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Headwear for lesser royalty / TUE 5-14-24 / Young Flanders boy on "The Simpsons" / Neckwear for noisy dogs / Traveling fashion sale featuring the work of a specific designer / "Slaughterhouse Five" setting, in brief
Tuesday, May 14, 2024
Constructor: Alex Eaton-Salners
Relative difficulty: Medium-Challenging (**for a Tuesday**)
Theme answers:
- ROOTS FOR (2D: Supports from the stands)
- BARK COLLAR (24D: Neckwear for noisy dogs)
- TRUNK SHOW (21D: Traveling fashion sale featuring the work of a specific designer)
- LEAVES ALONE (9D: Lets be)
A trunk show is an event in which vendors present merchandise directly to store personnel or customers at a retail location or another venue such as a hotel room. In many cases it allows store personnel to preview and/or purchase merchandise before it is made available to the public. Typically, clients view the merchandise, place orders, and then wait for the vendor to manufacture and deliver the goods. If the merchandise has a designer, the vendor may choose to have the designer present at the event to add to the customers' experience. Prototypes, samples, remnants and leftover items from runway shows are also sometimes offered at trunk shows. Trunk shows may be open to the general public and advertised in the mass media or may be confined to special customers or those on a mailing list.The term is derived from the common practice of merchandise being transported to these events in trunks.
Trunk shows are particularly popular from January to May in the bridal industry because the bride can view more designer's collections than in store. (wikipedia)
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| [Messi, star of Anatomy of a Fall (2023)] |
But that wasn't my only issue with this thing. It felt like a boring themeless puzzle most of the time. It's got a lowish word count (74), so there's more white space than usual (esp noticeable in those NE and SW corners), and the puzzle didn't even seem to have theme answers at all at first because ROOTS FOR and the revealer, TREETOPS, don't stand out as longer answers because they are right next to answers of equal length. So aesthetically, it seemed off (those open corners were kind of a slog to get through, without much reward in the way of interesting fill). Then there's the arboreal absurdity of having ROOTS at the top of the grid (and TREETOPS at the bottom). I guess TRUNK SHOW was supposed to be the marquee answer, but I didn't know what a TRUNK SHOW was (I think I had TRADE SHOW and TRACK SHOW in there at various points), so that answer didn't shine for me the way maybe it did for some of you. Overall this played like a sloggy Tuesday themeless, with none of the interesting answers, none of the zing and pop, of regular (late-week) themelesses.
Outside of TRUNK SHOW, there wasn't any real trouble, just an overall slower-than-usualness. I kept misreading clues, most notably 40A: Ideological split (SCHISM), which I read as "ideological spirit." I kept trying to make some version of ORANGEADE (ORANGADE?) work at 3D: Fizzy citrus drink (ORANGINA). I drank a lot of ORANGINA in Greece in 1987 (why??? because it was there), and I don't think I've seen it since. I mean, I'm sure I have, but it hasn't registered. TROU is possibly my most hated crossword answer of all time. I only ever see it in crosswords. The very phrase "dropping TROU" and the concept of "mooning someone" seems so corny, and extremely dated (like something boys in the '50s thought was funny???). I never never, never ever, see TROU anywhere but crosswords these days. Every single time I see it, it gets at least a mini "ugh" from me. Weirdly (very weirdly), though I can't imagine going to B SCHOOL (short for "business school"), I kinda like it as an answer, and I especially like it directly over BE HAPPY. If you want to BE HAPPY, I'm not sure B SCHOOL is the place to be, but B over BE made me happy. And hey, look, a BEE! (25D: Hum bug?). I'm enjoying the B/BE/BEEs. The rest of the puzzle, you can have back.
Bullets:
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]
- 26A: Lead-in to some unsolicited advice ("IF I MAY...") — OK, I like this too, especially as clued. The "unsolicited advice" part is key. The phrase itself is colloquially perfect and it feels fresh (though it's been in the puzzle a few times before)
- 1A: Wafting smells (AROMAS) — yes, this is fine, but when the second [Wafting smells] came along (42A: ODORS), the spell was broken, as I realized, "so ... just 'smells,' then?" "Wafting" all of a sudden seemed awkwardly superfluous—it was the word that distinguished AROMAS from mere ODORS. But then mere ODORS showed up, also "wafting," and the magic of "wafting" vanished.
