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1963 Kingsmen hit with a repetitive title / MON 8-17-26 / "Pink" animal of film / Boozy brunch drink / Well-dressed guy / ___ tofu (Sichuan dish) / Hot pepper named for Cuba's capital / It catches ballpark smooches
Monday, August 17, 2026
Constructor: Zhouqin Burnikel
Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium (solved Downs-only)
Theme answers:
- DAPPER DAN (16A: Well-dressed guy)
- JAM JARS (38A: Containers for fruit preserves)
- "LOUIE LOUIE" (10D: 1963 Kingsmen hit with a repetitive title)
- SITE VISITS (27D: On-location inspections)
"Louie Louie" is a rhythm and blues song written, composed, and recorded by American musician Richard Berry in 1956 and released in 1957. In 1963, a version by the Kingsmen attracted controversy over allegedly profane lyrics. The song is based on the tune "El Loco Cha Cha" popularized by bandleader René Touzet and is an example of Afro-Cuban influence on American popular music. // The song's historical impact and ongoing popularity, attested by books, articles, rankings, and hundreds of cover versions, have earned it a reputation as "a cornerstone of rock".
"Louie Louie" tells, in simple verse–chorus form, the first-person story of a "lovesick sailor's lament to a bartender about wanting to get back home to his girl". [...] On April 6, 1963, the Kingsmen, a rock and roll group from Portland, Oregon, chose "Louie Louie" for their second recording. The session took place at Northwestern Inc. Motion Pictures & Recording Studios at 411 SW 13th Avenue in Portland. The one hour session, originally intended to produce an audition tape for a summer cruise ship gig, cost either $36, $50, or somewhere in between, and the band split the cost. [...] First released in May 1963, the single was initially issued by the small Jerden label, before being picked up by the larger Wand Records in October 1963. Wand president Florence Greenberg said, "it was forced down my throat by friends. I was ashamed to put it out." Herb Alpert and A&M Records passed on the distribution opportunity, deeming it "too long" and "out of tune". [...]
Sales of the Kingsmen record were initially so low (reportedly 600) that the group considered disbanding. Things changed when Boston's biggest DJ, Arnie Ginsburg, was given the record by a pitchman. Amused by its slapdash sound, he played it on his program as "The Worst Record of the Week". Despite the slam, listener response was swift and positive.Another factor in the success of the record may have been the rumour that the vocals were intentionally slurred by the Kingsmen to cover up lyrics that were allegedly laced with profanity, graphically depicting sex between the sailor and his lady. Crumpled pieces of paper professing to be "the real lyrics" to "Louie Louie" circulated among teens. The song was banned on many radio stations and in many places in the United States, including Indiana, where a ban was requested by Governor Matthew Welsh. These actions were taken despite the fact that practically no one could distinguish the actual lyrics. Denials of chicanery by Kingsmen and Ely did not stop the controversy. The FBI started a 31-month investigation into the matter and concluded they were "unable to interpret any of the wording in the record." However, drummer Lynn Easton later admitted that he yelled "fuck" after fumbling a drum fill at 0:54 on the record. (wikipedia)
• • •
Even with the cheater squares (black squares above PIC and below ESO, which are there only to make the grid easier to fill), there's still a bit of dull crosswordese around the edges here. ESO, for instance, and PAOLO OBIES ISEE EIN ANTE IMAM IMAC INUIT UAE OSSO EYRE ASTI ATTN EASEL AHA ... would've been nice if the puzzle hadn't been so reliant on allllllll the old stuff. But then of course the themers are strong, and the longer non-themers are decent as well. HABANERO is spicy and SCREEDS are ranty and MEANDER is wandery and SCORPION is sting-y and KISS CAM, well, those are kinda gross, actually, but who doesn't like the Pink PANTHER? SO THERE! If the crosswordese is bugging you, just have a MIMOSA and listen to your favorite ROCK BAND and relax. Or you could have some MAPO tofu and listen to Chappell ROAN, that's what I'd do if I hadn't already had dinner—a delicious dinner Penelope and I made together. Here, I have the pics to prove it.
