Angler's supply / MON 10-28-24 / Energy, idiomatically / Eight-armed creatures / Nursery rhyme about the hazards of decaying infrastructure / Pass idly, as time / Beverage with a Big Mac, perhaps / Valvoline competitor

Monday, October 28, 2024

Constructor: Michael Lieberman

Relative difficulty: Easy


THEME: FALL CLASSIC (59A: Nickname for the World Series ... or what you might call 17-, 28- or 45-Across) — "classic" nursery rhymes that involve some kind of "fall":

Theme answers:
  • JACK AND JILL (17A: Nursery rhyme about a disastrous trip up a hill)
  • HUMPTY DUMPTY (28A: Nursery rhyme about the perils of sitting on a wall)
  • LONDON BRIDGE (45A: Nursery rhyme about the hazards of decaying infrastructure)
Word of the Day: EDNA St. Vincent Millay (8D: Poet St. Vincent Millay) —

Edna St. Vincent Millay (February 22, 1892 – October 19, 1950) was an American lyrical poet and playwright. Millay was a renowned social figure and noted feminist in New York City during the Roaring Twenties and beyond. She wrote much of her prose and hackwork verse under the pseudonym Nancy Boyd.

Millay won the 1923 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for her poem "Ballad of the Harp-Weaver"; she was the first woman and second person to win the award. In 1943, Millay was the sixth person and the second woman to be awarded the Frost Medal for her lifetime contribution to American poetry.

Millay was highly regarded during much of her lifetime, with the prominent literary critic Edmund Wilson calling her "one of the only poets writing in English in our time who have attained to anything like the stature of great literary figures.'' By the 1930s, her critical reputation began to decline, as modernist critics dismissed her work for its use of traditional poetic forms and subject matter, in contrast to modernism's exhortation to "make it new." However, the rise of feminist literary criticism in the 1960s and 1970s revived an interest in Millay's works. (wikipedia)

• • •

One of the easier puzzles I've ever solved Downs-only. I went from 1D: Angler's supply (BAIT) all the way through 34D: "Submit by" dates (DEADLINES) before I finally hit a Down I couldn't get on the first guess: 35D: Beverage with a Big Mac. Just couldn't think of a coherent 9-letter answer right away. My main problem there was having LOUD-- at 33A and not being able to infer the ending (i.e. the -LY, which would've given me the first letter in LARGE COKE). Or, rather, I could infer an answer, but sadly that answer was LOUDER (or even LOUDEN (?)). Why LOUDLY didn't occur to me in the moment, I don't know. Anyway, one answer later, I had 36D: Christmas season ... which I definitely wrote in as NOEL, which made me think "... LOUDEN? Really?" But then I remembered that the Christmas season could also be YULE, and the "Y" made LOUDLY feel very right, which it was, and that "L" got me to LARGE, and the COKE part just seemed obvious after that (although SODA or COLA were both plausible, I guess). The latter half of the solve was definitely bumpier than the first half, but not too much. Had SUNBEAMS before SUNRISES (39D: They brighten everyone's days). And then AS YET before SO FAR (48D: To date). Every other Down went right in, either with no help, or with help from the themers I was able to infer. I had to think a little bit before I got KILL (44D: Pass idly, as time). I had the "I" and wanted "WILE" ... as in "WILE away the time" ... only that's spelled "WHILE," so ... that wasn't gonna work. I got to KILL by running the letters that could go at the front of -ARL, and realizing that "K" was one of those letters. "C" and "E" also worked, technically, but they weren't so promising in the Down. I guess technically "M" could've worked too, but MARL? On a Monday? In this economy? Unlikely.

Marl is an earthy material rich in carbonate mineralsclays, and silt. When hardened into rock, this becomes marlstone. It is formed in marine or freshwater environments, often through the activities of algae.

Marl makes up the lower part of the cliffs of Dover, and the Channel Tunnel follows these marl layers between France and the United Kingdom. Marl is also a common sediment in post-glacial lakes, such as the marl ponds of the northeastern United States.

