.png)
Portree is the capital of this isle / SUN 10-5-25 / Rapper with a feline-sounding name / Ad Council spots, for short / Swiss locale of the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum / Proofreader's Mark
Sunday, October 5, 2025
Constructor: John Kugelman
Relative difficulty: Easy/Medium
THEME: ALL TOO WISE — Common two-word phrases have a Y added to the end of both words to make wacky new phrases.
Word of the Day: STAR APPLE (96A: Purple fruit with a distinctive inner shape) —
(Redirected from Star apple) Chrysophyllum cainito is a tropical tree of the family Sapotaceae. It is native to the Isthmus of Panama, where it was domesticated.[3] It has spread to the Greater Antilles and the West Indies and is now grown throughout the tropics, including Southeast Asia.[4] It grows rapidly and reaches 20 meters in height. The fruit is globose and typically measures from 2 to 3 inches in diameter.[7] When ripe, it usually has purple skin with a faint green area appearing around the calyx. A radiating star pattern is visible in the pulp.
• • •
Hello everyone, it's Eli filling in for Rex on this fine Sunday. We're getting actual autumnal temperatures in LA so far, and I've been enjoying Oktoberfest celebrations at my local brewery, so I'm in a fine mood today. Let's jump right in!Theme answers:
- CLASSY MATEY (22A: Sailor who drinks only the finest grog?)
- GOODY COPY (24A: Knockoff version of a sweet treat?)
- CRANKY CASEY (34D: Actor Affleck when he needs a nap?)
- MOUTHY HARPY (39D: Half-woman, half-bird, all attitude?)
- HANDY BELLY (43A: Convenient spot for a cat nap?)
- FORTY WORTHY (62A: Suitable for the middle-aged?)
- FISHY HOOKY (80A: Suspicious absence from school?)
- COCKY PITY (102A: "How sad. You actually think you can win," e.g.?)
- STEAMY IRONY (104A: A locksmith getting stuck in bedroom handcuffs, say?)
41D: Benny Hill theme song
The only two things I have marked with a full frowny face are ICKY POO (81D: Disgusting, in totspeak) and OVERHOT (57A: Scorching). For icky poo, I just don't like cutesy-speak, even when it's designated as for toddlers. I feel like a toddler would say "Icky," and an adult who was trying to hard to meet them at their level would say "Icky poo." I just had a reversion to the phrase when I read it. And overhot (over hot?) just feels like "not a thing." I live in the San Fernando Valley. We spend a good portion of every Summer (and Fall, usually) in triple digits. I've never heard someone refer to it as "over hot" before. Overheat? Sure! Over hot? No.
Those two aside, solid puzzle! It took me a little longer than my average Sunday, but it's possible that's just because I was trying to remember things to blog (also, see above about celebrating Oktoberfest). A perfectly cromulent way to spend a Sunday solving.
Stray Thoughts:
Signed, Eli Selzer, False Dauphin of CrossWorld
[Follow Rex Parker on BlueSky and Facebook and Letterboxd]
=============================
❤️ Support this blog ❤️:
Venmo (@MichaelDavidSharp)] =============================
✏️ Upcoming Crossword Tournaments ✏️
📘 My other blog 📘:
- 43D Actor Bill of "Barry" (HADER)— I loved Barry, but to me, Hader's masterpiece is Mickey on Bob's Burgers.
- 1A: Classic target of a troll (BILLY GOAT)— Really fun clue, but as a Cubs fan, this always makes me think of the Curse of the Billy Goat. I never believed in it, but that didn't stop me from naming the beer I brewed during the 2016 World Series run Goatbuster IPA.
- 21A: Kindle competitor (NOOK) — Is it, though?
- 84A: Taps on the snoot (BOOPS) - If you need a snoot to boop (for some reason, cutesy talk doesn't bother me with dogs), here's Huckleberry for all your booping needs:
- 35A: Projectionist's item (FILM REEL) - I'm lucky to have a wife who works in film restoration, so in recent weeks I've been able to see screenings of either restorations or film prints of The Sound of Music, Ed Wood, Tron, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Film is awesome. Support it.
- 88A: Stooge who said "Soitenly!" (CURLY) - Speaking of my wife and classic film, in what most people would assume to be a gender role reversal, my wife LOVES the Three Stooges. I've grown to appreciate them (especially Moe, who worked like crazy to keep that act alive and his family employed over the decades), but I've always preferred the Marx Brothers.
- 72D: "___, Silver!" (HIYO) — I'm the very specific kind of nerd who loves singing barbershop music. So, Lone Ranger references always make me think of the Gas House Gang:
Ok, thanks for spending some of your Sunday with me! Rex should be back tomorrow (I think). Enjoy the rest of your weekend!
