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Relative difficulty: Easy (possibly harder, depending on your familiarity with the movie titles)
Theme answers:
- FREDDY'S REVENGE (3D: A Nightmare on Elm Street [see grid art])
- HERE WE GO AGAIN (15D: Mamma Mia! [see grid art])
- LOST IN NEW YORK (7D: Home Alone [see grid art])
- BACK IN THE HABIT (11D: Sister Act [see grid art])
Jules Gabriel Verne (/vɜːrn/; French: [ʒyl ɡabʁijɛl vɛʁn]; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet, and playwright.His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the Voyages extraordinaires, a series of bestselling adventure novels including Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864), Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas (1870), and Around the World in Eighty Days (1872). His novels are generally set in the second half of the 19th century, taking into account contemporary scientific knowledge and the technological advances of the time. [...]
Jules Verne has been the second most-translated author in the world since 1979, ranking below Agatha Christie and above William Shakespeare. He has sometimes been called the "father of science fiction", a title that has also been given to H. G. Wells and Hugo Gernsback. In the 2010s, he was the most translated French author in the world. In France, 2005 was declared "Jules Verne Year" on the occasion of the centenary of the writer's death. (wikipedia)
• • •
Speaking of elegance, you've got a movie theme, so ideally (for me) you'd ditch all other explicitly movie stuff, all the stuff that's not part of the theme. No KATNISS, no MIRREN. And you'd need a new clue for MEL (54D: Brooks of film). Of these three film answers, only KATNISS was the outright distraction (since KATNISS was not just in The Hunger Games but in the sequels as well). I'm looking for a sense of careful construction, of theme cohesion, of execution that makes the theme really pop against the background of the fill. Movie content in the fill today feels like ... leakage. I was more dismayed by ugliness like DOTER and SLEEKEN, though. And OMAHANS. That's one of those words like UTAH(A)NS that is never gonna look right to me, only ... at least UTAH(A)NS applies to a whole state full of people. OMAHANS feels like it's missing a letter of syllable. Why not OMAHANIANS? You know, like Bahamas / Bahamians. Otherwise... how do you even pronounce "OMAHANS?" "O-MAH-hans"? "O-muh-HANS?" Do you sneak a little extra syllable in there when no one's looking?: "O-muh-HA-uns?" Truly, the awkwardest demonym. OGREISH is an OK word but it looks insane written out, like an Irish name (O'GREISH!). As for LAST BUS ... I wavered on it for a bit, but now I think I like it. It's no LAST TRAIN (to Clarksville or elsewhere), but it's a real phenomenon, and the "need" in the clue really sells it (7A: Something a commuter might need to catch).
Bullets:
- 1A: Swahili for "journey" (SAFARI) — should've been a gimme, I think, but I had DAS instead of AGS at 2D: Chief prosecutors, in brief, which put a "D" in the second "SAFARI" position :( I also had TAD before SOU up there (1D: Paltry amount). SOUs are the official currency of Crossworld, as decreed by OOXTEPLERNON, the God of Bad Short Fill (hallowed be His name). I have to remember to celebrate OOXTEPLERNON Day on October 30, for that is the day (in 2009) when OOXTEPLERNON revealed himself unto us, in grid form. How to celebrate? Simple. You sacrifice an Oreo (if you sacrifice it by feeding it to a NENE, even better ... for you. Probably not for the NENE)
- 20A: Sedative in a zookeeper's dart, informally (TRANK) — wrote in the TRAN- and then waited on the cross. Thought it might be a "Q" (both TRANK and TRANQ had five NYTXW appearances in the Modern Era ... before today. Now TRANK's ahead. Stay tuned for further information on the great TRANK/Q wars as it becomes available.
- 58A: Cocktail made from gin, vermouth and Campari (NEGRONI) — mmm. It's almost NEGRONI Season. When is NEGRONI Season? No one really knows. That's the beauty of NEGRONI Season.
- 47D: Suffers no damage (IS OK) — hoo boy, if any answer in this puzzle gave me trouble, it was this one. ISOK? ISOK?! Talk about four letters that do not look ... OK. ISOK??? Didn't she write Out of Afroca? You know, ISOK Dinoson!? The NYTXW once (maybe more than once) tried to convince me that I should know a Dilbert character (!?) named ASOK. ISOK makes me almost miss ASOK.
