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Spanish sparkling wine / WED 2-28-24 / Bunny first appearing in "Space Jam" (1996) / Franz's partner in old "S.N.L." sketches / Bit of attire that sends the message "I mean business!" / Walled city near Madrid / Comedian Hedberg who said "I'm against picketing but I don't know how to show it"
Wednesday, February 28, 2024
Constructor: Greg Snitkin
Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium to Medium (depending on how you navigated alllll the names)
Theme answers:
- COMPUTER SYSTEMS (20A: Things with hardware and software components) ("I.T.")
- SCARY CLOWN (33A: Someone terrorizing kids in a 1986 Stephen King novel) (IT)
- HOKEY POKEY (41A: Participation dance in which you "turn yourself around") (the "it" in the last line of the HOKEY POKEY verse (namely, "... and that's WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT!")
The Hokey Cokey, as it is still known in the United Kingdom, Ireland, some parts of Australia, and the Caribbean, (now known as Hokey Pokey in the U.S and Canada), is a campfire song and participation dance with a distinctive accompanying tune and lyric structure. It is well-known in English-speaking countries. It originates in a British folk dance, with variants attested as early as 1826. The song and accompanying dance peaked in popularity as a music hall song and novelty dance in the mid-1940s in the UK. The song became a chart hit twice in the 1980s. The first UK hit was by the Snowmen, which peaked at UK No. 18 in 1981. (wikipedia)
• • •
[what in the...?]
This is one puzzle where the revealer really rescued the entire theme enterprise. The themers seemed listless (except SCARY CLOWN, which just seemed bizarre), and the overall fill ran weak (and heavily, drearily name-y; more on that below), and then TALKAHOLIC, ugh, I would've shut my computer right there if I weren't contractually obligated to go on. Just a ridiculous non-word. What's next, GUACAHOLIC?! (mmmm, guacaholism ...). Your acceptable punny -aholic prefixes are SHOP- and CHOC-. TALKAHOLIC is gratingly cutesy and not really used. Never seen it. Never heard it. If people don't use it, you don't use it, that's the rule. Thumbs down, goodbye. But then I worked out WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT and looked back at the themers, and suddenly the dull COMPUTER SYSTEMS could at least be appreciated as a repunctuated "IT," and I could now understand why "SCARY CLOWN" was clued without naming IT, and, most of all, I could understand what the hell HOKEY POKEY was doing here at all. The revealer instantly evoked that silly rhyme. A true "aha" moment (or at least an "ah" moment).
As for the rest of the puzzle, it was gunked up with names to an unusual, and possibly dangerous degree. From MITCH to LOLA to BREES to HANS AVILA ELSA LEON ELI and especially MARADONA (44A: Diego ___, one of two joint winners of the FIFA Player of the 20th Century award), who was indeed a very famous soccer player, but whose name crosses (at a vowel) a "Spanish sparkling wine" I've literally never heard of* (CAVA) (34D: Spanish sparkling wine). There are any number of WAYS to fill that little section, I have absolutely no idea why someone would go with CAVA there, especially given that M-RADONA crossing. Vena CAVA is at least familiar to me from biology class. Irene CARA is familiar to me (as is the Italian adjective "CARA," as in the phrase "CARA mia!"). Maybe no one will trip on that cross. But it feels like a hazard that might imperil non-sports folks. My only name problems were LOLA (who? If you debut in Space Jam, are you even a real part of the BBU (Bugs Bunny Universe)?) and ELSA (!?!?!?!?!) (47A: Captain von Trapp's betrothed, in "The Sound of Music") and BREES (6D: 2020 N.F.L. retiree who leads all QBs with 123 regular-season games of 300+ passing yards) (a "Drew" in this clue would've really helped; stunning how little an impact his career has left on my sports brain—when FAVRE and BRADY wouldn't fit here, I was out of ideas ... sidenote: weird how many QB names are five letters ... FOUTS ... ELWAY ...). I get Drew BREES confused with ... sigh, OK, one played for the Saints and the other played for the Chargers ... oh *&%^ it's the same guy! BREES was a Charger ('01-'05), then a Saint '(06-'20). Phew, OK ... this is what happens when you decide, after decades of paying attention to sports, that the NFL is no longer for you—all your carefully amassed knowledge just ... melts into a lump.
