I love", so saying te QUIERO can be a real time-saver.
Hey @Roo-An EMMA sighting. I'll take it.
Nice enough Sunday, JK. Just Kooky enough to keep me smiling, and congrats on the debut. Thanks for all the fun.
And me. Me too. I also. As do I. So do I. And all other kealoas for saying that one made the same “mistake.” But it was an equally valid answer so I am not considering it a DNF.
This also
Hmm... I'm struggling to find a way for "wearable" and "terrible" to NOT rhyme. They're a perfect rhyme for me (and Merriam Webster). I'd love to know how they differ for you.
Overall, I liked this (I'm a fan of dad jokes), but the TI/TA crossing was terrible. LIke many here, I had TIC/TAC and got no happy music. So then, being a fan of Australian cookies, I tried TIM/TAM. Then TIP/TAP. All felt "possible". If I had been solving on paper, I would have been perfectly content with any of them, thinking I had completed the crossword.
How (and where) are people pronouncing WEARABLE vs terrible that they say they aren’t the same? Are you saying it like ‘turrible’?
Looks/sounds the same to me.
ter·ri·ble: /ˈterəb(ə)l/
wear·a·ble: /ˈwerəb(ə)l/
Totally wrong on an unclued clue
Happy International Friendship Day (hi, friends!)
Happy National Cheesecake Day (yum)
and, in a completely different tone of voice,
Happy World Day against Trafficking in Persons
I am just so glad I never thought of TIc/TAc. Completely dodged that particular bullet. But, I don’t know, I guess I fall into the category of simple minds/simple pleasures: I thought most of these supremely groany puns/spoonerisms were hilarious. My absolute favorite was THREE MARE SQUEALS A DAY. Just so absurd – what’s not to love? And, Rex, I’m positive those horses were SQUEALing with delight over delicious hay, their star billing in a NYT Sunday crossword, and the simple but profound joy of being alive. Yeah, the lion’s in PAIN, but the big-cat dentist is nearly there.
I knew the term CHAUTAUQUA and got lucky with the spelling. Enjoyed EVIL LAUGH crossing LURK (although you have to LAUGH very, very quietly while LURKing so as not to give yourself away). Liked seeing “periwinkle,” which is my ground cover in the front yard in place of grass. (Or, really, vying for supremacy with grass, which is always trying to stage a comeback.) The purple flowers in spring are beyond sweet. I’ve never heard it called MYRTLE, although the name “vinca” is quite familiar. I really wanted rAgEREAD for HATEREAD but rASH is not a [Jumbled mess] and the G made nonsense of the aforementioned ailing lion. In addition to CHAUTAUQUA and EVIL LAUGH, liked RUNNETH, SEA LEGS, JUMPS ON, and END OF AN ERA. Also JULIENNED, a beautiful word. I looked up the origin but it's all very vague: it's believed to have come from an unknown chef named Jules or Julien some time in the mid-nineteenth century.
[SB: Fri 0, Sat -1. No excuse for missing this straightforward 6er. I was peeved at Sam, though, for rejecting DEMOTIC and TOTEMIC, two perfectly valid and, say I, unobscure words.]
Just adding my hatred for TIC(T)/TAC(T). Absolutely awful clue.
Just had a tough time getting out of the NW - never heard of the CHAUTAUQUA movement and didn’t get the “flip” in the first theme entry until post-solve, so not quite the walk in the park that others experienced for me.
I felt bad for the walk on water clue for SEA LEGS - it seems like a huge swing and miss to me, and yes, I understand that it can be difficult to walk on a boat, especially in rough seas. Still, it seems like there should be a “?” In there somewhere since it is a bit of a play on words.
Personally, I prefer an easier grid if you are going with a moderately cryptic theme, as I don’t really enjoy parsing through cross after cross in the hopes of recognizing something like THRONES STOW AWAY - but hey, if it wets your whistle - order a double.
Rex, I too wrote Beluga and still sing Raffi songs though my kids are in their thirties.
OK, enjoyed the jokes, understood the periwinkle/myrtle dichotomy, and another victim of the tic tac problem.
And painful as this may be for some of us, wearable and terrible do rhyme in certain parts of the USA, terrible sounds out as tearable.
Thx, John; a fine, bine mending workout! 😊
Med-hard.
