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Ceremonial rod / MON 7-28-25 / Cuzco dweller of old / Cousin of a cruller or bear claw / Carbonated beverage as reintroduced in 1985 / Chi preceder / College basketball phenom drafted by the Indiana Fever in 2024 / Concoctions with masa, cheese, lettuce and salsa / Characteristic of a penetrating mind
Monday, July 28, 2025
Constructor: Brian Callahan
Relative difficulty: Medium (i.e. normal for a Monday) (and yet ... I made two errors solving Downs-only! Wheeee!)
Theme answers:
- CASH CROP (16A: Corn to a Midwest farmer)
- CARD COUNTING (23A: Casino no-no)
- COCA-COLA CLASSIC (39A: Carbonated beverage as reintroduced in 1985)
- CAITLIN CLARK (52A: College basketball phenom drafted by the Indiana Fever in 2024)
Cooper Archibald Manning (born March 6, 1974) is an American entrepreneur and television personality who is the host of the television show The Manning Hour for Fox Sports as well as principal and senior managing director of investor relations for AJ Capital Partners. He is the eldest son of former professional football quarterback Archie Manning, the older brother of former professional football quarterbacks Peyton Manning and Eli Manning, and the father of Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning. (wikipedia)
• • •
How are "Open 'C's" a "feature" of the theme answers? I see (C!) very well that the words in all those answers "open" with the letter "C," yes, but you would not say "hey, those answers all feature open 'C's." The phrasing just doesn't work. Of course I get what you're going for (at least I think I do), but the phrasing on the clue/answer is not precise. Not exact. The words in those answers all OPEN with "C"s. I'm trying to make the exact phrasing make sense, and I can't really. So I'm pretty lukewarm on the theme. That said, I thought the overall grid was fine. "EASY, TIGER" and "LET IT REST" are worthy long Downs, and while, yes, there's a playground taunt (kill them!) and an awful ASAMI/ASDOI dilemma (kill both of those answers too!) and an E-I-E-I-O and an impossibly singular SCAD, but otherwise, everything seems pretty solid.
As for my Downs-only errors ... sigh. I assumed (naively) that "Call us the champs!" (an extreme example of clue contrivance) was a rough equivalent of "WE WON!" "Call us the champs because WE WON!" But no. It's "WE WIN." And my incorrect "O" didn't register as an error, as "I'M ON" is a plausible crossword answer (36 appearances in the Shortz Era, including yesterday (!) and this past Wednesday!), though not the correct answer for the clue, it turns out (22A: "Count me as a yes!"). So I had an answer that looked right in both directions, but ... wasn't. My other error? That came at 50D: Calls that may start "Is your refrigerator running?," e.g. (PRANKS). I know those kind of calls as "crank calls" and so ... I wrote in CRANKS. It felt bad as I was writing it in ("no one calls those calls just ... CRANKS!"), but all the crosses checked out, including the "wrong" "C" (AMC, again, like "I'M ON," is a frequent crossword answer) (though the actual answer today was AMP (49A: Concert equipment)). So where I normally make zero mistakes on my Downs-only Monday solves, today I made two. I'm not mad about it. I'm actually glad that there's a good explanation for why I made those errors (the forced "C"-cluing ... that's my excuse, and I'm sticking to it!).
Concise observations:
- 1D: Ceremonial rod (MACE) — another one where the clue is made awkward by the cluing conceit. I took one look at this and when SCEPTER wouldn't fit, I was like "... WAND?"
- 15A: Combustible fuel for trucks (DIESEL) — so ... just [Fuel for trucks] then?
- 63A: Cellphone's weather app, e.g. (WIDGET) — ??? I have a weather app on my cellphone. It is not a WIDGET. It is just an app.
- 20A: Characteristic of a penetrating mind (KEEN) — potentially mild toughie here, as "Characteristic" really looks like it's a noun in this clue.
