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2024 Charli XCX album with a lime green cover / THU 9-12-2024 / Petrichor is the aroma produced by this / "Fathoms ___" (opening song of "The Little Mermaid")
Thursday, September 12, 2024
Constructor: Parker Higgins
Relative difficulty: no idea how difficult the theme is, I solved this without looking at the theme entries because the puzzle itself is very easy; hooray for themes where the entries are valid words + phrases in the grid, so you can fill them in from crosses
Word of the Day: RAIN [Petrichor is the aroma produced by this] — look, I'm not gonna post a definition per se here, but "petrichor" is my favorite word, and tbh I'd go so far as to say it's the prettiest word in the English language; anyway, it comes from the Greek words "petra" (rock) and "ichor" (this is a crossword staple, you already know it's the blood of the gods), which tells you just how beautiful that scent really is, and why I love both the scent and the word...
• • •
Theme answers:
- [LIMB] for LIFE PARTNER ("life and limb")
- [FOREMOST] for FIRST MATE ("first and foremost")
- [READY] for GOOD BUDDY ("good and ready")
- [DINE] for WINE PAIRING ("wine and dine")
And still, a fun puzzle, a nice aha moment deciphering the theme post-solve, some fun phrases (AM I TOO LATE, ALASKA ROLL, some theme entries) scattered throughout, as well as fun clues (BRAT, NFL, OGRE, etc.). Even the clues that were straightforward often felt fun and (more importantly) felt like they were written by an actual constructor: BERET, RAIN, PETS, etc. Overall an enjoyable puzzle; it's not at all what I wanted or expected from a Thursday, but when it's a fun, clean solve, you can't complain too much about it not being tricksy or difficult.
40A: [Insert, as a video in a post]
52D: [2024 Charli XCX album with a lime green cover] BRAT (but brat summer is over, so now we're pumpkin that; also, per charli, "kamala is brat", please register to vote, and vote for kamala)
Olio:
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]
- RISES [Gets ready for the national anthem, maybe] — The "maybe" is doing a lot of heavy lifting here. I do not care to have the national anthem played at sporting events. To put it bluntly: it's jingoistic. It has no place at domestic sporting events, full stop, and I hate how it's been co-opted and turned into a big deal in a post-9/11 world. It's the same sort of "patriotism" (there needs to be more quote marks there) that gave us a certain strain of country music that I also abhor and also wish would go away. I fully support those who refuse to stand for the national anthem (especially in a country that often does not stand for or support you), and even more fully support movements to stop playing the damn thing, period.
- BELOW ["Fathoms ___" (opening song of "The Little Mermaid")] — Did not know the title of this song, but I love the clue because it's fun, you learn something, and you can get the answer immediately even without knowing it; it's the sort of thing I enjoy including when I write trivia, for those reasons.
- OCTET [Large wedding band, say] — Gonna be honest, filled in the -ET at the end immediately and let the downs disambiguate between OCTET and NONET and anything else it might've been.
- SPAYS [Neuters] — How many of you read this clue/answer pair in Bob Barker's (or Drew Carey's) voice?
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]
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100 comments:
The (in)famous Christopher Adams again. But he's behaving himself today so bygones = bygones etc. But let's please get the theme clear:
LIFE and LIMB
FIRST and FORE most
GOOD and READY
WINE and DINE
Okay, then... I agree it was a good but went pretty quick, and the theme helped. I got it right away at LIFE PARTNER. In fact, a bit too quick for Tricky Thursday.
Typeovers: "Progress markers" = MILEposts was too short. "Bills might pass in this" = NBA before NFL cuz all those damn team names, can't keep 'em straight in those American Team sports. (sorry Raptors)
Easy. I whooshed through most of this, paused to see what was going on with the theme (which didn’t take long), and quickly finished.
Erasures: NOD at before TO and SOre before SOFT.
WOE: me too for OTAKU
Smooth, cute, and fun, liked it.
