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Something a Brazilian is unlikely to wax / SUN 10-22-23 / Pairing for an entrecôte or filet mignon, perhaps / Basis for a fortuneteller's romantic prediction / Components of some kitschy clocks / Bowlful with Thai basil and bean sprouts / Clichéd name for a lab assistant
Sunday, October 22, 2023
Constructor: Robert Ryan
Relative difficulty: Easy
Theme answers:
- DOESN'T GIVE A FIGURE (23A: Acts coy in salary negotiations?)
- WASHINGTON POSTURE (36A: Public stance on a member of Congress?)
- PASTURE CARING (49A: Shepherd's job, essentially?)
- ALLURE TOO WELL (63A: Turn more heads than intended?)
- NO MEAN FEATURE (74A: Newspaper write-up that's light on criticism?)
- ADVENTURE CALENDAR (92A: Bungee jumping on Tuesday, skydiving on Wednesday, etc.?)
- ENDURE ON A HIGH NOTE (107A: Show off one's vocal range and stamina?)
a crease on the palm; palmists say it indicates your emotional nature (vocabulary.com)
• • •
The fill on this one did nothing to improve the overall quality of the grid. Lots of gunky little conglomerations of short fill, from ECRU ERAT in the west, to WIIU ADDR in the NW, to the fraternal twins AER RAE in the center, to OF AN ERA—a sad stand-alone prepositional phrase if ever there was one. ORA INRE! TEL ABET! It's hard to find the fun today. I love Ronnie SPECTOR, so seeing her next to GROUCHO and (aptly) MADCAPS was kinda fun. The NE was maybe my favorite section. I don't know how much currency VIN ROUGE has, but I enjoyed the fact that my HS/college French came in handy (VIN ROUGE = "red wine") (16D: Pairing for an entrecôte or filet mignon, perhaps). I also love EPHEMERA (as a word, as a physical phenomenon), and have exclaimed some variation on "I'M A MORON!" too many times to count, frequently while solving ("DEAR ME!" less often). So that corner had a nice energy. But there was not nearly enough of that. Too much ELSA AGER and TEENIE NITERS, not enough CODE BLUE LOVELINE. Speaking of CODE BLUE LOVELINE, that corner had the one square in the puzzle that made me wince and cock my head to the side a little. I don't really keep up on all the [letter]-CLASSes of Mercedes, so I was very (Very lucky) that I knew what SBA LOANS were—specifically, what SBA stood for (Small Business Administration) (79D: Govt. funds for mom-and-pop shops). I'd written E-CLASS for the Mercedes clue at first and was trying to talk myself into EBA LOANS when I decided to pull the "E" and then remembered the "S"-CLASS (79A: Top-of-the-line Mercedes). Not a great cross. Not a KATNAK- (Th) or IDODENEO-level (Sat) bad cross, but not great either.
Other things: a list:
- 10D: Porpoise, in old usage (SEA HOG) — like, how old? Seems like maybe pretty old, and possibly mythological. I thought SEA COW, remembered that was an *actual* alternate name for a manatee, and so pivoted to ... SEA HAG. I still want it to be SEA HAG.
- 20A: Greyhound's competition (DOG RACE) — sooo much trouble parsing this one, mainly because I thought the clue was asking for a bus line.
- 86A: It can be a strain on the pupils (COURSE LOAD) — one of the puzzle's tougher moments. Also, one of the highlights. Hard to see this clue as anything but ocular, given that there's no "?" on it, and that if you were actually referring to students, you'd say "It can be a strain on pupils," not "the pupils." I had -OURSEL- and thought the answer was something about YOURSELF (??). That first letter was eluding me because I forgot about Amal CLOONEY, as I am wont to do from time to time (especially between crosswords, which is the only place I ever hear about her) (I mean she's clearly legitimately famous, I just ... don't follow legal stuff / celebrity stuff closely, I guess) (86D: ___ Foundation for Justice (international human rights group)).
