THEME: BINGO! (66A: "You got it!" ... or a possible cry after hearing the calls hidden in the answers to the starred clues?) — theme answers have parts that sound like Bingo squares (specifically "B" followed by a number)
Theme answers:
RUBY TUESDAY (17A: *Restaurant chain named after a Rolling Stones song) ("B-2")
BENIGNLY (26A: *Without malice) ("B-9")
"THAT'D BE WONDERFUL" (34A: *"What a great idea!") ("B-1")
UNBEATEN (48A: *Having a perfect record) ("B-10")
BABY FORMULA (55A: *Similac or Enfamil) ("B-4")
Word of the Day: James IJAMES (9D: Pulitzer-winning "Fat Ham" playwright) —
The revealer came as a total surprise. I solved this as a themeless—no clue what was going on—and was repeatedly surprised at how stuck I kept getting. I don't know if it was the cluing or what, but man this played slow for me today. The only answer I can point to as definitely harder-than-Wednesday material is James IJAMES (a name I'd never seen and had no hope of even partially inferring). Otherwise, nothing in the grid was unknown to me. I simply kept struggling to get answers quickly. Things like AFEW for 53D: Three or four, say, or OARED for 63A: Got in a row? (surface meaning = confusing—am I supposed to hear "row," rhymes with "cow," like a British "row," to-do, dust-up, quarrel, etc.???) (I know that the punny meaning is "row" rhymes with "tow" ... no idea by what possible mental gymnastics "got in a row" can be said to mean simply "rowed," i.e. OARED, but ... here we are). I found BOW OUT hardish (26D: Take one's leave). I found TUTU oddly hard (41A: You might take a spin in this) ("I" might not, actually). Even LANGUOROUSLY didn't come easily to me from its clue (16D: Indulgently lazy). Not sure why "lazy" doesn't compute for me there. So I was like "is this really Wednesday?" for much of the puzzle. I can't say I had a very good time. But (and it's a big but), the revealer did really work some magic. I suppose I could've just looked at the revealer clue at any time and begun trying to piece things together, but I was never *that* desperate, and anyway, I'm not sure knowing the theme would've helped much with getting the themers (which weren't, themselves, that hard to get—didn't struggle with them at all). It's an OK grid with a wonderful (!), surprising theme lying underneath. I think I just had a bad morning. I slept fine. But last night was my first night alone in a very long time (my wife Penelope is in the sky as we speak heading to NZ for a funeral). So ... loneliness. I blame my solving sluggishness on loneliness (the cats are now looking at me all offended, like "hey, we're standing right here!").
[Frank and Bing(o)!]
About IJAMES, though ... Must be very cool to see your name in the grid. And I think I would've been happy to learn that name ... on a Saturday. But on a Wednesday, I was like "how in the world do I not know the name of a famous playwright!!!?" Turns out, I don't know the names of literally any of the playwrights who have won the Pulitzer for Drama since the '90s. Oh, sorry, I do know one. I only have to go back to 2008, when Tracy LETTS won for August: Osage County. But even LETTS, who is quite famous as playwrights go (he's also an actor, married to another actor (Carrie Coon), and has Tonys for both writing and acting), even he, at a grid-friendly five letters long and with extremely grid-friendly letters, has appeared in the NYTXW just once (!). 21st-century playwrights don't have quite the cultural penetration that their predecessors did. The list of Pulitzer winners for Drama in this century is loaded with people whose names seem like they would work very well in crosswords. There's EBONI Booth (2024), and KATORI Hall (2021), and SANAZ TOOSSI (2023) (I know neither of those name parts has been in the grid before!). Lynn NOTTAGE has won twice! (2009, 2017). And yet, NYTXW appearances: zero. Does my knowledge of playwrights fall off because I got old and stopped paying attention? As late as the early '90s, the Drama Pulitzer winners seem like titans: KUSHNER! SIMON! WILSON! And of course the king of crossword playwriting, Edward ALBEE (Three Tall Women, 1994—his third win)! I suppose with a daughter currently studying at the Yale Bleeping School of Bleeping Drama,* I should probably brush up on my playwright knowledge. I wonder if she knew IJAMES. I'll ask. I'll bet she did.
Bullets:
5D: Meal cooked in simmering broth (HOT POT) — easy enough. My only beef here is with the crossing answer, PANT, which has the word "Hot" in the clue (20A: Make like a hot dog). Weird / bad to pivot from HOT POT to a clue with "hot dog" in it.
27A: ^ (CARET) — there are officially too many ways to spell "CARE-utt." I went with CARAT today. I knew it wasn't KARAT, and there weren't enough letters for CARROT. But CARET never occurred to me. I see the mark "^" all the time, or at least not infrequently. But I rarely see it spelled. As I said, slow morning for me.
59D: That's the kicker! (LEG) — love this, but this is what I'm talking about with the clues today—they are auditioning to be Fri/Sat clues and you can feel it.
62A: Save on wedding invitations, in a way (ELOPE) — again, brain not work right. I read "save" as a noun, like "thing you should save," as in "the date." "Save the date!" Invitations still say that, right? Man I need coffee.
18D: Country known for luxury tourism, in brief (UAE) — well, how's that going for you? Luxurious enough?
1A: Young grasshopper (NYMPH) — 1-Across really set the tone for me today. Just ... no idea. None. Zero. I never think about young grasshoppers or what they are called. Bizarre to name them after sexy nature deities, but I'm sure entomologists have their reasons.
Gotta run. See you next time.
*It's actually the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University but I just can't
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld
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Medium. Liked it. Certainly liked it a lot more than @Rex did. I appreciated that the "BINGO calls" weren't highlighted, so the revealer brought a genuine "Aha". * * * * _
Overwrites: Considered olay or ulta for the 19A cosmetic name but waited to get AVON from the V in 11D (so not a true overwrite). DAcca before DAKAR for the African capital at 35D
One WOE, the Fat Ham playwright James IJAMES at 9D
Challenging puzzle with an interesting theme that me with the solve. I live in a senior-age residence where BINGO is played often, so I got the trick quickly (even though the "B" calls weren't spelled consecutively), Needed one cheat, for OUIJA/IJAMES cross, and a lucky guess for CTA. QUESTION: How is PANT making like a hot dog (showoff?)?
Yeah.... Really tried hard to look at those themers to grok the theme.... But couldn't see anything until... BINGO! Then went back, parsed all the b-number entries. Agree it was terrific that they weren't shaded or anything. I finished this in 10:28, so easy/medium for me
Really - BINGO? I guess it’s something - liked the overall fill more than the big guy - felt late weekish in places. 16 wide again today to fit that central spanner.
NEAT FREAKS, HOT POT, NO PROB are all top notch. The NE corner is stellar - not sure we’ve seen the likes of LANGUOROUS or COVENS this early before. OARED is unfortunate and yet another LSD sighting.
I would say the revealer did help today particularly with THAT’D BE WONDERFUL, which I had as a perfectly reasonable That”s So Wonderful until I saw I needed the B.
Hey All ! Another 16 wide grid! At this rate, the NYT are gonna raise their subscription rates again for more puzzling for the money.
