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Guitar player's percussive technique / FRI 3-13-26 / Chuck who created "Young Sheldon" / Holly or Monty, for Queen Elizabeth II / Aids for competitive marathon runners / Implement with mousse or pudding / Showed subservience, in a way / The 1930s-'40s, to a jazz aficionado / Scandinavian woman's name meaning "blessed" / President whose wife was nicknamed "Lemonade Lucy" for refusing to serve alcohol in the White House / Piece that can't movie to a different-colored square
Friday, March 13, 2026
Constructor: James McCarron and Rachel Souza
Relative difficulty: Easy
Word of the Day: Lucy Ware HAYES (18A: President whose wife was nicknamed "Lemonade Lucy" for refusing to serve alcohol in the White House) —
Lucy Ware Hayes (née Webb; August 28, 1831 – June 25, 1889) was the wife of President Rutherford B. Hayes and served as the 19th first lady of the United States from 1877 to 1881. Opposed to alcohol, she never served it in the White House, a move that was highly controversial. She died of a stroke aged 57 after her husband's presidency. She was also, while her husband was governor, First Lady of Ohio. She served in this position two non-consecutive times, from 1868 to 1872, and again from 1876 until 1877, when her husband was elected as President of the United States. He resigned the governorship effective March 2, 1877, and was sworn in in the next day.Hayes was the first First Lady to have a college degree. She was also a more egalitarian hostess than previous First Ladies. An advocate for African Americans both before and after the American Civil War, she invited the first African-American professional musician to appear at the White House. She was a Past Grand of Lincoln Rebekah Lodge, a body of the International Association of Rebekah Assemblies, the women's auxiliary of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, together with her husband.
Historians have christened her "Lemonade Lucy" due to her staunch support of the temperance movement. However, contrary to popular belief, she was never referred to by that nickname while living. It was her husband who banned alcohol from the White House. (wikipedia) (my emph.)
• • •
If I could UNLADE any answer, it would be ... guess. Guess which one. If you guessed UNLADE, congratulations, smart guy/gal! UNLADE has an ODOR. Definitely the LEPER of the puzzle. No doubt it's a real term, but it's also a real ugly term, so FIE and/or bah (46D: "Bah!," to Lady Macbeth) (would Lady Macbeth really not say "Bah!"? Had they not invented "Bah!" in 1606? "Bah"and "Fie" feel equally olde-tymey to me, but I guess Lady Macbeth said only one of them?). Nothing else bothered me on an aesthetic level so much as UNLADE. I was disappointed to get a Chuck LORRE and not a Peter LORRE today. I suppose Chuck is the less-famous (and therefore harder-to-get?) LORRE, but I'll take "remembering M or The Maltese Falcon" over "remembering Young Sheldon" any day. Wasn't there a game show host named Chuck LORRE in the '70s? LOL I just realized I'm probably thinking of Chuck Woolery, wow. Hard nevermind.
I had a single parsing adventure today, and it came at BENT THE KNEE (27A: Showed subservience, in a way). I don't know if I love the phrase, but I know I love it way way more than what I thought it was going to be at first. I could see KNEE was going to be involved and that the answer started with -ENT, but instead of going with BENT, I kept trying WENT ... so I wanted some version of "went down on one knee," just, you know, shorter. "WENT TO ONE KNEE? Nope, still too long. WENT TO A KNEE? Lord, I hope not." There was a second or two there where I legit thought the answer was going to be WENT ON A KNEE and I had an "EAT A SANDWICH" comment all cued up (one knee being my preferred stance for eating a sandwich at a picnic, something like that). So you can see how BENT THE KNEE might look very good after what I thought the answer was going to be.
Bullets:
That's all. See you next time.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
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- 5D: Oranges, but not apples (ORBS) — Hmm. OK. I think I might've gone with a (far) less ORB-y fruit than an apple here. [Oranges, but not bananas], say. Apples are at least vaguely spherical, is all I'm saying.
- 31A: Film character who says "Not all treasure is silver and gold, mate" (JACK SPARROW) — pretty banal movie quote, but I guess you get the "mate" part in there to cue the pirate-ness, so it's a useful quote if not a very profound one.
- 48A: The 1930s-'40s, to a jazz aficionado (SWING ERA) — surprisingly, this is a debut. It only took 80+ years to get here, but SWING ERA finally got here. A genuinely tough clue would've left "to a jazz aficionado" off entirely.
- 1D: Piece that can't move to a different-colored square (BISHOP) — a chess clue so easy even I could get it (instantly).
