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Novelty dance with comical elbow-flapping / TUE 7-14-26 / Ancient fortress overlooking the Dead Sea / Corrupting sorts, in an orchard metaphor / Folded French pancake / Assistant with a whisper mode / Traditional sumo hairstyles / Hired soldier, in slang / Tea with tapioca pearls / Lake bird with a laughing call
Tuesday, July 14, 2026
Constructor: Gus Bloxham and Bharati Hemmady
Relative difficulty: Easy (undersized grid, 14x15)
Theme answers:
- BAD APPLES (15A: Corrupting sorts, in an orchard metaphor)
- SPOILED BRATS (21A: Nightmares for nannies)
- ROTTEN TOMATOES (35A: Movie review site with a percentage rating scale)
- FUNKY CHICKEN (47A: Novelty dance with comical elbow-flapping)
Masada (Hebrew: מְצָדָה məṣādā, 'fortress'; Arabic: جبل مسعدة, romanized: jabal musayda, lit. 'mount museida') is a mountain-top fortress complex in the Judaean Desert, overlooking the western shore of the Dead Sea in southeastern Israel. The fort, built in the first century BC, was constructed atop a natural plateau rising over 400 m (1,300 ft) above the surrounding terrain, 20 km (12 mi) east of modern Arad.
The most significant remains at the site date to the reign of Herod the Great, King of Judaea under Roman administration c. 37–4 BC, who transformed Masada into a fortified desert refuge early in his rule. He enclosed the summit with a casemate wall and towers, and constructed storerooms, an advanced water system, and bathhouses, along with two elaborate palaces: one on the western side and another built across three terraces on the northern cliff. These palaces remain among the finest examples of Herodian architecture.
Masada is most renowned for its role during the First Jewish–Roman War (66–73 AD), when it became the final holdout of Jewish rebels following the destruction of Jerusalem. [...]
The surrounding Roman siege works and bases remain visible and are among the most intact examples of Roman military engineering. Today, Masada is a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to those siege works, and one of Israel's most popular tourist attractions, drawing around 750,000 visitors a year. (wikipedia)
• • •
The second issue with the theme is that BAD APPLES and ROTTEN TOMATOES are already about food that's gone off. That is, the revealer doesn't really change their meaning much at all. Those “courses” come pre-turned. BAD APPLES is a metaphor that comes from ... literally BAD APPLES. And ROTTEN TOMATOES, same. The revealer doesn't require much (re-)imagination where those answers are concerned. Whereas with SPOILED BRATS and FUNKY CHICKEN, the revealer provides a lot more transformational zing. "Spoiled" and "funky" really change meaning. The shift from spoiled kids or a silly dance to bad food is an abrupt and surprising one, making those answers far more enjoyable and clever than the other themers. And yet even at half power (i.e. with the revealer only really transforming two of the four theme phrases), the theme still made me laugh, still gave me an aha. Turning those kids and that dance into rotten food—that's the kind of bizarre "TA-DA!" I can get behind on a Tuesday.
One more annoying thing about the theme, though. Not about the theme per se, but about the cluing on a couple of the theme answers. Why is the puzzle giving (awkwardly) all this extra information that the solver does not really need? Take the clue on BAD APPLES (15A: Corrupting sorts, in an orchard metaphor). "In an orchard metaphor"? You don't need that phrase at all, and if you're thinking "well, it's Tuesday, we should provide a little more direction," then you could just use "in a metaphor." "In an orchard metaphor" is just ridiculous. It kind of implies that "orchard metaphors" are some kind of category we're all familiar with, that there will be many such metaphors to choose from. "Orchard" is unnecessarily specific and hand-holding, as is "interpreted culinarily" in the revealer clue (58A: Heading the wrong way ... or, interpreted culinarily, a hint to 15-, 21-, 35 and 47-Across). That clue could easily go straight into "or a hint to etc." In fact, it should. Stop treating solvers like idiots. The puzzle remains easy without your falling over yourself pointing the way to the correct answers. Let solvers work it out! Larding in all these "helper" phrases is just insulting, not to mention stylistically inelegant.
