Monday, March 18, 2024

Clothing ensembles, slangily / MON 3-18-24 / "Star Wars" droid, familiarly / Hotly contested area in a U.S. election / Unruly '60s hairdo / In Europe, it's known as a "twin town"

Constructor: Trent H. Evans

Relative difficulty: Medium (normal Monday)


THEME: moving to a bigger place ... — theme answers end with geographical areas of increasing size:

Theme answers:
  • SISTER CITY (17A: In Europe, it's known as a "twin town")
  • PURPLE STATE (29A: Hotly contested area in a U.S. election)
  • HOST COUNTRY (45A: France, for the 2024 Olympics)
  • ALIEN WORLD (60A: Extraterrestrial's home, to us)
Word of the Day: ABBIE Hoffman (1A: 1960s activist Hoffman) —

Abbot Howard Hoffman (November 30, 1936 – April 12, 1989) was an American political and social activist who co-founded the Youth International Party ("Yippies") and was a member of the Chicago Seven. He was also a leading proponent of the Flower Power movement.

As a member of the Chicago Seven, Hoffman was charged with and tried―for activities during the 1968 Democratic National Convention―for conspiring to use interstate commerce with intent to incite a riot and crossing state lines with the intent to incite a riot under the anti-riot provisions of Title X of the Civil Rights Act of 1968. Five of the Chicago Seven defendants, including Hoffman, were convicted of crossing state lines with intent to incite a riot;  all of the convictions were vacated after an appeal and the U.S. Department of Justice declined to pursue another trial. Hoffman, along with all of the defendants and their attorneys were also convicted and sentenced for contempt of court by the judge; these convictions were also vacated after an appeal.

Hoffman continued his activism into the 1970s and remains an icon of the anti-Vietnam war movement and the counterculture era. He died by suicide with a phenobarbital overdose in 1989 at age 52. (wikipedia)

• • •
Well this is about as plain as it gets. Even says so, right in the middle of the grid: PLAIN. Totally rudimentary progression here. Might've been more interesting if the geographical areas had been more metaphorical, less on-the-nose. "FIST CITY," ALTERED STATE, COW COUNTRY, WALLEY WORLD, that sort of thing. But these are just literal cities, states, etc. Ho + hum. It'll do, but it doesn't do much. Not bad, just straightforward to the point of dullness. Basic. Could be better, but also could be worse. The thing that's actively annoying about today's puzzle is the fill, which is lazy and stale, especially in the east and southeast. Just cruddy from KRONA through ATT ASAP BAA down to ARTOO. Overfamiliar STYES, overfamiliar ALOE. It's a glut. Just no attempt at all to clean or spice things up. It's all gettable, no one's really gonna balk at anything down there, but the overall quality of the fill could and should be better. Constructors just don't put in the time to get it from "acceptable" to "good," and if the theme "works," the editors clearly only care that the fill reach "acceptable." So people come to accept mediocrity. If you cared about making the grid actively good, you'd tear out ALOHA PARTY (the weakest of the long answers, and the long answer to which the most weak short stuff is attached or adjacent) and rebuild. The "H" and "P" from ALOHA PARTY are kinda forcing you into ETHEL and ASAP, respectively, and the rest of the gunk pretty much falls into place from there. Therefore, aloha, ALOHA PARTY (which seems to be more of a welcome party than a farewell party, but ... I guess, like "aloha" itself, it can go both ways?) (32D: Farewell celebration for those leaving the Hawaiian Islands). 


This was on the easy side where Downs-only solving was concerned, but I got pretty significantly held up by a colorful long answer that, sadly, turned out to be a long wrong answer. I say "sadly" because I really liked my long answer, which was BUTTINSKIS (for BUSYBODIES) (3D: Meddling sorts). It's perfect for the clue, and like BUSYBODIES (as you can see) starts with a "BU-"! So once I inferred ABBIE from AB-IE and then ran the vowels at DRINK / DRANK / DRUNK, I caught sight of that "BU-" combo and though "aha, BUTTINSKIS! Good one!" But no. They were phantom BUTTINSKIS, alas. Those BUTTINSKIS kept me from seeing SISTER CITY for far too long. I was staring down SITTER-something, which seemed impossible. I thought maybe these were gonna be wacky wordplay theme answers, but once I got PURPLE STATE, I knew the theme answers were gonna be regular answers, which means I had an error. Really resisted pulling BUTTINSKIS because ... I mean, BUTTINSKIS, you can see how I'd be attached! But finally I pulled it, and that made all the difference. Rest of the puzzle was a comparative breeze.