Tough enuf without the one cell dnf. Looked long and hard, couldn't find it. Had to hit 'reveal'. Turns out I had TIc / TAc. Clearly, I failed to grok the meaning of 'counterpart' in the clue. Just a case of glossing over it and entering the first thing that came to mind: mints or the game, minus the Toe. Poor thinking, but will I learn something; that's the question! 🤔
Nevertheless, a clever theme; a fun adventure, and time well spent. :)
___
Matthew Sewell's Sat. Stumper was med dif (3x yd's NYT). NE was a bear, but was finally tamed.
___
On to the NYT acrostic by David Balton & Jane Stewart on xwordinfo.com
___
Peace 🕊 🇺🇦 ~ Compassion ~ Tolerance ~ Kindness ~ Freudenfreude ~ Serendipity ~ & a DAP to all 👊 🙏
Add me to the TIc/TAc gang. I was pretty hot about it at first, and still think it’s a crummy cross, but on reflection tic and tac aren’t really “counterparts” - I don’t think Xs are tics and Os are tacs, or vice versa, and there’s no phrase “tic for tac” or anything like it. (I’m glad I ended my streak of more than 500 days a few weeks ago, though, or I might be a little less philosophical about breaking it on this).
I enjoyed the theme. The only one I had trouble with was the first one - somehow I got into my head that the MISTER was flipped from Easter (I.e. Easter Bunny), and eArS fit, but I couldn't figure out what the original phrase would have been. Finally figured out, but it was the last thing to fall before the TIT/TAT fiasco.
Feels like the whole puzzle was built around GEEKSBEARINGGRIFT and it suffered for it…but is excused because, well, GEEKSBEARINGGRIFT
I like these old-fashioned punny puzzles just fine, so it was an easy, breezy Sunday for me, though my time on the app doesn’t reflect that because of several minutes trying to find and resolve the TA- TA- question.
From the comments (not necessarily today), I feel like some of you HATE READ our blogger-cat with short, curly fur, REX. I find him hilarious even when I think he SCOWLs too much. I’m trying to think of what I do HATE READ - some political columnists I disagree with just see what the other side is saying, books that I decide halfway in that I really dislike but still plow ahead on, anything laden with feel-good marketing jargon.
I had arena before forUM before ODEUM, islAm before BAHAI, Eyre before EMMA, hit before RBI. Two items that have recently provoked much anger in the commentariat showed up today - TAMALE misspelled (singular, it’s TAMAL), and EPI used properly for EPI-pen, not EPIdural. (I’m taking the word of those of you who have given birth on the last one.)
Two good clues - “story that goes over one’s head” for ATTIC and “with these, one can surely walk on water” for SEA LEGS. The last could have been simplified to “they help you walk on water.”
Same. I had tic and tac— these are just as much counterparts as the intended answer.
I dunno, filled in TIT and TAT on first encounter and never gave them a second thought. TIc and TAc call to mind the candy name (in the puzz earlier this week), where I would not describe them as counterparts, and tic-tac-toe, where they contribute to a THROUPLE, again not exactly representing counterparts. But I feel the pain of all who tripped over this.
Saw the Barbie movie yesterday, with my 26-yo daughter who somehow has never owned a Barbie doll. A terrifically enjoyable movie and a fascinating cultural artifact. I could not, though, avoid noticing (with input from my ever helpful friend Google) that the film portrayed the board of directors of the Mattel corporation (which had a major commercial stake in the project) as comprising only men (all colorless toadies behind a feckless chairman played by Will Ferrell, and providing the most concrete representation of the villainous “patriarchy”), whereas Mattel’s actual board has 6 men and 5 women. Just sayin’…
I came here today specifically to see how many commented on the ridiculous TIc/TAc vs TIT/TAT. Yeah, and add me to the list.
Ugh yes same here with tic/tac…and spent ages trying to find my mistake until I decided I’d just gone crazy
At the Chautauqua Institute, the once traveling lecture series lives on at the main pavilion. The program now includes lectures, musical performances, etc. Salman Rushdie was stabbed there last year
Tit and Tat make more sense.
I like the occasional Spoonerism puzzle, and this was better than most. In particular, both the original phrase and the spoonerized phrase work with the clue. Some better than others.
e.g. Hugh Hefher might be called "Mister Moneybags" or "Mister Bunny Mags". At a horse farm you might expect "Three square meals a day" or "Three mare squeals a day", etc.
Yup... I'ma dunk on this one, too
Hey All !
