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Relative difficulty: Easy
Word of the Day: ALMA Thomas (39A: Painter ___ Thomas, first Black woman to have a solo exhibition at the Whitney Museum) —
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| [Red Azaleas Singing and Dancing Rock and Roll Music, 1976] |
Alma Woodsey Thomas (September 22, 1891 – February 24, 1978) was an American artist and art teacher who lived and worked in Washington, D.C., and is now recognized as a major American painter of the 20th century. She is the first African-American woman to be included in the White House's permanent art collection. Thomas is best known for the "exuberant", colorful, abstract paintings that she created after she retired from a 35-year career teaching art at Washington's Shaw Junior High School.
Thomas, who is often considered a member of the Washington Color School art movement but alternatively classified by some as an Expressionist and/or Black Abstractionist, earned her teaching degree from University of the District of Columbia (known as Miner Normal School at the time). She was the first graduate of Howard University's art department, and maintained connections to that university through her life. She achieved success as an African-American female artist despite the segregation and prejudice of her time.
Thomas's reputation has continued to grow since her death. Her paintings are displayed in notable museums and collections and have been the subject of several books and solo museum exhibitions. The Smithsonian American Art Museum maintains the world's largest public collection of her work. In 2021, a museum sold Thomas's painting Alma's Flower Garden in a private transaction for $2.8 million. (wikipedia)
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| [5D: Milky Way's nearest major galaxy] |
Anyway, I was grateful, for once, that my Saturday puzzle was (very) easy, because I felt very rusty after nine days or so away. I'm also grateful that the puzzle is so strong, because I didn't really want to resume blogging with a lot of ughs and aarghs and "why"s? Gotta keep those good vacation vibes going ... just like Cabo Verde did last night against Argentina, omg, did you see that match? Inspiring. The (extreme) underdogs ultimately lost, but not before stunning everyone (not least Argentina) by coming back to tie the match not once but twice, taking the reigning World Cup champs deep into overtime before finally losing 3-2. Funny to see the clue on OTS this morning (35A: Golden goal periods, for short), as there is no "Golden Goal" in World Cup play (as posted broadcast messages kept reminding me). You play two 15-minute OT segments, and if no one is ahead after that, you go to PKs (penalty kicks) to decide it. Argentina scored in the second OT period and that ended up being that, but Cabo Verde kept coming at them til the very end. It was the biggest world ranking disparity (no. 1 vs. no. 64) in the history of the World Cup knockout rounds and for a while there it seemed bizarrely possible that the match might go to PKs and I might witness a truly historic upset. But alas, that was not to be. Still, great, great match. And this was a great, great puzzle. Sorry, that segue was terrible. I told you I was out of practice.
Traction was never hard to come by today. Off the "C" in ACAI (sorry, AÇAI) (2D: Berry spelled with a cedilla), I got OCEANARIA. I kinda felt like I was making up a word while I was writing it in, but it fit and ... enough crosses confirmed it, so off we go. Couldn't remember TARANA or ROBB (I thought ARYA? Is that someone?) (1D: One of the Starks on "Game of Thrones"), but ANDROMEDA and TRACT and "EAT!" all went in off OCEANARIA, and I was able to piece that corner together from there. Love (love!) the clue on RAP BATTLE at 1A: Bar fight? "Bars" are rhymes in rap. The word "bars" is sometimes used to indicate someone is speaking truth eloquently—the rough equivalent of "amen to that," "you tell 'em," "testify!" After getting out of that NW corner, things got even easier. You can't give a middle-aged guy this clue on a Saturday—too easy:
Bullets:
- 10A: Brand of tights with an apostrophe in its name (L'EGGS) — I didn't know they made anything but pantyhose. Famous for their egg-shaped containers (and display cases):
- 17A: 1991 blockbuster with the tagline "One breath of oxygen and it explodes in a deadly rage" (BACKDRAFT) — really wanted a monster movie here. The "it" was very confusing, though in retrospect, it probably shouldn't have been.
- 47A: Second-smallest U.S. state capital by population (about 14,000 people) (PIERRE) — I somehow missed the word "capital" the first time I read this clue, and thought "what state starts PI-!? I knew I was gonna be rusty today, but ... I didn't think actual state names would fall out of my head." But yes, "capital." PIERRE, no problem (once you learn that there's a state capital with a French guy's name, it's oddly hard to forget) (it's pronounced 'peer' though, not "pee-AIR")
- 11D: Elysia (EDENS) — you don't often see "Elysium" in the plural. You don't often see "Elysium" at all, actually, unless you read (or teach) classical mythology (Elysium is the "good" part of the classical Underworld—Tartarus is the "bad" (think Tantalus, Sisyphus, etc.)
- 35D: One attracted to all gender identities, for short (OMNI) — I guess this is better than your typical [Luxury hotel chain] clue, but ... what happened to PAN? Is PAN not a thing anymore? How is OMNI different from PAN!? Hang on ... ah, here we go: "Pansexuality and omnisexuality are sometimes considered synonymous, but when a distinction is made between them, the former term emphasizes gender blindness, while the latter emphasizes the role of gender in attraction." (wikipedia). And now you (and, more importantly, I) know. If you tried to make PAN work today ("PANO?"), believe me, I understand.