[Follow Rex Parker on BlueSky and Facebook and Letterboxd]
=============================
❤️ Support this blog ❤️:
✏️ Upcoming Crossword Tournaments ✏️
- Midwest Crossword Tournament (Chicago) (Sat., Oct. 4, 2025)
- Finger Lakes Crossword Competition (Ithaca) (Sat., Oct. 18, 2025)
📘 My other blog 📘:
- Pop Sensation (vintage paperbacks)
Save And Share :
119 comments:
Medium. This was mostly easy except for a couple major hiccups. First, I had leANTo before SHANTY which killed my whoosh in the SW. It also took some staring to come up with SCOT. Second, I blanked on spelling AMUCK (AMOK?) which made MOUTHY HARPY tough to see…and me too (@Eli) for some confusion about ITS A HIT. Plus, FOREX was a WOE in that section.
Cute and amusing in spots, COCKY PITY was worth the price of admission, liked it.
Enjoyed this puzzle, over the top theme.... don't just add one Y, add two! It was silly and fun. Had to divide this one between late last night and this morning... so it was at least medium and maybe medium challenging for me. Had a little spot in the middle that I just couldn't get--Had toPE instead of VAPE, and REtaKE instead of REVOKE, and just couldn't figure out who Hepburn acted with that was TRo_Y. Finally just took out TOPE and suddenly saw--Oh! It could be VAPE, and I was on my way. I know Spencer TRACY's name, although I'm not really familiar with any of his movies. And like you, STARAPPLE was a total WOE. Thanks, John, for a fun Sunday puzzle!!!! : )
Easy-Medium. Got the theme early on, and it helped in placing the Y's.
Overwrites:
FANfic before FANART at 35D
treE before PINE for the "Methuselah" at 51A
REnegE before REVOKE at 63D
I thought the Lone Ranger said HI hO and Ed McMahon said HIYO (72D)
Briefly had LOLCATz before LOLCATS at 77D
Loci before LAYS at 85A
Misread the 88D clue as "Southeastern" and wanted something CAjun- related instead of CALMEX, which sounds like a tranquilizer
SpIn before STIR at 96D
ess before INC for the close of business at 105D
WOEs:
SPIKEBALL at 46D
Sportswriter Linda COHN at 71D
Never heard of a STAR APPLE (96A)
Rapper TYGA at 97D
Didn't like ARGH (10D). Every Peanuts fan knows it's spelled with a double A.
Like @jae, I resisted AMUCK (49A) because I wanted AMOK, which didn't fit (Grammarist.com agrees)
LOCS was a WOE; in fact, that O was the last square I filled in. And when I played bridge I never heard it referred to as "REVOKE'. And AMUCK? No--it's "amok". I did enjoy the shout-out to ARCHIMEDES, though.
The puzzle was fine. Theme was a little easy but an enjoyable solve. So I have used and heard Overheat, overheated, overheating. I have never in my life a seen or said "overhot". Not denying it's existence lol just have never seen.
As usual for me on a Kugelman Sunday, there were areas I had to return to due to wrong answers I slapped down, clues I couldn’t think of an answer to, and things I didn’t know.
Oh, there were other areas that filled in quickly to balance off the thorny areas, keeping things from getting too frustrating.
By now, I know that a Kugelman Sunday will combine fight and delight, and offer a most satisfying outing. As did today’s puzzle.
I did like SHANTY and BILLY (of BILLYGOAT) in the box, echoing the theme, as the Y at the end of those words changes the meaning of “shan’t” and “bill”.
John, your output is amazing, with 13 Sundays (plus a Thursday) in just over two years. That mind of yours never stops tick-tick-ticking. And may it continue, because your puzzles bring me great pleasure. Thank you!
I had a letter wrong and it turned out I put HUGEYES instead of BUGEYES, thinking I had put in HUGE EYES (which seemed as plausible as OVERHOT).
Excellent write-up but I think you mean revulsion, not reversion.
Tony Kornheiser always claims that LInda COHN has six toes on each foot. I assume he's just doing a bit, though.
SW corner took me an unduly long time. I really hate cross-referenced clues like the TEEN/ACNE pairing, where neither clue can stand alone. And leaNTo before SHANTY (Hi, @jae) really messed me up. Plus the IRK/IRe KeaLoa, and not knowing TYGA, and the oddness of ICKYPO, which I've never heard.
Mostly a rock solid set of themers, with HANDY BELLY being the weakest but still fine.
Love the John Mulaney reference.
Would someone please explain 43A to me? Handy Belly? How is that a convenient spot for a cat nap? I just don’t get it. But I enjoyed the puzzle.
