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Gesture with razzle-dazzle / TUES 2-25-25 / Native of the Dutch Caribbean / Call after last call? / Mario Kart item providing temporary invincibility
Tuesday, February 25, 2025
Hi, everyone, it’s Clare for the last Tuesday in this short month of February! My write-up last month was delayed because I had to prep for a client’s asylum hearing. It ended up being postponed but only until last week, AND HE GOT ASYLUM! In other, not-at-all-related good news, my Liverpool Reds are looking mighty good right now (yes, I just knocked on wood). There are 11 games left in the Premier League season, and we have a large lead over Arsenal (my sister’s team; sorry, Shannon!) My other Red (my puppy) is also doing well. She’s getting so big (already 23 pounds at four months) and is still very cute, if a little insane and energetic and bitey sometimes (all the time?).
Anywho, on to the puzzle...
Relative difficulty: Easy-medium
THEME: NOT ON MY WATCH (56A: "I forbid this" … or what a smart device wearer might claim regarding the ends of 20-, 30-, 40- and 48-Across?) — the end of each of the theme answers contains a typical feature of an analog watch that would presumably not be found on a smartwatch
Theme answers:
- BILLY CRYSTAL (20A: Meg Ryan's co-star in "When Harry Met Sally …")
- DRUNK DIAL (30A: Call after last call?)
- NUT CASE (40A: Kook)
- JAZZ HANDS (48A: Gesture with razzle-dazzle)
Word of the Day: NENA (59D: Band with the 1984 hit "99 Luftballons") —
Nena was a West German Neue Deutsche Welle band formed in West Berlin in 1981. In 1983 and 1984, their German-language song "99 Luftballons" (and its English version, "99 Red Balloons") reached number one in the singles charts of countries around the world. By the time the band released its second album ? (Fragezeichen) in Germany in January 1984, "99 Luftballons" was starting to climb the US charts, where it reached number 2 and became one of the most successful non-English-language tracks in US Billboard chart history. With the English version of the song ("99 Red Balloons") achieving the number 1 position in the UK, the band became internationally famous. (Wiki)
• • •
That was a decently cute puzzle. It was also somehow on my wavelength, so this was one of the faster Tuesdays I’ve had in a while. I liked the theme answers, especially JAZZ HANDS (48A) and DRUNK DIAL (30A), and the phrase for the theme revealer, NOT ON MY WATCH (56A), but the more I think about it, the less I’m convinced the revealer really fits. My sister’s Apple smartwatch has a DIAL and a CASE, and the displays on some smartwatches can be made up of LED CRYSTALs. Some of the clues may have been trying a bit too hard to be clever, but there were several clue/answer combos that I chuckled at and enjoyed. My favorite was 25D: Big name in brewing as LIPTON. And then the puzzle had SAMUEL (51D: Adams in a bar) in it, too, which was clever. I liked 63A: Call it an early night? as DUSK and 33D: Launch party? as NASA. Less clever was 69A: Most of 1999 as NINES (though I liked that the clue number had a nine in it.) I think the clue for 62D: Leave a small tip to get HINT (62D) was trying too hard to misdirect us toward thinking about a restaurant; you don’t “leave” a tip if you are HINTing about something; you “give” a tip. I could take or leave 39A: Sister as NUN, which has been done before, but it also reminded me of the movie “Conclave” and how it feels like this awards season is a reenactment of the movie’s plot. We may even get a real conclave soon, if the pope’s health sadly continues to deteriorate.
The construction of the puzzle was fairly basic. There weren’t any answers longer than seven letters, other than the themes and revealer, and there were only two of them. The bulk of the puzzle was instead four- and five-letter words, which weren’t terribly exciting and which made the puzzle feel a bit dry. (Though I did like METE and DEFT.) The puzzle was actually a pangram, which I don’t think necessarily added much but which also didn’t feel like a stretch, as pangram puzzles sometimes can.