I also had trouble with STYMIES (9D: Hinders), in part because I'd gone with POPTOP over MOPTOP. I knew that it *could* have been MOPTOP, but I figured it's Monday, the can opener answer is probably more likely than the vintage Beatles-esque answer. But no (22A: Unruly '60s hairdo). Also, in a Downs-only situation, ABE- could be either ABET or ABEL (theoretically it could also be ABED, or even ABES, but not when the last letter is preceded in the Down by an "S"). And FITS could've been FATS, so I ended up having to juggle what seemed like a lot of possibilities. But once "Y" was solidly set, and I reconsidered MOPTOP, STYMIES leapt into view. 


That clue on FITS is likely to be slightly baffling for some older solvers (26A: Clothing ensembles, slangily). I feel like "fit"'s currency (short for "outfit") is relatively recent. But maybe I'm wrong about that. Nobody said "fit" when I was young, is what I'm saying. "Fit check" is used on social media when someone wants to show off their outfit (or call attention to someone else's). Anyway, solving Downs-only, I never had to deal with that clue. Not much else to say about this one except ... I have questions about the "In Europe" part of 17A: In Europe, it's known as a "twin town" (SISTER CITY). First of all, "In Europe," they don't speak English, so on its face "twin town" seems dubious. Also, "In Europe" they speak A Lot Of Languages—does every country "In Europe" really call it a "twin town"? Google is telling me that Spain uses "ciudad hermanada," which is essentially "SISTER CITY," and since Spain is "In Europe," again, I dispute this clue. It seems generally true that "twin(ned) town" is the most common translation of the equivalent phrase in France and Germany, and possibly elsewhere, so there's no big foul here. I just like clue phrasing to be precise and accurate. Also, this puzzle is so PLAIN that there's not much to focus on, so I'm focusing on this. In the interest of not going further into the weeds, I bid you good day.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld 

P.S. I'll be reminding you all week that These Puzzles Fund Abortion 4 is now available. Here is my description of the details (from this past Sunday's write-up):
These Puzzles Fund Abortion 4 (four!) just dropped this past week—over 20 original puzzles from top constructors and editors—and you can get the collection now (right now) for a minimum donation of $20 (donations split evenly among five different abortion funds—details here). You can check out a detailed description of the collection and a list of all the talent involved here. I not only guest-edited a puzzle, I also test-solved puzzles. I have now seen the finished collection, and it's really lovely, across the board. General editors Rachel Fabi and Brooke Husic and C.L. Rimkus put in a tremendous amount of work ensuring that it would be. The attention to detail—test-solving, fact-checking, etc.—was really impressive. Anyway, donate generously (assuming you are able) and enjoy the puzzle bounty!
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]

53 comments:


  1. Just a skosh easier than medium for me. Solid and smooth, liked it.

    Is KRONA/KRONE a kea/loa given that one is Swedish and one is Danish?

    Croce Solvers - Croce’s Freestyle #894 was an easy Croce for me or about 2X a medium Saturday NYT. I had the most trouble in the NW especially 7d. Good luck!

    ReplyDelete
  2. SISTER BRIE came out of the ABBIE with a HOST of TOYS for the CITY PARTY in the town of EKE. She had her EYE on CARLO, her ESCORT, because he'd get DRUNK on cheap ETHEL. She was SARI that the ABBIE in EKE hired BODIES like CARLO (who was too BUSY DOIN ALOE SILL) to be her ESCORT. She was in a STATE of FITS.

    SISTER BRIE talked to the ABET at the ABBIE but it was PLAIN that he was too BUSY to LEGO of his BLOG WORLD. SISTER BRIE at least had TOYS for the MOP TOP group getting ready for the CITY PARTY.

    EKE was In a STATE of EXALT. The COUNTRY was in a STATE of EXALT. Even the WORLD was in a STATE of EXALT. This PARTY would be UBER BUSY and be a HOST of TOP KEYS. The CLAN was invited!

    CARLO, the RAT, would LIE among the STYES waiting to JUMP ASAP on the PARTY. He ATE a bit of JILT but it made him PANT for some ETHEL SILL. His face would turn PURPLE with the OTS and give him FITS. He'd cry for YELP but all the BODIES at the PARTY were too BUSY singing ALOHA to the WORLD to YELP him.

