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Like a biased presentation / MON 1-26-26 / Music genre influenced by the Smiths and the Cure / Journalist Curry / Kind of port in A/V / Censored, as an audiotape / Takes exception / T.S. Eliot or W.H. Auden
Monday, January 26, 2026
Constructor: Erica Hsiung Wojcik
Relative difficulty: Easy
THEME: THREEPEATS — Each of the three theme answers starts with the last name of a famous PETE -- ROSE, BEST, DAVIDSON.
Word of the Day: MALIBU (12D: Beach city west of Los Angeles) —
Malibu (/ˈmælɪbuː/ ⓘ MAL-ih-boo; Chumash: Humaliwo; Spanish: Malibú) is a beach city in the Santa Monica Mountains region of Los Angeles County, California,[11] about 30 miles (48 km) west of Los Angeles. It is known for its Mediterranean climate, its strip of beaches stretching 21 miles (34 km) along the Pacific coast, and for its longtime status as the home of numerous Hollywood celebrities and executives with a high proportion of its residents in the entertainment industry.[12] The Pacific Coast Highway (State Route 1) traverses the city, following along the South Coast of California. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 10,654. The 2025 Palisades Fire devastated Malibu, with almost all of the beachfront homes near its center destroyed.[13]
• • •
Theme answers:
- ROSE GARDEN (17A: Classic flowering locale adjacent to the White House [baseball star])
- BEST COMEDY ALBUM (29A: Grammy Award that's good for laughs? [1960s rock musician])
- DAVIDSON COLLEGE (46A: North Carolina educational institution [former "S.N.L." cast member])
- THREEPEATS (60A: Athletic trifectas ... or a phonetic hint to the starts of 17-, 29- and 46-Across)
 |
| This is Pete Rose |
This was an ultra breezy Monday. I got the first 14 across answers immediately without any crosses and I love that feeling of just flying through a Monday and seeing the down answers fall into place without even having to look at their clues. TBH, I didn't even know comedy albums were a thing, so it makes sense that it was that answer that made me pause for the first time.
 |
| This is Pete Best |
The fill was super smooth, as it should be on a Monday. My litmus test for a good Monday is whether I would feel good about recommending it to a non-solving friend as their first crossword to ever attempt, and I happily would with this one. There's nothing really to nitpick with the fill. Maybe SBARRO's corporate department is in cahoots with the NYT though, since it showed up in the puzzle two days in a row. Sunday also had a different PETE (SEEGER, at 17-Down), maybe as an easter egg.
 |
| This is Pete Davidson |
Speaking of Petes, that was this puzzle's theme. Three different Petes in the first words of the long across answers. I have to confess that I had only heard of Pete Davidson before solving this puzzle. (I don't baseball, and '60s music is very far from my forte.) Thankfully, that didn't affect the solve at all. I assume these other Petes are famous and widely-known, since they both have very beefy Wikipedia pages (my far-from-reliable metric for notoriety).
That's it from me! Enjoyed this a lot overall. Maybe a pair of longer fun bonus down entries would have elevated the grid even more, but on a Monday I'll always, always, always choose smooth over flashy. Until next time!
P.S.: I just booked my ACPT flights a few days ago. Don't hesitate to say hi if you spot me!
Bullets:
- CARESS (49D: Stroke lovingly) — I am typing this as I CARESS my cat.
- CHERUB (11D: Winged feature in Raphael's "Sistine Madonna") — It it tragic that Raphael misspelled with name with a "ph" instead of using the clearly correct "f" spelling!
- SCREAM (6D: "Aiiiiieeeee!," e.g.) — I tried to figure out what this scream would sound like and failed.
- SNOWSHOE (36D: Oversize article of clothing) — I just learned that "snowshoes" is one word! Also I hope you have them handy if that's what you need to leave your house after the storm.
[Follow Rex Parker on BlueSky and Facebook and Letterboxd]
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95 comments:
Medium for me. I did not know DAVIDSON COLLEGE but I do know who PETE DAVIDSON is even though I haven’t watched SNL in decades.
Got a nice chuckle from the reveal, liked it a bunch!
Croce Solvers - Croce’s Freestyle #1082 was easy for a Croce…just a tad tougher than a New Yorker Monday. Good luck!
…Oh and I’m wondering how many millennials and Gen-Zers know who PETE BEST is. I suspect @Rafa isn’t alone.