I didn’t like having both TONI (57D: Woman's name that's an anagram of 58-Down) and TORI (2D: Spelling or Amos) in the puzzle, along with IS IT (19A: "You sure about that?") and ON IT (58D: "I'll get to work right now!") and then TIS (43A: "___ the season") to round it off. Having DONEZO (29D: Finished, in slang), ZONKED (49D: Totally beat), and NOOB (53A: One most likely to get pwned) all in that western section together was a bit too much slang. I was prepared to dislike REAL MAN (4D: One who wears pink, in a breast cancer awareness campaign) because it sounded very strange to me, until I remembered that “Real Men Wear Pink” was a campaign for breast cancer awareness. I do think, then, a better answer would’ve been “real men.”
But overall, this was a cute enough puzzle with good theme answers, a few interesting words, and fun phrases (see: YOGA MAT, JAZZ HANDS). And it's always satisfying to be fast.
Misc.:
Signed, Clare Carroll, a smartWATCH-er of Liverpool
[Follow Rex Parker on BlueSky and Facebook]
- I’m confused why, when you click on 58D on the puzzle on a computer, it highlights 1A. That didn’t happen on my phone, though, so it seems like it was a bug of some sort.
- USA (32D: Women's soccer powerhouse) is indeed very, very dominant. For those interested, the USWNT is playing in the SheBelieves Cup right now, and the final game is Wednesday night. If the USA beats Japan, they win the tournament. Yes, it’s a mostly meaningless tournament and is about getting young players more minutes and trying different formations, but it’s still the USWNT and is therefore incredible.
- My sister and I plan to go see GYPSY (55D: Hit 1959 musical with the song “Let Me Entertain You”) in New York with the insanely talented Audra McDonald. I just need to figure out what to do with my puppy while we’re gone.
- With STAR (1A: Mario Kart item providing temporary invincibility) and ONE UP (66A: Extra life, in video games) both in the puzzle, I might need to play more video games!
- Why wait until Black Friday to SHOP (10A)? Novices. I shop year-round.
- No matter what he’s in or where I see him, BILLY CRYSTAL (20A) will always be Miracle Max from “The Princess Bride” to me
And that’s all from me! Have a great March.
[Follow Rex Parker on BlueSky and Facebook]
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78 comments:
On the tough side for me. A few WOEs…STAR, REAL MAN, ONE UP, DONEZO, LATINO…a couple of erasures…cds before DVD, NiNA before NENA…some tricky clues for HINT, DUSK, NASA, SPA…on the tough side.
Fun theme, tightly done, liked it.
Great write-up, Clare. I have nothing to add to your "decently cute puzzle." No overwrites, no WOEs, so Easy.
I hadn't noticed that 1A gets highlighted when you select 58D. Truly odd. I suspect the two answers were linked at some point in the editing process.
Clare, find a dogsitter and go see Gypsy before Audra McDonald departs. She's more than insanely talented; in this, she's a Force of Nature.
I thought this puzzle was much more fun to do than Monday's. Mainly because of he theme. A few clues/answers made it quite hard for a Tuesday - I've never heard of "drunkdial", rapper Nicki, and some others But once I saw the theme answers had parts of a watch I got "hands" which gave me HBO and, well I don't remember all, but the reveal "not on my watch" was a fun pun, which is a good phrase on it's own.
But "donezo"??? Has anyone , anywhere, ever really said that? How is it even pronounced? Terrible word.
I'm thinking the Crystal allusion was to the transparent covering of a watch face which, regardless of composition (glass, platic, sapphire), is generally referred to as such.
Hard to conceive of a REALMAN wearing pink, but I guess that's the point of 4-Down (a wimp would be afraid to wear pink?). Anyway, that was my only sticking point, along with the fact that I had "Lori" instead of TORI at 2-Down. The theme was fairly basic, but it did help me get JAZZHANDS, help I needed because I didn't know DOOB.
(possible dupe) Took me a while to get REALMAN, because I had "Lori" instead of TORI at 2-Down. The watch theme helped me get JAZZHANDS, which I had never heard of. I'd be interested in others' comments regarding DOOB as a word.
As someone who has rarely (close to never) worn a watch, I found the revealer very unhelpful. But I know that’s just me. Liked DONEZO cause I haven’t heard it in a while but I think it’s a fun word.
It seemed like there was more stuff that was out of my wheelhouse than is usual for a Tuesday - the rap star, the video game references, the brain matter, even the musical from the 1950’s (which from the context of the comments thus far, one assumes is undergoing a revival). Nothing egregious, but I found it a little tougher than usual.
