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Relative difficulty: MEDIUM ***FOR A MONDAY***
THEME: WHAT A RACKET— Theme answers end with words that can be used to describe scams or other devious trickery.
Word of the Day: TAO ("___ Te Ching") —
The Tao Te Ching[note 1] (traditional Chinese: 道德經; simplified Chinese: 道德经) is a Chinese classic text and foundational work of Taoism traditionally credited to the sage Laozi,[7][8] though the text's authorship, date of composition and date of compilation are debated.[9] The oldest excavated portion dates to the late 4th century BCE,[10] but contain differences from the modern one.
• • •
Hey everyone, it's your Rexplacement Eli! Rex got held up at an airport and so I got called in at the last minute to fill in. And now you're stuck with me. I hope everyone in the United States got to enjoy a nice long weekend, even if you struggle to find reasons to celebrate the country.Mondays can be tricky for me to blog. I'm a speed solver, and I tend to solve them so fast that I have to go back and review the grid and clues to actually figure out my thoughts on the puzzle. Today actually held me up a little bit, so I rated it a Medium difficulty. But perhaps more importantly, this felt like a clean and snappy puzzle, overall.
Theme answers:
Theme answers:
- COLOR SCHEME (17A - Decorator's suggestion)
- COMIC CON (25A - Gathering for superhero fans)
- SKATEBOARD TRICK (38A - Kickflip or heelflip, for example)
- BEE STING (40A - Hazard near a hive)
- WHAT A RACKET (60A - "Boy is that loud!" ... or a hint to the ends of 17-, 25-, 38-, and 49-Across)
That out of the way, the themers all felt legit and like a solid group. I especially liked SKATEBOARD TRICK spanning the grid. It's not the flashiest answer, but it has character and fits perfectly. The shorter fill all felt legit and nothing much for me to roll my eyes at. OKRA? UTES? TSK? ORS? It's not much and all pretty forgiveable. A good start to the week, overall. Let's have some fun!
Bullets:
Signed, Eli Selzer, False Dauphin of CrossWorld
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]
Bullets:
- BJORK (49D - One-named singer from Iceland) — I wanted to post a clip of the Mork, Bjork, Bork, or Pork game show sketch from The State, but it turns out it was from Viva Variety. Comedy nerd problems.
- KEN (67A - "Jeopardy!" host Jennings) — I've enjoyed watching Ken grow as a host. I think he's doing a great job (and I'm not just saying that because I'm still waiting for my call to be on the show after going through the audition process 6 times). I met him last year at a book signing and he seemed like a nice guy.
- UMA (19A - Actress Thurman of "Pulp Fiction") - Her introduction to Oprah was a formative comedy moment for me. I love it.
- BALI (39D - "___ Ha'i" ("South Pacific" song) — I made (crossword staple) mai tais last night and my wife put on a tiki bar playlist. This song came on and I sang along (as I do after a drink or two). I majored in musical theater and South Pacific was an experience that got me hooked.
- HOMER (44A - Father of Bart, Lisa and Maggie) — Here's a small selection of Homer Simpson GIFs I have saved on my phone to use as reactions in text threads. I may have a problem.
I think that's all I've got for today. I'll be back a few times in the near future, and I'm excited to spend some time with you all again.
Speaking of spending time with puzzle people, I met one of today's constructors, Andrea Carla Michaels, at a crossword tournament in LA years ago. I had a lot of fun talking to her, as I have with every single person I've met in the crossworld. Just two weekends ago I went to the Westwords Tournament in the Bay Area (6th place - Overall In Person, no big deal), and met so many amazing new friends and people I had only known online. I even met fellow Rexplacement Rafa (who you may remember from the last few days). It was a blast, and I can't recommend going to a tournament enough, even if you don't think you're competitive enough. The atmosphere and camaraderie is unbeatable. Next up is Boswords on July 21 (which I can't attend because I'll be doing a triathlon that day, but you'd better believe I'll be buying the puzzle pack). If you can make it, don't hesitate!
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]
Loved it ***FOR ANY DAY***
ReplyDeleteGreat clues, lots of long exciting answers, Wednesday-level fun on a Monday :)
Thank you for the link to bali Hai. I hadn't heard it for many years and had forgotten how beautifully it was sung in h=th film
ReplyDeleteRe the puzzle. Agree it had character and was maybe medium for a Monday.
