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Traditional circular dwelling / MON 5-4-26 / Culinary personality Lakshmi / Suddenly feels repulsed by a romantic partner / Slogan encouraging the use of seatbelts / Simple game requiring steady hands / Fasten, as a ship's rope / 2017 Pixar film set in Mexico
Monday, May 4, 2026
Constructor: Kate Schutzengel
Relative difficulty: Easy? (I once again failed the Downs-only solve bec. wtf is an AMENITY KIT lol)
Theme answers:
- CHICK FLICK (17A: "Sleepless in Seattle" or "Legally Blonde," informally)
- BRICK BY BRICK (23A: Methodical way for something to be built)
- CLICK IT OR TICKET (37A: Slogan encouraging the use of seatbelts)
- PICK UP STICKS (48A: Simple game requiring steady hands)
Skye terrier, breed of dog that was originated as a hunter on the Isle of Skye, Scotland, and has remained relatively unchanged for about 400 years. In the 19th century the Skye was one of the most popular terriers and was used as a working dog as well as the pet of the nobility. It is characterized as sturdy, alert, and good-tempered. It has a large head, long body, and short legs, and its ears are either erect or hanging. The long, straight coat ranges from black to pale yellowish brown. Adult height is 9.5 to 10 inches (24 to 25 cm); weight is about 24 pounds (11 kg). (britannica.com)
• • •
Also D.O.A.—my attempt to solve this thing Downs-only. I laughed out loud, and continue to laugh out loud, at AMENITY KIT, a phrase I am learning Just Now, despite my having literally spent Thursday and Friday nights in a hotel! I was mentally scanning the hotel room and bathroom while trying to imagine what ___ KIT could be. The only KIT I could think of was a SHAVING KIT. Also, I (wrongly) inferred LUMEN instead of LUMET at 30A, and that "N" really added to my troubles. There finally ended up being too many letters that I had to infer that weren't clearly inferable, and none of them were helping me see AMENITY. G-PS, A-AT, L-NA, LUME-, -RS ... I couldn't fill any of these GAPS (!!!) confidently enough to begin to get a handle on AMENITY. Ah well. That's the danger of Downs-only solving; sometimes you crash and burn. I just wish I'd crashed and burned on something more interesting than AMENITY KIT (a debut answer, unsurprisingly). [validation!—I went downstairs and saw that my wife, also a Downs-only Monday solver, had the entire puzzle finished ... except AMENITY KIT]
SKIPS SCHOOL sounds more natural to me than SKIPS CLASS (29D: Plays hooky), but ... maybe I'm just responding to the alliteration. SKIP(S) CLASS is definitely a thing. Way more of a thing than AMENITY KIT. Besides AMENITY KIT, I didn't have any trouble with the Downs-only solve. Just little stuff. BLAST for BLARE (25D: Play loudly, as from a speaker). MCAT saved me from inferring POP TOP instead of MOP TOP (47D: Exam for a future doc), which would not have occurred to me. Not much left to talk about in this grid besides the short overfamiliar stuff (of which there is a lot). Oh, and IT'S LIT, an expression that somehow already sounds dated. LIT on its own, in this modern sense of "exciting" or "excellent" ("fire"), seems fine on its own, but somehow "IT'S LIT" sounds contrived, like a parent trying to convince their teenager to go to church because the pastor plays guitar or something. "You'll love it, honey. All the kids say that it's really lit!" Now that we've established that it sounds corny, I really want to teach an introductory literature course called "IT'S LIT!" We will read exclusively about things that are on fire (Fahrenheit 451!), or else people who are drunk (Gatsby!). Or maybe, ironically, we'll read "The Little Match Girl." Too morbid? Possibly.
Bullets:
- 17A: "Sleepless in Seattle" or "Legally Blonde" (CHICK FLICK) — still not the hugest fan of this term, which sounds like a derogatory thing guys say about movies that they wouldn't be interested in because they're "for girls." Sleepless in Seattle and Legally Blonde are both good movies. It would not occur to me to call either a "CHICK FLICK."
- 26D: Traditional circular dwelling (YURT) — "Traditional" not really giving you a lot. Maybe add an adjective or something ("Mongolian!"), if only for color.
- 64A: Fasten, as a ship's rope (BELAY) — it gets a little nautical down below, with BELAY following hard on the heels of MAST (62A: Pole on a sailboat). BELAY is obviously the much more technical term. I think it's a rock-climbing term, too, isn't it? Yes.