 |
| [that NYT Cooking page-a-day calendar is a godsend—app, shmapp, just give me paper!] |
- 16A: Well-dressed guy (DAPPER DAN) — I know DAPPER DAN exclusively as a doll that I (or my sister, or both of us) had when I was very little. I can still see his dumb felted face and rosy cheeks. Oh yeah, here we go:
 |
| [Well-dressed, smash-faced] |
The phrase I know for "well-dressed man" is "handsome Dan," though that's probably just because of "Tougher Than the Rest," a Bruce Springsteen song that I first heard in an acoustic version by Everything But The Girl:
["Some girls they want a handsome Dan / Or some good-looking Joe..."]
- 36D: "Sounds like a plan!" ("LET'S") — one of the tougher answers, from a Downs-only perspective. I wanted "I'M IN!"
- 11D: Martini garnish (OLIVE) — ONION also works (and fits, and starts with "O") (though w/ an ONION, it’s called a Gibson Martini, or simply a Gibson)
- 59D: Enjoy a fantasy, say (READ) — I kinda like the mild misdirection here. They hide "novel" or "story" and just let "fantasy" be a substantive adjective. So your (my) first thought for "Enjoy a fantasy" is something like "dream," but ... no.
- 33D: Breakfast beverages, for short (OJS) — kind of an OJ overload situation here, as OJ both sits alongside MIMOSA and is a key ingredient of a MIMOSA (the other being champagne or other sparkling wine).
That's all for today. See you next time.
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71 comments:
My five favorite original clues from last week
(in order of appearance):
1. Best Picture winner found hiding in "and the Oscar goes to..." (4)
2. They might have deposits (7)
3. Dessert often eaten before the ides of March (3)
4. Plot device (4)
5. _NIGHT (8)(8)
ARGO
BOTTLES
PIE
HOSE
HEADLESS HORSEMAN
My favorite encore clues from last week:
[Duck down] (5)
[Jordan joined it in 1984] (3)
EIDER
NBA
If your garnish is an onion, then the drink is a Gibson, not a Martini
Mostly fairly easy, but I needed a look-up to get the KOA/ROAN cross. Used the theme to verify LOUIELOUIE. Puzzle had a decided foreign flavor throughout.
Fun and challenging downs only. I didn’t know MAPO tofu, so I did an alphabet run with letters that spelled a word on LI__E, and was thrilled when the music came on at M.
Nice Monday with a cute theme. Crossing the two propers (KOA and ROAN) would be my only nit.
I also thought it was interesting that an experienced pro like C.C would drop down to AAA for what appears to be a warm up start. Maybe we’ll hear more from her later this week ?
I like to point out from time to time, because I’m so impressed, that English is not CC’s native language, and here she is, creator of 85 NYT puzzles and many more elsewhere.
(HAI)L (HAI)L, CC!
Today she sprinkled the grid with loveliness -- JAMJARS, SCREEDS, NOSHED, MIMOSA, MEANDER – and bolstered the global theme with international flavor (PAOLO, EIN, KPH, ISIS, UAE, OSLO, OSSO, HABANERO, MAPO, ESO, MARINARA, ASTI).
I liked the very short tale: I SEE / UNDO / REDO. Also lovely was the abutting schwa-enders cascading down the grid – MARINARA / MIMOSA / THETA. Then there was the sweet serendipity of the SI-SI theme answer being crossed by a backward SISI.
Terrific idea for a theme, CC, and a terrific execution. Thank you once again, for a splendid outing!
Fun CC early week puzzle - nuanced theme and well filled. I’m not a circle guy but this is the rare case they work. DAPPER DAN is outstanding.
A Man Needs a MAID
MEANDER, EMPRESS, SO THERE, MARINARA - all fun and splashy. Love the SNORE x SNIT cross. Had MAPO at Mountain House last weekend - usually stop there whenever I’m near Flushing - highly recommended.
Enjoyable Monday morning solve.