Oh, boy. Really simplistic theme. I guess I'm the opposite of Rafa: I've heard of Pete ROSE, and Pete BEST, but neither Pete DAVIDSON or DAVIDSON COLLEGE which made it an enormous clunker of a theme answer for me. I did it down clues only but had to cheat exactly once at SLOG which gave me ONE SIDED and the rest was history.
And CCME and UBE on a Monday? And SBARRO two days in a row? Good night and good luck with the storm.
A rare fly through for me. It was fine except for the sbarro repeat. Let’s hope for no “threepeat” tomorrow.
Easy, but I liked it. The revealer was a nifty AHAS (16A) moment.
* * * * _
No overwrites or WOEs.
I agree this was a nice straightforward Monday, medium for me (8 minutes last night during football). Unlike you, @RAFA , I really only know Pete Rose--had to look up Pete Best just now (early Beatles drummer, pre-Ringo), and Pete Davidson's face is familiar but couldn't really tell you anything about him. And yes, I've got 2 feet of snow! I still have to work (from home) this morning--the joys of telehealth! Thanks, Erica, for the 3-peat this morning. Nice Puzzle!
Solved it quickly without understanding the punny theme...didn't know PETE BEST or PETE DAVIDSON. Worrying about my kids, grandkids and friends up North, while it's 70 degrees down here in Florida (a mixed blessing).
THREEACT – “Hah!”, “Wow!”, and “Good for me!” after cracking a terrific wordplay clue. See also THREEJOICE.
THREEGRET – Really rue a dumb mistake you made in solving.
THREESPECT – High esteem toward a particular constructor.
THREEVISE – A trio of times in a puzzle, throw in wrong answers, then eventually threemove them.
My five favorite original clues from last week
(in order of appearance):
1. She's out there! (7)(3)
2. Out of joint? (4)
3. Means of closing up a vent (3)(4)
4. Child support (8)(7)
5. It'll never fly! (3)
LESBIAN BAR
FREE
END RANT
SECURITY BLANKET
PIG
My favorite encore clues from last week:
[Sporting flats, say] (4)
[It may wind up on the top of ones head] (6)
SHOD
TURBAN
Rose Garden seems a bit tone deaf given it was bulldozed and cemented over controversially.
Grow before GO UP, but otherwise a very smooth solve. I'm not familiar with DAVIDSON COLLEGE but I know Pete Davidson and the answer was eminently gettable with the crosses. And no Star Wars reference!
Workmanlike early week puzzle. Theme is cute but BEST should have been cut - I’m sure we could have found another PETE. BEST’s fame comes from who he didn’t become.
I Beg Your Pardon
Revealer is apt and sits there proudly - I like the two spanning themers. The CHERUB, MALIBU, ESTEEM stack is really nice. The opposite corner with DEMURS and VERTEX is also solid. ESOS again?
My Brother ESAU
Enjoyable Monday morning solve. Now off to shovel.
Nanook Rubs It
Neither the "ph" nor the single "f" is correct. His name was Raffaello Sanzio - or Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino (from Urbino). So two "fs" in his name. Throughout Europe, however, his popular "stage name" was the mononym Raphael (like Bono, Enya, or Sia). Perhaps his agent determined that it played better with the fans and sold more paintings - and that he needed to distinguish himself in the public mind from the foretold future Spanish tennis legend Rafa.
Clever idea for a theme, riffing off THREEPEATS. Never been done before.
Always sweet to run across words I like: DEMURS, SNOUTS, ENNUI, SEGUE, and CHERUB. No to mention the lovely dook GOUP.
TIL: That THREEPEAT is a registered trademark by basketball coach Pat Riley.
Not intended I’m sure, but a lovely serendipity: Echoing the threepeat theme is a trio of three-letter palindromes (EVE, TUT, SIS).
This was an excellent intro to crossword themes for new solvers, many who come to Crosslandia never having learned that puzzles CAN have themes.
High quality and most enjoyable for me, Erica. Thank you!
Hey All !
Chuckled at SBARRO again! With the same clue. Good times.
Knew the first half of Themers were names, the ole brain failing to realize they are all Petes. So was wondering how the THREE of THEEEPEATS entered into each Themer. Turned out the THREE Themers were grouped as one. Silly brain.
Hold up for me today was having BESTCOMEDYAward in until I couldn't get the Downs to play nice. Finally saw the DOOK GOUP, which I was debating as DOUP, but then saw the crossing Down was LEGAL, which led to ALBUM. Is that a real Grammy category? Beside Weird Al, how many Comedy Albums are out there?