Have no treble with "racket" as the reveal. Seems like a good synonym for the others theme endings and thought it was a clever way to use the two meanings of the word.
Easy. No erasures and no WOEs.
ReplyDeleteVery smooth grid, fun theme answers, some fine long downs, great reveal, liked it a bunch. Nice one Daniel and Andrea!
Croce Solvers - Croce’s Freestyle #923 was pretty easy for a Croce. It would have been a wee bit easier if it hadn’t been for a typo in the clue for 25a. The clue should read 29-Down’s not 27-Down’s. Good luck!
A perfectly lovely puzzle sporting a SANER. What's up with the clue for STU? Somebody somewhere was counting down the alphabet with their fat finger syndrome. Dreadfully unfunny.
ReplyDeletePropers: 6
Places: 4
Products: 3
Partials: 2
Foreignisms: 4
--
Gary's Grid Gunk Gauge: 19 (24%)
Recipes: 1 (beta)
Funnyisms: 0 😫
Tee-Hee: COMICCON BRA. Tin foil, maybe?
Uniclues:
1 Nasty noisomeness in Noah's nose.
2 Prime time for cat killers.
3 How one increases the number of Bravoes, Bravae, Braviipodes, and Braveieses.
4 When you order extra crispy at KFC.
5 "I'm not dead" email sitting in drafts folder of lover unfamiliar with Taiwanese laptop.
1 EERIE ARK'S ODOR (~)
2 LILY PEAK SEASON
3 USE OPERA RATS
4 SKIN CRUNCH TIME (~)
5 ROMEO ACER TEST
My Fascinating Crossword Uniclue Keepsake from Last Year: Desire to dye. EASTER EGGS YEN.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Nickname for the 18th electric fish: REEL.
ReplyDeleteNickname for the 19th leg of a marathon: SMILE.
Nickname for the 2nd owie: BEESTING.
Nickname for the 20th German car: AUDIT.
Nickname for Draper's shirts: DONTS.
Nickname for 19th boat: ARKS.
Nickname for 25th short person: LILY
French nickname for 15th letter: LEO.
Nickname for 2nd in command under the dumpster: BRAT
Rap nickname for egocentric country: THA ILAND.
Nickname for eating a Cap'n: CRUNCH TIME.
Nickname for 19th relative: SKIN
Nickname for 15th Italianesque town: ROMEO.
Nickname for expert 18th letter: ACER.
Nickname for the most 20th of all letters: TEST.
Nickname for 14th trip around the sun: YEARN.
Nickname for 19th native: UTES.
STU would AD HOC to his RACKET of LAM and SEASON it with some OKRA SKIN...The ODOR from the LAM was always a SURPRISE, but his SCHEME was to TRICK ones ORAL YEARN.
ReplyDeleteSTU once lived in THAILAND and the AREAS around BALI. I'D SAY he could CRUNCH a SMILE from a CON and make him MELD over the AGRA ROE he wold USE when cooking on BOARD the SEAS he travelled. ARKS would spark... He hit a HOMER with his SCHEME... SANER people would CRY "AYE, Mon ADIEU...what a SURPRISE!" And STU would COO and SMILE from EAR to EAR for the CAMERA!
His ACT wasn't a TRICK. He could REEL a CON in with his ODORS and it as a REEL ROMP for him. He never RESTS nor does he CRY if the STU he is making gets a TSK. What will STING for STU is if the OKRA has no ZIP and if his RACKET of LAM needs more SEASON.
PAULA, His little PEAK, could MELD his LILI heart. They had a PACT...STU would cook, PAULA would TESTS the COLOR HUE and ODOR of the LAM. "It was a HOMER!" she'd COO....! The AUDIT POLLS CAST their PICS and STU definitely hit a HOMER....
STU and PAULA moved to PERTH. IT'S WHAT they felt was SANER and it was TIME.... PAULA liked OPERA NOISE and wearing CAPRIS without a BRA and STU liked to SKATE on his STING BOARD and wear JEANS. There was no WAR in PERTH nor RATS. BEES would ROMP in TAO park and make ZIP ZIP NOISE. It's WHAT they had a YEARN for I'D SAY...They finally GOT IT and would always SMILE for the CAMERA!
WHAT A RACKET!....And that's the truth...
@GILL I. 6:21 AM
DeleteWords cannot describe how much I've missed these. And that's the truth...
