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Comic Gillis / FRI 9-13-24 / Boon for grizzly bears / Old ___ country standard performed by Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley / Numbers 1 through 36 are found in it / Extraterrestrial menace in 5-Down / Eyed food, informally / Sch. in Ypsilanti whose mascot is an eagle, not another large bird
Friday, September 13, 2024
Constructor: Boaz Moser
Relative difficulty: Medium-Challenging
Word of the Day: XENOMORPH (36A: Extraterrestrial menace in 5-Down) —
The xenomorph (also known as a Xenomorph XX121, Internecivus raptus, or simply the alien or the creature) is a fictional endoparasitoid extraterrestrial species that serves as the titular main antagonist of the Alien and Alien vs. Predator franchises. [...] The xenomorph's design is credited to Swiss surrealist and artist H. R. Giger, originating in a lithograph titled Necronom IV and refined for the series's first film, Alien. The practical effects for the xenomorph's head were designed and constructed by Italian special effects designer Carlo Rambaldi. Species design and life cycle have been extensively augmented, sometimes inconsistently, throughout each film // Unlike many other extraterrestrial races in film and television science fiction (such as the Daleks and Cybermen in Doctor Who, or the Klingons and Borg in Star Trek), the xenomorphs are not sapient toolmakers — they lack a technological civilization of any kind, and are instead primal, predatory creatures with no higher goal than the preservation and propagation of their own species by any means necessary, up to and including the elimination of other lifeforms that may pose a threat to their existence. Like wasps or termites, xenomorphs are eusocial, with a single fertile queen breeding a caste of warriors, workers, or other specialist strains. The xenomorphs' biological life cycle involves traumatic implantation of endoparasitoid larvae inside living hosts; these "chestburster" larvae erupt from the host's body after a short incubation period, mature into adulthood within hours, and seek out more hosts for implantation.
• • •
After that, things settled into normalish Friday territory, but I was still thrown off repeatedly by a cluing style or voice, and a cultural frame of reference, that I just didn't connect with. I had the SH- at 23D: Improve, as an argument, and was certain it was SHORE UP ... only to find out it was SHARPEN. Had the -MORPH part of the Alien answer but absolutely no idea what the first part should be. Eventually reasoned XENO- from my knowledge of what that prefix means (namely, "alien"), and assumed (then) that XENOMORPH was a generic term for "alien life form" ... only to find out (Word of the Day!) that it's a franchise-specific life form found exclusively in Alien properties. Huh. Not a franchise I've spent a lot of time with, so ... shrug. No idea what this alleged country "standard" is ("Old SHEP"), and no idea who SHANE Gillis is, so that cross was ... fun! (Though absolutely not a Natick—"S" is the only good guess there, though it would've been hilarious (to me and my headache) if it had been "Old WHEP" and WHANE Gillis, which sounds like a comedy duo to rival Wayland Flowers and Madame.
I don't know what you call this particular clue style: 49D: A good way to feel / 34A: Bad thing to be out of (or why one of those clues starts with an indefinite article and the other doesn't), but it's not my favorite. It could be bad to be out of ... TIME, LUCK, YOUR MIND, TOILET PAPER ... sigh. That SEEN / DEN crossing was oddly hard for me, as I thought the ottoman itself had a setting (low?) or else we were dealing with actual historical Ottomans, and thus some location in the Middle East (or its time zone?). Do homes still have DENs? It's such a funny word. It's just a room with a couch and a TV, possibly a fireplace? What any of that has to do with bears, I have no idea. Speaking of bears, I liked SALMON RUN, as well as "DON'T ANSWER THAT" and "CITATION NEEDED," though those are the only answers that rise to the zingy standards I have for marquee answers on a Friday. SIX FIGURES and ACTION POSE aren't bad, or at least they seem original, but SIX FIGURES is kind of off-putting (innocent enough, but my brain keeps hearing it in the voice of a certain kind of guy who likes to talk about what he earns and what other people earn ... he's not a pleasant guy), and ACTION POSE ... not sure why I'm neutral on that one. I think it's a standard enough term from drawing and comics. A static rendering of a body in movement. I guess one could pose *as if* one were performing an action, that might count too. I dunno ... answer's fine, just not exciting the way the more colloquial stuff, and the grizzly bear stuff, was.
Bullets:
[Warning: aggressively sentimental dog death]
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]
- 9D: Account of a wild night out? (TAB) — if you have a wild night out of drinking, then you might end up with a sizable bar TAB (an actual, financial "account" of your drinking)
- 48A: Sources of high-quality wool (ALPACAS) — read this as "high-quality wood" and was briefly flummoxed. "AL...DERS? AL...ABAMA?"
- 9D: Numbers 1 through 36 are found in it (TORAH) — lol no idea. Baffled. Completely got me. Even when I got it, I didn't get it. Figured that my not being Jewish was the problem here, but ... no. No specialized knowledge required, really. There are 36 chapters in (the Book of) Numbers, which is one of the first five books of the Bible, i.e. the TORAH.