- 1D: 2017 Pixar film set in Mexico (COCO) — I'm learning that COCO is by far the dominant four-letter animated film in crosswords. You'd think it would be ELIO, but ... I guess that movie wasn't popular enough.
- 39D: Reassurance after a loud crash, say ("I'M OK!") —maybe the best clue I've seen for "I'M OK." Paints a vivid picture.
- 48D: Culinary personality Lakshmi (PADMA) — "Culinary personality" is such a weird phrase. "Hey, I met this new woman and I really like her! She's beautiful!" "What's her personality like?" "Uh ... culinary?" "Is she a chef?" "... maybe?" Lakshmi is the creator, host, and executive producer of Taste the Nation with PADMA Lakshmi.
- 7D: Sound effect for a bop on the head (BOINK!) — maybe my favorite part of the puzzle. I have a smiley face drawn next to it. I'm also fond of YOINK!
That's all. See you next time.
[Follow Rex Parker on BlueSky and Facebook and Letterboxd]
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86 comments:
Cute enough early week theme and well filled. I didn’t know the revealer either but didn’t really need it - the repeating letter string in the themers was clear enough. Liked BRICK BY BRICK.
MAINE
The big guy summarizes things nicely this morning - you SKIP school when you play hooky - you SKIP CLASS to smoke a joint. AMENITY KIT is odd for a long one but I can deal with it. Liked BOINK and TETON - BELAY could have been edited out.
Watch That Man
Pleasant little Monday morning solve.
ASK
What Rex said about the theme; never heard of the phrase, and it doesn't work in the singular. GETS didn't bother me, though, so not quite what he said. As for CHICK FLICK, the constructor says she doesn't use the term derogatorily because she loves them, and she's a woman, so who am I to judge?
I'm by no means a sailor, but somehow the clue "ship's rope" really grates. Ships don't have ropes, they have lines. It wouldn't bother me if the puzzle section was not so consistently wrong with its use of nautical language.
I spent about ten seconds amazed that Rex, far more of a movie-lover than I, could not know Sidney LUMET. Then I realized that was an across answer, and he was doing downs-only.
Aside from the theme, did enjoy this puzzle. I'm not sure why, though.
I didn't struggle with it but I think if an amenity kit more as what you get on an airline in first class rather than the free toiletries at a hotel
Calvin and Hobbes was really, really good.
The puzzle ... not so much. In particular, the revealer does not reveal what is going on - it's just kind of tangentially related to the double ICKs. If you don't have a revealer that works, drop the revealer and add another themer. Like TRICKY DICK or ... well, that's all I have off the top of my head.
Well, this was a personal best time for me (not solving downs only) so I’m happy. Basically I just typed as fast as I could, no hold-ups anywhere except… the revealer itself. The phrase itself is fine, but related to a romantic partner? I don’t think that describes how romantic relationships go sour, you don’t just suddenly wake up one morning and find yourself repulsed by your partner do you? I mean, I’ve been happily married to the same man for over 40 years and sure, there are things he does that annoy me, and even a few habits that I find quite unappealing (think toilet seat position), so maybe I’m not one to talk. I think it’s an ok revealer, but it needed a different clue.
I’ve never used the term AMENITYKIT myself, but as soon as I saw it, I could picture all the little kits I’ve seen in hotel bathrooms. But why is there never a little toothpaste tube? That would be truly useful, the thing I’m most likely to forget.
I love Rex’s idea for a new lit course!
Has anyone heard from Bob Mills?
nice humblebrag:)
I haven’t seen Legally Blonde, but I would have gone with ROM COM for Sleepless in Seattle. I was still flirting with downs only when that materialized, so I wasn’t thrown off by the clue. I punted on D/O when I had no idea about AMENITY KIT and needed the crosses to assist.
It was nice to have PADMA join us today. Taste the Nation was a fun watch. I believe it ran for two seasons and was not picked up for a third by Hulu. Prior to that she was the host of Top Chef for like 20+ years.
I never would have associated GETS THE ICK with romance - it sounds more like something you would experience by eating undercooked seafood.
Hey All !
Can't say I've heard that expression, GETS THE ICK. Can say I've been on both sides of it, though. 😁
Fast, good MonPuz. Wasn't ICKy for me. Surprisingly tough to fill cleanly with all those K's everywhere, so kudos to Kate on keeping fill klean.
67A clue has me perplexed. Shouldn't it be "Golden", not "Goodie"? Ah, wait, an OLDIE but a goodie, maybe? But with radio, it seems it'd be a Golden OLDIE. Thoughts?