YES
Hey All !
A CC sighting! Nice to see her again.
And a Paul/PAOLO for @pablo! I'm giving you a point for that combo! (That gets you a grand total for the year ... of 3. [I'm at 7 😁])
Nice MonPuz. Missing the HAI of Japanese. (Well, missing others, too, but ...)
Always confused by the A vs U conundrum, ala today's STANK vs STuNK. Would STuNK have to be clued as "Did reek"?
Good fill, fun Theme, fairly open grid, MonPuz easy. Gets the day started off well.
Hope y'all have a great Monday!
No F's - NO AND NO!
RooMonster
DarrinV
A fun theme well done and easy on the brain. Didn’t know MAPO or ROAN but the crosses brought them out. Have recently been MEANDERing through NYT Monday puzzles from the 90’s. In terms of difficulty they are more like today’s Tuesdays and even Wednesdays but seem to lack the light spirit of the current versions.
Still on the beach using my beach brain so this took a bit longer for me than most Mondays but...YESANDYES on @Rex's high rating today. Cute theme with a revealer that LANDs well and I had fun with all the themers. What a clever idea!
There is a distinct food vibe today which I loved! I learned here that I should not refer to it as a *foodie* vibe as that connotates something or someone much different, but I'm looking at MAPO, LIME, HABANERO, JAMJARS, MINT, NOSHED, YAM, OLIVE, and MARINARA... that's a *lot* of edibles! Though don't eat the jar, just the jam...
Some nice cluing on SNORE and READ which gives this a little Monday-level crunch along with some nice longer non-themers that are fun to say if not so much fun to experience like KISSCAM, SCORPION and HABANERO.
Agree that it had a bunch of crosswordese but the theme was such an enjoyable distraction that I didn't notice them until I came here.
Thank you Zhouqin! This was a hoot!
And now on to Hugh's Monday Haiku:
With some MINT and LIME
I NOSHED a HABANERO
The YAM MUST have helped
A nice and typical easy Monday puzzle.🎈🎈🎊🎊
From one of the many great scenes in O Brother Where Art Thou: “I don’t carry Dapper Dan, I carry Fop.” “I don’t want Fop. I’m a Dapper Dan man, goddammit.”
I struggled down only but was enjoying the puzzle and running out of time so I looked at some across clues. Very nice Monday, as expected from this constructor.
As a fledgling constructor, I’m surprised UNDO-REDO was allowed in!
Funny, when I read Dapper Dan I didn't think of a doll at all (I didn't know there was one) but rather the George Clooney character in "Oh Brother Where Art Though" where he proudly announces that he's a "Dapper Dan man!" The way it smells helps the bloodhounds and the posse track him down. One of the funny bits from the film.
Hey Rex,
Thanks for the “Louie, Louie” information. I never knew it had such a scandalous past! I wonder if any Pearl Jam songs have had a similar issue because there are some lyrics that also are quite mysterious as sung by the great Eddie Vedder! I enjoyed the puzzle, a definite “Yes, yes” for a Monday.
Agree with the rest. Fantastic puzzle that was fun and breezy to fill in, with plenty of clues that made me smile. What more could you ask for a Monday?
I filled in the grid and got the "something amiss" message, which made me realize that I had given those peppers the wrong gender, HABANERa. That got me thinking that we could avoid that problem by calling them scotch bonnets, but I wasn't sure, so I looked it up. Good thing I did: I learned not only that the two types of pepper are closely related but not the same, but also that I had been pronouncing HABANERO as if it hat a tilde, which it does not. It's going to take some effort to correct that in my speech!
Ah yes, the theme -- in retrospect, excellent, but I needed the revealer. I saw the SI SI while solving, but completely missed the fact that all the other circles were varieties of YES AND YES. Up to then I had shared Rex's opinion that using the same word twice for your repeated letters was cheating--but really, how else can you get OUI? LOUIs dropped trOU In the gym? A bit too long. So it was worth it.