Fell into the same trap as a bunch of y'all. TIc/TAc. I realize now that TIT/TAT is a better answer as clued, but man, you like killing people's streaks? Mine was no biggie, but if someone has a year-long streak going, and a defensible letter ruins it? Ouch.
Also had MISTERBUNNYMAnS/SAnE, even though I couldn't get the Themer to work correctly.
After my TIc/TAc got crossed out (Check Puzzle), I put in a P. Hmm, still wrong. Ran the alphabet, got to T, and let out an "of course!" But C is still viable.
Liked the theme, unlike REX. Funny reimagining of known sayings. The weakest is the BUNNY MAGS one, THRONES STOWAWAY is working overtime to get that to jive, although it's growing on me. The two best (according to me), WHEN IT PAINS IT ROARS, THREE MARE SQUEALS A DAY.
@Anony 2:00 AM
You obviously didn't have a good childhood! 😁 A Ring-Pop is a hard candy piece on top of a plastic hoop (ring) you'd put on your finger and lick periodically. All the flavors, Grape, Strawberry, Orange, etc. We had a genuine Mom and Pop 5 and Dime store in our little town, had all the goodies. Ring-Pops, Swedish Fish, Licorice... All in glass containers with that metal lid. Swedish Fish we're 1¢ a piece!
Got a chuckle out of Rex's REX Bullet Point!
Had light dreck today, it seemed. Great word choices for some iffy fill areas. EVIL LAUGH neat to see. Turned out a pretty quick puz for me 36 minutes and change. Two-letter DNF, but hey, such is life.
Three F's
RooMonster
DarrinV
Two TAMALEs in last week…
Ive lived in New Mexico for forty years, where I’ve eaten many a tamale, especially during the holiday season. Everyone of them has been wrapped in a corn husk, never a leaf. And I’ve never eaten one nor seen one eaten with hands. You take the husk off, pour red chile sauce and use a fork.
As a left coaster, I hear terrible and wearable as a perfect rhyme. I’m not sure how else one might pronounce either one. They both rhyme with parable.
My tactic with a TICTAC is to suck.
Yesterday we had MRBLUE. Today, MISSEDACUE and his friend MISTERBUNNYMAGS.
When I saw the 76D/84A circular reference I thought surely this would be another feminine hygiene product.
My primary raison d’etre is to make dad jokes, so you betcha I liked this. Thanks and congrats on your debut, John Kugelman.
“ you didn’t know myrtle is a color because it’s not”
Wanna talk about confidently incorrect…I am always amused when someone on the internet cannot bother to search something simple like this.
Myrtle most definitely IS a color, but it is a shade of GREEN, not blue.
Of course, the clue was referring to the plant, rather than the color.
@Anonymous 8:26: WEARABLE and TERRIBLE do NOT rhyme! I am a native New Yorker. These words are pronounced "ware-able" and "teh-ribble"
Tit for tat is a counterpart which I don't see in TicTac
I went color on PERIWINKLE, PURPLE fit for too long a time.
Came to post about tic/tac and see I'm not the first
Arbitrary
Editor fail
Loved it. When comparing this to my Sunday Spoonerism puzzle of 3/15/20, it shows that there's more than one way to kin a scat. The success of this type of puzzle depends on the funniness of the invented phrases and the accuracy and fairness of how they're clued. The clues are all marvelous here and the phrases are great -- with one exception for me because I don't live in the South. Here in NYC, WEARABLE and TERRIBLE don't rhyme -- though I can imagine it rhyming when said by, say, an Alabaman.
In fact, I didn't see the theme until GEEKS BEARING GRIFTS. I had GEEKS BEARING and was wondering why GIFTS didn't fit. And then the ales fell from my skies.
I adored THRONES STOWAWAY and MR BUNNY MAGS (great clues for both). I should have seen what was going on all the way back at MR BUNNY MAGS but didn't -- possibly because Mr Moneybags is not a phrase I use or hear much, if ever.
As long as all the themers are new, this is a style of puzzle I never get tired of. Nice job, John.
Perfectly fine Sunday. Obviously I'm not alone on the TIC/TAC fail for TIT/TAT and boy you can't find an error like that no matter how hard you search. It's a strong argument for solving on paper where you say "close enough."
I enjoyed parsing the theme entries. Of course they cast off a lot of junky fill. This is how {bad?} crosswords work.
Tee-Hee: TEE...
