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Selma march leader who served 17 terms in Congress / WED 1-24-24 / Court failure / Its shores have the lowest land-based elevation on earth / Its HQ is sometimes called "Crypto City" / Some water bearers / Fish with "snowflake" and "sawtooth" varieties / "The Clan of the Cave Bear" heroine / Sports org. in which five members have bird names
Wednesday, January 24, 2024
Constructor: John-Clark Levin
Relative difficulty: Easy (one of the easiest Wednesdays I've ever solved)
Theme answers:
- GGLLEENNNN (17A: First American to orbit the earth)
- LLEEWWIISS (25A: Selma march leader who served 17 terms in Congress)
- AADDAAMMSS (51A: Only U.S. president elected under the Federalist Party)
- EELLWWAAYY (62A: Broncos QB who won back-to-back Super Bowls)
Ad Astra is a 2019 American psychological science fiction film produced, co-written, and directed by James Gray. Starring Brad Pitt(who also produced), Tommy Lee Jones, Ruth Negga, Liv Tyler, and Donald Sutherland, it follows an astronaut who ventures into space in search of his lost father, whose obsessive quest to discover intelligent alien life at all costs threatens the Solar System and all life on Earth. The project was announced in early 2016, with Gray saying he wanted to feature "the most realistic depiction of space travel that's been put in a movie". Pitt signed on to star in April 2017 and the rest of the cast joined later that year. Filming began around Los Angeles that August, lasting through October.Ad Astra premiered at the Venice Film Festival on August 29, 2019, and was theatrically released in the United States on September 20, 2019, by 20th Century Fox. It received positive reviews from critics, with praise for Pitt's performance. At the 92nd Academy Awards, it was nominated for Best Sound Mixing. The film grossed $135 million worldwide against an $80–100 million budget. (wikipedia)
• • •
[PPRRIINNEE]
I somehow can't get the CHIP part of CHIP IN (10D: Contribute), but everything surrounding it is so easy that those squares get filled in pretty quickly anyway. I think of DJS as spinning vinyl, not CDS (32D: CD players?), so again I needed nearby fill to help, and again it helped almost instantly. I did not get either PROM (56A: Event with a royal court) or AIRBALL (44D: Court failure) at first glance, and I misspelled SAMOYED (as SAMOYAD, I think) (46D: Siberian sled dog), so I guess we can say that the SE was the "hardest" section, but "GLORY BE!" led to "I'LL BE" (horrid "BE" / "BE" crossing there, boo!), which fixed SAMOYED's spelling, and then BRO AIRBALL PROM and zoom, off again. None of the Johns were hard. The last two I got solely by looking at the first two or three words of the clues ("Only U.S. president," "Broncos QB"). I know my crosswordese, so neither LAILA (not LEILA, not LAYLA) ALI nor AYLA last-name-unknown (65A: "The Clan of the Cave Bear" heroine) could slow me down. Finished in the far far SW with the Brad Pitt movie I didn't know but since it was also clued as the Latin phrase I *did* know, whoomp, there it was, the end. If I still got high on speed, I might've had good feelings about this one. As it is, it felt remedial, and I feel cheated.
[PPRRIINNEE]
If your clue begins "Italian" poet and it's five letters (esp. if I have some letters in place), I don't need the rest of the clue. If your clue begins "Norse god" and it's four letters (esp. if I have *any* letters in place), I don't need the rest of your clue. The clues needed to be putting up obstacles and roadblocks today, and they absolutely were not, not ever. If you'd shown me 18D: Fish with "snowflake" and "sawtooth" varieties *and* I'd had no idea how many letters it was *and* I'd had no letters in place, I would've been stumped. But in three letters, with any letters in place, it's EEL. I mean, it's crosswords, of course it's EEL. They retired GAR a long time ago, I think, so unless it's Old-Timers' Day at the Crossword Ballpark, the three-letter fish is always EEL. I had one write-over, and that's when I read a clue poorly (too quickly) and wrote in OVEN instead of NAAN (15A: Tandoori chicken accompaniment). See "Tandoori," see four letters ending in "N," write OVEN, pure instinct. NAAN is the more crosswordy word (and the only answer that actually makes sense here), but a TANDOOR is literally an OVEN, so that's why my brain did what it did.
