Friday, July 12, 2024

Frequent Ja Rule collaborator / FRI 7-12-24 / Assignment in a classic first job / Secondary social media account, informally / Jewish noodle dish / "Because of Winn-Dixie" narrator / Predator on a continental shelf / What OpenAI's DALL-E creates / "A vodka and Red Bull for the discerning," per Difford's cocktail guide / Rapper featured on Taylor Swift's 2024 "Fortnight" /

Constructor: Malaika Handa

Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium (if you know the proper nouns ... probably harder if you don't)


THEME: none 

Word of the Day: POST MALONE (29D: Rapper featured on Taylor Swift's 2024 "Fortnight") —
Austin Richard Post
 (born July 4, 1995), known professionally as Post Malone, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and guitarist. Malone has gained distinction and acclaim for his blending of various genres including hip hoppopR&B, and trap. His stage name was derived from inputting his birth name into a rap name generator. [...] Malone is among the best-selling music artists, with over 80 million records sold. His accolades include ten Billboard Music Awards, three American Music Awards, one MTV Video Music Award, and nine Grammy Award nominations. He holds several Billboard chart records: He is the first solo lead artist to top both the Rap Airplay and Adult Contemporary charts, while "Circles" set the record for longest climb to number one (41 weeks) on the Adult Contemporary chart by a solo artist. As of 2024, Malone holds the record for the artist with the most diamond-certified songs, with nine to his name. (wikipedia)
• • •

Usually when I say an answer made me laugh, I mean it figuratively, which is to say that I found it very funny, or it made me smile, so I'm laughing *inside* (it's usually 4 in the morning when I'm writing, with my wife still asleep in the next room, so outright guffawing would generally be, let's say, ill-advised). But today, I actually laughed, because I thought my answer to a clue was funny but that it *had* to be wrong ... only it turned out to be right. I'm speaking, of course, of "GIRL..." (55D: "Let me tell you ..."). The way I heard that answer so clearly in my head, LOL (It's the voice of a Black woman or a gay man or a drag queen). "Girrrrrrl..." is probably closer to the way I'd spell it. So often, crossword clues miss when they try to evoke a specific colloquialism, but this one: right on the money. I wrote in "GIRL..." to amuse myself, but then all the crosses checked out. Such an unexpectedly fun moment— about as much fun as a four-letter answer is capable of generating.


But I was very happy with this puzzle well before "GIRL..." The long answers are Not Wasted in this puzzle. So much marquee goodness just swooshing and SLASHING across this grid. Even the alcoholic abomination that is the ESPRESSO MARTINI felt fresh and fun (as a crossword answer) (39A: "A vodka and Red Bull for the discerning," per Difford's cocktail guide). If I have to have an ESPRESSO MARTINI, I definitely prefer it in crossword form (as opposed to liquid form, hard pass).  I love my coffee and I love my cocktails and never (ever) the twain shall meet. I know that the ESPRESSO MARTINI is one of the hot cocktails of the last decade or so but I just can't. Seems like something for people who drink their cocktails through CRAZY STRAWs. Maybe I just haven't had the right one (I haven't had any—not wasting my one cocktail-a-day limit on that). I do enjoy AMERICANOS, esp. when I know the brewed coffee is going to be *** (looking at you, Starb*cks). But enough about my imbibing preferences. I thought this puzzle did everything a Friday's supposed to do: whoosh and entertain. I can see how the puzzle would be less fun for people who had never heard of POST MALONE or ASHANTI; the latter hasn't really been a big name since ... well, since Ja Rule was a big name (20 years ago?), but POST MALONE is arguably the biggest musical artist on the planet not named Taylor Swift or Beyoncé (see "Word of the Day," above), so I'm afraid that if you don't know that name, that's harder to justify being outraged about. Anyway, both names are very fairly crossed, so hopefully if you didn't know either or both of those names, you got through OK and your enjoyment of the puzzle wasn't terribly diminished. Me, I was split. ASHANTI is an OK answer, but older, and I've seen the name before, whereas POST MALONE felt new and good (as with the ESPRESSO MARTINI, I don't partake of POST MALONE myself, as a rule, but I like when the puzzle lives, at least partially, in the Now).


There were only a few small parts of this puzzle that made me grumble. The first was really a "me" problem, in that I couldn't figure out BRS (6D: Abbr. in an apartment listing). Well, the fact that it's an ugly abbr. is a puzzle problem, but my fumbling it is a "me" problem. Admittedly, haven't looked for an apartment in over thirty years, but my brain wanted BDRM or BRM or something with an "M" in it. Maybe I'm confusing it with BSMT ("basement"), which an apartment listing probably wouldn't have. I guess BRS is a logical abbr. here. "B" = "bed," "R" = "room," makes sense. Still, there's no clue that's gonna make BRS good. Sometimes you need a small bit of gunk to hold your good long answers together. It's fine. The other "oof" for me came with the clue on DIGITAL ART (62A: What OpenAI's DALL-E creates). Any plug for generative AI, especially a plug for a specific company, is gonna diminish my solving enjoyment considerably. [Just imagine a long rant here about the dehumanizing / plagiaristic / environmentally disastrous aspects of generative AI, I'm too tired]. If y'all try to put DALL-E in a puzzle, I swear to god ....


