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Boston Harbor detritus, once / FRI 2-16-2024 / Noble gas used in propelling ion thrusters / First, and so far only, chimpanzee to orbit Earth
Friday, February 16, 2024
Constructor: Colin Adams
Relative difficulty: Easy (12:31 while on a crowded train)
THEME: Themeless
Word of the Day: PECOS (Cowboy Bill) —
Pecos Bill is a fictional cowboy and folk hero in stories set during American westward expansion into the Southwest of Texas, New Mexico, Southern California, and Arizona. These narratives were invented as short stories in a book by Tex O'Reilly in the early 20th century and are an example of American folklore.
• • •
When I first opened the puzzle, I was a little put off because there aren't many long entries-- there are only three that are longer than eight letters! But that was super unfair of me. Eight-letter terms can totally be interesting, and Colin totally proved it here. My first entry was SPAMALOT, and then I checked all the down entries that branched off from it. I immediately put in MESSY BUN, a phenomenal entry that made me actually kick my legs back and forth in delight, and I basically grinned through the rest of the puzzle.
 |
| Marianne from "Normal People" is simply the queen of the Messy Bun |
Eight of the ten eight-letter entries were delightful and cute and interesting (PATIENTS and WORN DOWN were kinda meh, but I appreciate that they were clean entries!), I simply loved OH BOOHOO and FOOD COMA. And all three of the longer answers were great-- HIGHWAY HYPNOSIS I was able to put in with zero crosses, and INNER DEMONS and DONT TEMPT ME are so evocative.
This puzzle was everything I'm looking for in a Friday-- breezy and lively and fun. But I will say that it definitely rewards long-time solvers-- I was able to easily plunk in entries like NENE, EWER, SERA, and I TINA which are not exactly common in the real world. I could imagine Malaika From Four Years Ago giving up in the lower right corner, where ELMORE (who it seems was mainly active in before I was born) was also unknown to me.
Bullets:
- [Bacon bits] for ESSAYS — Can someone explain this? Is "Bacon" referring to a person, maybe?
- [Stand-up person?] for NO SHOW — This reminded me to recommend "The No-Show," a lovely book that I read a couple months ago. I think it's marketed as a romance novel, but I wouldn't call it that-- it's more of a Novel With Romance.
- [Northern hemisphere?] for IGLOO — Amazing clue!!
- [Eldest daughter of Oceanus and mother of Nike] for STYX — This was a hard clue! I am more familiar with it as a mythological river
- [Sitarist Shankar] for RAVI — He is the father of Norah Jones, which makes her (like me!) half-Indian
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]
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97 comments:
Very easy, Wednesday’s was tougher. The NE put up some resistance but not much. MESSY BUN and STYX were WOEs but the crosses were fair.
Smooth with a quite a bit of sparkle, liked it but this wasn’t a Friday.
@Malaika - Sir Francis Bacon (1561-1626) was an English philosopher and essayist.
Glue Sticks that are made for the most extreme hot and cold: IGLOO STYX
Interviewer: So, Ms. Turner, is that all you have to say about your crazy life?
Turner: That's ITINA nutshell.
I demand total obedience when I mesmerize people. I call it "my WEIGH or the HIGHWAYHYPNOSIS."
Believe me, a MESSYBUN is not an ASSET.
What do you call a chocolate milk drink in a lamb's jug? A EWE EWER YOOHOO.
@Malaika. Francis Bacon was a 17th century English philosopher, scientist and statesman. He is known for his essays, particularly on the subject of scientific reasoning. He is also suspected by many contrafactualists of having written some plays that we attribute to Shakespeare. Also, while I have you, please accept my thanks for the joy and nonchalance you bring to your guest writeups.
I liked the puzzle, and adored some of the cluing. Good bit of whooshing to boot. But one of my RECS would be to not use RECS ever again. And I'm sure Rex would agree. Thanks for a swell Friday, Colin Adams.
Essays is a book by Francis Bacon https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essays_(Francis_Bacon)
Francis BACON, British philosopher in the 1600’s. He wrote many essays.
Francis Bacon was a British philosopher in the 1600’s. He wrote many essays.