[BUSTA!] (31A: Rapper ___ Rhymes)
Bullets:
- 38D: Hired soldier, in slang (MERC) — from "mercenary," even though I think you pronounce MERC with a hard "C." There's a renowned movie makeup artist from the mid-20th century named PERC Westmore, and every time I see his name in the opening credits (and I see it A Lot—just yesterday, in fact), I think "... Purse? Perk? What are we doing here?"
- 1D: Campsite crasher in the Rockies (BEAR) — weird to specify "in the Rockies" since presumably BEARs crash campsites all around the world.
- 24A: "We come in peace" speakers, in a sci-fi trope (ALIENS) — 2x sci-fi answers today, as we get not only space travel (here) but time travel as well (8A: Destination for some sci-fi travelers = PAST)
- 33D: Lachrymal unit (TEAR) — this is what the ALIENS say when they see you crying. "The human is releasing lachrymal units despite the fact that we come in peace. Abort mission! Abort mission! Oh, General Doxmerc is going to be so mad ..."
That's all for today. See you next time.
[Follow Rex Parker on BlueSky and Facebook and Letterboxd]
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72 comments:
Pretty neat - don’t have an issue with any of the themers - they all work in the food that has turned trick. Liked the double meaning of BRATS.
My Drug Buddy
Overall fill was early week easy. Not a lot of dreck but a little too tepid. The 14 wide grid eases any challenge. Liked PAPER CUT, SOME NERVE and TOP KNOTS. I think may of us will claim that snout went in initially - not really sure what SNOOT is. Rough to start with BFF and end with SEP. ROVERS is pretty cool.
For FIONA
An enjoyable Tuesday morning solve - even if was over so quickly.
She’s the one-eyed FIONA
Yeah, @REX, I see what you did there. Just the other day we had LARD in the grid, clued as unnecessary padding in writing, and there, you used it in your review in just that way, about unnecessary padding in our clues today. Nice! Enjoyed this one though it was pretty quick. PAPERCUT and especially SOMENERVE took me a while to see. Lotsa 3s today, but they were pretty OK. Enjoyed this one, Gus and Bharati!!!! Thanks : )
Solved it without cheating, thanks to trial-and error in several places. HALAL and MASADA were unknowns, as were TOPKNOTS and ROVERS (as clued). Clever theme, especially leading to SPOILEDBRATS and FUNKYCHICKEN.
Question...Is "publicizes" an adequate clue for AIRS?
Near where I lived a long time ago, there was a pet store called Spoiled Brats, and I always used to like imagining that they just sold rotten sausages there.
Easy. Not a bad puzzle, but didn't offer much resistance, even for a Tuesday. Pretty much what @Son Volt said.
* * * _ _
Overwrites:
My 8A sci-fi destination was mars before it was the PAST.
For schnozzle at 39A I had SNOuT before SNOOT.
No WOEs.
8Down would have been better if Chicago Trib and NYT were named, as "papers", not magazine titles.
My father used to say there’s no such thing as an orchard metaphor, and I’ve always agreed with him. I guess the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
You rhyme BRAT (the sausage) with "cot"?!?! No. It still rhymes with cat--just ask any Chicagoan.
@Rex I’m going with “purse” as in Percy.
Hey, agree with Rex that a couple of those themers are not like the others, but they all work, so OK with me. Flipping the meanings of FUNKY and BRAT was taking things up a level.. This should have been an easy outing, but had too much trouble with the clue for PAPERCUT and didn’t know the names of the rapper and actress, so the East everybody this puzzle was tough for me. Having sci-fi travel to the PAST was another neat touch—had me totally lost on the moon or Mars!
Would have been lovely if LAME DUCK or COLD TURKEY could have been thrown in, but there's only so much room and I have no SOUR GRAPES.
Fun and clever theme with a revealer that perfectly lands.
Kudos to the brain that noticed that there are a handful of phrases combining a word meaning “bad” and a food, then crafted this theme. l, who love the quirks of our language, absolutely adored it.
If anybody’s solve went quicker than usual, a contributing factor may have been that the box has one less row than usual, thus 15 fewer squares to fill in (Hi, @Son Volt!)..
All the theme answers had pop, and there was a lovely supporting cast, with SOME NERVE, PAPER CUT, FRAPPE, and TOP KNOTS.