- 33A: Sch. in Ypsilanti whose mascot is an eagle, not another large bird (EMU) — Eastern Michigan University, right down the street from where I went to grad school (Go Blue). YPSI has been in the puzzle just once, but I would welcome it back with open arms.
- 45D: Eyed food, informally (TATER) — read this as "Eye food," which I assumed was something like "eye candy" (!??), and thought "do we call hot people TATERs now? What TikTok trend did I miss this time!?" Did I mention I woke up with a headache? Ugh.
Gonna go eye some (non-potato) food now. Actually, first coffee, then sit in "DEN" do Wordle, later food. Good day.
[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]
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116 comments:
I think you nailed it- the clueing *style* was just .. off
Didn't love this one
Definitely off-beat and difficult enough. Took me a few time through to settle into the voice. Liked the two long near spanners fine. Never saw Alien so that double up had to be backed into.
And what costume shall the poor girl wear?
SALMON RUN and SUN TEA are both cool - but agree with the big guy on SIX FIGURES - just seems to be a brag. The ON ACID bit is getting old for the NYT.
Pleasant enough Friday morning solve.
SHANE
Don’t feel bad, Rex. I’m an Orthodox Jew living in Israel and also had no idea why TORAH was the answer to that clue until you explained it.
Up early, so I did my first NYT puzzle in a few years. I still hate trivia, but succeeded.
I think the taters clue refers to potatoes, which have eyes.
The word “potato” is literally in the write-up
I really liked the EMU clue/joke. Thought it was pretty cute.
For some reason this puzzle just kind of fell into place for me. Beat my average Friday time by almost 7 minutes! Some of the clues didn't make a lot of sense, but the crosses helped me out. Happy Friday, y'all.
SOLI and PORTO together in the middle sum this one up nicely - I’d put this one in the “oddball” category. There’s nothing innately wrong with it, but the “voice” or “style” just seems off.
When Rex has trouble getting out of a section that contains ABS, ACME, MALE CRAP and PEANUT, then you know the cluing is, how shall we say, a touch unusual.
I agree with the big fella that SHEP and SHANE might feel a little out of place hanging out together in a Friday grid, and I’m betting that Cotten-Eyed Joe probably feels as though he has better things to do today as well.
Opposite experience today for me, actually my Friday record! As a younger solver the cluing did feel a bit awkward but the answers are all in my lexicon, except SHEP and XENOMORPH which were inferable. Constructor is my age which always helps!
pALID before VALID for "fair" (thinking of pallid), cost me some.
And pAStor before VASSAL.
And tRAdeNAME before BRANDNAME.
But once I got out of the NW, things went swimmingly. A very enjoyable puzzle for me, and the cluing felt spot on.
This definitely played medium/challenging for me too. I agree with everything Rex said, except that everything he saw as a bug I saw as a feature. The cluing was "off," yes, but in exactly the way I like. I enjoyed many "aha" moments. Two thumbs up from me.
This is a jackknife, which, as you can see, would be good for your abs: https://images.app.goo.gl/VuFxNNNzsCoa4gQK9
Also, when something “craps out,” it ceases to work. “I’ll pick you up at the airport if my old car doesn’t crap out.”
No mention of POP?! Never heard of “rock pop” or “Rocks pop,” probably just more TikTok references for the Zoomer generation.
A good, solid Friday. Nothing earth-shattering, but no garbage either.
Randomness:
-- Favorite entry is SALMONRUN.
-- Nice trivia for the state MOTTOs.
-- Odd clue choice for SIXFIGURES. Doctors? Really? Yes, I'm sure many/most earn that much, but is that really a hallmark of the profession?
-- Erratum: tRAdeNAME >> BRANDNAME
-- Speaking of which...XENOMORPH is a BRANDNAME? Interesting.
-- Had AN**** for 26-A and considered ANtius. 😊
Feel better, Rex.
I got a kick out of the Doctor figure...but of course "six figures" doesn't mean much these days--no bragging rights with that. tip money for Elon musk
Boaz has shown in this debut that he has the chops. The grid is clean. The two marquee spanners – DON’T ANSWER THAT and CITATION NEEDED – are terrific and fresh.
Best of all, I believe, was the cluing, through which Boaz’s personality shined. Time and again today I resisted putting in an answer because either there were several possibilities, or because I was simply and totally flummoxed. But every time, eventually, when the answer filled in, it made perfect sense. That’s very good cluing.
Boaz went the extra mile in the cluing, and here are two examples.
• MOTTO has shown up in the major crossword outlets more than 100 times, but never clued by contrasting the language of state mottos.
• He took a dry answer, APTLY, and made it dazzle with the Vin Diesel clue.
