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Hello, everyone! It’s Clare for the last Tuesday in January, which, on the whole, was a miserably cold month in D.C. It snowed a lot, and biking in that weather is not easy. (I have firsthand experience based on a little tumble. Whoops.) The NFL games yesterday went 50 percent my way — the stupid Ravens lost (yay!), but then the Lions just folded to the Niners in the second half. In other sports news, Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool’s incredible, amazing, lovely, wonderful, perfect manager is retiring at the end of the season. Guess that means we’ve got to get the quadruple on his behalf this season.
Anywho, on to the puzzle…
Relative difficulty: Medium
THEME: THINK TANKS (63A: Bodies of advisory experts … or, when reinterpreted as an imperative, a hint to 17-, 24-, 38- and 52-Across) — Each theme answer refers to a kind of tank (or tank-ing)
Theme answers:
It took me a bit to get the theme, but when I finally did, I found it amusing. That means the theme didn’t help me at all with the solve, and I think the puzzle was slightly harder today than usual, as a result. The theme answers vary in terms of how TANK is used, which didn’t bother me too much, although I slightly question DROPS LIKE A STONE. I think of tanking as something a sports team does to get a better draft pick (i.e. the San Antonio Spurs maybe tanking to get Victor Wembanyama); I don’t really think of a stone dropping rapidly. And if we want to get nitpicky, “tank” there for 38A is being used as a verb while it’s used as a noun for the other clues.
- HOLDS WATER (17A: Is sound in principle)
- COMBAT VEHICLE (24A: Weaponry on wheels)
- DROPS LIKE A STONE (38A: Plummets precipitously)
- SLEEVELESS TOP (52A: Garment that may have spaghetti straps)
Dinah Washington was an American singer and pianist, one of the most popular black female recording artists of the 1950s. Primarily a jazz vocalist, she performed and recorded in a wide variety of styles including blues, R&B, and traditional pop music and gave herself the title of "Queen of the Blues." She was a 1986 inductee of the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993. (Wiki)
• • •
The rest of the puzzle was fine. I don’t think it was much to write home about, because the fill was quite basic. I usually try to pick out some words I find particularly interesting in the puzzle, but my only options in this puzzle really are T JUNCTION (10D: Three-way road layout) and LONE EAGLE (32D: High-flying metaphor for independence), neither of which inspired me much. (Plus my dad and sister texted me “LONE EAGLE???” so make of that what you will. I maintain it’s a thing, but they disagree.)
I did like the mini theme of jazz singers in the puzzle with ELLA Fitzgerald (1A), ETTA James (9A), and DINAH Washington (43A). I didn’t know of DINAH Washington before doing the puzzle today, but it seems like she was an incredible woman. OMAHA (20A: Poker variant that, despite its name, did not originate in Nebraska) was a bit funny, even if I only know the Texas Hold ‘Em variety of poker and probably only got the clue right because Peyton Manning used to say OMAHA a lot before he snapped the ball. LILAC (3D: Shade close to lavender) is a lovely color.
My favorite clue/answer by far was 35A: Sound coming from a bay? as NEIGH. The fact that the answer crossed GNU (36D: Ungulate found backward in "ungulate") and a horse is an ungulate was rather clever.
I didn’t know MECHA (14A: Manga genre involving giant robots), and there were a few other clues that gave me pause. But for the most part, this was a straightforward puzzle — albeit one that took me longer than a usual Tuesday.
Misc.:
- I distinctly remember watching “My Fair Lady” (46A) in music class in fifth grade. That was where my love of Audrey Hepburn began, and it has grown ever since. (Everyone should watch “Roman Holiday.”)
- One of my biggest pet peeves when watching a show or movie is when someone orders a drink (say, a whiskey) and then doesn’t say whether they want it NEAT (49A: Bourbon order specification) or on the rocks. Even if they do, they just order a generic whiskey, and the server doesn’t follow up to ask what type of whiskey they want. I guess my server brain is still there!
- SHINS (22D: Padded parts in soccer) — Shins really aren’t very padded anymore. This trend started toward my final days playing competitive soccer, and you see it among the most competitive leagues in the world now. Players just wear the teeny tiniest shinguards you could possibly imagine, which really cannot possibly be protecting their shins in any way. Here’s a player for Brighton putting in his shinguard (I kid you not):
- SKY High (34D) — I know this isn’t what the clue was going for, but “Sky High” was an amazing Disney movie, and I will forever be in love with it.
