.png)
Relative difficulty: Medium
Theme answers:
Trying desperately to figure out how CELL RECEPTION isn't a fatal flaw. The other "gatherings" are ... actually gatherings. Real names for real events where people get together and have a good time. Whereas CELL RECEPTION refers to the strength of your mobile phone signal. It's not an event at all. What am I missing? Is CELL RECEPTION a variety of party that I just don't know about? A party in prison, maybe? It just doesn't make any sense in this puzzle, where all the other themers are real parties. Those parties cohere so nicely as a set. And then you've got CELL RECEPTION flung down in here like ... like, I don't know what? Like it wants to be the revealer, maybe, but the puzzle doesn't need one ... and then so instead of leaving because it's not needed, CELL RECEPTION just decided to stick around. It's really the fly in the soup today. I mean, if the theme had involved making puns, changing the meaning of the second word in the phrase, you might have something. But today's wordplay involves reimagining the first words, the "boxes," not the parties. CELL RECEPTION is not an actual type of gathering and therefore has absolutely no business being in this grid.
- SQUARE DANCE (19A: Gathering for this puzzle's attendees)
- CELL RECEPTION (35A: Gathering for this puzzle's attendees)
- BOX SOCIAL (43A: Gathering for this puzzle's attendees)
- BLOCK / PARTY (61A: With 63-Across, gathering for this puzzle's attendees)
The Council of Trent (Latin: Concilium Tridentinum), held between 1545 and 1563 in Trent (or Trento), now in northern Italy, was the 19th ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation at the time, it has been described as the "most impressive embodiment of the ideals of the Counter-Reformation." It was the last time a Catholic ecumenical council was organized outside the city of Rome, and the second time a council was convened in the territory of the Holy Roman Empire (the first being the Council of Constance).The Council issued key statements and clarifications of the Church's doctrine and teachings, including scripture, the biblical canon, sacred tradition, original sin, justification, salvation, the sacraments, the Mass, and the veneration of saints and also issued condemnations of what it defined to be heresies committed by proponents of Protestantism. The consequences of the council were also significant with regard to the Church's liturgy and censorship. (wikipedia)
• • •
I probably should've made BOX SOCIAL my Word of the Day, since that will be the least familiar type of "gathering" today, I think. I've been to block parties and I've at least seen square dances in movies, but I don't really know much about BOX SOCIALs. They feel old-fashioned. Like sock hops, but older, and with less dancing. So, not very much like sock hops at all. Merriam-Webster Dot Com tells me that a BOX SOCIAL is "a fund-raising affair at which box lunches are auctioned to the highest bidder." Wiktionary has a somewhat more detailed definition: "A fundraising event in which boxes are decorated and filled with meals for two (traditionally by women) and others (traditionally men) bid on them, anticipating a meal with the preparer." This makes it seem kinda creepy, like the women rather than the lunches are being auctioned off. Whatever the precise meaning, BOX SOCIAL seems like it has less currency in 2025 (soon to be 2026) than the other "gatherings," but it fits the theme perfectly. Really, truly, three of these themers are right on the mark. Shame about that fourth one.
The fill had highs and lows. LIBERACE MANSCAPED is a complete sentence that I would totally believe. "Did he? ... yeah, I can see that." "VIVE LE ROI!" is something I can imagine an enthusiastic French audience shouting at LIBERACE (9D: Cry of loyalty in old France + 36D: One-named performer known as "Mr. Showmanship"). Did anyone ever call LIBERACE "PAPA BEAR" (4D: Fairy tale character with a hard bed)? Seems plausible. Anyway, I like this puzzle's LIBERACEness—very festive, perfect for the occasion (which seems to be a New Year's Eve party, what with this being New Year's Eve and there being balloons and party hats all over the grid). GETS COMFY is also a nice longer answer. I don't like IDLE CHAT because the phrase is "idle chatter." It really is. Googles much better. Shows up on the first page of hits when you try to search "IDLE CHAT." I see that "IDLE CHAT" is a phrase that exists, that people sometimes say, but all it does is make me think of the real phrase, which is idle chatter. NO CARBS is an absurdity, as there is no surviving as a human without some carbs (22A: Stipulation for some keto dieters). The fill gets real ugly in the SW, which is where I finished up, unfortunately—never good to close on a low note. Ugly "a" phrase (ADAB) next to prefix (MILLI) next to absurd plural (NOGOS) two doors down from EKE. Rough stuff. The rest holds up OK.
I had a slow start because I absurdly wrote in MAC for 1A: Big name in pickup trucks (RAM) and then crossed it with MPG at 1D: Engine stat, in brief (RPM). This meant that 16A: Smaller than small (MINI) looked like it was going to be ... GIGA, a prefix that is very much not "small." I also botched the spelling of NIQAB, though that's more predictable and less embarrassing, somehow (13D: Veil worn by Muslim women). I think I conflated NIQAB and HIJAB and ended up with NIJAB? Something like that. The NIQAB extends the concept of HIJAB (head covering) to the face. Will I remember this distinction? Who knows!?
Bullets:
This one is entitled "Orion with visions of sugarplums." Probably actually "Orion sees a squirrel," but you gotta have some imagination.
OK, this photo is fooling no one, Maggie, but since you went through the trouble of trying to Christmasify your dog, and since your dog is so adorable, I'll allow it. Buffy is a classroom dog! They have classroom dogs now? I never had a classroom dog. I want a classroom dog. All classrooms should have dogs. "As Provost, I will..."
Kyoshi would prefer that you back up a step or two or twelve.
And finally, a pair of more and less successful pet photo shoots. First there's Olive, seen here in her puppy days, posing sassily for the camera (RIP sweet Olive, who died earlier this month).
And then there's Moxie, who will not willingly participate in whatever you have planned. The look of betrayal on her face. "How could you?"
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
[Follow Rex Parker on BlueSky and Facebook and Letterboxd]
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- 30A: Marketplace of ancient Greece (AGORA) — I'm not normally that happy to see AGORA in the grid (it's crosswordese of the highest order), but today, since I imagine the AGORA as a public square, I kinda like the fact that it's here, sitting pride of place, nearly dead center. Guest of honor at all the various square dances.
- 17A: Completely change course, in business jargon (PIVOT) — a perfectly good word—why steer the clue into "business jargon"? No one wants to think about that.
- 38D: Word fittingly evoked by the phrase "Together everyone achieves more" (TEAM) — turns TEAM into an acronym
- 60D: Book reviewer, for short (CPA) — "Book" in the singular is sort of weird here, since accounting records are almost always "books," but OK, sure [Book reviewer]. Just watched a great film noir about a CPA (unlikely, but true!). Joan Crawford works her way up from poverty to a life of glamour by charming, exploiting, and discarding a series of men, the first of whom is a mousy CPA whom she convinces to become the accountant for a mob boss. Her fortunes get better from there, until, of course, inevitably they get much much worse. The movie in question costars Kent Smith as the mousy CPA, David Brian as mob boss Nick Castleman, and Steve Cochran as a west coast mobster trying to break away from east coast leadership. The movie's title?—one of the pulpiest of all time: The Damned Don't Cry (it's on HBO Max but might be leaving tomorrow, so why not watch it today? I can think of worse ways to spend New Year's Eve)
Time now for more π²πHoliday Pet Picsππ²! Note: PLEASE DO NOT SEND ME ANY MORE PET PICS, I'M ALL FULL UP FOR THIS YEAR, thank you.