Nice write-up by our guest host today. I enjoyed the puzzle as well - a touch more difficult than a run of the mill Monday. The proliferation of the one-named singers is bizarre. It seems like we get three or four of them a week now. Note - crossing BJORK with more PPP (the Jeopardy dude) is bad form in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteI found it easy except for the SW corner, where I needed trial=and-error for the BJORK/KEN cross. Didn't consider the theme until afterwards. Some nice fill without an overemphasis on popular culture.
ReplyDeleteSlightly harder than a typical Monday, but not much so. Surprisingly weak theme for an Acme, I thought. I wonder if Daniel Bodily was the theme dreamer and Acme worked with the fill?
ReplyDeleteCroce’s Freestyle #923 was very easy, with unfortunately one unguessable (for me) square at the 44A/45D cross.
Nice write-up today, Eli. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI used to aspire to be a speed solver but realized I’ll always be in the middle of the pack at tournaments. Now I just take my time and enjoy the fun moments along the way. Sort of like hiking down a mountain and looking at wildflowers versus bombing down the trail on a mountain bike. Different thrills.
As a lover of that particular vegetable, I’m always happy to see OKRA in the grid. Yum!
I like your analogy of mountain biking and wildflowers. I’ve never been interested in speed solving. In fact I discovered the New York Times crossword and the idea of a themed puzzle and this blog by doing the Sunday puzzle and maybe taking all week to finish. One can learn a lot by googling some of the clues.
DeleteHi ACME! Going Downs-only, this was pretty easy… till it wasn’t. So —as usual — I had to look at some across clues. Ah well. In any case, this was a spiffy ACME-infused Monday. A ROMP, IDSAY. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI tried once again to guess the revealer after leaving it blank and filling in the theme answers – something I’m weak at and working to improve on. It gives me a hill to climb on Mondays rather than one to sled down on, much to my brain’s delight.
ReplyDeleteToday I did see the connection between the last words of the theme answers, and that’s as far as I got. I’ll count it as a win-win, at least figuring that part out, and it satisfied my brain’s work ethic. My crusade continues!
This puzzle had a bouncy and fun feel – not surprising, considering the constructors, and some lovely serendipities:
• RACKET abutting NOISE.
• ORAL near TEST.
• A downCAST.
• OKRA on the side.
• PuzzPair© of RACKET and ACER.
• A-ender fest: PAULA / UMA / AGRA/ OPERA / OKRA / CAMERA / BRA.
A splendid outing and a sprightly start to the week. Thank you Andrea and Daniel!
I play Connections before I tackle the crossword and saw where this was gpING after SCHEME, CON, and TRICK. STING was a nice addition and my parents used to say WHATARACKET, so nice revealer. Also liked that the answers had meanings other than "scam". Nice.
ReplyDeleteNothing really stood out for me in this one. Liked CRUNCHTIME and PEAKSEASON and it's always fun to say BJORK out loud.
Just-right Monday, sez me. Nice job DB and ACM. We are Doubly Blessed to have Admirable Crossword Masters collaborate on an early-week puzzle, and thanks for all the fun.
That Viva Variety sketch has been bouncing around my head for (checks notes) oh no, 25 years
ReplyDeleteIt’s always interesting to see a puzzle deemed medium (with qualification that it’s FOR A MONDAY) when I felt like I needed few crosses and had a close to record time (according to my app). Unlike @Rex and others here, my usual solve involves “across” clues and I just keep going until I hit a barrier. One thing that held me up was the double c in COMICCON.
ReplyDeleteI would be interested to know what @Rex would say about a downs-only solve. After I finished I looked at the “down” clues and I suspect they were a piece o’ cake for those that do that.
It kind of makes me sad to see KEN Jennings clued as Jeopardy host now. You know, one of those irrational feelings but there nonetheless. So Ken, if you read this blog, take no offense.
Hey All !
ReplyDeleteNice PuzTheme. We even get a mini-Theme in the related to each other two Long Downs. Well, in my silly brain they're related. 😁
Closed off NE/SW corners, but nothing egregious going on there. Not much dreck, but an ACME grid is usually clean, regardless if she's by herself, or partnered up. Nice to see ACME again, btw. Daniel Bodily is a name I've seen before, also.
Missing letters for a Pangram, the usually Q and X, but also V, and yes, F. I see my advocacy for the F's have fallen on deaf ears. Har. Easily could've gotten one in NE corner.
