Thursday, May 9, 2024

Fishing basket / THU 5-9-24 / Pigeon dish / Bloodroot produces an orange one / Like the smell of a pub / Body part where a sock might go? / Product identifier similar to a U.P.C.

Constructor: Joe DiPietro

Relative difficulty: Easy


THEME: in old Rome? — the letter strings "ONE," "TWO," "FOUR," and "EIGHT" are represented in the grid by their Roman numeral equivalents:

Theme answers:
  • WALKED (I) GGSHELLS (walked [on e]ggshells) (16A: Used extreme caution, in old Rome?)
  • "DON (II) RRY ABOUT IT" ("don'[t wo]rry about it") (30A: "Everything will be fine," in old Rome?)
  • THE SKIN O (IV) TEETH (the skin o[f our] teeth) (38A: What we might escape by, in old Rome?)
  • W(VIII) HE EVIDENCE (w[eigh t]he evidence) (57A: Do a judge's job, in old Rome?)
Word of the Day: ERG (44A: What a piece of work!) —

The erg is a unit of energy equal to 10−7 joules (100 nJ). It originated in the Centimetre–gram–second system of units (CGS). It has the symbol erg. The erg is not an SI unit. Its name is derived from ergon (ἔργον), a Greek word meaning 'work' or 'task'.

An erg is the amount of work done by a force of one dyne exerted for a distance of one centimetre. In the CGS base units, it is equal to one gram centimetre-squared per second-squared (g⋅cm2/s2). It is thus equal to 10−7 joules or 100 nanojoules (nJ) in SI units. (wikipedia)

• • •

[it means "One Claudius"]
I kinda liked unpacking these theme answers. The numerals were all well and truly buried in their respective answers (all of them breaking across two words, rather than merely embedded in a single word, or appearing as the numbers themselves, which would've been boring). This is the kind of gibberish that I can accept in my grid—gibberish that isn't really gibberish if you're reading it right. And they're all a perfect grid-spanning 15, and the numbers form an orderly list, doubling as you progress down the grid. I'd've preferred "ancient Rome" to "old Rome" in the clues. Otherwise, I think the theme is aces. But man, things have gotten way, way too easy of late. For a while there, the interim editor seemed to have jacked the difficulty of the puzzles up in a pretty noticeable way (whether intentionally or not), but things have yawed waaaayyy in the other direction in recent days. Every day this week has felt like a Monday until today, which (gimmick aside) felt like a Tuesday. I really would like my Thursdays to have more punch and more flash. The fill today is smooth and uncringey (hurray), and MILD WINTER and STEEP FINES are solid longer answers, but the theme is carrying all of the excitement burden. The burden of interest? The only thing interesting about the puzzle is the theme, is what I'm saying. In a case like this, on a Thursday, the cluing could at least try to put up a bit of fight—get weird or clever or something. But I've looked this puzzle over and have marked hardly any clues as particularly tough or tricky. Fight me, puzzle!


Whatever interest ON IN YEARS and GO ON A TEAR had was negated by the fact that they both contain "ON." Normally an "ON" dupe would not be something I'd notice (or care about), unless the "ON" words intersected or there were three+ "ON"s or something like that. But when symmetrical marquee-level answers dupe a word, I notice. But as I say, moving through the non-thematic areas of this puzzle was largely a pleasant experience. A nice walk. No cool birds or beautiful foliage, but no rain or gnat swarms either. Only a few hesitations and missteps today. Got MILD W- and when I couldn't make MILD WEATHER fit, I was briefly confused. I guess the word "news" in the clue threw me a bit—I think of the weather as "news," but not the season itself. "Forecast" might've got me there. But no matter. My level of confusion, like the imagined weather (I mean winter), was merely mild. I thought a SQUAB was a kind of bird, not a [Pigeon dish]. Ah, I see it is an "immature domestic pigeon or its meat" (wikipedia) (my emph.). I was not sure if it was a dish that contained pigeon, or something the pigeon itself might eat. Also, I routinely confuse SQUAB and SQUIB, so thank god CAR (eventually) was clear (26A: Where F comes before E?) (i.e. on the gas gauge). 


Some more notes:
  • 9A: Body part where a sock might go? (CHIN) — this one seems designed to get you to write in SHIN. Well, anyway, that's what I did. But SHIN would mean reading the clue in a more literal, "?"-less way. Here, the sock is not an article of clothing, but a punch. And if you're going to sock someone, I guess the chin is as good a place as any (though your hand would probably prefer the belly)
  • 27A: Product identifier similar to a U.P.C. (SKU) — Me: "Uh ... CPU?" (no: that's computerese for "central processing unit”). I haven't seen or thought about SKU numbers in forever, and don't actually know what SKU stands for, so let's find out ... drum roll ... googling ... OK, looks like it's "stock keeping unit." It's pronounced "skew," right? "Skoo" seems like it would be too silly for any self-respecting person to want to say.
  • 46A: Result of a failed field sobriety test, for short (DWI) — still not sure what the difference between DWI and DUI is (from a legal standpoint, that is). I went, as I always do, with DUI, largely because it's just easier to say, unless you've decided to treat them as true acronyms, in which case I believe they are both pronounced "Dwee!" 
[I've seen this dumb billboard around town so many times, you'd think I'd've switched my default from DUI to DWI by now. True story: I first thought these were political billboards meant to smear some guy named Tom who was running for office]
  • 12D: Mitchell & ___ (sports apparel company) (NESS) — No idea. It's Eliot or Loch or go to hell, NESS-wise.
  • 51D: Like the smell of a pub (BEERY) — do not love this as an adjective. As a supporting actor on The Rockford Files, however, I'd love it:
[Noah BEERY, Jr. as Jim's dad, Rocky]