Pretty much what I expect for a Tuesday. I thought the themers and the reveal were well done, Never heard of DONEZO hand because NOOB is sometimes Newb, which is what I lead with I spun my wheels a bit there, Probably never going to say DONEZO. As above I believe the term crystal us now universally used as a watch part not necessarily the material.
Really wanted in rideshare where DRUNK DIAL belonged, but no crosses worked so that at least was not much of a holdup.
But overall, off-the-scale hard for a Tuesday. Would qualify as medium-hard on a Wednesday.
Demographic for this puzzle differs from my own. See for example three gamer references.
Good job of cluing today.
Starting out with a video game clue right at 1A made me think this would be a bad puzzle for me, but in the end it was easy-medium - the medium part being a lot of slang I didn’t know and a few names that I only sort of knew (not BILLYCRYSTAL, which I threw right in, thinking it was almost too easy.) but all were inferable with crosses, so, a pretty satisfying solve.
Yes on crystal as watch "glass"
AGAIN just making up words. DONEZO???? No. Just no.
I cannot see the word AGOG without thinking about The Simpsons episode where Homer deliberately gains weight to go on disability. In a montage scene of him shopping, one of the products he buys is “AGOG ABOUT EGG NOG!”
Meh, I did love the STAR clue because my daughter and I play MarioKart so that is my video game. Actually knew it immediately! I dont like NUTCASE. Wow so derogatory toward people with mental health issues. It’s not the same as Kook to me at all that would be more eccentric. NUTCASE seems to describe someone with more severe conditions. Bad choice.
I wonder if it was supposed to be "STAT" instead of "STAR" originally.
I liked seeing:
• All those scrabbly letters in the grid.
• Two EAR anagrams abutting LOBE.
• That beautiful NYT puzzle debut NOT ON MY WATCH, and the clever double entendre on it.
• Four palindromes, including a rare-in-crosswords quint (NUN, DVD, ASA, MADAM).
• Beauty in the upper middle, with DEFT, BUOY, and ELUDE.
• DONEZO! I’ve never heard of you before, donezo, but I’m smitten.
And I love the heartwarming fact that both of Greg’s NYT puzzles rose out of activities with his kids.
Crosswords as therapy. I feel terrific after doing this. Thank you, Greg!
Please, Clare, if you need to use the term at all, spell it anyHOO.
Thanks for subbing for Rex.
I first heard "DONEZO" on the TV show "Survivor" when one of the players was chewing out another player and told him "you are so done-zo!" as in about to be voted off the island.
Hey All !
Hi @Clare. Your "Novices" gave me a good laugh!
Different kind of theme. A list of things Smart WATCHes don't have. Smart Phones, Smart WATCHes, Smart Glasses, next will be Smart Implants. In your hand/wrist, ear area, heck, probably your eyes. Mark my words.
Didn't notice the Pangram, thanks for pointing it out, @Clare. At least that means there's at least one F.
I used to be a watch wearer, a regular one, not a Smart one. My whole life. Even though it would catch my arm hair in the band at times. But, after my last band broke, I got fed up with the hassle of something on my wrist that would bang against stuff, move around, catch the hair, and bands that kept breaking. So, after my last watch that broke the band, I decided to go watch-free. One of my better choices. Heck, everything you need is now on the phone. Just pick it up, and you'll see the time.
We get 42 Blockers today, with 38 being normal max. The extra four are "cheater squares". The ones after SELL and ABE, before PTA and NOOB. If you take out the Blocker, it doesn't add to the total word count. The count stays the same. Hence why they're called cheaters. Regular Blockers form a stop twixt two words. Now you know!
Stay tuned for more crossword news! 😁
No, I'm not a NUT CASE. (Although, opinions vary...)
Happy Tuesday!
One F
RooMonster
DarrinV
Mentally ill child. Word for me is likely like the worst ethic slug. Thank you for noticing.
I'm in the "not a gamer" crowd so all those clues were pretty much lost on me, except for "pwned" in the clue for 53A. I'm waiting for folks to post and ask what that means. We just had a flood of those inquiries.
Forgot about the REALMEN campaign and was nicely misdirected by the "brewing " clue. Had the L and could only think of LABATT without the S. Shows you where my head is.