- 54D: Chief Hindu god (INDRA) — not easy for me. Needed several crosses. You'd think I'd know the chief Hindu god by now, but apparently not :(
- 39A: Carbonated beverage as reintroduced in 1985 (COCA-COLA CLASSIC) — if you were not alive in the '80s I don't know where to begin explaining how weird cola marketing got in the '80s. Like ... clear colas were a thing, for a while. And then Coke was like "New Coke!" and people were like "booooo!" and then Coke was like "OK ... Old Coke Again?" but that sounded too much like defeat so they tried to make it seem retro-chic by calling the return of the old stuff "Coke Classic" even though ... it was only gone for like a hot minute—how is it "classic" all of a sudden? Meanwhile, Pepsi Light was a thing for a while (was that the one with lemon?). I remember in middle school all of a sudden there were caffeine-free colas (Pepsi Free!). But then also there was Jolt! Cola, a precursor of modern "energy" drinks, which was super-caffeinated—just what adolescents need! So if the cluing on this one seemed awkward ("as reintroduced"), that's not a "C" problem, that's just the insanity of mid-'80s cola culture. Remember the NutraSweet v. Saccharin Wars? No? Well, here's something to jog your memory:
That's all from me today. "C" you next time.
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97 comments:
My five favorite original clues from last week
(in order of appearance):
1. Head into? (3)
2. Noted doomsday prepper (4)
3. Flash point? (3)(6)
4. When squirrels may thermoregulate by splooting (4)(4)
5. Apt name for a narcissist? (4)
RAM
NOAH
AHA MOMENT
HEAT WAVE
MIMI
My favorite used-before clues from last week:
[Medium capacity?]
[Pop flies?]
ESP
SWAT
Had "Im on" crossing "We won" instead of IMIN and WEWIN. Otherwise a doable Monday, maybe a bit closer to a Tuesday in difficulty.
Same here. Took me about as long to track down that error as it took to do all the rest of the puzzle.
Also some relatively long pauses before the last word in LET IT . . . go? And EASY . . . there? big guy?
INDRA was new to me (I believe, we may have met in a grid somewhere and I don’t remember) - which is kind of unusual for a Monday. I thought the “combustible” modifier was kind of funny as a requirement for the truck fuel, although I guess you could toss a protein bar in the glove box and it would count as fuel of a sorts.
I hesitated before dropping in WIDGET, because for me at least, the clue is not accurate. That probably could have been clued differently to be a little tighter - but it’s consistent with the recent lackadaisical approach to editing in the NYT.
Blazed through this thing so quickly, I literally didn't realize all the CLUES opened with C until I came here and read the blog. :D That's a nice little extra flourish, to me.
I am less picky than Rex about the revealer being an exact match for the theme. "Open C's" is close enough. It's a clever little Monday puzzle, not a precise dictionary definition.
??????? What the hell is an "open c"?
Puzzle ticked me off from beginning (expecting me to know what network airs a show I have no interest in) to the very end (seriously, what the hell is an "open c"?????). And constantly in between with clues that were often a little off due to the artificial constraint.
Also, too hard for a Monday and should have run on Tuesday.
Example of how Rex and I lead different lives: "Cooper Manning brother" alone would make ELI a gimme, but I have never heard of Eli Roth nor Cabin Fever.
The theme (Open Seas = Open C's) does more than simply say to open the theme answers with a C - it says that the theme answers all have multiple words that all start with C - hence 'Open C's' (from word to word)
Surely the characteristic of a mind is keenness, not keen.
Hand up for missing the "all the clues start with the same letter" thing. This has been done before, and I always miss it, probably because I am going so fast I don't notice it. Yeah, that's the ticket.
I guess a MACE is a "rod" but I think of the weapon first. Also don't know anything on MTV so that was no help. Otherwise, a herd of moo-cows for M&A today but some of that was because of the C thing, I'm sure.
Only glitch was in the SW, not helped by starting with EASYTHERE, not knowing INDRA, and the fact that I have never heard an app referred to as a WIDGET, which I always think of as an imaginary product. Otherwise smooth sailing, and I'm glad OFL's ELI clue was not used (and I have heard of Cooper, who was needed, because C thing).
Nice Mondecito with a gimmick, BC. Beginning C's everywhere must have taken some work, and thanks for all the fun.
The theme was bolstered by a sextet of fresh answers, appearing for the first time in the Times crossword – BOOK DEAL, CARD COUNTING, COCA COLA CLASSIC, LET IT REST, CAITLIN CLARK, and CHALUPAS (though this answer has been used in the singular before). Fresh answers aren’t automatically good, but these were.
That brought spark.
The all-clues-begin-with-C flew right over my head until I uncovered the reveal. That trick is hard to pull off, as usually, there are clues that feel off or contrived and give it away. Bravo, Brian! I love being gotten like that.