Speed round:
  • 3D: "Because of Winn-Dixie" narrator (OPAL) — this story / movie missed me entirely. I am aware of the title, but literally nothing else about it. For all I know, it's about a talking dog. Is it? I feel like there's a dog on the cover of the book. Yesssss! There is. Does it talk? Please say it talks. 
["I wuv you, wittle girl"]
  • 36D: Carnival prize (TOY) — I wanted TAN (think Rio)
  • 50D: Jewish noodle dish (KUGEL) — had the "K" and immediately wrote in KNISH; I knew it was wrong as I was doing it, but that didn't stop my fingers from typing the letters. My sincere apologies to the Jewish and culinary and Jewish culinary communities.
  • 38D: Push one's buttons? (DIAL) — I love how wrong/right this answer is. That is, if you're literally DIALing, you don't push any buttons. We still use DIAL to refer to placing calls with a non-dial phone. Phones used to have literal DIALs kids. 9s took so long ... Things were better when they were clunky and slow and avocado green and not-at-all-mobile!
  • 67A: Animated character who serves as an official Japanese tourism ambassador (HELLO KITTY) — always love seeing HELLO KITTY in the grid (this is its sixth appearance). Remind me of the story I've told here many times about when Andrea Carla Michaels told me Will Shortz rejected one of her puzzles that contained HELLO KITTY because he'd never heard of it and didn't think it would be well known, then shortly thereafter he saw an article about HELLO KITTY in an inflight magazine and told her what an amazing coincidence he thought that was. Anyway, clearly he came around, eventually. That story caused me to construct my first puzzle: a Norse gods puzzle (HELLO KITTY, "MOOD INDIGO," etc.), though I think I wasn't the first (or the last) to have that idea.
  • 23D: First in a line of Egyptian pharaohs (RAMSES I) — I had the gist of it right but didn't figure on the "I" part and so tried to spell his name RAMESES
See you next time.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]

103 comments:

  1. For all the trouble that older references give me (born in 1994), I kind of hate the opposite even more; not because I don't know them, but because it doesn't present a real challenge. If I can read the clue on a big 15-letter marquee answer and fill it in immediately (ESPRESSOMARTINI), it doesn't make me feel smart when the answer is a reference for young people. Same with POSTMALONE, AMERICANOS, HELLOKITTY - I don't like it when the grid is just filled with stuff to show how "online" you are.. I'd prefer struggling to figure out song lyrics from pre-1970 any day. Although admittedly this could just be the cluing, too, but anyways, not really impressed.

    Still, I set my all-time Friday record today - 6:29, so I can't be too upset.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous6:52 AM

      100% agree with everything you said (including my near-identical solve time but excluding the birth year, I’m 1977). When the puzzle tries to dazzle us with how “hip” and “modern” it is, it just feels clunky and disappointingly easy.

      Delete
  2. Don’t want to kill our Malaika - but this one felt more like a USA Today or TV Guide puzzle than a Friday NYT. Just too much real estate taken up by fill in the blanks - non-nuanced trivia. The ESPRESSO MARTINI spanner falls flat and the entire SE corner follows right behind. As Rex highlights - now that POST MALONE is doing country he’s as popular as ever.

    The cluing voice does have a youthful exuberance which is always welcome. Did like NO NONSENSE and TRY TO KEEP UP.

    A quick Friday morning solve.

    Hot Burrito #1

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  3. Becoming a big fan of Malaika puzzles. This was sort of a Goldilocks - just right. Maybe a tad easier than most Fridays but I don’t think the constructors decide when they go in. I enjoy a good espresso martini instead of dessert some times - but that is the challenge - finding a good one.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous6:28 AM

    I laughed (internally) so hard at girl too! This puzzle was SO much fun. Robyn Weintraub levels of whoosh and enjoyment. Also loved reading in Malaika’s voice and picturing her explanations.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I couldn't have said it better. Really enjoyed this puzzle!

      Delete
  5. Bob Mills6:32 AM

    Finished it with one cheat. I didn't know POSTMALONE, and I had "serape" for the fashion line instead of STRIPE (because a serape is worn).

    Didn't enjoy the puzzle much, maybe because of the emphasis on popular culture.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous6:38 AM

    First pass through, nothing. Thought I was a goner. But here and there, one or two letters would set the stage for a long answer. Like the n that signaled it had to be some kind of Martini and the P that called for Espresso. Hardest thing was Paper Route because I was focused on first "real" job, as in give to the newb who doesn't know anything. No junk, good stuff.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Very similar for me as Anon 6:28, including the ROUTE issue, because I kept thinking about putting in photocopy paper and similar gofer jobs which did not fit.
      Living in a jazz cave, so had the incorrect guess of POST MAN ONE.
      But HELLO KITTY always good for a smile. I have a HELLO KITTY sticker on the back of my plastic to make sure I get the right card back in restaurants, but less needed now in the tap age. Happy Friday everyone!

      Delete
  7. Wonderfully engaging little puzzle over too soon. It's filled to the brim with really enjoyable longer phrases. Of course the problem with longer phrases is they're usually easier to get. As always, the proper nouns are the major blockers on Friday and Saturday. Opal was my biggest problem and the T in KAT was my last entry because TIS doesn't feel like it matches its clue.

    I just discovered this is a Malaika. Sweet. Way to go GIRRRRL...

    I've never competed in a sack race, but I did win the three-legged race with Steve in first grade at the Green Mountain Elementary field day in 1972. Go Falcons. It's not a school anymore due to declining enrollments. Knowing my ridiculous city, it's probably going to be bulldozed to make room for another half-empty luxury apartment building a dozen years from now after the school district lets the current building sit vacant and be vandalized for a decade.

    I thought it's: ... IT'LL be a dark day.

    I continue to be amazed how themeless puzzles are every bit as gunky as themed puzzles. Why is that?

    Propers: 7
    Places: 0
    Products: 4
    Partials: 9
    Foreignisms: 5
    --
    Gary's Grid Gunk Gauge: 25 (35%)
    Recipes: 1 (beta)

    Funnyisms: 5 😄

    Tee-Hee: [43A]

    Uniclues:

    1 What they make those enormous party sandwiches from Subway on.
    2 Admit it's made with Artificial Intelligence.
    3 Watered down espresso before the rebranding.
    4 What I told the salesman at the backpack store as I returned to the university.
    5 Why everybody I know said, "Now don't go ad libbing, Gary" before I delivered the eulogy.
    6 A lope.