- 24D: Something a Brazilian is unlikely to wax (SKI) —Hey-o! Not where I thought this clue was going. I guess they don't really ski in Brazil ... 'cause it's warm? No reason a Brazilian couldn't hop over to Chile—lots of great skiing there. But plausibility isn't really the point of this clue, is it? If you're unfamiliar with the concept of the "Brazilian wax" (the basis for the misdirection / wordplay in this clue) here's everything you might want to know, possibly more.
P.S. Thanks so much to the readers who've recently sent me postcards for my Reader Postcard Collection. Got a promo postcard for a reader's book, a postcard from a gallery exhibition about baseball caps (!), and a couple of nautical postcards (wildly different in tone and style).
I like to think this one is a visual representation of the blog—Am I the spearer? The shark? The struggling naked person? Tag yourself!
 |
| [Watson and the Shark (1778), John Singleton Copley] |
I get lots of feedback on the blog, but postcard feedback is maybe my favorite kind. So slow! So inefficient! It's how a proper Victorian would comment on blog posts. When it comes to postcards, if you've got anything even vaguely cinema-related, that's my real postcard passion, but any card is a treat. Hell, non-junk mail of any kind is a treat. If you do send a postcard and would like a (random!) postcard in return, be sure to include your address (mine is in the blog sidebar, as always). Anyway, Lee, Will, Judy & Barry, Lynn, I'm grateful for these, thanks.
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88 comments:
This puzzle was awful. I'm getting tired of lousy Sundays.
Easy. No real problems with this one. Did not know ARNOLD as clued and had ssns before IDNO but that was it for hiccups. I gotta go with @Rex on this one.
I just knew Rex wouldn’t like it. Yes, not much of a theme.
Natick for me on AIDY crossing WIIU, never heard of either. Otherwise, pretty easy.
My favorite part of Grey's Anatomy is when there's a scene about obstetrics. A good OBSCENE actor is a pleasure to watch. I would note that NUDE is rubbing right up against OBSCENE in the puzz.
What did Julius Caesar say when Brutus showed up in unbleached linen?
"ECRU, Brute?"
Why is a fancy Mercedes like a Trojan coed? Each is an SCLASS. Or, for that matter, why is the universal blood type (for short) like the force of gravity at the earth's surface? They're both ONEG.
Director: We need some succulents on stage at the opening of the play. Can you arrange that?
Assistant: Right, some ACTI cacti.
I'm not one to heap affection on anyone. In fact, I'm the antiDOTE for that.
This puzzle had me sweating, but I was able to Meet the Press (ure). Thanks Robert Ryan for a fun Sunday.
Yeah, pretty much what Rex said about the theme. Sundays can really be a slog without a snappy one.
At "Age for a Latin American celebration" I typed in QUINCEANERA and was proud of myself until I realized it didn't fit at all. Also had TEENSEY for TEENSIE. But the worst was Ronnie of the Ronettes: SPECTER. SPECTRE SPECTER SPECTOR!!
Liked the clue "It can be a strain on the pupils"; wanted something like FINE PRINT as I am at that age where it is a big issue. (I was just mixing up some Five Alive juice and the mixture formula was printed in, no exaggeration, a microscopic dark grey font on a dark purple background. Needed a really bright light for that.)
[Spelling Bee: Sat 0; I ZINGed through it pretty quick.]
Naticked out at AIDY/WIIU... My, best guess here was AnDY/WInU, thinking the "Win" short for Windows. I still think my answers a lot more plausible than the correct ones. AIDY? Whoever met a woman with that name? WIIU? Is that really English? I can't fathom how it is even pronounced. And of course, the constructor had to cross the two of them, spoiling the puzzle. Ah well, there's always next Sunday.
The puzzle also had a very heavy PPP load, but a few fun moments in the fill.