Took the ole brain a minute to grok what in tarhooties the Theme was, after getting Revealer BINGO. Finally managed to see the B-numbers , and let out a mild Aha. Not a happy-surprised Aha, but maybe that's just me.
Fill decent, couple of Q's and higher than usual K count. I don't track the K as I do the F, as it's s a non-oft used letter in the Q, Z, X, J, K group. Whereas the F is a common letter that goes largely unused in these puzs.
Different idea, wondering if it's National BINGO Day, or somesuch.
The hidden calls aren't just legit Bingo squares, they're five distinct squares in the B column and thus enough for a BINGO, as the revealer clue states. Nice.
I had to solve as a themeless, like Rex. Hidden word themes can be easily missable, but hidden homophones? No shot. Looking at you, NYT Connections, with those "ENDING IN HOMOPHONES OF X" purple categories.
The clue on LEG is perfectly Wednesdayish for me. The one on NYMPH is late week stuff. That feeling of seeing a baffling clue only to realize that the answer is a perfectly normal word is a staple of the Fri/Sat themeless experience.
Very unusual grid for this day of the week. The theme answers were pretty easy to come by, so I played it as a themeless. Three things did me in today - the wheelhouse effect on the trivia and the foreign stuff, LANGUOROUSLY, and some of the pesky cluing that Rex pointed out.
This one seems like a bit of a “throwback Wednesday” - I’ve probably gotten spoiled by the easier environment we have all been operating in during the recent past, so it’s hard to pick on the puzzle too much. Rex has it at Medium-Challenging, and it would be difficult for me to argue with that assessment.
Well, throw quirky QUIRK, silly TOOTLE, and gorgeous LANGUOROUS in the box, and you’ve won me over. It would take an inordinate amount of yuk to bring my thumbs down after that.
It’s a moot point, because no yuk stood out.
For one, this is an original theme, never done before. There have been two Bingo themes where the letters of “Bingo” were hidden in the theme answers, (such as the “I” spelled as “eye”), but none like this, where a wining row was hidden.
Also, I found the theme impossible to guess before uncovering the revealer, and let me tell you I tried, to my brain’s delight. I’d love to hear from someone here who figured it out before filling in the revealer.
On top of that, the goofy puns in at least five of the clues kept mirth in the air. I especially liked [Org. that offers one L of a ride], because CTA has appeared in the major venues more than one hundred times, but never clued like this.
Originality, beauty, brainwork, and mirth. A wealth of pleasure in the box today. Thank you, Adam!
I liked it, finished a few minutes faster than average, but had to come here for an explanation of the theme. I got BINGO and immediately started looking for the correct gimmick but it wasn't working out: B-ab? No. B-aby ? No. B-why-fo? No. B-why-for? No. O-romulan? And so on. Other than that TOOTLE seems to deserve a huge side-eye, if I were a horn player and someone accused me of tootling I might get violent. Agree completely about the clue for NYMPH
I’m glad Rex gave this 3 1/2 stars because I really enjoyed the extra crunch and sparkle of the fill on a Wednesday. Like many people, I worked this as a themeless and after BINGO presented itself at the end of my solve, only then did I go back and search the themers for the Bs and numbers.
That was my one letter no happy music. Casting spells like witches was pretty brilliant (I was stuck on fishing or casting actors). Plus Chicago is famous for the ELS
B2 B9 B1 B8 B4 That's BINGO? I haven't played since elementary school so I don't remember much about the game. I guess there must be random numbers assigned in the B column and five in a row makes BINGO. Cute, but wow, I spent more time trying to understand the theme than I took solving the puzzle.
Here's some eyes: I WONDER ALOUD I TOO LIKE TANG I FORAGE FOR PASTRIES IF I'VE EVER OFFENDED HAHA IS EVEN WITH THE LEADER
NGO: INTO THE MIST GEE, THREE NYMPHS or GATE CRASHER OWEN WILSON
Looks like the numbers get bigger according to the image 🦖 posted, so I guess only Bs work. Nevermind. Say no to INGO.
I thought today's puzzle was humorous -- winning the rare clown award (and calamitizing the harumphensteins probably) -- and breezy. Obviously the greatest answer of the week is TOOTLE. Add some tipple and a TUTU and we're sure to T somebody off around here.
I'm supportive of starting a puzzle with NYMPH ... hubba hubba ... but cluing it as a baby grasshopper takes some of the luster off. Of course LUST volunteered to bring the luster back.
I went to a hot pot place for dinner once. It was a lot of work and a little fun and definitely felt like I was cooking my own meal.
I think it's amazing YouTube is only 20 years old. I've been a heavy user of it since day one and I wonder what I did before it existed? I probably was thinking up different ways I could annoy people. I have an NTH degree in being irritating, but I honestly don't try to do it on purpose (mostly).
1 Charlatan offering to contact the spirits of Mexican chickens. 2 What little puppets eat. 3 Your last two and a half words before the aliens insert their instrument. 4 The witch's cauldron from HomeGoods. 5 Crosswording drug enthusiasm irks.
1 POLLO OUIJA LOON 2 TEAK BABY FORMULA 3 GIMME NO PROB... 4 COVEN'S FAKE URN 5 LSD ADO ANNOYS
My Fascinating Crossword Uniclue Keepsake from Last Year: Nature preserve where peanut butter and chocolate can be seen mingling in the wild. REESES REFUGE.
The N from NPR gave me NYMPH right away, so that had me feeling smart, until I finished the whole thing, noticed all the B homophones, and stopped there. Didn't look for or notice the number homophones . Come on man.
Some definitely "Is this a Wednesday?" stuff, notably IJAMES. Relieved that OFL had never heard of him either. I notice that he and @Southside Johnny both wanted LANGUOROUSLY which I would have entered if it fit. Started with THATS instead of THATD which slowed things down. And another one of those "please don't be ....", in this case OARED, but there it was. If any one of us here has ever said "I OARED a boat " let me know.
A Very clever Wednesday, AV. Took some thinking, which is good, and that whooshing sound was Part B of the theme going over my head. Thanks for all the fun.
I ended on a sour note with the phony word OARED, something no one has ever done to an actual boat. But overall, I enjoyed the puzzle quite a lot, with lots of tricky clues.
My wife and I drive to Florida every March, to see relatives along the way and spend a couple of weeks on the beach. We like to have a glass (or two) of wine with lunch, and used to check the "food" signs at the Interstate exits for RUBY TUESDAY, so that was nostalgic. (We now use Google Maps with the "wine" filter on, which generally leads to better food to go with the wine.)
After 5 minutes trying to figure out how to spell DERBY in only four letters, I finally remembered hearing discussion of "The OAKS" at the Derby broadcast. I thought of OUIJA right away, but don't consider it a game. And I had to get IJAMES from the crosses.
Oh, the theme. I had no idea until I got the revealer; then, since I have not played BINGO for fifty years, I forgot that there were letters -- I located the hidden numerals and thought I was done. I had to read Wordplay to understand the whole thing. One small infelicity--BEATEN does not have the same E sound as B-TEN. The other themers are perfect.
