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Milk curdler in cheesemaking / TUE 3-19-24 / Parent dressed up at a pride parade, perhaps? / Oklahoma city named for a Tennyson character / Musical based on a comic strip / Starchy tropical root / Lentils, on an Indian menu / Capital wheeler-dealer, informally
Tuesday, March 19, 2024
Constructor: Lynn Lempel
Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium (Easyish but extra-wide (16x))
Theme answers:
- MAIN DRAG => Ma in drag (17A: Parent dressed up at a pride parade, perhaps?)
- DOOR NAILS => Do or nails (26A: Choice between a haircut and manicure?)
- BEAT THE CLOCK => "Be at the clock" (36A: "Meet me under Big Ben"?)
- GOON SQUAD! => "Go on, squad!" (52A: "Continue with your routine, cheerleaders"?)
Enid (/ˈiːnɪd/ EE-nid) is the ninth-largest city in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It is the county seat of Garfield County. As of the 2020 census, the population was 51,308. Enid was founded during the opening of the Cherokee Outlet in the Land Run of 1893, and is named after Enid, a character in Alfred, Lord Tennyson's Idylls of the King. In 1991, the Oklahoma state legislature designated Enid the "purple martin capital of Oklahoma." Enid holds the nickname of "Queen Wheat City" and "Wheat Capital" of Oklahoma and the United States for its immense grain storage capacity, and has the third-largest grain storage capacity in the world. (wikipedia)
• • •
Took me a half-beat to figure out the concept today. I was like "oh, she's punning on DRAG, OK, cool ... how is a parent 'MAIN'? One of the 'MAIN' ... people ... in your house?? That seems wr- ... ohhhhh, it's MA! MA IN DRAG! Ah, cool. Good for Ma." I don't think of DOORNAILS as real things—I think of them existing solely as a metaphorical point of comparison, something for people to be as dead as. But I suppose doors must once have had nails, and anyway, "dead as a doornail" makes it a familiar enough term. BEAT THE CLOCK is a general expression for making a deadline, but it's also the name of a long-running game show that has had many incarnations since the early days of television (1949!), the most recent being a kids show in 2018-19, but it's heyday was the '50s.
The fill ran a little on the stale side, but nothing made me cringe except SPOOR (8D: Wild animal's trail), and that's just because I'd rather not have animal droppings in my puzzle. You know, if it can be avoided. Huh, looks like SPOOR is any evidence left behind, anything that leaves a track, trail, or scent. Not just droppings. It's just that SPOOR ... I mean, it's got "poo" built in, so it feels like dropping. The word just has a mild ick factor for me. What "moist" is to some, "spoor" is to me. Then there's AGLARE, which is one of those "a-" words I never quite believe exist anywhere outside of antiquated poetry (46D: Shining brightly). I had AGLEAM in there at first—that's one hell of a kealoa**. If AGLOW had fit, I might've considered that as well. Or AGLIMMER. Is AGLAZE a word? My software is not red-underlining it, which troubles me. Phew, looks like it's a proprietary wax of some sort, and not an actual word, so do not add that to your list of potential six-letter AGL- adjectives. That list holds steady at 2. ABLAZE and AFLAME remain words. Lots and lots of luminescence in the "a"-prefixed adjective category, who knew?
See you tomorrow.
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!
P.P.S. here’s one commenter's explanation of the "Time" element of this theme—if it makes sense to you, fantastic!
 |
| [I see the 2/2, but not the 4/4 — there’s only one 4 🤷🏻] |
*Joel Fagliano is the interim editor, but it's still Shortz's Era until I hear differently
**kealoa = a pair of words (normally short, common answers) that can be clued identically and that share at least one letter in common (in the same position). These are answers you can't just fill in quickly because two or more answers are viable, Even With One or More Letters In Place. From the classic [Mauna ___] KEA/LOA conundrum. See also, e.g. [Heaps] ATON/ALOT, ["Git!"] "SHOO"/"SCAT," etc.
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]
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73 comments:
I found yesterday's puzzle difficult for Monday This was Mon or Tuesday easy. Was entertained by the theme answers once I caught on to the way they needed to be reparsed.
Which was not until the second one. The first left me going Huhhh?. Then shrugging and moving on.