Hi Malaika! ESSAYS = Francis Bacon bits. (Also it looks like ESSAYS is the title of one of his books?) And that clue for IGLOO... the exact same clue was used years ago, and I used to to explain to someone why you can't just Google answers for a give clue! OH BOO HOO and HIGHWAY HYPNOSIS were great.
Seemed very fast; 9.5 minutes for me. And HBCU was my only gigantic WOE. I'm sure we've seen it before but initialisms, blah.
[Spelling Bee: Wed -1, missed this thing that is not a word according to most sources so I cannot find a dictionary or Wikipedia link. Ended my 20 day QB streak. Thurs currently -1 as well. Bah.]
Great guest write up, thanks!
Probably noted by others (first time commenter here!) the "Bacon bits?" refers to Essays by Francis Bacon:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essays_(Francis_Bacon)
I, too, greatly enjoyed this puzzle and your write-up! I especially enjoyed the clues for spamalot and ohboohoo...
FYI: Sir Francis Bacon was a famous essayist, hence the Bacon bits.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Bacon
Francis Bacon, famous essayist.
bacon... everything is better with bacon... but in this case, i believe, it is Sir Francis.
Francis Bacon, an essayist and crossword stalwart.
Highway hypnosis crossed with Food coma - an accident waiting to happen. We're rich, the lawyers say.
Another relatively easy Friday. No more riding the R or the N or the 5 at 2a.
Really fun Friday! Loved it for all the reasons Malaika did. And "Bacon bits" refers to Francis Bacon, the English essayist and philosopher of the 16th century.
YOO-HOO, VOO-DOO, BOO-HOO, IGLOO, better than SO-SO
Since everyone has already chimed in about Francis Bacon (totally worth reading) I'll put in a plug for Elmore Leonard - one of the best and wittiest mystery/thriller writers out there (OK, it's a preferred genre of mine - so the clue was a "gimme" for me). You might know a movie starring John Travolta called "Get Shorty" - a super entertaining film. It's based on an Elmore Leonard novel. 52 pickup too - and I imagine at least a dozen other films are based on his novels.
I was going to say something about "Wednesday on Friday" but @jae beat me to it. Only overwrite was FLORaS x RaCS at 5D/22A before FLORES x RECS. I agree with @egs that RECS should be permanently retired.
@Malaika: What @egs said about your guest writeups.
I'm jealous that you get to discover Elmore Leonard's novels!
Obviously a secret message in the northern hemisphere. Oh BooHoo! Doh! Don’t Tempt Me. You were a No Show when the Troupe Left on a Sour Note. Nice Work. Return to Sender.
@Malaika, There was a famous Essay on the question of why Bacon Bits don't need be refrigerated, and whether they're actually Bacon or just recycled newspaper. It's true.
A fun puzzle.
Finished it without a cheat, but needed trial-and-error to get OHBOOHOO. The abbreviation for historically black colleges didn't occur to me, so the SW took a while. I also had "take" instead of TOKE, a word I didn't know.
I took French in high school and college. A "jardin" is a "garden," and a flower is a "fleur." Can someone explain FLORES?
It refers to famed philosopher Kevin BACON.
First thought: I did this faster than @Rex??? Then see it's guest @Malaika. Actually thought it was too easy for a Friday. Agree with @M that it skews older! But, if you've never seen Justified (Hulu), which is based on an Elmore Leonard novel, do so at once! Walton Goggins!!
We loved SPAMALOT during its initial run must be more than 15 years ago. The costumes looked like they were made for a high school musical and there was almost no scenery. But both kids knew every word to every Monty Python skit, and they reveled in the whole experience.
FOOD COMA was a gimmie, but it sure lives in a tough neighborhood with Jardin/FLORES, ci/ca/SOSA, Mr. Groening, and the ESSAYS written by the esteemed Mr. Bacon. Definitely tough sledding for me there (even RECS was a bit of a stretch - one of those clue/answer combos that hold up in CrossWorld but is rarely- well maybe never - encountered in the wild).
I enjoyed the rest of it with a smattering of Wednesday-level clues and answers to allow me to keep some momentum going. So I took my lumps in the north central there and kept persevering - about the best I can hope for on a Friday.
