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Relative difficulty: Easy (if mildly confusing)
THEME: a "TO" b — four answers are "instructions for answering" four other answers in the puzzle; in order to make sense of four answers in the puzzle, the four answers that precede each of those answers, all of which have "TO" in the middle, must be read as if the "TO" were a separate word and the letters preceding and following it just letters; so, for example, RAT OUT must be read as "RA" TO "UT"—as in, change the letters "RA" TO "UT" in order to make the next answer (GUTTER) look right in the grid (because the crosses only work if the answer is GRATER)
Theme answers:
- RAT OUT (20A Tattle on .... or an instruction for answering 22-Across)
- 22A: Proverbial bad thing to have your mind in (GRATER) (change "RA" to "UT" and you get GUTTER)
- OCTOPI (28A: Some aquarium attractions .... or an instruction for answering 30-Across) /
- 30A: Like the tail of the stegosaurus (SOCKED) (change "OC" to "PI" and you get SPIKED)
- T-STORM (44A: Informal name for a weather event ... or an instruction for answering 45-Across)
- 45A: Precursor to a license (PETSIT) (change "TS" to "RM" and you get PERMIT)
- ARTOIS (51A: Part of a beer name .... or an instruction for answering 53-Across)
- 53A: Certain clergy member (BARHOP) (change "AR" to "IS" and you get BISHOP)
Richard Serra (November 2, 1938 – March 26, 2024) was an American artist known for his large-scale abstract sculptures made for site-specific landscape, urban, and architectural settings, and whose work has been primarily associated with Postminimalism. Described as "one of his era's greatest sculptors", Serra became notable for emphasizing the material qualities of his works and exploration of the relationship between the viewer, the work, and the site. [...] From the mid-1960s onward, particularly after his move to New York City in 1966, Serra worked to radicalize and extend the definition of sculpture beginning with his early experiments with rubber, neon, and lead, to his large-scale steel works. His early works in New York, such as To Lift from 1967 and Thirty-Five Feet of Lead Rolled Up from 1968, reflected his fascination with industrial materials and the physical properties of his chosen mediums. His large-scale works, both in urban and natural landscapes, have reshaped public interactions with art and, at times, were also a source of controversy, such as that caused by his Tilted Arc in Manhattan in 1981. Serra was married to artist Nancy Graves between 1965 and 1970, and Clara Weyergraf between 1981 and his death in 2024. (wikipedia)
Fulcrum is a large sculpture by American artist Richard Serra installed in 1987 near the western entrance to Liverpool Street station, London, as part of the Broadgate development. The sculpture consists of five pieces of Cor-Ten steel, and is approximately 55 feet (17 m) tall.[1] Deyan Sudjic, director of the Design Museum, has called it one of London's "design icons". (wikipedia)
• • •
The fill was very rough, once again: ELBA SHORTTON ACTI OPI APSES THEUS and I haven't even left the NW yet, or even mentioned every overcommon repeater you meet up there. Not nearly polished enough, and not lively enough. TAIO ITTY? Not a great looking pair. Not sure I've ever seen the crosswordese ETTU given the full-phrase treatment before ("ET TU, BRUTE!?"). I kinda like it, even if I don't really like the fact that the longest Across answers are somehow *not* thematic (another thing my brain just doesn't like). I also didn't like that one of those longer Acrosses (NOT ONE BIT) actually had a "TO" in it, making it a kind of a false themer. See also ATOP. Seems like the least you could do in a theme like this is keep the most important "instruction" word confined solely to the theme answers. Stray "TO"s, boo. The core concept in today's puzzle is potentially interesting, but the execution just missed today, for me. And again I'm begging the NYTXW to demand better than "eh, good enough" where overall grid quality is concerned.
Once again the puzzle came out well on the easy side. I just fell down the left side of the grid without much effort until I hit TSTORM—the first clue I looked at with the "instruction" in it. I then bounced right back up and picked up OCTOPI and RATOUT and thus had the first three "instruction" answers set in place within the first minute of solving:
: a formal position assumed by a soldier in ranks in which he remains silent and motionless with the left foot 12 inches to the left of the right foot and with the weight resting equally on both feet and when without arms clasps the hands behind the back with the palms to the rear and when with a rifle holds the rifle in the right hand with butt touching the ground and muzzle inclined forward and holds the left hand behind the back —used as a command to assume this positionBut the clue says "marching band." Maybe the same position exists in marching bands? Or else "band" here just means "group of people?" Confusing to me, for sure (but I was never in the military or in a marching band, so my confusion is no big surprise, to me).
Bullets:
- 27A: ___ of Solomon (ODES) — if it's not "SONG," I have no idea. Never heard of these ODES (or, I had heard, and then forgot).
- 21D: Nail polish brand with the shade I Just Can't Cope-acabana (OPI) — starting to feel like the NYTXW is doing paid promotional work for OPI. This exact type of OPI clue has been used several times now (the one where the clue showcases a wacky shade name). OPI, like ARO, is quickly ascending the ranks of New Crosswordese. It was novel. Now it is not novel. Now it is everywhere. It's a real (popular) brand, and the shade names are amusing, and all puzzles have short filler words, so there are worse ways to go. OPI should have an eight-color shade set called the OCTOPI.