Uniclues:
1 Mom's ultracool sister schools you in the driveway.
2 Italian movement plans a short boycott of this blog.
3 My activities at the craps table.
1 OPTIMAL AUNTIE DUNKS
2 BANISH REX UNITED ORA
3 I'LL BET OFTEN UNDERWAY
Same here
@egs 9:55 and @Anons 8:15, 8:26)–
Re wearable, terrible, parable pronunciation: this is going to be a regional thing I realize, but for me none of those words rhyme.
Wear is pronounced (in slow motion, if you will) sort of like "way-er" and rhymes with air, care, dare, fair, hair, mare, pair, there.
Terr- is pronounced without that sort of "y" sound in the middle, so it's like "tehrr"- just a flat, short e sound. Also pronounced this way: berry, cherry, ferry, merry, very.
Parable's first syllable is pronounced with a flat short a sound, the same as cat, ass, laugh, rap, back.
@MooreteP 7:51
Those chickens may be an East coast thing.
In 1992, a New Yorker cartoon showed two guys seated at a bar with the caption (something like):
"No, Perot is the one with the charts. Perdue is the guy with the chickens."
Having lived in both the DC and Bay Areas, my husband and I thought it was hilarious but none of our SF friends got it.
On tamales:
@Pabloinnh (8:08), I was happy to learn about TAMAL and distressed to see TAMALE today too, but Wikipedia says the singular TAMAL is Spanish and the singular in English is TAMALE.
@Son Volt (7:16): Very funny! (hands)
When you have grandchildren you find out what ring pops are. They turn their mouths blue and you have to wash the sugar off their hands or you are sticky all day!! Kids love them.
Northeast USA here, "wearable" and "terrible" are a perfect rhyme for me. And Merriam Webster has them identical in pronounciation (other than the 'w' and 't' of course). I'd love to know how they differ for you, this is fascinating.
I loved the spoonerisms - actually laughed out loud a few times. So dour, Rex!
Raced through this one ignoring the theme, and totally got kealoa’d at TIC TAC TIT TAT. So it goes, Billy Pilgrim.
Can someone explain this one to me? It has gone completely over my head..
Had Tic Tac instead of TIT TAT and I had to go over my answers with a fine tooth comb multiple times to find the error. Sucked any joy there may have been in this puzzle right out. Like Hate Read.
@Liveprof-Since I myself cited the Wiki in yesterday's discussion of dobro vs. Dobro, I accept with reluctance the Americanization of tamale, although I view this as further evidence of the decline of Western civilization.
Samesies
Got hung up on Tit/Tat with Tic/Tac. Very unfair - could have gone either way with that one and no help with the last letter.
Get with the times, people.
TIT TATs have become waaayyy more popular than TICTACs ever were…
(Congrats, John, on your debut!)
Add me to the folks with pitch forks complaining about TIC TAC. Here for it! Bullshit!
I don’t mind corny puzzle themes, and I liked this one. Unfortunately I was stumped by the first theme answer. Once I saw MISTERBUNNY ears, I couldn’t unsee it. And I guessed that 10D might be ice. BEAU was fighting me though. And once it was corrected I struggled to see the MONEYBAGS switch.
I chuckled at MISSEDACUE so the sandwich passed me up. Also Rex, I learned ANIL as the Slumdog clue guy from previous NYTXWs. Maybe you fly through so fast it's been filled with crosses. Add me to those who fell for TIc/TAc. Maybe because it was in the puzzle so recently. The correct answer seems better.
@Anonymous 6:17 Thanks for the Zen excerpt. It’s been a very long time since I read that book. I suspect I'd get even more out of it now.
It seems like about half of the people who have posted today fell victim to the TIC/TAC misfire. Hard to believe that none of the test solvers picked up on it - I wonder if they left in on purpose (seems unlikely, but plausible). They could have easily gone the Ink / Songbird route and saved themselves a lot of unhappy campers. Maybe shoddily edited, similar to yesterday’s ear canal mini-flub. Both would definitely qualify as misdemeanors though.
Joe DiPinto @10:56 is exactly right!
Really raised-by-wolves-funny themers. Kinda like.
fave: WEARABLETHINGTOTASTE. har. Man, is that funny-desperate.
staff weeject picks/nonpicks: TIC/TAC/TIT/TAT, of course. Put M&A down for preferrin TIC/TAC for the proud DNF.
some fave stuff: EVILLAUGH. TAXMEN clue. ROSEPARADE. SEALEGS clue [in theory].
Thanx for the fun, Mr. Kugelman dude. And congratz on yer sparklin 17-U debut. Consent destruction.