I agree with Rex that the revealer was weak. But where does he find the time to gnaw at it that much?
I solved it "Downs-only lite" (not reading the clues for the longer acrosses) which means I didn't see the wordplay until I finished. Totally delightful! As are most Lynn Lempel puzzles.
Two overwrites:
Before reading the clue, dOUbTER before COUNTER at 19A
@Rex AGLeam before AGLARE at 46D
I had SCENT where SPOOR belongs and never heard of an EPAULET before, so I pretty much got shredded by the NE on a Tuesday, which I actually didn’t mind for a change.
I also got to the revealer and was trying to parse together the “time” angle with Big Ben, got nowhere and figured Rex would enlighten me. Looks like the revealer may be giving off some strange vibes today.
Yes, you did miss it (but that's OK)
The common 4/4 meter in music becomes HALFTIME when it is cut to 2/2 meter.
That is, the four notes (letters) in one bar of the first word become 2 notes cut over 2 bars.
HALFTIME is, then, a very snappy reavealer!
If only early-week themes could always be as simple, yet as "aha"-inducing, as this one. Here in Rexworld, terms like DOOK are basically part of the "banter language" we use, yet here comes Lynn Lempel to build a theme out of such terms. This is why she's at 102 and COUNT(ER)ing.
This is a wonderful Tuesday puzzle. Period.
My main critique is with BE AT THE CLOCK for "Meet me at Big Ben". Big Ben is not a clock, it's a bell. However, the clock and bell are co-located, so if you were meeting at Big Ben, you would also be meeting at the clock, so whatever.
Flat out loved it, despite the blowful revealer.
MERE looks awkward without the ‘r’ at the end.
@P.D.Q Bach: Thank you for the clarification. I couldn’t grasp the meaning of that revealer.
Elegant early week theme - well filled for the most part. Agree that EPAULET is a little out of place - but liked NOSHES, KLONDIKE and SEA LION.
Enjoyable winter-like Tuesday morning solve. Time to go get some sfingi.
The Old MAIN DRAG
What a treat to get this blog everyday. So snazzily written and cleverly thought out day after day. I don’t know how you have the energy, but keep going!
Neat puzzle with a theme that helps the solve. I didn't know RENNET, so at first I had c-a-p-t instead of CAPN before crunch.
I knew that ENID was a Tennyson character because my grandmother and mother were both named Enid. My great-grandmother was a Tennyson devotee who, in 1885, named her first child and only daughter after the lover of Gerant. That was before radio and TV, when poetry was part of one's daily routine.
Best early-week puzzle in ages. Easily gettable but so clever! Brava!
@Adam: Really? Seriously? What's that round thing with numbers and hands on Big Ben?
The Elizabeth Tower is the clock tower of the Palace of Westminster in London, England.[1] It contains the Great Clock, a striking clock with five bells.[2]-Wikipedia
I think OFL is thinking of "scat" when he is upset by SPOOR. Oh well
Caught on at DOORNAILS and it made MAINDRAG make sense, so a very nice aha! there. And i had just seen GOONSQUAD in the title of a NYT story, so that was a gimme. The other themers were fun but I agree that the revealer was a little flat.
Read the clue for 46D and thought, jeez, please don't be AGLEAM, and then wound up with AGLARE, which was just as bad. Answers like this can just go A WAY.
More good stuff from LL. We're Like, Lucky to have her, and thanks for all the fun.
I thought it skewed a little tough for a Tuesday. I had nothing in the northwest at first pass, which is unusual this early in the week. In the southeast, RENNET and DAL are two relatively uncommon words to stack on top of each other (though the crosses were more than fair).
I loved the theme, though I agree with Rex the revealer doesn’t quite land.
@PDQ Bach, the musical phenomenon you describe is called cut time, not HALFTIME. But whatevs, it’s still a delightful puzzle.
BUSY BODIES yesterday, GOON SQUAD today.
Joel must be a big fan of Elvis & The Attractions’ Armed Forces release…
As a musician, I really would like this to be the explanation, but I don’t buy it. I think the revealer would clue us into that aspect of “halftime” because it isn’t a terribly well known definition of the term. I think it doesn’t really work.
Also, please don’t try to become Peter Schickele reincarnate just yet. It wasn’t that long ago that he passed. Give it some time.