So, he has the cluing knack. Upper tier, iMO.
Boaz, I learned from your notes at XwordInfo that you’ve been making puzzle for less than a year and a half. Wow!
I also learned that you’ve got another themeless in the queue. I’m greatly looking forward to that after today’s splendid outing. Thank you. This was a jewel!
Started off like @Rex - nothing in the NW, skipped over and got that section, but what really got me off and running was dropping in DONTANSWERTHAT cold. That sent me down the East and basically went clockwise and finished in the NW, which was basically helped by the long downs BRANDNAME and SALMONRUN, because also like @Rex the short crosses just weren’t clicking.
All in all a decent Friday, but I certainly benefited from some trivia familiar to me (hey SHANE and ALIEN). I also settled into voice fairly quickly after the aforementioned DONTANSWERTHAT. Was just under 20 minutes which is kinda my unofficial barometer for Friday toughness.
POP rock (genre), POP rocks (candy)
Pop rock, as in the music genre, and Pop Rocks, as in the candy
POP Rocks candy and POP rock music genre.
Bamidbar would have thrown too many others off 😊
Very tough, but I managed to finish it without cheating after a long ordeal. I thought SIXFIGURES was beautifully clued, but I only got it after getting LAX from "laissez-faire." The hardest part for me was the NW, because I couldn't accept CRAP (out) from "fall." It's a losing result with dice, but it means fall? SALMONRUN only came to me after I remembered that "cob" was a male mammal of some kind. All in all, a well constructed piece of work.
Agreed, Lobster11. Maybe because of OFL's aches or because it's Friday the 13th, but I thought a guest might be doing the write-up today.
Same experience as OFL in the NW, but unlike him I skipped around and landed on Old SHEP, which gave me a toehold. Didn't lead to SHANE though (who?). I'm with our host on the TORAH information too--all crosses needed.
Have never seen any of the Alien series, and the only ______MORPH types I know are endo-, ecto-, and meso-, so I learned something there.
Had the G from GIRDS and the U from SUNTEA and wanted the "what doctors make" answer to be some kind of GUESS, and was hoping it wouldn't be a LUCKYGUESS, which wouldn't do much for my faith in doctors.
Wound up liking this a lot, BM, even though I Badly Missed where you were going with a lot of the clues. Good workout, and thanks for all the funs.
don't think your headache was the problem. did not enjoy this one at all.
I believe it's "pop rock" (music genre) and "Pop Rocks" (candy)
Agree with Lewis, excellent cluing with just enough toughness to keep it medium for me. 9D clue my favorite.
Rex, suspect hot shower and tea/coffee will take care of your problem, hopefully you're back to yourself by tomorrow
Liquids + gym appears to be doing the trick, thx! ❤️ ~RP
Try Pop Rocks and pop rock. The former is a BRAND NAME of an effervescent candy that resembles little rocks, and the latter, ugh, ok it’s a thing but…
Shane Gillis is a top comic these days... he's hysterical. Super clue for TORAH, wow! Medium Challenging here too, it felt like like an accomplishment to make it to the music.
Easy-Medium for me. I had an easier time than Rex? Savor that smug feeling, Benbini, it probably won't last for long...
Slow start here - as others have noted, perhaps due partly to cluing voice, partly to my simply not seeing many of the answers without crosses - or just silly mistakes - had trademark instead of BRAND NAME at 2D, for example. More familiar with the Illinois directional universities - so started with _MU at 33A.
But eventually worked up from the bottom, and finished in a little longer than average time for a recent Friday. "Alien" answers reminded me of someone at summer job in Carbondale giving away spoiler to that movie - that soylent green is people. What? Oh, wrong spoiler.
Something about the clue for "enact" seems slightly off. I think of to enact as to pass a bill or law - which often (usually?) has a later effective date. Or maybe that distinction craps out.
Thanks for the puzzle, Boaz Moser.
@Rex: Seriously, with symptoms like that you ought to see a doctor. It's probably nothing to be concerned about, but it's worth getting checked.
I found it a lot easier than OFL did. At 1A I didn't get that jackknives (the dives) carve abs (the muscles). All I could think of is that when I tried to carve a stick with a jackknife (knife), all I got was a pointy stick, but that didn't fit.
ACME (Hi, @Acme!), CRAP and BRAND NAME at 1D, 12A and 2D gave me the corner.
At 9D I got the reference but not the religion. I guessed kORAn before TORAH.
I had SIXF... at 17A and thought that maybe doctors who golf may make SIX Foot putts, but that didn't fit.
My only WOE was the capital of Benin (29D), but it was easily inferrable since I had POR-- before looking at the clue.
Re 25D, if the tying or go ahead run that creates the blown save is unearned, the ERA does not increase
Came here to say: jackknife/jackknives are an exercise similar to crunches/sit ups.
Hey All !