Your puzzle, Gus and Bharati, infused me with a quick boom of happy. You’re my top bananas, and congratulations to both of you on your NYT debut!
Clever cues for an appropriately easy and pleasurable Tuesday. Rex's nit-picking didn't bother me, but I have one of my own: Life and Time weren't papers but magazines. (Printed on paper, I grant you.)
I enjoy it when Rex’s takes his scalpel to the theme and enlightens me regarding how much how didn’t know that I didn’t know. I thought it was a cute play on some phrases involving food. The chapter in the constructor’s manual on theme requirements has got be colossal.
I only struggled with SHAM today, as “put-up job” does not mean anything to me. It sounds like it might be a synonym for “con job” ? I took a guess at the terminal M as I never heard of MASADA as well.
I got a kick of the TIME /LIFE clue, which is a bit of a throwback to a different era. Also, I may be in the minority, but I pronounce the food BRATS the same way I pronounce the misbehaving little knot heads.
This was a great little puzzle. I came here thinking, surely this is a 4+ star puzzle (for a Tuesday)! It was clean, BUSTA Rhymes was there, the theme was playful, we got a lil REN… FADES INTO was evocative, idk… What’s got two thumbs and thinks this is a five-star Tuesday??
I think I needed the culinary reference in the revealer clue, I would never have interpreted COURSE as meaning an individual dish, rather than a section of a meal. Is an apple a course? OK for puzzle purposes, but I would not have thought of it. Aside from that, my only difficulty was ScAM before SHAM, followed by approximately 90 nanoseconds wondering what kind of request "calal" was. CAlifornia LAL? CALories A La mode? Ah, it's an H.
Hey All !
You crack me up, Rex. Every time you say it'll be a short write-up, it's always the same length as your regular ones, sometimes longer!
😁
Noticed the 14 wide grid. Could've gone 16 wide, still putting the center Themer in the center. But then the Blockers all would've been changed.
Nice puz. Good Theme idea. I get Rex's concerns about the inconsistencies of the Themers, but I'm willing to look past that and enjoy the puz as is. Yay me. Har.
A bunch of initialisms that @Gary will count today. BFF, AOC, PSA, NBC, STP, ISBN, ETA, CDC, ASAP,.
Enough FRAPPE outta me.
Hope y'all have a great Tuesday!
Five F's
RooMonster
DarrinV
Agree on for Mars before past. And to Adam, below this comment, my cousins from Wisconsin rhyme brat with cot.
From New Hampshire, I agree with you, Adam. Of course, Rex may pronounce cot differently than I do.
Google says Bratwurst / German pronunciation sounds like braa·twurst
Nice, easy, short puzzle. One spot I had to change was aclu to ally.🎈🎈🎊🎊
I rhyme it with "cats", too, even though the Germans say /BRAAHHHT-vorst/ (and my wife is German).
But yeah, it still suffers from the answer vs. clue not-in-the-food-sense problem (unless you're Jonathan Swift -- yes, look at me, I got the reference).
LOL
Great write up today, Rex. I had good chuckle over your orchard metaphor bit.
Easy here, although it took some time to remember MASADA and the names of the ROVERS. Also to see the link between Life and Time and PAPER. Come on man. Didn't know EVAN but did know BUSTA and FIONA, so not bad on names today. And of course SNOUT before SNOOT, Trying to be one of the crowd.
LOONS are great. We have them on the lake where our camp is. Can't hear them without thinking "The laughter of a loon on a lake is like the mirth of a madman." Wish I had the source for that.
Can't see INFUN without thinking of the Dylan line
"We thought we could sit forever IN FUN
When our chances really--they were a million to one.
Takes some aging to appreciate the wisdom in that one.
Very nice Tuesday indeed, GB and BH. It's a Good Bet you Both Have more in store for us, congrats on the debut, and thanks for all the fun.
“General Doxmerc”! 😆
I love that FUN KY CHICKEN you get from the Colonel. Of course he doesn't offer that weird Chicken MASADA you see in Italy. I think the recipe tells you to age a bottle of wine and then ROTTENTOMATOES (twelve if they're small).
@Rex. A mnemonic device for remembering how to pronounce the first name of Perc Westmore, just think "Perc got a PAPERCUT". Just don't get careless and think of pay-per-view, as that would make him seem like a deviant.