Notes:
- 54D: Fabled slacker (HARE) — this is from the fable "The Tortoise and the HARE"; the puzzle is really leaning into kid's stuff today
- 42D: "We totally should!" ("YES, LET'S!") — also the term for very small "yeses"
- 52A: Knight's "trusty" companion (STEED) — imagining the poor STEED sitting over there wondering why you'd ironically quote-unquote his trustiness. "Hey, I see your air quotes, buddy! I'm gonna remember that the next time you're running away (yet again!) from a dragon, or a dwarf, or a garden snake, [mumbles] ungrateful simp..."
*apparently not only have I heard of it, I made it my Word of the Day ... back in 2011 (which is the last time it was clued this way!)
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86 comments:
Elsa is the name of the Baroness Schraeder, the woman Captain Von Trapp was planning to marry before he fell in love with Maria. It’s a tough one. I think her first name is only mentioned once or twice in the movie.
I drink CAVA often. I would have had to dig for vena CAVA. Wheelhouses.
Hand up for tripping over the CAVA/MARADONA cross. I had CAVi/MiRADONA, but I realized it could be an A or really any vowel. So when I didn't get the happy tune, I changed it. Still no good and I'm out of ideas.
The culprit turned out to be 49A, where I had agE instead of USE and was so confident that I didn't check to see if the crosses made sense. So the culprit turned out to be me.
Thank you for clarifying that! I was running through "How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?" over and over (and it'll no doubt continue at least throughout the day), thinking "it's Maria, isn't it?" Guess I've lost some detail over the decades.
Ah, a bit of a reversion to the mean for the NYT today - relying on quite a few of their usual standbys - plenty of names like ELSA that one out of a thousand people know or care about, the foreign contingent is well represented with CAVA and AVILA (at least AVILA has some identifying feature - apparently it is “walled” - a nice step up from “random county in California”), and of course that old chestnut - the “quasi” or made up word (TALKAHOLIC). It’s interesting, but I actually enjoyed the nostalgic trip down memory lane.
For the clue "Just like ____," I blithely filled in A MAN. Works for me.
Anti-OFL experience today as I connected the ITSALLABOUT to the HOKEYPOKEY immediately but somehow missed the IT of COMPUTERs and have never read IT. Also read "Spanish sparkling wine" and wrote in CAVA without a second thought. Then I read Rex and thought, how can someone not have heard of that? And then I remember all the things I see in crosswords that I've never heard of think, "that's how".
Thought this was pretty easy, aside from my theme blindness. Liked seeing a Franz and HANS reference crossing the church lady's "Could it be ......SATAN? Met LEON and MITCH and ran into a TALKAHOLIC, for the last time, I hope.
Perfectly fine Wednesday, GS. Lots of Good Stuff, and you're making me reexamine the question, what if the HOKEYPOKEY really is what it's all about? Thanks for all the fun.
I liked IT!
With POLKA crossing HOKEYPOKEY as performed by the very fun live band Brave Combo a few years back.
THAT’S What It’s All About!
My fastest Wednesday time yet! I’m the weirdo that loves names and trivia in my crosswords, so this was perfect. Knew almost every one instantly. Made it a BREES. (Get it? Eh? Eh?)
In retrospect I see OFL's point about the nameiness, but I didn't feel it as I solved. I also love MITCH Hedberg so that was a fun surprise early on. Same reaction to the revealer, I had a genuine chuckle. This was the most fun I've had doing a puzzle in a while. It was, well, fun.
So many proper names!!! At first I thought that the revealer would reference it, but it wasn't that clever (and besides, it hid another proper name, "It") Too many, and too boring, to be fun.