North was crazily tough for some reason. Had the ALIEN/ALAMO cross, and ... nothing. For a while. Missing answers in the NW and NE also. Finally got SUNTEA, which eventually let me get NE corner. Not sure what finally broke to get NW (PARTY, maybe?), but sussed it all out to get to Happy Music. Whew!
Neat to see ACME and APEX, clued the same. It's usually either/or, today we get both!
So good, tough FriPuz. Don't recognize constructors name. Debut?
Made it to Friday. Now if only the weekend was longer...
Two F's
RooMonster
DarrinV
Is airport security in Los Angeles LAX? Do they offer travelers cozy terminal lairs in DEN? Good films in Montgomery (MGM) and food in Yuma (YUM) - but sadly, this didn’t turn into an airport code Friday.
Had much the same experience as Rex (without the aches and pains) - also read wool as wood. Fortuitously, I have an eye test this morning…
Only after solving the puzzle did I realize that it was Friday, so themeless. Up till then I had been trying to make something out of those two long acrosses with an X in them. My other problem was that some answers, while VALID, didn't seem to me to count as things that people say. E.g., ACTION POSE-- I knew it was ACTION, but not at all sure about the POSe part, which made me reluctant to fill in those crosses unless I was really sure -- so NSA was fine, POP less so.Similarly, I had tRAde NAME before BRAND.
That said, there were some lovely answers, including those I just mentioned, and some nice twists in the clues.
I'll be back later -- but not IN A SECOND, I play with my recorder ensemble from 11-12:30, and it's about 50 minutes each way, so after 2, probably.
First answer I felt sure of was PARASAILS. Floated around after that without getting a grip.
Went off to do the rest (Wordle, Connections, Bee), came back and suddenly it was POP rocks everywhere, whoosh, whoosh. Liked the clue for MOTTO. For 42A I was thinkinkg ensuED, but then there was 55A, and, you know, CELERY,
Finished in average time, so more medium than challenging.
Wonderful puzzle, devilishly clued. And the marquee clue/answer for my money -- quite literally speaking! -- is SIX FIGURES. Ah, yes -- especially if you live in NYC. Never mind that it took you decades and decades to reach a grand old age of (well-beyond) Medicare eligibility. The only internists accepting new patients now are "concierge doctors" and what are their "concierge fees"? You really don't want to know.
This is definitely a "Nancy puzzle". Very few little bits of arcane trivia knowledge required and instead unusual and twisty clues to figure out. Some of my other favorites today: ABS (1A); BRAND NAME (2D); CITATION NEEDED (43A); EMU (33A); ACTION POSE (50A); ERAS (25D).
One write-over: SHoRe up before SHARPEN for "improve as an argument".
Before there was old SHEP -- or maybe around the same time -- there was old BLUE. "You're a good dog, you!" Remember him? But I waited to write it in...and then happily didn't.
Had TAt instead of TAB initially for the late night partying “account” thinking, “well if you don’t remember the night before and it got so wild you got a tattoo that you don’t remember getting, that’s sure got a story to tell.” That made me laugh til I had to change it.
No no I’m fine (now), thanks ~RP
I say crap out all the time. Don’t be such a fuddy-duddy.
lol only a fuddy-duddy would say crap out
Rex, to quote my favorite hypochondriac Larry David, "Have you been in any tall grass lately?". I've heard ticks are more abundant this year with the mild winters, and Lyme disease is more common! That jaw pain has me concerned.
Oh and this puzzle was cool.
Dr. Nancy to the rescue! Rex -- I've been waking up much too often recently with terrible jaw pain. (Neck pain/stiffness is with me always and has been since I was in my 20s.) I haven't had headaches -- but all these things can go with TMJ.
I self-diagnosed that TMJ was probably the problem by Googling, but was headed for my doctor for a checkup a few weeks later anyway. My doctor took one look at the problem area I was pointing to and said without hesitation that it was definitely TMJ.
I don't want to do the "wear a bite plate at night" thing, so I'm living with the ailment right now. And I always remember the immortal words of my late, very wise father about any and all ailments: "It will either get better or worse."
And it actually has gotten quite a bit better than it was at its worst.
Maybe your mal de tete shares the same cause as my not infrequent jaw-aches lately: we're in the middle of a somewhat contentious and insanely annoying national election with huge consequences.
Good comments today Andrew! I had my eye check yesterday…oof on the dialation…drove home with both MY sunglasses and the disposables they gave me. Yikes…I made a good decision to not go home via highway cuz I was likely a potential road menace!
Spot on. Blown clue/answer by the editing team.
I still remember with joy the day we got indoor plumbing and no longer had to CRAP out.
Why is the holder of your delinquent mortgage like a sci-fi franchise that is using your home to shoot a scene with a XENOMORPH on your roof? They both put ALIEN on your house.