    SISTER BRIE was in no MOOT for CARLO to FLAUNT his SARI FITS. She went back to the ABET at the ABBIE and asked him to ESCORT that RAT out of the COUNTRY. The ABET was in a TRAP and could DALI no longer. He would keep an EYE on CARLO and make a TACT POINT to ESCORT the RAT out of the CITY ASAP.

    It worked. SISTER BRIE handed out LEGO TOYS to the MOP TOP kids....The CITY of EKE didn't have RAIN to STYMIES the PARTY....The ALOHA dancers would KEEP DOIN the ARTOO DOS.... And nobody got DRUNK on ETHEL.

    And that's the truth....







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  3. Also solving down clues only, I got the theme okay and everything seemed fine, but put the last letter in and no Happy Pencil. Turns out "Nevertheless" was not BUT. I should have caught that, because while ABUT is very plausible, TOBS makes no sense.

    The theme answers were pretty inferrable, --CITY --STATE --COUNTRY --WORLD. Although woe is PURPLE STATE, and I tried to make HOME COUNTRY work for a while.

    [Spelling Bee: Sun 0; last word an SB special. QB 3 days.]

    ReplyDelete
  4. Sheesk. This was a vastly MERER puzzle than most Mondays. After learning so many key concepts from this online forum, I've grown E-SHARPER. Like many of y'all I've HIVED with around here, the wisdom helped me to know today's collection of SCHWAS was a yawner.

    We had no COPA, no SOCA, no NO TV, and no NO BUENO. It RARED over nuthin', and felt poorer by the absence. If I could SEMAPHORE my twelve-year-old self, I'd signal, "As you grow TEENER, then twentier, and fiftier, you will see an orange man erase democracy in favor of TSARISM and you'll have a deadly dull post-St. Patrick's Day solve in 2024."

    Tee-Hee: PANT above ESCORT. That's the closest thing to a PURPLE STATE our editors offer today.

    Uniclues:

    1 What happens under Rex Parker every day.
    2 {Ehem, not that you hoary headed heathen} Egyptian princess petrols up homophonically.
    3 What happened quickly when you thought about Cleo and Ethel.
    4 How I see everyone in my condo association.
    5 It's from a jar and that's all you need to know.
    6 Does an anti-dance.
    7 Put the red on the black and watch the ensuing electrical fire.

    1 BLOG FITS
    2 CLEO DOIN' ETHEL
    3 PANT ASAP
    4 BUSY BODIES CLAN
    5 RAGU ... DON'T ASK
    6 STYMIES RAIN
    7 ABORT JUMPSTART (~)

    My Fascinating Crossword Uniclue Keepsake from Last Year: Groups I'm in. ATROCIOUS SECTS.

    ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

    ReplyDelete
  5. Maybe a little hiccup with the FITS v.v. FLAUNTS cross, but that’s about it on a very workmanlike Monday.

    I wonder why they don’t just publish crossword puzzles the rest of the week and make the cluing progressively more difficult each day. It’s a concept that would work much better than adding trivia, arcane minutiae that nobody cares about, made up words, foreign crap and outright gibberish. Really, they should try it for a week and see how it goes.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I threw BUttisnkyS after the BU as well - was proud of myself for coming up with it and wish it would have stayed. Fine puzzle.

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  7. I’m going to come down firmly against PADME creep. First appearance (2011) was on a Saturday. Next (2015) on Thursday. Then in 2019, Tuesday. Now, Monday. I’m pretty sure PADME’s popularity peaked around 2005, so there is no excuse for this. Let’s stop pretending that PADME is early-week fill!

    Never heard of an ALOHA PARTY, but at least the non-PADME pop culture was mostly age-appropriate for me (e.g. ABBIE, ETHEL) .

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  8. Croce Freestyle 894 was medium. If anyone knows what 32D means, I'd love to be enlightened.

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  9. Epitome of a “solved as a themeless” puzzle.

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  10. David F7:17 AM

    Was anyone else bothered by the clue for EKE? Who on earth "EXEs by"? You EKE out a living, you eke out a win. You GET by, but you EKE out. And it appears the Googleverse agrees with me...

    <\rant>

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. As do I which is much, much more important. At eas to me.

      Delete
  11. Andy Freude7:31 AM

    Another person here lamenting the passing of BUttinskyS. But on a more positive note, there’s that last note sung by Ms. Loretta Lynn, which certainly brightened my morning.

