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Relative difficulty: Challenging (***for a Tuesday***)
Theme answers:
- "YOU'RE NOT MY TYPE" (20A: Breakup line from a vampire?)
- "TIME FOR A CHANGE" (24A: Breakup line from a werewolf?)
- "THE SPARK IS GONE" (44A: Breakup line from Frankenstein's monster?)
- "LET'S WRAP THIS UP" (50A: Breakup line from a mummy?)
Salem (/ˈseɪləm/ SAY-ləm) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, which runs north through the city. The river forms the boundary between Marion and Polk counties, and the city neighborhood of West Salem is in Polk County. Salem was founded in 1842, became the capital of the Oregon Territory in 1851, and was incorporated in 1857.Salem had a population of 175,535 at the 2020 census, making it the 3rd most populous city in the state after Portland and Eugene. Salem is the principal city of the Salem Metropolitan Statistical Area, a metropolitan area that covers Marion and Polk counties and had a combined population of 433,353 at the 2020 census. This area is, in turn, part of the Portland–Vancouver–Salem Combined Statistical Area. (wikipedia)
• • •
"STAY CLASSY!" is something I've only ever heard said ironically to someone who is being decidedly unclassy. Boorish behavior gets a "STAY CLASSY!" No one ever said it as a genuine admonition (17A: "Keep it polite!"). Ever never ever. And ["That's correct!"] for "RIGHT ON"? For "RIGHT!," maybe, but "RIGHT ON!" is its own thing. It means something more like "Amen!" "You tell em!" "I can dig it!" "Damn straight!"—indicating agreement, not the fact that someone got a trivia question "correct." Maybe "That's correct!" is the "RIGHT ON!" of people who say "GOSH, NO!" But it feels like such a tin-eared clue here.
I see we've got OATY and OAKY today. Huh. Great. And ROO, too, for roughly the 75th time in the past week. Hurrah. Here's what I actually liked today: "STAY CLASSY" (if only they had clued it right!); BEER SNOB (37D: One whose taste buds may not crave Buds); and TCHOTCHKES (there's something about the spelling of that word that just feels loopy, in the best way) (59A: Trinkets). I see that there was a little parenthetical Batman humor in there, that's cute (9A: Hoodlike garment for a monk (or Batman) = COWL; 35D: Draped garment for an operagoer (or Batman) = CAPE). How long until people look at FURBY and go "... what?" (36A: Once-faddish robotic toy). Seems like maybe that time has already arrived. I remember Rosie O'Donnell talking about these back when Rosie O'Donnell had a daytime talk show, so ... a long time ago now (late '90s). The FURBY is like the Hula Hoop now, except nowhere near as iconic. But it's in constructor wordlists, so expect to see it into the 22nd century. Bizarrely, the only appearances of FURBY in the NYTXW come from *the last four years*, which is hyperbolically on-brand for the NYTXW, where pop culture is concerned. "Is it no longer a thing? ... Perrrrrfect. Run it!" As the IP and nostalgia trend continues, following the success of this summer's BARBIE, I look forward to the inevitable FURBY movie, as well as its inevitable sequels, FURBY: MYSTIC NYMPH, FURBY: Rise of the MYRRH, and FURBY Goes to SALEMOR! See you tomorrow.
First time I can remember a DNF for a Tuesday. NW corner killed me. What is LMAO? Who says STAY CLASSY? Never heard of Undercover Boss. The slangy clue for 1-across (sneezin’ instead of sneezing) led me to expect a less straightforward answer.
ReplyDeleteTheme answers were clever, though, and I enjoyed the rest of the puzzle.
I’m laughing my ass off at Ron Burgundy telling his audience to “Stay classy San Diego “.
DeleteMe too! I would have LMAO if it was clued as “___ San Diego!”
DeleteFive minutes on the puzzle…and five minutes to figure out the TRILL/ALDER crossing…
ReplyDeleteMe too & to make it worse went with "chart" not "clerk" & "spirit is gone" not "spark is gone" Must have stared at it for 15 minutes!!
Delete
ReplyDeleteMedium for me. My only overwrite came early, at 2D, where my "horse course" was Oval before it was OATY. I worked at Toys R Us in the late 90s. This was before everybody had internet, and the company put phones in employees' homes so we could dial in. They didn't pay extra for an unlisted number and the listings were in the company's name, so several of us got phone calls asking if we had FURBYs.
