Topiarist's "canvas" / FRI 5-30-25 / Typical floor covering in a washitsu / Leavened loaf made sans yeast / Something that's filled with bad words / Stock seller's stipulation / Onetime manufacturer of the Flying Cloud / Shout during a Real Madrid penalty shootout / "The Good Dinosaur" protagonist / Creature with "Underwater eyes, an eel's / Oil of water body," per the poet Ted Hughes / Brazilian genre that's an offshoot of samba
Constructor: Rafael Musa
Relative difficulty: Easy
THEME: none
Word of the Day: washitsu (47D: Typical floor covering in a washitsu) —
A washitsu (和室), meaning "Japanese-style room(s)", and frequently called a "tatami room" in English, is a Japanese room with traditional tatami flooring. Washitsu also usually have sliding doors (fusuma), rather than hinged doors between rooms. They may have shōji and, if the particular room is meant to serve as a reception room for guests, it may have a tokonoma (alcove for decorative items). // Traditionally, most rooms in a Japanese dwelling were in washitsu style. However, many modern Japanese houses have only one washitsu, which is sometimes used for entertaining guests, and most other rooms are Western-style. Many new construction Japanese apartments have no washitsu at all, instead using linoleum or hardwood floors.
The size of a washitsu is measured by the number of tatami mats, using the counter wordjō (畳), which, depending on the area, are between 1.5 m2 and 1.8 m2. (See tatami.) Typical room sizes are six or eight tatami mats in a private home. There are also half-sized mats, as in a 4.5-tatami room.
People sit directly on the tatami, on zabuton (a kind of cushion), or on special low chairs set on the tatami. For sleeping, a futon is laid out in the evening and folded away in the morning. Other furniture in a washitsu may include a low table at which a family may eat dinner or entertain guests, and a kotatsu, a particular type of low table that contains a heating element used in the wintertime, may also be provided. The kotatsu may be particularly important in winter as most Japanese homes do not have central heating.
The antonym is yōshitsu (洋室), meaning "Western-style room(s)". (wikipedia)
• • •
Smooth, easy, delightful. I don't know if DRIVERS LICENSES is the most scintillating central marquee answers I've ever seen, but so much of this puzzle just hums and flows so beautifully. From GAYBAR to BOSSANOVA to "ALL ABOARD!" up to SWEAR JAR over HOT SAUCE, down to INSIDE JOB, EL DORADO, and SLAM DUNK, this puzzle was more than lively enough for a Friday, with very few hiccups or weak spots. And while paired clues (identiclues?) often annoy me (because they can feel forced) I was actually entertained by both of today's pairings, mainly because it was like the puzzle was reading my mind a little. First thought for 29D: South Asian wraps was SARIS but ... nope, DOSAS. But then bam, the puzzle's all "Were you looking for this [South Asian wrap]?" and hands me SARI after all (42A: South Asian wrap). Something similar happened with the nail polishes, both of which I "know" because of crosswords. I say "know" because I seem to conflate their names—why are there two crossword nail polishes with sassy shade names, O Lord?! So for my first nail polish (28A: Nail polish brand with a Raisin Your Voice shade) I wrote in EPI, which I realize now is because of name conflation: OPI + ESSIE = EPI! It quickly became clear that EPI was actually OPI ("DUH! I must've been thinking of Essie..."), and then the puzzle's all "Were you looking for this nail polish brand, also?" and hands me ESSIE after all (31D: Nail polish brand with a Gossip N' Spill shade). All this felt like the puzzle playing low-key tricks on me, and I didn't mind. It's fun to actually enjoy the short fill, for once. Speaking of nail polish, and making mistakes, I screwed up an (apparently) very easy Connections yesterday because while everyone else on the planet apparently understood that one of the groupings involved donuts, I fell deep, deep down a fingernail treatment hole and couldn't get out. "Frost" "Polish" "Glaze" "Powder" ... even "Sprinkle," these are all things one might do to one's nails. No one should ever have told me the variety of things that can be done to nails. I don't even care! The extra knowledge is a burden! Ignorance is bliss!
The only answer that really clanked for me today was ASK PRICE, which ... what genius decided "hey you know we can say this faster if we drop the -ING"? (10D: Stock seller's stipulation). Is there a fundamental difference between an "asking price" and an ASK PRICE. I'm not doubting the term's validity, I'm just saying it's stupid. I'm also lukewarm at best on ARTISTE (46A: Cabaret performer, e.g.), which I know only as a mildly derisive term for someone with pretenses to artistry (of any kind). Like, I can't imagine someone using it unironically / unmockingly. But that's my problem, not the word's, I guess. It has its definitions and "a skilled public performer or entertainer" is one of them. No real trouble with any of the answers today. Went with "OLE!" before "GOL!" but quickly realized that was wrong (1D: Shout during a Real Madrid penalty shootout). I wanted PAS before DAD (44A: Pops), but again, crosses took care of that problem. I have never seen The Good Dinosaur, so ARLO was just a guess cobbled out of crosses and a lifetime of seeing ARLO in the puzzle under various guises ([Folk singer Guthrie], [English indie pop singer Parks], [Janis's cartoon partner]). The Pixar dino has been used before, I just forgot (32A: "The Good Dinosaur" protagonist).
The hardest answer for me to get by a long shot today was OTTER (50A: Creature with "Underwater eyes, an eel's / Oil of water body," per the poet Ted Hughes). Was thinking "fish." Because "eel" is a fish. Also was thinking maybe mythological creature (NAIAD?), who the hell knows. I do like the poetic language here—it's a fresh clue for a common answer. But why in the world is it necessary to qualify Ted Hughes with "the poet"?? Like, you just quoted what is manifestly poetry to me (it's got a line break in it and everything), I assume that it came from a poet—also Ted Hughes is a pretty famous poet. I guess the quote could've been a song lyric and maybe people might've thought he was a pop singer or whatever, but something about adding "the poet" felt ... condescending (to me)? Insulting (to him)? It's Ted Hughes! He was Poet Laureate for fourteen years (in the '80s/'90s). People know who he is, even if it's only for having been married to Sylvia Plath.
Continued observations:
54A: XXX (TENS) — because "X" is a Roman numeral meaning "ten," and ... there are three of them here ... so, TENS.
6D: Onetime manufacturer of the Flying Cloud (REO) — come on, that's a cool name. They should bring it back. Every car today is named some dumb one-word cooked-up-in-a-marketing-lab name like SOUL or VOLT or ALTIMA or ELEMENT or AZERA or IMPREZA or IBIZA or whatever. Give me a Flying Cloud, dammit! The future was supposed to be fun and interesting! Not every car looking the same and sounding the same! There weren't even supposed to be cars, at this point. What a disappointment the future has turned out to be.
58D: She's a believer (NUN) — I mean, sure, but lots (and lots and lots) of people are "believers." This doesn't really get at ... NUNness very well.
47D: Typical floor covering in a washitsu (TATAMI) — see "Word of the Day" above. I was not familiar with the term "washitsu," but TATAMI I've seen before. Turns out I've seen many a "washitsu" in Japanese films. Legendary Japanese film director Yasujiro OZU is famous for his use of these rooms in many of his gorgeous interior shots. These compositions even have a name—the "tatami shot." "Ozu invented the "tatami shot", in which the camera is placed at a low height, supposedly at the eye level of a person kneeling on a tatami mat. Actually, Ozu's camera is often even lower than that, only one or two feet off the ground, which necessitated the use of special tripods and raised sets" (wikipedia). Famous enough to have had a type of shot named for him ... and yet still somehow not famous enough to have ever appeared in the NYTXW. If you can do UZI, you can do OZU. You've literally done his name backward nine times (shout-out to UZO Aduba!)—come on, constructors. LET'S GO! OZU me!
Wasn’t taken with this at first glance given the segmented corners and strained cluing voice. I did warm up after seeing some of what the big guy highlights but I can’t lean too positive when the central spanner is so pedestrian.
