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Relative difficulty: Medium? Easy + One Hard Corner (19:51)
THEME: Themeless
Word of the Day: IMPRIMATUR (Seal of approval) —
An imprimatur (sometimes abbreviated as impr., from Latin, "let it be printed") is a declaration authorizing publication of a book. The term is also applied loosely to any mark of approval or endorsement. The imprimatur rule in the Roman Catholic Church effectively dates from the dawn of printing, and is first seen in the printing and publishing centres of Germany and Venice; many secular states or cities began to require registration or approval of published works around the same time, and in some countries such restrictions still continue, though the collapse of the Soviet bloc has reduced their number.
• • •
For three-quarters of this puzzle I was totally vibing-- I wasn't filling in every answer, but I'd get a few, look at the crosses, and get a few more. You know, how a crossword is supposed to work!! Except for the lower-left, where I got literally nothing, tried to Google some answers, failed completely, stared for ten minutes, guessed some things that I knew were wrong, hit "Check Puzzle" a lot, etc etc until I made it. My last box was the crossing of IMPRIMATUR and MED, where I ran the alphabet-- I have never heard of the former and it does not look like a word in English. (I guess it's not?) The latter is one of those Crossword Abbreviations where you're like "okay I guess...."
But let's talk about the more fun things, like the spanner!!! Amazing!! I say this sooooo often and I've never clocked that it's fifteen letters. Getting delayed on the tarmac on your way to a wedding in Albuquerque? THE LITERAL WORST. Waiting an hour for drinks bc the bar is understaffed? THE LITERAL WORST. Getting fired from your job because you were involved with unionizing efforts? THE LITERAL WORST. I can go on and on. I'm so glad that the NYT is publishing slang like this-- it feels like they're doing it more and more these days, and I'm a huge fan.
High-word-count themeless puzzles with four stacks are my favorite type, and I feel like you end up having a favorite stack. For me, it was absolutely top-right, with CLEAR AS MUD, TORTELLINI, and EARLY BIRDS. I got to have my smug little "I studied abroad in Italy so I know that the word for "cake" is torta" moment, and plop in TORTELLINI with zero crosses. (I did have "blear..." for a little bit, when I mistakenly put in "B-team" over C-TEAM, but was able to correct.)
Bullets:
Bullets:
- [Beyhive, for Beyonce, or ARMY, for BTS] for FANDOM — When me and my sister, I mean, my sister and I take long car trips, we like to quiz each other on random trivia, and one of our go-to categories is "what is the name of the fandom for X artist?"
- [German swimmer Kristin, who won six gold medals at the Seoul Olympics] for OTTO — I've never heard of this athlete, but she seems to be incredibly talented
- [Longtime weekly companion of Ebony magazine] for JET — I'd also never heard of this, part of the reason it took me so long to break into that lower section.
What a fantastic Friday! This puzzle has it all: killer spanner, amazing stacks, and lots of clues and answers that are fresh and modern, without an over reliance on pop culture. And month crosswordese filler!
ReplyDeleteSign me up for B-team before realizing the benchwarmers in the JV game are actually C-team. And I was slowed down a bit by confidently entering ACE where ARO belongs. Otherwise it was pretty smooth sailing.
I hope to see more from this duo!
-Andymo
Should say *no crosswordese
DeleteThe stacks in this puzzle were early week easy. Where I got hung up was the middle. I had RANAMOK before RIOT supported by RANK instead of SORT. ONRUSH before INRUSH threw me off of BIEBER for a long time.
ReplyDeleteI'm not familiar with MIRENA and it took a while to recall that "Always" is a brand name. Initially I thought the clue was asking for one of those prescription directions which I can never remember. That caused hesitation too.
FANMAG before FANDOM and DEALIO is like finger nails on a chalk board.
I haven't been to xwordinfo since last Saturday and apparently the sky is falling over there.
Other than straightening out the confusion in the middle this solve was a romp.
Hi Malaika! Sorry, IMPTIMATUR is familiar to me and I'm sure many other commentariators, and is most definitely a word, Merriam-Webster says so. This puzzle went very fast for me... just read the clue, think a second, type it in. So maybe it just skews a bit older.
ReplyDeleteMy only hiccup was for 24 across had RAN AMOK before RAN RIOT. The thing is, AMOK led to RANK for 47 across "Alphabetize, e.g.", which looked pretty good.
THE LITERAL WORST. "Literal" these days often perversely means figurative, but in this case I think it means something like "absolute".
[Spelling Bee: Thurs 0, last word this 5er which has done me in before. QB streak 4 days.]
Medium. Colorful with JUST the right amount of crunch, liked it, or what @Malaika said!
ReplyDeleteMIRENA and OTTO as clued (Simpson’s bus driver would have worked) were WOEs. No erasures but a fair amount of plodding.
... and we just now finished watching a M*A*S*H episode (season 3 ep. 14) where Frank Burns uttered the word NERTS.
ReplyDeleteNaticked on intersection of MIRENA and PADS, 30A/12D. Am guessing I might not be the only guy who had this problem.
ReplyDeleteAlso, never heard of the term INRUSH, seems like it should be ONRUSH.
I did think Mirena/ Pads /Phobos area was bit scary for me , being male and not knowing any Mars moon without help. The crosses of Mirena, except the last were relatively easy though. Then I thought it had to end in a or o. Started with a. Then the moon had to be something h and I had a vague recall, Phoebe or something like it. So I saw
Deletepad and the light dawned.
don’t think Pad /Mirena is a natick. Because women are more than half of all adults after all.
(The original Natick involved a smallish town on the Boston marathon route and N C Wyeth an illustrator not his famous son. Now that’s obscure!).