Literally billions more people know who Diego Maradona is (even in their sleep) than have even vaguely heard the name Drew Brees, much less know who he is.
But you could never convice an American football fan of that.
Could not figure out why 'pennywise' wouldn't fit at 33A.
Very cute theme with a perfect revealer. There is not much a Monday-Tuesday can do with interesting fill or clever cluing, so a good theme is both important and appreciated.
Didn't really notice the name-y-ness of the puzzle as most were familiar to me; ELSA, BREES, MITCH, HANS, LOLA and ELI were all gimmes. But I get Rex's point.
Not only has Rex heard of CAVA before, it’s been his Word of the Day before.
Third surprisingly easy puzzle this week. The theme is kind of a snoozer, but as 🦖 said, the reveal makes it better. I guess I don't like IT, but I do like PBJS.
SATAN ACHOO POLKA seems like a nice title for a song about allergy season in Hell.
Tee-Hee: [Build a Halloween themed cake, or one looking to make baby Bozos.] = ERECT SCARY CLOWN.
Uniclues:
1 Least necessary piece of clothing for the recently female.
2 Street where you can put your left leg in.
3 Agreement to be bored.
4 The trouble in trying to remember if you're innocent or guilty on account of the booze.
5 Dinner party.
6 Criticize adage suggesting I'm going nowhere.
1 LOLA POWER TIE
2 HOKEY POKEY AVE (~)
3 YES, LET'S YAWN (~)
4 PLEA HASSLE (~)
5 TALKAHOLIC RITE (~)
6 SLAM IDLE QUOTE
My Fascinating Crossword Uniclue Keepsake from Last Year: Construction paper and Elmer's glue. INSTA TOPHAT.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Yes but so what? this isn’t the point—the cross is point. BREES is crossed fairly at every letter.
HA! well this reinforces my sense of its obscurity. I’m in wine shops All The Time and ???? Apparently the only place CAVA exists for me is xwords (and even then, rarely)~RP
Was I the only one who did not understand why “suit material” answers as TORT? I am not connecting anything there.
Lawsuit
Rex nailed it.
Liked it, maybe because I knew all the names. Super revealer.
Only reason I knew LOLA is that it was also in LAT puzzle today !
Like @Conrad, I flew through this one, got no happy music, then corrected CAVi / MiRANDONA. I’m betting we’re in good company today.
Thanks, Rex, for explaining the Stephen King reference, which I never would have figured out on my own.
A TALKAHOLIC is a very common thing in my world. Maybe it’s a Southern thing??? BREES was a breeze. And MARADONA is easy for any “futbol” fan who’s never read Stephen King.
You do a little of this and a little of that and it adds up. In this case, It adds up to the Hokey Pokey part of that little dance. That's What It's All About. The difficulty range here might be generational because I found this to be easy. Ice T, Power Tie, Hans.
Here's something fun, the first sentence of the Necktie Wiki, "A necktie, or simply a tie, is a piece of cloth worn for decorative purposes around the neck, resting under the shirt collar and knotted at the throat, and often draped down the chest." Sucks the power potential out that piece of attire.
Oh come on, Rex, everybody knows that “it” in the HOKEY POKEY stands for life. You put your hands in, one at a time, you shake ‘em all about, etc., and when you’ve successfully turned your self around you then know life’s true meaning, and it’s all about. See? Simple!
With all the damn proper names in this puzzle it really could have used Alfie…. Now that would have been a revealer!
This is a wow theme to me. Three totally disparate ways of interpreting “What IT’S all about”. This is a debut, but it's already clear that Greg has a crossword mind, -- Greg, whose brain, after hearing the last line of Hokey Pokey, immediately beelined to this not-so-simple-theme idea (as he describes in his notes at WordPlay).
So, it’s a wow in that he came up with this theme to begin with. But it’s also a wow in how the answer to the theme’s riddle became clear to me. First, I saw the obvious connection to HOKEY POKEY, then I oho-ed at seeing the IT connection with SCARY CLOWN, and finally I caught on to the I.T. link with COMPUTER SYSTEMS.