Marl has been used as a soil conditioner and neutralizing agent for acid soil and in the manufacture of cement. (wikipedia)


As for the theme, it seems just fine. A simple little Monday theme with a clever and surprising revealer. Not just clever and surprising, but timely! The FALL CLASSIC is underway as we speak. The Dodgers are up two games to none on the Yankees, but Shohei Ohtani (the Dodgers' best player, and the best player in baseball) partially dislocated his shoulder while trying to steal second base in Game 2, so ... who knows what effect, if any, that will have on the Dodgers. Will Ohtani sit out Game 3? Will he be back on the field? If so, will he be at full strength? Will it even matter? I mean, the Dodgers have plenty of talent, they can probably win two without him. Annnnnnyway, FALL CLASSIC! That's what's up. I love that it's Dodgers / Yankees, as that was the World Series matchup the year I got into baseball (1977), as well as the following year, the year I got into baseball cards (1978). I lived in California and, despite having been born in San Francisco, immediately became a Dodgers fan. Yes, I learned the bitter taste of disappointment early as a sports fan. It was weird seeing Reggie Jackson at a restaurant in Monterey a few years back, as I realized a. he is smaller than I imagined (my not being 8 years old any more may have something to do with that), and b. I still hate him (just kidding, he seemed very nice).


Notes:
  • 2D: Eight-armed creatures (OCTOPUSES) — hurray, an answer for the pluralizing purists! None of this OCTOPI baloney. Here's a handy explanation of how to pluralize (and not pluralize) "octopus," from the good folks at Ocean Conservancy:
[Sadly, OCTOPI is in dictionaries and constructor databases and therefore isn't going to die any time soon]
  • 23A: Susceptible to sunburn (PALE) — I resemble that remark! (note: I wouldn't put "sunburn" in the clue when SUNRISES is in the grid, but as with "octopus" pluralizing, I tend toward persnicketiness in these matters).
  • 48A: Energy, idiomatically (STEAM) — never saw this clue (obviously, because I solved Downs-only), but it's the kind of thing that would've slowed me down. It's funny that STEAM hangs around as a metaphor for energy. I assume it comes from STEAM-engine trains. Yes, that appears to be true. Earliest evidence of its use as a metaphor for "energy" in the OED (that I can see) is the 1830s, and as "first usage" quotations go, it's a good one:
  1. 1832
    I have..a way of going a-head, by getting up the steam..—and the fuel is brandy.
    F. MarryatNewton Forster vol. III. iii. 39
  • 43A: "My Zoom joke flopped ... I guess it's not remotely funny," e.g. (PUN) — what if your joke about your Zoom joke flopping also flops? Sadly, this joke was not on "still on mute."

  • 5D: How often many people brush their teeth (avert your eyes, dentists!) (ONCE A DAY) — such a weirdly worked-up and judgy clue. With the histrionic parenthetical aside to dentists at the end, I thought the answer was going to be way more alarming than ONCE A DAY. Like NOT AT ALL. And "many"? "Many people"? How many? If you've got an actual statistic, by all means run with it, but this "many" assertion is absurd.
  • 61D: Valvoline competitor (STP) — clue: "Valvoline." brain: "Vaseline ... has 3-letter competitors?"
That's all. See you next time.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Facebook]

43 comments:

Lewis 5:50 AM  

My five favorite original clues from last week
(in order of appearance):

1. Place for grape nuts? (4)
2. "Also also...," for short (3)
3. It'll make you laugh, it'll make you cry (7)
4. Masters of bad impersonations? (8)(7)
5. Do-to-do delivery? (6)


NAPA
PPS
DRAMEDY
IDENTITY THIEVES
OCTAVE

Bob Mills 5:57 AM  

Definitely a puzzle for old-timers like me. Thanks for an easy-peasy start to the week.

Son Volt 6:06 AM  

Cute enough early week offering - but as Rex highlights - supremely straightforward and easy. The revealer is temporal and apt - I liked it. The nursery rhymes are what they are.

ACE

Lots of shorties today with the dense theme. Flow was a little disjoint going through it but for the most part pretty clean. DEADLINES, TESTAMENT are nice longs. @Z would further the OCTOpodes discussion.

Pleasant Monday morning solve.

ONCE A DAY

Conrad 6:09 AM  


@Rex: Most people (55%) brush their teeth twice a day. 29% brush once a day. Does 29% constitute "many"? Your call.

SouthsideJohnny 6:48 AM  

Excellent reveal, which really tied the whole thing together nicely. I did not know Ms. St. Vincent Millay - she sounds like she was very accomplished and talented.

DJ SET kind of works, but is it a real thing ? Do clubs have multiple DJ’s who take turns ? Maybe it’s a competition type of thing. Sounds weird to me.

kitshef 7:15 AM  

Every answer was just 1) read clue 2) write answer. Except I put in LARGE sOda at first. I’m all for Mondays being easy, but this is ridiculous.

JJK 7:18 AM  

So easy, possibly a personal best time for me. But fun. I know my nursery rhymes so this was really a piece of cake.

