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Relative difficulty: Medium
Theme answers:
- WOMEN OF LETTERS (20A: Female scholars)
- STEERING COLUMNS (37A: Where turn signals are found)
- POINTERS SISTERS (52A: Grammy winners for "Jump (for My Love)" (1984))
Pauline Esther Phillips (born Friedman; July 4, 1918 – January 16, 2013), also known as Abigail Van Buren, was an American advice columnist and radio show host who began the well-known "Dear Abby" newspaper column in 1956. It became the most widely syndicated newspaper column in the world, syndicated in 1,400 newspapers with 110 million readers.From 1963 to 1975, Phillips also hosted a daily Dear Abby program on CBS Radio. TV anchorwoman Diane Sawyer calls her the "pioneering queen of salty advice". She was also the paternal stepgrandmother of U.S. Congressman Dean Phillips.
Pauline Friedman, nicknamed "Popo", was born in Sioux City, Iowa, to Russian Jewish immigrants Rebecca (née Rushall) and Abraham B. Friedman, owner of a chain of movie theaters. She was the youngest of four sisters and grew up in Sioux City. Her identical twin Esther Pauline Friedman (married name Lederer) was columnist Ann Landers. Lederer had become Ann Landers in 1955, and Phillips soon followed suit by launching her own advice column. (wikipedia) (my emph.)
• • •
This is an easy trivia test for older folks (self included). I don't think much of the little "find the sister" game, but I have to say, that set of theme answers really is on the money, pun-wise. At first I was just looking at the last words: LETTERS, COLUMNS, SISTERS—yes yes yes, those all fit the topic. But then I realized no, it's not just the last words of the themers that are apt, it's the whole dang answer. They are WOMEN OF LETTERS (i.e. women who receive letters from advice-needers); they write STEERING COLUMNS, in the sense that they attempt to "steer" people via their advice; and they are POINTER SISTERS in the sense that they are "sisters" who give "pointers" (i.e. advice). I want "I HATE TO ASK..." to be another themer, but their readers clearly did not "hate to ask." The three actual themers, though, are really impressive as a set. The puns aren't forced at all. I can't believe I'm actually sitting here admiring puns, but miracles happen, I suppose.
The fill, however, was a bit clunky on this one. Lots of short stuff, much of it on the stale or olden side (ITT INRE AAS ET AL et al). Haven't seen AESIR in a long time, and while AMON-RA does show up from time to time, he has multiple spellings that keep his name from ever being a joy to see (he's his own kealoa*, with at least three ways to spell that AM-N part). I dropped in IMARET without blinking, but then I've been solving crosswords for over three decades. As I wrote it in, I thought "is this a normal word or do I know this only from crosswords." Pretty sure it's a crosswords-only type of deal. I've never seen it outside crosswords. I'm confident it exists, but I'm also confident it doesn't exist in the vast majority of non-crossword solvers' vocabularies. The worst of the fill, though, was the obscurity ARISTA alongside the monstrosity TUSKER. TUSKER? I ... we ... it's ... TUSKER? Really? I'll grant you that an animal can be a BITER, but a TUSKER? Wow, that is dumb. That answer would be so much better as TUSKED (which actually describes the animals) but that would result in a DEAD ABBY, which, while literally true, makes for a more depressing theme.
Not much else. I absolutely muffed the COLUMNS part of STEERING COLUMNS because I processed "turn signals" as "traffic signals" (you know, stoplights), which of course appear at corners ... so I wrote in STEERING CORNERS, wondering "Who calls them that!?!?! There's no such thing as a "steering corner"! You have to steer at every corner!" I then changed the answer to ... STEERING CONSOLE. Sigh. At last I messed up in a semi-entertaining way.
OK, that's all for the puzzle, it's time for more Holiday Pet Pics! For today's cats, we've got Riggins, Franky, and Figaro.
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| [Riggins says "Please remove this hat so I can scratch my post with dignity" (thanks, Lea)] |
 |
| [Franky, guarder of the CDs, wants to know what's up with this one pink candle business (thanks, Marietta)] |
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| [Where's Figaro?] |
 |
| [There's Figaro! (thanks, Erin)] |
And now the puppers. First, the energetic!
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| [And I quote: "This is The Turd running away from his brother, The Ood." No "holiday" element to this pic, but I don't care: gorgeous dogs (thanks, Ray)] |
 |
| [Bijou's giving "Go away I'm trying to sleep" sideeye (thanks, Christopher)] |
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| [Mabel is just gonna wait here for Santa, and maybe snooze a little. Staring at this photo is so soothing. (thanks, Rob)] |
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
*kealoa = a pair of words (normally short, common answers) that can be clued identically and that share at least one letter in common (in the same position). These are answers you can't just fill in quickly because two or more answers are viable, Even With One or More Letters In Place. From the classic [Mauna ___] KEA/LOA conundrum. See also, e.g. [Heaps] ATON/ALOT, ["Git!"] "SHOO"/"SCAT," etc.
ReplyDeleteMedium for a Wednesday.
Pro raTa before BONO at 3D
shOe before CLOG at 14A
ass before BUM at 36D
Like @Rex, TUSKEd before TUSKER(?) at 47D and (before reading the clue) DEAd ABBY before DEAR ABBY at 66/67A
RUSS Westbrook (50A) and ROBB Stark (57D) were WOEs.
About TUSKER
DeleteI have seen that word applied to elephants. PBS had a string of programs about elephants, a while back, so that was a gimme for me. It is a real word Rex, although as usual I enjoyed his rant. Sadly, because of poaching, this “human selection “has caused an increase of adult elephants without tusks, according to one of those programs.