- 47A: Irreversibly committed (IN DEEP) — I don't think of this phrase indicating either commitment or irreversibility. I think that people get IN DEEP (whatever kind of deep they're in) mostly unintentionally. By accident. And I think that getting out of ... deep ... is just hard, not impossible. This clue is missing the "oh *&$% how did this happen?!" quality of being truly IN DEEP
- 19A: Okay boomer? (TNT) — total garbage clue. First of all, TNT is a very good boomer. Pretty sure it booms just fine. Second, ugh, I thought this stupid insult / meme that every extremely online dipshit was using to insult anyone they thought was "old" had died a well-deserved death by now, but now that it's no longer in regular use, now that the fad is well and truly past its prime, I guess the NYTXW (in typically NYTXW fashion) thought "now's the time!"
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]
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80 comments:
Medium or even Easy-Medium for me. Solving "Downs-only Lite" (not reading the themer clues), my only hesitation was 21D, TRUNK SHOW. I got the TRUNK but couldn't guess at the second part. Reading the clue wouldn't have helped because the phrase was a WOE.
My only overwrite was Cuspid before CANINE at 44D, quickly corrected by BARFLY (48A).
I figured those dresses had to be carted around in something and that the whole point was to sell ‘em, so I confidently dropped in TRUcK Sale.
It seemed like TRUNK SHOW was kind of a SCAM answer. I’m sure it’s a real thing, but who really cares. A couple of really stretches for clues on common crosswordese (TNT and BEE). I’m sure they are tired of same old, same old - but then don’t use them in your grid if you are that desperate for a different way to clue it.
I thought the theme and reveal were fine for a Tuesday - in fact, any day that you can play a M-Th puzz as a themeless and not miss anything is a bonus in my book. So it’s two consecutive days with pretty clean, low-gunk grids - keep it going over there at the Times editorial desk. You have a mini-streak going in a good way.
I flew through this puzzle like it was Monday, the only (minor) problems being in the NE, where BALLPIT crossing PRELIM gave me some momentary trouble, as I’m not particularly familiar with either term. I thought the theme was fine and I like that all the themers are long downs, like trees!
I like BARFLY, BSCHOOL, and ORANGINA, which I only ever drink on vacation.
As for BARKCOLLARS, they don’t seem inherently cruel to me. We had a very barky (also beloved and pampered) little Schnauzer for many years. Tried a collar that would give her a little citrusy spritz when she barked. It would surprise her but not hurt her. And then she would go back to barking as usual. I know the ones that give shocks are less benign, but I think the shock is pretty mild.
Trunk shows are still common for bridal wear and jewelry (things you need occasionally but not often enough that the designers can afford to put up storefronts)
Marginal theme - some awkward fill leads to overall uneasiness here. This is a typical AES offering - some high spots but a big why at the end. Liked the verticality of the themers - they look like TREEs. No idea with TRUNK SHOW and B SCHOOL.
Laura Cantrell
Liked SEEMLY, IRISES and ROOTS FOR. BARFLY will always be Bukowski. Backed into CHU.
50-50 on this one.
On his lips was a taste he forgets
Things I liked:
• The strong presence of fauna to balance the flora theme: SIAMESE, MOTH, CANINE, ANT, BEE, ASPS, not to mention barFLY and aBATed.
• Lovely answers VALOR, SCHISM, FUGUE, SEEMLY, and IF I MAY.
• HAY has been clued more than 200 times in major venue crossword puzzles, but never with a play on “bale” as in today’s [What’s needed to make bale?]. Props for originality, plus for the kind of silliness that makes me smile.
• The lovely PuzzPair© of CHU/CANINE.
• LOOPS, echoing yesterday’s O-centered theme.
• More hesitation in the fill-in than I – an experienced solver – am used to on Tuesday, making my brain happy.
• There was almost a “tree bottom” answer with PRELIM.
• Simple yet clever never-done-before theme, perfect for Tuesday.
Waking to a box filled with so much to like is a gift. Thank you so much for this, Alex!
It's Tuesday, which means all the themers should be really well known. TRUNK SHOW fails here. And maybe BARK COLLAR, where I think 'shock collar' and 'e-collar' are the common terms.
Surprised that two people so far have praised BSCHOOL, which seems like desperation fill of the highest order.
On the plus side, I liked seeing TOE LOOPS in the puzzle.
By the way, for a grid art treat that will warm your heart, take a look at what Alex did in this 2020 puzzle: https://www.nytimes.com/crosswords/game/daily/2020/03/13 .
Easy and fun romp today. Tree parts on top works, sorta, but having just seen lots of eagles nesting in tree tops, I enjoyed it. Too bad there are no branches. Slight pause, convinced that Many is much closer to 'more than some' than MOST, but have to admit MOST is also true to the clue. And wanted ASSURED, but concede I was wrong there as well. Things aren't going well when those aren't synonyms.