    ReplyDelete
  12. David Grenier7:42 AM

    Really wanted PURPLE STATE to be SWING STATE - which was one letter off. Had to come back to that one after a few crosses. Otherwise this played like a normal Monday. Liked the long downs.

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  13. Bob Mills7:52 AM

    Good puzzle. I also had BUTTINSKYS before BUSYBODIES.

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  14. When I donated to the puzzles for abortion, it appeared you actually had to choose one of the 5 charities. Not really a major issue but i would prefer if they just spread the money out evenly.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Anonymous8:25 AM

    Thank you David F. Nobody ever “EKEd by” anything. It is definitely “EKE out”. And yet the clues keep getting it wrong.

    ReplyDelete
  16. I don't know, I thought this was a practically perfect for beginners Monday. Solid if elementary theme, enough moo-cow answers to mean never getting really stuck, and I liked the long downs, especially JUMPSTART and BUSYBODIES. I think it's important to remember that not everyone is a Veteran Crossword Expert, like most of us here.

    Agree with @kitshef on PADME. I stopped watching the Star Wars series after the first three and didn't remember the name from previous puzzles, but that was about the only unknown in this one.

    OFL identified me perfectly as someone who didn't know FITS as clued. Social media is not my friend.

    I liked your Monday offering just fine, THE. I thought it was T.H. E. best Monday for newbies that I've seen in a while, and thanks for all the fun.

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  17. Hey All !
    Well, count me as a Liked It person. Sure, straightforward theme, but very light on dreck. Smooth grid.

    Puz has six Y's, but seemed like more. Maybe I just got all the answers with Y in them consecutively. Odd what the ole brain notices.

    Nice MonPuz. Nice Long Downs. Too bad they weren't included...

    Monday, EKE.

    Two F's
    RooMonster
    DarrinV

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  18. Nobody cares but me, but this was my best Downs-Only solve to date! Got all the themers, and over 3/4 of the puzzle, all but the upper NW. I finally gave in and looked at the Across clues up there, but I was very pleased with my Downs-Only experience! I guess maybe stale fill helped a lot, but I’m not complaining.

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  19. @Dr. A -- The money is distributed evenly between the funds! The "Donate" buttons under each of the fund descriptions can't be removed, but it all goes to the same pool of money and will be split up at the end of the fundraiser. Thank you for donating!
    -Rachel

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  20. When you're bored to tears by a puzzle, you have to get your pleasure from the comments. So far my favorites are...

    @GILL'S "talked to the ABET at the ABBIE"

    @Gary J's "This is a vastly MERER puzzle..."

    @Kitshef's stern displeasure over "PADME creep".

    Perhaps there will be more. The day's still young.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. @Nancy 9:26 AM
      @Kitshef's PADME creep is similar to doing the Time Warp again. Its a pelvic thrust, then you move up a day. Then you watch 10 minutes of any George Lucas catastrophe, then stab yourself in the face. It's the pain of the PADME creep you remember.

      Delete
  21. Anonymous9:30 AM

    I can confirm the use of twin city/town (more commonly, though, you see it as "twinned with" on signs) in the UK.

    I've also seen "Ville Jumelée" signs in France.

    ReplyDelete
  22. “Now you've given your performance
    Though the matinee was idle
    And you find out that a wave of her right hand
    Could seem so tidal.”

    As with the sexual performers in Elvis Costello’s Busy Bodies, this puzzle was very busy going nowhere…

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  23. Any puzzle that leads off with ABBIE Hoffman is going to be just fine by me.

    I thought it skewed very easy, but it's Monday and that's what I expect. FIT and PADME were the only answers I had to wait on, and I'm not a fan of Star Wars, so I knew PADME was going to have to rely on the crosses, and FIT was kind of cool. I like learning the new lingo.

    I do find Rex's comment ~ "Constructors just don't put in the time to get it from "acceptable" to "good" ~ to be both harsh and wrong. I think pretty much all constructoros are motivated to do the very best they can.

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  24. I went to Brandeis 8 years after ABBIE Hoffman graduated, and he came back to speak while I was there. Politics aside, he was a very funny man. When he was negotiating with the Miami police chief over demonstrations down there, he said at one point -- "Listen, if one curly hair on this head is hurt, my father will never come to Miami Beach again." And the chief said, "Abbie -- I know your father. He'll come."