My solving experience closely paralleled @Christopher Adams's. I, too didn't read the theme clues until after I finished and I had no idea about 15A OTAKU, which I got entirely from crosses and 52A BELOW, which I inferred with just the B and the W. Easy.
Not sure why we have a Monday level puzzle late week. I’m assuming the theme is simply to inverse the typical clue - answer model - LIFE and Limb, GOOD and Ready? I don’t know - it’s so brazenly simple I could be wrong.
THE THE
Overall fill is fine but still early week fare. The four long downs made the entire grid - PIANO BENCH and ALASKA ROLL shine. Didn’t know OTAKU - didn’t need to.
Simply not a Thursday solve.
Mumford
Thank you for explaining the theme, which I just couldn't see, and Christopher Adams' explanation was just as opaque, which was frustrating since I came to Rex' site today just for that purpose!
I've never even seen the word OTAKU before today, but as @Christopher said, it was otherwise a relatively easy puzzle. That said, I did use the theme to help finish; LIFE PARTNER was the first one I got and then the theme became apparent--and I liked it. Filled the rest in without too much trouble--although I really wanted dragon ROLL before ALASKA ROLL, but I knew the S from RISES was right and then figured it out when PEEK fell in. A fun way to start a Thursday.
They probably should have run this as a Wednesday, but having a Wednesday in 2024 that isn’t a fill-in-the-blanks puzzle for word search puzzlers isn’t going to sell NYT Games subscriptions.
My thanks too! Fun puzzle but one that could have been any day of the week depending on how quickly (if ever) you figured out the theme. And knew OTAKU. Also highly segmented into four corners.
I stand for the national anthem, listen to country music occasionally (not my favorite genre, I'll admit) and probably won't vote for Harris. I guess that makes me a deplorable of some sort. I suppose it's too much to ask to read a blog about a universally-loved pastime without being "lectured". Safe spaces for me but not for thee!
I enjoyed having a theme that was reasonably straightforward and actually contributed something positive to the solving experience. Others may find it too easy, but it felt just right to me.
The rest of the grid was enjoyable as well. Of course, I have my usual stylistic nits with the Times’ approach - crossing a children’s song with someone apparently named XCX, for example. Similarly, I believe that crossing the nail polish brand (ESSIE?) with the Folk Rock duo is bad form and ventures a little too close to Natick-territory for my taste.
Personally, I could do without stuff like OTAKU and BRUNEI, but it is the NYT and that stuff is always welcome there, so I just put that in the “shut up and eat your peas” category. So, on the whole - an above average Thursday for me.
Super-easy Thursday, despite quite a few WoEs (OTAKU, ALASKA ROLL, ELIE ESSIE) and not understanding the clue for ICE even now.
Didn't I mention just yesterday that I NEVER know nail polish companies? Well, it's still true.
Pretty much a perfect Wednesday, which is fine with me, since Thursday is not my favorite day of the week, often due to the dreaded R word.
I certainly don’t try to solve a late-week puzzle downs only, but sometimes find myself doing it for short stretches. Today I didn’t even see OTAKU until I read Christopher’s post, which is a good thing, since that’s a WOE for me.
Saw the “fathoms” clue and the only song that came to mind begins “Full fathom five thy father lies.” That got me in the ballpark.
OTAKU new to me but filled from crosses. Thought the themers were cute, but way too easy; once you've got one there's no trick left.
Christopher is uncharacteristically polite today. And that's good!
Random thoughts:
• Fantastic theme concept. Bravo to Parker for pulling this out of the ether. It’s a two-level theme, first coming up with “A and B” phrases, then finding lively phrases that use the A word. Try coming up with something like this on your own sometime!
• Nice to see ELOPE abutting LIFE PARTNER.
• For me, lovely mix of areas that splat-filled and others I had to return to.
• Fun to try to figure out the theme answers with few or no crosses, after cracking the gimmick.
• MAYOR crossing AMORAL elicited the word MAYORAL; and IN BAD crossing EMBED elicited IN BED.