Lewis 7:49 AM  

I tried to figure out the revealer by leaving it blank after filling in the theme answers. First, I tried to get it without seeing its clue – nada after trying hard to come up with angles.

Then I looked at the revealer’s clue, and still nada, after more serious digging.

Finally, I revealed one letter at a time from the beginning, and when FALL appeared, the answer finally hit me.

My immediate reactions:
• “Oh, excellent and clever!” (with a smile).
• “I should have at least figured out ‘FALL’” (with a “Dang!”).
• “Got me good!” (with a nod of respect).
• “Great brain workout!” (with an Ahh!”).

The rest of the puzzle was a dash, and there is thrill in that. Plus, there was a pair of sweet serendipities: Four palindromes (ELLE, ANNA, EKE, ALA) and two French words that sound like English letters (EAU , ELLE).

So, a package of Crosslandia goodness for me, Michael Lieberman -- a most lovely way to start the day. Thank you, sir!

RooMonster 8:43 AM  

Hey All !
Hit the milestone of Solving 100 Mondays in a row Correctly! Yay me!

Neat theme idea. CLASSIC nursery rhymes about FALLing, summed up by the Happening-Now World Series.

Fall sort-of kind-of here in Las Vegas. Yesterday was still in the low 80's, very pleasant. But today we have a storm coming through, followed by at least 20 degree cooler weather. It'll be lows in the 40's this week. Brr!

Chuckled at OCTOPUSES. Brings back memories of The Great Octopus Plural Debate we had here. @Z was a big part of that. Wonder how his Rye restaurant is doing. Har

Anyway, SUNRISE soon on another Monday. Slow down, Mondays!

Two F's
RooMonster
DarrinV

Nancy 8:57 AM  

So much puckish humor in the cluing of the theme answers. I loved this!

I wondered if I could figure out the revealer ahead of time? MOTHER GOOSES YOU was the closest I could come. That's definitely not it.

I also wondered if the theme answers occurred to Michael first or if the revealer did. It can work both ways as I well know, but sometimes you have wonderful theme answer ideas and no revealer that works. That might be the time to have all theme answers and no revealer. Which would this be?

FALL CLASSIC blew me away. It's perfect -- and I bet that absolutely no one saw it coming. The double meaning of FALL is the icing on the cake.

A delightful and witty Monday!

Anonymous 9:35 AM  

Long time reader to this blog, in Lewis school. Solve on the ferry in the morning, a 25 minute ride. Can generally solve Mon-Thurs during the ride with Friday solve usually extending to the subway. Two notes today. One, I confidently entered OCTOPodES. Two, after entering ELLIS, I looked up and saw the island.

jberg 9:40 AM  

Somehow, I worked the puzzle all the way down to the revealer without noticing that the three nursery rhymes all involved falling--I was too busy wishing HUMPTY DUMPTY had been combined with Georgie Porgie. So when I finally got FALL CLASSIC, a little tingly thrill ran through my veins. Nice.

And the rest of the puzzle was pretty good for a Monday. My seasoning style almost led me to use salt and pepper TOTAlly, but I held myself back. And it's always nice to see the old man (44-A) in the puzzle.

35-D may be dated, however -- I saw a brief report last week that scientists had completed the crucial step of developing a nuclear clock, which would be even more precise.

Linguistic musings: a) Would "lacking slack" mean a pair of pants with only one leg? and b) it's interesting how words change their meanings. Gramatically, the subject of a will is the testator; the estate is the object. But subject has acquired so many meanings that this one seems natural to us.

I have to rush off and have my blood pressure measured, but will be back in a couple of hours.

jberg 9:51 AM  

Yes, that revealer is not correct, but I can't stop laughing!

dragoo 10:08 AM  

The OCTOPUS question was settled succinctly by the witty Henry Watson Fowler in his Dictionary of Modern English usage (1926):

octopus. Pl. -uses; -pi is wrong and -podes pedantic.

Anonymous 10:09 AM  

Valvoline is oil, STP is an additive. I don’t believe Valvoline makes an additive and STP doesn’t make motor oil, so I wouldn’t call them competitors.

egsforbreakfast 10:28 AM  

Israel will be hosting a World Cup Skiing event during the upcoming ceasefire. It's being billed as the Shalom SLALOM.

I only noticed today (or TIL for you texters) that the majority of the FALLCLASSIC is ALL ASS.

Nice to see ELLE back after briefly being supplanted by EMME the other day.