- I taught my friend who’s getting into crossword puzzles that a question mark means there’s some sort of pun/joke in the answer. I felt like a proud teacher when, while walking back from trivia together tonight, I asked her 13A: Toss-up at a football game? and she immediately said “COIN.”
And that’s all from me, folks. Hope you all have a great February!
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]
Easy-medium. Not knowing MECHA (Hi @Clare) and gElS before SETS were it for hiccups.
ReplyDeleteSmooth grid and a fun theme that pretty much covers all the TANKS, liked it.
Hi Clare. Here in western Canada we have had a lot of mild weather (excepting a brutal 3 day cold blast where it got to -28 C /-18 F). Today was 14 C / 56 F, and all the big snow piles have vanished in about 2 days.
ReplyDeleteI think I have never ordered a whisky (note no 'e' in Canada) in a bar but if I did it would sound like "Crown Royal with one of those big spherical ice cubes please".
I did this down clues only, and it was easier than yesterday. Not too many typeovers -- MAUVE before LILAC comes to mind. Guessing the acrosses can be risky; eg MEC-A just has to be MECCA, right?... wrong. But I quite liked the theme: I command you to THINK TANKS!... everything is TANKS!
Yes pretty sure LONE EAGLE is not a phrase I have heard before. LONE WOLF maybe, if you're talking a certain kind of "independence".
[Spelling Bee: Mon 0, QB streak 5.]
Seems like the revealer should have been a singular tank….or the other answers (besides drops like a stone) should’ve been plural.
ReplyDeleteLoom inverted from yesterday and Edys two days in a row seemed more than coincidence. Sneaky editors.
ReplyDeleteThey do this all the time - see the much discussed proliferation of ATTAs the past week.
DeleteAgree. I don't think it's sneaky as much as lazy. Just pull out your Roget's, Will!
DeleteGreat misdirect on OCTET, which most of us think of as two trios and a duo, rather than four duos.
ReplyDeleteAlways nice to get an AJOB in the puzzle, but a bJOB would be even better.
I just want to thank those of you who made supportive comments yesterday regarding my Austrian hospital stay (@Gary J, @M &A, @Bocamp, @Nancy, @Lewis, @Carola). As@Gary J notes, it's hard to know when to take me seriously, but this is a serious one and I really appreciate the support. I'm still in the hospital, in a room with two Austro-bros. Hope to get out today. Thanks again.
This is absolutely the pits! Feel better. Being sick in a foreign country is brutal.
Delete@egsforbreakfast 3:10 AM
DeleteI think I personally am less interested in you getting out of there than I am in hearing a description of your nurses. I am assuming tall, blonde, capable of yodeling, lederhosen, mugs of beer rather than saline drips, possibly an Alpenhorn in tow? And the female nurses are even prettier?
I love Klopp but from his Dortmund days when he won us back to back Bundesliga championships!
ReplyDelete
ReplyDelete@egs: Bronchitis is horrible, and being sick in a foreign country has got to be the worst. Glad you're on the mend!
@Clare, great writeup, as usual.
On the easy side of Tuesday for me. My only overwrite doesn't really count because it was before I read the clue: COMBAT VEteran at 24A
I'm more familiar with "Sink like a stone" than "Drop" (or "Drops"), thanks to Bob Dylan:
And you better start swimmin'
Or you'll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin'
I found the puzzle easy, except for the theme. I still don't understand it, even after reading Clare's comments.
ReplyDeleteI misspelled MECHA as MECcA, but other than that the puzzle didn't give me too much resistance. I got all the themers before I got to the revealer, which made me smile and reevaluate the themers--it did its job well, then. Couldn't parse TJUN for quite a while so took out AJOB and threw in TuNed for 11D, but that didn't work so TONAL it was, I eventually got the back part of TJUNCTION and realized what it had to be. A pretty standard Tuesday with a nice theme, although two of the theme answers were singular (SLEEVELESS TOP, COMBAT VEHICLE) even though the revealer is plural--a nit I expect @Rex would have harped on, but one that didn't bother me too much. It made me smile. Happy Tuesday.