- 11D: Dangerous item whose first six letters are an anagram of DANGER (GRENADE) — partial anagrams ... can't say I'm a fan. Something either anagrams or it doesn't. My brain had trouble (at speed) even understanding what the clue was saying. I can usually take in clues at a glance, but that one was like a wrench in the gears of my poor brain.
- 32D: Aids for competitive marathon runners (PACERS) — I was imagining some kind of device, but the "aids" here are just other runners who help the competitive runner keep their pace and morale during a long race.
- 40D: Scandinavian woman's name meaning "blessed" (HELGA) — an OK clue, but it got me wondering "Are there no famous HELGAs?" Isn't Hagar the Horrible's wife a HELGA? Yes. Yes she is. There's also a character in the animated series Hey, Arnold! named HELGA G. Pataki. So apparently all famous HELGAs are cartoons. Weird. Oh, yeah, there's the subject of the Wyeth paintings. She's a HELGA. Still famous only in two dimensions, though.
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107 comments:
Scary looking grid - the crossing central tri-stacks have limited access to the corner stacks but as Rex said for the most part this was fill in the blanks easy. We’ve seen POETS CORNER before - BENT THE KNEE is omnipresent in GOT and JACK SPARROW was a gimme.
Blackberry Smoke
UNLADE was my ugly spot also - I guess we can add SESTET and YALL to that list. Liked STAY ON and IM HERE. The TSHIRT CANNON string is just odd enough to be cute.
SALLY MacClennane
Straightforward but enjoyable Friday morning solve.
Ike’s Rap II
I found it slightly more challenging than @Rex did, but still Wednesday-Easy. Liked it.
* * * * _
Overwrites:
My 5D oranges-not-apples were hueS before they were ORBS. As OFL noted, lots of fruits are less orb-like than apples.
WOEs:
Actress ANA Ortiz at 6D. The only Ortizes I know are Jenna and Big Papi.
HELGA, as clued at 40D.
KE$HA, as clued at 43A.
Author SALLY Rooney at 49A
Were it not for my CONES/PORER mistake, would have been my quickest Friday in a long time.
Easy, yes. I needed one lookup, for the LORRE/TSHIRTCANNONS cross (never heard of TSHIRTCANNONS...what are they?). I also had "cones" before CANES).
Rutherford B. Hayes didn't run for a second term in 1880, probably because of the controversy over his election in 1876. It was a case of highway robbery (although that's insulting to self-respecting highway robbers).
I have to ask again: if these are the ‘hard’ clues for Friday, what are the easy clues like? Such a prettily filled grid, and I would really have liked more time with it.
If you are not a jazz fan, are the 1930s-‘40s not the SWING ERA?
Hand up for CoNES before CANES.
Hey All !
Agree with easiness. 15 minutes here. Gives the ole brain a reprieve.
NW toughest spot for me today. PEN, SLAPBASS, and oddly clued ORBS were the culprits.
IMHomE-IMHERE, coRERS-PARERS, UNLoDE-UNLADE, pEtER-LEPER, think that's it.
Nice FriPuz. Liked the crossing Longs. Well filled.
Have a great Friday!
Two F's
RooMonster
DarrinV
Kind of a breezy Friday solve that was easy to have fun with. I personally have know interest in Young Sheldon, and obviously don’t give a hoot about who “created” it. Although, the show must have a reasonable constituency since both the constructor and the editor deemed it NYT-worthy (albeit on a Friday).
I was more interested in learning that we had a Lemonade Lucy in the White House. She might end up spinning in her grave if she became aware that we have now devolved to the point that we have a semi-literate wanna-be-king who’s turned the place into a circus side-show.
Unless I missed it, I don’t believe there are any foreign words today. I’m surprised that Shortz gave it the green light anyway (there’s always hope !).
More Easy-Medium for me because of various small missteps along the way. I'm not familiar with SLAPBASS so the TS- from T-SHIRT CANNON made me doubt that answer. I had to get the CANNON part to see that answer. I also had ANY- at the start of 20D, thinking along the lines of ANYTOWN, USA, and EASY THERE before CAN YOU NOT at 41A, off of the A and Y.
The "cross product" is a vector operation in linear algebra. Any freshman in a STEM field would be familiar with that, but many solvers may not have picked up on what the surface reading was meant to be there.
First, congratulations to Rachel on her puzzle debut. I love that she introduced James to crossword construction and helped him get published in the Times, and that now she holds that honor as well. Ain’t karma grand?