ReplyDeleteTrouble in the NE:
* nod and then nap before ERR for 7D, "Go off"
* SkIP before SLIP for the reindulgence at 11D
* The MIRENA IUD (12D) was a WOE
* abaSES before DISSES at 14D
Trouble in the middle:
* OH nuTS before OH RATS at 25D
* oNRUSH before INRUSH at 29D
* IN A SEC before IN A mIN before IN A BIT at 39A
* At 29D, couldn't make sense of BoEsER or any of its cousins, so took out CFOS (44A) and tried CfOS and CiOs before remembering BIEBER
Only other overwrite was bET before JET for the Ebony companion at 51A. Defensible (maybe) because BET is Black Entertainment Television?
Kristin OTTO (41A) was a WOE
Luckily (or not), I spent a year in a Catholic high school so I knew IMPRIMATUR.
I have a bone to pick with 5D: The varsity starters are the A Team and the varsity benchwarmers would be the B Team. So wouldn't the Junior Varsity starters be the C Team and the JV subs be the D Team? Just sayin'
I thought the same thing. I just considered B, C, and D separately before CLEAR AS MUD became, er, clear as day.
DeleteJV *are* the varsity benchwarmers (b-team). Therefore, JV benchwarmers are definitively the CTEAM.
DeleteWhat a breath of fresh air! Thanks Rachel & Ken
ReplyDeleteI had filled in "hot water tap" for 1D/57D, seemed pretty solid crossing WEE and TOES. So I had the unusual experience that fixing something in the SE (ARNS -> URNS) broke open the NW for me. I've been in bathrooms with CLAWFOOT TUBs but never a dedicated hot Water TUB.
ReplyDeleteI guessed 3 letters in TROMPE and felt lucky to finish. Could someone please explain ARO and SPOONERISM? Malaika already handled IMPRIMATUR.
ReplyDeleteSpoonerisms are slips of the tongue where first sounds get switched. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spoonerism
Delete“Aro” is short for aromantic, one of many dimensions of sexual/gender/affectional identities. It’s not really clued correctly; some aromantics do have non-platonic relationships, just don’t fall in love with their partners. ACE is actually a better answer (asexual). See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romantic_orientation
Aro is short for aromantic, a companion term to asexual. Spoonerism is when you switch the beginning sounds of consecutive words, like bunny phone for funny bone.
DeleteARO is slang for “aromantic,” and a SPOONERISM is when you’re trying to say one thing but accidentally say something else, off by like a single letter. So you might be trying to say “Dunaway,” but instead accidentally say “one a day.”
DeleteThat makes me feel better; I had "Ace" at first, then got confused when it wouldn't fit with TROMPE
DeleteHated ‘the literal worst.’
ReplyDeleteWhy?
DeleteSeems inoffensive. And it is a common expression after all.
This puzzle made me miss real Drug Stores. The chains may be convenient but I miss the personal connection. Puzzle was about average for a Friday. I also enjoy a theme less puzzle. Got a little sidetracked early in the NE but was able to circle back. Should be able to remember PHOBOS by now but I guess I was in some other obit.
ReplyDeleteOpposite experience to @puzzlehoarder, in that the middle was super-easy but the corners were tough.
ReplyDeleteJV backups feel like the d-TEAM to me. JV starters would be the CTEAM. Varsity backups and starters would be b-team and a-team.
Sometimes proper names just aren’t famous enough for the puzzle. But other times it’s on me. I saw “House of Gucci” about two months ago. I remember it had a bunch of famous people in it, but the only one I could name is Lady Gaga. I know Jared LETO is legit famous, and I’ve probably seen him in a bunch of stuff besides Gucci, but I don’t really know who he is or what he looks like.
The Seoul Olympics were thirty-five years ago. I remember a few things – Ben Johnson’s amazing run in the 100 meters and the subsequent positive drug test, Roy Jones Jr.’s inexplicable loss to a Korean in the worst judging decision ever, Carl Lewis vs. Mike Powell, Flo-Jo (OK, I lean towards the track and field). But no memory of OTTO, I’m afraid.
Varsity is varsity—just bc you aren’t a starter doesn’t mean you are the b-team. JV players play on varsity as needed or called, and are the b-team. JV benchwarmers (non-rostered) would accurately be the CTEAM.
DeleteThx, Rachel & Ken; such a fine construction, and I totally blew it! 😔
ReplyDeleteHi Malaika, good to see you again! 😊
Very hard.
Dnfed all over the place. Toughest Fri. ever pour moi.
Much to learn today. Onward and upward! :)
As always, enjoyed the battle! :)
___
Peace 🕊 🇺🇦 ~ Compassion ~ Tolerance ~ Kindness ~ Freudenfreude ~ Serendipity & a DAP to all 👊 🙏
Can anyone explain 61 across? I got it completely from crosses but have zero idea what it means. Is X in Spanish called BESO?
ReplyDeletex as in kiss, beso in Spanish
Delete@David G X is a kiss
DeleteLots of sparkle in those long acrosses as our reviewer pointed out - and of course a bunch of WoE’s for me as usual. I know they are (literally) like, invited all the time, but there is not much that I am less interested in than Justin Bieber and the names of celestial bodies (or their moons, if moons are too small to be considered a celestial body - if not, what about comets ? It’s all so confusing).
ReplyDeleteSimilarly, no clue what an ARO is, but hopefully that’s just because it is some type of current dating term and I’m older than dirt - and hopefully BESO is the name of a letter in some random foreign language cuz we don’t really have that box checked yet.