The day that @Rex and @Lewis agree on a puzzle? That'll be the day that pigs fly and SALMONRUN.
I liked this debut a lot. Yes, the cluing voice was different, but that's a good thing IMHO. Thanks and congrats, Boaz Moser.
My solving experience was part-Rex, part Bob Mills, and I share Nancy’s opinion of the puzzle. It was my kind of puzzle…the kind where I think I’m going to have to cheat to get a toe-hold, I hang in, and then pat myself on the back when I finally finish without cheating! I thought the clueing was just…clever…and I never thought it was “off.”
I don’t know…is it really “bragging” (or however it was characterized) to acknowledge that medical doctors make SIXFIGURES (especially in 2024)? More power to those that take on that profession, and keep in mind they aren’t making the big bucks (especially on an hourly basis) when they are interns and doing residency.
I know this is nitpicking: I'm not Orthodox but I'm well versed in the Torah, still the "1 through 36" stumped me in the context of the Torah. The "Numbers" explanation is also a bit dicey because if you look at a real "Torah" (the scrolls kept in the ark in synagogues containing the Five Books of Moses) you'll see that aren't there any chapter and verse divisions (also no punctuation or musical signs although there's quite nice paragraphing), making the reading extremely difficult (ask any bar/bat mitzvah boy or girl). All the above, including the chapter and verse divisions, were introduced into the very ancient script around 700-800 CE by a group of scholars called the Masoretes ("Traditionalists") who lived in Tiberias on the shores of Lake Galilee. Still I'll admit that even in a printed Hebrew Bible (the "Old Testament"), which follows the Masoretic editing, the 5 Books of Moses are indeed known collectively as "Torah" providing the first letter of the Hebrew acronym for the Old Testament, i.e., "Tanakh" (pronounced "Tanach") - T for Torah, N for Nevi'im ("Prophets," including the narrative books) and K for Ketuvim ("Writings" like Psalms and Proverbs etc.) so in the spirit of the coming high holidays, I'll forgive Boaz Moser
I am 81. A comic Gilles is “Dobie”, without question. (1959 TV sitcom)
Mediumish. Like @Rex and others I got off to a slow start with nothing in the grid until ALAMO, LAX,and IMF. As I bounced around it got a little easer and I finished a tad under my average Friday time.
Never heard of SHANE Gillis and the TORAH clue was also a WOE.
Smooth grid with some crunchy clueing and a bit of sparkle, liked it.
I'm surprised by today's difficulty rating. This was just another fun Friday for me with just enough unknowns and write overs to keep it from being boring.
yd -0. QB19
When we do Wordle here at the house, we check the list of used words. Until today, no word had been used twice.
I needed two cheats to get a foothold (XENOMORPH, HORDE) and then it fell apart.
Hungry Mother! So happy to see you back. I thought of you often and wondered where you went.
Especially common now that extra innings start with the free runner on second.
Had first DNF in a good long spell and not even a headache for an excuse. PO? did me in, and I finally hit reveal letter after running the alphabet twice without taking a P. Maybe another cuppa will help?
Here's a clue for a Hidden Diagonal Word (HDW) from today's grid that would be Friday/Saturday level for some and Monday/Tuesday for others:
Drang's partner
This puzzle played on the easy side for me, for a Friday, which means I moved through it steadily and finished in under 30 minutes. Like Rex, I couldn't get going in the NW, but unlike Rex, I was not dealing with head or jaw or neck pain. The rest of the north fell into place and eventually I got back to the NW from below, with SALMON RUN offering the most useful break-through.
I did, like Rex and others, go immediately to SHoRe up (23D) and was a little slow to let it go so SHARPEN could find its rightful home.
Answer to the HDW clue? A dandy 5-letter HDW:
STURM (begins with the second S in 4D, VASSAL, or, if you prefer, the second S in 19A, ENMASSE, and moves to the SW)
Are you delighted with this latest Hidden Diagonal Word post? (CRAP, DON'T ANSWER THAT!)
Bye, y'all.
i liked this puzzle. i feel like it's been awhile since i've solved a puzzle that wasn't either too easy, or too hard in a boring way. but maybe i'm just influenced by the ALIEN content, which i like very much. we have several xenomorph figures, even. it did play slightly on the side of easy for me, for a friday, so i was surprised to see rex say it was harder for him...but when you aren't feeling 100% for any reason that can really do a number on the solve for sure. glad to read he's feeling better.
was funny to see ACME and APEX arranged like that, celebrating a stalwart crossword kealoa. i think pep before NIL, heRDS before GIRDS, and getting my colleges and old timey folx mixed up by writing in VASSAr were the few writeovers. overall the clues were fun for me to figure out, and i didn't have any "if you say so" moments during the solve which was a breath of fresh air. the last thing i puzzled on was PEANUT. the puzzle was complete, yet here i sat, wondering. but i resisted coming to the blog until i figured it out and indeed it was a satisfying forehead slap.