That's all. Nice to be back. Thanks as ever to my capable and entertaining substitute bloggers, Rafa, Mali, and Eli. It's nice to know the blog is in reliable hands while I'm away. See you next time.
[Follow Rex Parker on BlueSky and Facebook and Letterboxd]
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gonna be honest, as a 40yo woman, i've always been a little unsure about the exact delineation between pantyhose/tights/leggings (i know that the stretchy pants that are sometimes worn without another bottom are "leggings"; past that i'm lost), but i think that "tights" is basically synonymous with "pantyhose".
ReplyDeleteAs a 70 yo woman who grew up in the era of early pantyhose-wearing, I can say that pantyhose were revolutionary, the replacement for stockings. Stockings have to be held up by a garter belt. Someone had the brilliant idea of adding ‘panties’ to stockings so that they were all one piece and didn’t need a garter belt. So much more comfortable! And tights are the same thing but thicker and come in dark (usually) colors. Leggings are a whole different animal, even thicker, more like pants.
Delete@natasha 6:28 AM
DeleteStarbucks dress code allows jeggings, but not leggings, and I have spent more time with more employees than I care to admit trying to figure out what the difference is. Just wear pants.
"There is no Golden Goal in World Cup play"... but there sure is a GOLDEN in GOLDEN CALF. I guess the editing team doesn't care about these clue-answer dupes anymore.
ReplyDeleteA solid puzzle all around, ""spoiled"" at the start by me entering RAP BATTLE right away. I've already seen that clue AND used it in one of my amateur (cryptic) constructions on crosshare.org. None of the long answers really stand out, but I do like RAP BATTLE, OCEANARIA, ANDROMEDA, SOULMATE, SEX ED CLASS. VENDEE is... the only real "?!" moment in the fill.
I ended the solve on a not-so-high note with STONE TOOL, which is definitely one of the crossword answers of all time. The SE was the only somewhat tricky part, and I would've gotten SOULMATE sooner if "One" wasn't capitalized. I also doubted ALOO because I recall only ever seeing it at the start of potato dish names in clues.
If you’d already seen the clue, why did you then steal it? Sus.
DeleteThanks for calling out VENDEE. I had a definite “no, it can’t be!” when filling that in.
DeleteSee also yesterday's "Nurse's tote" (KIT) clue and "Bag that contains swag" TOTE dupe.
DeleteWhy would that spoil the puzzle for you? I also entered RAP BATTLE first off (fun clue, hadn’t seen it before!), given that it was the first clue.
DeleteImo, courtcase is a better answer for bar fight.
DeleteAnonymous 11:54?AM
DeleteAs you said, a matter of opinion but I think your suggestion of court case is a valid answer but as explained by Rex, rap battle is much more interesting. and equally valid. (I am a retired lawyer FWIW). Also, the puzzle was on easy side and definitely needed the harder clue. A
I also found it easy (for a Saturday), with one sticking point. I fooled around the top, making unnecessary changes, when something inspired me to change "scheme" to SCHEMA, which had been hiding out somewhere in a brain cavity.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Rex's high rating. The Oscar Wilde quote was a highlight for me.
I also had SCHEMe before SCHEMA. Didn’t know Tarana.
DeleteI never watched game of thrones, so I put TAPBATTLE for bar fight? Because bars have taps and when I lived in Missoula, the Rhino put in 50 taps, which could be viewed as doing ‘battle’ with other bars for business? Anyway I like that better since I don’t care about game of thrones…
ReplyDeleteEven in GOT, tOBB would be an implausible name. I like the tap battle concept
DeleteI had TAPBATTLE also.
DeleteGreat Lakes enthusiasts want to know, Rex - how did Huron stack up against the others? Was it inferior to Superior (my favorite)? I’ve only experienced Huron at Mackinac Island.
ReplyDelete1. Superior, 2. Michigan, 3. Huron/Erie (tie), 5. Ontario
DeleteThanks for the ranking! Let's the rest of us know where to start : )
DeleteActually, Michigan and Huron are really one lake. But agree with Rex’s ranking. On a separate note, next time you have a visitor from another country (or from NY or CA), bring them to a shore of any of the Great Lakes. I guarantee they will be blown away by how big they are.
DeleteWelcome to the ink club Rex - outstanding graphic. Today’s puzzle was fine - no doubt easy but you missed Barbara Lin’s absolute gem of a themeless yesterday - that one is tough to match.
ReplyDeleteBallad of the GREEN BERETS
The obvious highlight here is the spanning Wilde quote - wonderful. The longs were pretty flat after that - OCEANARIA and CREAM SODA are neat but the others didn’t hit for me.
There’s A Moon In The Sky (Called The Moon)
Overall fill worked OK. Don’t love the dual ON TIME - LATE pair and always dislike the “word that becomes something else when you change a letter” clues. The ROLEO - TRUMAN stack is cool and ANDROMEDA is the word of the day.
Paul Weller
Hard to compete against yesterday’s stellar grid - or the 13 colonies Thursday puzzle but this was an enjoyable Saturday morning solve nonetheless. A true Stan Stumper today featuring intersecting spanners will make for a great Fourth solving day.