Nice to see YURT again. It's been a minute. Those are neat camping alternatives. Close to glamping.
Welp, hope y'all have a great Monday!
Two F's
RooMonster
DarrinV
Listening to NPR without ever bothering to look up their names, I’m very familiar with, yet totally oblivious to the spelling of LAKSHMI SINGH(sp?). Not so familiar with famous(?) culinary personalities.
Also, I think of all days, today would be the best day to sneak in a Star Wars reference without much pushback from the likes of Rex.
A quicker than usual Monday. Responding to Rex's review, I don't think I've heard of the revealer as a standalone phrase, but I surmise that each answer GETS THE ICK sequence twice, where "GETS" here is a close synonym of "is allotted/allowed" rather than "receives", a subtle difference. Anyway, I didn't think that particular nit from the review was that significant. The "twice" cannot be derived from the revealer, true, so I guess he's saying it didn't STICK the landing, har.
One thing I didn't get an ick feeling from is the puzzle itself: while some of the filler entries may have been bland, they were certainly not offensive. That may sound like faint praise, but no, I actually do appreciate not having the junkiest of gunk littering the place. Nothing too tortured or strained. No entry to BLARE out, "I'm an avoidable piece of ugliness!" For example, for the initialisms I see, all but one of them (LAN) are so much in the language that you don't stop to wonder WTH? or "now what does that stand for?". This may be why I found it such a smooth solve.
I wonder how many solvers would have been flummoxed if the clue for PICKUPSTICKS had involved the nursery rhyme: "Five, six, pick up sticks... nine, ten, a big fat hen". Do kids still learn these things? It's a bit of a useless rhyme, since it's easy enough to teach kids to count anyway, but it's somehow nice to think of the continuity that ties my own childhood experience to that of older generations that stretch back to, in this case, at least the 1800s. I get the impression that the succession has been broken; what I do know that I never passed on to my own kids the little rhyme, and I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be alone in that.
Spring is more and more evidence. I plan to enjoy this day. Hope you do too.
Horrible revealer. Otherwise, the puzzle was just boring.
Well put: The big guy summarizes things nicely this morning - you SKIP school when you play hooky - you SKIP CLASS to smoke a joint.
Ships have sheets, or at least the sals do.
Now I really want to go back to college to take @Rex’s “It’s Lit” course. Agree completely with OFL about the theme not working and being unappealing as a term. Mostly harmless puzzle that is better without the revealer.
On our flight today we’ve been promised an AMENITY KIT!
Happy to know that Mr & Mrs RP will likely never GET THE ICKs, confirmed in part by their identical Monday puzzle fails. Sweet!
Couldn't agree more that the revealer needed to be plural. We finished the puzzle with the revealer answer all typed in by crosses, so the first time we read the clue was post-solve. We looked at each other and shook our heads. Two stars seems appropriate.
SKIPS CLASS sounds more like an exercise group than school avoidance. I had assumed that "hooky" referred to going fishing, for which one would likely need more than one class worth of time. But the word "hooky" itself is considered of Dutch origin ("hoekje spelen" meaning play hide-and-seek) which they brought to New York; the city was then (to me somewhat irrelevantly) referred to in the on line etymology as "formerly New Amsterdam". I'm laughing at the concept of, being from the Boston area, rooting against the New Amsterdam Yankees/Knicks/Jets.
Rex, hand up here to register, if you can get your university to let you conduct on line, for IT'S LIT. I promise not to SKIP CLASS.
It’s odd. I agree with most of the comments that Rex and others made. Yet, I can’t explain it but I liked the puzzle anyway.🎈🎈🎊🎊
No. It’s concerning.
GETS THE ICK is usually in reference to very early dating, when someone you were otherwise enjoying does something you find irritating or gross. (So the clue here is sorta off, as I wouldn't call someone a "romantic partner" at that stage.) I often see it relating to a behavior that isn't outright bad, but just off-putting to a particular person. I got the ick once when I was dating a guy who insisted on moving so he was positioned between me and the road every time we walked around.
Failed my downs only in the exact spot and way OFL did! Was sure that kit ending in ING. Also tried "skips school" twice before confirming I had the verb tense right and school didn't fit.
Like OFL and many others, I have not been blessed, apparently, with an AMENITYKIT, nor did the revealer (for me) stick the landing. The themers were fun to write in after reading the clue and connecting the ICKS but were not helpful in trying to guess the revealer, and I found out why.