For some reason, I found this puzzle easy. It did help to be old
Years ago, I traveled to Vanuatu in the South Pacific, where tribal chiefs prized the tusks of wild boars. In honor of that history, there was a local beer called Tusker.
DeleteI still left that answer blank for awhile, barely believing that a contemporary American crossword constructor would use it. But I was happy to have that in my arsenal!
Like Rex says, an easy Wednesday when you're over 60. Also didn't even see Ann Landers because of solving mostly down. Love me some Pointer sisters!
ReplyDelete50 something here, so knew DEAR ABBY/ANN. The problem for me was the TUSKEd, combined with the ridiculous far SE corner needed to grok the theme.
ReplyDeleteNot an expert on fish hatchling development stages, no fucking clue on ROLF,and another GOT Stark.so spent way too much time staring at DEAd A_B_. Basically just kept trying different letter combos, finally got something that at least looked like words (except ROLF, just yuk),which gave me ABBY, which then forced the stupid TUSKER. And subsequently the theme. Which I loved.
But crap those are some awful clues essential to the theme, not easily gettable from crosses (ROLF crossing RABB and FRY blech).
Many people here complain when the revealer is NOT in the bottom row. This is the first time I have seen a complaint about the bottom right corner. Fun CFO
DeleteFWIW you are in the minority.
I personally don’t care either way.
(Then I am the type that likes spoilers about movies etc.).
We agree about the theme.
Dear Abby and Ann Landers? Heck yeah! Welcome relief from the usual Simpsons, Friends, Cheers, and Seinfeld references, which I never get.
ReplyDeleteTake that, young ‘uns! (meaning anyone under 50)
Your mess-up wasn't your fault Rex. Turn signals aren't found on steering columns. Just like chandeliers aren't found on light switches.
ReplyDeleteYes! Thank you!
DeleteROLF/ROBB cross was a Natick solved using A (no), E (no), I (no), O (solved). Sorry, but the more GOT shows up in the NYTXW the less I want to see what I’m missing out on.
ReplyDeleteFWIW
DeleteROLF has been in the Times puzzle on numerous occasions. I learned about it this type of massage from here. (I have no clue as to what it is otherwise! Just like IMARET which Rex mentioned). So it will appear again.
For a lot of people here it is a gimme. ROBB has likewise been in the puzzle numerous times.
If you look at Rex’s definition, this cross is not a natick - the original cross of N.C. Wyeth and Natick was much more obscure.
Just because I don’t know either cross, I don’t call it a natick.
Rex appears to be unaware that TUSKER is a fairly common word for elephants and boars, at least in adventure fiction. See for example Kipling.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a lad, Ann Landers was the column run by our local paper. All I remember about her column was what seemed to be a years-long debate about the correct way to hang toilet paper.
Carbonara is my favorite. Family recipe handed down for generations, originally published, according to family lore, in what was then the Manchester Guardian. It of course calls for raw eggs to be mixed in as the final step which seems an invitation to salmonella. I will say our recipe calls for adding the bacon and "its rendered fat" as the last step, which might provide more cooking than just the noodles.
@kitshef 7:31 AM
DeleteTHIRTY SEVEN YEARS (that's 37! ) my wife hangs toilet paper any which-a-way like a, like a, aaah, crazy person, as if the fate of the universe plays no role in our destinies. Toilet paper engineers and designers make one side pretty on purpose. I quietly fix her maniacal hanging job for her hoping to clean up our kharma. I fix it at friends' houses too. Somebody somewhere has to care or society goes to the dogs.
About TUSKER , having read very little Kipling, I had to learn the word from PBS. But as kitchef said, it is a word. Enjoyed Rex’s rant anyway.
DeleteI do remember the columns about toilet paper
My recollection of the columns is that almost every piece of advice was either (1) “What you are talking about is not a serious problem, just pull yourself together and move on” or (2)”That is a serious problem; you need to get counseling.”
DeletePS AMON-RA St. Brown is a wide receiver for the Lions.
ReplyDeleteAny day Rex can drop Prine into the blog is a good day. Really solid theme, but I ran into the exact same problems as @Fun_CFO in getting DEAR ABBY thanks to the rough crosses.
ReplyDeleteMaybe OFL hasn't seen AESIR in a long time, but if I have ever seen it I've clearly forgotten it. However, (ahem), today is the day of the return of the long-lost crossword staples, namely IMARET and ARISTA. Huzzah! Some folks may think that these are pure crosswordese, to which I say, you bet! and also, of course! I mean, what do we call the thing we're doing? Anyway, now they can disappear again for however long, and the next time I see them they will make me happy again.
ReplyDeleteThought this one was elegant in terms of its concept and execution. Everything was familiar except the aforementioned AESIR and Lord Eddard's (?) eldest. I for one have heard the term TUSKER and wrote it in without a second thought.
Terrific Wednesday, BW. Beautifully Wrought, a true Wednesdazo, and thanks for all the fun.
Side note-I'm probably in a good mood because I broke my record on the Mini--22 seconds. (Pats self on back, takes bow.)
PABLOINNH
DeleteI double checked this time
Anyway, I thought you might comment on IMARET. I realize now that ARISTA is another old friend. Would ROLF qualify? That also went right in. (Someone above complained bitterly about ROLF ROBB cross).
USC shoutout! Another 70s/80s powerhouse.
ReplyDelete@Hal9000 Ha! Thanks for calling me young, I'll take it! :P
ReplyDeleteAs a socially-awkward kid in the 90s, I enjoyed reading the Dear Abby and Ann Landers columns. If you know your friend's spouse is cheating on them, should you tell the friend? Answer: No... especially if you are the one cheating on them. (That's my own David Sedaris-esque advice.)