Always nice to see @Pablo’s OTTER and I liked SODA BREAD and SLAM DUNK. DOSAS as a wrap is a stretch just to make the gag fit and the nail polish stuff is awkward at best.
License for whatever reason is a word I can never spell correctly. Make it plural and it is even worse. The rest of the puzzle was a lot of fun , enjoyed all of the longer clues and after guessing otter, finished with a smile to start an almost summer Friday.
Same! LICENCE is the British spelling and as I live in the UK, that's what I went with first. Also, not knowing DOSA meant that DOCA sounded perfectly plausible to me :)
Both licence and license are correct unless you are a linguistic nationalist. I was recently presented with a marking guide here in the UK that told me to watch out for "US spelling errors" in students' work. What on earth is a US spelling error? Do you mean, by any chance, /correct/ US spellings?
Lots of whooshing, my fastest solve this week (I did the Monday puzzle downs-only). Like Rex I had OLE before GOL, and SARIS instead of DOSAS mad me doubt LICENSES until I saw the clue for singular SARI, with the I in place.
I like the term “identiclue”. On the LA Times Crossword Corner blog they’re called “clechoes”. Speaking of which, I came across a Friday puzzle (NYT December 2nd 2005) with an identiclued double-stack of 15s. [Source of pop-ups?] for ELECTRIC TOASTER (not the flashiest of spanners but the clue works great) and NATIONAL PASTIME. I don’t know enough about sports to understand that second clue, can anyone enlighten me?
I agree with Easy, but Easy for a Friday, not Wednesday Easy.
Overwrites: I fell into the ole/GOL soccer trap at 1D as well as the @Rex sariS/DOSAS trap at 29D ACNE (13D) isn't the only thing caused by steroids - they can also cause rage My 51D orders were To go before they were TALL I had sEA green at 33A before I had PEA
WOEs: Nail polish brand ESSIE at 31D. I realize it's been in crosswords before , but my meager brain only has enough synapses for one type of nail polish and that's OPI (28A) ARLO at 32A. The only ARLO I know is Guthrie. I don't know washitsu in the 47D clue, but since it was Japanese-sounding I filled in TATAMI from just the leading T
Re: ASK PRICE, this is a real thing when it comes to the stock market. Someone who wants to buy a stock offers a bid price, and someone who wants to sell offers an ask price. There’s a spread between those prices, known as the bid-ask spread, which is essentially the cost of trading a certain stock. Anyway, the ASK PRICE (or just “ask”) is never referred to as an “asking price”, which AFAIK is unique to stock trading, hence the specific reference to the stock market in the clue.
I'm glad you explained that. I knew ASKPRICE was specific to the stock market but didn't know quite how it worked vis-a-vis bid price. I don't trade stocks but I occasionally glance at the business pages in the paper.
The ask price represents the lowest price a stock owner will sell their stock for. It's not an "asking" price because that form of ask implies bargaining and if you set an ask price that isn't met then no trade takes place.
I really really really wanting tAZING to be the answer for “stunning,” but had to reluctantly give it up for DAD. What is DAZING anyway? C’mon gimme a little zap in the morning!
Yes, DAZe and DAZed are words but DAZING? I don’t think so. This was one of those answers where I thought, “They can’t want DAZING, ugh, no, but they do!”
When I finish a Friday without cheating, it's a good day. I share Rex's favorable view of the puzzle, which was medium in difficulty IMO. As a former stockbroker I can affirm that "asking price" is correct; if the clue had added "for short" or "in brief," it would have been far better. ASKPRICE is very crosswordese-ish...I spent 33 years in the securities business and never heard it once.
“The ask price is ___” is how one would refer to the best price to sell on a stock market. It’s about the current prices available and not about a particular person’s price to sell.
The clue for I-D is very unclear to me. A penalty shootout is a procedure that, by its very nature, involves two teams: it is a shootout between two opposing clubs. To name only one club in the designation makes no sense. This clue could easily be fixed, something like "shout following a successful Real Madrid penalty shot." - designating an action completed by one of the two clubs in the shootout.
This felt Very Easy, lots of enjoyable whoosh....plunking in GAYBAR on the first clue was a great way to start my day! I would agree that ARTISTE is only used with a negative connotation. It's nice to see a puzzle with very little crosswordese, the only answer I had a slight issue with was TVAD, which feels redundant.
I felt like I had Friday paranoia today. I hesitated to drop in GAY BAR and ONE ONE for example, thinking they were too straightforward for a Friday and was looking for a hook somewhere (ditto for ROCK BAND - we get worn down with a seeming infinite parade of “genres” during the week and we get a normal answer on Friday - I can’t tell if they are messing with my head or maybe I am developing some type of psychosis).
My crossword solving skills would inch up a tad if I managed to memorize those nail polish names that to me only exist in CrossWorld (similar to a batter that learns how to foul off that low, sinking slider that just catches the outside part of the plate - it might bump my batting average up a few points, but won’t turn me into a home run hitter).
I also hesitated at FAJITA without the S and ARTISTE, which I thought might be a European variant (thinking of Cabaret as a European concept - probably because I adored Liza as Sally Bowles in the movie).
I don’t understand the difficulty in getting d’oh and d’uh right. D’oh is I’m an idiot. D’uh is you’re an idiot. Think Homer and sarcastic teenage girls from a generation back.
My only initial mistake when I was finished. I had DoH, and since I didn’t know what a “topiarist” was, for all I knew such a one might work with something called a SHRoB. Managed to find the mistake on my own thought.
Thought "Star cluster" was a really cute clue for ANISE before realizing it was supposed to be ALIST. Total snoozefest, though not as much do as DRIVERSLICENSE.
Overall, pretty easy for a Friday. SE corner really put up the only resistance.
I expect more from a themeless puzzle. What are the marquee answers here? SWEAR JAR is good, but that's about it. ROCK BAND, OLD SONGS, ASK PRICE, DRIVERS LICENSES ... where is the pizzazz?
Lovely when a puzzle evokes more than simply the satisfaction of a fill-in. Today:
The sound of a sizzling FAJITA as it’s set on the table. The grace and color of a beautiful SARI. The way OLD SONGS sounded on my transistor radios. The cool, smooth, intimate feel of the BOSSA NOVA. The signature sound of a conductor yelling, “ALL ABOARD!” The dense and marvelous forest smell of PINES.
Not to mention, joy at lovely quirks: The rhyming top line of GAY BAR and SWEAR JAR. The contradictory neighbors of WISE and DUH. The vastly different meanings of LETSGO depending on whether or not it has quotation marks.
When the box is filled with little riches such as these, Rafael, it brings treasure into the day. Thank you so much for making this!
I got stuck at "dazing." I have never encountered it as a synonym for "stunning." Dazzling, yes, but dazing? After filling everything else in, it had to be that, but it didn't sit right. I suppose it can be "dazing" or "stunning" to be "bonked" on the head. Maybe that's what the puzzle author was getting at.
Had a LICENCE. LICENSE problem (see above) but DOCAS aren't anything so fixed that. Didn't run the alphabet far enough to come up with DAZING, and quit at DARING, so a technical DNF although my paper never produces happy music so I didn't try to fix anything.
Finally getting to know nail polish brands and a new clue for ARLO, otherwise no real snags. Had a nice Latin flavor with BOSSANOVA and ELDORADO and FAJITA and even MADRE.
Highlight was of course OTTER, and now I have learned a new and nicely poetic description of my old pal. My favorite quote about them is still "If an OTTER cannot have fun doing something, he simply will not do it ". Words to live by.
Had a great time with this one RM. Made for a Righteous Morning here, and thanks for all the fun.
Great one! Loved it, also had “easy for a Friday” for sure but fun. Only Gripe, White Stripes was a Rock. Duo and I was a bit nitpicky about having to put in Rock Band, there are so many bands but save duos for when that’s the answer!!