@pablo
A PETE Theme, almost a pablo Theme! Har. Oh, and no credit for me for the Frenchified RUES. 😁
Nice puz overall. All the Petes out there, have yourself a great Pete Day!
Everyone else, have a great Monday!
No F's - Uh oh, didn't we just have one of these? I RUES these days. Har.
RooMonster
DarrinV
I believe DAVIDSON qualifies for a March Madness bid occasionally (if I’m mistaken, then I don’t remember where I’ve heard of it). I think that clue about the rose garden is a little dated. I wonder when this puzzle was accepted.
Dueling SBARRO’s was a bid of a head scratcher. I’m not sure those two emojis pass the breakfast test.
Number of days without a Star Wars clue: 1
Number of days without a Sbarrro clue: 0
Steph Curry played basketball at Davidson College.
I knew all the answers, except for 67 Across
How is sending an eggplant or taco emoji SEXTing?
The grass lawn was cemented over and adorned with patio furniture (similar in color and design to the Mar-a-Lago patio furniture), but the rose bushes were not touched. They are alive and well and blooming - though perhaps the space itself might more appropriately be rebranded the Trump-Rose Beach Club. But you may sleep well knowing that no roses were bulldozed in the making of this kitsch.
There is no frolicking in many parts of the country east of you. Imagine waking up with no electricity, a foot of snow/ice, and an inch of ice enveloping your car. Oh, and it’s -1 and the high will not get above freezing for another week. I don’t know what it’s like to experience the stark reality of a war breaking out, changing your life in an instant. But it’s got to be tangentially related to this. You quickly realize you have no control over anything. And it’s jarring.
Yeah, entering this (in a marquee spot, no less) put a damper on the rest of the (3-heavy) puzzle. Somewhere Rex is keeping his (no doubt F-laden) thoughts about the Rose Garden destroyer to himself.
19 3-letter answers (plus 5 more three letter words made plural with an s). Solved, then identified the theme; meh.
I think Rex advised us recently to memorize UBE as a crossword staple. Unfortunately I did not follow through with the assignment, but the crosses fell in easily, so no worries. I will write "UBE" on a (mental) blackboard 100 times for my transgression.
Did not find it easy,. didn't know Pete Davidson or DAVIDSONCOLLEGE. Thought CCME and GOUP were very clunky. It took me every letter to get SCREAM and what ever that 6D is supposed to be/sound like? Couple of other clues that seemed out of their Monday element.
What the hell is group?
You must not be a basketball fan as this is the college of NBA great Steph Curry. Located in Davidson, NC, just north of Charlotte
I solved this downs-only and had a hard time accepting that CCME could be correct.
Croce 1082 was medium for me, with the NE being the toughest section.
Not so easy as a downs only.but easy and smooth if you looked at across clues. I rarely get annoyed by a crossword puzzle, but 17A should clue have been something like Classic flowering locale adjacent to the White House needlessly, tragically, and illegally destroyed to make it resemble a tacky abomination in Florida.
UBE????????? On a Monday, no less. I'm going to guess Rafa never saw that,.
No idea who Pete Davidson might be. You'd think with only three Petes to deal with, they could all be famous. [Note: On the Wikipedia page for famous people named Pete, or with Pete as a nickname, Pete Davidson is the only one of the three who appears. The absence of Pete Rose in particular seems a huge omission.]
I came here hoping Rex would rate it as challenging for a downs-only solve, as it was for me. The top half was no problem but I couldn’t get enough downs in the bottom half to puzzle out the acrosses. Had to “cheat” and look at some across clues.
As previously noted, it seemed odd to see ROSE GARDEN when it no longer exists. I guess that was the reason for the “classic.” With EAST WING, that could be the start of a theme on parts of the White House destroyed by Trump based on his whims and terrible taste. Not enough for a theme, you say? Just wait, I’m sure there will be more.
Oh thank you for writing “go up.” I couldn’t parse what the heck “goup” was.
NBA all-star Steph Curry is a Davidson College alum.
FWIW: Steph Curry, who I presume everyone knows is a huge NBA star, went to Davidson College.
I'd tell you about my answer to 45D, but it was BLEEPED. OTOH, I totally whiffed on 56A and had to admit to a 404 error (SERVER not found).
Nice flashback to the days when Attorneys General cared about the law with the column reading CAME LEGAL RENO.