-stephanie.
Tough to get a toehold but did eventually in the SW . Once I saw eyed food had to be tater I thought ooh it's going to be one of those puzzles! Very enjoyable with the right mindset
The NW almost left me with a DNF, but was finally able to piece it together after many false starts. Had ACME where APEX ended up, which made me think the alien was either an endoMORPH or an ectoMORPH which screwed me up for the longest time. swan before MALE, Conk before CRAP, msU before EMU. The only answers I was pretty sure about were DONT ANSWER ME and ANNUAL and I even started second-guessing those after not getting anywhere for a while. The rest of the puzzle was normal Friday-level challenge. Finished in 34:19 - more than half that time spent in the NW.
This was slow going for me and took a while. Plus, the fact I was in no hurry to get started and took my time enjoying the petrichor of this cool late summer morning. Not a lot of rain, but much needed and most appreciated.
Even though it left me feeling a little SORE from the effort, I liked your debut, Mr. Moser. Lots of interesting entries and clues that made me think. I learned XENOMORPH is what you call THAT hideous ALIEN thing. Not a sci-fi fan, but did watch it ONCE, then DONE. John Wayne and The ALAMO are much more my speed.
Sorry! I misread the used Wordle words. Today's word hasn't been used before.
I haven't read anybody yet...including @Rex because I don't want to hear anything bad about this puzzle or nitpicking on a word or phrase or about standing for the national anthem so I'm just quickly going to say that I LOVED THIS PUZZLE. There!
I have to run now but I'll be back to add my two cents.....
Oh wow, luved it. Both ALIEN and XENOMORPH were gimmes, for this weekly schlock flick-fest regular. Coulda almost went ahead and made it a schlock-themed (tm) FriPuz ...
1. {Sci-fi franchise since 1979} = ALIEN.
2. {Extraterrestrial menace in 5-Down} = XENOMORPH.
3. {"In Space No One Can Hear You Scream", for 5-Down} = MOTTO.
4. {How the Nostromo crew felt, for at least 67% of 5-Down} = BESET.
5. {Number of times Ripley killed a 5-Down in 5-Down} = ONCE.
6. {Number of times a 36-Across aptly offed a human in 5-Down] = OFT.
etc.
staff weeject pick: DOI. = {Reply to Ripley from Ash when asked if he liked non-humans?}.
Thanx for the fun, Mr. Moser dude. And congratz on yer extra-schlocky debut.
And hats off to Bolaji Badejo for his primo performance, as the 5-Down/36-Across.
Masked & Anonymo4Us
**gruntz**
My favorite type of puzzle… very tough… but ultimately I prevail.
5 days since our last rap-themed clue.
2 missed opportunites for fill-in-the-blanks rap clues today:
POP Smoke (breakout song: "Welcome to the PARTY")
Lil' CEASE (of 90s group Junior M.A.F.I.A)
Lil' CEASE is kinda obscure, but his bandmate, Lil' Kim, should be no stranger to puzzlers. Had to include them to illustrate the ERAS-spanning appeal of "Lil" in rap names.
My shortest job ever. I was left alone in a room with bags of plastic chips and, basically, a popcorn machine. I was to pour the chips into the machine, which popped them into PEANUTs, which I then unloaded into large plastic bags. They provided no mask or ventilator.
After making a few bags and breathing microplastics for about 10 minutes, I left the room and said goodbye.
I reported the business to a government agency. Since then, I've had no problem with the standard crossword staple fill OSHA.
Well, that was quite a workout! Whoever heard of OLD SHEP? COTTON-EYED JOE? SALMON RUN? From a lot of their egos, I thought doctors made more than SIX FIGURES.
Congrats on your debut, Boaz. Hope to see you again soon - maybe on a Wednesday? :)
Something something wheelhouse. This was an easy one for me.
But if the run is earned, it does, so I don't see the problem. You can't cover every possible case in a seven-word clue.
I'm definitely calling all hot people taters from now on. Whoohoo, look at him, what a total tater!
For whatever reason, this seemed very easy. Basically read the clue, type in the answer. A few dreaded Unknown Names -- PORTO, SHANE, SHEP -- but they got filled in by crosses. The S at SHANE / SHEP could have been a problem if it wasn't such an obvious guess. The longer answers were nice, particularly CITATION NEEDED.
For "Gets high on a kite", wanted KITE SURFING. That is fun to watch on a breezy day! And doesn't PARASAILING use... a parachute, not a kite? Most of the images on Google show that; only a few show a wing type parachute which is a bit similar to a kite, I guess.
Early typeover at 1 down: PEAK then APEX before ACME. But then APEX right below it. Also hands up for SHAPE UP before SHARPEN.
[Spelling Bee: yd 0, QB streak 12. Hiya, puzzlehoarder!]
