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Sphere of expertise / TUES 7-4-23 / Letters before Q, sometimes / Movie rating scale with "Fresh" and "Rotten" labels / Play bookie / Kylo ___ ("Star Wars" antagonist)
Tuesday, July 4, 2023
Hi, everyone! It’s Clare for the first Tuesday of the month. (It would’ve been last Tuesday, but I was rather sick.) Anyway, happy Fourth of July!! I’ll be celebrating on the National Mall with a picnic and some fireworks and frisbee and soccer. I’m sure we’re the only ones with this idea. (Ha.) I will be glad, though, when fireworks season is over so I don’t hear sporadic booms at random times of the night as people set off firecrackers or whatever it is they’re doing. I’ll also be glad once this heat and humidity ease (though I don’t have much hope for that)!
Anywho, on to the puzzle…
Relative difficulty: Relatively easy
THEME: BURGER (63A: Common cookout fare whose toppings can be found stacked in this grid) — Each theme answer is a topping on a burger (that one may have for the Fourth of July)
Theme answers:
- TOMATOMETER (18A: Movie rating scale with "Fresh" and "Rotten" labels)
- GLASS ONION (26A: 2022 murder mystery movie with cameos by Serena Williams and Yo-Yo Ma)
- PICKLEBALL (46A: Sport craze of the 2020s)
- GREEN CHEESE (58A: Moon's makeup, fancifully)
The betel, Piper betle, is a species of flowering plant in the pepper family Piperaceae, native to Southeast Asia. It is an evergreen, dioecious vine, with glossy heart-shaped leaves and white catkins. Betel plants are cultivated for their leaves which are most commonly used as flavoring in chewing areca nut (betel nut chewing). (Wiki)
• • •
This was a nice and timely puzzle for the Fourth of July. It probably could’ve been slightly more on topic for celebrating Independence Day, but a lot of people will indeed be grilling burgers (or non-meat alternatives) with a lot of toppings. I wish the theme related a bit more to the burger itself (i.e., the actual meat and bun) rather than solely the toppings (R.I.P., lettuce), but I suppose that might’ve been too much to ask for. I did love, though, how the theme answers were stacked just like the toppings on a BURGER are. I originally put “Swiss cheese” rather than GREEN CHEESE, so that took some working around. I would’ve personally liked no TOMATO as a topping on my burger ’cause I despise tomatoes, but oh, well. The puzzle also had a couple of bonus answers. Although IPA (1A: Hoppy brew, for short) wasn’t part of the theme, it was in the puzzle; I imagine a few beers will be consumed today. Also, BRAT (62A: Little stinker) reminds me of bratwurst, a few of which might similarly be consumed today.
As a whole, the puzzle felt quite clean. I especially liked the longer, interesting downs and a fair number of the clues — PROCTOR (5D: Exam overseer), especially right next to SAT TESTS (4D: Some college entrance exams, redundantly), MOHAWKS (24D: Hairstyle associated with punk culture), ALIASES (43D: Assumed names), PREMIERE (40D: Debut performance), and TAKE BETS (38D: Play bookie). While ANTIMATTER (3D: Stuff that's the opposite of stuff) was definitely my favorite clue/answer of the whole puzzle, I also loved the clue for LEGO (55D: Maker of bricks that weigh less than an ounce) and the one for LGBT (51D: Letters before Q, sometimes), especially right after Pride Month.
There were a few duds for me, like SEA WAR (42A: Naval conflict), I’M IN (50A: "Deal me a hand"), and EDT (67A: Summer setting in N.Y.C.). But even when there was some crosswordese in the puzzle, the clues were at least more interesting than usual. I also don’t have room to complain at all about a puzzle that has Oscar ISAAC (29D: Oscar ___, portrayer of Duke Atreides in "Dune") in it. He or Pedro Pascal should be in the center of every puzzle.
Misc.:
Misc.:
- The whole theme of burgers goes along with my sister’s and my new project of trying to find the absolute best fries in DC. We have a list to try and have been going around and taking pictures and notes and rating the different fries. The ones we had tonight were very good, though the portion was rather small. Other DC suggestions are welcome.
- For LAURA (27D: Hillenbrand who wrote "Seabiscuit: An American Legend") Hillenbrand, the constructor could’ve clued her book “Unbroken,” which is fantastic. My family and I even got to meet the incredible subject of the book, Louis Zamperini.
- TOMATOMETER reminds me of the fact that the biggest day of cinema in history is coming up on July 21, when both “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” open. My sister and I will be doing a double feature and dressing up and making a day of it. My dad will come, too, though I don’t think he’s dressing up. (Dad?) We’re thinking Oppenheimer first, which will be rather intense and a little bleak, but then we’ll get to go for drinks and watch “Barbie” after and leave in a fun, upbeat mood. (The movie outing reminds me of COCO (16A: 2017 Pixar film with two Oscars), a fantastic movie that currently has 97 percent on the TOMATOMETER.)