"Big Ben" has become the nickname for the clock tower as a whole.
102 NYT puzzles since her 1979 debut... insane.
I grew up playing classical instruments, but I missed the musical connotation of HALFTIME. Fitting that P.D.Q. Bach explained it (thanks).
Seeing EPAULETS and CAPN Crunch made me smile. Capn Crunch was redesigned last year to have 4 bars/stripes on his sleeves, instead of the 3 denoting a lower-ranked commander.
Loved the puz. Thank you, Lynn Lempel!
My first exposure to the word SPOOR was a description of a blood trail from a wounded animal, which is an even more unpleasant association than dung.
I started this last night but I was tired so I only did a little bit and went to sleep. Came back to it this morning and was delighted by the themers, but I had forgotten it was a Lynn Lempel puzzle until I came here. Of course it was! Yeah, Rex isn’t totally wrong about the revealer but the themers were so much fun, who cares. Thank you Lynn Lempel, your puzzles are always a joy!
PDQ Bach's point about the HALFTIME revealer is interesting, except that it is being clued as a sports term, not a music term. If it referenced the musical term it might have more pop, but frankly, the classical music definition of halftime gives me tired head to think about it, let alone explain it. The pop music definition (of a halftime groove) is easy: you halve the frequency of the accented beats over the same amount of time. Unfortunately, that does not help with making sense of the puzzle's revealer.
@jberg here—ENID may be only ninth in Oklahoma, but it’s tops in the crossworld. It was nice to see it with such an erudite clue.
Brilliant theme, brilliant fill, except for AGLARE.
Anyone remember Junket Rennet Custard? Loved it as a kid (many moons ago).
Terrific wordplay LL! Thanks.
Queen of Mondays on a Tuesday? Yes, please. Any time really. Wordplay had a blog post/Q&A with Lynn a few yrs ago, and stuck with me on why her puzzles are so smooth and clean. And, shocker, look at her answer to this question:
8. What entry or entries would you NEVER put in a puzzle, and why?
“Oh my gosh, there are so many entries I’ve never used, and which I hope I’m never desperate enough to allow. AMAH. ITEN. ETUIS. TEN A.M./SIX P.M., et cetera. RESEE. AM TOO/ARE TOO/AM SO. It’s a very long list. And I try very hard to avoid things like ACNE and OBESE, which will have unpleasant associations for lots of people.”
Amen Lynn.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/19/crosswords/who-made-my-puzzle-lynn-lempel.html
Hey All !
Caught the 16 wide. On the SunPuz, caught the 22 Wide, although I was the only one who mentioned it. *Head grows bigger* Har
A DOOK theme. Double Har. Who knew you could make a Theme out of DOOKs? Pretty awesome, Lynn.
I noticed a bunch of OO words. Let me count the OO's ... turns out to be only 4, two Themers, two in the Column starting at the 8. Why did it seem like more?
Clean fill, nice theme, more puz than normal. For a TuesPuz, this one kicks AFT. 😁
Two F's
RooMonster
DarrinV
Fun! Really enjoyed it, except for AGLeam AGLARE. Pretty easy, Mondayish, but mostly tight. Somehow I got the theme without truly getting the revealer, thinking qua @Rex oh, hmm, divide the first word in half, but what is time doing there?
I'm super impressed by 102 puzzles! That's 45 years, too. Wow. Congrats and hoping for many more!
Have not seen the lovely Ms Lempel in a while but I thoroughly enjoyed her latest brainchild. Very clever theme and application. At first it appeared to be rather vanilla but I soon realized if I paid attention I could SPY what was really going on and that was not the case at all. DOORNAILS threw me a bit, aided and abetted by having SCENT for SPOOR. And I had automatically plunked down TITANIC at 1D but I think that’s because the movie was on TV for the millionth time last night.
Can’t wait to see what kind of uniclue Gary J has on his LIST for CAPN KLONDIKE crossing PORN. I don’t ever try to come up with my own, although I sometimes glimpse the possibilities. ANNIE and the GOON SQUAD had me thinking of a heavy metal rock band from the 80’s.