I'll finish with a SCREED. I taught political science full-time for 42 years, and for at least 35 of those I ran an internship program, placing students with state legislators and other public figures. Making SITE VISITS was absolutely essential (as well as a lot of fun.) I got to know who the good intern supervisors were, and I got a first-hand understanding of Massachusetts and Boston politics. And at least a couple of times I discovered that a student had not been going to the internship at all, but simply making things up in his or her journal. It's nice to see them in the puzzle, but they are definitely not "blandly businesslike."
End of screed.
I also didn’t know tthe KOA/ROAN cross (but guessed it).
16A Dapper Dan is also a designer from Harlem.
In addition to 28D mimosa and 33D ojs, Asti also makes an appearance at 57D, so there you have the fixins.
I'm a fan of sheds. Great place to keep your JAMJARS. Literally any shed is better than NOSHED. My friend Ted, however disagrees. TOTED they aren't important.
YESANDYES un DAPPERDAN, porque Andy siempre va bien vestido.
The difference between talent and lent is THETA.
Don't try to PETALS SCORPION 'cuz Al says you'll get stung.
Let's have one cheer for the best known feature of Rye, NY - - MARINARA.
Pretty sweet Monday. Thanks, Zhouqin Burnikel.
Rex, I just made that recipe last week! Made the mistake of adding the cucumbers in at the time, which would be fine if you weren't planning on it being leftovers for the next few days (the joys of cooking for one). Please enjoy the mental image of someone fishing each individual cucumber slice out of the leftovers on day 3, then slicing new cucumbers to replace them. Worked great! Felt gross.
I was 8 when LOUIELOUIE came out. And its popularity hung around until I was in junior high. The lyrics of first stanza actually are:
A fine little girl, she waits for me
Me catch a ship across the sea
We were convinced that the second line was:
She gets her kicks on top of me
Haha…SCANDALOUS I tell you, and a surefire winner for kids back then.
Super -easy but also super-fun…thanks CC!
Drunk, announcing his own arrival: SOTHERE
Speaking of drunks, at the Cooperstown (NY) Tavern you can order a Minnie MIMOSA, honoring the great Cuban ballplayer, Minnie Minoso, inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2022.
But you know who is not in the HOF?: Tommy John, who passed away this week in surgery that was, ironically, not Tommy John surgery. (That was a cheap joke: he did pass away, but from bladder cancer, not in surgery.) TJ won 288 games and had an impressive lifetime ERA of 3.34, but was dissed as a "compiler," and not a dominant pitcher of any era. Yet from 1977-80 he averaged 20 wins and under 9 losses a season. In ten seasons he had an ERA less than 3.00, and in 1968 it was 1.98 (in 177 innings). I'd put him in the Hall, but what do I know? His obit in the Times ends by noting that Tommy John surgery might have added years to Sandy Koufax's career had it been developed earlier. Koufax teased the surgeon, Dr. Jobe, about that, noting it could have been called Sandy Koufax surgery.
I considered trying to claim credit for the Paul in the clue PAOLO answer and wasn't going to but since your lead is so substantial I'll take it with a big thank you. Have a coFFee with Toffee and Taffy on me.
Ran into MAPO right away and thought this is Monday, right? That was about it for no-knows though. Even Chappelle ROAN is becoming familiar after numerous guest appearances.
My solve path gave me DAPPERDAN and LOUIELOUIE right away and the them was obvious, just wondered how the revealer would work, which was vaguely familiar and okay. My generation was the peak LOUIELOUIE audience. Every aspiring garage band played it, a three-chord piece with a do-it-yourself solo, plus you could sing anything. Kids in Spain wanted me to tell them the lyrics so they could learn some dirty words in English but I had to tell them I was clueless.
I wonder how many other folks hummed the Pink PANTHER theme when they filled that in. I sure did.
Great start to the week, CC, enough to make us Celebrate Crosswords of the Monday variety. Thanks for all the fun.
Fun and fun! 😜 Possibly the easiest NYTX I have ever done.
IMO the surgery wouldn't have become known by the patient's name had Tommy John not been so catchy.