Tracy’s best movie, IMHO, is “Bad Day at Black Rock.” Highly recommended.
Kudos to our guest host for working “cromulent” into his write-up. Reminds me of blog posts from days gone by. I suspect that the consensus today will agree with him that OVERHOT is in fact suspect, at best.
I started out gangbusters in the NW, picked up on the theme immediately and was hoping for some real whooshing today. Unfortunately, as is my wont, I got bogged down as I moved into the meat of the grid. SPIKEBALL and YAKETYSAX were much more trouble than they should have been.
I enjoyed the SE section with a cool clue for SEX SCENES and the STEAMY IRONY theme answer.
I would add FOREX and BOWER to the aforementioned OVERHOT as answers we could have done without today.
This one had me at BILLYGOAT and CLEARASMUD, and descended into silly fun from there—a collage of whacky phrases and green paint and some tough clues. When will I ever remember HODA? AMUCK was a hangup until the crosses made it inevitable. Thanks to @Kitshef for kicking off a memory with the reference to Tony Kornheiser—we once had the same nutty barber…a lot like this puzzle…
Hey All !
I must say this was on outstanding construction job. Any idea how difficult it is to incorporate so many Y's into the grid? Let me tell ya, it's DANG tough. And to have the fill this clean, working around Themers Everywhere? My goodness, A+. Plus saddling yourself with huge open sides (with Themers in them!) I'm in awe of the cleanliness of this grid. A lot of hair tearing was probably had.
As for the solve, a good time was had. Thought the puns were comical, laugh out loud WORTHY. FISHY HOOKY, CLASSY MATEY, good stuff.
Had a one letter fail at an error free solve. Had SEt SCENES/CALMEt. Apparently don't know my Southwestern culinary, or my puns on "barely". (Nice one!)
A Grade A puz, John. ITS A HIT. Didn't even notice OVERHOT. 😁 Neat Theme, awesome fill, lots of F's. What more could you ask for on a Sunday morning?
Have a great Sunday!
Five F's
(Twenty two Y's, in case you're interested)
RooMonster
DarrinV
This is one of those puzzles where you start wishing it was over when you already know what to look for when you read the puzzle title, and immediately fill in the first one without any downs.
A bunch of extra pairs of Ys. You know it's going downhill, you just don't know how fast, or how far.
Every single theme answer made me groan.
adding two Ys to hand bell exaggerates the original sin.
mouth harp - same (and while we're at it -- harpy?)
GTFO
Hands up for leANTo, overhot??. Wanted STARAnise.
Top half was easy Monday level fill in the blanks, then it all came to a crashing halt down below when it became a regular Sunday level. I don’t usually read the title and was sorry I did today bc it gave it away completely.
I had a feeling Rex would eviscerate this one. Seeing from Lewis that Mr Kugelman has made 13 Sunday puzzles in the last 2 years, and RP generally hates them the most, strong chance this wouldn’t be on his wavelength.
Yesterday we had YREKA and today EUREKA showed up as a clue. Thankfully the clue yesterday wasn’t “Almost apt place for Archimedes to reside”.
Isn't it Hi Ho Silver? That third letter had me stuck for a bit. Two clues I don't understand, please help ... 43A I get Hand Bell, but what is the reference to where a cat takes a nap? And 77A what is locs? Thx.
Never heard of BYES as “ways to advance” before this… I also think JOIN is a lousy answer for “Knit” so that SE corner was really opaque to me.
Actually it's 23 Y's, and as Jim Horne pointed out on XwordInfo, that shatters the old record of 17.
With regard to ITS A HIT, a really cool clue for this NYC-born boomer would have related to the three baseball teams that played in NYC until the late 50s. Each had a beer brand, and each needed a way to tell the fans that a given play was a hit or an error. Two of them had beer sponsors which had both an H and an E in their names: rHEingold at the Polo Grounds and sHafEr at Ebbets Field. Alas, at Yankee Stadium, BALLANTINE had no H. So plastered on the BALLANTINE sign was IT’S A HIT!
The clue for 49A should have referenced Chuck Jones!
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duck_Amuck
Wow I did not like this puzzle. So many lazy proper nouns and nonsense fills.
Ok - so enjoyed the puzzle enough. A little easy for a Sunday. Enjoyed all of the themers. But really don’t like made up stuff like OVERHOT. There is overheat, overly hot and oven hot but but not OVERHOT. No sir. And what is with the spelling of SWATHE. Either clue it as a British word or pick a different fill.
Could I be the first person to suggest that "Yaketysax" and "ora" is a Natick? Benny Hill was on TV when, in the 1980s?