    1 ISN'T-SHORTBREAD (~)
    2 SOIL DIGITAL ART
    3 AMERICANOS ONCE (~)
    4 NEED HELLO KITTY
    5 STAY IN LINE RANT
    6 NO NONSENSE TROT

    My Fascinating Crossword Uniclue Keepsake : Where I'd spend my free time if it weren't for the restraining order. KIDMAN TUB.

    ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous7:04 AM

    I will put in a plug for Because of Winn-Dixie. Both the book and film are superb. However, the dog does not talk.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Interesting mix of what I might call historical and modern, rather than “it skews young” - probably bookended with the RAMSES I on the ancient side and POST MALONE and OpenAI anchoring the modernity wing.

    I got completely toasted in the SE - never, ever heard of DALL-E or HELLO KITTY (yes, I have led a sheltered life) and the DRIPS/AMERICANOS distinction is so far over my head that it may as well be in outer space. So obviously I’m more of an old timer than a modernist.

    Congrats to Malaika, you came up with a tough but fair grid and represented yourself very nicely. Well done.

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  10. David Grenier7:17 AM

    Some nice wooshiness. Balked at DIAL for the same reason Rex did.. pressing buttons is explicitly NOT dialing. Push button phones replaced dial phones. Otherwise good.

    Kept wanting the “classic first job” to be something about a corporate mail room, which was a trope in movies when I was growing up. The NW took forever for me because my brain just couldn’t find PAPER ROUTE. I got PAPER and wanted WHY DOES IT SAY PAPER JAM WHEN THERE IS NO PAPER JAM?

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous7:23 AM

    According to the Constructor Notes looks like the clue for “DIGITAL ART” was meant to be “Piece of Technology?” but the editors changed it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous 7:23 AM
      Thanks for the info about the original clue for digital art.
      Piece of technology is so much better.

      Delete
  12. Anonymous7:24 AM

    According to the constructor notes, the clue for DIGITAL ART was meant to be “Piece of Technology?” But the editors changed it .

    ReplyDelete
  13. Anonymous7:25 AM

    As much as I disliked yesterday's puzzle, this one was pretty great.

    RS

    ReplyDelete
  14. Too much coffee-oriented fill for my taste. Plus, you know, all the bad fill.

    Two WoEs, both in the SE, in TARTE and AMERICANOS. But the crosses were all fair and TARTE gave us the rhyme, so no issues in the end. And I don’t know what an ESPRESSO MARTINI is, but those at least are both familiar words.

    Conversely, I struggled in the NW because I had trouble thinking what would come after CRAZY___, and drew a complete blank on what would come after PAPER___, where I needed every cross but the R from BRS to get there.

    I never saw the clue for GIRL, but if I had I would have hated it.

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  15. Anonymous7:32 AM

    I like DIAL because it's a hioldover for oldies like me from the ancient days prior to the information revolution. It's analogous to "sail" from the even more ancient days prior to the Industrial Revolution (l think those caps. are OK), because you're still sailing even if your craft is a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier.

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  16. Anonymous7:32 AM

    I like DIAL because it's a hioldover for oldies like me from the ancient days prior to the information revolution. It's analogous to "sail" from the even more ancient days prior to the Industrial Revolution (l think those caps. are OK), because you're still sailing even if your craft is a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Well, this was a recipe, a perfect storm, actually, for a slam-bang solving experience.

    I know from Malaika’s puzzles that her frame of reference diverges greatly, that her world is light years away, from mine. It’s also become clear to me that she’s a skilled puzzlemaker.

    The upshot is that her puzzles often have answers I don’t know, but her skill is such that I’ve got a good chance of getting them, resulting in great pleasure for my brain.

    Why? When one doesn’t know an answer, especially if it’s a word one has never come across, it requires the brain to make educated guesses from whatever letters that have been filled in from crosses. “Does this answer seem possible? Could it fit the clue? Will it work with surrounding words?”

    Thus, the brain becomes super involved, and I don’t know about you, but my brain adores this. Savors this.

    Today’s puzzle brought several such answers – all long – transporting my brain to nirvana. These moments of sweet labor were complemented by some glorious swaths of splat-fill.

    Along the way were some beautiful answers – HAND PICK, KUGEL, NO NONSENSE. There was also an impressive original clue for EEL, a word clued hundreds of times in the major outlets, but never with a “continental shelf” angle.

    Very happy brain, with loveliness on the side – yes, a slam-bang experience. Thank you greatly for making this, Malaika!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Fair puzzle, came in at average time. Got more bogged down in the NE than I should have, wanting corkscrew to fit, then going to curlySTRAW, and finally hitting CRAZYSTRAW.

    Being a little older, 70's and 80's references are often gimmies. Seeing enough of POSTMALONE had me saying to myself: "Oh yeah, it's that dude with all the face tattoos. What's his name again? It's not Sam. He was the bartender at Cheers. Oh, yeah. POST." So, don't mind when things skew to newer trivia at all.

    As one who enjoys a good cocktail, I enjoyed the dig at the ESPRESSOMARTINI. Watch out, artisan appletinis are on the way. Don't call it a comeback.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Anonymous7:44 AM

    I loved this. Crushed it. AMERICANOS / HELLO KITTY is fantastic.

    ReplyDelete
  20. EasyEd7:44 AM

    Wow! Memories! My first job was a PAPERROUTE. Actually had it twice because I was fired the first time for being underage. My mother was an avid work-finder for us young-uns…So many memories of very kind people and new friends and one couple of pay-dodgers who turned out to be the parents of a friend from a different neighborhood—we had many laughs about the antics his folks used to avoid paying their weekly fee….didn’t know POSTMALONE but that didn’t detract from enjoying the puzzle..