• In a past note, Parker said he liked putting in words with unusual letter combinations. Today, I’m thinking it was the BS start of BSIDE. Oh, there are other answers that start this way (i.e., BSHARP, BSTUDENT, BSDEGREE), but not many.
• A trove of smile-producing clues; I especially liked [It might cause some unsurprised looks] for BOTOX.
• Loved OTAKU because I didn’t know it, thus it was satisfying to correctly fill in, not to mention that it looks cool, and is worth remembering.
So, lots of juice in the box today – a rich experience for me. Thumbs up and thank you so much for making this, Parker!
Your life sounds very hard. I’ll pray for you.
p.s. Note that ESSIE (clued with its unindicted co-conspirator OPI) also appears in Today’s LAT grid - so remember, OPI is the nail polish, OXO is the kitchen stuff, and ESSIE, which has a very grid-friendly letter configuration, may become a new member of the crosswordese community (unless it already is, and I’ve just forgotten because I am such a whiz kid when it comes to PPP).
Hey everyone, long time lurker first time commenter.
I did actually know OTAKU instantly but that probably says something about me and who I associate with. Unfortunately I was stuck for like 20 minutes trying to find a stubborn mistake in my completed puzzle. Thought I was going nuts so I checked Twitter hoping it wasn't just me slipping into insanity (it always is) and all the NYT crossword content from the last 24 hours is people repeatedly informing 2D ELIE that they have made the NYT puzzle
Well said, Wideright. It's a shame that many people feel the need to get on their political soapbox everywhere.
Otaku? But PETRICHOR! I will definitely remember that, and thank you Rex for the etymology. Also, love that aroma.
and start a gofundme
Is there a violin emoji? I need a small violin
solved similarly to the court jester: ignored the theme, filled in from crosses, although having “meat” instead of “melt” slowed me down. the clues and fill were well above average but not a thursday-level puzzle at all.
+1 for petrichor, anti-jingoism, & kamala
(following on to my error with “meat” instead of “melt”) i associate MELTs with diners not delis. deli sandwiches (reuben, corned beef, pastrami, etc.) with which i’m familiar may use hot/warmed meat and be griddled/pressed but they’re not melts in the same way a tuna melt or patty melt is.
A little disappointing when the Thursday trick turns out to be clever cluing, but some nice longer answers helped make this a pleasant enough puzz. Learning experience here--OTAKU? "Petrichor"? Nor have I ever partaken of an ALASKAROLL, heard the BRAT album, met ELIE as clued, and didn't remember the BELOW song, although my granddaughter could probably sing it to me.
I do have a PIANOBENCH filled with sheet music however. That's what they're for.
Have to say that the phrase "GOOD and ready" doesn't seem quite as common as the other themers.
Nice enough Thursdecito, PH. Smooth and Perfectly Harmless. Thanks for all the fun.
Blanked out and obsessed on themers , took me forever to get it. Head in the clouds this am.
Lighten up, @Wideright (guessing you're a Bills fan). While I agree with you, the blogger is just as entitled to his opinion as you and I are
As father of 3 young daughters in the early 90s, I watched The Little Mermaid dozens of times and know the songs and dialogue by heart. However, until today did not know the name of that song!
Hey All !
Pretty neat theme. You have the other word that goes with the Themer clue, and a variation of "together with", and they make regular/common phrases, not just gobbledygook.
Plus, ya got the twin pair of Long Downs (10's), and the Center which came out surprisingly clean, considering it is smack dab twixt two Themers.
Funny clue for BOTOX. Just age like your supposed to, leave your features alone. My two cents...
Anyway, good puz, light dreck, fun theme. Unsure why it's a ThursPuz, however. No trickery or other ruse. Oh well, I don't make the decisions at the NYT. 😁 Who knows, maybe we'll get some sort of Themed Tricksy FriPuz. You never know what those wacky kids in the puzzle department are doing!
Har.