[PPRRIINNEE]
Puzzle had an overall old-ish feel, from "GLORY BE!" and "MY EYE!" to "M*A*S*H" and "Kate & ALLIE" to all the Johns to the old "trick" use of "fast" in the EAT clue (62D: Make a fast stop?). I hope lots of people broke their Wednesday records today, because I'm not sure what else this puzzle is good for. See you tomorrow.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]
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93 comments:
Wednesday? MY EYE! That was a Monday. Did @Rex already say that? I knew it was John Glenn but I also knew it was MAGNETS, ALGERIA & ILLEGAL, so. Double letters you say? Ohhhkay I guess. More than Monday, it was like an AARP puzzle. Read clue write answer. Except (for me) this Broncos QB was a big WOE, but a I got each letter from the downs I just ... doubled it.
So, fine for a few minutes of fun!
Yup, Monday time on a Wednesday and no sense of accomplishment to go with it. Stupid puzzle.
I agree it was easy. Once John Glenn became GGLLEENN everything fell into place. The SW was the only tricky area.
Dap/strop was a bit of a natick for me but agree the rest was a breeze.
My time today was about average for a Wednesday, but that may be because I had to get up in the middle of solving to feed the cat. Super easy.
pAIlS before MAINS at 1A, easily fixed by MAGNETS at 1D
dolT befor TWIT at 59D
One day I will learn to spell the first name of LAILA (50A) ALI (63D)
AYLA (65A) was a WOE
whoa there, don't forget about ODIN; but yeah, super easy and super silly. I could use a break from IOTA, which has been popping up rather a lot recently.
At least the theme was so easy to discern that it doesn’t qualify as gimmicky (a big plus in my opinion). Not a fan of stuff like AD ASTRA and SAMOYED, but of course that just is what it is. At least the theme was reasonably straightforward and the self-inflicted wounds were minimized. You can tell the bar is set very low at the NYT these last six months or so.
mOTe/IOTA I always seem to guess wrong and have to correct.
Yes, this was too easy. Having the Johns, and particularly Glenn, be SO famous worked against the puzzle. Instead of being baffled and needing to wait for a revealer to figure out what is going on, you can figure it out almost immediately, before even leaving the NW corner.
All that said, this was our third very good theme in a row. And the fill is good, AYLA aside. Just needed tougher cluing.
EASY Monday, I’d say. Done in a flash.
Very easy but a Natick for me at MYEYE (my grandmother may have said this and I’m old) and AYLA, with YAPAT contributing to the problem as well. YAPping is talking shrilly? Why would this be the least bit inferable?
DEAD SEA brought back a funny memory I haven’t thought about in ages. Some 40 years ago, a bit out of college, and traveling, I went there on a crowded day, lots of people on the beach and standing in the water. It was a hot day, and the water looked so inviting, I couldn’t wait to get in.
A wide stretch of sand stood between me and the sea, and I broke into a sprint toward what I envisioned as a refreshing splash and dunk.
At this point, in my memory, everything shifts into slow motion. Suddenly, it seems, everyone in the hoards on the beach and in the water looked at me in panic, pointing toward me, then started waving their hands overhead in an effort to get me to stop, shouting “NOOOOOOOOOO!”.
That is what I remember most, that slow-motion cinematic moment with the panicked faces, yells, and motions. Oh, happy ending, I did stop in time, and I learned that the hyper-saline water sharply stings the eyes; it's torture to be splashed upon. But oh, did I unite a host of humans in terror that day!
As I did at the Dead Sea that day, I sprinted through your puzzle with zeal, John-Clark. I especially liked the four N’s in a row in the first theme answer and the rare-in-crosswords five-letter semordnilap (STROP).
But I’m especially grateful to you for rekindling this marvelous memory, which I’ll smile at all day. Thank you!
I’m not one of the three minutes to complete a Monday puzzle or ten minutes to complete a Saturday folks. While I love watching their comments and stand in awe of these folks, I am more the tortoise than the hare, so finish but ten minute Mondays and 50 minute Saturdays are my norm. But even I finished this puzzle in Monday time. But I had fun doing it so even though it did not present a challenge , I still got my morning smile from the puzzle.
Personal best for a Wednesday! I think it helped a lot that I solved all the downs I could first (maybe about half?). Part of the double letters were already filled in. The revealer explained it all. This was definitely Monday-ish because I usually get stuck on Wednesday and have to Google *something.*
Agree with RP this puzzle just basically existed Not the usual NYT level of puzzle, but not the worst we've seen either.
HERETIC for HEATHEN and slow recovery from that kept me from fast time.
Bring on Thursday!
Ayla didn’t have a last name because she was a cave woman who invented everything from fire to the wheel. Total breeze!
Ms. Ali - a name I’m going to need to learn to spell - is very close to joining the group of those that are more known for usefulness in crosswords than for their accomplishments.