Second, this is an exceptional grid build. An uber-low 64-worder so cleanly, spotlessly filled. Where are the initialisms? Nowhere. Colorful and interesting answers inhabit the box, such as ONE-HORSE TOWN, FEINTS, POETS CORNER, CAN YOU NOT, NO FILTER, SLAP BASS. Those last two, by the way, are among the six NYT answer debuts.
From the I-love-our-quirky-language dept.:
• The anagram of “danger” being the first six letters of GRENADE. Mwah!
• LORRE, a common last name becomes a common first name when read backward.
Much pleasure and fun for me in the box today, and I left it with a bounce to my step. Thank you, James and Rachel!
SMALLTOWNUSA fit as well but didn’t help with all those acrosses!
I thought this one had a lot of great clues and Rex would highlight Lou Reed's "Busload of Faith."
CHUCK LORRE is known as The King of Sitcoms. He's very famous, definitely crossword worthy. He's done much more than Young Sheldon. Look him up.
If you’ve (a) never heard of TSHIRT CANNONS and (b) can’t imagine what they might possibly be, then the puzzle becomes significantly more difficult. I speak from experience.
TSHIRTCANNONS was a gimme? Ha. For Rex, maybe. For me it was the last thing in. That TS- had me stymied for quite a while.
I enjoyed this one, but agree it was on the easy side. However, I did have two problem areas at the end, which delayed completion for a few nanoseconds. I got held up in the SW by splatzing in stONED for PHONED at 38A [Gave a buzz]. CAN YOU NOT, ESTATE and REALTY took a minute to see. Then I had to go back and finish the NW. I didn’t know the term SLAP BASS and I had a deuce of a time seeing BISHOP. But these were hiccups and it all came together pretty easily.
Loved ONE-HORSE TOWN – what a great expression. I know a HELGA – she’s a lovely person and Icelandic – lives in Reykjavik.
I first encountered FIE in the song “FIE on Goodness” from the musical Camelot. My sister had the original Broadway cast album and played it a ton. Partly, I think, because she had a deep and abiding crush on Robert Goulet, who played Lancelot. Here it is: ”FIE on Goodness.”
I have one uniclue today:
Do not forget your hat on cool-ish days
Your gloves, as well, or mitts if very chill
To take a scarf, you’ll find it pays
When winters winds are cold enough to kill
Dress warmly: down or wool or fleece
Will cause a glow and shivering to cease.
REMINDER SESTET.
Pass
I remember a grid with POETSCORNER as the revealer, and 8 poets arranged crossing at the corners
Nice puzzle. I liked Kesha only because she was in a puzzle a few weeks ago. One nit: can you not seems incomplete to me. Easy Friday solve.🎈🎈🎊🎊
Rex, I checked for you, and the OED has "bah" coming to become an exclamation expressive of contempt in the nineteenth century (the first entry is in 1818, "Dreading the deep damnation of his ‘bah!’" by Lord Byron, speaking of the POETS CORNER). So indeed, Lady Macbeth would likely not say it.
Rather than Chuck Woolery, I wonder whether Rex was thinking of Chuck Barris, a game show producer (Dating Game, Newlywed Game) as well as the producer and host of The Gong Show.
I hate poetry so much that some call me a POETSCORNER.
I'm tired of wearing straight white guy clothes, so I've started frequenting a BISHOP. I haven't got this new SWINGERA all figured out, though. A guy asked my pronouns and I said "HEMI".
PrenaTAL is the stage your kid goes through before you become PARENTAL.
Mrs. Egs has been known to admonish me with "CANYOUNOT SIT and UNLADE, making POTTY ODOR while guests are waiting to use the bathroom?" She sure has a way with words.
Whoooooosh! Lotta fun for a few minutes. Thanks, James McCarron and Rachel Souza.
https://rexwordpuzzle.blogspot.com/2023/04/snl-alum-pedrad-wed-4-19-23-ikea.html
That grid had a crazy amount of names and a lot of Natick potential. I remember struggling so much with it.
Eventually easy, once I got started which turned out to be in the SW with YALL which led to POTTY and PHONED and so on, up to the NE, through the middle and down to the SE and eventually finished in the NW, which had been inscrutable because of my failure to see BISHOP (Doh!) and inability to parse the TSHIRT part of TSHIRTCANNON, which was the last thing I filled in.
Some good stuff today, I liked the FEINTS/FONTS crossing and seeing PARERS and PACERS in opposite corners. CANYOUNOT? has just enough upper class snark to make me smile. Didn't know ANA or SALLY or Mr. LORRE but easy crosses.
What I didn't like was seeing BENTTHEKNEE which I have heard far too often as various people have caved in to the whims of the current occupant of the White House. I would say to all of them, CANYOUNOT?