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SLEEKEN sounds like such a made up word.
ReplyDeleteAGREED!!
DeleteOr Robby Burns: Wee sleekit, cowrin, tim’rous beastie…
DeletePerfect example of the phrase @Nancy coined: MUWOC (made-up word of convenience).
Delete
ReplyDeleteEasy, as has become typical for a Wednesday.
* * * _ _
Overwrites:
TRANq before TRANK for the 20A sedative.
Wasn't sure about the spelling at 40A. Had LOweS before LOEWS.
Not a Hunger Games enthusiast. I was proud of remembering KATNeSS befor realizing it was KATNISS.
No WOEs, but resisted (and resent) OGREISH (14A), DOTER (19A) and SLEEKEN (60A)
Finished it without a cheat, and with a lucky guess for the KATNISS/ALTA cross. Didn't have a clue about the grid art or how it related to the movie titles, but there was just enough easy fill to make it doable. Not sure about SLEEKEN.
ReplyDeleteWell, perhaps you are not sure about SLEEKEN, but quite a few English speakers have been quite sure about SLEEKEN since the early 1600s when it entered the language and was commonly used and continued to be used since since.
DeleteBruh no one says SLEEKEN you’ve never said SLEEKEN b 4 real
DeleteI kept squinting to figure out the grid art. I was looking for a face! I'm just Bad at Grid Art. Anyway I'm here at the ATL airport, in the TSA queue and this puzzle was helping pass the time, but took me awhile.
ReplyDeleteI have not spotted Donny's gestapo down here, but this whole situation is the Moron in Chief's fault and Maga's sick obsession with immigrants.
I feel like I live in a shithole country without functioning services that we should expect. What a CLUSTERF**
Yeah. Let’s all go hold a sign somewhere on Saturday.
DeleteOMG! I saw pictures of those lines. 😱 Wishing you safe travels.
DeleteDidn’t know ALTA and had TASTED as TeSTED, so ended up Naticking out with ALTe/TeSTED. Curious if anyone else had that problem, or if everyone but me knows their ski resorts?
ReplyDeleteALTA is crosswordese—I would not know it if I didn’t solve
DeleteI lad "tested" at first, too. But ALTA seemed better than "alte."
DeleteI naticked (is that a legit verb?) in exactly same fashion. So at least two of us.
Delete"Trank" feels unforgivable. Apparently, "informally" means, "misspelled" now?
ReplyDeleteRex - I think it’s fair to say KATNISS could be read as a literary clue, and not a silver screen clue.
ReplyDeleteAs a character, ASOK was pretty cool. As for Dilbert... Well, it was funny once.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know any of those sequels, and didn't think two letters amounted to grid art -- plus there are not only 2 Is but also 2 Ls (one upside down), which obscured the point. I thought maybe there was some kind of cage involved--but after 15 seconds of pondering came here to find out.
This was the most unconnected grid I've ever seen, which is not a virtue. Nothing more to say.
Except that I'm trying to imagine a sequel to Mamma Mia! Does it involve the same characters, or is it just more Abba songs?
Yes, I got distracted by those two L’s as well. A sequel to Mamma Mia sounds like a horror film to me. Even Meryl Streep couldn’t save that turkey.
DeleteYep, that unconnected grid is why I’m no fan of grid art. Felt like solving one mini after another.
DeleteAnd I agree with Whatsername about the Mamma Mia sequel. A better title would be “There They Go Again—Count Me Out!”
Easy puzzle, though I did not recognize the ugly black shapes as Roman numerals (I mean what are those L things?) and have not seen or been aware of any of these movies. Of the originals, the only one I saw was Mamma Mia, and it certainly wouldn’t have motivated me to sit through the sequel. As for sleeken, ew.
ReplyDeleteJust kicking myself for being unable to come up with KATNISS. Dang aging.
ReplyDeleteWhen I hit 2D I still hadn't figured out the theme (that was my first themer), but if I had I would have tried to put in 'dream warriors', and when that wouldn't fit I would have thought the theme had to be something different. It turns out 'dream warriors' is III, not II. I did immediately know all the other themers, though.