Masked & Anonymo17Us
**gruntz**
I spent 18 minutes solving the puzzle and then 20 minutes hunting TICTAC/TITTAT. That was deeply unpleasant. This strengthens my distaste for clues that rely entirely on crosses. When they cross each other, it's unacceptable.
Counterpart: Counter implies opposite. I.e., TIT is the opposite of TAT. Not the case with Tic and Tac.
OTOH, clue words are commonly loose in their usage. "Learned," for instance, for SAGE, where "Wise" would be closer. I could be quite learned without being at all wise.
Easy, but I had TIC & TAC. Couldn’t find my mistake to save my soul.
Tic tac, not tit tat!
p.s.
@johnk: yep. True, that counterpart can mean "opposite number"...
But here's the whole list of things it can mean [from the Official M&A Help Desk Dictionary]:
counterpart
noun
the minister held talks with his French counterpart: equivalent, opposite number, peer, equal, coequal, parallel, complement, analog, match, twin, mate, fellow, brother, sister; formal compeer.
M&Also
Spent many summers making music, going to lectures, concerts, ballet, theater, film, lake activities, and enjoying family at Chautauqua. Recently in the news as the place where an assailant rushed the stage to fulfill the fatwa on Salman Rushdie. Also, in The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, the woman in the carriage shows how important she is by saying "My husband was a Chautauqua lecturer".
I liked the spoonerisms more than usual, esp. the reference to the lion/mouse fable, and the very au courant Bitcoin one.
Barring some regional difference or pedantic pronouncing: WEARABLE and TERRIBLE definitely rhyme: open E and schwa sound. (Update, I have lived in NYC for over 30 years and haven't noticed the marked distinction mentioned by Nancy and Joe, at least not in everyday speech). I'd be more likely to make the distinction with parable. I'd be more likely to differentiate WEAR from WHERE, but WEAR becomes WHERE in WEARABLE. Phenomenon in speech in which vowels shade toward each other in a word.
At any rate, regional differences frequently come up with rhyming clues, which this one did not actually specify: you could just visually swap the letters and pronounce as needed.
Hands up for TIcTAc, TITTAT better for clue upon reflection. I don't worry about streaks, so esp on Sunday, I just hit "check"(since I occasionally make a typo and don't enjoy hunting down errors), then did an alphabet run.
I finally got the RYE clue I was looking for to have one final remembrance of @Z after the ZZ fest and Frisbee DISC clues.
I had a Sneer before a SCOWL, but that cleared up quickly. Easy but breezy otherwise today.
Also from NM and would agree, but in Central America they have/use banana leaves.
Props for INUIT and OKLA.
Definition: counterpart
noun
coun·ter·part ˈkau̇n-tər-ˌpärt
Synonyms of counterpart
1
: one of two corresponding copies of a legal instrument : DUPLICATE
2
a
: a thing that fits another perfectly
b
: something that completes : COMPLEMENT
the lead actress and her male counterpart
3
a
: one remarkably similar to another
The crow is sometimes mistaken for its larger counterpart, the raven.
b
: one having the same function or characteristics as another
college presidents and their counterparts in business
TIc and TAc don’t seem to fit the definition as they are not “things”
Just to cast my vote. (Raised in Brooklyn.) By me, wearable is like the ware in warehouse, and terrible is like the terr in terrier. Didn't bother me though, under the "close enough for crosswords" umbrella.
I'm very surprised by how many people put TIC/TAC in place of TIT/TAT. That C never crossed my mind because I read the word counterpart as a direct reference to the word "for" in the phrase "tit for tat". Tit and tat are counterparts because they're given in exchange for each other. Tic and tac are not words they're just a trademarked commercial name.
I was curious as to where the name for the mints comes from and the wiki page says it was inspired by the sound of the container being opened and closed.
Does anyone know if TIC/TAc is correct?
Har 🤣
The replies to the first post has to be a RexBlog record. Wonder if @Lewis tracks such things...
Ah well, TIT for TAT.
RooMonster Wise Ass Guy
After I got "Thrones Stow Away" quickly & then "Three Mare Squeaks a Day" I thought I was gonna run with this. But I limped through it.
Great debut, John!
@johnk "Counterpart: Counter implies opposite"
That literally isn't the definition of "counterpart" though. Uncharacteristically very bad cluing
Wearable is WAREable for me.
