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Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium
THEME: RAISING CAPITAL (7D: With 43-Down, seeking funding from investors ... or what you're doing in 4-, 9-, 15-, and 38-Down?) — The long, down themers feature circled letters that contain state capitals "raising" within the answers (so the letter appear in reverse order). That's a very elaborate way of describing something you can see much more plainly in the grid image above.
Theme answers:
Word of the Day: DETOX TEA (45A: Herbal remedy in a cleanse) —
Hey everyone, it's Eli! Rex invited me here since I am on Jeopardy TODAY (check your local listings at jeopardy.com/watch or watch next day on Hulu & Peacock). He thought, correctly, that I might want to self promote; but I'll save that for the end. First, the puzzle! Today is an NYT debut for constructor Jonathan Baude, and I don't want to diminish that for my own ego.
- TAKE POTSHOTS AT (4D: Criticize unfairly)
- CAME LAST (9D: Brought up the rear)
- BELVEDERE VODKA (15D: Grey Goose competitor)
- NOT SO BAD (38D: "Huh, better than I expected")
Word of the Day: DETOX TEA (45A: Herbal remedy in a cleanse) —
The detox teas - sometimes referred to as “teatox” or “flat tummy teas” - that are being heavily promoted on social media claim to be natural and packed with healthy ingredients, such as Chinese oolong tea, mate leaves, peppermint, ginger, and lemongrass. However, there is one ingredient that has doctors concerned: Senna leaf. Senna can typically be found in laxatives and is one of the main reasons why detox teas are successful in quick, but temporary, weight loss. (Source: Brown University Health - there is no Wikipedia entry)
• • •I generally liked the concept of this theme. It's a pretty impressive technical feat to get that many letters in the correct order and not have everything fall apart. Unfortunately, the revealer left a bad taste in my mouth. *BEGIN RANT* Finance/investing/venture captial/private equity are just repulsive to me. I work for a corporation that is on its way to its 4th ownership change in the 4 years I've worked there, and in an industry where I've watched private equity repeatedly destroy every good thing about it. The idea of personal profit at all cost and the product doesn't matter leads to nothing but harm and destruction. *END RANT*
 |
| Oh, top shelf vodka. How can I stay mad at you? |
There were also several answers that felt less than ideal, likely from the constraints of the theme. I'm looking at ON CD, CBSTV, ER DOC, ITE (which also appears in 33D: BITE), OTOH... just less than stellar. Also not sure if ARAB (29D: Many a Mideast native) being directly above ISLAM (51D: Belief system for almost two billion people) is intentional or if it matters either way. Though, typing this, I did just notice the clue symmetry between 51D and 50D: Communication system for almost two billion people (GMAIL). That makes me like both answers better. Cute.
Spare Thoughts:
Signed, Eli Selzer, False Dauphin of CrossWorld
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- 23A: Oscar-winning "GoodFellas" actor (JOE PESCI) — Pesci made GoodFellas the same year as Home Alone. That's a pretty wild year for an actor.
- 18A: Breakfast brand originally known as Froffles (EGGO) — Am I alone in thinking that Froffles is a better name? I like the whimsy.
- 37A: Many a TikToker's music rendition (LIP SYNC)— TikTok? Whatever. Bring on the DRAG (36A) Queens! Lip Sync For Your Life!
Ok, on to my excitement! I've been auditioning for Jeopardy for close to 15 years now. I've gone through the audition process so many times I've lost count (it's at least 5). So to finally get the call was a dream come true. And the experience lived up to the dream! I won't talk about how the game went to avoid spoilers, but I'll probably post some in depth thoughts on BlueSky later in the week if anyone's interested.
What I can say is that the entire staff at Jeopardy was just wonderful. They run the show like a well-oiled machine and treat all of the contestants extremely well. They know how big a deal it is for everyone who gets on the show and they make sure it's special. The stage manager (Jimmy, formerly of the Clue Crew), the contestant wranglers, the hair and makeup team, the technical crew... all absolutely fantastic. You could tell they really cared. And Ken Jennings is a delight! I knew he was a good host, but trivia people are his people, and he knows how to make them feel welcome and at home. I hope you'll all watch and be a part of this wonderful experience for me.
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I enjoyed the puzzle thoroughly. It's a shame that a guest commentator chose to vent his personal grievances about the structure of our economic system in the process of analyzing a crossword (especially since he stands to win big bucks on a quiz show!). RAISINGCAPITAL combined with state capitals (inverted) is a clever theme, and one in which the theme aids the solve. I saw "Dover" within BELVEDEREVODKA, and that was a big help. Once I changed "tamer" to LAMER in the SE corner, the happy music sounded.