ReplyDeleteI thought this was a nice, albeit a bit convoluted, theme - except for the singular/plural inconsistency and for the first themer. Because the revealer says to reinterpret as an imperative, you need to THINK “synonym for TANK(s).” In the two themers where TANK is a noun, it’s singular, but in the two themers where it’s a verb, it’s plural. COMBAT VEHICLE, DROPS LIKE A STONE, and SLEEVELESS TOP are all nice and different synonyms for TANK(s), but no one says TANKS as a synonym for HOLDS WATER. I can’t come up with a good sentence with that meaning — “that receptacle tanks a gallon of water.” No, you would say, “that tank holds a gallon of water.” And no, the answer is not saying a tank is a thing that holds water. It is saying that tank can be a verb meaning “hold water.” Maybe technically, but not IRL.
ReplyDeleteBut I did like the three unique and common uses of TANK. Like Clare, I live in DC, and there are THINK TANKS everywhere. I looked up the origin of the term, and it started out as military jargon meaning a safe place where the brass could talk plans and strategy. Now it means eggheads pontificating about policy.
Also like Clare, I loved the three jazz icons. Too bad you couldn’t get Billie and Sarah in there.
Charles Lindbergh was the Lone Eagle when he flew across the Atlantic Ocean
ReplyDeleteI got all tripped up in the DINAH/ELIZA/SHIVA and LONE EAGLE section. Just not used to hearing LONE EAGLE as a phrase (wolf yes, EAGLE no). The rest of it seemed pretty straightforward and the theme held together fine for me. Nice Tuesday puzzle.
ReplyDeleteAs Anonymous said at 7:01 Southside Johnny
DeleteLone Eagle was one of the many expressions used to refer to Lindbergh after his solo flight across the Atlantic. Before his reputation “dropped like a stone” in his antisemitic America First campaign of 1940 & ‘ 41.
Probably in the recesses of Clare ‘ memory which is why she insisted it was a thing to her family.
I completely agree with you @Phaedrus 1:50 - the theme would have worked much better with the singulars and plurals of the themers and revealers changed around a bit. Also agree with your dad and sister, Clare, anout LONEEAGLE. I’ve never heard it before.
ReplyDeleteWell, my moment of revelation in this puzzle was massive, and I earned it.
ReplyDeleteI left the revealer blank and didn’t read its clue, but uncovered the four theme answers, and tried to guess what that revealer was. I tried everything – first words, last words, initials of the words in the phrases, commonalities, double letters, words backwards – and nothing came. All roads led to nothing.
So, I admitted defeat, uncovered the revealer, and KAPOW! A true OMG moment, where I thought, “Oh how clever! How perfect!” One of those once-in-a-blue-moon Crosslandia moments where a puzzle blindsides you in the best way.
Here, it was a riddle that after my best efforts I couldn’t solve, and I’m actually glad I didn’t because of the pure revelatory pleasure of that KAPOW!
Oh, I liked the SETS down, the woody cross of PINE and TEAK, and the parade of schwa-enders led by three jazz greats (ELLA, ETTA, DINAH, SHIVA, ELIZA, TUNA, MECHA).
But it was being bested by a magnificent riddle that I remember most today, and I’ll probably remember it for some time to come. Thank you so very much for making this, Freddie!
Clare, Clare, Clare...
ReplyDeleteAnother Washingtonian afflicted with BDS eh? Baltimore Derangement Syndrome? AKA NFL-Envy-a-titis?
There was a time that this would greatly annoy a longtime Marylander and Washingtonian like me who grew up rooting for every area team, College and Pro, *except* the one that, I'm guessing, you prefer to the two-time (since 2000!) SB Champion Ravens. Or I don't know. Maybe you just have weird fandoms. I can relate.
I moved to PG County (midway between DC and Baltimore) in 1983 from ABQ, NM when I was a wee feller going on ten years old. I switched all of my patchwork fandoms to local teams, swapping out the Braves for the O's (World Series champs that year) and the Celtics for the Bullets. Those from the ice-rink-less southwest states thought pro hockey was an urban legend back then, so it was the Capitals by default.