If I had Rachel’s ear (and I don’t- but OFL does!), I might chide her for DEALIO and MORNIN - both are acceptable, but Rachel, this is an NYT Friday grid - can’t we skip the DEALIO stuff ? C’mon, you know and I know you can do better, so be honest, what’s the DEALIO with that one ?
Highlights for me:
ReplyDelete• Top half as if there were runners ahead of me opening doors, pointing me which way to go, boxes flooding in as rarely happens on Friday. An exhilarating whoosh, until…
• Bottom half satisfying my brain’s work ethic; everywhere I turn I’m getting jabbed at and turned around, only to be jabbed at again, hardly anything filling in without a fight -- a dust storm, a whirlwind, to where I have to shut my eyes, take a breath, begin anew, where once again, TED LASSO steps in to save the day. GBTL.
• Those gorgeous stacks in the NE and SW, all six answers scintillating, turning this puzzle into a beauty.
• Animalia: CATS, BIRDS, CRAB, and even, maybe White Whale, what with OCEAN and (a backward) AHAB.
• The O-tail trochee-fest of LETO, OTTO, BESO, TACO, ARO, plus LASSO.
• Oh, and by the way, where’s the junk in this puzzle? Not to be found.
• [You might take one to a new friend] for SHINE. Big “Hah!” Big “Bravo/brava!”
Deep in quality, this puzzle, Rachel and Ken, and, for me, deep in solve-joy. Thank you for hitting so many happy buttons!
Interesting (to me) that so many people had trouble with the NE. For me it was definitely the SW. MIRENA was a gimme, even without any crosses, as was REY. I had a wtf moment with TORTELLINI because while taking a pasta-making class in Tuscany, the Italian chef told us the word meant "little turtle". How silly of me to have believed him.
ReplyDeleteI am familiar with IMPRIMATUR but forgot how to spell it, and spent a long time trying to make E or O work at the end.
And then the TROMPE and ARO cross was a blank, having heard of neither of them. I still don't understand ARO. I assume it's some abbreviation. Arms Reach Only?
Didn't like the clue for JUST.
Absolutely loved HERDING CATS.
Fun and not. A tad easy but I gave up (which almost never happens) in the SW corner. Never heard of aro, Otto, imprimatur, dealio or trompe. I guessed trompe but that didn’t help.
ReplyDeleteI loved this. Almost no sports jargon and trivia. Everything was tricky but fair. Definitely on the easy side for me as a young(ish by crossword standards) woman. Suspect many men might be feeling about Mirena and pad how I normally feel about some of the baseball abbreviations :)
ReplyDeleteNot THE LITERAL WORST - but JUST too much trivia and so-so fill. There are some nice colloquial phrases - CLEAR AS MUD, HERDED CATS and I liked TORPOR and TORTELLINI.
ReplyDeleteThe full TED LASSO is lazy and things like SPOONERISM, STEEPENS and RESEARCH are rough - long fill that use up a lot of real estate.
Pleasant enough - but short of a splashy Friday.
These are the TERMS
Agree about a lot of trivia
DeleteWhat do you call being sick after eating too many brats? THELITERALWuRST.
ReplyDeleteI prefer non-Platonic relationships. Call me a RO.
If I see something I like, INABIT. And I did like this puzzle. DISSES how a Friday should feel. Thanks, Rachel Fabi & Ken Stern.
none of those things are "the literal worst".
ReplyDeleteSorry to be a CRAB, but I'm not happy seeing "Dealio" in print - I mean I've definitely heard it, but does every dumb thing people say (saw "sus" in a puzzle recently, don't think it was NYT) need to be a word? Next "dealio" is going to be in the OED?.... Also annoyed by the common usage of "literal" to mean the opposite of literal. Not a complaint about the puzzle per se, just if you tell me someone "literally froze to death" I expect to see that individual entombed in a giant block of ice.
ReplyDeletedealio IS in the OED. ( they include all words written or spoken, slang included).
DeleteIn any event, the Times puzzle uses slang all the time. Nothing unusual about its inclusion. I hate the word but that’s irrelevant.
DNF, did not know 29D or 29A, plus had oNRUSH for Torrent, otherwise I might have seen BIEBER, but as it was I kept thinking of the R congresswoman _oEBER, although her name ends with a T ....yuck.
ReplyDeleteOtherwise very very easy! Probably age related, knew stuff Malaika had trouble with. Hand up for bTEAM before C, but as soon as you think about it the JV is obvious. JV Junior Mints.
Not quite the crunch I was hoping for on a Friday, but pretty nice anyway.
Hey All !
ReplyDeleteToughie. Check Puzzle usage aplenty. Even had to Goog twice! The ole brain hurts...
Had to look up ALBEE in the NE (I'm sure that's well known to all the well read out there), and TROMPE in the SE. With the help of the Check feature, was able to get everything else.
IMPRIMATUR new here.Some nice clues along the way.
I guess I'm as terse as Mailaka today. It happens...
Two F's
RooMonster
DarrinV
I get that BESO is a kiss. And an X is a kiss. But what does Ximenes, a Spanish name have to do with Xs and besos?
ReplyDeleteAlso, I thought the band was named BAjA men. And I entered RuNRIOT for 24D, so I finished with BuHA men, which seemed ok as I was solving.
Spoonerisms: Beeping Slooty for Sleeping Beauty. Switch the first letters of the two words.
I'm shocked, SHOCKED! by 48A. My delicate senses!
I wanted the swinger clue to relate to the lyra (aerial hoop) or aerial silks
DeleteXimenes is a Spanish name. That is the hint for a Spanish word.