I was on the wrong track trying to guess the revealer, thinking “seize” would be in it, but my brain relished the effort. And, it turned out to be a great revealer.
So, this was more than a Monday blip, it was a day-boost; its charm made my heart smile. Thank you, Brian!
I did a little research post-solve, it looks like app and WIDGET are used synonymously these days, which I believe has not always been the case - so it was my comment / criticism that was inaccurate - I apologize to the crew at the NYT.
Read the writeup for God’s sake
So Caitlin Clark has finally achieved true stardom. All that basketball nonsense paid off.
Hey All !
Crafty. Creative challenging cluing. C's conspicuously completely clear cept correct configuration.
Or something like that!
Like Rex, didn't notice all the clues started with C's. Seems kind of strange to elide over that. You'd think you'd be able to catch that as kind of a side-eye look thing. Silly brain.
No other C's (which is what I was trying to say in my opening C statement) in the puz, sans the extraneous final C in COCA COLA CLASSIC. But, still in the Themer. A lot of Downs go through two Themers, also, with nothing seemingly forced. Nice job on that, Brian "C" Callahan.
Got an ASIAN TIGER the other day, today we get an EASY TIGER. Plus, also ASIA. We get a double dose of playground retorts in ARE SO and AS AM I. Nice! Go big or go home. Har.
Welp, hope y'all have a great Monday!
No F's (got pushed aside by those C's)(Although ... Could've had 1A be FCC ...)
RooMonster
DarrinV
Fun little puzzle. Would someone remind me how to reveal the puzzle title on the nyt app? Thanx.
A WIDGET is actully a component of an app such as a text field, button, or slider.
Same. And I’m struggling to figure out how to find that error without resorting to the check puzzle function. So, I didn’t won.
For pabloinnh 7:27 AM: My hand is up.
Pepsi Clear !!!
@Anonymous 8:34. NYT puzzles do not have titles except on Sundays.
ASAMI is having a run to rival previous streaks by OREO. Almost makes me hungry for ASAMI. EIEIO is also hanging in there. Who would have thought that the Engineers In Ecology Improving Organics would have ever gained enough traction to appear regularly in the NYTXW?
I'm stretching myself very thin these days, but then I'm self-TAUT.
As @Rex mentioned, an impossible Kealoa for Downs Only solving with WEWIN/WEWoN crossing IMIN/IMoN. I was aware of it as I solved and I guessed wrong, but corrected it immediately when happy music didn't ensue.
Really nice for a Monday, I thought. Way to CCCCC your opportunity, Brian Callahan.
I had no idea what "Catfish" was, nor what the abbreviation for rebound was in NBA stats (well, some idea, but not enough to write it in -- could have been RBD, after all). So my first entry was the horrible SLAWS, an egregious POC which one would have a hard time finding IRL. There was a lot of this sort of thing. ARESO and ASAMI in the same puzzle; matching boring clues with "Honolulu's island" and "China's continent," a single SCAD (Hey, chef, can you make up a SCAD of SLAWS for our barbecue?) DUH where it should have been D'OH (changing I to you in the clue would make it right). I refuse to believe, as the clue insists, that the Bronte girls called each other SIS. And defining EROS as "Cupid, to ancient Greeks" is tone-deaf, at best.
And it's a fine point, but croquet is played on a lawn.
But that all fades into obscurity compared to the theme, two-word entries where both words start with C (unless you consider COCACOLA to be two words in itself, justifying the central position of COCA COLA CLASSIC).
It was painful, but I wouldn't have minded so much if the puzzle hadn't required that I know the middle parts of the Greek alphabet in order.
MACEs have evolved; my university has the Registrar lead the procession into commencement carrying one, which is a piece of wood turned on a lathe and painted decoratively; wouldn't do as a weapon at all.
I missed the thing about the clues; still don't like it much.
You don't need to have an interest in a show to know what network it airs on. I haven't watched MTV in...30 years(?!), but that one was a gimme.
It didn't require it, as long as you knew Rap, Lima, and Chalupas.
No. https://support.apple.com/en-us/118610
There is a selection of WIDGETS you can put on your Home Screen, some of which are links to apps. The weather widget, for instance, shows you the current temp along with highs/lows and precipitation, etc. You can then click it if you want to go further into the app - so not the same thing.