I didn't hear a PEEP out of @Lewis regarding rare-in-crosswords 4 letter palindromes today, though I did like the additional themer possibilities he came up with.
A SNOOT is always dr,awn backwards in TOONS.
I'm a concept guy and I liked this theme a ton. @Rex is not wrong about the deets, but you guys had me at FUNKYCHICKEN. Thanks and congrats, Gus Bloxham and Bharati Hemmady.
That was fun! After the BRATS and TOMATOES, I began wondering how the constructor might put the idea of "nightmare picnic" into a reveal - and then there it was, OFF COURSE, with a double meaning for both parts of the pun. Terrific. And I loved FUNKY CHICKEN - I thought that one was really inspired.
Yes!! Also, anyone in California.
Enjoyed greatly in Rex’s review what I hope was an intentional Swiftian allusion. And not to the Taylor variety.
TOSSED SALAD doesn't really work, but came to mind.
Also coming to mind were some "injured" foods, perhaps for a different theme:
BATTERED FISH
CHIPPED BEEF
BEATEN EGGS
and my favorite -- PULLED MUSSELS, you know, like pulled pork?
********
Cole SLEW (from yesterday): the past tense of Cole Slaw.
I went to the doc about my carpal tunnel syndrome. He said the problem was with SOME NERVE.
What the unprepared Egyptian snake charmer called for right before showtime: ASPS ASAP!
BUSTA Rhymes' comedian cousin: BUSTA Gut.
J, NO, and OZ: DOX
It occurred to me that it might be a pretentious spelling pf Percy, pronounced Per-C; were we doing ostentatious orthography mid-century?
Ten thousand dollars at the drop of a hat
I'd give it all gladly if our lives could be like that
Thank you for Lyle!
Thank you for that Osmond trip to the past - had Mars first like others. And One-Eyed Fiona was right there, but looks like it got covered. Phew! Close call.
OK SO Rex is creating dialogue for one of his classic sci-fi flicks and the headlines in today's Variety section of the Mpls Strib are about how to avoid an OFF COURSE and not get cyclospora, the nasty stomach bug that's going around. Luckily for me, my garden is now producing enough herbs, lettuce and raspberries that I don't have to rely on store-bought.
BEARs do crash campsites. The campsites in Voyageur's Nat'l Park have really large metal bear boxes with latches that I'm surprised the ever-enterprising bears haven't figured out yet how to open. And the Isle Royale campground in Lake Superior has been closed temporarily due to a rogue wolf stealing food from the campsites.
Gus and Bharati, I really liked your theme idea, thanks!
I solved as a themeless then came here for the theme. BUSTA was a Woe & SOME NERVE seemed pretty dated to me. Otherwise a usual Tuesday.
Congrats on your debut Bharati & Gus :)
There's the kind of Swift Eras I can get down with!
This was fun. I understand @Rex's points re: the theme but they don't bother me. This was clever stuff all around with solid themers and a revealer that did it's job well. Nice to see that @Rex also liked the puzzle despite the inconsistencies pointed out. And I'm always in awe at the angles he can see in things that just always go over my head.
A couple of propers that I didn't know but crosses were all fair.
I very much liked the cluing for TYPOS and I had a fun workout trying to suss PAPERCUT and TOPKNOT.
Thank you at @Rex for the Modest Proposal reference. Brought back some nice memories of (I think) middle school when it was assigned reading. It was my first ever exposure to real quality satire and it has stayed with me since.
Thank you for the fun ride, Gus and Bharati. I read from @Lewis that this is a debut - Congratulations! Hope to see more from you.
Brot? I’ve never heard that before either.
I count 16 Terrible Threes. Under twenty. Not excessive.
The theme doesn't quite work for me. The tomatoes are a bit off? Yes, they're rotten. I would say.
Not much to like here. No crunch, no sparkle.
We had another space clue with [Curiosity and Perseverance, for two], which certainly deserves a mention (I assume Rex only neglected to mention it because he was looking forward to his coffee-and-nothing time). That one had me stuck for quite a long time—I saw the capital P and knew we were dealing with proper nouns and I was still scrambling (since I hadn’t heard of the Curiosity ROVER[]). One of my favorites once I got it, and took it a little beyond Tuesday easy.