    ReplyDelete
  21. Never heard of POST MALONE but somehow I got it from crosses and barely even noticed it. I’m always happy when Rex likes a puzzle. Thanks, Malaika!

    ReplyDelete

  22. Low on junk, high on fun. Very enjoyable puzzle!

    2D: cARP before HARP
    6D: rmS before BRS
    31A: Thought it might have been KAy Dennings before it had to be KAT
    40A: My item for composting was a Rake before it was a RIND
    42A: SeRaPE before STRIPE (thank you, @Bob Mills!)
    47A: ray before EEL

    WOEs:
    3D: Never heard of "Because of Winn-Dixie" (didn't even know it was a film), much less its narrator, OPAL
    53A: ALT as clued
    56A: TARTE as a cosmetics brand

    ?????
    61D: I don't see how LED is equivalent to "Ran". They both convey motion in the past but someone who ran didn't necessarily lead at any point.

    @Anon 6:38: I too was thinking of a first "real" job at 15A. I was trying to go in the direction of "left-handed monkey wrench" or "bucket of steam"

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous8:59 AM

      led the company = ran the company

      Delete
    2. Anonymous9:29 AM

      Think "LED a meeting"/"Ran a meeting"

      Delete
  23. Anonymous7:57 AM

    That was fun, about my speed. Count another solver bugged by DIAL, as well as by BRS. Apartment ads, in my experience, typically eschew the S. It's 2BR 1.5BA, e.g., to mean two bedrooms, one full and one half-bathroom.

    My last fill-in was 32D, because I didn't know the actress's name. What's intended by TIS? 'Tis? Ugh, if so.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Rex, I'd recommend taking an afternoon to read Winn-Dixie. YA novels, especially the good ones, are well worth the time.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:00 AM

      Because of Winn Dixie is a middle grade novel, not YA. But I agree with your assessment that it’s well worth the read.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous12:20 PM

      During the pandemic shutdown I spent a good deal of time reading ALL of Kate DiCamillo’s books for children. They are all quite lyrical lovely and sad sometimes, and were the level of reading (3rd-4th grade?) that I could manage.

      Delete
  25. Andrew Z.8:01 AM

    Not being a coffee drinker, I had ESPRESSO as ExPRESSO. For the life of me, I couldn’t figure out who POxTMA_ONE was!😂

    Luckily, I have heard of him so I was able to figure it out eventually.

    ReplyDelete
  26. You wrote KNISH, and I wrote KASHA but figured out it was wrong very quickly and took it out, then KUGEL presented itself! LOL. Also loved the puzzle, not familiar with the music of Post Malone but have heard the name enough that it came pretty easily. Ashanti fit well so that was pretty easy. Very fun and entertaining.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Congrats to all you whooshers out there. My solve was considerably more stop-and-go, as things like an ESPRESSOMARTINI and a Ja Rule (who?) collaborator, who turned out to be an ASHANTI, were complete unknowns. Mixed drinks and rappers are not for me, but since I am a sentient being I have heard of POSTMALONE. HELLOKITTY too, but didn't recognize it as clued.

    Some fun long answers--hard to TRYTOKEEPUP if we STAYINLINE, and liked the DALL-E and DALAI connection.

    A just-right Friday, MH. Much Happiness obtained from this one, and thanks for all the fun.

    This AM's bit of no-longer with us crosswordese-ADIT (mine entrance).

    @Roo-Keep forgetting to congratulate you on your book. Way to go. Also, got to QB yesterday, which happens infrequently enough to folks like us to be newsworthy.

    ReplyDelete
  28. How was Rex offended by GIRLIE a while back but not “Let me tell you” for GIRL? Plus, he projects his own interpretations of who the speaker would be - Black woman, gay man, drag queen? Yikes!

    Thought he’d fEEL the EEL omnipresence again, but no. Some consistency please - TRYTOKEEPUP! (the best phrase in here - EUROS clue was good too).

    ITD is far uglier than BRS - but any puzzle that offers SPCA saying HELLOKITTY KAT is alright with me.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Replies
    1. Anonymous11:25 AM

      On the planet? Bad Bunny would like a word with you.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous5:40 PM

      If you haven’t heard of one of the most famous artists of the past ~6 years, that’s a you problem.

      Delete
  30. A tip-top Friday, Malaika! [Chef’s kiss]

    @Andy 6:08, I appreciate your point of view, but as an old, I enjoy the challenge of sussing out the current references in a puzzle and am delighted by a youthful clueing voice. (I guess that makes me the anti-Andy.)

    How old am I? I remember rotary phones. Back in that era, my home phone number was 767-9008. If I had to phone home to tell the folks I’d be late for dinner, dialing those high numbers would make me even later.

    Rex, that’s an amazing music video you posted. I relished watching it, though I muted the sound because my feelings for Post Malone resemble yours for the espresso martini.

    ReplyDelete
  31. Cowboy Kelly8:46 AM

    Re 15A Emphasis on 'classic' Any kid looking for a first job delivering papers will find himself chronically and permanently unemployed. He/she would have better luck seeking an apprentice job with the local blacksmith.

    ReplyDelete
  32. Hey All !
    A Malaika MFriday. With hardly a dreck to be found.

    Nice FriPuz. Went quick, even though after first run-through, I only had a smattering of answer hither and YON. But answers starting coming at a steady pace, and before I knew it, done! I believe years of puzzling helps, with answers like RAMSESI, had the RA, and after reading clue, said, "Why, that's RAMSES I!"

    CRAZY STRAWs take crazy long to get the drink from cup to mouth. 😁

    Well, nother Friday. I think the weeks are speeding up. Is there some conspiracy about losing time? Har.