Another day when I pretty much agree with everything @Rex said. I think I must channel Rafa’s wavelength because, while I was satisfied with the easy Friday, it was entertaining for many reasons Rex mentioned.
It’s kind of funny the things people like/don’t like as crossword fill. As a drug store nail polish aficionado, I’m always happy to see my old friends OPI and ESSIE stop in for a visit. My go to ESSIE shade is “Mrs. Always Right” and after searching “Gossip n Spill”, I’ve decided I’ll have to look for it next time I pop into CVS.
Dang! So close. They just missed World Otter Day which, this year, was Wed. 28 May. And, they did it again. Today is International Day of the Potato and there’s nary a spud in sight. Although, wait. Maybe DOSAS sometimes have potato filling?
I’m always obscurely happy when I solve the puzzle like a normal person, and fill in the NW first. It helps when the NW is small, like today. I’d never heard of a drag brunch, but thought GAY BAR just had to be the answer and that led to completion of the first 6 downs. Moving to the NE, I didn’t know what was filled with bad words (the Dictionary?), but then hit gleefully upon “steak rub” as [Bottleful at a barbeque]. I knew the White Stripes and Deep Purple were each a ROCK BAND but then, idiotically, filled in DoH for [“I am an idiot!”]. Oblivious to my errors, I thought I’d put myself in a good position to ace the NE. Oops – none of the downs worked. What finally killed off “steak rub” was the conviction that ETC must be the [Alternative to an ellipsis]. So I removed the rub and then started getting the downs, which in turn led to SWEAR JAR, HOT SAUCE and DUH.
At the end of the solve, I hit another snag in the SW with DAZING and BONKS. I had DAZzly and BOopS, which caused me to bog right down. Oh, and I also thought [Like some orders] was To(-)go – I see I'm not alone there (hi @Conrad). I think what got me out of that mess was trying ING on the end of DAZ. Whew, a good finish with no cheats and in decent time. Happy Friday! Many thanks to Rafa, our rexblog friend.
I looked up drag brunch and found this promo from a local restaurant call the Vanitea Room.
Darling, are you searching for a drag brunch like no other? Are you craving an afternoon of glittering, prosecco/Orange Mimosa-fueled, unadulterated drag fabulousness? Well, look no further than Vanitea’s Drag Brunch – the most camp and outrageous event to grace the local bottomless brunch scene.
Then, of course, I had to look up bottomless brunch. Ah, I see. Unlimited prosecco refills for a limited time. Well, with all that fabulousness, I might just have to try it!
In honor of World Otter Day, I’d love to float on my back along a rocky coastline with a nice flat rock on my belly to crack as many crab claws as I could eat’
Well, point taken as to the fun quotient, but really I'd like a little more of a challenge on Friday. Played like a Monday. SW the only hard corner for me, too, but the nice thing about the Ted Hughes clue is that after a bit of thought and a cross or two I was able to come up with it, not least because the description itself is so beautifully apt. Other Ted Hughes trivia: Pete Townsend of the ROCKBAND The Who actually worked as an acquisitions editor at Faber and Faber, through which he got to be friends with Hughes and ended up producing the animated film of Hughes's "The Iron Giant." Which is one of my all-time favorite animated films, even before I noticed Townsend's name in the credits and followed the rabbit hole to find out 1) yes, THAT Pete Townsend, 2) he worked as a literary editor? who knew! and 3) yes, THAT Ted Hughes.
Am I the only one puzzled by 7-Across in today’s NYT Crossword? A swear jar holds money, not the actual bad words. The swears happen outside the jar—they’re what cause the jar to fill up. Nobody collects swear words (unless it’s a particularly juicy phrase worth saving in iOS Notes for future use).
I still envy those handling puzzles like today with ease. No slog at all, loved how this one fell together, got through it without cheating, but not easy. Just fun (thanks for the otter related quote @pabloinnh). This was one of those that I manage to fill in sparsely pretty quickly, then struggle with the longer ones, rethink my shorter fill, and eventually discover first instincts were right.
@Rex, "hell, yeah" was a third identiclue, and also fun.
Hang on @thefenn! The more you solve, the more tricks you learn and the more familiar you become with some of the frequent constructors, the more flow you will have.
For ncmathsadist: Thank you for confirming that ASKPRICE is an unspoken phrase, though the words "bid" and "ask" are used separately to refer to potential buyers and sellers of stock.
Interesting fact about the “TATAMI shot” - thanks Rex! - especially since filling in that answer immediately evoked daydreaming about Ozu’s The Flavor of Green Tea Over Rice. It was the first film of his I saw and I think my favorite.
This was quite fun and whooshy, but I doubted DAZING, as I've never heard that word. And I'm tired of ESSIE and OPI, especially in the same puzzle. And I have never ever heard FAJITA used in the singular!
I waited for the slightest bit of resistance but couldn't find any at all. To me, this is not a Friday puzzle.
But what is a NYTXW editor to do if there's a themeless he wants to publish, but it's not at a Friday level of difficulty? Well he can make the clues harder, of course. But also...
Look. You make the rules and you can unmake the rules. Nowhere is it written in the firmament that the only day that can have a themeless is Friday. Why not commit yourself to, say, five-to-six themed puzzles a week and one-to-two themeless puzzles a week and schedule them anywhere you like? First, it gives you much more flexibility as to what puzzles you can publish. Second, it gives the solver more of a surprise as to what they're getting. Just a suggestion. But this puzzle would have made a perfect Tuesday for me.
Mia MADRE said to throw in some yeast SODABREAD will rise.
We went out to an Italian restaurant last night. I was tempted by the pasta Alla Gricia, but decided on the penne ALLABOARD. Bad choice. Tasted like wood.
If your employer isn't into 40 year old clunkers, don't buy the BOSSANOVA.
On my fourth full day teaching a travel course in Ireland, I was embarrassed by how many crosses I needed before SODA BREAD came into view. I’m gonna blame the jet-lag.
Any Friday I finish without looking anything up counts as a good one for me, so I ended up loving it. But ESSIE wasn’t quite in my nascent crosswordese dictionary yet (maybe it is now?), so that little corner with it and DOSAS and ARTISTE and SCIONS took me a bit. All told, good fun.
Conspiracy theory of the day - I’m convinced that Friday and Saturday puzzles are no longer edited for difficulty, only themelessness. A Friday shouldn’t take me a mere 9+ minutes and while I did enjoy it, I enjoy doing hard puzzles more.
ALL ABOARD brought to mind “all ashore that's going ashore” which is obviously not a boat boarding phrase, but it's something in my general knowledge bank that I've never heard in real life.
Tricky clue for 43A. I was very hesitant when its various components filled in because it wasn’t a surface I recognized. Time zone, aha!
I enjoyed the cheery, positive vibe of the puzzle - ALL ABOARD for an easy SLAMDUNK solve, to the beat of the BOSSA NOVA and a ROCK BAND (which might play your favorite OLD SONGS), the promise of EL DORADO, the assurance of I CARE and I'M OKAY. Easy for me, except for a slowdown in the SW until I figured out how OTTER worked with the crosses.
I have to admit I googled what a washitsu is. It's Friday, I allow myself a google. That said, it was an easy puzzle. I had the LICENcE/LICENSE problem . My other overwrite was EStee before ESSIE. Oh and DAZING? kind of clunky - I had DAZzly first, even clunkier.
What a great Friday! Although I didn't know SLAM DUNK, I did love STAR CLUSTER & learned WASHITSU. I asked for a Robyn Friday but this certainly worked for me & was over too soon - thank you, Rafa :) BTW, Rex - I get manicures but yesterday's Connections category threw me too.