Happy Thursday!
Three F's
RooMonster
DarrinV
It does make you deplorable.
Oh, and spay does not equal neuter.
If you want to support the racism, misogyny, homophobia, and political violence of the Republican party by not doing everything you can to keep the convicted rapist and con man out of the White House, you may have to put up with the occasional lecture, GOOD BUDDY.
Still don’t understand the “buddy” part of 46 across. A simple explanation please, anyone?
Nice puzzle but NSFT (Not Suitable For Thursday)
snowflake
My take on the “ Gets ready for the national anthem, maybe “ is the new thinking that people who are unable to stand for physical reasons should not be required to stand during the anthem. The new lingo is something like “please stand, if you are able, for the national anthem”.
You seem to hate Libs more than you love America. Just own it dude!
RP is painful but compared to this reviewer he is a delight.
"Petrichor" is also one of my favorite words! It's so pleasing to say. (And to smell!)
I found this one pretty easy, but it probably helps that I'm familiar with terms like OTAKU thanks to my anime-loving friends and I know who Charli XCX is.
I think of GOOD and READY in this context:
Me: [taps watch] Could you hurry up? I’m trying to catch a plane.
Barista: I’ll get to you when I’m GOOD and READY.
Personal best for a Thursday. No idea what the theme is.
Enjoyable, easy puzzle. Annoying blog today. I don’t read the blog to be exposed to yet more political commentary - on either side. I can get plenty of that elsewhere. Don’t take away my happy place; lighten up - at least in this blog. It should be fun. #I miss Rex
Record Thursday for me!
Another theme puzzle with no revealer. Somehow I finished it without cheating, but only because I got LIFEPARTNER from the crosses and then realized "life and limb" was thematic. The only hard area for me was the NE, because I couldn't come up with MILESTONES until I realized "progress markers" weren't physical things. A lot of misdirect clues, but we expect nothing less on Thursday.
Unusual for a Thursday, to say the least, and I would've liked it better on a Wednesday. Themers were strong but I didn't get the GOOD and READY one at all until I read @okanaganer's helpful explanation.
Christopher, I'm sure your time is valuable and you took some of it to make sure we all got our daily dose of blogging today. Thanks for that. And while you're entitled to also express your personal opinions, you surely know you may have touched a nerve or two this morning. I hate the country music you describe too, but I do believe every single American who got up this morning in this free country owes a debt of gratitude to those who came before us - those who gave THEIR time and some, their lives - to keep it free. Playing and standing for the national anthem is part of how we show respect for their sacrifice. If sitting it out is meaningful to you, that's totally your right. But to many, especially those who have lost loved ones in war, it is a cherished tradition, a way of honoring their memories. To them, to me, referring to those beloved words as a "damn thing" is not just disrespectful, it's cruel and hurtful. But that's just my opinion.
Court Jester indeed. Full disclosure: I am a never-Trumper independent and will happily vote for Kamala in NY, where my choice to vote means she'll carry the state by a jillion and one votes rather than by merely a jillion. But I see nothing wrong with our national anthem, nor with it being played at sporting events. I choose to stand and sing but would not deny the right of others to do differently. It's ludicrous to assert that if something has been "coopted" by those with whom you disagree, said thing should be banished or given up on. Screw that -- take it back, and defang the "coopting". Same with the American flag. OK, 8-Down over.
As for the puzzle...I found it to be a letdown for a Thursday. The theme is actually quite nice, but it should have run on a Wednesday, even with OTAKU. Nothing really exciting, not even the long downs, which are about as milquetoasty as you can get. Lots of boring short stuff too -- how many times do we need to see INON, ETTA, EKE, RNA, ANTE, LEI, IMP, etc.? And do people actually say INBAD (with)?
No music video EMBEDs today, which is too bad because Rex was posting some beauties this week. @Son Volt -- Your usual contributions were especially welcome today; "Uncertain Smile" filled the void very nicely.