ReplyDeleteThis puzzle is one of the worst-filled puzzles I’ve ever seen and the idea that receiving money on a game show is somehow an endorsement of predatory capitalism is hogwash. That’s like saying you can’t critique capitalism because you shop for goods & services. You have to live in the world you live in. I actually think this theme is fine but the overall construction is, like many products under unregulated capitalism (see for instance most public-facing A.I.), quite badly made
DeleteHis "rant" was targeted specifically to the role of private equity firms, and how the practices of many firms have been destructive to businesses and to the business community in the service solely of personal profit. That is hardly a personal grievance; it is a well-established and well-documented fact that is of wide general concern. To misrepresent this concern as a personal grievance directed against our economic system and, further, to bizarrely draw some equivalence that suggests hypocrisy in his effort to win prize money on a quiz shown is terribly off-base and unfair. Why would you TAKEPOTSHOTSAT him like that?
DeleteWell said, @John Maynard. And I also endorse what Anon said about AI at the end. That bubble will burst...
DeleteHave to agree with Eli here, and add that his concerns about unregulated and vulture capitalism are extremely relevant. The idea that it’s not polite to talk about our economic and political disaster has run its course. So I don’t like to see it promoted without criticism in the puzzle.
DeleteRex vents his personal grievances all the time, including frequent diatribes against the ethos of the business world, so Eli's rant is hardly atypical for the blog. Sometimes I agree sometimes I don't. In this case, I agree with the critique of unregulated capitalism—and might even go further to suggest that regulated capitalism is self-undermining insofar as economic elites retain the power to capture the political system and undo the very regulations intended to keep them in check—but I don't usually have a problem with crossword answers that clash with my worldview. Capitalism defines our linguistic reality, and the crossword reflects that reality, so I don't have an issue with seeing such language in the puzzle. BETA rankled me slightly more, however, since it is clued neutrally when, as Eli points out, it is really more of a slur thrown around by bullies.
DeleteNot to pile on but I agree that the vast majority of private equity projects are detrimental to society. The purchased companies are usually striped of assets, have massive job cuts and loaded with expensive debt all of which make success after they are sold by the private equity owners problematic. Also private equity has way too much political power relative to their scope in society. No sane system would tax them at 10% and tax a teacher earning $65k at 23%. Examples of bad results of private equity include Red Lobster, Nursing home industry, mobile home parks, veterinarians,..... So complaining about a theme that highlights this sector seems wholly appropriate and needed. Also Eli congrats on getting on Jeopardy, look forward to watching
DeleteThis felt like a Wednesday! Just not on my wavelength. The toughest section was the CBSTV DETOXTEA OCASIO area. XII came easy to me (hard clue for a Tuesday there!) but the X didn't really help. I had OTOH and tried BOOR first at 32D.
ReplyDeleteThe serious strain on the grid comes from the 14-letter themers. But the revealer is also 14 letters long, so maybe it would've been better to have just 3 theme answers plus the revealer RAISINGCAPITAL (14).
I briefly had LOO before LAV and was seriously convincing myself that both "hairball" and "hacker" were military slang, thus leading to a bonkers-looking clue for COT.
ReplyDeleteGood luck, Eli!! (realizing, of course, that any luck that might be involved happened or not weeks ago)
Medium for a Tuesday. * * * _ _
All my overwrites were in the south:
sOdA before COLA at 59A
riOT before HOOT at 63A
Dear before DOLL at 67A
No WOEs. I'm not familiar with BELVEDERE VODKA (15D), but I had most of it in before I read the clue.
Do battleships have MASTS (1A)? I looked at some pictures and it does seem that some battleships have something that a landlubber like me might call a MAST, but the clue is plural and none of the photos I saw has more than one.
The many antennas on a battleship have to been attached to something. And mast is the term for them.
DeleteI also wondered about MASTS. I figured: maybe they're talking about battleships of yesteryear?
DeleteBelvedere is a great trivia tidbit. It’s a Polish vodka named after the presidential residence, Belweder, in Warsaw, an image of which is on every bottle.
DeleteWeren’t the modern battleship masts used for communication and whatnot?
DeleteI don't think there were "battleships of yesteryear," only ships-of-the-line. But I'll accept the concept of communication MASKS.
Delete@jberg. Eh, I don't claim to know the nomenclature; it was just my ad hoc homegrown expression. But thanks for helping me out.
DeleteI went ahead and looked a bit. I did see a few “modern” battleships with two “MASTS.” Apparently they are used for observation (like a crows nest), communication devices, and radar. Some had “cages” but I didn’t look into that. I typically think of masts as holding sails, but…I guess not.
DeleteFor Anonymous 5:49 AM: A false equivalency, if I've ever seen one.
ReplyDeleteNosotras tenemos las carnes.
ReplyDeleteWay to go Eli! It'll be fun to see you on Jeopardy.
Second vertical theme this week. I'm into it.
It turns out my wife remembers the entire song associated with MARY and when I asked her about "who can turn the world on with her smile," she belted the whole tune out.
NOT SO BAD is part of an oft repeated greeting in the (very bad) show Letterkenny. They imply it's a common how-d'ya-do in Canada.