The diesel clue was interesting. I thought the combustible part might be something oddly precise - but combustible refers to something that needs to be ignited. This is interesting, because a diesel engine does not use the spark plug to do the ignition, relying on the pressure of the compressed fuel to create the explosion and propulsion.
I didn’t see the C clues either - but so obvious when looking at the completed puzzle clue list post solve.
I don't think the constructor nailed the revealer, nor is this my favorite sort of theme, but I still found this Monday puzzle more interesting and a bit crunchier than many others. Despite my nits, I enjoyed it. Still...
Yes there are SEAS in the theme answers-- which I noticed immediately and so did you -- but why OPEN? They could just as well be ROUGH SEAS or CALM SEAS or HIGH SEAS. Does OPEN SEAS simply mean that the "C"s aren't hidden in a black square? Remember: nothing is ever hidden in a black square on a Monday.
Also: 20A is one of the worst clues I've ever seen. The "characteristic" of a penetrating mind is KEENNESS, not KEEN. To make KEEN work, just change the clue to "Description of a penetrating mind." That wasn't so hard, was it? They've got an entire Puzzle Department and nobody caught this? Pretty bush-league. (I'm sure others have already said this and probably Rex, too. I'll go back and take a look.)
A word about CARD COUNTING. I've never thought of it as cheating. If you have a mind that's KEEN enough to remember the cards that have been played out of four or five decks, you deserve to beat the house. You're a bloody genius who should be rewarded for your brilliance. Too bad the "house" doesn't feel the same way. Sore losers, that's what I say.
I've always felt the same way about art forgery. Not someone merely copying a Vermeer or a Degas, but painting an entirely original painting that mimics their style well enough to fool the experts. My reason for feeling that way: If you can paint as well as Degas or Vermeer, you should be paid as well.
Maybe I'm not as honest as I think I am? :)
Point taken, but a quick search shows that as the second definition, with the weapon as first.
Also had an easy downs-only solve but entered WE WON (imo a better answer for the clue) instead of WE WIN, and there was no way to identify the error without reading the across clue
Pretty easy except that I had WE WON instead of WE WIN resulting in IM ON. Easily fixed. Thanks, Brian :)
Alert to NYT corossword editors, please reach out to each of your subscribers regarding which TV shows they have any interest in before publishing any more puzzles.
Speaking of EIEIO, I have a brand new piano student, 8 years old or so, who insists she has never heard of Old McDonald having a farm. Is she putting me on? Is it a byproduct of Covid, where they banned playgrounds and then playground games as possible germ propagators? She's never heard chopsticks either. She does know Happy Birthday, possibly one can break into music reading from there. Sigh.
Man, so many gripes today! We're some of the answers overdone tripe? Oh, absolutely- many not scads of them, but at least one SCAD. Anyway, I loved this puzzle. Having the revealer work for both the theme answers AND every clue, especially when locking the difficulty to a Monday, is tremendously impressive. I didn't find it difficult at all (under 4 minutes on my phone), and I don't care if the grammar for "Open Cs" is 100% perfect.
As Nancy noted, it's nearly impossible to count down a deck of multiple standard decks. Also, they now put in a new deck about half-way through.
Characteristic can be a noun or an adjective. Clue not incorrect, but probably not best for a Monday to do this level of misdirection.
I agree with you on card counting, but not on the painting. Truly impressive feat, but the technique is only part of what makes those artists masters. Much easier to go back and replicate than come up with an original style, voice and technique. Plus, now with AI tools, anyone can create an image in any style (although not in oils).
Piano books are full of old tunes no longer relevant: when is the last time “Go Tell Aunt Rhody” was heard in the wild. That said, it is harder and harder to find a common musical lexicon.
Since I wasn't solving downs only, catching that 10D was WE WIN rather than my preferred WE WoN was merely a matter of reading the clue for 22A. WE WON sounds happy, celebratory, perhaps exultant. WE WIN seems taunting with the implied "you lose". Is that just me?
This puzzle took longer than my usual Monday, and I'm going to blame awkwardness in the cluing due to the all opening C clues. And that's how I think 65A's phrase falls short - the description should be "opening C's" but of course, that isn't a common phrase; OPEN SEAS is. So it's a Monday, and it's a puzzle, not a definition. I can live with it.
Thanks, Brian Callahan!