I fell into the tic-tac/tit-tat hole as well. I am not sure that tit and tat really are counterparts anymore than tic and tac are. An interesting discussion of what tit and tat actually mean and where this expression comes from is pasted below (from a Michigan Public Radio website):
“The expression "tit for tat" actually started off as "tip for tap," where "tip" refers to a light strike or blow. With that, it's not too difficult to see how a "tip" could be exchanged for a "tap," just like a "blow for a blow" or a "strike for a strike."
"Tit for tat" comes along in the 1500s. "Tit" comes from an old Germanic verb that could mean to strike a light blow, similar to "tip" in the expression's earlier form. The "tat" is probably just onomatopoetic. That is, it just sounds good with "tit"-- similar to "chit chat" or "flip flop."
There's an interesting piece of trivia about "tit for tat." This phrase can be found in the name of a game that you've probably played at least once or twice. It's the one with the x's and o's and a square grid with nine spaces.
Of course, we're talking about tic tac toe, but did you know that as recently as the 1960s, the game was called tit tat toe? If you remember playing the game when it was still called tit tat toe, let us know below.”
[SB: @Barbara S, I missed that 6er, and these two as well, all words I know and usually get. Bad brain day! Totally agree on demotic and totemic, which according to Ngram are used 100 to 200 times as often as, say, yente and giftee.]
The first syllable of “wearable” rhymes with “air”. The first syllable of “terrible” rhymes with the first syllable of “ferry”. Can you not hear the difference between “terrible” and “tearable”?
I have a soft spot for spoonerisms and had fun with this array. For me, BUNNY MAGS was the hardest, PAINS and ROARS the easiest, and THRONES STOWAWAY the piece de resistance. I also liked the surprise of SEA LEGS.
Interesting to learn: TIc TAc is wrong (I solved in the mag); WEARABLE and TERRIBLE don't rhyme for everybody (similarly: fairy and ferry, or ware and terr[ier] - these vowels all sound the same to me).
The dictionary says a counterpart is "a person or thing closely resembling another, especially in function." Doesn't have to be an opposite. Thus i declare TIC and TAC suitable counterparts and anyone who had those, like me, was correct.
I see that Joe D has already explained in great detail the difference in how WEARABLE and TERRIBLE are pronounced in our mutual neck of the woods. (TERRIBLE has the same E pronunciation as "neck", btw.)
I remember trying to perform that service to the blog in previous puzzles. The problem is that the people who pronounce WEARABLE and TERRIBLE the same way also pronounce everything else with TERRIBLE's E sound the WEARABLE way too. So that when you explain: "Think of the difference between FAIRY and FERRY, for example, they reply that there isn't any difference between FAIRY and FERRY. Or between MARY and MERRY.
Sigh. If you know what's good for you, you'll just give up and go back to bed.
Like so many others, I filled in TIC/TAC and never thought it could be wrong. Because it isn't!
Same here. Annoying
I say credit where credit is due. This may be a done and dusted (or dusty if one finds spoonerisms as ho-hum as OFL) theme but it is well executed and fits the bill for a NYT Sunday. But for such a big fat grid to be a debut is quite a feat. Congrats to John Kugleman for a job well done. I’m with @Lewis today. If I am going to spend a lot of time on a Sunday puzzle, I love to see some silliness and this truly fit the bill. And it was easy. I have to call an editorial foul on not catching the TIT-TAT/TIc-TAc issue though since both fit the clue, in my opinion.
I always post late so won’t jump on the periwinkle/MYRTLE bandwagon except to say I love my periwinkles because they thrive in the dry heat and provide the most glorious color especially at dusk when they absolutely glow. It’s just such a marvelous effect.
Chuckled at @Rex’s comment about so many things unknown. One of the primary reasons I adore crosswords is learning things. Today for example, I learned that being made fun of publicly is being “dunked on.” Hmmm. That’s a new one on me. Heard of being punked but never dunked. I have been dunked, by bullies at the pool when I was young and as a volunteer at a nonprofit carnival where people throw softballs and a hit DUNKS the person sitting over the stock tank. Ah the life of a “local celebrity.” I sat on the City Council for quite a while. Yes, folks in this city of over 125K still think of it as a “small town. Doesn’t quite make sense, but there it is. So DUNKS is my NYT crossword nugget for the day.
Very easy but fun. I do love a corny Sunday puzzle and this gets high marks except for the Kealoa. And I say that’s an editorial miss, not our constructor’s. Congrats again John!