What a pleasure to see CC back again. I enjoyed your puz (8 minutes!), CC & thank you :)
PINK Panther made me think of Pinky Herman.
I see that at least three people beside me (so far) had trouble with the KOA/ROAN cross. Disappointing to complete the puzzle very quickly but not get that cross. I figured it had to be RYAN or RIAN. Not sure that particular cross is very Mondayish.
The puzzle was so easy, I didn't bother to see what was filling in the circles until after I finished. Very nice YES AND YES answers (well, yes, SITE VISITS is dull but a thing).
DAPPER DAN was the brand name of the hair pomade George Clooney's character used in "Oh, Brother Where Art Thou", my favorite Coen Brother's movie.
LOUIE LOUIE, the lyrics were once published in the Bloom County comic strip. I cut them out and have carried them in my wallet since 1988, just in case the subject of the controversy ever comes up in conversation.
CC, thanks for a nicely themed Monday puzzle!
Why are so many commenters referring to her as CC?
Down answers better than Acrosses to me. Kudos to constructor for having both down and across paticipate in theme.
@Mo-T; great catch.
Presumably the need for OJS to be plural (crossword purposes only) negated the ability to tie the clues together.
Easy-medium.
MAPO was it for WOEs and no erasures except for tracking down a couple of typos.
YES AND YES works for me, liked it.
Croce Solvers - Croce’s Freestyle #1139 was on the tough side for me with a couple of fun 15s. Good luck!
https://club72.wordpress.com
Me too even though I drive by one almost everyday I always thought it was KGA !
@Liveprof, you got me to Google Tommy John.
288 career wins; conventional wisdom says no pitcher may ever reach 300 again. TJ didn't, but could have if he hadn't decided, at age 46, to spend more time with family.
Pitched for 26 seasons, longevity only surpassed by Nolan Ryan (27).
It says that, in 2023, 35% of active MLB had had TJ surgery, which was nearly 50 years old by then. I'd say for that (non-statistical) reason he should get HOF consideration, which has been pretty meager (31%; way less than 75% needed to qualify), but what do I know either.
Loved the comment you added about Sandy Koufax. Koufax was a "no doubt" HOF enshrinee, despite (compared with Tommy John) far fewer seasons pitched (12) and victories (165). But a unique talent and, had TJ surgery been an option, might have put up staggering stats.
@pabloinnh, didn't hum Pink Panther, but immediately got LOUIE LOUIE as an ear worm. And you bet I listened for the :54 mark of the recording.
Unfortunately, today ended our three-week streak of Downs only success. But a pretty fun, if a bit junky, Monday solve.
RP: Thanks for the info on your tasty summer dish. Exactly the kind of thing I’m looking for right now with temps in the upper 90s and humidity occasionally close to that.
I'll add my OUI OUI etc. of agreement with all of the fans of the puzzle, the cute theme and the many other fine entries. I especially liked the rhyming CC and SI SI.
In 1964 I spent my $100 high-school-graduation check on a train ticket on the Empire Builder to Portland, OR, to visit a friend. I returned home with 1) the Kingsmen album, 2) a good start on a hand-knit sweater (my friend decreed I needed to learn to knit and took me to the Pendleton wool outlet for yarn and instruction sheet) and 3) a new puzzle type (the family subscribed to the Saturday Review and taught me how to do the Kingsley Double Crostics). Treasures all!
Well, ain't this place a geographical oddity. Two weeks from everywhere...
Anon 10:07: Catchy? Don't you mean pitchy?
Here's a little more on TJ, if I may. He was the valedictorian of his HS graduating class (1961), but was not allowed to make a speech because he was a stutterer. I had stutterers in my classes from time to time. I was always very patient with them, as were their classmates, and I was impressed with the courage it must have taken for them to raise their hands to speak. TJ, of course, went on to overcome his stuttering and became a baseball announcer and motivational speaker after his playing career ended. And, get this, the high school invited him back fifty years after his graduation to make the speech! The then-officials in charge of the school learned about the earlier snub and wanted to make things right. John was moved to tears by the gesture.