Usually you hang lights on the tree, not the dogs, but Ruby and Poppy are happy to indulge your weird lighting fantasies ...
 |
| [Thanks, Jennifer!] |
This one is entitled "Orion with visions of sugarplums." Probably actually "Orion sees a squirrel," but you gotta have some imagination.
 |
| [Thanks, Judy!] |
OK, this photo is fooling no one, Maggie, but since you went through the trouble of trying to Christmasify your dog, and since your dog is so adorable, I'll allow it. Buffy is a classroom dog! They have classroom dogs now? I never had a classroom dog. I want a classroom dog. All classrooms should have dogs. "As Provost, I will..."
 |
| [Thanks, Maggie!] |
Kyoshi would prefer that you back up a step or two or twelve.
 |
| [Thanks, Thomas!] |
And finally, a pair of more and less successful pet photo shoots. First there's Olive, seen here in her puppy days, posing sassily for the camera (RIP sweet Olive, who died earlier this month).
 |
| [Thanks, Hannah!] |
See you next time. Have a fun, safe, happy New Year's Eve.
[Follow Rex Parker on BlueSky and Facebook and Letterboxd]
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- Pop Sensation (vintage paperbacks)
ReplyDeleteEasy-Medium for a Wednesday.
* * _ _ _ (mainly because of 35A, CELL RECEPTION, as noted by OFL)
Overwrites:
My 1A pickup trucks were from gmc before they were from RAM
When I wander aimlessly (8D) I ROam, not ROVE
hIjAB before NIQAB at 13D. Here's an explanation.
One last (NOT!) time: CErA is the actor, CENA is the wrestler (56A)
No WOEs.
Most of my knowledge about box socials comes from the musical Oklahoma where a box social is a key setting.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking the same thing!
DeleteYes!
DeleteAlso Gilmore Girls.
DeleteErin Foster
DeleteBox social
I immediately thought of Oklahoma also. My parents went to a drive-in in the late fifties with my brother and me when I saw the movie version for the first time.
Rex has a point that a box social does seem rather creepy. A box social was a perfect setting for the very dark plot twist in the musical.
Ahora tiene sentido.
ReplyDeleteWell, there you go. A brutal way to wrap up a brutal year.
@π¦ I read CELL RECEPTION as a reception (like at a wedding) in a cell (like on a spreadsheet). Block and party. It's a real stretch.
The theme is "parties," sort of, and it's on the day people feel forced to party I suppose, but there's nothing inherently New Year's eve-y about it, not even the little drawings. I had hopes there'd be fireworks or something, but they never panned out to be anything other than decoration. Alas.
And it's such a boring puzzle. Maybe I'm cranky being awake at 3:07 am for no reason, but why can't editors and constructors put some humor into these puzzles? I have offered to fly to New York and drop off a rubber chicken at headquarters in the past if they think it would help. Being funny shouldn't be rare in an activity as silly as this one.
This is my #1 least favorite day of the year. I really hate it. A day to celebrate the passage of time, successes of a life well lived, and hope for the future, well, it punches all my hot buttons.
People: 8
Places: 1
Products: 3
Partials: 10 {no puzzle is worth this}
Foreignisms: 4
--
Gary's Grid Gunk Gauge: 26 of 73 (36%)
Funny Factor: 2 π
Uniclues:
1 Job description for a Viking.
2 Catch phrase from a Sixth Sense sequel about dead people traveling without enough cash in Osaka.
1 ENABLE ROWERS
2 I SEE YEN ATMS
My Fascinating Crossword Uniclue Keepsake from Last Year: Kitchen knives used in horror movies. MAIDEN SABRES.
¯\_(γ)_/¯
Oh Gary, I always appreciate your posts so much. Really, it’s just another day.
DeleteI, too, hoped for more from the colorful graphics. Why have them just for decoration?
Love the description of the movie: “flaming stars of ‘Flamingo Road’ meet in another scarlet alley!” Almost makes me want to watch it.
And there are plenty of exceptions, but generally “papa bears” don’t manscape
I'm kind of with you, @Gary, though I don't really hate this day, I'm just inclined to ignore it. Time marches on.
DeleteThe puzzle is, however, not that boring. It has a MANSCAPED PAPA BEAR who might or might not be LIBERACE and an exuberant shout out to the Franch King, the last of whom was deposed 177 years ago. And a BOX SOCIAL that has everyone discussing creepy sexism. So, kind of entertaining. Not bad for a Wednesday.
And, yes, you are cranky ;-) Let's hope 2026 is better.
Easy solve but I’m stuck pondering the apparently random placement of the party symbols on various black squares. Surely there’s a hidden meaning here? Hoping? Nah.
ReplyDeleteYes please, someone explain the Christmas Trees and balloons? Thx.
DeleteI also thought Christmas trees at first but on closer inspection they are party hats.
DeleteHaha i also thought they were Christmas trees at first. They’re in boxes/squares/cells etc.
DeleteI’ll never get back the time I wasted trying to see the rebuses. Bah!!!
DeleteIt’s New Year’s Eve and the puzzle theme is parties. That’s the best I can do.
DeleteCELLRECEPTION is different from the other two but it's a pairing of a synonym for box (CELL) with a synonym for party (RECEPTION) which is a real phrase. That's pretty good.
ReplyDeleteWe watched Michael Clayton last night. George Clooney at his best doing tough-guy dialog by Tony Gilroy.
Thank you Mathgent. Yes. We are all “gathering” to fill in cells, boxes, squares, and blocks. The fact that three of the themers are “types” of gatherings taken as two words …maybe kind of coincidental.
DeleteI love that movie and agree it’s one of Clooney’s best. Plus, Tom Wilkinson is brilliant as the deranged genius.
DeleteMichael Clayton, wasn't that where he said “if you want to hide a tree put it in a forest”? I paraphrase that qyite often “if you want to hide a piece of info put it in an excel spreadsheet and email it to everyone”
DeleteSolved it quickly without a cheat, but also without understanding several items. I agree with Rex that CELLRECEPTION isn't a meeting. I guessed (successfully) at the CPA/ATM cross, even though neither answer seemed to fit the clue (comments welcome). Did "book reviewer" suggest (check-) book?
ReplyDeleteI took CPA to mean an auditor, likely an accountant who would inspect your financial “books.” Sort of an outdated expression however, with records now primarily kept on a computer program.