Pretty easy but pretty fun.
Easy Friday, despite not knowing MESSY BUN, RON, or HIGHWAY HYPNOSIS (wanted 'white line fever' there, which would not fit).
With 29 Os, today's puzzle cracks the top ten among 15x15 NYT puzzles. It is still well behind the record of 69.
Kevin Bacon is an American actor. In high school, he wrote ESSAYS.
Oh, bright, bright grid. Here we have a box bursting with winners. Look at them!:
SPAMALOT over WE’RE RICH.
OH BOO HOO over NICE WORK, over SOUR NOTE.
The eights FOOD COMA and *MESSY BUN.
The longs INNER DEMONS, *HIGHWAY HYPNOSIS, and DON’T TEMPT ME
Plus, VOODOO and *HBCU.
(Asterisks on NYT answer debuts.)
No stale, staid puzzle, this.
Punctuated by an OCTOthon of double-O’s (8), worthy of a “Woo Hoo!”. Punctuated by a staccato of “Hah!”-producing clues, like those for TROUPE, UNITS, NO-SHOW, THUD, and TROUPE.
Conclusion: WHEE! – from top to bottom. On a NYT puzzle debut! A debut on a Friday! Leaving me hungry for more! Congratulations, Colin, on this. You have landed on a shining talent that I hope you pursue. And thank you so much for a sterling ride today!
Agree, great "eights" that made this a fun puzzle. Also liked the _OO sub theme
@egs, you're cookin' today!
Nice puzzle - Friday’s have been trending easier the past few months - this one falls in line. INNER DEMONS is pretty cool and I like the misdirect for APOLLO and ESSAYS.
Fess Parker
The idea of HIGHWAY HYPNOSIS is real but I’ve never heard the term. MESSY BUN = sticky cinnamon roll. Plenty of gimmes in this grid.
Pleasant Friday morning solve.
The most famous of the VOODOO queens
Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam! Lovely Spam!
Having Spam in my head, I really liked nosher for “Standup person?”
Fun puzzle.
If you look closely, you'll see that the i in "jardin" has an accent. So it's the Spanish word for garden. Hence FLORES.
Wanted the answer to 1D to be Anoushka, but her name didn’t fit, so I put in her father’s name.
I had the same initial reaction. Then I took the train across the Pyrenees and all was revealed.
Hi Malaika! I thought it was fun but a bit easy for a Friday!
A
Terrific fun.
Did anyone else think XEROX was gonna go in at 24D, and then titter when the entry below was EPSON?
NENEs may be rare in the wild but not in crossword puzzles. It is the Enya of geese.
The accent on the i indicates that it’s Spanish. This held me up a bit as well!
Same here. FLORES is Spanish, as is jardín—but note the accent on the last syllable. I'd rate that a typo at best, and poor editing or copyediting at worst.
@Bob Mills - 5:36 AM - Same here. FLORES is Spanish. So is jardín—but note the accent on the final syllable. That's how it should have appeared in the clue. That's a typo at best, and, less charitably, bad editing.
@ Bob Mills. Think Spanish, not French
Francis famously said "hope makes a good breakfast, but a poor supper". To this the only reply could me "You know what makes a good breakfast? Bacon, that's what "
Liked all the OOs and the COMA / HYPNOSIS mini themes. I’ve had a very full life to date without ever hearing of a MESSY BUN before, but at least the crosses took care of it. Nice puzzle!
Side bet, how many people will say Francis Bacon?.
FH
'Northern hemisphere?' = IGLOO is one of the best clues ever.
I think the ESSAY clue is tricky one. If you start with former All State Cafe waiter Kevin Bacon, you are six degrees away from essayist and noted crossword celebrity Charles “ELIA“ Lamb. I think it goes through Tom Cruise and William Wordsworth but I didn’t have enough time to fully research it.
Hey All !
NICE WORK Colin. Was stuck just enough in spots to make it a worthwhile solve. The ticking clock tells me I solved in slightly less than 16 minutes, which makes it a Super-Fast FriPuz for me. But it didn't feel like it was that fast.