Rafa (feel like I know you, with guest gig here and all), what a fun Friday puzzle! Just upbeat with all kinds of clever answers - I think RP captured it well. Every other answer seemed to bring a smile or at least a lipcurl. Too bad you couldn't cross ESSIE/OPI or BOSSANOVA with ROCKBAND like you did DOSAS/SARI.
Got every Across answer except ONEONE (had ONENIL) and ARLO (got from crosses).
Late start today, after we hosted my best friends son last night on a stopover- en route from East to Midwest to start a Masters program. He spent last 4 years in Montana :teaching on a res, organic farming in summers and ski patrol past two winters in the Rockies. My wife and I made sure he understands that tho he's "behind" his college friends professionally, he's far ahead in experiences, personal development, and friendships. It's guys like him that help me to understand the socially prevalent GenZ bashing around me is garbage
Yes this puzzle filled in very quickly; just over 9 minutes and I'm not a fast typer. The only typeover I can remember (solved early last evening) was DOH before DUH.
Even TATAMI I got immediately since the clue contained "floor" and a Japanese word. Some really nice answers like SWEAR JAR.
Fun fact: BOSSA NOVA is Portuguese for "new wave".
Mildly entertaining. Could have been a Wednesday, though. The grid spanning DRIVERSLICENSES was, sadly, pedestrian.
ECO car! ECO hotel! (41A) Just NO! Same for 45D DAZING. And do people actually have SWEARJARs? I’d be f**king penniless in a week. That’s if we still had pennies here north of the 49th. I understand you southerners are starting to phase them out. Finally, an intelligent move from The Great Dictator.
Good clues for 58D NUN and 27D ALIST. I, of course, was looking skyward for that one.
No record time or anything because I was in ambling mode, but it sure seemed easy.
Nice themeless stuff. The overall smoothness made it a pretty friendly solvequest, at our house.
staff weeject pick: EDT. Mostly cuz I liked its sneaky clue. honrable mention to OPI, which I had already forgotten the spellin on, as it hadn't been in the puz for almost a coupla months.
some fave stuff: INSIDEJOB & SWEARJAR, as they had hot J sauce. SLAMDUNK/BONKS. ALIST clue [one of only 2 ?-marker clues].
Thanx, Mr. Musa dude. Nice job.
Masked & Anonymo3Us
.... and now, somethin that hasn't so far lived up to its title ...
"Painful Solvequest" - 7x7 12 min. themed runt puzzle:
I rented an apartment in Tokyo while I was working there in the 80s. Yeah, it was tiny but I quickly learned that it was functional and quite livable, even enjoyable. It had one washitsu so 47D TATAMI was a gimme. It was the dining room, then the living room and then, with unrolled futon, the bedroom. It isn't pronounced as the three syllable wah-shit-sue but gets elided to the two syllable washed-sue.
Years ago I read everything I could get my hands about the Spaniards' invading what is now South America. My takeaway was that the legend of 38D EL DORADO was about a mythical person rather than a land as clued. He was a king or great chief of a place that had so much gold that every day he covered himself with gold dust and then washed it off every night in a nearby lake. I would say it means "He who is golden" or maybe "gilded".
Fabulous Friday! I’m a Rafa fangirl; he’s on my list. Heck, I never met the man, probably shouldn’t be so familiar. Mr. Musa hit it out of the park just like Ella Parker Parker yesterday in the bottom of the 7th, with two out and two on. Last chance and she hit a blast over the center field fence for a walkoff win against Tennessee keeping Oklahoma’s hopes for a fifth straight softball championship alive and well. I may be out here in Cali, but I shall never forsake my Sooner softball team. Patty Gasso has built her juggernaut from scratch and is a huge part of why NCAA softball has become wonderfully competitive everywhere - not just in parts of the US where the sun shines all year.
Oh, the puzzle. My delight started at 1A and continued throughout. The only teensy wince was at DAZING, which not only looks weird - like it really really hopes it will be DAZzling when it grows up. “He won’t be unconscious, I’m just DAZING him.” Really? Maybe? Possibly?
TATAMI brought be back the wonderful 4 years during which we had the enormous gift of Japanese neighbors. The dad was finishing his Ph.D. at OSU (that’s “The” OSU) after a bio-something undergrad from Stanford (I remember his sweatshirt) and MD from Johns Hopkins (I snuck into his “study room” and saw the diploma). Throughout my acquaintance I learned that he was a brilliant researcher, and a very quietly stern man.
Doctor Sato scared the bejesus out of me just by walking into a room, yet his quiet seriousness reminded me so much of my granddad (husband of Gran and the creator of what we kids called the Sunday Lecture who alas passed when I was only 8). Dr. S never wasted time yet spoke to me seriously if he had something to say or ask. I never once initiated a conversation. My instincts told me “none of your usual wacky crap at the Satos house.”
Mrs. S had the most beautiful home. She had a special tea table on the tiny back porch and invited my whole Girl Scout troop over to celebrate a tea ceremony. Her gorgeous tea set and tools sat on hand painted TATAMI mats and the low teakwood table and the table on its own large TATAMI.
Her artwork and furniture were the height of elegance to my 10 year old self accustomed to the usual tidy but worn look of everywhere else in my neighborhood. Yet, Mrs. S always apologized because she couldn’t bring all her things from Japan and would be so happy when Dr. S was “in one place” and the home could be washitsu. I could never have dredged that word up from the archives by myself, but it reminded me of some of the easiest “hard lessons” I ever learned about getting to know people from vastly different backgrounds.
So much fun and whoosh today. The perfect Friday puzzle. A fabulous way to kick off a weekend of watching my granddaughter’s dance concerts, exciting sports. WCWS and the Thunder in the finals at long last!!
Today I had one grandson performing with the 3d grade recorder orchestra in the morning, and another grandson singing the part of "Harry" in a high school production of Mamma Mia! in the afternoon. I managed to solve the puzzle before leaving in the morning, but did not have time to come here until now.
Aomw od rhw wnreiwa EW lirrlw fwnweix, w.f. OLD SONGS, but they're mostly good; I liked SWEAR JAR (although I've never had one), RIBEYE, and SODA BREAD, in particular. And MEAN SIT is an interesting concept; I'm thinking of "The Number One Lady's Detective Agency" where the main character, who describes herself as "traditionally built," will occasionally prevail by sitting on her opponent.
But DUH does not mean "I am an idiot!" That would be D'OH. DUH means YOU are an idiot. Also ANGELS are the people who finance a theatrical production; if the term has become more general, I have not noticed.
+1 to getting stuck down the nail treatment hole on Connections yesterday. Luckily I caught the mistake before entering anything (but not before staring at 3/4 of the purple category and wondering what the hell connected them to the fourth).
The Flying Cloud was also a majestic clipper ship that Donald McKay built in East Boston in the 1850s. It won the world speed record on a New York to San Francisco trip. (Around Cape Horn) THOSE were days of romantic vessel names!
That was a rude little puzzle. Took me forever! But in my defense, most of the time was spent early on groping around for any type of foothold anywhere. Once I got a few answers in we started getting along better.
I definitely appreciated and needed the sense of humor today.
Now that I am fat, seems I should start ordering a single FAJITA. Love XXX.
1 Where manly men with malicious maws stuff dollar bills. 2 My immediate thought when I see amps being drug into the bar. 3 Bill Cosby's strategy. 4 The sarcastic feeling in my soul when someone answers the "how are you?" question earnestly.
1 GAY BAR SWEAR JAR 2 LET'S GO. ROCK BAND. 3 DAZING DATES (~) 4 WOO HOO, I CARE
My Fascinating Crossword Uniclue Keepsake from Last Year: Evil genius plan according to detractors. "I RULE EARTH" FOLLY.
Got NATICKED on the T in TATAMI…could not parse out the XXXs being TENS… 🤷♂️ OPI and ESSIE are characters from Andy Griffith, right? 3.5 FAHITAS for me. Next!