DeleteJust a heads up -- tomorrow, as I do every January 1, I will be posting not my favorite clues of the week, but my favorite clues of 2025.
ReplyDeleteGood memories for me, and I hope for you as well!
@Lewis 6:46 AM
ReplyDeleteOkay, that is helpful and makes it a little better, but I am not a fan of needing to read an author's explanation to understand their work. It's like standing next to The David and overhearing Michelangelo saying, "So I carved him out of this big rock, and he's naked as you can see because... blah blah blah."
I had that post up for about 90 seconds, then took it down after reading @Rex's theme explanation more clearly - and his was, IMO, correct.
DeleteGary, I was delighted to see you got up early but alas on the wrong side of the bed. Perhaps 2026 will bring some sort of political upheaval that will be worth celebrating!
DeleteHappy New Year to all my fellow Rexites this morning! I agree that NYE is kinda my least favorite holiday, like GaryJ. Tme passing? And the ball drop for me is especially lame. But anyhoo.... 13 minutes for me today, which I think is medium for a Wednesday. Liked it a bit more than OFL did. Enjoyed seeing HOMERUN and AMNESIC in the grid. CHAIR PARTY is a good pair. ISEE YEN ATMS is definitely something I would say in Japan--thanks for the Uniclue on that one, GJ! Tripped up twice by the vowels on VIVaLaROI--the crosses saved me there. GMC before RAM. I'll be interested to see what the scientists in the group have to say about Rex's claim that we "need" carbs to survive. The body can make glucose from protein through gluconeogenesis, and the brain can live off of ketones from fat after a period of adjustment away from glucose as its prime fuel source. So technically it might be possible to live without carbs for extended periods. I'm a family doc--I await more input from others more scientifically minded than me! : ) And I think every XW deserves at least 1 starwars reference--I'd only be upset if it were more than 3. Thank you, Jeffrey, for a colorful puzzle today : )
ReplyDelete"And I think every XW deserves at least 1 starwars reference" <--- God, no. Why?
DeletePlease explain why a decades-old fantasy movie deserves a reference in every New York Times crossword puzzle.
DeleteI'm a starwars fan, that's all. No real rationale..... : -0
Delete@Rick Sacra…it’s fine. You don’t need a rationale for being a Starwars fan. I think the original Starwars trilogy is classic. And if there were occasional clues to THOSE…no big deal. But…Lucasfilms persisted, and many of us, well…got tired of it. Kyle REN wasn’t introduced until VII. Then…The Mandalorian comes out on streaming. To me, every addition dilutes the “classic” element of the original trilogy. So…one could point out that Casablanca was released 83 years ago. Quite a few years before MY existence, but…there was just ONE.
DeleteIf Liberace were ever considered a Papa Bear it would have been BEFORE he Manscaped. (And definitely after many Carbs.)
ReplyDelete…beat me to it;)
DeleteThere are some papa bears who manscape.
DeleteMeh - something very pedestrian about this entire grid. Those are supposed to be PARTY hats not trees. Oddball group of themers - the graphics overwhelm the grid and make for a choppy solve.
ReplyDeleteAs I ROVEd Out
VIVE LE ROI, IDLE CHAT maybe? There’s not much to really remember about this one.
Flat NYE morning solve. RIP to the beautiful Olive.
RAM
No symbols in my grid, so I did not know what characters we were looking at. Seeing them in Rex's grid, they don't seem to add anything. How are those "characters"?
ReplyDeleteThe theme was perfectly lovely without seeing them, though. Lucky me, I did not notice the outlier status of CELL RECEPTION until Rex pointed it out.
Rex should change "Number of days without a Star Wars reference" to "Number of days without a Kylo Ren reference". The outcome would be the same.
Good post! Yes…haha…sometimes “ignorance is bliss.” I just looked at the themers in “two parts” with each one apt and it made a “recognizable thing” for me. Well, except I searched BOXSOCIAL after the solve which was unfamiliar to me.
DeleteI think the symbols were just meant as decoration for funzies. The “characters” are just the letters that we put in the boxes in the grid. Thus I agree that they didn’t add anything.
DeleteHa!
DeleteDr Random
DeleteI completely agree the “characters “ don’t add anything. I ignored them ( I actually thought Christmas trees & decorations). I thought I was missing something but I gave up trying to figure it out.
I read Rex and find I missed nothing significant!
I thought the characters added confusion and no fun.
As your resident alphadoppeltotter, a role I’ve inexplicably taken in the past eight years, it is my duty to inform you that this puzzle has an unusually low number of double letters, at three, where unusual is any number less than five. This is the fifth time this year that this has happened.
ReplyDeleteI remain your humble servant, ever on the alert.
First of all: I found this so easy I was almost embarrassed. Fastest Wednesday in I don't know how long (I could look it up, but I don't much care). The Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday times are sort of bunched together. The puzzle was sort of festive and for that reason I sort of liked it. I legit liked AMNESIC for example. But it was by no means a HOME RUN; Rex has outlined some of the issues.
ReplyDeleteI would like to say "I'm here to help", but I'm not certain I can. In view of the outlier CELL RECEPTION, I'll tender the hypothesis that maybe we should ditch the notion that all four phrases describe gatherings, and just accept that all four phrases are both (1) in the language and (2) can be split into a square-like part and a gathering part. In other words, treat as coincidence that three of the phrases, taken as unified wholes, do describe gatherings, and the outlier left the party in an attempt to get more bars. I don't see another way to salvage it.
Clear as MUD, eh?
I had more of a reaction to today's review. First up, BOX SOCIAL. Reading the Wikipedia article, the vibe I got was more light-hearted than creepy. I think "auctioned off" from Wiktionary could give that creepy impression, but the more detailed description from WP dispels that for me; it sounds more like an occasion for plenty of laughter and light flirtation. The article also says they're making a comeback to some degree.
Second, hoo boy, what is with the LIBERACE riff? Did he MANSCAPE? Shit, I don't know! Can we change the topic, please? It sort of reminds me of the sometimes hilarious "People Also Ask" things that appear below Google searches. Like, people also ask: what does Harry Styles smell like? (Shit, I don't know!) Honestly, it would never occur to me to ask that (but since people did: it's vanilla and tobacco). Similarly I would never stop to ponder Liberace's nether grooming habits, even if prompted. Was LIBERACE a BEAR? A PAPA BEAR? There are probably dedicated sites for such queries (DataLounge might be one, if memory serves), but again this is not something I feel like dwelling on. It's all so much IDLE CHAT(ter) anyway. (By the way, I agree with you about that one, Rex.)
NO CARBS is not an absurdity if confined to certain meals. It's a phrase that might come up in the context of ordering in a restaurant. The stipulation would be for that meal, not every single solitary meal.
NIQAB I knew because words with a Q but no U are qool.