Other themers are harder to invent than I thought they might be. (answers below).
1. Idiot box accomplice.
2. Dangerous shindig
3. Rooster in uniform?
I used to run AMUCK pit where people could put their ICKYPOO stuff.
I wondered how [Global currency market] would be FOREX, but then I realized that Eli was doing today's blog.
Fun puzzle. I didn't love the theme gimmick as I solved, but it grew on me as I tried to come up with new ones. Thanks, John Kugelman.
1. TELLYALLY.
2. HAIRYPARTY
3. ARMYBANDY
Per my 16-year-old granddaughter. Alternative to kale: "Are you kidding? Anything."
From https://grammarist.com/spelling/amok-amuck/: "AMUCK is an old alternative spelling of the Malaysian loanword, and it had a few decades of prevalence before the middle 20th century, but it has now fallen out of favor."
I've also never heard of DEMEROL. But I do enjoy a Sunday morning, sitting around the family table, when I can CANOODLE with SEX SCENES and then play CRAPS.
Yeah that one took me a while to get because I did find it genuinely disturbing. Mouthy harpy woman, huh? Hilarious. Wtf. The things we have normalized as a culture.
Friendly note that the Midwest Crossword Tournament was yesterday, so you guys can remove it from your post footer now. I had such a fun time meeting people from the community IRL! Thanks for letting us know about it here!
Good morning, all! Colin here, away from home so not signed in properly.
I enjoyed this, and had figured from the get-go there would be something with 2 Y's in the themers. Do-overs / cross-outs included:
- 22A: CLASSYMATEY: I had CLASSYMATES at first, but of course, this did not quite fit the theme (or the clue!!). My wife kindly pointed out that a triangular sign would be YIELD, not SIE**. Lightbulb moment!
- 33D DELE: I had STET at first.
- 72D HIYO: I had HIHO at first.
I too have not heard of REVOKE in bridge. But, I play at a fairly basic level and only rarely nowadays.
I used to love watching the Benny Hill Show. I can't remember when I realized that Benny Hill was also cast in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang but was delighted when I figured it out. YAKETYSAX, yuk yuk. And the Stooges -- CURLY was a gimme.
Thank you, JK, for a very pleasant Sunday solve.
Me too. I have always heard RENEGE and I still don't get LOCS.
I always enjoy your puzzles, John.
But this one qualifies for me as Sunday of the Year - or Puzzle of the Year :) Thank you for a great Sunday.
Cats take naps on people. A handy belly. As in a convenient/nearby belly
I’m going to be annoyed at “calmex” for a while. That section was the last I filled in because I couldn’t make “texmex” fit.
I don't get the STEAMY of STEAMY IRONY. For that to work, wouldn't the locksmith have to get stuck in either a bathroom, a sunroom or a sauna?
I haven't checked to see if Google accepts AMUCK. Suffice it to say that I don't.
But I loved the playfulness of this puzzle -- in which all the themers were mini-puzzles themselves. And there's a lot of density. I've never heard of a HANDBELL, but I loved HANDY BELLY. COCKY PITY, FISHY HOOKY, and FORTY WORTHY were all pretty great too.
John Kugelman seems to have a lot of fun conceiving of and constructing his puzzles. It shows. He obviously wants solvers to also have fun -- and that shows too. I really like this constructor.
Dang! Missed one. Another one-letter DNF. Har.
RooMonster One Letter Downfall Guy
uh, ARAB?
Only the fact that eYGA did not sound like a feline helped me change my peAR APPLE to a STAR APPLE. Otherwise my "Move around and around" was "pace" (from the peAR) and that whole sector in the SW was unfillable.
I hated the TEEN/ACNE cross-referenced clues, wanted SWAddle before SWATHE (which at least fit) and had a BOSS nIGHT DNF. I was death-DEnYING, don't you know.
STEAMY IRONY was the only one of the theme answers that came up to the level of wacky, though FISHY HOOKY came close. I think harpies by definition are MOUTHY. GOODY as a sweet treat is too general. Did anyone else try to come up with a way to add a Y to "Oreo" for that one?
The title of this puzzle hits the mark perfectly, in my opinion. Thanks, John Kugelman.
@Nancy, 10:55 AM
Clearly, you have not been bound in handcuffs to any bed, LOL...
A number of Law & Order: SVU episodes as well as at least one NCIS episode have touched on this.
Duh. Early on knew that the themes had 2 Ys but didn't catch on to the roots until I read the a n analysis here. Made me like the puzzle more.
Absolutely AMOK!!! Never seen it as AMUCK :(
Think metaphorically steamy, the 112-Across kind of steamy.