Hope there is another Halloween themer for the 31st!
ReplyDeleteFinished it quickly, thanks to a lucky guess on the COWL/COSTANZA cross. I really enjoyed the puzzle, and its amusing theme.
ReplyDeleteFor Melrose: LMAO is short for "Laugh(ed) my ass off."
Agreed, kinda challenging for a Tuesday. Lots of clues I wasn’t sure about, but I managed to PLow ahead somehow.
ReplyDeleteI think they tried hard on this one, and did about the best that they could while still accommodating the theme. SALEMOR should have been left on the cutting room floor, but Shortz tends to let crap like that slide on a regular basis, so no surprise there.
ReplyDeleteI’ve encountered TCHOTCHKES in the wild, but always just ignore it because I couldn’t care less how it is spelled or pronounced and we already have a word for “junk” - yes, JUNK will do just fine.
@SouthsideJohnny 6:54 AM - TCHOTCHKES are not the same as junk. TCHOTCHKE is a Yiddish word for usually small or smallish objects, usually more decorative than strictly functional, typically including souvenirs, things like snow globes, bobbleheads, paperweights, etc. They may overlap with junk, but for people whose vocabulary includes the word TCHOTCHKE, "junk" will not do just fine depending on the item in question. You might find a mannequin or a bar sign or a velvet painting in a junk shop, but those are not TCHOTCHKES.
DeleteAlso the word is very commonly used in in NYC. As Mike in Bed-Sty said it fills a gap in the language.
DeleteAnd this is the NEW YORK Times.
Average for me. Theme is ok. Would have really preferred BOLT for Frankenstein phrase. That’s a more memorable feature, and perfect for a break up line. Not going to try, but can’t be that hard to come with 14 ltr phrase
ReplyDeleteHad the ASSY only, read the clue and mind immediately channeled Ron Burgundy and dropped it in, which unlocked the not so fun NW.
Overall ok. Seemed like a lot of Hawaii, hated SALEMOR. They’ve done the dumb, “just add the state on the end”, and I always think ”hey, hows about you just fix your grid”.
And old friend ENDON got a running buddy in poorly clued RIGHTON.
I liked the theme, and all the jokes worked for me. “Let’s wrap this up” felt a little off, though, because it seems like a line to end a boring meeting not a romantic relationship. Another possible themer: “Time for me to fly” for a witch. The ghost didn’t have a breakup line, though - he just … ghosted. (Rim shot!)
ReplyDeleteI am a BEER SNOB - it has to be OAKY or I won’t drink it. That or OATY. Seriously, my brother-in-law used to only have Bud Light in the fridge, so I’d only have wine or cocktails there. But he’s a MAGA guy (we don’t talk about it) and joined the inane Bud boycott just because they did ONE promo with a trans person. So now I bring Bud Light to his house and force one down.
All kinds of writeovers slowed me down, so I agree with medium challenging for a Tues. Oval before OATY, Naiad before NYMPH, Aspen before ALDER, LINe before LINK.
I liked the cruel megalomaniacs’ pairing of IVAN and NERO, although I read that historians now say NERO got a bum rap. I think Ivan’s reputation remains intact.
@Wanderlust 7:26 AM
DeleteOh emm gee! Taking Bud Light to your brother-in-law's. That's my kind of comedy. Love it.
OMG I love your Bud Light story!! What a brilliant idea! Thank you for sharing.
DeleteI agree with almost all of Rex's criticisms, with one or two differences:
ReplyDeleteFirst, i would rate it easy. I burned through it. The only hangups were the same COLD/mold/dust trifecta he mentioned, and the spelling of TCHOTCHKES. I know the word, but it's not really used around these parts, so its details aren't so obvious to me. Nothing else took deep thinking.
Didn't like the theme. None were punny enough to be worthwhile. And who says "Let's wrap this up" as a breakup line?
Surprised Rex was held up on LMAO. You never see it used these days but wonder if lulz is still a thing? Yes, LMAO is still common. No, lulz is not.
Final thought until I remember any others: no one describes ales as OAKY, cask aged or not. Wine, yes. Whiskey, yes. Beer, no.
Superb Halloween hors d’oeuvre, bringing back memories of my kids’ differing costuming approaches.