FOOLS, which would make 1D FACT, and 3D OILY. C'mon, Daniel and ACME! 😁
Hope y'all have a good Monday. At least TRY.
No F's
RooMonster
DarrinV
Just enough CRUNCHTIME for a Monday. Really fun puzzle.
ReplyDeleteOphra. Uma. Okra. Uma.
ReplyDeleteOnly one TRICK answer in the puzzle. WELD is a more apt answer to "fuse together" than MELD, but even with my unfamiliarity with the world of the superhero, I was quite sure there was no such thing as COwICCON.
ReplyDeleteSmooth as always when you have an ACME grid, but s-o-o-o easy. And we all know that ACME has a lively imagination; she thinks up names for things, for heaven's sake! C'mon, girl, give us a challenging Thursday or even a Wednesday once in a while!
MonPuz thUmbsUp.
ReplyDeleteNOISE splatzed right below RACKET was nice.
staff weeject pick: ADS. Extra CON connection members.
Primo weeject stacks, NW & SE, btw.
fave moo-cow eazy-E MonPuz clue: {Farewell, in France} = ADIEU. And M&A never even took a French class.
other fave stuff included: SURPRISE. CRUNCHTIME. PEAKSEASON. BJORK.
Thanx for gangin up on us, Bodily dude & ACME darlin. Cool dupe enders.
Masked & Anonymo5Us
**gruntz**
This one played super easy for me -- probably one of my fastest 5 times ever. I never saw the clues for COLOR SCHEME, SKATEBOARD TRICK or WHATARACKET because I filled them in from crosses. My biggest misstep was ERS for ORS, and BJORK straightened that out right quick.
ReplyDeleteI'll bet ACME & her fans (me included) were relieved that @Rex didn't do today's write-up.
ReplyDelete@RooMonster 8:51 - I have a puzzle (already reject by NYT) that may be of interest to you. Is there a way to get it to you? (Note: if you click on my blue name you can see my email if you want to sent a private message.)
ReplyDeleteEasiest Monday I can remember. With a nice flow. Thanks ACM & Daniel :)
ReplyDeleteNice puzzle. Unusually for me, I could see what the theme was as it developed, but I didn't even imagine I could deduce the revealer, which I thought very appropriate.
ReplyDeleteI grew up across the street from a guy named Bud BJORK, so I always remember the singer's name, although I have no idea about her (or his?) music. All I need for crosswords, fortunately.
My only problem, actually, is that I wanted AYE aye, instead of SIR. In retrospect, I guess that depends on the context in which it is said.
@Nancy, I'm told they allow tipping at the COwICCON.
ReplyDeleteStarted out trying downs only, but ran aground on too many long down answers; switched to regular solve and things moved smoothly.
Quiet day on the Hidden Diagonal Word (HDW) front: TOIL begins with the T in 20A, TRY (I suppose TOILing and TRYing are not unrelated activities).
And there is a lovely semordnilap of HDWs, with PEEK (P in 52A, ZIP) moving to the NE and KEEP (K in 37D, OKRA) headed SW. Take a PEEK, and KEEP on KEEPing on!
ADIEU, to all of YOU (thereare 2 Hidden Diagonal YOUs in this grid)
I occasionally do Mondays, but sometimes it’s hard to find reason to comment on them. Agree, this one was a tad more challenging than usual but a good one all the same and with a novel theme.
ReplyDeleteI read recently where some Jeopardy fans declared WAR on KEN Jennings for rejecting an answer which was the plural form (Bridal Veil Falls) of the correct term, Bridal Veil Fall. Some thought he and the judges were being a little too TSK TSK. I’D SAY it was a tough call either way.
@Eli: Thanks for stepping up today on short notice. I do now and hopefully always will have many reasons to celebrate this country. It’s some of the ones who purport to be leaders of it who frequently give me pause.
I was on Jeopardy in the 90's. I came in second. It's harder in person than it is yelling at the tv.
ReplyDeleteNice Monday, good review.
ReplyDelete“ I hope everyone in the United States got to enjoy a nice long weekend…”
Certainly was for me when my LIL (using HEP “little”) Diva wouldn’t eat or drink for much of it. Seemed as sick as a, sick as a - well, I can’t think of a word to complete the simile.
Would bring her to the water bowl but you can lead, I don’t know, someone somewhere and they don’t do what you want, Wish there were some phrase for that!
Wait. A horse. A HORSE! Of course. OF COURSE!
She was sick as a HORSE!