I liked your Friday offering just fine, JMC and RS. Junkless, Mostly, Clued nicely, and Raised Smiles all over. Thanks for all the fun.
I think someone says this every time Y'ALL shows up in the NYT, but I'll do my duty as a Southerner to point out: Y'ALL is not collective; it's just a plural. "All Y'ALL" is the collective; Y'ALL is the simple second person plural; it can be used for two people, and it doesn't have any implied "all" in it.
Fast and fun, with a lot to like. I enjoyed the hush of POETS' CORNER crossing the cacophony of the (implied) arena with its T-SHIRT CANNONS. At our local Field House, the CANNONS are replaced. by the "guns" of the male cheerleaders who hurl the balled up T-SHIRTS into the crowd. I also liked JACK SPARROW x JAVA SEA, although I'm not sure his predations extended that far from the Caribbean.
Do-over: CoNES. New to me: SLAP BASS.
For Dr. Random: Y'all is short for "you all," isn'i it? Otherwise, why the apostrophe? If it's short for "you all," why isn't that collective? "All you all" sounds redundant.
A real homage to Delaware, Ohio’s Ohio Wesleyan University BISHOPS. Its Hayes Hall is named after Lemonade Lucy and her husband Rutherford who hailed from Delaware.
I think the point of including Lady MacBeth in the clue was to indicate that the answer (fie) is a term with Scottish roots, not that she has specifically said it. That’s how I interpreted it anyway.
VERY nice.
Definitely on the easy side, think I beat my Friday record by a minute (finally my Friday record is faster than my Saturday!)
My first thought too.
Pretty smooth Friday with just the right amount of resistance. Especially loved that center stack and the great clues for ENAMEL and T-SHIRT CANNONS.
I had most of the grid filled except for the northwest where I couldn’t seem to make any headway. I’m not a chess player so 1D was a mystery. Tried UNLOAD, then PILFER at 2D, and kept trying to think of a biblical name that would work at 4D. Judas was the first that came to mind but was pretty sure that wasn’t it. For the crosses, I’m as ignorant about guitar playing as I am about chess, no clue there. And the only five-letter presidents I could think of who would likely fit the clue were Adams and Grant. Finally, I conceded and looked that one up, which was all it took for everything else to fall into place.
A good workout and a real enjoyable solve. Nice job by the co-constructors and congratulations to Rachel on her NYT debut. Based on this introduction, I’m hoping to see more from this collaboration.
Hand is up. For me at least. Bueller? Anyone?
TSunami wha...???
TSHIRTCANNONS are often used in sports arenas where they launch “team or band” logo tshirts up at the crowd above. Whoever catches it gets to keep it.
I had a problem with SHIRT CANNONS, CAN YOU NOT, SLAP BASS, HUEY, UNLADE. Otherwise, preferring a good themeless to themed (gimmicky), this was a nice Friday & I was surprised when I got the happy music without any real struggle. Thank you James & congrats on your debut, Rachel :)
Imagine your spouse is tapping their pencil on the table when you are working the puzzle. You look over and say (in an annoyed way) CANYOUNOT? Ok. Am I the only one who might do that? ;)
You don’t have to be a GOT fan to get BENTTHEKNEE right away, but it helps. Maybe not the most original puzzle but for those like me with limited historical experience this was fun. Kind of easy but light and lively. Struggled with the TSHIRT/SLAPBASS/LORRE crosses, but was able to backfill after getting CANNONS. I’ve seen enough NBA basketball games that TSHIRTS should have been a no-brainer. Long live Lemonade Lucy! She would probably faint at the number of drinks they will soon be able to serve in the new East Wing.
Yes, very easy. Tuesday’s was tougher for me. I put in BISHOP and just kept whooshing.
No costly erasures and SALLY was it for WOEs.
No junk and slightly more than a modicum of sparkle, liked it but….
That was my experience as well.
The Cross Pen Company has been making writing instruments since 1846. It's iconic. Cross Pens —I'm pretty sure that's what the clue was about.
Wow, even a HELGA.
This was more of a workout for me than it was for many of you, I think, but I succeeded in the end and admire the grid very much, with so many appealing long answers and so little junk. Once I got away from ServingSPOON and went with DESSERTSPOON, that middle vertical section came together, but having no clue about BISHOP or SLAPBASS, and not getting LEPER or ORBS right away held me up for quite some time time in the NW. (I was also one who had Hues before ORBS.) The end result is so pretty and satisfying, though. I hope we get more puzzles from the McCarron/Souza team!