Looking forward to MORE pet pics! (The captions are great.)
Approached my fastest Wednesday time ever according to the app. A lot of the oddball things were filled with crosses - ARISTA, ROLF - never really saw them while solving. Although I have absolutely no interest in the theme - it’s clean and well revealed.
ReplyDeleteLooking for a bridge over OCEAN SPRAY. My nerdiness came in handy today with AESIR. BITER and TUSKER are both odd. Probably have been on most T BARs in the NE over the last 50 years.
Pleasant enough solve.
Christmas is going to the dogs - at least it seems like it here
I made a complete mess of this one. My mind didn’t want to believe that ROLF was a word, and of course FRY wasn’t going to help, I have no clue what a ROBB is and that TUSKEd situation pretty much tossed any chance at getting the gimmick over board. Just not a fun puzzle - I don’t know how many people have the “breadth” of interest or knowledge to confidently drop in stuff like AESIR, AMONRA, IMARET . . . even EULER who at least makes an appearance now and then, so thankfully he looked familiar.
ReplyDeleteI think Will and crew could have done better than “confused” for AT SEA - I know it’s pretty standard crosswordese and understand the desire to not do the same old, same old . . . but nobody (that I know at least) talks like that (“I had a hard time understanding her, I was totally AT SEA.”). At best, maybe it would be something penned by one of those poetry or prose dudes that I know only from CrossWorld (say an Eliot or Steinbeck).
Just realized after reading the comments that this puzzle felt so easy because it's for old-timers! No stumbles except for good ol' A____RA, may s/he rest in peace in a cozy pyramid. It's a good theme/revealer for us gray beards. Thanks to Rex for the John Prine vid - I remember singing that around a few campfires in the 70s-80s
ReplyDeleteWhen our daughter was a tot, there was a plush elephant toy called TUSKER she had to have. A jingly song came with it that became imprinted on my brain, I can now sing it to my granddaughter !
I could NOT think of Steering COLUMN and I was determined not to look it up to exercise my brain. It was killing me but I finally got the C and boom it came back. Thank goodness, I worry about my memory sometimes. But they say crosswords are good for that! I enjoyed finding Fígaro more than the puzzle!
ReplyDeleteNot my favorite Prine song, but "Stop wishing for bad luck and knocking on wood" is a pretty killer line.
ReplyDeleteOh. Am I s'poseto talk about the puzzle? ACK! Do I have to? I'd rather talk about Bill the Cat. (Or maybe Steve Dallas?)
Dear Abby got read aloud at the breakfast table from time to time when I was a kid. My mom disapproved. My dad thought it was funny, or at least solid schadenfreude. Not that anyone used that word in the '80's.
Mr PIBB doesn't exist in the northeastern US, but for some reason was on the soda fountain in Yonkers, NY at Sarah Lawrence College--right next to the Ice Cream freezer rumored to have been donated by Yoko Ono.
Seems to be a contingent complaining about ROBB/ROLF this morning. Both are in my wheelhouse. But I gave up and hit reveal on this thing around midnight when I couldn't sort out KONA and CLOG in the NW. And I've been to #*@!ing Kona; I've drank the coffee and the beer. I didn't care EULER and AMON-RA broke me. I Googled both. Nonetheless, It was still difficult to find the correct answers.
Abby (Van Buren) was a neighbor of ours in California in the '50s. Locals said she and her sister (Ann Landers) never got along. Supposedly Abby was resentful that Ann had stolen her idea for an advice column, and was more successful at it. How could they be advising others about relationships when they couldn't get along themselves?
ReplyDeleteThe theme was well conceived. I couldn't get ACK (is that a real word?) or ROLF (massage deeply?), so I get a DNF.
That was a big WTF DNF. I am 46 and know Ann Landers/Dear Abby. It didn’t help. Too many proper names in this garbage heap.
ReplyDeleteIf it makes Rex feel any better, a lot of people wrote for advice under an alias such as hopeless or is it me? Or tired of waiting - so not a stretch to say that IHATETOASK is theme related. People did that, I never did. AESIR is a new one on me. We used to have a petite black and white cat colored just like Figaro who also enjoyed sleeping under the Christmas Tree. She was a very sweet lap cat and my first real pet. Still miss her after all these years.
ReplyDeleteBig ol' DNF for me. TUSKER?! WTF?! Like so many others, I had DEAd ABBY. Couldn't imagine what a Dead Abby had to do with anything or anybody. Didn't even occur to me that DEAd was wrong. Didn't search for a name so missed the ANN and LANDERS right next to each other. Thought the pun had to do with ABBA and ABBY being the first and last answers.
ReplyDeleteGrrrrrrr.
Having said all that, however, the best advice I ever saw in Ann Landers (or was it Dear Abby?): After a long, truly awful letter about someone's horrible husband and whether the advice seeker should leave or stay, Ann (or Abby?) gave this timeless advice: Would my life be better with him or without him?
Advice that could apply to about 73.5% of all advice column questions before or since.
Hey All !
ReplyDeleteI'm of the "age" where I knew the Advice SISTERS. Pretty cool I didn't notice it until figuring out the Revealer. Thought that LANDERS was an odd answer originally. Or oddly clued, at least.
There's a football player for the Detroit Lions, a wide receiver, named AMON-RA St. Brown, maybe we can substitute him for the Sun God in this particular spelling. He has a brother who is a wide receiver for the Chicago Bears, named Equanimeous, so when that name comes up...
I worked for OCEAN SRPAY for a year once, I believe I've told y'all that already. 😁
Trying to figure out FRY for Fish hatchlings. Anyone? Apologies if already ASKed.
Put in ASS first for BUM, obviously.