Had a real estate deal fall apart because one party reneged. Explaining the situation to another party I referred to " the renegers", don't say it out loud!!! Thought of that watching T.Rump babble about the N word and again this AM. Maybe the NFL will become an N word, it's a good example of DEI with Black coaches and QBs, the Steelers owner's "Rooney rule" would be verboten these days.
All two Ys. The resulting wackiness mostly worked for me, or at least elicited a few indulgent smiles, like you used to grant your FORTY-WORTHY dad with his never-ending stream of dad jokes. (They really don't get much wackier than HANDY BELLY.) But it sure made for a choppy grid. So not a difficult puzzle by any means, but neither was it whooshy. Medium-ish for a Sunday.
My first thought was that AMUCK looks like a misspelling of "amok". My second thought was "Well, it's a transliteration of a foreign word, right? So maybe there are variant spellings. Javanese? Balinese?". Turns out it's from the Malay. But then I learn that Malay is written with the Roman alphabet (there are two alphabets, but Roman is one of them). So presumably there's a standardized Roman spelling in the Malay language. The original word is "mengamok", meaning someone going on a violent rampage. This brings me right back to my first thought. Merriam-Webster simply says, "less commonly AMUCK".
We seem to be in agreement about OVERHOT. I could never say that word. The closest I would ever come is "overly hot", which sounds a little formal, I grant you, but at least it's grammatical without a doubt. OVERHOT is pushing it. And yes, ICKYPOO is annoying as all get out.
A Peanuts aficionado says it's spelled "aargh", nor ARGH. Sam Ezersky says so too. [Recently I tried every DANG letter-doubling in Spelling Bee -- arrgh, arghh, etc. -- until I finally got it.] You can even triple the a (aaargh!), although not in Ezersky's book. It's much older than I was expecting: as an interjection, it has been traced back to the year 1800. (Pirate-speak?) Apparently it's also an adjective in English dialect, meaning timid, cowardly. They say that meaning goes back to before the 12th century.
(Sorry, I just love words and word origins, you know.)
The whole Eureka! incident of ARCHIMEDES is a tip of a floating iceberg. The interesting thing about him is how his stock continues to rise, even in recent years. It's only been a couple of decades since very sophisticated imaging techniques have helped us decipher the Archimedes Palimpsest, written on pieces of parchment that are decrepit with age (and worked over by mold, and forgers). One of the works therein is his On Floating Bodies, in two books, where he establishes himself as many (at least 18) centuries ahead of his time in founding the study of hydrostatics. According to one writer, speaking about the high level of mathematics in Book II, "One need only glance at Archimedes’s Proposition 8 above to see that On Floating Bodies is several orders of magnitude more sophisticated than anything else found in ancient mathematics".
I started by thinking that a troll target should be some new-fangled internet thing when it really should be BILLYGOAT. Imagine my delight when it really was BILLYGOAT. Hard not to like everything after that.
TIL BOSSFIGHT and what the inside of a STARAPPLE looks like. I never remember HODA and will always say RENEGE and not REVOKE, which slowed things down considerably.
When my younger son got married we had his rehearsal shindig at our house. It was outdoors and we cleaned up an aluminum canoe to use as a container for ice and beverages and so forth and I made a lovely sign to put on it that said "Let the canoodling begin", all this to say that even so it took me far to long to see CANOODLE. but when I did it made me happy.
I liked your Sunday very much, JK, impressive to find so many themers that worked and just wacky enough for me. Just Knew what was going on after CLASSYMATEY but so what? Had a good time uncovering all the rest, and thanks for all the fun.
Random association to FOREX: Fourex is the name of a lager that is famous in Australia. They used to have a commercial where the main lyric is "I can feel a Fourex coming on". The thing is, Fourex is also the name of a natural condom made from lamb skin, giving the rather prettily sung lyric a special double meaning.
Ways to advance in a sports tourney
No chance.
Oh, I see! Thank you.
Haha. I see now. Thanks to you, too!
Maybe ‘an available lap’
This was a treat. Like a few others, after writing in BILLY GOAT and CLEAR AS MUD, I was primed for fun. CLASSY MATEY was a fine introduction to the theme, and I enjoyed figuring the others out. My favorite was MOUTHY HARPY: not content with engaging in torment and torture but you need to have attitude as well? Second prize to STEAMY IRONY - changing a domestic appliance into an amusing twist of fate. Great placement over SCREEN TIME (possibly some videoing going on) and SEX SCENES. So much else to like, too: ARCHIMEDES, BOWER, SWATHE, YAKETY SAX, INCUBI, CANOODLE. Fun from top to bottom.