Started with ALDA, got the four N's in a row (hi @Lewis) saw the double letters in the answers, wondered why that was going on, and then hit the revealer which explained everything, i. e., it explained everything TOO SOON! This is one puzzle that would have had a nice aha! if the revealer were absolutely the last thing in the puzzle. Alas, not to be.
Hand up for AYLA who? and never spelling LAILA right but agree with everyone who's ever done a NYT XW, which I think is most of us, that this was not a Wednesday offering. I liked AIRBALL and haven't heard MYEYE in a very long time, but it's something my Dad used to say, so at least there was that.
Kind of amusing concept, JCL , Johns Cavorting Lengthwise, and not your fault that it ran on a Wednesday. Thanks for some zoomy fun.
**raises hand** broke my Wednesday record. Whee!
Also, just me, or is this the third day in a row for IOTA?
Thank you, @lewis, for the dash of positivity. Agree it was easy. Agree it was over early (pretty much as soon as there had to be 2 Gs and 2 Ns). But i dont think it needs so much scorn. It's just a puzzle. I was at least curious to get the reveal, and thought LONGJOHNS was fun. And at least you make one attempt to go with johnglenN_. And sin or no i thought ILLBE crossing GLORYBE was fun. Like @lewis' DEADSEA, SAMOYED brought back memories, though mine had to do with our samoyed killing all the chickens in our coop.
The Johns may all be “legitimately famous” but I never heard of Elway, though that didn’t slow me down. I did have some trouble in the SE, with misspellings of SAMOYED and LAILA but I worked it out.
The tricks are normally what stump me, but found this Monday easy as well. The part that stumped me was in the SE, where I couldn’t connect the clue [penalty markers in football] with FLAGS. I had F- - - S and kept thinking of a physical marker on the side of the field. FeltS I wrote in at one point…just couldn’t make it connect. Then I never connected *how rude* with SLAP (still feels like a huge stretch to me) which made me not put PROM together which gave me the weird - L - RYBE and all I could think was that whatever word this was must be some kind of Latin church word that ended in the sound “raibee”. Just could not get my brain to GLORY. Ugh. DNF cause of the SE. So frustrating after such an easy puzzle.
Hey All !
I REACTed with an ILL BE. Let me YAP AT this puz with a SPLAT rating. BRO, this looks like one of my OWN puzs that got rejected. *Raises arm* ATTESTS!
Yes, easy, yes, kind of odd, yes, extremely segmented. Also yes, open corners, so that's nice. WISHing no other double letters, but that may have been nigh impossible. N fest in North Center.
@LLEEWWIISS
Nice to see you in a puz, if stretched out. Double letter heaven today. 😁
@ppaabbllo
Where are you? Har.
SB today, you can spelly first name! It's unaccepted, though. Also, ANOA. C'mon, Sam!
Hump Day. Have fun.
One F )on Double -Letter Day)
RooMonster
DarrinV
The theme made me pause at the first GG, so there's that. I left the NW to find my error elsewhere on the long answer. The crosses were so easy it became clear before the revealer, but it was a fun search.
Ssttuuppiidd
@tinatinatina -- Three out of the last four days for IOTA.
Baffling until you see the revealer. Then all the baffle disappears and the puzzle becomes really, really easy.
"You WILL tell me, yes, why Glenn is being spelled GGLLEENNNN?" I said to the puzzle early on, with just the slightest trace of annoyance. But when my eye caught sight of the words "winter underwear", I knew in an instant what the trick was. And since all the other JOHNs were extremely well-known, I just doubled up their last-name letters and wrote them all in. Making the puzzle unusually easy for a Wednesday.
The theme is cute. It's true that Constructor JOHN could have made the puzzle much harder by putting in some Rapper JOHNs and some rock band JOHNs and some sitcom character JOHNs and some action hero JOHNs.
I'm so glad he didn't. Thanks, JOHN.
As your resident alphadoppeltotter, a role I’ve inexplicably taken over the past seven years, I must report to you that this puzzle has an unusually high number of double letters with 35. (I consider any 15x15 puzzle with 20 or more double letters unusually high.) Today’s puzzle comes with an asterisk, however, as it is theme related.
The last non-theme-related unusually high double letter puzzle was three years ago; it’s a very rare event. The record for double letters, since I started tracking, is 41, from a 6/3/21 puzzle – also theme related.
Thanks for the exquisite John Prine song, RP.