Mr. PIBB, do they still make that? Haven't seen it in a while. Good stuff. Dr. Pepper rival.
Might have PASTAS later today... (POC, that) Isn't PASTA its own plural, ala fish, ETC?
Anyway, Happy Wednesday.
Two F's
RooMonster
DarrinV
ROLF/FRY as clued doesn’t seem fair for a Wednesday. DNF
ReplyDeleteHad ovos for Aveiro clue....Aveiro is much more known for their ovos moles than eels. Anyway it's a beautiful city south of Porto--the Venice of Portugal. Give it a try as an alternative to Porto. I visited in September and it was lovely. Oh yeah and I'm moving to Portugal in 2024. Any other expats living there on here?
ReplyDeleteFor me, this worked -- and worked quite well. I'm of an era that would know who these SISTERS are/were (are they still alive); would have known that they were identical twins; and would have been familiar with their (competing) advice COLUMNS in different media outlets.
ReplyDeleteSo for me, filling in DEAR ABBY and then belatedly having ANN LANDERS leap out at me was a real "Aha!" moment. And the punny long themers were inventive and clever. With the exceptions of ROBB and RUSS (too pop culture-y for my liking) and the most peculiar TUSKER (said by no one ever), I found this quite a droll and successful puzzle. But then I wondered...
Wasn't it also a "niche" puzzle? As niche as, say, that puzzle of the recent past that was based on some unknown-to-me arcade game or video game? It was like gibberish to me. I can imagine legions of solvers finishing this puzzle and saying "What on earth was THAT all about???"
So, maybe four stars from me and no stars from thee? I'm not sure that puzzles destined for a wide audience should ever be based on such specialized knowledge of such a truly tiny kernel of information.
Fun blast from the past - after all the Lil named rappers I enjoyed one for us fogeys (and thought of Wendie Matick’s outdated hair style on Seinfeld when thinking of the sisters’ flip up dos).
ReplyDeleteBut then I thought BEETAYLOR was a legit answer too. What would Malaika have to say on this way before her time puzzle?
POINTERSISTERS was a brilliant pun!
(To those who liked yesterday’s IFIWEREYOU vowel movement, how about constructing a FROM E TO U replacement grid. Revealer: “Early Beatles song…or what you should change in STARRed answers”)
ROLF/FRY was tough - but what else could it really be. Love the DEARABBY/ANNLANDERS theme - there is an ebb and flow to crossword clues and this somewhat makes up for the Rap clues and modern lingo. had TUSKEd before TUSKER, which I really had not heard of before, though inferable. DEAd ABBY made no sense, I changed that and it all came together. I also liked the Female Scholar clue as my daughter just graduated last week from Washington University in St Louis , with a bio/chemistry engineering degree Summa Cum Laude. PhD next!
ReplyDeleteLoved it. Under 50 but read the unauthorized bio of the sisters so had the Aha! A tragic story.
ReplyDelete"The best advice I ever saw in Ann Landers (or was it Dear Abby?)"
ReplyDeleteHow true, how true, @MarthaCatherine. I know this is going to be my favorite comment of the day. Moral of the Story: If you have an identical twin, but want to be loved, admired and remembered for yourself alone, don't go into the same line of work that she did.
Really enjoyed this one
ReplyDeleteDNF. Way too much unknown PPP for me.
ReplyDeleteSomeone asked an advice column once: I'm thinking of going back to school and getting my degree but I'm 48 now and four years from now when I finish I'll be 52 -- does it pay? And the answer was: How old will you be four years from now if you don't get your degree?
ReplyDeleteYep. @Nancy conveyed my sentiments…worked for me, but maybe not thee.
ReplyDeleteToday I learned where the term “small FRY” came from. At least I think so…
ROLFing is a trademarked type of massage therapy that I wasn’t sure still existed. Some people think it’s quackery, and I guess some use it in lieu of a chiropractic adjustment (and some think THAT is quackery). Neither appeal to me.
@Ken 7:25….I get your point with “turn signals” but my thought process immediately went to STEERINGCOLUMN. Seemed more likely than “frontandbackofcar”…:D
Just to share—was feeling really smart getting EULER quickly, then crashed, going into slow motion like one of those action scenes from the Six Million Dollar Man, inching painfully slowly all the way down to DEAd ABBY. Looking back though, the puzzle has great theme and imaginative development, and captures a once-popular thread of past journalism.
ReplyDeleteI can digit, he can digit, she can digit, we can digit, they can digit, you can digit
ReplyDeleteOh, let's digit – Can you digit, baby?
I liked this puzzle a lot, even though the find-the-other-name thing is silly. Surprised that POINTER SISTERS is a debuting answer.
This is from a site called I Drive Safely. Anybody see a problem?
How to Use Turn Signals:
The turn signals on most vehicles are located on a short lever attached to the side of the steering wheel column. By pulling the lever down, you activate the signals on the right side of the car to indicate a right-hand turn. By pushing the lever up, you activate the signals on the left side of the vehicle for a left-hand turn.
Bach Christmas Cantata BWV 63
p.s. I think Franky, guarder of the CDs, is actually saying, "I made them put this pink candle in the centerpiece because it matches my nose."
Was it written in England? 🤣
DeleteRooMonster Lefty Loosey, Righty Blinkery Guy
@Roo 4:59 – they are in San Marcos, California. (Home of many traffic accidents, I'm guessing.)
DeleteBit of trivia for you: Ann Landers was grandmother to Dean Phillips, democrat representative from the 3rd district in Minnesota, who is running for President.
ReplyDeleteTheme is absolutely perfect!