But I had trouble shaking off my loyalty to the Cowboys. This was largely because I was loathe to so easily make nice with the team whose defensive end, one Dexter Manly, nearly killed legendary #11, the Punter-Quarterback-Renaissance-Man Danny White, in the most recent NFC Championship Game. (The Baltimore Colts had a chance, but absconded the year following.)
Even then, I likely would have turned to the erstwhile Washington Rabblewhacks in time had the community been more understanding of a little boy's honest loyalty to Tom Landry's silver 'n blue laundry. And I'm not referring only to other kids. In one notable incident, a SUPER mean hoary old jellybean of a proprietress denied me entrance into her establishment unless I took my Cowboys windbreaker off. Hell no! Right, mom? Mom? Can a get an AND HOW here, or what?
(As this was 1983 and the place was a liquor store, my mother had no problem entering without me. Priorities.)
Anyway. As of 2020, I don't let sports rile me up anymore. So rather than scold you, I'll just say that I would have called this puzzle easy, since yesterday's was so weirdly difficult. But... medium is probably right. Cheers.
Never heard of DINAH Washington but pleased to learn of her.
ReplyDeletesinkS LIKE A STONE is for me a far more natural phrase. Drop like a rock, sink like a stone. Not complaining, just observing.
LONE EAGLE???
@Nancy, A variation on the "tree falling in the forest" reference you made yesterday:
ReplyDeleteIf a man says something in the forest, and his wife is not there to hear him, is he still wrong?
*****
@egs -- please get well and continue to delight us. As my wife once said: Breathing is overrated. (I think she was joking.)
On the puzzle today: TANKS! You're velcome.
Two gentlemen are locked in a dispute on whether the 50th state should be pronounced HA-WAI-I or HA-VAI-I. They stop a passerby for help, a little old Jewish man. They explain the situation and he tells them: it's HA-VAI-I. They say, thank you. He says, You're velcome.
What is a tank top? Jim
ReplyDeleteHi Clare. You are nicer than I am. I thought this was really sub par. the theme didn’t really gel, and the fill was straight up crosswordese. I felt like the constructor really dialed it in on this one.l
ReplyDeleteAgree with Clare that TANKing in sports is losing intentionally to improve your draft choices and not just losing badly. Also I'm a Klopp fan. Great teeth.
ReplyDeleteHand up for MECHA and I'm wondering if I've ever seen a TJUNCTION or at least such an intersection described as a TJUNCTION. Otherwise fine and I'm with @Lewis that the revealer was wonderful. Had to think about it for too long before it made sense, and then it did so a firt-class aha! there.
Nice Tuesday indeed, FC. Final Challenge to get the revealer was cool, and thanks for all the fun.
Ditto @Clare , minus concern for 38A, and minus slow time.
ReplyDeleteLet's not overthink these themes - "tank/s" fits every answer well enough for a nice lip curl and head nod at the revealer.
Tank (as in “do very poorly” or “fail”) definitely has a broader meaning than just the sports-specific one cited by Clare.
ReplyDeleteRelatively easy, but for the life of me could not figure out "sly trick", WILE, also had OOZES and SEEPS, but knew neither could be correct, before finally getting SPEWS.
ReplyDeleteHey All !
ReplyDeleteZipped through this puz pretty quick. Lots of short answers, begat by the 42 Blockers (high, as max is usually 38.)
Strange Theme. Wait, I just grokked it. You have to THINK of TANKS for the Themers.A TANK HOLDS WATER (WATER TANK), a COMBAT VEHICLE is a TANK, if something DROPS LIKE A STONE, it TANKS. A SLEEVELESS TOP is also known as a TANK TOP.
Ok, puz a bit better now. 😁
Clean fill, mostly. Straightforward TuesPuz, not that there's anything wrong with that.
Almost time to EFILE. Hopefully I'll get a buck or two back this year...
One F
RooMonster
DarrinV
The kids in AYSO still wear full size shin guards, so I think 22D is fine. Nothing in the clue indicates professional soccer.
ReplyDeleteEasy-Medium. Below Avg time. A lot of XW stalwarts, mixed with a few “tougher than a Tuesday” misdirects/obscurities.
ReplyDeleteTheme was decent, good revealer, but def could be a little tighter. Noun/verb, plural/singular.