Years ago, my refrigerator magnet collection was my pride and joy. I would pore over revolving magnet stands in tacky gift shops on our vacations while my family screamed at me to hurry. One of my favorites was a gorgeous one of a mission wall from a trip to San Antonio. Another one was a Churchill quote: "If you're going through hell, keep going." I had one that was given out at a bris (circumcision) by the mohel. It was a little teddy bear with the word "mohel" and his phone number on it. But then we redid the kitchen and I discovered to my horror that our new refrigerator did not hold magnets. D'oh! They are sitting in a box in the basement now, clinging to one another for comfort.
There was a New Yorker cartoon years ago that was a drawing of a house. A refrigerator had crashed in its front yard, and 4 or 5 others were heading towards it from the sky. The caption explained: Too many refrigerator magnets.
I knew as I headed toward the blog that it would not be pretty. When the only misstep I make is “atom” before IOTA and even I think “is this all it is” on the theme…not a good sign. I guess my only other feeling was that…while the fill was easy, I didn’t think it was quite as “dreck” filled as what @Rex said. Also…as I ALWAYS like to say…I admire anyone who can conceive of a theme and construct a crossword puzzle!
Good story on the DEADSEA @Lewis!
I agree with JJK at 7:35AM -- this was easy except for the S sector. I've never heard "MY EYE" in my life; nor do I know "The Clan of the Cave Bear", and AYLA is an unusual name; "fast stop" was the toughest clue in the bunch (pretty good in retrospect, though); and YAP AT is just, shall we say, underclued. Otherwise, yes, quite a zoomfest.
Thanks for John Prine. A treasure. RIP.
@Lewis - very funny Dead Sea story. I marvelled at how much of my body floated above the water, almost like lying on a plank. I thought I would be clever and see how fast I would pop up if I went under and discovered the burning eyes the hard way. Wiping them out with a wet salty hand only worsened the issue. Fun times nonetheless - I think idiots probably have better stories:)
It's nice of LAILA ALI to stop by so frequently, helping name memory.
GLORYBE and ILLBE are both fun in a slightly antiquated way, but still not an elegant crossing.
or LOKI
Shouldn’t it be too shrilly? Not to shrilly
a complete WWAASSTTEE OOFF SSPPAACCEE
Hm. Still trying to fit in PPOORRTTAA-PPOOTTYY and OOUUTTHHOOUUSSEE. Once I got the first one, the rest went in too, so thinking a name slightly more obscure than John would have provided more bite. I guess there are no LONG ABDULS or LONG RUMPLESTILTSKINS.
Uniclues:
1 What a confident woman and a drag queen have in common.
2 El Djazaïr native who eschews forks.
3 Robot on the run.
4 Website for Divine Comedy haters.
5 Say something like "soccer is the best."
6 Basketball player's reason for embarrassment in Vientiane.
1 INNATE TIARA (~)
2 ALGERIA HEATHEN
3 ILLEGAL ANDROID
4 DANTE DOT SPLAT
5 OWN NFL TWIT
6 LAOTIAN AIR BALL
My Fascinating Crossword Uniclue Keepsake from Last Year: A flask in the glove compartment. STEIN NEAR GALA.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
@Fjs 10:00 AM
This bugged me too, but I think they're after "talk to ... shrilly" rather than "talk in an overly high voice."
That story will make ME smile all day! Well told and thank you
Lol, I had EWERS and GAR at first too. You know you've been doing crosswords too long when...
I've only bought one refrigerator magnet in my life, in Rome: DE GUSTIBUS NON DISPUTANDUM EST. It seemed like a good thought for a kitchen.
And while we're on the subject of gastronomy, I suppose I should carp about SALAD as an introductory course. Restaurants do it that way to give them time to cook the other courses and still get you out fast. But it is supposed to come after the meal.
@Gary J -- Love #4!
"None of the Johns were hard."
Told myself to grow up, but I giggled.
Thanks for posting John Prine. I love him and miss him.
“child's-placemat simple” 😆😆😆
@Lewis 8:56
I always enjoy the reports you give in your role as alphadoppeltotter.
I looked back at the puzzle from 6/3/21 and I think I would have counted it differently. In my mind, the down themers aren't really double letters (except the two TREEs) which would make it 25. But I can see how you would argue that they are.
I thought today's puzzle was especially impressive for getting that number without any rebuses.
Thanks for the double-letter updates!
Hmmmm, let's see: My first thought after getting all the LONG JOHNS is why GGLLEE[NNN] rated three letters to his name and the rest only got two. Should I really sweat this one out? Should I feel distresssed? No. AARP (Hi @Smith 5:41) puzzles should not be judgmental nor difficult for the aged.
Let's see: The authors tribute to his own name? Mine would be GGIILLIIGGAANNSS. Island?
@Lewis...Your DEAD SEA story made my day (so far).