Wasn't ESOS ESAU ESIGN what Caesar said? I'm referring here to Sid Caesar.
Thanks, Erica Hsiung Wojcik. This was a SCREAM!
Who tries I spell GARDEN with two ‘A”s? Guess that’s me. Was my only brief stall in rolling through this one. Opposite of Rafa, the only Pete I recognized was ROSE, but DAVIDSON was clear from the crosses and same with BEST. Nice that the puzzle began with a sports figure and ended with a sports reference. I love a mixture of yogurt, cottage cheese and canned fruit that my wife has named GOoP.
Well, I knew the Pat Riley fact and was hoping no one would beat me to it. Should have known better.
A Pete puzzle without Sampras is a Bootie Gig
That's why it's clued as "cllassic."
Breezy Monday but missed the obvious PETE repetition when solving. PETE Davidson seems to show up a lot in commercials, but he strikes me as someone who's famous for being famous.
Wouldn't know SBARRO except there's a SBARRO outlet in our local hospital/medical center. which is quite the impressive facility.
Hand up for GROW before GOUP, easy fix. Didn't know VERTEX and needed crosses for HDMI, one of those pesky tech things. SNOWSHOE is apt, as we could use them today, almost up to a foot and still coming down. As skiers, we are saying "about time".
And somehow The Patriots are in the Super Bowl. This reminds me very much of my thoughts about my age--"How did that happen?".
Nice enough Mondecito, EHW. Enjoyed Happily Waltzing through it, and thanks for all the fun.
PS-Rafa, you're right about the ph/f thing. Spanish is far more logical, and note to Italians, you don't need that other f.
One of my nieces, who grew up in my hometown where the snow falls before Thanksgiving and stays on the ground until March, wanted to go to college where it's warm, and picked DAVIDSON. (It was too Old South for her, so she quickly transferred to U of San Diego.) Otherwise I'd never have got that answer, as I'd never heard of that particular Pete, either. I had heard of Pete BEST, but still needed to look him up to remember.
I don't think I'd ever heard of ANN Curry either, but that's on me--I quit watching TV news about 30 years ago, and it COSTs me in puzzle solving.
Is a SNOWSHOE footwear? It's a good legitimate misdirection, but I had to get SERVER to change it from SNOWboOt.
With all the snow blowing around, I was tempted to break my "no Sunday solving" rule, but I held out, so I was spared the SBARRO
How did that happen? I was trying to backspace over a type, and my whole comment disappeared! I'll wait to see if it shows up.
ROSEGARDEN: I’m regretting Rex‘s snowy absence today, as I was looking forward to him ranting about the crossword’s continued usage of departments, agencies, and areas of the White House that our administration has destroyed.
Enjoyed your reference to the great SID Caesar. (I remember him fondly from my salad days.) If you have eight minutes or so to waste, you may enjoy his "business lunch" at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfLdFButxeo&t.
I don't get how SNOWSHOES work -- don't they melt once you get home?
Distantly related to MERCI (54A): If, as is stated in the M of V, "the qualify of mercy is not strained," how do you keep it from getting lumpy?
Not really sure what a Bootie Gig is, but a valid point about omitting Pete Sampras
Gah, I didn't get the theme from the revealer - after getting THREEPEATS I just assumed that we were looking at athletes who had achieved a THREEPEAT in their respective sports. I do know of all three Petes so once Rafa had explained the theme, it made sense.
Thanks, Erica Hsiung Wojcik, for an interesting Monday puzzle.
Althought the puzzle was pretty swooshy, the theme was awkward and after having no idea what rock musician was being reference in 29A, I ignored it. Never heard of Best or Davidson and they don't seem like Monday material. Otherwise, the puzzle felt pretty clean as I worked my way through. It's ugly seeing GOUP in there, though. Looks as though it should be GOOP.
Generous call on RUES. My brother is a PETE, but I won't count that either. And no, there is no Mary.
That flowering locale adjacent to the White Huse is no longer "classic." The orange monster who has absolutely no taste, except for things gauche, gaudy, and crass, paved paradise. I really wanted to hear Rex rant about it.
Rougher than usual for a Monday D-O solve, mostly because of my trouble in the NE and SW corners. Even though I was sure everything else in that top right corner was correct, I could not parse CCME as cee cee me and ended up taking it out and putting it back in about 3 or 4 times.