See you next time.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld 

P.S. SWAK = “Sealed With A Kiss”; I though this was well known, but based on some initial comments, apparently not

P.P.S. reader Daniel G. sent me a picture of his cat a while back and I don't remember why and it's just been sitting on my desktop for weeks and weeks now, so now seems as good a time as any to post it—this is Gorky. He's helping:


[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]

113 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. Bob Mills5:52 AM

    Finished it with one cheat in the SE, because I never watched American Idol and I didn't know SWAK. Caught on to the theme when "skin of our teeth" became obvious and I was able to infer the Roman numeral trick.

    "F before E" apparently refers to a car's fuel gauge. That was a devilish clue, but a reasonable one.

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  3. Joe from Eagle Mills6:04 AM

    Not only are the Roman numerals in numerical order, they're in powers of two:
    2^0 = 1 (or I); 2^1 = 2 (or II); 2^2 = 4 (or IV); 2^3 = 8 (or VIII).

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  4. This was cool - agree on the overall easyness - I had fun working the trick even if it was short lived. Themers were all interesting enough - some hiccups in the fill but clean enough.

    Mike NESS

    Side eye to BEERY. Liked the NE corner with the SQUAB, CHURRO and CREEL stack. Didn’t really know KEWPIE. SW made me back into some TV Guide trivia.

    Enjoyable Thursday morning solve.

    Rest in power to the great Steve Albini

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  5. Anonymous6:17 AM

    What the heck is a SWAK and how is it a "love note acronym"?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous9:02 PM

      Sealed With A Kiss ((SWAK)

      Delete
  6. I wanted a warm WINTER before MILD; parsing the I in the first themer was tough for me. The NW corner gave me some trouble--I had ---IGGSHELLS and couldn't parse the I (I didn't see the pattern, as I got the II first, then the VIII, then the IV), but when I finally did the rest of the puzzle fell into place quickly. I enjoyed it overall a lot more than @Rex.

    ReplyDelete

  7. Easy once I got the theme and Easy-ish over all.

    My 1A mouse was quiet before it was TIMID
    At 5D, my bloodroot produced an orange tea before DYE
    Almost fell into the barbiE trap for the 39D doll but decided that was too obvious
    I did fall into the sHIN/CHIN trap at 9A

    Never heard of 12D Mitchell & NESS. I need to buy more clothes.

    Took a while to get how CAR fit the 26A clue. It seems to me that when a CAR comes off the assembly line it's on E, and then they put gas in it and it's on F. After that the two alternate, so technically E comes before F.

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  8. No, F doesn't precede E on any car. The tank was empty before it was ever filled, and thereafter they alternated for the life of the car. Unless two states that alternate can be said to precede each other? Seems a bit of a stretch.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous9:08 AM

      Or, Yknow, the F is on the left and the E is on the right.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous9:33 AM

      Every fuel gauge I've ever seen the F was to the left of or above (i.e. before) the E.

      Delete
    3. Wanderlust10:54 AM

      I just did a Google image search of “gas gauge on car” and every single image has the E on the left side, F on the right.

      Delete
    4. I think you would describe two states that alternate as preceding each other. Day precedes night and night precedes day. Also you can't read the fuel gauge of a car that has never been filled, as it has to be turned on to activate the sensor.

      Delete
    5. I think AlanB nailed it. Your tank is full (F) before it is empty (E), regardless of how they appear on the gauge.

      Delete
    6. Yep. Instant get for me: I see Mitchell & NESS ads constantly online.

      Delete
    7. I second the F usually being on the right or above the E. But in response to AlanB, on predigital gas gauges at least the gauge will not show you the gas level before starting up the car, true (not necessarily its engine), but the needle points to E until you do.

      Delete
    8. Anonymous7:07 PM

      My car has the E on the left and F on the right. And this is not a chicken before the egg situation. Your gas tank most definitely starts as empty and then must be filled.

      Delete
  9. B. Hyland6:44 AM

    Yes it's gonna be a cold lonely summer. But I'll fill the emptiness. I'll send you all my love every day in a letter, sealed with a kiss.

    And never forget: semper ubi sub ubi.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Latin 101 - Always where under where.

      Delete
  10. SWAK = Sealed With a Kiss.

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  11. Wanderlust6:50 AM

    I like it when I use the theme to solve, which I did in this case. I grokked the theme but didn’t really use it until the far SW, where I had nothing. So I looked at the clue for the themer, plus the end of the answer: —-IHEEVIDENCE. What does a judge do with the evidence? Weighs it! And that’s an eight! Bam! Done.