Are there now people SO young as to not know any of the Tracy-Hepburn movies? They would have to be SO young as to have been born after these movies were played and replayed on tv sites such as "Million Dollar Movie." It's hard to even imagine someone so young:)
Second question: Would these movies still stand up in the cynical, ironical world we inhabit now or would they seem hopelessly dated? Will you be our arbiter, Rick? "Pat and Mike" is my favorite of the romantic flicks. And, yes, you should also watch "Bad Day at Black Rock." Hope you can find them both streaming somewhere for free, or in a library DVD.
More than any other actor -- including Brando -- Tracy was considered the greatest film actor of all time by his peers. It was because he did so very little on screen and did it so well. No one could ever catch him acting.
Does it just mean that the word LOCKS has been twisted into LOCS, both meeting hairdo?
I liked the wacky wise in this puzzle but got hung up in the middle head E. I didn’t know FOREX or YAKETYSAX and it took me a long time to work all that out, especially with AMUCK and ITSAHIT confusing things. I do take issue with OVERHOT, AARG, loCS (is that just referring to a hairdo and the spelling is twisted?), And AMUCK. And I would always say HIHO, silver!
Handy as in close at hand, convenient. A cat next to you, thinks, "Ooh, that belly looks handy. I mean, meow".
This was so much not my kind of puzzle that I was not even going to comment lest I went on a rant. But then I read the comments and ran into some that were upset by the use of HARPY. I can understand that because harpy has become a derogative term for a certain kind of woman but the first depictions of them I encountered were on Greek pottery. They were winged women in flowing gowns much like the angels in Christian mythology and, like those angels, they were in the employ of the supreme being (Zeus, God). So I chose to see them in that context. And "Half-woman, half-bird, all attitude?" was absolutely brilliant. MOUTHY HARPY works for me.
"(and while we're at it -- harpy?)" <--- Sure. A hybrid creature from Greek mythology. Half woman, half rapacious bird.
“HANDY BELLY” - a nearby lap (“belly”) that is convenient (“handy”)
Silly Sunday! It was just fine, but then my expectation level on Sunday is easily met. My last letter was the U in AMUCK. Of course I had AMOCK and thought: that's not how you spell AMOK.
A few annoying names, but I really liked the Benny Hill clue for YAKETY SAX. I don't think I've heard that name but the tune itself is unforgettable. Of course I tried to make YAKETY YAK fit.
Swiss CHARD was a staple growing up, mainly because it lasted well into the autumn in our vegetable garden. Mid November at least, I believe?
AARGH is a Spelling Bee staple (about a week ago, in fact), but ARGH is not accepted.
Having occasionally suffered hearing dubstep music, my first guess for 53A was HISS
I took LOCS to refer to dreadlocks.
What did ARCHIMEDES say when he arrived in Northern California?
“Yreka!”
Hand bells are the things choristers ring at Christmastime!
A Nancy - My favorite is "Desk Set." The scene on the roof where Tracy's trying to judge her intelligence and she wows him with her lightning-quick answers to his tricky word-play riddles—brilliant! And the cast...Gig Youg, Joan Blondell . . . fabulous.
Cats like to nap on your lap!
Great memories! But it Schaefer.
Think of your bones knitting back together after an injury.
For me YAKETY SAX and FOREX were that.
I thought HI HO Silver also
Cats like to nap on a nice warm lap. Or, if you are reclining a bit, a nice soft belly. Every once in a while they give it a poke with a needle sharp claw, just to let you know who's in charge
Tournament seeding: you can get a “bye” in the first round with no opponent to advance automatically to the second round.
Yes same here leanto the rent controlled apartment of xword
Cat sleeping on your lap = hand bell
I only come here when I’ve suffered through a dreadful puzzle like today’s, and I need a good Rex Rant to cheer me upon. Double my disappointment.
It was Hi-Ho Silver! Silver never answered to Hi-Yo, because nobody ever said that!
I've never heard of FOREX, so that let me try to use HORN as a driver warning, messing up wise guys. Had to come here to untangle that bit (SIGNS?!). Otherwise, a fun puzzle.
Seeing as the clue is a reference to the Greek mythological creatures, I’m genuinely confused why some seem to think those who would take offense didn’t get the reference. I’m offended by the combo of mouthy (which I associate with an insult for women and children) and harpy, which is the not NOT another insult for women. So together feels pretty icky. Given the resurgence of brazen misogyny in the US, I don’t love it.
Yeah no kidding. You mean like as referenced in the clue? I get it. I don’t like it.
Hi yo is the south Philly version.
I love you Roo and Lewis!