What else?
I always get TWIT and TWAT mixed up. I think one refers to the...um...nethers of the female persuasion..No?
Further pondering.
Then I think about all the sports things here that accompany all the winter underwear. I stare at ANNAL and think about the dearly departed Queen and her Annus Horribilis speech. How did Anus lose an extra N? I look at AYLA and LAILA...Is my spelling correct? Yes....
And so it went.
As much as I respect John LLEEWWIISS the politician and civil rights leader, my favorite JOHN LLEEWWISS is the founder of the Modern Jazz Quartet and the composer of In Memoriam . Had to share it.
@gfrpeace (10:22) -- I had the same reaction as you did to SALAD in that it shouldn't be served as a first course. But at least I've heard of that. I've never heard of it being served "after the meal".
I grew up in a "with-the-meal, SALAD as a side-dish" family. I sometimes think I'm the only one left in America who grew up that way. I'm always having to explain to waiters: "No, I'm NOT finished with my salad." "No, I DON'T want you to take it away." "Yes, I WOULD like you to bring me my entree now. Yes, I will just MOVE my salad over HERE [gesturing] and eat it with my main course when you bring it."
I never mind when the waiter looks at me as though I'm a bit eccentric. I mind only when my dining companion looks at me as though I'm a bit eccentric.
Was up late watching the Australian Open and decided to start puzzle after knocking out Wordle. It was a great match in the men’s quarter finals, so kept getting distracted on key points, but didn’t close the app so clock kept ticking. Didn’t finish with personal best, (30 seconds off), but felt like I spent more time looking at TV than entering letters which almost all went in with no hesitation or doubt.
Gets my vote for easiest Wed. ever.
I liked this a lot and found it fun to solve so not too much more is expected. After the second themer, I went looking for the revealer which made the rest of it pretty much fall into place. Yes, agree it was extremely easy for Wednesday but that’s not the constructor’s fault. He made his puzzle and someone else decided what day it would be published. Actually though, completely apropos since yesterday felt like a really easy Monday.
Loved NFL crossing FLAGS because boy, have they ever gotten crossed a lot this season - but started out there with NFC since four of the five birds are found in that conference. Luckily LAILA ALI quickly saved me from my errant way. To Rex’s list of too-easy clues, I would add 6A: If the clue says M*A*S*H costar and the answer is four letters, I don’t need either the Alan or the ALDA.
A variation on this theme could have a revealer like "Author of Paul Revere's Ride or a hint to .....". Then the themers wouldn't be confined to "John's". An interesting tie in is that Longfellow, according to Wiki, was the first American to completely translate DANTE's DivineComedy. But if you're going with all Johns, seems like Long John Silver would figure in here somewhere. I suppose that "Tall pimps" would be a little too crude as a way to clue the revealer.
I plopped in MAGNETS at 1D and arrived at the first themer (First American to orbit the Earth) with only a "G" in place. I thought "I guess I'm really losing it because I could swear it's John Glenn, but Gus Grissom seems to fit." This took nanoseconds to clear up on my way to a blistering fast Wednesday time. No other do overs, but I sure wanted 52D (Baloney!) to be MYass.
I love stuff from the Tandoor, so I sent away for an Indian bread-making kit. It included a packet of something I couldn't decipher at first, so I guess it was a NAAN starter.
We used to warm our chicken coop with natural gas, but recently switched to solar. In other words, we changed our HEATHEN ways.
Thanks for a different puzzle, John-Clark Levin.
After GGLLEENNNN and LLEEWWIISS: "What in the world is he going to do with Johns?" [Waits] AHA - make them LONG. I don't think LONGJOHNS can compete with yesterday's [insert theme here; I didn't want to put in a spoiler if anyone is a day behind], but I agree the puzzle is in the running for easiest Wednesday. My favorite entry was MY EYE: first, because it was the one entry that stymied me - I couldn't get it from the M, nor from M?E??, nor from M?E?E - I needed the Y to disclose it - and second, because I love the expression and haven't heard it in a very LONG while.
@Liveprof 9:03 - I once gave a very cute and apt MAGNET to a friend, who then told me magnets didn't stick to her refrigerator. I can't tell you how astonished I was. Why would they do that? Depriving people of a way to easily post a rotating array of kids' art work, grocery lists, do-not-forget-this paperwork, postcard mementos....
yep. Kinda line up with @Lleewwiiss and @kitshef today, on bein A-OK with this here theme mcguffin.
I mean, who can't identify with needin to get to a john on the double, at some point in their life?