At the risk of talking out of turn, I’ve never seen or heard of the word SPOOR before and it’s in both this NYT and also today’s WSJ puzzle. Was there a crossword editors’ industry event hosted by a Boy Scouts organization recently?
Liked this puzzle though I got the revealer first. Solved the right side easily, and then got a little stuck when I tried DOLPHIN before I realized it was SEALION, and SNACKS before NOSHES. But fixed those pretty fast. Best thing was that there were no chintzy words in the fill.
Doornails absolutely are real things, and knowing what they are makes more sense of the expression, "dead as a doornail".
Imagine a door on an old (very old) house: wide vertical planks crossed by thin wood or metal pieces to hold them together. Those thin cross pieces were held on by nails that were longer than the door was thick, so they stuck out the back side. For safety (and beauty) the tips of the nails were bent over 180 degrees with pliers and pounded back into the door with a hammer.
But nails in general were considered to have a long life, since they were often re-purposed for projects in later years, as they were quite expensive to purchas brand new. But bending nails as described above, makes them weak, and not good for re-use. Doornails, since they were non-reusable, were considered to be at the end of their life, or "dead".
For a beautiful visual account of what I'm describing, search for a YouTube video called "Dead as a doornail." on a channel called Malcolm P.L.
Mr. Google:
Why do we say dead as a doornail?
Its meaning is disputed but most likely it referred to the costly metal nails hammered into the outer doors of the wealthy (most people used the much cheaper wooden pegs), which were clinched on the inside of the door and therefore were “dead,” that is, could not be used again.
@P.D.Q .Bach @Andy Freude @Casarussell
"Cut time" is indeed 2/2 and a common term for classical musicians, but there's a Wikipedia article titled "Half-time (music)" that explains it involves doubling the lengths of notes (halving the tempo) *without* changing the time signature -- so that you only fit *half* as many notes in a given measure.
While not obvious, I think it works logically in this puzzle if you consider each word to be a bar or measure of music.
So in common time (4/4) it would be four quarter-notes, each note being a letter, to a bar: |MAIN|drag, |DOOR|nails...
While in half time there are four half-notes across two bars, or two half-notes per bar: |MA|IN|drag, |DO|OR|nails...
So I think it does work out technically if you want to fully analyze it. On the other hand, for those who don't want to overthink it, it's simply enough to see the word "half" and realize the first words can be cut in half.
Also @Casarussell while it's clued as a sports term, the clue says "Game break ... or a hint to interpreting the first parts..." and so the "or" indicates specifically a non-sports usage, hence the musical/rhythmic interpretation.
In summary... I think the clue and term are 100% valid. I kinda liked it!
I am awarding this puzzle the affectionate, somewhat Seinfeldian title of "The DOOK," because that's how I'll always think of it. I don't really get today's revealer and, in fact, would have used DOOK as my revealer for this puzzle, with the revealer clue "Perform adequately."
But for long-time puzzle buffs, this puzzle doesn't even need a revealer. We all know what a DOOK is and I found this puzzle absolutely delightful. And I was SO slow getting the trick because I didn't see it at MAIN DRAG. "What on earth?" I'm thinking. Saw the light at DOOR NAILS, after which I went back to MA IN DRAG and said: "How clever!" I then guessed the next two themers with very few crosses.
All the DOOKS are clued exceptionally fairly and with real specificity -- making the "Aha" moments even better.
And what a gorgeous junk-free grid! I found this a really enjoyable Tuesday puzzle on every level.
@dragoo "For safety (and beauty) the tips of the nails were bent over 180 degrees with pliers and pounded back into the door with a hammer."
I had to look this up out of curiosity, and it seems there are two possible reasons for this -- one is for safety/beauty as you mention, but the other was to prevent theft.
Nails were expensive, and apparently the door of a house/building was the only easily accessible place where nail heads would be exposed to the public. So the tips of the nails were bent so the nails couldn't be pried off and stolen.
Which makes a bit more sense to me -- otherwise you'd think they'd just use nails that were nearly as long as the door was thick, but no longer.
RENNET sent me to my doom as I had FLOOD PLAN and DENNET seemed like something on a farm. I don't believe I've ever seen or heard the word SPOOR. I spelled DUNCAN like DUNKIN donuts, and have decided neither seems kingly, kingish, or kingful.