We used to drive past a sign indicating one of their campsites in VT that said KOA BEAR LEFT .and every time we'd say, "Where's the KOA bear? The KOA bear left!" . So I knew that one.
Absolutely! Except that these days, when everything is everything to the unwashed masses, the word martini has become anything served in a cocktail glass. Recently, I saw "Shrimp Cocktail Martini" on a menu and decided to dine elsewhere.
A very cute, fun puzzle. This was classic CC, and it's good to see her back in the NYT. That said, it was also very, very easy. Fastest Monday for me in many months. SITE VISITS, while among the least entertaining entries, went in off just the initial "S". This was apparently its debut in the NYTXW.
Well it was going okay until I ran into KPH. The stupidest "answer" that the NYT is so addicted to. And then in the clue, the totally inaccurate "Autobahn speedometer meas." I dare you... double dare you... to find a real picture from Germany with "kph" in it...
I suspect that otherwise this was a pretty good puzzle but it was ruined for me by this stupid garbage answer with a stupid garbage clue.
@Carola. I didn’t enjoy the puzzle as much as you did but I did enjoy your reminiscence of your trip to Portland. In 1964 I was just entering junior high and our family (5 kids) were not particularly well off. So my parents formulated a plan which would incorporate a nice road trip with some back-to-school shopping. We would drive from Vancouver down the coast and spend 4 or 5 days at Long Beach in southern Washington for some fun near the ocean before decamping for Portland to undertake the serious business of equipping a quintet of young ne’er-do-wells for school.
Why Portland? It had all the latest American styles, many of which were unavailable or just too expensive in our part of Canada. Oregon had no sales tax, making up-to-date styles almost affordable for us. So, yeah, it was nice to show up at school not looking like a schlub. Plus, it was a nice city to wander around in and all of us loved the zoo.
I still occasionally visit Portland to see relatives and they are always trying to steer me clear of the homeless camps downtown. Have no fear, caring rellies, I’m just trying to make my way over to Powell’s to spend a day trying to discover a fabulous book I didn’t even know I wanted.
Good stuff, @lp
Not as enamored with this one as most of y'all seem to be. The clanger for me was resorting to a repeating themer, LOUIE LOUIE, , in order to get the YES AND YES connection while the other three themers weren't repeaters.
I also couldn't help notice that although JAM JAR and SITE VISIT have the requisite JA JA and SI SI, neither is up to the task of filling its slot. There's a shortcut to get around those kinds of deficiencies and make it easier to fill the grid. Hardly anyone will notice. POC (plural of convenience) to the rescue!
Tommy John might have deserved the HOF off his record. But he was widely thought to be a cheater on the mound (spitballs and other doctoring of the horsehide). This stood in contrast to his saintly manner and sincere religiosity.
@Carola and Les, ah Portland. When I lived in Vancouver, I would often travel to San Francisco or Arizona, and I would plan to spend a good half day in Powell's on the way. I really liked the city too. My younger brother got his Doctor of Chiropractic there (Western States Chiro.).
Got it.
But Gaylord Perry is in the HOF. Just saying.
In any event, after 50-plus years now of calling it Tommy John surgery, that legacy will likely never change. RIP.
Really sweet Monday puzzle - which as usual I would not have been able to solve downs only. ROAN I did not know- I had Rian and forgot to look at the cross because Kia is a thing. Thanks for the LOUIELOUIE information, Rex!
I enjoyed being reminded that Bob Dylan won the NOBEL - unfortunately in these times his lyrics still ring true
"I'm kind of over
gettin' told to
throw my hands up
in the air
So there"
-- Lorde, Teams
Tom F
I am not at all surprised. Shorts & Co. let in dupes all the time. The only restriction is no dupes in the clue/answer combo.
Beezer
I was just short of eleven when Louie Louie came. Boys talked about it a great deal. And everyone decided we heard a somewhat more graphic lyric along the same lines. It occurred to me that Louie Louie produced the most off color mondegreens of any one song in history!