Prefab Sprout
Sun Volt
DeleteAgree about Andromeda.
The word stuck with me ever since I saw the movie Rex referenced almost sixty years ago . (Excellent movie btw. Very tense and not at all bloated sci fi made on a cheap budget)
Misspelled TaranE Burke’s name and schemE was also correct for “conceptual framework.” Took me forever to find that mistake. Sorta unfair.
ReplyDeleteThe SCHEMA/TARANA cross snared me too. The name was a total unknown to me (I didn’t recognize it as a name, let alone know the specific person), so I figured that’s where my mistake was when I finished, but I thought maybe OCEANARIA was spelled with an I or something. I got it quickly sorted, but Natick territory for sure.
DeleteKent
DeleteOne point about the a cross. Part of a natick as defined by Rex is an uninferable letter. I tried A first because it is more likely ending in a woman’s name. (I also had no idea about the name) And that helped me remember SCHEMA. On a Saturday, I think the cross is hard but fair. Not a natick, according to Rex.
Tough cross with TARANA (an unknown name and not inferable) and SCHEMA (which could easily be SCHEMe)
ReplyDeleteOCEANARIA crossing TARANA was a WOE for me, but ultimately what could it have been but an A? Otherwise agree with @Rex--an easy and enjoyable Saturday.
ReplyDeleteThe puzzle was easy except for the schema/Terana quasi-Natick. Not being familiar with Tarana Burke, scheme/Terance was my "obvious" deduction. Ooof.
ReplyDeleteNice. Agree with ****. And agree with easy.... 12:35 for me which is definitely easy on a Saturday. Welcome back, Rex! I think we are on day 4 without SW....You missed some nice puzzles, a 16 wide grid, a 16 tall grid, you'll catch up I'm sure. Love the Great Lakes tats! Nice. Like you, NW was tough-ish but got me ANDROMEDA and the start of LIFEIMI... , and then the rest of the puzzle got easier. Finished up back in the NW when I finalized TARANA and ROBB and OCEANARIA and RAPBATTLES. Yes, I like CREAMSODA too.... sometimes used to mix in a little non-alcoholic beer to cut the sweetness a bit. Enjoyed seeing TAPIRS. Smallest state capital, by population, is Montpelier VT at around 8,000. Amazing. My 41st anniversary is in 2 days, so SOULMATE seemed like a timely reminder. Thanks, Kareem, for a terrific Saturday puzzle!!! : )
ReplyDeleteHey All !
ReplyDeleteWelcome back, Rex! No more vacations for you. 😁
Found today's puz easier than YesterPuz. Easier than the ThursPuz, also. Got some funky Blocker pattern going on in the grid today, too.
Easy SatPuzs are good for the ever shrinking thinkability of the ole brain. Har.
TARANA unknown here, got from crossers. VENDEE's clue was odd to me. Wanted HELENE briefly for PIERRE. Remember the commercials and store displays for L'EGGS growing up. Very popular in the 70's-80's. Every time I see TRACT, I think of the Monty Python movie line, "She's got huuuuuge ... TRACTS of land!"
Uniclue:
Statement when panicking over a woman's overdue monthly visitor
LATE? GOD HELP ME!
Hope y'all have fun today! The USA is 250! I was around for the 200th Birthday (I was 6), trying to see if I can stick around for age 300!
Happy 4th of July!
Have a great Saturday!
Two F's
RooMonster
DarrinV
Sweet looking grid design, with its four chunky corners and four lightning bolts, a design never before seen in the Times puzzle.
ReplyDeleteAlso, for the first time are seven debut answers. Debuts always add freshness, but they don’t always add interest. However, IMO, these do: BACKDRAFT, BIKERACE, CHILI PASTE, GOD HELP ME, LIFE IMITATES ART, SEX ED CLASS, TARANA.
My senses loved remembering the taste and aroma of CREAM SODA, and flashing on what the quirky, beautiful TAPIR looks like. Tapirs make me smile.
Here’s another Wilde quote that I like: “Be yourself, everyone else is already taken.”
Kareem, your puzzle brought me mucho joy. Thank you so much for making it!
Lewis. As a long-time artist LIFE IMITATES ART, while witty, is not unusual. I can't tell you how many times I've heard or said it. But I loved "Be yourself, everyone else is already taken". Not sure I've heard that one before. Thanks.
DeleteWelcome back, Rex -- so good to hear your voice!
ReplyDeleteWhen I saw the Throne clue, I was ready to rip up the puzzle. I had thought the Times had abandoned that junk. Luckily, I decided to solve it and was surprised how easy and fun it was to do so. ( I also fell into the natick schema trap)🎈🎈🎊🎊
ReplyDeleteWhy would you think that though? I haven't noticed any diminution in GoT clues.
DeleteThere has been a big reduction. Snd why not? The show is no longer large in the public’s imagination.
DeleteGlad you had a wonderful vacation, Rex! It’s very nice to have you back, although the guest bloggers did a good job. I found the puzzle easy but in a nice way, and I actually had a hard time in the NW. Can never remember the Starks’ names (I never watched even one minute of GOT) didn’t remember TARANA’s name, and OCEANARIA is a new term for me.