- PERP (54D: Alleged offender, to a cop) makes me think of the show “Psych,” which I’ve been rewatching and absolutely loving. I’ve seen each episode probably 10 times, and I still enjoy each and every episode, despite knowing who the bad guy will be.
- I’m writing this just a little later than usual because of a pitcher of margaritas and a trivia contest at a restaurant. The thing that propelled the five of us to second place (we’ll win next time!!) was our knowledge of Taylor Swift and, embarrassingly, Nickelback — oops?
Signed, Clare Carroll, The tomatometer’s No. 1 tomato hater
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82 comments:
I'm sure we did this puzzle not long ago, probably within a year.
What's u???
Supposed to say What's up
Nice, crisp solve. Only thing it was missing was the lettuce.
(Also, June is over, do we still need to be pandering?)
@Clare: I don't live anywhere near DC and don't visit often, so I can't comment on local restaurants there, but to my taste the best fast food fries are at Five Guys.
My only problem area was the dead center. bAA before MAA at 39A made NAME IT hard to see, ]I wasn't sure about ISAAC and my punk hairstyle was a Mullet. This all conspired to prevent me from seeing TRASHY at 35A. I had the T and the Y and all my brain would let me see was TackY, which didn't fit.
I received a wellness check via email since I’ve been quiet here. I hadn’t realized it had been that long, but oh well. I suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder, but it’s the reverse: hot weather flattens me and sucks out any kind of joie de vivre. I don’t care that I have central air – just knowing that it’s 95 degrees and as thick as pea soup. . . I just want to lie very still and pray for fall. Clare, I’ll join you in waiting for the heat and humidity to subside.
Anyhoo. . . so glad that the reveal settled an issue near and dear to my heart. . . When you’re invited to someone’s house to have burgers and stuff that will be cooked on a grill, you’re going to a cookout not a barbecue. Barbecue is something you eat, not something you do. Period.
Clare – great catch on SAT TESTS right next to PROCTOR. We just finished standardized testing at school and man oh man do they take the whole PROCTORing thing serious. All the training and signing promises not to blab about the questions, no to help the kids. . . it’s awful, but I guess I get it. We’ve been without a principal for months, and one of the bajillion interim principals said during a meeting that three things’ll get you fired in education: Title 1, PTAs, and testing. (Reason we lost our principal – Title 1 incident that was not handled properly.)
I, too, noticed how neatly stacked the toppings are. I agree that lettuce is the obvious missing player, though nowadays you can get all kinds of toppings on your burger: fried egg, avocado, truffle aioli, arugula, pastrami, pickled jalapenos, unwanted facial hair, fried onions. . .
I kept going back to the clue for ARIEL. I mean, it’s so startling to see “princess” and “tail” sharing a sentence.
I would have posted an hour ago, but I went on a deep google dive re Mohawk haircuts. They’re as mystifying to me as tattoos. I guess we all want to separate ourselves from the flock, want to show our uniqueness, but I prefer to get somewhat established into an acquaintanceship and Then ambush the prospective friend with my charming little idiosyncrasies, not lead with them. I guess I could wear a placard that announces my love of Cheez Whiz or Bravo TV, but where’s the fun in that?
I got a kick out of the clues 34 and 35A: “Grain in an energy bar, tasteless.” Uh. Yeah.
I always check out the Rotten Tomato review of a movie before Mom and I watch it. But The Ice Road with Liam Neeson scored very poorly, and it’s one of the greatest movies ever made. So I’ma have to rethink my pre-movie ratings check.
I imagine there will be a lot of PICKLEBALL played today on the 4th. My sister is an avid tennis player who has fallen in love with PICKLEBALL, and it has not hurt her tennis game one whit. I’ve played a couple of times, and it truly is a hoot. It’s like playing ping pong while standing up on the table.
Mr. BUTTS is our tech guy at school and he’s a beast. Love him. But what a tough name to have if you work with teenagers. In WV, we had a Mrs. Butts who retired and was replaced by Ms. Heiney. I. Kid. You. Not.
NAME IT. Hmm. Whatever you want. Apparently they’re offering signing bonuses to any teacher willing to work at Turning Point. So many are afraid of the idea of working at an alternative school that it’s extremely hard to find employees. (A substitute teacher was attacked a few months ago, and she was interviewed on the news. I’m glad she shared her story – every bit of it true – but it didn’t help in our constant endeavor to fill positions.) The obvious question for those of us who’re already there is obvious: what about us? Don’t we deserve a little something, too? I heard that they’re actually going to meet with us and ask what it will take to get us to stay. I haven’t worked out my demands yet, but honestly, I love it there so much that I don’t really need any kind of incentive.