Cute theme. I'll remember MA IN DRAG.
I love the whole concept behind WORDSMITH. I've spent my life with hammer and anvil beating syllables into tortured replicas of something they're not and losing many a girlfriend (and reader) thanks to the resulting communication difficulties. I still love the words, and don't miss the ladies. And god knows they don't miss me.
MERE! The hero returns! It's less MERER than MERER, but a ways away from MEREST, but still MERING quite MERELY. If it's the MERE with solar panels it's an ECOMERE, with lentils it's DALMERE, and if it's planning to enrage lifelong Republicans it's QUEERMERE.
Tee-Hee: GOON SQUAD. PORN. QUEER. MA IN DRAG. Has this been approved for viewing in Florida? I need to take a shower after this one.
Uniclues:
1 Ad for auto broker who'll find you a boring car on the internet.
2 Lunch place downtown.
3 Meowing marine mammal.
4 Midnight snacks for the 1%.
5 Minty miner maker.
1 I SPY WEB SEDANS
2 MAIN DRAG COUNTER
3 NO IDEA SEA LION (~)
4 PRIME RIB NOSHES
5 KLONDIKE ALTOID (~)
My Fascinating Crossword Uniclue Keepsake from Last Year: Cement galoshes. MOBSTER REAL IDIOT TAX.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
@P.D.Q .Bach 6:47 AM
Love the complex thinking here, but Occam says it's simply cutting the first word in half.
WHY MUST THEY DO SO MANY THEMED PUZZLES????
This should have been easy but I confindently wrote in so many wrong answers. Alamos instead of SEDANS. Bio instead of GEO. Seal Pup instead of SEA LION. Blueprint instead of FLOORPLAN. And most annoyingly, Heads or Tails (with the heads being rebus squares, which I did think was bold for a Tuesday, but clever), which I then confidently changed to Heads or Nails - still a good pun- except that none of the other themers were rebuses, and… oh fudge. Anyway. It didn’t make the puzzle hard, exactly, but it did slow me down.
Did anyone else initially enter CPO for 59-A? It's probably not the best fit for the clue, since it's a high rank among non-coms, and only low in the sense that it's not commissioned. Nevertheless, I left it in until the end. At that point, it was easy to run through the vowels in R*NNET and see the obvious ELF for 56-D.
Well, now you might say "Meet me under the Elizabeth Tower." Big Ben was renamed a while back. Big Ben is actually the name of the biggest bell in the tower. You can hear the five bells ring on special occasions. It was renamed the Elizabeth Towers in honor of Queen Elizabeth's jubilee. By the way, if you do go BEAT THE CLOCK, stop by the Silver Cross pub near Downing Street. They actually will make you a pretty good "American" martini.
Ah, yes....Ms Lempel and her entertaining puzzle. Do they ever get old? NO...Just look at MA IN DRAG. Part of her initiation into LGBTQ. Then we've got a GOON SQUAD here and a KLONDIKE there..a few NOSHES with PHO and maybe some CAPN crunch. Quite the DISH!
The revealer did have me scratching. I know what was done here and it was really clever but I agree with @Rex...The reveal needed a little more pop. Any suggestions?
A fun puzzle & good to see Lynn again :)
1. Get wrapped up in a tortilla
2. Crucial step in bowling: Let _______
3. Food prep site with high energy
(Answers below)
Dook after dook. Who could like a puzzle like this? I was going to riff on DO OK as a dook, but @Nancy beat me to it. Curse these time zones. Well, at least I'm one of the first commenters every day on the Honolulu Star-Advertiser puzzle.
I note that The Bachelor universe has added Golden Bachelor for a sorely needed glimpse into the amorous needs of straight old folks. Perhaps Ru Paul might want to add MAINDRAG to his growing QUEER portfolio. He might even get a KLONDIKE or two to participate.
I understand that TSA is going to put further restrictions in place. Instead of just asking for IDS, they'll also examine your EGOS and SUPEREGOS.
Hats off to Lynn Lempel. 102! 45 years!!! Keep it up!
1. BEANENCHILADA
2. GOOFBALL
3. SOUPKITCHEN
Cool theme idea. HALFTIME revealer seemed ok, at our house. Interpreted it simply as a "TIME to divide the first themer words in HALF" hint. QED.