    No F's (Dang, Malaika, don't SHUNS the F! 😁)
    RooMonster
    DarrinV

    ReplyDelete
  33. Anonymous8:50 AM

    11A. ISNT?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous9:26 AM

      As in the phrase “money isn’t everything.” What links money to everything? The word ISN’T.

      Delete
  34. As I was solving, I was thinking this is probably a pretty whooshy Friday and maybe I’d really be enjoying the whoosh action, if only I knew some of these names. I use cosmetics but TARTE was a mystery. Dennings? Who dat? Ja Rule? Nope. ASHANTI? Vaguely familiar with crosses. But I’m just not into music of any genre, so POST MALONE may be one of the biggest artists on the planet but he does not exist in my world. And while I’m not outraged because I didn’t know that answer, I’m sure as heck not gonna apologize for it either.

    But Taylor Swift? Sure. GIRL, I think you’d almost have to live in a cave to not get that one, especially in the past year when it’s been pretty hard to miss the news of her regular TROTs around the globe to watch football games. HELLO KITTY I also knew, just not the way it was clued. I hope to never encounter an ESPRESSO MARTINI which sounds quite cringe worthy, and I’m still wondering what an AMERICANO is.

    Anyway Malaika, even while battling my personal shortcomings, I enjoyed your puzzle. We’ve been doubly fortunate this month to be in the presence of your blogging wit and now your construction talent. Thank you for both and please, come back soon!


    ReplyDelete
  35. Because of Winn Dixie is an excellent young adult book - I read it yearly to my 5th grade class. So nice to see it in a puzzle.

    ReplyDelete
  36. Easiest puzzle of the week for me. Felt more like a Tuesday than a Friday. Not necessarily a bad thing (I enjoy an easy puzzle), just a bit strange.

    ReplyDelete
  37. @pablo
    Thanks!
    And I too got to QB YesterBee! Apparently, it was an easy one. Har!

    RooMonster Probably No Queen Today Guy

    ReplyDelete
  38. Anonymous9:28 AM

    Such a fun puzzle! Maybe my favorite Friday ever! Only major problem I had was I had CRAZY STory instead of CRAZY STRAW and with so many confirmed crosses that took a while for me to fix. Otherwise started slow but little by little got the whoosh. Loved it.

    ReplyDelete
  39. Nice Friday. Not much on the first read through, then zip-bang. Love the juxtaposition of TRYTOKEEPUP and STAYINLINE, but not sure POSTMALONE is a rapper

    ReplyDelete
  40. @Andy Freude-I remember the operator saying "number please" when I placed a call. Our home number was 23-W. Getting a rotary phone was high tech. Don't know if this is a function of age or my rural upbringing, probably both.

    ReplyDelete
  41. Very whooshy. Not at all Friday-level difficult. Played like a medium Wednesday. Personal best ever Friday time. I did like many of the answers (the marquee, around which the puzzle was clearly constructed, as well as KUGEL, AMERICANO, TRY TO KEEP UP), which feel fresh and contemporary, but I want more bite on Friday.

    ReplyDelete
  42. Today's puzzle was very light on puzzling. I'm a baby boomer and POSTMALONE and ASHANTI were gimmies.



    yd -0. QB84

    ReplyDelete
  43. Anonymous9:41 AM

    Anon,
    ISNT connects money to everything as in
    'money isn't everything'

    I had to get this from the fill.

    ReplyDelete
  44. Anonymous9:41 AM

    I thought i was with Rex, but the biggest pleasant surprise of the year was my first espresso martini.

    ReplyDelete
  45. There were a lot of answers in this puzzle I didn't know -- probably because they were aimed at a demographic not my own. POST MALONE; OPAL; ASHANTI; KAT; CRAZY STRAWS. And AMERICANOS, as clued. I thought that drip was a method of making coffee and AMERICANOS are a kind of coffee. But then I don't know my AMERICANOS from my ESPRESSO MARTINIS.

    Question of the day: How can you make an ESPRESSO MARTINI with those non-coffee ingredients? When I go back to read the comments, I'm sure some one will explain it.

    But, wow, Malaika, your cluing is great! It's tricky, it's always completely fair, and it does the thing I most want clues to do -- which is to provoke curiosity. Loved the clues for ISN'T (11A); EUROS (8D); STRIPE (42A); MENUS (45A); DIAL (38D). You've taken simple, ordinary words and made them special.

    My subway had a gAP at first. You're always being warned to WATCH THE GAP, so I'm always watching the gap -- which keeps me from ever looking at the MAP. But then it's pretty hard to get lost on the Lexington Avenue #6 line -- even for someone like me with no sense of direction.

    I'm sort of glad I didn't know any of those names, Malaika. It made the puzzle far more challenging and far more fun for me than it would have been for the many younger people who probably did know them. And I didn't even have to cheat. Nice job.

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  46. I was trying to invent some cocktail called a yoguRTINI, based on knowing subways have GAPs. (which you have to mind, in London).

    I don't think kids (on bikes) can have paper routes any more, it's all adults with cars. So few people get newspapers delivered, the routes cover a lot of territory. Our local paper comes in the US Mail if you don't get it digitally. I still get my Times delivered, but when I walk my dog at 6 AM I see hardly a paper on a porch.

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  47. I DNF'd on PAPER ROUTE because the clue wanted an "assignment". The PAPER ROUTE *is* the job, not the assignment.
    The assignment would be "here, go deliver these papers".

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  48. Anonymous10:19 AM

    Very easy, even though I don't know many of the proper nouns in clues and fill AT ALL.
    I often disagree with Rex, but not on the subject of potables. We agree that the ESPRESSO MARTINI is -- yes, a thing, but not for drinking. OTOH, on occasion, I'll doctor my coffee with a slug of whiskey.