LOL yes the clue is about pens, no idea what that commenter is going on about
A very fun and whooshy Friday solve that was over too soon. Keep them coming James and Rachel.
If you want to see an almost surreal example of SLAPBASS look at Flea (of the RHCP) in their rendition of Steve Wonder’s Higher Ground. (There is a short vid where his guitar is close up) Stevie did that himself in his version with a clavinet. Flea’s hands are moving so fast that now I’m wondering if that’s how he got his “name.”
HELGA is clued as foreign, not sure if you'd count that or not.
Not sure you meant Byron is actually in the Poet/s Corner, but he isn't -- Westminster Abbey refused to accept for burial on moral grounds (which there were plenty of).
As a bass player, I take issue with the clue for SLAPBASS. It’s a bassist’s technique, not a guitarist’s technique :)
Would LORRE/Errol be a "proper semiordnilap"?!
Serious overthinking on my part. I knew Elizabeth II loved CORGIs, but since she had way more than two, I figured maybe those two were of the "hORse" family, leading to holly as the Xmas ornament. It took me ages to dig out from that one.
Each of the two "lot" clues was clever, but since they were both clever in the same way it seemed wrong to have two of them. And since I had Piece before POTTY I got tangled up down there, as well.
But it all worked out, and was a nice struggle.
@Bob: I don’t think actual grammar rules have a lot to do with it. Just be glad you don’t have to parse the Missouri Ozarks version of y’all which is … you’uns. That’s generally understood to mean the present company, regardless of how many people that involves. If others not present, such as wives, girlfriends, kids, etc. are to be included, then it would be “all you’uns.” And no, I am not making this up.
Re those of the BENT KNEE in the D of C, I would say that every single day if I thought any of them would listen.
"Can you not" is a very common term.
I got BENT THE KNEE pretty much at the end of this puzzle, which was indeed pretty Easy for me. I bet I'm not at all alone in immediately thinking of Tom Lehrer, and his immortal lines:
Firsr you get down on your knee
Fiddle with your rosary
Bow your head with great respect
And genuflect, genflect, genuflect!
"Cross product" = PEN??
Died of a stroke at 57, eh? And Jerry Lee Lewis lived to be 87? Yeah, chalk one up for abstinence!
Yeah, but that self-deluded wanna-be king is a teetotaler! So I guess it's all good.
Thought this solvequest had easy-ish spots and hard-ish spots. Pretty cool themeless 64-worder, over all. Take the NW corner, f'instance:
* BISHOP clue was moo-cow level. Then ODOR, BUSLOAD, LEPER, HAYES all came pretty darn easy.
* UNLADE got definite weirdness points, but I toughed it out, after cross-eyeballin INTERNET.
* PEN clue was totally mysterious. To my knowledge, I have never owned a Cross pen. It gets staff weeject pick, from among its 6 competitors today. honorable mention to ANA, who I also did not know.
* SLAPBASS was a near-know-no, but in retrospect, I've probably encountered the concept once or twice in my lifetime.
* Escapin from the completed NW depended on DESSERTSPOON & TSHIRTCANNONS. Thanx goodness, I figured them both out, with a slight assist from cross-eyein FEINTS -- but absolutely no thanx to LORRE.
Nice Jaws of Themelessness on the E-W shorelines, btw.
Thanx for gangin up on us, Ms. Souza darlin & Mr. McCarron dude. And congratz to Rachel S. on her half-debut.
Masked & Anonymo2Us
Not to mention one of the outstanding rhymes in the annals of songwriting:
Everybody say his own
Kyrie eleison
Then there's "Yins," (sometimes spelled "Yinz), the western Pennsylvania versoin of "you'uns." Personally, I'd like to bring back "Ye" as "you plural" (e.g., "Hear ye," "Come all ye faitful." "Ye rocks, ye stones . . ." et al.) If only Kanye hadn't Bogarted it . . .
I don't think "all y'all" is redundant. "Y'all" can refer to a group of people (if we can consider any set of two people or more as a group); then "A'll y'all" means, basically, "Y'all and all others like y'all." All the groups, collectively.-
Beezer, you might be the only one who might do that without getting hit over the head with a frying pan.
That was my first thought, too, but looking it up I find that the term is also used for using that technique on the low E bass string of a guitar. And a lot of people also use the term "guitar" generically, to include the hand-held electric bass.
What? No fuss that "canes" don't decorate Xmas trees? Candy canes do.
Found this fairly challenging, much to my shame given how others found it (relatively) easy! Bah!
Cross is a very famous pen company
ORANGES are always known for not being compared to apples, not not compared to bananas. Personally, I prefer grapefruit.