Otherwise very easy, I almost remembered LAN and vaguely recognized PADMA, but both needed some crossing help. I did like the clue for Maine, as it's the first thing you see on a big billboard when you cross the border from New Hampshire ( "Not a poor state, a cheap state").
Nice enough Mondecito, KS, but only Kinda Sorta worked with regards to the theme. Thanks for a fair amount of fun.
Well put in putting it well: Well put: The big guy summarizes things nicely this morning - you SKIP school when you play hooky - you SKIP CLASS to smoke a joint.
My pet peeve that comes up too often in the NYT: referring to the Inca people as "ancient." The Incan empire began in roughly 1438 CE and lasted until the Spanish conquering of 1533. We don't usually refer to the events of 1533 as ancient—for example, that's the same year Henry VIII married Anne Boleyn. Even granting that the Inca people predate the formal empire, that would go back to the medieval era at the earliest.
I don't think it's intentional, but this phrasing (which I've also seen about Mayan and Aztec people) implies that the near-destruction of indigenous Americans was much longer ago than it really was, and on top of that subtly erases the fact that Incan and Mayan people still exist.
Guess I'm the outlier because I know the phrase "gets the ick." First, ick is always singular. The word refers to something done by the person you're dating (perhaps even more than casually) that is an immediate turnoff or deal breaker
Nits abound but this seemed to me a fun puzzle with some catchy phrases for answers. Definitely first thought about Sleepless was “romcom”. To further ruin everyone’s breakfast, ICK (or ICh) is short for the long Latin name describing a marine fish parasite, tiny white dots, that can create havoc in one’s aquarium. So kinda appropriate here, but still ICKy. The Calvin and Hobbes strip had a nice kICK to it….and now back to my coffee…
Why are the sounds of an ancient Peruvian imitating an owl like two partners in crime? They're both INCAhoots.
The Scottish @ sign is known as a MCAT.
I recently lost my favorite knife. It was old and the handle was discolored but man ITSLIT.
The patron saint of revulsion was the obscure Norwegian friar Heick Hellguy. When you feel revulsion it is said that you GETSTHEICK.
Stop me if you've heard this one, but I once found myself in a rousing game of PICKUPSTICKS with Tom Hanks and his son at their remote cabin at Petit Lake in the Idaho Sawtooths. I am still somewhat crestfallen to report that Tom cheats at this game and his son agrees with me.
The last two days make me realize how much I value the unadulterated positivity that @Lewis brings to his comments. I enjoyed the thoroughly icky themers. Thanks, Kate Schutzengel.
I knew Gets the ick right away, it's a common expression. But it only really applies to the early stages of dating. An example would be, you had a nice first date with a guy and you're into him. On the second date, you talk about movies. You say you love Legally Blonde, and ask if he's seen it. He says "No, I don't really like chick flicks." That gives you the ick.
The ick doesn't make sense in the context of marriage or long term relationships, where you obviously have a lot more information about your partner and you see them as whole people and accept their flaws as part of them.
I'm sorry but if you are in Switzerland ALP does not mean Swiss peak. it means a rocky shoulder of the mountain below the peak.
(And did anyone else think Bill ODDIE was the "Goodie"?)
Rex! I would absolutely take your It’s Lit! Class! But you have to say it like in rapper Travis Scott’s song lol!
And this was also a standout to me:
39D: Reassurance after a loud crash, say ("I'M OK!") —maybe the best clue I've seen for "I'M OK." Paints a vivid picture.
May 4th is Star Wars Day, and there is nary a Star Wars clue. This should please the big man.
If Jefferson Airplane opened for the Stones, you'd get to see Slick and Mick.
Happy Star Wars Day -- without a reference to Star Wars! How many days?
Best post of the day!!! Throw in Jessie’s girl and you’d have Slick, Mick and Rick
ODDIE certainly ran through my mind, but I figured NYT editors would not know him.
Ages ago several CLASSmates and I SKIPped school, somehow my dad knew it and knew where we were, (way pre-cell phones), and called after the principal called him, (they were going alphabetically), so the rest of my SKIPper friends would either warn their folks or fret for the rest of the day, maybe dad!!
I agree with Rex about the theme, and I was also unfamiliar with the revealer phrase and found myself somewhat sad to learn it. But I did very much enjoy the theme answers, so my enjoyment factor on this puzzle was high. A nice beginning to the week. And as a woman who hit high school in the 90s, the golden age of CHICK FLICKS, I don’t hear the tones of derogatory bro-culture in the phrase. We certainly used the term with fondness when we were the target audience.