ERIC Idle is one of my heros. COOL CAT.
❤️ [Hairball hacker] = LAMER COOL CAT.
People: 7
Places: 2
Products: 8
Partials: 12 (boooooo)
Foreignisms: 6
--
Gary's Grid Gunk Gauge: 35 of 78 (45%) {🔔 The happy citizens of Gunkville hear the ringing of the bell and come out from their hovels singing and lip syncing to the town's favorite band Gunkmaster45.)
Funny Factor: 1 🤨
Uniclues:
1 Chamomile with Belvedere vodka.
2 My face.
1 DETOX TEA ALE
2 SMORE SPOT ALOT
My Fascinating Crossword Uniclue Keepsake from Last Year: Gravitational force that creates grammarians. THE COMMA DRAW.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Good morning, Eli, and congratulations on making it to Jeopardy! I second everything you have to say about today’s puzzle (and about puzzle-adjacent topics, ahem), including how nice everyone is on the Jeopardy set. I was there in the Alex Trebek era, and he was also very friendly and down to earth, something I didn’t really expect. I came in third, didn’t win much money, but had a blast and cherish the memory, as I know you will for years to come. Well done!
ReplyDeleteIf this isn't the worst fill in Times puzzle history, I don't know what is. It's as if the constructor was trying to answer the question, "How many multiple-word phrases with awkward acronyms can I squish into a 15x15 grid?" I will *always* despise when an answer adds "TV" to the back of a network name, but in 99% of cases, that's the biggest offense in a puzzle. This one, OTOH, has to contend with PGMOVIES and ERDOC and NBATEAMS and ONCD, not to mention DETOXTEA and IMMAD, plus the horrendous "this doesn't sound right" combo of TAKEPOTSHOTSAT and CAMELAST.
ReplyDeleteAnd it's not as if the fill NEEDED to be bad for the theme, because the theme isn't interesting at all. It doesn't help you solve the puzzle (nor add difficulty), make you laugh, or paint a fun picture in the end.
Despite all the garbage- and boy, was there a lot of it- I finished well below my average time for a Tuesday, so at least I wasn't in agony for long.
On Rex's rating system for which one star is reserved for truly poor puzzles, I'm not even sure I could give this half a star. "NOTSOBAD"? No, it definitely was that bad.
Wow, the Gunk Gauge pretty much blew up today. The NYT is approaching the point at which fully 1/2 of the grid is going to be some form of slop. Not surprisingly, this one played somewhat tedious for me.
ReplyDeleteI discerned the theme reasonably early on, and needed it to back into that segmented NW section. I’ve heard the name of the rapper before, but had nothing to go on up there. I was thinking of a modern battleship. Do they have masts? Grr is pretty much a useless clue without a few crosses etc.
The grid just felt choppy and disjointed, so hard to get any sort of a rhythm going. I’m guessing that’s a result of the theme constraints. Anyway, it’s a Tuesday and I was able to muscle my way through it. It’s been a few years now (I started solving in earnest relatively later in life) but I can still remember when I really would have struggled with a Tuesday like today.
In a regular crossword, as opposed to a cryptic, the punctuation is part of the clue. It's "Grr!" which means that it is something you might say instead of saying Grr, viz., I'M MAD.
DeleteHuh! Finally looked it up, and found out that ACAI is pronounced aa-saa-ee, with the accent on the last syllable.
ReplyDeleteLearned that last winter when I had dinner at a Brazilian restaurant and asked the hostess how she pronounced it! She added," but I'm from Miami"!
DeleteDefinitely more of a Wednesday than a Tuesday.
ReplyDeleteIf you don’t know Spanish, I can totally see finishing with OCtO and tOOT. IMO foreign words are fair game, but you have to be careful with the crosses.
Never heard of BELVEDERE VODKA.
Wouldn't the 6A clue be better as Idle comic, rather than Comic Idle? But I guess that would not be sufficiently Tuesdayish.
BELVEDERE VODKA is the brand found in the back of liquor cabinets of aunts and uncles. no one ever asks for it by name.
DeleteDo we need to have some discussion about whether the proper and officially sanctioned (by Kellanova, nee Kellogg) plural form of EGGO is EGGOs? or EGGO waffles?
ReplyDeleteLol, the caption on a picture in today’s NYT app reads as follows:
Delete“A portrait of President Trump made out of LEGOS in the Green Room of the White House.”
The caps are mine. I’m agnostic on this one, so no dog in the fight. It’s been about a week since our last dust up, so any pedants who missed their chance, feel free to have at it.
Note, in a similar article in the WaPo, they used the term LEGO as the plural. Is this not addressed in the style guide? Maybe both have slipped into general usage.
I loved it even though I was 1:40 over my Tuesday average. Very cleverly done. It took me a minute or two to get over the idea that there had to be rebuses involved.
ReplyDeleteNot too many state capitals are amenable to this treatment.