ReplyDeleteSolid puzzle with a few clunker-clues. The lower half fought me thanks to ARISTA and TUSKER causing all kinds of unnecessary shenanigans. And FRY is new to me. I guess that's where the redundant "small fry" comes from, eh? Not McDonald's?
ReplyDeleteCouldn't get Van Halen's "Jump" out of my head so the Pointer Sisters needed sooo many crosses.
Tee-Hee: BUM ... lots of those living in my neighborhood, in more than one way.
Uniclues:
1 ANN LANDERS' DNA
2 I HATE TO ASK ... ROLF?
3 BOERS' DEAR ABBY
1 Where baby advisors might come from.
2 Hesitant question to an aggressive masseuse, or this blog.
3 One recommending the best way to destroy African civilization.
My Fascinating Crossword Uniclue Keepsake from Last Year: Result of time passing and a witch's nose existing. HAIRY WART RISE.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Not the worst, but not without some snags:
ReplyDelete- "Shoe" for "clog"
- "Tulle" for "toile"
- "Jams" and "pate" for "brie" (On what planet is "gooey" the first word that comes to people's minds when they think of brie?)
- "Err" for "mar"
- "Roll" for "Rolf" (turns out it's some New Age chakra alignment massage named after a person)
- "Tusked" for "tusker" (only got it in the end by virtue of knowing Dear Abby and thinking "The author absolutely would force a BS answer like this to make their pun work, wouldn't they?")
The French like some cheeses “flowing” or gooey inside. And Brie is most definitely gooey when it is ripe! Americans rarely eat it the French way hence your surprise. But the answer is at least technically correct
DeleteBeing old enough but not American, I did indeed have “Dead Abby” for a while… eventually figured out what my wrong letter was (never heard of “Pibb” either so that seemed like a candidate). But no, Ann Landers is not a name I’d have ever recognised. Didn’t even know that WAS the clue until I read this. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteI don't even know what the hell a "craisin" is, let alone what a "craisin brand" might be.
ReplyDeleteOCEAN SPRAY cranberry juice company makes a cranberry raisin combo apparently.
DeleteI knew it immediately but they used to advertise relentlessly.
Lotsa theme stuff packed into this puppy. No prob with grokkin the theme mcguffin and related authors, even tho I weren't even a casual reader of their columns. But I'd often get a glimpse of em, on my way to the comics or puz pages, once upon a time.
ReplyDeletestaff weeject pick: ACK. Always cool to lead the puz off, with a good "oh no!"
fave stuff included: IHATETOASK [sorta apt, for the theme]. TUSKER. NINJA & its clue.
Had STEERINGCORNERS (?) before STEERINGCOLUMNS, btw. Lost precious nanoseconds.
Thanx for the fun, Mr. Wiegmann dude.
Masked & Anonymo3Us
p.s. The Mabel snoozefest was my fave pet pic, today.
**gruntz**
Rex - Hah. Thought yesterday about posting something about Fleetwood Mac's "Tusk" after your Rikki don't lose that narwhal line....but now you've done it! I entered TUSKEd for 47D today. Wrong. (Oh, and played "Pretzel Logic" on CD yesterday - thanks.)
ReplyDeleteFor a little bit, had put DEAd ABBa in at the 66/67 pairing. ACK. Can never remember if it's cantata or contata. Maybe I get it confused with toccata.
NEARby for NEARTO, until ITT became clear. OK, I'm in the group old enough to have seen those those in print - and set in hot type, for that matter. Liked this one.
Wow at Joe Dipinto! That’s an unusual vehicle that has the turn signal lever on the right side of the steering column.
ReplyDeleteReally clever! Up through the first two theme answers, I was thinking "Okay, LETTERS and COLUMNS - a newspaper theme," an idea I had to give up when the third one was not Paper.... but POINTER, leaving me to the delightful surprise of the advice COLUMNists. I, too, had to correct DEAd ABBY and am among those who never noticed her SISTER up above until it was POINTed out. Finding three phrases that describe those two, with their on-the-nose puns...quite the feat!
ReplyDeleteDo-overs: shOe before CLOG, geneS before PAIRS, DEAd. Favorite clues: the strong silent NINJA and speechless EMOJI. No idea: RUSS. Still thinking volleyball after last weekend's NCAA tournament: if Nebraska are the Huskers, could the Arkansas Razorbacks be TUSKERS?
@pabloinnh - As I wrote in ARISTA, I thought you might give it a nod :)
I had LETTERS and COLUMNS and thought we were doing with sections of a newspaper. I almost wrote in 'sports' at the end of 52A, but when I got POINTER SISTERS I knew it must be something else. I needed the revealer to understand what was going on. Fortunately, I've seen TUSKER before, probably in relation to Tarzan.
ReplyDeleteI never got myself ROLFed, but I had friends who did. I think one of tried it out on me, but it produced a primal scream immediately.
ARISTA, though; if you'd confronted me with the word I'd have guessed it was a typeface. Maybe it is, but it's not part of Word. Since I had no idea of that football player either, the R where they crossed was just a guess. After I finished I looked it up. Apparently an ARISTA is the same as, or maybe an example of, our old friend the AWN. I'm quite familiar with FRY, though. Apparently it comes from Old Norse, whereas fry as what you do to a fish comes from Latin.
I love to read advice columns; I read three of them currently. I'm pretty sure they're all signed with real names, so that has changed. So I knew ASK ABBY and ANN LANDERS -- but anyway, the latter is symmetrical with CANTATA MAR, which should be a help.
I remember drinking a great many TUSKER Beers in Kenya. Being a Kenyan beer, they dominate the market. The label shows a tusked elephant below the word TUSKER. The slogan is My beer, My Country. And it's a pretty good beer.