Had a good time with this one (except as noted) and thought the themers and the revealer were all first-class. Good Stuff, GS, and thanks for all the fun.
@Clare-Liverpool has it all sewn up this year. I've been to a game at Emirates Stadium and will always have a soft spot for Arsenal, but The Reds are way more fun to watch. Also, go USWNT!
Agreed! I also cringed to see GYPSY, which many Romani consider to be a slur
Quite enjoyable puzzle today -mixed in clever clues and gimmes.
Clare , always enjoy your upbeat point of view, such a shining contrast to Mr. doom and gloom!
Tend to agree with @DrA about NUTCASE - we need to get beyond pejoratives to describe mental health issues. However, it seems in daily conversation we use this term to describe someone we know who acts bizarrely or unpredictably on a regular basis. So maybe less pejorative in common usage, I'd give it a pass. (In reviewing that definition, strikes me that it fits someone in current headlines, initials EM!)
Let's see some more, Greg.
NOOB
If you haven't heard of drunk dial, no wonder you haven't heard of donezo (pronounced DUN ZO).
It appears you still don't; it's NOOB. The NOOB/PWNED combo was literally just in Friday's puzzle (though answer and clue were reversed).
What is the noob pwned connection?
A fun and lively puzzle and write up. Some odd things for me: Thought gONEZO before DONEZO, maybe a regional or generational variant. Also REALMeN strikes a familiar cord, while REALMAN seems made up, tho still a good answer. Anyway, NOTONMYWATCH is a beauty and I was able to fill it in with only four crosses in place. Yeah team!
Meh. It was ok. Some clues and answers were fine, but some were terrible, and the theme is pretty weak.
I'll add to the chorus claiming DONEZO is not real, but I'll also point out that the usage of ZONKED is wrong.
ZONKED refers to actually being asleep, not tired.
CRYSTAL is referring to quartz oscillators found in timepieces, not the glass.
Hi, Bob. It's NOOB, not dOOB, as in newbie or greenhorn, an inexperienced gamer. (Sometimes spelled NEWB). All of which, including "pwned," I have learned from crossword solving.
I enjoyed Clare's observation that the key to the theme was the absence of dial, case, hands, and crystal on a smartwatch, but that her sister's had three of the four. D'oh! Reminded me of this joke:
Max: Wanna hear a riddle?
Sid: Sure.
Max: What's green, hangs on the wall, and whistles?
Sid: I give up.
Max: A herring.
Sid: But a herring isn't green.
Max: You could paint it green.
Sid: It doesn't hang on a wall.
Max: Well, you could hang it on a wall if you wanted to.
Sid: Herrings don't whistle.
Max: Alright - so they don't whistle. Big deal.
A cute idea for a puzzle. And also a very, very sad one. I mourn the phasing out of real watches with HANDS, a DIAL, a CASE and CRYSTAL. The charms of the digital gadgets that have mostly replaced them ELUDE me. I won't SHOP for a smart WATCH and you can't SELL me one. To me, they epitomize the soullessness of our gadget-obsessed age and I REACT badly. There will come a time, mark my words, when young people can no longer read a watch that has hands. Just as they have no idea how to DIAL a phone number on a rotary phone.
Rant over.
I have no idea what DONEZO is or what JAZZ HANDS are. I can never remember the MINAJ gal and I didn't know ABE. But I solved this harder-than-usual Tuesday anyway and I liked it a lot.
BUOY, 7 Down would have fallen much more quickly if I hadn't read the clue as "Baby bobber." "Grandpa's knee" had too many letters. I suppose having a new granddaughter will do things like that to you!
Nice to see pwned show up as a clue after recent pearl clutching about it as an answer recently.
Congrats on that asylum hearing. Enjoyed the puzzle.
Agreed, which makes the "NOT ON MY (smart)WATCH" gag even weirder.
Nancy, if you know the choreography of Bob Fosse then you “know” what JAZZHANDS are.
Um my non-generative AI begs to coffer:
A watch crystal is the transparent glass or plastic that covers the watch face. It protects the watch from damage and allows you to read the time.