Actually, as I recall, M&A once submitted a 15x15 puz to somebody, with a somewhat similar theme. Themers were things like STRETCHPANNTS -- slightly trickier, cuz solver can't predict ahead of time which letter's gonna get stretched. And that puz immediately got turned down with a snort.
staff weeject pick: SAW. Gets to show up again in the EEL clue. It's like the weejects are winkin at each other.
BTW Dept.
Monday: 5 U's.
Tuesday: 1 U.
Wednesday: 0 U's.
(Thursday?): IOU's.
fave stuff included: SPLAT. ADASTRA. GLORYBE/ILLBE [a bebe!].
Thanx for makin us see double, Mr. JOHN-Clark Levin dude. I can see U had some personal skin in this here game.
Masked & Anonymo s
**gruntz**
@Lewis (7:37) You are a gifted storyteller. I’ve never even been near the DEAD SEA but you created a vivid image of your near disaster. Glad you survived to share it with us.
@Liveprof (9:03) As a fellow collector, I also enjoyed your refrigerator magnet story and can picture them pitifully huddled together in their box. I once took all mine down during a feng shui attack and put them away in a drawer. Then one day I saw them there and they looked so sad I put them all back. Non-magnet lovers wouldn’t understand, but the kitchen just feels more like home with all my friends there where I can see them.
Dr. A
Ayla is old crosswordese. Hasn’t appeared in a while.
I somehow forgot the second letter. Finally thought of MYEYE
Only real trouble spot.
Someone complained about DAP but I never saw the clue.
Agree it was a breeze
Yep, easy. Caught the theme early and whooshed through this one. Like yesterday’s, no erasures and no WOEs. AYLA and the person who created her Jean AUEL used to show up in Xwords quite a bit so she should be familiar to long time solvers.
Cute theme but a tad too easy…liked it.
Ditto!
I didn't catch on to the fact that each letter was doubled and spent a long time thinking they were multiplied an arbitrary number of times. Sad for me.
Thx John, for doubling my pleasure! 😊
Downs-o success, but didn't come easily.
Fortunately, got LONG JOHNS fairly early in the battle, which explained why I was seeing double letters where they shouldn't oughta been. So, the rest went pretty smoothly, until the SE; then, dead AIR. I spent as much time in that corner as it took to get there.
Couldn't for the life of me grok the asterisks for 'How rude'.
Since I had the two 'Y's in place, I focused on solving at least one of them, and sure enuf, a SAMOYED serendipitously came to my rescue (even spelled it right, right out of the gate).
Still, nothing else was working, so did the incubate/marinate routine, came back and noticed the initial (L) and terminal (A) for 50A, and the initial (A) for 63D, and immediately twigged on LAILA ALI, and GLORY BE, the rest fell nicely into place. :)
Another fun challenge in downs-only land! :)
___
Natan Last's Mon. New Yorker was relatively easy, except for having to guess at the cross of 'Braudo-Bahat' / 'Something picked up'.
___
Peace 🕊 🇺🇦 ~ Compassion ~ Tolerance ~ Kindness ~ Freudenfreude & a DAP to all 👊 🙏
Eh; far from my fastest Wednesday (that would've been this one from November 2022, which you called "easier than a Monday"), but certainly fell quickly. Threw down LONGJOHNS without any problem, but took a minute to suss out the theme answers. It's a bizarre-looking enough grid to knock it out of Monday or Tuesday contention for my tastes. Surprised there isn't more griping about ADO & AGO appearing back-to-back from us "Across-then-down" solver types. The ADASTRA/DENADA cross was the last to fall - not unfair, but definitely a bit weird.
Been many years since I was in the DEAD SEA, but I can attest that you don't want to dip in there with any exposed mucuous membranes or rashes...
I've LONG disliked my name being used for toilets and hookers' customers. So I'm pleased that Mr. --CCLLAARRKKLLEEVVIINN didn't go there, so to speak.
Pardon me, I've gotta go to the will.
Yes kinda underwhelming theme. For that revealer, it might have been better to just have Johns with long last names... FRANKENHEIMER, say.
I knew AD ASTRA from the motto Per Ardua ad Astra (through difficulty to the stars?). But I didn't know SAMOYED at all! My go-to 3 letter fish is KOI.
[Spelling Bee: Tues 0; QB streak at 7!]
I just started doing crossword puzzles and found all of you—really amazed by the number of iotas!
I'm back from the will. Now I see that I should have said, "So I'm relieved that Mr..."