    Nice theme. The “F before E” clue really stumped me even when I figured it was a gas gauge. The E is to the left of the F, which is “before” it. I guess they mean the tank starts full and moves toward empty? But you could just as easily say it starts empty and gets full when you gas up. Chicken or egg? Not really because the tank definitely started empty when it was in the factory. Oh well, overthinking it. And thanks for the Jackson Browne. Great song, and jeez was he ever handsome.

    Up IN YEARS before ON led to a bit more confusion. Same reaction as Rex to SQUAB. And Wyatt Earp and his brothers were in the song “My Darling Clementine”? Looked up the lyrics, no Earps there. Then I looked at the clue and realized it was a movie, which I don’t know. Sounds worth watching.

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  12. Anonymous6:52 AM

    Worked in a warehouse for many years processing returns. I can confidently tell you we pronounced it 'skew', though we usual added 'number' after it. "Do you have that SKU number?"

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  13. I would have enjoyed this more as a themeless with entries that didn’t require deciphering (no surprise there). I agree with the consensus thus far that it was on the easy side for a Thursday - which I always think is preferable, especially if there is a gimmick such as this one where the theme entries require a form of “decoding” - it’s always nice to be able to trust the crosses in that situation.

    KEWPIE (and TAY) were new to me, with KEWPIE being one of the tougher ones crossing two theme entries. At least I got thru gimmick day without feeling beat up and bruised, so I’m cool.

    @anon SWAT = Sealed With A Kiss

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  14. David Grenier6:56 AM

    First of all, HI GORKY!

    Second of all, I liked this one. I was worried at first that the theners might be in Latin. I took two years of Latin in high school but I don’t remember any of it. I thought how Romans escaped might be the APPIAN WAY but that didn’t work. Finally I had enough crosses I could sort of see THE SKIN OF OUR TEETH if I squinted, and figured out the gimmick.

    From there it was mostly smooth sailing. The NW held me up, possibly because I started with UP in years rather than ON in years. But mostly my brain just wasn’t firing for those words. Dunno why really, none of them are obscure or overly vague. Just need more coffee I guess.

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  15. Anthony In TX7:00 AM

    State laws differ on this, I think, but the difference between DUI and DWI is generally:
    DUI - driving under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol.
    DWI - driving while intoxicated, i.e., specifically under the influence of alcohol.
    If I'm not mistaken, Texas differentiates the two, but I think many states just use DUI as a catchall rather than make them separate offenses.

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  16. Anonymous7:00 AM

    I started with WARM WINTER and a sock to the FACE. The latter struck me as a tad vividly violent for a crossword, and when I saw it was CHIN, I was like ok, that seems more appropriate. Now I’ll spend the rest of the day wondering why my brain thinks a sock to the face is more vividly violent than a sock to the chin.

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous9:50 AM

      A sock to the chin feels more cartoonish, like something you’d see from the Three Stooges. That’s my guess for why they feel different (which they do!)

      Delete
  17. Easy and fun. I think of SQUAB as just a young pigeon, rather than specifically a dish. And I think of IAIN as Scottish, and IAN as English.

    I thought ERG was the unit of energy, rather than work. It turns that out a) it is both b) I don’t understand what work is.

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  18. I liked the puzzle a lot. It’s very clever. I didn’t find it particularly easy for a Thursday. The one thing that bothered me a little was that the word evidence has VI in it, which is Roman numerals for six. But it didn’t mean “six” The other themers were clear of any extraneous Roman numerals. I would have preferred that they all were.

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    1. Anonymous9:36 AM

      100% this. Can’t believe Rex didn’t ding it for that.

      But then I think, should the themers not be allowed “I” either?

      Delete
  19. A delightful kind of rebus. Lewis might have told us if it is a first, but he's away.

    Joe DiPietro is one of my favorite constructors. He consistently turns out sparkly stuff. Seventeen red plus signs in my margins today, very high for a rebus. I picture him in his bar, sitting by the window, having a beer, dreaming up these beauties.

    I forgive him for the terrible clue for CAR.

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  20. I would have bet money that OFL would have a hard time with long answers that included the letters I and V not translated into Roman Numerals.

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  21. I remember when they changed from DWI to DUI. I guess because Under the Influence, can imply you have had a couple of drinks and are not what you would consider “intoxicated”. DWI was indicating (I think) that you needed to be MORE than tipsy to get a big fat ticket or arrested.

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  22. I don’t understand 22D. I know PHI is a Greek letter but I’m not getting the connection to U Penn.

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous9:01 AM

      U Penn is in PHI-ladelphia

      Delete
    2. I guess that’s phine. Thanks.

      Delete
  23. REX was spot-on, once again!

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  24. @mathgent - Same theme was done on December 3, 2015, but all the themers are different, and for some reason that time they opted to put circles where the Roman numerals appeared.

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  25. I'm sure this varies by state, but my understanding was DWI is the worse offense. "Under the influence" just means you're partially impaired, but "while intoxicated" means you have crossed the legal line into full on drunk/stoned state.

    Rex, you should recognize the Simpsons reference, when Homer is accused of having a DUI and responds angrily "it was a D DOUBLE-YOU I!"