Rex, re: days since Star Wars, the constructor says in his "constructor's notes" that he submitted puzzle with "Obi wan-Kenobi" for B-ONE, but the editors rejected it. So maybe that 1 deserves an asterisk in the record books.
My solving experience exactly mirrored Rex's today, except that I did not understand the theme until reading his comments; I just thought, "Well, yeah, the theme answers contain all the letters from BINGO, I guess"—and didn't perceive the number sounds after the B's. But it wasn't my or Rex's morning sluggishness that made this puzzle more challenging; it was indeed the cluing, which was very good and which I appreciated...but it did seem surprising for a Wednesday puzzle. I'm not complaining, though. It was a satisfying workout...thanks, AdamVincent!
Haha…due to the random course of MY solve I bet you didn’t actually look at THATsBEWONDERFUL and wondered how you’d never heard of the word “bewonderful” and move on…until I realized that sAKAR was NOT the west African capital. ;)
No (see @kitshef above) I’m in the category of people that tend to think of the mainland of continents. Obviously “wrong think” on my part with Japan being a big example for Asia.
Interesting puzzle with a QUIRK of a theme which I enjoyed. Like RP, I ignored the revealer and solved it as a themeless. While I had NO PROB anywhere and did not find it challenging at all, the difficulty level seemed perfect for a Wednesday. An appealing grid with pleasant enough fill which kept me entertained.
LANGOUROUS is how I imagined my retirement days would be before I opted to BOW OUT of working for a living. However since I can’t go to RUBY TUESDAY every night, the grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning up still has to be done, the RUG has to be vacuumed, the dust rearranged, etc., and the laundry doesn’t do itself. Some days I mostly feel BEATEN. A cleaning service - THAT’D BE WONDERFUL - but not really practical or affordable. It’s a mystery to me how it all got done before.
First thought was did David Carradine have a nickname as a kid? Just joking with my brain but NYMPH was a heck of a kicker to start the day. And then IJAMES? So off to a rough start but actually enjoyed figuring out some of the tougher clues and unusual answers. Interesting as @jberg points out, the editors have now been sensitized to the ubiquity of Star Wars references.
I’m not geography expert but yes. Wikipedia describes Praia as the capital and largest city of Cape Verde, which is an African country. DAKAR is the westernmost capital of the mainland; however that is not what the clue states.
RP's phrase "cultural penetration" resonated in my Dirty Old Man Dept. It would be a good description for how the Prez screwed with the Kennedy Center.
I hadn't thought of OUIJA as a "game," but that's how Hasbro markets it. It's sort of a party/parlor game/activity with no winner or loser. The one time I tried using one, my mom came back to tell me I needed a haircut.
I finished the puzzle, looked at what were most likely the theme answers, said, "Hmm, a themeless Wednesday" but started looking at the clues for a reveal because of course I didn't read the entire clue for BINGO. And, BINGO, found it and checked out the nicely hidden theme.
I like playing bingo although I don't do it unless it's bingo night at the bar and I happen to be there (this doesn't happen very often anymore.) I never win. But maybe someday...
IJAMES - I checked the crosses more than once because that's a new one to me. We'll see if I remember it.
Adam Vincent, thanks for a fun, clever Wednesday puzzle.
For bingo, the possible numbers for each column are taken from a range of 15 values. So you have B-1 through B-15, I-16 through I-30, etc. In this case, if the Bs on your card were B-1, B-2, B-4, B-9, and B-10, you've completed a line, which could be all you need for bingo. (Some games ask for more than one line to win but that's the most straightforward option.)
I won the jackpot at our local bingo at the age of ten and I think it really set me up for life. I've been riding that high ever since. I just try not to think about the thick haze of cigarette smoke that was part of the experience of 1980s bingo.
I’m enjoying Wednesdays so much more since they’ve taken on a Thursday-like character. Today’s theme, which had me saying BINGO out loud when it hit me, was a perfect example. Some earlier comments struck home: I, too, needed the theme to get the THATDBE segment of 34A. And, great observation on how the five theme answers would yield an actual BINGO! Thanks, Anonymous. 27 minutes well spent. Bravo, Adam Vincent!
I found it easier than most Wednesdays. Always makes me happy when my experience is different than that of ‘real’ solvers since it is reassurance that I have not been fully assimilated into crossworld. I was sure Rex was going to complain that ‘ten’ was the only number that was not a homophone but I guess he was preoccupied with other problems. Would have been nicer if there was a number from each column instead of just B
Awesomely great puztheme. Far superior to them first/last word theme mcguffins. Like it a bunch.. And 12 U's! Definitely a WedPuz BINGO!
staff weeject pick: YOU.
some fave stuff, in addition to the puztheme: 16x15 gridsize [more for yer moneybucks]. NEATFREAKS. NYMPH. QUIRK. NOPROB. COVENS clue. Head no-know: IJAMES. Not on my bIngo card.
Got yer J & yer Q's, but no pangrammer.
Thanx a b-unch, Mr. Vincent dude. Primo stuff.
Masked & Anonymo12Us
p.s. @RP: Real sorry for your family's loss, and also for yer current state of loneliness, while the wife is abroad and the daughter is off at school. You take care, dude. M&A
I had EVITES before ELOPES for saving on invitations.
@Anon 10:43—see this article in Chicago Magazine: https://www.chicagomag.com/city-life/May-2019/Once-and-for-All-Is-it-the-Chicago-El-el-L-or-L/ I used to agree with you, but from encountering this issue in earlier crosswords, popular usage is now "L" instead of "El" (e.g., the Wikipedia page calls it the L: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_%22L%22)
@Anon 7:21—your foot does make the contact in a kick, but if your leg doesn't move, whatever you kick won't go very far; virtually all the power in a kick is coming from the LEG.
Not as difficult for me as for Rex today. Agree 9D Ijames was ??!! but the crosses weren't so hard. 1A Nymph was harder because I have no idea about MLB. And I could not think of "you" for 2D Kept trying to think of a "they /them" type word of only three letters. Actually I despise the use of they /them for people who don't want to choose a gender and stick with it. So was happy with "you", eventually.
This old timer used to love hearing the radio news announcer pronounce DAKAR. Seemed like a wonderful yet mysterious place. And then my best friend and his wife actually moved there for a couple of years! I really could not make the time to go visit them, but wish I could have.
The Senegalese speak excellent French , and my friend taught economics at the university there. In French! He spent a semester in Paris to brush up on the language, and I did hang out with him in Paris for a few days. He thought it was best to stay in a pension where French was the sole language spoken at every meal.
This old timer used to love hearing the radio news announcer pronounce DAKAR. Seemed like a wonderful yet mysterious place. And then my best friend and his wife actually moved there for a couple of years! I really could not make the time to go visit them, but wish I could have.
The Senegalese speak excellent French , and my friend taught economics at the university there. In French! He spent a semester in Paris to brush up on the language, and I did hang out with him in Paris for a few days. He thought it was best to stay in a pension where French was the sole language spoken at every meal.