Thus, rather than experiencing an explosive “I get it!” all at once, this cracking of the theme unfolded – yes, that’s the word – building, crescendo-ing along to a mighty understanding that felt mighty sweet and provided a long-lasting lovely aftertaste.
That was easily the highlight of the puzzle for me, buttressed by how Greg came up with three theme answers and a revealer that satisfied the requirements of symmetry in a grid. Wow again.
Greg, I’ll be watching for your name in future puzzles. Congratulations on your impressive debut, and please, keep at it!
Definitely a HOKEY theme - some decent fill balances it. We get an IT abbreviation, a book reference and a literal use - obtuse midweek. Quick solve - mainly as a themeless working through it.
Pennywise
I knew CAVA from the Freixenet bottle. Liked TEAM PLAYER and LEON. Keep your TALKAHOLIC, SATAN and NEWSY. Sorry MITCH - needed all the crosses for you.
Pleasant enough Wednesday morning solve.
GeeTO Tiger
Quick news flash - our good friend TOADETTE is gracing the WaPo/LAT grid with her presence today - (apparently she has pink braids!).
There is a real condition in which people can't stop talking. I've met someone like that -- you don't want to be near them. We used to joke that her husband must be deaf. (He wasn't. In fact he was a very nice guy.)
Another joke is they seek help from "On and On Anon." But it's serious. Wikipedia calls it "compulsive talking" or "talkaholism." Studies of college students show about 5% are talkaholics.
Reminded me of a New Yorker cartoon I may have referenced before. Two guys at a bar, and one says to the other: "I'm like a workaholic, but with alcohol."
Rex, cava is yummy! A humbler champagne or Prosecco. Mix with lemon sorbet for a grown up slushy Barcelona style in the summer.
Impressive to find an NFL passing record held by a QB whose name is five letters long, starts with BR, and is not Brady.
@Lewis. I saw what you did there in your last sentence LOL.
CAVA seems pretty common to me. It’s hard to miss at the Whole Foods around here at least. The last time we were in Spain, we had a sangria made with CAVA, which was delicious.
Talkaholic! Wow, i know some.
Never heard of Cava? That’s like complaining you’ve never heard of Prosecco or Asti – a you problem.
At first I didn't like all the sports references...but the theme was fantastic. Great debut Greg! Hope to see more puzzles from you!
Hey All !
The Week of Easy Puzs continues. Fine with me, I like having a bit of extra time in the morning to tackle the other puzs I do, namely SB, Wordle, Connections.
Last letter in was the "holy moly, that could be any vowel!" of the CAVA/MARADONA cross. Threw in the A, and surprised to hear the Happy Music.
I knew it was an A ... 😁
WHAT IT IS ALL ABOUT, Aha. I see. IT is help in a COMPUTER SYSTEM
IT is a SCARY CLOWN
IT is WHAT THE HOKEY POKEY IS ALL ABOUT. (Well, That's WHAT ITS ALL ABOUT)
Debut? Don't recognize the constructors name. If I read the comments, I'm sure @Lewis will let me know.
Have a great Wednesday!
No F's (How UGLY!)
RooMonster
DarrinV
I finally finished it after trying everything in the SE. The "aloe/vera" Valentine pun didn't occur to me until I was finished. Never knew that HOKEYPOKEY was a food product as well as a dance, but somehow I remembered the last line of the song, "And that's what it's all about."
Good puzzle with a real mix of cultures in the clues.
1. Sex in the road according to the Beatles on the White Album.
2. That glorious song of old.
3. Shut your mouth
Terrible POC on 6D. I mean, I love the one and only Drew Bree. Let's don't start pluralizing him just to fill crossword space.
A truly SCARYCLOWN is one who does the HOKEYPOKEY while eating STINKYTOFU! I mean, right?