DeleteUgh. Hated working on this puzzle. BOO, awful, awful, awful. Here's why:
ReplyDeleteSo many people: LETO, BAHA MEN, OTTO, BIEBER, REY, PAUL, ALBEE, TED LASSO and toss in PHOBOS.
FANDOM is so generic and the clue is way over specific.
ORDER and SORT don't rise to any type of coolness factor to deserve mirrored clues.
JET would be impossible to clue more awkwardly. While we're being awful, let's clue another airplane-related topic ATL with pure trivia. Why in crosswords do we care what the name of an airport is? All I care about is what town it's in. You can't believe the actual name of the Denver airport and nobody living here would ever use it.
BESO: Wha?
More feminine hygiene products. So thankful we're getting them regularly now. Society is finally freeing its mind from the shackles of grace and dignity with the delights we've needed for so long in puzzledom. PAD and MIRENA bring a welcome focus to our genitalia issues.
ARO has been showing up in crosswords plenty lately, but if you want to make a puzzle that will age poorly, here's the latest here-today-gone-tomorrow nonsense internetism about people's playtime parts. Everybody is ARO until you can find somebody to say yes.
Hooray, your wordlist includes IMPRIMATUR which shows up in the wild only in ... dictionaries. Be proud. Of course cluing JUST like an alien from outerspace might clue it diminishes some of the luster on the vocab quiz.
MED for Rx pickup is so weirdly redundant the pickup part makes no sense, unless the Rx is just the little paper slip, but then it's not the MED. I don't get it.
Here's what I loved:
CLEAR AS MUD: Great phrase.
TORTELLINI: Best pasta ever.
EARLY BIRDS: See the Seinfeld episode about Del Boca Vista Phase 3.
HERDED CATS: My real occupation.
CLAWFOOT TUB was a no cross write-in. Gave me hope it would be a fun puzzle, but alas.
RAN RIOT for Rampaged: Describes my cat.
UNDEAD: Always pro-zombie.
Worst moment of the puzzle (my fault):
Had AHRATS, for OHRATS, resulting in RAPE for the Skip It! clue, and I stared at it forever thinking how could they possibly let that go. Thank goodness it was me being stupid.
Uniclues:
1 Those little plastic stabber swords on the charcuterie board.
2 Fashion choice preventing some from getting any.
3 One skilled at cooking books.
4 Brings the dinner party conversation to a halt.
1 WEE MAD EPEES
2 ARO-SORT TASSEL
3 FOURTH JET CPA
4 DISSES TED LASSO
My Fascinating Crossword Uniclue Keepsake from Last Year: The graduate's glow. TASSEL. (Tassel was in last year's puzzle too.)
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Natick for me at Mirena and Pads. My wife pointed out the brand name Always.
ReplyDeleteI learned IMPRIMATUR early in my Catholic school education. It was granted by the Church to a publication involving Catholic doctrine if it was okay. "Let it be printed."
ReplyDeleteTo make sense of BESO, you have to think of Ximenes as a Spanish name.
Very nice puzzle.
Liked this one lots, although there were definitely some non-ideal moments. For those who asked, BESO is spanish for "kiss," which is also written as "x" in slang ("xoxo" for "hugs & kisses). Not a common word in my world, but gettable. Had ACE before ARO, which did not help a bit with that SW corner. Should've left it out, as I knew TROMPE l'oeil and would've thrown that down a lot faster. Eh, such is life. Still my fastest Friday since I started doing these things on screen, but felt like a normal-tough-but-fair while I was going through it. Solid work, Rachel & Ken! Thanks for this one!
ReplyDeleteMy CTEAM was at first a BTEAM, so I was looking for something BLurry or BLurred for "unintelligible" and had a lot of trouble seeing CLEAR AS MUD. Love that answer.
ReplyDeleteFor reasons I can't explain, I HERDED COWS before I HERDED CATS. I've never owned a cat, so I guess I really didn't understand how hard it is. But of course I've heard the term: it's used for House Speakers and Senate Majority Leaders all the time.
Which is why I don't want to be a Speaker of the House or a Senate Majority Leader or own a cat.
An absolutely wonderful clue for SPOONERISM (58A).
The less said about "what's the DEALIO", MORNIN and ARO, the better. When will the NYT realize that fill like this isn't "cool" and "modern"; it's infantile and sub-literate. In fact, it's THE LITERAL WORST.
I was going to say that PAINTing an apartment GREEN is THE LITERAL WORST, but then I find out right here that it's a popular expression that many people use a lot. Just not me. (It's a bad misuse of the word "literal", of course, unless it's being done in fun.)
A mix of the good, the bad and the ugly, I thought -- but it did keep my little gray cells humming.
Finished it with a couple of cheats...had no idea that "Always" was a menstrual pad, and frankly that's the worst possible way to clue PADS. DEALIO must be some kind of street talk, the sort of thing that has become all too common in NYT puzzles.
ReplyDeleteDidn't know TEDLASSO, either. For me, the easiest part of the puzzle was the long answers. Not a pleasant experience of this old guy.
My CTEAM was at first a BTEAM, so I was looking for something BLurry or BLurred for "unintelligible" and had a lot of trouble seeing CLEAR AS MUD. Love that answer.
ReplyDeleteFor reasons I can't explain, I HERDED COWS before I HERDED CATS. I've never owned a cat, so I guess I really didn't understand how hard it is. But of course I've heard the term: it's used for House Speakers and Senate Majority Leaders all the time.
Which is why I don't want to be a Speaker of the House or a Senate Majority Leader or own a cat.
An absolutely wonderful clue for SPOONERISM (58A).
The less said about "what's the DEALIO", MORNIN and ARO, the better. When will the NYT realize that fill like this isn't "cool" and "modern"; it's infantile and sub-literate. In fact, it's THE LITERAL WORST.