Outlier here -- hardest Wed in a long time, and I gave up after 16 to reveal where my errors were so I could at least get the song to play. I'm pretty fast many days -- trying to break 3 for a Monday -- but not this one. Although I thought "Elway" was right, it was in an area with an awful lot of sports -- we had a boxer (Laila) that crossed with a sports league (NFL), a foul (airball), and a racing dog (Samoyed). Combine that with Slob instead of Slap, a desire for it to be "ball" (think, drag balls) rather than "prom" (think, in my day guys couldn't bring guys) -- and I'll take Idomeneo or another opera clue any day. Not saying it wasn't fair . . .just saying for some of us, it was far from easy.
@GILL (10:49) Re your confusion on the “T” word … TWIT is defined as a silly or foolish person. ERGO (ahem) the one with the “a” is what some might call a four-letter word - and is also how I often refer to a silly and foolish person who happens to be a female.
@Nancy (11:05) I’m with you on the SALAD serving. No problem with having it there to start but I also like it to accompany my entrée. Besides, if I eat the whole thing first then it may curb my appetite for the main course and that just wouldn’t do.
When ewers didn't work, I just went on to ALDA, and so came to GGLLEENNNN from the rear end, and thought we were dealing with some kind of geometric progression. Even though I knew who it was, I was puzzled because I wanted to get in his first name, and couldn't see a way. Then I saw the revealer and it all became simpler (except the part where I had to remember John Elway).
I think the asterisks in "*How rude?*" are supposed to suggest an equivalence between words and action -- i.e., instead of saying the words, I just slap you.
My family always had salads first, when we had them at all; but one day my (ex-)wife and I had dinner at a French restaurant in Norway, Maine. I ordered a Caesar salad, and they explained when they brought the entree that in France salads were served afterward, to help clear the palate for dessert. Then when the time came the waiter came in with a wooden bowl and prepared it tableside, in the old way -- first rub an anchovy into the wood, then put in the lettuce and crack a fresh egg over it, which you mix in with some other things to dress it. (Illegal now, but not then.) It was so impressive that I've remembered it ever since; and, being a bit snobbish, we began to serve salads after the main dishes. I don't think it affects one's enjoyment of the meal.
I did think I was going to be Naticked at AYLA, but somehow MY EYE became clear.
As for Laila ALI, I think she is considered the GOAT of women's boxing, it's just that the sport doesn't get all that much attention.
@RROOOO-No double letter pablos but did you see how that beginning looked like a coyote howl?
I'm not complaining. It took me all the way to President AADDAAMMSS to figure out the double meaning of LONGJOHNS, and unlike Queen Victoria, I was amused. Plus it was nice to see EELLWWAAYY again, and most Stanford fans would agree. Stanford has an amazing ability to pick great quarterbacks, probably because QBs have to be smart, and have to attend serious classes.
Enjoyed the rexrant!
Enjoyed the puzzle. Took a while to figure out the double meaning of LONGJOHNS. Only got it with President AADDAAMMSS. And a great Rexrant too.
Great story Lewis.
I somehow missed the clue revealing the theme. I briefly looked for it. Then thought "Oh just the names lengthened, weird"
I broke a Wednesday---or any weekday puzzle---record, but it has nothing to do with time. When I saw the gobbledygook looking first themer I read the clues for the reveal and other themers and knew instantly what the answers would be. I muttered a few bad words and thought "I'm not going to wade through the rest of this silliness" and quit with barely the top third of the grid filled in. Never done that before.
@Carola (11:24). Exactly. Who are these demagnetizers? They must be stopped!
@Whatsername. Very well said. Thank you for understanding.
Salad and a cheese course traditionally come after the meal in France.
The salad conundrum:
@Nancy...I'm with you on the salad issue. I actually want it with my meal. At home, I pile it on my plate and like to mix it up on my fork with a good piece of protein. The salad/vinaigrette/meat combo is quite tasty....
@Whatsername. Yes, I guess you can use TWIT and TWAT interchangeably. My husband (Brit) would call an obnoxious person a twat. He was told by an American friend that here in this USofA only OBGYN's use twat. Of course my mind wanders...."Well, ma'am, it looks like your twat is in fine shape...you're good to go."
gfrpeace
About salad “it is supposed to come after the meal”
In this country, in my 71 years I never once at home, in others houses, never mind restaurants ever been
served salad after the entree, formal meal or not. (I just served myself salad first in fact)
In Italy yes. But only in Italy
I don’t think it’s a stretch to say the clue answer combo is fine since the puzzle is in English, not Italian.
Who knows where t
Ali, al Ali
Her dad didn't do that by mistake.