FWIW…I’m old enough (gah) to have watched it as a kid. I always THOUGHT I heard HIYO. I THINK my hearing was pretty good at age 5 (or thereabouts).
I’m old enough to remember YAKETYSAX, and Rita ORA has been in puz a lot in past (read:crosswordese to me) but I totally understand why that would be a Natick for many solvers.
They really went WIDE, on this puppy. HAIRY LIKEY.
staff weeject picks: INC & INK.
some favey stuffy: The 4 Jaws of Sundayness. CLEARASMUD. CANOODLE. ICKYPOO. BUGEYES.
Also kinda like FANART, despite its clue. Better clue: {Fart interrupted by article of impeachment??}.
Thanx, Mr, Kugelman dude. Nice job.
Masked & Anonymo5Us
... a little more travel documentation ...
"One the Road Again with M and A" - 7x7 slightly illustrated:
**gruntz**
M&A
"Fight and delight" - a good, apt phrase!
Haaaa! ;-D
Agree. I lived in CA for a long time and never heard that term, nor have I heard it since.
A valiant try here, but I gave it up over in the SE. I enjoyed a lot of it, but there was a lot more of it. Definitely a good way to spend a rainy afternoon in Florida.
@Nancy. "I haven't checked to see if Google accepts AMUCK. Suffice it to say that I don't." I love the way you phrase that. So you. Welcome back.
"The one beer to have when you're having more than one!" Wonder how far that would get today.
@okanagener. My son and grandson are here from Australia and one of them has a birthday in early October and (Canadian) Thanksgiving is is coming up soon so we have decided to do a mash-up celebration dinner. Was out plucking carrots to roast with the turkey a few hours ago with 5 year old Eugene and noticed how well the CHARD was doing. Maybe next week. It's lovely stuff. So much better than kale and just as easy to grow.
I'm 45, by today's puzzle's estimate, I am apparently middle age. Spencer Tracey died 13 years before I was born. On Golden Pond, which starred a very elderly Katherine Hepburn, was released when I was 1. Yes, it's possible that at least half of us would be too young to be aware of their films.
OVERHOT??!!
Anyone else hate 108 A (ORIG). Simply awful.
I agree with you, but the internet disagrees.and both have historical references. https://medium.com/@nathanielhebert/hi-yo-silver-hi-ho-silver-and-the-murky-history-of-the-lone-rangers-catchphrase-9860e4433f23
.Egs ...amuck pit...
LIve Prof...anything"
lol
I found this very hard after the top third. I finally gave up and just cheated on enough answers to finish.
I chuckled at the first two theme answers: classy matey and goody copy, but the third: "Handy belly" not so much.
I liked the rest, but was so frustrated by how hard it had been to come up with them that I didn't enjoy them as much.
I had never heard of Casey Affleck and tried so long and hard to make a phrase starting with "C" go with Benny. Was thinking crabby rather than cranky at first so that slowed me on the crosses...
Ah well. next week is another Sunday
Clearly from the fact that I was quoting him, I was responding to Christopher, not you, whoever you are. It sounded as if he didn't know the word "harpy".
Adam and Noni
I have been playing bridge for sixty years , most of which at competitions or clubs under the aegis of American Contract Bridge League. The ACBL in its rules use the word REVOKE and people in my club tend to say that word, but renege is still heard. I am sure renege is very commonly used outside of the ACBL. In any case, REVOKE. Is a perfectly good answer.
I looked up AMOK AMUCK AMOCK
Most common spelling now is the first one. AMUCK is an older spelling. But crosswords use less common spellings all the time. ( and less common meanings of words, like send, meaning elate yesterday. ). AMUCK bothered me a bit but it is also a valid answer.
Southside Johnny
Agree with most of your comments though I don’t see your complaint about BOWER
I dnf’d because of the cross of FOREX and the song I didn’t know. If I ran the alphabet almost to the end I may have figured it out. Tough cross for me.
Anonymous 1:58 PM
I dnf’d at FOREX -SAX cross.
But don’t think it is a natick because too many other people know one of the crosses and I think the X is inferable. ( Rex defines natick as the cross o 2 obscure answers at an uninferable letter Just because I didn’t know either is irrelevant . ) If I went through the alphabet and thought of X I probably would have put it in.
Maybe I’m wrong but I didn’t interpret Christopher as saying he didn’t know the word “harpy,” just that he didn’t like it. The rest of his post did not indicate confusion, so I didn’t take his ? to mean lack of understanding. Especially followed by GTFO.
Yes! Have lived in CA my whole life, and that’s not a thing. Even if it were, it wouldn’t be “Southwestern.”