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed learning those factoids about PIERRE and TRUMAN.
To me, STONE TOOL seemed very much like GREEN PAINT or EAT A SANDWICH. Hopefully there is some specialized meaning that I am unfamiliar with. I also got a chuckle out of ROLEO which sounds like something that Monty Python would do a skit about as parity of loggers trying to have a RODEO. I wonder if there is actually a backstory to the word’s derivation.
ReplyDeleteI’ve been going through a GOCHUJANG phase recently (it was a natural successor to my recent Calabrian Chili infatuation). Yummy stuff, and the mild versions are easy to play nice with.
Insofar as a STONE TOOL isn't usually thought of as an everyday item, I don't think it's as lame as "green paint". (We have one stone tool in our house and that's a mortar and pestle, but normally the phrase conjures up something you'd find in a museum.)
DeleteI had the same reaction to STONE TOOL as @SouthsideJohnny, but I appreciate the distinction @tht makes here, such that STONE becomes an essential category rather than an arbitrary adjective like the GREEN of GREEN PAINT.
DeleteMortar and pestle is not one tool.
DeleteYeah, I figured some anonymous would say that (so very predictable). But they function together as one tool. This may require some higher-order thinking. ;-)
DeleteStone tools mark the Stone Age, a fairly significant marker in human evolution
DeleteSouthside
DeleteI I remembered seeing photos of loggers standing on logs floating in a lake and trying to roll them without falling off. Rolling + rodeo = roleo. I thought the stone tool clue was a clever misdirection. I also agree with tht & Dr. Random that the answer is not great paint.
Thats absurd. Theyvare two tools needed to function. Like a block and tackle.
Deletetht
DeleteI’d love for you ti give me a lesson in higher thinking. Tell me where and when you’d like to give me the lesson. I’ll be there.
13 going on 30 is an absolutely gem and a tearjerker. Our daughter is 14. When Ann Hathaway gets into her mom’s bed during Vienna (Billy Joel) your parents’ heart just melts. Especially seeing how much our sweet little girl is pulling away from us as she finds herself. We are faithful that she’ll come back around. So it’s just nice to see that being portrayed. It’s a moment of answered prayer. And what a great song to play over it!
ReplyDeleteSlow down you crazy child!
Also, and I’m not a political person at all…like haven’t voted in the last two elections just because the mockery the whole thing has become…AND, I happen to think that the idea of political borders is one of the most backwards social constructions that we collectively think is necessary to our survival.
But it does seem a little tone-deaf that the flipping NYT would publish a crossword puzzle ON THE SEMIQUINCENTENNIAL with no reference to the semiquincentennial. If nothing else, it’s an 18 letter word that’s begging to be a marquis answer.
Thursday's rebus was certainly topical. Not sure how an 18 letter word would fit in a 15x15 grid...maybe tomorrow?
DeleteJennifer Garner, not Anne Hathaway.
Delete
ReplyDeleteEasy-Medium. Most of my difficulty was in the NW; luckily, ANDROMEDA (5D) was a gimme.
* * * * _
Overwrites:
My 3D small smack was a buss before it was a PECK (at least I was thinking along the right lines).
irkED before RILED for "Steamed" at 34A.
WOEs:
At 1D, ROBB Stark (all of the GoT Universe is beyond me).
TARANA Burke of the #METOO movement at 6D.
Hymn VENI Sancte Spiritus at 20D.
Painter ALMA Thomas at 39A.
I'd never heard of the dish at 53D, but I knew that ALOO means potato in Hindi.
Another week, another unsatisfyingly easy Saturday. Themeless puzzles can't entertain with the theme, so all they can offer is a mental workout. Or in this case, not even that.
ReplyDeletePuzzle got off to a dismal start with GoT at 1D, followed by ACAI at 2D, but the fill did improve after that.
Welcome back Rex! With tats no less! Could not get a strong foothold anywhere on this one and Arya gave me nothing to start, so looked up ROBB and voila, the whole puzzle came into focus bit by bit, except for that darned TARANe/SCHEMe natick. Agree with @Southside that STONETOOL is kinda green paint, but it is unusual enough to get by, and overall this puzzle has little in the way of crosswordese.
ReplyDeleteI DIG the ink, Rex!
ReplyDelete“Golden goal” is a soccer term (I don’t think I have seen it used in any other sport). The additional period(s) in which it might happen is always “extra time” ( that is, ET not “overtime” or OT),
ReplyDeleteYup, had the same hold up.
DeleteViz extra time and overtime—-you’re making a distinction without a difference.
DeleteLike yesterday's, a competent and polished construction, but also like yesterday's, not exactly dazzlingly clever, and not at all hard. Easy, in fact, for a Saturday. I'll gladly accept the polish, though -- we can't be dazzlingly clever every day of the week.
ReplyDeleteOCEANARIA and TARANA were both unknown to me. The only woman whose last name is Burke I could think of right away is Amanda Burke. I suppose OCEANARIA is a portmanteau of "ocean" and "aquaria", whence it would stand to reason that "OCEANARIum" is also a thing some people say. And a word to keep Elysia company.