ReplyDeleteSon number one had one costume – Father Time – consisting of a long COWLed robe and a scythe. This was his Halloween costume for every year that he wore a costume, beginning at grade three. He was in it for the candy. So, 45 seconds before going trick-or-treating, he’s slap this on, and out he’d go. His haul was his grail.
Our daughter was the opposite. It was all about the costume. Months before Halloween her vision would form, and there were sketches, revisions, minute details of life/death importance. Every costume had sparkle and shimmer, something she could flit in. And what we beheld, she became. Once in the costume, she, Streep-like, embodied her character.
Son number two always followed the beat of his inner drum rather than the mantra of the many. My favorite costume of his was when, in third grade, he went out as Andy Warhol. During costume development, we went to multiple second-hand clothing shops to find the right jacket, and a legion of antique shops to find the right glasses, and when you looked at him in it, yep, it was Warhol. Still, every neighbor greeted him with a quizzical look.
Thank you, Daniel, for sparking these memories, not to mention a puzzle that felt fresh (five NYT answer debuts including BEER SNOB and TCHOTCHKES) and just plain fun!
Liked this more than Rex - didn’t notice any sharper difficulty level. Thought the themers were pretty solid - liked THE SPARK IS GONE.
ReplyDeleteWe get JERRY and George. STAY CLASSY is now tied to Ron Burgundy. Agree on the oddness of the TCHOTCHKES letter string.
Pleasant Tuesday morning solve.
I spent my last dollar to buy a Sabrett
LMAO is still used pretty frequently, much more so than LULZ imo
ReplyDeleteNot bad, the themers felt a little strained but not outrageously so and hey, it's almost Halloween so we can expect some of this stuff.
ReplyDeleteAgree with OFL that COLD took a while and if I never see OATY again it will be too soon.
I'm someone who does not crave Buds. If that makes me a BEERSNOB, than so be it, but I would describe myself as someone who actually likes beer.
I don't see the fuss over SALEMOR, as the clue mentioned SacramentoCA, so I was expecting a state abbreviation.
Have I ever seen furniture made out of ALDER? Has anyone?
A little prickly for a Tuesday, DG, but the times Demand Ghouls so mission accomplished. Thanks for a fair amount of fun.
@Roo-OK, I'm officially giving up. Not only are you in the puzzle, again!, but you get a shout out from OFL. What's a poor Pablo to do?
I got FURBY with a few crosses, because I've heard of it, but wouldn't recognize one if it bit me on the ass, and TIL it is (was?) robotic. This played quite easy for a Tuesday.
ReplyDeletea lot of Hawaii clues today. And Batman (lol)
ReplyDeleteMedium? For a Tuesday. Oval before OATY. Like @ Rex no broadcast TV so no clue on that boss. Themers good and timely, although no Halloween fan here. At least I don't need a costume - when teaching they were always required.
ReplyDeleteI remember Rosie pushing Tickle Me Elmo.
ReplyDeleteHey All !
ReplyDeleteA neat little TuesPuz. Monster puns. Fun! Another one for a Vampire could be - I CANT SEE MYSELF WITH YOU -as the couple are gazing into a mirror. Talk about a stretch!
ROO quite popular of late. Not the 75th time, but I for one am enjoying it! Har.
Nice handling of the 14's. They are tough to get cleanly in a grid. Nice fill, too. Lots of constraints around those Themers. And who doesn't like seeing TCHOTCHKES? What a trivia question that would be. "Name a word that has two TCHs it it." "Um, ITCHYWITCH?"
STAY CLASSY, all!
Two F's
RooMonster
DarrinV
Anyone else confused by the 'ancient stringed instrument' clue? This is a 'lyre', yes? Or have I been thinking about lutes and lyres incorrectly? (Or is it that all lyres are lutes but not all lutes are lyres?)
ReplyDelete@parnassus 9:04 AM
Delete"Ancient" is the real problem. Lutes are ancient if your lens of reality goes all the way back to last week, but hardly ancient by musical standards. They're the immediate predecessor of the guitar and to my knowledge never made with turtle shells. Lutes descended from Ouds which have no frets. Ouds come from a long line of stringed instruments including, as you note, the lyre which was made in some places and time periods with turtle shells.
I appreciated the side-quests in this one. Batman’s iconic CAPE and COWL. IVAN palling around with NERO. The chutzpah of TCHOTCHKES.
ReplyDelete(And LMAO I’d figure is top-five in usage these days. Goes to show yet again that we shouldn’t try to gauge popularity merely on a first-person subjective basis.)