ReplyDeleteMy mom used to read ANN LANDERS while going to the bathroom. So she kept the columns stashed just where ANN LANDERS appears in this puzzle ...... above the TOILE ITT.
Some of our commenters are so old, they probably remember BONO before he went pro.
I'm a tad disappointed that @Gary J didn't call out the junior slush pile editors a little more for REAR BUM CANTATA.
I was excited to learn that ABBA reunited to perform as holograms. Sounds like it was a reunion lite. So I asked my ex if she'd like to reunite to perform as holograms. No reply as of yet.
I liked this puzzle a ton or two. Thanks, Brad Wiegmann.
@egsforbreakfast 11:14 AM
DeleteSorry @egs I misread and thought it was RE-ARBUM CANTATA and I couldn't believe the venerable NYTXW would be promoting Bach's worst-ever song about reforestation efforts in Italy in 1500 A.D. I mean where do they think vino was going to come from? Embarrassing for Bach, Italy, all Latin speaking countries honestly, the Times, and me. Thanks for catching the E-RROR.
Easy and easier than yesterday’s for me. gene before PAIRS was it for erasures and ROBB and RUSS were it for WOs. . A fine homage to advice COLUMNS I’ve been reading in my daily newspaper(s) for decades. Liked it.
ReplyDeleteAgain, I highly recommend ANN Patchett’s latest book Tom Lake.
I thought this was the best Wednesday in a long time. While DEAR ABBY didn't immediately come to mind (as I'm sure it won't AT ALL! to the "younger crowd"), I thought it was a nice punny tribute to the ladies.
ReplyDeleteIt was good to see IMARET & ARISTA again & for me, I really liked seeing the POINTER SISTERS who's JUMP FOR MY LOVE was always a big favorite in Aerobics Class.
Thank you, Brad :)
And thanks again for keeping the great pet pics coming!
ReplyDeleteI'll start by saying that I really love this but in my own way.
ReplyDeleteABBY remained DEAD. Did you really put that in? Evidently Brad and I did. Except Brad didn't...I did.
Advice columnists. Twin SISTERS. I may have read them somewhere in my journeys.
Nothing really to do with ANN nor ABBY alert...
When I moved to San Francisco, I was poor. I had no TV to distract me so I'd buy the San Francisco Chronicle. I was hooked on Herb Caen and of course the puzzle.
I remember exactly the little deli/food market on Pierce St. where I'd walk in after work. I knew the owner by then and he'd immediately hand me the paper. I think it cost 25 cents. I'd then go home to my little apartment off of California St., make me some dinner and read. Dear Abby, who was alive at the time, would catch my eye in-between reading my favorite columnist in the whole world, Herb Caen. It was my ritual.
If there was any advice in this beautiful City that I might need, it was Herb's. ABBY might tell me to buy clothes pins and hang my sheets out to dry naturally, but Herb would amuse me about how to get around the City - should it rain and should you need a short cut - to get to his favorite restaurant, Le Central.
Our Mexicana office was on Union Square. When we'd get paid, we'd walk to Le Central and share their delicious chicken. There, in their special window seat, you'd be able to catch a glimpse of Willie Brown (Mayor) and Herb Caen. They were loud....They laughed a lot, and each would be drinking a martini.
After Herb left this earth, Willie still would go sit in his favorite corner and amuse those around him. Both became these two iconic symbols of entertainment for all of San Francisco to enjoy. I miss those days where it was actually fun and affordable to live in SF.
Anyway, that's my DEAR ABBY/ Herb Caen and Willie Brown story. BUT....I still really enjoyed this puzzle!
I'm off to look at bodacious menus for out Christmas fete. I also need to wrap about a gazillion present for the grandkids. See you later...and if I don't, have a wonderful holiday!
IMARET, AESIR, & ARISTA were enough to make things interesting on a Wednesday morning. From ABBA to ABBY we had fun and then learned about the twins backstory beyond their respective enmity as well as getting more feline/canine pix. For even more fun I read Brad’s Q&A from his previous grids. Definitely a guy worthy of sharing a beer and a giggle with.
ReplyDeleteI know ANN and ABBY, so the theme wasn't really a problem (although the POINTER SISTERS are much less known to me). I hated a lot of the fill, though. TUSKER? ROLF? IMARET? TOILE? MOET? Completely beyond me. I had to wait to get all the crosses and then see if I was actually correct. Didn't like this puzzle.
ReplyDelete@Gary Jugert - that's exactly the kind of passion that would be expressed in the Ann Landers columns - but by both the 'overhangers' and the 'underhangers' equally. Each absolutely convinced of their righteousness.
ReplyDeleteI'm shocked that anyone has positive opinions on IMARET and ARISTA. Am I supposed to know those words? I've been doing crosswords for a while... but yeah, those don't ring any bells. Together with RUSS and TUSKER, and other things like ROLF and POINTER SISTERS in the south, I just couldn't finish the bottom of this puzzle at all. That being said, I found stuff like AESIR and AMONRA to be cakewalks, so I guess you win some you lose some. And despite being relatively young, I actually *do* know Dear Abby and Ann Landers (from crosswords, mind you).
ReplyDeleteOne signaled a left turn by pulling down on the lever and a right turn by pushing up.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I am 70 and had steering columns I agree with the Rex's opinions. IMHO
ReplyDeleteThis was a fun little puzzle that took me back to childhood and reading the paper, and I mean the entire paper, every day. Sorry, youngsters.
ReplyDeleteI really wanted WOMEN OF LEARNING which didn't fit and also isn't really a phrase.
CANTATA is a Spelling Bee regular. Also TOCCATA which I tried first.
[Spelling Bee: Tues 0 after 2 days at -1.]