Tough one for me. I agree about more of a Tuesday. I did not know INDIRA and WIDGET or how to spell CAITLIN, so the SW ate a bunch of nanoseconds.
Another impressive feat of construction with some fine long downs, liked it.
Croce Solvers - Croce’s Freestyle #1031 was an easy-medium Croce for me except for the NW where I struggled quite a bit. Good luck!
Aha! Every clue also begins with a C -- something that hopelessly unobservant me hadn't noticed. So that explains the awful "Characteristic for a penetrating mind" that I so objected to. Only now can I see the puzzle staff brainstorming fruitlessly and losing sleep and tearing out their hair trying to come up with a clue for KEEN that makes sense.
That's today's assignment, class. Can you find a clue for KEEN that makes grammatical sense and begins with a C? I'll be trying to find one too.
Well, that was annoying. All that just for OPENSEAS. Where to start …
How about this - they are not “open Cs” they are “opening Cs”. Please note the “ing”. The Cs are openING, not open. They are the opening letters of the clues and answers, which “open *with* seas”.
Meanwhile, I had a bunch of notes which I’m not even sure matter after all that, but I’ll list them anyway.
You play croquet on a lawn. Somewhat level, close cropped grass. It may be your 46A YARD, it may be your neighbour’s expansive estate. The necessary ingredient is a lawn.
What fuel for a truck is not combustible? (Electricity is not a “fuel”.)
In my world a cruller is a type of 15D DONUT, not a cousin of one. This is what happens when you try to start every clue with a C.
I shoot with a Nikon D-90. Nikon is the brand, D-90 is the model. Just like Canon is the brand and 21D EOS is the model.
38D SCAD singular, really?
I’ve played in a few championship games. After that final goal I might shout, “Yeah, we did it!” Or even “Yeah, we won!”, but “We win!”? Not a f**king chance. 10D WE WIN sounds less like a statement of triumph and more like a question.
And finally, I am not a basketball fan but, because I am a hockey fan and am vaguely interested in baseball, I do read the sports section of my newspaper. And 52A CAITLINCLARK was a big ? for me.
This should have been workshopped a bit more.
Although I think the clue works as written, another KEEN would be "Cry in sorrow."
Made the same Downs Only mistake with IWON. But that Cooper Manning comment is totally misguided, especially now that his son, Arch, is such a prominent college QB. And even before that, any football fan of any of the Mannings had to know him! (Ooops, guess I was wrong)
I had NO IDEA that all the clues began with a C until I was done. I guess I did not read the revealer that closely. I did feel like some of the clues were a bit wonky but it just didn't register they all began w a C.same prob w/ the WEWoN/WEWIN switcheroo. GREAT Monday when you think about it. Thanks Brian !
Well, yeah ... I guess. But there was also a cool R&B tune by Chuck Willis called "C.C. Rider", 1957. Just sayin.
Anyhoo, ...
Nice feisty MonPuz solvequest. Enjoyed it.
staff weeject pick: EOS. Part of the nifty EROS/ERR/EOS mini theme, goin on up top.
fave moo-cow eazy-E MonPuz clue: {China's continent} = ASIA.
I mean, har -- how many 4-letter continents are out there?
other faves included: OTTAWA [with runner-up moo-cow clue]. LETITREST. EASYTIGER. CAITLINCLARK [We are Fever rooters, at our house].
Thanx for that there series of seizures, Mr. Callahan dude. Notin, of course, what letter yer name starts with, btw.
Masked & Anonymo3Us
... and now, for a "highly rated" puz, for a runt ...
"VG Ratings" - 7x7 themed runt puzzle:
**gruntz**
M&A
Wasn't sure about MTV or REB right off the bat, so that was unusual for a Monday. Didn't know CARD COUNTING without crosses. Had LAWN before YARD for the croquet clue. Had CALM SEAS before OPEN SEAS. Maybe this one would have gone faster if I had tried Downs only first! Except that for Downs, I wouldn't have gotten MACE (new word for me, used in the sense of ceremonial rod) or CHALUPAS or INDRA without crosses. I did finish in a little over 8 minutes, which is fine for me for a Monday, but it didn'tgo as smoothly as usual!
So impressive! Now that I’m trying to learn construction I see this as a feat!
On ELI, Rex should just be grateful the clue wasn't the obvious for a Monday "Collegian from Yale"!
Would "Cotton gin inventor Whitney" have been too archaic?