I was going to say that PAINTing an apartment GREEN is THE LITERAL WORST, but then I find out right here that it's a popular expression that many people use a lot. Just not me. (It's a bad misuse of the word "literal", of course, unless it's being done in fun.)
A mix of the good, the bad and the ugly, I thought -- but it did keep my little gray cells humming.
Not really sold on the BESO clue. Ximenes is a Portuguese name, so the answer should be beijo. Jimenez is the Spanish equivalent, but does not begin with an 'x'.
ReplyDeleteXimena would have worked, a famous name since the 12th century and very popular in Mexico now
DeleteApologies for the dupe. This has been going on for two weeks now. My screen says "Oops that's an error" after I hit "submit". I go back to the page to check and it does not say that my submission has been received, so I print my comment again and send it. Once again the screen says "Oops" -- but this time when I go back, it seems that my comment has been received. I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE BLEEP IS GOING ON and this is driving me crazy!!! But again, my apologies.
ReplyDelete@mathgent: thanks, but I still don't get what Beso (spanish for kiss, which I knew) and X (a common symbol for a kiss) have to do with any sort of Spanish name. how is a kiss like the X in Ximenes?
ReplyDeleteOh, I get it. The proper pronunciation for Ximenes is Kissmenes Or Besomenes.
No, srsly. This inquiring mind wants to know! Is it just a badly presented clue? I know I'm making too much of this...
The X word in the clue there is just to indicate that the answer will be in Spanish
DeleteI think badly presented. X for Ximena might hace worked.
DeleteOne error at the cross of DEALIO and OTTO. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteI vote for buccatini as best pasta!
Medium tough and fun to wrangle with, with so many good answers and witty clues.
ReplyDeleteFavorites: CLEAR AS MUD, HERDED CATS, IMRPIMATUR; OCEAN next to INRUSH.
Got me good and loved it: PADS, SPOONERISM.
Do-overs: Like others b-TEAM, FANmag, RAN amok x IN time.
Help from previous puzzles: BAHA.
No idea: MIRENA, OTTO, ARO.
Unlike Malaika: I don't recall ever hearing THE LITERAL WORST.
@Rachel Fabi & Ken Stern - A very fine Friday. Thank you!
Fact check. 26 down. Paul was not an apostle.
ReplyDeleteHe was an apostle. He was not a disciple.
DeleteVery easy and breezy; I solved late last night on the phone while Metro North-ing home from the Eagles/Steely Dan concert at MSG (which far exceeded my expectations). Had I done my usual Friday routine -- a morning solve with a cup of coffee -- I probably would have wanted more resistance, but at 1:00am I was happy to cruise through it.
ReplyDeleteLooking at it fresh this morning, there really is a lot to like here:
-- The folksy-slangy vibe concentrated in the middle-left -- MORNIN, OHRATS, DEALIO, INABIT and of course THELITERALWORST.
-- Excellent stacks in all four corners, the SW being my favorite.
-- Cluing the obligatory 3-letter fill in interesting ways -- e.g., MED, ARC, NAE, ATL (would much rather have that clue than the tired [Braves][Hawks][Falcons] on the scoreboard.
-- CTEAM, which was exactly me on the high school basketball team. After starting for the JV as a sophomore, I was dispatched to the CTEAM as a junior, when a bunch of incoming freshman showed up and were far better than I was. If I held any illusions at all about my basketball skills, they were completely dispelled that year.
All in all, a very enjoyable puzzle.
For Ray: I've always heard Paul identified as "The Apostle Paul." What contrary information do you have?
ReplyDeleteWell count me in the group that loved this puzzle from start to finish! Just SO many great clues and answers. Okay. I am old, but I have ALWAYS had a penchant for slang. DEALIO just rolls off the tongue so to speak. I dunno @Nancy, I guess I think slang is fun and not sub-literate as long as it doesn’t make its way into business documents, legal briefs and opinions, etc. I guess I don’t even think of MORNIN’ as slang but just an informal verbal utterance said “pertly” to someone you might see every day.
ReplyDeleteThe hardest part for me was the NE corner where, like many, I had bTEAM at first and tried to make something out of bLEAR and bLEAK. I FINALLY reluctantly put in CTEAM and was able to make sense and finish the puzzle.
Ok. I KNOW now I’m not right on this but I’ve always thought of say, high school basketball, as being comprised of three separate entities that are primarily formed by age, ie Freshman, JV, and Varsity, with each entity having starters (A team) and subs (B teams). Under that scenario a person on the JV A team might also dress and play Varsity as a sub (B team). Anyway, you learn something new every day.
A rare full finish Friday for me. No look ups! Took over an hour but was an enjoyable solve as the puzz gradually revealed itself.
ReplyDeleteCount me in on those who remain puzzled (pun intended) on the X clue. I inferred ‘beso’ with the X but as clued does not make sense.
I don’t normally get all wooshy on Fridays but this one hit a lovely rhythm EARLY on. JUST a great Friday with a lot to love - doable stacks, not too much trivia, and a beautiful center spanner. I especially liked the BIRDS offset by the HERDED CATS. Didn’t know ARO and never heard what’s the DEALIO but I’m not likely to forget it. Thank you Rachel and Ken, lots of fun today.
ReplyDelete@Ray (10:27) No, Paul is not one of the Twelve Apostles but he would certainly fall under the LITERAL definition of the word, i.e. a missionary or leader of a Christian movement.