Happy Fourth, everyone! May your PICKLEBALL game be flawless and your burgers even flawlesser.
There she is
This made me hungry. Enjoyable Tuesday.
@LMS: Welcome back!!!!!
Happy Fourth! Good have you here.
I’m not crazy about MAA (???) being in the center of a puzzle about burgers. I think a better 3 letter word would be BUN.
Also got a little off course with SWISSCHEESE vs GREENCHEESE. Other than that pretty easy. Liked that the cheese was closest to the bottom and theoretically right on top of the burger.
Welcome back Claire! Sorry to say that as some one who vacations at the Jersey Shore, a ripe Jersey tomato is a summer obsession. Have been making bruschetta every night when we get back from the beach. What we can agree on however is that Psych is worth watching over and over again. Some of the best comedic writing and timing of all time! Happy 4th everyone.
I also hit the speed bump in the center with NAME IT, ETAT, MAA, ISAAC and MOHAWK but eventually was able to straighten up and fly right.
Having read Clare’s comments this morning leaves me contemplating what life would be like without enjoying TOMATOES - omg, Clare - are you a hardcore “no TOMATOES” gal to the point where it is no tomato sauce on pasta, no pizza, no ketchup on your fries, . . . ? That like eliminates about half of my weekly meal plan right there. Not a very pretty thought.
I think this is a perfect early-week puzzle. Cute theme, not tricksy, a couple harder clues for spice but nothing completely ungettable. Most importantly, refreshingly little short croswordese. Lots of fun mid-size non-theme answers.
Dropped IBERIA on my first pass and that screwed me up on the top Central but for a while, and like Clare has BAA which prevented me from seeing NAME IT. BETEL is the only answer in the puzzle I’ve never heard of and couldn’t guess even with crosses.
Happy Fourth, Clare.
Great to see both Claire and LMS this morning! Hand up, Loren, to cookout vs. barbecue. Completely different things.
Mrs. Freude and I regularly consult Rotten Tomatoes and IMDB before choosing a movie, but lately we’ve come to realize that a high rating doesn’t necessarily mean it’s for us. It just means that for people who like that sort of movie, this is the sort of movie they like. You could point me to the highest-rated horror film on Rotten Tomatoes, and we still wouldn’t watch it.
Happy Independence Day, my fellow Americans!
Wonderfully filled grid with an apt theme. This ended far too quickly - ANTIMATTER and HITS A NERVE shone.
is there another LAURA?
Pleasant solve this morning - Happy 4th everyone.
all I wanted was a MOHAWK
Was wondering, can plain be a topping? Asking for a friend.
Today what jumped off the puzzle for me were echoes:
• BRAT echoing Saturday’s WURST.
• FOUR echoing today.
• PICKLEBALL crossing HITS A NERVE echoing last week’s NYT article with the headline, “Shattered Nerves, Sleepless Nights: Pickleball Noise Is Driving Everyone Nuts”.
• PETIT echoing what I did much of last night as my sweet dog suffered through fireworks cacophony.
• LET BE echoing “Let It Be” and sending Paul McCartney’s voice into my head, as if he were right in front of me.
So, thank you, Barbara, for triggering an involving experience on top of a delightful solve!
I haven't ridden Amtrak for a long time, so I had a hard time coming up with QUIETCAR. Otherwise I thought it was an easy Tuesday puzzle, with a comfortable theme that helped me find GLASSONION.
Happy Independence Day to everyone (that's its real name, not Fourth of July). We don't say "First of January," do we?
Maybe we should all stop being so mean to poor old Nickelback.
To Dr. Haber: No. plain can not be a topping. When a burger is plain, there is nothing on top.
It rained in NH all last week while we were in FL and it's rained both days since we've been back. It's raining today and Fourth of July parades and events are being cancelled all over the place. "It rained and it rained, nor did it cease to rain." RIP, Cormac McCarthy.
I got the them after TOMATO and ONION (BURGER toppings? I thought) and the rest was just far too easy for a Wednesday. Could have solved this doing acrosses only or downs only, I think, but I don't do that. And I should say that any puzzle that has an IPA in it is a good puzzle, so there's that.
Welcome back LMS! FWIW, my very athletic forty two year old son tried PICKLEBALL and had exactly the same description. My other son works in a school for autistic children so I can relate to your tales of educational challenges. Also agree on the "barbecue" misuse. Come on people.
Nice Wednesdecito, BL, But Lacked any real challenges. Thanks for a fair amount of fun, and now to look for something to eat.