The grid has a more "Themed" feel to it, ala the Blocker pattern. Usually Themelesses are more open. That's not a knock on this puz, I liked it, just an observation.
HBCU, huh. OK, hopefully one of y'all will tell me what that stands for. I'm guessing the U is University.
Great puz that starts off with two F's and SPAMALOT! 😁
Double O fest today. I count 9 of 'em. 4 in NW, 4 in SW, 1 West Center.
YOOHOO, don't BOOHOO over your FOOD at NOON in an IGLOO. Stop that VOODOO!
Happy Friday.
Two F's
RooMonster
DarrinV
Agree with everyone on the "easy breezy" description but there were so many fun answers that I was sorry it was over so soon.
Today we have the antithesis of the chignon-the MESSYBUN. What I know about emojis is, nothing, but the meaning was easily inferable. I always wonder about saying ARENTI, since we don't say "I ARE", but "am I not", while correct, sounds a little snooty.
And today's Crossword Classic is of course NENE, which has the "goose" part of the clue right but somehow fails to mention Hawaii.
Nice job, CA. Chances Are you'll have many more of these accepted. Congrats on the debut, and thanks for all the fun.
Too much crosswordese. Naticks upon naticks upon naticks. NE was just brutal with Pecos (??!), Spamalot (?!?), Styx, Iberia. Just so obscure and trivial. NENE?? ENOS? Finished in 20 minutes but good lord. It was not fun.
Terrific Friday puzzle!
My local patisserie made a sticky bun with croissant dough. It was the most spectacularly delicious and messiest bun I've ever had, and they tell me it was too much work to make it on a regular basis:(
Was that Bacon question just a tease for boosting engagement??? If so, nice work!
He (Francis not Kevin, lol), like Elmore, wrote before you were born. Not so for all our bloggers:) How many degrees of separation between these two Bacons, hopefully more than the ones in the frying pan that stick together.
I love thinking about sitting across from Malaika on a train and having her squeal and kick her legs while looking down and working a crossword, bringing joy into the world. Unless it was the quiet car, of course.
Times not important to solving experience, but since it was mentioned: Guest blogger times vary wildly. I usually lose to Rex, who loses to
Eli, and usually beat Malaika, who seems to have improved timewise and nosed me today.
Such a funny SPAMALOT clue! It makes me cry OH BOO HOO that I never saw the show. If I had seen the show, I'm sure I would have shouted YOO HOO.
(I can't fit VOODOO and IGLOO into my narrative, but the puzzle-maker did.)
An odd sort of theme/no theme Friday.
Some colorful fill: I liked INNER DEMONS, FOOD COMA, and especially HIGHWAY HYPNOSIS which was new to me. But then I don't drive. I loved the clue for NO SHOW (64A).
But there's a really b-a-a-a-a-d POC. I mean TEAS is unfortunate enough, but to clue it that way...Yikes.
I imagine the rebels standing in Boston Harbor. "I'll toss in a Lipton," says one. "I've got an Earl Grey," says another. "Here goes the Tetley's" says a third. SPLAT SPLAT. SPLAT. Ah, yes, the many TEAS that ended up in Boston Harbor.
(You know I'm only TEASing you, Colin.)
I agree with @Malaika: "breezy and lively and fun." There were SO, SO many great entries today, one fun-to-write-in answer after another. I also agree on "easy," except for one sticky spot: ARENT I x STYX. I'd written in MESSY BUN, giving me ???Y? for Nike's mother and thought, "Surely no Greek name has a Y in it" so erased YBUN. Well, as 54A says, D'OH!
@Colin Adams, congratulations on your debut! I look forward to your next one.
We have some friends who have pet pigs named Francis and Kevin. They also have dogs named Snoop and Chili.
Bacon N. Eggerton was a 19th-century chef and food writer. His collection of essays "The Importsnce of Eating Breakfast" was considered revolutionary.
Indeed, Malaika, like the novelist Leonard Elmore, the essayist Francis Bacon was also "mainly active before you were born"!
I'm having a mental fog. Can anyone explain Time to draw = NOON?