Liked MAINDRAG better than PAINMANAGEMENT, or somesuch.
staff weeject pick: PHO. As in PHO TO FINISH.
Caught onto the theme mcguffin pretty early on, with MAINDRAG. Knew right away this was gonna be fun.
some faves: KLONDIKE. DREAMON. SEALION. NEEDLE clue. NOIDEA. EPAULET spellin challenge.
Thanx for the go od time (16x15's worth), Ms. Lempel darlin. Great job, as usual.
Masked & Anonymo4Us
**gruntz**
Easy-medium. No erasures and no WOEs. Is the theme a DOOK or perhaps a reverse DOOK or maybe an UNDOOK? Smooth and clever, delightful Tuesday!
@kitshef - re: Croce 32d, I think the answer has to do with the letters in the second word of the clue.
Happy so many of you liked it, but it didn't do anything for me. The only themer that I liked was MAINDRAG. Minimal sparkle and 24 threes (way over the statutory limit of 20).
Thanks to the bloggers who gave the origin of "Dead as a doornail."
Are you THE P.D.Q. Bach? I gotta tell you, “Please kind sir” is one of my favorite musical jokes of all time. And I played The Short-Tempered Klavier No. 1 on C major for a recital in university.
Clark says “look kids…Big Ben, Parliament” and I don’t think he could SEE the bell…so it’s the clock tower as a whole. Proof by movie; vacation edition.
Part of me knew you weren’t the real PDQ so I googled him/you. Ironically, Peter Schickele died just two months ago. RIP PDQ
As Hyperion across the flaming sky his chariot did ride, the SNAPPIEST Tuesday ever was found!
@jae - yes, that makes perfect sense.
First, foremost, and highest priority: Welcome back, Ms. Lempel! Always a joy to see your name.
Delightful theme with ok revealer - I'll live with that, and with the cheater squares, especially on a Tuesday. I'll even accept IRS and IRA in the same puzzle if it means we get more of Lynn's work again.
Re: HALF TIME vs. cut time. Actually cut time would’ve been a fine revealer because we are cutting the words in half. I was inspired to search for a good explanation of half time (and double time) and here is a short video which makes sense to me as a classical musician. Curious to know what those with jazz experience think.
Regardless, the theme was fun. A DOOK puzzle! For once I got it from the first one - thanks, MA! That was my favorite, though GOONSQUAD is cute too. Is a strongman’s thigh muscle a GOON’S QUAD?
I didn't care for some of the short stuff - IDS IRS IRA TSP RTE USB et al - but there was enough sparkle to COUNTER that, like SEALION, WORDSMITH, KLONDIKE and PRIME RIB. I keep a tin of ALTOIDS in my car. The peppermint ones make me sneeze, which amuses Mr. A to no end.
Noticed a plethora of ‘or’ sounds, ORE SORE SKOR SPOOR PORN. Also ‘oh’ sounds, ECHO NATO TARO GEO EAU (but not PHO).
Thanks to Lynn, Rex and all! GO ON, SQUAD!
I started off trying to do it down clues only, but soon gave up because some evenings I just don't have the patience. The long acrosses just weren't springing to mind, eg at 36 across looking at -EATT-ECLOCK all I could think was: SEATTLE CLOCK?... never heard of it.
I had trouble believing RENNET was a thing, and its clue was the first in Rex's list that's embedded in the URL.
Thanks @Fun_CFO for the article on Lynn Lempel.
[Spelling Bee: Mon 0; QB streak 4! No really goofy words.]
missed opportunity for an early 80s video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoMCip83GZ4
What an enjoyable puzzle, albeit Monday-level easy. I printed it out so I had something to do here at the Albany Airport while waiting for my flight. Well, after about 10 minutes at the Hudson Valley Beer Union - spent primarily reading these comments - I must find something else to do. Fortunately, I have Simenon's Three Beds in Manhattan to read. I've never read any of his works that didn't star Inspector Maigrette.
L.G.B.T.Q's "Q" actually stands for Questioning. But since the pejorative "queer" has unfortunately entered mainstream discussion, I can't really complain about 53D.