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  26. Hey All !
    This one didn't land for me. Sorry, Joe. It just struck me as particularly too odd. I get it, seems neat to do, I even flew through, either setting or coming close to a PR today. But, I can't shake the Roman Numerals look wonky feeling. Haven't read anyone yet, except Rex, who surprisingly liked it.

    I'm sure this wasn't easy to fill cleanly. The two Long Downs go through three Themers! Then a bunch of Downs go through two Themers. So kudos on the fill being any semblance of clean.

    To answer Rex DUI/DWI, I believe (from memory, which is amazing and probably not 100% correct) DWI is just drunk driving, while DUI includes drugs? Maybe?

    Anyway, thanks for the puz, Joe, sorry for being CRUDE.

    Have a good Thursday, all.

    One F (and one truncated in IV)
    RooMonster
    DarrinV

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  27. As Rex said, nice spacing of the trickery. More like a Thursday than whet we’ve seen in, well, a month of Thursdays!

    Though relatively easy, my time was way up because of the addition of my new little rescue chihuahua, Diva. She’s about 7 years old, only 5 lbs and was found on the street several weeks ago (how anyone can abandon such a little creature - during a Minnesota winter no less - is beyond me).

    Just got her last night - she’s in the lap of luxury but constantly nudges me as I try to tap in the answers (my right hand, after all, is for petting her. Anyway, my PBR times are likely a thing in the past, which is a tradeoff I’m loving. Like Gorky, she wants to help!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. @andrew 8:50 AM
      So cute! Congrats. Who knows, maybe he's an experienced criciverbalist from his former home. Let us know about his feelings on this empty v. full gas gauge consternation.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous4:33 PM

      Love this comment!

      Delete
  28. Easy breezy here. Caught on at the first themer that Roman numerals were involved and then it was just checking to see if I would always equal ONE. Quickly found that that wasn't going to work and thought the other themers were great.

    Our MILDWINTER was indeed bad for the ski business around here and made my season pass virtually worthless. Ouch.

    Didn't know SKU, or NESS and KATY as clued but everything else was familiar.

    I read Thornton Wilder's THESKINOFLURTEETH in a graduate course on comedy, thought it was wonderful, and convinced my best friend to direct it as our high school's annual play. Worth reading these days, as optimism seems to be in short supply.

    Well done you as usual, JDP. Just Delightfully Playful and thanks for all the fun.

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  29. Anonymous9:05 AM

    Solving while watching HUD on TCM. Filled Earp clue and minutes later there is a scenes in the movie where they sing “My Darling Clementine “. Weird

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  30. Anonymous9:06 AM

    KEWPIE could be spelled KEUPIE if you dont know. Natick there for me.

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  31. Anonymous9:10 AM

    In what universe is this easy?!? Hardest puzzle I’ve encountered in a while. Granted, I’m not a fan of Thursday trickiness anyway, but I found the cluing to be way too vague and totally indecipherable. I saw something was going on with VIII down in the bottom themed where I was finally getting a foothold, but have never heard of SWAK before and finally just gave up. I normally rely on PPP and trivia to give me something to work off of and this one was sorely lacking. Super hard for me. DNF

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  32. Masterfully done. NYT #141 for Joe, debut was in 1995. He's in my pantheon of crossword gods.

    Constructor Notes:
    "This puzzle started out as a blackjack idea with a revealer of “double down,” where the Roman numerals doubled as they were read from top to bottom in the grid. Ultimately, the payoff wasn’t that great. Of course, the casino was Caesar’s.

    Finding a 15-letter entry with IV was the most difficult. I originally submitted the puzzle with circles around the numerals, but like it better without them!"

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  33. Anonymous9:34 AM

    I thought it was the toughest Thursday in a long while. A KEWPIE??? Crossing ERG(?) and DWI which could just as easily be DUI??

    I got there eventually. But that was not easy. Unless you are a KEWPIE collector.

    ReplyDelete
  34. Willy K9:43 AM

    A RIM is not a dunking obstacle - a defensive player is. Ask any NY Knick.

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  35. I liked it a good amount. Yes, easy, but theme and other longs are above average.

    @Kitshef, certainly glad we didn’t get circles (or shaded as the archive does in the Games app) like the puzzle u referenced. A.) because no circles/shades B.) would have made this a Monday.

    Every car I’ve owned has the F either above or left of E on the gas gauge, well except our current electric vehicle, which just uses 100% to 0% (still top to bottom on the display). Fair Thurs level clue for a short, easy noun.

    “…ski resort” took me to WINTER straight away. What type was either warm or MILD and waited on crosses.

    @Andrew, congrats to you and Diva. Agree on the abandonment, but at least she wasn’t a “working dog” in South Dakota, and had a chance for someone like you to come along.

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  36. Niallhost9:46 AM

    I can't be the only one who naticked on KEuPIE and DuI. I knew the pronunciation of the word KEWPIE but didn't know how to spell it, and thought DWI was outdated so it had to be DuI. Anyone?

    Otherwise really enjoyed figuring this one out. Challenging but with a satisfying payoff.