I assumed that "open C" had to be some kind of linguistic term with which I was unfamiliar, but the Google suggests otherwise. So here I guess "open c" means "opens with a c," which feels like it kind of ruins it a bit.
Perfect, @egs! Though I must say that I was coming back here with almost the exact same clue.
@burtonkd -- Must admit that you're right about the noun/adjective thing. So the clue isn't really as egregious as I thought. But it still feels very awkward to me.
Re painting in another's style. For me -- someone with no painting talent whatsoever -- the craftmanship part is the hard part. I would never be able to paint in the style of a great artist. But finding my own "voice" or "technique" -- even if it's absolutely atrocious and everyone would hate it -- might not be so hard. When it was argued once to me that non-representational art has to be judged differently from representational because it's all about feeling and emotion, I thought to myself: You don't have to be able to paint at all in order to have feeling and emotion. Everyone has feeling and emotion. I thought of buying some paints in, say, yellow, red and black, waiting until I was very, very angry about something, and then hurling them with great depth of feeling against the canvas. (Sort of like how I treat puzzles riddled with pop culture vis-a-vis my Wall.) Splat. Maybe what I'd come up with would be enormously moving and affecting. I doubt it very much -- but, hey, you never know.
Nancy, Think of the clue this way: His comments were characteristic of a penetrating mind / His comments were keen.
I don’t understand the answer for coneheads . Ets? Extraterrestrials? Don’t get it . Please explain
Also don’t know the word mace as a ceremonial rod . Anyone ever heard of that?
Also croquet as it is formally played is on a lawn not a yard
Completely agree!!
This reminds me of my dismay that OFL had never heard of "The Erie Canal".
I mean, really.
It’s from old SNL sketches.
Now I'll tune my guitar to an open C and LET IT slide rather than REST. Sieze the day!
I must be one of the very few who prints the puzzle. The beginning C's were very obvious on the printed page.
The Coneheads were an extraterrestrial (ET) family in a recurring Saturday Night Live sketch from the 1970s.
Yeah. Sweet n' Low. Merrily we Roll Along. My students do better with Theme from Jaws. I have occasionally gotten them excited about the Little Brown Bug [sic]. "Ha ha ha Hee Hee Hee/ Little Brown Bug how I love thee/ He can't find his middle C/ Little brown bug sings quite off key. " Benny Goodman may be weeping.
Nancy, I absolutely agree re card counting. NO way is that cheating. I'm not sure anyone ever claimed it was, but because apparently casinos can boot out whomever they want ,and they want to boot out anyone who can consistently win, they've made that skill a No No.
I didn't have problem with characteristic" being an adjective rather than a noun. But I was glad to learn (from the reveal) why 58A had such a weirdly worded clue.
Wow, @jberg, I don't think that in all my years of reading this blog's comment section I have seen you so worked up. Confirms my opinion that this was subpar. Or you just didn't sleep well last night. ;-)
@anon 12:13pm coneheads were originally an SNL skit that became a movie. they are aliens, from the planet remulak.
-stephanie.
Right, burtonkd, there is no spark plug, but there is a glow plug which heats the combustion chamber to facilitate the pressure combustion. We have had builders on the property for about 2 years now and every time they asked to borrow my tractor to move some lumber or something they had to be reminded to initiate the warm-up procedure, i.e., turn on the glow plug and count out 30 seconds before starting the engine. But they're builders and it's not their tractor, and 30 seconds must seem an eternity to them. It got to the point where I would go out in the morning and start the beast myself and warm it up before relinquishing control to them.
Croce 1031 was medium overall, but I finished with a four-letter DNF at the crosses of 32A, 35A, 29D and 24D. In retrospect, none of the see that hard.
confused why rex and others loved "LET IT REST." i have never heard this before in my life. the phrase i know is "give it a rest." i know one's own personal experiences are irrelevant to general crossword construction, and i don't expect us all to have identical experiences with language, for obvious reasons...but this one just felt so formal and clunky to me. i expected rex to tear into it and instead found the opposite and was rather surprised. i guess some days, the wavelengths are like that :)
-stephanie.
So there, I was, in my cabin cruiser, off of Cape Cod, snacking on Cap’n Crunch, candy corn, chocolate chips, cotton candy, and, of course, cold cuts and clam chowder (put together by my celebrity chef), when a California condor flew by, making catcalls. And I, a career criminal, living in a clown car for too long, I, a Capone career criminal, suddenly wished for a clear conscience.