Then, in the SW corner I balked at DEMURS because I always think of demurring as backing off or balking and ‘taking exception to’ as being offended by. Not helped by my inability to get VERTEX. But I kept plugging away and finally got the congratulatory tune.
First I’ve ever heard of DAVIDSON COLLEGE. Anybody else? But when I’d filled in a bunch the crossing downs, it seemed to be a reasonable guess. A bit obscure, though. No?
I wonder if the NYT paid royalties??
I grew up in NC, not far from Charlotte, so DAVIDSON is well known to me, but I wouldn’t expect it to show up in the puzzle. As for Pete DAVIDSON, in addition to starring on SNL, King of Staten Island is a semi-autographical movie about him. AND his dating life was well-documented, including ARIana Grande and a Kardashian.
I had to look it up, since opinions seem to differ here, but the roses seem to have been kept, while the lawn was paved over, partly to make it easier for women in heels. See, Trump does care about women…
A sort of punny reference to another Pete (former United States Secretary of Transportation)
Today’s (challenging) New Yorker puzzle was constructed by Nathan Last (who authored the book that Rex recommended not too long ago). It has some good cluing, but is very heavy on the propers. I was able to hold my own, so it’s probably a fair fight, especially if you are not trivia-challenged like I am.
Paid no attention to the theme/revealer, but if I had, I wouldn't have known Pete Best. I'm a big fan of Beatles music, but not much interest in Beatles history.
Same downs only experience as Wanderlust--got the top half in what seemed like good shape (turns out I had venIce instead of MALIBU) but had to consult a few across clues to finish.
Davidson is a prestigious liberal arts school. Steph Curry played hoops there and came back to earn his degree thirteen years after leaving for the NBA. Kind of wish Pete Hegseth or Buttigieg had been an answer. There would’ve been epic meltdowns in the comments even with a guest blogger. Nothing against Pete BEST , but his claim to fame is dubious at BEST , i.e. getting fired from a band before they became famous. I would’ve tried to include Pete Townshend, but I suppose Buttigieg , Hegseth, Sampras and Townshend really can’t be clued in any other way so never mind.
Aye yi yi {Spanish for aiiiiieeeee.} Also, my thoughts on the Broncos game yesterday.
I needed to look up Pete Best after the solve. He apparently played drums in some defunct band called the Beatles. They were known for having a hippy, a disco duck, a dead guy, and a guy with an octopus obsession.
I wish I could be surprised at the tone deafness here on ROSE GARDEN. I guess they've added our beloved crossword Nazi T.S. Eliot over on the right side to help us all get used to the idea of our lost souls. The thematic reveal is amusing at least.
And as an ongoing reminder, it's OHO, not AHA. Don't let the crossword government gaslight you.
ENNUI is my #1 favorite word, followed closely by egsforbreakfast.
Today I learned I've been spelling aiiiiieeeee wrong for my whole life. I also learned I love those angel babies in the Sistine Madonna. It takes a lot to steal the show from the virgin Mary, but they're wiping her and that baby off the canvas.
❤️ Truffle pigs! BLEEPED.
😩 GOUP.
People: 6
Places: 4
Products: 4
Partials: 11 {on a Monday}
Foreignisms: 3
--
Gary's Grid Gunk Gauge: 28 of 78 (36%)
Funny Factor: 2 😕
Tee-Hee: SEXT.
Uniclues:
1 That je ne sais quoi of the dumpster area.
2 Achoo.
3 One trying to sound smart by using foreign words.
4 Big wig in the "Ew Gross" company emailed list of No-Nos.
5 New Monopoly property featuring sad chickens.
6 Winter adventure featuring a walk in the woods, cold feet, and aiiiiieeeee.
7 Why you're in HR right now.
8 Egyptian pharaoh's yen for a California beach pied-à-terre.
1 ALLEY'S EERIE
2 SNOUTS SEGUE
3 MERCI SERVER
4 SEXT CEO'S DONTS
5 EMO HENS' AVENUE
6 SCREAM SNOWSHOE
7 ONE-SIDED CARESS
8 TUT MALIBU URGE
My Fascinating Crossword Uniclue Keepsake from Last Year: Goofs ran the oars. MATEYS WERE WHACKS.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Medium-hard here. Finished in the SW.
Nice to see that Pete Best is remembered. Along with Stu Sutcliffe.