The puzzle went fast, but figuring out how the revealer fit the themers .... not too quick. Almost had to play it again, Sam. Oops, I mean Greg Snitkin. Congrats on a fun debut.
1. Why don't we do it
2. It came upon a midnight clear
3. Zip it.
(I realize that these aren't suitable theme clue/answer pairs, as the "it" has to be a layer down in the meta logic. I'm just being lazy)
I had to come here to have the theme explained to me! I wonder if “when considered in three different senses” could have been rephrased to make it a bit more “Wednesday”
I thought this was a fun one! Really clever theme, especially for a debut constructor.
In years of solving on the app, this was my fastest Wednesday ever (<5 minutes). Yesterday was my fastest Tuesday ever (<4 minutes). What's going on this week?
Rex, your commentary was one of your better efforts. LOL.
Two observations:
1. ANEW crossing NEWSY in the SW corner seems like bad form.
2. The clue for MATH (1A) shouldn't have referred to a British professor. Moriarty would have called himself a professor of MATHS.
If you read Rex daily or even every so often you know Talkaholic is going to be an issue.
I recall seeing a bumper sticker in SC saying “what if the Hokey Pokey IS what it’s all about?” Hmmmm
Really wanted 3D to be roustabout. You're welcome, constructors (if it hasn't been used before).
Seemed that puzzle was tough for a Wednesday, but time was within a few seconds of average. Not helped by putting in eRS instead of ORS. Sorry, Spain - no idea on AVILA or CAVA. But that's my problem.
Nice Wednesday workout.
What a cute theme! I filled in the final square, the A of ATOP, and went back to the theme answers to see WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT and found all three. HOKEY POKEY was my favorite, even if it was the most obvious of the three.
Greg, nice Wednesday, thanks!
I didn’t fully “get” the revealer but 100% on me. Of course, HOKEY POKEY was the easiest because that familiar tune immediately popped into my head. (Why is it I can recall things from elementary school yet can’t remember where I put my glasses two minutes ago?) However I’m not a fan of Stephen King, so did not know the significance of SCARY CLOWN and did not make the IT connection. But once I see it, have to say it’s rather brilliant.
As for the fill, IT ALL seemed rather breezy, a term I probably USE because we had wind gusts of 45 mph yesterday and it’s getting to be THAT ACHOO time of year already. Anyway, this seemed easy and filled in very smoothly. Yes there were a few too many names and a couple I had no idea ABOUT, but had no trouble getting them with the downs, which were very fair. It all balanced out nicely, and I congratulate Greg on a solid debut.
Well IT went by fast for me. I didn't get the (IT) thing at all. But....I stopped and stared at POWER TIE. I don't know what that is. Battery operated?
And @Rex. If you enjoy champagne, CAVA is the next best thing. Of the three: Cava, Prosecco and Champagne, I often will choose a good CAVA from the Catalonia region. Prosecco is sometimes too sweet for my taste. Salud!
Yes...lots of names. I got them all. I will have to remember all the rapper names. ICET NAS....Ok.
I liked TALKAHOLIC......! I'm sorta one of those. My whole family is like that. When we get together everyone talks at the same time and very loudly while drinking CAVA.
Once I read @Rex and understood what IT refers to, I smiled. This was different and I actually had fun.
Can Someone please tell me what a POWER TIE is or looks like? Thanks in advance.
Diego Maradona is one of the 5 best and most famous soccer players of all time. He’s scored the most famous and infamous goals in the World Cup. I think that’s a totally fair name to include. I wouldn’t single him out over the other names in there. If you had someone of a similar stature from an American sport, it would be a gimme for the vast, vast majority of solvers.
Ha - looking forward to the break-down of E-I-E-I-O!
I enjoyed the Hokey Pokey theme, but I didn't get that “It” was a book title until I read @pabloinnh. Thanks!
MARADONA and CAVA were practically gimmes, but BREES required every cross and still doesn’t look like a name.