Jardin is also the Spanish word for garden
@Sutsy - think gunfight duel. “Draw your weapon”
I am about 2 years into crosswords. But progress is slow. Early week puzzles are good now but I hit a brick wall fast. I think all if you are unbelievable to get through these puzzles. I know this isn't the forum but ways, resources to improve besides getting a new brain.
High noon in a cowboy duel?
A classic!
@Sutsy 9:52, think about a Western gun duel at high noon: time to draw a gun from its holster.
Can anyone explain why "Bacon bits" is ESSAYS?
(Just kidding.)
It was MATT Groening's birthday yesterday. He's 70 and has 9 children. His oldest is his son named Homer but he goes by Will. Homer and Marge were the names of Matt's actual parents, and Lisa and Maggie his younger sisters. His actual grandpa was named Abe too. Bart was named from the anagram of brat.
Great scores on QB. Always seems to be that elusive one for me.
I came here immediately after finishing, hoping to see the ever-so-rare thumbs up from Rex. Really fun answers and clever clues. Wordplay!
I hope Rex enjoyed it, wherever he is. I enjoyed M’s breezy and fun write-up.
Love Elmore Leonard’s books-but I’m old!
Not to mention the current TV series Justified, and it's predecessor Fire in the Hole, with character Raylan Givens, both based on Dutch Leonard's work.
Easy breezy fun Friday! I found the lower left corner the hardest to get into having never heard the term HIGHWAY HYPNOSIS (though I’ve definitely experienced it!) but EWE and YOO-HOO broke me in.
Malaika, I loved The No Show! I did NOT see the twist coming.
Oh Maliaka, your education is lacking!
Wikipedia: Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Alban[a] PC (/ˈbeɪkən/;[5] 22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626), known as Lord Verulam between 1618 and 1621, was an English philosopher and statesman who served as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England under King James I. Bacon led the advancement of both natural philosophy and the scientific method and his works remained influential even in the late stages of the Scientific Revolution.
Rather oozy, especially in West. NICE WORK! Great to see ELMORE Leonard, one of my long-time favorite writers. I met him several times - enough to call him by his nickname, Dutch.
Late to the party again, but at least I wasn’t a NOSHOW. I kind of liked this, even though TEAS struck me as a SOUR NOTE. The wonderful OH BOO HOO and YOO HOO more than made up for it. The clue for SPAMALOT was priceless and I would say that’s exactly what should happen to anybody who uses a cell phone in any theater anywhere.
I’ve tried to read a couple of ELMORE Leonard’s novels and found them a little too profane and frenetic for my taste. If you’re interested in a milder version of the same genre, I highly recommend Carl Hiaasen.
Rats! Did not know what an HBCU is as I've never heard it as an initialism, and I did not know a violin stood for OH BOO HOO, but it makes sense, and it should be the logo for this blog. Otherwise I flew through this puzzle surprisingly easily. I'm betting most people did too. It's a great puzzle with one zillion fun answers and great cluing throughout.
Tee-Hee: TOKE ... dude.
Uniclues:
1 Chase musical out of town in offense over the spanking.
2 The magical ability to send you to the lodge weeping with a wet butt and throbbing knees.
3 Unless you want to go to Hell, I wouldn't sail there, and, you might want to avoid the ferryman as he's a one-way oarer.
4 Two words: Cherry pie.
5 Sheldon Cooper's disappointment when Wil Wheaton failed to appear at the '95 Dixie Trek Convention in Jackson, Mississippi.
6 Black swan's understatement.
7 Baby Boomer with an email account.
8 French flowers facing fall.
9 "Uh hello, I can't help with the dishes right now. Napping."
10 Double whiskey before grading the pile.
11 New Mexican emulating 45.
1 RUN OFF SPAMALOT
2 ICE SKATE VOODOO (~)
3 STYX RECS (~)
4 DOH! DON'T TEMPT ME!
5 OH BOO HOO NO SHOW
6 NICE WORK TROUPE
7 SOUR NOTE SENDER
8 WORN DOWN FLORES (~)
9 YOO HOO ... FOOD COMA (~)
10 ESSAYS SNORT
11 PECOS TYRANT
My Fascinating Crossword Uniclue Keepsake from Last Year: Neither meow meow meow ... NOR BOWWOWWOW.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Mods, please nip the 8:16 anonymous in her FLORES. Once we get started on acid character assassination vitriol will flow.