In the LONEEAGLE not a thing camp. Wolf or Ranger if paired with LONE. Eagle typically used for visual acuity/sharpness (Eagle Eye, Legal Eagle), or soaring.
I'll echo the sentiment: LONE EAGLE????
ReplyDeleteThat's not a thing, and it certainly isn't a "symbol of independence".
BALD EAGLE would've been better, but still bad as clued. But bad is better than awful, which is what that was.
Geographically, I'm not that far from @Okanagener (assuming the handle is indicative of location) but I'm jealous of the weather reported by them. Just three days of -28C? Just on the other side of the Rockies from you, we had two weeks of -35C. Has been nice the last week or so, with the chinook arch hovering above the city. Been out in shorts last couple days when the temps finally reached double digits at 12C/ 53F
Even though the verb thing at 17A bothered me too once I knew the revealer, I did think this was a very cute theme -- and one that happily couldn't be guessed at in advance. Or at least not by me. What's more, to get that sort of grid symmetry when you have a dense theme AND such limited theme options -- well, that's really amazing. This is the sort of puzzle where one imagines the constructor leaping out of bed and crying "Eureka! Got it!!"
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of constructors: As a sometime constructor myself, I find this puzzle encouraging. I'll explain. It's Tuesday, but the cluing is quite imaginative in many places: NEIGH, ECHO; GNU; OCTET; ALOHAS; EGGS; BAIL; and especially COIN. I've always worried that if I come up with a theme that's "only" Tuesday-level, my clues will be dumbed down, so I try to come up with themes that are definitely late-week candidates. This makes me feel that an early-week puzzle might be satisfying to create too.
I liked this puzzle a lot, Freddie.
Thx Freddie; happy to say, I didn't TANK on your fine piece of work! 😊
ReplyDeleteHi Clare; good to see you again! Excellent write up! 😊
Down-o success; relatively easy as I sANK from TOP to bottom, ironically wearing my go-to TANK TOP.
Only concern was MECHA, which I wrote off as a preceder of 'nize'. lol
The LONE EAGLE was last to fall. (pardon the pun)
A fun romp; very enjoyable plunge in downs-only land! :)
@Lewis (7:36 AM)
Love your 'blank revealer' exercise! :)
@egs 🌟
___
Tim Croce's 880 has come down to one cell at the cross of 'Not!' / 'Service org.'. I'm thinking on it! 🤔 [update: got it!] just a flash of inspiration out of the blue; made perfect sense, both ways. Overall, a med solve.
Moving on to Elizabeth Gorski's Mon. New Yorker.
___
Peace 🕊 🇺🇦 ~ Compassion ~ Tolerance ~ Kindness ~ Freudenfreude & a DAP to all 👊 🙏
"The Lone Eagle" was Charles Lindbergh
ReplyDeletelone eagle is not a phrase. Soar like an eagle is a phrase. I've never heard anyone say "lone eagle".
ReplyDeleteThis may be nitpicking but I find it frustrating that the work SHADE is constantly used in the clues instead of COLOR. In art school we learn that there are COLORS. Add white and they become TINTS. Add black and they become SHADES. If anything, Lavender is a TINT of Purple.
ReplyDelete@Conrad – yes to Bob Dylan, and also Leonard Cohen ("Suzanne"):
ReplyDeleteBut he himself was broken, long before the sky would open
Forsaken, almost human, he sank beneath your wisdom like a stone
And the less said about LONE EAGLE the better.
♪ I think it's wonderful AND HOW
That people are finally getting together ♪
Joe Dipinto
DeleteAbout Charles Lindbergh the LONE EAGLE
As many have noted here.
Couldn’t tell from your cryptic comment whether you didn’t remember the reference or despise the man, seeing as he developed into a eugenics supporter, antisemitic America Firster and an admirer of Hitler.
But
Lone Eagle is most definitely a thing.
Oh, and EFILE is not really a tax 'paying' option. It's a tax filing option.
ReplyDeleteNot much to add -- except that ZESTS, like dusts, is legitimate as a singular verb, but not as defined, a plural noun.
ReplyDeleteAny puzzle with [spaghetti straps] and TANK tops is OKAY with me and the slush pile editor.