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Wasn’t taken with this at first glance given the segmented corners and strained cluing voice. I did warm up after seeing some of what the big guy highlights but I can’t lean too positive when the central spanner is so pedestrian.
ReplyDeleteShe's an ANGEL
Always nice to see @Pablo’s OTTER and I liked SODA BREAD and SLAM DUNK. DOSAS as a wrap is a stretch just to make the gag fit and the nail polish stuff is awkward at best.
Molly Tuttle
Pleasant enough for sure - but not one of his stronger offerings.
Chega de Saudade
Molly Tuttle!! 👍 👍
DeleteThat song’s so great.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteCorrected comment: I believe that the central spanner is something you get so you can stop being so pedestrian.
DeleteDidn’t get happy music. Insisted plural of license was licenSES not licenseCES until I had no choice.
ReplyDeleteLicense for whatever reason is a word I can never spell correctly. Make it plural and it is even worse. The rest of the puzzle was a lot of fun , enjoyed all of the longer clues and after guessing otter, finished with a smile to start an almost summer Friday.
DeleteSame! LICENCE is the British spelling and as I live in the UK, that's what I went with first. Also, not knowing DOSA meant that DOCA sounded perfectly plausible to me :)
DeleteBoth licence and license are correct unless you are a linguistic nationalist. I was recently presented with a marking guide here in the UK that told me to watch out for "US spelling errors" in students' work. What on earth is a US spelling error? Do you mean, by any chance, /correct/ US spellings?
DeleteI don't get this -- it is LICENSES, crossing DOSAS
DeleteLots of whooshing, my fastest solve this week (I did the Monday puzzle downs-only). Like Rex I had OLE before GOL, and SARIS instead of DOSAS mad me doubt LICENSES until I saw the clue for singular SARI, with the I in place.
ReplyDeleteI like the term “identiclue”. On the LA Times Crossword Corner blog they’re called “clechoes”. Speaking of which, I came across a Friday puzzle (NYT December 2nd 2005) with an identiclued double-stack of 15s. [Source of pop-ups?] for ELECTRIC TOASTER (not the flashiest of spanners but the clue works great) and NATIONAL PASTIME. I don’t know enough about sports to understand that second clue, can anyone enlighten me?
National Pastime = baseball; “pop up” is a common baseball term for a ball that is hit high in the air but (generally) not far.
DeleteFAJITA in the singular???
ReplyDeleteYes, terrible. As if they bring you A FAJITA on a skillet.
DeleteAgreed. Do they bring one tortilla? A handful of cheese?
Delete
ReplyDeleteI agree with Easy, but Easy for a Friday, not Wednesday Easy.
Overwrites:
I fell into the ole/GOL soccer trap at 1D as well as the @Rex sariS/DOSAS trap at 29D
ACNE (13D) isn't the only thing caused by steroids - they can also cause rage
My 51D orders were To go before they were TALL
I had sEA green at 33A before I had PEA
WOEs:
Nail polish brand ESSIE at 31D. I realize it's been in crosswords before , but my meager brain only has enough synapses for one type of nail polish and that's OPI (28A)
ARLO at 32A. The only ARLO I know is Guthrie.
I don't know washitsu in the 47D clue, but since it was Japanese-sounding I filled in TATAMI from just the leading T
Opi and Essie can die a fast crossword death
DeleteRe: ASK PRICE, this is a real thing when it comes to the stock market. Someone who wants to buy a stock offers a bid price, and someone who wants to sell offers an ask price. There’s a spread between those prices, known as the bid-ask spread, which is essentially the cost of trading a certain stock. Anyway, the ASK PRICE (or just “ask”) is never referred to as an “asking price”, which AFAIK is unique to stock trading, hence the specific reference to the stock market in the clue.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you explained that. I knew ASKPRICE was specific to the stock market but didn't know quite how it worked vis-a-vis bid price. I don't trade stocks but I occasionally glance at the business pages in the paper.
DeleteThe ask price represents the lowest price a stock owner will sell their stock for. It's not an "asking" price because that form of ask implies bargaining and if you set an ask price that isn't met then no trade takes place.
DeleteI really really really wanting tAZING to be the answer for “stunning,” but had to reluctantly give it up for DAD. What is DAZING anyway? C’mon gimme a little zap in the morning!
ReplyDeleteDaze is common. Dazed and confused etc.
DeleteYes, DAZe and DAZed are words but DAZING? I don’t think so. This was one of those answers where I thought, “They can’t want DAZING, ugh, no, but they do!”
DeleteExactly what JJK just said. DAZING?!?
DeleteI dare say dazing has never been used in an actual conversation…..
DeleteNever saw "tazing" there but you're right, that's much better! Good one
DeleteWhen I finish a Friday without cheating, it's a good day. I share Rex's favorable view of the puzzle, which was medium in difficulty IMO.
ReplyDeleteAs a former stockbroker I can affirm that "asking price" is correct; if the clue had added "for short" or "in brief," it would have been far better. ASKPRICE is very crosswordese-ish...I spent 33 years in the securities business and never heard it once.
ASKPRICE is 100% how the price of a sell order on a stock market is referred to irl
DeleteThanks for the shout out to The Reducers, the best band to come out of New London.
ReplyDeleteFor NJT: Yes, "bid/ask" is real shorthand on Wall Street, but it isn't verbalized. A seller wouldn't say, "My ask price is _____."
ReplyDelete“The ask price is ___” is how one would refer to the best price to sell on a stock market. It’s about the current prices available and not about a particular person’s price to sell.
DeleteThe clue for I-D is very unclear to me. A penalty shootout is a procedure that, by its very nature, involves two teams: it is a shootout between two opposing clubs. To name only one club in the designation makes no sense. This clue could easily be fixed, something like "shout following a successful Real Madrid penalty shot." - designating an action completed by one of the two clubs in the shootout.
ReplyDeleteI think you’re thinking too hard on this one. The clue is basically just a cutesy way of saying “Spanish / soccer (futbol) / cheer “.
DeleteThis felt Very Easy, lots of enjoyable whoosh....plunking in GAYBAR on the first clue was a great way to start my day! I would agree that ARTISTE is only used with a negative connotation. It's nice to see a puzzle with very little crosswordese, the only answer I had a slight issue with was TVAD, which feels redundant.
ReplyDeleteI felt like I had Friday paranoia today. I hesitated to drop in GAY BAR and ONE ONE for example, thinking they were too straightforward for a Friday and was looking for a hook somewhere (ditto for ROCK BAND - we get worn down with a seeming infinite parade of “genres” during the week and we get a normal answer on Friday - I can’t tell if they are messing with my head or maybe I am developing some type of psychosis).
ReplyDeleteMy crossword solving skills would inch up a tad if I managed to memorize those nail polish names that to me only exist in CrossWorld (similar to a batter that learns how to foul off that low, sinking slider that just catches the outside part of the plate - it might bump my batting average up a few points, but won’t turn me into a home run hitter).
I also hesitated at FAJITA without the S and ARTISTE, which I thought might be a European variant (thinking of Cabaret as a European concept - probably because I adored Liza as Sally Bowles in the movie).
I don’t understand the difficulty in getting d’oh and d’uh right. D’oh is I’m an idiot. D’uh is you’re an idiot. Think Homer and sarcastic teenage girls from a generation back.
ReplyDeleteNo, people say DUH to mock themselves all the time (and there’s no apostrophe in DUH ever, FYI)
DeleteMy only initial mistake when I was finished. I had DoH, and since I didn’t know what a “topiarist” was, for all I knew such a one might work with something called a SHRoB. Managed to find the mistake on my own thought.
DeleteThought "Star cluster" was a really cute clue for ANISE before realizing it was supposed to be ALIST. Total snoozefest, though not as much do as DRIVERSLICENSE.
ReplyDeleteMe too! Had a lot of trouble giving up on that one!
DeleteOverall, pretty easy for a Friday. SE corner really put up the only resistance.