That KeaLoa at TIC/TAC, TIT/TAT was a killer!
Andrew @ 12:04 - Gotta give it to ya on the TATs…
Going to the Chautauqua institution next Saturday! The movement is alive at https://www.chq.org/
No. I do not distinguish those two sounds.
I made a scarf of steel wool
It really was terrible
Even though it kept me warm
It just wasn’t wearable!
Tell me that’s not an acceptable rhyme!
@sho relieved to find i was (hardly!) the only one. a rare instance where after being unable to find my error (thought it had to be somewhere in the letter salad that is chautauqua), i had to look at rex's grid and go square by square. probably one of the truest kealoas i've had.
Tit and tat are not opposites. The phrase simply means a ping pong like back and forth as in an argument ot ongoing conflict. At least that's what I was told more years ago than I care to admit.
Honestly never knew “upsy daisy” wasn’t “oopsy daisy” so that one threw me as did tit/tat which I didn’t figure out until tic/tac no longer worked. I also have a problem with the clue “Do you really trust these Bitcoiners? Beware…” It needs to read “Beware of…” or it doesn’t make sense.
To me a real spoonerism has two elements switching places. GEEKSBEARINGGRIFTS only has one - the R moving from GrEEKS - making it an outlier. All the others have two elements that switch places. It’s a good one but it’s flawed because it does not fit with the pattern in the other themers. Surprised Rex missed that.
Me two thousand 😣
And terrible is TARE-able for me, sounds perfect, no notes
Maybe you’re a villain with an EVIL LAUGH and you trill the Rs when you say “terrible”??!
Beware of Greeks bearing gifts (as in, a Trojan horse)
Really, really happy I always do the puzzle in the dead tree edition Nothing told me I was wrong till I read the above thread. I didn’t have to go crazy looking for the error and not finding it!
Lol do you pause between teh and ribble
SAME 💜
Not in South Eastern New England do they rhyme! But perhaps for the constructor they do. Close enough for crosswords.
Yeah, good lists, these all rhyme
Whoever thinks they don’t rhyme must have a TEWWIBLE NY accent
The theme answers were all funny today! Dad jokes ftw — got chuckles from all, and they helped with my solve.
Eight extra minutes sorting out the TIC/TIT debacle. I thought the app was broken.
Wow. I see very few ads these days but not all that long ago the original owner was on the air constantly hawking his chickens. Tag line: it takes a tough man to make a tender chicken! (He is deceased but the brand lived on).
Unfortunately deeply etched in my brain.
It is (was?) a mass market brand all over the meat section of most supermarkets.
You are fortunate to have one less piece of useless information cluttering your brain.
TIT/TATted into a DNF. Thus ended an up yo then pleasant solve. Maybe a clue hinting at a trade would have helped. Can’t think of one though.
Same here!
You are right. On reflection tit for tat is a better answer.
Next thing you'll tell me is Orange doesn't rhyme with Door hinge!
😁
Roo
My way of speaking is different from yours. For me they don’t rhyme. It is fine for an answer because for many like you Ihey do rhyme. But try to understand that accents do vary in this country!
Also had TIC / TAC. Frustrating dnf with zero other errors and what would otherwise have been a very good Sunday time for me. Editor’s fault.
Me too. I'm very glad that this outrage didn't break a streak for me. THAT would have been truly maddening.
@Joe DePinto
I just go by the dictionary. Merriam-Webster says all those words are pronounced identically except for the first consonant.
I assiduously avoided contracting a hillbilly accent during my West Virginia youth, but after three decades in Brooklyn (Heights), it's possible that I've picked up some local color in my speech. Yet these three words all sound like perfect rhymes to me.
Solved the puzzle looking out over beautiful lake CHAUTAUQUA, facing west in the direction of the original CHAUTAUQUA Institute that spawned the CHAUTAUQUA movement that Teddy Roosevelt extolled.
Rex, it is not a “resort” but a unique institution that continues the mission of the original movement.
https://www.chq.org/
I noticed this only just now, having failed to read John Kugelman's bio earlier. Of course the constructor thinks that WEARABLE and TERRIBLE rhyme: he's from Gainesville VA. Didn't I say earlier that that's exactly how Southerners pronounce TERRIBLE?
And @Sandy McCrosky above is from West Virginia! Does anyone see a pattern here? I don't care how long you've been in Bklyn Heights, Sandy -- your ear will hear what it was trained to hear in your youth. Or as is said: You can take the gal out of the South, but you can't take the South out of the gal.