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  37. Anonymous10:01 AM

    Thoroughly enjoyed this one, but it did not come easily to me. I love it when I can work a puzzle slowly, gradually, figure out the angle, erase, try again, and it all comes together. Thank you, Joe!

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  38. So I see the "GG"s at 16A and then I see the "II"s at 30A and I'm thinking Double Letters. Which was my first mistake.

    I did pick up the trick, but I was slow to see it. And only when I got to WEIGH THE EVIDENCE did I guess the answer before getting any of the Roman numerals.

    Very clever and well-executed -- with wonderfully adroit embedding of the numerals. It produced several "Aha" moments which made it a lot of fun.

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  39. I'm surprised that a baseball fan never heard of Mitchell & Ness. They make very popular retro baseball jerseys.

    And yeah, SWAK only made sense after I already had it filled in. My front brain refused to access that from the archives in the back.

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  40. Wow! (Also my first answer to 44A/what a piece of work.) A Thursday with a some fantastic trickery from an old pro like Joe … but I definitely DONT mean to imply being ON IN YEARS there. RP said “the only thing interesting ABOUT this puzzle is the theme,“ but IMHO with a theme like this, it wasquite enough. It made me scratch my head and frown more than once in frustration when the path to Rome wasn’t making sense. But when I stopped splitting HAIRS and gnashing my TEETH, I kept at it and got ‘er done. One of the best Thursdays in memory. Than you so much, Mr. D.

    Appreciate the cat pic this morning. Gorky is a handsome boy. Looks like good help too.

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  41. Anonymous10:31 AM

    Firth of Tay was easy for me. I grew up in a village right there, where the river flows into the North Sea. Absolutely beautiful place.

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  42. Amusing. You really had to use your noggin to make sense of these, but after grokking the first one, the others dropped fairly easily. They're sure funny looking on the page.

    Loved the CHIN/SHIN deke. Hilarious. I'd never heard Madison Square Gardens referred to as MSG.

    Let's go through this again: If these puzzles are too easy for you, go do some of the hard ones. They're easy to find. Hell, @M&A puts up the gruntz daily here and I don't think I've ever been able to complete even one. This middle-America corporate behemoth of a venue would be the last place I'd look for a truly death defying product. They don't owe experienced solvers anything more than beginners. They don't owe us a carefully graded increase in difficulty through the week. You might want it, because it feels customary, but almost weekly forever we've complained we don't get what our unpromised expectations demand. We get weeping over tough puzzles and weeping over easy puzzles. Any number of us have sworn to quit the puzzle and two weeks later we're back grousing about exactly the same things. Our editors try to put out a product that will encourage us to come back tomorrow. That's it. So they're winning at the game they're playing. Hopefully you'll like it, but if you don't they're not going to lose sleep over your emotions. They're not psychics or artists or gurus sitting cross legged on a mountain top. They fun people trying to get a lotta ASS through their legal department and an OBOE with your OREO. Honestly there are an ocean of pimply faced millennials writing painful puzzles with haughty we're-better-than-the-NYT attitudes posting nasty puzzles all over for free. Go. Enjoy.

    Gorky looks sooo much like my recently departed Henry I plan on openly weeping for awhile.

    Propers: 5
    Places: 4
    Products: 5
    Partials: 8
    Foreignisms: 4
    --
    Gary's Grid Gunk Gauge: 26 (34%)

    Uniclues:

    1 Four word short story about me.
    2 Hires a damn bag boy.
    3 Howdy officer, I've been out singin' songs and not down at the cowboy bar with the fellahs.
    4 Italian Don Juan nibbles on your lobes.
    5 Cut off jeans and whiskey day at Breckenridge.
    6 Tattoos the Cow Queen.
    7 One omitting the potato saga.
    8 Pigeon pests.

    1 ON IN YEARS. CRUDE.
    2 ENDS QUEUES IRE (~)
    3 DWI OPRY FIB
    4 AMORE GOON AT EAR
    5 MILD WINTER RIOT
    6 INKS MISS DAIRY
    7 IRISH EDITOR (~)
    8 SQUAB VERMIN

    My Fascinating Crossword Uniclue Keepsake from Last Year: What lads hope to extract from lasses. NO DRAMA AYES.

    ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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  43. I CLAVDIVS = One Hundredfiftyafivedfours

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  44. This waVIIbetter than I'd hoped. Too laXow to complain anyway.

    Because of the MILDWINTER, we didn't get much opportunity to enjoy the SKIiNgOIVTEETH.

    The NE corner summarizes my lifestyle: HULU IDLE NESS.

    My granddaughter loves the book "Give a Mouse a Cookie". I can't wait to see what she thinks of "Give a GOONATEAR".

    Fun, but easy. Thanks, Joe DiPietro.

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  45. Well, @Rex, this was a "fight me" fight. Easy, hard...easy, hard....An AHA here and several UHS?....Just how I like my steak cooked.

    Are mice really TIMID? I had a little quiet one. Erase, erase. Continue my quest to finish a Thursday without my usual angst, agita, dyspepsia hang over. I did. And I really liked this.