Wait…COURSELOAD (86A) wasn’t part of the theme? Ok, fine…after further review, it’s totally on me that I overlooked the lack of “?” in the clueing, which I see now the theme answers all shared. And I was solving quickly so hadn’t fully absorbed that the -UREs were always at the end (none in the middle). Fair. But, man…with its position in the grid, and the UR_E in the answer, I spent way too long at 86A trying to figure out what I may have gotten wrong on the crosses, or what I was missing in a possible pun that might work there, before I finally just entered the answer I thought and got the happy music. I guess I can’t blame the puzzle for that. But not thrilled about the UR_E usage there. It’s just too close (in location and pattern) to the theme answers. And if it was meant to be a coy red herring, it def elicited more of an annoyance than any chuckle at a clever misdirect.
Maybe it would’ve landed better had I not looked back and realized how ho-hum the theme answers really were, and coupled with such weak fill (themers really need to sing to apply for a pass on the fill); these were just…not much fun? And for a puzzle that started with a smile at the inimitable Ronnie SPECTOR, I admit it was kind of a letdown overall (also hate that her name is forever tied to that man, but such is life and glad at least that she gets the clue; love for her and the Wrecking Crew).
I’m generally a lot more forgiving of puzzles than RP (being critical is fun, but can also serve as a means to excuse or be dismissive of, and even perpetuate cultural blind spots sometimes without even realizing it when they disrupt one’s comfortable flow—wading through a constructor’s unknown universe can be just as fun, even if not readily familiar). But anyway, in this case I think the theme was laid out pretty clean and clear, and did what it was supposed to do as far as laying out the pattern to easily grok the wordplay and zip through the rest of the solve. It just…wasn’t fun.
I only expect any crossword to be somewhat entertaining on a daily basis. But here I agree with Rex that there are undoubtedly a myriad of options for potential -URE wackiness or hilarity. But, NAH, all of these just landed with a clear “ok, and…?” DOESN’T GIVE A FIG-indifference-type thud. This is the result of an NYTXW abundance of riches? Hmm. DUNNO. It was fine. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
My wife had the same Natick 😢 ~RP
Thx, Robert; nicely done! 😊
Med.
Two cell dnf at AnDY - WInU & lCLASS / lBA LOANS. Andy seemed reasonable, as did Winu (as in Wi new); Local Business Association Loans also seemed apt.
So, now I know AIDY Bryant, Wii U, S Class Mercedes & Small Business Administration Loans.
Nevertheless, a fun ADVENTURE! :)
___
Stella's Sat. Stumper was hard (5x NYT Sat.), but very doable. The NW was toughest.
On to Balton & Stewart's NYT acrostic at xwordinfo.com.
___
Peace 🕊 🇺🇦 ~ Compassion ~ Tolerance ~ Kindness, Freudenfreude & a DAP to all 👊 🙏
Damn, egs…you may have had your share of hits and misses and maybe even some groaner puns over the years (anon lurker here), but these gems are winners. Lol. Thanks.
(But I don’t get the SCLASS / Trojan reference…USC?)
Cheers.
Zero figs to give here.
The theme was instantly inferable from the puzzle title, but you're really screwed in the middle with the downs crossing a couple of the limp theme answers...
I mean... WTF(ig) is "past caring"?
One thing it isn't is solvable with the downs.
Highly rated French vineyards, an Issa from a Barbie movie, and 1/3 of the letters from an Irish airline... thanks.
And the next two long acrosses were interrupted with a Rita I don't know and an Ifill I've never encountered, and the theme answer below that is crossed with part of a Disney title and AGER.
This is really bottom of the barrel for a Sunday NYT.
76D: escapes are made by them (FORD)
Huh? Since when is “ford” plural?
FWIW, regarding fig donations, I do sometimes say I don't give a fig. Apparently, it used to mean I don't give a f*ck.
According to the Free Dictionary, "fig" has denoted something worthless since about 1400. Moreover, in Mediterranean countries the sign of the fig is an obscene gesture, made by clenching one’s fist and pushing the thumb between the first and middle fingers. According to John Ciardi, the thumb represents the [male], the fingers the [female], and the gesture means “F*ck you.” Dante so used it in the Inferno section of The Divine Comedy. Centuries later, however, the phrase’s obscene provenance began to be largely ignored, and the cliché survives.