CAVA (and Prosecco) = the sparkling wines you don’t have to wait for your 50th anniversary to enjoy. Salud!
Thanks to the NYTXW and/or the Constructor for giving us a few more playful clues - I miss them when they keep them for themselves.
Easy.
WOEs: ELSA and CAVA (I knew MARADONA)
Erasure: Jibe before JEER.
Me too for not quite getting the theme because of not knowing the King book.
Smooth and clever, liked it.
@Rex, a treat of a write-up. Thank you.
Grade-school me loved doing the HOKEY POKEY, and today creaky old me loved writing in THAT'S WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT. I got the COMPUTER I.T. connection, but, not familiar with King's novels, I thought maybe the SCARY CLOWN was "it" in a game of tag, chasing after terrified children. Also loved the "Fabled slacker" clue - says it all! Also nice: TEAM PLAYER x MARADONA.
@Anonymous 6:31 - As a theater-struck fourth-grader, my daughter wrote an adaptation of The Sound of Music to be performed by her classmates, When Maria asks Captain von Trapp about his betrothed, he replies, "ELSA? I dumped her." Thanks to that immortal line, I knew the answer today.
Do-over: You're on before YES LET'S. Help from previous puzzles: NAS, LOLA. No idea: MITCH, CAVA.
@egs (9:32). On your excellent (or egsellent) Beatles suggestion: McCartney wrote "Why Don't We Do It In the Road" in India, after seeing two monkeys enjoying each other in the road. He found it liberating. It must have been when they were starting to fray because Lennon was miffed that Paul didn't ask him to record it with him. Paul shot back that John did the same for "Julia" and "Revolution #9."
Mom! He started it!
Ditto Sam 8:52! Cava is cheap and nice to share with friends, especially at a crazy late dinner in Spain. Best in moderation. Like many cheap wines, a little too much and you pay for it the next morning.
At first I thought this was going to be reminiscent of yesterday's puzzle - but this one had a lot going for it - A fun theme & a fun puzzle.
Nice debut, Greg!
We use "it" often when we're talking about weather, illness and so many things. IT'S raining. IT'S going to be hot today. We both had IT last week. I've had IT! WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT.
On New York’s interstates, we see signs that say, "IT CAN WAIT
TEXT STOP 1 MILE".
CAVA is my go-to bubbly. My favorite is Jaume Serra Cristalino. Under 10 bucks, IT'S affordable and delicious.
Never heard of Diego Maradona - certainly heard of Drew Brees and he is definitely fair game . This is the NEW YORK Times crossword, after all....
U can sure learn lotsa stuff from xwords. In the case of most names, M&A learns em, over and over again. Like LOLA the Space Jam bunny, I'd predict.
Mosta the names @RP rattled off were no-knows at our house, and especially CAVA/MARADONA, the scariest of clown crossins in the puz.
Puztheme was pretty decent … IT had ITs moments, at least. And fairly easy solvequest in most spots. But coulda saved many precious nanoseconds, if that soccer dude had only changed his name to MERADONA.
Or if they'd edited a smidge, around them parts: SWUM/USE/CASA, say. Or SHAM/HOYA/COLA. Or somesuch.
Anyhoo … staff weeject pick: HQS = {They arise before IQS}. U know, in the alphabetically-wise sense.
Some other faves: TALKAHOLIC. TEAMPLAYER. YESLETS [@RP stole my definition idea, tho]. The astonishin-to-just-be-a-debut-entry SCARYCLOWN har. TORT clue.
Thanx for almost all of it, Mr. Snitkin dude. And congratz on yer clever debut.
Masked & Anonymo3Us
**gruntz**
Moriarity would study MathS
Nobody else thought the puzzle should have included Alfie? (Y'know, "What's it all about, Alfie?")
CAVA was a gimme, not sure why, I'm not a sparkling fan.
Fastest Wednesday ever for me, on the heels of the very easy Tuesday and a Monday that provided my first successful "downs only" solve.