Wow, the clue for 20 D is working really hard not to mention "vidi" or "vici". Gotta bone up on my medieval Latin hymns.
Thanks, Kareem Ayas -- it was fun while it lasted.
I had never heard of an oceanarium, and oceanaria would therefore never have occured to me - I thought I was looking for a second word after ocean. And as someone else said, Tarana was not inferrable. I also had scheme. Anyway, I was so close and tempted to cheat, but ended up being my first DNF in a while because of those.
ReplyDelete15A crossing 7D (expansive v. expanse) had OCEANsomething butting into OCEAN really had me scratching my chin and other parts of my anatomy. Gotta go move our sprinklers, our garden is 4D-ing.
DeleteI'm in the (apparent) majority troubled by TARANA/SCHEMA. Changing the last letter from E to A was the solving finale, way under average Saturday time.
ReplyDeleteAnd oh, my did Cape Verde put a massive scare into the Argentines. So close to a 3-3 score and anything-goes penalty kicks.
My wife's friend is Cape Verdean (I believe Massachusetts has the largest population of Cape Verdeans in the US) and they were texting back and forth all game.
Not normally a fan of soccer/futbol, but this World Cup has been wicked enjoyable; rooting for tri-hosts Canada, Mexico and US to continue the fun.
Welcome back, Rex!
Señor, ten piedad.
ReplyDeleteSheesk. I am on fire. Half my usual Saturday time. They're writing puzzles for my brain this weekend and that's probably not great for normal people. Solid stacks in every corner and nothing cringy on my end here.
Even though I only watched 10 minutes of Game of Thrones, I've learned the answer to so so many GoT clues is ARYA and that was my only major goof. I yanked it pretty quickly and had a vague crossword memory of ROBB being somebody.
Andromeda was my first gimme and everything cascaded from there. Didn't remember TARANA (yet again), and OHARA was another no-know, but the names overall seemed manageable.
I think I learned from 🦖 that the NYTXW loves its "congess" joke, so I wrote in SEX ED CLASS with only the first S in place.
Didn't know VENI Sancte Spiritus so I listened to a few versions on YouTube just now and it's not a toe trapper, but I suppose you could find worse things to play while wooing a potential congress person.
@Les S. More Thanks for your discussion of Botticelli’s Birth of Venus yesterday. I ended up down a rabbit hole on Wikipedia reading more on your topic and it's quite fascinating stuff. How a magnificent work of art like that survives 500 years is remarkable.
People: 6
Places: 1
Products: 5
Partials: 4
Foreignisms: 4
--
Gary's Grid Gunk Gauge: 20 of 68 (29%)
Funny Factor: 4 🙂
Tee-Hee: Congress.
Uniclues:
1 Socks for a sonateer's sock-it-to-me set.
2 Nosey one's honey bunny.
3 Kiss the eye in the sky.
4 Big pharma's plan to give prescriptions only to the strongest among us.
5 A side dish of holy cow.
6 Break things and kill people.
1 RAP BATTLE L'EGGS
2 TAPIR'S SOULMATE
3 PECK HELICOPTER
4 EAT MEDS ROLEO
5 GOLDEN CALF ALOO
6 GREEN BERET TO DO
My Fascinating Crossword Uniclue Keepsake from Last Year: Popped plastic pooch. SLEW BALLOON DOG.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
@Gary, your comment that Veni Sancte Spiritus was "not a toe tapper" cracked me up. It's in the category of "I wouldn't know it if I heard it", so I'll take your review as all I need to know.
DeleteMost was easy and fun but the NW was a tough struggle for me b
ReplyDeleteCongrats, Rex - the tattoo is gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteGlad to have you back, glad the trip was a success!
ReplyDeleteYou were missed!
ReplyDeleteWelcome back Rex!
ReplyDeleteI was wary today since I haven't been a big fan of some of the recent puzzles (except for yesterday's by Barbara Lin) but I should have known better when I saw the constructor was Kareem.
Great puzzle - loved SEX ED CLASS and the reminder about LEGGS - can't believe I wore those horrendous things (the marketing/advertising/packaging was great at the time).
Thank you, Kareem :)
Wondering if I'm the only one who ended with a mistake at the VENI/VENDEE crossing. Put in LENDEE, as in somebody who is lent money to buy a home. Didn't know VENI although when I went through a second time I recognized that VENI is more likely than LENI and finally got the happy music.
ReplyDeleteTried Arya before ROBB, but knew he was a possibility. leviathan before BACK DRAFT but just a wild guess, and none of the crosses worked. Also misread the state capital clue - confusing for a hot minute. But easy Saturday generally speaking. 15:58
Ah...Towne Club. As a child growing up in Michigan in the 60s and attending a Polish wedding just about every weekend, Towne Club was the elixir of my youth. It was the cheapest pop around and I bet my parents still had the wooden cases it came in in their garage in this century. And I love the tattoos!
ReplyDeleteWhale song: OCEANARIA.
ReplyDeleteIt may have been LMS who, long ago, offered a brilliant mnemonic for the Great Lakes: LLLLL. Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, Lake Superior, Lake Erie, Lake Ontario.