ReplyDelete1. What one might say about obese meanies
I hatE FAT NASty people
2. Hegseth -- are you sure?
Well, yES, I OBserved the rules.
I love it when a constructor comes up with a theme idea that you’d think would have been done before. You’d think that among the mass of constructors over the many years, someone would have come across the phrase RAISING CAPITAL and thought to do what Jonathan did. There it was, low hanging fruit, and nobody saw it – until:
ReplyDeleteJonathan, who had been submitting puzzles for TWENTY YEARS with no success – who followed every rejection with another submission! – saw it. Who better deserves this lovely theme than one with such persistence.
I am so inspired by grit like that.
Oh, lovely puzzle with its tight tight theme, and little extras like AMP crossing IMP, like a backward ROMA to cast a faint echo to the theme, like a backward TOPS to go with ELITE, and like the sweet Puzzpair© of CAPITAL/ONE.
So, thank you for the fun, Jonathan, but mostly, thank you for a backstory that will stick with me for AGES. Bravo!
Twenty years! I'm actually not too far behind that ...
DeleteI don't submit as much as I used to, but occasionally I'll throw my hat in the ring once again.
RooMonster Waiting Guy
Hey All !
ReplyDeleteTheme works, I guess, CAPITALs that are rising, er, being RAISed, er, are RAISING. Maybe ...? I guess it only works the way it's in the puz, RAISING CAPITAL. Hey, he got published.
But where is HARRISBURG? Har. TALLAHASSEE?
EGGO were Froffles? How do you LEGGO my Froffles? Sounds dirty. Maybe Droffle my Froffles?
The West half of puz is an O-apalooza. 16 of 'em from the center column.
It is a TuesPuz, so, I guess it's fine.
Congrats Eli on your Jeopardy stint, that is quite the smile your sporting!
Have a great Tuesday!
Not ONE F
RooMonster
DarrinV
Sid Caesar to Imogene Coca: "Are you ready to go out to dinner?"
ReplyDeleteImogene: "NO, SID, AM still getting dressed."
Nitpicking here, but in ASL, the Z is not drawn with the index finger but with the pinky! I liked the concept of the theme but the enjoyment overall fell short.
ReplyDeleteI learned it as index finger and Google supports that as the common way to sign z. You might have learned a variation.
DeleteAgreed with the second commenter, I learned with the index finger and haven’t seen with the pinky. Are you thinking of J?
DeletePrivate Equity is cancer for the economy. But that has nothing to do with this theme. Unless you think the idea of money itself is evil.
ReplyDeleteImagine where we would be if the idea of “raising capital” had not come. ONLY inventors who happened to already be rich (probably because of the oligarchic system that produced them) would be able to give the world new things.
Capitalism is the antidote to oligarchy. This is what you want right? Empowering individuals? Then let capitalism stand. And let’s all fight private equity together.
Raising capital is a good thing and a good theme.
"Capitalism is the antidote to oligarchy." <-- Not in practice, it's not. Not in the good old U.S. of A.
DeleteIt is the worst economic system. Except for all the rest.
Deletefroffles? no. has "awful" in the pronunciation...if it is intended to be pronounced like waffle. i get that it is a portmanteau of "frozen" and waffle". i suppose it could be pronounced fr-oh-fles, but that's not where i went originally.
ReplyDeleteAnd what would the slogan be? "Let off my froffle" doesn't have the same zing to it as "leggo my EGGO".
DeleteFor John Maynard: In the first place, I never used the word "rant" in my posting, so putting it in quotes is inappropriate. I wrote ."...vent his personal grievances..." (toward our economic system). His role was to critique a crossword puzzle, not to lecture us about the excesses of capitalism, simply because the constructor used RAISING CAPITAL as the puzzle's framework, with reference to state capitals. Private equity firms are irrelevant to the puzzle itself, and the constructor is owed an apology.
ReplyDeleteHey Bob, the precedent for airing personal opinions at this blog not strictly relegated to the crossword construction was set long ago and is well-established by now. You might as well complain at Rex every day.
DeleteI'll also say that by my reading, JM wasn't attributing the word "rant" to your post, but rather pointing to Eli Selzer's usage. But I won't pile on any more past this point. I hope you have a good day.
Hahahahaha
DeleteI would encourage you to read texts and to represent them accurately.
Delete1. "Rant" is in quotes because that is the term that Eli used to bracket this discussion. No one ever suggested that you used the term rant, so your accusation of inappropriateness has no basis.
2. You suggest that Eli owes the constructor an apology for these remarks. Yet, Eli did not direct these remarks at the constructor. On the contrary, he bracketed a statement where he honestly revealed his own bias. In doing so, he made it clear that that thia was his own bias, and that his own bias had nothing to do with his assessment of the puzzle; immediately i following his rant he wrote, "But my personal hangups aren't really the puzzle's fault." This is what responsible and professional writers do when they become aware of a bias that might color their review: They own up to it; they set it apart from the review so that it is not confused with the review itself (hence the "Begin Rant" -"End Rant" bracketing); and then they clearly state that those thought is wholly separate from the technical review itself. All of which Eli did. Responsibly. He accused the constructor of nothing.