Thx Brad, for this wonderful PAIR of SISTERS puz! 😊
ReplyDeleteMed-hard (downs-o); the SE was a bear; the rest was bearable.
ACK for 1D: didn't like it, but what else could it be?
Aside from the SE, only other issue was 'A' or 'e' at the end of ARIST.
Made a feeble attempt to grok the theme, but no dice. Sadly, my laziness came back to BITE me at DEAd. Had noticed the juxtaposition of ANN and LANDERS, but didn't connect it to ABBY, so she remained DEAd for the dnf.
As for the SE, got SLAB right off, but the rest was a crap shoot. SERTA vs SEaly and couldn't think of ROBB, as Eddard threw me (I know Ned Stark, tho). Finally, out of the blue came FRY, which confirmed SERTA, hence ROBB, and Bob was my uncle.
Now, over-confidence and complacency result in not catching the TUSKEd gaff. Didn't bring my A GAME! 😔
Yes, I spent over an hr TOILing on this one, but no excuse for not taking the time to try to connect ANN LANDERS and SISTERS to ABBY. Yikes!! 😱
Having had a relook at the finished puz, I appreciate seeing ABBA / ABBY at opposite corners, as well as PAIR in another corner, altho Mr. PIBB seems to be the odd one out. lol
All said and done, a very worthwhile expedition, with a potential lesson at the end: when weary, tough it out to the very end!!
___
Peace 🕊 🇺🇦 ~ Compassion ~ Tolerance ~ Kindness ~ Freudenfreude & a DAP to all 👊 🙏
@Gary J. What, in your view, was Bach's best ever song about reforestation efforts in Italy in 1500 A.D.?
ReplyDeleteSpelling Bee Note that is not a spoiler: We now know that @Rex's beloved KEALOA has not penetrated the thickets of Sam Ezersky's consciousness.
@egsforbreakfast 1:11 PM
DeleteThat's a gimme! Bach's celebrated toccata in h minor: Pflanzen Sie ein paar verdammte Bäume, es sei denn, sie stehen meinem Wein oder meinem Rindfleisch im Weg. I am pretty sure ABBA did a cover of it in 2013, at Dear ABBY's funeral. It was held in an ARBY'S.
@Gary J. Thanks for reminding us all that while we all proclaim Bach's genius as a composer he was even moreso as a librettist i.
Deletebeing well over 60 I noticed Landers as an "extra" as I was completing the puzzle. And had realized how well both word in the themes worked.
ReplyDeleteI got a smile from 44a. (tho with a bit of a wince, since in recent years I spend too much time watching TV and flipping channels those every ten minutes showstoppers)
In what way does "Put in" = ENTER?
ReplyDeleteThe photos are so good and so festive. Thank you for hosting the adorable pets.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the comments I'm wondering if Rolfing was a thing of the 1990s. Pretty sure not. Fry, tar, slab and Serta all came easily to fill inRobb of which I had no idea.
ReplyDeleteI cheated on 1A and 50A Couldn't e bothered .
The joke/twist/smile in the puzzle is that after Ann and Landers is DNA, with the clue “intrinsic makeup”. that is elegant and cool because they share DNA. That was the whole point of the puzzle IMHO.
ReplyDeleteI put “roe” in for FRY and complained to myself that the clue wasn’t accurate in the LEAST. Whoops!
ReplyDeleteThe right center section had me fearing a Wednesday DNF, with COLUMNS and LEAST but all else blank. Mommy, mR. MOM, and a sudden inspiration on BRIE got me to the finish line.
I always felt that ANN LANDERS gave better advice than DEAR ABBY but I can no longer remember what made me feel that way.
Thanks, Rex, for POINTing out the punnish connection of the theme answers; I hadn’t gone back to see what the 66A clue meant.
Still confused by Rolf. Perhaps I was over thinking this because I was tripped up by the clue “pen name” and was thinking the column name was Dear Abby, but the pen name was Abigail VanBuren. I also had tusked, because tusker??? So I struggled a bit with the southeast corner. I also initially had toccata instead of cantata.
ReplyDeleteI guess I think that some cultural icons of yesteryear are worthwhile for the "under 40" sect to learn about, just as I will admit that it is worthwhile for this "over 60" solver to learn something about rap, modern pop music, Game of Thrones, etc, etc, that I otherwise would not explore on my own. Indeed, when I was in high school in upstate NY and had a subscription to the NYT through my school library, doing the NYT puzzle spurred, over time, an interest in opera which has intensified through today.
ReplyDeleteI was thrilled to meet "Franky" through his picture. He looks just like our Anya who ran away in April, and whom we continue to miss deeply.
I also was heartened to see Advent candles just like the ones we have on our kitchen table. We can discuss the pink candle for Gaudete Sunday another time.
Thanks you, OFL, for those lagniappes in your wonderful blog. I read you every day, and have profited enormously in our shared crossword obsession, though I'm just a piker compared to you, Rex, and many folks here.
Best wishes,
Casimir
FWIW, "Tusker" is a common descriptor of elephants in India. (Male ones, anyway)
ReplyDeleteMy Bijou is famous! Thanks, Rex
ReplyDeleteI've never understood why 24D "Totally confused" equates to AT SEA. I think it's just the opposite. In my experience a few days, even a few hours, AT SEA clears the mind wonderfully.
ReplyDeleteLooks like my gender bias is showing. I remembered the lines from Jonathan Edwards' "Sunshine" as "But she can't even run her own life, I'll be damned if she'll run mine". Oops, it was a "he". I blame having two female advice COLUMNists in the puzzle who apparently fit those sentiments for tilting my memory toward the distaff side.