[**possible spoiler for today's runtpuz**]
@kitshef: That there runtpuz is a themeless, and its title has been used around 57 times before -- just a "Flattery Will Get You Nowhere" play on words, since it's a flat-ish shaped runt.
Hotel ROOM outside the usual circles (the OO's) = RM.
M&A Help Desk
@floatingboy 10:39 AM
Why must the sun rise in the east?
Why must that moon be the only one?
Why isn't spaghetti served at every feast?
Why do you fight when I touch your bum?
Why do tears fall from your eyes?
Why are actresses filling up puzzles?
Why do some girls end up as guys?
Why does your byline give me the wuzzles?
Some days it's a theme. Some it's a rebus.
We question. We wonder and fill with doubt.
Sometimes the MERERS make us question Jesus.
We cry, "Builders and editors! Get the hell out!"
But we'll show up tomorrow to struggle again.
It's why we keep whiskey and our friend Mary Jane.
A DOOK puzzle! Cool. Some themers worked better for me that others. MAIN DRAG is definitely in the lingo but MA IN DRAG seems amiss. I thought people IN DRAG were males. Do females go IN DRAG? BE AT THE CLOCK also seems a bit far fetched or strained as a phrase anyone would ever actually say.
I also thought the reveal was wide of the mark. HALF works in the sense that the first words have to be divided in HALF to make the clues fit the whole phrases but I agree with OFL that TIME is a non sequitur since it has no discernible connection to any part of the theme.
I guess this is a case of "put up or shut up" so here goes. My suggestion for the reveal would be SPLITS UP. It has the requisite eight letters to match its symmetrically placed MAIN DRAG. The reveal clue could then be something along the lines of "Ends a relationship or what the first part of 17-, 26-, 36- and 52-Across does to make the whole phrase fit its clue".
Is that some good WORDSMITHing or should I just DREAM ON?
I knew some Corporals in the Marine Corps who worked damn hard to achieve that "low" military rank. From this PFC to them, Semper Fi.
Thanks for including bnl’s Enid! I always think of this song when I see Enid. Such a fun bop :)
@Kitshef 7:11 AM I'm late to comment, but love the MERER reference. :-)
Anoa Bob
About women in drag.
See Julie Andrew’s in Victor Victoria I understand there are women in drag who perform regularly.
An easy Tuesday, but I didn't grok the theme until I read Michael's blog, and that gave me a bit more appreciation for the puzzle.
And while I rarely agree with the blogger on most issues (like taking offense at SPOOR, really?) I do agree with him that AGLARE was unfortunate.
Kinda shocked you went old school "stale" with the B&W Beat the Clock game clip and not the Sparks track (which seems to be having a healthy Renaissance in trendy bars and among the, ahem, young)
Rewatched episode of lucifer where maze speaks afrikaans tonight and then got some more with SPOOR in my puzzle. My only hesitation with SPOOR was I wasn't sure it was English. Deon Meyer's novel Spoor got translated as Trackers, and all of his books are worth a read
Fascinating how many words today that I consider common parlance or learned in childhood some people find to be obscure crosswordese. I guess it's all in what you've chosen to read or listen to over your lifetime.
Wow, a whole puzzle of DOOKs! That AWES me. Ms. Lempel is without a doubt an accomplished WORDSMITH. You have to be to come up with RENNET and DAL on a Tuesday. My education continues.
Nice FLOORPLAN with those roomy, open corners. Such a great puzzle we can forgive an AGLARE here and a USSR there. Birdie.
Wordle bogey.
😂😂😂
DREAMON (NO PLAN)
ISPY WHY it happened, THE EPUALETs odd,
THE CPL. and CAP’N are THE GOONSQUAD.
--- ANNIE DUNCAN
Very very easy puzzle today. Easier than yesterday's. But tuns of phon to be had!
Dook or not to do ok. That is the question.
The answers that some found hard, were gimmes for moi.
SPOOR: Perhaps I watch too much NatGeo and PBS.
RENNET: I watch a lot of food shows, plus live next to Wisconsin, and know many Cheeseheads.
EPAULET: Old crosswordese that I haven't seen very much of late. Also comes and goes in women's fashion.
Spåren means 'the tracks' in Swedish, so it's not just us, or we borrow without giving credit. Pretty easy.
Wordle DNF, so many options with ?O?ER
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