- 7D: Like Hawaii, among the 50 states (WETTEST) — I keep looking at this answer and seeing WET TEST, which makes it seem like a "TEST" dupe (see TEST PREP) (38D: Activity for many H.S. juniors)
- 5D: Simple exercise often done while standing (TOE TAP) — oh, are we calling our compulsive behaviors "exercise" now? How fun. I've been "exercising" for much of the time I've been sitting here writing, apparently. Good to know. I feel so fit!
- 35D: Begins to feel real (SETS IN) — really wanted SINKS IN here. Still really want it. Rigor mortis SETS IN. A new reality SINKS IN
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Rex’s summary nails it - awkward Thursday trick with fill that should have been edited better.
ReplyDeleteThe Avett’s
This solving week has made me more doltish than I normally am - I need tomorrow to shine.
Archers of LOAF
Unexpected Avett Brothers shout out just made my day!
DeleteI agree with Rex. The actions suggested by the key words are backwards. I'm angry that I spent almost an hour on this. A total waste of time.
ReplyDeleteTotally agree. Felt the same.
DeleteRex had a lot of “didn’t likes”. I just hated it. I agree on the transposed “instruction”. Tough for us right/left strugglers.
Delete
ReplyDeleteMedium. Took me a lot longer than it should have to get the theme, maybe because of the "instruction" that @Rex mentioned. I still liked it.
Overwrites:
19D: BuffER before BROKER
26D: SOAPY before SudSY before SOAPY
37A: handler before PERETTI (Chelsea PERETTI was also a WOE)
40D: ITsY before ITTY (a particularly bad choice because it crosses a themer)
56D: Bra before BIB
WOEs:
North ELBA, NY (4D)
@Rex ODES of Solomon (27A)
Sculptor Richard SERRA (33D)
TAIO Cruz (39D)
I'd heard of PARADE REST (10D), but for the silent marching band position I fell into the trap of thinking along the lines of a flag carrier. The clue made me think of the time that our town's high school band needed more members in order to compete in a higher division. So they recruited my friend's daughter, who did not play an instrument. She carried a trumpet, marched in formation and pretended to blow it at the appropriate times, but never made a sound. Sadly, LIZA didn't fit.
Same! I kept trying to make MAJORETTE fit... except I couldn't remember the word and kept thinking of MARIONETTE instead. Disaster.
DeleteLove your Liza story!
Also, I had all the same overwrites as you, except I had rIB before BIB.
DeleteThere is a typo in the constructor's name. I think. Pretty sure it's EINERTSON.
ReplyDeleteMaybe I’m in the minority, but these puzzles have been getting worse and worse the last couple of months.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. The best recent puzzles have been as good as ever, but the median quality has definitely gone down.
DeletePodcasters do not need a Mike, they need a mic. As evidenced by the many podcasts that employ nobody named Michael.
ReplyDeleteI found that answer the most offensive.
Signed, Mike W.
Mike was the earlier term for a microphone dating to the 1920’s. Mic became more popular in the 1960’s. Both refer to microphone and while mic is more popular now, both terms are acceptable.
DeleteNo sir! Mike is not acceptable. And hasn't been acceptable for over 60 years. Could easily be fixed with a different clue.
DeleteJustin
DeleteAbout mic v Mike wow
I assume you’re being a bit tongue in cheek but that sounded like an edict from l’Académie francaise. But English fortunately doesn’t have the equivalent. of the French.
I am old and when I was young I only heard mike. I discovered mic via crosswords. But of course many people continue to write mike So mike is fine in a crossword .
Many people assume that crosswords should be like dictionaries. They are not. They have clues which hint at answers. Not usually definitions. The Times crossword reflects what people say, some many or most, depending on the word or expression.
Old radio hands worked with mikes. Mic is a relatively recent usage. Well, maybe in the past 30 years, but non-standard if you grew up in the radio biz in the 60s and 70s. Glad to see mike show up from time to time.
DeleteYes tricky for those four clues (I never quite sussed the gimmick, instead using the vertical crosses). What got me stuck was EsTUBRUTE/WEsTEST, which seemed plausible for some minutes! Doh!
ReplyDelete“Please don’t be WEsTEST. Please don’t be WEsTEST.”
DeleteNever thought I’d be so happy to see WETTEST.
It couldn’t be westest because Alaska is the westernmost state. And also the easternmost!
DeleteAgree! I wrote in WEsTEST, hating it with a passion but not seeing what else it could be, since both HELM and ETTUBRUTE were not presenting themselves to me.
DeleteIndeed! So glad to have been wrong on WEsTEST!
DeleteBassAckwards.
ReplyDeleteZackly!
DeleteOh, sweet – a classic Thursday puzzle, with a riddle to be cracked, involving something not normally done in a crossword, and with Thursday resistance to make the hill harder to climb.
ReplyDeleteBy the time I saw the TO in RATOUT and the other first-halves of the riddle, I had filled in a good portion of the rest of the grid, but none of the second-halves in full.
That is, the riddle remained unsolved through much of the outing, nagging and pestering, making my brain screw up its forehead deeper and deeper, so that when it finally cracked the mystery, the aha was sensational.
Delaying that aha and making it all the sweeter were no-knows like TAIO, vague clues like [“You’re in on this?”], and misdirects like [Silent marching band position], a clue that had me cataloging every marching band member I could think of.
Classic Thursday. Capital-P Puzzle. Mwah! Thank you for creating this, Hannah!