As has been noted here countless times before: tamed and domesticated are two different things; Taming is behavior modification of an individual animal; domestication is evolutionary genetic change of a species over time. Merely domesticated animal species are not inherently tame, and there are literally millions of domesticated animals in the world right now who are not tame. And, no, it's not close enough for crosswords. Why NYTimes Games persists in this error is beyond comprehension
I thought this puzzle had a lot of sparkle for a Tuesday. @Nancy, I read a comic today where the kid comments that he can’t read a clock “dial” and I think the inability to read an analog clock is already here. I dunno. For ME, there is something about how my brainwaves embrace the visual picture of time within the day and even if I look at a digital clock, I somehow create a picture in my mind of that time in analog fashion.
“Not on my watch” is fine: it’s not on MINE, it might be on yours.
“not on my watch“ is fine. It’s not on mine, it might or might not be on yours.
Attention all YEMEN of YEMEN. Can ANYONE find me a REALMAN, or should I put the LATINO TONI ONIT? I'm fine either way. I neither DONOR don't care.
Did you hear that Rutgers University is being forbidden from participating in all NCAA sports? They're calling it the ARUBAN.
My BAND got so twisted that I have a kNOTONMYWATCH.
@Clare - I once won an asylum case, but I was trying to stay out of a place rather than stay in. Different asylums for different folks. I liked the write-up,
but am surprised you didn't jump on ALLRED vis-a-vis your team and your dog!
Nice Tuesday puzzle. Clever theme, a few great clues, a bit of crunch (not CHEX Mix crunch, more like Rice Crispiest). Thanks, Greg Snitkin
Analog clocks are still plentiful -- my watch, but also most wall clocks and clocks in clock towers. And if you go on a whale watch, the guide will shout things like "dolphins at 10 o'clock!"
Speaking of dolphins, MAHI mahi are not just a Hawaiian fish, it's the Hawaiian name for a fish that is also found elsewhere. Here on the East Coast the name has caught on, because the old name for that fish was "dolphin," which confused almost everybody. (Of course, fish names being what they are, our MAHI may be a different species from the Hawaiian ones.)
I think Mr. Shortz reads the comments here, and put "pwned" in the clues to troll us.
No, I've never heard DONEZO either. But now I probably shall.
Above-average last-words-connections puztheme. And a pangrammer, too boot.
staff weeject pick: HQS. Plural abbreve meat, and crucial pangrammer contributor.
some fave stuff: GYPSY. DRUNKDIAL clue. NUTCASE. ZONKED.
DONEZO? har
Thanx for the fun, Mr. Snitkin dude. A smartly devised TuesPuz.
Thanx for the ALL RED update, Clare darlin.
Masked & Anonym007Us
... speakin of NUTCASEs ...
"Alternate Facts" - 7x7 themed runt puzzle:
**gruntz**
M&A
p.s.
Rumor has it that all Comment Gallery commenters will soon be required to give a 5-bullet list of what they did last week.
M&A first draft:
1. Make runtpuzs.
2. Date Stevie Nicks.
3. Date Meg Ryan.
4. Date Taylor Swift.
5. And date lotsa other folks, birthdate-guessin-wise.
M&Also
I hated pwned as an answer last week and hate it just a much as a clue today.
Played super hard for me …
Llamada borracha.
Solved this under the lingering effects of fentanyl after my procedure. So as you can imagine, I found this puzzle quite pleasant.
Haven't worn a watch since cell phones arrived on the scene, but I sort of miss the old-school windups. After my mother retired from her telephone company job, she worked part-time at a watch counter at Joslins department store in Denver and could buy close-out watches for next to nothing. She liked the good stuff. Toward the end of her time there she mostly changed batteries on cheap digital watches. Society collapsed in her view.
I researched AQUA vs. TEAL and the charts also helpfully include TURQUOISE. I see a lot more turquoise wandering around out here in the desert. Mostly on grammas.
❤️ [Kook] = NUTCASE. DONEZO. ZONKED.
People: 6
Places: 4
Products: 11 {eek}
Partials: 2
Foreignisms: 2
--
Gary's Grid Gunk Gauge: 25 of 78 (32%)
Funnyisms: 4 🙂
Uniclues:
1 What Winona Ryder did to land her in the clink.
2 Nickname for my ex-girlfriend who liked me a lot less when sober (as most people do).
3 Why Frankenstein's monster had flexible wrists.
4 One encountering a Rex Parker essay for the first time.
5 "Can somebody please get me out of this coffin in Ramazzano le Pulci. The joke's not funny anymore."