I knew all the Petes, and this was easy, but I thought it was a pretty boring puzzle. Hand up for missing a potential Rex-rant about the Rose Garden (and by proximiity, the East Wing). I’m happy to learn from Jacqueline 8:05 that the actual roses have survived so far.
Davidson College is where Steph Curry played college basketball
@Eric... SBARRO "threepeat": good one!
@Twangster... ditto on CCME.
Cute name-that-puzthemer MonPuz, with extra-cool revealer.
Pretty smoooth solvequest, too boot.
Woulda been fun to sneak in a Disney's BLACK PETE, usin a black square, somehow. Not quite sure how, tho. sooo ... never mind.
staff weeject pick: UBE. Primo MonPuz no-know meat [er, veggie].
Better clue to give us here a slight chance: {Uber late arrival incident??} = UBE.
Nice weeject stacks, NW & SE, btw.
some fave stuff: CHERUB. SNOWSHOE [will be wearin mine, later today, to clear off our driveway]. VERTEX.
fave moo-cow eazy-E MonPuz clue: {Mothers of barnyard chicks} = HENS.
Thanx for the fun that never petered out, Ms. Wojcik darlin. The SERVER entry did make M&A feel kinda sad, for a runtpuz moment, tho.
Masked & Anonymo8Us
p.s.
Next-to-last runt puzzle ever:
**gruntz**
Sid Caesar plays a prominent role in the new documentary on Mel Brooks – well worth seeking out.
Not to pile on, but you may have been spelling "Ay ay ay" wrong too. #7 is a classic and should become a Keepsake.
A pretty good assessment, Southside, but let me add this: ALL New Yorker puzzles are "heavy on the propers". I do them fairly regularly and, as long-time subscriber, recognize a lot of the obscure names that would probably never make it into a NYT puzzle. But, still ...
As you point out, out was clued well.
@pabloinnh 1:59 PM
🤣 I promise I read the entire internet on the spelling of aye aye aye, aye yi yi, ai yai yai, and included the entire Wikipedia page on the long-fingered lemur aye-aye from Madagascar, and I decided it's impossible to spell it correctly. /fail
I batted two out of three on the PETEs, ROSE and BEST - DAVIDSON was unknown to me both as a person and a college, so the reveal didn't land as nicely as it could have. The non-theme AREA was more enjoyable for me today, with DEMURS, VERTEX, CARESS, NEGLET, SNOUTS, CHERUB, MALIBU.
Do-over: Grow. No idea: UBE. Hmmm: ROSE GARDEN x SCREAM.
Its pretty bland sexting but the eggplant (also corn, banana,...) represents male genitalia and taco (also cat, sushi,...) for female. Also see peach for butt and rooster for c*"k,.... Not familiar with DEMUR(S), a bit obscure for Monday? Rest of the puzzle was easy and fine.
Do you know"Cielito lindo"? Ay ay ay ay, canta no llores. The y sounds like it connects to the next a, maybe that's confusing.
@LIveprof. Thanks for the laughs. I was truly L out loud at the first comment and continued chortling at the second
Lewis, Loved your list of favorites. Most of them I did not remember and they were great.
Eggplant and taco are symbols for sex organs in the emoji world
Eggplant and taco are emoji symbols for sex organs
this played like a themeless to me because the clues on the themed answers were so easy and obvious that I didn't even notice (or care?) that they were Petes
@kitshef
Two things:
First, poor Pete Rose, not only not allowed into the Hall of Fame (which he should absolutely be), but now he's not found in a famous Pete search? Goodness.
Second, Pete Davidson is not only known for SNL, and am actor in general, but for dating two of the hottest stars out there, Kate Beckinsale and Ariana Grande.
You know, in case you care about such things. 😁
Roo
ooooOOOooo a John X sighting.
Yes. I can totally understand why a HUGE portion of solvers wouldn’t know who Pete Best is. After solving…I thought…”and that other guy…Stu?” Tragic young death from aneurism. Apparently some speculate that getting his head bashed against a brick wall in (Berlin?) MIGHT have contributed. Also Pete seems like a nice guy. I guess Paul and John thought he wasn’t a good drummer and had Brian Epstein fire him. Not disparaging the musical talent, but apparently the consensus (in search results) indicates Ringo was a better drummer. Plus, I guess he was a better fit personality-wise.
Ok @Pablo…isn’t it “canta y no llores ”? Haha…keep in mind I know this song because 1) My sister took a LOT of Spanish and (were 11 yrs apart) she taught it to me at age 6 or 7 and, 2) our mother bought a Hammond spinet organ and we both took lessons when I was around 10. I played Cielito Lindo…and later when more proficient Begin the Beguine.