Spot on agree with Rex. I disliked the puzzle but it was nice to see JERRY and COSTANZA teamed up again. Jerry was hinting at a project, of sorts. Hope this wasn’t it.
ReplyDeleteEasy breezy Tuesday. Fun puzzle!
ReplyDeleteI got COLD right off, so that helped me guess CBS. Jumped to SPAM and got SALEMOR easy. COSTANZA was a no-brainer and so on.
The puns were easy to guess but extremely cute! This is why I do puzzles! Big thumbs up!
Definitely Wednesday hard. I had all the same troubles in the NW. STAY CLASSY, Rex.
ReplyDeleteI thought this was a pretty good Tuesday that had very little dreck. Always happy to see @Roo honored in a puzzle.
ReplyDeleteI KNOW TCHOTCHKES is correct but for whatever reason I tend to think of “trinkets” as inexpensive jewelry. I think of TCHOTCHKES as small knick-knacks. Like @Mike in Bed-Stuy said, they can be “touristy” or they can be things like a collection of Hummels. All I know is that when we down-sized I pretty much got rid of everything TCHOTCHKE- esque and have reveled in lack of ANY clutter.
I get the spark with respect to the “electrodes” that brought Frankenstein’s monster, but I also thought of the monster’s fear of fire. Yeah. That has nothing to do with it but I thought of that before the electrode zapping.
Furby is in the puzzle because people who were kids when Furby was a thing are now in their 30s and doing/creating crossword puzzles…so I’d imagine it will be a thing until all the 30 year olds die and then no one remembers Furby.
ReplyDeleteAs I recollect, the Wise Men came bearing Gold and MYRRH and Frankenstein. A theme tie in that even @Lewis missed!
ReplyDelete46D (Cities with wharves) simply had to be RYES. Adding a POC (hi @Anoa) to, arguably, the worst clue ever written, would have been a WTF-engendering event of massive proportions. I could have imagined the commentariat marching en masse, pitchforks and torches in hand, on the NYT building. Alas, it was only the most fleeting fantasy, as the answer is 5 letters.
I've heard of a NY minute, but never a NYMPH. I guess that's how many miles you go in 60 NY minutes.
Pretty fun Halloween mood setter. Thanks, Daniel Grinberg.
Bogeyman: YOU'RE NOT MY BOO
ReplyDeleteDybbuk: OY VEY I'M OUTTA HERE
Banshee: I'LL LEAVE QUIETLY
Pontianak: YOU'RE DEAD TO ME BABY
Zombie: YOU DON'T FEED MY BRAIN
Hydra: ALL MY HEADS HATE YOU
Chimera: YOU'RE A BIG JUMBLE OF NO
Yeti or Bigfoot: WE'RE NOT IN FOCUS
Dragon: WISH YOU WERE HOTTER
Unicorn: {Yada yada yada} HORNY.
Basilisk: BRING ME A MIRROR PLEASE
Phoenix: YOU LEAVE ME IN ASHES
Loch Ness Monster: OUR LOVE IS UNREAL
Satyrs: WHAT'S YOUR SISTER UP TO?
Centaurs: I SEE YOUR FACE AND NEIGH
Minotaur: THE WAY OUT IS RIGHT THIS WAY
Aqrabuamelu: OUR LOVE IS POISONOUS
Mermaid: YOU'RE TOO FISHY
Gorgon: BUT YOU ACTUALLY ARE A SNAKE
Nymph: I'LL BURN THIS FORREST DOWN
Goblin: YOU'RE AS PRETTY AS MY BROTHER
Gnome: YOU RUIN MY GARDEN VIEW
Leprechauns: YOU'RE AN UNMENDABLE SHOE
Ogre: JUST GO OVER THE BRIDGE ... GO!
Cyclops: YOU MAKE ME WANNA BE A PIRATE
Oni: I'D RATHER EAT BROCCOLI
Golem: YOU'RE NOT MY PRECIOUSES
Uniclues:
1 Performance at the NYTXW Christmas party celebrating the fifth grader in charge of the slush pile.
2 The Russian people.
3 The one the Republicans are calling upon to find a speaker.
4 You like Seinfeld's friend?
1 STAY CLASSY SKIT
2 IVAN TCHOTCHKES
3 YEA MYSTIC
4 COSTANZA? GOSH NO!
My Fascinating Crossword Uniclue Keepsake from Last Year: Buy some sneaks or be mauled on a safari. INCUR PUMAS.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Harder than the usual Tuesday for me, too, and fun to figure out. Cute theme! About the SPARK, for some reason I associate that more with The Bride of Frankenstein, in which Elsa Lanchester is truly electrifying.