I found this to be just on the hard side of medium, mainly because I found the theme is sooo confusing and yet got pretty close to the finish before figuring it out. Before I understood the theme I was lost on 19D, in which I cycled through BUFFER and BUMPER before settling on BROKER. I enjoy a good puzzle but this theme felt oddly frustrating without a lot of satisfaction when I got it.
ReplyDeleteVery very hard Thursday, but really not due to the theme.
ReplyDeleteThat PARADE REST (???) / PERETTI (??) / TAIO (?) section was just brutal. Plus downright weird clues for ELBA and TOE TAP, and an awkward one for SETS IN. Also SERRA was a WoE.
So ... a lot of the difficulty due to unknown proper names.
And having ATOP right there underneath OCTOPI almost forces you to notice it and expect it to be another themer.
On the plus side, the theme is really quite impressive, in that the both the pre-switched words and the post-switched words are valied entries. So for example, making ATOP a themer resulting in STPLER at 33A would not have worked. You'd need something like saying - spying.
It would have been nice if they had found a way to suggest GRATER, SOCKED, PETSIT, and BARHOP. Or, if they had alluded to the time warp in the clues. But it was easy enough to get anyway.
ReplyDeleteI naticked on PERETTI/TAIO. Looking them up, they seem pretty obscure even to fans of rap and close followers of mmthe comedy scene.
Agreed on both points. Also, OCTOPI should be OCTOPUSES, given its Greek origin.
DeleteOCTOPODES, actually. ;)
DeleteCorrect, octopus is green in origin, not Latin, thus octopuses
DeleteOctopi is now considered acceptable.
DeleteI was happy to see OCTOPI because I knew I would read the 80th discussion ( well a slight exaggeration) on this blog about the plural of octopus. Since people use octopi and the theme required it, it is an acceptable answer but I do personally find octopi pretentious outside of crosswords. The last time I checked English and Ancient Greek do not use the same plurals as a rule so I see no need to use the Greek ones either. Octopus may be FROM Greek but it IS an English word.
DeleteThe backward logic of the clues could’ve so easily been solved if they wrote “instructions for ENTERING #-Across” instead of “answering #-Across” considering the simple fact that answering was the easy part and the way of entering it was the modification.
ReplyDeleteYes! Thank you. I kept thinking something along those lines, but couldn’t quite put my finger on it. Entering versus answering - that would’ve made it far less confusing.
DeleteA lot of ones I had to correct today
ReplyDeleteWent with hotter before wettest. Soggy to soppy to soapy. I had Handler before Peretti. PSAT prep before test prep
For me…sudsy to soapy, but also had PSATPREP first.
DeleteDoes anyone else care that that the true plural of octopus is not octopi? Octopus has Greek, not Latin roots. Octopuses or octopodes (rare but more correct).
ReplyDeleteYou are probably fairly new to the blog -- we've been through this a whole lot.
DeleteI don’t care in a crossword puzzle, but octopodes is my favorite. It’s fun to say.
DeleteSame with platypus
DeleteOne hippopotami
DeleteWould not fit on a bus
‘Cause one hippopotami
Is two hippopotamus.
@John H 8:06 AM
DeleteThe entire reason this blog comment area exists is to discuss this octopodal issue. And of course to ruminate on the word WETTEST.
In retrospect, a very good puzzle. However, while doing it, I was completely puzzled. Part of the problem was that WEsTErn fitted the description of Hawaii so had a hard time seeing WETTEST. Also got hung up trying to make some version of PAntomime fit instead of PARADEREST due to the implied marching activity. Not knowing PARETTI or TAIO also made things difficult. Anyway, probably would have helped if I had stretched this out over another cup of coffee!
ReplyDeleteThankfully it wasn’t WESTEST since Alaska is actually the Westernmost US State (it’s also Northest and Eastest). Many solvers would have been up in arms for grammatical and geographical reason
DeleteYeah it's backwards, but you follow the instructions to make the answers correct in your head, so I thought the backwardness was kind of fun. And enjoyed finally unlocking the whole thing as i needed to do that to get the rest of the fill. So the theme worked. Got the idea (some letters are going to change and the left answer is trying to tell me how) at PErmIT and some kind of storm, got the aha moment at BisHOP and ARTOIS, then uncorked the rest. Biggest PPP problem was having to find out what comedienne other than Handler was name Chelsea, but I forgive myself for googling PPP that I'm never going to get. Also tried to keep usofa too long before giving in to THEUS. And enjoyed considering Hawaii the WEsTEST for a bit. So a Thursday that took some work, with an elusive theme that eventually aided my solve. And reminded me of my old IBEX shirts, which I loved.
ReplyDeleteMarching band nerd here: There are militaristic elements of the stuff you're expected to do. When someone in charge wants your attention, or quiet, they'll call "Band, ten-hut!" and you snap to attention with your instrument in a particular position, and then "parade rest!" is your cue to switch to a relaxed position without leaving whatever formation you're in. (Despite these commands living rent free in my head 30 years after I last marched in a band, I couldn't see this answer until I came here and figured out what the trick was on those themers. Ugh.)
ReplyDeleteIs it good when solving a puzzle that the main refrain in one’s head is “who gives a shit?”
ReplyDelete“Hey, where are you vacationing this summer?”
ReplyDelete“I’ve decided to spend a week in Lake Placed, NY.”
“Do you mean North Elba?”
“Huh?”
REX IS RIGHT ON. painful
ReplyDeleteLiving and going to school in far northern NY has its advantages, I find, as North ELBA was a total gimme, but I considered North Pole, as that's a nearby attraction too.