Lotta whiners today. Politics have always been a part of this blog. We all get exposed to ideas we don’t like every day. It’s called America and it rules. You want mandatory sanctimony, well that’s tough, I guess. I love how mad Christopher makes some of you all. Love it. 🍿
“He’s painful and I read him every day” lol ok
That BOTOX clue was fun. I only got it with the crosses, but when I saw the answer, I smiled to myself.
I always like it when 1A -- the answer that most of us approach first and with no crosses -- sparks curiosity, and in my case, this one did. I needed the "Y" of YEs, soon changed to YEP, to come up with MESSY.
My Fender Bassman was an ALP -- making it hard to get MILESTONES. My last bit of business was changing ALP to AMP.
I can't tell you how long it took me to come up with REDUX when I had REDU-. Don't ask.
Once I had LIFE PARTNER, I was able to guess all the FIRST words of the theme answers other than the one that went with "ready". I was thinking of ROUGH, not GOOD.
I enjoyed the theme and theme answers a lot. Because of them, I put up with -- albeit through clenched teeth -- the numerous examples today of cluing perfectly ordinary words with pop culture references. BERET. SONS. BELOW. BRAT. Bad choice, I say. Bad, bad choice. To which my dog replies BOWWOW.
Pen
Tails
Sound
(answers BELOW)
Does INBED (41D) mean "Not on good terms (with)" because you're on great terms with that person with whom you're in bed? Or is there something I'm missing?
I like the two layers of the themers, but man this was easy for a Thursday. Anyway, thanks Parker Higgins.
Papermate
Blacktie Wedding
Safe combination
Who the heck is Pete Buttigieg and why am I supposed to know that he’s a mayor? More arcane trivia from the NYT, wow.
Agreed.
“Buddy up” and “pair up” are synonymous, so “Ready” usually is buddied up with GOOD in “Good and Ready”
There was 1 sentence of political commentary. Not that big of a deal.
My objection to Adams is that he is boring.
Liked the theme. Nice puzzle, but a little bland for Thursday.
Um, he ran from President, is our current Secretary of Transportation, he started as mayor of South Bend, IN, served in the military, and is pretty freaking brilliant. HE is not arcane trivia…but knowing he was first Mayor Pete might be…since…it was in Indiana. (And the last part I say lovingly)
Re "let's please get the theme clear".
It's not
FIRST and FORE most
It's
FIRST and FOREMOST
You live under a rock?
Me too. Made no sense but decent “aha” when I understood. A degree of cleverness methought!
Not a real tricky ThursPuztheme, but a good puz. I'm probably about the 50th commenter to mention that.
There *were* some feisty no-knows in the mix, tho. At our house, those included: OTAKU [debut word]. ELIE. ALASKAROLL [sorta inferable, tho]. ESSIE. BRAT. BRUNEI [but does sound vaguely familiar].
staff weeject pick: DUH. a RE ALLY.
OTAKU is actually a pretty cool word. Nice sparkly U to end it with a flourish. M&A wanted desperately to remember it, in his already-full mindpan's x-word archive.
Then later on I got to that there {Nail polish brand with a "Get It Girl" pink} clue. "Ahar!" thought M&A, "I think I know this one! It's OPIKU!"
other faves: AMITOOLATE. ICE clue of mystery. TURRET. Charli XCX albums named for German sausages. BSIDE [evidently = BRAT-side]. BOWWOW and its clue.
Thanx, Mr. Higgins dude. Nice one. Cool MESSY start, btw.
Masked & Anonymo5Us
**gruntz**
So I stared at my finished product and didn't know what to do with it. I don't know why, but Thursdays always put me on this dumb alert mode, especially when I have no idea what I'm supposed to understand....Thank you @okanaganer for making me understand.
Yes, I suppose this was easy because I finished it. I just wish a light bulb moment flashed before my eyes when I wrote in LIFE PARTNER. So what does that have to do with Limb? I sorta saw the LIFE and LIMB thing and went on to dance with my PARTNER. Like a GOOD BUDDY, I just followed unexplained rules and finished the puzzle with HIYA OGRE.