Long time solver and reader, first time contributor. I thought this was slightly harder than the typical Tuesday puzzle. Didn’t really get tripped up on anything except the answer for “Apple Store purchases”. That should have been “apps”.
A puzzle from my least favorite constructor. And one that features "dog harm". I, too, turn off anything that even HINTS at anything bad happening to a dog. Especially after losing my sweet Cinnamon to a tragic car accident (not to mention the near-fatal injuries I sustained).
No, not for me. See you all tomorrow.
55 seconds today on the Mini. Got my xword fix for today :)
The puzzle came together nicely especially because I’ve had trees on my mind for an art class I’ve been taking. But I agree with you Rex on the “bark collars”. I’m not sure what how they operate. My daughter’s dog is a daily part of our lives and the idea of anyone hurting the sweetest girlie on this Earth gives me the chills.
You are not alone on the dog clue, boo!!! I don’t even have a furry pet and it bugged me. My daughter and I were once reading a series of 5 books that was really good, about a family called the Penderwicks. When we got to the last book, a dog died and my daughter refused to read anymore. She was fine with all the Harry Potter books and other deaths of humans but once a dog died, that was IT. No more Penderwicks.
Also thought this was tough for a Tuesday. I do like that the parts of trees are at the top of their clues in the sense of the clue has a Tree Top. I assumed that was the cute part of the theme.
I have a lot of friends who make jewelry or have little vintage shops so TUNK SHOW is very much a phrase I hear a lot. This puzzle had a ton of flow for me, just built answers off of answers off of answers until I was done. At no point do I think I got stuck and had to go hunt for a new foothold.
I found it very easy, once I found BSCHOOL,l which I think is a made-up abbreviation for "business school." Because I couldn't intuit any word beginning with the letters 'b and s, I assumed the constructor was referring to Edith Wharton and another writer.
I was only vaguely aware of the theme, and solved the puzzle without referring to it.
Orangina’s been available in the US for decades. I’m sure Rex’s local Wegman’s has it.
As a BARFLY who loves Led Zeppelin, I enjoyed this one. Breezed through this puzzle in 7 minutes.
i got a lot of whoosh-whoosh from today's puzzle. not a personal best but if found it pretty easy. was surprised at rex's "medium-challenging".
agree 100% with rex's assessment of killing dogs in movies. just no.
Pretty easy here, with no real snags. At first I thought the themers were "things that were parts of trees", bleh, but then realized they were the top parts of the answers, which at least added a layer of cleverness I had missed and made up for a lot.
Funny-I have the same reaction to movies that feature awful things being done to humans, which is why I miss a lot of popular films. Have never understood the attraction to horror films, for instance.
Nice whooshy Tuesday, AES. An Easily Solved offering, but thanks for a medium amount of fun.
Of course Messi did not suffer but did amazing acting. And it wasn’t gratuitous cruelty in context. It was due to a misguided kid trying to prove his mother’s innocence. https://www.thewildest.com/dog-lifestyle/messi-trainer-award-season#:~:text=He%20had%20to%20learn%20how,do%20that%2C%E2%80%9D%20Contini%20explains.
Hey All !
Not usually seen large corners on a TuesPuz, very nice. Blocker count is also low, 32. Went from very high in YesterPuz to low today.
Interesting to have Down Themers. Not immediately necessary for the TREE Theme. I get the "TREE TOPS", but is it Downs to represent the Themers as growing trees? Or just to get the TOPS of the TREE answers on top? Thinking about it now, I believe it's the latter.
Anyway, good TuesPuz. Quick, not much brain strain. Have we seen AES for a bit? Can't remember (of course).
Happy Tuesday.
Two F's
RooMonster
DarrinV
Okay, hick from the sticks here, where there are no buttons on toasters, just slots you put the thing to be toasted into and push down a lever. Do y'all have toasters with buttons for bagel and frozen? I do have a frozen setting on my microwave, but it's a fraud, like the popcorn setting. Used 'em once.
I also circled the clues for BSCHOOL which I've never heard and don't believe exists, and BEE, which is not a bug at NYT level of sophistication.
Happy International Dylan Thomas Day (“Rage, rage against the dying of the light.”)
If that’s too highfalutin, it’s also National Dance Like a Chicken Day. (Go on, I dare you.)