Even after all these many years of solving, I still feel that any theme that works in any way is a major feat and I very much enjoyed this one. I understand the inconsistencies, they just don't bother me too much. I've said many times that a Monday solve that can keep my attention to the end is a good solve. And this one did.
I somehow heard of the revealer, either overhearing the many younger folks in my office chat amongst themselves (whenever I decide to not work from home) or stumbling over some podcast. As @Rachel and @Adrienne pointed out, I've always understood it to refer to more of a first meeting/early dating thing than with someone with whom you're already romantically involved. If the latter is the case, like @Rex, I think that sounds absolutely awful. Saying this, I'm going to ask my wife of 33 years if she ever GETSTHEICK from me. On second thought, I'm gonna leave that alone, I may not like the answer.
As always, love the spanner and this one CLICKed pretty quickly. The other themers look nice in the grid but I'm 100% with @Rex on CHICKFLICK - always found this to be insulting and a phrase used by guys who thought they were too manly to like some good films.
Also appreciated some natural language with IMOK and ITSME, both very well clued as well.
Thank you for this, Kate. A nice start to the week.
And now on to Monday's Hugh's Haikus:
BRICK BY BRICK I'll STACK
Though this journey leaves a SCAR
My NIKON CLICKs on
Same. Easy solve downs-only except for the NE. Was never gonna get AMENITY KIT. Wtf is that
You’re joking, right?
Jefferson Airplane opened for The Stones at arguably the most infamous concert of all time.
There have been scores of books, hundreds, maybe thousands of articles have been written about the Altamont show. The celebrated documentarians Albert and David Maysles made a famous film about it.
Ugh to Chick Flick.
That would give yiu the ick???
If that’s really the case, tge dude is better off without you.
This is why I always appreciate Lewis explaining his planned absences. I have a list of people/etc for my children to contact if I am incapacitated or die. Were I a regular blogger on this site, I would include it in that list. So many people I enjoy following here disappear without a word and it is truly disconcerting.
That's something that causes me a bit of doubt about my answer for Inca as well. Mayan civilization did start in ancient times but definitely was killed by modern Europeans.
I didn't know SCAR 32A otherwise pretty easy, even for Monday.
Thank you, Kate :)
Easy except for tracking down a typo.
No WOEs and no costly erasures (typos don’t count).
I have heard the phrase.
Junk free grid, amusing theme with a bit of sparkle, liked it quite a bit more than @Rex did.
Croce Solvers - Croce’s Freestyle #1110 was easy-medium for me with the NW a tad tougher than the rest. Good luck!
OK puzzle, interesting write up. I love another of Rex's (obscure?) music picks, First Aid Kit has great vocals and the harmonies are beautiful. I guess I was unaware of plot of The Little Match Girl. My good that's depressing, the story itself is awful but the attempt to justify the poverty and suffering and needless death of people is disgusting.
I only knew "Belay" as in "Belay that!" -- meaning "Ignore that" or "stop that and do something else" ("Belay that and go to your post!"). Never heard of it in the knotty sense.
Well, yep -- the puzthemers definitely had nice ICK Factors to em. Kinda cute, even tho the phrase GETSTHEICK didn't ring at all familiar, at our house.
har. AMENITYKIT would definitely be a solid Downs-Only-Solvequest 86-er.
staff weeject pick: TSK. Distant ICK cousin.
fave moo-cow eazy-E MonPuz clue: {"The ___ is clear!"} = COAST. Got my solvequest off to a primo gimm&e start, right outta the chute.
fave stuff included: SKIPSCLASS/DEAN crossin. PADMA [PADMA was a no-know, but wouldn'ta been, if its clue were: {PADPA's main squeeze??}]. CHICKFLICK. ITSLIT [Stevie King series about weird sewer-dwellin clowns?].
PADME woulda been a cool Star Wars reference. Sooo close!
Thanx for the icky fun, Ms. Schutzengel darlin. Nice, smoooth fillins, btw.
Masked & Anonymo4Us
p.s.
Runt puzzle:
**gruntz**
M&A
. . . just added to the bill: Robin THICKE, Cheap TRICK, BRICK (yes, there's a band by that name), LICK (ditto), STYX (close enough) . . .
Add Rick Derringer and Nick Lowe and you've got some line-up there!