@Whatsername -- I'm just like you. I don't want to fill myself up with salad before I've had the entree. And it's even truer of bread. I pretty much never help myself to a piece of bread until the entree arrives. But I'm amazed at the number of breadaholics out there: they can polish off an entire bread basket even before the salad is served.
If you're dining with one of those types, it might behoove you to put a piece of bread, a generous pat of butter, or that wonderful 100% virgin and herbed olive oil on your bread plate as soon as the bread basket appears. Even if you know you won't lay a hand on it for another 45 minutes. I know from dining over 40 years with a certain friend* that it will probably be my one and only chance.
*Also, she has the colossal nerve to be thin as a rail.
And btw, @Whatsername, I love, love, love your sentence: "During a feng shui attack..."
@GILL: re salad and meat -- One of the best dishes I've ever eaten is slices of thinly sliced rare, char-broiled steak over a green salad tossed with vinaigrette and Roquefort cheese. Pure heaven.
When I was growing up we always WWAAIITTEEd to have the salad until *after* the main course. It does seem a little strange now, but I remember liking it at that point in the meal. Typically it was just lettuce with oil and vinegar.
Just finished dinner and had my salad last, which is how we've been doing for so long I can't remember how it got started. Probably something we saw in Europe or even Quebec that seemed to make sense. Don't know if I should feel special or just weird.
@Lewis, I think the crowd may have been waving you off for another reason. I visited the Dead Sea almost 60 years ago, as a child. My mom (now 93 years old) was impatient at the long lines of people entering the water at a few designated spots, so strode in on her own. It turns out that salt crystals precipitate out of such salty water. The authorities smoothed the crystals out in certain spots to allow people to get to a depth where they could float. I wish I could say that the burning in the cuts on her feet cured her of her impatience. Alas, no.
Also in France and at my house. We eat the hot food first.
I too started with EWERS, driven by crossword instincts, but it's interesting how one person's crosswordese can be another's beloved memory. I first started reading Clan of the Cave Bear at a relative's house. I was a bored teenager: just pulled it off the bookshelf and got a couple of chapters in before mom said it was time to go home, and I had to put it back on the shelf, never knowing how it ended, nor remembering anything about it, except that it was about a prehistoric girl who was in an earthquake. One day I asked a librarian friend if they had any idea what book it might be, and he rattled off title and author like it was the easiest thing ever. And so I learned the power of librarians and got to read the rest of the book. (Spoiler alert: the first one is good but the series gets to be A Bit Much).
No way to fit LONGJOHN Silver in the grid?
@anon 8:07: Okay, YOU launch a boxing career and retire undefeated. I'd say that's an "accomplishment." Just for that, I'm making LAILA ALI my DOD.
Starting in the north central, I was accumulating a row of Ns on the 17a line, so naturally thought I'd made a boo-boo somewhere. It took a little time to get the idea, so dumb was it. Then I understood and from then on it was easy. But overall, I'd have to put it as easy-medium.
Yes, a truly dumb idea. The names look like I put on somebody else's EYEglasses and was seeing double. Why do this, really? Bogey.
Wordle par, with no greens till the end.
SEE AND REACT
That JOHN may HATE how he's CLAD,
he OPTED for LONGJOHNS, no pants,
as ANN ATTESTED AND will ADD,
"MYEYE says I'LLBE calling him 'LANCE'."
--- LAILA AYLA "ALLIE" ALI-ALDA
A giant Natick for me where the Cave Bear lady crossed the deli meat outburst. Could not see "MYEYE" without that Y, and I don't think of YAPping as a very shrill way to talk. More like droning on and on.
And...I got the trick!!! Oh well. It's all a TEST.
Diana, Lady-in-Waiting for Crosswords
Dap and strop are not a Natick! If you're younger, you know what a dap is. If you're older, you know what a strop is. Plus barber shops offering straight edge razor shaves have been on the rise for the last 25 years.
Jean, Auel, Ayla. The triple threat of crosswordese. Knowing neither the author nor the books from actually reading them, I always thought it was a French man. TIL: The author is a woman , who was born in Chicago, and her first name is pronounced like the one-legged pant made by Levi's!
Hoo gnu?!!?!
Finally, I believe there is one of two reasons for us getting 3 Mondays in a row.
A: An employee dropped the folder with several weeks of puzzles in them, and didn't put the templates back in, in the correct order.
B: the next 3 puzzles are going to be incredibly hard, and Shortz was giving us an early reprieve.
I'm hoping for the latter!
This is the second Wednesday in a row with silly $#!+ going on. Hope it doesn't continue. More nonsense tomorrow, no doubt.
Anybody else remember Cheech and Chong's "Earache MYEYE"?
Wordle birdie.
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