@Pete. I getcha as to Pete Best. I’ve thought about this and I really think in U.S. you’d have to be of a certain age to have enough Beatle knowledge to know who Pete Best is…OR be a young “Beatles scholar.”
Shouldn't there be some connection between "pete" and "peat"? I don't see any. And Pete Best? Nothing against the guy, but he's famous (if that's the word) for being fired from The Beatles in 1962 to make way for Ringo Starr (a.k.a. Richard Starkey), just before the band became famous. He's not exactly a stellar " '60s rock musician." And Pete Rose went to his grave with an odor of disrepute around him, largely because he would never express remorse for betting on baseball games in which he himself played. It's the reason he's not in the Hall of Fame. And if you're going to reference the Rose Garden, can anyone point out that it no longer exists because of the arrogant and entitled destructive actions of the current national regime. As for UBE, sure, great, but now it's cropping up ALL.THE. TIME. I agree with Rex's day-count for "Star Wars" references (If I never saw another "Star Wars"-connected clue or answer in an NYT crossword it would be too soon); I think he should start doing day-counts on words that have suddenly become trendy in crosswords.
The rise garden is still there.
🥚-zactly on Beatles history. Why did I know. I’m almost 71 and read Tiger Beat…was a “little girl” in 1963, and was swept up in Beatlemania. I am sure Pete Best was/IS a good musician…no disparagement to him.
I thought this was a great Monday, I thought the theme clever and the the fill just fine. I kinda loved CCME and I always like it when I see something like GOUP and have to think for a minute or two before I realize what's going on.
After the happy music, even though I know all the PETE's, the theme didn't hit me... looking at ROSEGARDEN, I'm thinking "a rose, is a rose, is a rose... hmm... three roses - maybe that's it! But no, that didn't fit - no such phrase as "a best is a best is a best. Not even a Davidson is a Davidson, is a Davidson... after a minute, one extra glance at the revealer made it all clear - I love those kind of moments after a solve.
I thought 67A was a little racy, but I can handle it.
Nothing not to like here. Thanks Erica for a fun start to the week!
Omg. Sid Caesar. Thank you for reminding me!
Pete Rose bet on games he played in For His Team To WIN. If he had bet on them to lose, then I can see the "disrepute". But, how can you be mad or exempt him from the Hall for betting his team would win? Honestly?
And the Rose Garden is still there. The roses were unharmed. There is a patio where grass used to be.
I know the exact scream that does with the clue. In Disney's Mulan (1998), Grandma wants to prove the cricket is lucky, so she closes her eyes and walks across the busy street. She gets across safely, but not before causing a collision of horses and carts. One of the drivers let's out an "Aiiiieeee!" before crashing and Grandma holds up her cricket, proud, declaring "Yup, this cricket's a lucky one!"
Roo
The Comedy Grammy has been around a long time. Also comedy albums were hugely popular in the 60’s. I remember my parents buying a gently satirical album by a comedian who did the voices of the Kennedys. It was a big hit. Also most popular comedians had albums. Remember, before the internet!
Southside Johnny
Disagree about Pete Rose. He is in the news every year when the Baseball Hall of Fame awards are given out. The perennial debate ensues about whether his banning should be reversed. Also he has a passionate fan group that pushes for the reversal of the ban.The Times I think now supports that position.
Anonymous. Sutsy
Why is go up clunky? Seems normal very common expression to me. The fact that it appears as GOUP is just a a simple trick that introduces beginners to crossword. gimmicks.
pabloinnh
Actually ff and f in the middle of words sound different in Italian. They notice! The double f is held ever so slightly longer the a single f as with r the other double letters in Italian.
ghostofelectricity
Puzzled my your comment about Pete/
Standard crossword theme reference to PHONETIC hint to the theme answers That to me is a sufficient connotation
Pete Best missed out on fame; Pete Davidson is a minor celebrity. So the theme entries are NOT 3 famous people.
Davidson being too Old South lol. I guess we all have our comfort zones. Just don’t allow them to be too small.
The puzzle has far too much drivel in it. Who “sexts”? Who knows the names of “emo” musicians from 50 years ago? Who does “cosplay”? Etc. I dutifully figured out and filled in all of the answers, but it was unenlightening and uninteresting.
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