Anon, if there was a number from each column instead of just B, it would be less likely to be BINGO; five in the first column is a win. But the numbers increase as you go I-N-G-O; not sure how you put a homophone of O-69 in the puzzle. Maybe ask Gary? (sorry)
Rex—— Forgive the comment not related to either the puzzle or your critique, but I thought you might like to know that V-Day is a thing. Or at least was. The song V-Day Stomp just fonished playong on 40’s junction on Sirius XM. I’ll grant it’s not exactly current, but you were so strident on V Day not being a thing, I tjought I’d help a brother out. For what it’s worth the song was by the Four Clefs.
I was anticipating Rex's award would be in the 2-to-2-1/2 range. He made a bunch of criticisms, and was admittedly grouchy as an ad hoc bachelor. But in this case, he seemed to honor the big picture and upgraded to 3-1/2.
I find myself pleasantly surprised when Rex likes a puzzle more than I think he will. A bit disappointed when it's the other way around. So I ended with a greater appreciation for this one (22 theee-letter answers and all). Thanks, RP!
I did get the B part which was obvious but couldn't make the bingo connection. And I'm working a bingo game tonight!. Great puzzle for Wednesday! Felt more challenging, but average time. 4 stars from me--let's have more like this please.
This went pretty smoothly, although the whole time I was thinking: it's Wednesday, where's my theme? Until finally 66 across was a pleasant surprise. Good enough to even be a Thursday! And yes, so grateful they did not highlight BEWON etc with circles. (15 days without any circles!!!!)
Hands up for BENIGNLY not hitting the mark... I pronounce that E as a schwa, eg "buh-nine". Maybe a regional thing.
And that clue for 27 down is just absurd... they went to all that trouble for CAT?
I enjoyed this Wednesday puzzle! It also played as a themeless for me, but I didn't really care about the theme. I guess I also liked that it was a bit harder than normal and I still got it without having to check the puzzle. Also, I didn't know that James Ijames is crossword famous! Studio Theatre in DC has put on a number of plays that he's written.
I, too, looked up Pulitzer Prize winners in drama, and had only a passing chance of recognizing 6 since 2000. One (Don Margulies) because he was buddies with my father in law. I’m fairly shocked if anyone doesn’t recognize the 2016 winner though - a guy called Lin-Manuel Miranda for an unknown play called “Hamilton” (that’s a Ham I recognized!). The other 4 are folks whose name I had definitely heard but had only a slim chance of producing from the depths of my mind, let alone connecting with the play they wrote.
Wow, unusually for me I found this a good straightforward puzzle! Even thought it should be Tuesday. If you pronounce Tuesday the way The Rolling Stones do, it does not sound like “two”. Thanks for the explanation of CTA! Rex, so sorry for your loneliness (pamper those cats!) and for the reason thereof..
DAVinHOP: You can win in Bingo if you have the correct numbers in a straight line vertically, horizontally, or diagonally. And the numbers are drawn and called randomly. So you can certainly win with, say, B-1, I-9, N-4, G-10 and O-2.
Anonymous 7:52 AM Thanks for the info. I briefly wondered why all B’s but then let it go. Haven played bingo in decades so I didn’t get that the hidden squares = bingo!
Just saw your comment from yesterday about never knowing which side your gas cap is on. After driving for about sixty years I recently learned that there's a little arrow on your gas gauge pointing either left or right to tell you where it is. I was very happy to learn this and everyone I mentioned it to had known more or less forever.
Fat Ham is an amazing play, a very, very worthy recipient of the Pulitzer. It's challenging to produce, but if a theatre produces it near you ... go. The Seattle Rep performance a year or two ago was a top ten theatre-going experience for this 75-year-old theatre Ph.D.
Anonymous 10:43 AM As Beezer and jberg pointed out there is beaten where the schwa is the number. I see your point, but for me the the theme is not ruined. Close enough for crosswords (visually it works)
Since I developed a habit decades ago of reading the NY Times Art section every day ( much better than the news!)I happen to know more playwrights names than most. So after IJ the rest of the name surfaced. Wheelhouse and all that. I thought people would be more upset about it but I guess the crosses were fair. Never saw the play but the New York production got a rave review. I didn’t have Rex’s problems so at my slow pace, it was a fairly easy puzzle The theme was solely after the fact for me Two people responded to a comment I made yesterday Thanks I am referring to yesterday’s puzzle One comment about ‘s all good, man vs it’s all good my man. Something told me that might be a joke. I almost left it out. But I never did see Better Call Saul. Main character Saul Goodman. A great pun I never heard of! Unfortunately the review in the Times, see above, never mentioned it. The other commenter used psychological terms about human bias towards what we already know vs something new. Thanks for the scientific background. At least on this blog I do try to avoid said bias!
Those -BY phrases phonetically start with "roo bee" and "bay bee" but then the following parts phonetically would be "twos day" and "form you lah". So we get B TWOS and B FORM. Never heard those "calls" (as clued) in a BINGO game.
I had that question for a nanosecond or two, until I looked again at the revealer: "a possible cry after HEARING the calls...." In each of these occurrences, the "BY" sounds like a the letter B, so that is what you hear. So, nothing to be annoyed at!
Oared is not a phony word. It's a word. and it is a common term you seem not to be familiar with. Fine. But don't gratuitously dismiss it. Because when you do, you are wrong, .
@pablo, thanks for that tip. I did learn about that recently; but still my problem is that I have only had this car for 8 months. So by habit I still tend to pull up to the wrong side of the gas pumps and get out of the car before I remember to check it!
Solved it downs-only until I got stuck in the northeast. I had BUGOUT rather the BOWOUT and didn't know IJAMES, couldn't come up with COVENS or LANGUOROUS. Gave in and used the across clues to close it out
Hard Wed. I'm sure LANGUOROUS is a word, but I'm too lazy to verify. Had to check the crosses for IJAMES but glad to learn about him. This puzzle felt very reminiscent to the older NYTs (not a complaint). I was amused to read that Obi-wan Kenobi was the inspiration for the theme. The joke used to be that [OREO] was in the center of every crossword BINGO card (basically a freebie). I haven't learned a new Oreo fact in quite a while... hmm, maybe there are a few too many Star Wars clues.
Treat thought to be stamped with symbols of the Knights Templar. (2021)
Theme was very clever, lots of fun. This is likely the first time I've ever found a puzzle a bit less challenging than @Rex did. Some of the cluing was on the crunchier side for a Wednesday and I too did not know the playwright, but the revealer came pretty much on the first try and though I don't know thing one about Bingo (other than the rudimentary rules) it was fun looking for what was hidden. Loved the cluing on PANT, CTA, COVENS, TUTU and even OARED. Thanks for the nice Wednesday workout, Adam!
James IJAMES's Pulitzer-prize winning play, Fat Ham, is well-worth seeing if you have a chance. There's a thousand things going on, but it works. In terms of other Pulitzer winners since 2000, I think you know who Lin-Manuel Miranda is. Quiara Alegria Hudes collaborated with Miranda on In the Heights, his musical before Hamilton that was made into a film a few years ago. Bruce Norris played the teacher in one of the prominent scenes in The Sixth Sense. Tracy Letts was a regular on Homeland. John Patrick Shanley won an Oscar for the screenplay for Moonstruck. But yeah, not a lot of household names.