Agreed
re: Stuart
When talking about a business, you often use the third-person-singular "them" to refer to them.
Another hand up for the AnDy/WInU Natick. Fixing that was my last play. No, wait — for some reason I though celebrities must hang out in the hIP ROOM, the one with all the cool kids.
Three puzzles into the Times, it’s clear that Robert Ryan is a wordplay fiend, as I am. It’s been the basis of his themes, and it’s widely present in his cluing. As I see it, Robert and I are kindred spirits; we have a wordplay fiendship.
Today’s cluing is rife with wordplay of such loveliness, I’d like to encore the following:
• [Something a Brazilian is unlikely to wax] for SKI.
• [Share’s one’s bunk?] for LIES.
• [It can be a strain on the pupils] for COURSELOAD.
• [Greyhound’s competition] for DOG RACE.
• [Escapes are made by them] for FORD.
• [Fox coverage] for FUR.
• [Unsavory relation?] for SORDID TALE.
Wordplay runs the gamut from eyeroll to “Hah!”, and Robert, IMO, you lean toward the upper end. Thank you for this talent of yours. Your puzzles have brought me great pleasure to where I know that when I see your name atop a puzzle next time, the child inside me will be squealing “Oh boy!”
Very typical Sunday offering and kind of consistent with the below average month of October that the NYT is in the throes of this year. A quasi-theme that really brings no joy to Mudville (seriously, not even a chuckle here or there) and the usual NYT sloppiness like REA and MIRY crossing ORINOCO and WIIU crossing AIDY. Not really a slog-fest, but more on the insomnia-inducing side.
On a positive note, I learned that NITERS apparently means Potassium Nitrate which is a chemical that you can use to blow things up - and we had a special guest appearance from the late great RONNIE SPECTOR.
Stuart (6:54). Ford can be plural as a type of car, like the Ford Escape.
Oh! Duh!
Yeah. I realized too late that we were dealing with the car model, a Ford Escape.
Someone tell my why UGGS is a fad of the early 2000s when they are still flying off the shelves? I just gave my 14 year old a new pair for Chanukah/Christmas last year.
and speaking of the mini, she asks me now, What did Rex say today about the puzzle? LOL she knows it’s often hilarious.
In a hurry, so just two quick comments. Agree with @Lewis on the nice wordplay today - highlight was “share one’s bunk.”
Second, a question: why does a TUBE have one hole or two depending on whom you ask? I am thinking test tube, which clearly has one hole. Wait, now I get it. It’s like an IV tube? I would say two holes. Anyway, I’M A MORON for missing that.
This was an over sized early week puzzle. The gimmick was obvious with the first theme entry and most of the fill was crossword 101. A vanilla experience like this would normally be more of a disappointment but after the stumbles I've made over the last couple of days I didn't mind.
AIDY was a gimme but then again not everyone watches SNL
yd -0
Same here
The auto maker.
Ford Motor Co. makes the Escape model car.
SC Lass
Got everything except the AIDY/WIIU cross, and if I had stayed here all day, I wouldn't have come up with it. Enjoyed the theme, which did help with the solve.
Can we forego comments that critique the puzzle for having answers you don’t happen to know? We each have a unique stash of trivia and, and it’s foolish to expect the constructor to come up with material that’s universally known. (You don’t know the talented Aidy Bryant from SNL and Shrill? I do. So?) And if it so happens your personal trivia gaps result in a Natick, well, guess you won’t finish. That’s on you, not the constructor, and not a valid basis for a complaint.
@Anonymous 6:22. The Trojans are often referred to as SC.
i'm past caring about this puzzle
Hey All !
Had a momentary time thinking 41A was a Themer, as it is a Long-ish answer with a question mark clue. That prevented me for a bit figuring out the UREs added to the actual Themers.
The one un-URE answer I don't get is PAST(ure) CARING. What's that? All the others are things, but that one has the ole brain wondering.
I liked this puz, always fun adding addenda to words to make other words. That's what we want in a SunPuz, wordplay, no? Favorite was DOESN'T GIVE A FIG.