Welcome back, LMS.
Your remarks about education are always so educational. I do wish all schools had the kind of resources that would make a real learning experience for all.
My favorite paraprosdokian concerning Mohawks: https://i.pinimg.com/originals/b3/21/1a/b3211ae08ac49fd0ab14b76c0476a562.jpg
GREEN CHEESE really HIT A NERVE! I've only ever heard of swiss cheese for the moon....sheesh....
Imagine being so dull and tiresome you think the simple mention of LGBT is pandering.
@LMS is back!
Happy days.
Great write up Clare. Welcome back @LMS -- you've been sorely missed! Happy Fourth to all!
Clare's favorite answer was ANTIMATTER. Yet she despises tomatoes. So does that make her ANTI-MATER?
Asking for a friend.
Upon reflection, my observation that this was too easy for a Wednesday was a day off. In my defense, I think it was too easy for a Tuesday too.
Thx, Barbara; well done! 😊
Hi Clare; good to see you. Glad you're feeling better! 😊
Med.
Pretty smooth solve.
Liked it! :)
Happy 4th 🇺🇸 (eldest granddaughter's B.D., as well) 🥳
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Croce's 822 tended toward hard; NW was brutal; educated guesses at 'Polite refusal' crossing 'Un-bleeping' & '"Initial" name'. Learned some stuff. :)
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On to K.A.C's Mon. New Yorker. 🤞
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Peace 🕊 🇺🇦 ~ Compassion ~ Tolerance ~ Kindness, Freudenfreude, Serendipity & a DAP to all 👊 🙏
I liked the puzzle just fine, but the burger is not to my taste at all. Cheese, good. Onion, a necessity. Tomato, no. Pickle, hell no.
Burger should have onion, cheese, lettuce, mustard, and mayonnaise. 'Mustard gas' instead of PICKLEBALL alone would be a great improvement.
Didn’t really like the clue on ANTIMATTER. Matter and antimatter are both ‘stuff’, just different kinds of stuff. It’s like calling broccoli the opposite of cauliflower.
Hey All !
Is GREEN CHEESE Green Paint? Har.
Too bad the symmetric to BURGER wasn't Theme related. We get ARABIA.
Who puts what on a BURGER?
Mustard? Mayo? Ketchup? Salsa? Thousand Island? Vodka? (JK that one!)
Haven't had a back yard grilled BURGER in forever. They always seem to taste better than at any restaurant. Back in Connecticut, a few us moved in together as roommates, and we had a couple of epic cookout parties in our backyard. We even had a band one time.
Happy 4th everyone. Fireworks have already been out of hand, oh boy for tonight. Hopefully they don't set my weedy dry grass on fire like a couple of years ago...
Stay safe!
No F's (TSKS!)
RooMonster
DarrinV
Tuesdaycito?
Or more technically correct “Tuesdecito”
Welcome back @LMS—you make a difference! Fun upbeat puzzle, review and comments. An anti-dote to damp gray start to day here in NY. Bring on the burgers!
Ollie’s Trolley had the best fries when I lived in the DC area 25 yrs ago. Went back earlier this year, ordered a batch, and wasn’t overly impressed. Hoping I just got a bad batch, or maybe my tastes have changed. They gave an interesting back story as a former expansive chain restaurant.
The anti-tomato observation also struck me, and I had to think, if I was only familiar with grocery store tomatoes, would I bother to eat them? Probably not.
Watched a couple of minutes of PICKLEBALL yesterday for the first time while out walking Rikki. It did look like folks were having fun.
I liked the theme and its connection to celebrations for today. A nice corn salad will go well with those burgers. And watermelon.
Over the last few years our dog has gotten sensitive to noises like fireworks. Evidenced by her trembling and panting and restlessly getting on my face and neck all night. This year we have a Thunder coat and vet-prescribed hemp tincture to give her. She has been much calmer - we started building up her dose 2 days ago. But it helps that there have been very few pops and booms this year. We are grateful. Hope it holds through tonight. We'll be in the basement with a loud movie during the city display.
Keep safe everyone - and cool!
Hi @LMS! Thinking of you as the school year winds down. Or does it go all year at Turning Point? Re standardized testing: once had a special needs dude with unlimited time. One of the rules for teachers and aides was "absolutely no sitting down, on your feet circulating as long as even one student is still working". So testing basically ended at 10:30 for the mainstream and even most of the ESL kids, but this kid was still going at 1:40, the latest possible lunch. So they tell us to pack away his materials, they bring *him* lunch, and tell me and his aide that we need to remain standing in case the state happened to come by (we were a School in Need of Improvement at the time). No lunch for us. Twenty minutes later they take away his lunch and he starts working again. It did not end until the school day was over. I called in sick the next day!