Very challenging for me. Literally a 57 minute solve time. And two separate 30-1:00 breaks in between. This one stifled me in the whole northern half. However, I did persevere with no cheats! But this was well harder than any Saturday so far this year for me. I guess the voice just never matched for me.
Upside - it’ll be easier to beat my Friday average time for the foreseeable future!
Glad you're feeling better Rex :)
Hands up for Dobie. Guess it shows my age.
It would be a very rare doctor who made more than six figures
I started out well, throwing in MALE at 16A as my first entry, which confirmed ACME but quickly Conked out in the NW. ALIEN x ALAMO in the upper central and INANE in the NE and then I had to go elsewhere, which turned out to be the SW.
I had Shape as a bad thing to be out of for 34A but before that, off the E of NOLTE, I really wanted something to bolstEr my argument. Luckily, I didn't put that in.
Have I ever heard "Old SHEP"? I can't recall, if so.
My husband always does an ACTION POSE when being photographed, usually pointing the way we're planning on going. I just roll my eyes and take the pic.
Thanks, Boaz Moser, for a chewy Friday!
"The authoritative form of the modern Hebrew Bible used in Rabbinic Judaism is the Masoretic Text (7th to 10th century CE), which consists of 24 books, divided into chapters and pesuqim (verses)." (Wikipedia).
The book of Numbers is, in fact, divided into 36 chapters, and has been ever since the first translation of the Torah into modern English. So, respectfully, I agree with your opening statement that "this is nitpicking."
??? Clues are not required to be seven words. Write a different clue that’s accurate, use as many words as you need
Put that is your pipe and smoke it, Maynard G. Krebs!!
You must be a doctor (lol)
It would have satisfied every case if it was qualified with "might" or "usually". Blown saves *usually* result in ERA (or ERAS) going up, but can in fact result in two pitchers ERAS decreasing. Good try, but ERRor.
Not sure what word showed up for you, but today definitely wasn’t a repeat. And by all accounts, they still haven’t repeated thru today. You might have an older version of the game cached in your browser.
"Old Shep" is a tear-jerker about a boy and his dog (which, of course, dies in the end). It was the first song Elvis ever sang for an actual audience (in 1945, at the Mississippi-Alabama Fair and Dairy Show in Tupelo, when he was ten years old). Probably in tribute to that life-changing event, he later recorded it as a single.
@Bob Mills, your eyes must be as bad as mine. The clue reads "fail," not "fall."
*actually only one ERA can decrease with a blown save. Self own
Until I came here, I just assumed that XENOMORPH was a common noun, meaning an alien life form, as the syllables suggest. But I don't find it in the dictionary, so I guess not. And I had guessed that an ACTION POSE was some sort of martial arts thing, standing in such a way that you could react instantly to an opponent's move. Rex's interpretation is better.
As for DEN--houses still have them, but now they are called "man caves." But they no longer have spitoons.
Me uní al gimnasio para personas mayores.
The government has a "multigenerational center" about 10 minutes from where our house will be. It's a fancy name for Senior Center. But, the gym in there is legit and it's $20 a year, so guess whose lifting weights with gramma? This XENOMORPH. They also have free breakfast apparently and I teach music for a living so you can see the stars aligning in Albuquerque.
Ohhhhh, now I know which ALIEN eats the cats according to the orangeman. But, I did not know the Xenos settled in Ohio.
I find themeless so boring and this was super easy for me and the usual "nothing much to write home about" Friday themeless. Except the Zombies! And the TATERS. And the glorious lack of gunk. I think this might be an all-time low at 11 of 70. That of course means we'll hear the weeping about it being too easy. Friday-Saturday lovers love the gunk, probably.
Propers: 1
Places: 2
Products: 4
Partials: 4
Foreignisms: 0
--
Gary's Grid Gunk Gauge: 11 of 70 (16%) (Wow, just wow!)
Today is the two-year anniversary of @Z heading to greener pastures.
Funnyisms: 1 🤨
Tee-Hee: CRAP. [Gets high.]
Uniclues:
1 Davey Crockett's final words.
2 Trumpophiles' behaviors.
3 The tarantula migration in La Junta, Colorado.
4 Swag from a billionaire's gathering.
5 Pet-eating alien who prefers playing the cello.
6 Ferreted Nick.
7 Begin the soft cycles.
8 Feature of elderly super hero.
9 Early slogan for Elon Musk's companies.
10 Open up anything touched by Mark Zuckerberg.
11 Side dish for foodie grizzly.
12 Famous "Mister" tripping.
13 Shot of sweet wine to accompany roasted pet.
14 Corporate conga.
1 "CRAP, ALAMO SORE."