    ONE...You were my first Roman in old Rome. WALKED IGG SHELLS. Yep. Then I went sniffing around for a TWO. Yep. DON IIRRY ABOUT IT. I knew DON IIRRY quite well. So then we get to what I thought should be or could be a THREE. Nope. The skin of three teeth wasn't going to fit. AHA! it's a FOUR for our TEETH....

    So now I have a ONE, TWO, FOUR.....What comes next.....I had the judge looking at a verdict. Oh, wait...I knew SWAK so it started with W and it only made sense if it followed WEIGH THE Verdict? Nixon and his veto saved my crispy bacon. AHA! it's EVIDENCE. Et voila. Fini with the Roman numerals. At least I remembered them.

    Some HUH's: MSG CAR SKU and KATY walked Into a BEERY pub. I finally found seats for you four but it was crowded. BOSSY....You were my last.

    CHURRO....Memories of dunking you in hot chocolate on New Years Eve in Madrid. Plaza del Sol. First we drowned in cheap Cava then we went for the CHURRO. Che...que boludo!

    Joe is a pro and he's a good dancing partner. Thanks.



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  46. Anonymous10:49 AM

    Anyone else have an issue with “VI” being in the middle of WVIIIHEEVIDENCE in addition to “VIII”? That seems like it shouldn’t have happened given the theme…

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  47. @Son Volt, +1 for wanting to see Mike NESS clued. And I did not know that Steve Albini died. I have listened to a lot of albums that he engineered.

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  48. …and it’s still “easy week”. No erasures and no WOEs. It was apparent early on that the theme had something to do with Roman numerals but the solve was progressing so quickly I never stopped to figure out what it was. Clever but more early week than Thursday, liked it or what @Rex said.

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  49. I've decided to put this into the running list I'm keeping for Puzzle of the Year.

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  50. FWIW, all these gas gauges have the E on the left and the F on the right.


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    1. Absolutely none of those are car gas gauges. The first picture on your link that is definitively a gas gauge in a car, is F above.

      Funny rabbit hole on this one.

      Delete
  51. really bothered by the preponderance of Roman numeral letters in the theme answers (I, V, L, C, D) that did not have to be converted to "one" or "fifty" or "hundred," etc. Too random.

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  52. Took way too long cause I assumed the gimmick would involve Latin abbreviations after getting to the HAIRS/EGG cross early (i.e.). Facepalm when I finally realized what was afoot.

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  53. Anonymous11:29 AM

    I found it a bit of a slog initially — sloggier than the usual Thursday. But once I understood the theme it got easier. Then stuck with DUI/KEUPIE until I changed to the W. In the end my time was a minute faster than my average. Definitely medium for me.

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  54. Caught on to the puztheme mcguffin fairly quickly, from WALKEDIGGSHELLS. Did have to get most of that themer filled in, before I saw what was afoot.

    The other themers were extra hard, because each one had *multiple* Roman numerals lurkin in em…
    * 30-A had II and I.
    * 38-A had I and IV.
    * 57-A had VIII and VI.
    Some themers also had L's and C's and D's, but they didn't confuse the M&A as much.
    Still, a fun puz to solve.

    staff weeject pick: CAR. Clue was absolutely diabolical. Still not sold on it bein 100%-totally accurate, either. My car's gauge has F above E. I've seen cars that have: E……F gauges, also.
    honrable mention to SKU, which kinda sounds like a ski trail U-turn, or somesuch.

    Thanx for them roamin numerals, Mr. DiPietro dude. A nice calculated ambush.

    Masked & Anonymo8Us


    **gruntz**

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  55. NOT easy. Medium for a Thursday.

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  56. @egs 10:42

    “This waVIIbetter than I'd hoped. Too laXow to complain anyway.”

    Masterful continuation of the theme!

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  57. @andrew (8:50) Congratulations on the new addition to your family. Rescue is the best breed and she is an absolute angel. The Divine Miss D, if you will. Best wishes for many years of happiness together.

    @Anonymous (10:01) You expressed my sentiments exactly. Puzzles like this one happen all too rarely but oh, so delicious to savor when they do.

    @Gary J (10:32) Well said. And you outdid yourself on the uniclues today, esp. #1.

    @Nancy (10:55) Good call on the POY list. I’d enthusiastically second that motion.

    @JC (11:10) Thank you! I see comments saying the opposite but I’ve never seen one like that in my life. They must be imports.

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  58. Re: DUI (or DUII) versus DWI, my guess is that the name of the offense committed while driving while under the influence of intoxicants simply depends on what the legislature of your state decided to call it. The elements of the crime might also differ from state to state. In some states .05 percent blood alcohol content might be either evidence of, or constitutes, what might be called in the vernacular “drunk driving.” In other states or might be .08 BAC.

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  59. Anonymous12:21 PM

    Thanks for the Rockford Files shout out. Made my day!

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  60. @DL 8:33 AM -- U Penn is in PHIladelphia.

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  61. Yes, very easy. Nice break today from those little circles, little pictures and shaded squares. My only write-over was W over U in KEWPIE, due to While not Under. That didn't make me MADD, though.

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  62. @Willie K, 9:43– I took “rim” ro refer to the Oreos in 47D!

    Puzzle was tough, cluing was fair. Thank you, Joe!