I like lettuce on my burger, plus all the other stuff. No cookouts or anything for us, we're hiding out in the AC today. Usually we can see some fireworks from the balcony but it's so hazy....
..and reading Margaret Renkl this morning really makes me want to leave this country 😳
Welcome back @LMS! You were certainly missed. As for teachers with unfortunate names, a Mrs. Lipschitz was the librarian at my elementary school.
Welcome back!🤣🤣
I always love it when a clue in an early week puzzle really piques my curiosity. And I couldn't imagine what "stuff" was the opposite of "stuff". How great is ANTIMATTER for an answer!
My curiosity was also piqued by the train car that's like a library-- considering that I had nU---CAR. What's that? I was so sure that IRAn was the leading oil producer, with Saudi Arabia, maybe, second. Never thought of IRAQ.
I did figure out the revealer ahead of time from the themers. But how you serve me my BURGER and how I eat it are two different things. In my version, only the ONION and CHEESE stay on top. When such a BURGER is given to me, I ask for a separate plate and a small container of salad dressing. I then place the pickle off to the side, put the tomato (and usually there's lettuce too) on the separate plate and pour on the dressing. I add a few pieces of ONION to my salad, leaving the rest of the ONION on the BURGER.
I now have a BURGER and a SALAD. And my BURGER is not soggy from the TOMATO and the lettuce and it's also nice and beefy and un-tomato-y, just as God intended.
(Of course the really good BURGER restaurants would never dream of putting a TOMATO or a PICKLE on top in the first place.)
Enjoyed solving this puzzle. Of course, had Barbara been able to replace BIN at 47D with BUN, that would have been a bonus themer.
Nice and easy, leaving plenty of time to get ready for the cookout, and with some tasty Downs to go along with the burger toppings. I liked the inclusion of PLAINEST, as the opposite of the depicted burger, which is just some lettuce shy of the works. @Clare, thanks for pointing out the BRAT, which this Wisconsinite inexplicably missed.
@SouthsideJohnny 7:11 - Life without TOMATOes can still be a life worth living, as I've learned since becoming allergic to them in 2000 (year etched in memory). Thanks go to fellow sufferers out there who have posted helpful work-arounds and alternative recipes for "white" versions of things like chili, that are actually good. But of course, in come cases there's just no substitute, and I look on longingly from the sidelines.
In the part of Texas I came from, the word barbecue is used to describe food cooked in a certain way, to describe how it is cooked,
and to describe the occasion of cooking it. .
“I loved the taste of your barbecue at your barbecue yesterday where Mike barbecued those briskets.”
Cooking hamburgers ( never “burgers”) outdoors is never referred to as a “cookout,” as I remember. I think one would say something like “ We’re going to have the Jones’s over and cook hamburgers outside.”
Like LMS, I, too, was startled by the ARIEL clue. My thought was: They just don't make princesses like they used to.
Fellow Tomato-hater here.
That's it. That's the comment.
Another lovely day. LMS and Clare. I think it's been a week since the puzzle put up much of a fuss. I think they're luring me into a false sense of hope.
This is the only cheeseburger I've had in awhile. I stopped eating murdered mammals a few years back and my soul, my body, and the environment are better off.
Tee-Hees: TRASHY BUTT.
Uniclues:
1 Vegetable still-life paintings ranked.
2 Scene in Thomas the Train: The Musical when a secondary character admits to the audience, "I'm actually pretty noisy."
3 Jesus introducing the new guy to Matthew, Luke and John.
4 Topic for an aging Quentin Tarantino film.
5 Designer's choice for the break room furniture on the warp-drive deck.
6 Sneeze during the aria.
7 Hoped for naan ... got none.
1 ART-TOMATO METER
2 QUIET CAR ASIDE
3 MEET MARK
4 DARK PICKLEBALL
5 ANTIMATTER TEAK
6 MAR PREMIERE
7 ROTI HITS A NERVE
I don't have much to say about the puzzle, but as regards fries in DC, Clare, can't go wrong with Granville Moore's on H Street. Mondays are half price mussels too, plus they've always got lots of good Belgian beer on tap.
Yes to princess with a tail! Brought me up short.
PICKLEBALL? IMIN! In fact I’ll be on the courts in an hour or so. There was an interesting 30 minute dive into PICKLEBALL on NPR yesterday. Explored the good, the bad and the ugly, but overall a positive story. I live an hour from Bainbridge Island, the birthplace of PICKLEBALL. It is extremely common to hear players explain to newbies that the game was named after Pickles, the dog of one of the inventors (then-Congressman Jeff Pritchard). His son explained on the show that this is not at all the case and that they acquired the dog three years after the birth of the game and named the dog after it. In fact, the name came from Mrs. Pritchard, who was a rower. Apparently, on rowing teams, there is an “A” Boat, a “B” Boat, and for the less able, a “Pickle” boat. And the game was named from that. TMI, I’m sure, for those non-picklers that bothered to read this. Sorry.