I just opened a clavichord concert with VENI Sancte Spiritus,in its German form, Komm Gott Schoepfer, Heiliger Geist, a couple of weeks go. It was a fitting opener because for a few hundred years in northern Europe they opened every school day by singing it. Come Holy Ghost, my soul inspire. Makes more sense than pledging allegiance to the flag, I think. And Pachelbel managed to take that Gregorian chant and turn it into a fugue!
ReplyDeleteAnyhow, I had never heard of a Rap Battle, or an Oceanarium, or a movie called Backdraft, or even a Bike Race being called a Grand Tour, so the northwest took me a long time. But it was an enjoyable puzzle.
Remember when Henry Luce decided that his weekly news magazine should be done in an existentialist style? The tabloids had a field day with headlines like LIFEIMITATESsARTre.
ReplyDeleteI'd rather be in the SEXEDCLASS than the moneyed class.
Teacher: What are the 3 largest Italian cities?
Student 1: Milan, Naples and ... and....and...
Student 2: ANDROMEDA.
Dum ALOO sounds like an insult hurled after an error by Felipe, Matty or Jesus.
TRUMAN may be the only President to marry one of his kindergarten classmates, but I can think of one who no doubt lusted after many of his kids' kindergarten classmates.
Nice to have you inked up and back, @Rex. And thanks also to your very enjoyable subs. And finally, thank you, Kareem Ayas for a smooth and fun puzzle.
Enjoyed the puzzle. The names (often a tricky spot for me, even if I tend to blame myself rather than the puzzle) all seemed very fair. Some familiar crosswordese (ESTEE), some familiar even if you didn’t know the fun-to-learn trivia (TRUMAN and PIERRE), and some I encountered with crosses that made them guessable (O’HARA and ALMA). I happened to be familiar with TARANA Burke, so ROBB and RENE were the only ones that tripped me up for a while, and at least they’re short.
ReplyDeleteFelt a little bit of a religious mini-theme with GOLDEN CALF, GOD HELP ME, and VENI Sante Spiritus, all of which I enjoyed seeing on the grid (I know, I know, medieval Latin hymns is absolutely niche, and not particularly pretty; it just happens to be my niche). Also noticed the multiple short-lived, outdated tech answers: PALM PILOT and TELEX (the clue made me chuckle: a predecessor to a mostly obsolete technology), maybe to go along with the era when BACKDRAFT was a blockbuster.
RP, when you go back to those Finger Lakes you've loved, and they see those tats of your new loves, you're going to have some 'splainin' to do.
ReplyDeleteWelcome back, Rex. The tattoos are excellent; congratulations on meaningfully visiting all the Great Lakes. Had the pleasure recently of taking visitors from Ireland to the Indiana Dunes National Park (yay!) and hearing them exclaim "You can't see the other side!" while I'm thinking, "Yep, now THAT's a proper lake!"
ReplyDeleteThank you for explaining RAP BATTLE, as I had never heard of that usage of "bar". :^) I figured TAP BATTLE would make sense, since some breweries stage tap takeovers at local bars. And I figured TOBB sounded like a reasonable fantasy first name...
Maybe "tights" is the British English term; I knew LEGGS as pantyhose. Used to come in these cool big plastic eggs, way more fun than the actual product...
I wanted 19A to be BIKE RIDE but while I could imagine TARBNA as a woman's name (sounds vaguely Gaelic), I wasn't buying TRABT. (Made me think of Monty Python and the Holy Grail: "She's got great... TRACTs of land.")
ROLEO is a new one for me.
Fondly remembering my PALM PILOT and the Graffiti writing system I would use with its stylus. "complexities... removed from four of the most difficult letters. "A" "F", "K" and "T" ... drawn without any need to match up a cross-stroke."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graffiti_%28Palm_OS%29
This was an agreeable puzzle, even if it wasn't themed to the day. Happy Independence Day!
Seriously, I'm more familiar with VENI Creator Spiritus, so didn't see the V for VENDEE. I started an alphabet run a couple of times, getting distracted before V.
ReplyDeleteAfter much Asian NYC dining, Gochujang in the red square tub is a staple of our kitchen. I thought it might be too specific to appear in the NYTXword ; I'm just glad that I was asked to spell CHILIPASTE, and not gochujang...
I'M SURPRISED THAT NOONE has mentioned that the world's biggest Grand Tour BIKERACE starts today (in Spain for several days as a twist).
Very satisfying start to what will shape up to be a hot Saturday here in NYC.
Happy 4th!
Rex, Towne Club Soda is another classic (discount) Detroit brand. We used to go to their store and pick out 24-bottles of various flavors to make a case, for about 10-cents a bottle.
ReplyDelete- Don T. in Ann Arbor
On your arm??? This is 2026--you should have gotten it on your forehead.
ReplyDeleteI was expecting an Independence Day puzzle after two winners of that type this week. But themeless Saturday.
ReplyDelete"Bar" means "rhyme" in rap. My growing knowledge of things rap comes exclusively from the puzzle.
Someone said that Rex mentioned Truman? Where?