A long time ago, I was solving this puzzle and got stuck at an unguessable (to me) crossing: N. C. WYETH crossing NATICK at the "N"—I knew WYETH but forgot his initials, and NATICK ... is a suburb of Boston that I had no hope of knowing. It was clued as someplace the Boston Marathon runs through (???). Anyway, NATICK— the more obscure name in that crossing—became shorthand for an unguessable cross, esp. where the cross involves two proper nouns, neither of which is exceedingly well known. NATICK took hold as crossword slang, and the term can now be both noun ("I had a NATICK in the SW corner...") or verb ("I got NATICKED by 50A / 34D!")
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96 comments:
Medium. Liked it. Certainly liked it a lot more than @Rex did. I appreciated that the "BINGO calls" weren't highlighted, so the revealer brought a genuine "Aha".
* * * * _
Overwrites:
Considered olay or ulta for the 19A cosmetic name but waited to get AVON from the V in 11D (so not a true overwrite).
DAcca before DAKAR for the African capital at 35D
One WOE, the Fat Ham playwright James IJAMES at 9D
Challenging puzzle with an interesting theme that me with the solve. I live in a senior-age residence where BINGO is played often, so I got the trick quickly (even though the "B" calls weren't spelled consecutively), Needed one cheat, for OUIJA/IJAMES cross, and a lucky guess for CTA.
QUESTION: How is PANT making like a hot dog (showoff?)?
Dogs pant when they’re hot
Yeah.... Really tried hard to look at those themers to grok the theme.... But couldn't see anything until... BINGO! Then went back, parsed all the b-number entries. Agree it was terrific that they weren't shaded or anything. I finished this in 10:28, so easy/medium for me
I like GIMME, as in “Gimme Shelter”, touching corners with RUBY TUESDAY.
Really - BINGO? I guess it’s something - liked the overall fill more than the big guy - felt late weekish in places. 16 wide again today to fit that central spanner.
Throwing MUSES
NEAT FREAKS, HOT POT, NO PROB are all top notch. The NE corner is stellar - not sure we’ve seen the likes of LANGUOROUS or COVENS this early before. OARED is unfortunate and yet another LSD sighting.
Crazy as a LOON
It was an odd theme no doubt - but overall an enjoyable Wednesday morning solve.
Morrissey
Now that's a neat idea for a theme! I loved it.
@Rex, NYMPH is not specific to grasshoppers, but applies to many groups of insects. Basically, any insect that doesn't have a larval stage.
Clue for Dakar should specify mainland Africa. Praia is well west of Dakar, and Cabo Verde is considered part of Africa.
JUST WOW!
Don’t know about anyone else, but I kick with my foot, not my leg.
I would say the revealer did help today particularly with THAT’D BE WONDERFUL, which I had as a perfectly reasonable That”s So Wonderful until I saw I needed the B.
Hey All !
Another 16 wide grid! At this rate, the NYT are gonna raise their subscription rates again for more puzzling for the money.
Took the ole brain a minute to grok what in tarhooties the Theme was, after getting Revealer BINGO. Finally managed to see the B-numbers , and let out a mild Aha. Not a happy-surprised Aha, but maybe that's just me.
Fill decent, couple of Q's and higher than usual K count. I don't track the K as I do the F, as it's s a non-oft used letter in the Q, Z, X, J, K group. Whereas the F is a common letter that goes largely unused in these puzs.
Different idea, wondering if it's National BINGO Day, or somesuch.
Hope y'all have a great Wednesday!
Three F's
RooMonster
DarrinV
The hidden calls aren't just legit Bingo squares, they're five distinct squares in the B column and thus enough for a BINGO, as the revealer clue states. Nice.
I had to solve as a themeless, like Rex. Hidden word themes can be easily missable, but hidden homophones? No shot. Looking at you, NYT Connections, with those "ENDING IN HOMOPHONES OF X" purple categories.
The clue on LEG is perfectly Wednesdayish for me. The one on NYMPH is late week stuff. That feeling of seeing a baffling clue only to realize that the answer is a perfectly normal word is a staple of the Fri/Sat themeless experience.
Very unusual grid for this day of the week. The theme answers were pretty easy to come by, so I played it as a themeless. Three things did me in today - the wheelhouse effect on the trivia and the foreign stuff, LANGUOROUSLY, and some of the pesky cluing that Rex pointed out.
This one seems like a bit of a “throwback Wednesday” - I’ve probably gotten spoiled by the easier environment we have all been operating in during the recent past, so it’s hard to pick on the puzzle too much. Rex has it at Medium-Challenging, and it would be difficult for me to argue with that assessment.
Anyone have a problem with CTA/COVENS cross? I had MTA (NYC has an L train) and thought “casting” referred to movies
Well, throw quirky QUIRK, silly TOOTLE, and gorgeous LANGUOROUS in the box, and you’ve won me over. It would take an inordinate amount of yuk to bring my thumbs down after that.
It’s a moot point, because no yuk stood out.
For one, this is an original theme, never done before. There have been two Bingo themes where the letters of “Bingo” were hidden in the theme answers, (such as the “I” spelled as “eye”), but none like this, where a wining row was hidden.
Also, I found the theme impossible to guess before uncovering the revealer, and let me tell you I tried, to my brain’s delight. I’d love to hear from someone here who figured it out before filling in the revealer.
On top of that, the goofy puns in at least five of the clues kept mirth in the air. I especially liked [Org. that offers one L of a ride], because CTA has appeared in the major venues more than one hundred times, but never clued like this.
Originality, beauty, brainwork, and mirth. A wealth of pleasure in the box today. Thank you, Adam!
Pretty Smooth for me except when I got stuck on 6D trying to figure which brother was the correct answer.
I liked it, finished a few minutes faster than average, but had to come here for an explanation of the theme. I got BINGO and immediately started looking for the correct gimmick but it wasn't working out: B-ab? No. B-aby ? No. B-why-fo? No. B-why-for? No. O-romulan? And so on. Other than that TOOTLE seems to deserve a huge side-eye, if I were a horn player and someone accused me of tootling I might get violent. Agree completely about the clue for NYMPH
Am I taking crazy pills or isn't Praia the westernmost capital of Africa, by like 400 miles?
I’m glad Rex gave this 3 1/2 stars because I really enjoyed the extra crunch and sparkle of the fill on a Wednesday. Like many people, I worked this as a themeless and after BINGO presented itself at the end of my solve, only then did I go back and search the themers for the Bs and numbers.
I wanted to put in toe, but held off until I got one of the crosses.
The MTA has only one line referred to as “L” and CTA is all Ls. Since the clue said the org. Offers one “L” I also put in MTA!
Last to fall, with only a guess at T, since I wanted an "L." Then the aha.