One of my favorite books was “Under the Grandstand” by Seymour Butts. Others thought it was crap.
I try to be positive, so I take the pro matter side of the argument. I’m dreading the day that the Supreme Clowns decide that case.
I thought your write up was great today, Clare. I might have to copy your planned Oppenheimer/Drinks/Barbie agenda on July 21.
I thought this cook out was a scrumptious start to today’s feasting and festivities. Thanks, Barbara Lin.
Easy but then it was supposed to be a Monday according to the constructor’s comments at Xwordinfo. A fine puzzle for the 4th. Smooth and fun, liked it.
Did not know LAURA as clued.
Have a good 4th folks.
Barbeque refers to a method of cooking over a grill or spit and that is the definition used in New England when we talk of a barbeque. It can also refer to a cooking style or a particular style of food Regional usage differs. When I moved from New England, I was surprised by the use of the world solely to describe only the foods cooked with sauces and rubs.
Hi Clare, thanks for the writeup, and the movie strategy recommendations.
And Hi, Loren, glad to hear you're OK (except for that heat). In Australia, the barbecue -- generally shortened to barbie -- is the appliance you do your outdoor cooking on, as in "throw it on the barbie." No relation to the forthcoming movie.
I'm all for foreign languages in the puzzle; keeps us on our toes. But putting the name of a US state into French to clue ETAT seems a bit much. (True, it used to be a French territory, but not a French state.)
I'm trying to think of a way to clue BURGER as part of a two-word phrase with a different meaning; all I can come up with is "Perry Mason's courtroom adversary," but that's 14 letters; I guess you could pair it with colonel mustard.
@jberg - Warren Burger. Chief Justice appointed by Nixon.
Hello Clare!
An easy & appropriate puzzle for the 4th.
Enjoy everyone!
Mushroom. Swiss. BURGERs. -- already on tap, for the Independence Day supsup plan.
satff weeject pick: OAT. OAT burgerbuns are quite acceptable.
some faves: BUTTS. ANTIMATTER. PREMIERE [for its neverendin spellin challenge]. The cool, rectangular CHEESE
BURGER dealie.
Happy 4th to everyone! Our burg did the fireworks last night, for some reason. But they were pretty to watch, anyhoo.
ONION on burger, fine. TOMATO on burger … prefer it on the side. PICKLE on burger … pass.
Thanx for the primo cookout party, Ms. Lin darlin.
Masked & Anonymo4Us
p.s. Good to see U R still here and feisty, @Muse darlin. Will celebrate, with an extra runtpuz. [First one, title-wise, is for Ms. LMS.]
p.p.s.s. Nice subjob, Clare darlin.
**gruntz**
**gruntz**
Yay, she lives! Excellent point re: barbecue...with one small quibble. As a certified, master barbecue competition judge, I can categorically say that, while "cook" seems to be preferred among competitors, barbecue IS invoked as a verb. (And not for nothin', but you ain't tasted cue til you've had you some "competition." But good luck trying for it. Even at competitions where there's a "people's choice" competition--usually the day before--the competition cooks aren't using the best meats, and they're cooking for the public's tastes/expectations, not for the judges'.)
Ah, yes...A something, something puzzle. AND....our lovely, smart, funny, Loren is back!. Just what the puzzle ordered for the Fourth....
Two things caught my eye: GREEN CHEESE and a BURGER. I might be the simpleton that sees a reflection of the moon in my deep well and yell "LOOK, CHEESE!"....
So here's my BURGER:
In our house they are only made with Bison meat. Yep....Best meat in the world. But first, I caramelize lots of onions. It takes about an hour of stirring and patience. I do this the while listening to Sara Brightman so the time goes by fast. Then I form the patties into a thick round shape and only salt them on each side. I Cook them in a very hot cast iron skillet with some EEVO because Bison has practically no fat.
I like them medium rare. Flip them and then add CHEESE. My husband likes Stilton (and so do I)...Once melted, add your delicious, sweet onions on top and leave it for about 30 seconds. THEN....the bun. A good bun is a must. It has to be able to hold your thick, juicy burger. So...if you can find it: Martin's Potato Roll. Pepperidge Farm's Golden Potato bread is another option...Voile! Best burger in the world. No TOMATO...No PICKLE...Just ONION and CHEESE!