ReplyDeleteI expect more from a themeless puzzle. What are the marquee answers here? SWEAR JAR is good, but that's about it. ROCK BAND, OLD SONGS, ASK PRICE, DRIVERS LICENSES ... where is the pizzazz?
Lovely when a puzzle evokes more than simply the satisfaction of a fill-in. Today:
ReplyDeleteThe sound of a sizzling FAJITA as it’s set on the table.
The grace and color of a beautiful SARI.
The way OLD SONGS sounded on my transistor radios.
The cool, smooth, intimate feel of the BOSSA NOVA.
The signature sound of a conductor yelling, “ALL ABOARD!”
The dense and marvelous forest smell of PINES.
Not to mention, joy at lovely quirks:
The rhyming top line of GAY BAR and SWEAR JAR.
The contradictory neighbors of WISE and DUH.
The vastly different meanings of LETSGO depending on whether or not it has quotation marks.
When the box is filled with little riches such as these, Rafael, it brings treasure into the day. Thank you so much for making this!
I got stuck at "dazing." I have never encountered it as a synonym for "stunning." Dazzling, yes, but dazing? After filling everything else in, it had to be that, but it didn't sit right. I suppose it can be "dazing" or "stunning" to be "bonked" on the head. Maybe that's what the puzzle author was getting at.
ReplyDeleteI went with DArING and rOE before DAZING and ZOE.
DeleteIn the stock markets, you have bid and ask whch are short for bid price and asked price.
ReplyDeleteA lovely puzzle, Rafa. My only complaint is that, being so easy, it was over too soon.
ReplyDeleteHad a LICENCE. LICENSE problem (see above) but DOCAS aren't anything so fixed that. Didn't run the alphabet far enough to come up with DAZING, and quit at DARING, so a technical DNF although my paper never produces happy music so I didn't try to fix anything.
ReplyDeleteFinally getting to know nail polish brands and a new clue for ARLO, otherwise no real snags. Had a nice Latin flavor with BOSSANOVA and ELDORADO and FAJITA and even MADRE.
Highlight was of course OTTER, and now I have learned a new and nicely poetic description of my old pal. My favorite quote about them is still "If an OTTER cannot have fun doing something, he simply will not do it ". Words to live by.
Had a great time with this one RM. Made for a Righteous Morning here, and thanks for all the fun.
Great one! Loved it, also had “easy for a Friday” for sure but fun. Only Gripe, White Stripes was a Rock. Duo and I was a bit nitpicky about having to put in Rock Band, there are so many bands but save duos for when that’s the answer!!
ReplyDeleteAnother day when I pretty much agree with everything @Rex said. I think I must channel Rafa’s wavelength because, while I was satisfied with the easy Friday, it was entertaining for many reasons Rex mentioned.
ReplyDeleteIt’s kind of funny the things people like/don’t like as crossword fill. As a drug store nail polish aficionado, I’m always happy to see my old friends OPI and ESSIE stop in for a visit. My go to ESSIE shade is “Mrs. Always Right” and after searching “Gossip n Spill”, I’ve decided I’ll have to look for it next time I pop into CVS.
Dang! So close. They just missed World Otter Day which, this year, was Wed. 28 May. And, they did it again. Today is International Day of the Potato and there’s nary a spud in sight. Although, wait. Maybe DOSAS sometimes have potato filling?
ReplyDeleteI’m always obscurely happy when I solve the puzzle like a normal person, and fill in the NW first. It helps when the NW is small, like today. I’d never heard of a drag brunch, but thought GAY BAR just had to be the answer and that led to completion of the first 6 downs. Moving to the NE, I didn’t know what was filled with bad words (the Dictionary?), but then hit gleefully upon “steak rub” as [Bottleful at a barbeque]. I knew the White Stripes and Deep Purple were each a ROCK BAND but then, idiotically, filled in DoH for [“I am an idiot!”]. Oblivious to my errors, I thought I’d put myself in a good position to ace the NE. Oops – none of the downs worked. What finally killed off “steak rub” was the conviction that ETC must be the [Alternative to an ellipsis]. So I removed the rub and then started getting the downs, which in turn led to SWEAR JAR, HOT SAUCE and DUH.
At the end of the solve, I hit another snag in the SW with DAZING and BONKS. I had DAZzly and BOopS, which caused me to bog right down. Oh, and I also thought [Like some orders] was To(-)go – I see I'm not alone there (hi @Conrad). I think what got me out of that mess was trying ING on the end of DAZ. Whew, a good finish with no cheats and in decent time. Happy Friday! Many thanks to Rafa, our rexblog friend.
I looked up drag brunch and found this promo from a local restaurant call the Vanitea Room.
Darling, are you searching for a drag brunch like no other? Are you craving an afternoon of glittering, prosecco/Orange Mimosa-fueled, unadulterated drag fabulousness? Well, look no further than Vanitea’s Drag Brunch – the most camp and outrageous event to grace the local bottomless brunch scene.
Then, of course, I had to look up bottomless brunch. Ah, I see. Unlimited prosecco refills for a limited time. Well, with all that fabulousness, I might just have to try it!
There's a World Otter Day?! Hooray! Thanks for that.
Delete@Barbara S. 8:34AM Dosas are delicious & often do have a potato filling: highly recommended!
Delete@pablo
DeleteYes, the last Wednesday of May. Hey, next year -- let's have a party!
In honor of World Otter Day, I’d love to float on my back along a rocky coastline with a nice flat rock on my belly to crack as many crab claws as I could eat’
DeleteAs a fluent French speaker, I’m going to go out on a limb here and suggest that ARTISTE is an appropriate answer, since CABARET is also French.
ReplyDeleteOne of the easier Fridays I’ve completed, to date.
ReplyDeleteWell, point taken as to the fun quotient, but really I'd like a little more of a challenge on Friday. Played like a Monday. SW the only hard corner for me, too, but the nice thing about the Ted Hughes clue is that after a bit of thought and a cross or two I was able to come up with it, not least because the description itself is so beautifully apt. Other Ted Hughes trivia: Pete Townsend of the ROCKBAND The Who actually worked as an acquisitions editor at Faber and Faber, through which he got to be friends with Hughes and ended up producing the animated film of Hughes's "The Iron Giant." Which is one of my all-time favorite animated films, even before I noticed Townsend's name in the credits and followed the rabbit hole to find out 1) yes, THAT Pete Townsend, 2) he worked as a literary editor? who knew! and 3) yes, THAT Ted Hughes.
ReplyDeleteMy solve was much like yours. Only OTTER offered resistance, and I enjoyed the clue. Puzzle time was my Monday average.
DeleteAm I the only one puzzled by 7-Across in today’s NYT Crossword? A swear jar holds money, not the actual bad words. The swears happen outside the jar—they’re what cause the jar to fill up. Nobody collects swear words (unless it’s a particularly juicy phrase worth saving in iOS Notes for future use).
ReplyDeleteI was puzzled also, but figure it’s “something [swearjar] that’s filled [with money] by [the use of] bad words.
DeleteA SWEARJAR is filled with bad words the same way a bucket might be filled with a hose. "With" here means "by means of".
DeleteHey All !
ReplyDeleteRelatively easy FriPuz. Never a bad thing.
Apparently figured out how to get my name back, so there's that
Short and sweet today. Just one of those things.
Happy Friday.
One F
RooMonster
DarrinV
Hey @Roo. I had the same issue with my name and avatar that went on for months. Glad you got back.
DeleteHi Rafa! Thanks for entertaining us on Friday. Fun, for sure, but over too soon.
ReplyDeleteFeels like it’s always DOH when it should really be DUH. Today I thought I’d learned my lesson and dropped in DOH. DUH.