Misdirections all over the puzzle. It seemed hard to me but I plowed through it.The trip “ be wonderful “. I liked it a lot.🎈🎈🎊🎊
I took it as he liked it, but just found it personally difficult - it got the highest rating on his 2.5 to 3.5 star scale;)
so that foot just propels itself?
That was my one letter no happy music. Casting spells like witches was pretty brilliant (I was stuck on fishing or casting actors). Plus Chicago is famous for the ELS
Quiero tener eso.
B2 B9 B1 B8 B4 That's BINGO? I haven't played since elementary school so I don't remember much about the game. I guess there must be random numbers assigned in the B column and five in a row makes BINGO. Cute, but wow, I spent more time trying to understand the theme than I took solving the puzzle.
Here's some eyes:
I WONDER ALOUD
I TOO LIKE TANG
I FORAGE FOR PASTRIES
IF I'VE EVER OFFENDED HAHA
IS EVEN WITH THE LEADER
NGO:
INTO THE MIST
GEE, THREE NYMPHS or GATE CRASHER
OWEN WILSON
Looks like the numbers get bigger according to the image 🦖 posted, so I guess only Bs work. Nevermind. Say no to INGO.
I thought today's puzzle was humorous -- winning the rare clown award (and calamitizing the harumphensteins probably) -- and breezy. Obviously the greatest answer of the week is TOOTLE. Add some tipple and a TUTU and we're sure to T somebody off around here.
I'm supportive of starting a puzzle with NYMPH ... hubba hubba ... but cluing it as a baby grasshopper takes some of the luster off. Of course LUST volunteered to bring the luster back.
I went to a hot pot place for dinner once. It was a lot of work and a little fun and definitely felt like I was cooking my own meal.
I think it's amazing YouTube is only 20 years old. I've been a heavy user of it since day one and I wonder what I did before it existed? I probably was thinking up different ways I could annoy people. I have an NTH degree in being irritating, but I honestly don't try to do it on purpose (mostly).
People: 4
Places: 3
Products: 8
Partials: 8
Foreignisms: 3
--
Gary's Grid Gunk Gauge: 26 of 81 (32%)
Funny Factor: 10 🤡
Tee-Hee: One "L" of a ride. LUST. LSD.
Uniclues:
1 Charlatan offering to contact the spirits of Mexican chickens.
2 What little puppets eat.
3 Your last two and a half words before the aliens insert their instrument.
4 The witch's cauldron from HomeGoods.
5 Crosswording drug enthusiasm irks.
1 POLLO OUIJA LOON
2 TEAK BABY FORMULA
3 GIMME NO PROB...
4 COVEN'S FAKE URN
5 LSD ADO ANNOYS
My Fascinating Crossword Uniclue Keepsake from Last Year: Nature preserve where peanut butter and chocolate can be seen mingling in the wild. REESES REFUGE.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
The N from NPR gave me NYMPH right away, so that had me feeling smart, until I finished the whole thing, noticed all the B homophones, and stopped there. Didn't look for or notice the number homophones . Come on man.
Some definitely "Is this a Wednesday?" stuff, notably IJAMES. Relieved that OFL had never heard of him either. I notice that he and @Southside Johnny both wanted LANGUOROUSLY which I would have entered if it fit. Started with THATS instead of THATD which slowed things down. And another one of those "please don't be ....", in this case OARED, but there it was. If any one of us here has ever said "I OARED a boat " let me know.
A Very clever Wednesday, AV. Took some thinking, which is good, and that whooshing sound was Part B of the theme going over my head. Thanks for all the fun.
I ended on a sour note with the phony word OARED, something no one has ever done to an actual boat. But overall, I enjoyed the puzzle quite a lot, with lots of tricky clues.
My wife and I drive to Florida every March, to see relatives along the way and spend a couple of weeks on the beach. We like to have a glass (or two) of wine with lunch, and used to check the "food" signs at the Interstate exits for RUBY TUESDAY, so that was nostalgic. (We now use Google Maps with the "wine" filter on, which generally leads to better food to go with the wine.)
After 5 minutes trying to figure out how to spell DERBY in only four letters, I finally remembered hearing discussion of "The OAKS" at the Derby broadcast. I thought of OUIJA right away, but don't consider it a game. And I had to get IJAMES from the crosses.
Oh, the theme. I had no idea until I got the revealer; then, since I have not played BINGO for fifty years, I forgot that there were letters -- I located the hidden numerals and thought I was done. I had to read Wordplay to understand the whole thing. One small infelicity--BEATEN does not have the same E sound as B-TEN. The other themers are perfect.
Rex, re: days since Star Wars, the constructor says in his "constructor's notes" that he submitted puzzle with "Obi wan-Kenobi" for B-ONE, but the editors rejected it. So maybe that 1 deserves an asterisk in the record books.
I oared a boat to get to my underwater mine, where I ored.
My solving experience exactly mirrored Rex's today, except that I did not understand the theme until reading his comments; I just thought, "Well, yeah, the theme answers contain all the letters from BINGO, I guess"—and didn't perceive the number sounds after the B's. But it wasn't my or Rex's morning sluggishness that made this puzzle more challenging; it was indeed the cluing, which was very good and which I appreciated...but it did seem surprising for a Wednesday puzzle. I'm not complaining, though. It was a satisfying workout...thanks, AdamVincent!
“Did you have time to exorcise today?”
“Yeah. I got in a few reps. How about you?”
“I got in a row.”
didnt care for it, never bothered to suss out the theme
Haha…due to the random course of MY solve I bet you didn’t actually look at THATsBEWONDERFUL and wondered how you’d never heard of the word “bewonderful” and move on…until I realized that sAKAR was NOT the west African capital. ;)
I think I liked Rex's write-up more than I liked this puzzle. I solved as a themeless pretty quickly & came here for the theme.
No (see @kitshef above) I’m in the category of people that tend to think of the mainland of continents. Obviously “wrong think” on my part with Japan being a big example for Asia.
Interesting puzzle with a QUIRK of a theme which I enjoyed. Like RP, I ignored the revealer and solved it as a themeless. While I had NO PROB anywhere and did not find it challenging at all, the difficulty level seemed perfect for a Wednesday. An appealing grid with pleasant enough fill which kept me entertained.
LANGOUROUS is how I imagined my retirement days would be before I opted to BOW OUT of working for a living. However since I can’t go to RUBY TUESDAY every night, the grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning up still has to be done, the RUG has to be vacuumed, the dust rearranged, etc., and the laundry doesn’t do itself. Some days I mostly feel BEATEN. A cleaning service - THAT’D BE WONDERFUL - but not really practical or affordable. It’s a mystery to me how it all got done before.
First thought was did David Carradine have a nickname as a kid? Just joking with my brain but NYMPH was a heck of a kicker to start the day. And then IJAMES? So off to a rough start but actually enjoyed figuring out some of the tougher clues and unusual answers. Interesting as @jberg points out, the editors have now been sensitized to the ubiquity of Star Wars references.
I’m not geography expert but yes. Wikipedia describes Praia as the capital and largest city of Cape Verde, which is an African country. DAKAR is the westernmost capital of the mainland; however that is not what the clue states.