She’s better now - some people complain when their streaks are over, but I for one was happy to see her 58 hours non-pooping streak come to an end (so to speak)…
27D "Fuse together" As opposed to fused apart?
ReplyDeleteAt the present time there eems to be a current trend of repetitious redundancies in the clue suggestions.
@GILL I…loved your post today!
ReplyDelete@Andrew…so glad to hear “Lil Diva” is better!
@Mr. Arthur…omg…yes! I cannot even imagine how it would be to be a Jeop contestant! I mean, not only do things have to come to your brain at lightning speed, there is the buzzer timing (I’ve heard), PLUS…dammit you are on display…YIKES!
@andrew-Glad things are better, The Brits say "sick as a cat" and when we took a cat for a ferry ride across Lake Champlain when we moved, we found out what that meant, and wished we hadn't.
ReplyDelete@Andy Freude. A lover of OKRA. That’s just sick.
ReplyDeleteDowns only solver here. Two things that really slowed me down: I had ClUtCHTIME at 11D for far too long and 30D “Busiest time to travel” had me thinking Christmas or Thanksgiving or even something to do with rush hour. Finally inferred CAPRIS at 28A and things sorted themselves out.
@misterarthur. I recall one of my sons and a couple of friends watching Jeopardy in our rec room while I was mucking about in the back corner trying to find some fishing gear and I kept shouting out the answers before they could. Not surprisingly, they asked me to leave. Oh how happy they would have been if I had got myself on the in-person version and inevitably gone down in flames.
Nice Monday puzzle. Just hard enough to make me think. Not hard enough to make me cry.
I actually set my personal best for a Monday (and therefore for any non-mini crossword) on this at 2:55, first I've ever broken 3 minutes, so I guess this was in my wheelhouse!
ReplyDelete"At the present time there eems to be a current trend of repetitious redundancies in the clue suggestions."
ReplyDeleteHah! That's pretty rich coming from an account named Richard Rich. lol
I liked the puzzle just fine. Easy. But I especially liked the reference to South Pacific
ReplyDeleteEli commented that South Pacific got him interested in musicals.
The same thing happened to me. (I mean go to see them I am an utterly unmusical person myself)
My Dad was in the South Pacific during WWII and saw the musical on Broadway during his Honeymoon after the War. When I was 8 in 1960 he took my family to see South Pacific in a summer in the round theater.
I was hooked. Towards end of his very long life I took him to see a revival on Broadway It remains one of my favorite musicals.
Thanks Gary J 9:14....I wonder if anybody really reads my crazies....They ain't always easy to mish mash out so I'm glad somebody reads them!!!!! :-)
ReplyDelete@GILL I…MANY people look at your Monday stories…I had commented also on Monday (haha…pat MY back too!). I am ALWAYS amazed at what YOU, Gary J, and Tom T. do. I’m lucky if I do the puzzle AND comment. Oh…shout-out to others like @Egs who always seems to come up with funny word play. Keep them coming baby!
ReplyDelete@Beezer...AHA! There it is! Pat on back, pat on back, pat on back. Thanks, amiga.....We've got some interesting people on this blog; just wish some of the "oldies" would return and some "lurkers" would post....
ReplyDeleteAnother ADIEU COMICCON MELD EERIE puzzle: as welcome as a comfortable pair of JEANS. It's a proper Monday, all right, beginner-easy as usual. I went too fast with AYEaye instead of SIR, but quickly fixed.
ReplyDeleteWordle fans will note the plethora of excellent starters today: ADIEU AUDIT NOISE OPERA. I'll use one.
ITSWAR seems a bit off. Usually you hear "It's ON!" or "Oh, it is ON!" or Bugs' pronouncement "Of course you know: this is WAR!" But it's OK, I GOTIT.
What is BEESTING? I have never beested. Oh wait...is that, like, hunting for wildebeests? All right, I'll stop. Birdie.
Wordle par.
Good theme. Not much junk. Well done Daniel and Andrea.
ReplyDeleteCAMERA CON
ReplyDeleteI’DSAY PAULA DON’T ACT
when A SCHEME makes her CRY,
but the CAST made A PACT,
the TRICK GOT her to TRY.
--- SIR HOMER ROGEN
ACME, Queen of Mondays, makes another appearance; nearly as good as usual. Noticed: ADHOC ADS, SEAS SEASON, BRA BRAT.
ReplyDeleteWordle bogey