Nothing really gave me any trouble. I learned about Petrichor and RAIN and that OTAKU makes you an obsessive fan of anime. I'll probably file those in my brain somewhere....it's pretty full at the moment. Now if only it would click when I have to spell. Some people are a bit forgetful but I find that as I age, my spelling gets worse.
I always rise and stand for the national anthem. I also pledge allegiance to our flag. When you've lived a lot of your youth under dictatorships, fascism and communism (as I did) the United States is the only place I felt free. I'm not sure why the anthem is played at sports games; I'm assuming there is a story behind it, but I get teary when it's played and it makes me happy I'm an American. My dos centavos.....
MILESTONES.... and welcome to the blog @Eli.
PIANO BENCH makes me think of the great Victor Borge and how funny it was when he fell off of his. Who else would combine classical music and slapstick?
On RISES. About 20 years ago, when I still went to our temple now and then, I was at a holiday service, and I noticed at one point when we were asked to stand that a woman I knew several rows ahead of me was not standing. And then I saw why. She was seated next to a little girl in a wheelchair. And to make the little girl feel less uncomfortable about not being able to stand, she stayed seated too. It was a beautiful gesture I have never forgotten.
Good one, Chasten.
You’ve got to be trolling
It’s like they switched Wednesday and Thursday
Two days in a row with a theme based on common pairs of words; it might have been better to have one of them a week later or earlier. But that's not the fault of the puzzle. It was fun to guess the theme answers, and on the easy side.
There's sort of an "archaic music technology" subtheme, with SIDE B and an album cued by the color of its cover. I do still own some records that could be flipped over, but never play them; it's just so much easier to stream. But actually, Spotify does show you an image of the otherwise-irrelevant album cover, so that's OK.
In my paper, the squares in PETS and OGRE are shaded; I spent too much time worrying about that before I noticed that there was a faint gray smudge running down the entire right side of that page in the Times; some sort of printing artifact, I guess.
Finally, I was born and spent the first two years of my life in Louisville, and can assure you that the OHIO River does not run "through" it. It runs along one side; the other side of the river is Indiana.
Just solve the puzzle, Chris. No need for your political views.
Why can all y'all stop judging each other? A person expressses their opinion (granted it was on a "soap box") and that makes someone "a deplorable". Why can you express/be who you are without judging/labeling? Ever heard of the golden rule [UNTO]?
I wonder if there is a strike on the part of the moderators; @Wideright's original comment is followed by a lot of short responses, some of which are out of line (from both left and right). Disagreement is fine, but no personal insult.
As someone enthusiastically supporting Harris and Walz, I think one of the many good things about their campaign is that they have revived the true meaning of patriotism -- love of our country, including all its people and institutions. I am proud to stand for the national anthem, and even try to sing a few words until the people around me tell me to shut up.
@egs, I never know when you're joking, but 31-D is IN BAD. not BeD.
The puzzle deserves praise for finding a legitimate way to clue THE (67-A). It was so smooth I didn't even notice it.
A lot of 'weird' comments today. While I respect everyone's views, let's try to keep politics out of it (I know I posted something the other day that I shouldn't have "OMG NO!!!" (won't do it again.)
As far as the puzzle, I solved as a themeless & it was easier than most Thursdays. BTW, I do seem to recall this reviewer ...
GOOD and plentY needed to have a little bite taken out of it.
I forgot - liked BOTOX & LAB REPORT A LOT :)
I stand for the national anthem despite its war basis because it’s polite (I stand during others’ church services too, despite my agnosticism). I don’t believe it belongs at every sporting event, although hearing Marylanders emphasize the “O” at the convention made me smile that there were Orioles fans there.
I recite (and believe in) the Pledge of Allegiance, although I omit “the flag of” and “under god”. I do wish one of the candidates did actually believe that an oath to support, preserve and protect the constitution really was a true promise.