I want to defend/extrapolate on “getting the ick” since it’s gotten a lot of flack as the theme. It’s a useful phrase! As mentioned, it’s usually in the early dating phase (well before commitment). It’s also unique to the ick-ee. Someone above said she didn’t like when the man moved between her and the street; this is a lesser-practiced element of old-school chivalry and I feel neutrally about it.
It’s often about silly or random things, but somehow instantaneously indicates a mismatch in personalities. Just extinguishes all spark or attraction. And it’s very hard to recover from!
More examples might be useful. A friend who dresses carefully got it when her date (in his 30s) pulled out a Velcro wallet. Another rather serious friend, first date, when he (again, 30s) jumped over a puddle, did a little dance because he didn’t get his socks wet, and looked hopefully at her for joyful validation. Maybe he thought it was cute and funny (?), but she found it a degree of toddler-esque that she finds distasteful in relationships. I love to cook and got it when a guy refused to taste a bit of really high quality olive oil (“do you know how many calories are in that?!” he asked, horrified), then refused to add salt to an underseasoned chili “because the beans already had sodium.” Ugh. No. I’m not eating bland food for the rest of my life. Pass.
Hope this helps!
A great example of "getting the ick" occurred in Hacks this season, when Ava started dating a really hot guy and then found out his dream was to be a magician. His post-coital botching of a trick really gave her the ick.
In Chicago, we usually refer to them as "dusties," in honor of legendary radio DJ ("deejay"?) Herb Kent ("The Kool Gent") who is believed to have coined the term, and who was known as "King of the Dusties" for his shows that features beloved songs from earlier years.
I think GETS THE ICK is a fairly recent phrase, or at least I just ran into it not so long ago, in the NYT, I think. In fact, it was in the NYT, published last June. The example of disgusting behavior in the first two paragraphs tells you all you need to know about the ICK. :-)
Except for not paying attention to the second half of 22A's clue and letting doRIC be the column in said clue (I fixed that), this puzzle put up little fight. Lots of gimmes with all the ICKs. (Why is autocorrect trying to capitalize Gimme? What have I missed?)
I applaud Kate Schutzengel's attempt to use the trendy ICK phrase as a revealer but as Rex points out, it seems not quite right.
Also couldn't finish Downs Only because of AMENITYKIT. Also tripped up by LUMEN, for LUMET.
Ironic that Sleepless In Seattle has a scene in it where the guys use the phrase Chick Flick.
Hey! I succeeded in Downs-Only when Rex didn’t! A guy who, by any measure, is much better than I am at crossword puzzles.
I think the revealer DOES work, because “getting the ick” means perceiving something icky about a person in early dating. And, in the theme answers, there are “ick”s imbedded in them. That one would find, but not at first glance.
Great comment.
When I first noticed that some crosswords I did had themes I thought of them as a word game within the game and I' pretty sure they did not have revealers. They just had something going n with some answers the ay this one had the repeated "ick."
This puzzle might have been fine , a good Monday, with out the revealer.
Anonymous aa 9:04. AGREE "ancient" not appropriate for Incas mainly because they still exist, but also because the empire wa ot so long ago.
MAD Magazine cartoonist Don Martin was, is, and always will be the undisputed king of comic strip sound effects. "SPLOIDOING!" "SIZAFITZ!" "PLOOF!" "PLAK!"" "PWANG!" "SLAPADAP!" "SHKLORTCH!" . . . the list goes on.
I checked the RP archives - the last time @Bob Mills posted was 4/15. No mention of having to be away from the blog.
I include myself among those who have never heard of "gets the ick". In reviewing these few posts, I find it interesting that it appears that those who are more likely to be familiar with the expression are women (including the puzzle constructor). I wonder if that would be true in a larger sample as well. Also, why can't you "get the ick" from someone's behavior in a context other than dating?
mments again) Ι had the most trouble in the SW. Nobo
Very similar to the solve at the @Rex household. Also executed downs-only and also got hung up for some time on AMENITY KIT. Could not infer a handful of crosses. I had KIT and I said to myself, “Oh great, a mystery KIT!” And the terminal Y in mystery popped visually into 34A, giving me YRS, where I had been considering ERS, ORS, SRS, and even the IRS. That gave me a little boost and I thought maybe I claw my way through this inane final entry. And I did. Yay me.
Felt the same way about the theme’s relationship to the themers but I didn’t mind the actual revealer phrase. I’ve heard it before. Somewhere.
Thanks for the Calvin and Hobbes. Best comic strip ever.
Sorry about that nonsense first line. I type my new notes over old ones and seem to have forgotten how to use the delete key.