Had a two-letter/four word DNF. First was WInU/AnDY. AnDY defensible, as what kind of name is AIDY? (Apologies to all AIDYs out there.) But never looked back at the Down WInU (which I always look back at the crosser, except this time, obviously), or I might've been able to replace the N with the correct I (strong might've!)
Second was NITERy/yELLS. Both defensible, there. (Says me 😁) Oh well, I'll take it on a crunchier SunPuz. (Rex says Easy, I say not that easy!)
See ya later, gotta go watch some sportsball today. Go (team)!
Six F's (A BOON, one might say)
RooMonster
DarrinV
I don't know, can't think of many or any misses! You are so funny and clever! Thanks for posting.
I understand the sentiment here, but when hordes of people wipe out on the same single square, that’s actually a puzzle problem. Not a question of whether AIDY is crossworthy (she is), it’s a question of how you cross her clearly unusual and therefore uninferable name. Still, you are correct that focusing on AIDY per se is unfair.
Same Natick at Aidy Wiiu, so yeah, it looks like a puzzle problem. I thought it was a very good puzzle and it took me a while to grok the theme. There was resistance throughout, which makes for an enjoyable solving experience. Good fun.
Once again, a "pick-a-letter, any letter" cross gives me a DNF. Once again, some stupid car model has the potential of costing me an $100,000 First Prize.
Now wouldn't you think that a "top-of-the-line" car model would be an A-CLASS? Well wouldn't you? And that the org providing government funds would be the ABA, as in American Business Association? Well, wouldn't you?
Stupid car. Stupid, stupid car.
As for the rest of the puzzle, I really liked the gimmick.
My favorite themer was ENDURE ON A HIGH NOTE. That's what the poor opera-goer goes through every time a coloratura -- a singer with a voice so high that it actually makes my eyebrows ache -- sustains a note. And sustains it. And sustains it.
A fun Sunday. But I'm glad I wasn't playing for the $100,000 First Prize.
Can someone explain the TUBE answer with the holes? (82A) I'm just not seeing it.
I actually appreciated the theme gimmick after the solve although I wouldn’t say it helped me that much to complete the puzzle. I DO think that all the themers stand alone as “a thing” or an expression. Did I read @Rex right to say “nobody days ‘I don’t give fig’”? I guess I’m nobody. While “past caring” is a familiar phrase, I tend to put more emphasis…I’m WAY past caring about x.
Luckily I knew Nintendo has/had WII consoles and the U from PASTURECARING allowed me to actually complete the puzzle.
@Nancy, I know what you mean about the “car classes”! I was lucky I thought of Small Business Administration! And those Mercedes classes are weird anyway as they seem to randomly hop around. There is a C class and an E class. What’s up with THAT?
Yes had same issue with s class crossing the mom and pop funding but fortunately no $100,000 pressure for me. I am a rank amateur!!
A bit OT, for which apologies, but the mini-puzzle is supposed to be easy, amirite? DNF today. First time ever. The usual reasons: marginal (at best) clues, etc.
I’m about to DAYSEND into madness after doing this puzzle. Is it too early to have a drink?
@Liveprof…I think it is whether you consider a tube to consist of ONE long hole, or whether there is a hole on each end. Makes my head hurt.
I liked it. For, me, the best moves were turning an ADVENT CALENDAR into an ADVENTURE CALENDAR and, especially, transforming PAST CARING (when you no longer care) into the tender shepherd's PASTURE CARING. Not giving a FIGURE in a negotiation is smart, when you in fact do give a fig about the salary. Creative, and fun to uncover. Also appreciated EPHEMERA, ORINOCO, and GROUCHO meeting Ronnie SPECTOR.
Moment of triumph: COURSE LOAD from the OU. Moment of annoyance: WIIU x AIDY - I've seen enough WII's in puzzles to help me here, but for those who haven't, AnDY is such a tempting cross.
@egsforbreakfast - Gold stars for ECRU! Fashion faux pas in the Forum?
How on earth did they not cross-reference Elsa and Let It Go??