ReplyDeleteTook forever to catch on this AM because I'm in the group that found the clues to be backwards. Finally caught on with the GUTTER thing, but it was a minor aha! and more of an oh. Also thinking WESTEST forever made it impossible to see ETTUBRUTE. because I had TOOTED for TOUTED. Ouch.
Today's best guess was the T in the PERETTI / TAIO cross, which seemed the most likely. Followed my usual practice of not looking stuff up and hoping for the best, which today, at least, worked out.
Pretty impressive construction, HSE. This kind of thing may have been done before but yours Had Some Examples that were entertaining, and thanks for some tortured fun.
never did get the theme. that's how bad the theme was.
ReplyDeleteoctopi is not correct as much as we'd all like it to be.
octopus is a greek word. the plural of octopus is octopuses. crosswords should not be reenforcing incorrect words.
Ugh. Horrible puzzle.
ReplyDeleteOddly, PARADEREST was one of the easiest for me. Harkened back to being a high school drum major. Yes, it applies to marching bands.
ReplyDeleteI got done in by the PARADE REST/ SEAT/ TAIO crossing. Had PARADEREnT, thinking it was some slang word for the parent of a marching band member? Never heard of TAIO and as a result just couldn’t see SEAT. DNF
ReplyDeleteTOETAP is the name of an actual exercise that involves tapping alternating toes on a raised step. Would have been better to say "an instruction for fixing 22-across" et alii. You only need one tattoo to be TATTED. Been playing some Scriabin, lots of ESHARPs so that was nice to see.
ReplyDeleteVery irritating, changed thing, they made no sense, changed them back, so weird. Also I was in a marching band, don’t remember the term “PARADE REST” but it was a long time ago. I was the Core Captain for at least one year, who directs the band and does not play their instrument, but that did not fit.
ReplyDeleteNot enough coffee, please make that Corps Captain, oof
ReplyDeleteHey All !
ReplyDeleteTWAS THE WETTEST US State is a good opening line to a story.
Was also thinking the "instructions" were backwards, like Rex mentioned. You're not changing the RA TO UT, you're changing the UT TO RA, no? I see what the Theme was going for, but the wording should have been different in the clue.
Got an EEEEEE diagonal in NE. If you follow it all the way from the bottom, you get DR N SAM YEEEEEE. (Just seeing if you're paying attention!)
Rex, I see you now have a book blog, as you may know, I wrote one, albeit it is new, not a classic. But you can still get it and read it! 😁
Changing Times by Darrin Vail.
You know you want to. Har
Different puz, missed the mark a bit by seeming to be backwards in the ole brain, but then again, tis a Silly Brain.
Have a great Thursday!
One F
RooMonster
DarrinV
I don't like convoluted gimmicks -- I prefer puzzles where the challenge is in the clever cluing.
ReplyDeleteI read Rex's explanation of the trick -- and I still don't understand this blasted puzzle! Well, actually, I stopped reading Rex's explanation because it made my head hurt.
ReplyDeleteThat is certainly not Rex's fault.
About as confusing and peculiar as a puzzle can get. I gave up completely on the middle of the right side because nothing that was happening in my grid -- or that wasn't happening in my grid -- made any sense to me. I thought all would be made clear when I got here -- but no such luck.
I don't get this puzzle well enough to say that it's awful. Maybe it's inspired. I just know that it feels awful to me.
And now a word about @Mathgent (who posted above me.) Evidently he had one tiny Naticky hiccup today -- but otherwise completely understood the puzzle's gimmick and completely solved it. @Mathgent -- who sometimes ponders out loud to me that he worries he's "losing it" at his very great age which I will not reveal. No, @Mathgent -- you are emphatically not "losing it". You may be the smartest person on the entire blog. You are absolutely amazing!!!
Great post Nancy. Your take on the puzzle was exactly how I felt. Ditto on @Mathgent!
DeleteMy headache started last night when I went to Wordplay and read Deb‘s explanation which was every bit as triggering as Rex’s. And - I agree with @Beezer on both counts.
DeleteAgree with RP 100% that this theme was executed in reverse. When the concept has to be explained, that’s never good, but I assumed it was my own limitation for mental gymnastics which was making it difficult for me to understand. I even toyed with taking the R-A-T OUT of GRATER. But
ReplyDeleteI see now the backwards aspect of the execution is the reason it seemed murky. So thank you RP; I feel much better now.
Beyond the theme, the amount of Proper trivia was pretty annoying, particularly that abominable cross of PERETTI and TAIO. I counted roughly 10+ proper names or references to propers. On that note, It’s my opinion that OPI nail polish is overpriced and highly overrated. I no longer buy it and don’t miss it. NOT ONE BIT.
Lol @Whatsername on OPI (see one of my replies). PLEASE tell me what might be less expensive (read:cheaper…OR better value) Seriously. You can send thru an email. Hah! When I was “young” I bought “department store” polish. Now I cruise CVS.
DeleteLol @Whatsername on OPI (see one of my replies). PLEASE tell me what might be less expensive (read:cheaper…OR better value) Seriously. You can send thru an email. Hah! When I was “young” I bought “department store” polish. Now I cruise CVS.
DeleteI wandered around the grid, filled in what I knew, kept hoping the the theme gimmick would come to me (it didn’t) and pretty much lost what little patience I had left when I realized it was on me to unlock the secret of the universe by determining how some gibberish (ARTOIS) was going to instruct me how to get from BARHOP to BISHOP. That’s it - that’s your theme? What a dud - this is the crossword equivalent of one of those very lame, low-budget sitcoms geared to teens and preteens on a struggling streaming channel.