During my days as a pastor, one of my brothers gave me a black tee shirt with a white rectangular box on the front, in which appeared this message: What if the HOKEY POKEY really is what it's all about? :-)
Here I am at last!
Woke up very late. Had to get the apartment ready for my cleaning woman. Got a new grid proposal from my puzzle collaborator on our latest collaboration. Forgot completely that I had left today's puzzle on the dining table -- half done.
So, obviously, I wasn't completely riveted. All those names. Nor had I any idea at that point that there was a theme or what it was.
Finally got back to it hours later. Whaddaya know -- the theme's terrific! Adorable and very imaginative. I could never have predicted it. Or should I say IT? Every time you think no one can ever come up with a completely new puzzle idea, someone does.
(The best news about my having forgotten about the puzzle? My earworm's vanished, too. I'm of the generation that sang that stupid HOKEY POKEY song -- mostly at Camp Pinecliffe, I think, but maybe at P.S.6 too. Being me, I remembered all the stupid lyrics. So that before I set the puzzle down on my dining table, that idiotic song was playing over and over in my head. Now it's not. A very good thing, too.)
@mmorgan – yes but in "Alfie" the it wasn't Alfie, it was love:
Without true love we just exist, Alfie
Until you find the love you've missed, you're nothing, Alfie
Which reminds me, I could never figure out what it is in this song that's better than all the things named but is *not* better than being in love.
@E.C. Morley (7:23) If you’re talking globally, I suppose “billions” is a possibility but no, I’m not convinced. As an American football fan, I don’t recall ever seeing or hearing the name Diego MARADONA before today.
@GILL (11:02) I’m with you on the Prosecco, too sweet for me. If I ever get to Sacramento though, you can introduce me to some CAVA. Oh, and a POWER TIE is a necktie - especially red ones - that is supposed to give the wearer some sort of psychological advantage. But I have serious doubts about that theory.
@Carola (11:20) I would loved to have seen your daughter’s play. Sounds like IT was a doozy.
@anonymous 6:50 AM: Hand way up for “a man” instead of THAT! So glad I wasn’t the only one.
So, as the spawn of wordy, grammar loving folk, as well as hearing both German and English at home, I learned lots of grammar at an early age. I vividly recall being in the third grade and during gym class being taught the HOKEY POKEY and paying attention only to the lyrics. Miss Betts (of the beehive “do” and talons for nails) called me out and made me do it alone - or tried to. Epic fail.
I actually stomped my feet up to her and said that I couldn’t do it because the song is stupid, or something very close to it. I recall vividly that “stupid” featured in my rant.
To understand this, it will help to understand that: 1. I cannot dance. Period. 2. I didn’t care for Miss Betts, and 3. I knew I was smart and loved an opportunity to demonstrate it-often to my detriment.
Very probably with my little hands on my hips, I told Miss B that the song made no sense because “I don’t know what it means.” She proceeded to ask me if I knew my right from left, my foot from my hand etc while the class enjoyed the laughs at my expense. I was furious. And I knew I was headed for trouble but couldn’t help myself.
I remember knowing that I was about to be very disrespectful, and I didn’t care because I felt humiliated and angry. So I tried to explain by saying several times that “I don’t understand it.” I meant that I didn’t understand “it,” as @Rex mentioned.
You see, Gran had been showing me sentences in German and in English and pointing out pronouns and their grammatical placement in the respective languages. She taught me the word “antecedent,” or at least mentioned it several times.
The final blow that sent me to the principal was me yelling at Miss B something like “How can you be a teacher if you don’t even know that “it” is a pronoun and all pronouns have to have an antiseptic! I’m only 8 and even I know that!” Me and my big mouth.
When I met with the principal, she properly chided me, corrected my mistake and made me “satisfactorily”apologize in front of both her and Miss Betts.
I never again forgot the word antecedent. To this day, I think of an antecedent as the “antiseptic” of a sentence with a pronoun or pronouns because it makes a pronoun’s meaning nice and clean.