Rex, I thought you would say something about XIN. Yesterday we had XESIN and I had predicted you would have said something about that. (I know, it gets to be a lot.) This week is Scrabble tile week.
Really have to shove off now. Happy New Year's Eve!
Oh, that was me. Maybe you figured that.
DeleteYep…I’m an adherent to your second paragraph. I guess when it comes to reviewing, though, you need to point out the outliers. I guess considering I had no clue what a BOXSOCIAL was I didn’t look too harshly on CELLRECEPTION.
DeleteColor me as one who also chose mac over RAM with its ensuing confusion. Add mPg for RPM and PLoy for PLAN and that whole corner ended up tougher than expected before MANSCAPED came to the rescue.
ReplyDeleteI only knew BOX SOCIAL from the musical Oklahoma, and yes, it was a creepy bidding-on-women scene. This is also the musical where the male lead sings a song to the antagonist trying to convince him to commit suicide. I hate Oklahoma.
ReplyDeleteBut wait, it has catchy tunes…people look at me funny when I say it hasn’t aged well. You didn’t even get to Ado Annie
DeleteGotta admit, I love the songs, but I have never actually seen the show, not even on TV---so in most cases, I don't really know what the songs are about.
DeleteAnonymous 6:45 AM
Deleteburtonkd jberg
I first saw Oklahoma in the fifties when my parents stuck my brother and me in the back seat of their car and went to a drive-in to see the movie version. Fortunately, I didn’t understand that very dark elements of the story at the time. I have seen it many times since and it remains a very strange musical to me, though I still like it.
Rodgers & Hammerstein seemed to want to only hint at the darkness but not real deal with it
The female lead is playing with the emotions of a disturbed man (Jud) to get back at he eventual beloved. R & H. throw in a ballet dream sequence infused with fake Fredianism which implies she might actually have been sexually attracted to the loutish Jud. Said beloved as noted tries to convince Jud to commit suicide. BTW the hero is no less a hero in the musical despite that!
I would say that in the context of the musical, the box social is most definitely creepy
Hey All !
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year! (Well, all the parties are tonght, with you watching the Parade tomorrow hung over on the couch ...)
Neat puz, all the party paraphernalia is fun. I had a fleeting thought that you'd have to use HAT or BALLOON or whichever color each one was in abutting answers, but was quickly able to see the answers were just straightforward.
Took the ole brain a second to figure out the idea, even after the Rexplanation. Ah, the Blockers (SQUAREs, CELLs, BOXes, BLOCKs) are having a shindig (DANCE, RECEPTION, SOCIAL, PARTY), ala the HATs and BALLOONS. OK, I SEE it now. *Thwappp* (That was a poor attempt at one of those blow out the ribbon mouth thingies [dang, don't even know what those are called]).
43 Blockers, no wonder they're partying, there sure is enough. Normal is 38. Although, they don't chop up the grid more than usual.
I'm going to GETS COMFY on the couch tonight, going to The Strip is insane! I'll watch the NY Rockin Eve out here, the ball drops at 9PM PST, then I just go to bed! What a life ...
Welp, have a great Wednesday, a great night, hopefully a great 2026!
One F
RooMonster
DarrinV
So, ATM and ATMS have appeared in the major Crosslandia puzzles around a thousand times. You would think that all the good clues for these answers have been found. But today Jeffrey came up with a brand new one – [Things people prefer to type on in secrecy, for short]. Props for that, sir, and I liked it because it had my brain going all over the place before it hit on the answer with a lovely “Hah!”
ReplyDeleteThank you for that, Jeffrey, and for a party-in-a-box puzzle that evoked how I want to feel on New Year’s Eve.
Speaking of party in a box, this commentariat of old friends and new voices that brings smiles, reflections, quirk and personality in a daily gab, adding sweet richness to life, a gathering I’m so grateful for. To all, a year ahead with a sizeable chunk of pleasure, happy surprises, and wishes granted!
Back at ya Lewis on all the good wishes!
DeleteI agree about the inaptness of CELLRECEPTION. Mostly found this easy and pretty fun. However, MANSCAPED was tough - I guess I’ve heard it but it sounds ridiculous. I wanted MANicured at first and was also held up in that section by NIQAB, which I didn’t really know and thought had to be hijab, which would have made ‘map out’ into a PLAh…
ReplyDeleteA summer I spent in the Colorado Rockies in the 70’s included lots of SQUAREDANCES, two or three times a week at different dude ranches. So much fun! A group of us went to all of them.
Rex’s solving experience today sounds just like mine, though probably twice as fast. Took me longer than usual to wend my way through the choppy, overly segmented grid.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, the whole idea of a box social is creepy, and yes, I know about the practice primarily from the musical Oklahoma!, where it’s just one of that show’s problematic elements.
For me, NYE is a big meh. “Yippee, we get to put up a new wall calendar!” But Gary J., please take some comfort in knowing that lots of folks here, me among them, are looking forward to another year of your delightful comments.
1950-something called, they want their puzzle back. Box Socials? Liberace? Sheesh. I might have been able to overlook that but all of the 3-letter words made this one a snooze fest.
ReplyDeleteWhen my wife was teaching, she brought our mini-poodle Sandy to class with her every day. So classroom dogs exist! She always referred to Sandy as her TA.
ReplyDeleteWhat a mess. Saw what appeared to be trees and balloons, figured for sure they would be part of the theme - apparently not, so they are just there to annoy us? Another example of the NYT preferring style over substance.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of themes - this puzzle had one? Something to do with boxed sets? I read Rex and about half of the comments and I’m still not buying it. Talk about a non-theme apparently “qualifying” as a theme. I guess if Will says we have to have a theme, we can just call this collection of nonsense a theme to make him feel better? A wedding RECEPTION is a type of a party/celebration, I have no idea what a reception for CELLS is supposed to be.
Can someone explain what a THA is - anybody? The best Uncle Google could come up with is “a Sanskrit term in yoga symbolizing the moon (part of Ha-Tha), a Yorkshire dialect word for "you," the Arabic letter ThΔ (Ψ«), or an acronym like Texas Hospital Association (THA), depending on the context.” Non of those sound very rap-friendly to me.
Oh well. Many, many people apparently believe that 2025 was a really, really icky year. Maybe this grid is just the NYT’s attempt to say “good riddance”. If so, mission accomplished.
THA is just a "rap way" of spelling "the". I couldn't come up with an explicit example right away, but AI Overview gives THA Dogg Pound as one example (among others). There's also "Thee", as in Megan Thee Stallion.
DeleteI’m unfamiliar with the rap genre, but I searched a list of rapper names briefly and came up with THA Chill, THA City Paper, and THA Trademarc
DeleteMeaningless, Extraneous Hokum....or MEH
ReplyDeleteLiked a bit more than Rex, I guess. Maybe because, as a CPA, I'm pleased to see the profession upgraded here to a reviewer (as in auditor) of BOOK(s) and not a summer (as in, presumably a column of numbers, per a recent puzzle). Addition was not a category on the CPA exam.