I wanted to join a chess club, stop making crank calls, get rid of my common cold, join a city council, sing Christmas carols, play clay court tennis without cheating, dance the can-can with a happy heart, watch the Calder Cup final or hear the clip clop of horses without gambling, study famous people like Calvin Coolidge and Charlie Chaplin, maybe join a camera crew, use a non-fake credit card, enjoy legitimate chit chat, be caught on Candid Camera doing good things, run cross country, join a chess club, that is, be a force for good.
And I did it! Vanished from the mob like a cancelled check. My calling card is now Ex-con Caped Crusader, Captain Contenment. Case closed.
From the internet "An application is designed to perform a specific function for the user or for another application. A widget is an extension of an application. While apps can perform many tasks, widgets generally focus on one task. For example, Android's Clock app lets you set alarms, functions as a stopwatch, manages do-not-disturb settings at bedtime, and more, while the Clock widget simply displays the time on your home screen."
I also had a hard time parsing 58A and also had no idea, until reading Rex's write-up, that the clues all started with C
With you on asdoi/asami/ditto and all that slop. Same with playground retorts, there's far too much of that in the news from DC every day. I thought it was Kaitlin, or maybe Kaitlyn, or maybe Caitlin or Caitlyn; it's all over the internet in variations and, as we all know, everything we read on the internet is correct.
Also, keen is slop, but not slop like eieio. Then again, the Spelling Bee doesn't take "arcane" words such as tenon (although it does take mortise, go figure) but just totally well know words like any of the 206 (or so) bones in your body or subgenus of species, Italian and Indian food but not French, etc etc etc. Many manner of monies, and, today! (Spoiler alert!) The plural of Krona!
Interesting how little crossover there is between hockey and basketball fans. CAITLINCLARK has been one of the biggest stories in basketball for the last several years, and perhaps the biggest ever in women’s basketball - she even competed in the NBA all star 3 point competition.
I was really hoping this was constructed by Zhouquin Bournikel for an extra level!
One of the first ISPs in CO was cleverly called Indra's Net.... https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indra%27s_net
No puedo creer que me haya perdido algo tan obvio.
Glad they told me about all the C's in the clues. I wouldn't have noticed. Definitely a weakness of the app. Thought the reveal might be CCing or Seagram's.
I'm on the same page with 🦖 thinking the constrained cluing was pretty smooth. If I were writing a puzzle this is something I might do just for fun, but I would have one clue start with a Q or an X and leave no explanation just because it would be weird and sad and crazy.
Otherwise a typical Monday. Fun.
😩 SLAWS ... the octopi of the picnic salad continuum likely to give you food poisoning after too long in the sun.
People: 8
Places: 5
Products: 5
Partials: 3
Foreignisms: 1
--
Gary's Grid Gunk Gauge: 22 of 78 (28%)
Funnyisms: 2 😕
Tee-Hee: [Climaxes].
Uniclues:
1 Drunken comment from noted golfer's nanny.
2 Resumé entry for noted golfer's nanny.
3 Rock the block.
4 Sarcastic comment from the flightless to those hoping to soar.
1 EASY TIGER, HIC (~)
2 I DO TEE STAR
3 ADD YARD AMP (~)
4 EGRETS WALK, DUH
My Fascinating Crossword Uniclue Keepsake from Last Year: Frodo's tool for redecorating The Shire. RING BEARER COLOR WHEEL.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
@Lewis 2:09 PM
Mic drop. {Ca-Thunk.}
Did no one besides me notice that none of the answers to the non-featured Clues Contained the letter C? Don s.
Tough one for me, and I'm still working on the NW corner. Grrrrrr.
Nearly perfect! (Came close.)
Croquet is played on a court or a lawn , end of story. Would you say you played tennis in a yard? Would you play ice hockey in a frozen pool? No because that’s not where you play them.