That OOXTEPLERNON puzzle was a doozy. It also had rows like:
FILCENVIG,
ANSAEEDMNOONE,
DYERSSSSERNES,
and of course, DOODOODOODOODOO.
My favorite part of today’s puzzle, was trying to figure out how the grid art related to the theme answers. I had figured out that the answers were film sequels, but couldn’t see what they had to do with those two I’s in the middle.
ReplyDeleteIt is amazing how something can be right in front of your eyes, and you just don’t see it.
Let me give you an example. I wear a lovely chain around my neck, but its clasp, which is miniscule, is a pain to undo with my stubby fingers. But I put up with it for many moons because I love the chain.
One day, as I was taking a teeshirt off, I made an incredible discovery. The chain came off with the teeshirt! That is, I never had to undo the clasp; all I ever had to do was pull the chain over my head!
Some things can be right in front of your eyes, and you just don’t see it. And today, I just didn’t see that those I’s made the Roman numeral “2”.
Learning that brought a terrific "Hah!," and my mighty efforts to crack the riddle gave my brain the work it loves.
A marvelous “I” opening experience for me, Jeff. Thank you!
Found it easy and enjoyable. How about some props for 4 long theme answers and no garbage fill! You don't see that too often. No struggle to find the theme, and not hard to suss out the answers - I'm not a pop culture guy and I had 2 of them off the bat. I think we're a little picky today..
ReplyDeleteHey All !
ReplyDeleteAdmitting to not understanding the "grid art". Just saw two big I's in the grid, and the ole brain didn't combine them to think of II, ala sequels. Did realize that the Themers were movie subtitles, so there's that at least. Ah, think some, lose some. Har.
Initially thought the four letter words in the I spaces related to the Themers somehow. Ergo, SONS to go with 3D. But none of them made any sense.
Neat grid pattern, to get in your grid art. All corners open, with Longs abounding. SLEEKEN gets a side eye. What's next? ENSLEEK? ENSLEEKEN?
Or, Smoothing again? RESLEEKENING? Smoothly, once more? REENSLEEKENINGLY?
Randomness:
Got an O-WING and an E-WING. 😁 TRANQ is only spelt thusly. What's the K all about? I wouldn't exactly call a State Park charge a "USER" FEE. I guess you technically "use" a State Park, but it's off to the ears. ENTRY FEE, sure. Wondering if there is somewhere a LOEWS next to a LOWES. I SEE MANS and SONS, where the women at?Well, KATNISS and MIRREN are here
Time to SLEEKEN my shirts. Hope y'all have a great Wednesday!
Two F's
RooMonster
DarrinV
In yesterday's puzzle, like others of you, I filled in "mudder" at first at 29D for "Race that no one can win cleanly," instead of MUDRUN. If you are wondering how my wife handled it: mudder, she wrote.
ReplyDeleteWhen I saw the puzzle grid, I thought we were in for it. But it turned out to be quite easy. Yet, I had to come to the blog to find out what the heck was the theme.I liked the puzzle, anyhow.🎈🎈🎊🎊
ReplyDeleteThis played Challenging to me. I did not, at all, pick up on the fact that these are titles of sequels, the number IIs to their progenitors. They seemed almost like random phrases somehow associated to movies, although I do recognize the lyric HERE WE GO AGAIN. And then I kept squinting at the so-called "grid art", as if trying to divine answers from tea leaves. Yes, I saw two I's. But no comprehension. And stop saying "grid art"! The repetition is actively unhelpful, because it kept making me think I had to read more into the "art" than was actually there. You know, this being "art" and all. (Labeling it "art" over and over in this context really sounds quite pretentious. I'd RELABEL that.)
ReplyDelete(It was also no help that I have zero interest in viewing the original movies, not a one, much less their sequels. The only one I have glancing familiarity with, chance sightings on cable before my eyes quickly tire of the sight of the little snot, is Home Alone.)