ReplyDeleteThe major stick in an otherwise overly easy puzzle was DINAH on top of ELIZA crossing a phrase I've never encountered in LONE EAGLE. I know about lone wolves, but freedom isn't their metaphor. They're more into brooding, or lashing out independently with the pain of society's rejection flowing in their veins. Melancholy figures by animal standards. When I see a lone eagle, I don't think of freedom, but more about a mouse joyously living its life and will soon be taking a nonstop flight to lunch.
Also, have you done much driving in urban areas lately. Every vehicle is a COMBAT VEHICLE now. Between the texters, the Uber-ers stopping randomly in the road, these jiffy scooters flying off sidewalks, counter intuitive bike lanes that pretty much guarantee you're gonna run over a few bicyclists here and there, walkers who don't look left before stepping off the curb, and the bums who've lost the knack of knowing how to cross a street like a human being, it's no wonder pedestrian deaths are up in Denver (which I believe is natural selection in process thinning the herd of the weakest members), and why everyone needs to own a tank. THINK TANK.
ETTA for ATTA. I miss ATTA. ETTA sucks.
Uniclues:
1 What the other gods think when everything is going to heck.
2 Metaphor for soccer players and pretty actresses on late night TV.
3 Singing wildebeest living in Malibu.
4 Get her to shut the cluck up.
1 SAME SHIVA
2 SHINS AT IT
3 TONAL GNU OKAY
4 ABATE HEN TSKS
My Fascinating Crossword Uniclue Keepsake from Last Year: What's going on in your freezer, probably. COD LIE IN STATE.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Highly unsatisfying puzzle to me. No sparkle, lots of short fill, and I still only sort of get the theme/revealer. (As an imperative?). But I’m mostly here to complain that “DROPS LIKE A STONE” is not a thing. The thing is “Sinks like a stone” and that would have been both a better, zippier answer, and would have fit just fine.
ReplyDeleteAlso, neither one really means tanks. Tanks in that sense has a definitive implication of failure.
I actually thought of DROPS before I thought of SINKS. But when I thought of DROPS, I said to myself "...is there anything else it could be?" I then thought of SINKS and told myself: "Better check first." Looked at 30D and ADD made it clear that it was DROPS.
ReplyDelete@Lewis -- I love the color and vibrancy with which you describe your "Aha Moment" today upon seeing the revealer.
Speaking of color and vibrancy: To Anon 9:43 -- Thank you so much for taking me to art school with you. I learned a lot from your one single sentence -- no, really!! -- and now I don't have to go. Just watch me mix those colors on my own.
@Joe D (9:47) -- Since you were posting about it anyway, why not link to the wonderful "Suzanne" instead of that dreadful-sounding "AND HOW" number in blue. You already know, Joe, that you're one of my favorite people on this blog, and yet I'm not sure that I could stay in the same room with you, music-wise, when you're playing many of your personal song favorites:) You will forgive me, I hope.
I found this one easy! Liked the theme. And I especially loved the ladies of jazz included. To all who are unfamiliar with Dinah Washington, may I suggest you listen to the live version (on Dinah Jams) of Lover Come Back to Me! Listening, you can't imagine that she can come in after Ferguson's, Browns, Roach's solos with the requisite intensity - but she does that and more!
ReplyDeleteNeat revealer and nice tank-convention.
ReplyDeleteMis-read 14-A clue as {Maga genre involving giant robots}, and immediately went with TRUMP. Lost many precious nanoseconds, especially since MECHA was a no-know.
staff weeject pick: ATL. Did not know Atlantis had a NHL team, but I don't do hockey much anymore.
fave things: TJUNCTION. A debut NYTPuz entry, no less. Symmetric(al) ETTA & ELLA. ANDHOW. COIN clue.
Tanx, Mr. Cheng dude. And nice blog cover, Clare darlin.
Masked & Anonymo2Us
**gruntz**
I've never heard of BOSS BATTLE but that doesn't mean it is not a phrase in the language.
ReplyDeleteLONE EAGLE - nickanme of Charles A. Lindbergh (rather famous guy)
LONE EAGLE - title Danielle Steel's fifty-first bestselling novel (rather famous author)
@Egs…I somehow missed the part of your post yesterday about being in the hospital! Yes, bronchitis is terrible and to suffer through outside one’s comfort zone…yikes! I’m sure the hospital staff is great but there is something comforting about being at or near your home whilst sick. Take care!