6 The Rock napping.
7 Stowaway with a violin on a rocket ship.
8 Used asana supporter to reach port.
9 Marseillean confirms the puppy chow has chile spice added.
1 STAR RABID SHOP
2 MADAM DRUNK DIAL
3 JAZZ HANDS DONOR
4 NOOB AGOG
5 DEAD ITALY TEXT
6 REAL MAN ZONKED
7 DEFT NASA GYPSIE
8 SAILED YOGA MAT
9 OUI, LATINO CHEX
My Fascinating Crossword Uniclue Keepsake from Last Year: Bugs living in a car build a water feature. SEDAN ANTS ADD EDDY.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I love your write-ups, Clare. More puppy news!
Interesting point for sure, but "beyond comprehension" seems extreme in this context.
Congrats to you and your client, Clare, and thank you for the important work!
Agree that this was easy, though I got needlessly held up in a few places mostly my fault. Couldn’t remember the JAZZ in JAZZHANDS for the longest time (I don’t think I’ve heard it since the 90s or whenever *Bring It On* came out), and since it crossed DONEZO which I didn’t know at all, that area took me a while. More painfully, I initially wanted the Miami Dolphins to be “teal,” but saw OUI and PeT (a plausible kealoa) in the crosses, and then the color seemed to be the not-nearly-specific-enough blUe, which stayed firmly in that corner for far too long. It didn’t help that right below it I guessed that the big name in brewing was “Amstel” (doubling up on the ADAMS clue). All totally my fault, needlessly extending the time on an easy and peppy Tuesday. But the puzzle had enough fun energy to keep me entertained in the hold up.
The revealer was the best part of this, in the way it completely changes the meaning of the phrase in a fun way. Like many of you, I haven't worn a watch since I started carrying a cel phone in 2005. I remember when the experts were predicting we would all wear Dick Tracy style superwatches; but the dang cel phones prevented that, with their lovely big screens.
Lately several members of my family insist that we all have to do JAZZ HANDS every time we take a group photo. My sister's boyfriend never goes along with it.
Nice write-up Clare & good to hear about Red. I don't think he's bitey - puppies NIP. He's just asserting himself - enjoy it while it lasts :)
A puzzle with an opening clue MARIO KART item - (STAR) put me in a mindset that "this isn't going to work for me." But it did, surprisingly. I see that I'm going to have to remember anything that has to do with PWNed - NOOB. Having never watched the Simpsons I had ABU stuck in my head until I realized from doing puzzles that it was APU so I finally got ABE.
Nice theme & an enjoyable puzzle & thank you, Greg :)
didn't really enjoy this one with all the ? clues and the dumb misdirects. Also seeing pwned again for like the 3rd time in 2 weeks is annoying and pretty dated
How about RABID NUTCASE?
I thought I was a (casual) gamer but never heard of ONEUP; I must be a NOOB which, of course, I did know. 😉. I learned pwned from crosswords. I hit reveal several times but it was a nice puzzle experience. DRUNKDIAL Is called something else here. Lots of good fill, sneaky clue for PTA.
I like solving this puzzle. Theme answers were fun and the revealer is a catchy phrase. But the theme overall has me scratching my head. Smart watches have a crystal that protects the dial (a display which may have electronic hands). It's all held together in a case that seals the whole unit from dust and water and allows a strap to be attached. So reading the clue for the revealer at the end, I felt like I was watching an elaborate house of cards come crashing down.
Nancy,
While I have no regrets about the disappearance of rotary phones, I do still love my analog watches - all eight of them.
One for every day of the week and a spare. The one I’m wearing while I type this (a Timex Weekender) is a remake of the first watch I ever purchased, though now made with mostly plastic parts. It gives me joy. Most of my watches are battery powered but a few need winding. It’s so nice just to glance at my wrist rather than fumble in my pocket for my phone. And they look good. I don’.t wear much jewelry. No rings, no earrings, no gold chains, but always a nice watch.
I have a friend who wears an Apple Watch and it seems to have a CASE and a CRYSTAL (a glass or plastic cover)) so I think the theme was kind of weak.