I always feel like a genius when Rex designates as Medium-Challenging a puzzle I found easy. The only slight hesitations were BARK COLLARS and TRUNK SHOW, terms I didn’t know, but crosses took care of them immediately. Oh, and I had Many before MOST, but CORONET corrected me. I liked the theme in retrospect, although I admit I didn’t pay much attention while solving. Enjoyed that ROOTS, BARK, TRUNK and LEAVES in their answers all had meanings different from their connections with TREEs.
Rex hates TROU but it always gives me a chuckle. I pronounce it in my head to rhyme with “shoe” in a SHAM Scottish accent. I also liked SEEMLY, an old-fashioned, maiden-aunt-type word. I sat up straighter while filling it in. Isn’t it disturbing that BARFLY contains BARF? You don’t hear much negative publicity about MSG any more (do you?) but in the 1970s I lived with a guy who was convinced that it did all sorts of awful things to him from headache and brain fog on down. Never heard of B SCHOOL and assumed that answer was insulting Wharton and Sloan!
[Spelling Bee: -2, both Sun and Mon. A couple of my misses on the two days were variations on a theme. Yesterday I couldn’t believe that Sam rejected CYCLONIC and was amused that he didn’t accept YONI.]
TRUNK SHOW is not as obscure as the folks here are suggesting. It is even done for upmarket menswear, although perhaps not as often.
Given the number of obscure sports terms, team nicknames and even fishing jargon one must know to do the Xword, I find the outcry over this word very odd.
I enjoyed this one, had a little resistance in the SW due to putting Cuspid in where CANINE belonged. Some fun clues too, including the TNT, which made me chuckle.
@Gary J, old buddy, you always me amuse me whenever I read the comments section. These are for you:
UNICLUES:
1. Feline sub-species known for its golden brown coat and the fact that butter will melt in its mouth.
2. Military technology that really confuses whales.
3. Loathes neutralité.
4. Nickname that proves Hemingway’s legendary boozing was greatly exaggerated.
5. Devices for keeping kitchen infestors quiet (but, man, they’re fiddly to put on.)
6. Remember that time Dubya tried to infiltrate the band during a performance of “Stayin’ Alive”? (And wasn’t his wig just terrible?)
7. Falls.
8. Statement that’s cryptic – and really appallingly ungrammatical and badly spelled – about where to find Egyptian vipers.
1. TOASTER SIAMESE
2. SONAR IN HEAT
3. DETESTS SUISSE
4. ORANGINA ERNEST
5. ANT BARK COLLARS
6. BUSH, SHAM GIBB
7. PRELIM TOELOOPS
8. THERE’S ASPS LYE
@JJK Let's put a collar on you that delivers a "mild shock" and see how you feel about it.
We had a bark collar for one of our Airedale Terriers. Instead of a shock, it would spray a citronella mist at his snout after a bark. He quickly learned to just turn his head to the side to avoid it. At least it smelled good.
OMG @Barbara! So delighted to see you back. I've been missing your wisdom.
As for this surprisingly clean effort, it's a bit Ho Hum. There's a tree in pieces like some malicious lumber jack yanked it from the Earth and splayed out its parts post chainsawing. And AMEN to 🦖 and the BEE nice to dogs crowd. All dogs should all have perfect lives. We owe it to them for what they give to us.
Despite the ODORS and AROMAS, Led Zeppelin is in the puzzle, so ACES in my book. Thanks to these dreaded crosses, I missed the best clue [Hum bug] for BEE. Love it.
Propers: 5
Places: 0
Products: 5
Partials: 2
Foreignisms: 2
--
Gary's Grid Gunk Gauge: 12 (16%) wow
Tee-Hee: IN HEAT. Ug. On a Tuesday morning?
Uniclues:
1 Eau de Five-Year-Old.
2 Dig up dead lady and her hat.
3 Flame thrower for cats.
4 Eau de Heretics.
5 Opposes Siamese.
6 Hemingway's nickname while trying to stay on the wagon.
7 Device used to quiet mouthy potato chip haulers.
8 Why the seven year old has a bloody nose.
1 BALL PIT AROMAS (~)
2 UNEARTH CORONET (~)
3 SIAMESE TOASTER (~)
4 SCHISM ODORS
5 ROOTS FOR CANINE
6 ORANGINA ERNEST
7 ANT BARK COLLARS
8 PRELIM TOE LOOPS
My Fascinating Crossword Uniclue Keepsake from Last Year: Vlog from sweetly named Greek bowling alley. BAKLAVA LANES WEBCAST.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I thought this one was Monday easy. On the dog front, totally agree, so recommend you do not watch the last two episodes of Bodkin. Devolved into kind of a mess by then anyway.