@Gary, I once showed up at a group picnic with a salad containing octopus. I bought it fresh, froze it and took it to my friendly neighbourhood deli and asked them to slice it paper thin on their whirling disc of death, which they did at no cost - love them - I think it was probably illegal for them to do that but we always talk about food and cooking when I go in there so they took a chance on me. Good guys. I took it home and marinated it overnight in red wine viegar and olive oil and herbs. So, at the picnic, Me behind the big banquet table: You should try this. Browser: What are those things? Me: Octopus slices. Browser: Octopus. Really. People don't eat octopus. Me: Do you eat squid? Browser: Um, no. Me: Never had Calamari? Browser: Yeah, but ... Me: Well this like Calamari without all the gunky batter. Browser: Sorry, I don't eat octopi. Me: They're not octopi, they're octopuses, or octopodes, if you you prefer. Browser: I think I'll just try the Cobb salad over there. Me, under my breath: Philistine!
I should have just made a slaw.
Anonymous 9;43 AM
et al. BTW Rex said exactly that about open seas. Personally, I thought it was close enough for crosswords. Matter of what you like. I looked back after I finished the puzzle and found all the c’s. So the theme didn’t influence my solve
Pabloinnh
My understanding is that second definitions are used all the time in crosswords so to me there was nothing wrong with the clue/answer.
With my solve, however, ignorance was bliss because I forgot what a mace was so I wasn’t confused by the second definition!
But it is unusual for such tricks to appear on a Monday. I actually found the puzzle hard period especially in the SW corner where I struggled to finish. Another secondary meaning crossing a Hindu deity WIDGET and INDRA.
The D was. literally my last letter
Liveprof
I have no excuse. I have read articles about her and friends have talked about her. (In partial defense I have never seen her on TV or clips on the phone etc. I might have seen a photo in the Times) But I had no clue at first. Even as CLARK started to appear still couldn’t remember her. Finally DUH. Funny how (my) head doesn’t work with names.
She definitely has achieved a high level of popularity.
Les S More
I hesitated to put in DIESEL
Do not know a lot about engines but do know a lot about WW Ii
One weakness of the American Sherman tanks was the gasoline fuel versus German diesel Sherman’s were nicknamed Ronsons (a cigarette lighter brand) by the Germans
I know that had nothing directly to do with the clue. Another type of ignition. But somehow “gas” seemed more appropriate to me for combustion than diesel. I did eventually put diesel in.
What's not to like today? The artistry of a Monday level difficulty solve that keeps me interested to the very end and is a true feat of construction! Like others, I didn't see the "every clue" layer until I got here - I must have read the revealer too quickly. That was a real WOW!
Nothing to complain about and some gorgeous long themers. I was going to attempt a write-up that included my own set of "open C's" but @Lewish did it better than I every could - bravo! Thank you Brian! More like these please.
Nancy
About card counting
The State of Nevada is heavily influenced by the casinos’ corporate owners so they are permitted to bar card counters from the casinos. After all, the casinos keep the taxes down
But I agree it is not cheating.
I actually left the I blank juuuust in case it was an O and filled it in last.
Dan P
Eli Witney ISpart of American history. I wouldn’t call him archaic. BTW his first name is Eli and he was an Eli! (he went to Yale )
When I was young in the early 60’s I learned about him in elementary school. They made a big deal about him. But carefully avoided mentioning his close connection to slavery. (That’s the so-called history that Trump wants to go back to ) But since then he is probably much less known because the truth puts him in a bad light He probably didn’t know the consequences of his invention At the time cotton was not a big product in the South. It took way too long to remove the seeds to make it very profitable even when most of the labor was done by enslaved Black Americans. But his invention made cotton hugely profitable, coupled with the expansion of the US and the theft of Indian land cotton became the leading source of profit in the whole country, never mind the South. It made the Civil War almost inevitable because it vastly increased the slave system and gave Southern slave owners enough confidence to think they might win. Eli didn’t know that but he chose to work with slave owners, hence he is someone to avoid in school.
The clue says nothing about formal croquet events Croquet home sets were very popular when I was a kid in the sixties. I played in my own yard as well as on other people ‘s yards. In other words, lawns around houses are referred to as yards in American English. Perfectly normal for crosswords to use overlaps like that bThey’ve not game instruction manuals or dictionaries. They are puzzles that hint at an answer. Nothing wrong with it
I am Hindu and I struggled with the chief Hindu God clue. Indra is at best chief Vedic God (same dude as Zeus for proto Indo Europeans). Rama, Krishna, Shiva, Vishnu...all likely better answers.
A mace is use in Royal pageantry. It’s basically a very ornamental stick.
Exactly
Yikes…consider me seriously schooled. Sorry, so sorry
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