Loved the solve as a long in tooth admirer of ELMORE & BACON…and NENE always recalls our scary drive on Maura Loa, or maybe it was Mauna Kea. Over too quickly. And thanks Malaika for your Thursday Wednesday. When you want to be amused check out the series Justified based on Leonard’s Fire in the Hole novel that introduces Raylon a character who is really a character.
Just now learning from y'all the flowers aren't French, so #8 should be: Spanish showy stonecrops (sedum spectabile) sensing season's cessation.
A very easy solve in spite of my FLEURS/FLORES and WIPEDOUT/WORNDOWN write overs.
YOOHOO crossing BOOHOO was SB double vision. Speaking of which....
yd -0 QB19. @okanaganer sorry about the streak BTW your link for the Wednesday word didn't work
@AModerator and @Newboy 11:13 AM
I will second the request to nix the personal attack of @Anonymous 8:16 AM. Or, let's ask if they would post their grandmother's phone number so we can call and see if they're a disappointment to the whole family.
I've been forcing my family to have a dance party to Beyonce's Texas Hold 'Em every day this week.
OO-some FriPuz. It sure had some 'tude, for a themeless rodeo. At least 7 ?-marker clues. And many other clues with extra-interestin stuff in em.
No E/W puzgrid symmetry, for a change.
staff weeject pick (of only 6 choices): RON. This historic jazz bassist was a noo-knoow, at our house.
fave stuff included: More of Malaika darlin. IGLOO clue. VOODOO. Borderline weird APOLLO clue. HIGHWAYHYPNOSIS. SPAMALOT and clue. ELMORE Leonard ref. FOODCOMA.
Anybody surprised, that MESSYBUN was a debut entry? Definite no-know do, at our salon. It was kinda one of them inner puz demons.
Thanx for the fun, Mr. Adams dude. And congratz on yer primo debut. Almost gave M&A a OO-COMA.
Masked & Anonymo4Us
**gruntz**
Sleek slick Friday fun! Wonderful work. Bravo!
Can someone explain HBCU ?
Thx Colin; NICE WORK! 😊
As always, ty Malaika for your thots! 👍
Downs-only (again, OH SO close).
Misspelt OCT(a), and had no chance at the 'H' for HBCU. (will be working on a mnemonic)
Speaking of mnemonics, I think I've finally got ISAO AOKI down pat (Is ao aok?)
Another great downs-o trip! :)
___
Peace 🕊 🇺🇦 ~ Compassion ~ Tolerance ~ Kindness ~ Freudenfreude & a dap to all 👊 🙏
Easiest Friday I have ever done-it felt more like a Wednesday than a Friday puzzle.
Inmo easiest Friday ever.
Given the lack of answers to Malaika's query about Bacon bits, I thought it would be helpful to share that this is actually a typo that should have read "Bacon obits", referring to the fact that many essays have been written predicting the end of meat consumption - often with particular reference to pork products. It's a good job Rex is on vacation, otherwise he would have almost certainly have given us a rant about declining editing standards at the NYTXW.
+1 to all the comments about how enjoyable Malaika's writeups are.
I loved it!
HBCU - Historically Black Colleges and Universities
Great wordplay today - I circled the clues for 42A, 64A, 66A and 20D. One writeover, where I was thinking Camelot and put in SPAMeLOT. 11D's eRK had me rethink that spelling.
I've been studying Spanish so it only took a short amount of time for me to realize 5D wouldn't be FLeurS but I forgot the plural wasn't FLORaS and RaCS at 22A had me RaCking my brain for the informal critics' picks. Unfortunately, I didn't rack enough and ended with that square wrong.
Conlin Adams, thanks for a breezy, entertaining Friday puzzle.
My biggest problem, not being up on the airline business, was ItalIA, leading to radON as the gas. But ST_R was no good, it pretty much had to be STYX (as a river, I guess she was the daughter of the ocean--those pagan gods personified everything.)