ReplyDeleteThe hats and balloons in the grid's black squares were...distracting (and remarkably not symmetrical).
Loved the riff on what's a BOX SOCIAL is.
And we might just have to watch the Joan Crawford movie; thanks, Rex!
Happy New Year! One of these years, that may come to be.
NYT Wordplay Constuctor comment:
ReplyDeleteIn my experience making crosswords, very few ideas just fall into place. This puzzle, however, is one of the few that did. The theme arose when I stumbled upon a reinterpretation of CELL RECEPTION, then realizing that there just so happened to be a bunch of other similar phrases that could be placed symmetrically into a grid. From ideation to construction, the whole process is maybe the quickest I’ve ever put together a puzzle! I always find themes that play on components of crossword convention introspectively quite amusing. It feels almost cartoonish for a grid of squares to describe their own New Year’s plans. Hopefully it was an entertaining and amusing end to your year.
Wishing you and your families all the best as we enter 2026! Happy holidays and happy New Year!
Happy New Year Rex! Just came here to add to the comments about the classroom dog. I once went to my physician’s office which happened to be in an old house and a cuddly golden retriever was hanging out in the waiting room with the patients. I’m not sure why he was there as he wasn’t a service dog but it was very calming to have him nearby. Another time I was at an appointment with a specialist in large city teaching hospital and much to my surprise along came a tiny dog on the heels of the medical staff. I imagine he was there to soothe the children that were being examined. I imagine people with allergies or fear of animals would object but I couldn’t help but smile to see our furry friends in unexpected places!
ReplyDeleteThere was a Cheers episode in which some of the men of Cheers are auctioned off (for some charity?). A woman smoking a cigarette and appearing to be a real maneater bids high and "wins" Woody, and comments "You better be good." Woody turns to Norm and asks "Is she scary?" And Norm says, "The electric chair is scary . . . "
ReplyDeleteWhy the NIN picture?
ReplyDeleteCouncil of Reznor
DeleteCouncil of Trent (Reznor)?
DeleteTRENT Reznor
DeleteALI said, “It’s not bragging if you can back it up.” Of course it is. That’s ridiculous.
ReplyDeleteALI stole that from Dizzy Dean, who said "it ain't braggin' if you can back it up" I would not be surprised if it turns out to predate Dizzy, though. And yes, I have never liked that quote in any form.
DeleteA U.S. postage stamp is coming out honoring ALI in a few weeks. It remembers him as a boxer, activist, and humanitarian. But he said he didn't want to be remembered for that. He wanted to be remembered for how pretty he was. He was also very funny.
DeleteNeither Muhammad Ali nor Dizzy Dean was a towering intellect. You're 100% correct. "Bragging" is talking about things one CAN backup; if you CAN'T back it up, it's false self-aggrandizement (lying).
Delete@Bob Mills: So you support your contention about bragging by first denigrating the intellect of someone who has a different opinion. If your opinion had merit, it should stand on its own, and would not depend on an ad hominem attack on those with differing opinions.
DeleteRP: Just want to thank you for the adorable lineup of Pet pics again this year. The photos themselves are the draw of course, but it would not be nearly as interesting without the clever captions you add. And you have such a knack for capturing the tone of each photo - the animal’s expression and imaginary thoughts, etc. It adds so much and often makes me laugh. Anyway, my sincere gratitude to you for providing us with that daily dose of pure joy.
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year everyone. I’m clinging to the concept that there’s no place to go except up and that 2026 will bring the beginnings of a recovery for our country.
Amen, and amen!
DeleteIf a MANSCAPED, he's probably a superhero wannabe.
ReplyDeleteIt drives Mrs. Egs, a classical music enthusiast, crazy that I always have the car radio SETATRAP.
The row at 40A, EDIE THA EDIT sounds like a pal of Minnie the Moocher. BTW, it's pretty fun to read the lyrics to that song. I was also astounded to see at the bottom that 11 different people got songwriting credit for it.
OK. I guess I'm gonna have to 'splain this theme. A few commenters have shown they get it, but I'm really unhappy that @Rex can twist how a theme works and then have a large mob join in to the frenzy of condemnation. The basic elements of a crossword puzzle (squares, cells, boxes, blocks) are, on New Years Eve, having a shindig (dance, reception, social, party). They have festooned the grid with party hats and balloons. Each themer takes one of the basic elements and combines it with one of the shindig types. The way it is done results in a real life phrase that can also be repurposed as a gathering of crossword puzzle elements. Would it have been a better puzzle if, say, "cell gala" was a real life phrase and it was used? Yes, it would have added a level of sophistication. But the theme is easily getable and 100% consistent. So don't go piling on my brother Jeffrey (just kidding).
I'm sorry for the NYE rant. I love this blog and the community of commenters. Please all, have a very Happy New Year. And thanks, Jeffrey Martinovic.
I was a bit stunned by Rex's dismissal of "reception." Made perfect sense to me. Imagining all those little cells eating cake and dancing. Thanks for your defense, Egs!
DeleteYou explained the theme perfectly, and it's a mystery to me why so many others, including Rex, didn't see the fun it it! Once again: The basic elements of a crossword puzzle (squares, cells, boxes, blocks) are, on New Years Eve, having a shindig (dance, reception, social, party). They have festooned the grid with party hats and balloons. Each themer takes one of the basic elements and combines it with one of the shindig types. The way it is done results in a real life phrase that can also be repurposed as a gathering of crossword puzzle elements. FUN! Thank you, Jeffrey, for a great puzzle that so many people worked so hard not to like!
DeleteYour theme explanation, is in my opinion, the best one so far.
DeleteI’m wondering if it is time to rethink the approach to themes in general. For example, Rex (who has a memory like an elephant) will occasionally note that a theme has been done before, even if it was 10 years ago - and he seems to generally consider that a negative attribute. Maybe that is a misguided approach. What is wrong with putting a new spin on an old classic ? Accomplished Chefs do it all of the time and are rightfully praised for their efforts. It seems to me like the focus on “new and innovative“ frequently results in “awkward and confusing”. It would be nice to have a bit of a renaissance regarding classic theme approaches. I wonder if Rex has any thoughts on this matter.
Good to see you ending the year at the top of your game, egs.
Delete@Liveprof. Since you and @tht both mentioned my recent health doings, I'll give an update. I escaped the hospital in early December after a Debridement and Washout of my hip. My doctor said there were no restrictions on what I could do, so I did plenty. After a week or two of lessening pain and easier mobility, I suffered some sort of setback on Christmas Eve and have not taken a pain-free or limp-free step since. Due to the seasonal goings on, I have not really been able to get human medical advice and have relied largely on Dr. ChatGPT. Turns out that "no restrictions " was extremely bad advice. I'll be talking to the surgeon (or, more likely, his PA) about this when I see him on 1/9. So, I've gone from my determination as a 12 year old to obey the Boy Scout Oath, which ends, "keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight", to an aging punster who may still be mentally awake but is neither of the other two. But others, including two of my closest friends, are suffering far worse medical conditions, so I try not to act like a tragic case. Again, I wish a Happy New Year to all!