Do we think that constructors and editors will ever learn that Scottish people don't use NAE for the meaning of "no" that is clued in this puzzle? NAE is how a Scot would pronounce the determining adjective that means "not any". But NAE is not the how one would say the particle used to show disagreement or denial (i.e., the opposite of "yes").
ReplyDelete1. There is NAE whisky left in the barrel. (A Scot would say this)
2. Is there any whisky left in the barrel? NAE. (A Scot would not ever say this)
My pessimistic opinion is that they will never get this right, and we will continue to have NAE incorrectly (and perhaps offensively, to those inclined to take offense when their language is flippantly misunderstood) clued as "Fraid not, laddie" until the heat death of the universe.
You are probably right
DeleteMarthaCatherine:
ReplyDeleteTo add to mathgent's note:
If the clue were just X the answer would be KISS.
By placing the X in a Spanish name, we're being told to look for a "Spanish" KISS, which is BESO.
As usual it was easy for me because I'm an utterly wise guy, but not a guy wise enough not to utter utter nonsense here.
ReplyDeleteWell, here goes...My experience:
ReplyDeleteI started with CLAW FOOT at 1D and then went hunting for the TUB down in the bottom. Check.
I stayed there and thought I might work my way up. I got to 58A and wondered who is Dunaway and why did she need One-a day. It's going to be one of those Fridays, I murmured. The down OAFISh gave me the S and the TROMPE gave me the P. So I have SP. SPOONERISM I cried!. Yes, It's going to be that kind of Friday.
It was.
Back to the top...
Another delightful squeal with CLEAR AS MUD. TORT of course, for little cakes, and then add the required LLINI. Check.
22A. I saw the clue as Beehive for Beyonce and I guess one for whoever ARMY and BTS is. Stare. No help. Maybe the other downs with help.
Then I get to 23D. I can't believe how long I stared at that one. What's the____? Do you know how many words can go in that slot? About 234 and none of them are DEALIO. Then I get to that "Sorry" singer and by then my angst agita dyspepsia kicks in.
Get up...Pour myself another glass of Arius Pinot noir...Check on evening news. More dyspepsia.....
After about 20 minutes or so, I put my big girl pants on and thought I'd conquer this. Wrong.
I cheated on FANDOM and BIEBER. They were bad dance partners anyway. Because I cheated on them, guess what I got? THE LITERAL WORST. Fitting, wouldn't you say?
Never heard the word MIRENA, I slept through TED LASSO. I laughed at "Word that can make a big ask seem smaller". JUST? Really? OH RATS indeed....
And so it went.
I liked it. IMPRIMATUR and all.... Except BESO. X, as in XIMENES? I wanted something starting with an H. I don't get that clue at all. I know BESO, I speak the language, I'm lost.
That's all.
really loved this one. super smooth w just the right amount of bite. loved the clues for “err” and “pads.” great colloquial spanner too. tortellini & “dealio” recall to me my late italian grandfather— so i was excited to fill in that one particular anachronistic gem.
ReplyDeletebLEAk>CLEAR, which is clearly better, but that B team was playing too well.
ReplyDeleteInteresting malapop: always at the drugstore, I figured might be "one-a-days", but lo and behold, it was duped at Dunnaway clue, so out it went after giving me 3 correct letters.
@Gary, any flight between any 2 points on the globe will have a layover in ATLanta, so it seems fair to clue by its name. Bart Simpson complaining about a long trip: "I still don't understand why we had to transfer 3 times in Atlanta".
I can lawyer myself into understanding INRUSH, but still give it the stink-eye.
I was at a lovely cabin in the Adirondacks last week that featured an outdoor CLAWFOOT TUB - bliss!
@burtonkd 11:47 AM
DeleteI love that Simpsons quote.
Like others I do not and may still not get the BESO clue (I know is means kiss) BUT “Imenes” into translator and it said “images.” I could get X images (in Spanish), well in retrospect, but there is no space in clue between X and imenes.
ReplyDeleteSpanish speakers please comment?
"The title "Apostle" is applied to the Apostle Paul in Christian tradition because of his significant role in the early Christian church and his contribution to the spread of Christianity. Here's why Paul is referred to as an apostle:
ReplyDelete1. Definition of Apostle:
• In the broader sense, the term "apostle" is derived from the Greek word "apostolos," which means "one who is sent out" or "messenger." It can refer to anyone sent on a mission or with a specific message.
2. The Twelve Apostles:
• In the specific context of Christianity, "Apostle" typically refers to the Twelve Apostles chosen by Jesus during his ministry. These Twelve Apostles include figures like Peter, James, John, and others, and they are often considered the primary witnesses and companions of Jesus during his earthly ministry.
3. The Apostle Paul's Unique Role:
• The Apostle Paul, formerly known as Saul of Tarsus, did not belong to the original Twelve Apostles chosen by Jesus during his earthly ministry. However, Paul is regarded as an apostle because of his unique role in the early Christian church.
• Paul is known for his conversion experience on the road to Damascus, where he encountered the risen Christ. This encounter led to his transformation from a persecutor of Christians to a fervent believer and missionary for Christianity.
• Paul's apostleship is seen as a result of a direct call and commission by Jesus, even though it was after Jesus' resurrection and ascension. Paul himself attests to this calling in his letters (epistles) in the New Testament.
• His extensive missionary journeys, writings (Pauline epistles), and establishment of Christian communities in various regions played a crucial role in the early spread and theological development of Christianity.
• The early Christian community recognized Paul's apostolic authority and contribution to the faith. The Book of Acts and Paul's own letters confirm his apostleship.
4. Theological and Historical Recognition:
• Over time, Christian tradition has universally accepted Paul as an apostle, even though he did not belong to the original Twelve. His teachings, theological insights, and contributions to the New Testament have made him a foundational figure in Christianity.