Why is fictional writing about the United Nations like birthday candles before the party starts? They're both UNLIT!

I thought it was a great theme and revealer for a Monday. Thanks, Michael Lieberman.

Beezer 10:36 AM  

Very clever theme for a Monday puzzle and, like @jberg, I didn’t notice that all the nursery rhymes involved a FALL until I got to the revealer. I semi-cringed when I saw OCTOPUSES, not because I don’t think it’s correct, but I figured the “Great Pluralization Debate” would be triggered. I always find that debate a bit boring, so I’m glad Rex put it to bed preemptively.

Right now I’m straightening my front teeth (they started shifting around age 50) and I’m wearing the pop-on invisible braces. You don’t even want to know how many times I currently brush MY teeth right now but suffice it to say it’s a lot because I need to do it every time I pop off my braces to chew even the smallest morsel of food.

Ed Rorie 10:39 AM  

This would be too easy for the “Sesame Street Gazette.”

Anonymous 10:42 AM  

Moose + Anna Kendrick + Edna St. Vincent Millay = a very Maine start to the puzzle

Tom T 11:10 AM  

Hidden Diagonal Word (HDW) clues:
1. Mr. Domino
2. Mr. Erikson
3. She won't dish the dirt (with "the")
4. "E-zy" weapon?
(Answers below)

I try "Downs only" from time to time, often with not much success. Today ("like @Rex"--and I seldom get to say that!), I went from 1D through 58D with minimal resistance. I did (like @Rex) drop in SUNbeamS at first, and I also briefly entered an ugly looking DJing before DJSET, but that was about it.
It went so quickly that I missed out on the connection to the FALL CLASSIC. The 2024 FALL CLASSIC has lived up to its name SO FAR (Freddie Freeman hit his game winning grand slam SO FAR).
Answers:
1. FATS (from the F in 54A, IFS--moves toward SE)
2. LEIF (the L in 42D, ALA--moves toward SW)
3. LADY (L in 36D, YULE--moves toward NW)--not dishing the dirt is one of several things that makes her not a tramp)
4. EPEE (E in 14D, DJSET--lots of E's in the vicinity)

I gott-A GO

jae 11:35 AM  

Easy-medium. Smooth, apt, and delightful with a twisty reveal, liked it a bunch!

Croce Solvers - Croce’s Freestyle # 954 was pretty easy for a Croce with the bottom half slightly tougher than the top for me, mostly because of one clue/answer I’m still not sure I get. Good luck!

Anonymous 11:38 AM  

lol @SouthsideJohnny yes, most clubs have more than one DJ. it is kind of weird to say "take turns" like little kids sharing toys, but usually you'll have an opener and then multiple headliners. sometimes the times are set, but sometimes they really do just take turns - tag another one in when they're ready for a break. it's not a competition. in most spaces i've been in the DJs are all friends and are there to support and have a good time with each other and everyone else in attendance. [well, okay, in certain spaces, DJs may be "competing" to win certain time slots they feel will get them in front of the biggest/best audience, especially if they're really looking to make a big career out of it and there are producers or other connections in attendance.]

-stephanie.

EasyEd 12:05 PM  

Super easy and also super fun. Revealer one of the best ever. Until, as yet, SOFAR, to now, we have so many ways to express this semi-uncertainty…thanks to @eggsforbreakfat will never read UNLIT the same way again…

Anonymous 12:21 PM  

Is a pair of pants still a pair if there's only one leg?

Is it just pant?

Beezer 12:27 PM  

Good one!

M and A 12:28 PM  

Near-perfecto MonPuz. Cute theme, clever revealer.

favest thing: SUNRISES clue. Cheery.
fave moo-cow eazy-E MonPuz clue: {Friend of Mickey and Goofy} = DONALD.

staff weeject pick, of a mere 26 choices: EAU. All-vowel word. French has a lot of them pups, oui? Don't think our lingo has very many such things.
Nice weeject stacks, NW & SE.
AND ... Primo all-weeject central row & column. Weeject symmetry!

Thanx for a fall classic MonPuz, Mr. Lieberman dude. Great job.

Masked & Anonym007Us


**gruntz**

Terra Schaller 1:10 PM  

Howd it turn out?

kitshef 1:12 PM  

Croce Freestyle 954 was medium for me - maybe slightly on the hard side of medium. The cross of 58AA and 43D was a 50/50 guess which I happened to get right. If I had thought about it more, I would have gotten it wrong.

pabloinnh 1:14 PM  

Did this one online as an early AM eyeball injection made it hard to read the usual printout. I'm glad it was set at maximum easy as it was over before things got even blurrier.