@Jim mcdougall -- I was just kidding around about the money, Jim. I'm pretty sure there's absolutely NO big money involved in this pastime -- not even for the most elite crossword pros. One of whom I surely am not.
Thanks @Beezer!
Just sorta boring
The mini was indeed a bad omen for me. The main event was just staggeringly bad. Vanishingly obscure factual base, and a loathsome gimmick.
To 9:29 Anon:
The complaint is crossing of two relatively obscure proper nouns - as evidenced by the many DNFs including moi … that is in fact a puzzle problem.
Ah, pity..I was aspiring to be eligible because as a Canadian winning $100 thou USD with fx is a fortune in our currency..!!
I never got into it (NOT 17D) so I just put it down.
See you tomorrow.
I started this, missed the gimmick, and was on my way to sing in the church choir when the URE thing kicked in, followed by the requisite forehead slap. Couldn't wait to get back home and zip through the rest of it, and while I didn't zip, it sure made things easier. Also I delayed running into ADVENTURECALENDAR, which was my favorite.
Yeah, AIDY/WIIU. Dios mio.
Enough wordplay for my easily-amused self. The add-some-letters thing has been done before? And? I found the themers to be amusing enough, and if this particular set of extra letters has been used in this way before, it escaped me.
Fun enough Sunday, RR. Maybe not Rip Roaring, but Reasonably Rewarding, and thanks for a fair amount of fun. Maybe folks who found this to be a "slog" should take a two-hour break and return to solving. Worked for me.
VIPtent, VIParea before VIPROOM.. NE was hard for me. I never really heard of EPHEMERA and ARTIEST is just cringe. So, parts of the puzzle were “easy”but some tough. OBLATE crossing NITERS. I was thinking OBLoid, OBLong... ugh
What the hell is a SAT NAV??!!
most of today's themers made me smile -- mostly b/c i like this kind of wordplay.
but... what's the significance of [1500 Pennsylvania Ave., e.g.] cluing ADDR? 1600 -- yes. but the treasury department? or mebbe this is an overlooked typo...
;-)
I solved it despite never figuring out the theme. Never saw "teenie" spelled that way and never heard of niters. Not a fun puzzle.
To all TUBE wonderers: Think about a paper towel cardboard TUBE that is in the center, is the TUNE just one long hole, or are the openings at each end two holes?
*Cue Twilight Zone music*
RooMonster Mind Blown Guy
No clue about AIDY Bryant -- Assumed the name must be ANDY, and WINDU made as much sense as WIIU (?!), so I went with it. No guilt, no shame.
Did anyone enter ‘counting sheep’ for 49A? I think it is much better than pasturecaring. Sadly I agree that this puzzle didn’t work, it was a slog….
Really nasty three- and four-letter fills today. Also a missed opportunity with ELSA / LETITGO to clue 113A as "77D's anthem"!! If you are going to have them both in the puzzle, you might as well (unless you're past caring).
The clue on OBOE tripped me up, since I've never heard of a musette. I had PETS for kitties and SILO for lone word, which seemed correct and left me wondering if EBIE was a thing.
Otherwise, it was easy and dull. I loved ADVENTURE CALENDAR, but nothing else had much sparkle.
@eggsforbreakfast: As an ex-sitcom actor, I think you should give up the banking business and become a writer for SNL (Hi Andy). They could use you.
Started yd, got PASTURE CARING and after that just could not get into it, although I wasn't totally PAST CARING about it (in retrospect I think it was continuing fracture brain). After church (👋 @Pablo!) this afternoon I picked it back up and got 'er done in no time. Sundays on paper, so not until coming here did I realize it was NITERS/SELLS, not NITERy/yELLS (👋 @Roo!). No idea on AIDY but kids had WII so WIIU seemed possible.
Ultimately easy, yes. Kinda old fashioned (👋 @Rex) but still fun.
On to the acrostic!
And for more fun re the TUBE clue:
https://www.scienceabc.com/eyeopeners/how-many-holes-does-a-drinking-straw-have.html
Awkward puzzle of the year. Never found a groove on this one.