Because theyre watching An Affair to Remember— on the Mt Rushmore of the genre.
Like Rex and many of you, my downs only was foiled by never having heard of AMENITY KIT. I had the KIT part and all I could come up with was SHAVING. And also never heard of GETS THE ICK but it was obvious from crosses and the themers.
On the long list of Things I Don't Like in crosswords, Unknown Names is near the top, and Pixar films is in the middle somewhere. PADMA is the former, but COCO is both! (Well it wasn't totally unknown, I recognized it when I finally got it, but just couldn't get it from the clue.)
Lots of typeovers before I gave up on downs only, eg BLAST before BLARE for the loud speaker. And with the terminal K in place I went through several for 7 down BOINK: CLUNK, THUNK, WHACK.
cbisket, you (and your friends) seem to have had extensive experience with "getting the ick". Not sure I'm sad for you; you seem to be wiser (and safer, interpersonally) for the experience.
And in virtually all the explanatory "ick" comments (except the anon guy who dissed Rachel), a male was the cause. Presumably all females reading this just muttered "duh".
You’re not married to a man are you?
"Nobody Wants This" has a whole episode called "The Ick" about this particular issue.
On my recent diverted flight 188 Incheon, Korea to Atlanta due to a bomb scare, I was in my first time in Delta Premium Select. My AMENITY KIT contained: an eye mask, ear plugs, lip gloss, toothbrush, toothpaste. We also got slippers and noise canceling headphones. A fancy white cloth under our meals, of which we missed out on 2 due to said "suspicious package". Yes, 10 hours into 14 hour flight some genius left a weird box in the lav.
Got full credit on Delta. Got sniffed by sniffer dogs, greeted by SWAT team, firemen etc. Landed in ATL at 2am instead of 5pm, got to enjoy a free stop at SEA TAC.
I tried to guess the revealer and came up with “the ICK factor,” which seems like a thing. Never heard of GETSTHEICK but it doesn’t bother me, especially as explains by @Adrienne and @Rachel. BTW, Adrienne, it used to be plain old good manners for the gentleman to walk on the side closer to the road, along with things like opening a car door for a lady. We women’s lib folk made damn sure everyone knew we could open our own doors and didn’t need a man’s protection. So it’s ironic that now whenever Mr. A and I walk, I make sure he’s by the road! (He doesn’t often open the car door but when he does I think it’s quaint.)
I’m on the fence about whether to be offended by CHICK. Guess I’m CHICK ’n waffling. (Apologies to @egsforbreakfast and @liveprof - actually to everyone.)
The puzzle was so easy I wrote too fast and had to go back to correct BLAst, NoKia and the apparently popular SKIPSchool. I did slow down enough to check crosses after AMENITies didn’t fit. Not sure how to transform “oops entries” into something that would fit @Gary’s “-ly easy” list, so I won’t try. You’re welcome.
@pablo from yesterday, I loved “going full Nancy” - thanks for the reminder! I miss her personal insights and her firm stance on solver experience vs. constructor calisthenics.
Here’s an OLDIE but a goodie. Listen for when Simon says PICK it up, PICK it up
Mimi L
@Les, glad to know I'm not the only one constantly deleting and retyping! I blame the clunkiness of the comment box for causing a lot of it.
I’m an old chick and I like CHICKFLICK. TIL GETSTHEICK which seems like a useful phrase! It certainly helped me get SKYE (cute pic, Rex!) Enjoyed this fine Monday puzzle, thank you!
Anon 10:24. I'm usually joking but this time I just forgot the Airplane opened for the Stones at Altamont. Still, can't we just remember the good times?
Este lugar está en llamas.
As someone spending most of his life GIVING the ICK, you can see how this puzzle would be close to my heart.
I am surprised by the level of gradation some of you need regarding playing hooky. And I am aware many of you have been out of high school for some time. Skip a class, skip all day, you already knew it all anyway, amirite?
I just reread my discussion of last year's May the 4th stinker, and I think we're lucky to have yer basic double ICK today.
❤️ BOINK.
😫 AMENITY KIT.
People: 6
Places: 5
Products: 10 {oof}
Partials: 5
Foreignisms: 1
--
Gary's Grid Gunk Gauge: 27 of 78 (35%)
Funny Factor: 2 😕
Tee-Hee: Move like a fairy.