Nice and lively.
I wouldn’t say it’s quite the same as “rhyme” - it’s more the rap itself. Literally meaning 4/4 bars of lyrics. “He’s got bars” basically means “he raps really well”. And “spitting bars” is another word for rapping.
DeleteAt least that’s how my millennial-who-loves-90s-rap brain sees it.
Presumably I’m not going to convince anyone here to like rap, but if you start with something like “They Reminisce Over You”, you might be pleasantly surprised!
Or, considering listening to Borodin—Prince Igor. If spoken language is your bag, try Cole Porter
DeleteAnonymous 1115 AM
DeleteInteresting post. I am a baby boomer and do prefer the music of my generation. But have listened to lots of music since. Maybe it’s the way my brain is wired, but I just haven’t been able to like rap. although I tried. (To be honest, I didn’t listen to much music anymore anyway. ).
However, I am fascinated by language, and it does interest me how much of modern slang comes from rap. Most of the rap terms I learned comes from the Times puzzle. So I enjoyed the clue/ answer combo
Maybe something use a blog name? Again Great comment!
congratulations on your first tattoo!
ReplyDeleteEasy. The NW gave me the most resistance.
ReplyDeleteNo costly erasures and I did not know TARANA, ALMA, OMNI, ROBB, and VENI.
Kinda cringy - VENDEE
Not much junk (see above), a bit of sparkle, liked it.
@Rex, very cool tribute to the Saltless Seas!
ReplyDeleteThe puzzle - not at all easy for me, so I can file it in the "proper Saturday" category. Those long Acrosses and Downs just wouldn't come to me, and the NW was all but impenetrable. Very satisfying to finally finish....except that I didn't: me, too, for TARANe x SCHEMe. But I got the workout I look forward to.
Ever been to the Salton Sea?
DeleteTraditionally puzzles are more difficult as the week progresses but today's pushover completes this week's reverse grade. It was 6 minutes less than my Friday time. The only section that had any late week resistance was the center. I was slow coming up with the grid spanner and drew a blank on PIERRE even with the first two letters in place. ALMA was an unknown and I misread the word "gotcha" to mean "fooled you" as opposed to "I understand you." Once all the corners were filled fixing that mess was easy.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to say which corner was the easiest. The only GOT name I could come up with was ANYA and checking that Y I found a clue that screamed BACKDRAFT. BAKE and PECK confirmed it and the rest fell like dominoes
As bad as that was the prize for least late week clue goes to the one for STRESSTEST. I had the S thanks to SCHEMA but even with no letters at all it would have been just as obvious.
Happy 4th of July to all and if you happen to be in DC. my condolences.
Happy 4th! I’m grateful to be an American!🇺🇸
Deletecourtcase before RAPBATTLE
ReplyDeleteRex and co. look like they could bake a cake and get in a bar fight, all in the same day. The shading gradient on those tats - very cool!
ReplyDeleteDNF, but nice puzzle from Kareem. Gave up instead of doing multiple alphabet runs. "You took four minutes of my life, and I want them back! Oh, I'd only waste them anyway."
I don't remember much about BACKDRAFT, but we had it on VHS. We also had one of those fancy rewinding machines. What a time saver!
Gochu = chili pepper, jang = sauce/paste. Gochu is also the common term for a man's anatomical part. The More You Know 🌈⭐
Enjoyed the puzzle, thanks Kareem!
I love the tattoo.
ReplyDeleteKinda easy-ish SatPuz fare. But the 4 really long stacks did nibble a bit at the precious nanoseconds, at our house.
ReplyDeletestaff weeject pick: MEN. Was partial to its G & X starter clue.
some fave stuff: LIFEIMITATESART [M&A has lived one very looong cartoon, it seems]. GREENBERET & GOLDENCALF colorful pairin. HELICOPTER & its clue. SOULMATE [and PECK-mate, btw]. STONETOOL clue sorta rocked, also. ONTIME & LATE x-refs.
Thanx for the themeless fun, Mr. Ayas dude. Sparkly 68-worder.
Masked & Anonymo1U [s]
p.s.
Happy 4th of July & Runt Puzzle:
**gruntz**
M&A
This was a really good puzzle, except for the awful TARANA / SCHEMA cross. After flying through the puzzle but not getting the Happy Pencil, I could not figure out my mistake and had to click Reveal Incorrect Letters. Of course I had an E there, why wouldn't I? Ugh.
ReplyDeleteAnd then there is VENDEE. I actually groaned and smacked my forehead before I typed it in... "please don't let it be VENDEE!" I keep a list of the worst Spelling Bee words-that-are-never-used: LAICIZE, NUBBLE, GIFTEE, YENTE, and CROG. When I submit them to Google Ngram Viewer, VENDEE ranks lower than all of them except CROG which only appeared once several years ago. That's how bad of a word it is.
Never heard of ROLEO. Sounds like a cross between a watch and a crossword spread.
I believe that PIERRE the town is pronounced "peer".