I just listened to the song again. I never realized how badly done it was ( catchy song though).
What is religiosity?
Anonymous 10:29 AM
The constructor is originally from Taiwan which at the time used the old style transliteration system. Under that system, the custom was to abbreviate the two part given name Old style is C C. in her case. That is what she used doing crosswords for years. until the Times mandated new stye transliteration. Many here use that old moniker. BTW abbreviations are not used in the modern system.
Okanaganer
I thought of you immediately when I saw this answer. Uhoh
You are right that no one in Europe, never mind Germany uses KPH. And of course German signs use the international system, number inside a red circle, no letters.
BUT. this is an American English crossword and KPH is a valid answer there. However much you hate it. It is hard to clue it without referring to another country or international.
Handsome Dan is the mascot of the Yale Bulldogs. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Handsome_Dan?wprov=sfti1
So Rex knew dapper Dan only from a childhood doll. I knew it as an expression and it was a gimme. Another indicator of old age. and a term in the process of dying out. I looked it up. It’s from a 1921 song.
LOUiE LOUiE was a treat to see. Beezer explained why. It was particularly popular with those we now call tweens. I was just finishing 6th grade. Rex pointed out the fact it was the only theme that written looks like a repeated name. Rex didn’t point out the pronunciation is Louie Lou-eye. So in that way not repeated But he liked it anyway.
I liked the puzzle a lot.
I thought I published this hours ago but maybe there was a glitch on my end or it got binned for some reason. Likely the former.
Ah, yes, everyone loves a puzzle by Ms Burnikel. They get to call her CC and pretend she’s their friend. Same thing with Robyn Weintraub, Elizabeth Gorski, Lynn Lempel, and Patrick Berry. They see the byline and assume it will be wonderful. This was just OK. Well constructed. But the theme was pretty simple. DA DA, JA JA, SI SI, OUI OUI. OK, OK, I get it. Fine, but not really wonderful.
I solved it downs-only without too many snags. Originally had tsarina for EMPRESS and had no idea about MAPO tofu (the M of MAPO/LIME was my last entry). I also had twist before OLIVE, because that’s the way I like to garnish my martinis. I love olives, but not in my gin, thank you.
One other nit -and it’s a recurring one in the NYTXW - if you search for images of the dashboards of German cars, i.e., cars driven in Germany, their speedometers show KM/H, just like most metric countries - not KPH. Yes, you can measure Kilometres Per Hour, but that’s not what’s on the road signs or the speedometers. As I said above, it was fine but it didn’t get my motor running.
Still seems a bit of a shame that Washington never quite pulled the trigger to make “Louie Louie” the state song.
On another note…I am once again asking that constructors stop cluing yams as sweet potatoes. That is not what they are.
@dgd, if you reeeeeeally have to use KPH, how about this: "Metric speed abbrev. not used in metric countries".
This comment should’ve gotten “binned” because it’s obnoxious.
Heed your name’s advice. And don’t impugn others’ motives for liking a puzzle or question their joy. Do you really believe you’re uniquely objective? Just express your disagreement and get on with your day.
In December 1989, I was home from college for break when Billy Martin crashed his truck and was killed. Yankee fans, my father and I decided to try to go to the funeral at St Patrick’s. We went way in advance when the church was just an open church as always. We sat in the pews and waited; eventually the place filled with people and we sat next to Tommy John and his family. Amazing experience. Only realized when it was over that the streets were filled with people who didn’t get in.
I thought "Louie Louie" was the Washington State rock song, but Google brings up that the satirical TV show "Almost Live" actually campaigned to have it replace "Washington My Home" as the official state song, period. The Seattle Mariners play it after "Take Me Out To the Ball Game". They used to play the Kingsmen version, then switched to a Macklemore song for a few seasons, now are back to a jazzed-up version of "Louie Louie" that includes a chher "Let's go Mariners!"
3:59 on move to random answer = fastest ever by five seconds. I think the only difficulty I had was MAPO.
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