With a made up word like done-zo, that's generally only spoken, it's always difficult know what spelling the constructor expects. I would spell it like it sounds, either dunnzo or dunzo. As a wearer of mechanical watches my crystals are covering the dial (or the back) not in the watch.
I always wear a proper watch. I didn’t until the late 80s when I was awarded a Rolex for selling over quota. Bullet proof watch. No batteries. No winding. Keeps time. Like a old friend now.
Congratulations on getting (anyone) asylum!
Good for your sister's boyfriend. Be sure to tell him there are people who admire him for that.
Hey @Roo! I so enjoy your posts and I relate to your humor. There are already smart implants, my friend. I have two that regulate parts of my neural connections so I don’t need a wheelchair. An absolute medical miracle for me.
Congrats on winning asylum for your client, Claire. That’s not easy - and is getting more and more difficult with each passing day. As tough and grueling as the practice of law can get, in whatever your area you practice I promise you that it will never burn you out if you continue to make time to help people who need help. Nearly every lawyer I know started law school with the noble beliefs that the rule of law exists to help, to keep us honest and to ensure that we adhere to the guiding principle that here in America, no-one is above the law. In my 40 year career, I was privileged to keep a farm family from losing an alfalfa crop to an overzealous developer, to help kids find adoptive homes where they could thrive, and work with so many other people needing a roadmap through the legal jungle and a tireless advocate to lead the way. What a great success you achieved for your client. Keep up the good work!
My solving experience today pretty much matches yours. I enjoyed the cleverness, the theme and most of the misdirects. As a catholic school kid and parent of a catholic primary school student, you say “sister,” I automatically say nun! Which has caused me errors when the constructor actually meant sibling. JAZZ HANDS always makes me chuckle as we have a family “in joke” about it. I wasn’t sure what to put after DRUNK in response to “call after last call” because I had never come across the term DRUNK DIAL. Clearly I don’t get out as much as I need to!
A little heavy on the slang but the theme was tight and this had some excellent clues and enjoyable answers. A very fine Tuesday puzzle.
Up the Reds! And the USWNT!
Phillyrad1999
It does annoy me when the kea/loa is the same word, differently spelled (nube, noob, newb). I put down the n and await developments.
jamman
The people who decide what a word is are the speakers of English. Not any individual. Donezo is a word because millions of people say regularly.
Snafu started as Army slang in WWIi. Whether slang should be in the Times puzzle is a matter of opinion, but it you slang from another era then you can use contemporary slang.
Anonymous 8:56 AM
No cringe necessary about Gypsy
The title is the stage name of a lead character, based on a real stripper, Gypsy Rose Lee Nothing whatsoever to do with Roma.
This famous musical has been revived three or four times since 1959.
Nut case in my experience is not used to refer to someone who has serious mental health issues but more at annoying people, like politicians I think the attempt to censure language usage has gone too far. It gives justification to the extreme right to censure, which will be much worse
Anonymous 9:17 AM
Noob/pwned electronic games on line. Pwned just appeared in Times puzzle recently
Anonymous 10:35 AM
Crosswords are not technical manuals They are puzzles with hints ( not definitions).
These puzzles rely on the general population’s use of English not specialists.so the clue/ answer is fine
A former commentator here used to say sometimes it hurts to know too much about a subject while doing crosswords.
Late as usual
Liked the puzzle
To me, crystal always refers to the watch works. I always used glass to refer to the cover Years ago I am sure that what almost every one would have said. years ago.
All the other references are virtual on a smart watch No actual hands etc
Works for me.
Good post CDilly! As a fellow attorney (environmental) I am SO with you on the sentiment you conveyed. Our profession can quite often be conflated with “ambulance chasing” when, in fact, most attorneys find that abhorrent. There are a lot of GOOD things that are done in the “practice of law.”
That’s’ an excuse that many people use. Nutcase is used, believe me, to describe people with mental health issues quite often. Language is important and I personally love learning how to improve what I’m putting out in the world.
What's it called when the puzzle has every letter? Also, don't "shop" Friday the 28th as part of a DOGE/DEI statement if you're so inclined or shop local.
That's called a bezel I believe, a word I've never seen in a Xword.
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