3. The revealer is clued as "With 43-Down, seeking funding from investors … or what you're doing in 4-, 9-, 15- and 38-Down?" It introduces a play on words in which "raising capital" can have two meanings, and this clue makes both meanings explicitly present in and relevant to the puzzle Though there are a number of ways that "seeking funders from investors" can take place, an increasingly prevalent and dominant vehicle for this is the modern economy is through private equity. So it's just untrue to say that private equity firms are "irrelevant to the puzzle itself."
4. In setting out his vision for this blog and in his daily practice of writing it, Michale Sharpe wrote and has made clear that he wants the blog to be more than a dispassionate critique of the puzzle; he also wants it to be a "real time" account of his immediate reactions to the puzzle while solving it - which reactions are not infrequently visceral and take him down a number of paths. We see this every day. Every day. What Eli did in his review is very much in keeping with Michael's vision and practice. But I would argue that he did in a much more modest and circumspect way than we often see from Michael. So your assertion that "his role is to critique the puzzle" seems, frankly, to be your own redefinition of the role that Michael has already defined for and practices daily..
It is fine not to like what someone wrote, to disagree with it, to disagree with it vehemently, and to argue against it passionately. Go ahead. But please represent what was said accurately, and please use caution when attributing bad faith to someone and calling for an apology from them.
for bob mills, what was your role?
DeleteChange Topeka to Springfield and every capitol would also have been a town in Massachusetts, including the Natick-adjacent Dover! Thought this was pretty fun.
ReplyDeleteIf it hadn't been announced at the beginning that today's column is by Eli Selzer, I almost wouldn't have noticed. The vibe is very similar to what you might see from Rex: part rant, part nitpick, part political correctness (I don't mean that last disparagingly necessarily; I just can't think of how better to say it). (Love ya, Rex, and hope you don't mind my saying.) As one example, see his note for 37A, which sounds like a Rexian thing to say -- speaking for myself, I can't say that DRAG queens ever gladden my heart, and it's not that I mind them or I'M MAD at them, just that all the heavy makeup looks like so much unappealing grotesquerie that I never want to see on anyone, whether in drag or not. But "whatever".
ReplyDeleteThe distaste for MMA also sounds Rexian. Full disclosure: I like watching martial arts of all forms. I'm following Naoye Inoue (boxing) and Dakota Ditcheva (mixed, but largely Muay Thai) these days with A LOT of interest. This while conceding that there's a lot of BS and corruption and posturing as part of the package -- I just enjoy seeing the art and science and craftsmanship, once they get down to business, and the basic balls it takes to get in there. I guess it's a thing with me, deriving enjoyment from things I would never, ever do in my own life.
Something about TV in CBSTV seems superfluous, which I suppose is what annoyed Eli as well. But I don't agree as much about the AT in TAKE POTSHOTS AT -- to me that sounds very much in the language.
Something about RAISING seems ever so slightly off. The word usually means elevating, uplifting, rearing, etc. as performed by an agent, and none of those implies inversion. If the verb were "rising", I likely wouldn't have said anything. But now look who's nitpicking.
Hand up for never having heard of BELVEDERE either.
All in all, a quick and easy Tuesday that was NOT SO BAD, never mind the Gunk factor. Thank you, Mr. Baude.
Oh, something else re martial arts. Did anyone else follow the last big sumo tournament that recently concluded? I was very excited by the performance of the Ukrainian whose sumo name is Aonishiki. Very young, very talented, and with a pretty inspiring back story to boot. His breaking into a higher rank (not yet Yokozuna, but getting there) has been a big news item.
DeleteI love sumo, but have only seen it live. Now that I know it's on TV, I'll look for it, so thanks!
Delete@jberg. To be clear, I didn't see it on TV; I watched it on YouTube, and really it was only the highlights that I caught. I have seen it on TV (years ago), and you could probably find it on cable if you looked hard enough, but I don't have that info.
DeleteYou've seen it live? Oh, I'm so jealous! One day, perhaps...
President Obama to his Chief of Staff's wife: "What are you eating there, Amy (Mrs. Emanuel)?" Reply: "It's just GRUB, SIR...RAHm cooked it for me."
ReplyDeleteSo tortured. I love it!
DeleteOut damn standing
DeleteBartending for 15 years, and haven't run in to BELVEDERE yet!
ReplyDeleteWhat? Several people posted about their unfamiliarity and I thought tea totalers perhaps, or people that drink "real Martinis" but for you that's hard to believe. Is it a wine bar? Ya'll need to get out and drink more.
DeleteWhen did Boston become the capital of Massachusetts?
ReplyDeleteIn 1632....
Delete1780
DeleteOctober 3, 1632.