Tee-Hee: NOODS!
Uniclues:
1 Answer to, "Did he tell you how many girls he's dated?"
2 Exclamation from one seeing a nood in the 15th century.
3 Orders cartoonishly priced bottle of champagne.
4 Land leases.
5 Han falling for Leia after six excruciating hours of cinema.
6 Why you don't leave me alone with the soda gun.
1 NAH, DOESN'T GIVE A FIGURE (~)
2 DEAR ME! THINE CUCKOOS! (~)
3 ALOOF VIP ROOM ACT I (~)
4 PASTURE CARING FEES
5 SOLO LOVE LINE SPECTOR (~)
6 I'M A MORON NEAR AERATOR
My Fascinating Crossword Uniclue Keepsake from Last Year: Horror movie month. DOLL SEASON.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I pretty much breezed through this one through BOON, FADS and COURSELOAD, with a tiny slow spot at the WII U/AIDY. After all these years my brain had parsed the name i correctly as AdDY, so I was finally corrected by the WII U because I k ew 100% that was right. Technically then, I DNFed because I stopped to look the name up. What a big long term oops! I got the gimmick before I started because I accidentally saw the title page. My habit in on line solving is never to look at the title page of the puzzle, only today I did and saw the “You’re” and was disappointed before I began. This is such an old saw and lacked sparkle.
I got a chuckle on the first theme answer only because I was visiting with a friend and colleague in the UK who was groaning about some political bigwig who was ignoring critical employment issues. Twice he mentioned that this person “didn’t give a fig” about the underskilled workers’ lack of educational opportunities in the digital world. That’s a phrase I had adopted while over there to try to break my atrocious habit of saying “not give a [#]hit.” So the first theme clue, since I had all the downs in the NW piece was obviously DOESN’T give a [something with a “ure” in it] just slid in like Brian Boytano on ice.
The bottom third was a bit harder, but not much. Today I agree with @Rex. The theme’s been done and done and done. Doesn’t nean it can’t be done again but it must be freshened up. Today’s wasn’t and I confess I got bored and out it down to finish later. I did find CESSNAS a bit nostalgic only because if the umpteen times I went to look at used one with my husband who desperately wanted to own one. I agreed we would make it work if he was willing to make all the other mostly economic sacrifices necessary to fit it into the budget. He kept looking for “just the right deal on the right plane.” I really think he thought looking was enough fun. That memory alone allowed me to ENDURE ON A HIGH NOTE.
Well, I liked the Acrostic.
♪ Let me in, WIIU ♪
Past caring is a fairly common phrase. “That issue has been beaten to death. I am past caring about it. Nothing wrong with that at all.
Rex agreed that there was a pileup of names etc. Standard crosswordese was clued in tricky ways and all that But Aer Lingus, either word or both, is often in the Times. Issa Rae ditto. They are pretty standard answers
Cru did not have a tricky clue and is a frequent answer in the Times.
Rita Ora is a pop singer who is big right now. And she will appear again because her name is very useful. So remember it.
Ifill has appeared frequently of late Re Ifill, FWIW She was a long time presenter of the PBS nightly news program. ( She died of cancer in her mid sixties not all that long ago) Times readers are big on PBS and NPR so lots of answers relate to them As in Ifill.
Disney is not exactly obscure.
New Ager is a dated expression Haven’t seen it in a while, but it was very common at one time.
Bottom line. These words might have driven you crazy but they don’t make it a horrible puzzle
Good one
4 letter instrument: at least try oboe if you don’t know the answer. That’s what I always do I.
@Beezer this just blew my mind lol. thank you for this satisfying yet brain-bend-y answer.
WiiU I got. I chose to make a variation of Nancy’s mistake.
Of course it an SBA loan. Very common expression. But I put in a D as in ….. don’t ask.
Nancy has chosen to avoid cluttering her brain with useless information. I on the other hand can’t help myself and have huge amounts of trivia like this in mine. I shoulda coulda got it right. Oh well
Was in NJ much of the day, solving the puzzle there, hence the late entry.