    Abbie was the first "Sandwich Man" at Brandeis - selling sandwiches dorm to dorm at night.

    He said he was opposed to women's rights -- "Why, if women had rights, the next thing you know --- men would want them too."

    The FBI file on him was 13,262 pages long, according to wikipedia.

    It's nice to see him in the puzzle.

    Rest in peace, Abbie.

    ReplyDelete
  25. I'm fine with Star Wars in general, but don't need 2 on Monday. Still thrown off by ARTOO spelling, having only seen it in crosswords. R2-D2 and C-3PO are acronyms. Do people do this to show that they are connected with the in crowd and can use nicknames? Cleo, Artoo, (Styes for Harry Styles?). I noticed this in the movie "Maestro", referring to Jerry for Jerome Robbins, etc.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous9:28 PM

      Burtonkd
      Maestro is a bio pic of Leonard Bernstein.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:52 PM

      During a long and productive career Jerome Roberts was often referred to as Jerry in theater reviews.

      Delete
  26. This is Monday so one bad definition is barely a bump in the road but I do want to state that the definition of JUMPSTART is WRONG!

    When you jump-start a car with a dead battery that does NOT bring the battery back to life, it brings the car back to life.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. @gerry w 10:27 AM
      I guess if we're playing Presciptivist Poker (the favorite game of the humorless), it should be noted cars are inanimate objects, so nothing brings them back to life except possibly Dr. Frankenstein if his skill set transfers from defective brains and the enfictionated nature of his portrayal is based on "a true story." Or, if Stephen King's "Christine" is a documentary.

      Delete
  27. In Europe it's known as a "twin town". Le Minneapolis?

    At Cape Kennedy they no longer ABORT takeoffs due to pressure from the Right to Flight movement. Now they just say NOBUENO.

    I don't personally FLAUNT my wealth. Sure, I show off, but not shamelessly. Take my private jet, for instance. I've got a bumper sticker on it that says "Honk if you Wish No One Was Poor." Lots of "thumbs up" and "Shaka" signs from my less socially conscious peers as my pilot TAXIES into position. Oh well, I guess I'll EKE by somehow.

    If your dorm room mates are "roomies", I guess a pig's are STYMIES. Particularly if you're attending RAGU, arch rival of Rag State.

    Tough downs only, but ultimately got 'er done. Thanks, Trent H. Evans.

    ReplyDelete
  28. @gerry w: good catch. Crossword lawyer sez: The alternator will bring the battery back to life after the JUMPSTART, so close enough;)

    Thanks for the Ned Ryerson Groundhog Day quotes yesterday. So glad I mis-spoke:)

    ReplyDelete
  29. Successfully solved downs-only for I think the third or fourth time now, and not because I knew every down answer. Had to piece things together in several areas, ending with RATOUT and then finally FLAUNTS. Really fun way to make Monday puzzles challenging.

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  30. I found this UBER easy, solving using any clues I can EKE by with - I miss too much fun stuff if I ignore the across clues (Hi, @Roo). So I had a better time than OFL, enjoying the long downs and the ESCORT ABET DONTASK RATOUT brothers. Lots of colorful words for @GILL’s fanciful tale!

    Like @Rex, I wanted the BUttinskis but had to settle for their MERER CLANmates the BUSYBODIES. I also had a fleeting “who in Europe says twin towns” thought but it didn’t evoke the @Z side-EYE. Wanted ALOHA luau, but don’t know if that’s a thing either.

    PADME belongs in Alice in Wonderland with EATME and DRINKME.

    I BET lots of former MOPTOP FLAUNTers were befuddled by the BEDHEAD style.

    However my favorite answer was PANT, partly because it reminded me of my dear departed Malamute whose PANTing tongue WAS so long it could wrap around her head, but also because it reminded me of Mason Williams, of Classical Gas fame. This song is an expertly arranged piece of music with MEGA-silly lyrics. If, ASAMI, you’re a fan of @Gill’s stories it should amuse.

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  31. I'll give you that ATT, BAA, ALOE, etc., are overused, but what's wrong with KRONA? It's the currency of Sweden and Iceland, and it's appeared on average once a year over the past decade in the NYT.

    Overall, though, I agree with Rex's characterization of this theme as PLAIN.