Clare despises tomatoes? Although I now love them, I can maybe understand. I don't ever remember eating tomatoes in Cuba, but I remember them when I was visiting Nana in S. California. Every lunch counter joint would serve you a salad made up of iceberg lettuce, a cucumber and a dry, tasteless tomato. I vowed never to eat them again. Then Spain happened. We were at a market in Santander and I've never seen such a display of tomatoes. Every color and size staring at me. My friend, Erica, bought one and ate it like an apple. She forced me to try. I did. It was delicious! I was hooked! I love tomatoes!
I'm now waiting for my potatoes to cool because I'm in charge of potato salad. I'm going to my daughter's house for a block party. It's fun and the grandkids love being paraded in their little wagon. My son-in-law will be making up a batch of ribs and I'm sure someone will be grilling hamburgers. I will stick to my bodacious potato salad and watch the kids be amazed at today.
Happy and safe Fourth to all....Gee...now I'm hungry.
And another thing…
Nice Kevin BACON on yer BURGER puz comment avatar.
(U know who U are.)
First comment typo: shoulda been "staff" weeject pick, of course. Not "satff". Oddly, Otto Correct tried to fix it in this comment, but not in the previous one. How's that work?!?!
M&Also
It was a little too easy til it wasn't, then it took some thinking til it hit a glide path. I happen to like Green Cheese on my Burger so that was nice.
Really couldn't ask for a better Tuesday. I wonder what would've happened if Ahab had managed to pair up with Aerial? Probably wouldn't have been such a crab (one of her best friends) about that whale.
@kenji, I grill my food.
Mustard? Brings back grim memories of junior high school. I grew up a hamburger purist. Fresh ground meat, catsup, pickle relish, optional slice of cheddar. Onions when I grew into my teenage years. Cooked over an open flame. One of the happiest days of my life was when my best friend introduced me to The Apple Pan in West LA.
I sailed right past BURGER without even seeing that it was the revealer, so I only saw the theme post-solve. And I have to say it's a bit of a nothing BURGER, though it's neat that the ingredients are lined up in the middle.
If memory serves, Louisiana is the only state where French is an official language. Though it might as well be an official language in Maine.
Hi Clare! I have to say my favorite Independence Day celebrations were in DC. The Mall and being right there in DC with all of its reminders of this marvelous “experiment” that is America with all her warts and challenges. Listening to the music on the Mall, watching the thousands of people together and being so grateful for us, that’s U.S. On to the puzzle.
So first of all, I would have clued BRAT as a sausage on the grill as Clare suggested. Growing up with half my family heritage being German, I do enjoy my wurst, but a crispy grilled Brat is my favorite. Kraut, spicy German mustard on a yeasty roll. Color me drooling.
Anyway, I found some of the top half of this one tough in spots. I am only barely aware of the movie site with something about tomatoes but have never seen the site. Accordingly, I kept trying to fit TOMATO in there but had all those squares left over. Ugh! Thankfully, the downs in the NE were doable, but totally confused me when they didn’t finish the word TOMATO. Finally got it. Doh! When I finished, I did go to the site and found it almost equally confusing. I mean, I get the “Fresh” and “Rotten” measures, but admit that my brain still isn’t quite exactly what the percentages are supposed to tell me about a film. I guess it isn’t my jam and I will stick with written reviews. To each his own.
Other than that area, I wandered through without too much trouble. As it turns out, about my normal Tuesday time but it felt very slow. Go figure.
I will be off down the street to some neighbors to grill (I’m bringing BRATs and weissvurst), drink an adult beverage or two, eat watermelon, play squirt gun games with the kids (it has been unbearably hot for Oklahoma this early) and walk down the street to the university arena parking lot that has a great view of the fireworks.
We are hideously divided right now, but we are still America. Let’s work on it. Listen to each other. Celebrate!! 🇺🇸 💥 🎇!!
I enjoyed this puzzle a lot more than the elongated PBJ sandwich of a few weeks ago, with its two slices of bread.
I like to pronounce TOMATOMETER as "tah-muh-TAH-muh-ter". I love tomatoes and pickles, but not so much as burger toppings. Cheese, preferably cheddar or blue, and raw onion are all a burger needs. For years my favorite burger in NYC has been at Kenn's Broome Street Bar in Soho. It's served in a pita, not a bun, with a delicious side salad or potato chips (you can get fries a la carte). After numerous visits I figured out that the best way to attack it is from the closed end of the pita – if you start with the open side the bottom will soon get soggy and fall apart.
The Times had an article a few days ago about how the incessant noise from local pickleball courts is driving people in residential areas crazy.
Before the movie, there was this song.
Ok for Monday. Not Wednesday. Easy and also just weak.
The theme isn’t even tight - in green cheese the CHEESE not being the first word.