In summary, the Apostle Paul is referred to as an apostle because of his exceptional role in the early Christian church, his commissioning by Jesus Christ, and his significant contributions to the spread of Christianity and the development of Christian theology. While he was not one of the original Twelve Apostles chosen by Jesus during his earthly ministry, his apostolic authority and status are firmly established in Christian tradition and scripture." (ChatGPT)
___
Peace 🕊 🇺🇦 ~ Compassion ~ Tolerance ~ Kindness ~ Freudenfreude ~ Serendipity & a DAP to all 👊 🙏
I got lucky today -- I thought Ximenes was a city in Mexico, which made BESO obvious. I was wrong, but it still helped.
ReplyDeleteI think some people are missing the point about the German swimmer, viz., that it you have to use OTTO, you want to clue it in the most arcane way you can contrive. This was a pretty good example.
My father had a magazine section in his drugstore, so I got pretty familiar with the common magazines of the time. I'm not sure what "companion" means in the clue for JET, but both it an Ebony were oriented toward African Americans, and published by the same company. Maybe if you subscribed by mail you got both of them, but in newstands they were separate.
@Gary J., isn't it Stapleton International? (Checks Internet) Yes!! At one time I even knew why New Orleans airport was called MSY, but I've forgotten again.
@jberg 12:32 PM
DeleteThe old Denver Airport was called Stapleton. They bulldozed it to put in mini-mansions and ugly apartments. The new airport is generally called Denver international, but the main building is actually called Jeppesen Terminal and nobody knows that. Interestingly, about Stapleton, it turns out he was a famous Ku Klux Klan leader in Denver (a long time bastion of intolerance we're hopefully climbing away from) and in the last few years they've renamed everything named after him. Finally!
IMPRIMATUR wasn't a major issue. My problem with the SW was that I put in stuPOR for TORPOR, which seemed reasonable for the clue. When I got FORTH, TORPOR came in sight and ARO and OTTO looked good.
ReplyDeleteMy real problem came in the NE. When I see drugstore in a clue, I think of some unfamiliar pharmaceutical Latin abbreviation, so I had MIRINE and PEDS. When I filled in the grid and got "the message", I knew where the problem was, and it wasn't hard to see the correct cross of feminine products.
Surprisingly, I still had an error. It turns out that I had TORToLLINI for TORTELLINI (TORTaLLINI might have been a more logical misspelling). RoY and RaY both make sense as crosses.
I thought Ximenes looked Greek so I had the B in place at 61A but I was very, very sure BEta in the Greek alphabet did not stand for X in our alphabet. BESO with crosses cleared that up.
ReplyDeleteWhile Malaika may say 34A, I have never said it or really even heard it so I didn't think it was a real phrase while solving - it's good to know it's real. I would say THE absolute WORST in its place.
Thanks, Rachel and Ken, this was a nice Friday!
The word IMPRIMATUR always reminds me of a nun at our grade school named Sister Irmalita. She became the principal by the time my class graduated. She was tiny, and liked to make an entrance by flinging open the hall firedoors so that they banged loudly against the wall, and then announcing "Alright!" to students in the vicinity, as if to imply that she had caught them doing something untoward and now she was going to find out what.
ReplyDeleteTortelloni is a pasta shape too, a little bigger than TORTELLINI and perhaps more cakelike in appearance as there is no hole in the middle. So, potential natick there with MIRENA.
What’s the dealio?
ReplyDeleteWhat’s the dealio?
ReplyDeletedealio <3 <3 <3
ReplyDeleteFairly easy-ish FriPuz solvequest, except for a few small derails:
ReplyDelete1. MIRENA/PADS crossin. Had no idea what was goin on for either of them, so my when-in-doubt-vote-U guess for their crossin didn't work out. That pair was CLEARASPUDS.
2. ARO. rhymes with no-know. staff weeject pick, btw. And while we're on that wee topic: nice weeject stacks, in the mid-North and mid-South puzgrid parts.
3. IMPRIMATUR. Learnt somethin new there, also.
4. DEALIO was kinda borderline, put picked it up ok thanx to OTTO. Cuz I figured it couldn't be OTTE.
5. BESO had a totally mysterious clue, at our house. Ditto for TACO.
Some cool clues, here and there. Such as for: BOO. MORNIN. ROPE.
Thanx for gangin up on us, Ms. Fabi darlin & Mr. Stern dude. @RP woulda liked/identified with HERDEDCATS. Nice longball stacks in M&A's book, anyhoo. My fave mighta been CLEARASMUD.
Masked & Anonymo4Us
p.s. Nice blog-subbin, Malaika darlin.
**gruntz**
@kitshef (10:12 am). What you say isso very true, and you were right to catch this.
ReplyDeleteHowever, perhaps we may allow that Ximenes has a Spanish girl or boyfriend, and, out of deference, prefers to deliver kisses in the language of the partner.
@liveprof at 11:31. Thank you!!!! I think that's it. I still think it was a crummy clue. Even "X in Spanish" would have been better. Enough of a misdirect without the ridiculous inclusion of a name that has nothing to with anything at all.
ReplyDeleteI've always thought it should be "oonerspism." Likewise "lexdysia."
ReplyDeletePeople frequently confuse the terms "apostles" and "disciples".
ReplyDeletePaul was not one of the twelve disciples. His conversion came through a vision after the death of Jesus.
After that conversion, he became the "Apostle to the Gentiles," a role that was sanctioned by "the Twelve" who carried on Jesus' ministry as apostles to the Judean people.