ReplyDeleteAdd to that more (un)fun stuff like PARADEREST, PERETTI, TAIO and yet another product placement for OPI, and you have a real stinker on your hands. If you honestly believe that this is NYT-worthy, we shall simply agree to disagree. Oh well, you can’t win them all I guess.
This puzzle made me think I had dementia.
ReplyDeleteHahaha…that happens a lot to me these days! I’ve kind of decided that (these days) sometimes I just don’t “feel it.” Well. That’s what I tell myself, but seriously. When I was younger (being in “Flyoveria”) we only got the Sunday NYT. I remember when my daughter (in college at time) told me that the Sunday xword was NOT the most difficult. Ha! I learned that she was right pretty quickly when I subscribed to app. And…I HATE even having to contemplate the “D” word…but it’s there nonetheless.
DeletePERRETTI/TAIO =NatickTOkealoa
ReplyDeleteIf you were ever in basic training you’d adore PARADEREST
ReplyDeleteI have been doing NYT crosswords every day for more than 30 years. OK, I skip Sunday to Wednesday as they are too easy. This is the first one I have been unable to finish in as long as I can remember. Not well constructed, IMO.
ReplyDeleteNot sure how three days a week means “every day” to you, but I agree that this was annoying.
DeleteAll of the non-theme answers were very easy but if this blog didn’t exist I would never have figured out what the trick was. I knew enough of the downs to fill it in without much help but could not figure out what the creator was going for. It still doesn’t make sense.
ReplyDeleteI don’t think octopi really exists. The plural is either octopuses or, if you do Greek, octopodes.
ReplyDeleteA hot mess. Clumsy.
ReplyDeleteTo all of you who are foul-mouthing this puzzle, PETSIT me to say "Get your mind out of the GRATER!" I've always suspected that I might be mentally "different", a notion frequently and vociferously endorsed by Mrs. Egs, but I thought the theme worked perfectly and that the puzzle was easy. It was even considerate enough to include another themer (BARHOP) for THEFLOORISLAVA. I enjoyed this a ton. Thanks, Hannah Slovut-Einertson.
ReplyDeleteI found the theme doable. I had difficulty with the same things discussed in previous posts. I had “plug” (as in a boast) in place of “smug” so required an Autocheck to get out of those squares.
ReplyDeleteRex, I think your review is spot on except for one comment. Not all NASCAR Dads are white. My son-in-law is black and he is a NASCAR Dad. Even some liberals like race cars even though the sport is stereotypically to the right.
Dunno, I guess I am in the minority as I liked it and found the theme straightforward. It is literally what you have to do : change AR TO IS etc. it’s actually giving you 2 letters in the next answer (in this case AR) . Had handler , Bib and usofa as writeovers. Under my normal time.
ReplyDeleteI was pretty confident that octopi was not a word, and the correct plural was octopuses, as it's Greek, not Latin....
ReplyDeletePretty easy but TAIO / PERETTI is a bad cross
ReplyDeleteTotally agree about overuse of OPI, and LOVE Rex’s idea re OCTOPI. This puzzle was so annoying on so many levels.
ReplyDeleteI’d agree with you BUT I’m currently “sporting” OPI’s “Knowledge is Flower” on my nails. This might sound mean but maybe just reluctantly commit it to memory like I do with baseball stats and pro MLB players…just sayin’ with respect…and a bit of tongue in cheek.
DeleteI thought it was fun!
ReplyDeleteI think @Razac at 7:56 hit the nail on the head on the issue of understanding the theme clues: The backward logic of the clues could’ve been solved with “instructions for ENTERING #-Across” instead of “ANSWERING #-Across” …since the modification was in how the answer was entered.
ReplyDeleteLike many of you, I'm betting, I took 20-A to mean that I had to somehow take the letters RAT OUT of 22-A, but it didn't make sense -- so I just filled in GUTTER, then saw the crossing BROKER, and decided to just move on and see what developed. I thought maybe there were 8 Is or PIs in 30-A, and a STORM of Ts in 45-A. None of that made sense, but it was all I could think of. But finally, after too much time spent trying to stretch out (Dos) EQUIS to fit, I finally saw ARTOIS, and the AR to IS part clicked. Nice little gimmick, that puzzled me for a long time.
ReplyDeleteIn case @egs has not mentioned it already, I believe John Cage wrote a short piece that he called his NO TONE BIT.
The AKA clue was nifty. I've seen Lady Gaga's birth name before, but didn't remember it, so I thought maybe her surname was Ali. Frida KAHLO gave it away, though.
Does everyone else know about the ODES of Solomon? Really no idea on that one, and I was looking for something like majorette for the silent marching band position.
Yeah. For whatever reason, I could not get SONG(s) of Solomon out of my head. Hmmm. Book? Must now go forth and search…
DeleteYeah. For whatever reason, I could not get SONG(s) of Solomon out of my head. Hmmm. Book? Must now go forth and search…
Delete"Easy"? KAHLO? ELBA (as clued)? ALT? PERETTI? SIRRA? TAIO? OPI? More like a PPP-fest held in Natick.
ReplyDeleteWell, I want a challenge from the puz, but crossing an obscure comic with a rapper pushed my button today. I’m willing to work with and learn new gimmicks, but Rex’s so-named Naticks drive me to BAR HOP.