Visiting my 93 year old, puzzle-loving Dad. He always makes me a copy so we can puzzle together. We both flew through this one easily. On the comment about the bark collar, I don't think a puzzle clue indicates actual advocacy for something. Do you then avoid all clues about Hitler and the Nazis? Serial killers? Bad movies? It's just a puzzle clue, for Fido's sake.
I'm not sure I've ever actually been to a TRUNK SHOW, but I've certainly seen ads for them, so I'm surprised to many find it an obscure term. I've also never gone to B-SCHOOL, but I hear that all the time. I guess it's a wheelhouse thing.
Honest to God, my first reaction when I got the revealer was "But ROOTS are at the bottom of the tree, not the top!" Then it dawned on me that I was looking at the top of the answer, so that was a nice mini-aha experience.
In my mind, though, a BARFLY is very different from a pub regular. The latter is someone who goes to a pub to socialize; the former is a drunk. So that one grated a little.
When my granddaughter was in first grade her school celebrated its 375th anniversary; it was a big deal, featuring awards, speeches by famous alumni, and a show put on by the students. Her class put on duck costumes and did the repurposed "chicken dance." <A href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AslZqfnNJwY'>This video</A> isn't them, but it will show you how it's done. (Hi @Barbara S.)
The Bald Eagle is certainly a lofty subject for a theme but agree it was somewhat tainted by the distasteful BARK COLLAR. I’m with Rex and others when it comes to even the slightest reference to animal abuse. It’s an immediate full stop for me. Not long ago, I encountered a completely extraneous and unnecessary incident of cruelty to a dog in a novel. I never read another word but I did take the time to post one-star review on Amazon so that others would be warned. I would have burned the thing IF IT had not been a library copy.
ORANGINA was an unknown but it sounds yummy. And as with Mrs. Myers cleaning products last week, I was HAPPY to discover I can buy it at my local Walmart. You just never know what you’re going to learn from a crossword puzzle.
For Barbara S.: I also emailed buzzwords@nytimes.com because CYCLONIC wasn't allowed. Bad oversight, I'd say.
Four long-ish theme answers plus a long-ish revealer makes for a very dense theme. To put them in the Downs and not the Acrosses -- does that make it harder to construct? I really have no idea. But Alex has been constructing puzzles for a long time and this seems like the work of a seasoned pro to me.
I liked the fact that all the tree parts are not tree parts as used in the theme answers. I also liked the fact that Alex almost avoided using any names at all in the grid. I was still thinking "By George, he's going to do it!" 2/3 of the way to the bottom. And then ERNEST, GIBB and CHU appeared. Oh, well. Next time. Good try, Alex.
I think there should be a small statuette awarded to anyone who can construct a grid with no proper names at all. A little smaller, perhaps, than the Oscar and the Tony, but precious in its own way. Let's call it "The Nameless".
Easy even as Tuesdays go, but ORANGINA and TRUNKSHOW were gimmes for me. Solved without any real awareness of the theme. Only B SCHOOLS was an ick for me.
"I'm puking" he said BARFLY.
"Excuse me Dumbo" I said, "but how do you get food from ground level into your mouth? Do you use a giant fork?"
"No, the TRUNKSHOW."
If I had to choose A-Fib ORANGINA, I'd have a heart attack.
LEAVESALONE don't mean Fall is here.
As a BSCHOOL grad specializing in TRUNKSHOWs, this seemed pretty straightforward. Thanks, Alex Eaton-Salners.
send this puzzle back to the edit room.
BSCHOOL and credit SUISSE took all the joy out of BEHAPPY. may as well have gone for the trifecta and shoved a cryptocoin answer there. with all of the dudes in the puzzle (hemingway, the GIBBs, zeppelin, flanders, kurt vonnegut, victor hugo, van gogh, bach, CHU) i’m surprised ANI was clued as a woman and not interpreted as “AN I”.
re: anti-BARKCOLLARS/shock therapy sentiment, i’m surprised no one’s mentioned the solid film _john wick_—and that’s all i’ll say.
Easy-medium. Solid with a very smooth grid. rnS before MDS was it for erasures and TRUNK SHOW was my only WOE. Liked it but @Rex is right about the dearth of interesting fill.
@Taylor (7:53) Welcome! Hope you’ll come back again.
@Greater Fall River (8:48) Yes, my toaster does have a bagel button which opens the tines wider than for a slice of bread, and is the only reason I bought it. I live in the sticks too but where there’s a Walmart, there’s usually a way.