ReplyDeleteOne of the bonuses of being a Wisconsin volleyball fan is that for matches at the end of October, Bucky Badger) dresses up for Halloween. He's been Count Dracula in a CAPE and fangs and a mummy wrapped completely in gauze, with tail ends of the strips fluttering all over. Looking forward to Sunday's match against the Gophers (no match, mascot-wise).
@Wanderlust - I'm a BEER SNOB, too, but of the non-alcoholic variety - I'll drink only the German imports, as the domestic brands are awful. Whatever the source, my daughter insists they all taste like OAT pop. Snob that I am, I spell it as haute pop.
Was happy to see Rex found this challenging because for me it felt like my first ever Tuesday slog, at least starting out. Lots of erasing. I liked the theme, a little pre-Halloween eeriness. I think what gave me so much trouble was what seemed like odd clueing and heavy trivia. 5D threw me completely; I had SPOKANE and stuck with it for the longest time, so that held things up quite a while. Not a bad puzzle by any means, just different.
ReplyDelete@Lewis: I enjoyed your Halloween reminiscing. Those memories are priceless.
On the tough side for me too. Started out with only BAMA in the NW and kinda caromed around the grid from there. Had a malapop when I put STENO in before CLERK and had trouble spelling MYRRH and TCHOTCHKES...so a tad tough.
ReplyDeleteCute theme with some fun long downs, liked it.
TCHOTCHKES, Yiddish but also with Czech and other Slavic roots, evoked great memories of going with my wife, who grew up in the western Chicago suburb of North Riverside, to a Czech restaurant in either Berwyn or Cicero, The Plaza. Red and White checkered tablecloths, Roast Capon, bread dressing, cabbage , Urquell Pilsner, and wonderful plum kolaches . All for about 5 bucks. The staff was super friendly and taught me a bit of Czech each time we dined there with my father in law.
ReplyDeleteI really wanted the answer to be"Funzo" instead of Furby.
ReplyDeleteOnce I got the first theme answer it was fun to try to guess the others, but I had a hard time with the mummy. I'm wrapping It UP? Time to wrap It UP? I finally just put in ____wrap It UP but couldn't reconcile it with the obvious ACT I. Aside from Oval>OATs>OATY that was my only difficulty.
ReplyDeleteIf only OATY and OAKY could have been vertically symmetrical -- they came so close!
Hey, you classical scholars out there -- is Mount OSSA really found in the Odyssey? It seems odd, since Odysseus spent his time sailing around from island to island, and the mountain is on the mainland. According to Wiki, Homer mentions a goddess named OSSA (the personification of rumor), but she wasn't a peak. I mean, it's a Greek mountain, and the Odyssey is a Greek epic, so it wasn't hard to guess, but it seems incorrect to me.
I was surprised to see OATY & OAKY so close to one another & in the same puzzle so I thought "can't be." I don't know how to spell TCHOTCHKES and didn't know SALEMOR but it all worked itself out.
ReplyDeleteI didn't find it challenging for a Tuesday. I thought the theme was fun & appropriate for this time of the year.
Thanks, Daniel!
I loved that this was so much more challenging than most Tuesdays. And while I didn't exactly LMAO at the theme answers, they were all fun. One of them even was driving me crazy:
ReplyDeleteWhy in the world would Frankenstein's monster say THiS PARK IS GONE? I was so sure that that answer would start with THIS.
Oh, I see. THE SPARK IS GONE.
And I suppose the vampire answer is a reference to blood TYPE? Pretty cute.
Got to this late and had some interruptions, but found it diverting.
Re: "ROO" - NY Crossword is messing with you, Rex.
ReplyDeleteThx, Daniel; nice seasonal lead-in! 🎃
ReplyDeleteMed.
Fairly smooth solve.
Gotta remember the double TCH's in TCHOTCHKES.