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  49. Niallhost10:21 AM

    Calling POST MALONE a rapper is like calling Beyonce a country singer. He's done it, but it's not what he usually does. I can't decide if it's endearing or ridiculous that the NYT didn't describe him accurately, and so many solvers aren't familiar enough with him to throw that answer in immediately. As Rex said, he's as big as Taylor Swift right now and for a while before that. This coming from a 56 year old.

    Ended up with a DNF on the DIGITALART answer. Had ALeRT in my head and just could not move past it, even knowing that ReNT didn't look right - I thought there was some clever pun that was escaping me.

    Struggled in the NW but enjoyed figuring it out. Had gotTOKEEPUP for the longest time which slowed me down considerably but eventually broke through when I changed to TRY. Solid Friday solve.

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  50. Anonymous10:23 AM

    In 2 years of doing crosswords this was the easiest Friday I’ve ever experienced

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  51. This was one of my fave type of puzzles…one I started thinking I’d HAVE to do a cheat to complete, then came up with enough eurekas to finish (but see later). I’ve heard of POSTMALONE and ASHANTI, so some crosses made them inferable…yay. I’m embarrassed to say that my last holdup was finishing the puzzle, not getting my “congrats”, hitting “check puzzle” and I found I had ESSPRESSOgARTINI. GAH. I had well and truly put in (mind the) gAP for “subway feature” and never looked back! Hilarity ensued but yeah…still a DNF. At any rate, while the puzzle had quite a few proper nouns, etc, I think Malaika did a good job with balancing on the older/younger audience biz.

    I have known a few woman (and smart!) who REALLY have/had a”thing” for HELLOKITTY. One had an HK toaster and the other had an HK panini maker. I’ve never been one to “collect” things like that but I confess, HELLOKITTY is cute!

    @Whatsername…I THINK an AMERICANO is a “watered down” ESPRESSO. We Americans like our “drip” coffee (I’m with @Rex on Starbucks drip) but many European country coffee vendors only do espresso but WILL add hot water to make it AMERICANO style and put it in a larger cup.

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:12 AM

      @Beezer: Thanks. I’m not a big coffee aficionado and as Nancy said, I don’t know my Americano from my Espresso, but good to know.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous12:23 PM

      I thought the abbreviation for BEDROOM was BD or BDRM, if the ad had enough space, as in 2 bd, 2ba.

      Delete
  52. Anonymous10:49 AM

    @Andy Freude : When AT&T first developed the area code system in the 1940s, they deliberately chose codes with low digits for the most populated areas, or rather the areas with the most subscribers.

    NYC had 212, which is the lowest number of "clicks" you could have with the numbering rules (no codes can start with a 1, and the middle digit had to be a 1 or 0 at that time). LA had 213. Dallas had 214. Chicago had 312, and so on.

    This reduced the time the switching equipment needed to connect a call. Lower digits took less time to connect.

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  53. Anonymous10:52 AM

    malaika. where you at girrl ?! i was hopeing to see you comment on some of these haters. your puz was fantastic.

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  54. Easy. Delightful!

    WOEs - ASHANTI, TARTE, OPAL, DIGITAL ART, and ESPRESSO MARTINI

    Erasure - ese before TIO

    Fun and whooshy, liked it a bunch!

    My PAPER ROUTE paper was The Medina County Gazette.

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  55. Ok, I'm a day late and 30 pounds overweight (is that the expression?), but here's the opening sentence of One Hundred Years of Solitude, shared in response to Mike in Bed Sty's first-sentence-sharing yesterday.

    "Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendía was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice."

    The Car Talk guys ran a contest once: you had to come up with a story that started with "It was a dark and stormy night. . . "

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  56. "Since I am a sentient being I have heard of POSTMALONE," says @pabloinnh. I swear that I, too, am a sentient being, @pablo, -- and I haven't. And I won't. Unless, of course, POSTMALONE does his future rapping as part of the "Hamilton" cast. And then I probably will.

    Re: remembering the rotary phone. Your post amused me greatly, @Andy Freude. The idea of dialing all those 8s and 9s and 0s making you even later than you already were. Very funny.

    When I moved to a new apartment in 1995, I tried to take my old black rotary phone that I'd had since age 11 with me. I almost cried when I couldn't; the ringer was embedded in the wall, not the phone, and therefore the phone would have been ringless in a new apartment. This is one of those rare instances where Luddite me was forced to say: "Pressing buttons is better than dialing! Pressing buttons is MUCH BETTER than dialing!!!!"

    To @pabloinnh again: Your "number please" memories are almost certainly because you lived in a rural area. I didn't have any such experiences and I'm pretty sure you can't be older than I am.

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  57. @Malaika, thanks for Friday fun - twisty clues and satisfying long answers and ALL.

    I had trouble getting started: what kind of BREAD? or STRAW? or office new-hire task? (Hi, others). Once I got PAPER ROUTE, with a laugh, things opened right up. The names mostly filled themselves in with crosses, and I've at least heard of ASHANTI and seen the name POST MALONE, although I couldn't have told you who he is. Favorite clue was for EUROS.

    @pabloinnh - Same here for "Number, please." We were 1141-W, on a party line with my Aunt Helen, who was 1141-J. Adjusting to DIALing a rotary phone was hard!

    @Jim in Canada - I had the same reaction to the "assignment," but then thought, well, delivering newspapers is the job, for which each "deliverer" is assigned a certain ROUTE.

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  58. Really nice puzzle. Loved Rex's GIRL anecdote!!

    (And yes, I agree POST MALONE is big enough that should be "gettable" for most.)

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  59. Thanks, Malaika, for a more-fun-than-average Friday puzzle that I finished in close-to-average Friday time. As an aging Boomer, I didn't know most of the names and almost got Naticked at the POSTMALONE/ALT cross, but finally guessed "L" and heard the happy music play.