The tight shorts competitive rowers wear are called trou. A little niche, yes, but definitely current usage. If they have to put up with puzzle constructors insisting that ‘oar’ can be a verb, I think you can live with seeing ‘trou’, which is actually a real thing in this century, once in a while
Very easy, but smelly. More ODORous than AROMAtic. IF I MAY, THERE'S a LOTTA crappy fill. Always dislike TROU. Drop it already.
Q: Where does one go after B-SCHOOL? A: C-SCHOOL.
Well, anything involving pain for pups also makes me very sad and mad. "Old Yeller" did it for me. I know she was loved but [sob] putting her down made me cry uncontrollably. My sister always has big dogs adopted from the shelter and she crate trains them and I can't stand that either even though they eventually love them and treat them as their little man caves. I can't believe I'm even thinking about this let alone BARK COLLARS. Don't get me started on Noem.
I've never heard the term Okay Boomer. TNT? Ok. I vaguely think I know a TRUNK SHOW and the rest was a whiz bang. Is the term BAR FLY used for women in pubs or can anybody be one. I laughed at @Gary J's uniclue #7 and visualizing an ANT wearing BARK COLLARS with some BAR FLY or maybe a BEE. Can you put little collars on bees to track them? And then you have a MOTH in a BUSH and maybe a SIAMESE IN HEAT and et voila...BE HAPPY! Procreate...
@Barbara S. Good to have you back...You've been missed!
I went to Stanford B School in the late ‘70s. University store had a women’s t-shirt reading Stanford Biz Ms. I got a large one and had TAKE added after MS. Got some laughs in class with that but basically what I felt. But I first encountered NYTXW in the Stanford Daily so the two years weren’t TOTALLY wasted.
But B SCHOOL is a real term, though I would have preferred it called B Hive.
As for animals, I’ve gushed enough about the Divine Diva but share Rex’ (and others’) abhorrence at any cruelty or violence (of any kind).
And speaking of COLLAR, read about how chihuahuas can have their little tracheas crushed by a sudden move with a collar around the neck. Strictly a padded harness around her shoulders for this furball. PITA to put on/take off, but she’s survived so much - would kill me to inadvertently hurt her!
Ok, back to watching Old Yeller. Don’t tell me how it ends!
Easiest Tuesday puzzle in quite a while. Much easier than yesterday's.
More of this must have been in my wheelhouse than in OFL's. Especially liked TRUNKSHOW a day after my fashionista daughter visited. Other favorites: BARFLY, UNEARTH, IFIMAY, IRISES, & LOTTA. I care about dogs and other animals but am not as touchy as some.
It would have worked better for me had the tops of the themers been the names of different types of trees. That would seem to gel better with the "TREETOPS" theme. Otherwise, pretty easy.
Like Lewis I smiled at 41 D What's ended to make bale.
KItshef If there had been a themer using the name of a ball player or rock singer, or Simpson's character would you have said it failed? I put "trunk show" in immediately and I've only ever been to two or three (which were not nearly so grand as the "word of the day" makes them sound.)
By the way, Rex, loved the illustration
Actually I put" trunk sale" in immediately then had to think a second for "show" since sale was in the clue.
I had the most trouble in the northwest. Could NOT think of coronet. Had "many" instead of "most". Could not think of the answer for 6D. Couldn't believe 17A was "toaster", tho it clearly wanted to be, as I have never heard of a toaster with buttons. (toaster oven seemed likely but was too long)
When I switched many to most it all sorted out.
Did not know bark collars were considered humane and not sure I agree now. I'd have to learn more.
After all there are some pet lovers who are convinced dogsled races are inhumane especially the Iditarod. I've owned three huskies( who rarely barked) and done quite a bit of recreational mushing and I KNOW that not racing would be inhumane to most of those dogs. The ones who don't love it don't make the cut for teams. And even top mushers have been stopped for hours in the Iditarod because their teams decided they'd had enough for a while.
I tried solving down clues only, and had everything except the upper right. For 7 across looking at -ALL--T I thought it had to be TALLEST, but then somehow accidentally right clicked or something and was staring at the clue. Oh, BALL PIT. I think I might have eventually got it without the clue but we'll never know!
@Barbara S, so nice to hear from you again! Yes I too was pretty disgusted yesterday that CYCLONIC was not accepted in Spelling Bee, especially since this one was. Here is Google Ngram comparing the two... CYCLONIC is used almost 20 times as often as the "accepted" word! They are both technical / scientific terms with no conceivable offensive use.