DeleteThanks for a well-thought-out explanation. Can tell you would really have preferred to respond with your usual amazing humor, but this diversion wows worth it.
DeleteOy. Sorry to hear it. Hope you can get this all behind you ASAP.
DeleteVery interesting thoughts, @Southside. It's adjacent to many delicate questions in the area of intellectual property rights. In music, for example, it's very hard if not impossible to write something that doesn't owe something to somebody, and where it crosses over into copying can be very tricky for a jury of non-musicians to properly judge. Something like this would apply to crossword construction as well, I'm sure.
Delete@egs -- thank you for the update. And thank you for your wonderful daily inventiveness, some of the very best this blog commentary has to offer. Best wishes for healing and recovery in the New Year.
@egs…you said MUCH MORE elegantly what I tried to say. Also…I hope your appointment on 1-9 results in eventual good karma!
DeleteHaha…@egs…as a ps to my comment to you…I think I weighed in to Mathgent as “anon”…who also shared your view. No question…you said it best.
DeleteApparently, no one read my post at 7:45 AM which said the same thing as @egs' post. And I got no love...
DeletePoor me! π
RooMonster Having A self Pity PARTY
There’s a riot going on up in CELL block number nine.
ReplyDeleteHATED this one. What the heck is the meaning of all the party pics in the black squares? Nothing? Why do it? A misdirect that really is nonsense. I didn't even understand the theme upon finishing (at a normal time). I want my Wednesday back.
ReplyDeleteThe purpose of them was just to add a festive note to a fun puzzle. The puzzle is made up of squares, cells, boxes, and blocks. And they are all partying, see, because it's a holiday??? Honestly, what a bunch of curmudgeons reviewing the puzzle today!
DeleteI always remember Muslim veiling options as: a Hijab covers the Head, the Niqab covers the Nose and a Burqa covers the Body.
ReplyDeleteThis is so helpful. Thanks!
DeleteExcellent -- thank you! Do you have a good one for the Great Lakes?
DeleteLiveprof. Of course HOMES will give you the first letters, but "Super-Man Helps Every-One" (SMHEO) also gives you positions reading "Top (Superior) then down and back (Michigan) then right (Huron) then down and back (Erie) then right (Ontario)" like you would reading.
DeleteWhat the heck? This felt like it was from Highlights Magazine.
ReplyDeletePS i really really miss The Love Boat references.
The clue for “rowers” is all wrong. Rowers don’t use paddles; they use oars. Paddles are used by canoers. You paddle a canoe; you row a boat.
ReplyDeleteWow, if that’s the case, it’s surprising that the clue and answer made it past the editors and Will signed off on it. I have actually seen Will quoted as saying that the puzzles generally contain about 5 or 6 mistakes A YEAR ! That sounds somewhat delusional to me, as I would guess that we see about that many each month. Of course, Will has been doing this for so long that he can probably “lawyer” pretty much any clue/answer combination into something close to respectable. I wonder what he would have to say about ROWERS using paddles.
DeleteCame to say this and it's not the first time I've seen this error on the NYT crossword. If you are rowing, you are using an oar.
DeleteCame to say this.
DeleteAnon @ 9:54 AM: Thank you for calling attention to this issue! These elementary nautical errors are so frequent in the NYT crossword that I have grown weary of pointing them out. π
DeleteHow about this from Google AI?
DeleteA "row paddle" generally refers to an oar, the long pole with a blade used in rowing, but the term is also used for the oar system on an Oar Board, which is a device that attaches a rowing mechanism to a standard stand-up paddleboard (SUP) for a full-body workout, combining the stability of a paddleboard with the motion of sculling. Essentially, it's a way to get a rowing workout (legs, core, arms) on a stable, inflatable board, facing backward as you propel yourself, unlike traditional paddling where you face forward with a single or double-bladed paddle not attached to the boat.
I am 77 years old and remember a Box Social as an activity in summer camp. I was pissed off because someone else bid and won lunch with my girlfriend. I think I was like 8.
ReplyDeleteImpressive that you had a girlfriend at 8. I didn't get one until I was married for ten years. (Just kidding, darling.)
DeleteI am one of the people who didn't know what a BOX SOCIAL was. Turns out it plays a part in one of my favorite movies, FLIPPED. In that movie, the boys in the class bring a picnic lunch and the girls bid on them and then have lunch with the chosen boy. Seems less creepy that way.
ReplyDeleteI spent far too much time trying to fit the hats and balloons into the theme as more than just party favors. But the theme was nice. Thanks, Jeffrey Martinovic!
And Happy New Year's Eve, everyone.
Thank you for saying you didn’t know what a BOX SOCIAL was.
DeleteSo why is it less creepy if girls bid on boys?
DeletePretty much what Rex said, but my real peeve is the little party items in some of the black squares. Since they are not in every black square, I figured there must be a reason they were where they were -- for example, maybe the pickup trucks are _ _ _ HAT? I couldn't make that work, so it was frustrating. We got back from our Christmas in Florida last night, so I don't have to solve online anymore -- but today, after solving on a printout, I actually went back online and filled in the grid in the hope that there would be an animation that would make sense of it all. Nope.
ReplyDeletePLot beforre PLAN, and REACH into before REACHED IN (not paying enough attention to the tense), which made it hard to see MUD, but I finally figured out TUBE and that cleared it all up.
Are the Knights of REN participants in Ren Faires? Just asking.
I think PERPS are guilty, not just "suspects." More grievously, ROWERS are not "paddle people;" you cannot row with a paddle, you have to use an oar, which pivots in an oarlock. You can add that to misuses of "moor" as evidence that the puzzle staff has never been in a boat.
On the other hand, a PERP walk is a parading of a suspect. I understand that logically, saying someone is a perpetrator should be stronger than saying that that someone is a suspect, but language is not always logically consistent.
Deletejberg
DeletePERP
I associate the term almost only with the police who automatically assume a suspect is the perpetrator. It is most definitely used in NYC by the police when the police and the prosecutor want to make a scene of the arrest of a suspect. They notify the news media, so that they are present when the person is marched into the police station to be booked This is called the perp walk by the police. As tht said, language is not logical.
@dgd…precisely. And hey…I’ve watched ALL permutations of L & O. I think that means I’m an expert. Just kidding…but true on use of “perp.”
DeleteClassroom dog, meet Bodega cat.
ReplyDeletedo the hats and balloons move around if you solve this in a nytimes app or something, maybe? i don't understand their placement either. why isn't there one between "notes" and "Cena"? why does that tetramino in the middle not have one?
ReplyDeletealso, i am shocked that OFL had no explicit complaints about the cheater squares. there are at least four. i'm not sure how he feels about the ones in the bottom corners.