Yes, I was a handfull as a kid.
@Carola -- I'll enthusiastically second what @Whatsername said. Your daughter's play does indeed sound like a doozy and I would have loved to have seen it, too. Even more, I would love to know what she's doing now. She certainly had a gift for creating dialogue all the way back in fourth grade; could even Aaron Sorkin have done it any better? And since I've always believed that writers are born, not made...
Freixenet Cordon Negro, by far the most well-known CAVA in North America, is ubiquitous in supermarkets where I live. Its striking black bottles are often prominently featured in store displays, especially around Valentines Day and Christmas.
So it doesn't seem any more obscure to me than "Asti" which has been standard crosswordese for ages.
This played easy for me. I kept thinking, is this the Tuesday puzzle?
Made in Japan
About math v. maths
Good catch!
@Whatsername 1:51 and @Nancy 3:10 - Thank you. for your kind words - it was quite a production, and a one-time-only event in the grade-school auditorium. Nancy, my daughter is an English professor, specializing in Shakespeare and other Early Modern dramatists.
@CDilly52 3:04 PM
Love this.
Anonymous 11:16 AM.
About Maradona.
MUCH less so in the US. Especially among non sports oriented Americans. Of which there are many among crossword fans
Rex was actually NOT complaining about the name in the puzzle. He was complaining about one cross I happened to know cava. I vaguely remembered the name but not the exact spelling. Cava made it all clear. But many Americans don’t know cava either. That was close to a natick.
How did you feel about Eli and Brees in this? Those are much more obscure sports figures in their sport than Diego Maradona is in his.
I get that Cava was a tough cross, but Maradona shouldn’t be. I don’t think it’s a hard ask for solvers to be aware of who he is. It’s like needing to know what Tosca is. Or who Ella Fitzgerald is. These aren’t obscure things/people, is what I’m saying.
This is an adorable theme, even though I typed in SewerCLOWN instead of SCARY at first and was like, no, that’s probably not right but it fits?? I chuckled at the revealer! A fun Wednesday.
That's an absolutely hilarious story, @CDilly52 (3:04).
I appreciated the self-aware commentary in today's post. I would sign up for more episodes of "Rex Parker Critiques Children's Rhymes".
“Hand up” for Maradona is quite funny - given he is also infamously known for the ‘hand to god’ goal he scored (for those who don’t know, he raised his hand above his head pretending to head the ball into the goal, but actually used his hand to direct it in. This was well before hi def and replays, but he clearly got away with an illegal play.)
The first time I can remember audibly laughing at the theme reveal. (Granted, more of a “heh,” than a full-throated “haha,” but still, very fun!)
Part of the reason there — she’s a medium-major character in the full stage show, but her two songs were cut in the movie version, and many productions of the musical also cut them for time. It’s a shame because they’re great songs and she really adds political depth to the show!
I was disappointed that AVATAR was clued using the James Cameron movies, when the Nickelodeon show just got its live action debut (there is no Shyamalan movie within these walls) five days ago.
Sure it's a more niche than one of the highest grossing movies ever, but it's also one of the most beloved American animated series. Not that the Netflix adaptation is really doing it justice (except visually; it looks great!)
You’re up against tough competition with “Old Macdonald.”
https://youtu.be/bFiUyfbyjbA?si=Mrtf6wE7Z8pWUV7o
My comment never made it through; I got an error message and was unable to stay on the page. Just as well: I didn't have much to say. DNF at CAV_/M_radona. A good one spoiled by another bad cross.
Wordle birdie.
Exactly how much money is Nas X slipping under the table to all these crossword constructors and crossword editors???
This is the third puzzle I've done today with his name in it!!!
Then again, maybe it's his agent.
ANTICS HASSLE SATAN
To POLKA with a SCARYCLOWN
IN WAYS LETS IT’S ILLS RITE out.
So HOKEYPOKEY, LET’S get down,
YES, THAT’s WHATIT’SALLABOUT.
--- LOLA MARADONA
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