Okanaganer
DeleteI did get TARANA but I didn’t get VENDEE
VENDEE is a word but only in lawyer speak As a retired lawyer and someone with a little knowledge of Latin I shoulda etc. The other one I guessed A because more likely a woman’s name ending and scheme didn’t fit the clue and I knew schema.was a word So the harder one I got but blew the easier one. Personally , I don’t think either cross was unfair for a Saturday.
p.p.s.s
ReplyDeleteAnd, of course, welcome back @RP! Primo Superior+ tats, congrats.
Let's celebrate with fireworks. At our July 4th house, we're slow-smoke-cookin a huge 5x5 roast on the grill. Takes around 2-2.5 hours, we're told. Just gettin the giant fire goin was sorta like fireworks.
Here's some more runt puzzle fireworks, btw:
**gruntz**
M&A
No one else with HairCutTER for blade runner?
ReplyDeleteCan't get my name in there (Gene), and I so often hate your PC-ness, but, man, is it great to have you back!!
ReplyDeleteNice choice of tattoo, Rex! I'm not a tattoo person but that's pretty tasteful and discreet.
ReplyDeleteMy solve was unusually similar to Rex's - Arya came to mind for 1D but ROBB came to mind immediately after and ACAI confirmed it was the oldest Stark child this time, not the youngest girl.
I even had the "LIFE Is a" conundrum for 8D; a conundrum because what hippie affirmation could start with A? This area wasn't helped by my deciding that MugS get refills (at least mine does every morning, with coffee.)
The ? clue for HELICOPTER was fun but with HELICO in place, it was far from a misdirection.
"Where students learn about congress" without a give-away ? was a great clue for SEX ED CLASS.
I'm old enough that in my first job with a bigger company, we used the TELEX to place orders overseas. I was the naysayer telling people that the Italians were never going to switch to the newfangled fax machines. If you've ever invented a new technology, ask me if it will sell and then do exactly the opposite of my opinion. I have a terrible track record in predicting the adaptation of new tech.
Kareem Ayas, thanks for a fun Saturday themeless.
Dnf at ?endee sloppy error. But overall easy medium for me. Liked the puzzle
ReplyDeleteI of course realize that tattoos are now quite acceptable but it took me , a baby boomer, a long time to understand how much public attitudes about them had changed. I was still surprised reading Rex today. Despite the fact that there are 3 tattoo parlors near my apartment ( plus a place which specializes in removing them!). But the Great Lakes tattoo seems an excellent choice. You reached a goal and wanted to celebrate.
@dgd, re tattoos: my niece has a million tattoos; her husband has ten million. I just can't get used to that.
DeleteAnd today I was at the beach, and there were some adolescent girls near me, about 13 or 14 I would guess. They all had tattoos! This is too much.
Welcome back, Boss! You ET AL obviously had a wonderful trip. Your Regents, as always, preserved the realm with hifh honours.
ReplyDeleteI’ve done a Great Lakes Tour twice, once in my youth (growing up in Ohio) and again with my husband who, until his service with the USAF had never left the state of Oklahoma. My favorites are the extreme northern area of Lake Superior up by Cooper Harbor and Lake Huron.
I have a special fondness for Lake Huron. Friends of my parents owned a small island in the Les Cheneauxs just off the small village of Hessel. We often spent a couple weeks on the island during summer vacation. I still count those trips among my most cherished youthful “what I did on my summer vacation” memories. Michigan’s Upper Peninsula is a very special place.
Also special is today’s puzzle. Certainly the best Saturday in quite a while. Nearly Gunk-feee (Hi, Gary!) with some clever clues and some humor.
For some reason, I found the clue/answer pair “Rock instrument?/STONE TOOL laugh out loud hilarious. I figured the clue wanted geology, but not enough squares for geological anything and rock pick couldn’t repeat “rock.” So STONE TOOL? Tool made of stone? Or specifically a geological hammer. Who cares, it fits. And I still think it’s funny. To each one’s own.
I became fascinated by the TAPIRS’ prehensile proboscises in the 6th grade. The Columbus Zoo had a pair who had the cutest little baby and the paper had a name the baby contest. I was fascinated watching them. Kids latch on to the seemingly oddest tidbits.
Well constructed yet an easy solve. No complaints from me.
High caliber and very satisfying Saturday. Like others, VENDEE was my only side glance, everything else, especially the long fill, was a joy.
ReplyDeleteGot RAPBATTLE from crosses but did not know the meaning until I read @Rex's explanation, it's a nugget I'm happy to know!
So much to like about this one, I agree with the 4 stars. Thank you for his Kareem, I had a blast!
Welcome back, Rex! Grew up swimming in Huron in the summer—rocky til you get to the sweet sandbar :)
ReplyDeleteI’m sorry but soccer has ET not OT. Thats a major foul. Deserving of a PK.
ReplyDeleteET phone home
DeleteAnother Wednesday-Thursday puzzle disguised as a Saturday. This is getting alarming and making me wonder if a dumbing-down is occurring. Please, Will let’s keep up the standards or pretty soon Saturday’s puzzle will no longer be worth waiting for.
ReplyDeleteNever heard it referred to as Overtime (OT) in futbol only as ExtraTime.
ReplyDeleteLoved this puzzle and yes it was easy - no look ups. But that was because there weren’t too many names!
ReplyDelete