ReplyDeleteI still envy those handling puzzles like today with ease. No slog at all, loved how this one fell together, got through it without cheating, but not easy. Just fun (thanks for the otter related quote @pabloinnh). This was one of those that I manage to fill in sparsely pretty quickly, then struggle with the longer ones, rethink my shorter fill, and eventually discover first instincts were right.
ReplyDelete@Rex, "hell, yeah" was a third identiclue, and also fun.
Hang on @thefenn! The more you solve, the more tricks you learn and the more familiar you become with some of the frequent constructors, the more flow you will have.
DeleteFor ncmathsadist: Thank you for confirming that ASKPRICE is an unspoken phrase, though the words "bid" and "ask" are used separately to refer to potential buyers and sellers of stock.
ReplyDeleteInteresting fact about the “TATAMI shot” - thanks Rex! - especially since filling in that answer immediately evoked daydreaming about Ozu’s The Flavor of Green Tea Over Rice. It was the first film of his I saw and I think my favorite.
ReplyDeleteThis was quite fun and whooshy, but I doubted DAZING, as I've never heard that word. And I'm tired of ESSIE and OPI, especially in the same puzzle. And I have never ever heard FAJITA used in the singular!
ReplyDeleteSmooth solve, but way too easy for a Friday…
ReplyDeleteI waited for the slightest bit of resistance but couldn't find any at all. To me, this is not a Friday puzzle.
ReplyDeleteBut what is a NYTXW editor to do if there's a themeless he wants to publish, but it's not at a Friday level of difficulty? Well he can make the clues harder, of course. But also...
Look. You make the rules and you can unmake the rules. Nowhere is it written in the firmament that the only day that can have a themeless is Friday. Why not commit yourself to, say, five-to-six themed puzzles a week and one-to-two themeless puzzles a week and schedule them anywhere you like? First, it gives you much more flexibility as to what puzzles you can publish. Second, it gives the solver more of a surprise as to what they're getting. Just a suggestion. But this puzzle would have made a perfect Tuesday for me.
Really well put. This was a great Tuesday puzzle for me, coming in a little faster than my Tuesday average.
DeleteDrivers licenses, plural, is a wild answer to build a puzzle around.
Mia MADRE said to throw in some yeast SODABREAD will rise.
ReplyDeleteWe went out to an Italian restaurant last night. I was tempted by the pasta Alla Gricia, but decided on the penne ALLABOARD. Bad choice. Tasted like wood.
If your employer isn't into 40 year old clunkers, don't buy the BOSSANOVA.
OPI and ESSIE make polishes ANGELS.
Super smooth, easy Friday. Thanks, Rafa.
On my fourth full day teaching a travel course in Ireland, I was embarrassed by how many crosses I needed before SODA BREAD came into view. I’m gonna blame the jet-lag.
ReplyDeleteAny Friday I finish without looking anything up counts as a good one for me, so I ended up loving it. But ESSIE wasn’t quite in my nascent crosswordese dictionary yet (maybe it is now?), so that little corner with it and DOSAS and ARTISTE and SCIONS took me a bit. All told, good fun.
As an octogenarian man, I'm constantly shopping for nail polish - so much so that I memorize all the brands.
ReplyDeleteNOT
But I had to come here and post something, because how else am I going to occupy my Friday puzzle time allotment?
Hahahaa!
DeleteConspiracy theory of the day - I’m convinced that Friday and Saturday puzzles are no longer edited for difficulty, only themelessness. A Friday shouldn’t take me a mere 9+ minutes and while I did enjoy it, I enjoy doing hard puzzles more.
ReplyDeleteALL ABOARD brought to mind “all ashore that's going ashore” which is obviously not a boat boarding phrase, but it's something in my general knowledge bank that I've never heard in real life.
Tricky clue for 43A. I was very hesitant when its various components filled in because it wasn’t a surface I recognized. Time zone, aha!
Thanks for the SLAM DUNK Friday, Rafael Musa.
@Teedmn, I’ve been thinking the same thing about the only criteria the editors use for Friday and Saturday is themeless. I miss the tussles!
DeleteSadly I’m with @Nancy today. Even @Lewis couldn’t make me appreciate this as a Friday and that indeed is rarer than RIB EYE.
ReplyDeleteI'll have you know that "old songs" as a phrase is every bit as in-the-language as "green paint."
ReplyDeleteLove it!
DeleteAgreed, although I did like remembering "I like the old songs. Why don't people write old songs anymore?" (Monk, Season 5, episode 8.)
DeleteI enjoyed the cheery, positive vibe of the puzzle - ALL ABOARD for an easy SLAMDUNK solve, to the beat of the BOSSA NOVA and a ROCK BAND (which might play your favorite OLD SONGS), the promise of EL DORADO, the assurance of I CARE and I'M OKAY. Easy for me, except for a slowdown in the SW until I figured out how OTTER worked with the crosses.
ReplyDeleteI have to admit I googled what a washitsu is. It's Friday, I allow myself a google. That said, it was an easy puzzle. I had the LICENcE/LICENSE problem . My other overwrite was EStee before ESSIE. Oh and DAZING? kind of clunky - I had DAZzly first, even clunkier.
ReplyDeleteVery easy. No erasures and the only thing I did not know was the OTTER quote.
ReplyDeleteSolid and junk free with a whiff of sparkle…this would have been a fine Wednesday themeless, liked it.
Not sure why I need to keep logging back into google? Anyway the above is me.
DeleteWhat a great Friday! Although I didn't know SLAM DUNK, I did love STAR CLUSTER & learned WASHITSU. I asked for a Robyn Friday but this certainly worked for me & was over too soon - thank you, Rafa :)
ReplyDeleteBTW, Rex - I get manicures but yesterday's Connections category threw me too.
Hands up for Flying Cloud! I’d buy that.
ReplyDeleteRafa (feel like I know you, with guest gig here and all), what a fun Friday puzzle! Just upbeat with all kinds of clever answers - I think RP captured it well. Every other answer seemed to bring a smile or at least a lipcurl. Too bad you couldn't cross ESSIE/OPI or BOSSANOVA with ROCKBAND like you did DOSAS/SARI.
ReplyDeleteGot every Across answer except ONEONE (had ONENIL) and ARLO (got from crosses).
Late start today, after we hosted my best friends son last night on a stopover- en route from East to Midwest to start a Masters program. He spent last 4 years in Montana :teaching on a res, organic farming in summers and ski patrol past two winters in the Rockies. My wife and I made sure he understands that tho he's "behind" his college friends professionally, he's far ahead in experiences, personal development, and friendships. It's guys like him that help me to understand the socially prevalent GenZ bashing around me is garbage
Thanks again , RM, hope your weekend is WOOHOO
We saw Berlin (see Rex's video) at Wolf Trap two years ago. They were great and Terri Nunn still totally fetch.
ReplyDeleteAlso re: Flying Cloud. I always liked the Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow as a car name.
Drat, can never remember those nail polish names. Other than that this one went pretty fast and Googleless.
ReplyDeleteYes this puzzle filled in very quickly; just over 9 minutes and I'm not a fast typer. The only typeover I can remember (solved early last evening) was DOH before DUH.
ReplyDeleteEven TATAMI I got immediately since the clue contained "floor" and a Japanese word. Some really nice answers like SWEAR JAR.
Fun fact: BOSSA NOVA is Portuguese for "new wave".
Mildly entertaining. Could have been a Wednesday, though. The grid spanning DRIVERSLICENSES was, sadly, pedestrian.
ReplyDeleteECO car! ECO hotel! (41A) Just NO! Same for 45D DAZING. And do people actually have SWEARJARs? I’d be f**king penniless in a week. That’s if we still had pennies here north of the 49th. I understand you southerners are starting to phase them out. Finally, an intelligent move from The Great Dictator.
Good clues for 58D NUN and 27D ALIST. I, of course, was looking skyward for that one.
No record time or anything because I was in ambling mode, but it sure seemed easy.
Liked this!