11A. The L train is MTA (NYC). The El (elevated) is CTA (Chicago). You dig?
'Benignly' ruins the theme. It's bi-ˈnīn. Not pronounced "bee-nine." Major outlier that disintegrates the set's cohesion.
RP's phrase "cultural penetration" resonated in my Dirty Old Man Dept. It would be a good description for how the Prez screwed with the Kennedy Center.
I hadn't thought of OUIJA as a "game," but that's how Hasbro markets it. It's sort of a party/parlor game/activity with no winner or loser. The one time I tried using one, my mom came back to tell me I needed a haircut.
I finished the puzzle, looked at what were most likely the theme answers, said, "Hmm, a themeless Wednesday" but started looking at the clues for a reveal because of course I didn't read the entire clue for BINGO. And, BINGO, found it and checked out the nicely hidden theme.
I like playing bingo although I don't do it unless it's bingo night at the bar and I happen to be there (this doesn't happen very often anymore.) I never win. But maybe someday...
IJAMES - I checked the crosses more than once because that's a new one to me. We'll see if I remember it.
Adam Vincent, thanks for a fun, clever Wednesday puzzle.
Easily solved as a themeless. Then looked and saw the BINGOs.
Easy-medium. My solve was smoother than @Rex’s.
No costly erasures and OAKS and IJAMES were it for WOEs.
Very subtle/clever theme (which I too solved as a themeless-hi @everyone) with a low junk grid and a couple of interesting long downs, liked it.
For bingo, the possible numbers for each column are taken from a range of 15 values. So you have B-1 through B-15, I-16 through I-30, etc. In this case, if the Bs on your card were B-1, B-2, B-4, B-9, and B-10, you've completed a line, which could be all you need for bingo. (Some games ask for more than one line to win but that's the most straightforward option.)
I won the jackpot at our local bingo at the age of ten and I think it really set me up for life. I've been riding that high ever since. I just try not to think about the thick haze of cigarette smoke that was part of the experience of 1980s bingo.
I’m enjoying Wednesdays so much more since they’ve taken on a Thursday-like character. Today’s theme, which had me saying BINGO out loud when it hit me, was a perfect example. Some earlier comments struck home: I, too, needed the theme to get the THATDBE segment of 34A. And, great observation on how the five theme answers would yield an actual BINGO! Thanks, Anonymous. 27 minutes well spent. Bravo, Adam Vincent!
I found it easier than most Wednesdays. Always makes me happy when my experience is different than that of ‘real’ solvers since it is reassurance that I have not been fully assimilated into crossworld. I was sure Rex was going to complain that ‘ten’ was the only number that was not a homophone but I guess he was preoccupied with other problems. Would have been nicer if there was a number from each column instead of just B
Awesomely great puztheme. Far superior to them first/last word theme mcguffins. Like it a bunch..
And 12 U's! Definitely a WedPuz BINGO!
staff weeject pick: YOU.
some fave stuff, in addition to the puztheme: 16x15 gridsize [more for yer moneybucks]. NEATFREAKS. NYMPH. QUIRK. NOPROB. COVENS clue.
Head no-know: IJAMES. Not on my bIngo card.
Got yer J & yer Q's, but no pangrammer.
Thanx a b-unch, Mr. Vincent dude. Primo stuff.
Masked & Anonymo12Us
p.s.
@RP: Real sorry for your family's loss, and also for yer current state of loneliness, while the wife is abroad and the daughter is off at school. You take care, dude. M&A
I had EVITES before ELOPES for saving on invitations.
@Anon 10:43—see this article in Chicago Magazine: https://www.chicagomag.com/city-life/May-2019/Once-and-for-All-Is-it-the-Chicago-El-el-L-or-L/
I used to agree with you, but from encountering this issue in earlier crosswords, popular usage is now "L" instead of "El" (e.g., the Wikipedia page calls it the L: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_%22L%22)
@Anon 7:21—your foot does make the contact in a kick, but if your leg doesn't move, whatever you kick won't go very far; virtually all the power in a kick is coming from the LEG.
Me too it was so so close just a shot away just a shot away
Not as difficult for me as for Rex today. Agree 9D Ijames was ??!! but the crosses weren't so hard.
1A Nymph was harder because I have no idea about MLB. And I could not think of "you" for 2D Kept trying to think of a "they /them" type word of only three letters. Actually I despise the use of they /them for people who don't want to choose a gender and stick with it. So was happy with "you", eventually.
This old timer used to love hearing the radio news announcer pronounce DAKAR. Seemed like a wonderful yet
mysterious place. And then my best friend and his wife actually moved there for a couple of years! I really could not make the time to go visit them, but wish I could have.
The Senegalese speak excellent French , and my friend taught economics at the university there. In French! He spent a semester in Paris to brush up on the language, and I did hang out with him in Paris for a few days. He thought it was best to stay in a pension where French was the sole language spoken at every meal.
This old timer used to love hearing the radio news announcer pronounce DAKAR. Seemed like a wonderful yet
mysterious place. And then my best friend and his wife actually moved there for a couple of years! I really could not make the time to go visit them, but wish I could have.
The Senegalese speak excellent French , and my friend taught economics at the university there. In French! He spent a semester in Paris to brush up on the language, and I did hang out with him in Paris for a few days. He thought it was best to stay in a pension where French was the sole language spoken at every meal.
Same here, and the humor did sparkle! Re difficulty - I solved in about average time for a Wednesday.
Anon, if there was a number from each column instead of just B, it would be less likely to be BINGO; five in the first column is a win. But the numbers increase as you go I-N-G-O; not sure how you put a homophone of O-69 in the puzzle. Maybe ask Gary? (sorry)
Rex——
Forgive the comment not related to either the puzzle or your critique, but I thought you might like to know that V-Day is a thing. Or at least was. The song V-Day Stomp just fonished playong on 40’s junction on Sirius XM. I’ll grant it’s not exactly current, but you were so strident on V Day not being a thing, I tjought I’d help a brother out.
For what it’s worth the song was by the Four Clefs.
I was anticipating Rex's award would be in the 2-to-2-1/2 range. He made a bunch of criticisms, and was admittedly grouchy as an ad hoc bachelor. But in this case, he seemed to honor the big picture and upgraded to 3-1/2.
I find myself pleasantly surprised when Rex likes a puzzle more than I think he will. A bit disappointed when it's the other way around.
So I ended with a greater appreciation for this one (22 theee-letter answers and all). Thanks, RP!
Just now I'm wondering why did not fist try one" in2D. A perfectly acceptable, if so uncommon as to feel ssstilted, gender neutral, singular pronoun.
Having recently received a very expensive-looking wedding invitation, I had EMAIL instead of ELOPE for the longest time!
I did get the B part which was obvious but couldn't make the bingo connection. And I'm working a bingo game tonight!.
Great puzzle for Wednesday! Felt more challenging, but average time. 4 stars from me--let's have more like this please.
This went pretty smoothly, although the whole time I was thinking: it's Wednesday, where's my theme? Until finally 66 across was a pleasant surprise. Good enough to even be a Thursday! And yes, so grateful they did not highlight BEWON etc with circles. (15 days without any circles!!!!)