Fun spooky adventure! 👻
Hoping this gets published 🤞; no luck yd until very late in the game (a test post), then yd's main one posted this AM. 🤔
___
Balton & Stewart's NYT acrostic at xwordinfo.com was easy-peasy fun! :)
___
Croce's 852 was relatively easy (1+ NYT Sat.). On to Natan Last's Mon. New Yorker. 🤞
___
Peace 🕊 🇺🇦 ~ Compassion ~ Tolerance ~ Kindness, Freudenfreude & a DAP to all 👊 🙏
@10:09 AM Anonymous: guilty as charged! I had a Furby and also had one of those red&gray remote control cars that could flip upside down and keep driving, as seen on Rosie O'Donnell. It took a whole day to charge so you could play with it for half an hour LMAO (as other have said, even young people definitely still say LMAO today, even out loud.)
ReplyDeleteRex wanted to put 'tom and jerry' yesterday now here it is!
I did find this challenging (never heard of alder) but i did manage to finish it.
I don't really drink anymore but when I did, I always made sure to throw back a few Buds or Coors just to irritate beer snobs. I love the FIDLAR song that goes "i drink cheap beer! so what? [eff] you!"
Talk to me, BEER SNOBS. I'm a red wine (or spirits when the spirit moves me) drinker, but I'm interested to know what beer I should keep on hand for those rare occasions when I drink it.
ReplyDeleteMy own "house" beers have tended to be Kirin when I want something thirst-quenching and Sam Adams when I want something richer and more flavorful. Any other suggestions? (I hate all *lite* beers, btw, and while regular Bud is not exciting, I find it a lot more flavorful than many of the other domestic beers.)
My liquor cabinet awaits your suggestions. The snobbier, the better:)
Do you like hoppy IPAs? Bell’s Two-Hearted Ale is my go-to
DeleteIf you're looking for non-alcoholic beer that actually tastes good, try Athletic. Several flavors available.
DeleteWhat state are you in? I full of recos if you're in CT or MA.
DeleteWheelhouses are funny things. This one was in mine.
ReplyDeleteI don’t time myself, but it felt very fast. I far from an expert solver, but this was an easy Monday.
COLD SPAM ALL IN OAHU? TARO EVEN? UKES? PHEW!
ReplyDeleteI never time myself and often take breaks while solving longer puzzles, but I estimate today at 5 to 8 minutes. The unknown COSTANZA and FURBY lit right up from the crosses.
Easy enough, but OATY???
ReplyDeleteBreaking up is hard to do...dooby doo down down.
ReplyDeleteCute Tuesday...Halloweenie. Monsters and CBS. I had trouble in the STAY CLASSY OATY. Wouldn't you?
Has anyone ever said "YOU'RE NOT MY TYPE?" The theme answers sound like something Rick might've said to Ilsa in Casablanca. But instead, we have a fun collection of monsters.
My son always loved dressing as a Mummy....I'd wrap him in a torn-up sheet. He'd have blood all over and his eye would be black from sleep deprivation. the problem was that here in Sacramento it can still be hot in October. After an hour of candy and sweat, he decided to leave the mummy world.
This is all to say, I love Halloween. We outdid ourselves every year with the required ghouls and cemeteries and bones and the best candy on the block. Now, I sit back and watch my very small grandkids dress as a princess or a very friendly pirate. No room for the blood dripping from the mouth.
@Lewis..Good post!
@Nancy, I’m definitely NOT a BEERSNOB but I like what I like. I’ve never been one for pilsners like Bud, but if like Kirin then you might enjoy Corona Extra (the Only Corona in my book) with a lime wedge pushed into the bottle. I tend to also go to the other end of the spectrum in that enjoy the taste of Guinness. Hah! But when it gets down to it, I prefer a glass of red wine over any beer (unless I’m on a beach vacation…then Corona for sure).
ReplyDeleteI think that SALEM OR acted as a lifesaver for this grid. So did the 42 black squares, including several cheater/helper squares. The reason, methinks, is that all the themers are 14 letters. Grid construction wise, that's a nightmare.
ReplyDeleteLook at the number of crossing Downs that are shared by two themers. YOURE NOT MY TYPE and TIME FOR A CHANGE, for example, have six, SALEM OR being one of them. There are also six crossings in the bottom two themers and the middle two have seven!
So meeting these crossing Downs challenges and still getting some top quality fill like NYMPH, COSTANZA, MYRRH, GIZMO, MYSTIC, BEER SNOB and TCHOTCHKES is pretty dang CRAFTY, if yous ask me. SALEM OR, you are forgiven. (And the POC Committee hardly even noticed that TCHOTCHKE needed some help filling its slot.)