ReplyDeleteIs it me or did anyone else notice the "wheel" dupe on 15A: Water wheel? and 47D: Had the wheel?
ReplyDeleteAnd, yeah, totally naticked on the TAIO and PERETTI crossing. Boo.
Wanted Paraderist, as in someone who paraders? Ugh.
¿Estás involucrado en esto? Es una lástima.
ReplyDeleteWell, the backward thing is a tad odd, but I suppose if I'd known three more people, this would've been more fun. PERETTI, TAIO, and SERRA. I don't think I've ever once spelled Frida KAHLO's name correctly the first time.
Thinking stegosauruses tails were spined, not SPIKED caused quite a kerfuffle in that area. Stupid dinosaurs.
For a moment, I thought there was such a thing as a "silent marching band" and I wondered if they mainly played John Cage music.
Loved the clue for ETTU BRUTE.
Let's talk about having our minds in the GUTTER. I'm now running past 60 years of having mine there every day and it seems like it's been fine. Having it in a GRATER would be much worse.
People: 7
Places: 2
Products: 4
Partials: 8
Foreignisms: 1
--
Gary's Grid Gunk Gauge: 22 of 74 (30%)
Funnyisms: 2 😕
Tee-Hee: Speaking of activities for H. S. juniors, using Bounty to see if it's the quicker picker upper, ya know, for science: WET TEST.
Uniclues:
1 In the afore time, parents would show up to schools to be helpful, and not to complain about the teachers.
2 Be more vermin-like on the side of the road.
3 Punched some molluscs.
4 What I look for when I see a pretty girl.
5 When an earworm infects your feet.
6 What the immigrant claimed when he got the spot your lazy grandson expected.
1 ASSET TWAS PTAS
2 OUT RAT GUTTER (~)
3 OCTOPI SOCKED
4 NEARBY SEAT
5 TOE TAP SETS IN
6 TOUTED TEST PREP
Two Fascinating Crossword Uniclue Keepsakes from Last Year: One of the black ones with flowers you consider taking home and wonder if they'd miss it at the fancy Chinese restaurant with table cloths, but then you realize you don't know how to use it anyway so you ask for a fork. SHINY CHOPSTICK. The way of the Yenta. MATCHMAKER TAO
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Fortunately for me, I couldn't remember from one theme answer to the next which way the change was supposed to go--so I just noticed the two changeable entries and put in whichever one fit the crosses.
ReplyDeleteI did however, to my shame, look up Ms. PERETTI.
I'm very familiar with the concept of PARADE REST. I think we did it in Boy Scouts, as well as the 6 weeks I spent in ROTC--I just couldn't figure out that by "position" the puzzle meant an actual position.
OCTOPI was needed for the theme, but it could have been clued as "common misspelling of...." or something like that.
PARADE REST / PERETTI / TAIO / ITTY (without Bitty) / BMX BIKE / MIKE ... Just lots of clunky fill. Maybe it wouldn't have bothered me so much if I had figured out the theme, but I didn't, the first time I haven't gotten a Thursday in a long time. Phooey!
ReplyDeleteLMX made as much sense to me as BMX.
ReplyDeleteSo much crap to wade through, but if you design a grid with a bunch of short fill, your grid is going to come up short. YEP.
But this is another Thursday, so whadya spect? More nail polish. Get out the acetone!!
NGL. That PERETTI (who I don't know) crossing TAIO (who I also don't know) with a dash of PARADFEREST (seriously, wut?) gave me the fits.
ReplyDeleteOn the tough side for me too. I needed to figure out the theme to finish which took more than a couple of nanoseconds.
ReplyDeleteI did not know TAIO or PERETTI , fortunately I guessed right.
SERRA was also a WOE.
I’m with @Rex on this one.
I stopped halfway through, determined to figure out what was going on with those instructions. At the time, I still had GutTER, with no crosses to make me doubt it, and the beginning of SO....where I wanted SpikED. I finally saw that I was not supposed to take RAT OUT but instead see RA TO UT. Okay! Backwards, to my mind (as well), but whatever. So then I understood SOCKED, and was able to write in PETSIT and BARHOP readily.
ReplyDeleteThis seems to me like quite the construction feat, finding 6-letter words or phrases with TO in the middle, where the fore and aft segments can be exchanged in the answer words. Also - great clues for 1D and 10D.
Not taking sides, but Miriam Webster (as I like to call her), shamelessly lists octopi among the plurals for octopus.
ReplyDeleteAlso, Son Volt -- I enjoyed this line from the song you shared today (by Archers of Loaf): You're not the one who let me down, but thanks for offering.
This was godawful and confusing. PERETTI crossing TAIO, two people I have never heard of, coupled with this incredibly stupid gimmick, made this a DNF for me. Rex, is there any puzzle you might ever rank as anything besides easy? Or do you just enjoy trolling everybody?
ReplyDeleteComplete agreement on that cross. Overall, another weak NYT puzzle. They have declined in quality of late IMO.
DeleteI did not get the theme at all until I read Rex’s write-up. I knew 22A should be GutTer, 30 A should be SpiKED, etc, but crosses told me there were other words there, so I went with that without being able in the least to see the theme.
ReplyDeleteI know about PARADEREST as a marching band thing but it took awhile to remember. PERETTI/TAIO, horrible.