And what a vapid puzzle for a vapid holiday.
Best fries in the world are Belgian Frites. Twice cooked at specific temperatures in peanut oil. Served with mayonnaise. Anywhere in Belgium.
@Loren Muse Smith 5:52 is wrong about barbecue . Barbecue is a well recognized verb as a method of cooking. It also does refer to what you eat but also, as a noun , it can refer to an event where certain kinds of cooking are done, as mentioned by Anonymous
at 11:24 .
Google it.
Delightful puzzle. I wonder if Clare ever ate a homegrown tomato, right out of a garden. Can’t be beat!
I just realized it’s only Tuesday today 😅
So it’s skewed a bit more Tuesday than Wednesday yes 🤗
Still vapid though 🙃
@Tom F 2:27– in the second theme answer GLASS is not the burger topping.
@Tom F 2:27 - You may have missed an important feature of the puzzle. The ingredients are stacked like they would be on a BURGER. If CHEESE were the first word in 58 across it would be flopping outside of the bun.
Hi @lms, good to know you are still with us.
@CDilly52 - the Rotten Tomato percentages reflect the percent of positive written reviews. For me it’s a time saver.
Perhaps sprinkle a few betel nuts on your burger instead of a tomato. Bloody Mary of South Pacific game would approve. You’d soon have a nice tomato-y smile too.
Can't say that it HITS A NERVE but each of the toppings in the first three themers is not an actual, edible TOMATO, ONION or PICKLE, whereas the CHEESE in the last themer is. NIT or incisive critique?
I BAR has appeared in a NYTXW 83 times during the Shortz era, almost always clued similarly to today's "Flanged support beam". I always give the side eye to I BAR clued as if it were an I BEAM. (Any structural engineers or architects out there who can chime in on this issue?) And I wonder why it doesn't get clued as the famous Naval Air Station North Island I BAR on Coronado peninsula in San Diego. It's been a pilot hangout since the 1930s and is known for its decades of naval tradition and memorabilia on display. There is even a mock up replica I BAR in the recent "Top Gun" sequel.
I dig the stacking of the theme, kudos for that.
But really…a burger? We can’t do better? Either do something thoughtful for the holiday or stay clear of it?
Maybe I’ve been reading too much of Rex and his narrative about the NYTXword simplifying down and aiming for subscribers 😅
LMS is back! Thank goodness. The planets are now aligned again!
My fogged brain was trying to remember the original glass onion. I will blame the cookout I went to but thanks for reminding me. Followed your link. I love the song. Never saw that video. And didn’t like it at all. Was it made for the remix? Maybe because for me that song was only listened to,
Anyway liked the puzzle. Liked Clare’s comments. Great that LMS is back.
I no longer eat hamburgers. (I do eat veggie burgers). No I am not a vegetarian. I had chicken today
Can’t stand uncooked onions.
One other point. Each region is entitled to their own local usage. People shouldn’t make blanket pronouncements. As pointed out above, barbecue is a much looser term in New England. And who is telling us how to talk?
Clare: Try the truffle fries at the Roost, they're delish.
Um, hold the PICKLE, please. Also, TOMATO without lettuce? Interesting. Have to try that sometime. The bun? Can be OAT--or anything gluten-free.
Now that we've eaten, to the puzzle. Super easy here, but it is only Tuesday. Many long fill choices, and most of them good. ANTIMATTER leads that parade. SATTESTS? Well, one desperation fill is OK. After all, don't we say "ATM machines" all the time? (As we know, an ATM machine exists only at the factory where ATMs are made.) Birdie.
A weird Wordle birdie too: BBGBB BBGBB GGGGG.
Good one. Although I would have liked it better if there was a word with bun on top and on the bottom - bunny or bunting e.g. to complete the hamburger assembly. Medium-challenging for me - for a Tuesday that is.
The TOMATOMETER and QUIETCAR make sense, but I've never encountered either of them in the wild. Or in the mild, for that matter. And I've ridden many a train.
Just two of the words that made this Tuesday a crunchier than usual day of the week for me. I did have choices of GREEN or swiss for the moon's CHEESE, and somehow missed the GLASSONION.
But with all that - I had success. Fine with me.
Diana, Lady-in-Waiting for Crosswords
PLAINEST ASIDE
On A BURGER or BRAT,
ONION, TOMATO, and all,
BUTT GREENCHEESE LET’s not,
nor ANY PICKLEBALL.
--- LAURA ISAAC
Would have been nice to see the word royale as in “Royale with CHEESE” as seen in Pulp Fiction.
For me, it's not that I don't like tomatoes. Tomatoes don't like me! And it has been that way since I was a little kid. Raw tomatoes that is. Ketchup, sauce or soup, no problem.
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