With apples in mind, in the NE I briefly considered coRERS for 15A but the potato has no need for coring. We rarely peel our potatoes in order to reap the full benefit of the skin's nutrients.
Knowing 8A was most likely CORGI meant GRENADE was easy to guess. When Rex asked us to guess which answer he disliked the most, I thought GRENADE would be in the running but UNLADE is rather lame.
James and Rachel, I found your Friday puzzle breezy and fun, thanks!
A fairly quick solve, but just tough enough to be okay. Nice three-stacks in the middle. I had TOOK THE KNEE for ages because BENT didn't sound right.
Of course, I also had CORERS at 15 across, until it finally occurred to me: wait, potatoes don't have cores!!? And at first my oranges were HUES not ORBS.
I'm not sure why Young Sheldon seems to be a polarizing show. Many of the characters were annoying, especially Sheldon himself, but that was deliberate. And there were sure some clever funny bits.
Ave Maria
Gee it’s good to see ya
Doin’ the Vatican Rag!
Excellent puzzle IMO. I'll even contribute half a star and bring the rating up to an even 4. I stumbled around in the SE. I made my own trouble. I'm surprised @Rex said nothing about the LOT & LOTS clues, especially being together in the grid. Didn't exactly bother me but I noticed (hard not to). UNLADE was fine and even amused me. Alternate clue-virgin. I'll stop.
@Teedmn... so I'm not the only CORER! I guess you're right; it must have been the idea of apples that did it.
Historical and Public Figures
Helga Zepp-LaRouche (b. 1948): German political activist and founder of the Schiller Institute.
Helga Estby (1860–1942): Norwegian-American suffragist, known for walking across the U.S. in 1896.
Helga Haase (1937–1989): German speed skater, the first woman to win gold in the 500m speed skating event at the Winter Olympics.
Helga Hernes (b. 1938): German-Norwegian political scientist and diplomat.
Helga de Alvear (b. 1936): German-born Spanish gallery owner and art collector.
Entertainment and Fictional Characters
Helga Hufflepuff: One of the four founders of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the Harry Potter series.
Helga Pataki: The deuteragonist and secret admirer/rival of the title character in the Nickelodeon show Hey Arnold!.
Helga Line (b. 1932): German-Spanish actress popular in horror and thriller films during the 1960s and 70s.
Helga Feddersen (1930–1990): German actress and writer.
Helga (Cynthia Lynn): Actress who played Colonel Klink's secretary in the TV show Hogan's Heroes.
When in Rome, do like the Romans!!
you’re making Rex’s point for him
This entire comments section is constantly bruising my self-esteem. People can't wait to tell you how laughably easy a puzzle was for them!
I once substituted for a friend at a father/daughter dance, because my friend was called out of town and his girl needed an escort.. Would that have made me a PARENTAL?
Breezy solve, fun review.
> but I guess you get the "mate" part in there to cue the pirate-ness
Unfortunately, I got cued to an Australian or Cockney referring to his buddy. Thankfully, Johnny Depp somehow manages to blend both accents here.
Maybe because people like to feel superior. Ya know, the’re above the pedestrian drivel of a sitcom. They’re too busy reading Pynchon, or practicing the oboe to watch tv.
Meanwhile you and I are treated to some exceptionally well developed characters, actors (Wallace Shawn anyone?) and quips. Meanwhile Lorre is boo-hooing all the way to the bank that the readers of Rex Parker don’t like him.
There's at least one documented case where someone gets killed by TSHIRTCANNONS.
Regardless if you care about the show or not, Chuck Lorre is certainly worth of a clue. Look him up.
Cross pens are no longer made here by the original company. The name was sold some time ago to an Asian company. The pensare much more cheaply made now.
Are you Chuck lorre’s mom? Relax
Wife and I got it, but it was a challenge for us. I’m not feeling low about everybody else thinking it was easy. I know we’re smart and knowledgeable, so f**k y’all. 😎
Just now put a link to a documented case where someone was killed by TSHIRTCANNONS in a reply to Bob Mills @7:10.
My first thought for 16A "Guitar player's percussive technique" was FLAMENCO. Hey, it's eight letters and fit the slot. Okay, SLAP BASS. I was reminded of the flamencoesque playing style of Marcin Patrzalek. Sometimes he even punches holes in his guitar top. Here's an example where his guitar shows signs of his exuberant percussive technique.
Many people have better things to do than watch a bratty kid annoy adults.
Very hard for me but I appreciated this clever puzzle, especially 14D, 20D and 41A (TSHIRT, ONEHORSE, and CANYOUNOT). I had to look up ANA, LORRE, JAVASEA, SALLY). I had Dragnet before GRENADE. Great puzzle!