[yd 0; streak 6 days.]
Thanks for the insight into the puzzle. My only comment is regarding your aside re bark collars (and related comments). Bark collars are actually quite humane (although not necessarily effective). They deliver an annoying shock, not a harmful or painful shock. In fact, they are safer than the citronella collars, which can induce allergic reactions and respiratory distress. Both have the same goal: to annoy your dog enough that they stop doing the thing that initiated the annoyance. I have held the bark collars in my hand and set them off, it is a light ting, nothing more, and they won't continue the shock for repeated barks in short order. Way less of a shock than a dog would receive from an invisible fence, and far more humane than having to get rid of your dog because it is barking in your absence in your apartment building.
I am clearly in the minority today. I thought this puzzle was fun, Tuesday appropriate and well clued. Liked that the tree parts were in answers unrelated to trees. This constructor often gives me trouble but today was an exception.
There is a BARK COLLAR now on the market that emits a whistle when the dog barks. Harm free and seemingly effective. And I am a total dog softie. I watched Episode 1 of House of Cards a decade ago, had no idea what was coming at the beginning, turned it off immediately and never watched again. The beginning still evokes chills when I think of it.
Oops I screwed up the html link to the Google Ngram comparing CYCLONIC and the other word from Spelling Bee.
This one was easy for me, partly because I'm familiar with TRUNK SHOW (having spent some time in the ad biz) and partly because I'm even more familiar with B-SCHOOL (having spent some time at Harvard). But as a dog lover, BARK COLLAR did give me pause (or should I have said PAWS?). So I'd rate it as an enjoyable but not especially memorable Tuesday.
Ugh, bark collar! I can’t watch movies where animals are harmed either. There’s a great website (https://www.doesthedogdie.com/) where you can check if any dogs die before deciding to watch a movie. It’s saved me quite a few times.
So... "bad things - often violence - happening to *people*, who didn't deserve it" is not just part of, it's a main driver of *several* genres of film and literature. "Bad things - often violence - happening to *dogs*, who didn't deserve it" on the other hand, that seems to be going too far, at least for many here.
Not judging, just seems odd. You don't hear "Started watching "Saving Private Ryan", but then they started killing all those people, turned it off immediately and never watched again" all too often. And yet this is one of the most harrowing opening scenes in movies.
I wonder, would Rex stop watching a film within the first minutes, if "some gangster or other shot a [*person*] to demonstrate what a tough guy he was"?
I might be the only one, but I really enjoyed all the puzzles from the last week or so. I thought the themes were good and the fill was pretty smooth.
This is after a long line of puzzles from the last few weeks that didn’t wow me. I was really starting to lose interest. Is anyone else on the same page? I hope it continues.
@sharonak - That would depend on the ballplayer, singer, or character. For a Tuesday, Babe Ruth, Paul McCartney and Homer Simpson are all fair game. Glenn Gulliver, Justine Frischmann and Langdon Alger are not (as much as I would love to see any of them in a puzzle).
Drop trou does show up in this puzzle on occasion. Didn’t remember Rex complaining about it before. Maybe because he found this one relatively hard so he got overly picky? And the bark collar answer put him off. In any event , whether you like it or not, drop trou is still a thing I just heard it recently. Said by a fellow baby BOOMER. Maybe it’s generational.
As a boomer, I found okay boomer somewhat funny. Don’t hear or see it much lately. I think Gen xers came up with it. Anyway, maybe we deserved it ( we did produce Trump).
Over all I found the puzzle easy. Okay, but somewhat blah. Missed the theme completely because I didn’t read the second half of 38 down clue, because had most of the letters in already.
Taylor
I disagree with your comment.
There are physical stores which sell computers and phones. I always call them Apple stores. (what else?) where I have bought I phones. I have never bought anything from Apple online but I have downloaded a couple of free apps from the App Store , which is what my I phone labels it.
I see nothing wrong with that clue/ answer.
Touché on the “mild shock”
Bob Mills
Wharton Business School is part of UPenn
I am sure some people use the term B School.
What does “okay boomer” mean or refer to?
Shouldn’t it be “tied score”?
Still scratching my head over this one. The reveal TREETOPS doesn't match the theme entries if you ask me. The first word of each themer is a PART of a TREE but none are themselves TREES. Two of the TREE parts, ROOTS and TRUNK are, in fact, far below TREETOPS since TREETOPS are, per collinsdictionary.com, "the top branches of the trees".