ReplyDeleteSooo ... seed entry was DRIVERSLICENCES? ... ALLABOARD & SODABREAD?
ReplyDeleteAnyhoo ...
Nice themeless stuff. The overall smoothness made it a pretty friendly solvequest, at our house.
staff weeject pick: EDT. Mostly cuz I liked its sneaky clue.
honrable mention to OPI, which I had already forgotten the spellin on, as it hadn't been in the puz for almost a coupla months.
some fave stuff: INSIDEJOB & SWEARJAR, as they had hot J sauce. SLAMDUNK/BONKS. ALIST clue [one of only 2 ?-marker clues].
Thanx, Mr. Musa dude. Nice job.
Masked & Anonymo3Us
.... and now, somethin that hasn't so far lived up to its title ...
"Painful Solvequest" - 7x7 12 min. themed runt puzzle:
**gruntz**
M&A
I rented an apartment in Tokyo while I was working there in the 80s. Yeah, it was tiny but I quickly learned that it was functional and quite livable, even enjoyable. It had one washitsu so 47D TATAMI was a gimme. It was the dining room, then the living room and then, with unrolled futon, the bedroom. It isn't pronounced as the three syllable wah-shit-sue but gets elided to the two syllable washed-sue.
ReplyDeleteYears ago I read everything I could get my hands about the Spaniards' invading what is now South America. My takeaway was that the legend of 38D EL DORADO was about a mythical person rather than a land as clued. He was a king or great chief of a place that had so much gold that every day he covered himself with gold dust and then washed it off every night in a nearby lake. I would say it means "He who is golden" or maybe "gilded".
Hot take: in a post-Simpsons world, "I am an idiot!" must only ever be a clue for DOH
ReplyDeleteTooooo easy for a Friday. What am I going to do with the other 15 minutes I set aside for this puzzle?
ReplyDeleteA bit too easy for a Friday if you ask me. Enjoyable enough but felt more like Wednesday difficulty.
ReplyDeleteWhat in the washitsu?
ReplyDeleteHar, surprised no one here has done that yet. Especially @egs.
RooMonster Poking My Head In Where It Doesn't Belong Guy
Fabulous Friday! I’m a Rafa fangirl; he’s on my list. Heck, I never met the man, probably shouldn’t be so familiar. Mr. Musa hit it out of the park just like Ella Parker Parker yesterday in the bottom of the 7th, with two out and two on. Last chance and she hit a blast over the center field fence for a walkoff win against Tennessee keeping Oklahoma’s hopes for a fifth straight softball championship alive and well. I may be out here in Cali, but I shall never forsake my Sooner softball team. Patty Gasso has built her juggernaut from scratch and is a huge part of why NCAA softball has become wonderfully competitive everywhere - not just in parts of the US where the sun shines all year.
ReplyDeleteOh, the puzzle. My delight started at 1A and continued throughout. The only teensy wince was at DAZING, which not only looks weird - like it really really hopes it will be DAZzling when it grows up. “He won’t be unconscious, I’m just DAZING him.” Really? Maybe? Possibly?
TATAMI brought be back the wonderful 4 years during which we had the enormous gift of Japanese neighbors. The dad was finishing his Ph.D. at OSU (that’s “The” OSU) after a bio-something undergrad from Stanford (I remember his sweatshirt) and MD from Johns Hopkins (I snuck into his “study room” and saw the diploma). Throughout my acquaintance I learned that he was a brilliant researcher, and a very quietly stern man.
Doctor Sato scared the bejesus out of me just by walking into a room, yet his quiet seriousness reminded me so much of my granddad (husband of Gran and the creator of what we kids called the Sunday Lecture who alas passed when I was only 8). Dr. S never wasted time yet spoke to me seriously if he had something to say or ask. I never once initiated a conversation. My instincts told me “none of your usual wacky crap at the Satos house.”
Mrs. S had the most beautiful home. She had a special tea table on the tiny back porch and invited my whole Girl Scout troop over to celebrate a tea ceremony. Her gorgeous tea set and tools sat on hand painted TATAMI mats and the low teakwood table and the table on its own large TATAMI.
Her artwork and furniture were the height of elegance to my 10 year old self accustomed to the usual tidy but worn look of everywhere else in my neighborhood. Yet, Mrs. S always apologized because she couldn’t bring all her things from Japan and would be so happy when Dr. S was “in one place” and the home could be washitsu. I could never have dredged that word up from the archives by myself, but it reminded me of some of the easiest “hard lessons” I ever learned about getting to know people from vastly different backgrounds.
So much fun and whoosh today. The perfect Friday puzzle. A fabulous way to kick off a weekend of watching my granddaughter’s dance concerts, exciting sports. WCWS and the Thunder in the finals at long last!!
Happy weekend, friends!!
Today I had one grandson performing with the 3d grade recorder orchestra in the morning, and another grandson singing the part of "Harry" in a high school production of Mamma Mia! in the afternoon. I managed to solve the puzzle before leaving in the morning, but did not have time to come here until now.
ReplyDeleteAomw od rhw wnreiwa EW lirrlw fwnweix, w.f. OLD SONGS, but they're mostly good; I liked SWEAR JAR (although I've never had one), RIBEYE, and SODA BREAD, in particular. And MEAN SIT is an interesting concept; I'm thinking of "The Number One Lady's Detective Agency" where the main character, who describes herself as "traditionally built," will occasionally prevail by sitting on her opponent.
But DUH does not mean "I am an idiot!" That would be D'OH. DUH means YOU are an idiot. Also ANGELS are the people who finance a theatrical production; if the term has become more general, I have not noticed.
@jberg, sounds like you had a day full of the joys of watching young people enjoy creative endeavors. What fun!
DeleteI had the same reaction to DUH. Well said.
+1 to getting stuck down the nail treatment hole on Connections yesterday. Luckily I caught the mistake before entering anything (but not before staring at 3/4 of the purple category and wondering what the hell connected them to the fourth).
ReplyDeleteCDilly
ReplyDeleteAlways like your stories.
Thanks for sharing.
The Flying Cloud was also a majestic clipper ship that Donald McKay built in East Boston in the 1850s. It won the world speed record on a New York to San Francisco trip. (Around Cape Horn) THOSE were days of romantic vessel names!
ReplyDeleteNo te preocupes por mí, soy un idiota.
ReplyDeleteThat was a rude little puzzle. Took me forever! But in my defense, most of the time was spent early on groping around for any type of foothold anywhere. Once I got a few answers in we started getting along better.
I definitely appreciated and needed the sense of humor today.
Now that I am fat, seems I should start ordering a single FAJITA. Love XXX.
People: 2
Places: 1
Products: 7
Partials: 5
Foreignisms: 3
--
Gary's Grid Gunk Gauge: 18 of 72 (25%)
Funnyisms: 7 😂
Tee-Hee: GAY BAR.
Uniclues:
1 Where manly men with malicious maws stuff dollar bills.
2 My immediate thought when I see amps being drug into the bar.
3 Bill Cosby's strategy.
4 The sarcastic feeling in my soul when someone answers the "how are you?" question earnestly.
1 GAY BAR SWEAR JAR
2 LET'S GO. ROCK BAND.
3 DAZING DATES (~)
4 WOO HOO, I CARE
My Fascinating Crossword Uniclue Keepsake from Last Year: Evil genius plan according to detractors. "I RULE EARTH" FOLLY.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Worth coming here late for such gems as cDilly's Dr. Sato story.
ReplyDeleteNatick at ESSIE/ARTIST and DOSAS/SARI ESSIE/SARI. I do crosswords a lot, I'm sure I'm "supposed" to know this lousy fill, but I don't.
ReplyDeleteGot NATICKED on the T in TATAMI…could not parse out the XXXs being TENS… 🤷♂️ OPI and ESSIE are characters from Andy Griffith, right? 3.5 FAHITAS for me. Next!
ReplyDelete