I’m sorry you felt the need to complain about Christopher expressing his first-amendment-guaranteed freedom to speak his opinions, but do not believe that you also have disdain for the constitution, unlike 45.
Must be hard to have someone express an opinion (because that’s all it was, no lecture here) you disagree with on the internet. 🥺 I truly feel sorry for your trauma, and hope you get the help and support you need to recover. Well wishes to you and your broken ego 💔
Bravo/brava. Well said!
I wasn't joking, but I was misreading my own correct answer. D'oh!
The anthem is just another nationalist artifact manufacturing consent for the colonial, genocidal American project. If you’ve lost loved ones in wars (esp. in the past half-century), know they died not in some noble sacrifice, but as cogs in a continually imperialist killing machine. Damning the American flag, our silly songs and all that nonsense is not only valid, but imperative. Signed, a true patriot.
It's the paradox of tolerance, babe. We don't have to make a safe space for people who wouldn't do the same for us.
Well, this was SUPPOSED to be a reply comment to Anon above Mathgent and this just shows to go that I still haven’t totally gotten the hang of the new format.
Just read the blog post, DL. No need for your whining.
Playing the national anthem at sporting events has been a traditions since long before this bozo was born. And I hope it will continue long after he is dust.
And I love country music. A recent convert, I’ll admit.
Sorry to have to endure such bashing from someone who is obviously super in love with his own body odor.
I suspect it was meant tongue in cheek 😛
Just a note on RISES [Gets ready for the national anthem, maybe] , and the comment that came with it. I didn't read the "maybe" as nod to protesting the anthem. Rather, I read it as whether people could physically stand up. Increasingly, rather than just saying "Please rise", arena and stadium announcers (and the like) say "Please rise if you are able".
With BERET and RAIN, would have liked to see “Prince’s was raspberry” and “Prince’s was purple” as the respective clues.
Will ignore the politics but not the verbosity: the labyrinth taken in rating the puzzle VERY EASY was the first clue it was an Adams write up. Miss Rex’ relative brevity as well as his sardonic wit.
“Relative difficulty: no idea how difficult the theme is, I solved this without looking at the theme entries because the puzzle itself is very easy; hooray for themes where the entries are valid words + phrases in the grid, so you can fill them in from crosses”
I can't agree with Christopher on the easiness of this puzzle. I found it rather toothy but enjoyable.
Great clue for BOTOX, 50D
Thanks, Parker Higgins!
Not so easy for me today, but I'm working in the middle of a zoo. Hard to concentrate with roofers, electricians, and the regular crew of carpenters and labourers milling about. I count 11 vehicles, mostly trucks, parked on the property. So, Nancy, next time you're complaining about a reno in your building ...
I got it all done eventually and enjoyed most of it, even OTAKU. Thought the themers were all really good and the 4 long downs were above average.
Re: anthems. I'm not against them, per se, but I find it odd that they are performed at professional sports events. My local NHL team is (and this is a guess; I'm not going to look it up) composed of approximately 50% Canadians, 4 or 5 Americans, a handful of Swedes, and a Latvian. There are other nationals rotated in and out of the lineup. Most of the other teams have a similar mix. So why do we just play the Canadian and American anthems? Seems kind of dumb. They're not playing for Canada or the U.S. They are playing for whoever pays them.
Who's PETE BUTTIGIEG, really?
You may have noticed from my posts that I am Canadian and even I know who Pete Buttigieg is. Hardly arcane or trivial.
@Kitshef Why Not? All my life, well at least the last 80 years of it, I've heard neuter and spay use interchangeably.
I "got" the theme with 17A , but could not see how 46 A worked until I read the blog. I think "good and ready" is a fairly common phrase, but it did not come to my mind.
Nope. Given the January 6th insurrection, politics belongs everywhere.
I lost my grandfather in WWII, in the Battle at Montecasino. He was 31 years old. I think he was fighting against Fascism.