As the resident POC (plural of convenience) watcher I did notice that three of the four theme entries, ROOT FOR, BARK COLLAR and LEAVE ALONE were not up to the task of filling their slots and had to resort to a short cut solution to that problem by inserting a letter count boosting, grid fill friendly S in each one. Since the theme entries are the heart and soul of a themed puzzle, having to pad the letter count of three out of the four with an S is a major demerit for the puzzle in my book.
Also note three of the ultra-convenient two for one POCs where a Down and an Across both get boosted by sharing a final S as happens with THERE/MD, ASP/LE and WED/DETEST. Throw in some AROMAS and ODORS here and some MACS, IRISES and TOE LOOPS there and the POC Committee gave this grid a POC Marked rating.
Andrew
About your recommendation of an I Pad to do the puzzle on , late yesterday
I don’t have one.
I do read and comment on this blog with an I Phone.
However, it is not really the size issue that causes me to swear while doing puzzles online At least in the case of the Times App, the design of the human machine interface is what I find extremely frustrating. Apparently, many find that interface logical, intuitive and easy to use I find in each case the exact opposite! I constantly have the same experience on any and all websites, apps, online application forums etc etc. I avoid them all like the plague, unless I have no choice. It is better for my health
Thanks for your suggestion anyway. If I ever get the opportunity, I may try the puzzle on an I Pad but I am very doubtful.
@Gary J. Wisdom? [choke, splutter]
@jberg. That was very educational. The only move I knew was the wing-flap. Did you hang in to see the eventual winner? He looked like he might grow up to be Ken.
@Gill I. Heya!
@okanaganer. Too right. (Sam, are you listening? I thought not.)
@Anonymous (10:33) Oops, missed you somehow. I'm glad you took action.
@Barbara S. 9:08 AM
"(but, man, they’re fiddly to put on.)" Laughing! Genius.
62 years old. Never heard of or seen ORANGINA. Spent my entire life in the Midwest, maybe it’s regional.
Glenn Gulliver, the pride of Allen Park, Michigan!
In the context of the answer, "okay boomer" refers to TNT's ability to blow things up. A bit shaky, as noted by Rex; TNT is excellent at blowing things up, not simply okay at it.
"Okay boomer" as slang is used by young people to mock and dismiss older people (i.e. baby boomers). "Kids are on their phones too much these days!" "Okay boomer"
I was reminded of the time we got a humane bark collar for our little dog Brutus which sprayed citronella in response to loud noises instead of shocking the dog's neck. The idea being that the unpleasantly strong ODOR would be offputting so near a dog's nose.
Unfortunately, Brutus decided to bark at our other dog, who not only had to deal with his barking, but also being sprayed in the face with citronella. So that experiment didn't last a day.
Maybe it would work if you only had one dog, who knows.
As usual , the ones I found easy / ball pit, bark collars are the answers others had more difficulty with but
Never heard of soda called ORANGINA or know anything about the Simpson s
Or what headwear for lesser royalty is.
Still don’t understand fiddlesticks as an oath?
HAPPY INHEAT
IT'SODD that THERE'S A PRELIM,
and the TIEGAME ENSURED TODD waited,
but LOTTA LEAVESALONE with him,
and IFIMAY say, MOST ABATED.
--- ERNEST BUSH II, M.D.
@Anoa Bob: I take your point about gratuitous plurals, but in the case of LEAVES ALONE, it was actually needed, as "LEAVE" without the "S" wouldn't have fit the theme.
Big open corners: a pleasure. But, IFIMAY, What is ORANGINA, TRUNKSHOW, and BSCHOOL? These are unknown to me. Or were, before reading the WOD here.
I'm sure OFNP and NCIS's Gibbs would get along famously. The latter once beat up a guy who...well, no need to go into detail. But it nearly cost Leroy his career.
Despite the no-knows, I found this one normal for a Tuesday, and liked the fill just fine. One of AE-S' better efforts. Birdie.
Wordle par.
I've been to trunk shows, and not one of them had anything to do with clothes or jewelry, although that is the most common type. People who are in the arts and crafts trades have trunk shows too. I've been to a number of them over the years. I've met a kaleidoscope maker from England, twin brothers who make things out of pewter, and a man who carved birds out of semiprecious stones, for starters.
Very very easy Tuez. I had fun with it.
I watched that clip of the chicken dance, and while I know what it is, and have seen it on TV, I can honestly say that I don't remember it being done at any wedding reception that I have ever been to. And I've been to many of them, having come from a very large Irish family. Is it more of a regional thing? Inquiring minds want to know. The Hokey Pokey at every single one.
Trees can save the world.
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