Tommy Emmanuel uses every part of his guitar body as various percussion instruments at times, but it doesn't make me think of flamenco,
Son Volt
Not a Southerner, would never use Y’ALL but not bothered by it. Malaika just used it asking what the bloggers thought of an answer. (What do y’all think etc)
English lost a plural you abd Southerners replaced it.
Well bratty behavior is pretty much what these comedies do. And on the show, there are lots of bratty adults annoying kids. The ongoing dynamic between Sheldon (atheist), his mom (fundamentalist Christian), and Meemaw (her mom) who is hilarious but kind of a crook.
Bob Mills
To be fair to Hayes, the disputed election involved 2 Southern states’ Electoral votes. All Southern states at the end of so called reconstruction had begun the process of violently suppressing Black voting. Since black adult males were from 30% to 55% of the total adult male population of the 13 ex Confederate states , there were no really free elections in the South that year and for another 90years
In other words, Southern Democrats were even more sleazy than the Republicans. Both parties reached a deal so (Southern) Democrats were quite happy with the results
The Rebublicans agreed to remove all remaining Federal troops protesting Southern Blacks from said vicious voter suppression in exchange for Hayes getting the presidency. Shortly after the deal, Hayes became president and immediately ordered the troop withdrawal. 149 years ago this month.
Kitshef
My parents were not interested in music ( the only record I knew them to buy was a comedy record about the Kennedys) For them the 30’s and 40’s were the Depression & WW II. Also the Roosevelt Era. I didn’t see anything wrong with that qualifier.
Various Anonymous about Cross Pens
Originally made in my state , Rhode Island. When made here, a very popular gift. I remember going to the factory store and buying pens (years ago). Thanks for the info that the current quality is degraded.
Soon as I saw the POETS CORNER clue, I thought about that puzzle, too. Westminster Abbey is a favorite stop for me every time I’m in London.
Cross product was for me the easiest one today. I’m a pen fanatic, and love the smell of wet ink, and the scratch of a fine nib on linen cardstock or stationery. My pen collection includes two Cross pens, one from 1889 and another from 1907. Both are treasured anniversary gifts from my husband.
Georgia
Canes. Close enough for crosswords!
@Dr Random et al, of course y’all is a contraction of “you all,” that linguists believe originated in Scotland from “ye aw” and migrated to the south and Appalachia then to the northern US during the Great Migration. Las year sometime NPR did a fascinating snippet on “All Things Considered.”
It took me a couple decades in Oklahoma before it slipped into my vocabulary. I’m sure Grandfather rolled over in his grave the first time he heard me utter something so improper.
At least in Oklahoma, “Y’all c’mere,” can be said to summon either an individual or more than one person. On the other hand, “all y’all” can be directed at a group or be used in the imperative (often heard by teachers) as in “All y’all cut that out right now!” I have never heard “all y’all” anywhere except Oklahoma and Texas, but I have not spent much time in the south other than in law offices and courtrooms.
I had a great time with this puzzle today! The cluing was the perfect amount of left of center for my taste. Never heard of a TSHIRTCANNON, but find the idea very appealing. Perhaps the world would be a better place if all armaments fired articles of clothing. PEN was a piece of cake if you are a Rhode Islander of a certain age. Cross had a headquarters in Providence and the gold pens were the standard gift for graduations and “hard to shop for males”. Did anyone happen to catch “Elsbeth@ on CBS last night? It was a great send up the Stamford tournament with a murder thrown in for fun!
I found the puzzle easy. But not insultingly easy. Didn’t know LORRE but crosses took care of it.
Not too much controversy today except about sitcoms.
I do not in any way look down on them. I just never watch them, partially because I can’t stand watching shows interrupted by ads The last one I watched was All in the Family, and I didn’t make it to the last year. But I don’t see anything wrong with clues about sitcoms. After all they are deeply imbedded in our culture.and some series are brilliant After I got Lorre from crosses, I remembered I had read about him. Hopefully, I will recall his name this next time!
TSHIRT cannons. Remember a previous appearance in the puzzle. Today, I had T__H and SLAPBAS_ Wasn’t sure of the latter’s spelling. Tried BASS and all became clear.
As someone noted, HELGA snuck by Southside Johnny, I looked it up and saw “holy” as a possibly better translation. The h and l are not a coincidence.
Interestingly, a common crossword answer, OLGA, is the Russian equivalent.
Thank you for that post. Beyond charming.