I think I spent at least ninety seconds trying to find purchase anywhere. It began in the very center, between the two big Is, and you might think something thematic would be happening there. (Nope! Not in the Acrosses!) It all ended in the NE, where I really screwed myself but good because I unaccountably didn't think of AMOR for a long time. I knew "eros" was off (wait, that's Greek, isn't it, I kept querying myself, but "cupid" and "venus" were not fitting), and it stayed in for far too long. I had IN THE HABIT, but BACK IN THE HABIT didn't not sound much in the language to me. ("Back in the saddle", yes. "Back on the wagon", maybe, although that would be backing off the habit, wouldn't it?)
Some entries are truly wretched. (I almost wrote "retched" there.) SLEEKEN has got to be about the ugliest answer I've seen in a very, very long time. I AGREE with Rex on OMAHANS, and well as on OGREISH, which is faintly self-descriptive. Also, put me on Team TRANq, not TRANK. Just my personal feeling.
Wanted "Tulane", not LOYOLA. I mean, how many LOYOLAs are there, anyway? (I used to teach at one of them!) Just not very specific to New Orleans, and it seemed like a mean trick that it's that and not Tulane.
Sorry, Jeff Stillman. Really wasn't my bag.
I did not understand the theme while solving--or after solving. I spent some time trying to wrestle some wordplay out of the two I's but gave up and came here to read about the theme. I've seen the musical Sister Act but none of the original movies or the sequels. My time was 83% of my Wednesday average, which mixes solving on paper (slower) and solving on computer (faster), so I would say medium for me.
ReplyDeletePleased to see LOYOLA, where I taught for many years.
ReplyDeleteAlternate clues
ReplyDeleteKNEELS (27D): How do you pronounce your first name, Dr. Bohr?
LOYOLA (26D): What the Shakespearean character said upon seeing his friend Yola.
SOLICIT (18A): How the Supreme Court described Trump's latest malfeasance.
OWING (30A): Screaming in pain, or how I spend my time at the dentist.
True story: I went in for a root canal and, before the doc started, his assistant placed a tissue in my hand. She said they call it the "white flag," and explained that I was to wave it if I was feeling pain so the doctor would know to stop. And I said: "Won't the shrieking tip him off?"
This seemed like it was going to be difficult at first but then once I saw it was movie sequels, not so at all. I think it would have been accomplished quite nicely without the grid art which I found was a bit of a distraction. Those L’s!
ReplyDeleteSLEEKEN sounds like a major MUWOC (Made-Up Word Of Convenience per @Nancy), while DOTER and OGREISH also seemed suspect. As for the movies … I loved both Sister Acts, liked both Home Alones, never saw the slasher, and hated Mamma Mia so much that I gag at the thought of MMII. Seriously, that one barely passed the breakfast test for me.
Probably my least favorite type of a grid (a trivia test masquerading as a crossword puzzle). This one is a veritable hit list of things I would rather do without, starting with a PPP theme, and including such things as Roman deities, Spanish vocabulary, quasi-words like OGREISH, movie, book and author references, clues that try to be too cute (see AMNESIA), a dog from Tibet, and the name of what appears to be a ski resort.
ReplyDeleteI’ll give the constructor credit for trying to warn me by asking for something Swahili right out of the gate at 1A. I’m sure there are many people who enjoy this type of puzzle, and more power to you. I do think the Gunk Festival is gearing up to return with a vengeance though.
So your solution is to... destroy the whole point of the grid art by adding the word "sequel"? You do realize that defeats the purpose, right? Also, that it wouldn't actually help people who don't know the names of the sequels?
ReplyDeleteHaving finished the puz without figuring out the theme, I'm walking the dog and the "aha" moment appeared when SEQUEL popped up in my mind with the (initially) two "I"s merging into a II. A big smile ensued. And maybe the pair of left/right blocking squares represent colons as part of the titles?
ReplyDeleteSolved as themeless. No clue what was going on. The grid art looked like I beams plus some... other... black spaces? It would have been cool to have only the II in black squares. Anyway, I just thought the themers were songs from the movies or some other trivia thing (did NOE even have music? never seen it). The Sister Act themer reminds me of my husband's old law partner: she used to be a nun but she got out of the habit (true story!).
ReplyDelete