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  60. Anonymous11:33 AM

    Hmm. Isn’t there some tool that would help you easily add a rant about generative AI even when you are tired?

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  61. Anonymous11:37 AM

    Compost is not the same thing as soil (60-across answer is incorrect).

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  62. Anonymous11:44 AM

    Rex, before you write off mixing alcohol and coffee you must try the Irish coffee served at the Buena Vista in San Francisco

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  63. Correction: Bed-Stuy --- not Bed-Sty. I'm sorry! -- no insult intended. (And don't Freudian slip me, please.) Sometimes a typo/spelling error is just a typo/spelling error.

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  64. Nice puzzle :) Really enjoyed most of the long clues, especially the great stack in the upper left. Filled in CURLYSTRAW after a couple of crosses for STRAW, and thought SPCA confirmed it. That was a fun hole to dig out of!


    Great clue for ASHANTI.

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  65. Anonymous12:07 PM

    I love a good fast Friday puzzle! My biggest beef—the clue for 15-Across. A PAPERROUTE is not an “assignment.” It IS a first job, classically.

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  66. Limited time today--here's one quick Hidden Diagonal Word (HDW) clue:

    What one might pay in order to earn (4 letters)

    (Answer below)

    Almost surely a wheelhouse thing, this was one of my fastest Fridays ever (and it still took over 25 minutes!). Seemed like every guess I made turned out to be right. Not sure I can call it "swooshing" exactly, but a nice smooth run, finishing (as usual it seems) with the final untangling of the NW. I had cARP where I needed HARP--2D, Dwell (on)--which made it impossible to see SHORT BREAD. But I saw the problem and heard the Happy Music.

    Answer to the HDW clue:

    DUES (start with the D in the lovely 48A, HANDPICK, and move to NE)

    I'll HOP on off now--good-bye, KITTY.

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  67. Unbelievably, I was stuck on SPCA because I was thinking ASPCA for org helping to find "forever homes."
    GIRL was new & fresh & I never heard of POST MALONE. I would think you'd have one helluva hang-over from an ESPRESSO MARTINI. The ingredients (Red Bull) don't even sound appealing to me.

    Thanks, Malaika, for an interesting Friday solve :)

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  68. To channel ANDY Rooney*, ever notice how there are a lot of Andy/Andrews posting on this site, but not a lot of POSTs Andy/Andrewing?

    * if you were born in 1994 or after, this reference means nothing.

    If like me you were around when we used both word and numbers when giving out our phone info (mine was WAlnut 6-8211) and party lines (two longs and a short was the cue for our household) and hated 9s and 0s when dialing because they were so easy to mess up on a rotary, you like me, might be ANCIENT!

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  69. Pretty nice themeless FriPuz, @Malaika darlin. That there puzgrid had some serious T-bones.

    staff weeject pick: POR. Perfectly describes M&A's knowledge of Spanish ... ultimo-ly. honrable mention to BRS, btw.
    best SUSwords: REZIP/APLIT.

    Had pretty much the same set of no-knows as @Nancy darlin. btw: When I googled up CRAZYSTRAW, it corrected m&e to KRAZYSTRAWS. Just sayin, KATs.

    some fave stuff: NONONSENSE. TRYTOKEEPUP. SHARKATTACK [recommended for APPRENTICE hosts].
    Also partial to the money ISNT everything clue.

    Thanx for the fun, @Malaika Handa darlin. GIRL … Very nice job.

    Masked & Anonymo4Us


    **gruntz**

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  70. Anonymous12:54 PM

    Quibbled with compost as “soil”. As any competent gardener knows, compost isn’t soil. It’s what you may add, to enrich soil.

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  71. KnittyContessa1:06 PM

    What a fun Friday puzzle! Thanks, Malaika! Your clueing was wonderful!

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  72. This is a Wednesday puzzle or a hard-ish Tuesday. Nice to get young constructors featured but the whole solve can't be current pop culture fill.



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  73. I still use the word "dial" .... old dog, and all.

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  74. petA (not PEETA :=) ) held me up in the NW for the whole of the solve. REZIP, EUROS and DEW helped a tad but it took getting AT ALL and BRS before SHORT BREAD made short work of that section.

    ASHANTI and POST MALONE were fill-in guesses. I can't stand Red Bull so an ESPRESSO MARTINI is not on my cocktail list. I needed the "sounds like a dessert" on the TARTE cosmetics clue.

    I had a CRAZY STRAW as a kid. It made my Nestles Quik taste of plastic and was hard to clean but it looked cool.

    So was Da Vinci showing signs of artistic talent before being apprenticed or was that just random luck?

    Thanks, Malaika, for the nice Friday puzzle.

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  75. Two days in a row with RANT as an answer. That’s enough!

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  76. It's neat how terms persist; DIAL for entering a phone number, although with saved Contacts and even phone hyperlinks we don't do it so much any more. Also "hang up" originated when all phones were wall mounted, and you actually did hang the earpiece up on the cradle (I'm not quite that old though). And "tape" or "on tape" almost certainly has nothing to do with tape these days.

    When I was a kid we only had to dial 5 digits for a local call, as our local prefixes were 372, 374, and 376 so you'd just start with the 2, 4, or 6. Then we got more prefixes so you had to dial all 7. Then you had to dial the area code even for a local call, so it was 10 digits! Fortunately by then we had push button phones.

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  77. #Anonymous 11:44: At the Buena Vista you must also start with a Ramos Gin Fizz!

    Speaking of old phones, when my mother was a teenager in a tiny town in Oklahoma she live across the road from the local telephone operator whose name was amazingly "Bell". I remember as a very young child that she lived in a small house and had a small telephone switch board in her living room. She connected every call and no doubt listened in on all of them.