Good unified themers and a surprising revealer referencing one of my favorite things ever, the FALLCLASSIC.. (Go Dodgers, you're not the Yankees.)

Nice one, ML. Many Laughs along the way, and thanks for all the fun.

Didn't comment yesterday as a very full day was topped off by a granddaughter's birthday party, the Big 7. Did the puzz after getting back home and just wanted to say that: I thought it was brilliant, LINEDOUT is apt, HAB was a gimme, and SININ made sense to me, as hair dye used to have some negative connotations.

Also wanted to point out to @Roo that this one had both the name of the town we lived in for forty years (LYME, although the one in NH) and the name of my formal choral group, FULLCIRCLE. Maybe worth half a point each.

And high praise for JM and JC. A Just-Marvelous Joint Creation, and thanks for all the fun.

JC66 1:17 PM  

@M&A I had MINNIE first (my mom's first name).

jb129 1:36 PM  

Got another late start so I'm happy to say - this was the easiest Monday ever! That doesn't mean it wasn't cute & enjoyable, which it was.
Thank you, Michael :)

jb129 1:39 PM  

Oh & "people brush their teeth ONCE a day"
EEW! :(

okanaganer 2:38 PM  

My down clues only solve was foiled by having SOUP instead of STEW at 58 down. This led to LARGE COKE not working, so I tried COLA then SODA then finally gave up and clicked Reveal Incorrect Letters and there were 5 of them, all jammed in that lower right corner. Oof!

I also briefly had Napoleon crossing the ELBA which is ridiculous because as you all know it is an island not a river. I guess I was thinking of Caesar and the Rubicon or Washington and the Potomac.

Klazzic 2:55 PM  

Born in San Francisco and a Dodger fan?? WTF? Please cancel my subscription, Rex.

Liveprof 3:03 PM  

So, sad to say, but Mickey (Mouse) and Minnie were getting divorced. And at the trial, the judge called Mickey over and said to him, "Mickey, I'm sorry, but I've listened to all the evidence and I don't see anything to indicate than Minnie is mentally unbalanced." And Mickey said "I didn't say she was mentally unbalanced. I said she was f*cking Goofy."

John 3:10 PM  

If 1% of people brushed once a day, it would still be "many." That's 80 million people worldwide. Many is too broad a term! :)

Steve Washburne 5:23 PM  

This lifelong GIANT fan gives dispensation to Rex as long as he hates the Yankees. And thanks for a super easy puzzle done in record time.

Terra Schaller 6:15 PM  

Great clue to the blue books. Unlit book I'm reading currently is "A Treatise on Cosmic Fire" by Alice Bailey

Anonymous 6:35 PM  

Southside Johnny
The Millay clue for EDNA is a very common clue. It is actually crosswordese. So you will definitely see it again, though that clue for Edna has faded a bit lately

Anonymous 6:45 PM  

Anonymous 10:09 AM
I just googled it. First headline STP, a company which sells oil ….
I didn’t bother to look up the other brand. It is better to look before you leap ( criticize, that is).

dgd 7:00 PM  

Well. Liveprof’s joke got my attention.
Never heard it. Didn’t see the punchline coming.
Thought Rex would say this puzzle was too easy. There were a lot old standbys in it. But I agree the theme made the puzzle. Took me a few crosses to get London Bridge.
I don’t in general like Foster, but that quote about octopuses being correct, octopodes pedantic and octopi being wrong is perfect.

Andrew Z. 8:11 PM  

Great revealer! Easy but very fun.

Gary Jugert 12:17 AM  

Dale al pulpo una tiara y una Coca-Cola grande.

Maybe the weirdest World Series tribute puzzle of all time, and yet it highlights how much falling is going on in fairytale world and perhaps we should all be a little more careful lest all the king's horses run off with Jill over the bridge.

Propers: 6
Places: 4
Products: 7
Partials: 3
Foreignisms: 2
--
Gary's Grid Gunk Gauge: 22 of 78 (28%)

Funnyisms: 2 😕

Uniclues:

1 Inkers' crown.
2 What they were bumping in Chernobyl.
3 A big Roy Rogers without a cherry.

1 OCTOPUSES' TIARA
2 ATOMIC DJ SET (~)
3 UNLIT LARGE COKE

My Fascinating Crossword Uniclue Keepsake from Last Year: Result of second-grade science curriculum. T-REXES FOISTED.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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