    ReplyDelete
  32. Across-only initially STYMIEd me with JILT, MOP TOP, FITS (DUDS?), PADME, HOST COUNTRY, ASAP (STAT?), and ALIEN WORLD. YET all quickly OPENed on the 2nd pass.

    Not enough space at the bottom for PARALLEL UNIVERSE, or at the top for VOTING PRECINCT.

    I actually stole the book.

    ReplyDelete
  33. OK MonPuz. But clearly missin two or three essential themers:
    * DIGESTIVESYSTEM.
    * FORDGALAXY.
    * MISTERUNIVERSE.

    staff weeject pick: OTS. Plural abbreve meat. Better clue: {Periods with periods??} = OTS. Check out them double ?-marker clue possibilities, temp editors!

    fave moo-cow eazy-E MonPuz clue: {Santa's sackful} = TOYS tied with {Constellation with a belt} = ORION.

    Other fave stuff: JUMPSTART. BUSYBODIES. DONTASK. MOOTPOINT [sports a MonPuz MOO].

    Thanx for the world of fun, Mr. Evans dude. And U might wanna consider {"I need some protection, if I'm gonna play goalie!"} = PADME. Just sayin.

    Masked & Anonymo5Us


    **gruntz**

    ReplyDelete
  34. There was a theme? Super easy - thanks, Trent :)

    ReplyDelete
  35. @RP says: "I just like clue phrasing to be precise and accurate."

    Thank you for that. I could not agree more.

    @burtonkd & Crossword Lawyer: re JUMPSTART, see above.

    ReplyDelete
  36. Anonymous2:10 PM

    Agree with Rex. I found this simple even for a Monday. IMHO

    ReplyDelete
  37. Ralex2:16 PM

    @egs 10:41 am
    You’re always funny but today’s ‘abort’ comments are hilarious. Thanks.

    Has anyone heard from LorenMuseSmith? Her students must need apple donations.

    ReplyDelete
  38. @Kitshef - re 32d - no idea, fortunately the crosses were solid.

    ReplyDelete
  39. I have lived in Hawaii my entire life, I'm 62, and *no one* here has *ever* called anything an "Aloha Party." Seems to be a phrase from Pinterest associated with ideas for kitschy Hawaiian-themed parties. Please don't make stuff up. Also you don't "eke by" you "squeak by" or you "eke out" a living... this "eke by" thing was a mistake some constructor made back in the day and now everyone's copying their clue. Similar to ODOR being a "foul smell" (it's just a smell) and EMOTE being overacting (it's just showing emotion, usually on stage).

    ReplyDelete
  40. Anonymous11:52 PM

    @jberg here-just back from two weeks in Captiva, but somehow my WiFi adapter failed during the leisurely drive back home, so I’m posting from my phone.

    I spent way too much time trying to find a connection among SISTER, PURPLE, HOST, and ALIEN, and I share the objections to JUMPSTART. Also, I don’t think of a MOPTOP as unruly—if you shake your head every hair will fall into place; and to me STYMIE means “block completely” rather than hinder.

    I really wanted kITS before FITS, but I guess that’s British.

    ReplyDelete
  41. Anonymous12:21 AM

    Two too many Star Wars clues....

    ReplyDelete
  42. Late to the Game4:46 AM

    I also immediately filled in Buttinskis lol

    ReplyDelete
  43. We have a bleedover: TENET. We have an EKE sighting: one stroke penalty. And I thought a PARTY in Hawaii was a LUAU. Oh well.

    Noted: BUSYBODIES seeking INTEL--but getting the answer "DONTASK" (best entry of the day). People who FLAUNT their FITS. EYE/STYES & PADME/ARTOO, mini-themes. Not counting ASAP and STAT in the corners.

    Easy, with a straightforward theme and some fill problems. Bogey.

    Wordle birdie.

    ReplyDelete
  44. Anonymous12:11 PM

    Much more challenging than your average Monday at least for me. But that’s fine. I find the NYT has become too easy lately and has dummed-down the difficulty level every day of the week. So an uptick in challenge is welcomed.

    ReplyDelete
  45. Diana, LIW4:16 PM

    Great theme, that made it a tad trickier than the average Monday at first blush. Than, of course, all fell into place. At least it wasn't filled with PURPLEprose!

    Diana, LIW

    ReplyDelete
  46. rondo5:45 PM

    I had the ABBIE Hoffman book, left it in my car with the windows down, and somebody stole it. Karma? Advertising?
    Wordle birdie.

    ReplyDelete