And another thing: why is SOAPY clued for a dog? The answer applies to any animal or person in a bath -- I was looking for a dog-related answer.
ReplyDeleteAwkward, convoluted, and painful. Everything I know about marching bands would fit comfortably in a thimble, so PARADEREST was a mystery. Wasn't too fond of the PERETTI/TAIO Natick, either. Got the trick at ARTOIS to BISHOP/BARHOP but still didn't completely understand what I was doing. Oh, well ...
ReplyDeleteBest thing in th puzzle for me was the clue for 18A ETTUBRUTE.
On the other hand, Rex, if you don't pick up the gimmick, the puzzle is nearly impossible to solve. Doesn't help if the only female comic one knows is Chelsea HANDLER and a few other things like that. Total bust for me. Ugh.
ReplyDeleteAgree to extent I only knew of Chelsea Handler. And…I hate to say it but I just really didn’t care to figure out the theme gimmick. I always hesitate to say things like this because I know the constructors put a lot of heart and soul into it.
DeleteAgreed on the bad Peretti/Taio cross! Almost a Natick for me but I guessed the T in hopes of an Italian last name so was lucky. Also agree instructions were backwards. It took me, unlike Rex, a long time to figure out what was going on, so medium-hard for me.
ReplyDeleteNo. Soccer Mom and NASCAR Dad are not substitutes for “white”. They are two completely types of people- educationally, geographically, and politically. I think soccer mom is a useful appellation because we tend to be swing voters. NASCAR Dads not so much.
ReplyDeleteHate this puzzle with a passion. Finished it with crosses, never got the theme.
ReplyDeleteyep. confusionism reigned. At least the T0-word themers kinda hinted that somethin mysterious was up.
ReplyDeletestaff weeject pick: TOY. As in: convert nuthin to Y.
some faves: PARADEREST [woulda been good advice to Trump, last Saturday]. NOTONEBIT. HELM clue.
Thanx, Ms. S-E darlin. Nice and brain-teasin.
Masked & Anonymo4Us
... now, to think empty thoughts ...
"Runting on Empty" - 7x7 themed runt puzzle:
**gruntz**
M&A
Yes the theme is a fine enough idea, but agree it got confusing. I was motoring along, not really watching out for the themers, so I just put in PERMIT at 45 across. That made 10 down PARADE REAR. Since I've never heard of TAIO or PERETTI, that created a real mess. I grew weary so I tried googling "Chelsea comic" which gave me Chelsea HANDLER, which was not gonna work no way. Yeesh.
ReplyDeleteAlso thought they could have avoided ATOP which was distracting, eg A TO P.
I actually tried WESTEST for Hawaii and thought it was pretty funny. Another fun fact: which US states have never recorded a temperature over 100 F? Hint: there's only one...
Good poser! Alaska or Maine seem most obvious BUT (and I SWEAR I didn’t search)…my guess is “always in the 60s to 90s”…Hawaii…?
Delete@Beezer: good guess! Surprising, until you think about it... islands, with tall mountains which are cold.
DeleteI'm not really surprised to see people mentioning that they've never heard of Richard SERRA (33D). Many people know little about art after Impressionism and his work is hard to appreciate from a photo. You've got to be there in person. Whenever I'm in Seattle I make sure to visit Olympic Park and wander through his wonderful work, Wake. It's meditative. It's inspiring. It makes you feel small in a really good way. Sort of the way a visit to the Hagia Sofia in Istanbul or Notre Dame in Paris makes you feel without all the overt religious claptrap. No ornate decoration, just thick sheets of wavy Cor-Ten steel about 15 feet high. Massive and threatening, but somehow comforting. Wherever you are, if there's a Serra within a day's drive, go see it. Experience it. It's about space and your place in it.
ReplyDeleteThe moment I read the clue I wanted to put ETTUBRUTE, but I thought, "no, they would never clue the whole phrase that way". Every time one of the crosses proved that to be the answer, I just got a little more excited...
ReplyDeleteLA Times looks better each day.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was a great puzzle, not easy at all, and it bothers me that Rex likes to say all the puzzles are easy, as some kind of flex. But it's his blog. I appreciate the wackiness of Bishop becoming Barhop, Permit becoming Petsit... that's good stuff. Took me awhile to suss out the trick, and once I did, that helped mightily in figuring out what was going on. And the cluing of the revealer was OK for me, as the letters went 'to' where the replaced letters were residing in the second answer. Not an easy theme, not an easy puzzle, as indicated by the fact that many many solvers here couldn't grok it. I thought it was excellent, thank you.
ReplyDeletePulled Chelsea Handler out and remembered PERETTI from somewhere - oh, yes-Brooklyn Nine Nine, and Parks and Rec. No idea about paraderest or taio, but nice to learn things sometimes. I just put in the actual words on the East side and noticed this led to a lot of white space over there, so went back and looked more closely at the clues.The crosses insisted on PETSIT, so went backwards to notice TS and RM in the other answers, et voila.
ReplyDelete@mathgent, I went back and read my reply after seeing you had replied, and it looked more snarky than I intended. I meant to say something like I’d bet ELO is one of those bands you’d know even if you didn’t think you knew them since they were Beatles contemporaries. Listen to “Don’t Bring Me Down” and some other hits: I’d be surprised if they weren’t familiar.
They really had to stretch to come up with a non-Napoleon ELBA. I’ve gone to Saranac and Lake Placid many summers to camp and visit friends, but never managed to pick up on the greater area of North ELBA. I’m sure it will be on a storefront I’ve looked at many times on my next visit. Thanks, xwords!
