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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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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.
ReplyDeleteMAINE
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
Well put: The big guy summarizes things nicely this morning - you SKIP school when you play hooky - you SKIP CLASS to smoke a joint.
DeleteWell 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.
DeleteWhat 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?
ReplyDeleteI'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.
Ships have sheets, or at least the sals do.
DeleteI 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
ReplyDeletenice humblebrag:)
DeleteCalvin and Hobbes was really, really good.
ReplyDeleteThe 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.
ReplyDeleteI’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?
ReplyDeleteNo. It’s concerning.
DeleteI 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.
ReplyDeleteIt 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 !
ReplyDeleteCan'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.
ReplyDeleteAlso, 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.
ReplyDeleteOne 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.
ReplyDeleteNow 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.
ReplyDeleteOn our flight today we’ve been promised an AMENITY KIT!
ReplyDeleteHappy to know that Mr & Mrs RP will likely never GET THE ICKs, confirmed in part by their identical Monday puzzle fails. Sweet!
ReplyDeleteCouldn'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.🎈🎈🎊🎊
ReplyDeleteGETS 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.
ReplyDeleteFailed 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.
ReplyDeleteOtherwise 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.
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.
ReplyDeleteI 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
ReplyDeleteNits 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…
ReplyDeleteWhy are the sounds of an ancient Peruvian imitating an owl like two partners in crime? They're both INCAhoots.
ReplyDeleteThe 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.
ReplyDeleteThe 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.
ReplyDelete(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!
ReplyDeleteAnd 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.
ReplyDeleteIf Jefferson Airplane opened for the Stones, you'd get to see Slick and Mick.
ReplyDelete