ReplyDeleteI thought this puzzle was quite good for a Tuesday! I plan to Google LONEEAGLE to see if there is ANYTHING other than “puzzle solution” hits…but otherwise I thought the clues and puzzle were just fine! I really have never gotten into the “some are nouns, one is verb” thing that would make me question the puzzle “tightness” but I guess to each his own with what constitutes finicky.
@jberg
ReplyDeleteso my recipe should read "zest an orange and zest a lemon and combine the two zest"?
I liked this puzzle, primarily for all the reasons @Nancy listed. I’ve never attempted to construct any crossword, but have always suspected that writing the clues would be the most critical part of the process. After all, it wouldn’t matter how solid your grid is if your clues are too simple or so challenging as to be burdensome for your target audience.
ReplyDelete@egs: I didn’t check in yesterday and was unaware of your hospital stay. That’s no fun anywhere, not to mention downright scary in a strange place. Hope you’re soon out of there and feeling much better.
@Gary J: I laughed out loud at your description of the obstacle course that is urban navigation these days. I long ago relocated to a less densely populated area but 35 years later, it’s grown and some of those factors have come along with it. Plus, it’s a retirement Mecca so throw in the mix of the old fogies (and I include myself in that category) who are not in as big a rush as the younger people who have busier lives and of course, the general level of impatience that most drivers seem to have in the internet age. It might be safer to take the bus.
Funny solving moment illustrating how one can be influenced by recent puzzles:
ReplyDeleteCame across today’s clue “___ well done (good work)”, and had the initial A filled in.
First answer to pop into my head was, no lie …
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-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
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ATTA!
Wish we were beyond fill like “simpleton” and “idiot.”
ReplyDeleteDrop/sink like a rock, not a STONE
ReplyDeleteLone wolf, not lone EAGLE.
Anything at all, just not T JUNCTION.
I thought this was really creative. For me, adding the verb TANKS to the three noun TANKS was a witty flourish (granted, in my days of grading student essays, I'm have written "non-parallel construction" in the margin, but...yay for retirement and puzzle freedoms). And getting the reveal from THI--- was sweet (hi, @Lewis). Easy overall, but I was slowed down by a few unknowns: MECHA, and especially the cross of ATL and LONE EAGLE.
ReplyDelete@egsforbreakfast, I'm glad for the good news.
Hi, Clare! Thanks for filling in. Fully agree with the theme being amusing but not helpful in solving. This one came in at about average for me. As a relatively new jazz fan, was delighted with the royal trio of ELLA/ETTA/DINAH, and we could've made it a quartet with NAT Cole.
ReplyDeleteDinah Washington was the subject of an off-Broadway show called "Dinah Was" that I caught *mumblemumble* years ago, and her tragic death at a young age due to substance abuse accounts for her not being as well known as her contemporaries.
No complaints with the fill. Singular WILE and plural TSKS are a bit iffy to my ear, but that's being really picky, and who wants that?
Thanks, Mr. Cheng!
@Joe D….haha…@Nancy actually drew me back to LOOK at your linked lyrics and listen to it. Great example of the use of ANDHOW…but also it brought a smile to my face of hearing the word “groovy” which I’m pretty sure I ONLY ever heard in film, tv, and song lyrics, and not in actual conversation. Groovy, man….
ReplyDelete@bocamp - re: Croce #800. That was my last square too.
ReplyDeleteOhh…a good future clue for "OMAHA" would be "Peyton's place?"
ReplyDeleteRe LONE EAGLE: from Forbes Magazine, May 19, 1997:
ReplyDelete'"Lone eagles have always been concentrated in urban areas," says Philip M. Burgess, president of the Denver-based telecommuting think tank Center for the New West, the man who coined the "lone eagle" moniker earlier this decade. "The doctor, appraiser, a claims adjuster. Independent business people. All can be lone eagles."'
'In Burgess' definition, a lone eagle is "a knowledge worker, who can live and work anywhere, primarily because of advances in telecomputing technologies."'
Another Klopp fan here,@ Clare. Spot on commentary, YNWA.
ReplyDeleteInteresting that Rex found this puzzle medium
ReplyDeleteThought it was very eay.