Other favorite clue was definitely PAPER CUTS. Hope that one makes it on Lewis’s list next week.
My other main trouble spot has been mentioned on the comment thread already: I didn’t know STP or MASADA, and the clue on SHAM ([Put-up job]) was an expression I didn’t know. Since ST_ could have been any letter and _ASADA could have been any consonant, I was left at the very end to guess on _HA_, and ended up guessing correctly. So getable for sure, but a little bit of crunch for a Tuesday.
Oh, P.S.—after an already delightful puzzle, Rex’s quip about having a modest proposal for the SPOILED BRATS got a genuine LOL from me. Thank you for making a fun puzzle even more fun.
Agreed…my brain went to MOON first, then realizing that wasn’t sci-fi enough went to MARS, both before PAST.
ALLY = supporter. LGBTQ does not make the clue easier or harder. Not needed. Second time in 2-3 weeks.
On the easy side for me too.
No WOEs and ScAM before SHAM was it for costly erasures.
Not much junk, clever/amusing theme, some fine long downs, fun solve, liked it a bunch!
Def 'bro' in Wisconsin
A PAPERCUT is a cut from paper, not from a newspaper specifically. A cut from a magazine is still called a paper cut. If you clued it with newspapers it would not be more accurate, it would just be easier and you'd lose the expressions.
BEARs don't live in much of the world. Famously, they do not live in Africa, which is why Paddington is from "darkest Peru", a last minute change when Michael Bond was informed.
Rex— save your love of TCM and what I gather is a growing ontetedt in birding, I either disagree or downright loathe everything you like believe in or advocate.
But you made my day by teasing your modest proposal.
Thanks.
J. Swift
Mira lo que acabo de hacer.
I struggled terribly in the southwest as I was dead certain the ogre was DAISY and the dance was the DIRTY CHICKEN. Alas, neither was true and my solve landed in major overtime. But who cares? It's a fun, messy, shall we say STINKY puzzle with a delightfully weird reveal and so many laughs. Thanks to the constructor and the chef for taking those items off my courses, of course.
I don't need the theme entries to be as consistent as 🦖 seems to like and these are all cute as heck. Cannibals are probably big fans of grilling BRATS.
I find the clue for PAST as a destination for sci-fi travelers positively charming. And then, add the aliens arriving allegedly in peace, but hopefully to take me away from the swill hoard running this country and put me in a zoo.
Also a fan of the PAPER CUT clue.
Pretty sure BEARS crash campsites all over the world. I think we should introduce them everywhere they're missing. They make going into the woods way more exciting.
I will never remember HALAL. Gets me every time.
❤️ SOME NERVE.
People: 8
Places: 2
Products: 5
Partials: 9
Foreignisms: 0
--
Gary's Grid Gunk Gauge: 24 of 71 (34%)
Funny Factor: 6 😅
Uniclues:
1 Liberals according to non-liberals.
2 TV station debuts a pro-ogress show.
3 Tolerate the dude bringing ducks to the theater to fill empty seats.
4 How my guitar practice session usually goes.
5 Everywhere on Earth where a cardboard box is waiting to be opened.
6 Mild oath hurled at unhelpful Amazon robot.
1 AOC ALIENS (~)
2 NBC AIRS FIONA
3 BEAR LOON USHER
4 FADES INTO NOISE
5 PAPER CUT VENUES
6 SOME NERVE ALEXA (~)
My Fascinating Crossword Uniclue Keepsake from Last Year: The one in the hot tub, maybe. LIKABLE NUDE.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
There's few things better on this blog than when New Englanders explain how things are pronounced, but I fear the irony may be lost on them.
Mike-My wife is a NH native and if she said "cot" it would sound to me like "caught", but I'm just a hick from the Adirondacks.
I was thinking the same thing
Always enjoy your write-ups, Rex :)
14x15 puzgrid size, so it also was a little "OFF". Consistency. Nice.
SPOILEDBRATS was definitely the star puzthemer. har
staff weeject pick: DOX. M&A's online lingo exposure is pretty much limited to this here blog comment gallery.
some faves: SOMENERVE. PAPERCUT & zine-y clue. NEAR/BEAR.