    My mother and her sister were looking forward to dates with a couple of boys from a near by town. They were
    all dressed up for the dance and waiting when Bell called and said that the boys had car trouble and had to cancel.
    After they were undressed and ready for bed, the boys arrived, Those were the days!

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  78. ESPRESSO MARTINI reminds me of a sign I saw in New Orleans. "You can't drink all day if you don't start in the morning." I say put a double, on the rocks, in a to-go coffee cup, and you're good to go!

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  79. RamsesI almost beat me because there are so many variants on the spelling of Ramses...Rameses...Ramesses, etc.

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  80. SharonAk5:32 PM

    Anon 11:44
    IMO as an avid gardener for over 50 years, composting does result in soil.

    I thought the puzzle was fun.

    I cheated, of course, on a couple of names. Having now read what Rex's write up says about Post Malone and all his diamond recordings it's had to believe I've never heard of him, but I haven't. ( And I do not care.)

    Another happy day when Capcha believed I'm not a robot without making me check off those tiny hard to see photos.

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  81. @Sharon

    If you go blue, you'll no longer have to prove you're not a robot.

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  82. 17A CRAZYSTRAW. That’s a real thing?

    3D who? OPAL?

    7D ROTS if you’re rotting, you’ve already turned.

    8D good clue EUROS

    26D got SHARKATTACK off the AR. Is that from spending too much time in Australia?

    25D and 29D. I know neither of these rappers/hip hop artists but somehow I knew their names from just a few crosses

    50D what do I know of Jewish noodles? Very vague partials on 55D like 51A Could be anything.

    40D and 60A let’s talk composting … @Anonymous at 11:37 , says compost is not soil. Wrong. As a farmer with about a quarter of an acre devoted to composting grass clippings, kitchen waste, chipped wood, llama shit, leaves, goat shed straw, and various piles of weeds I know this stuff is soil. I grow my vegetables in it. It works. Just ask my tomatoes. And @Anon 12:54 “As any competent gardener knows, compost isn’t soil. It’s what you may add, to enrich soil.” Yeah, if you say so but that’s assuming you have decent soil to begin with but if, like me, you have five acres of hard packed clay, lots of well balanced compost is the way to go. And, yes, I’m a competent gardener.

    @Anonymous 11:44. Mixing coffee and whisky is a waste. Just serve the whisky on the side.

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  83. Scott in Chicago10:32 PM

    I love this puzzle as it got the olds here in a twist! I’m 53 and think of myself as old, but maybe I’m a youth on this here forum.

    I crushed it, probably my best ever time on a Friday.

    For everyone complaining about TARTE, as clued, you’re supposed to think of desserts, not the dang company, so this doesn’t count as a WOE (WOE is such a dreadful phrase, like you’re proud of being ignorant or incurious)

    POSTMALONE hardly raps anymore, and certainly doesn’t on that Tay Tay song. I find this clue almost as offensive as the answer DIGITALART vis-a-vis Dall-E.

    The espresso + water drink AMERICANO is not a new thing. Starbucks, ever heard of it, has served them since its inception. Also, ever been to Europe, this is the coffee drink you get when you order just coffee.

    ESPRESSO MARTINIs are good and for crapsake, not new either. Stop it with the WOE people!

    So my advice to the olds, TRYTOKEEPUP

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  84. Anonymous9:33 AM

    @Lewis
    Yesterday I worked your extremely clever April 30, 2023 Name Drop puzzle and absolutely loved it! Thank you (and Jeff Chen) for that wonderful solving experience.

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  85. Was sick for a few days, so late to comment on this puzzle, but just wanted to say how much I *loved* this puzzle GIRL! Such a playful and fun slant on the world and comes across in the cluing. Can't tell you how many times I get destroyed with ancient trivia names that are also crossword-ese that the regulars here say the puzzle is "easy", so it was kind of nice that POSTMALONE and ASHANTI (which are not crossword-ese) were names that stumped the long-timers. Also, regarding the DIAL clue. Absolutely perfect. "Dial" is still in the lexicon for placing a call, even if "call" may be a more technically accurate term. People still have "speed dials", even though speed dialing, by definition, *never* employed dialing so DIAL is hardly an antiquated term for something that sometimes includes pushing buttons. If you still don't believe it, how is it that people still HANG UP a phone call ... even though we have stopped actaully hanging up the receiver on the phone base? Yes, people do say that they are going to disconnect a call or end a call today which is more technically accurate, but the lexicon still allows for a call to be dialed, and to be hung up when done. Thank you Malaika - wonderful puzzle!

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  86. Always like to see one of our guest bloggers get published. This one strangely seemed to get done rather soon, yet hard to do, causing several guesses. Part of it is the local flavor; it's obviously made by a New Yorker.

    I'm at a loss as to how "drip" leads to AMERICANOS. That puppy was all crosses. When I find out, I'll probably want to TRYTOKEEPUP. Birdie.

    Wordle bogey.

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  87. Burma Shave4:10 PM

    SHE’S A YANK (SHORT ON BREAD)

    HANA HAS A PAPERROUTE,
    ‘NONONSENSE’ that GIRL’s creed,
    “HOP TO IT, KEEP IT UP, SHE’d shout,
    “one HAND IS ALL I NEED.”

    --- “KITTY” KAT MALONE

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  88. Anonymous4:55 PM

    One of the better offerings by the NYT lately. But the bar is much lower than it once was…

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  89. rondo5:53 PM

    @spacey - pretty sure that drip and AMERICANO are different ways to make coffee.
    Nothing overwritten, kinda easy for Friday.
    Wordle whew with four shots at GGGBG.

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  90. Anonymous6:09 PM

    Americano is an Italian term for a watered down shot of espresso, to make it taste like the coffee that most Americans are used to drinking.

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