It irks me that dictators have elections, and claim they won when they clearly lost. Seems like this happened in US last election, yet I have siblings who support the Fascist like candidate. I can't understand it. I think he lost his life for our right to vote and have our vote counted, among other gifts in a free society.
Las cucarachas salen a las aceras por la noche.
Living in Denver most of my life and on the 11th floor for the last decade, I have very little experience with bugs. Now, here in the Land of Enchantment, when I take the dog out for her last walk of the night, there are cockroaches ... fast cockroaches ... doing whatever cockroaches do at night on the sidewalks. I gotta be honest. Not A Fan.
I am a fan of this puzzle and found it quite challenging. My brain is admittedly pickled from my current living situation, but the theme here seems above my pay grade. GOOD BUDDY took every cross. It didn't help having REDOX for REDUX.
In the spirit of our sharp #! discussion yesterday that even drunkenness couldn't cure, ICE is made out of water (or drugs) and glass blocks are made out of sand, and having a Ph.D. in ICE (having used it in beverages for more than 50 years), I don't believe it's insufferably pedantic to say this clue is another sign society has gone to the (quite tasty Ohioan) dogs and a reason to vote for dictatorial totalitarianism and get rid of democracy because these iPhone children won't be able to handle the future if they're gonna use glass in their beverages.
Propers: 3
Places: 2
Products: 6
Partials: 5
Foreignisms: 3
--
Gary's Grid Gunk Gauge: 19 of 78 (24%) (Way to go Parker!)
Funnyisms: 6 😅
Tee-Hee: SPAYS FIRST MATE.
Uniclues:
1 A cat for non-Republican ladies.
2 Every politician in October.
3 Deciduous muscle relaxer.
4 Diner offering targeting sassy kids featuring a hot sandwich of whatever.
5 Typical reaction to the phrase, "Wanna get outta here?"
6 Purple poetry.
1 ALT LIFE PARTNER (~)
2 FALSE GOOD BUDDY (~)
3 ELM BOTOX (~)
4 BRAT SHRUG MELT (~)
5 SPEEDY NOD TO
6 AMORAL IAMBS (~)
My Fascinating Crossword Uniclue Keepsake from Last Year: Bushranger's banyan branding. PIONEER'S TINKLE.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
It has been 4 days since our last rap-themed clue.
3 missed opportunities for fill-in-the-blanks rap clues today:
Da BRAT
BOWWOW (ne Lil')
ICE Spice (or T or Cube...)
It's a Thursday, so we also would have accepted pIMP c and Digable PLANEts.
No lie - I won't stand for this! I'll take a knee and sit this one out. Seriously, we need a different national anthem.
Not everyone who does puzzles is political. Rising for the National Anthem is a thing, known to any [American] puzzler, in no way obscure or offensive.
NEUTER <> SPAY. Someone needs to repeat veterinary school... or possibly just sex-ed!
There was a paragraph of rant about a 4 letter word - “rise”. First sports and now puzzles - ugh!!!
Thank you Christopher Adams. . . . i'm glad to see you take on the shallow flag waving jingoism (which is not real patriotism)
Agree - after not having to think about much of any of the answers, and plunking it all in, I double-checked - was this a Tuesday puzzle, instead? (I do all my NYT puzzles a week or a month or so late, not on the day of.)
Did not like this one. The gimmick went way over my head and when I saw what was happening after I came here my reaction was a painful groan. Soving was no problem. But my brain hurts after trying to figure out the theme.
The puzzle took a little longer to do than it should have, because I kept trying to make the clues and answers harder than they were. I enjoyed the theme, and liked the long downs, but it was not really what one would call Thursday hard Times-wise.
Echoing a common sentiment here:: it IS Thursday, right? Where's the trickeration? The rebi? Or even a single rebus?? Reverse idioms, that's IT? Belongs Tuesday. But, at least fairly well done, and has some halfway feisty clues. Will take. Birdie.
Wordle par.
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