DeleteThough the term "capital" would be be anachronism in 1632, it was the Court of Assistants that declared on October 3 that “It is thought by general consent that Boston is the fittest for public meetings of any place in the Bay.” With such language are capitals created. But it wasn't until 23 years later that the Massachusetts General Court required the governor to reside "in or near Boston" when exercising his office.
DeleteUp until 1691, Boston was not the only capital city in Massachusetts, however. Though Boston was the capital of the Massachusetts Bay Colony (and for 3 years capital of the short-lived Dominion of New England), nearby Plymouth was the capital of the Plymouth Colony up until 1691. In that year, the two colonies merged (with Boston as capital) to form the Province of Massachusetts Bay.
If you destroy something elegantly, do you ruiN IT SUAve?
ReplyDeleteIf, like @Eli, you were upset about the capitalist pigs, at least you had the SDS to fall back on. I was curious about exactly when the SDS existed because I remember trying to form a chapter in my high school but getting discouraged when the principal wouldn't allow us to appear as a club in the year book. I guess a school-endorsed club aiming to destroy society as it then existed wasn't his thing. But I was pleased to discover that the NewSDS was formed in 2006 and is a nationwide campus movement. See you at the next meeting, Eli! And remember, if you're in a huge crowd chanting SDS, you're probably at a San Diego State football game.
I thought this was a good concept and I had fun doing it. I can't understand all the CAPITAL offense. Thanks and congrats, JONATHAN BAUDE. And I hope you had good luck when you recorded tonight's Jeopardy, @Eli. Since it's in the past, I guess we should all be cheering, "Went Eli!"
"Went Eli!" Brilliant. 😆😆😆
DeleteWell, could not get MINAJ so had to look that up to get a start. Actually fairly easy puzzle after that. Technically well constructed, but like many bloggers was struck by the two-letter abbreviations—CD, TV, and the like, and having to get the major down BELVEDERE entirely from the crosses. Didn’t mind Eli providing personal information—getting to know the reviewers seems part of the charm of this blog. Re capitalism, it has its upsides and downsides, and can be a harsh mistress. But for perspective remember Churchill’s remark about democracy…
ReplyDeleteI was sensing a plethora of initials as I went through this one and I've come up with : MMA, SDS, SOS, CBSTV, NBA, PG, ER, CD, and OTOH. I may even have missed one or two, but it's like counting the snowflakes outside my window. Anyway, it seems like ALOT.
ReplyDeleteTIL about BELVEDEREVODKA. Can't remember the last time I drank anything containing VODKA, . I also learned that people will watch TIKTOK just to see other people LIPSYNC. Really? Why?
I think I just mentioned that this kind of puzzle shows up fairly often in the LA Times, and I like them. This one too.
Congrats on the debut, JB. Just Because it took so long is no reason to be less proud. And way to go Eli. Always good to hear about people being nice to each other. Hope you did well.
I'm not fond of puzzles with circles. That being said, how could I say anything bad about a puzzle constructed by someone waiting 20 years for publication?
ReplyDeleteSo I won't.
Congratulations, Jonathan.
And can't wait to see you on Jeopardy tonight, Eli. Congrats to you both :)
This puzzle was a bit toothy for a Tuesday. Things like the clues for BETA and GMAIL held me up a tad.
ReplyDeleteI looked up how to pronounce açaà when I first saw a crossword clue asking for a three-syllable berry, four letters. This was mind-boggling enough to send me to Google. When I was in Brazil a few years ago, I was introduced to the açaà bowl, almost an art to the natives, with the many toppings to choose from. Powdered milk was the oddest to me but it did add a bit of creaminess to the dish.
My husband's name is Bevin, often misheard as Kevin, Devin or Evan. If someone sees it written, they might pronounce is as BEE-vin, at which point he tells them, yes, it rhymes with KEE-vin. But the oddest was the guy who decided to call him BELVEDERE. Perhaps that guy was big into vodka?
Thanks and congrats to Jonathan Baude on his debut NYTimes puzzle.
And Eli, congrats on your Jeopardy appearance, I look forward to watching the episode.
Neat little Tuesday. The theme was NOT SO BAD. Actually pretty nice. Especially liked 4D TAKE POTSHOTS AT. 15D BELVEDERE VODKA failed to impress. I’ve never understood people’s affection for a liquor that is essentially Everclear from a natural source. My brother never fails to offer me a Belvedere on the rocks when I visit him and I graciously accept, though I’m not sure why. Well, yes I am. It’s because he’s my brother and he’s happy to drink rye when he comes to my place. Quid pro brotherly quo, and all that.
ReplyDeleteWhen will the NYTXW folks decide whether Brits avail themselves of the LAV (25A) or the loo?
It’s been a long, long time since I’ve been served by a carhop but, if I remember correctly, she arrived on 2 skates.