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  63. First of all, hello sweet Gorky :)

    At first I whooshed 'around' this. Then I thought it was a rebus (which I dislike but wanted to stick with it - rebus or not). Then I got stuck. Then I cheated a bit.
    Then I got it (loved BOSSY).
    A great Thursday from a pro. (Not a constructor who says "Look at me!" or "Look what I did!").

    Thanks for a fun Thursday, Joe :)
    (And thanks again to JF who has edited 4 enjoyable puzzles this week.)

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  64. @Andrew - Diva is a cutie! Thank you for rescuing her & best of luck. She will be a wonderful addition - take it from me :)

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  65. Found this pretty easy but had a fun aha moment when I grokked the theme. That’s what Thursdays are for. Enjoyed it!

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  66. Wow - I LOVED this one! A real brain buster for me - not just solving-wise, but afterwards, sitting back and admiring the brilliance of the theme and how it all worked. I mean, how do people come up with these?!?!?!

    Looking forward to more Joe DiPietros in the future - thanks for a really fun Thursday!

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  67. Enjoyed the puzzle.
    But how is “rim” an obstacle to dunking? Without a rim, there is nothing to dunk into. The rim is the target, not an obstacle. A big, tall, 7 foot center would be an obstacle.

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  68. Trina1:42 PM

    Easy? EASY?

    Not for the two solvers in my household!

    But we fought it and wrestled it to the ground and came out with a delicious feeling of accomplishment.

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  69. SharonAK1:43 PM

    I skimmsed comments to see if anyone raised this issue. Didin't see it
    I have NEVER heard or read ON A TEAR used to mean racking up wins. Is itit really used that way?

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  70. I can't be the only one to notice that there was a non-theme Roman numeral (VI= six) in the word "evidence" in the final theme answer. Doesn't this violate some rules of theme-crossword construction? I'd let it slide if it were in a non-theme fill answer, and possibly if it wasn't DiPietro, who is considered by many to be one of the most venerated constructors of the old days still working, but it seems inexcusable. Otherwise, pretty easy once I got the first themer. I had "UPINYEARS," which seems more common that "ONINYEARS," but otherwise pretty easy solve.

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  71. I rarely notice the constructor's name before starting a puzzle. I got halfway through, figured out the theme and thought "Wow this is good!... who built it?" Oh, our Joe! Well done Joe.

    Finished with an error; hands up for DUI crossing KEUPIE. I've rarely seen DWI in print... but I often see "driving while Black".

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  72. Really thought the theme involved rebuses. Had ONE/I in 16 across, for example, for a long time.

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  73. Anonymous2:17 PM

    Walked... and hairs cross makes DI or 501 in Roman numerals. Stared at that in confusion.

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  74. on in years David2:37 PM

    Rather liked this one, even though I ignored the main trick and just shrugged my shoulders until 57A.

    Yeah, squab is a young pigeon, not a "pigeon dish". Mourning Doves are pigeons too. In fact, pigeons are Rock Doves. There's no real difference other than one is French and the other Nordic.

    Liked ERG just before EARP, and love My Darling Clementine. Henry Fonda. Man. Also studied Wilder's The Skin of Our Teeth in High School and wish the clue had referenced the play rather than the saying. ("Pulitzer play directed by Kazan, 1942"?)

    Weather as "news?" Forecast might have done it for you? Geez no. It's bad news.
    Ski resort out of business.
    Bad news for the owners.
    Bad news for skiers.
    Bad news for the inns, motels, and hotels around them.
    Bad news for the restaurants around them.
    Bad news for the town and State's tax revenues.
    Bad news for the folks who depend on tourism.
    SUPER bad news for all of us because it's happening all over the place due to global climate change.

    Nice Thursday.

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  75. First off, for the original blogger, there's really no difference between DWI, DUI, or OUI (which is from my jurisdiction). To drive while intoxicated or "under the influence" means that the alcohol you have consumed, however much or little, is enough to impair your ability to drive safely. In some states a BT reading above 0.08 may also satisfy the elements of the crime. And now you know.

    I think that the puzzle was easy only for those who figured out the trick quickly. Otherwise I'd say it was medium-tough.

    @TominNashville, I've seen attempted dunks go off the rim . . . the rim is not the target, it simply defines the destination.

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  76. Bob Mills3:11 PM

    Some have claimed that one's gas tank is full before it is empty. When the car first comes off the assembly line, the tank is empty, isn't it? Then someone puts gas into the car, and (maybe) fills the tank. In this example, the tank is empty first, isn't it?

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  77. Anonymous3:14 PM

    Liked it overall, but surprised Rex didn't wince (as I did) at the first "I" in SKINO(FOUR)TEETH

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  78. "Where F comes before E?" Would be a clever clue for GAS GAUGE, maybe INSTRUMENT PANEL or DASHBOARD. But for CAR? Seems a bit nonspecific, like using "Where On is above OFF" to clue HOUSE (instead of LIGHT SWITCH).

    The clue would not work at all for a 1950s Volkswagen Beetles CAR. It didn't have a gas gauge. When the main gas tank ran out, there was a foot-operated lever on the floor that would switch to an auxiliary tank and you had another gallon or so remaining to get you to a gas station.