2 INANE EN MASSE
3 ANNUAL HORDE
4 PARTY PARASAILS
5 XENOMORPH SHANE
6 NOLTE CHASED
7 ENACT ALPACAS
8 ACTION POSE GONE
9 SUED ONCE SO FAR (~)
10 INCUR BRAND NAME (~)
11 SALMON RUN TATER
12 PEANUT ON ACID
13 ALIEN POP O' PORT (~)
14 ARENA LINE DANCE
My Fascinating Crossword Uniclue Keepsake from Last Year: Retie bikini bottom. EDIT THONG HOOP.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I think a lot of homes today (depending on how they are built/arranged) have small den areas that many call “the t.v. room.” They are not the type of “den” Ward Cleaver had, but can allow the living area/room to have more seating for having guests over, read, or whatnot without a t.v. on if you’re not inclined to watch. lol. I thought man caves were in the basement, and she sheds were small converted “out buildings”! (I hope with some HVAC!) At any rate, I think we can all agree that a den, man cave, and she shed are luxuries for the majority…anywhere.
Absolutely.
Well, I LOVED IT TOO, @GILL! There!!! :)
Your husband doing the ACTIONPOSE cracked me up because my husband does that also…sometimes. I will say…I ALWAYS chuckle when I look at those pics! On the other hand, I am self-conscious and will (now) tell my husband to retake a photo of me, even if the real point is that I am in the foreground of a gorgeous vista.
Good for you! This was a TOUGH puzzle and I love your upside.
Hahaha! I will just say…please do NOT make me jump out of a plane with a “parasail”!
Prime candidate for WOAT. Hated it, hated it, hated it.
Good one
Well, hey — Now that U mention it, there is town in Ohio named XENIA. They could ask the orange dude about all that xenomorph-related connection stuff at the next big debate!
Oh … wait … I just heard that he won’t be able to do that next scheduled debate, due to “brain spurs”, or somesuch.
M&A
@jberg 9:15 AM
RECORDER ENSEMBLE?! Did I know you do this?! I am so stoked. Rock on ye of the medieval crazy train.
And also these were my exact thoughts too for bad thing to be out of : TIME, LUCK, YOUR MIND, TOILET PAPER
“puzzles”
For “Boon for grizzly bears”, having N_UN as the last 4 letters, I assumed the missing letter was an O and that “boon” was the word for a group of grizzlies, like a murder of crows or a parliament of owls. Kept thinking it was GROUP NOUN or some version of PLURAL NOUN with the correct number of letters. Took a looooong time to correctly parse
Kitshef
FWIW
Lower case lord in the clue confirmed my guess it was medieval related But took me a while to get vassal anyway.
Ride the Reading
Strictly speaking you might be right if we were talking about a dictionary. But
Clues are hints not definitions. Some laws go into effect later, some immediately. Enact is close enough for crosswords, especially on a Friday.
For some reason people think clue = definition. This is a discussion about a puzzle not a dictionary! Countless clues in puzzles everywhere have answers that do not apply to all circumstances in the clue. Adding might etc is absolutely not required. It is simply a question how difficult you want to make the clue.
E.R.A. is a perfectly VALID answer.
I agree with Anonymous 12:59 PM
Egsforbreakfast
Loved your post. Especially pigs fly and salmon run.
One of your best!
Anonymous 11:36 AM
Funny
Almost to the second the amount of time it took me. But for me this was faster than my average.
I do it on paper and time it
jb129
Different reaction to SALMONRUN
Good one!
.
Just because we don’t know something doesn’t = obscure.
Maybe you don’t watch nature programs or programs about Northwestern dams. There are a lot of them and they all mention salmon runs.
Doctors’ income varies wildly by category and region
FWIW
Average income the whole US all categories and specialties
$367,000
PCP’s $277,000
Specialists $394,000.
Of course in NYC ithe numbers would be higher and in Alabama lower.
It is not rare for certain specialists to earn over a million but it is rare for a PCP.
There are a lot of easier ways to get rich than being a doctor.
Early end to comments.
But I still want to add I liked this one a lot. On the easy side. For whatever reason, most of the misdirections were obvious to me. Usually doesn’t happen.
I agree with Nancy and Gill I.
Alamo. Nothing wrong with it being in the puzzle. But as I said before, every time I see it, it bothers me.
The war started because Americans coming into the Mexican territory now called Texas wanted to have slaves and Mexican law prohibited slavery. So who was defending freedom at that battle?
Brain spurs! 🤣🤣🤣
Obviously no blues fans here. If there were this lyric from BB King's "Gambler's Blues" would have come to mind:
Oh, I don't claim to be no gambler people, oh, I don't know much about the dice
Yes, I don't claim to be no gambler people, I tell you I don't know much about the dice
Oh, but I wait and my baby knows, she knows I'm not the kind who's gonna crap out twice
I'm with you. Hated it start to finish.
uggh, i get it now a potato = tater has eyes, so it is an "eyed" food. pretty terrible really
Once again, Saturday proved easier than Friday for me. Happens all the time.
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