Thank you, Jeffrey. I had lots of fun with this one. The perfect theme for NYE.
ReplyDeleteLike others, I was a bit confused at first about the symbols in the black squares. Are they Christmas trees? Hot air balloons? Some sort of hidden rebus? Oops, no, just pointy hats and balloons. And apparently, they represent participants at some sort of SOCIAL event - a DANCE, a RECEPTION - you know, a PARTY!
I certainly hope you PLAN to be there. Didn’t you get my NOTE? According to the CHAIR, there will be IDLE CHAT, CARBS galore and if you’re lucky, maybe A DAB of AMORE, perhaps even a HOME RUN? So don’t be a SQUARE. NOGOS and AMNESICS not acceptable. BLOCK out the date and SET your calendar. Then get your MANSCAPE on, grab your CELL and be there. VIVE LE parti!
I'm glad someone on this board is in the holiday spirit!
DeleteI thought CELL RECEPTION was the best theme answer, precisely for the reason Rex didn't like it, viz., that it changed the meaning of the second word. But I see his objection. Maybe being right in the middle gives it license to be different, although in that case there really ought to be another themer above it.
ReplyDeleteI didn't bother earlier to complain earlier about the math problem in Spanish, but since Southside didn't object I guess I will.
Happy New Year, one and all!
Haha to the math question! I confess…my Spanish is below sub-par (it’s getting better!) but I know my “one to ten” so just needed a little help…
DeleteIt’s New Year’s Eve, people are gathering but not for square dancing. I don’t get it,
ReplyDeleteIn my printed puz, all the hats & balloons were [unlike @RP's version] in black & white, and I couldn't quite make out what they were supposed to be. Assumed they were the "attendees" that the puzthemer clues referred to. Maybe women in full-length gowns and jellyfish? Confused the dickens outta the M&A.
ReplyDeleteThen I got the CELLRECEPTION themer filled in, and wondered if this was all some kind of zoom session dealie. Confusion further endured.
staff weeject pick: THA. A wild party HAT?
At our house, we don't plan to celebrate New Years with party hats and balloons. Might have a few toots of Frixinet, tho.
Thanx for the mysterious gatherin of crossed words, Mr. Martinovic dude. It was different, which made it somewhat likable, tho not entirely lickable.
Masked & Anonymo3Us
p.s. Happy New Years, all U great comment gallery folks. And thanx to @RP, for another year of awesome bloggin.
Yes agreed to both.
DeleteThank you Rex & Happy New Year to all .
Ditto to you and jb 129 and all!
DeleteThat REACHEDIN clue feels like a verb-al GREENPAINT, pretty rough
ReplyDeletep.p.s.s.
ReplyDeleteOh, yeah -- Had some fave stuff:
MANSCAPED. PAPABEAR. HOMERUN. STEALTH.
... and the runtpuz server is back up [if U hurry] ...
"Covert Action" - 7x7 12 min. themed runt puzzle:
**gruntz**
M&A
In case no one mentioned it earlier: TCM is showing The Damned Don’t Cry on 1/2/26 at 10:45 am. Good oldie!
ReplyDeleteOn the tough side for me. I thought 3d was going to be MANi something and kept the i around way to long. I too confused hijab with NIQAB and had a j there for a while. Another costly erasure was AtAd before ADAB.
ReplyDelete…and GETS COMFY and REACHED IN did not come easily.
I’m with @Rex on this one.
The ornaments in squares were misleading, but fun & holiday-related.
ReplyDeleteA pleasant New Year's Eve puzzle.
I didn't know THA, NIQAB & never remember when it's CENA vs. CERA.
I always watch THE DAMNED DON'T CRY when it's on TCM not the frequently confused TMC.
Thank you, Jeffrey :)
So much for the no Star Wars streak.
ReplyDeleteAs for the CELL RECEPTION problem, it isn’t one. The theme is all on the surface. There is a DANCE in a puzzle SQUARE, there is a SOCIAL in a BOX in a puzzle, there is a PARTY in a black BLOCK in a puzzle, and there is a RECEPTION being held in a puzzle CELL. Seems consistent enough. Rex says, “CELL RECEPTION is not an actual type of gathering ”. Isn’t that kind of the point? There’s no need for them to be consistent IRL, they work fine in the grid.
ROWERS vs. paddlers. I own a canoe and a couple of kayaks. I propel them with paddles. I am a paddler. Row boats and sculls and dories are propelled by oars and they are rowed by ROWERS. Not interchangeable. Oars, used by ROWERS, are locked into the craft by oarlocks. Paddles are not. And, to top it off, ROWERS work backwards. Paddlers have the good sense to look where they’re going.
Happy New Year. Make sure you book an Uber or a designated driver.
Oh Les. My husband and I are SO beyond the need for an Uber…but…still…a nice admonition. As an Indiana University grad (my husband is not, but IS a Hoosier) we will watch (hope) that the “evil” Ohio State loses tonite…then HOPE tomorrow that I.U. wins the Rose Bowl. For those that kind of care not…(I understand)…until THIS year, I.U. had the WORST all-time record in college football. Oh. And yes Les…I KNOW you’re from Canada and couldn’t care less…please forgive me. Oh. My apologies to any “Buckeyes” out there. Ya know…it’s just trash talk.
DeleteOh Beezer. As a recovering alcoholic I'm quite aware of who's going to be behind the wheel tonight. Glad you're staying in to watch the game. I'm going to be watching Canada vs Finland at the World Juniors, the hockey equivalent of NCAA March Madness. Best hockey (short of the Olympics) you will ever see. 17 to 20 year-olds playing as hard and as creatively as possible. Canada, the US, Sweden, and Finland are the powerhouse teams (Russia's been banned) and as soon as I finish typing this I'm going to check in to see the results of the US/Sweden game. My wife will be watching a cozy mystery of some sort. When the game's over we will get together for an hour of something we both like. Dinner will be cleaning out the fridge. How exciting is that!
Delete@Les…hahaha….sounds exciting to me! And I’m not joshin’ you! Funny…my husband and I often do same thing now…divide and watch or do our own thing…then get together and watch things we BOTH like!
DeleteMajor error: #28 across "paddle people" are canoests. Rowers row and use oars - which are not paddles.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a fan of New Year's Eve in general; however I am hoping that tomorrow begins a year much better than 2025, and that it brings a welcome end to the month of REN!
ReplyDeleteLike many of you I wasted too many minutes trying to figure out what all the party hats were doing. They didn't appear in Across Lite, but I saw the warning message and dutifully took a screen shot of the grid on the NYT web page and put it on my other monitor... yeesh.
Rex I too thought of the Friends sofa scene as soon as I saw PIVOT.
Typeovers: GMC before RAM, ROAM before ROVE, CERA before CENA as always. I was puzzled by the oddly super-specific clue for 33 down, and when I finally realized it was just for REACHED IN, I groaned in pain. And then right away came XIN just to its left which is also a groaner.