More than acceptable - - laudable!
I just saw Will Shortz there! And Diana Ross. What a great week
Sorry Ken, but I’m far from a fashion expert but even I knew about DKNY (Donna Karan New York). And Perdue is probably the more well know chicken producers. As another commenter wrote, their TV commercials were pretty ubiquitous a few years ago. I even remember that Frank and Jim Perdue were the father and son on the ads.
@Sandy McCroskey – well the point isn't to imply that one pronunciation is right and the other is wrong. But the spoonerization hinges on the vowel sounds remaining the same, so for folks who hear a difference in those two words the effect was kind of spoiled in that answer.
Brooklyn Heights, eh? I was in Cobble Hill earlier today.
Add a gratuity with your phone: Tip Tap
An extra fees swifties pay: Tix Tax
Result of a beach day in Oz: Tin Tan
I was there that week as well! The audience proved itself well up to crossword puzzle doers standards (based on Will Shortz' engagement). I believe his talk is available on the Chautauqua Assembly platform
So glad you posted that link! You saved me the trouble. Grew up in Chautauqua County, and have tried to describe this wonderful place to maBTW, weany folks in CA where I now live. I actually sang at the Amphitheater with my grade school choir!! It bugged me to have the place descrbed as a "resort", but that's understandable. It's on my bucket list to go back one day and stay in that wonderful old hotel (I forgot the name).
Hey Rex, it's a very helpful list, Thanks mate.
Before landing on your blog I was using nytcrosswordclueanswers.com this website. But now it's easy to solve with your website answer.
Anonymous @ 1:34 am
The CHAUTAUQUA hotel (yes, it is wonderful!) is The Atheneum. Many US presidents and numerous dignitaries have and continue to stay there. (Bill Clonton and entourage spent a week there prepping for debates as he was running for his second term.)
One of the last surviving great wooden “resort” hotels. ( it no, Chautauqua isn’t a resort Rex! It’s an experience…)
I can hear the 8:00 am Carillon bells from the bell tower as I type this!
Terrible and tearable sound exactly the same to me. But then again I’m from the south and I pronounce pin and pen the same way and people have told me that’s wrong, so what do I know?
Just a suggestion from an old cw novice: "Rex" and the other experts who solve on this site give "easy" ratings to I'd say 70% of the puzzles they solve. About half of those "easys" are challenging to me, anyway. How about changing rating nomenclature to that of the New Yorker's? So, something like "beginner," slightly/moderately challenging/very challenging?
My II cents
Just a suggestion from an old cw novice: "Rex" and the other experts who solve on this site give "easy" ratings to I'd say 70% of the puzzles they solve. About half of those "easys" are challenging to me, anyway. How about changing rating nomenclature to that of the New Yorker's? So, something like "beginner," slightly/moderately challenging/very challenging?
My II cents
Agreed
Exactly this^
Same! I lost a 200+ day streak because of this…
I say “we tic-tac people are correct also!”
"Can you not hear the difference between “terrible” and “tearable”?"
Nope! These two words are homophones
One similar spoon we created in the 7th grade: (After the island queen moved into a native hut and stored her royal chairs on the second level which eventually crashed through) ..The moral is... People who live in grass houses shouldn't stow thrones.
Other morals were: A niche in time saves Stein, and: Too many crooks broil the stoth (imaginary fowl)
I lost a 258 day streak because of this. So sad!!
It’s late and you probably won’t see this — but thank you very much for posting it
YES!
The Sunday June 25 NYT crossword had ANIL, clued by "Kapoor who played the game-show emcee in 'Slumdog Millionaire' -- they recycled the clue and answer almost verbatim just one month later.
THE PROGRAM
"YES, how OFTEN, MISTER, ARR LAUGHs UNDERWAY?"
"WHEN ONE JUMPSON HESTER, IT's THREE SQUEALSADAY."
--- WYATT NOLAN
TIc/TAc does not fit the clue!
(Let the hatetexting continue)
Whenever I see or hear the word periwinkle, I automatically see my bedroom when I was a kid, which was the color my mom painted the walls. I knew periwinkle was a plant, but did not know the myrtle connection. So TIL that the lesser periwinkle or myrtle herb are the same plant.
When it rains it poars what the hell does that mean IT'S pours how does nobody catch that
@InSyndication - I would think in crossword theme parlance not necessary to be spelled correctly; it just needs to rhyme.
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