Well, some days I lament having solved for so long but today I was very happy. As @Rex mentioned, this theme has been done before - and executed beautifully. Today, however, was confusing to me at first only because of the word “solving” in the “instructions” clues and the bassackwardness of the execution (also mentioned by OFL).
ReplyDeleteI hit the first theme set and dropped in RAT OUT and GUTTER but was trying to finish the top section with the downs. When I hit PARADE REST, I knew I’d found the problem. So I went back to read all of the clue at 20A and was confused for a hot second.
I had just slid in TOUTED after PARADE REST and for some reason that made my brain see RA TOUT when I reviewed my answer to 20A. And a dim light began to glow. When these “ahas” land suddenly, I am always amazed at how quickly the brain sends signals. Seemingly simultaneously, brain sends “NO! You already have UT from GUTTER! Solving? GUTTER is the obvious answer, I don’t need any extra “instructions.” No. Maybe - oh wait, it’s a solve by changing letters-the old switcharoo. Oh there it is RA TO UT, but this is a mess! UT is already there, should be UT to RA the way the actual clue is written for the clue to GUTTER. Where were the editors?!”
Anyway, I’d seen the “x TO y” theme before and just finished this as a themeless.
I like this trick. In fact, for years, I’d think of the red octagonal traffic indicators as “S to P signs” because of how impressed my young solving self was upon my first introduction to this clever ruse.
Since our constructor is relatively new, I am truly sad that the editors did not spend some quality time to help Hannah better understand the structural issues with this otherwise legit Thursday theme. It’s a type of theme I enjoy, just word play, no circles or grid art of weird grid shape to distract from words and language. The simple change of the solving instruction from “answering” to “entering” would have fixed the switcharoo issue. I might also have added an instruction “apply instruction from preceding clue” to the each switched letters clues. Thus, 22A would be “after applying instruction from 20A, a bad thing to have your mind in.” Yep, that makes this a Wednesday-ish easier solve, but less confusing. And the solver still has to parse the answers from RAT OUT (for example) to RA TO UT, and first time seeing this theme for newer solvers, that’s what gives this worthy theme its crunch.
Keep solving and constructing, Hannah. You’re on the right track. I look forward to your next one!
The correct plural of octopus is octopuses, not octopi. Octopus is from the Greek.
ReplyDeletePERETTI (not HANDLER) crossed with TAIO? Give me a break. I never heard of either. A natick crossing a natick. I call BS.
ReplyDeleteIt helps to have spent 22+ years in the military to know what parade rest means lol
ReplyDeleteAnyone else think “Chest guard” was BRA? Just me?
ReplyDeleteMe too.
DeleteAbsolutely hated the puzzle today, if tomorrow isn't better I am done with the NYT crossword, and will play WAPO. What a waste of time.
ReplyDeleteI've been lurking on this blog too long - the minute I entered "octopi" I thought "Hot dog! We get to go ten rounds about the plural of octopus!" Looks like we only went two or three - I'm a little disappointed.
ReplyDeleteWettest, ok and if you're the most parader, that's paraderest?
ReplyDeleteImpressive puzzle but a second DNF in a row for me. I just did not vibe on this at all. Thank you @Rex for putting into words what I was experiencing today. I did not pick up the theme until I came here and I'm so grateful that @Rex is able to coherently explain what in the world was going on, because I was lost. This does NOT make this a bad puzzle - I'm in awe of the cleverness of it all but I guess my brain just doesn't work the way this puzzle required it to.
ReplyDeleteLike @Rex, I just plopped down GUTTER in 22A and just KNEW it was right and left it there. So of course PARADEREST wouldn't fall ( I would not have known that anyway) and I had BUFFER for 19D (instead of the correct BROKER) and that seemed just fine crossing the "U" in GUTTER. So I just made a mess of most of the grid and could not figure a way out.
Some cute cluing today - Water wheel for HELM. I liked that and that came pretty quickly. I also like the way NOTONEBIT looks in the grid. Same for the complete ETTUBRUTE.
Again, much respect for the concept of the theme along with the construction - I just didn't click with this one but it may have prepared me well for the next one! Good one Hannah.
I did enjoy the puzzle to a certain extent. For whatever reason most of the non theme answers were gettable for me so I was able to solve all the second themers as unclued words. I did figure out that eg grater stood in for gutter but I had to read Rex to find out why. Didn’’T Know recall or vaguely remember Chelsea Peretti Ditto TAIO But to me the cross had to be a T.
ReplyDeleteThe puzzle was trying not to give too much away but gimmick did confuse a lot of people so I agree the wording was off but the constructor can make a puzzle and I can’t so I give them the benefit of the doubt!
Even after it's explained I don't get it. And just because people say Octopi doesn't make it legit. You wouldn't accept nucular... Generally when I struggle with a puzzle - and this was my closest to a DNF since July - I blame myself. Not this time.
ReplyDeleteThe problem with this puzzle is that the themed answers are undefined and uninteresting. Grater, socked, pet sit and bar hop mean nothing in relation to anything. Not clever, just tedious.
ReplyDelete"If we were to pluralize the original Greek root the logical answer would be octopodes. While this is technically the most grammatically correct it is also the most pedantic and the least often used." --IRL
ReplyDeleteWill never turn down the opportunity to be most pedantic. ; )