Second biggest, wich I managed to avoid, was having heard that FOOD COMAs were caused by the tryptophan in turkey meat, and figuring they had been named TRYPTOMA. But then I got RAVI, RUNOFF, and it became clear to me.
For those who asked, HBCU=Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
Francis Bacon may have died in 1626, but he has come back to paint some kind a strange pictures.
I'll see all y'all's Francis Bacon and raise y'all one Roger Bacon (c. 1219-1292)*. He was one of the first philosophers to re-introduce Aristotle's emphasis on the study of nature through empirical observation and helped usher in the modern scientific era out of the medieval Dark Ages.
*The "c." is short for the recent---Sunday, Feb 4---grid entry "Circa", meaning "about" or "around".
YOO-HOO! Today I get to stand in the same corner with all the rest of you smart cookies. I thought this puzzle was some NICE WORK and give it high RECS. (OTHER than RECS. That was a bit of a SOUR NOTE.)
Let's not forget Out of Sight, the very best movie that George Clooney and JLo were ever in ... IMHO well worth the time to track it down!
Kitshef
I thought of white line fever first as you did for HIGHWAY HYPNOSIS.
I think White etc is also the name of an old B movie I remember being advertised, but never saw. Funny the things one remembers.
Don’t sleep on the TV series “Get Shorty.” Hugely entertaining!
pabloinnh
I knew you would note a classic : NENE . I think they omitted Hawaii from the clue to make it more Friday worthy. But still a gimme. for long time puzzle solvers.
Anonymous 9:02 AM
I never completed a Friday in 20 minutes. So I guess brutal is a relative term.
For me 30 minutes = easy, breezy puzzle as most commentators felt.
PECOS Bill is a name that was commonly known in my childhood so obscure to you, not to boomers.
Six letter European airline. Air France, Alitalia, British Airways, KLM, Lufthansa don’t fit.
IBERIA is well known. Trivia yes but not obscure.
The commentator just before you mentioned NENE is classic crosswordese used many times
everywhere. Less so lately but it is helpful to know.
Spamalot has been a hit Broadway- and traveling shows/ for 15 years. Also of course it is a famous skit from Monty Python. Not obscure at all.
Just because I don’t know something it isn’t necessarily obscure.
It is a good puzzle but it does skew a bit old.
Some skew younger so it balances out. (BTW I had no clue about messy but but I learned about contemporary lingo!)
Most seem to be in agreement that this was a great puzzle. I did find it easy. Learned messy bun.
Happy I didn’t get to see the nasty anonymous post.
TEAS was the only thing that was a stretch. I liked the riff someone above did on that.
historically black colleges and universities
Billy Strings wrote a song about Highway Hypnosis. It’s fantastic.
https://youtu.be/ut-b3w6XULc?feature=shared
I LOVED THIS PUZZLE and I love Maleika!
Thanks to @Alice Pollard, who finally explained HBCU. This was troubling me, as the crosses seemed solid (if a bit OO-ish). I was convinced something had to be wrong down there. And hand up for RECS, please don't make me come down there again.
Mini-theme with FOODCOMA, HIGHWAYHYPNOSIS and WORNDOWN. Where's my bottle of 5-hour Energy?
Love the Groucho quote. I am right now wearing a shirt that says "I thought growing old would take longer."
Great cluing made for a medium Friday. NICEWORK. Birdie.
Wordle par.
NICEWORK ETHIC
My INNERDEMONS AREN’T a joke,
and PATIENTS WORNDOWN short,
DON’TTEMPTME THEN with an OTHER TOKE,
or TEAS ME with a SNORT.
--- ELMORE EPSON
I was surprised to see that HBCU was a first timer for the NYTXWORD! I could have sworn that I had seen it before, but I do do other xword puzzles, plus I know I have heard it on ESPN, which I have on 7to11AM, Mon-Fri most of the time.
Oh, by the way, this was a very clever, amusing, and entertaining puzzle, even though it wasn't really Friday difficult. I actually laughed out loud while doing the puzzle and also while reading some of the comments. It literally brought a smile to my face!
For realz!!!
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