At this late hour, we'll probably never know what Christopher was asking (I interpreted the question mark as meaning he was asking something, as opposed to asserting something such as he didn't like it). Are you the same Anon who responded to Les S. More below? My own feeling is that the theme answers are by design so silly and wacky that they don't really invite or support darker readings like misogyny. After all, here it's a mythological creature that doesn't even exist in the first place, so I don't see much to get upset about.
I had a slightly different yet similar reaction as @Nancy. Am I so old that I can’t believe there are folks out there so young that they are completely unaware of Hepburn and Tracy? Yikes.
I had trouble at 63D because I am completely unfamiliar with the bridge term REVOKE. I play bridge (badly) and have onky heard REnege. And LOCS was a new one. I have seen LOCks meaning tresses or hair in general and was unaware that LOCS specifically means a twisted portion of hair like dreadlocks. And now I really want to try a STAR APPLE. Never heard of one until today. Crosswords allow me to learn things almost daily. Got a triple today!
This was easier than many Kugelmans I have solved in the past. The theme became tedious for me, but that’s just me. To each his/her/their own.
My big nit is with AMUCK rather than AMoK. Also, OVERHOT? As Eli mentioned, OVERheated sure, but where were the editors? Both of these could/should have been improved upon.
Serviceable with some nice spots. See y’all tomorrow.
¡Por el amor de Dios, estás obstaculizando mi estilo!
Yeeshk. Either I got real dumb, or this puzzle was out to get me. And it did. And I never ever got it back. I'm resentful over the YY thing and didn't find it remotely amusing, just super awkward, but I'm pleased to read many of you liked it.
The east side of this thing was an epic level train wreck for me. IMAY, AMUCK (WTF?!), SWATHE (?), I'd never heard of FOREX, and the Benny Hill theme was alphabet soup to me.
I was positive it was a DANDY BELLY and wondered what a DAND BELL could be. TYLENOL for a long time before DEMEROL. ARGH is missing an A. FANFIC wouldn't make room for FANART. I've heard of Hepburn, but never seen or heard about any of her acting work other than I think Bogart was in something with her. It's HI-HO, Silver. TEX-MEX yes, CAL-MEX no.
❤️ BILLY GOAT. CLEAR AS MUD. SHAKA. BOOPS. CANOODLE.
People: 17
Places: 4
Products: 9
Partials: 10
Foreignisms: 1
--
Gary's Grid Gunk Gauge: 41 of 138 (30%)
Funny Factor: 6 😐
Tee-Hee: CRAPS. SEX SCENES. GAY BARS. That whole STEAMY IRONY thing is tee-hee-ery squared.
Uniclues:
1 Niche cinematic experiences for vegetable lovers.
2 Headline for a negative review of same-sex drinking establishments without cover charges.
3 Delivers a surprise naked mathematician.
1 TEEN OKRA SEX SCENES
2 NO FEE GAY BARS ICKY POO (~)
3 POPS ARCHIMEDES ON ME
My Fascinating Crossword Uniclue Keepsake from Last Year: Excited revelation the woman in acquisitions likes blurry basketball. AHA SPORTY ART CURATOR.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Yup - was always “Hi Ho” to my ears.
Puns, puns, puns. Some were good and some were bad. The NYTXW can and should be better than this.
Found it rather annoying. e.g. the answer to 15 down is The Moors. No one ever uses the singular. Incubi, really. Bossfight Handybelly, Spikeball. Etc etc.
@tht 11:53AM The beer's name is *pronounced* "Four ex", but it is *always* written "XXXX".
Never too young to know about this iconic relationship which is alive and well in today’s media and pop culture references. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/21/movies/george-clooney-julia-roberts.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
Can confirm my lolcats like to plonk on my belly whenever it is handy to them 😸
I found this puzzle challenging, unlike Rex and other commenters. But my main point is to raise concern that Will Shortz has been providing undisguised spoilers giving away the themes and several specific answers on page 3 of the main section of the Sunday NYT, the part of the paper I usually turn to first on Sunday morning. I find this extremely irritating and wonder if others agree? I have searched for Will's email address to express my concern but can't find one.
And one Seinfeld episode had George handcuffed to a hotel room bed by a sexy woman.
I loved this puzzle and found it very funny. But then again, I love puns, whether they are laugh out loud funny or beyond the pale groaners. Y not said eYe 👀‽
LOCS is the preferred Rastafarian term for dreadlocks.
Absolutely agree. How this puzzle got a high five from the guest commentator is shocking. So much is wrong with this puzzle—but I’ll start with harpy and associating it with women. Misogyny anyone???
OMG, this was such utter dreck. I HATED. This garbage
Regularly see Benny Hill in my tv listings even today …
Post a Comment