I think it’s almost always in plural form anyway.
DeleteI agree LET'S WRAP THIS UP is something you'd say in a business meeting. Like @Conrad and probably others, had OVAL for the "horse course".
ReplyDeleteMAZDA Miata: I rode in one with the top down about 30 years ago, and though I'm not very tall the top of the windshield was right at my forehead. I thought: if we hit something, it's going to cut my head off.
@egs "NYMPH... I guess that's how many miles you go in 60 NY minutes": nice.
[Spelling Bee: Mon 0. Only goofy words were these two.]
IPA guy here. There's a ton of good ones around now, but hard to beat Heady Topper, for which people used to make pilgrimages to VT. Lawson's Sip o' Sunshine is also terrific. Both are, well, delicious.
ReplyDelete@GaryJugert,that is quite a remarkable posting.Did you Google monsters?
ReplyDeletewish a rebus or something could have been snuck in there to make it 'you're not my blood type... each theme answer could have been a lot funnier but still a good solve
ReplyDelete@Wanderlust (7:26) I love your brother-in-law beer story. Sounds like something that would happen in my family.
ReplyDeleteIncredibly slow Tuesday- more like a Saturday. Fill was amazingly bad. And do we really want to go there- "YOURENOTMYTYPE"- so soon after a certain orange fascist whose name I refuse to write said exactly those words in an insulting, dismissive, rude, and totally irrelevant way to the plaintiff's lawyer questioning him for a deposition in E. Jean Carroll's successful lawsuit finding him liable for sexual assault?
ReplyDeleteI'm catching up to the comments very late after a gorgeous day outdoors. The Halloween costume memories from Lewis and GILL are delightful. I find the contrast among Lewis's three very different children to be especially funny and surprising. Andy Warhol, of all possible people! Father Time, of all possible characters! You would seem to have uniquely interesting and unusual children, Lewis!
ReplyDeleteAs someone from SALEMOR I am always happy to see Salem in a NYT crossword 😊
ReplyDeleteTCHOTCHKES and SALEMOR are incredibly difficult to get when you're not American! Never heard of TCHOTCHKES and it's impossible to parse... it actually makes you doubt all the downs going through it!
ReplyDelete@Anonymous 5:41pm:
Deletetchotchkes is not an American word by any stretch of the imagination.
Would have preferred “Don’t be crude!” as the clue for STAY CLASSY
ReplyDeleteIt makes me sad that no one watches network TV anymore. If you haven’t seen the show, beware that if an incompetent fool in a bad wig shows up at your workplace asking lots of personal questions and getting way too chummy on day 1, it’s probably your CEO filming an episode of Undercover Boss!
ReplyDeleteGood puzzle. If next week's is not a doozy, then no excuse for this not to run on All Hallows' Eve.
ReplyDeleteI am really, really tired of hunting around for the correct puzzle. In this tech day and age, HOW BLINKING HARD CAN IT BE to link us to the syndicated puzzle? PLEEEEASE!! ENOPUGH ALREADY!
ReplyDeleteFinally found it, back in October. This puzzle has been brought to you by the letter Y, which appears eight times.
The hide-and-seek game shouldn't detract from the score, which it won't. It's a fun theme; a little humor might be a good thing for a breakup. I didn't find it challenging at all, though I did fall victim to the CAPE/COWL thing. Easily fixed. Mini-theme: JERRY/COSTANZA.
LETSWRAPTHISUP: birdie.
Wordle par.
It's alive!
ReplyDeleteThere must be another monster line out there somewhere, but "you know what" is hard to do. Unlike this puzzle, which was fun and easyish.
Diana, LIW
NYMPH ODE
ReplyDeleteTHESPARKIS RIGHT here,
If we STAYCLASSY we WIN,
NO TIMEFORA BEER,
YOU’RE MYTYPE, I’m ALLIN.
--- JERRY COSTANZA
So, what is LMAO? Lame-o clues?
ReplyDeleteI often disagree with you Rex, very very often in fact, but I might have had a personal best for a Tuezpuz, and I'm almost 20 years older than you. I'll never know, because I do puzzles as Gof intended, pen to paper. Pencil to paper when I was a tyro. There were so many read/write clues/answers in this puzzle, that it made filling in the long acrosses so easy to suss out. Also: I LOVE PUNS!
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