MASADA gets the M&A TuesPuz No-Know Award, today.
Dang. Two sci-fi clue references plus a REN, and yet no Star Wars payoffs.
Thanx for the great feed, Mr. Bloxham & Hemmady dudes. And congratz on yer double debuts. Mostly friendly solvequest that didn't BUSTA SNOOT, at our house.
Masked & Anonymo4Us
p.s.
Good luck with that "appointment", @RP dude. Not with the IRS, I hope.
p.p.s.s.
Runt puzzle:
**gruntz**
M&A
Take a trip to Manhattan every other food cart advertises halal.
Might expand your horizons a bit in other ways too.
Per Rex, " Stop treating solvers like idiots" re over- and often awkwardly-wording clues, citing two ("orchard", "culinarily").
Amen. Keep it simple... Less is more. (wonder whether our Les S. More agrees with me).
Just one wicked (New England vernacular) small other example and I'll move on. The clue for PEEP (17A, Merest little chirp). Why is "little" needed? To distinguish from a "mere big chirp"? IMO, "Merest chirp" or simply "Chirp" would work for Tuesdays or Saturdays, respectively. OK, SO. (Deep exhale)
Another day without Star Wars?!
Glad I wasn’t the only one who got earwormed by Mazzy Star when entering FADE INTO.
Rex... I'm not sure why you posted it, but thanks for the Mazzy Star video. The song is just dreamy, and Hope Sandoval is so wickedly enchanting.
Never have I ever got a paper cut from a newspaper, the paper is not stiff enough. But I have from magazine stock, stiff & sharp
Yes to scam first & being puzzled by a calal meal, though it's probably way better than a standard airplane meal
Just No to any more Star Wars references (jk)
Me too.
Count me among those who, having been initially baffled about what could follow SPOILED (thinking "CHILD"), reacted with something like glee when BRATS showed up, pronunciation change notwithstanding.
Since you mention the ubiquity of Perc Westmore in old films, you might be interested to know he was just one of a large family that absolutely dominated the make-up field in Hollywood for decades. Perc, in fact, ran second in productivity to his brother Wally, who (per IMDB) amassed 477 credits, to Perc's measly 365.
There was no Oscar for make-up till the 1980s, so these men all went unhonored. But descendant Michael Westmore -- son of yet another brother -- won one for Mask in 1985, and accepted it in the name of his entire clan.
The inconsistency Rex points out between the changed thematic meaning of BRATS vs unchanged meaning of APPLES, TOMATOES and CHICKEN left a bad taste in my mouth, so to speak.
Another inconsistency happens when a single CHICKEN does the job but APPLE, BRAT and TOMATO all need some help doing theirs. POC to the rescue.
Just now saw this: BRAT can also be a diet of bananas, rice, applesauce and bread, one that is sometimes recommended for people coping with diarrhea, nausea and vomiting. The verdict at health.harvard.edu/digestive-health is that any bland, easy to digest foods will do the job as well as BRAT.
@Kenny... thanks for answering my question before I asked it! I forgot all about FADES INTO and never thought about the song, probably because of the S.
Sun Volt
SNOOT I think is a variation of snout. First definition of snoot is snout. Second a nose. Also a real snoot and snooty. It is also used in cock a snoot at someone , an older expression for thumb one’s nose at. someone. These days snooty would be by far the most common.
Dr Random
Put-up job rang a bell immediately for me but I am old. My guess is it is dying out. You weren’t the only one who had trouble with it. My mistake was putting in ScAM and not seeing halal I never corrected it oops On a Tuesday….
PAPER CUT was tricky because 1) I started with MARS for PAST, even though it seemed very meh as an answer for that clue, and 2) I'm familiar with tricks like [Slice of Life?] for ISSUE, and I was NOT expecting "slice" and "nick" to be so literal.
I skimmed much of Rex's comments but his take on 33D got me chuckling. Thank Rex
Anonymous 11:21 AM
I don’t disagree with you about ALLY.
But allyship (a very awkward word) ) is a buzzword among progressives As a result like here ally is really big So this connection is inevitable.
Sweet Tuesday, thank you
The NE was a little tricky because BUSTA, and today I relearned MASADA. Cute revealer.
General Doxmerc made me laugh!!
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