I decide to forgo my downs-only habit tonight because I am just terribly bagged. It’s late fall, early winter wrap-up time here on the old homestead and today I spent 8 hours in 4 degree celsius - with rain - trying to keep the world’s soggiest burn pile alight. Wet, cold gloves, a pitchfork, a chainsaw, a 20 litre jerry can of diesel, and a roofing torch (for re-lights). After a cleanup and dinner I checked into my studio to do the puzzle and saw all those long downs with circles and I bailed. Glad I did. “Old style” was kind of fun.
I’ll post this as soon as I can in the morning, right before I head out for day 2 of the Big Burn. Supposed to be rain free but still only 5 celsius.
Can’t wait. There are times when I wish I still worked indoors in an office. Not many times, but times.
Including VODKA in the answer but not the clue bothered me, too, but I guess it's hard to avoid. I guess it could be clued "competitor of Grey Goose spirits," but that's a little clunky.
ReplyDeleteThe Spanish math was fun. My first choice for "dos cubed" was "hair stylings by Georges Braque," but that didn't fit.
I wanted Aeon before AGES, just because I love that spelling.
The first audio books I ever listened to were called by the generic name "books on tape" -- i.e., not ON CD.
I hesitated over LAV because "facilities" is plural while both LAV and my first choice, Loo, are singular. But I guess that really is the usage. There's probably a scholarly article about that somewhere, but I'm not going to seek it out.
And though the clue for SKATE is fine, roller-skating carhops were not the norm, by far. Mostly they just walked to your car.
A tough Tuesday for me, with clue after clue eliciting only a blank stare. I had to do a lot of skipping around to finish. Fairly early I did notice the backwards SALEM but associated it only with Massachusetts, and then, when TOPEKA appeared I thought only of the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe. Not surprisingly, I couldn't find any commonality between witch trials and railroads, and even RAISING.... didn't prompt a brain reset. CAPITAL came from crosses. At least that helped me get the rising BOSTON.
ReplyDelete@Jonathan Baude, congratulations on your debut. You gave me a Tuesday workout, which is NOT SO BAD at all.
I had to sleep on the NW corner (literally sleep overnight) to awaken and finally unlock it with IMMAD! hehe.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad I came and read the writeup because I overlooked the existence of the theme. Now that I see those capitals I'm so impressed! Especially with Topeka backwards in TAKEPOTSHOTSAT. The fact that it doesn't seem forced is so impressive to me. TAKE POTSHOTS is a fun answer in its own right!
Raising capital isn't necessarily synonymous with (evil) venture capital. Think of buying the sugar and lemons for a lemonade stand. :)
Congratulations, Eli!
ReplyDeleteHand up for thinking Froffles is delightful. If only it had stuck we’d have never been subjected to that awful “leggo my Eggo” ad.
The theme is okay, but the fill - oof. So many abbreviations, acronymns, initialisms, partials. Just look:
MMA
SOS
NBATEAMS
CBSTV
OTOH
ONCD
PGMOVIES
SDS
ERDOCS
SSE
XXI
GMAIL
ASL
SGTS
SMORE
TIS
ITE
ECO
LAV
COOP
MEGA
AMOCO
ADLIB
RATA
DIEM
and that’s giving ARAB and AMP a pass. Before seeing Eli’s name I noticed the absence of the star rating and, thinking Rex had given it up, was glad for the sake of today’s constructor. Nice for him to succeed after so long, but I hope he’ll clean up the fill next time.
@A 11:09 am... yikes! Gary's Gunk Gauge said 12 partials which is bad, but this list is terrifying!
Delete@A 11:09 AM
DeleteThat's a shocking list eh? Hence the jubilant spirits in Gunkopolis. For my own edification, I compared your list to my list and there are some differences: I didn't count SOS, COOP, and SMORE as those are complete thoughts needing no capitalization -- although SOS is always in a big sandy font on the beach. NBATEAMS, CBSTV, GMAIL, and AMOCO ended up in products. And of course XXII, ADLIB, RATA and DIEM ended up in foreignisms. I think I might have skipped AD LIB because it feels English-y enough. On their own, not a major problem, but taken as a whole, yeeshk.
@Gary, I've often thought that if a word belonged in more than one junk category, you could be quite justified in counting it more than once. Hmm?
DeleteMedium. Just about right for a Tuesday. No WOEs and no costly erasures.
ReplyDeleteReasonably smooth grid with some delightful theme answers, liked it.
I was a bit surprised at the number of commentariat that didn’t like this puzzle because I thought it was pretty fun and whooshy. I didn’t really notice it was overly “hunky” but I will take Southside’s and Gary J’s word on that. Most of the time “gunk” doesn’t bother me and I DID find the theme to be clever and a bit fun. (Taking aside the private equity biz)
ReplyDeleteDid I miss Eli talking about carhops on SKATES? I thought there might be more chatter about THAT because I’m 70 and have never gone to a drive-in restaurant where the carhops were on SKATES. I think the first time I knew skating carhops existed was either due to Happy Days or American Graffiti. Either I’m just a tad too young OR skating carhoppery had a resurgence I’m unaware of. Just to add…I was a pretty good roller skater back in the day, but the idea of skating with a tray of milkshake or soft drink glasses seems pretty niche. (Um, is my memory right…no to-go cups then?)