This was a tale of two puzzles for me. After running into the umpteenth proper noun clue like "Portrayer of Paolo Gucci in 2021's 'House of Gucci'", "Margret and H. A. ___, co-authors of the 'Curious George' books", "'Three Tall Women' playwright", "TV character who said 'Heck, you could fill two internets with what I don’t know about football'", etc., etc., etc., I was ready to pull the plug on this one.
ReplyDeleteAnd then the lower left corner happened. The dark clouds parted and let the Sun SHINE through. Gone was my solving TORPOR. Practically everything down there tickled this old self-proclaimed word nerd's fancy. IMPRIMATUR, TROMPE l'oeil and SPOONERISM are all 10s in my book. And it doesn't get much more colorful than HERDED CATS. After that delightful romp, even OTTO's clue was forgiven! Good stuff.
P.S. For anyone who accidentally double posts---I've done it---there will be a trashcan icon just below each of your posts. By clicking on one, the dupe will disappear and be replaced by a statement saying that the post has been removed by the author. This works if your name is in blue but I don't know if it works for others. The commenter is the only one in the commentariat who will see a trashcan icon below their post.
Very gloppy.
ReplyDeleteChiming in very late today as I just finished, I put it down to go on a hike this morning. Predictably, I loved this puzzle as part of the Fabi FANDOM.
ReplyDeleteIn defense of ARO - it’s a very real identity, and one that goes through a lot of grief given how focused our society is on romantic love and marriage and the nuclear family. My queerplatonic partner (yep, another neologism, but a real thing!) is on the aro spectrum, and figuring that out for themself was a huge deal. I’m really grateful for its inclusion both for the public education aspect and because I bet a few folks are learning that there’s a term to describe themselves for the first time today.
@Weezie 4:59.
ReplyDeleteI've heard the term ARO but now I'm just learning about queerplatonic. I looked up the meaning and it seems to be as similar to ARO. Am I wrong?
No grief should ever be felt because our society may demand "Love and Marriage" in a so-called nuclear family. What's a nuclear family?
Thank you for posting and keeping me (us) updated on neologisms that I may not have heard about in the wild. And thank you to the NYT for slowly inching out of it's Old Gray Mare tired position. @Rex is good at egging them on.
Thank you @Gill for saying you were lost at Ximenes! If you Google Ximenes it says “boy’s name meaning ‘’listen intently’ but if you do Google translate for “imenes” it means “images.” Anyway…just seems like MAYBE there should have been a space…X imenes…(X= Kiss=beso in Español!
ReplyDeleteThing is, NOT trying to diss puzzle but trying to make sense of that ONE clue!
Drove home from Maine through a couple of thunderstorms, and have more to come, so late post because I just had a chance to print this out.
ReplyDeleteJust wanted to say that I found this pretty easy, so I feel smart, and didn't know ARO at all, which it seems I should, so I feel less smart.
Also had to point out that we have a pure unadulterated PAUL. Take that, @Roo (sticks out tongue).
My kind of Friday.
FWIW Tortellini has 2 diminutives one after the other tacked on to tort-
ReplyDeleteThat happens when people forget elli was a diminutive so they needed another
Tortelloni. I don’t think oni is a diminutive there I think it implies something bigger than tortellini
So I think the clue works Anyway many fewer Americans know of the word.
The misogyny in some of these comments about the MIRENA/PADS crossing is mind boggling. As someone who literally has a MIRENA, I loved to see it. Try googling what it's like to get an IUD for most women, and keep in mind it's done without anesthesia. A great educational puzzle for some men.
ReplyDelete@Nancy
ReplyDeleteYou know you will post twice doing what you're doing. So Publish your post ... then STOP! It'll go through. Or, as pointed out by @Anoa Bob, below your post is a "Delete" bar that you can hit to get rid of one of the repeats. Give it a whirl.
Fun for me in the end. Opened it in the morning and went through all the acrosses and downs without finding my way in. Set it aside until after work and dinner and suddenly it was whoosh, whoosh, whoosh. Bieber, Baha Men, and Tortellini were the way in to this puzzle for me.
ReplyDeleteHard as the Gordian Knot, but I got it. Last in was the NE, and the last letter was the A of PADS/MIRENA. Of course, I had no idea what the down was, and for the longest time couldn't make sense of the PADS clue...until at last I saw "Always" as a freakin' BRAND NAME! That one, I have seen.
ReplyDeleteHad to change oNRUSH to INRUSH; that's a new one. After getting TUB in the SE, I wondered idly if 1d could be CLAWFOOT. Nah, too much of a long shot. Then I tried it--and it worked! Love when that happens. Especially when it breaks open the NW.
Crammed with good stuff, no fill whammies, and uncounted triumph points. Eagle.
Wordle par.
ASTO TERMS . . .
ReplyDeleteOH, I’ll RESEARCH your FANDOM,
It’s CLEARASMUD AT first;
SCORE ATTENDEEs AT random
TO find THELITERALWORST.
--- PAUL OTTO BIEBER, CEO, CPA
I saw the 1D clue and went to the 57D clue, saw it was 3 letters, and immediately wrote in clawfoot tub, ergo this puzzle gets my imprimatur!
ReplyDeleteI understand the explanations for the answer BESO to the last across clue, but no matter how you cut it, I still think that was very poor wording of a clue. The way I read that clue, it says the English letter X is the Spanish letter BESO. When even a native speaker such as GILL I can't make sense of the clue as written, then it's poorly written.
ReplyDeleteI had quite the inkfest in the middle when sHuckS turned to OHnuTS to OHRATS.
ReplyDeleteOtherwise clear sailing. Noticed: ASTO CLEARASMUD.
Wordle par.