2026 look out, here we come! Maybe we'll finally get some snow.
I got thrown off base rather early. 19 across starting with Square made me go to times Square, New Year’s Eve, etc. etc. The puzzle fought me all the way on that. Now I know why
ReplyDeleteBusy morning here, so late to the party, but as I flew through this one and didn't stop to think about the deeper meaning of the theme , the discussion was interesting, if divided and then @egs cleared the whole thing up. Thanks be to @egs.
ReplyDeleteI started with GMC. I think folks who started with MAC were thinking of Mack trucks, which are certainly not pickups. Agree with the "oars are not paddles" people. Knew THA from somewhere, but couldn't name a rapper using it.
AMNESIC looks like it's missing an A before the final C, even though I know it's right.
Also, although I still refuse to refer to myself as "old", I do remember BOXSOCIALS and learning how to SQUAREDANCE. And I caught @okanaganer's late reply to my fondness for the 87th Precinct and when we were both reading about it, and it was, ahem, quite a while ago. The way I see it is, if time didn't pass, it would be hard to get stuff done.
Thanks for a breezy NYE puzz, JM. Jolly Merriment to all and sundry and stay safe out there. I'm celebrating by playing chauffeur to and from a celebration for an older friend. I should be home by 9:30 so not bad.
Haha…@pablo…I remember taking SQUAREDANCing lessons in um…7th or 8th grade. Even then…seemed SO old-fashioned but it was fun. Actually, in light of rock music being prevalent…not sure HOW I was cajoled into it, but it wasn’t by my parents.
Delete@Beezer... I was in a travelling square dance troupe in grade 6 or 7. I was not given any choice; our PE teacher asked for volunteers, and after getting none, pointed at 4 girls and 4 boys, myself included, and said "You!". I've always hated dancing but it was okay; we danced to a caller on an LP vinyl album who gave a lot of commands and it was challenging to master them. "Allemande left your corner, allemande right your partner..."
DeleteLate to the party, but it’s enjoyable as usual. CELLRECEPTION seems like an outlier but I think @egs explained it well earlier. Never knew it was called BOXSOCIAL but those auctions are a staple in many TV and movie Western comedies and dramas. Also kept looking for a secondary meaning for the illustrations, but guess we just have to take them at face value as seasonal decorations. Maybe we have been spoiled by so much high-tech gimmickry in past puzzles. Happy New Year All!
ReplyDeleteI was one of those who saw Christmas trees and balloons. That made the puzzle less apt for NYE. LIKe it better now that I realize party hats and balloon. (They definitely look more like party hats)
ReplyDeleteI understand Rex's objection to "Cell reception" butI deny it. I liked that theme answer jut fine And still do.
Wow, commenters!! Way to create creepiness where there is none. Box socials are old-fashioned, but they were good fun and no reason to call them creepy. I remember them more from movies than real life, but I also remember my church having one or more. I think the deal there was not to eat it with the woman who made it, but just to get the lunch you thought would be best.
The answer toSTRAW is TUBE? What does that mean?
ReplyDeleteStraws you drink through are tubular.
DeleteAnyone think it’s odd that there’s not a single post defending Oklahoma!?
ReplyDeleteI wrote one five or six hours ago and it’s obviously been spiked. I find it troubling that a blog run by a college professor would suppress ideas he doesn’t like.
Nancy?
DeleteOk. What is the suppression? Guess I’ll go back for third time…
Deleteburkonkd,
ReplyDeleteYou don’t think the music and lyrics to I Can’t Say No are at the very apex of Broadway?
Paddle people are not rowers. You paddle with paddles, you row with oars. You don’t row a canoe, you don’t paddle a rowboat.
ReplyDeleteI wasn’t going to comment on “Oklahoma,” but ok, I will. The show (despite the hideous dialog which, according to my actor/director/drama teacher kids would be better now) is in many ways an accurate snapshot of what I know to be the pride native Oklahomans have about their state, their grit, their devotion to “the land” and most of all their sense of community. I’ve been to a SQUARE DANCE and to a BOX SUPPER or two, and even to many a pie auction, all in aid of a need.
ReplyDeleteThe show, through its rose colored glasses (possibly red dirt colored), shows Oklahomans at their best. Sure there’s the conflict with and death of Judd, and the ridiculous subsequent “trial.” Even that attempted (badly) to demonstrate the times before statehood.
I know and understand this “Oklahoma pride” because I married an Oklahoman (please don’t use “Okie,” it’s pejorative), and I spent 50 years living, working with, and coming to love, respect and understand that spirit. I can say from experience that Oklahomans help without being asked.
On April 29, 1995, I saw how the throngs of folks (including my best friend, a nurse, and me) streaming to the Murrah site frustrated first responders’ efforts for a short time simply because there were too many there so quickly. Following my husband’s death, folks I barely knew came by to give me contact information in case I needed my gutters cleaned or something fixed or anything at all. Within an hour after the end of an early ice storm, two different men toting chain saws stopped to enable me to get in the house and be able to get my car into my driveway. They both refused payment.
Yes, I disagree with over 90% of Oklahoma politics and loathe the majority position that mixing (at least “their”) religion in public schools is lawful and I cannot reconcile these with the sense of community I have experienced personally and observed on many occasions. I cannot fathom that they don’t seem to understand that these seemingly immutable social/religious/political beliefs have in large part brought them the worst schools in the US, hideous lack of mental health care, among the nation’s highest incidences of heart disease and obesity, and that the majority doesn’t seem close to changing any of it.
Yet, I know and love many, many Oklahomans despite our vast differences. I see the Oklahoma spirit in their daily lives of service to anyone in need. That’s the spirit that”Oklahoma” celebrates. I am so fortunate to have experienced and come to understand and respect it. Heck, I even love the song now.
CDilly…loved this. And…hey…I live in Indiana. I can relate. Maybe only difference is…if I weren’t “kinda old” I’d move from Indiana. And I live in the small more liberal/progressive/non-Trump (choose the label) part. And…I love many of my fellow Hoosiers…as long as some of them don’t talk politics.
Delete@CDilly52 8:05 PM
DeleteI was hoping you'd chime in on this topic.
PS: as for the puzzle, I think I will follow yesterdays’s advice from our esteemed Les S and his mother (and from Thumper from “Bambi”) and say nothing.
ReplyDeleteEsteemed?!? Wow! I'm not gonna be able to sleep tonight. Loved your paean to Oklahoma and Oklahomans. Glad I checked in late. Wishing you a happy new year, CDilly.
DeleteAll I could think of about CELL RECEPTION was a gathering for members of a terrorist cell. Or a terrorist cell recruiting event? Which then is like, do we want to think about terrorist cells? No. Terrible.
ReplyDeleteC’mon, Niqab? A lot of stretches in this one.
ReplyDelete