Speaking of advice, if we make it more gender inclusive, 40D Socrates' "He is richest who is content with the LEAST" are words of wisdom in my book. Reminds me of Henry David Thoreau's line from Walden "My greatest skill has been to want but little". And then there's the basic Buddhist principle....okay I'll stop now.
I took it as ENTER your user name on a PC. You have to type it or put it in.
ReplyDeleteA 35 year old here and I had DEAR ABBY in before I solved any of the theme hints. SERTA, ROBB, SLAB and FRY went in easy but thought I had to be wrong because wtf is ROLF??! Googled immediately.
ReplyDeleteReally struggled with AGAME (had shOe instead of CLOG and a mistyped KONo instead of KONA)
DIGIT also had me, I had -IGIT and really wanted it to be two words with IT. I would never have gotten the LANDERS reference without this blog. Facepalm when it clicked.
A lot of things felt forced here so spent more time on this one than a usual Wednesday. Been following the blog for a few weeks and happy I found it! Love the pets!
@Mike: I went through Rolfing twice and it had nothing to do with Chakras. I had to line up my chakras by doing another discipline. Oh yes, I've done them all and I'm almost 92. Something has worked.
ReplyDeleteI just finished reading my water-soaked newspapers. My delivery guy is unclear on the concept. He puts the papers in two plastic bags but both of them cover the same end.
ReplyDelete@Mike You asked " (On what planet is "gooey" the first word that comes to people's minds when they think of brie?)"
ReplyDeleteI live on planet Earth, and "BRIE" was the very first thing I thought of after seeing "gooey." Yum!
I know Bob is being coy, but if you've ever been at sea without access to tools--compass, sextant, iPhone--- you'll never know what it feels like to be truly lost.
ReplyDeleteRoo-- What? No love for Amon-Ra's other brother, Osiris? He didn't make the NFL but did play at Stanford.
@Casamir…I agree 100%!
ReplyDeleteThis is one of the funniest Rex columns I’ve ever read! Christmas came early. 🎄
ReplyDeleteFor those who don't speak German, @Gary Jugert 1:51 pm asserts, and I can't help but agree, that Bach's best ever song about reforestation efforts in Italy in 1500 A.D. was (as rendered by Google Translate): Plant some damn trees unless they get in the way of my wine or my beef.
ReplyDelete@Gary J. I tip my hat to your humor. Today you left me ROLFing on the floor. Maybe I was in just the right mood because when I read your 1:51 response I had just driven by a run down joint in Boise that advertised "Smoked Meats & Beer", along with a relaxing "Beefgarten" for onsite enjoyment.
I once got ROLFed by a PT subbing for my usual therapist. It's a very strange and very unpleasant procedure. You're expecting your pain to go away and instead ROLFing actually puts the pain in. In fact it puts the pain into places where you've never experienced any pain before.
ReplyDeleteSo to anyone who's considering getting ROLFed, a word of friendly advice. DON'T.
Wasn't the dinosaur in The Good Dinosaur named Spot and the kid named Arlo? This threw me for a loop.
ReplyDeleteTwo grids in a row with a fish word! Hurray for six- or seven-year-old me, who learned everything she could about fish. (And who also pored over the Dear Abby and Ann Landers columns, learning about the weird problems grown-ups had).
ReplyDeleteI got hung up in the NW because I remembered the road to Hana more than the beach at KONA, and was pretending that BLAM fit for explosion.
I think the debate about which way one moves the turn signal lever might be settled if posters identified which side of the STEERING COLUMN the lever resides on. Mine's on the left so down for left turns and up for right. The other side is the windshield wipers. I've had the same car for almost twenty years, so maybe other cars are different.
Congratulations, Brad, on a theme that even Rex liked.
ROLF is a fairly common Nordic first name. I remember a kicker named ROLF Benirschke who later went on to host Wheel of Fortune. Both clues might have been better than the massage clue given.
ReplyDeleteARISTA Records was founded by the famed Clive Davis. It was the label for (among others) Whitney Houston and Milli Vanilli. Also better clued information than the obscure botanical reference given.
I loved it!
ReplyDeleteThis correct solution almost feels like a DNF: I never realized that those three long acrosses were part of anything but fill! Once explained, I was like, Holy Cow! Now THAT is impressive!
ReplyDelete"Can you find the other one?" DUH. I was saddened when she died. I always thought she was the feistier of the two.
Nit to pick: shouldn't it be WOMEN of letters? And isn't EULER a famous name?
Anyway, birdie for sure.
Wordle eagle.
First time I ever encountered AESIR. Yes sir. Thant’s a nice chunk of crossword glue.
ReplyDeleteIHATETOASK? Noone ever hated to ask Ann or Abby, or any of their newer counterparts. We all have questions, and love to read the problems and answers for the letter writers.
ReplyDeleteAnd if Desi and Lucy are fair crossword game, Ann and Abby most certainly are. They might not rap...but who knows? OFL certainly had to stretch to complain about them. Not to mention your random 18th century math or science guy.
And, of course, names are my nemesis, so if I know them, my cats could probably write them down in the grid!
Lady Di, LIW
Great puzzle!
ReplyDeleteROLFing is a body manipulation technique that was all the rage in the 70's, that has been making a bit of a comeback of late.
If you watch PBS, BBC, Nat Geo, Animal Planet, or other channels of a similar nature, then you've most likely have heard the word tusker. In fact, there are elephants in Africa called Super Tuskers, whose tusks are so long that they weigh over a hundred pounds each, and often can scrape the ground.
BUM POINTER
ReplyDeleteANNLANDERS: "ACK! STEER clear now DEAR,
IHATETOASK for ITT IN the REAR."
--- DR. RUSS EULER