No surprise this did not tickle Rex's fancy. I thought it was OK, but nothing special. Had a tougher time than usual, and Naticked at WIIU/AIDY (I went with ANDY, resulting in WINU - who knew?). I will give some credit to those tough corners...
I was delighted with some references from the last decade. WIIU and AIDY was my first cross. I get tired of obscure old references and fancy some obscure new ones.
Another hand up for Andy/Winu. We used to own a WII, but I've never heard of the WIIU.
Otherwise I liked this more than most Sundays.
@egs I meant my 6:22AM comment with love (and a little tongue-in-cheek ribbing); sorry if I didn’t convey that properly. I do like them all (I’m a sucker for even groan-worthy puns), and today’s post elicited more than one audible burst-type chortles.
@Anon 9:20 AM d’oh…thank you!
@Dr.A I think the clue is referring in particular to when UGGS first blew up as a fad, even though they remain a shoe shelf staple today. I do remember returning to UC Davis to finish my senior year in 2005 after a brief hiatus, and was baffled as to why every student on campus seemed to be wearing the same furry boots. (With short shorts. In the rain.) Peak UGGS fad, I think.
Thank you, egs! I’m barely 5mi from the Coliseum, and still totally derped on that one (for shame). Good one.
@MetroGnome SAT NAV = satellite navigation. Like GPS. Snooze fill.
I got AIDY/WIIU very easily cause they are both in my wheelhouse. But having that plus SBALOAN/SCLASS and - I'm kinda surprised no one has mentioned it - ARP/SPECTOR all in one puzzle is a nightmare. Way too many possibilities for DNFing.
I got Spector because it made the most sense as a possible last name but it's still always cringey crossing two proper nouns when at least one isn't as well known as Jesus or the Beatles. (Which neither of these people are are, sorry) .
Hated it.
I'm calling a technical on the answer to 3 Down (Singer Ronnie of the Ronettes). All of the Ronettes' hit singles (including "Be My Baby") and their only album ("Presenting the Fabulous Ronettes Featuring Veronica") were recorded in 1963-64. The group broke up in 1967. Veronica Yvette Bennett did not become Mrs. Phil Spector until 1968.
I kind of enjoyed it. Although Brazilians do ski, and cross-country skiing in particular is fairly popular. Andy AIDY/WIIU is indeed a terrible cross. And OFANERA is awful. But I kind of enjoyed it.
Not too tough, but...too many names for my taste. As we all know, either you know the name or you don't, so no amount of "what was that word?" questioning will ever help.
Sorry to hear about the Brazilians being stuck in the snow. I went x-country skiing some (a lotta) years back, remained stuck in the snow, and then went into the lodge for ski waxing. Remained stuck. NOT a slider.
Diana, Not a Slider for Crosswords
Got URE gimmmick on the first one. A favorite saying of one of my friends (who passed this year) was "If I don't see you in the future, I'll see you in the PASTURE." Yeah, he grew up on a farm.
SHEENA Easton is the only performer of a Bond theme to be seen on-screen while singing it. Might have been that she was photogenic and appeared to possibly be NUDE during the opening credits.
MEDS in the corners.
Wordle birdie. 140th in 470 attempts. Need 9 more in next 30 to match @spacey. Percentage of 4 tries or less over 75%.
OBSCENE NUDE POSTURE
IGOR DOESN'TGIVEAFIGURE,
is he PASTURECARING as TO size?
IT's an ADVENTURE IN vigor,
ORA MEANFEATURE OF LIES.
--- OLGA CLOONEY
I disagree one billion percent that 36D/45A was a Natick, even if Rex's wife was one of them. I have never owned a gaming console by Nintendo or anyone else for that matter. I'm in my 70's and know , solely from doing Xword puzzles, that if the clue has Nintendo in it and the answer begins with W, then the next two letters are always ii. Plus I haven't watched SNL regularly for decades, but also know that actors, actresses, and singers with unusual name spellings are almost de rigueur for xword puzzles.
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