Special thanks today goes to my late brother for teaching me to play chess (though poorly). BISHOP was my entry point. Additionally, having lived in Ohio for my first 16 years, I knew about Lucy HAYES and her lemonade. Most Ohio students of my generation took a full year of Ohio history that included lots of trivia highlighting the contrasting ”social proclivities” of the Grant and HAYES White House entertainment styles. Along with those two answers, ODOR and PEN dropped right in and I had a great start in the NW. The _ _ _ADE at 2D gave me the one and only truly hideous answer today, UNLADE. Hard no on that one, editors; you can do better.
When I first glanced at the grid shape, I feared it. The isolated corner style grid typically makes for a hard solve since it presents so few opportunities to migrate easily throughout the puzzle’s landscape. Fortunately, today’s strong fill enabled a lovely whoosh throughout most of this grid. Additionally, the long center fill (across and down) provided strong and entertaining answers, my favorite being POETS CORNER.
Any time I’m in London, I drop in to POETS CORNER. Its very existence moves me, often to tears. My reverence and love of language and literature runs deep, and that their value to humanity is recognized in such a quietly splendid manner touches me deeply.
I am grateful that Chaucer’s place in the Court (rather than his writing) allowed his burial within the cathedral’s confines. Today the fact that his burial at Westminster was more political perc than recognition of his artistic prominence matters little if at all.
Chaucer became and remains a great inspiration to writers and artists, and somehow this gives me hope. After all, we humans are the only beings who need to create and imagine and to express and memorialize our creativity through art.
Today’s enjoyable solve lifted my flagging spirits. Wandering through the posts here every day reminds me how many souls there are on this earth who enjoy learning and sharing thoughts and experiences about language through casual discourse.
Beauty as far as the eye can see in this one. A lot of great Friday whoosh. A bit on the easy side but so what?! With answers that look as pretty in a grid as CANYOUNOT, SWINGERA, SLAPBASS, POETSCORNER, JACKSPARROW, and BENTTHEKNEE, who can complain?
Like @Rex, my thoughts went to Chuck Woolery with the Young Sheldon clue. I know Chuck Lorre well as I'm admitting right here that I'm a Two and a Half Men,/Big Bang Theory fan. My brain just went a little haywire and my first answer combined LORRE and Woolery to something like Lowery (????) But that was fixed as DESSERTSPOONS came fairly quickly.
Didn't love UNLADE but virtually every other answer I think is a gem.
Thank you James and Rachel for an absolutely stellar Friday ride.
Basta ya. ¿Puedes parar?
Phew. Challenging. I think it might've been great, but I have allergies going full blast and the old noodle is on the fritz, so who knows. Sparkly clean, funny-ish, nice words. All strong. Y'ALL breezed through it, but I didn't.
Okay, a trait of someone who may say things he shouldn't is not NO FILTER, it's COMEDY.
❤️ T-SHIRT CANNONS.
😩 BENT THE KNEE {yow}.
People: 8
Places: 3
Products: 1
Partials: 2
Foreignisms: 0
--
Gary's Grid Gunk Gauge: 14 of 64 (22%)
Funny Factor: 5 😄
Uniclues:
1 The cutest field trip you ever saw.
2 How they began the conversation when she lost her $.
3 The one left to you by that %@&#$.9999
4 Mostly 2008.
5 Phrase synonymous with KAPOW.
1 CORGI BUSLOAD (~)
2 CAN YOU NOT KESHA?
3 NO FILTER ESTATE (~)
4 REALTY SWING ERA
5 GRENADE: I'M HERE!
My, Fascinating Crossword Uniclue Keepsake from Last Year: What the sounds, "oops," "aaaah," and "splat," do. END CIRCUS STUNT.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
@Barbara S. 8:12 AM
Love it!
Sorry you’re so miserable, @Gary J. Same thing here in the North Bay. The unseasonably warm weather here and elsewhere has everything blooming at once and all the trees like the elms and oaks doing their spring fling simultaneously. Ugh! Take care.
@CDilly52 7:58 PM
The Chaucer professor at my school only offered it at 7:30 am (to separate the English-major wheat from the English-major chaff apparently) so I remember being in the class and sorta reading the book, but phew, my main recollection is there were fart jokes. I probably oughta revisit it.
@Hugh 9:27 PM
Hand up for being a sit-com fan and (in hushed tones) I love Two and a Half Men up until the next to last year with Sheen. The entire run of the show has one joke: Isn't Charlie a rascal?! And they made it work year after year.
I figured they were thinking “guitar” loosely in that way, but I think a better clue would be “Funky, percussive technique made popular by Larry Graham” or something like that
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