    Using your left foot to push the lever from main to auxiliary tank could be, let's say, tricky if you were in traffic, going up a steep hill or trying to pass someone. (With a 30 something horsepower engine, however, that last one probably didn't happen very often.)

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  79. Anonymous3:43 PM

    Yay! Liked the trick! Medium Thu for me. Welcome, Gorky!!!!!

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  80. Anonymous3:44 PM

    Where can I send the bill for the time I wasted on the kewpie - erg cross?

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  81. Breakfast Tester3:52 PM



    *ALL* of the theme answers contained roman numerals that weren't counted as spelled-out numbers.

    I see a few commenters pointed out some of them but not sure if anyone mentioned all the L's and D's and C's in addition to the I's and V's.

    Seems disqualifying. I certainly thought OFL would have at least mentioned it. Looks like someone woke up on the right side of the bed today...

    🙃

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  82. @Tom T (11:27) -- Yes, but all those non-theme "V"s and "L"s and "I"s in the rest of the grid didn't have "in old Rome" included in the clue.

    You're a tough critic, Tom:) I'd argue that the constructor plays completely fair and that there's no flaw whatsoever in his execution.

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  83. People are overthinking the gas gauge. The way I perceive it is that when I fill the tank I'm starting a new cycle, which lasts until I fill it again -- with luck, shortly before it gets to E. It seems natural to me -- although, I swear to God, I saw the clue, saw that it had to be CAR, and thought for a moment or two that it must be a FErrari.

    Somebody quoted the constructor's notes which said, among other things, that he originally conceived the theme as "double down." That probably explains why he wasn't worrying about non-doubling Roman numerals in the puzzle.

    I always thought KWQPIE dolls were what you tried to win at carnivals, but I just looked them up and nope, they're babies. Crosswords are so educational!

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  84. The puzzle was very hard for me. DNF. One bright spot: the answer to 20A "Lines (up)" was "queue." Not "cue." Thanks, Mr. Depietro.

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  85. Wonderful Jackson Browne video. Took me back.

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  86. Cute——even on a sunny pacific time zone afternoon, so thanks Joe. Never too late to appreciate a well-executed stunt and the constructor.

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  87. Most importantly today, Gorky took me back to the years my sweet OC (avatar cat) always stayed as close to (usually after being scooched off of) anything I was working on. Her remaining “shelter sister,” Pip and I still miss her. They cleaned each others’ faces and ears so carefully every day and often bapped in the same not-quite-big-enough-for-two basket.

    The theme was so clever, it just made me happy. My brain would never have created that and likely the idea itself would not ever have thought of it. I wish the first theme clue hadn’t had such an obvious answer because I was certain it was correct after getting all of the top section all the way across except for the I rather than the E of EGGSHELLS, but since I already had HAIRS, connecting the I with the “old Rome” part of the clue gave me the trick. What I loved though, was figuring out both the remaining “real” theme answers and then figuring out where the numerals went. What fun!!
    Even though the fill was pretty easy, this one hit the “Thursday-ness” on the nose. Thanks, Joe Dipieteo. You are one of my favorite constructors and I start out with a smile each time I see your byline. Keep ip the good work!

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  88. Late to the party, but YES, when I first saw the DWITOM billboard on I-86, I too thought it was a smear job. My wife laughed at me over it.

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    1. Anonymous6:14 AM

      I call it “Future 86” because the signs said that for so long and I thought it was the best name for a road.~RP

      Delete
  89. Looooved this one. My favorite this year.

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  90. Anonymous10:34 AM

    I think the long “in old Rome“ answers should not have had other qualifying Roman numeral letters in them. If the old Romans are going to talk that way, they should be consistent about it. For example, I spent some time trying to figure out what “50-50” answer would fit for the double L in “walking on eggshells.”

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  91. Wow, a whole room full (!) of nitpickers! Empty schmempty. Let's call the whole thing off.

    I solved, fairly easily, and even noticed the power-of-two progression IN ORDER down the grid 1-2-4-8, that's what I appreciate. Nice job.

    SW was just a tad sticky; I thought SWAK was so outdated no one used it any more, but nothing else worked for the unknown _ATY.

    A few more TEETH would have been welcome, but birdie anyway.

    Wordle par.

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  92. Anonymous3:02 PM

    Not bad in spite of OST, SKU, SUR, URL and TVMA, etc.

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  93. Anonymous5:43 PM

    I hate this gimmicky shit type of puzzle. Challenge us with some vocabulary instead of these assinine crappy themes.

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  94. Anonymous7:20 PM

    Very fun and very easy Thursday(on the typical Thurz scale). The doubling of the Roman numerals made it twice as fun. When I got the first themer, I knew something was afoot, but like someone else mentioned, I thought it was just a plain old substitution puzzle. But then I got to the 2nd one and said it's Roman numerals. Aha or oho depending on your bent.

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  95. Anonymous8:44 PM

    And to all the complainers about gimmick puzzles, if you don't like gimmick puzzles, then don't do them. Nobody is twisting your arms to do them. There are other good Xwords out there . LAT, Newsday, etc. Doing something you don't like, then complaining about doing something you don't like is like a dog chasing its tail.

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