Oops I see it was Clare. A lot of old stuff.
ReplyDeleteDifferent perspective.
@CT2Napa Bravo. My thoughts on reading that comment, but much better expressed than I would have done it.
ReplyDeleteRoomonster, and I think one or two others understood the theme as I did with no need for all the grumblingabou plural, singular verb noun not agreeing nonsense.
@M&A-Clue for ATL was for a "Division" in the NHL, so "ATL" here means "Atlantic". Since I watch the Bruins a lot and they are currently on top of the Atlantic Division, I hear that one often.
ReplyDeleteI also thought the re-purposing of THINK TANKS from a noun phrase to a an imperative was clever. I was, however, put off by the glut of short stuff that always follows a higher than average number of black squares in the grid, today 42 of them.
ReplyDeleteI prefer a balance of theme material and interesting fill and shoehorning five longish themers and reveal into the grid means that is not likely to happen. We get a lot of three and four letter entries and a passel of POCs like BROS, ELMS, ZESTS, ALOHAS, SPEWS, EGGS, KMS, SETS and TSKS. Even two themers and the reveal get a little POC help when HOLD WATER, DROP LIKE A STONE and THINK TANK can't fill their slots.
I think it would have worked better with three themers and the reveal. Leave out DROPS LIKE A STONE. As Clare and several commenters point out, that one is a little iffy to begin with. Then we could have less perfunctory "glue" to hold the themers together and more emphasis on quality fill.
I think it's pretty common to hear that a stock price is TANKing, meaning that it's DROPping LIKE A STONE, or plummeting precipitously, as the clue would have it.
ReplyDeleteI think a sports team TANKing is slightly different.
One more comment on LONE EAGLE and then I'll stop.
ReplyDeleteIn a 2010 piece on NPR titled "Playing On The Edge: The Psychology Of A Goalkeeper," Rosie Schaap wrote that the soccer goalkeeper is 'the “lone eagle, the man of mystery, the last defender,” as Vladimir Nabokov called him, who is of the team but still set-apart, solitary, special.'
@Anon 2:19 – I wasn't thinking of Lindbergh, just that LONE WOLF is the usual expression.
ReplyDelete@Nancy – I linked to "Suzanne" once before and I try not to play the same song twice. Sorry about Friend & Lover; but it was a big hit and the only thing I could think of with "and how" in the lyric. At least @Beezer enjoyed it. :-) Here's a favorite Dinah Washington track instead.
I liked the puzzle okay but the anti Ravens comment was a slap in the face. I call a taunting and an unnecessary roughness foul.
ReplyDeleteTJUNCTION? Oh, please. What do you say when giving directions? "You'll come to a T." That's it. 10d is ridiculous. No one ever says that. Another gratuitous ADD-on that ought to be banned.
ReplyDeleteMini-theme co-DOD DINAH hit a high point with "What a Difference a Day Makes." Gone way too soon. So also are ELLA and ETTA.
Good theme, once again undiscernible until the revealer pulls it all together; like. The fill elicits several TSKS. Par.
Wordle bogey, too many shots at BBGGG.
Harder than usual for a Tuesday. Yesterday was harder than usual for a Monday so maybe the NYT is upping its daily difficulty scale. The theme was pointless. Why even bother? Aside from the punny wordplay there is nothing connecting the theme elements. Consequently, I send many TSKS in the general direction of the NYT xword editors.
ReplyDeleteThe REA-MECHA Natick should have been edited. REA could become ROA (Net income divided by total assets, abbr.) and MECHA could become MOCHA (fine coffee).
ReplyDeleteROA??!? lol absolutely not
DeleteTRI A WILE
ReplyDeleteELIZA is NUN TO NEAT,
can’t THINK HOW she HOLDS AJOB,
AND TODATE, IT’S quite A feat,
SEW she DROPS her SLEEVELESSTOP.
--- ETTA STONE
MECHA was an unknown for me, but the rest was very doable so I filled it in correctly. Can't top that!
ReplyDeleteLady Di
This puz was a breeze. Stephen REA a gimme having seen the film and the same clue about a hundred times. My favorite ELIZA is Ms. Gilkyson, give a listen.
ReplyDeleteWordle bogey, all blue start, three shots at BGGGG.