Oh! And congrats Eli for being on Jeopardy…I can’t wait to watch!
ReplyDeleteQuery: "Mrs, Karenina, does your daughter do her share of the housework?"
ReplyDeleteReply: "Yes, ANNA POLIShes the silverware and makes the beds."
Slow Tuesday solve, but a really nice debut from Mr. Baude - congrats! I thought the fill was quite clean, considering that the themers were grouped close together and took up a lot of real estate.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to Jeopardy! tonight. Was shocked, and a bit relieved, to see the 14-day champion lose last night. (Retroactive) good luck, Eli! (Hoping to see a crossword or Simpsons category, ha.)
I found the names a bit annoying, as I often do, but in retrospect they weren't that bad. The partials and initials and acronyms were awful though! (See the list by @A just above.)
ReplyDeleteAside from that, I kinda like the theme. Just fine for a Tuesday, rapacious CAPITALism notwithstanding. It went fast for me at just under 7 minutes.
I wonder if any Canadian capitals would work... okay, just one:
"This house is in good shape; it's gOT NO ROT!"
I LOVE it!
DeleteNOTSOBAD a TuesPuz. NOTSOGOOD a U-count, tho.
ReplyDeleteAnd at least they ain't RASING CAPITALs, which would sorta include poor old Kiev.
staff weeject pick: XII. Partial to its neat ?-marker clue.
CAME LAST? har. Might as well of gone with CAMEL ASS.
But, hey -- primo fun idea for a puztheme, and brave inclusion of 4 themers, even if it did hit on the fillins, a wee bit.
some fave fillins: LIPSYNC. JOEPESCI. NBATEAMS. Learnin about DETOXTEA cleansin.
Thanx for the capital fun, Mr. Baude dude. And congratz on yer debut, after 20 years of tryin. Makes M&A wanna try, again.
Masked & Anonymo s [no U's at all]
... and this lil rascal will keep U guessin ...
"Lucky Guess" - 7x7 12 min. themed runt puzzle:
**gruntz**
M&A
p.s. Congratz, Eli dude. We watch Jep every day, so we'll be there for yah!
I think I'm glad I'm not such a whiz solver that I notice and regret short answers. I'lm usually grateful for them.- Except the initials of various sports leagues- Those I just cheat on if they get in my way.
ReplyDeleteI LOVED the clue 58A for Oslo. It just tickled me. Put a big smile next to it.(I solve on paper) Must have been sleepy by the time I got to 49 A (that's my story anyway) Just totally blanked on movie ratings - Ended up with email crossing pemovies - which made no sense but could not think what it should be.
21A ?? If an eclair is "decadent" what dessert or sweet treat is not?
Haha @Sharon…MY decadence gauge is indicated by whether a bite almost immediately sends a sugar rush to my brain. A chocolate eclair can do that to me. On the other hand, a bite of a Keebler sugar wafer…not so much…unless I eat a sleeve of them.
DeleteCongratulations! I was on Jeopardy a long time ago. Great experience for me, too.
ReplyDeleteI had EMAIL not GMAIL. Pretty bad puzzle.
ReplyDelete*Murderously* difficult for a Tuesday. More like Friday.
ReplyDeleteHaving done only Mondays for about a year (I’m still new to this!), I starting doing Mondays AND Tuesdays a few months ago and was starting to build some confidence. Hooray! But this one did me in. I found it really hard for a Tuesday, comparatively speaking, and had to cheat a few times… Oh, well…!
ReplyDeleteI found it fairly easy.
ReplyDeleteI would never have guessed what would be the controversial issues today.
I am personally disgusted by the remake of the Robber Baron era of the late 19th Century, that we are going through now but the answer was raising capital. Which doesn’t equal hedge funds and their ilk But Eli called it a rant, explained why he ranted. His employment is now dependent on this legalized crooks on Wall Street. He is as someone said rightfully traumatized and he explicitly did not criticize the constructor.
I believe in regulated capitalism (except for certain categories like hospitals and nursing homes). but we are going at a very fast pace to virtually no regulation ( unless a business annoys the incumbent of course). and we will pay the consequences for it.
Nice Tuesday, nice debut. I thought the theme clever and the revealer(s) and themers did their jobs.
ReplyDeleteI had no issues with the puzzle nor did I have issues with Eli's great write-up. I very much enjoy hearing other peoples' take on a puzzle, in whatever direction it takes. Sometimes I agree, sometimes I don't. But there is great joy in seeing another angle on a grid that I never would have noticed unless I came here, it's one of the reasons I come here in the first place.
So congratulations to Jonathan on his debut and to Eli on his Jeopardy appearance!