Hands up for BENIGNLY not hitting the mark... I pronounce that E as a schwa, eg "buh-nine". Maybe a regional thing.
And that clue for 27 down is just absurd... they went to all that trouble for CAT?
I enjoyed this Wednesday puzzle! It also played as a themeless for me, but I didn't really care about the theme. I guess I also liked that it was a bit harder than normal and I still got it without having to check the puzzle.
Also, I didn't know that James Ijames is crossword famous! Studio Theatre in DC has put on a number of plays that he's written.
Well, it’s a schwa, but you can go talk to @jberg about BEATEN. ;)
You were too busy to notice or care about the dust before.
I, too, looked up Pulitzer Prize winners in drama, and had only a passing chance of recognizing 6 since 2000. One (Don Margulies) because he was buddies with my father in law. I’m fairly shocked if anyone doesn’t recognize the 2016 winner though - a guy called Lin-Manuel Miranda for an unknown play called “Hamilton” (that’s a Ham I recognized!). The other 4 are folks whose name I had definitely heard but had only a slim chance of producing from the depths of my mind, let alone connecting with the play they wrote.
So yeah, this was a tough Wednesday.
Just to be feisty, why is paddled okay? Is it because the noun paddle is based on the verb paddle? I must look this up!
Wow, unusually for me I found this a good straightforward puzzle! Even thought it should be Tuesday. If you pronounce Tuesday the way The Rolling Stones do, it does not sound like “two”.
Thanks for the explanation of CTA!
Rex, so sorry for your loneliness (pamper those cats!) and for the reason thereof..
DAVinHOP: You can win in Bingo if you have the correct numbers in a straight line vertically, horizontally, or diagonally. And the numbers are drawn and called randomly. So you can certainly win with, say, B-1, I-9, N-4, G-10 and O-2.
B-9. I get it. But what about the two By-answers? By-2. By-4. By is not a letter. Why isn’t anyone else annoyed by that? Pun not intended.
Anonymous 7:52 AM
Thanks for the info. I briefly wondered why all B’s but then let it go. Haven played bingo in decades so I didn’t get that the hidden squares = bingo!
Just saw your comment from yesterday about never knowing which side your gas cap is on. After driving for about sixty years I recently learned that there's a little arrow on your gas gauge pointing either left or right to tell you where it is. I was very happy to learn this and everyone I mentioned it to had known more or less forever.
Hope this helps.
Fat Ham is an amazing play, a very, very worthy recipient of the Pulitzer. It's challenging to produce, but if a theatre produces it near you ... go. The Seattle Rep performance a year or two ago was a top ten theatre-going experience for this 75-year-old theatre Ph.D.
Anonymous 10:43 AM
As Beezer and jberg pointed out there is beaten where the schwa is the number.
I see your point, but for me the the theme is not ruined. Close enough for crosswords (visually it works)
Since I developed a habit decades ago of reading the NY Times Art section every day ( much better than the news!)I happen to know more playwrights names than most. So after IJ the rest of the name surfaced. Wheelhouse and all that. I thought people would be more upset about it but I guess the crosses were fair. Never saw the play but the New York production got a rave review.
I didn’t have Rex’s problems so at my slow pace, it was a fairly easy puzzle
The theme was solely after the fact for me
Two people responded to a comment I made yesterday
Thanks
I am referring to yesterday’s puzzle
One comment about ‘s all good, man vs it’s all good my man. Something told me that might be a joke. I almost left it out. But I never did see Better Call Saul. Main character Saul Goodman. A great pun I never heard of! Unfortunately the review in the Times, see above, never mentioned it.
The other commenter used psychological terms about human bias towards what we already know vs something new. Thanks for the scientific background. At least on this blog I do try to avoid said bias!
Those -BY phrases phonetically start with "roo bee" and "bay bee" but then the following parts phonetically would be "twos day" and "form you lah". So we get B TWOS and B FORM. Never heard those "calls" (as clued) in a BINGO game.
@Bob Mils--Nice. Just what I had in mined.
@Gary
#3 - 🤣
Those dang aliens.
Roo
The "by" in those 2 answers are pronounced "be" as Ruby and Baby.
Days w/o LSD, :0
I had that question for a nanosecond or two, until I looked again at the revealer: "a possible cry after HEARING the calls...." In each of these occurrences, the "BY" sounds like a the letter B, so that is what you hear. So, nothing to be annoyed at!
Because the Ys in RUBY and BABY are pronounced like long Es.
@Anon 2:58 pm, because the BYs are pronounced "bee", not "by".
Oared is not a phony word. It's a word. and it is a common term you seem not to be familiar with. Fine. But don't gratuitously dismiss it. Because when you do, you are wrong, .
You're my man!
'I have an NTH degree in being irritating, but I honestly don't try to do it on purpose (mostly).
Acknowledged and appreciated. Thank you
@pablo, thanks for that tip. I did learn about that recently; but still my problem is that I have only had this car for 8 months. So by habit I still tend to pull up to the wrong side of the gas pumps and get out of the car before I remember to check it!
Solved it downs-only until I got stuck in the northeast. I had BUGOUT rather the BOWOUT and didn't know IJAMES, couldn't come up with COVENS or LANGUOROUS. Gave in and used the across clues to close it out
If I Had Legs I'd Kick You
Hard Wed. I'm sure LANGUOROUS is a word, but I'm too lazy to verify. Had to check the crosses for IJAMES but glad to learn about him. This puzzle felt very reminiscent to the older NYTs (not a complaint). I was amused to read that Obi-wan Kenobi was the inspiration for the theme. The joke used to be that [OREO] was in the center of every crossword BINGO card (basically a freebie). I haven't learned a new Oreo fact in quite a while... hmm, maybe there are a few too many Star Wars clues.
Treat thought to be stamped with symbols of the Knights Templar. (2021)
Theme was very clever, lots of fun. This is likely the first time I've ever found a puzzle a bit less challenging than @Rex did. Some of the cluing was on the crunchier side for a Wednesday and I too did not know the playwright, but the revealer came pretty much on the first try and though I don't know thing one about Bingo (other than the rudimentary rules) it was fun looking for what was hidden.
Loved the cluing on PANT, CTA, COVENS, TUTU and even OARED.
Thanks for the nice Wednesday workout, Adam!
@DAVinHOP 12:49 PM
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James IJAMES's Pulitzer-prize winning play, Fat Ham, is well-worth seeing if you have a chance. There's a thousand things going on, but it works.
In terms of other Pulitzer winners since 2000, I think you know who Lin-Manuel Miranda is. Quiara Alegria Hudes collaborated with Miranda on In the Heights, his musical before Hamilton that was made into a film a few years ago. Bruce Norris played the teacher in one of the prominent scenes in The Sixth Sense. Tracy Letts was a regular on Homeland. John Patrick Shanley won an Oscar for the screenplay for Moonstruck. But yeah, not a lot of household names.
I was just confused because Dakar is not the westernmost capital in Africa. That's Praia on Cabo Verde.
Player zippy for me, though themeless.
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