Uniclues:
1 Rode an afro wannabe.
2 Store where fish buy hats.
3 The box of electrical supplies used by my dominatrix.
1 SAT ON MOP TOP
2 EEL CAPS GALORE (~)
3 WILD AMENITY KIT (~)
My Fascinating Crossword Uniclue Keepsake from Last Year: I clue this unfortunate pairing and I go down the river Styx, you clue it and maybe you laugh, but it's a cheap laugh at a tired trope so don't do it. BLOWUP DOLL BED CHECK.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Busy today, but just have to “weigh in” on GETTINGTHEICK. I THINK you generally GETTHEICK during the infatuation point of a relationship. I have to believe that…unless someone has drunk Vegas marriage…many people GETTHEICK and move on. If the person you’re with is stellar in every way…there is usually some kind of ICK. It’s ALWAYS a matter of degree, because NO one is beyond an “ick.”
I agree @Adrienne on your take but omg…I’m 71. My FATHER did that move to get by curb when I was young! I asked him once about it. He said it was to make sure the woman didn’t get sprayed with water on the road. Anyway, I guess the guy you mention was raised “old school.” I get it, but he was, I guess, raised “gentlemanly.”
tht
That nursery rhyme about pick up sticks also has a variation, which I learned as a child. instead of “a big fat hen” , which I don’t remember ever hearing. I learned “do it again “. I agree with your comments about the feeling of connection to the past.
Ellen
I never heard the expression though I found it interesting.fi am an elderly man). I have the feeling that it is an expression popular among younger women. Rex thought it was just age and being successfully married but it wouldn’t surprise me if a lot of young men have never even heard it either.
Pretty nasty comment by Abonymous 10:25 AM. That sort of attitude might prevent a second date, never mind a third. The point Rachel was making is that a sexist comment coming from a man in that situation doesn’t bode well, so not worth the effort.
Michael
Interesting information about what Alpe, means in Switzerland b
But we are not in Switzerland, nor do we speak Swiss German or French.
I googled alp. Very high mountain.
My guess is alp is a local term which changed its meaning as the word spread to other languages. In the Times, nothing wrong with the answer
Unfortunately, I recently learned about what one means when she GETS THE ICK, and it’s so disappointing to have learned, and so potentially hurtful that I fervently wish I could unknow it . Pushes all my “Kids spend too much time on social media and not nearly enough time actually being together without the dang screens!” buttons.
Unless I was misinformed by both my granddaughter and the internet, and I freely admit that’s entirely possible, when one GETS THE ICK, it’s for something about a person you were starting to become close to or currently dating, but suddenly a minor thing (such as - offered several times in my three or four minute search - “chewing too loud(sic)” that admittedly is likely off-putting (possibly in the extreme) but that one thing makes you reject that person without further consideration. Apparently, once one GETS THE ICK it’s over. No discussion, no back and forth. What?
I was raised to govern people a chance and to be kind. This GenZ behavior troubles me. To be “Gen Z slang,” it must be very common in current usage. Fortunately, my Grace has a different opinion and also said she thinks its mean.
That entry alone very likely colored my opinion of the overall puzzle unfairly. I also hope that I am mistaken in my understanding of phrase. Alas, I think it more probable that common usage of such a rude and hurtful phrase supports my conclusion that social media and constant attention to “the screen” and very little time spent in sincere face to face communication have caused people not fully to consider the effect of all the off the cuff commentary on the people receiving its message.
Finally, the oddest thing about the theme and its reveal is that the reveal is wholly u related to the theme answers. They’re just answers containing ICK. Makes me think that our constructor, thinking the theme phrase is funny, was eager to use it.
Other than the theme, the puzzle was a Monday puzzle.
We had a Skye Terrier named Doodles when I was a kid. Absolutely crushed my mother when she died. Sweet pooch.
Sincere apologies for all my typos lately. I’ve mentioned before that I often have visual problems (from inflammatory autoimmune disease) that make it difficult to look at any size typeface - even magnified. When I try to dictate, the “auto misspelling/misunderstanding” feature makes it that much more likely to have errors.
@tht an dgd, since Ii’m on the older end if the neighborhood spectrum, continuity of silly things like mnemonics and “learning rhymes” do often feel pleasantly nostalgic. While I initially heard the counting rhyme with the hen, when I used it at home, Gran told me to change it to “do it again.”
Well sure, I am being pedantic. But a crossword blog is a safe space for that, right? :-)
The clue was "Swiss peak" - the answer should be a word for peak in Switzerland surely. I will accept "peak" - or Spitze or sommet or (googling) cima. But the Swiss would not say "ALP"!
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